Late
by Morgaine Swann
Summary: Sookie has some surprising news for Eric. Spoilers for books 1-8. Story contains explicit Adult/Mature content - you have been warned.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: The Southern Vampire Series, and all characters from it, is owned by Charlaine Harris. No infringement is intended.

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Sookie just stared at the little stick, as if the longer she looked at it, the more likely it was to give her a different answer. It didn't change, of course, and the little "+" sign in the window was going in and out of focus, but it was still a plus sign.

"Sookie, this is really important. Are you SURE?" Amelia asked in her most diplomatic tone. She was visibly scared, and Sookie seemed to be in shock.

"Amelia, I swear, it can't be anyone else. It's been over a year and a half since I've been with anyone but Eric. I've gone through this a thousand times in my mind."

"Honey, vamps can't…"

"I KNOW that, Amelia! This doesn't make any sense. I don't know what to do!"

"You know if he thinks you've cheated on him…"

"I haven't – I wouldn't do that. You know I wouldn't, and I haven't."

"Well, then, Sweetie, your only choice is to tell him and see if he has an explanation."

"You think maybe he'll have some idea what's happening?"

"It's possible. I don't think he'll kill you before you get the words out of your mouth, but talk fast and keep talking. Maybe that Dr. Ludwig would know…?"

"I hadn't even thought about Dr. Ludwig. I guess she would be the authority on all things "Supe," right?"

"Right."

"Ok, so I drive to Fangtasia, I make Eric sit behind his desk, and I stand on the other side of the room, and I tell him and beg him to call Dr. Ludwig before he has a chance to kill me."

"That would seem to be your only option. Maybe the shock will slow him down…" Amelia added weakly. She knew Eric Northman well enough to know that slow for him could still mean a dead human before the words were out of Sookie's mouth.

It was the longest drive of Sookie's life, but she barely remembered it. Her head was spinning. She was nauseous for several reasons. She felt greasy because she hadn't even bothered to take off her Merlotte's uniform or shower before she got in the car and headed for Shreveport. She sat in the back lot of Fangtasia, gripping the steering wheel of her car – her crappy car that Eric wanted desperately to replace, but that was another fight – until her knuckles were white and aching. She looked in the rear view mirror, put a determined look on her face and opened the door. It had to be done - might as well get it over with.

Clenching and unclenching her fists by her side, wishing she'd worn something besides her shorts and sneakers from work, she walked rapidly to the back door and pulled. Pam was in the hallway – 'Damn, why didn't I dress up, she looks gorgeous?' – and she looked surprised to see her.

"Sookie, he didn't expect you until later. I thought you were going out – you didn't change?"

"Hi, Pam. Yeah, I didn't have time, I really need to speak to Eric before the club opens."

"Alright," Pam said cautiously, "he's in his office going over the bank statements. Go on in."

"What kind of mood is he in?"

"Mood? He's Eric – he is how he is…"

"That's what I'm afraid of."

Sookie turned the corner and took a deep breath as she reached for the knob on the door of Eric's office. Taking another deep breath, she went in quickly without knocking.

Eric didn't look up, but he acknowledged her.

"My lover – you are here..."

God, he was beautiful. She felt even worse now that she hadn't changed. He was wearing a black leather vest with no shirt, probably matching pants that she couldn't see, and she was pretty sure which pair of 'Double H's he had on under the desk. His hair was freshly washed and shining like gold under the desk lamp.

"Eric, I'm late."

"No, my lover, you are actually an hour early - you haven't changed?" He looked up at her confused about why she was still in her work clothes. They did have plans…

"No, not late for getting here, late, late. I haven't gotten my period this month."

"Are you ill? Have you seen a doctor? You know, these things would not be a problem if you would come over. I've told you many times that all you have to do is say the…"

"No, Eric, I don't think I'm sick. I took a pregnancy test and it turned out positive."

His blue eyes grew wide and then he furrowed his brow and she could feel the anger building…

"Sookie, have you…"

"NO! No, I haven't been with anyone but you for a year and a half! I don't understand this…"

"You know I can't …"

"I know, but you did because I am and there's no other way!"

Faster than she could see, he was out from behind the desk, towering over her and gripping her upper arms. "Tell me the truth, Sookie. Who…'

POP! There was a noise and a flash, and there stood Claudine in an aqua spangled dress.

"Hold on, Blondie – back behind the desk."

Eric's eyes were fixed on Claudine. He let Sookie go and moved toward her with that look vamps get in their eyes when they smell Fairy.

"I said back up, big boy, and get behind the desk! We need to talk, but I want some distance between you and me so you can focus on what I'm about to tell you."

Sookie put her hand on Eric's chest. "Eric – snap out of it! Go behind the desk for a minute! Please!"

Never taking his eyes off the statuesque fairy, Eric reluctantly moved back behind his desk and sat down.

Sookie was crying a little – her nerves were shot, she felt sick, Eric was angry, and her fairy god-cousin was standing there looking like she should be on stage in Vegas. Great.

"So I take it you both know the good news?!"

"Good news?" Eric and Sookie said in unison. There was news, to be sure, but there didn't seem much good about it. The "news" was impossible!

"Look, Sookie, you know how Niall is always determined to give you a gift – something you really want?"

Eric was stunned. "What has this to do with Niall? What are you talking about?"

"Stop interrupting and I'll get there. As I said, you know that Niall always wanted to give you something special, Sookie?"

"Yeah…?"

"Well, it turns out there was something he was able to do for you after all. He was able to make one of your dreams come true in spite of your… situation?" she said with a little distaste, pointing from Sookie to Eric and back to Sookie.

"Situation…?" Eric sounded a bit offended and still angry.

"The bond you two kids have. Sookie will never be able to have a human mate, or even a Fae or a Shifter. In order to be with you, Northman, she had to give up any hope of ever having kids."

"Claudine, I never…" Sookie started to try and let Eric know that she made the choice consciously. She didn't want him to think it was his fault she couldn't have a normal life. Eric interrupted.

"Sookie never told me this was a problem. I wasn't aware this was a sacrifice…" Eric suddenly sounded sad, as if the concept had literally never occurred to him.

Sookie was around Claudine and around Eric's desk in a heartbeat. She threw her arms around him. "Eric, I chose you. Things were a little rocky at first, but in the end I chose to be with you, knowing what that would mean. You have nothing to feel bad about."

Eric's eyes were rimmed with red. He closed them and tilted his head forward so that his forehead touched Sookie's.

"Now, as I was saying…" Claudine began again, "Niall found a sort of loop hole."

"Loop hole?" Sookie was confused, Eric was silent.

"Yes, a loop hole. Have you kids ever noticed that you have exactly the same color hair?"

"Yes, we've joked about it…" Eric said as he looked at Sookie as if he'd never seen her before.

"Well, kids, there's a reason for that. No, you are not related, but you ARE of a type…"

"A type?" Sookie was lost.

"Yes, a type – a type of Fairy."

Eric was getting antsy. "Fairy, you are making no sense, and I'm not in the mood for games. Say what you came here to say."

"Well, it turns out that Eric's mother… do you remember her, Northman? Eric's mother was Fae."

"What?!" Eric and Sookie cried out in unison again and looked at each other, then at Claudine, then back at each other.

"Eric, before he was a vampire, was half Fae. His mother was from Ireland, taken on a raid, and she only stayed in Sweden long enough to have Eric before she returned home." Claudine now had their complete attention. "So, what we have here is a half-Fae vampire and a 1/8 Fae human. It only took a little magick with that combination."

"Magick… you mean I…" Eric was incredulous, but he was catching on.

"That's right, Viking – it's YOUR baby."

Sookie's eyes were wide and bright. "Is that.. Claudine, is… Eric is that possible?!"

"I have no idea."

"It's not only possible, kids, it's a fact. Sookie, you are pregnant with Eric's baby."

"Claudine, if this is a joke…" Sookie pleaded.

"No joke, honey, a gift from Great Granddad. He found a way to make your dream of having Eric's baby come true."

Eric was still stunned, but his mind was racing with questions.

"Sookie, did you ask this of Niall?"

"Eric, how could I – I didn't even know such a thing was possible!"

"Fairy – this child – will it be Fae, vampire, human, what?" Eric was trying to wrap his mind around the idea.

Claudine shrugged. "We don't know yet."

"What? You mean I'm pregnant with a baby, and we don't even know what it is?"

"Well, we know it's a healthy boy, but that's it. He might have Fae abilities. He might have a taste for blood. He will be very strong and live a long time. Or he might be human and have no special abilities at all. We have to wait and see – it won't be that long."

"What do you mean 'won't be that long?'" Sookie was getting nervous again.

"Well, Fae only carry babies for about 5 months. Vamps don't gestate, but they do have healing power in their blood. We figure the combination will give you maybe 5 or 6 months of pregnancy. It will be much sooner than a human baby, but it will be healthy. Well, kids, I'm out of here. You know as much about it as I do now. Enjoy!" and with that Claudine was gone in a cloud of gold sparkles.

"So… this is for real…" Sookie looked at Eric apprehensively.

"Apparently." Eric was still stunned. "If anyone had the power to do this, it would be Niall."

"Eric, we never talked about anything like this because it was never a possibility. How do you feel about the idea of being a father?"

"Sookie, I've lived over a thousand years with the idea that I never would be… it's going to take me some time to absorb this… but I think I'm delighted at the idea."

"Really? You're not mad at me?"

"My lover, there is no reason to be "mad" at you - this is not your doing. It is a shock, to be sure, but Niall had your best interests at heart, and there IS magick involved. It might be unwise to regret such a thing. It might be dangerous to reject such a gift. If the gods have allowed this, there must be a reason..."

There was a knock at the door.

"Enter?"

"Master, I need your signature on a form…" Pam began.

"Pam, I am going to be a father." Eric was beaming.

'Wow,' Sookie thought, 'that was fast!'

Pam looked confused – "You are joining the priesthood?"

"No, Pam, I shall be a parent."

"Apparent?"

"A father. Sookie is pregnant, and I am the father. I am going to have a son!"

Pam blinked at him. Sookie had never seen her speechless before.

"Is this possible?" Pam asked.

"It would seem so. There has been… magick…" Eric was trying to decide how much to tell her, "and we have it on good authority that it is true. We will have a baby."

"Sookie, you are well?" Pam asked.

Sookie was surprised – Pam didn't seem upset. She seemed genuinely concerned.

"I'm fine, Pam, I'm just pregnant and a little nauseous. Eric, I could use a ginger ale."

"Pam, will you…"

"Of course, Master, I'll send one of the bar maids back immediately. Sign this please, and I'll go back to my work."

Eric signed the pink form, and Pam was on her way.

"It occurs to me, my lover, that I have not thanked you."

"Thanked me? For what?! Ruining your life?!"

"On the contrary. The more I think about it, the more I like the idea. You will bear me a son, and a son like no other. He will be unique. You are his mother, so he will be beautiful. I am his father so he will be tall and strong. No other vampire will have such a nest!"

"Will any other vampire believe that it is yours?"

"Some will doubt, but that means nothing to us. We will let it be known that he is a child of magick, and that will suffice. No one needs to know whose magick or why, and no one will dare question my word."

"How is the King of Las Vegas going to feel about one of his Sheriffs having a baby?"

"He's going to be… surprised, to say the least!" Eric chuckled. Eric was laughing.

"You're really OK with this?" Sookie couldn't believe it.

"Yes, I'm "OK" lover. Are you not pleased? It just dawned on me that you have not said how you feel about this."

"Well, if it's actually your baby, then I'm… thrilled. It was always in the back of my mind that I would never be able to have your baby, and I have to admit, it made me sad from time to time. I might not have chosen this right now, but if I had been asked if I wanted it, I would have said yes."

"Then you are happy?"

"Yes, I think… I am VERY happy!" Sookie admitted. "Talk about having your cake and eating it, too! I get to have a vampire lover, and I get to have a family with him!" Sookie jumped in his lap and hugged him.

He kissed her, a long soft, deep kiss. He didn't want her to know that he was worried, or scared. He wanted her to enjoy this gift at least for awhile. He knew that they must talk about the dangers this could create. Eric was a powerful sheriff, and he already worried about Sookie being used to control him. This was one more vulnerability – but he was going to have a son, and that was a blessing. He silently vowed to himself that he would kill anyone who threatened his family. He would have a son like no other – a god among men and vampires alike. He knew this. His son might have enemies, but his son would be king and he would live to see it happen.

TBC


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: The Southern Vampire Series, and all characters from it, is owned by Charlaine Harris. No infringement is intended.

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"So, my lover, we have much to discuss. I think we should go home where we can be alone. Nothing is pressing here, and our plans are not that important."

"I'd like that – It would be nice to take a shower and put on different clothes. I was too distracted to do that before I came over here."

"Mmmmm – a shower sounds like a wonderful idea!" he said with his familiar leer. "You have clean clothes at my house, and that's closest, so why don't we spend the night there?"

"I'd like that. I need to call Amelia and tell her everything is OK."

"Here, sit at my desk and use my phone – call your Witch, and let her know we are happy and proud. I will go inform Pam that I am leaving for the night."

Sookie was scooting up to Eric's desk as he walked out, and Ginger walked in with a ginger ale. Sookie laughed to herself about the "ginger" coincidence, as silly as that might be, and she was grateful to have it. This nausea thing might be a problem.

"Hello?"

"Hi, Amelia – it's Sookie."

"Sookie! How are you – is everything OK?"

"Yes, everything is fine. I don't want to go into too much detail over the phone, but I can tell you that it IS Eric's baby, and he is thrilled about the idea of being a father."

"Wow – that's much better news than I was expecting. Maybe the Mighty Warrior has a soft spot somewhere after all. Wait – I just had a picture of Eric changing a dirty nappy – too funny!"

Sookie laughed out loud. "I'm glad you can picture it, because I certainly can't!"

Eric came back in as Sookie and Amelia were giggling at the prospect of him changing diapers.

"All is well, my lover?"

"All is very well! I'm staying in Shreveport tonight, Amelia – I'll see you tomorrow before I go to work. OK, bye!"

"Shall we go?"

"We shall. Can we stop and get me some food? Suddenly, I'm starving."

"As you wish, my lover," Eric promised as he ushered her out the back door, through the back lot and toward his tiny red sports car.

"Wow – no room in here for a car seat," she said as he held her door open.

"Two car seats are not enough?" Eric asked, not catching on yet.

"No, I mean a car seat that you put a baby in, for the back seat."

"Ah, baby equipment," he said as he folded himself into the car. "I suppose there is much for me to learn about these things. I haven't been near children in a long, long, time, but I know from TV that there are many things to buy for an infant's well-being, and that women take great pleasure in creating their nests."

"You mean "nurseries" don't you?" Sookie teased.

Eric smiled at her, "Nests, nurseries, these are all the same. Mothers feathering a soft place to nurture their young and protect them from harm. Some mothers might use twigs and feathers, and some might buy designer furniture and baby clothes, but it is all the same. It is Mother Nature extending Her long life."

"I never thought of it that way – I like that! Mother Nature extending Her long life," Sookie repeated. "It almost makes Mother Nature sound like a vampire, though."

"All life is vampiric in some way, my lover. When one thing feeds, another almost always dies. Life takes life to continue. Vampires are just a little more direct about it."

"Huh – I never knew you were a philosopher," she teased him again.

"One does not live for a millennia without occasionally thinking about the Nature of that life. What would you like to eat, my dove?"

"I want something really gooey and sweet, but that's probably not a good idea. How about one of those big Chicken Caesar Salads at Hannigan's? They have takeout."

Eric turned right into the Hannigan's parking lot and went to the curb service entrance. A frightened teenager in a brown uniform brought her salad out to the car. She heard him thinking that he had lost the draw to see who would serve the huge vampire. She forgot sometimes just how big and scary Eric can be to people who aren't used to dealing with an almost-living Norse god. She laughed out loud, and Eric looked strangely at her as he pulled out of the parking lot and back onto the highway.

"You are amused?"

"I am giddy. This evening is already much better than I expected it to be."

"If I have my way, this evening will get much, much better when I get you home and into the shower." His blue eyes were glittering and his fangs came down a little. She knew what that meant and it made her squirm in her seat.

Eric laughed and took in a deep whiff of the air. "Ah, someone else is looking forward to our shower, too."

He was driving too fast, as usual, but he couldn't get them home soon enough to suit her.

TBC


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: The Southern Vampire Series, and all characters from it, is owned by Charlaine Harris. No infringement is intended.

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Sookie marveled at the large white house as they drove through the gate and into the garage in back.

Eric laughed. "You look as if you've never seen my house before. You've been here nearly a hundred times."

"It always amazes me that a real Viking lives in a 4 story Victorian with a Summer Kitchen out back and a garage door opener. Let alone the idea that you have a gardener who takes care of your roses and all those beautiful white Moon Vines all around the windows."

"I don't want it to look like a vampire's nest. As far as I know, none of the neighbors knows that a vampire lives here. The trees all around the perimeter inside the iron fence keep the yard hidden from view. I like the roses because they make the summer air smell sweet, and the Moon Vines bloom at night so I can see them. Between my day man, Bobby, and the gardeners and three maids, there's enough traffic in and out of here in the daytime to make the place look normal."

"Nobody would expect a Viking to know about Moon Vines, or to care that his house is dusted and roses are pruned."

"People underestimate the Swedish. We're a very cultured people, not the barbarians you see in movies. Yes, we loved to fight and we traded in faraway lands, but we weren't all raiders and rapists. That would be like judging all Englishmen by the Inquisitioners of the Reformation."

"Don't get defensive, Sweetie. I'm just teasing you!"

"I know you are… but there are other ways I'd prefer you to tease me," he said, wiggling his eyebrows at her as he held her door open so she could get out. Before she was on her feet, he swept her up into his arms and they were in the kitchen door.

He kissed her and set her down in front of the refrigerator.

"That was sweet. Now, food first, then shower, then…"

"… and then I make mad love to the mother of my child."

"Wow, that sounds weird."

"Think of how I feel about it. We have entered the realm of the impossible."

Sookie sat at the little kitchen table and began to open her salad. She was starving.

"I wonder if I'm so hungry because I'm pregnant?"

"No doubt, my lover. I understand women consume a lot of food and in very strange combinations when they are with child. My son, of course, will have a huge appetite, and of course, will demand to be breast fed often." He laughed with that smug look on his face that made her want to slap him, then kiss him.

"This thing with "your son" is going to get out of hand, isn't it?"

"My dear, I will be the only living vampire with a child I didn't have to kill and transform. He will be a combination of the two of us. He will be unique and magnificent – I have no doubt of this!"

"What if he grows up to be a geeky little science nerd who wants nothing to do with vampires and fighting?"

"You are joking, of course."

"Of course," she laughed.

"My son… our son will be a warrior. He will be strong and powerful. Humans and Supernaturals alike will quake at his feet. I know this."

"Oh, you know this?!"

"Absolutely. I knew it the minute I understood him to be mine and yours by magick. Trust me, my lover, the gods have a plan for such a special child. These things do not happen by chance."

"No, they happen because my Great Grand Father is a Fairy Prince who won't take me fishing, so he gives me a vampire baby."

"Niall would not know what to do with a fish. I'm sure he would tell you the same thing about our son if you asked him. Finish eating – I'll be right back."

Eric popped into his office and came back with a pen and a steno pad.

"We will have many questions about this baby and we must make a list of them, plus a list of things you must buy for our houses."

Sookie watched as Eric wrote a 1, a period, and then 'C-A-R'. She frowned.

"A car for a baby?"

"A car for my baby's mother. Yours is crap and you know it. I won't have my child endangered by riding in a useless machine like that."

"Eric, I do NOT need a new car."

"Whether you do or do not, my son does, and so he shall have one. It will be built in Germany and will have bullet proof glass."

"Bullet-proof…" Sookie stopped. She hadn't thought that far ahead. She was so worried about how Eric would take the news that she hadn't thought about the fact that Eric and Niall both had enemies. For that matter, so did she. An infant with that pedigree was practically "A target." She said, "Our baby will be in danger his entire life."

"Yes, my lover, I am afraid that is true. He will be vulnerable to attack until he is grown, and he could be used against me by my enemies, just as you could be."

Sookie started to cry. Eric reached out and wrapped both his hands around hers.

"Sookie, look at me. We will live our lives. You and I have stayed together in spite of our enemies. So we will also raise our child in love and safety as much as is possible. Trust the gods, Sookie, and trust me. I will do everything in my power to keep you both safe. This child is a child of magick. He might be in greater danger than some babies, but he will have greater protection as well. Most children don't have an immortal Viking who will give his life for them, or a Great Grandfather who can bring the entire Fairy realm into war if he so chooses. You are protected by Were packs, Witches, and every vampire in Felipe de Castro's kingdom. You are the bravest, strongest person I have ever known. We can do this. Together, we can do this."

"Eric, are you sure? Do you really want to deal with another person that is dependent on your protection, who can be used against you?"

"I want nothing more than I want this. I love you, and I will love our son. There is no price too great to pay for that." Eric stood, bent and kissed her on her forehead, then gathered up the remnants of her salad container and bags. Throwing it all in the trash, he said brightly, "Time for our shower, my lover. Are you ready?"

Sookie smiled. Yes, she was more than ready. Eric carried her up the stairs to the third floor.

TBC


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: To reiterate the story synopsis – this story contains explicit mature/adult material. Everything that happens is between consenting adults, but anyone offended by non-mainstream sexual acts, should stop reading now. The intensity of this subject matter will increase as the story goes on. **YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED**.

Disclaimer: The Southern Vampire Series, and all characters from it, is owned by Charlaine Harris. No infringement is intended.

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Eric put her down on the bed, but she got right up to get her uniform off. He already had his vest and boots off and headed into the master bathroom. As she wiggled out of her shorts, Sookie called to him. "Eric, sweetie, would you consider a bath instead of a shower? It's more relaxing."

"Of course, my lover. What kind of bubbles do you want?"

"Bubbles?"

"Yes, I ordered a new selection of bubble bath crystals and gels. Some of them smell very good. This one called Amber has a wonderful scent."

"Well, if you think it smells good, let's try that."

"As you wish, my lover," he agreed as he bent to turn the faucet on. The tub was huge – one of the biggest they made that wasn't intended for four or more people.

"Wait a minute," Sookie said as she tossed her panties on top of her folded clothes. "Eric Northman bought bubble bath? You're kidding," she laughed.

"What's the saying about bread and butter?" he asked as he lit several candles and turned off the light.

She came into the bathroom naked. He scooped her up and sat her gently in the tub.

"You mean about knowing which side your bread is buttered on?"

"That's it. The more pleasant I make your time in the tub, the more time I get to spend in the tub with you."

"So, by buying bubble bath, you are being pragmatic and manipulative?"

"Some would see it that way, I suppose. I just see it as indulging my lover's senses and enjoying the results," he explained as he climbed into the tub right behind her.

She leaned back against his chest, the ever-erect "gracious plenty" folded up between them. Eric pulled the elastic that was holding her ponytail out of her hair and dropped it on the floor.

"Lean back and wet your hair," he whispered.

She let him shampoo her hair. "Mmm – it smells like strawberries."

"That's new, too. I'm glad you like it."

"Get that online, too?"

"Yes. I find myself spending a lot of time thinking about what will please you. It's very distracting, but not in an unpleasant way. It seems to annoy Pam, though."

"That you're thinking about me?"

"No, that I make her try out all these things before I get them for you. She says she feels like a lab rat."

"Great…"

"She won't admit it, but she likes the products, too, and so do her female companions."

"Pam has…"

"Shhhhh, Sookie, relax." He rinsed her hair with the hand held shower, then twisted it and clipped it up at the back of her head.

"Why'd you do that?"

"So it won't get oily."

"Oily?"

Eric reached for a bottle of golden liquid and popped the flip up top, pouring a little into his hand, and gently spreading it on her shoulders.

"Oh, that smells delicious – what is it?"

"Almond massage oil. It's edible, so it's safe for many different applications."

"And you know this how?"

"Just be glad that I do. It will save you some discomfort later on."

"What…"

"Quiet, my lover, you wanted to relax, so trust in me and do as I say."

He had both hands on her shoulders now, slowly squeezing and kneading the muscles there, pressing his thumbs firmly into her flesh at the bottom of her shoulder blades. Kissing wasn't the only technique Eric had spent a thousand years perfecting. As his fingers danced over her skin, she felt all the tension melt away from her neck and shoulders. She hadn't realized she was so tense, but then again, it made sense because she had been worried for days.

Eric pressed the heels of his palms onto her back on each side and slowly pushed them downward, his fingers kneading her lower cheeks as they circled around. He pressed his thumbs on either side of her spine and pushed them all the way up to the base of her skull. He traced that pattern on her back over and over and, then he reached under her arms to her waist and pulled her back to him, kissing her shoulder, her neck, her earlobe.

She began to worry she would fall asleep when he began massaging her breasts. OK, now she was awake. Relaxed, yes, but wide awake. He poured a little more oil on her breastbone and smoothed it down over her stomach. He began to make little circles on her belly with his fingers as they moved back up to her breastbone, her collarbones, gliding back down to her breasts and teasing the nipples. He spread his fingers across her ribs and stroked, pulling his hands back, then pushing forward to gently squeeze her breasts again.

He began to rub himself against her back as he pressed her oiled flesh back into his chest and his throbbing cock. She laid her head back on his shoulder and arched her neck to him. He kissed her neck, and moved his hands down between her legs, each stroking her soft folds in turn as they moved down and then back up several times.

"Sookie, turn and face me," he whispered as he pulled her right arm around and guided her to straddle his lap. She thought he was going to enter her, but he shook his head slowly. "Not yet, my lover, be patient." He kissed her deeply as his hands kneaded her cheeks and thighs, and she bent forward into him.

Damn, she hated it when he was so s-l-o-w, and he knew it. He knew he was making her crazy, because she could see the sparkle in those sea blue eyes as she straddled his legs, resting on her knees. He reached for the bottle of oil again, pouring a lot of it into his right hand as he whispered, "Kiss me." She leaned forward again, raising up on her knees a bit to reach him.

As his tongue separated her lips, his hand spread the oil between her legs from her nub all the way back and up between her cheeks. Her eyes widened a bit at that, but his left arm slipped around her waist and kept her from breaking the kiss. His right hand was gently massaging her labia, fingers slipping in and out of her. His right thumb slipped into her as his fingers moved back up to the other entrance and began to press. She wasn't sure what he was doing, and she was even less sure why it seemed to feel good. She began to wiggle a bit on his hand and put her arms around his neck. She couldn't look at him, but she didn't pull away, either.

Eric breathed against her neck, "My lover…" and as he did his finger slid into the other entrance as his thumb went deep into her vagina. She was impaled on his hand, feeling something she'd never felt before. She put her hands on his shoulders, grinding on his hand. Years of Christian upbringing were screaming in her brain, but they were being smacked down hard by the pleasure that was building as she rode Eric's fingers.

'Oh. My. God. He has the longest fingers.'

He was really moving his hand in and out of her, and he held her firmly around the waist. She began to lean backward into his hand, thrusting her breasts forward. His mouth found her nipple and bit. When the wave came crashing down on her, she understood why it's called le petit mort – she was dying and she didn't care.

Her legs were shuddering as he pulled his hand out and pulled her forward onto his cock with such surprising ease that she would later conclude that he'd done this before. A lot. She felt like a rag doll and not at all sure she could hold it together until he finished. He reached between them with his left hand to rub her nub and began to really push upward as she rode him.

He grabbed her with both hands and flipped her under him so she was now with her back to the tub. He began to take long strokes in and out of her, splashing water over the side of the tub, putting out several of the candles. His arms were on either side of her head, braced on the edge of the tub, his muscles bulging as he began to move with vampire speed.

"Oh, god, ERIC!" she screamed as he let out a growl she had never heard come from him before. Then, they were still. Sookie was panting, and Eric threw his head back and shook his hair like a lion's mane. That was… intense.

Looking around a bit as she sat up, Sookie couldn't believe the condition of the room. "We made a mess."

Eric laughed with that shaky, 'I just fucked like a vampire' way of his. He was so smug. Damn he was sexy when he was pleased with himself. He pulled a stack of towels from a shelf and threw them on the floor to mop up the water they splashed over the sides.

"So, my lover, are you relaxed now?"

"Ah, I uh," Sookie chuckled because she knew there was a joke there somewhere, but she couldn't think clearly enough to find it. She was still laughing as Eric opened the drain to empty the tub, took a bar of soap, and began to wash the oil off of her skin with the hand-held attachment.

"So, almond oil?" she laughed.

"Almond scented massage oil. And the best part is, your skin will feel like velvet when you've washed and dried."

"What… I mean, I never…"

"It's good to try new things, Sookie. Sometimes things feel better than you might imagine if you didn't know."

"I guess so…"

Eric reached for a big, fluffy white towel.

"That thing is huge!" she said as he wrapped it around her.

"I can't let my lover get cold, especially not now."

"Oh god, I almost forgot – I'm a terrible mother!"

Eric laughed as he took the clip out of her hair. "You are an angel. It's good to be relaxed and happy. It has to be good for the baby."

He handed her a comb so she could finish her hair while he bent over the tub and washed his hair with the attachment. She could grow to love that thing, if only for the view it was giving her of Eric's best feature.

"I know you are watching me, Sookie."

"So?" she snapped a little defensively.

"I just want you to know that I know your eyes are on me whenever I turn my back to you. I need to get on with having that mirror put up over the bed."

He came to stand behind her as she looked in the mirror, combing her hair.

"You wouldn't really do that would you?"

"I would if it would please you." He took the comb and started on his own hair.

"It's kind of kinky, don't you think?"

"Kinky? That's a word people use to describe sex they aren't having. It does not apply to us, my lover. We are bonded – we do whatever we want, whenever it pleases us."

"Ok, then, yeah, I'd like you to do that."

"Ok, that's the second order of business – right after I order your new car."

TBC


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: The Southern Vampire Series, and all characters from it, is owned by Charlaine Harris. No infringement is intended.

___________________________________________________________________________________

Sookie was lying on her stomach on the bed on top of the big white towel. Eric stepped out of the room wearing a towel around his waist, and came right back with the steno pad.

"That's a very pretty view, my lover."

"Well, enjoy it while you can because I'm going to get fat."

"You will not get fat. You will blossom, and ripen, and after you will be my beautiful princess once more." He threw the pad and pen on the bed next to her and picked his black jeans up off the floor.

"What if I don't? What if I stay fat?"

"No chance of that, lover. I will give you my blood and my attentions regularly – you will be healthier than you have ever been." Frowning, he went through all the pockets several times.

"Speaking of healthy, what about pre-natal care?"

"What?"

"You know, a doctor to help make sure everything is OK. I don't think Louisiana has any OB/GYNs that specialize in 'children of magick,'" she joked in her best Boris Karloff imitation.

"This is true."

He was down on his knees now, looking under the bed.

"Eric, what about Dr. Ludwig – does she handle babies?"

"I have no idea, but I'm sure if she doesn't, she will know who does. She's very well connected in our world."

"Will you talk to her then? Soon?"

He was on his knees facing the bed now, resting on his elbows.

"Would you like me to summon her now?"

"No. Early tomorrow evening would be good, though. I'm a little nervous about this, and I'd feel better if I knew what I need to be doing."

"Good – make another column and put it at the top of the list," and he resumed his search under the bed.

"What's with you and lists all of a sudden?"

"We are in uncharted territory, lover – it's best to take a map so we don't forget anything."

"That's very pragmatic of you."  
"One of us has to be – you have cried three times today that I have witnessed."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means that pregnant women are known to be… mercurial."

"Mercurial?"

"Yes, mercurial – moody and weeping all the time. You aren't normally weepy as you have been today. Quick to anger sometimes, but not so quick to cry."

"OK, now you're just pissing me off."

"I'm so glad you aren't being moody." Eric laughed loudly – he thought he was the funniest guy in the world sometimes. Most people don't know that about him, but Sookie did. He never laughed harder than when he was laughing at his own jokes.

"What ARE you looking for?"

"Fangtasia matches. I had two books in my pockets."

"What do you want them for?"

"Candles."

"Ah, so… who are we telling about this baby? Amelia and Pam already know. Do we keep it quiet for a time, or do we make a grand announcement and put it in all the papers."

"I do not think we need to involve the press, lover."

"I know, I'm kidding. When and how do we tell Jason? And Sam. And, especially, Bill."

"Bill will find out when the rest of Area 5 finds out – though I admit, I would like to see his face when he finds out I fathered a child with you."

"That's mean."

"That's ME. The shifter will need to know within a few months that he needs to replace you…"

"Replace me?!"

Eric dropped his towel and lay on the bed beside her, propped up on his elbow.

"Sookie, we have no idea what this child is going to need. He might be unable to go in the sun. He might sleep only in the day. He might need milk or he might need blood. Some Fairies drink either, or both."

"They do?!"

"Yes, lover, they do. You might want to consider learning more about your Fae blood since it may affect our baby."

"You mean OUR Fae blood, don't you?"

He settled on his back, looking at the ceiling.

"Yes, I suppose I do."

"Did you know about your Fae blood?"

"I thought it was just stories, but yes, I suppose I did."

"What was her name?"

"Erin is what I was told, but that was also a name for Ireland, so it might have been anything."

"Do you remember her?"

"Some. She had hair a little darker than yours, but she was small as you are and very pretty. When I first met you, I thought of her. I didn't know why at the time, but I thought it was because you looked like her. Now I think I recognized the Fairy in you and associated that with my mother. You always felt as if you were supposed to be with me. I never accepted the fact that you were with Bill – it was just… wrong, somehow, for him to touch you. I knew the Fates brought you to me. I know now that I was more right than I knew."

"When was the last time you saw her?"

"I was small – maybe three or four. I remember her crying as she sang to me, and then I never saw her again. My father never allowed me to speak of her. He said she was a curse sent to ruin him, but he was far from ruined. Our clan was wealthy and powerful. The only thing he ever wanted for was Erin."

Sookie looked up suddenly – was Eric crying? Not quite, but close. His voice broke. What the hell do you do with an hormonal vampire? She needed to change the subject.

"Do you want to go with me when I tell Jason?"

"That is an excellent question, my lover. Your brother and I don't particularly like each other, but I would like to be with you when you tell him. He has a pattern of taking news badly, and I won't take a risk of him striking you again. Better I be there to restrain him than to stay away and have to kill him."

"Eric, he's my brother."

"If he strikes you again, especially while you are carrying my son, you will be an only child. I will not tolerate any harm to either one of you from anyone, for any reason, and you need to accept that, Sookie. It won't change. I have been far less aggressive than I should have been with your previous lovers and your family and your co-workers, because I did not want to upset you and have you angry with me. I will be more _definitive_ in my actions from this point forward."

"Even if it makes me mad at you?"

"If there is any chance of you or my son being harmed, yes, even then. I cannot afford to show any weakness now. Others must know that I will show no mercy to those who would threaten us. You must understand this."

TBC


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: The Southern Vampire Series, and all characters from it, is owned by Charlaine Harris. No infringement is intended.

___________________________________________________________________________________

"Are you going to pout now?"

"I am NOT pouting. I'm just tired."

Eric gently ran his hand down her back, over her bottom and down the back of her leg.

"That's too bad. I thought you might be on that towel for a reason."

"That's giving me chills."

"Want to get under the covers?"

"No. What did you mean just now?"

"When?"

"When you said you thought I might be on the towel for a reason – what kind of reason would I have?"

"I thought maybe you wanted to protect the bedspread from more oil or secretions. I can tell you are more… aroused than usual. I thought perhaps you wanted more massage or to explore a little more."

She put her head down on her hands folded beneath her as Eric played with locks of her long hair.

"Explore…" she repeated softly.

"Hmmmm? Is that a request?" He leaned forward to nuzzle her ear, his hand resting on the small of her back.

"Not exactly. I mean…. I don't know… I'm just thinking."

He kissed her shoulder. "Tell me, my lover. What are you thinking?"

"It's hard to talk about."

"Sookie, we are bonded. You can speak to me of anything. You can ask me anything." He stroked her hair and back again.

"You know I've only had a couple of boyfriends."

"Mmm-hmm, I actually think about that a lot." His finger traced the edge of her ear.

"I'm not always sure…. I don't know if I'm doing everything I'm supposed to do."

"Sookie, I am very happy with you," he whispered, "happier than I have been…"

"No, it's not that." She turned her face away from him as his hand began to squeeze and knead her bottom gently. He kissed her shoulder and reached for a switch in his headboard that dimmed the lights in the room, then continued to stroke and rub her back and her bottom.

"In the bathroom before…." she said softly.

"Hmmm?" Eric was paying close attention to her words now, and she couldn't see them, but his eyes were bright and his fangs were down a little.

"I… couldn't look at you… but…"

He kissed her shoulder again, still rubbing her lower back and bottom.

"…that didn't mean I didn't like it."

"It seemed to me that you liked it very much, my lover." He squeezed one of her cheeks as he said lover, and he said it in that tone that makes her feel a little dizzy.

"Um…yeah…do you like to… do_ that_?"

"That?" His hand was kneading a little more firmly now.

"Yeah, but instead of with your hand…"

"Ah. Yes, my lover, I like that very much. I will never try to force you to do that, you know. I would only consider it if it was something you wanted."

"Would it hurt?"

"Probably not, with a generous amount of lubrication, if you were very relaxed and I was very gentle."

"Would you stop if…?"

"I would never hurt you, Sookie. I want to give you pleasure, not pain. I get no satisfaction from pain."

"If I liked it, though, you would get… satisfaction from it?"

"Yes, very much." He reached down between her legs and stroked her. She was very, very wet. She moved her legs apart and rose up on her elbows. He pushed up on one hand so he could reach her more easily. He stroked her silently a few more times, positioned himself over her, a leg and hand on each side of her, but not resting his weight on her back. He reached for the drawer beside the bed and retrieved a white tube. He rose up on his knees behind her, between her legs. He gripped her hips and said, "Keep your weight on your elbows, lover, and come up on your knees."

She did exactly what he told her to do. He reached around to the front and began to very slowly rub her nub and her folds. Eric kissed her shoulder and stroked her so that she couldn't keep her hips still.

"Do you like that, lover?"

"Yes."

He rubbed the tip of his penis around the entrance to her vagina, then slowly slid into her. She gasped and arched her back to take him deeper. He moved very slowly and deliberately again. He was merciless with his hand in front of her, and he gripped her so hard she felt like she couldn't get away. With her knees so far apart she felt as if he was going right through the center of her. He was beginning to pump her faster now, grabbing her hips and slapping the front of his thighs against the back of hers. His hands were everywhere, on her breasts, around her waist pulling her back into him.

Her head was pounding and she couldn't focus on anything except the sound of their bodies slapping together and what she was feeling between her legs. She tried to stay up on her elbows, gripping the edge of the mattress and just trying to hang on. She could feel her climax building and knew she would collapse – her legs would give out because they were so far apart, and she was THERE, oh, god, right there and Eric was pounding her like he had never done before.

She couldn't really think, but it flashed through her mind that he was more excited than usual because she had talked about _that._ Before she could form another thought, Eric was coming, his arms tight around her waist, puling her to him and keeping her from falling on her face. When he was done, he released her waist, and let her slowly stretch out before him again. Her legs were still very wide apart.

"Sookie, can you come up on your knees a little, and arch your back a bit." As she moved into place again his hand went underneath her from behind. He stroked from her nub all the way up between her cheeks this time.

"Sookie, this lubricant will feel cold at first."

Whatever it was, he spread a lot of it between her cheeks. His fingers began to open the ring of muscle, much more slowly than he had done earlier. He moved it in and out of her, adding more lubricant. She felt more pressure, and realized that he was slowly forcing a second finger into her. She couldn't be still, and she was a little afraid he would think she was trying to get away from him. The two fingers moved in and out slowly.

"Sookie, are you still offering?"

"Unh, y-yes."

"You know I'm bigger than this, yes?"

"Yes."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah."

She could hear sounds of him opening the tube again, but she didn't feel anything. Then, his fingers retreated and were quickly replaced by something much larger. He pushed forward slowly, and she felt a little panic briefly – she was really being stretched. It didn't really hurt, but it was really tight. She was panting.

"Relax, Sookie – don't tense up."

"Ahhh- hhhh..."

He was pulling out, but went right back without hesitating. He was making short strokes at an easy, even pace, and it seemed to go on for hours, though it was only a few minutes. She reached back with her own hand to rub herself. There were tears streaming down her cheeks.

"Sookie, my lover, oh, god, Sookie, you are mine. Promise me you will never, never do this with anyone else."

"W- we're bonded, I did promise."

"Promise me now, Sookie, right now."

"I promise Eric."

"Say it," he growled.

"I promise I won't do this with anyone else. Only you – AHH!"

He bit her shoulder, hard. She was seeing stars, in a good way, and trying not to scream.

Now he was really moving. The bed was hitting the wall, and Sookie's legs and arms both failed her. She was flat on the bed now, and Eric's weight was mostly on top of her. He was talking very fast, in that language she was going to have to learn, his forehead pressed to her shoulders.

"Ahhhhhh YYYEESSS!" he screamed and collapsed on top of her.

Eric was laughing – "Ohhhh, Sookie, I do love you."

"I can't breathe."

He was still laughing as he rolled to the side.

"Is something funny?" she croaked, still out of breath.

"No, my lover, I am just happy. I am very, very happy."

"Because of what we just did?"

"Because of everything – you, our bond, our baby AND _that_. That was the best possible end to a very good day."

"And what was all the possessive stuff – you know I hate that. It's medieval."

"It's important in my world – more important than anything."

"Why does it matter? We're bonded, isn't that the be all and end all for vamps?"

"For vampires, yes, but not for men."

"What?"

"Did you ever do that with Bill?"

"Obviously not."

"Or Quinn?"

"Absolutely not."

"But you did yield to me, my lover, and that is very special to me."

"So you're saying it's a dick thing?"

"Where did you hear that expression?" Eric seemed genuinely shocked.

"From Dawn, at work. She and Arlene used it all the time."

"Ah, well – never use it again, but yes, my lover, it is a dick thing."

TBC


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: The Southern Vampire Series, and all characters from it, is owned by Charlaine Harris. No infringement is intended.

___________________________________________________________________________________

Sookie woke up not quite sure where she was. She knew she was warm and comfortable, and she stretched, enjoying the slight soreness in her limbs that came from rolling around with a 6'5" Viking and all his charms. She was under the big black cotton comforter, in those very expensive cotton sheets that Eric liked, in his huge California King bed with the hand carved headboard. She didn't remember falling asleep last night, but apparently she had dozed off, and Eric tucked her into his bed before he went to his hidey-hole in the basement.

She laughed at thinking of it as a "hidey-hole" – it was more like a luxurious mini-room. It was padded and upholstered with burgundy velvet all around (he wanted black but decided it showed dust too easily,) was filled with fluffy pillows in black silk cases and would sleep 3 or 4 people comfortably. It had a recessed shelf that held a clock, his iPod, a laptop, a short wave radio for emergencies and a couple of bottles of True Blood, just in case.

He was always prepared for trouble and that gave her some comfort. She made a note to herself to find out what a Viking keeps on his iPod one of these days. She considered sneaking down the closed off servant's stairs to join him later. He said she was welcome there whenever she wanted and since it was below the basement, she could open the door without letting sunlight in.

She pulled on one of Eric's big black t-shirts. She had some clothes of her own here, but she preferred to wear his T's when she was bumming around the house. It was already 3 PM, so Eric would be up in a few hours. She grabbed the steno pad from the floor on Eric's side of the bed and took it into the Kitchenette on the second floor. There was a huge kitchen on the first floor that would make Martha Stewart green with envy, set up in case Eric ever chose to do any entertainlng. He said that wasn't likely to happen, but he liked having the option. Never know when you're going to have to accommodate a war party like Pam had to when they went to war with Hallow and her bitches. The rest of the second floor was guestrooms, but this kitchenette was set up just for Sookie.

She had had a little fit when she found out that he had hired what he called a "lady's maid" about a month after they had reached their "understanding," but she had to admit, it came in handy. That maid, Alicia, was to anticipate Sookie's needs in every respect. There were always clean clothes for her in Eric's dresser and closet, and there was always what Eric called "chick food" in the kitchenette that was based on a list of favorites Eric made her write out. Alicia even furnished it with pink appliances – a blender, food processor, coffee maker and toaster. She hadn't even known they made such things in pink, but apparently these were special editions to raise money for breast cancer research, so she liked that. She had to admit that she was getting used to being treated like a princess. Her laundry and food were replenished twice a week like clockwork, she never had to do a dish, and the maid had a list of Sookie's clothing and shoe sizes so when she or Eric thought she needed something, or something – usually panties - was destroyed, it could be replaced immediately. She was surprised how quickly she had adjusted to the idea.

'Let's see what's in the fridge,' she thought to herself. She opened the door and was pleased to find some nice looking salads (dressings in the door,) milk, several cans of Diet Rite cola, a loaf of bread (so it would last longer,) a tray of crudités and a couple of grilled chicken breast halves in the drawers. In the freezer were some frozen fries, peas, a carton of microwavable fried rice, and her favorite – fudgesicles. She grabbed a Diet Rite and a big salad, cut up one of the chicken breasts and drizzled a bit of ranch dressing over it. There was even a jar of sunflower seeds and a bag of croutons to sprinkle over it.

She took her salad over to the little bistro table in the corner and threw the steno pad next to it. She took a big bite of salad, pulled the pen from the spiral rings at the top of the pad and opened it. Eric had been busy.

The first column might as well have been called "a list of expenses to fight with Sookie about" -

1. Car – German Engineering, bullet-proof glass, car seat.  
a. Car Seat  
b. Driver?  
2. Sookie's special mirror for  
a. Shreveport  
b. Ruston  
c. Bon Temps?  
d. Fangtasia

3. Nurseries –  
a. Shreveport  
b. Ruston  
c. Bon Temps  
d. Fangtasia  
e. Pam's house  
f. Compton's house

4. Nanny –  
a. how many?  
b. What species –  
i. Fae  
ii. Vamp  
iii. Witch  
iv. Daemon?

5. Alicia – babies?  
6. Dr. Ludwig – babies?  
7. New Wardrobe for Sookie  
8. Personal Trainer for Sookie  
9. Masseuse for Sookie  
10. Aesthetician for Sookie

Notifications:

11. Jason  
12. Merlotte  
13. Fangtasia Staff  
14. Area Five  
15. Sandy  
16. Felipe de Castro

The second column she had started, Questions for Dr. Ludwig, had some additions, too:

1. How long will the pregnancy last.  
2. Does Sookie need vitamins or special nutrition.  
3. Midwife? Hospital?  
4. Nanny or Doula– see number 4 left column  
5. When will it sleep?  
6. Iron?  
7. Silver?  
8. Sunlight?  
9. Blood?  
10. Other vulnerabilities  
11. Gifts?  
12. Where should it be born?  
13. What kind of special protection will it have? Need?  
a. Cloaking spell  
b. Talisman  
c. Nest(s)  
14. Feeding from Sookie?  
15. Sookie taking E.'s blood?

Why the hell would he list Pam's and Bill's on the list of places for nurseries? And what the hell is an Aesthetician? She was tempted to cross everything off the list, or just tear it up, but then she thought better of it. She needed to talk to Eric about these things – maybe he knew something she didn't? She didn't think he knew much about babies, but he knew a lot about safety, and he certainly knew a lot about Supes. She was learning that Eric often had reasons for things that it didn't occur to him to explain because he was a thousand years, old and because he was used to being the boss. She needed to see how much of this was based on special knowledge and how much was just Eric jumping at the chance to pamper her. He was almost as bad as Niall.

Niall. She added him to the list of notifications. Naturally, he already knew since he had – what exactly HAD he done? – well, he arranged it, but she wanted to thank him and let him know how much she loved his gift. She also wanted to try to impress upon him not to give her gifts without talking to her first. This one could have waited a year or two, but she decided that didn't really matter. Eric said she would stay young another 50 or 60 years, so they had plenty of time for hot vampire sex even after the baby was grown. And she could always…

Whoa. Since when did "going over" become an option for her? Eric had always said he expected to turn her one day, but she resisted the idea. Then again, she had a tendency to resist everything. She was learning that about herself. Her first reaction to change was usually negative, especially where Supes were concerned. She was in a permanent relationship with an immortal now. She might be giving birth to an immortal. Maybe she needed to think about her own life span in that context? Damn, that's deep. She decided to make like Scarlett O'Hara and think about that tomorrow. The baby stuff was as deep as she could handle right now.

She heard someone stirring down stairs and realized it was Wednesday. Two of the maids would be in today, and possibly Eric's day man. Sure enough, as she was finishing her salad, Alicia came in. Alicia was older, brunette with graying temples, and Eric said she came highly recommended.

"Good afternoon, Miss Sookie. Am I interrupting you?"

"Hi, Alicia. No, I'm just finishing up one of these delicious salads you left for me. It was really lovely."

"Thank you, Miss. Is there anything special you would like me to stock for you this week?"

"Yes, actually, there is. This is going to sound crazy, but I have the weirdest craving for anchovies. I never really liked them before, but now I could just kill for a Caesar Salad."

"I could make my special Caesar for you and leave it in the fridge. I can make enough to last you two or three days if you think you'll be around to eat it.."

"That would be great – thank you. Even if I don't stay, I might take it with me."

"Alright then, it will be in the fridge for you tonight."

Sookie looked at the list and then had an idea.

"Alicia – have you ever worked with babies at all?"

"In what respect, Miss?"

"If there were a baby here, would you consider handling it's laundry and shopping the way you do mine?"

"Of course, Miss. I'm not a nanny, of course, but I could make certain that a nursery was stocked and a new mother had everything she needed from the store. Is there something going on, Miss?"

"Well, we aren't telling people yet, but it looks like Eric and I are having a baby."

"That's surprising, Miss, but it's wonderful news. You just let me know what you need and I'll take care of it. I'll work out the details with Mr. Northman when I collect my check on Friday."

"That's great, Alicia, it would really help me out!"

"No problem at all, Miss. Mr. Northman is a generous man, and he made it very clear that your comfort is the top priority of my position. You need or want anything at all, you have only to ask. While I'm thinking of it, if you're craving anchovies, I think I'll put some pizzas in the freezer and get you a big jar of dill pickles, just in case. I'll also make sure you have plenty of milk and proteins available in the drawer."

"Thanks. A few cartons of Ben & Jerry's in different flavors would be cool, too."

"I'll add it to my list, Miss."

"Great. I'm going to head back upstairs for a bit. I need to make some phone calls."

"Yes, Miss. I'll be leaving for the store in about 45 minutes and should be back within two hours. You have my cell number if you need me?"

"Yes, I do. Thanks again."

Ugh. She hated feeling like the boss's mistress. None of the staff here ever gave her attitude or treated her that way, but it was hard for her to get used to the idea of servants and the kind of luxuries Eric was used to.

Would it be different if they were married? Eric has told her many times that he'd marry her if she wanted. She'd have legal rights to his money that way, though he already had accounts set up in her name. Maybe they should get married before the baby came? That's kind of a Judeo-Christian thing that wouldn't matter to Eric, but it kind of did to her. Her Gran would be awfully disappointed if she had a baby without being married. Maybe it was time. She might drop a little hint to Eric in the next day or two and see what he thinks about it in light of new developments.

Eww – that salad wasn't sitting right on her stomach. She'd heard of morning sickness, but it was 4 in the afternoon, for goodness' sake!

'I'd better lie down. Eric won't be too happy if I throw up on his carpet,' she thought.

She went back to Eric's bed and moved a wastebasket near by in case she got sick. She had a little book with her, and there was a TV that raised up out of the foot of the bed if she wanted to watch a movie, but neither had any appeal. She just lay down on the bed with the phone from Eric's nightstand and the steno pad beside her. Maybe she was being moody the way Eric said. She could almost cry even though there was nothing to cry about. Things were better for her than she'd ever dreamed they could be.

She thought about Bill. She still had a little pang of pain and guilt when she thought of him. He had hurt her terribly, but he meant so much to her before that and she had sort of humiliated him publically by leaving him for Eric, and she wished things were different so that they could be friends. She looked at the list again. Why on Earth would Eric want to put a nursery in Bill's house?

She was really feeling nauseous now. Her stomach hurt. She realized she was supposed to work at Merlotte's tonight, but she had no desire to drive feeling this way, and she wanted so badly to be here when Eric woke up. It was getting harder and harder for her to spend time away from him. Minutes seemed to crawl by when they weren't together, and she had begun to define her life by how long it would be until she saw him again. She never thought of herself as the clingy type. Maybe it was just the blood bond? Maybe he was just everything she could have dreamed of and more, ha ha! He'd love that.

'That's all I need to do is give him more reason to be smug.'

Eric would never be accused of false modesty. He knew exactly what a catch he was. He'd spent a millennium watching men and women alike throw themselves at him. He knew he was big, beautiful, and sexy. He was strong and skilled in so many things – sex, war, strategy, business. He was rich. He had blond hair and blue eyes. He was the cultural ideal of almost any age at any time in history. Can you really be smug if you really are a dream come true?

She curled up on her side. 'Eric fever,' she thought to herself. 'Northman Flu. As the song says, I got it bad and that ain't good' – except is was good – very, very good, and now they were going to have a magick baby.

'Isn't it just perfect, that the perfect man/vampire is going to have a baby that is as extraordinary as he is.'

She picked up the phone and hit 2 on the speed dial. Eric had reprogrammed all of his phones at home and in the office so that her cell was number 1 and her house was number 2. As the phone rang, she rolled onto her back with her knees up and crossed one leg over the other.

"Hello?"

"Amelia?"

"Hey, sweetie, how are you dong?"

"I'm nauseous."

"Ah – that's probably going to last a while."

"Great. Are you busy tonight?"

"Nope – let me guess. You want me to cover your shift at Merlotte's."

"Could you? I just don't want to drive while I feel this sick."

"And you don't want to be away from tall, blond and dead all night, either."

"Am I that obvious?"

"No, but that's a normal reaction in your condition. Your nesting instinct makes you want to keep your nest together, so you want to hang onto your mate more than usual."

"Eric calls it 'nesting,' too."

"It's not like a vampire's nest, Sookie, it's just a way to refer to the maternal instinct."

"Eric says it's all the same, whether it's a bird using sticks and feathers or a woman using designer furniture."

"He's right about that. You know, women produce a hormone called oxytocin that makes them bond to their babies and their mates. There's no telling how your situation is going to affect that. By the way, did you figure out how this happened?"

"I've told you about my Great Grandfather, Niall?"

"The Fairy Prince – literally?"

"Yes, well it seems Eric is half-Fae…"

"No shit?!"

"Yeah, and with his half and my eighth, it apparently only took a little magick for baby to make three. He thought it was a gift that would make me happy."

"And it does?"

"Yes. That was the number one thing against being in a relationship with Eric. I guess Niall figured that out and found a way around it so I'd be happy."

"Had you asked for this? Or mentioned it to him?"

"No – how could I? I never knew it was a possibility."

"So, will the baby be human, or… "

"We aren't sure yet."

"Did you talk to Dr. Ludwig yet?"

"Eric promised to call her tonight, first thing."

"Let me know how that goes. I'm anxious to know more."

"Me, too – you have no idea."

"I'll bet. What time do I need to be at Merlotte's tonight?"

"Eight o'clock."

"Will do. What do I tell Sam?"

"Just tell him I'm not feeling well. Don't mention the baby yet, ok?"

"Okay. I'd better go, I need to run to the store, and I need to come back here before I go in."

"OK, Amelia. Thank you so much – I really owe you."

"You owe me nothing – I'm happy to help. By the way – I never asked – how is Eric taking the news?"

"He's over the moon. I thought he would be angry, but he's being very positive and overly protective and very sweet."

"Really? He's not upset about it affecting his lifestyle?"

"No, I think because he's so old, the idea of something out of the ordinary is kind of a relief for him. It's something new. And it's something unique – he's very into the idea that his son will be like no other, and it's destiny and blah blah."

"His son?"

"Yes, we were told it's a boy."

"Oh, man, the mighty Viking is going to have a son – by magick, no less. He won't be able to get his head through the door!"

"Tell me about it. He's so pleased with himself. It's a good thing I love it when he's smug, or I'd never be able to take it."

"Aw, let him enjoy it. He's going to be the only vampire he knows with a kid. That IS unique and special. You need to understand and enjoy that, too. My guess is he'll be every bit as special as Eric thinks he will. These things don't happen for no reason."

"That's what he said."

"Listen to him, Sookie. He has lived as long as he has by knowing what needs to be done. This might be a unique situation, but you're fortunate enough to have a unique mate to go through it with you. OK, I gotta go."

"OK, Amelia, thanks again! Have fun!"

"You, too, sweetie! Bye."

Okay – one problem solved. No need to go to Bon Temps tonight. Now she just had to decide whether to go to Fangtasia with Eric or ask him to stay home. She didn't want to keep him from work if he needed to be there, but she really didn't want to be away from him.

TBC


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: The Southern Vampire Series, and all characters from it, is owned by Charlaine Harris. No infringement is intended.

___________________________________________________________________________________

"My lover?"

"Eric? What's going on?"

"It is dark and you are still asleep. Did you sleep all day?"

"I was up for a little while, and ate a salad, but then I felt sick and came to lie down."

"Did you fall asleep on the phone? It was in your hand."

"Uh, no, I talked to Amelia about taking my shift at Merlotte's tonight, but I remember saying 'good bye' to her. I don't remember anything after that, though."

"I think you will sleep a lot for a while. It's normal."

"I'm not sure the word normal is going to apply to much of this situation."

"You are probably right, but I think needing more rest is common. Would you like some milk and crackers?"

"Milk and crackers?"

"Yes, I brought you some in case you were sick to your stomach."

"How do you know about milk and crackers?"

"Television. Women with morning sickness are supposed to eat crackers."

"That's right. I actually could stand to eat some crackers. I haven't had much today."

He was sitting on the edge of the bed next to her. He bent down to kiss her, then helped her sit up.

"You are wearing my shirt?"

"Yes. It's a girly thing – we like to wear our guy's clothes to feel closer to him when he's away."

"Yes, I know – women often steal pieces of men's clothes to capture their scent."

"You know about that?"

"Oh, yes. I've lost many scarves and favorite shirts that way. You wear anything of mine that you like, lover. It pleases me that you want to feel close to me."

"I - I really did today. I mean, I missed you a lot."

"You say that as if it disturbs you."

"I'm not usually clingy am I?"

"No, but you aren't usually pregnant, either. It's natural to want your mate near to protect you."

"How do you know all this stuff?"

"I know everything, Sookie, haven't you figured that out yet? " He laughed.

She rolled her eyes. "I must have missed that memo," she said.

"You'll learn."

"So you are staying with me tonight?"

"If that's OK…"

"That's more than OK, my lover. Do you want to go to Fangtasia with me or do you want me to stay home?"

"Is staying home an option?"

"Yes, there is nothing to do at Fangtasia tonight that Pam cannot handle. She will have to take more control of the club for at least the next year or so."

"A year or so?"

"Six months to have the baby, six months to figure out what he needs and make necessary adjustments."

"You've put a lot of thought into this already – and I found your list, by the way."

"Good – then we should be on the same page."

"Not so fast – there are some details I want to talk about."

"OK, my lover. Eat some crackers while I call Pam and tell her I won't be in."

"Can you call Dr. Ludwig now, too?"

"That will be my second call."

"OK."

He settled the tray that was on the dresser onto the nightstand on her side of the bed.

"Why is the wastebasket here?"

"In case I throw up."

"Ah, well, better keep it nearby then."

She marveled at how he noticed little details. When she first came to his house, this nightstand had two books by her favorite author and her favorite lip balm in the drawer. He'd gotten the white tube from the lower drawer – she wondered how long it had been there.

The milk was still nice and cold and the crackers were nice and salty. She was surprised that it did seem to help settle her stomach, but she also knew she needed to eat more.

Eric had gone to his "real study" on this floor – the one on the ground floor was more for show. His books were there, but anything that related to his business was on the third floor where only he, she, and one maid whose primary duty was the third and fourth floors, were permitted.

The fourth floor was actually a gym, a guest room, a nice bathroom with a sauna, and even a meditation room with a waterfall, some yoga equipment, and two massage tables. Eric didn't do anything small. She didn't realized that Vampires worked out, but he told her that it wasn't so much for health reasons since their bodies didn't change, it was more of a sensuality thing. They enjoyed the activity, and things like yoga and massage were very soothing to ultra sensitive vampire senses. While there was some weight equipment in the gym, the main area looked like a dance floor, and Eric used the space to practice with his swords. There were about a dozen types of sword on the wall there, and he was a master with them all. He had every intention of teaching her how to use them, too.

The "upstairs" maid came once a week on Friday, so she wouldn't be in tomorrow. She could cocoon here in the bedroom until Friday if she wanted to, without seeing anyone but Eric. She was surprised that she even thought of that, or that it seemed like a good idea. She realized that she felt safer in Eric's room than anywhere else on Earth, and all she wanted was to feel safe.

Eric came back in from his study as Sookie was finishing off the last cracker.

"Pam was a little perturbed, but I told her she'd better be prepared to make some adjustments. I'm sending her on a trip to Hawaii before the baby comes," he laughed.

"Blackmail, huh?"

"An incentive. Or a bribe. Either way, she has decided to be cooperative."

"And…"

"And Dr. Ludwig will be here, in this room, at 10 pm. She said it might as well be here since she needed to examine you and you weren't feeling well."

"So she's just going to appear here the way Claudine does when I'm in trouble?"

"Something like that."

"What did you tell her?"

"Pretty much the whole thing – she knows Niall, she's pretty sure she knows how he managed this, and she thinks she'll be able to give us more insight when she touches your belly."

"Huh?"

"Sort of like the Medical Intuitives that humans are experimenting with now. She can touch you and know some things about you and the baby."

"How reliable is that?"

"Well, it's not 100% but it's far more accurate than a human doctor, which is out of the question, anyway."

"Yeah, I guess it is. Even if they knew anything about vamps, nobody knows about Fairies yet."

"Nobody who has been to medical school, anyway. I could try to find a shifter at one of the hospitals in Dallas if you wanted," he offered as he took off the black t-shirt he was wearing.

"We'll see what Dr. Ludwig has to say. I don't want to leave home."

"A trip to Dallas isn't exactly leaving home, my lover." He was unbuttoning his jeans.

"It's weird, Eric, I don't want to leave here – I don't want to leave this house."

"That is unusual for you – you normally go out during the day, don't you?"

"Yes. It didn't even occur to me to go out and sunbathe in the backyard today. I just caught myself thinking a minute ago that I could stay in this room and not have to see anyone but you until Friday when the maid comes."

"Do you have the list of questions for Dr. Ludwig?"

"Yes, it's right here."

"Add that to the list. Maybe she will know what is going on."

"Is it something to be worried about?"

"I doubt it, but intuition plays a heavy part in mothering. Until she says otherwise, you should follow your instincts and stay here."

He scooped her up in his arms, turned down the bed and put her back.

"What are you doing?"

"We're going to bed for awhile."

"Any particular reason?"

"You need to cuddle."

"How do you know?"

He went to the other side of the bed and got in.  
"You have been screaming at me through the bond all day. I didn't understand what was going on until just now."

"'Screaming' at you?"

"Not literally, of course, but I felt – yearning – all day. You missed me today, very much I feel."

"Yes, I did – I told you that. More than ever. I almost came down to your resting space."

"So, the doctor will be here at 10, it is 7:24, now, so I'm setting the alarm for 9:45 and we're going to cuddle."

"Or have sex."

"Maybe, but the cuddling is the important thing."

"Why do I feel like crying all of a sudden?"

"You know why," he said as he pulled her to him and put his arm under her head. She snuggled up to him and put her arm across his chest. He kissed the top of her head and she looked up at him.

"You're right – this is what I've been needing all day."

They both rolled toward each other so they were face to face. He stoked her cheek with the back of his index finger.

"There is nothing to be afraid of, my lover. Everything will be fine. You are with me and you are safe."

"I know that. Right here, right now, I know I am – but I won't feel that way anywhere else," she said with tears in her eyes.

"Shhh – Sookie, things will be fine."

He reached down to the bottom of the bed where the steno pad had drifted.

"Let's look at the list and see where we are."

"OK, that's a good idea."

He opened the pad. "Number one, your BMW."  
"What?! No, Eric."

"NON-negotiable. Sookie."

"Well I don't need a freaking driver!"

"We'll see how it goes. If I did hire a driver for you, it would be a Shifter bodyguard, but we won't do that unless it seems necessary."

"What could make that necessary?"

"A Coup. Jealousy. A Kidnapping attempt."

"Oh, god…. Can I even do this?"

"You can do anything, my lover. I have watched you hold bombs in your hand until help came. I have seen you ride a coffin down the side of an exploding building. You saved many people from the bombing in Rhodes, you have lived through Were and Witch wars. You are constantly doing the impossible. This is just one more challenge, and a pleasant one at that." He kissed her forehead again and squeezed her a little tighter.

"OK, next on the list. I only need ONE special mirror in this room above this bed."

"Not in your house?"

"No."

"Or my other houses?"

"No."

"Or Fangtasia?"

"You don't really want people at Fangtasia knowing about that, do you?"

"Who would know? Workmen would install it in the daytime, and only one maid goes down to my love nest under the club."

"Lucky her – how do you get maids to do all the weird things you have them do?"

"The things I have them do are not weird – you just aren't used to having unlimited amounts of money. I pay them very well, I make reasonable requests, and, unlike most domestics, I also provide them with health insurance and scholarships for their children."

"YOU DO?!"

"Yes, my lover, I do. My superiors think I am too generous with my subordinates, but I believe in paying well for good service. They know they have it well, so they work hard to keep their positions with me. If you put quality ahead of quantity, you end up with both. Bean counters rarely look at the big picture."

"Ok, I give up – one mirror here and one in the "Love nest" under Fangtasia."

"Now, nurseries…"

"Why on earth would you want to put nurseries in Pam's house, let alone Bill Compton's house? They're both loyal to you but do we really want them babysitting?"

"Those would not be babysitting situations. They would be safe houses. Should you and the baby have to seek refuge, they would have all the amenities you and my son need already in place."

"Does Pam have room for that?"

"She does if I say she does."

"Eric…"

"Sookie… we have an understanding that matters of safety are my responsibility."

"I don't want to alienate Pam."

"She is my child. That cannot happen."

"Isn't it kind of mean to expect Bill to accommodate your family in an emergency?"

"Mean? I don't know why you would say that. His house is the first, most logical place for you to seek refuge if you are at the Bon Temps house."

"Am I really going to be there that much?"  
"Are you thinking of moving here permanently, lover? You know I would like that very much."

"Well, I won't be able to work for awhile, and dragging baby stuff back and forth is a lot of hassle. Maybe it would be better to let Amelia stay at the Bon Temps house and me to stay here most of the time. Then we only need one nursery here."

"And one at Pam's, just in case."

"As long as she doesn't hate me for it."

"She cannot hate you, but I will take pains to see that she is not inconvenienced more than necessary."

"Ok, I can live with that."

"Next up, nannies."

"Do we really need a nanny? That seems excessive to me."

"Nanny might be the wrong word. Do you know what a Doula is?"

"No, I never heard of it."

"A Doula is a sort of mother's helper. She helps a woman prepare for birth, learn to care for the child after, and then some stay with the family to help with child care."

"Is it like a midwife?"  
"A midwife only tends to the birth. A Doula is a before, during and after helper for the mother."

"If Gran were still alive, she could do that for me."

"Yes, my lover, she could. I am sorry that you mourn for her."

"Why did you list Fae, daemon etc. under nanny?"

"Our choice will most likely be dictated by the needs of the child. My first instinct was that a Witch like your friend Amelia would be a good choice, but then it occurred to me that it needs to be someone experienced with raising children with powers."

"Powers?"

"Yes, like your telepathy, or even Dr. Ludwig's ability to teleport."

"Is our baby going to be like that?"

"We'll know more about that at 10 pm, so let's come back to this later."

"OK – I talked to Alicia today and she said she can expand her duties to include a baby."

"Did she say how much her salary will need to expand to do that?"

"She said she'd work the details out with you when she gets her paycheck."

"That's fine."

"Now lets' talk about numbers 7 – 10. I don't need any of those things Eric."

"I disagree."

"What a surprise."

"Sookie, you will need maternity clothes, will you not?"

"Yes, I guess I will."

"That takes care of seven."

"I do not need a personal trainer."

"Were you not worried about getting fat less than 24 hours ago in this very bed?"

"You said it wouldn't happen."

"It won't if you have a personal trainer. There are special treatments to support pregnancies that some personal trainers can provide, then after the birth they can help you return to your former self."

"What if I don't?"

"If you don't, I won't care, but you will care very much, so why not do what you can to keep it from happening."

"So, it's not because you'd be ashamed of me if I got fat?"

"I could never be ashamed of you, Sookie. I just want you to be happy with yourself."

"Is it really expensive to hire a personal trainer?"

"No, it is not. Many people, even those of modest means, hire personal trainers."

"Alright, we'll try it. I hate feeling like it makes me look vain, but I am sort of vain, so I guess I might as well deal with it."

"I could not have said it better myself, lover."

"Ok, why on earth would I need a masseuse?"

"You'll need one who specializes in pregnant women. Actually, it's possible the personal trainer and masseuse might be the same person. We'll have to see who is available."

"Why do I need one?"

"To help your body adjust to the extreme changes it will go through, to make you feel more comfortable and to make you feel good."

"Extreme changes."

"Yes, lover, in some ways very extreme."

"OK, but I don't need an astha… aythsta…"

"Aesthetician?"

"Yeah – I can't even say it and I don't know what it is, so how could I possibly need one?"

"Actually, my lover, if you were not so stubborn, you would have had one before now."

"What do they do?"

"Well, it varies, but they can usually do facial and body treatments, apply cosmetics for special events, some do hair, some massages."

"Are you afraid I'm going to get ugly?"

"Never, lover. It is not unusual for ladies of means to hire a make up artist for a special event, or to indulge in spa treatments and massages."

"Why can't I just go to a beauty shop?"

"You could but wouldn't you rather have someone on retainer that you could call any time of the day or night for any occasion?"

"Nobody has that, Eric – what are you, made of money?"

"I have a good deal more money than you can imagine, my lover."

"Are we rich… I mean, are YOU rich?"

"You were right the first time – WE are rich."

"Like well-off or really, really rich?"

"Wealthy. Quite."

"So when I complain about you spending money on me…."

"It's a waste of my time and your energy, and my time is worth far more than I would spend on a masseuse, a nanny or an aesthetician."

"But it makes me feel like a kept woman. I am not a whore."

"First, I'd prefer you didn't use that kind of language. It's unbecoming for a sweet Southern Belle to use words like "whore." Second, would it make you feel better if you were a wife instead of a lover?"

"What do you mean?"

"I've told you that I'd be very happy to marry you. We are going to have a baby now, so it would be appropriate for us to marry, would it not?"

"Yes, it would."  
"Is that a yes, my lover?"

"If that was a request, then yes, that was a yes."

He was kissing her before she realized he had moved. What a kiss! It seemed to go on forever, his lips so soft, his fangs down –

"Hey, have you eaten?"  
"What?"

"Eric, don't you need to feed?"

"I'm waiting until you see the doctor. I forgot myself last night and bit you because I wasn't thinking clearly, but I need to ask the doctor if it's safe for me to feed from you or for you to take my blood."

"Why?"

"Blood loss can cause some human women to miscarry. I don't know if that includes you or not."

"I never heard of that."

"I have, and I've seen it happen, so we are going to be cautious until we are told otherwise."

"What time is it?"

"It is almost 9, my lover."

"We still have 45 minutes to kill. You know what I was thinking…?"

"What were you thinking, dear one?"

"I've never asked you this before, but I would really, really like if you," she closed her eyes tight because she couldn't believe what she was about to say "… went down on me."

The sheets and comforter were on the floor before the last word was out of her mouth, and Eric was between her legs in a heartbeat. Eric had been doing this for a thousand years, too, and he was good at it. He had the most amazing tongue. Her experience was limited, but the little she did have taught her that Eric was master of technique. He put each of her legs over his shoulders. Lips, Tongue, Fingers. How is it possible for _anything_ to feel that good?

Eric reached up and pushed the t-shirt she was wearing up to her breasts, pinching her nipples lightly as he lapped at her lap. This was not going to take long. She felt as if she was on fire, and she was already trembling. What the hell?! If there had been a knob marked "Sookie's Libido" that normally had settings one through ten, then tonight it was on eleven.

Suddenly, she couldn't be still. She reached down and got a handful of his long blond hair, urging him on and in no time, she was yelling his name and bucking like a bronc. His long fingers were in her and he looked up at her – predatory, eyes glittering - and then he was over her, on her, fucking her. His fingers were laced in her hair, massaging her scalp. He was kissing her, his mouth still carrying her own taste. He was pumping her faster now, his weight on his hands, his blond hair falling around her face and head like a veil, shining golden as it filtered the light from the lamp. Nothing felt as good as this.

His weight was on her and she was covered by his body, surrounded by his hair, and she never felt so safe or so …_owned_. That smacked up against her modern, very human sensibilities, and she let it go. She didn't care. She was his and he was hers and that was exactly the way it was supposed to be. She nearly laughed as he was kissing her so well, and she decided she was as bad as he was, with his suspicions of destiny – wait wasn't that a line from the Omen? She hoped that wasn't prescient, but the she stopped thinking as she felt the pressure building again. Eric was growling, hard, deliberate strokes filling her up and pushing her over the edge. She was yelling his name again, digging her nails into his shoulders, and he was saying her name with every thrust. Then it was over, he was lying on top of her, and they were both shaking.

She noticed she had cut him with her nails, though the gouges were already healing up. "Eric, I'm sorry I scratched you so hard!"

"Sookie don't you ever apologize for making me feel like you just did. That was amazing. It's like you were on fire. I've never felt so much heat in such a short span of time."

"I felt like something sort of … turned up the volume. Does that make any sense?"

"Oh, yes, and if it's a sign of what's to come, I am going to be a very happy vampire for the next six months or so…"

"You don't think it's because I'm pregnant…"

"That's exactly what I think. You have strong drives normally, but I can tell from the way you smell and taste that you are on a whole different level right now."

"I can tell you anything, right?"

"Of course my lover."

"I want to do everything."

"What do you mean?"  
"I mean, before I have the baby, I want to do every crazy, kinky sex thing possible. Is that crazy?"

Eric was laughing.

"Are you laughing at me now?"

"No, Sookie, my queen, I am not laughing at you. I was just imagining the possibilities…"

"Could we…"

BZZZZZZZZZZZ!

The alarm on Eric's night stand went off. "9:45, my lover – we have 15 minutes to put this room back together."

"I just realized I haven't even had a shower today!"

"Don't worry about that now, just freshen up a little and I'll make the bed."

She went into the bathroom and wet a washcloth with warm water to clean up a little. Why did that feel so good? Just washing, the warm, wet cloth touching her, felt amazing. If she had more time, she had no doubt that the washcloth… whoa, Sookie, what the hell? Why are you having impure thoughts about a washcloth?

"I'll think about that later."

She went back out to the bedroom. "What should I wear for this?"

"What you're wearing is fine." He was pulling on his jeans. Commando. How was she going to concentrate on the doctor with that in her head?

"I'm wearing one of your shirts and no underwear."

"That's fine. She's going to examine you. You're in your own home. Why put on clothes you'll just have to take back off? You know our kind doesn't care about nudity anyway."

"Right, so ten minutes to kill," she said as she sat on the bed. "Did we go through the whole list?"

"Here." He handed her the steno pad, "See if you have any other questions for the doctor before she gets here." He pulled his t-shirt back on.

"Number 16," she said. "Why doesn't Sookie want to leave the house? Number 17, why is Sookie so horny?"

Eric laughed out loud again. "When did you start using words like that?"

"I don't know. I'm saying and feeling things that I would normally find inappropriate."

"I've noticed you using a bit of common language – what are you feeling that is inappropriate?"

"Well, it seems like as soon as I wasn't nauseous any more, I wanted to fuck."

His mouth dropped open. "And I want to keep on fucking. I feel like I'd rather do that than eat."

"Well, lover, you have to eat to keep your strength up. Speaking of which, you need to eat very soon, don't you?"

"Probably. I can wait until after the doctor goes."

And at that moment, Dr. Ludwig was in the room with them, carrying an enormous carpetbag.

"Northman," she nodded her head.

"Doctor," he nodded. "You remember my fiancé, Sookie?"

Sookie smiled at him. He had never called her that before since they had just talked about it.

"Yes, yes. The little girl who was attacked by Calysto. So you are engaged now? Wonders never cease. I never took you for the romantic type, Northman."

"Neither did I until I met Sookie." He smiled at her, and she beamed at him.

"Alright, young lady, lie down on the bed and let's see what's happening with you."

Dr. Ludwig looked in Sookie's eyes, and placed her hand on her breastbone for a minute as if that was telling her something. She raised the t-shirt, and Sookie was a little embarrassed she had nothing on. Dr. Ludwig placed both hands directly over Sookie's uterus.

"Hmm. Interesting," she said. "You already know it's a boy?"

"Yes."

"You're about 5-6 weeks from the feel of it." She reached into the bag and took out of box of plastic gloves. Uh oh.

"Alright, my dear, we'll make this as painless as possible. Pull your knees up and spread your legs."

Sookie looked nervously at Eric, and he sat beside her on the bed. He took her hand, "Look at me, Sookie. Don't be embarrassed, just look at me and relax."

She could feel herself flushing as the doctor put two fingers into her and then used the other hand to press on her lower abdomen. She remembered that her gynecologist had done something similar to her when she'd gone to get help with her cramps, so she figured this wasn't too out of line.

The doctor moved away from her and took the gloves off. Thank heaven, it was over!

"Alright then, I'm going to say you're 6 weeks into what will be a 5 and a half month pregnancy. Your due date would be about 4 months from now."

"What? So soon?"

"Yes, dear, so soon. I'm surprised you haven't called me before now."

"I kept thinking I was just late and it would go away. I hadn't been with anyone but Eric, and I knew vampires couldn't impregnate a woman."

"No, vampires can't, but Fairies can. This might have happened with or without Niall's intervention."

Eric was shocked, "You're kidding – how can that be?"

"You were never brought up by Fae, were you Northman?"

"No, I knew there were rumors about my mother, but I knew nothing concrete."

"Well, now you do. What we have here is a Fairy baby with some vampiric qualities. Not unusual for Fairies, but it will affect what Sookie needs to eat and how you feed the little one later."

"So the baby is Fae?" Sookie asked.

"For the most part, yes. What Niall essentially did was invoke the fairy qualities in you both. He'll probably appear human, and be very large like his father."

Now Eric was beaming.

"He'll more than likely have Northman's intuition, and his ability to fly. He'll have his mother's telepathy, though that's not from your Fae blood. He'll be able to eat food, but he'll have a strong preference for blood or raw meat. When you breastfeed him, expect him to take blood and milk both. Breastfeeding will not be an option, it will be a necessity. He's going to need the nutrition only his mother's body can provide."

Sookie looked at her list. "Do I need to take special vitamins or need a special diet?"

"The most important thing will be his Father's blood. I want you to take a small quantity of Northman's blood every day, and of course he'll continue to feed on you on a semi-daily basis. The mutual exchanges will be important, so don't neglect them. Sookie, you need a lot of red meat, and you might want to develop a taste for True Blood if you can. If you can't, Northman's blood will have to give you all the support you need, and you'll have to take a little more each day to make up for it."

"Will the baby sleep in the day or the night?"

"He'll most likely sleep at the same time as the father. We'll test him for sensitivity to iron and silver when he's a couple of weeks old. I expect he'll be able to go out in sunlight, but he won't like to – he's a moonchild, and he'll prefer the nights."

"Where should I have him?"

"You don't dare go to a human hospital. Some compounds they use could be fatal to a Fairy. They also tend to give women iron, and that could be fatal for the infant. I know a Doula who needs employment. She's very good, she's got lots of experience, and she's half-daemon, half-fairy. She doesn't mind Vampires, and that's hard to find. She can maintain a very human appearance, which would help you a great deal since you live among humans. Her name is Diana. I'll have her call your cell, Northman, and you can arrange to meet her. If she and the mother can be friends, so much the better. If it's not a good fit, let me know, but I think she's just what you need."

"Is there anything about the child's gifts or vulnerabilities we need to know?" Eric asked – it was obvious he was apprehensive.

"Again, we won't know about the iron or silver until he's a couple of weeks old. He'll need a governess at a young age – about three – because there's no way he'll survive a human school without detection. He's going to be a born Witch, Northman, so prepare accordingly. Make sure he's dedicated to your personal deity…"

"Freya…"

"Good choice for a Witch baby."

"Wait," Sookie interrupted. "Can he be a Fairy and a Witch at the same time?"

"Yes, and he'll be a handful. He's already playing havoc with your hormones, isn't he?"

"Something's going on."

"My guess is your libido is raging, you are moody, clingy, and afraid to go outside."

"Exactly."

"The increased libido will last until the baby is weaned, which could be as long as two years from now.."

"Two years?!"

"Yes. You'll get over the fear of going out in about 2 weeks. It's an instinctive behavior to keep the baby safe. Stick close to Northman, and take it easy. You'll need a lot of rest. This baby will draw a lot of your energy. Do you smoke?"

"No."

"A glass of red wine now and then will be good for you and the baby, but no hard liquor. He'll like that a little too much as it is."

"His protections…" Eric spoke up. "Will he need a cloaking spell or talisman to protect him?"

"I don't think a cloaking spell will help. He's going to stand out. As a talisman, take a lock of your hair and a lock of the mothers and braid them together, then keep it with him. Get a Witch to help you dedicate it."

"What about his nests?"

"Cloaking spells will work in those cases. Have at least three at all times. How many people know about this baby?"

"So far about six."

"Put off the news as long as you can. The older he is, the stronger. The only exception, and this must be in person, and to him alone, is Felipe de Castro."

"Why is he an exception?"

"You need it established that he is under his protection right away, before he's born if possible. Castro's underlings don't need to know about it until the birth or they see Sookie pregnant, but de Castro needs to know now."

"I mean what I said about rest, young lady. Sex play is fine, but I don't want you on your feet. Do I remember you being a barmaid?"

"Yes. I'm supposed to be there now, but I didn't feel like going in."

"Quit. You're about to give birth to an immortal. Your job is to raise him in the bond you have with Northman. That's more than two women should have to handle. If you could stay in bed for the next two weeks, that would be best, but I know you won't do it. These next two weeks are crucial, little girl. He's in danger until he's about 2 months in the womb."

"I'll be very careful."

"I know you have a tendency to draw troubles to you – that's out of the question right now. Do you have former lovers who are our kind?"

"Bill Compton is a vampire, and Quinn was a Weretiger."

"Stay far away from both of them, even if they aren't jealous of Northman."

"But they are," Eric said.

"Then stay completely away from them. This child will have powerful effects on your hormones, including those of attraction. If you go near any Supernatural who has been with you before, he'll have an instinctive drive to kill your child, and that might include killing you if necessary. I don't care how much you trust them, don't go around them."

"One of them is her next door neighbor. Only a cemetery separates the houses."

"No, that's no good. He'll smell the baby from there. Can you stay somewhere else for the duration of your pregnancy?"

"She'll stay here. I'll make sure she's with me all the time."

"That would be best. Now, little girl, I want you to trust your instincts. I've seen enough of you to know they're good. If you want to stay home, do. If you feel the need to be protected or protective, then do. You're about to give birth to a god. Let Northman support you and spoil you. The bastard has more money than Croesus - no offense."

"None taken."

"Now – put my number in your cell phone. Call if you need me, Sookie. Northman has me on retainer so I'm always available. Diana will be in touch. Good luck to you both."

And she was gone.

TBC


	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: The Southern Vampire Series, and all characters from it, is owned by Charlaine Harris. No infringement is intended.

___________________________________________________________________________________

"Four months is not much time, Eric," Sookie started.

"I'm going to have to engage contractors immediately. You need to plan our wedding – That reminds me, I have to get you a ring! What shape do you like?"

"Shape?"

"Emerald cut, princess cut, marquis, round, heart shaped…."

"What kind of ring will it be?"

"That is my choice, you just tell me what shape you like."

"Oh, boy – OK, emerald cut has always been my favorite."

"Good. Now, do you call your shifter or do I?"

"Sam – what for?"

"You are quitting your job. You can do it, or I can."

"I can't…."

"You can and you will. You KNOW that's what your instincts are telling you, Sookie. I need to keep you close and you need a lot of rest. Merlotte's is done."

"Yeah, I guess so. Amelia took my shift tonight."

"Good. The Shifter can plug her into your schedule with no problems. I won't even have to send a girl from Fangtasia."

"I was afraid you were going to jump on that when she said it."

"Things are working out perfectly as far as I am concerned. I've wanted you to quit Merlotte's for years. I've wanted you to live here. Now even you must agree that these are the most desirable arrangements?"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah – you're too pleased with yourself, ya know."

"Expectant fathers who have sired extraordinary sons are allowed to crow a bit, my lover."

Sookie laughed, "Yes, I suppose they are. So two weeks, huh? I'll go stir crazy."

"Your instincts are strong. That is a wonderful sign. You have too much to do to be "stir crazy." Start another list."

She turned the page on the steno pad. "OK, what is this list for?"

"Things that have to get done before the baby comes."

"OK, so I guess buying a car is one?"

"Yes, and getting some maternity clothes."

"Getting a nursery set up."

"Putting a wedding together."

"That's a lot of stuff."

"See what I mean, lover? No time to be bored there."

"How am I going to do all of this?"

"You're going to use the internet."

"I'll have to live in your office."

"You'll be fine right on this bed. I'm getting you a laptop, and there's already a wireless network here in the house."

"I'm not staying in bed for two weeks."

"No, but you're spending a lot of time there over the next two weeks, so make up your mind to make the most of it."  
"Would there be any point in saying I don't need a laptop?"

"None."

"You're taking advantage of this situation to spend money on me."

"What a horrible guy I am, wanting to buy you things! Unforgivable!"

"More money than Croesus, huh?"

"Ludwig might actually have known Croesus, so take her word for it."

"I looked that expression up once – they used it in Tombstone."

"Someone put it on a tombstone?"

"No, the movie Tombstone. You know, Wyatt Earp? Doc Holliday?"

"This is another movie you are going to make me watch?"

"Yep."

"Maybe I should buy a video rental store…"

"I thought you said you had enough businesses."

"That was before I was supporting a family."

"If we need money, I could keep my job…"

"Nice try, lover. I have more money than you could spend in three lifetimes, so you might as well call Sam now and get it over with."

"I feel weird."

"Weird?"

"How am I going to explain it to him? I'm just leaving with no notice?"

"Alright." Eric took out his cell phone and pressed a button.

"Yes, may I speak to Sam Merlotte, please?"

"What are you doing? Stop." She tried to grab his phone but he held it too high.

"Shifter, this is Northman. Sookie has been advised by her doctor that she needs complete rest for two weeks, so she will not be working at your bar. Two weeks, yes, but she won't be back at all. She has more pressing matters to attend to here in Shreveport. Her Witch Amelia should be able to help you out until you find a permanent replacement. No need for you to speak to her. Her situation has changed and she will not be back. Goodbye."

"Eric, I can't believe you did that!"

"Believe it, it is done. Cross it off your list and move to the next item."

"I owe Sam an explanation!"

"You owe your child a well rested mother. THAT is your priority now."

"Ah, you… I … AHHHHH!"

"Can't think of a comeback?"

"You know I hate it when you get all… all. "

"Commanding? Domineering?"

"Yeah, that. It makes me feel like you want to keep me barefoot and pregnant."  
"Sookie, do you really think that is what I want?"  
"No."

"You are ready to pitch a fit because I said something that was completely accurate. Why?"

"I hate being dependent."

"I know that. You are not dependent. You could leave me right now and be just fine if you had to, even with the baby. You have chosen, however, to be with me and you are having my child. That means I care more about your well-being than your job in a shitty bar."

"Hey. Be nice."  
"You be reasonable. You have finer things to offer than your services as a bar wench and you know it. If you cast your mind back, three vampires and their companion were murdered by rednecks that frequent Merlotte's. How are they, or the FOTS your coworker hangs out with for that matter, going to feel about having what they would consider the spawn of Satan growing in your womb right in front of their eyes? It isn't safe for you there, Sookie, it hasn't been for a long time. You heard what Dr. Ludwig said about Bill – what if he came to Merlotte's while you were working?"

"Bill wouldn't…"

"Sookie, I've seen what happens when your safety comes into conflict with Bill's instincts. He has very little control of his primal nature. Keep in mind, lover, that if he were to harm you or the baby, I would kill him slowly and painfully. You would be endangering not only your life and the baby's, you'd be risking his, too, and why? So you can serve drinks to dregs of Bon Temps?"

"ALRIGHT. You win. It's done, anyway."

"Good. I hope you unlearn that habit in time."

"What habit?"  
"The habit of having a knee-jerk reaction just because you feel like you should. You are smart enough to know that what I am saying is right, but you still felt the need to argue. It is not an attractive quality, and it keeps us fighting about nothing instead of enjoying our time together."

'Yeah, I guess it does. I just don't want to be a doormat."

"That remark is demeaning to me and to you. WE are above this pettiness, lover. You know that is never going to happen. It is not who we are."

"You know I love you, right?"

"Yes, my lover, and you know that I love you. There is no real conflict here, so don't invest energy in acting as if there is."

She puffed her cheeks and blew out the air.

"OK. Now what?"

"Now you must eat. Let's go down to the kitchenette. I got a message from Alicia that told me to have you check the refrigerator. Remind me to give the maids your cell number. If you are going to be living here, you will need to start overseeing their work."

"I will?"  
"Of course, dear one. As my wife, the domestic staff will be yours primarily. You will be the Lady of the Manor, so to speak."

"Do I have to start playing bridge and drinking in the afternoons, too?"

"Your hobbies are up to you. Yes, I know you are joking, but you really do need to start thinking like my partner and not my pet."

"Isn't that how everybody sees me anyway?" She was pouting.

"You don't have to let other people define you. You have the money and position to do anything you want, my lover. You can spend your days shopping, or sunbathing, or you could go back to school when the baby is old enough – you can almost literally do anything you want."

"Really? I mean, seriously, I can do anything I want?"

"Yes."

"Can we fly to Paris for dinner some time?"

"Yes."

"Can we go skiing?"  
"We will – I love to ski and there is a resort that caters to Vampires in Aspen."

"Can I move to Hollywood and make movies?"

"If that is what you want, it can be arranged. Should I begin looking for houses there?"

"No, I was just trying to think of something outrageous you'd have to say no to."

"You failed, lover."

"Yes, I did."

"I know you'd kill me if I had sex with another man."

"In a manner of speaking."

"What if I had sex with a girl?"

"What?!" Eric was half laughing and half shocked. "Sookie, what has gotten into you?"

"I'm just thinking out loud…"

"You are testing me, lover – you are trying to see how far you can push me before I put my foot down."

"Yeah, sort of. You didn't answer me."

"I'm not going to answer that." Eric walked out of the room and headed down the stairs. She followed him, running a little to keep up.

"Everything in here is pink," he said, looking around.

"You never noticed that before?"

"No. Do you like pink that much?"

"Kind of, yeah. I thought Alicia did a good job in here."

"If you are happy, I am happy, lover."

He opened the refrigerator door. "Look at this, Sookie – do you like chicken parmesan?"

"I love it – is that what's in there?"

He handed here a large bag with a food container in it. "There's also a big Tupperware canister full of something green."

"That's my Caesar Salad. We talked about that today."

"You spoke to Alicia today?"

"Yes."

"And told her what to make for you?"

"Sort of."

"And asked her if she'd see to your needs concerning the baby?"

"Yes."

Eric smiled from ear to ear.

"What are you so happy about?"

"You are becoming more comfortable here. You are getting used to having servants and accepting help from them. That is wonderful progress, I thought it would take much longer for you to adapt."

"So, that's a good thing?"

"Yes, it's a very good thing. It will make life much easier for both of us."

"OK. It doesn't seem like a big deal to me."

"That is what is wonderful about it. There was a time when it would have been a very big deal to you. I'm glad we have grown past that." He kissed her on the forehead, then walked across to the bistro table and had a seat.

Sookie put her food in the microwave.

"We need a bigger chair in here for you so you can keep me company sometimes when I eat."

"Put it on the list, or just leave a note for Alicia. This one is a little small for someone my size."

"Yeah, that's for small people, not big old Vikings."

"Would you prefer I were smaller?"

"I wouldn't change anything about you, Eric. Sometimes I can't believe how lucky I am."

"I felt the same way when you took me in off the road when I was cursed. I couldn't believe this beautiful, brave woman was taking me in out of the cold. I will never forget that feeling, my lover." He was looking down at the table. Sookie walked over behind his chair and wrapped her arms around his neck.

"You know how you always think things are destiny?"

"Yes."

"I think that was. I think you were out on that road so I could find you and we could spend time together without you being Sheriff for a few days, so I could see what you were really like."

"I agree. I was confused about it for a long time, but if we had not had that time together, I know we would not be together now. Hallow did me a favor in a way."

The bell on the microwave went off, and Sookie went to get her plate and a fork. She came back and sat opposite Eric. "I am SO hungry!"

"You are eating for two now – eat a lot."

"If I eat a lot, you'll get me a personal trainer."

"Exactly."

"Exactly, but I don't want that."

"I thought we settled this."

"Did we?"

"Yes. I convinced you it was for your health and that of the baby."

"Whatever. This is SO good! I wonder why there's no garlic bread in the bag."

"Think about it, Sookie."

"Oh yeah, garlic."

"All of my staff knows it is strictly forbidden. I don't even allow it in the garden where it would do some good."

"What would it do out there?"

"Roses and garlic grow well together. It would be good for the roses, but I just can't take the smell."

"So what are we doing tonight since we aren't going to Fangtasia?"

"What would you like to do, my lover? Are you feeling any better?"

"Honestly? I want to soak in the tub with you and then fuck your brains out."

Eric laughed out loud. She almost thought she saw a bloody tear in his eye, he was laughing so hard.

"That, my lover, is a promise. As a matter of fact, you finish your meal, and I'm going to go up and make a few preparations. Is that ok?"

"Yes. I'll be up in about 20 minutes."

He kissed her on the head and ran up the stairs, vampire style. She had a feeling it was going to be a good night.

TBC


	10. Chapter 10

Disclaimer: The Southern Vampire Series, and all characters from it, is owned by Charlaine Harris. No infringement is intended.

___________________________________________________________________________________

'Mmmm,' Sookie thought, "that was really good parmesan. She washed the plate and put it away, and she noticed that Alicia had bought several cans of tuna, some tins of anchovies and there was a whole pizza in the fridge with no meat, the way she likes them. She would save the Caesar Salad for tomorrow.

She headed back upstairs. It was almost completely dark at the top of the stairs, but there was a little nightlight on in the hallway, so she found her way into the bedroom. It smelled like roses in the room, and she was guided by the candlelight coming from the bathroom. The tub was full and the water was warm. Eric walked up behind her and hugged her from behind.

"My beautiful lover."

"I'll bet you say that to all the girls," she laughed.

"I'll bet I've never said that in a thousand years, my lover." She loved it when he talked that way, even if it wasn't true, though she was pretty sure he really was telling the truth.

"You are over dressed, Sookie," Eric purred as he pulled the t-shirt up over her head. He put both palms on her breasts and squeezed, then slowly kissed his way down her back. He took a little nip at her left lower cheek, and she felt a little surge of lust. He helped her up into the tub and followed her in. He settled in and she was in his lap immediately. She could barely wait for him to respond. He was already hard and she lowered herself onto him without any warning at all.

"In a hurry, my lover?"

"Yes, I want you right now. None of your slow stuff tonight. Fuck me hard right now."

Eric laughed in delight. His little Belle was out of control, in the very best possible sense. He never thought she'd be this forward with him so soon – if ever. He moved to the center of the tub with her writhing on his cock. She leaned back to wrap her legs around him, and he sat Indian style with his hands on her backside. He was moving her up and down with his hands, and she was grinding into his lap. It was almost like she couldn't get him deep enough. She threw her arms around his neck tightly and buried her face in his neck as she continued to grind.

She whispered in his ear, "Fuck me, Eric – harder. Oh, please, please, move me faster. I need you so much I can't stand it."

He was kissing her shoulder and neck. He ran his tongue from her neck to her collarbone, and Sookie was getting wilder by the second. He was moving her up and down very fast, and she braced her hands against his shoulders. She threw her head back and actually yelled, "Ahhhh – ah! More, oh god, MORE!"

He had never seen her like this. It was an amazing turn on, so he decided to make the most of it. In one swift sweep she went from his lap to on her knees at the back of the tub. Eric lifted her back side so she was over the side of the tub. He bit her right cheek savagely. He wasn't doing it to feed – he was doing it to spur her on, and it really, really worked. She howled, and he raised up on his knees, entering her from behind, and he was rough about it. Sookie was whimpering and panting. She grabbed the edge of the tub and stretched out her arms. She arched her back, shaking her head from side to side, and Eric began to really drive her hard. She let out a gasp at the end of each stroke and started to shake. "Harder, please, harder, please," she repeated. "Harder" was exactly what he gave her, holding her hips tightly so he didn't slam her head into the wall. She was climaxing, and he wrapped his arm around her waist, holding her tight, while his right hand stroked and petted her between her legs.

"Unh – unh!" The sound she made was primal – it was the first time he or anyone else had ever seen her lose control. Eric was finishing with slow but hard strokes and she went limp in his arms. He sat back on his heels laughing, pulling her to him. His right hand still teased and petted her, and it was making her squirm.

He held her firmly, continuing to rub her, and whispered, "Can you do it again, Sookie? Can you come for me again?"

"Oh, ah, don't stop – keep doing that. No matter what I say, don't stop and don't let me get away from you. Make me… make me take it even if I say I can't."

Wow – masochistic Sookie – that's a new side of her.

He was definitely up for this little game, but he started wondering if he was going to need to borrow Pam's paddle. Never let it be said, though, that Eric Northman failed to rise to a challenge.

"Come here, Sookie." He grabbed her around the waist and pulled her to face him. His hand was still stroking her relentlessly. She was going wild, trying to twist away from his grip. She grabbed his neck with both hands and pressed her forehead to his.

"Don't stop, no matter what."

"You might regret saying that lover. I have no intention of stopping now."

Part of her seemed to want nothing more than to get away from him. Another part – a new Sookie – wanted to be pushed beyond her own limits, and Eric was more than happy to do the pushing.

"Do you know what you are asking me, Sookie?"

"Yes."

"You want to see how far you can go?"

"Yes."

"I'm not going to stop, Sookie…"

"Oh, oh, ohhhhh god."

She was frantic. He didn't let her go, and he didn't stop.

He pushed her to the point that she was sobbing, writhing. When he thought she really couldn't take any more, he shoved all four fingers of his hand into her at once, rubbed her with his thumb, and latched onto her breast, sucking really hard. She screamed, literally. Not just yelling out his name or calling on god, she actually screamed and cried, reaching out for him and biting his neck. He lost it.

He flipped her over on her knees and grabbed a handful of her hair to control her, pushing hard into her other entrance. Sookie was incoherent, and Eric knew it was time to bring her back to earth. As he pushed into her, she became still, trying to relax so it wouldn't hurt too much. It did hurt, but she liked it. He grabbed her upper arms and pulled her back into his chest as he pushed into her again. He wrapped his strong arms around her, holding her immobile as he continued to push into her. He kissed her cheek, her forehead, her shoulder. She was shaking and still crying a little.

"Eric."

"Yes, Sookie."

"Hold me."

"I've got you, dear one."

"Don't let me go."

"Never."

He was slowing his hips and letting her relax. She was nearly limp as he sat back and gathered her onto his lap. She was shaking, and clinging to him. He liked this. She couldn't talk, but he could feel through the bond that she was HIS, just as clearly as if it were tattooed on her perfect bottom. As he held her in his lap, caressing her and kissing her, he turned the water on to warm the tub again, and he licked salty tears and sweat from her face and shoulders. It was good to be Eric Northman. Right now, it was very good, indeed.

TBC


	11. Chapter 11

Disclaimer: The Southern Vampire Series, and all characters from it, is owned by Charlaine Harris. No infringement is intended.

___________________________________________________________________________________

"Sookie, are you falling asleep?" he whispered.

"Uh-uh. I'm just comfortable," she replied as she nuzzled his neck. They were still in the bath, the water was warm and Eric was holding her on his lap, rocking her a little bit. It felt too good to move right now.

"Comfortable? You are not angry?"

"No-o, why would I be angry?" she said in something that hinted at baby talk.

"So you liked what we just did?"

"Um-hmmm."

"Interesting."

"What's so interesting… I always love having sex with you, Eric."

"That was a little more than sex, my lover."

"It was?" she whispered, arms still around his neck, face pressed right below his ear.

"Do you know what "domination" means, lover?"

"Like domineering?"

"No, in terms of sex – do you know what masochism is?"

"Why – did we do that?" Her eyes were still closed, and she was so relaxed he expected her to be asleep any minute.

"When you asked me to push you past your limits like that, to the point where it became uncomfortable or painful, that is masochistic. You were enjoying a kind of pain or suffering. I didn't know you… had the capacity for that."

"Is it good or bad?"

"There's no real good or bad in consensual sex, my lover, but some things are more usual than others. Masochism is unusual."

She finally raised her head to look up at him. "Am I abnormal? Did I do something wrong?"

"You are not abnormal, my lover, do not worry about that. You did nothing wrong if you enjoyed it. Did you?"

"Obviously. I'm tired and I'm happy."

"Maybe we should discuss this when you are more awake…?"

She yawned. "Will you wash my hair with that strawberry stuff, and then I'll do yours?"

"Of course, my lover."

They didn't really talk for the next hour. He lathered and rinsed her hair with the new strawberry shampoo she seemed to like, then she got behind him and did his hair, though she had to rise up on her knees to reach his head. Only an occasional moan of satisfaction passed between them. They dried each other with soft white towels, combed each other's hair, and then each went to their own sides of the bed without bothering to get dressed. Sookie pulled the covers down and slid in first while Eric checked his messages with his cell phone.

"Sookie, where is your phone?"

"I don't know – I don't remember seeing it all day. I used the house phone to call Amelia this afternoon."

"That's because you left it in my office."

"I did?! I can't believe I went all day without missing it."

"You did, and your brother is raising hell trying to find you. Apparently Merlotte told him you quit your job for health reasons, and he has been looking for you all evening. He is at Fangtasia right now."

"We don't have to go there, do we?"

"No, you and I are in for the evening, my lover. I'm calling Pam now, and we'll get this all straightened out." He hit the speed dial for Pam's direct line.

"Master?"

"Pam. Stackhouse is there?"

"Yes, and he's quite a pretty thing, even if he's not too bright. He's quite agitated, though he relaxed a little when we found Sookie's phone in your office."

"Where is he now?"

"At the bar – I told Felicia to ply him with free beer until you could be reached. I knew you would check in before we closed tonight."

"That is good. Summon him and let him say goodnight to his sister, then you may send him on his way… unless you want to keep him as a pet."

"Hey," Sookie yelled, "that's my brother. Pam is WAY out of his league!"

Eric laughed.

"She objects to the idea of me keeping her brother?"

"No, she knows you are too good for him."

"No doubt. I could find him amusing for a while, though… Here he is."

"Northman? Where the fuck is my sister?"

"Calm yourself, Stackhouse, she is here." He sat on the bed next to her and handed her his phone.

"Jason?"

"Sookie – are you alright? What the hell is going on?"

"Jason, I'm fine, calm down. I'm with Eric."

"I'm not exactly sure I'd call that being fine, Sookie."

"Be nice, Jason – you and Eric are going to have to learn to deal with each other. We're going to get married."

"What? Since when…?"

"Since today – he asked me and I accepted, and I'm really happy about it so don't give me a hard time about it."

"Are you sure he didn't glimmer you or something?"

"No, Jason, that doesn't work on me. I love him so please try to be happy for me."

"He damn well better be good to you, Sis. Why does Sam Merlotte think you're sick?"

"I'm not exactly sick, but a doctor did tell me to take it easy for a couple of weeks."

"What Doctor? Dr. Potter?"

"No, Eric's personal physician." Eric laughed at that.

"What's that blood sucker laughing at? And what does a dead guy need a doctor for?"

"Nothing, Jason. There is something I need to talk to you about, but it's not urgent or anything. How about I make you dinner on Saturday and I can fill you in?"

"I got a date Saturday night, but I guess I could come to dinner before. You're sure everything is alright, now?"

"Yes, it's never been better, honest. You come over to the house on Saturday at 6 o'clock, and I'll see you then."

"Alright, if you say everything's ok, I guess I'll accept that."

"Thank you, Jason. I'll see you then."

"OK, sis, have a good night. I think I'll ask this Pam lady to dance."

"She bites Jason – for real."

"Uh-huh, OK - bye, Sook."

"He's gone," she said, handing the phone back to Eric.

"Don't worry, lover, Pam won't harm him… too much."

He leaned over and kissed her, then he kissed her again, a little longer than before and a little harder.

"Suddenly, I'm feeling much more awake now…" she teased.

Eric's blue eyes were glittering again. She loved the way the light danced in them when he was feeling frisky.

"Ha ha," she laughed out loud.

"What's wrong?" Eric asked as he jumped a little.

"Nothing, sweetie, I'm just feeling a little giddy again."

"Sweetie, huh?" He laid his phone on her nightstand and pulled back the covers. He went to the foot of the bed and started kissing her toes, then the top of her foot, then ankle, following the trail upward to her thighs.

"Spread your legs for me, Sookie." And she did. He placed himself between them and then he kissed her inner thighs, her mons, her tummy. He lingered on her tummy, nuzzling it with his nose, turning his head to the left and laying his cheek against it.

She stroked his hair. "What are you thinking?"

"I'm thinking that there is a small being in there who means more to me than any living creature besides you. I never expected to … I never thought I could be a father."

"I guess the fairy blood finally came in handy for something, huh?" she laughed.

He laid his cheek on her tummy again and said "Fairy blood. My son will be a fairy."

Sookie laughed, "And you aren't talking about his sexual preferences, either."

Eric laughed and pressed his lips to the spot for a long minute, then his forehead. "A miracle," he said.

"All babies are miracles, Eric."

"Not like this one. This one will be touched by the gods."

"If you say so."

"Ask Niall if you don't believe me."

"I will – I'm going to see him soon and thank him for this."

"Do you want me to go with you?" He looked up at her.

"It would be nice if you were there."

"Then I will be." He placed his palm against her belly. "How are you feeling, dear one?"

"Pretty good right now. No nausea, I'm relaxed and happy, I'm exactly where I want to be with exactly the person I want to be with forever. I sound corny, don't I?"

"A little, but that's to be expected. If there is ever a time when it is permitted to be "corny" it would be when the topic is babies."

"I guess that's true," she laughed.

"We were very active earlier. I was afraid we had overdone it a bit."

"Is that why you're not already licking my…."

"…Yes?"

"You know what I mean."

"I just wanted to see what word you would choose for it. You've been full of surprises today."

"You're surprising me right now. The operative phrase in that sentence, in case you didn't notice, was LICK."

"Is that a request, my lover?"

"It's a freaking demand, buster – act like you mean business if you're going to stay down there."

Eric roared with laughter. "As you wish, milady!" and he happily complied.

In no time at all, Sookie was writhing and clutching his hair. Eric noticed her grasp was stronger than ever before, and she was louder than usual. He was trying to hold her hips in place just to see if he could, but she was like a wild animal, and it only got worse when he slipped his fingers into her. She was thrashing and shaking her head back and forth as he slipped her right leg up to his shoulder, licking her inner thigh lightly before biting her harder than he usually did.

He never saw a reaction like that from her before – the bite actually seemed to be what made her climax, and her reaction was fierce. His fingers kept working her as he fed from her, and he could feel his own climax approaching, which was strange because the only stimulation he was getting was her blood. It tasted different, though, even sweeter than usual, and it made him feel light headed for a minute. Then it dawned on him – Fae blood. It didn't taste like sweeter human blood anymore; he was tasting pure Fairy.

Then he was on top of her, in her, holding her wrists down to the bed on either side of her. He bit her cheek, he bit her neck, her shoulder – none hard enough to break the skin, but enough to make her cry out with each one. His mind was completely shut down, and the only thing in his awareness was the feeling of sliding in and out of her, and he couldn't do it hard enough or fast enough to suit him.

"Oh, god, Eric, Eric," she was calling him but he couldn't really hear – he could only feel and it was building and building… then Sookie pulled her knees back to let him in deeper, and he roared as he slammed her, pinning her to the bed, claiming what was his. After his release he continued to move slowly in and out of her, feeling every movement with his whole being.

"Eric..."

He shook his head – he heard his name.

"Eric…"

Sookie – he was with Sookie. He opened his eyes and looked at her, confused for a minute.

"Eric – where did you go?"

"Go…"

"Yeah, for a minute there you were just – gone – and you were really wild."

He started getting his senses back and panicked.

"Oh, god, Sookie, I didn't hurt you did I?"

"No, Eric, everything is ok. That was amazing, even for you," she laughed.

Eric wasn't laughing. "Are you sure I did not hurt you?" he rolled off of her, looking at her with fear in his eyes.

"Eric, what's going on – are you ok?"

"Sookie, I want you to be very, very sure. Did I hurt you?"

"No, Eric I'm fine."

"Oh, thank the gods," he said as he fell onto his back next to her.

Now Sookie was worried about him.

"Eric, tell me what happened? Why are you so upset?"

"Fairy blood."

"What?"

"Fairy blood. It's a drug for vampires the way vampire blood is for humans."

"Right, I kind of know that – it's why vamps like me so much."

"That's just it, Sookie. You taste of Fairy, but it's not like drinking pure fairy blood, not until just now."

"Just now?"

"When I drank from your leg – it wasn't human with a little essence of fairy, it was pure fairy blood."

"How is that possible?"

"How is it possible for you to have my baby? Ludwig said Niall invoked our fairy natures – suddenly, you taste of fairy."

"That could be a problem, couldn't it?"

"Yes it could. I was so high on your blood just now, I didn't know what I was doing. Are you sure I didn't hurt you? Maybe I should call Dr. Ludwig."

"No, Eric, you didn't hurt me. It felt good – really, really good. I wonder…."

"What, Sookie?"

"Well, remember she said my exes would have a bad reaction to the baby? That Bill would be able to smell the baby all the way from his house and they'd want to kill it?"

"That's it – that's why she told you not to go around them – the baby is a fairy. There's no way Compton could resist it, and Quinn would perceive it as food."

"Food?!"

"Food."

"But he wouldn't really… that's not possible."

"It is, Sookie, especially with Werecats of any kind. Cats and Fairies don't get along at all."

"Does this mean I'm a complete Fairy now, or will it fade after I have the baby?"

"Ludwig might know the answer to that, but this puts things in a whole new light. Our baby can't be around vampires or Weres until he's grown enough to fight them off. We won't be putting any nursery in Pam's house, let alone Bill's."

"Will you be able to be around the baby? Eric, what if you can't…?"

Eric was already reaching for his phone.

"I need to put Ludwig on speed dial," he said as he punched in the numbers.

"Northman?"

"Yes, Doctor, something has come up that has us worried."

"Well, that's to be expected. A unique child will have unique needs."

"Yes, first, when I fed off Sookie just now, it tasted like pure fairy blood and made me just as crazy. Am I a danger to her? Will I be a danger to our son?"

"The good news is, you are not going to be a danger to the baby. You'll have relatively normal paternal instincts where he is concerned. You will have to be careful of other vampires, though."

"Alright. Could I hurt Sookie?"

"Not if you give her enough of your blood often enough. She hasn't fed from you today, has she?"

"No, not yet."

"Make sure she does as soon as you hang up, and do it every day. Your blood in her system will counteract enough of the fairy to make it relatively safe for you to feed from her without hurting her. It will give her the extra strength she'll need to deal with your increased libido, and for her body to adjust to the baby. Four months is not a lot of time for her little body to go through such a change. When she takes your blood, it also feeds the baby and helps him grow, but most importantly, it establishes your bond with him."

"OK, thank you, doctor…"

"Wait, Eric," Sookie stopped him from saying goodbye.

"What is it?"

"Am I a full fairy now? Will it be safe for me to be around vampires?"

"Doctor, did you hear that?"

"Yes. She'll be fine with other vampires as long as she doesn't bleed around them or let them feed from her. If she does, they'll react as they would with any Fairy. Her system should gradually return to normal after the birth."

"Thank you, doctor."

"Good bye, Northman."

"What did she say?"

"As long as you don't bleed around them or let them feed from you, you'll be OK. She said your blood will probably return to normal after the birth."

"Hmmm – so I guess fooling around with Pam is out?"

"What?!" Eric was shocked, again, at what Sookie was saying.

"I asked you what you'd do today if I did it with a girl, and you never said anything."

"I said I wouldn't answer that."

"Right, but you didn't say not to do it."

"Sookie, have you ever…?"

"No, but remember I told you I want to do everything before the baby gets here?"

"You were joking."

"I was not."

"Are you seriously telling me…?"

"That I want to do Pam, yeah."

"Pam… not just a girl, but specifically MY Pam."

"Is that some kind of vampire no-no?"

He was literally speechless. He looked at her for a long time without speaking, and she started to get nervous.

"Eric – are you mad at me?"

"No, my lover, I am not mad at you, I just find myself wondering who you are."

"What does that mean?"

"That means the Sookie Stackhouse I know would never want to sleep with another woman, let alone My Pam."

"Why do you keep calling her YOUR Pam?"

"You know I turned her, that makes her mine. I am her Master."

He got up and walked to the dresser to make a note on the steno pad.

"Yeah, but you've had sex with her a lot – she told me."

"You have talked to Pam about her having sex with me?" He turned and looked at her with wide eyes, leaning back against the edge of the dresser.

"Yeah, she said when you turned her you had a LOT of sex."

"We did. I just didn't know you knew about it."

"Yeah, I've known that for a long time."

"You have never expressed any jealousy toward Pam."

"I like Pam. She's funny and not many vamps are, and she's got a really pretty mouth. If I were a guy, I'd want to have sex with her."

"Did you just tell me you wanted to have sex with her even though you're a girl?"

"Yeah. I did. I do. You, too, of course, I wouldn't do it behind your back."

He was speechless again, staring at her.

"Eric – say something."

"Sookie, I am a thousand years old, and I didn't think I could be shocked by anything, but you, my lover, have succeeded. Let's be completely clear. You are telling me that you would like to have a three-way with me and with Pam. The three of us, together, at the same time, having sex with each other."

"Yeah."

Eric ROARED with laughter.

"Is it really that funny? Are making fun of me?"

"No, my lover, I am not making fun of you."

"Well…"

"Sookie, listen to me. We have had a lot of surprises in a very short time. It may take both of us some time to adjust to this new situation…"

"Yeah, so…"

"So…I want you to think about this for three days."

"Three days."

"Yes. If, after three days you still think this is a good idea, I will ask Pam if she is interested."

"Do you think she would be into it?"

"I know she finds you attractive. She and I haven't had sex in a long time, but there's no reason not to. I could order her to do it, but I won't."

"That wouldn't be any fun."

"No, indeed."

"Human guys like watching two girls together, right?"

"Right."

"Are vampire guys the same way?"

"Well, vampires tend to be a lot more open to different sexual practices, and when you live for hundreds of years, there's a tendency to try everything at least a few dozen times, even if it's not your normal taste. Orgies are not uncommon, though they almost always include humans as well as vampires."

"What's an orgy like?"

"Sookie, if you cast your mind back, our first date was to an orgy."

"That was NOT a date, but I do recall ending up on the hood of your car with you lying on top of me begging me to "yield" to you."

"I was not begging. I was urging you to make a more suitable choice in lovers."

"You were wearing tights, Eric, I'm pretty sure I know what you were feeling, and it had nothing to do with the suitability of my lovers. It had to do with you wanting into those shorts that you said encased me like 'the caterpillar embraces the butterfly.'"

"Do you still have those shorts?"

"Yes."

"Will you wear them for me?"

"If I can get into them, sure."

He smiled at that and wiggled his eyebrows at her. Sookie laughed. She loved it when he did that.

"You still didn't tell me what an orgy is like. You said that little gathering of trash was nothing compared to some of the places you've been."

"Perhaps another time, my lover, I am afraid of giving you any new ideas tonight."

"Answer one more question for me and I'll stop."

"OK, one more."

"Have you ever had sex with a guy?"

Eric turned and walked out of the room.

TBC


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

Eric had been gone for a long time. Sookie considered going after him, but suddenly he was back, carrying a plate and a glass of milk.

"What's that?"

"A chicken salad sandwich and a glass of milk."

"How did you know I was hungry?"

"I could feel it in you. As soon as you were otherwise satisfied, you began wanting food."

"Sometimes you knowing how I feel is a really good thing," she said as she sat up on her side of the bed.

"Yes, sometimes it is. You eat your sandwich and drink your milk. I'm going to check my email quickly to make sure there's nothing I need to delegate to my day man for tomorrow, and I'll be back in about fifteen minutes."

"Then what?"

"Then you will feed from me. Most days you'll just take a little of my blood, but tonight I want you to take a good amount to help your body adjust and make sure we have the bond with the baby well-established."

"And then…"

"Are you hinting around for more sex, my lover?" he laughed.

"Yes."

"If you eat all of your sandwich and you are not too tired after you drink from me."

"Then you'll fuck me?"

He laughed, "No, my lover, then I will very gently make love to you and hold you in may arms until you fall asleep and I must go below ground."

"Why very gently?"

"Because you need rest. I'm afraid we're going to overdo it. As much as I enjoy this new insatiability in you, I am afraid you aren't getting enough rest and the doctor was very clear about that."

"She said sex was OK."

"She said sex play was fine, not a sex marathon."

"Wouldn't I know if I were overdoing it?"

"I don't know, but we're going to slow down for the rest of the night, anyway."

"Can't keep up with me, huh?"

"Nice try, my lover, but you will not goad me into wild sex with such blatant challenges."

"But…"

"Sookie – eat your sandwich and I will be back."

She stuck her tongue out at him as he walked away. He was still laughing as he sat at the desk in his 3rd floor office and woke the computer up. There wasn't a lot of email, but he did have to review invoices at the club Friday night, and he did need an appointment with his accountant to make preparations for his son and soon his wife. He sent an email to Bobby Burnham to contact his accountant and set up a meeting on an important matter but didn't go into detail. He also asked Bobby to come up with recommendations on a wedding planner. Sookie shouldn't have to do all of that by herself. He was a little sad when he thought about her having no mother or grandmother to help her. He knew that was important to women, and he really did want her to be happy. He also didn't want her stressed out.

He was worried about Saturday evening. She was going to cook for her idiot brother and tell him about the baby. He would have to insist that they stay at her house Friday night so he could be there as soon as he awakened that evening. He didn't want her alone in the house with her brother. He was too prone to fits of temper.

'If he strikes her again, I will break him in half,' he thought.

He was also worried about privacy. Her brother was too prone to talk about private matters, and he was afraid news of the baby would spread too far too fast. He planned to issue a very real threat to Stackhouse when he could get him out of Sookie's range of hearing. A lot of people would be very unhappy about this baby. Sam Merlotte. Alcide Herveaux, maybe Calvin Norris, Bill Compton.

Bill Compton would be more than unhappy – he will be furious, and jealous, and grief-stricken. He laughed to himself – maybe he should just stake Compton now and be done with it before the wringing of hands and tearing of clothes began. That was the practical thing to do, but then she would be unhappy and he could not bear for her to be unhappy for any reason, and especially not because of him. She was the first thing he had truly enjoyed for a long, long time, and he was going to keep her that way, even if it meant making allowances for the likes of Compton.

He thought of the first night he saw her at Fangtasia. Like a light in the darkness and so deliciously naïve, she wasn't even savvy enough to fear him as she should have. She still doesn't understand how afraid of him she should be, and he hoped it stayed that way for a good long while. He wasn't going to let her go no matter what happened, but it would be more pleasant for everyone concerned if she stayed because she wanted to.

He made a tactical error that night that still just eats him alive. He believed her when she said she belonged to Bill, and that wasn't true. She was a virgin, standing there in that pretty little dress, golden hair shining in the stage lights around the dais. If he had been paying more attention, he would have known. He remembered looking her up and down, but he didn't get close enough to her to really get a good whiff of her scent. If he had, he would have known, and Compton never would have made it out of that bar with her.

That was a setback. She'd have been his long ago if he hadn't let Compton take that extra step with her. He was patient, though, and still was. She was worth an investment of some time and attention and a good portion of his wealth. Nothing else was going to bring him this kind of satisfaction. He did indulge her, though, more than he should have, and paid for it by watching her with that damned tiger. She didn't know this, and never would, but he would kill Quinn for touching her when he knew she should be his. He'd make sure Quinn knew it was him and why he was doing it, but it would be done in such a way that Sookie would never know that Eric was responsible. It would be easy to do since he was pretty much out of Sookie's life. Compton was right next door, unfortunately, so he was very happy indeed that she had finally decided to move into this house with him. The less she saw of him, the better. She was a little too sentimental toward him for Eric's taste.

He closed the browser and turned off the office light.

As he stepped into the hallway, he stopped. What was he hearing? It was Sookie, breathing raggedly, moaning a little… was she…?

He moved silently to the door, and listened. He could hear the bed creaking and a slight rustling of blankets. He caught the scent on the air. His little darling was pleasuring herself – and he hadn't been gone that long. If he had known that being pregnant would affect her this way, he'd have been looking for a way to make it happen years ago. His mind was churning, moving the chess pieces to figure out just the right move with her. Does he let her finish? Surprise her? Punish her? Ah – of course…

Suddenly, noiselessly, Eric was standing over her, and the covers were gone before she could react. Sookie was caught with her hand in the proverbial cookie jar.

"ERIC!"

"Don't move, Sookie. Missing me, my lover?"

"I was just waiting for you…"

"It doesn't look to me like you waited for me at all, lover. In fact, it looks to me like you were being a very bad girl."

"I was just…" She started to reach for the covers, but he threw them on the floor.

"Just what, Sookie? I told you not to move. You stay exactly where you are, and tell me what you are doing."

She felt her face burning. She never felt as naked as she did at that moment, lying there in front of him, knowing that he knew she was…

"There's nothing wrong with…."

"With what, lover? What sweet little name do you have for that very particular activity?"

"I'm sure you know words for it in twenty languages." She was going to be belligerent. Perfect.

"Of course, but I don't know what word sweet little Southern belles use to describe rubbing themselves to a climax when their lover steps out of the room for fifteen minutes."

"Are you mad at me?"

"No, Sookie, I'm not "mad" at you. In fact, I think you should finish what you started."

"What?"

"Finish what you started, Sookie. Go on – I'm waiting."

He walked to the dresser at the foot of the bed and leaned on the edge of it, never taking his eyes off of her. She closed her eyes. She could feel the blood rushing to her face, her chest. She couldn't think of what to do.

"SOOKIE!"

Her eyes flew open – she was afraid to move.

"I said, finish what you started."

"Aren't you coming to bed?"

"Not until you have finished."

"It's cold, I need a blanket."

"You'll warm up when you get going again."

"Eric…"

"Sookie, I told you what I expect you to do. Finish what you started."

"What are you going to do?"

"I'm going to watch you. Now get to it, and make it good. I'll know from your scent if you're faking."

"I can't!"

"You were doing just fine a minute ago. Get on with it."

"Eric, I'm embarrassed."

"Sookie, I'm becoming impatient." His voice was soft but threatening.

"Alright, you don't want me doing that… I get it."

"I don't think you do, lover. You are not moving from that spot until I have watched you pleasure yourself."

"I need to go to the bathroom."

"Nice try. I'm waiting."

"It's no big deal!"

"If it's not a big deal, why aren't you doing as you were told?"

"You're being a jerk."

"Jerk? Is that what little Southern girls call it?"

"No! I don't..."

"Don't what, my lover?"

"I don't call it anything – it's just something to do."

"So why are you not doing it?"

She moved to get up and he pinned her ankles in place.

She fought against his grip, but it was iron.

"Sookie, the sooner you finish, the sooner we can go to bed. I'm not letting you up until you do as you are told."

"You'll have to leave at sun-up."

"If we are still arguing about this at sun-up, you will have more to worry about than a little embarrassment. Now lie back!"

She did. She shut her eyes hard, and she was shaking.

"I'm going to let go of your ankles, Sookie, and you are going to lie still – do you understand me?"

"Yes."

He moved back to his perch on the edge of the dresser.

"Do you need direction, Sookie? Do you want me to tell you what to do?"

Her breathing was shallow. She was really shaking. He smiled to himself. Game on, little girl.

"Sookie, put your hands on your breasts and squeeze them."

She hesitated, but then she did what she was told.

"Pinch your nipples, my lover, make them very hard."

She could hardly breath, but she did it.

"Harder, Sookie."

"Eric…"

"QUIET! No speaking."

She whimpered a little, but kept going.

"Alright, Sookie – move your right hand down, and touch yourself."

She swallowed hard. She was wiggling her foot out of nervousness."

"Sookie, I'm waiting."

Hesitantly, she reached downward and began to stroke herself. She couldn't lie still. She bent her knees up, opening wider. She knew he could see all of her, so she didn't dare open her eyes. She moved her other hand down to help her zero in on just the right spot. She was rhythmically tilting her pelvis upward, then relaxing.

"Very nice, Sookie, Keep going."

She licked her lips. She reached further down and slipped her first two fingers into herself. Her hips were flexing more deeply, tilting her pelvis up to meet her hand.

She felt the mattress shake and knew without opening her eyes that Eric had stepped up on the bed. A shadow moved across her face.

"Open your eyes, Sookie."

He was standing over her, looking down at her.

"Look at me lover, and finish."

Her ears were pounding and her eyes were watering, but she looked at him. She was riveted by his gaze, his eyes bright and blue, his fangs fully down, a low growl coming from deep in his chest. He was so beautiful like that – the wildness in him was sexier and scarier than anything she had ever seen.

She started to moan and move faster.

"Don't stop, Sookie. Finish for me, lover."

He held her gaze as he lowered one knee and then the other so he was kneeling between her legs. He leaned over her without touching her as she lay there writhing. She never wanted anything as badly as she wanted him to touch her right now.

"Eric, please…"

"Please, what?"

"Please."

He reached beneath him and took her left wrist in his hand, stretching her arm out above her head. She was still moving beneath him, the only part of him touching her still the hand on her wrist. He never blinked, She knew better than to stop. He bent forward a little more and inhaled – she knew he was taking in her scent, and she knew he could smell that she wanted him. His other hand reached for her other wrist, and stretched that arm out above her head, too. One of his knees nudged her leg up and to the side, then the other did the same. She was spread, pinned, dying for him to touch her.

"Eric, please."

"Please what?"

"ERIC!"

"What do you want, Sookie? Tell me and maybe I'll give it to you."

"Come on…" She was trying not to scream TOUCH ME, but she was very close to doing just that.

He leaned closer to her, whispering, "What do you want, Sookie?"

"You. I want you … inside me."

He was in her before the words left her mouth.

YES! Finally. She couldn't move much in her current position, but man, he could.

He released her wrists, and she grabbed his face in both hands, kissing him as hard as she could. He laughed into her mouth, bent his head down to kiss her neck, nip at her collarbone.

He reached under her, pulling her to him with one arm, raising his other wrist to his own mouth and biting. Blood gushed from the torn flesh as he pressed it to her lips.

Oh, god, it was sweet – she usually tried to tell herself that she hated taking vamp blood, but it wasn't true. She lived for the times when she could wrap her lips around one of Eric's wounds. It was like this book Amelia told her about recently – Stranger in a Strange Land, where they tried to ingest someone's essence so they could "grok them in full." She needed to remember to put that on her reading list.

When she was drinking from Eric it was like knowing him from the inside out. She could feel him wanting her. She could feel his desire to taste her. She could feel his body tense and respond to the feel of her sucking on his arm – he was never more excited than when her lips were pressed to him, sucking. She took one last long draw from him and he roared, collapsing on her, little shocks running through him as he kissed her face all over.

He wrapped his arms around her and rolled over on his back, swinging her on top of him in one motion. He smiled at her and she beamed at him.

His eyes were warm. "My beautiful, beautiful little lover. That was magnificent."

"Oh really?"

"Yes, really."

"I can't believe you made me do that."

"You wanted to do that, Sookie – you practically demanded it."

"What? You think I liked that?"

"Stop thinking about what you are supposed to like and listen to your body, my lover. You liked that very much indeed."

"Maybe the last part…."

"Sookie, I watched you the whole time. I never took my eyes off of you. I saw the desire in your eyes. I saw the way your breathing became rough and your skin flushed with excitement. If you were really honest with yourself, you would realize that you wanted to get caught."

"I did not –you were just gone such a long time."

"Oh, yes, all of twenty minutes, and so far away, right across the hall," he laughed.

"Think, Sookie. You know I have extraordinary senses – you knew I would hear the bed creak, smell the scent of your excitement clearly at such close range. You wanted me to catch you, and you wanted me to watch you. There's a part of you that is holding you back – when I see that part keeping you from doing what you want, it is important for me to give you permission to ignore your training and be who you really are."

"I don't need anybody's permission, I just…"

"Think, Sookie. Wasn't it more exciting when I insisted that you follow my orders?"

"But, that doesn't make any sense – why would I…"

"You are very brave in dangerous circumstances, my lover, but you are a little shy with me when we are in bed. There is a part of you that is as wild as any creature ever could be, but you've been taught to fear that part. I want to love all of you, not just the parts you have been taught are acceptable. Doesn't that make sense?"

"Yeah, I guess so. So when you are ordering me like that, is that what you were talking about in the bath earlier?"

"Domination? Yes. I was dominating you so you would feel free to do something that you wanted to do but could not."

"Is there a word for what I did by following your orders?"

"That is called submission."

"Isn't submission a bad thing? Like being dependent or being weak?"

"Not in the context of sex. When you submit to me in sex, you are showing that you trust me, and you are allowing yourself to do things that you would otherwise be afraid or embarrassed to do."

"I'm cold."

"Here, lean back there and I'll get the blankets."

"I'm not saying I agree with you, but just say for a minute that you are right…"

"Yes?"

"How do you know I really want to do something if I say I don't."

"Because I know you, my lover. I have watched you for years, fighting your true nature because you have an idea of how a woman should behave."

"But there ARE rules and things?"

"In proper times and proper places, of course, but not every time and every place. It took you a long time to admit that you wanted to be with me, though you wanted that from the first night you came to Fangtasia."

"I did not."

"If you were honest with yourself, you did. You saw me, you saw my power, and you wanted me, but it took you a long time to admit it."

"You're getting pleased with yourself again."

"I am very pleased with myself, my lover, but I am far more pleased with you. You showed great strength just now."

"How does submitting to someone show strength?"

"It takes a strong person to allow their will to be bent to another's."

"I'm not sure I get it."

"That is not important. I get it, and I know you have a desire for it now, so we will explore some new games, and you will understand it eventually."

"It's just you and me though, ri…" Sookie let out a big yawn, "right?"

"Yes, my lover, it is just you and me. No one else will know how we pleasure each other if that is what you want."

"I thought you already knew what I want," she teased.

"Oh, but I do, my dear one, and you will enjoy learning it very much. Now, I am going to turn off the light, and you fall asleep in my arms, then I will see you after dark. Are you staying in today?"

"Yes, I still don't want to leave the house."

"Then don't." He turned off the switch in the headboard, and they were together in the dark. She fell asleep with her head on his chest, and didn't dream at all.


	13. Chapter 13

Disclaimer: The Southern Vampire Series, and all characters from it, is owned by Charlaine Harris. No infringement is intended.

___________________________________________________________________________________

"Miss Sookie?" Alicia knocked on the door and looked tentatively into the room.

"Hmmm?" Sookie said, stirring for the first time all day.

"Miss Sookie, I have lunch for you."

Sookie blinked and rubbed her eyes, "You made me lunch?"

"Yes, Miss. Mr. Northman asked me to begin making sure that you eat in the afternoons when he's away."

"He didn't tell me."

"He called me very early today and said you were sleeping. He said if you hadn't come down for food by 2pm, I was to bring lunch to you."

"Thank you," she said, sitting up. Alicia carried a tray over to her, folding down the legs and putting it in place over her lap. "What is it?"

"It's a spinach quiche, orange juice, and iced tea. I also brought a couple of cans of ginger ale to keep beside your bed in case you have any nausea. Mr. Northman said you've already had some morning sickness."

"Yeah, I have, but it seems to happen in late afternoon. Wait – don't you only work twice a week?"

"I'll be working every day until after the baby comes and there's at least nanny or doula in place. Mr. Northman wanted to be sure there's someone in the house with you in case you need anything, and to make sure that you eat."

Sookie had already downed half of the orange juice and was working on the quiche.

"So you and Eric worked it all out?"

"Yes, Miss, he was very generous as usual and very specific that you were to have whatever you needed. I'm shopping accordingly now, but if you need anything or want anything, I can run to the store for you, or I can drive you, as you prefer."

"Thanks, Alicia. I'm sorry to be so much trouble."

"You're not trouble, Miss Sookie."

"You could just wake me up and tell me it's time for breakfast tomorrow."

"Actually, Miss, Mr. Northman said you're to spend as much time in bed as possible, so when you aren't already up, I'll bring a tray."

"He told on me, huh?"

"About staying in bed? Yes, he said you would fight it, but to keep after you."

"He knows me too well sometimes," Sookie laughed.

"He cares very deeply for you. It's sweet to see such a big, important man taking such pains to be sure you have what you need. Most women would give anything for that kind of care and attention."

"I never really thought of it that way. I tend to give him a hard time when he tries to Daddy me."

"Oh, I don't think he's paternal toward you – I think he knows he's got it good and wants to make sure it stays that way."

"Thanks, Alicia." Sookie blushed a little but smiled at her. It was nice to have a little reassurance from an outside source, even if she did work for Eric.

"You finish up there and I'll get your laundry from the bathroom. The upstairs maid will be in tomorrow to dust and vacuum, but I'll be coming up to take care of the towels and your clothing." She went into the bathroom and came out with a bundle of towels and clothes. "I've also got this for you," she said as she took a small white box from the pocket of her uniform.

"What's that?"

"Technically, it's a baby monitor."

"A baby monitor?"

"Yes. I'll have the receiver with me wherever I am in the house. If you need me, just push this button and I'll be right up."

"Doesn't a baby monitor stay on all the time?"

"Some do, but this one has a privacy option that's set so that you have to push the button to use it."

Sookie was finished with her quiche, which was so good she'd have licked the pan if she didn't have an audience.

"That was really good – you're a good cook."

"Thank you, Miss –" She stopped because the doorbell rang.

Sookie was surprised. "Who could that be?"

"Probably UPS, Miss. He said you were expecting a package today."

"I am?"

"You are. It's a surprise, I think, but he was clear that he wanted you to open it and get started immediately. I'll be right back."

'He spent money on me,' Sookie thought, 'even though he knows how it makes me feel. He said he would, though, so whatever it is, I'm going to try not to fight with him. He says we spend time fighting over nothing instead of enjoying our time together. I really have been a bitch to him for a long time, mostly because he scared me, but also because I knew he was right.'

'I did want him from the first time I met him. I was so afraid Bill would notice, but I was secretly thrilled when he asked me to sit down and then asked Bill if he was "quite attached" to me. If I really understood what he was asking at the time, I'd have died right on the spot. I was so silly, I just thought he was saying he liked me – I didn't realize until later that he was actually asking Bill for permission to use me for sex and blood. He was just so smug and sure of himself, but I'm glad the night was interrupted, because if he had asked me to leave Bill, I might have done it. I never had that kind of attraction to a man before. I swear if he had patted his lap, I would have been tempted to hop right on there and run my fingers through that golden hair. I don't know if it was love at first sight, but it sure was lust. I could hardly breathe around him. When he said my name…'

"Here we are, Miss." Alicia came back with a box about the size of a toaster oven.

"What is it?"

"Would you like me to help you open it?"

"Please."

Alicia moved Sookie's tray over to the dresser, and handed her the box.

"Hmmm – the ends are taped."

"Do you want me to get a knife from the kitchen, Miss?"

"Actually, there's a box cutter in the pencil holder in Eric's office across the hall."

"I'll be right back with it, Miss."

Sookie laughed to herself when Alicia returned with the box cutter. Most of the ones she had ever seen were yellow. This one was neon pink. No masculine insecurities in her man, ha ha!

Alicia cut the tape on one end of the box, and there was another box inside. Sookie took hold of the inner box as Alicia pulled the outer box away from it. The box was made like a briefcase, but it had a picture of a computer on it. HE DIDN'T.

He did. He bought her a laptop. A MacBook Aluminum, to be exact. She barely knew how to use a computer, and here's this little thing that had to cost a lot of money, and probably does all kinds of wonderful things about which she had no clue. It would probably take her a year to learn how to do anything on it. What the hell, Northman?

"Oh, that's very nice, Miss. Apple computers are very advanced, but they have a reputation for being easy to use."

"Really? They're easy?"

"Very. Here let's unpack it." Alicia helped her open the briefcase box and she got a look at today's challenge. It was sleek and silver and very sharp. As computers went, this one was pretty cool looking.

Alicia pulled out what she guessed was a power cord and slid two weird parts together to make the cord longer. "Oh, that's convenient – there's a power strip set up right here by the bed," Alicia said as she bent over to plug it in. Sookie had no doubts about who had put that power strip in place before he went to his hidey-hole, knowing this critter would be here before he got up.

Alicia raised the lid on the little computer, and it was black and shiny and beautiful. She pressed a button that was hardly visible in the upper right corner next to the screen, and it lit up with a "bong" sound that surprised her. After a few minutes, it said, "Welcome."

"Alright, Miss, just follow the instructions from there. It will walk you through the set up process. I'll go take care of some things in the kitchen. Call me if you need me."

Sookie, who had been a little mesmerized by this little marvel, looked up and said, "Oh, ok, thanks."

Sookie started following instructions and filling in her information, and it was two hours before she looked up again. She had a user account and a Mobile Me account, and it was telling her all about how it worked with iPods and iPhones. She had a wicked little thought about asking Eric if he'd get her an iPhone, but she knew if she did it would be there the next day, just like this thing was here less than 24 hours since he decided she needed one.

She had mixed feelings about this. On one hand, as she told him repeatedly, she didn't want to feel "kept." On the other hand, they were getting married, and technically half of everything he had would be hers. She didn't want to take advantage of his generosity, but it seemed to give him such pleasure to buy her things like this. Maybe if she started accepting a few goodies like this, Eric wouldn't be tempted to do anything outrageous like Niall had. When you're dealing with Supes, you never know what's going to get into their heads.

The introduction program on the computer had already led her to the point that she had Safari open and was on the internet, because it automatically found Eric's wireless network - well, two of them really, but one was password protected and one was open. She used the open one and she was on Google in no time.

At about 6:00, Alicia came back and had a tray with a HUGE Caesar salad.

"Wow," Sookie said. "That looks great, but didn't I just eat?"

"That was several hours ago, Miss Sookie. I added some grilled chicken to this to add some protein, and it's got plenty of anchovies."

"Thank you so much, Alicia."

"You're welcome, Miss. Enjoying the new laptop?"

"Yeah, I am. I think I actually sort of figured out what I'm doing."

"Good for you, Miss. Is there anything else I can get you?"

"Is there a cold ginger ale?"

"Right here, Miss." She pulled a can of soda out of her pocket and set it on the tray.

"I'm going to leave one warm one up here, because that's better for nausea, but I'll take the second one from earlier back down and put it in the fridge for tomorrow. If there's nothing else you need, I'll be going home now, and I'll see you tomorrow afternoon."

"Thank you so much, Alicia, for everything."

"Have a good evening, Miss."

Sookie pushed the tray out in front of her and sat cross-legged on the bed. She put the big bowl of salad in her lap and set her MacBook on the tray so she could see it while she ate. This thing really was pretty cool.

She was munching away at her salad and cruising the internet when she realized she was being watched. Eric was standing in the doorway, with that shit-eating grin that made her melt. "Hey!"

"Hey," he said, "having fun, my lover?"

"Yes. You need to look and see if I'm doing things right."

He came in and sat on his side of the bed, scooting over next to her, kissing her shouder. "Do you like it?"

"Oh, Eric, it's _amazing_! You shouldn't spend this kind of money on me, though."

"You shouldn't worry about money. I told you, we're wealthy. You can have anything you want, and I don't want you to hesitate to buy whatever you need."

"I don't want to take advantage."

"Caring for you is not a burden, dear one. It's my greatest pleasure."

"Your _greatest_ pleasure?"

"I'm including the care I give you by making you scream my name as you spend."

"Spend?"

"Climax. Orgasm. It's an old-fashioned word, I think, but it's nicer than some I hear people use."

"Ok, so you weren't talking about spending money…" she laughed. He took the empty bowl from her lap and put it on his nightstand.

"You are in a very sweet temper tonight, dear one. What did you do today?"

"You're looking at it. I sat here, I ate amazing food, and I played with my new computer."

"Ah, finally – a lady of leisure," he teased as he closed the lid on the laptop and leaned over her to set it, and the tray, on the floor by her nightstand. As he came back up, he grabbed her around the waist and pulled her toward him and into a more horizontal position. She giggled a little and he kissed her.

"Mmmmm. I missed you today." She nuzzled his neck.

"Mmmmm. You smell like fish," he laughed.

"I need to brush my teeth."

"Have you bathed today, lover?"

"No, I was hoping we could take our evening bath together."

"That sounds like a very good idea, lover. Let me check my email, you do all your ablutions and start filling the tub."

"OK," she said happily. She loved this new closeness between them. It was almost like once she stopped fighting everything he tried to do, they fell into a comfortable rhythm that made her feel more loved and secure than she ever had before.

Eric skimmed his email quickly, noticing that Bobby Burnham had set up a meeting with his accountant for Sunday with a request for a call Friday night so he knew how to prepare. Burnham recommended three wedding planners and he printed the email out to give to Sookie.

He heard back from a jeweler he had talked to two weeks ago about having a ring made for Sookie. He replied to the jeweler that he wanted a 4 carat emerald cut diamond with a teardrop (blood drop) shaped ruby on either side, set in a platinum band. The jeweler had told him that he could provide a drawing in 24 hours, then it would take a week to execute the design. They had already discussed the requirements for the stones, which were to be top quality. Sookie wouldn't know the difference, but he would, and his wife was going to wear nothing but the best. He had an image to maintain, though he knew Sookie didn't understand that yet. She would learn. He would bring her along a little at a time, teach her, train her, and she would be a glittering jewel in her own right.

There was email from Pam saying she would take charge at the club tonight, and that he needn't check in until he came in Friday to look at invoices. She needed him there as soon after dark as possible.

He put the computer to sleep and went back into the bedroom. He could hear Sookie splashing around in the water and smell vanilla bubble bath. The light was on though and no candles. He would need candles later on.

"Vanilla tonight, my lover? Very sensual." He began to light the candles arranged around the room on tables, in little sconces on the wall by the tub.

"It smells sort of like cookies." She looked up at him and he kissed her, then continued with the candles.

"Does that please you, little one?" There were tapers in individual candlesticks on the ledge beside the tub that he hadn't used yet. Tonight Sookie would find out what they are for. He finished, threw the matches back out on the dresser, and turned the lights out.

"Finally!" Sookie was impatient again. Very good.

"Finally, my lover? Were you lonely?" he purred at her as he climbed into the tub behind her. She immediately scooted back between his legs, and pulled his arms around her. He put his hands over her breasts and hugged her to him. Her eyes were closed, her breathing slowed. He kissed her hair, her ear, her shoulder.

"You kiss my shoulders a lot."

"That's because they're beautiful. You know, in my culture, when I was young, the most attractive part of a woman was not her breasts or her legs, but her upper arms and shoulders."

"Really?"

"Um-hm. Yours would have inspired epics and poems among my people. They are smooth and flawless – a little too tan for those times, but that's the standard of this culture."

"It wasn't good to be tanned then?"

"No, my lover. If you were tanned, especially a woman, it meant that you were poor and had to work outside and so did being thin. The skinny, tanned women in magazines in these times would have been considered quite ugly among my people."

"So they wanted women who were pale and fat?"

"Fat would have been defined differently then. Fat would have meant very, very fat. In your culture in the 50's, Marilyn Monroe was considered a Goddess, yet by 21st century standards, she is considered fat."

"What do you think of Marilyn Monroe?"

"She had lovely upper arms, and I find her curves and softness very pleasing."

"Is that why you don't care if I get fat?"

"You are so far from fat, my lover, that it is inconceivable to me. You'd have to be very fat indeed to appear less desirable to me. I'm looking forward to having a voluptuous Sookie to cuddle for awhile." He ran his hands over her as he spoke.  
"Your belly and hips will grow round and ripe, and then after the baby comes, your breasts will fill and swell, just begging to be touched and suckled." He kissed her neck as she relaxed completely into him.

"What about the personal trainer?"

"That was for you, my lover, not for me. I will love you with or without it. I suspect that you will not love yourself, though, if you do not maintain your figure, and I don't want to see you unhappy."

"If I wanted to start that, what would I do?"

"You tell me, and I will find someone with the training to work with an expectant mother. The sooner you start, the better, I think."

"Will you go ahead and do that please?"

"As you wish, my lover. I will leave word with my day man before I go to rest today."

"I didn't know that different cultures and different times had different standards of beauty. I mean, I knew styles changed a lot, but I didn't know things like that did."

"Oh, yes. For example, in Japan they are very fond of bottoms."

"Really?"

"Yes, and some cultures stretch their necks with rings."

"I've seen pictures of that, and where they scar patterns into themselves and all kinds of tattoos."

"The variety of cultures is a fascinating thing."

"You've seen a lot of them, haven't you?"

"Oh, yes, I have traveled a great deal in my long life."

"Do you like tattoos?"

"On women?"

"Yes."

"They can be very beautiful if well done and well placed."

"Would you like it if I got a tattoo?"

"Only if it is my name tattooed on your perfect bottom," he laughed.

"Yeah, you'd like that so nobody could touch me without knowing I am YOURS."

"Exactly. But your skin is too perfect to consider marking it, so I will have to rely on other things to ward off those who desire you."

"Tattoos hurt anyway."

"They do, but some do not find it unpleasant. I have known people who enjoy the pain of tattooing. At a certain point, the brain releases the chemicals that it does when you have an orgasm, and the pain becomes pleasurable."

"What's that called when you like pain?"

"Masochism."

"That's what you said I had the other night."

"You have displayed some capacity for masochism, yes."

"What's the opposite of it?"

"The opposite would be someone who likes to inflict pain. That is sadism."

"Like the Marquis de Sade, right?"

"Yes, my lover."

"I read a book by him once."

"You did?" Eric's eyes lit up. This was very interesting news.

"Yes, it was called Justine. Have you ever read it?"

"Yes, lover, I have read many such books."

"Do you like them?"

"Some of them are very entertaining."

"Do you like to cause pain or to feel pain?"

"Both, sometimes, in the right circumstances."

"What is that called?"

"Sado-masochism. A person who can be either is sometimes called a Switch."

"You like one more than the other, though?"

"I always take a dominant position, but there are certain forms of pain that an be enjoyable."

"Really? Like what?"

"Hot wax can be exciting when used in sex play."

"Hot wax?"

"Yes - wax from a candle, usually."

"What do you do with it?"

"Your lover drips it on your skin, like on your chest or your stomach, sometimes on a more sensitive area like a nipple."

"Doesn't it burn?"

"Yes, but only for a second. Vampires heal quickly."

"Do humans like it?"

"Some. Of course, the advantage of bedding a vampire is that our blood can heal instantly."

"How hot is it?"

"It depends on the height from which you drop it. The wax cools a bit as it falls, so the closer to the skin, the hotter the wax."

She was quiet, and Eric realized that she was looking at the candles in the candlestick holders on the ledge.

"Sookie, would you like to try it on me?" he whispered.

"Yes, if it's something you like, I want to learn it."

"Turn and face me, my lover. Straddle my legs and take me inside you."

Sookie moaned as he entered her. She certainly liked this so far.

"I can't not move," she said, her hands on his shoulders.

"That's alright, you can move a little, and soon you will move a lot." He had his signature leer on his face, his fangs fully down. "Take that candle from the holder, my lover, and keep it upright. Move it slowly over my chest, up high."

She did exactly as he told her, trying very hard not to spill wax down the side."

"Alright, Sookie, tip it and let it fall on my chest, then move it to the side over the water."

She did and he quickly closed his eyes and rumbled down in his chest.

"Do it again, a little lower, lover."

Drip. "Ohh," Eric said as he jerked just a little, "Lower."

Drip. "Ahh." He was starting to move under her, in her. "Again."

Drip. "Ah –" he jumped and laughed a little. He was beautiful like that.

Why was she enjoying this? He caught her gaze and nodded to her, and she moved the candle over his nipple.

Drip. "AHH," he bucked a little and gave her a look she had never seen on his face before. It was lusty and dark and a little scary. She swallowed hard and handed him the candle. She leaned back a little, grinding on him.

Drip. "Ah," she jumped as a drop fell on her rib cage. Her breathing became ragged.

Drip. "Ahh." She jumped again as the wax fell on her left breast. She braced her hands on his arms as his free hand moved around her waist.

Drip. "UNH!" that was right on her left nipple, and lower than the other two. She was grinding hard on him, and he still had that scary smile and narrow eyes.

"Do you want me to stop, Sookie?"

"No."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, don't stop."

Drip. "Oh!" She jumped as the wax fell on her right nipple and from much closer.

"Lower," she whispered.

Drip. "Ah, ha!" That was even lower, on the same nipple.

"More," she whispered.

Drip. "Ahh…. Eric … god."

He threw the candle in the water and grabbed her with both hands. She was really moving and he was helping her. Water was splashing and she was moving up and down on her knees.

He tightened his grip on her with one arm, kissing her hard, almost taking her breath. His other hand found the bottle of almond scented oil, popped the top and managed to get some of it onto the fingers of that hand. It was messy, but that was of no concern right now.

He was kissing her hard again as she moved wildly on him. His arm around her waist was iron, and she had her forehead pressed against his, arms around his neck, and without warning he shoved two fingers into her back entrance, hard.

She screamed and squirmed and reached a mind-blowing release. Eric's was just after, precipitated by Sookie biting his lip. She was still on his lap, and he was still working his fingers in and out of her slowly.

"Don't stop," she whispered to him. Her head was on his shoulder now – she couldn't look at him again, and he smiled as he held her and probed her.

She sat back a little, hands on his shoulders again, eyes closed and lost in the sensations she was feeling. Eric was kissing the tops of her breasts, and she wiped away the remnants of wax so he could take her nipples into his mouth. He clamped down a little on the right one, and the pain was bright and exquisite.

Eric was still inside her, and hard again. His hand was relentless, and she felt another orgasm building when he bit her nipple hard and began to draw blood deeply. Sookie screamed-- she was crazed, sobbing, digging her nails into his shoulders and drawing blood. One scratch was really bleeding, and she latched onto it before it could begin to close. She sucked it as hard as she could, and Eric howled as he came again. When it was over, she was exhausted, and he was quietly laughing as they both began to regain their senses.

She moved to one side of his legs, and he pulled her sideways onto his lap so he could cuddle her. She laid her head on his shoulder and actually fell asleep for a few minutes while he held her.

She heard him gently laugh to himself again and whispered breathlessly, "Why are you laughing?"

"I am delighted with you, my lover. Every day you grow more magnificent, more sensuous, more daring. You are my Goddess, dear one. I have never seen a woman such as you before. You fit me so perfectly, I feel as if you were born to be mine."

"Do you really mean that?"

"My lover, I have no reason to say it if it were not true. We are bonded, we are engaged, we are living together now and we are with child. There is nothing more I could gain by lying to you."

"Hold me a little longer before we wash our hair, ok?"

"I'll hold you as long as you want, my lover."

She got as close to him as she could. She would have hidden inside of him if she could. How was it possible to want anyone so desperately and love them as much as she loved him?

'I could have him forever if I wanted to,' she thought to herself. 'I only have to say the words.'

TBC


	14. Chapter 14

Disclaimer: The Southern Vampire Series, and all characters from it, is owned by Charlaine Harris. No infringement is intended.

___________________________________________________________________________________

Bathed, shampooed and dried, Sookie headed back to her side of the bed, and Eric checked his phone messages. All was quiet at Fangtasia, and the evening stretched out before them. Eric threw the steno pad on the bed and handed Sookie the email he printed out from Bobby Burnham that had the wedding planner names in it.

"These should get you started, my lover."

"Wedding planners? Do we really need a wedding planner? How big is it going to be?"

"That is up to you, but I am the Sheriff of Area 5, so certain invitations go without saying." He sat on the bed next to her, trying to see if she had written anything yet.

"Such as?"

"The King, Felipe de Castro, as well as Russell Edgington and some friends I have in area 7, Sandy, Victor, all of my subjects…"

"All of them? How many is that?"

"About 300, total. We don't need to bother with anyone just passing through, and many of them are since Katrina."

"That's a lot of people. I hardly have anyone to invite."

"On the contrary, my lover, you have two were packs and your Witches. Are you going to invite your brother?"

"I hadn't even thought about Jason – Would it be safe for him there?"

"As long as he doesn't start any conflict with anyone, or find himself alone with a hungry vampire, he should be fine."

"Jason has a way of finding trouble."

"It must run in the family," Eric said, giving her a sly smile and a wink.

"You think you're funny, don't you, Northman?" she teased him back. "Seriously, though, Eric, that's a lot of people and a lot of work. I don't know if it's possible to do that in four months."

"We could wait until after the baby is born, Sookie, there are no definite dates we must follow."

"I know this is silly, but I'd really like us to be married before he's born."

"Would you prefer a small private ceremony in Las Vegas or New Orleans?"

"Is that an option?"

"Yes. I'd still have to invite Felipe, Sandy and Victor and, of course, Pam."

"Of course," she agreed.

"You could invite your two Witches and brother – that's seven guests, and the odds are two of mine won't attend. Then we can have a reception for Area 5 at Fangtasia, and my staff would take care of that."

"Would you rather do it in New Orleans or Vegas? I don't know much about either one."

"Vegas would be a good move for me politically."

"Does that matter?"

"Politics will always matter while I am Sheriff, lover."

"What would make Vegas a better move than New Orleans?"

"If we were married in Vegas, it would most likely take place on Felipe de Castro's estate or in his hotel. I'd be very surprised if he didn't insist on hosting it."

"I could have Amelia and Octavia and Jason there? Are you sure?"

"I'd be very surprised if there was a problem with that."

"So why would Felipe offer that? Why would that be good?"

"Felipe would offer so he could show how magnanimous he is to his sheriffs and show off his grounds. It would call attention to the lavish lifestyle he leads."

"Vamps love to show off what they own."

"Exactly. It would also be a way to show off some of his newly acquired assets."

"Such as?"

"You and me, Sookie. I know you hate hearing that, but the fact is we are both feathers in his cap. I have no doubt he'd throw a small cocktail party or something to introduce us to his Nevada retinue. It would be acknowledging him as a paternal figure to us. It would be a good networking opportunity for me."

"Will you get mad if I say I don't want my wedding to be controlled by vampires?"

"No, I rather expected that would be the case."

"Oh, you did, huh?"

"I did."

"So you've thought about this? Like, other than when we've talked about it?"

"Yes, I have. I have to take into account how things affect my position as Sheriff. Being wed to a human, even one of value such as you, may be seen as a kind of weakness. Having de Castro's blessing could send a message that he approves of the union. You were pledged our protection, so he might consider it his right to be there, anyway."

"Can I think about this awhile?"

"Of course – it is your choice to make, Sookie. I want you to be happy."

"Why do you care if I'm happy or not?"

"Don't be silly, lover."

"What's in it for you if I'm happy?"

"Love. Sex. Companionship. Fun. Light."

"Light?"

"You have no idea how much brighter my world has been since I met you, Sookie. I've been living in shadows for centuries. There were things I enjoyed more than others, of course, but not like this. I never expected to have this. I have fun with you."

"We could be having fun right now, you know." She leaned over to kiss him.

"Mmm – yes we could, but I'm really afraid we are over doing it. Our bath tonight was very strenuous. Besides, I have a surprise for you. I'll go get it."

He ran down the stairs, and she looked at the steno pad. She was thinking that she could put her foot down about the vampire wedding, and at one point she would have. It seemed so silly now to fight with him over something that isn't going to change. He was a vampire, a very powerful one, and if she was honest with herself, she liked both of those things about him.

He was exciting, and extravagant, and she learned things from him she knew she would never learn from a human or even most other vamps. Eric had a way of explaining things that made things that were kind of extreme make sense. Sometimes he seemed to know more about her than she did herself, and that was scary and amazing and yes, it was fun. He was helping her test her own limits, and it turned out they went further than she had ever dreamed. She wanted very much to know how much farther there was to go. She had a feeling that there was a lot more, but she knew he would take her there a little at a time, and he'd stop before it went too far. That thought caused a pang of desire down low in her. She laughed because she knew he would feel it, too. Maybe she could still talk him into some more fun tonight…

"Here we go, dear one." He had something behind his back, and he was reaching into the drawer of his nightstand. He took out a remote control and pressed a button. The TV at the foot of the bed rose up out of its cabinet. He told her it was there, but they never really watched it before. He opened a box – apparently he had been hiding a DVD behind his back – and slipped it into a slot on the side of the TV. She never saw anything like that before. He had such amazing stuff everywhere you looked.

"So what are we watching?"

"A movie, my lover, one you said I must see."

He hit what she assumed was the play button and the dvd started. It was Tombstone.

"Hey – we were just talking about this!"

"Yes, and since we need to act a little less like Pagan revelers and a little more like an old married couple, I thought this would be a good time to watch this together, and you can tell me about the best parts."

"You're not serious."

"I am very serious, my lover. I want to learn about … what were their names?"

"Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday?"

"Yes. They were cowboys, I take it? Come, lover, cuddle with me and tell me about the story."

"Well, first, every time someone calls you Sheriff, I think of Kurt Russell, the actor who plays Wyatt Earp in this movie."

"He is a Sheriff?"

"He was the most famous sheriff in the old west."

"Was he handsome and powerful?"

"Powerful – sometimes. Handsome, very. So was his best friend, a gambler named Doc Holliday."

"A sheriff and a gambler were best friends?"

"Yes, in those days people were all a little corrupt."

"In these days, too, Sookie, do not lie to yourself."

She couldn't believe she was snuggled up in bed, naked, with Eric Northman, and they were watching a western. This was - what was that word on her calendar? _Surreal_. She giggled.

"What is funny, my lover?"

"This. Us. Hanging in your bed watching a movie – naked!"

"You do not enjoy this?"

"Yeah, I enjoy it, but I can't believe you can!"

"I have watched TV at different points in my life. You said this was something I had to see, so we will see it."

He turned the lights off, and put his arm around her.

"Now Doc Holliday – he was a physician?"

"He was a dentist before he got sick and had to move west."

"What kind of sick?"

"He had TB – tuberculosis."

"I remember that. People coughed up bits of their lungs."

"Eww."

"Yes, they died slow deaths."

"I guess. Anyway, you remember watching Gone With the Wind?"

"Of course – Rhett and Scarlett. You compared us to them."

"Right, well remember the guy Scarlett pined for all those years? Ashley Wilkes?"

"Yes?"

"That character is based on Doc Holliday. You'll hear Doc talk about falling in love with his cousin when he was young, and she joined a convent. Margaret Mitchell was that girl's cousin, and she used their story for Ashley and Melanie."

"And this is something everyone knows?"

"Not really. My daddy loved westerns, so I read a lot about cowboys when I was a little girl, and after I read Gone with the Wind I did some research about the writer. Almost anyone would recognize the name Wyatt Earp, though."

And that was the evening. The cuddled. They watched the movie. Eric laughed at the right parts, popped his fangs at the part when McMasters was dragged by his horse and any other time they showed blood. She was surprised at his reaction to the end of the movie, where they told the love story of Wyatt and Josephine who were married for 47 years.

"We will dance that way in the snow," he said as she lay in his arms.

"We will? It doesn't snow much in Louisiana."

"It snows in Sweden."

"Sweden?"

"I thought we would honeymoon in Sweden."

"That's a long way to fly when I'm pregnant."

"True. What if we go to Alaska and watch whales. We can dance in the snow there."

"Ok, that sounds more doable."

"We will go to Sweden together one day, though. I want you to see my home."

"I'd like that."

"I want my son to see Sweden some day, too." He smiled down at her and kissed her.

He used the remote to put the TV away, and they were together in the dark.

He kissed her deeply and she responded. His hands explored her and found her ready for more.

"I'm going to make love to you as I promised to do last night, my lover."

Not another word was spoken that night.

TBC


	15. Chapter 15

A/N: To reiterate – this story contains explicit mature/adult material. Everything that happens is between consenting adults, but anyone offended by non-mainstream sexual acts, including multiple and same-sex partners, should stop reading now. **YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED**.

Disclaimer: The Southern Vampire Series, and all characters from it, is owned by Charlaine Harris. No infringement is intended.

___________________________________________________________________________________

"Miss Sookie?"

Sookie stretched and opened her eyes.

"Morning, Alicia."

"Good morning, Miss. Did you rest well?"

"Very well. Thanks. What's for breakfast?"

"A small rare steak and eggs, herb tea and orange juice."

"No coffee?"

"Mr. Northman said not. He left this note for you this morning?"

Alicia put the tray across Sookie's lap, handed her the note, then went to the bathroom to gather laundry.

"I've got the monitor with me if you need me, Miss."

"Oh, OK, thanks, Alicia."

Sookie looked at the beautiful script on the envelope, then opened it.

_Dear one, _

_I forgot to tell you that I must go in to the club tonight to review invoices and take care of a few other details. If you want to go with me, you may, or you may stay home, whichever you prefer. I want you to do what feels best to you._

_If you decide to go, and you have it with you, I would like it very much if you wore the white dress with the red flowers. It is supposed to be warm tonight, and clear, so it should be a comfortable choice. I'd like to see you wear it while you still can._

_I love you,_

_E._

She was a little disappointed that he had to go in to Fangtasia. She liked having him all to herself, and she wasn't too keen on the idea of leaving the house. Given a choice between staying home alone or staying close to Eric, she wanted to stay close to him.

She finished her breakfast and Alicia came to clear her dishes. She looked through the closet to see if she had that dress with her – she did. She found a push-up bra, a red thong, and her red heels so she was all set. It sounded like he wanted her to be ready when he got up, so she'd plan to get into the shower early so she'd be all ready when he got up. He had said several times how much he liked that dress on her, so she was hoping for a little action, before, after and maybe even during Fangtasia. She laughed at herself – she was out of control!

She was in love, so that was OK. It was good to want Eric as badly as she did. It was healthy, even when they got a little kinky, though they hadn't really done anything that bad. She bet Jason had done much worse. She laughed when she thought how HE would react to knowing the things she did with Eric. She decided she'd better make sure that never happened, or she'd be short one brother or one fiancé.

Fiancé! She loved the sound of that. She thought she might never get married because of her disability. She only had a little hope of it when she met Bill. Now, though, she had a blood bond with one of the oldest, most powerful vampires in Louisiana, maybe in the whole country. He was rich, strong, carved out of steel and gorgeous. Sometimes she wondered why he would want her, but most of the time she was just glad he did.

She looked at herself in the dresser mirror. Uh oh, it was starting. She could see a little bulge in her tummy. She didn't think it was so much she couldn't wear the flowered dress, but it was definitely there. She put both hands over it. Her baby. Eric's son. She smiled at that. He was going to be insufferable. She hoped this kid liked swords, because Eric would have him training as soon as he could stand up. His son would be a warrior, though she hoped he'd be better at staying out of trouble than his mommy and daddy were.

Ew – she felt her stomach turn.

'Please tell me I'm not going to get sick,' she thought. 'If I throw up, Eric won't let me go to the club with him. He won't want to fool around, either, and I don't know if I could stand that.' She never felt the sensations she was feeling in her pelvic area. The last few days it was like it was alive and in control of her. She lay down on the bed, and curled up on her side. She laughed to herself – the fetal position. Little Eric would be in the same position inside her. She liked the idea of that. She hugged her arms around her stomach.

"Miss Sookie?"

Sookie opened her eyes.

"I'm sorry, Miss, did I wake you?"

"Uh, yeah, I guess I did fall asleep."

"It's 4:30, Miss. I brought you a turkey sandwich and a glass of milk. I'll be leaving for the day if you don't need me. I have an appointment I wanted to make, so I'd like to leave now unless you need me to stay?"

She sat the tray across Sookie's lap.

"Oh, that's fine, Alicia, thanks for the sandwich. I'm glad you woke me. I have to get ready to go to the club with Eric."

"Alright then, good night, Miss."

"Good night, Alicia, drive safely."

It didn't occur to Sookie until Alicia left that she was naked and not under the covers this time. She was getting as bad as her vampire. He didn't care who saw him naked, and she was getting the same way. Or maybe she was just so sleepy it didn't dawn on her until now. 'OK, Sookie, try to eat this sandwich and keep it down,' she told herself sternly. She was only a little sure she could manage it.

She finished the sandwich and headed to the shower. She'd actually have time to shave her legs for a change. She didn't like to do that in front of Eric, though he had even offered to do it for her. He had offered to shave somewhere else, too, but there was no way she was letting him do that. He didn't understand why women shaved at all. He spent so many centuries when women didn't shave that it still looked a little strange to him. He said women were trying to make themselves look like little girls. She said he just didn't get it. He had smirked at her – it was silly for her to say that to him, and she knew it. He knew more about everything than she ever would about anything.

She did her hair, pulling it back with a headband the way she did the first night at Fangtasia. She put on the push-up bra and was surprised that there seemed to be more to push than usual. Eric would like that, she laughed to herself. She pulled on the little red lace thong, happy that it still looked good on her and knowing Eric loved tiny lingerie like that. He thought that was one of the greatest inventions of the 20th century. She cracked up when he told her that.

She finished her makeup, slipped on THE DRESS, as he referred to it, and stepped into her shoes. She was looking at her profile in the mirror, looking for visible tummy bulge, when Eric walked in.

"Perfect," he said, and his fangs ran down. His eyes were glittering. "What a beautiful sight to wake up to, my lover. I'm glad to see you are going with me. I would have missed you."

"I decided if I had to choose between staying home and staying close to you, I'd rather stay close to you."

He raised her chin with his finger and kissed her sweetly. "I'd like you to stay close, too. I would worry about leaving you alone, though I considered sending Pam to stay with you."

"You need Pam there, don't you?"

"Yes, but I would have worked around that."

"Well, now you don't have to. Are you going to shower?"

"Very quickly, yes."

"Go ahead and I'll get your clothes ready."

'There he goes with the shit-eating grin again,' she thought.

"What?" she asked.

"I like it when you do wifely things."

"Whatever – go shower." She kissed him and he kicked it into Vampire gear. By the time she had a pair of black jeans and a dark red silk shirt in her hands, he was done. He grabbed the pants and started to put them on.

"Going commando?" she laughed.

"Yes. Now you will know all night that I am ready to take you at any minute."

"I like the sound of that."  
"And I like you in that dress. Your bosom is growing. Your breasts are bigger now."

"Yeah, that's not the only thing that's growing."

"What else?"

"My belly – I'm starting to show."

"Really? Show me!" He pulled up the front of her dress.

"See?"

"Yes, I do. It's very small, but it is there. This is wonderful!"

"You won't think it's so wonderful when I can't see my feet."

"That will only be a very short time, my lover. And I told you, I will love you at any size."

He was pulling the dark, blood red silk shirt on and buttoning the cuffs. He was so beautiful it made her ache.

"Do you have to get there right away?"

"Yes, my lover, I'm sorry but I do, but do not worry. I will be all yours in a very short time, and we will enjoy the night together. Let's go."

******

As the corvette slowly merged into traffic, Sookie looked at Eric. "What's going on?"

"What do you mean, lover?"

"You're following the speed limit!"

"You are with child, and I'm going to be very careful with you in the car for the next four months."

"Who are you and what have you done with Eric Northman?"

He laughed loudly. "Maybe I should get one of those little signs that say baby on board?"

She laughed with him, and he took her hand and held it.

It was about 7 when they pulled into the back lot at Fangtasia. He held the door for her, then held the back door of the club open and let her enter first. The first person they saw was Pam.

"Well, didn't expect to see you tonight, Sookie. You are well?"

"Hi, yeah, I'm well. Thanks for letting Eric take a few days off."

Pam laughed at the idea of her giving Eric permission for… anything.

"Pam," he nodded at her.

"Master. I put the invoices on your desk. You have messages as well."

"Continue what you were doing, and I will call you if I need you."

Pam nodded and walked down the hall.

"She has a really pretty mouth," Sookie said.

Eric smiled to himself but said nothing.

As they went into his office, Sookie looked around and noticed the couch. She was a little queasy. "Eric, is it ok if I lie on your couch while you do whatever you have to do?"

"Of course. Are you ill?"

"A little sick to my stomach. It comes and goes."

Eric pushed a button on his desk.

"Yes, Master?" a voice answered.

"Bring a ginger ale to my office immediately."

"Yes, Master."

"You didn't have to do that, Eric, but thank you."

"Go ahead and lie down, lover. Do you want a blanket?"

"No, I'll be fine." She curled up on the leather couch. A human bar maid came in with a glass of ginger ale. Eric motioned toward Sookie, and the girl pulled a little table next to the couch and set the drink on a napkin.

"Thank you," Sookie said.

"Yes, Mistress." The girl left quickly.

"Why did she call me mistress?" Sookie asked.

"Because that is what you are, dear one. I am Master, you are Mistress, and they know that if they do not address you properly they will be punished."

"I don't know if I can get used to that, Eric."

"You are already used to many things you did not think you could be, my dear. This is just one more thing you will come to expect and then forget about."

"If you say so."

"I do."  
She took a sip of ginger ale, closed her eyes, and fell asleep.

She woke up about an hour and a half later. There was a blue blanket over her, and she was alone in Eric's office. Some date she was. At least she didn't feel sick anymore. There was a mirror on the wall behind the couch, and she checked her makeup. She didn't wear much, and what she did have on seemed fine, so she sat up and waited a minute for her head to clear.

Pam came in. "The Master sent me to check on you. Are you feeling better?"

"Yes, I am, I just need a minute to wake up."

"He said to tell you that he is entertaining a VIP, but he will be with you shortly."

"OK, Pam, thanks."

"I'll tell him you are awake. I think he wanted to introduce you."

Pam left. Sookie stretched and stood up, checking her dress in the mirror. She was afraid it had wrinkled, but it didn't look bad at all. She took a small brush out of her handbag and touched up her hair. She was just putting the band back in when Eric came into the office.

"You are awake, my lover!"

"Yes, I am." She reached up and kissed him. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close to him, and she hugged him as tightly as she could.

"Are you feeling better, lover? You seem a little stronger."

"Yes, I'm much better. As a matter of fact, the only thing wrong with me right now is I want to get you home and into bed."

"Ah. Well, that must wait a little while, but it will happen. I must get back to my guest. In the mean time…" he bent and whispered in her ear, "would you like to play a little game, dear one?"

"Mmmm. What did you have in mind?"

"You must do exactly as I say for the rest of the night, without argument and without hesitation. Do you think you could do that for me?"

"That means I have to trust you not to make me do anything horrible, right?"

"Of course – but I will test your boundaries. That's the whole point. Are you up to a challenge?"

"Yes." She looked at him confidently.

"Remember – no hesitation, you just obey my commands."

"Ok."

"Turn and face my desk." She did.

"Now bend at the waist and put your hands on the edge of the desk." She did.

"Spread your legs, Sookie."

She moved her legs further apart. He lifted her skirt, caressed her bottom, and slowly pulled the red lace thong down to her ankles.

"Step out of it, Sookie."

She picked up one foot, then the other, and he slipped it off.

He stood up, squeezing both of her bottom cheeks briefly. She could feel the cloth of her thong in one hand. He reached forward with the other, between her legs, and rubbed her nub in little circles. He pulled his hand back enough to slide two fingers into her. She gasped and wiggled a little, and he laughed softly. Then he removed his hand and lowered her skirt.

"Stand up, my lover."

"What are…"

"Shhh, dear one."

He raised the thong to his face, kissed it, inhaled deeply, and put it in the pocket of his jeans. He opened the door.

"After you, dear one."

Her eyes bugged a little. "Eric, I can't…"

"Sookie, my guest is waiting. Do not make me look bad in front of her. Do as I say."

"What if I don't?"

"I'll throw you over my shoulder and carry you out, and you will have to deal with the consequences later. You said you would do as I say, Sookie. I expect you to honor your word. Now go."

She started to speak, but the stern look on his face stopped her. She looked down and walked out the door. He followed her out.

"Stand tall, Sookie, you should look proud to be with me. I want people to see how beautiful you are."

Her face was burning. Under normal circumstances, being without panties might be a little turn on, but in a vampire bar, everyone would know she was naked beneath her dress, and Eric knew that. She realized that he _wanted_ them to know.

As they entered the bar, she could feel the other vamps turning to look at her, reacting to her scent. She was still flushed, and still aroused from Eric's brief attentions in the office. As they approached Eric's table, she saw a woman seated there. She stood up to greet them. She was striking – yes, that was the word. She was tall with short dark hair and a commanding presence.

"Sabrina, this is my bonded, Sookie Stackhouse, soon to be Sookie Northman," he proclaimed proudly. "Sookie, this is Sabrina Maxwell, Sheriff of Area 3." The woman nodded, and Sookie nodded back to her.

"It's nice to meet you, Sheriff Maxwell." She was trying to remember her manners, though all she could think about was the area between her legs.

"Very nice to meet you, Sookie. Please call me Sabrina. I see that Eric did not exaggerate. You certainly live up to his glowing description of you."  
She was still blushing. "Thank you, Sabrina."

"Shall we sit down?" Eric asked, loving his role as lord and master of the room.

Sabrina resumed her seat on one side of the booth. Eric motioned for Sookie to slide in before him on the opposite side, and then he joined her there. He motioned to the bar, and two bloods and a ginger ale were delivered immediately.

"So, Eric tells me you are going to be wed, as well as bonded. He will be the first Sheriff in North America to marry."

"Really?" Sookie was surprised. "I didn't realize it was that unusual."

"Yes, he will be a trail blazer. It's usually younger vampires who go in for Mainstreaming like that. It's possible he will be the oldest vampire in the world to take vows with a human."

"How will the other Sheriffs feel about that?" Sookie was a little worried now.

"No one will question Eric's decision – he's too well respected for that. It's likely that it will make the practice much more acceptable in the vampire community. If the great Eric Northman can take vows with a human, anyone should be able to – though you aren't strictly human, are you, dear?"

"Sookie is a telepath," Eric interjected. "She's got a touch of Supe in her."

"Ah, well, that is something, at least. She is beautiful to be sure, but I knew there must be some attraction beyond the physical, considering your background, Eric."

"His background?"

"My dear, Eric is known for his romantic exploits. He has been with the most beautiful women in history; human, vampire, and even an undine and a fairy or two, eh, Northman?"

Sookie looked at him. Was this woman insulting her? Or was she just busting on Eric? She was hard to read.

"Oh, I didn't know that. Women obviously find him attractive."

"Yes, they do. You've got yourself quite a catch, my dear. Congratulations."

"Thank you." Sookie still wasn't sure about this woman. Was she jealous of her? Or of Eric. She did seem to be looking at Sookie's cleavage a lot.

"Excuse me, Sheriff Maxwell," Pam interrupted. Yay, Pam. "There's a call for you at the bar."

"Excuse me, please," Sabrina said as she got up to follow Pam back to the phone.

Eric put his arm around Sookie and whispered so quietly she could barely hear, "Raise up and pull your skirt up so you are sitting directly on the seat."

She was shocked at the suggestion and it showed in her face.

"Do it quickly, Sookie, before she comes back." He was serious, looking at her very intently. She swallowed hard, and closed her eyes, but she did as she was told. Now her bare bottom was directly against the leather seat of the booth. She never felt so exposed, though she was sure no one could see her with Eric beside her.

"Why are you pressing your legs together, Sookie? Open your knees," he whispered as his hand patted her knee. Her breathing was hard, but she opened her legs. The next thing she knew his hand was under her skirt, touching her, and she was mortified. She looked up to see if anyone was watching. He was looking at her with that look again – the scary, sexy one with the narrow eyes and evil smile. His fangs were partially down.

He nibbled her ear. She thought she would faint. Suddenly, he sat up and pulled his had away. Sabrina was coming back. Holy shit – she was sure the bitch would see from her face what had happened. Is that what it felt like to have sex in public? It wasn't really sex, it was just… oh, hell, she couldn't think. She felt dizzy. She wanted Eric so badly right now she could scream. She wanted out of this booth, out of this bar, and she wanted him inside her. Her whole being and awareness seemed to be focused between her legs. She squirmed a little, and she could see Eric look sideways at her and smile, even as he was talking to Pam and Sabrina.

Suddenly, Sookie was aware that the vamps in the booth behind theirs were aware of her. She heard one make a comment about her scent, in very crude terms. She was pretty sure Eric heard it, too, because he laughed just a little as he raised his bottle of blood to his lips.

One of the males behind them, a big, biker looking vamp, walked over to the bar and got a drink, then stared right at her as he came back across the room. Eric growled at him, and he nodded and went back to his seat. Sabrina seemed amused.

"She's quite the little attention-getter, isn't she? She stands out even when she's hiding in a corner."

"You can see why I like to keep her close to me. She's hard to resist."

"Apparently. I'd better be heading back to my nest. It was nice seeing you again, Eric. A pleasure meeting you, Sookie," she purred. Sookie couldn't tell, again, if she was being insulted or complimented, and it was starting to piss her off. She's glad she was leaving.

"I'll see you to the door," Eric said as he rose and accompanied her to the front door.

Pam came over and sat down. "Well, Sookie, how did you like meeting one of your former rivals?"

"Huh?"

"Sabrina Maxwell has been after Eric for a century or more. She claimed to be here on business, but the first thing she did was ask about you, so my guess is she was here to see how attached to you Eric really is."  
"You think so? She said a couple of things where I couldn't tell if she was insulting me or complimenting me."

"Probably both. She probably found you attractive too, and once she saw how Eric fawns over you, she didn't know whether to be more jealous of him or of you."

"Do I need to worry about her?"

"Not at all. Eric has no interest in anyone but you, and she hasn't got enough power to challenge him in any political situation."

"Thanks, Pam, that makes me feel better."

"There's nothing for you to be insecure about, Sookie. He's not going anywhere. He couldn't if he tried. Your bond wouldn't let him, and he likes it that way."

"Oh… OK."

Eric returned, smiling like a Cheshire cat. "Now that's what I like to see, my two girls conspiring against the competition," he said as he slid next to Sookie, laughing.

"No competition at all as far as I could see, right, Sookie?"

"Yeah, none at all."

"That's good to hear, my lover. No one can compete with you. I was hoping you would not be jealous."

"Should I be?"

"Of course not, dear one, but she was very catty with you. I was proud that you stayed above trading insults with her. It would have demeaned you. Instead, you were gracious and sweet and sexy. Everything she was hoping you would not be."

Pam laughed, "I'd better get back to the front door." She nodded to Sookie as she left.

Eric put his arm around Sookie again, and before she knew it his hand was under her skirt again.

"Eric," she whispered urgently, "don't. Didn't you see that guy before?"

"The one I growled at because he wanted you? Obviously." His hand grew more insistant. He kissed her cheek, then nibbled her ear.

"Then why…?"

"Because I can, and he can't. Every vampire in this room, and most of the humans, wants you, my lover, but only I can have you."

She was having trouble breathing. "I feel like you're putting me on display."  
"I am."

"It's degrading."  
"You don't feel degraded, my lover. I know what you are feeling, and shame is not a part of it."

"Oh, really?"

"Yes, really. Even if we were not bonded, I would know what my hand knows. You are very, very wet, Sookie." He kissed her neck and she tried not to moan.

"Eric…" she was pleading now.

"Come with me." He stood up and held his hand out for her. He motioned to the DJ who announced a change in song. He took Sookie onto the dance floor. "This is from Master to Mistress, Peter Gabriel, In Your Eyes."

"Eric…" she pulled back a little, but he frowned at her, so she let him pull her close and put her face on his chest.

He kissed her hair and whispered to her, "Listen to the words, Sookie. I chose this song for you."

_love I get so lost, sometimes_

_days pass and this emptiness fills my heart_

_when I want to run away_

_I drive off in my car_

_but whichever way I go_

_I come back to the place you are_

She looked up at him.

_all my instincts, they return_

_and the grand facade, so soon will burn_

_without a noise, without my pride_

_I reach out from the inside_

He looked at her. She was flushed again. Oh, shit why were they standing in a room full of people? He held her tight around the waist, and held their hands up between them, and he inhaled, and she knew he was taking in her scent.

Fangs down, eyes bright blue, he caught her gaze…

_in your eyes_

_the light the heat_

_in your eyes_

_I am complete_

_in your eyes_

_I see the doorway to a thousand churches_

_in your eyes_

_the resolution of all the fruitless searches_

_in your eyes_

_I see the light and the heat_

_in your eyes_

_oh, I want to be that complete_

_I want to touch the light_

_the heat I see in your eyes_

Her breathing was ragged now, and she could feel his desire hard and pressed against her. She remembered he went commando this evening. DAMN!

_love, I don't like to see so much pain_

_so much wasted and this moment keeps slipping away_

_I get so tired of working so hard for our survival_

_I look to the time with you to keep me awake and alive_

'Hold it together, Sookie,' she pleaded with herself. 'Eventually you'll get him back to his office and jump him.'

He kissed her, and she nearly fell as her knees buckled. He laughed a little into her mouth. He took both her hands and stretched their arms out between them, then pulled her close and swung her around.

_and all my instincts, they return_

_and the grand facade, so soon will burn_

_without a noise, without my pride_

_I reach out from the inside_

She was painfully aware that the skirt of her dress was flaring out as he turned her. It's a good thing the dance floor wasn't elevated. She could feel a breeze. She could feel every eye in the room on them. She could tell most of the vamps had popped their fangs watching them.

_in your eyes_

_the light the heat_

_in your eyes_

_I am complete_

_in your eyes_

_I see the doorway to a thousand churches_

_in your eyes_

_the resolution of all the fruitless searches_

Her mind was racing. 'Oh, god, I don't know if I can take this. He's so beautiful. I should be mad at him. I should hate him. All I want to do is feel him inside me. This song is so sweet but it's lasting FOREVER!'

_in your eyes_

_I see the light and the heat_

_in your eyes_

_oh, I want to be that complete_

_I want to touch the light,_

_the heat I see in your eyes_

_in your eyes in your eyes_

_in your eyes in your eyes_

_in your eyes in your eyes_

As the song slowly faded, he actually bent her backwards and kissed her, and the room _applauded. _She couldn't crawl in a hole and die, so she plastered on her emergency smile and tried to be gracious as he held her hand and bowed.

He took her arm in his and escorted her out of the room and into his office.

Before they were in the door, she was up in his arms and he was kissing her. He put her on the couch, raised her skirt, and finally his tongue was on her, in her. His fingers were in her then as he licked and nibbled then…

He stood up.

"I'll be back in a minute, Sookie. Hold that thought." He was out the door before she had a chance to react. What the HELL, Northman! She was gonna kill him. All night he'd get her started and stop, or take her out in front of people, and if she didn't have some release soon, her head would explode. She didn't care if he liked it or not, she needed relief so she began to caress herself.

Eric walked up to Pam. "Put someone else on the door. Go to my office and see to your mistress. She needs your help. I'll be there in twenty minutes." Pam caught the scent on his lips and looked at him oddly. "You know exactly what I mean, Pam. See to her." And he walked away with a smile. He went back out onto his throne and took out his blackberry. He checked his email. He kicked a chubby man in a Dio t-shirt in the face. He chuckled to himself. He could feel exactly what Sookie was feeling. Pam owed him one.

Pam was in the room before Sookie heard her. She jumped, and pushed her skirt down.

"The master said you needed my help, but it looks like you were doing fine without me."

"Did he send you here?"

"Yes, and he told me to see to you." Pam knelt in front of Sookie, "Would you like me to help you. Sookie?" She leaned forward and Sookie stretched up to meet her lips. Pam kissed her deeply. Sookie moaned. Now Pam's hand was under her dress and finally, Sookie was free to react. Pam kissed Sookie's neck, then the tops of her breasts. Her lips were lush and soft and even her breath was sweet.

Sookie moved so Pam could reach behind her and unzip her dress. Her bra was open before she knew it – Pam could do that with one hand. In no time, her bra was off, the dress was around her waist, and Pam was nipping at her nipples as she worked Sookie into a frenzy with her fingers.

Pam's dress was strapless, so Sookie pushed it down and began to massage her breasts. She'd never touched another woman's breasts before, and it was soft and wonderful. Pam moved her mouth down between Sookie's legs, and she was writhing. She managed to get her dress over her head as Pam's mouth and fingers worked magic on her center. Sookie was wearing nothing but a pair of red heels, and Pam was topless when Eric came back into the room, so quietly that they didn't notice him. He quietly moved behind his desk, sat in his chair and watched them. He rubbed his bulge a bit, but that's all – it wasn't time just yet. Sookie started to talk very fast, "Oh, god, yes, yes, oh, don't stop." Eric smiled and tried not to laugh so he wouldn't disturb them. In another minute, Sookie came on Pam's tongue and fingers, crying out as she did. Sookie was just coming down when Eric spoke.

"Having fun girls?" He tried to sound very stern so Sookie wouldn't know if he was angry or not. He'd never let her know that this was a dream come true for him, one he never dared hope for. She really was perfect for him.

Sookie was startled, and suddenly realized she was naked, spread, and Pam was between her legs.

"Oh, yes, Master," Pam replied.

"What about you, Sookie? Are you having fun?"

She was speechless. She didn't know what to say.

"Answer me, Sookie," he said softly.

"Ye – yes."  
"Have you had enough my lover, or would you like to continue the party downstairs?"

"Downstairs."

"Pam, do you want to join us downstairs?"

"Yes, Master."

"Alright." He reached for the intercom on his desk.

"Yes master," the voice answered.

"Clancy?"

"Yes."

"Pam and I are occupied and cannot be disturbed. See to the closing of the bar and send the staff home. I will be staying late."

"Yes, master."

He opened the door to the stairs that led down to his special room.

"Right this way, Ladies. No clothing allowed."

TBC


	16. Chapter 16

Disclaimer: The Southern Vampire Series, and all characters from it, is owned by Charlaine Harris. No infringement is intended.

___________________________________________________________________________________

Pam stood up and helped Sookie stand.

"You can keep the shoes on, dear one. They look lovely with your outfit. Pam, you are over dressed."

"Yes, Master." Pam wiggled out of her dress, leaving only a tiny black thong.

"Sookie, help Pam with her panties."

Sookie looked at Pam, who was smiling at her in a very sexy way, and she slowly began to pull the thong down. Pam stepped out of it, and as Sookie stood, Pam moved forward and rubbed her body against Sookie's. Sookie's knees buckled a little, and Pam caught her and kissed her.

"Very nice, girls, now please head downstairs," Eric said. This could not get any better. He knew Pam would go along with anything. He knew Sookie was losing her mind with desire. The trick was not to push Sookie too far, too fast. Pam was apt to push, so let's take care of that first, he told himself.

The three of them went down the narrow stairs into the bedroom under Fangtasia. Sookie had been in it once before, but didn't remember much about it. The walls were black, the ceiling bright red. There was a small bathroom to one side, a huge round mattress on a platform, a refrigerator and a microwave, and all the fixtures and appliances were black. There was a single large leather chair facing the bed that reminded her of Eric's throne upstairs. Eric motioned to the bed.

"Make yourselves comfortable, ladies." Pam took Sookie's hand and pulled her onto the bed. She pulled Sookie into an embrace, kissing her and exploring her with her delicate hands.

Eric was still fully dressed, watching them. He walked over to the fridge, took out a blood and heated it up. He knew he couldn't risk drinking from Sookie with Pam there. Pam would have to be controlled if he let her feed from Sookie, and he was thinking about doing just that.

"Pam, would you like to know a secret about Sookie?"

"Yes, Master." She was nipping at Sookie's neck. Sookie's eyes were closed, and she was moaning a little.

"I've told you that Sookie has an unusual taste – that she's sweeter than most humans because she's part fairy?"

"Yes." Pam was nibbling Sookie's nipples as Sookie ran her hands all over Pam, smoothing her hair and exploring her.

"Well, since she has become pregnant, she's bleeding pure fairy."

Pam raised her head and looked at Sookie hungrily, growling and showing her fangs.

"How long since you've had fairy blood, Pam?"

"Three years."

"Would you like to taste Sookie?"

"Yes, Master."

"Would you be willing to be restrained so I could be sure you wouldn't harm her?"

"Yes, Master."

"Two points, Pam. Sookie, let Pam move to the center."

"Yes, Master." Sookie and Pam spoke in unison then, and Eric had to turn his back so they wouldn't see him smile. 'She's a natural,' he thought.

Sookie moved to the side a bit, and Pam centered herself on the bed. She reached below the platform and brought up two leather restraints. She snapped one around her own wrist.

"Put the other one on her, Sookie."

Sookie was nervous, and she fumbled a little, but she got the other restraint snapped.

"Pam's a vampire, Sookie, you won't be able to harm her. Do whatever you want to her, and let her taste you."

Eric sat in the chair facing the bed. Sookie had thought that was exactly what it was for. He liked to watch.

Sookie had stopped thinking. It felt as if she was in a dream – a very hot dream – and she went with it. She straddled Pam's tiny waist and cupped both of her breasts in her hand. She leaned forward and took Pam's nipple in her mouth, nipping a bit with her teeth. Pam growled and pushed up between Sookie's legs. She was writhing under Sookie's touch as Sookie sucked hard on one nipple and pinched the other with her fingers. Eric was surprised at how rough Sookie was with Pam. For that matter, so was Pam, who was almost howling with pleasure. You had to get pretty rough to scare Pam, and he knew Sookie would never go that far.

Sookie raised her hips, giving Eric an amazing view, and leaned down to rub her breasts against Pam's. He was amazed that she wasn't showing any shyness. Sookie moved up Pam's body, kissed her on the mouth and said, "Where do you want to bite me?"

"Your breast," Pam growled.

Sookie leaned over her so Pam could reach her breast with her mouth. Pam was straining upward and latched onto Sookie. Sookie cried out, but not in pain. She liked it, a lot. Eric made a mental note – he'd never been that rough with Sookie, but she seemed to respond positively.

'She's tougher than she looks,' he thought. 'Good to know.'

Pam let go of Sookie's breast, and she moved to offer her the other one. Pam latched on again, moaning, and Sookie reached back and caressed herself. Pam was done, and the blood had intoxicated her. She was writhing beneath Sookie, who moved down her body to nip at her breasts again, then moved further down and opened Pam's legs.

If Eric breathed, he'd be holding it now. He was sure Sookie wouldn't do that, yet there she was, stroking Pam with her fingers, probing her, bending down to kiss and lick her. Pam was wild, and Sookie seemed spurred on by her reaction. Eric began to unbutton his shirt cuffs.

"Ah!" Pam cried out.

Did Sookie just… she did. She bit Pam, not hard, but it didn't take much in that particular spot. Sookie the sadist.

'That's my girl,' Eric thought, fighting not to laugh out loud. He was unbuttoning his shirt and kicked off his boots.

Pam was bucking hard, and Sookie was having trouble controlling her. Eric stood and reached forward. "Here, Sookie. Put her legs over your shoulders and hold onto them. She won't be able to get away from you that way." He was speaking softly because Sookie was damn near in a trance, and he didn't want to break the spell.

She was eating Pam aggressively, and he took his pants off. He came up behind Sookie, and stroked her bottom. She wiggled, but kept at Pam. He pulled her hips up a little so he could reach her, and slowly started to press into Sookie.

It started a chain reaction. Sookie was wild and Pam was wilder. He had to really hold Sookie still with his arms around her waist. He saw her let go of one of Pam's legs and bring her hand up under her. He could tell when Sookie slid her fingers into Pam because Pam arched her back and cried out. Pam was deep in the thrall of the Fae blood, and he doubted she really knew what was happening. She was all sensation at that point.

Sookie was working Pam enthusiastically, and pushing back against him. He moved one of his hands from her waist down to stroke her. "Unh, yes! More!"

Suddenly Pam went crazy and shrieked. He knew Sookie had done something different, but he couldn't see what it was. Pam's reaction was so wild that he was glad she was restrained. Pam growled and arched her back high, then started hard thrusts upward punctuated by short cries.

"Stop, Sookie, Stop!" Pam called to her, and Sookie raised her head and let Pam rest. Now that he had her full attention, Eric started driving hard into Sookie, and she was literally begging for more.

"AAHHHHHHhhhhhh – ahhhhh!" Sookie let out a scream and fell forward on Pam. Eric held her hips and continued until he reached a very similar conclusion. Everyone was still, and the only sound was the sound of Sookie panting. Pam shuddered and moaned a bit. Eric was experiencing little shocks.

Sookie was moving, and Eric realized she was slipping her hand back under her body to caress herself.

'You've got to be kidding,' he thought. He raised up, moved back just enough to be able to bring his palm down on Sookie's backside with a loud SLAP!

"OW!" Sookie yelled. She looked back at him, shocked. Pam was laughing.

"What was that for?!"

"That was for being greedy."

"What do you mean?"

"You just collapsed from one of the most intense orgasms you've ever had and you're already caressing yourself."

Pam was still drunk but laughing hysterically.

"Serves you right to be bonded to a nympho, MASTER!" Pam teased him. He laughed. Sookie was rubbing her backside.

"Are you alright, dear one? I was just joking."

"I don't see anything funny about it," she complained. He rubbed the spot and kissed it.

"I do," Pam was still cracking up.

"What did you do to Pam to drive her so wild, Sookie? I thought she was going to break the restraints."

"I did what you do to me sometimes."

"What would that be?"

"She put her fingers up my backside," Pam laughed. "She caught me off guard."

"And without lube." Eric looked at her with surprise and delight all over his face.

"Oops, I forgot," Sookie said. Pam really cracked up.

"Well, my lover, if you were going to surprise anyone, Pam was a good choice. She likes that a great deal. Here, Sookie come up here." He motioned for Sookie to move up and lie beside Pam, and he crawled up to the other side of her. He bent down to kiss Pam, then leaned over to kiss Sookie.

"Well, Sookie, was that what you had on your lusty little mind?"

"Yeah, but it was better than I thought it would be."

"My Master has created a monster," Pam laughed. She was always a little giddy after a good orgasm.

Eric stoked Pam's tummy, as Sookie stroked her breast and leaned in to kiss Eric.

"Pam, I'm afraid I can't let you go yet, you're still high on fairy."

"Yes, I am, and it's lovely. I can't believe you've got fairy on tap at your house," she laughed. "Oh, Sookie – kiss me again," Pam said. Sookie bent down to kiss her, and while she did Eric kissed her hair. He reached for Sookie and pulled her closer to Pam, then rubbed his hand over both of them. Sookie stroked Pam's breast, then reached up and stroked Eric's cheek with backs of her fingers.

"So what are you thinking, Master," she said playfully.

"I am thinking how much easier my life will be since my two girls get along so well with each other," he laughed. Then he was a little serious, "I love you both, you know, in different ways."

"We love you, too," Pam said.

"Yes, we do," Sookie agreed.

"And I suppose, if you had to have a little human of your own, you could have done much worse than our Sookie, even if she wasn't a temporary fairy," Pam laughed.

Sookie and Eric laughed, too.

"Hey, I asked you the other day what an orgy was like. Was this an orgy?" Sookie asked. Pam laughed, but she was cooling down a bit.

"Hmm," Eric replied. "What do you think, Pam. Does three close partners equal an orgy? Or does it require more than three? The presence of strangers, maybe?" he laughed.

"I never associated a ménage a trois with an orgy. Orgies, to me, have lots of participants."

"A what?" Sookie asked.

"A ménage a trois," Pam repeated.

"I've seen that in books, I think. What does it mean?"

"Three people bedding each other as we just did?"

"I'm glad you told me. I'd hate to have done something and not know what it was called." They all laughed.

"You do one thing without knowing what it is called," Eric teased her.

"What would that be?" Pam was curious.

"Never mind," Sookie said.

"Pam," Eric asked her, "What was Sookie doing when you came back to the office earlier?"

"You want the technical term?"

"No, what do girls call it, just among themselves?"

"The girls I know around here call it 'diddling'."

"Is that what that means?!" Sookie was shocked. "The girls at work used to say that all the time, and I never knew what they were talking about. They're a lot dirtier than I realized," she laughed.

"Pam, can you control yourself now?"

"Yes, I'm just a little buzzed, but I'm not dangerous."

"Sookie, open the restraint," he said as he loosened the one on his side.

Pam stretched her arms, then put one around Sookie and kissed her. Sookie responded.

"Trade places with me, Sookie," Pam said as she moved down the bed so Sookie could lie in between Eric and her.

Eric kissed Sookie and stroked her breast. Pam's mouth found Sookie's other breast, and her hand slipped between Sookie's legs. Sookie was moving her hips rhythmically against Pam's hand. Sookie took Eric in her hand and stroked. He moaned.

Pam moved down the bed and pulled Sookie down the mattress a bit by her ankles, then moved up between Sookie's legs, raising one over her shoulder and pressing their pelvic bones together. Pam began to writhe against Sookie and Sookie responded. Eric kissed her, then moved up the bed and moved himself so Sookie could take him in her mouth. Eric held her head in his hand, and moved gently in and out of her mouth, not wanting to overwhelm her.

Sookie was moaning. Pam grew more insistent, and Sookie responded in kind. Eric took Sookie's wrist and put it in the restraint by his hip. He was stroking her face, watching her as he moved in and out. Pam was moaning and obviously approaching her release. Eric moved his hand down to Sookie's breast and held her head up a little so she could take him deeper. Pam was moaning, cried out and was quiet. She stretched like a cat, stroking her nails gently down Sookie's breast, ribcage, stomach and thigh. She kissed Sookie's knee and moved back off of the bed. Sookie shifted and stroked Eric's thigh with her free hand. He shifted toward her as Pam took her wrist and gently pulled it back to the other restraint. She closed the clasp, nodded to Eric, and left.

Sookie and Eric were alone. Sookie's wrists were cuffed so that her arms were far apart. Eric pulled out of her mouth and moved over her body, sliding his hands under her shoulders and raising her a bit so he could rub his face over her breasts, kissing her all over her chest and stomach, pulling her legs up and entering her slowly.

Sookie moaned. Being unable to move her hands made her more aware of her body, and she was completely focused on the feel of Eric moving slowly in and out of her. He stretched back up and kissed her. He nibbled her earlobe and whispered, "I love you, Sookie." Their eyes met, and they held each other's gaze as he stroked in and out of her. She was making little sounds each time he did, and he gently brushed his lips against hers over and over. He began to move his hips faster, and she raised her legs to take him deeper. He came up on his knees, his hands under her bottom to hold her at the right angle.

"Ah – Ah – Ah," she was crying out softly with each stroke.

"Look at me, Sookie," he said in a deep growl.

They looked in each other's eyes as he began to move quickly.

"Oh, oh. Now," Sookie panted, and she arched her back as she finished.

Eric made a few final, very definite thrusts and finished, slowly lowering himself on top of her. He bit her earlobe.

"Magnificent," he purred.

TBC


	17. Chapter 17

Disclaimer: The Southern Vampire Series, and all characters from it, is owned by Charlaine Harris. No infringement is intended.

___________________________________________________________________________________

Sookie was out of her head and she liked it. As she was trying to catch her breath, Eric was kissing her face, her neck, her breasts.

"Wow," she said, "that was intense."

"Mmmmm, yes, my lover, that was very nice. I think you like being restrained," he said with a wicked grin.

"It's weird – it's like I'm more aware of my body."

He continued to kiss and caress her.

"If you weren't pregnant, I'd restrain your legs, too. It would feel as if your entire being was between your legs."

"Can we do that sometime after the baby?"

His eyes lit up. "Does that mean you'd like to do this again some time?"

"Oh, yes, I want more. More of us, more with Pam, more of whatever there is…"

Eric laughed softly. "You are insatiable, dear one. Would you like a little more before we have to head to Bon Temps?"

"Bon Temps? Aren't we going home tonight?"

"Home?"

"Your house."

"I'm so pleased you think of that as home now, my lover. But, no, I think we must spend the night in Bon Temps so I can be at your house when I rise. You are making dinner for your brother and I'd prefer you not be alone in the house with him."

"I could ask Amelia to stay."

"Amelia could not protect you if he becomes violent. I won't take that chance."

"OK, then. I wish I had called Amelia earlier to let her know."

"I had Pam do that, dear one, while you were asleep in my office."

"OK, I guess I've got clothes there. Plus I'll be able to get some things to take back home with me."

He smiled at hearing her refer to his house as her home again. She was growing used to being with him, and that was very good. He was getting to the point where he hated to be away from her even for a few hours. He kissed her deeply, and she began to try to rub her body against him. He decided they had time for one more little game. He nipped her ear lobe again and whispered, "I'll be right back."

She pouted a little and tried to see what he was doing. He went over toward the appliances, and she heard the refrigerator door open. Maybe he needed a True Blood? He came back the bed and stretched out beside her.

"You are so warm, little one, that I think maybe you need to cool down a bit." He held up a huge piece of ice.

"What are you…?"

"Shhhh, Sookie, just close your eyes and concentrate on what you feel."

He gently touched her lips with the ice, then kissed her. He ran the ice down her neck, and she shivered and gasped. Slowly, he ran the ice down the underside of her upper arm, and she pulled against the restraints and whimpered a little, trying to move away from the ice, but she couldn't.

He ran the ice down to her waist and slowly over her ribcage. She felt as if her whole body was one big nerve, and every part of her was tense and quivering with anticipation. He slowly moved the ice up to her breast and onto her nipple. She was beginning to move her hips and pull against the restraints a little. He slowly moved the ice over to her other breast. She was trembling a little and shivering a little because of the air on the wet trail from where the ice had touched her.

She opened her eyes and looked at him with hunger in her eyes. He had that scary smile that turned her to jelly. He held her gaze as he slowly moved the ice from her breast down to her tummy. She couldn't be still. He slowly ran the ice in a circle around her belly button and dipped it inside. She was wiggling and moving her knees up and down. He was laughing a little.

"Eric…"

"Shhhhh, Sookie."

"Please…"

"Please what, my lover?" She was shivering as he slowly moved the ice across her lower belly.

"I.. I can't…"

"Can't what?" He took the ice back up to her nipple, which was very hard, then up under her other elbow, pulling it down in one smooth motion on the underside of her arm, to her underarm, down her side to her hip bone as she wiggled, trying to move away. He ran the ice down the outside of her thigh.

"Open your legs, Sookie."

"No."

"NO?"

"I can't - I can't take it."

"You don't have a choice my lover. You can open your legs willingly, or I will open them for you." He ran the ice over her tummy to her other hip bone and down the other thigh.

"I can't."

"Very well, my lover, you leave me no choice." He put the ice between his teeth and got up. It was still a very big piece of ice, and because he had no body heat, it was melting much slower than she expected. He grabbed her ankles and she kicked at him a little, but it did no good because he was so much stronger. He forced them apart, moving up between her legs, using his knees to force and keep her legs wide open. She quivered and whimpered a little.  
"Eric…please."

"As you wish, my lover." He pushed her knees out wide with his hands and lowered his head between her legs. With the ice still between his teeth, he ran it up the inside of her thigh. She whimpered loudly and bucked her hips, but he was holding her legs with an iron grip. He ran the ice quickly up her other thigh as she writhed under his touch, then he spread her with the fingers of one hand, and ran the ice over her nub in a circle. She went wild trying to get away from him. He took the ice out of his mouth, using his hand to run it up an down her lower lips. She jumped. She bucked. She tried to get away, but he held her tight and pushed the ice inside of her.

"No," she cried out, "Eric," but she was laughing as she said it. He took the ice out. Thank heaven it was getting smaller. It wouldn't last much longer. Almost as if he could read her mind, he shoved the ice back in her and got up. He went to the freezer again, and she knew he was getting more ice.

She could see the ice in his hand as he resumed his position between her legs, amid kicks and protests from her. This piece of ice was a long cylinder like those special trays made for making ice that will slip into a bottle of water or pop. He pushed one of her legs up, holding it under her knee, and ran the ice down her thigh, over her lips, around her clit, down and into her, then took it out, and pushing her leg high, he pushed it into her back entrance.

"Ah, Eric, Please!" She went wild.

"Want some more lover?"

"N... No."

"Relax, Sookie, it's already melted. Your hot little hole turned it to water in no time at all."

He ran his hands down her inner thighs and planted a kiss on her nub, then went to work with his tongue. Her nerves were on high alert. They were numb in some spots, hyper sensitive in others. He did the move she was learning to love, with a thumb and two fingers filling both entrances. He made her feel completely possessed when he handled her that way. He was still working his spell with his tongue and even his teeth a little, working her with one hand, and the other reached up and grabbed her breast. He had long arms, long fingers, and he was all over her at once.

She felt like her body wasn't even hers anymore, and she liked it. She was HIS, body and soul, writhing under him exactly the way he wanted her to, because he was making her do his bidding. She should hate this but, god, she loved it so much she couldn't believe it. She didn't even know she could feel this way, and then she was coming and it was spectacular. She saw stars and cried out his name, almost sobbing, it was so intense. He pushed her so far she didn't know if she could take any more, and as she started to sob he backed off and let her breathe. She felt like she was floating above her body, but her body was electrically charged and vibrating.

She was barely aware of Eric unlocking the restraints. He kissed her forehead and gently rolled her over on her stomach. She was limp as he lifted her hips and slid a pillow underneath them. She was only beginning to come back to her senses when she felt the cold gel between her cheeks. She cried out with pleasure as Eric pushed into her back entrance and began to ride her.

This had to be it. This had to be the most crazed and alive a person could feel. Then he pressed his bleeding wrist to her lips and she was gone. Her thoughts were racing but made little sense to her. She was nothing but sensation and they weren't even hers – they were coming from somewhere else, and he was in control of them. She was an instrument he was playing and he was a virtuoso. She was becoming more aware as he stiffened and cried out, then fell across her back, kissing her and speaking that language she really did need to learn. She was still lost in her sensations as he cleaned her up and set the room to rights.

"Sookie," he said softly. "Are you alright, dear one? You are very quiet."

She tried to speak, but couldn't manage it, but she smiled and laughed a little and saw him smile because he knew she was coming back to her senses. He helped her turn over, and she reached up to him. He took her in his arms and purred to her about how much he loved her and how happy he was. She turned her face up to him, and he kissed her and cradled her in his arms until she came back to earth.

"Shall we go to Bon Temps, my lover?"

"Mmm-hmm," she nodded her head, but she was still a little loopy. He quickly got dressed, then he picked her up and carried her back up to his office. He found her bra and put it in her handbag, then slipped the little dress over her head as she sat on the couch. He helped her stand up and zipped the back of the dress. He had his keys in his hand, closed and locked the door behind them, and ushered her out the back door of the club. He picked her up and carried her to his Corvette, gently placing her in her seat and buckling her seat belt. She reached for him, taking his face in her hands and said, "I love you, Eric."

He smiled down at her, "I love you, too, dear one. Go to sleep and we will be in Bon Temps in no time." That sounded like a good idea to her, so she settled back and slept. The next thing she knew, he was carrying her up the back steps at her house. He quietly unlocked the door and took her straight to her room. He pulled down the covers, helped her out of his favorite dress, and tucked her in. He kissed her softly on the lips. "I will see you at sundown, dear one. I love you."

TBC


	18. Chapter 18

A/N: This story has been posted on the TB Wiki for awhile, currently up to chapter 38, which is why chapters are appearing here so quickly. Your kind reviews are very much appreciated and encouraged!

Disclaimer: The Southern Vampire Series, and all characters from it, is owned by Charlaine Harris. No infringement is intended.

___________________________________________________________________________________

Sookie stretched luxuriously – what a great night's sleep. She smiled remembering her night at Fangtasia. Wow – that room had a lot of things she wanted to ask Eric about. There must have been some really wild scenes down there – she wondered how hers compared – was it tame or wild? She wanted to know. She had read a lot of romances, but she hadn't really read that much about sex, and she wondered what else she had been missing.

She ran her hands over her body, under the covers – she wasn't sore, exactly, but she knew she had been… well, what would the word be? Well loved, maybe? She giggled to herself – whatever you call it, she liked it. Eric was so amazing. He could be so sweet and then so wicked. Not evil, just wicked. He knew her so well it was almost scary – she had never been so close to anyone before. She certainly never knew anyone as exciting as he was, and he was so good at everything.

She understood why Pam was so loyal to him. She knew they had that vampire sire/child connection, but you could tell it was more than that with them. They really liked each other and knew each other's likes and dislikes. They loved each other, they just weren't IN love with each other. She never thought that was really possible, but she was learning a lot of things she didn't think were possible. You'd think she'd be jealous of Pam, but she's not. She didn't feel like having sex with Pam was being unfaithful, either. Pam was a part of Eric. Love him, love his child – literally, she laughed to herself.

She rolled over on her side, in what she now thought of as her 'Baby Eric' position, and wrapped her arms around the little bulge in her tummy. What a difference this week had made in her life! She was going to be a mommy. She was going to be a wife to a rich and powerful vampire. They were going to have the only nest of its kind. She was starting to like the idea of calling it a nest. It was different than just a home – it was magickal, like Eric, like the baby, like Niall.

She wasn't going to have what everyone else had – she was going to have something better than anybody else had! She would have the ultimate Supe family. She wondered what the baby would look like. She hoped he had Eric's clear, bright blue eyes. Those eyes made her feel so warm and so loved, even when he was giving her that scary, wicked look. Ohh- she shivered a little just thinking about it.

'Northman Fever,' she laughed to herself, 'and I don't need no doctor!' She remembered that from a metal band Jason used to play all the time.

Speaking of Jason, she had to get ready to make dinner for him. It was 2:00, and he was supposed to be there at 6:00. First thing she needed to do was call him and remind him. Jason was known to get distracted easily, especially if he hooked up with a pretty girl at Merlotte's last night.

She didn't know how he was going to take this news. She would make his favorite, fried chicken, to butter him up a little. She couldn't cook as well as Gran, but like any self-respecting Southern girl, she could fry a proper skillet of chicken when she wanted to. She needed to go to Walmart and get the stuff to make it. She was sure there was nothing in the freezer, and she wouldn't have time to thaw it even if there were.

She rolled out of bed and headed for the shower. A shower was just a shower without Eric. It was downright lonely in there without him. As the water flowed over her, she took stock of a few bruises and bite marks. Fortunately, none of them would show once she was dressed. She would wear a pretty dress today, too. Jason appreciated any girl in a pretty dress, even his sister. He liked "girly girls," and there weren't many of those in Bon Temps. It was a jeans and sneakers kind of town.

As she was combing out her hair, she was thinking about Eric's hair – how it fell around his face when he leaned over her – ohh, shivers again. How can a man be that beautiful? She was starting to get that tingling feeling between her legs again.

'Damn, Sookie, calm down,' she thought. 'You can't be getting all worked up when you've got to deal with family! Get a grip….' But then the word grip reminded her of a certain party and his 'gracious plenty,' and she was off on a tangent again. This was going to be a long dinner. How long until sundown?

She found a nice blue dress with little yellow flowers. Very Southern Belle looking – Jason and Eric would both like it. She packed up some clothes to take back to Shreveport with her. She slapped on a little makeup, grabbed her purse and headed for the kitchen.

Score! Amelia made coffee for her. She probably shouldn't, but one cup wouldn't hurt, so she grabbed a cup and headed for the phone.

"Hello?" She woke Jason up, apparently. He was as bad as she was.

"Jason? It's Sookie."

"Hey, Sis, what's up?"

"I just wanted to make sure you were still coming to dinner at 6:00."

"Is that today? Oh, yeah… Ok, yeah, I'll be there at 6. What's for dinner?"

"Fried chicken. Anything special you want with it?"

"You going to Walmart?"

"Yeah."

"Pecan pie would be nice."

Pecan pie. She thought of Gran. The last one she had was the one left when Gran…

"Ok, you got it. Now don't forget because I really need to talk to you, OK?"

"I'll be there. See ya, Sook!" He hung up on her without waiting for a response. Nice manners, Jason.

There was a note on the counter from Amelia – she was visiting friends and wouldn't be back until late. Ok, so she might have been alone with Jason if Eric wasn't there. Actually, she wanted Eric there anyway. He and Jason needed to tolerate each other. She wanted Little Eric to have an Uncle Jase to pester.

She and Eric hadn't talked about names, but she was pretty sure he was going to want a Jr. and she could handle that. She hoped he was a big strong Viking like his daddy. She giggled. She loved the picture of Eric Northman, huge tough vampire boss, having an itty bitty baby.

She threw a little white sweater on over her blue flowered dress and headed for Walmart. She looked at her car – Eric was right, it was a piece of crap. It was the best car she ever had, but still, it wasn't something Eric Northman would want his wife to drive. She figured she'd have to work on stuff like that, to live up to his image. She wanted him to be proud of her. She sometimes felt like she was embarrassing Bill, especially around other vampires, but Eric loved everything she did, as long as she didn't make him look weak in front of others, and to be fair, no man would put up with that. He liked to show her off, and if she was honest with herself, she was starting to like that. She even liked it when he'd get possessive. Weird, huh?

The trip to Walmart was uneventful, except she kept thinking about Eric and the night before and giggling or blushing. People looked at her like she was high or crazy or something, but everybody thought she was crazy anyway, so she was used to that. She was really bad when she went past the baby department. She even bought the cutest little onesie, in blue, for baby Eric. It was so tiny and cute she just had to have it. She couldn't wait to show Eric.

She wondered if he could show affection to a baby. Vamps tend to be a little stoic, and they don't have normal emotions like humans, but Eric was pretty demonstrative with her. Maybe that was because he was half fairy? He definitely made her feel loved, so he could probably handle the daddy stuff, but maybe not the baby talk and goo goo eyes, but she'd be doing plenty of that. She couldn't wait!

The baby would be a fairy. She really did need to learn more about what that meant. She knew Claudine and Claude and Niall and Eric, and that was it. They were all strikingly beautiful, even Niall though he was so old. What if the baby had pointed ears? Dr. Ludwig said he'd probably be able to fly and be telepathic. How do you keep up with a toddler that can fly? Maybe that was why they needed a daemon nanny?

She got home and unpacked her groceries, throwing the bag with the little baby onesie and a little pocket calendar she bought to make some plans on the couch in the living room. Did she have everything she needed? She remembered to get peanut oil, buttermilk, flour and chicken. She was making green beans, mashed potatoes and biscuits. She got two pecan pies and two tubs of Cool Whip, planning to send what was left home with Jason. She even got Ziplock bags to put everything in for him.

She had a brief pang of sadness when she pulled Gran's old iron skillet out of the oven where they stored the extra pans. She filled it with oil and turned on the fire. Then she washed and cut up the chicken the way Gran had taught her, and rolled it in buttermilk, then flour and spices. She remembered that the secret was to get the outside all brown, then put a lid on it so it would cook all the way through. Getting the outside done and leaving the inside raw was a rookie mistake she had no intention of making. The last thing she needed to do was make Jason sick.

She got the rest of the meal going and set the table. She figured she'd just have time to feed Jason before Eric woke up. He'd take the news better with a good meal and some pecan pie in him. She was nervous. He'd called her a fang banger before. Now she was pregnant by a vampire. Part of her hoped he'd love the idea of being an uncle. The other part of her was afraid he'd do something stupid like insult her, or worse, hit her in front of Eric. If he did that, she didn't know if she could keep Eric from hurting him. Please, please let the two of them be civil to each other, she prayed.

Jason was actually a little early for a change. That was good. He came up the steps stomping his feet, yelling, "Hey, Sookie, I'm here!"

"Hey, Jason, what's going on?"

"Nothing. Hey, Sam Merlotte was asking about you last night."

"I need to stop by and see Sam sometime, but I won't be able to for awhile."

"Why not? It's just down the road…"

"It's kind of a long story. Want a beer?"

"Sure. What kind you got?"

"Bud Ice – that's the kind you like isn't it?"

"Yeah, that's great. Boy, smells good in here."

"Supper's almost ready. Go ahead and sit down so we can catch up while I finish."

"So I was at Merlotte's last night with Hoyt and Catfish, and Vampire Bill came in."

"Really – I thought he was out of town?"

"He said he had been and just got back. Sam told him you don't work there no more. He was really surprised. How come he didn't know you quit?"

"It just happened a couple of days ago. The doctor said I couldn't work there anymore."

"Sookie, are you sick? You never been one to run to the doctor."

"Well, she's not a regular doctor. She's kind of a specialist."

"Are you gonna tell me what's wrong?"

"I'm not trying to be mysterious, Jason, I was just hoping we could wait 'til after we eat."

"Well then serve it up, because I want to know what the hell is going on with you. Sam said you didn't even call him yourself – that blood sucker did and then hung up on him."

Sookie brought the chicken to the table, then a basket of biscuits, beans and some mashed potatoes. Jason dug in without a word.

"I told you the other night that it was nothing to worry about, Jason. You and Sam don't need to worry about me. Bill either."

"I don't know, Sookie. I've been talking to some guys I know who do construction in Shreveport. Your vamp has got a reputation, you know."

"Such as?"

"Such as he's a hound dog, and he's a bastard to do business with, though they say he pays top dollar for whatever he wants and doesn't quibble as long as you do what he pays you to do."

"Well, he's not a hound dog now, and it sounds to me like they're saying he's a good businessman that pays real good if you do your job."

"Yeah, but there are stories, Sookie. Fang bangers going missing. Wild sex at that club he owns. Other stuff. They say even the vamps in this area are afraid of him. That he's got some kind of power over them."

"He's very important in the vampire community. He has a position of authority, so the other vamps in this area sort of report to him and have to do what he says."

"What about the shenanigans at his club?"

"Since when did you ever have a problem with wild sex, Jason Stackhouse? Isn't that what got you in trouble over Maudette and Dawn and Amy?"

Jason winced at that.

"You didn't have to bring all that up, Sook. I know I ain't been much of a brother – I'm just trying to look out for you."

"I'm fine, Jason. I've got Eric to look out for me now."

"That's another thing – are you sure you want to marry him? I know I called you some names and all, but you don't have to marry the guy if you don't want to."

"I want to, Jason, I love him."

"That's a lovely thing to wake up to, my lover."

Jason jumped as Eric came through the kitchen door, still dressed in the red silk shirt and black jeans from the night before.

"I didn't know you were here," Jason said, suddenly nervous.

"Jason, relax. I want you two to be civil to each other. It's really important to me, especially now."

"You haven't told him yet, lover?" He bent down and kissed her forehead.

"No, I was waiting for you."

"Very good - that's what I wanted you to do." Eric pulled out a chair and sat at the table with them.

Jason kind of stared at him, but didn't stop eating. He seemed afraid to look away from him. "OK, Sookie, he's here so what's the big secret?"

"Jason, I'm pregnant with Eric's baby."

"What…" Jason choked and Sookie almost got up, thinking it might be serious, but he pulled it together.

"I thought blood su…. I mean, vampires couldn't do that?"

"Normally they can't. This is a really unusual situation. I can't explain the whole thing, but take my word for it, I'm pregnant, it's Eric's baby, and he's going to be born in about four months."

"FOUR MONTHS?!" Jason yelled. "How long have you known about this?"

"Not long, Jason, this is the first chance I've had to tell you."

He glared at Eric.

"Is this why you called Sam Merlotte and told him she can't work there anymore?"

"Yes. The doctor said it was necessary, and Sookie was too timid to tell him, so I took care of it."

Now Jason was getting pissed off.

"Is this why you want to marry this guy, Sookie? You don't have to, you know. Nobody is going to think any worse of you than they do of you for dating dead guys if you have a baby."

Eric growled and Sookie put her hand on his arm to try and calm him.

"Jason, listen to me. I love Eric. He loves me. We're going to be parents. I'm going to live with him in Shreveport most of the time. I'll have everything I need."

Jason was steaming. He threw his napkin in his plate. "Well, you got any pie?"

"Yes, I'll get it – you two be nice."

Sookie got up to cut Jason a piece of pie, but she was watching them as much as she could.

"Your sister will be safe with me. No harm will come to her."

"She better be safe or I'll…"

"JASON!" Sookie put the dish in front of Jason and grabbed his shoulder. Eric was glaring at him and being way too quiet. That was never good.

"Know this, human. She will be safer with me than with some beer swilling redneck. She will live in a fine house, she will have everything she needs or wants, and so will my son. You are important to her, so I will tolerate your presence as long as you treat her with respect and cause no harm to her. If you ever strike her again, I will kill you."

"ERIC!"

He never took his eyes off Jason. "He needs to understand, Sookie, that I will tolerate no harm or disrespect to you or my child. This is not negotiable."

"You think I'd hit my pregnant sister?!"

"I know you struck her once. That is all I need to know. It will NEVER happen again," Eric growled.

"OK, ok, let's all calm down," Sookie pleaded. Eric relaxed a little, but Jason was still angry.

"Jason, you're going to be an uncle, doesn't that mean anything to you?"

"Of course it does, Sookie, but he's gonna be a vampire."

Eric growled.

"No, no, actually he'll be a little like me and Eric both."

"How do you know all this, Sookie, and how do you know it's a boy?"

"Remember, Jason, I told you Eric found a special doctor for me."

"A vamp doctor?"

"A special doctor who knows about vampires and shifters and other supes."

"OTHER supes? You mean there's stuff besides vampires and shape shifters?"

"Yes, Jason, but you really shouldn't talk about it to anyone but me. Just know that I'm being cared for."

Jason was still glaring at Eric. "What kind of dad will a dead guy make?"

"The kind who doesn't die, who will teach him to be a warrior, to survive. He will have the benefit of my thousand years on this earth. He will know everything he needs to know to live in my world and yours," Eric said.

Things were getting a little tense again, and Sookie needed to lighten the mood. She remembered the little onesie in the bag on the couch.

"How can you guys be so angry about something that will fit into this?"

Jason laughed. Eric's eyes softened and he smiled.

"I guess it's a done deal, so we gotta roll with it. Alright, Sis, but if you ever need anything, or you want to get away from this guy, I'm here for you, OK?"

Eric raised an eyebrow at that, but at least he didn't growl. That was progress.

"Jason, I know it's hard for you to understand because you don't know vampire… society, but I'm going to be great. Please be happy for me."

"OK, what the hell. Uncle Jason. I can't wait to tell the boys."

Eric growled.

"Actually, Jason, the longer we can put off telling people the better. Just know that

this is why I can't go to Merlotte's and this is why I can't see Bill. Eric, I forgot to tell you, Bill is back."

"You will be safe as long as I am here, but you are not to be alone here in this house while he's home, Sookie."

"I know, I know. I won't. We're going home tonight anyway, right?"

"Yes, as soon as you are finished with your dinner."

"Jason, you want another piece of pie?"

"Yeah, thanks, Sis."

She got him more pie. Eric relaxed a little. Everybody was calmer, quieter. She noticed Eric holding the baby togs.

"Jason, how about I pack up all these left-overs and send them home with you?"

"That'd be great, Sis – I guess you all can't use them?"

"Sookie's maid prepares her food. It's better she not eat grease while she is with child."

"Sookie's maid?" Jason was genuinely shocked.

"Of course. One of the maids is assigned exclusively to Sookie's care. Soon she will have a doula and a nanny to help her."

"One of the maids? How many do you have?"

"Three at the house, two at Fangtasia, at least one in each of my other homes."

"You have more than one house?"

"I have many houses and businesses."

"You know, Eric," Sookie interjected, "I was thinking, when you get me the new car, maybe I could give the old one to Jason?"

"As you wish, my lover. You won't be using it anymore."

Jason was astonished. "You're buying her a new car, and giving the old one away? What are you – made of money?"

"Jason, Eric is… comfortable. He can afford nice things."

"And I don't want my wife or my child riding in that piece of crap. Her car will be here in a week, then you may take that one."

"It will?" Sookie said. "You mean you already ordered it?"

"Of course, my lover. I don't want you driving an unsafe vehicle. The BMW is much more appropriate for you and my son."

"BMW?!" Jason yelled.

"Jason…" Sookie started, but Jason interrupted her.

"No wonder you want to marry the guy, Sookie!"

Eric growled, and Sookie put her arm around his neck. "He's just kidding, sweetie, don't get upset. Jason, your stuff is ready whenever you want to go. Didn't you say you had a date tonight?"

"Yeah, I did. I mean, I do. Thanks, Sis. You guys have a nice evening. Sookie, you call me sometime from Eric's house so I'll have the number there in my phone, OK, and you let me know if you need anything?"

"OK, Jason, I will."

Jason actually stopped and kissed Sookie on the cheek. She couldn't remember how long it had been since he'd done that.

"Uncle Jason!" he yelled as he bounced out the door and down the steps, carrying a weeks worth of food with him. Jason wasn't the type to dwell on things.

"OK," Sookie said to Eric, "Just let me do a couple of things and we can go home."

"There is something I need you to do first, lover," Eric purred as he pulled her to him. He guided her to straddle his lap.

"Eric – in the kitchen? What if Amelia comes home?"

"I'll hear her in time to stop."

He leered at her as his hands went under her skirt and ripped her panties at both sides. She put her arms around his neck and kissed him. She didn't know how he managed it, but he held her up with one arm and managed to get his pants undone with the other and sit back down, kissing her all the while. Then he was rubbing her clit, and slipping his fingers inside of her.

He laughed into her mouth. "Lover, you are already wet."

"I've been waiting for you to get up all day."

He laughed and lifted her onto his very stiff cock, and she gasped as he lowered her. Having him inside her was like coming home. How could anything feel that good? He was moving her up and down, and she couldn't believe how deeply he penetrated her in this position. She'd have to remember this for the future.

She was riding him with everything in her, and he began kissing her cheek, her ear, her neck. He ran his tongue down her throat and she shivered. When he could feel that she was close, he took hold of the back of her neck and pulled her to him, biting her on the throat. He almost never did that, but she had a feeling he was marking his territory. It also occurred to her that if Bill could smell the baby, he could smell this, too. Eric was sending a very definite message, and for once, she didn't mind. She wanted to be his, and she wanted everyone to know it.

TBC


	19. Chapter 19

Disclaimer: The Southern Vampire Series, and all characters from it, is owned by Charlaine Harris. No infringement is intended.

___________________________________________________________________________________

Sookie was seeing stars again. After they finished in the kitchen, Eric stood up with her still on him and managed to get them into the bedroom. Her dress was up around her waist, a shoulder pulled down to expose her breast, and you would never know that Eric had just finished having sex because he was on fire.

She didn't know what was into him, but she liked it. He was talking very fast in that language again and nipping at her exposed neck and shoulder. He pulled her hips to the side of the bed and lifted her legs so her feet were at his shoulders. She was nearly folded in half the way he was bending her, and he was going deep. He let out a noise that was damn near a howl, but he wasn't coming yet – he was just into what he was doing. Oh Hell yeah, Sookie was laughing and it seemed to be spurring him on.

Suddenly, he grabbed her shoulders with both hands and Drove. His. Point. HOME.

Sookie would have asked him what the hell that was if she could speak, then she remembered that it was her fairy blood making him crazed. He leaned forward on her for a few minutes, then suddenly he grabbed her under her arms and sort of threw her up to the center of the bed. He moved so fast she couldn't see him for a second, and he was on her again, in her, his weight on her, his hair in her face – which was an amazing turn-on she was finding out – and he got his arms around her so he was hugging her hard as he plunged into her.

It seemed to go on forever.

He stiffened and yelled out again. He hesitated for a few minutes, then he swung her around so she was sitting on top of him. She had to brace her hands against his chest to sit up, and he was moving her up and down because her legs were trembling. He seemed to be slowing down a bit, but he kept moving her and she was moaning. He reached under her skirt, which had fallen around her hips, and began to rub her clit. She cried out and started to jerk, and his other hand went up to her shoulder to keep her from falling. She had one last spasm and fell forward, so he slowly let her settle down on his chest. She was shaking and he was stroking her hair, purring at her. "My beautiful lover," he laughed. "Sookie, you taste so sweet, I can't get enough of you."

"Good, because I can't get enough of you either. I've been wanting this all day," she laughed. She caught her breath a bit and sat up on him, and he played with the neckline of her dress.

"This is very pretty, my lover. You look as sweet as you taste in it. You are wearing this home, I hope?"

"Yeah, unless you think I should change?"

"No, lover, I want you to stay as you are."

"I smell like sex."

"Mmmmm- exactly. I want you to smell like I've been fucking you. It will make the drive home very pleasant for me. I love your perfume."

"I'm not wearing perfume."

"Not the kind from a bottle, the kind from your body."

"Yeah, yeah, you want to fuck me, bite me, and rub yourself all over me…"

"Oh, yes, my lover."

"You sorta just did."

"Um-hm, and I'm going to do it again at least two more times tonight. Maybe three."

"I thought we were going home?"

"We are. As soon as you can put yourself back together, we'll go."

"Let me get another pair of panties."

"Good – that means I can tear them off of you again when we get home -- or in the car if I can't wait," he said with his most wicked smile.

She laughed and climbed off of him and off of the bed, and took another pair of panties out of her drawer.

"I can't believe how many pairs of panties I go through since I started hanging out with vampires."

"You have a point, my lover. I think I'll call your friend Tara and see about buying them wholesale, so you don't have to worry about replacing them so often."

"You would," she teased.

"I will," he assured her.

Sookie put her dress back in place, and finished what she had to do in the kitchen. They were laughing and talking as he locked the back door of her house, and she was standing in the yard, admiring his rear view, then OOF- she was on her back and all hell broke loose. There was a vicious fight going on all around her, but she couldn't see what it was or who – they were moving too fast. She could hear growling and see limbs flying off trees around her yard. Her maternal instinct kicked in, and she crawled over to Eric's car and ducked down beside it.

There was a loud thud against the side of her house, and it was Eric holding Bill against the wall by his throat, about to stake him with a tree branch.

"Eric, NO!"

"He attacked you, Sookie! Get in my car and lock the door, NOW!"

She scrambled up and got into the car, locking the doors, but she knew that wouldn't stop a vampire and so did Eric.

Bill was snarling and trying to bite Eric, clawing at him, but Eric had a longer reach. Thank heaven for those long arms. Bill was out of his mind. Sookie had never seen him that way, not even in Dallas when he went after the FOTS that attacked the house they were all in.

"Compton, don't make me kill you in front of her. STOP." Eric was trying to get through to Bill but he was crazed.

Sookie figured that Bill would be able to hear her even in the car, so she screamed at him, "Bill, stop, please!" But it only made things worse. The sound of her voice just seemed to enrage him.

Not that it would do any good, but she slumped down in the seat trying to hide. "Eric don't kill him, please don't kill him," she was saying softly, praying Eric could hear her and Bill couldn't. She heard two more thuds, then heard a tree branch hit the ground near the car. She peeked up over the dash as the third thud hit – that one was Eric punching Bill so hard, she was sure his head would have come off if the house hadn't been in the way. Eric hit him again, and he seemed to go limp. Eric grabbed him by the belt and the collar and flew away with him.

Sookie was scared to death. Ow. She had a cramp in her stomach. OWW. She had another cramp. Something was wrong. Eric landed outside the car and was in the seat and driving as fast as he could. He was putting as many miles between them and Bill as he could.

"Eric what did you do?" Sookie asked.

"He's alive, Sookie, I just knocked him out and put him in his house. You can call him when you get home if you want to make sure he's OK, I just need to get you away from here."

"What the – OW – what the hell was that?" she said as she doubled-over,

"Sookie, what's wrong – are you alright?"

"I don't know, I'm having cramps."

"Do you want to call Ludwig – she can be here immediately."

"Not yet, get me home, OK? I want to be home."

"Alright, but if it gets any worse we're stopping and calling her."

Eric was driving like the proverbial bat out of hell.

"Sookie, lean your seat back and try to relax." She actually saw fear on Eric's face.

She was about to hyperventilate.

"Sookie, take deep breaths but try to slow them down."

Once they were on the highway, he reached over and held her hand. She was slowing down a little, and she hadn't had another cramp.

"Eric, you can slow down, I think I'm ok."

"I know you are not bleeding, so that is a good sign. We will get home and call the doctor."

"Are you sure Bill is OK?"

"He's not dead – not finally dead. I promise you, Sookie. I had to knock him out to give us time to get out of the area."

"What was wrong with him?"

"Dr. Ludwig understated the severity of the problem with your exes. I thought she was exaggerating to get you to be careful, but she was absolutely serious. You can't be around him at all until after you give birth. Call him on the phone if you must, but you are not coming back to Bon Temps for any reason, and I'm going to give Bill an edict not to come to Shreveport for any reason."

"Is this because we…?"

"I don't think so. We have had sex within his range before and he never went berserk. This was a result of the pregnancy. It would probably have happened even if I had not touched you."

"He really would have hurt me…"

"Yes, my lover, he really would have, but it would not have been his fault. Vampires are driven by instinct, and his instincts caused him to attack you. If I hadn't been there…" Did Eric just shudder?

"Don't think about it now. We'll be home soon. I'm hungry."

"Did you not eat earlier?"

"Not much. I was nervous about Jason."

"That went better than expected."

"Yes, no one got killed."

"That is always a good thing."

She looked at him. He was serious. She laughed out loud.

"Yes, Eric it is always a good thing when no one gets killed – ya big Viking."

He didn't laugh, but he did smile. 'Smiling is good,' she thought. 'If he's smiling he's probably not plotting to kill anyone.' She was wrong.

TBC


	20. Chapter 20

Disclaimer: The Southern Vampire Series, and all characters from it, is owned by Charlaine Harris. No infringement is intended.

___________________________________________________________________________________

They were in a quiet mood when they pulled into the garage. Eric insisted on carrying Sookie upstairs, and she didn't put up much of an argument. He settled her on the bed and called Dr. Ludwig, who was there instantly.

"Well, little girl, I hear you are having cramps?"

"Yes. Just a couple, but they were pretty strong."

She motioned for Sookie to lie back and began feeling around her abdomen.

"Northman – why do you smell of fighting?"

"We were in Bon Temps and her ex attacked her outside her house."

"Kill anyone?"

"No, I knocked him out and left him at his house, then got her out of there."

"That's not the Eric Northman I know – why did you not kill him?"

"Sookie would never forgive me."

"Her opinion has that much sway over you? I am surprised. That's a very strong bond you've got there, little girl. Don't abuse it."

"What do you mean 'abuse it'?"

"He's a thousand years old, girl – he knows when someone needs killing and when they don't. Leave those decisions to him. Don't let your heart get in his way. He'll keep you both alive if you let him."

"Oh, OK, I guess."

Ludwig lifted the skirt of Sookie's dress and put her ear to her tummy. She straightened back up and patted the little bulge.

"Beginning to show – that's good. It will grow quickly now. I don't think your little row tonight caused any damage. It was the stress of the fight combined with the baby's growth. Your uterus is having to expand at an accelerated rate. Even in normal pregnancies women have pains. Yours will be more intense. Take ibuprofen and don't panic if you aren't bleeding. If you do bleed, call me immediately."

Sookie bit her tongue so she wouldn't laugh. Weird little Dr. Ludwig just told her to take ibuprofen. No wormwood, or eye of toad, just ibuprofen. She laid her head back and closed her eyes. Life was just getting too weird.

"Get her a masseuse who specializes in pregnant women. Get her to teach you massage you can use when she's not around, too, Northman. Have lots of sex - orgasms can help if she's not too tired, but she needs more rest than she's getting. Were you on your feet all day today?"

"I went shopping and made dinner for my brother."

"No, no, too much on your feet."

Eric looked very concerned. "Are you sure sex is alright, doctor? It can be very strenuous."

"Yes, it gets her heart pumping and her hormones jumping, and the muscle contractions at climax are like a deep massage. She needs some exercise, just not on her feet. Get her the trainer we talked about and/or a masseuse. She'll be getting uncomfortable this time next month. Call if you need me."

Ludwig left, and Eric left the room and was back very quickly with a small bowl and spoon.

"What's this?"

"Strawberry yogurt and granola. You said you were hungry earlier."

"Yeah, now that you mention it, I am."

Eric started to get undressed, then stopped.

"Sookie, should I go get ibuprofen tonight before I get undressed?"

"No, you should not. You should get your clothes off and come to bed and hold me until you have to go underground. Let Alicia get it for me tomorrow."

He turned his back to unbutton his shirt and to keep her from seeing his smile. She just delegated a task to her maid. This was progress indeed. He got his pants off and went to help her with her dress and panties.

"Feel like fooling around?" she asked hopefully.

"No, you are going to eat, then you are going to sleep. There has been enough excitement for one night, my lover, and you must rest."

'And I must plan,' he thought to himself. Bill Compton was his subordinate, and he really did not want to kill him if he didn't have to. Keeping them in separate cities for a few months should be sufficient and easy enough to arrange. There was another threat, though, walking around over whom he had no control, and he had planned on killing him anyway for touching Sookie when she was his. John Quinn was a risk he would not tolerate any longer.

Sookie fell asleep in his arms in just a few minutes. That left him a few hours to put things in motion. He called Bill Compton, who didn't answer the phone, so he left a message saying he was not to come to Shreveport for any reason and that he would call and explain later when they could speak. He left instructions for Bobby Burnham to find a personal trainer and/or masseuse who specialized in working with pregnant women ASAP.

He had known where Quinn was for some time now, because the plan had already been in the works. The trick would be slipping away from Sookie long enough to kill him and dispose of the body.

He knew that Quinn had been in New Orleans working on a benefit to raise money for reconstruction. His spies told him he would be returning to Shreveport tomorrow, and Eric would be waiting.

He had a meeting with his accountant here at the house immediately after dark. That should be done by ten o'clock, and then he'd have the rest of the night.

He called Pam and told her to be at his house at midnight saying that he was urgently needed at Fangtasia, and she would stay with Sookie until he could return. That would give him a couple of hours to do what needed to be done.

He left instructions for Alicia to get ibuprofen for Sookie and to make sure she ate and stayed in bed. He gathered up the paperwork he would need for the meeting with his accountant and put them in a pile on his desk with a list of the items he wanted to cover. He wrote Sookie a note for her to be ready for the appointment with the accountant. She wouldn't need to be there for the whole thing, but there would be forms she would need to sign.

The last thing he did was to call Felipe de Castro's headquarters in Las Vegas and request to speak to him personally as soon as was convenient. Sandy would leave him a message as to when a teleconference could be arranged.

Everything was in motion.

TBC


	21. Chapter 21

Disclaimer: The Southern Vampire Series, and all characters from it, is owned by Charlaine Harris. No infringement is intended.

___________________________________________________________________________________

Sookie woke up at 11 and stretched. She loved waking up in Eric's big bed, even when he wasn't there. She felt safer here than anywhere, and she was still pretty shaken by last night's encounter with Bill. She would have never believed it was possible – she knew he still loved her – and the idea that Eric nearly had to kill him scared her to death. Luckily, Eric wouldn't… Damn! They were so busy worrying about her cramps last night that she forgot to drink from Eric.

She was supposed to take at least a little every day to make sure there was a bond with the baby that would prevent that reaction with him. Well, she'd make sure she drank extra tonight. The thought of tasting Eric's blood started the fire down below, so to speak. Sookie was starting to feel like "it" had a mind and a life of its own. Was this going to last the whole four months? And Dr. Ludwig said it could last up to two years after the baby? Good thing vampires don't get tired, because she was going to be after Eric a LOT if she kept on this way.

She threw on the red silk shirt Eric had been wearing last night because it smelled like him, and he smelled so good to her right now it made her throb. She pulled on a pair of panties and she really, really tried not to touch herself, but failed. At least today Alicia wouldn't catch her naked. Should it bother her that getting caught naked didn't bother her more than it did? Honestly, clothes were kind of bothering her right now. She couldn't wait to get naked when she got home last night.

She found a note on the dresser from her bonded.

_My Lover, _

_We have a meeting with my accountant tonight just after dark. He will be coming here to the house, and I will need you to attend for at least a part of it. Please be ready when I awake, and I will shower and dress quickly. _

_Please eat well and rest today, dear one. _

_I love you,_

_Eric_

Ok, why did she want to rub that paper all over her body? Because Eric had touched it? She couldn't even stop herself from sniffing it to see if it smelled like him.

'Stop, Sookie, stop thinking about sex. There's more to life than feeling his… stop. Seriously, get yourself together and stop thinking about the naked Viking in the basement. Oh, I wish I could go down there with him, but he wants me dressed when he gets up. As soon as the accountant leaves, though, his ass is mine.' She giggled. Great, now she was thinking about his ass. His round, beautiful, award-winning buns, fresh from the bakery. OK, that thought had an actual physical response, like, down there, and she realized she was fighting a losing battle. Her hormones were running this show whether she liked it or not.

"Food, Sookie." Great, now she was talking to herself! "Go eat. Maybe that will take your mind off of Eric's…. oh hell."

Shaking her head at herself, she headed down to her kitchenette on the second floor. Alicia was unloading groceries.

"Good morning, Miss Sookie," Alicia smiled at her.

"Hi, Alicia. I managed to wake myself up today!"

"So I see. Can I get you something to eat?"

"Yes, I have orders from Eric to eat well today. I had a little problem last night."

"Yes, Mr. Northman left a message for me. I've got three bottles of ibuprofen here. I'll put one in your bathroom, one in the cabinet here, and you take this small one and keep it in your purse. Those cramps can be something else."

"Do you have any kids, Alicia?"

"Yes, I have three, all grown, and two grandchildren. I've also worked for several new mothers like yourself."

"So it's not that unusual?"

"Not at all. How would you like some waffles for breakfast? It wouldn't take long to make them."

"That would be great, if you're sure it's not too much trouble."

Alicia poured her a glass of juice. "Here Miss, get started on that and I'll have your waffles in just a bit. "

Ew. The smell of the juice hit Sookie's nose and – uh oh. "Alicia, where's the bathroom on this floor?"

"Second door on the left down the hall. Are y—"

She barely made it. Well, at least she was having morning sickness in the morning for a change. Alicia found her on her knees by the commode.

"Are you alright, Miss Sookie?"

"I'm sick." She sort of sat, sort of fell back, so she was sitting on the floor.

"Did your doctor give you anything to take for your stomach?"

"No, I've just been drinking ginger ale when I'm sick."

"Honestly, that probably works as well as anything. It will pass in a bit. Do you think you can get up yet?"

"I think I better stay here awhile." She was very pale.

"I'll be right back, Miss."

Sookie leaned back against the wall. Alicia came back in with a can of warm ginger ale.

"Thank you, Alicia."

"Here's your monitor, Miss. I'm going to make your breakfast, and you use this to call me if you need me. I'll check on you in a few minutes."

"Thanks, but I don't know if I can eat waffles now…"

"It's better if you try. Best to have something in your stomach if you're going to be sick."

"OK, I guess."

"As soon as you think you can get up, I'll take you up in the service elevator and get you settled in your room."

"Service elevator? I didn't know there was one."

"Yes, it's well hidden, but it's here. It helps with getting the cleaning supplies through the house and such."

"OK, then. I think I could manage that."

Alicia helped her up and took her down the hall. She flipped a switch in the end room and a panel in the wall slid open to reveal a rather large elevator. Eric never showed her that. They managed to get Sookie back to her bed, and she put the wastebasket near by. Better safe than sorry.

Once Alicia had Sookie in bed, monitor at her side, cold washcloth for her face, she went back to make her breakfast. Sookie turned over into her Baby Eric position and hoped she didn't ruin Eric's bedspread. Next thing she knew, Alicia was waking her for her waffles. She was a little groggy, but Alicia cut the waffles for her – she didn't have it in her to complain - and she managed to eat and go right back to sleep.

When she woke up, it was 5 o'clock. Another day spent in bed. Was this going to be a pattern? She hoped not, but it was looking that way. At least she wasn't sick anymore. She was in the shower when Alicia came in to gather laundry, and she seemed to be hanging in the bedroom to make sure Sookie got out of the shower OK. Sookie figured she had orders not to leave her alone when she had been sick. Sookie wrapped herself in a big white towel, combed out her hair, and lay back down on the bed.

"How are you feeling, Miss?"

"Better, but still tired. I don't know how I can be tired after all that sleep, but I am."

"That's to be expected. Your body is working hard right now."

"I guess. I have to figure out what to wear for this meeting."

"You're meeting with Mr. Northman's accountant tonight?"

"Yes – what do I wear for that?"

"You don't need to wear anything fancy. Let's see here…"

Alicia looked through the small selection of clothes Sookie had in Eric's closet.

"How about this, Miss?" She held up a dark blue tank dress with a tan leather belt.

"It's comfortable, it's dressy enough, and you won't need to wear a bra if you don't want to."

"I usually always do, but honestly the thought of wearing one right now is suffocating."

"That's not unusual either. One of my daughters went through a phase when she wsa pregnant where she couldn't stand having clothes on. Even wearing underwear set her nerves on edge."

"Yeah, I think I know what you mean."

Alicia helped Sookie slip into the dress, adjusted the belt to hide her little baby bump, which Sookie noticed seemed bigger, and then combed her hair again and put a head band on her. She even helped her put on a little powder, lip gloss and mascara. Sookie looked in the mirror on the dresser, and thought she looked kind of classy, even if she was a little pale. At the moment she could almost pass for a vampire. 'A Vampire,' she thought. Something to think about, but not right now.

"Miss Sookie?" Sookie realized she was staring at herself in the mirror.

"Ah – Yes?"

"Maybe you should lie down and watch some TV until Mr. Northman arrives? Your dress won't wrinkle."

"Yeah, maybe I should."

Alicia took the remote laying on Eric's nightstand and set Sookie up to watch Judge Judy. Sookie was sure some day she'd see somebody she knew from Bon Temps on that show. She already did once on Jerry Springer.

When Judge Judy was off, Sookie explored the channels a bit. Eric had every premium channel and some she didn't even know existed. She was watching a rerun of That 70s Show and eating a salad with turkey and cheese when Eric came up the stairs in a pair of jeans and a black muscle shirt.

"My lover, you are the very picture of a lady of leisure," he teased her.

"Yeah, well, I didn't have much choice today," she said as he leaned down to kiss her.

Alicia knocked at the door even though it was open. "Excuse me, Mr. Northman?"

"Yes, Alicia – what kind of day did you girls have today?"

"She's been a bit sick today, so she spent most of it sleeping, but she did manage to keep some food down twice now."

"Thank you – you got the ibuprofen I assume?"

"Yes, sir, it's in the cabinet in the kitchenette, your medicine cabinet in this bathroom, and I put a small bottle in her handbag."

"Excellent – if you are finished with everything you need to do, you can go home whenever you like."

"Very good, sir. You two have a pleasant evening."

"You were unwell, today, lover?"

"Morning sickness. No big deal."

"How do you feel now? Do you need to skip the meeting with the accountant?"

"No, I'm dressed, and I'm not sick at the moment."

"Alright then, you relax a little longer and I'll take a shower."

He proceeded with his shower, and Sookie got up to get his clothes ready. A nice pleated white shirt and a pair of black slacks. She didn't think he'd want to wear a tie at home. She picked a pair of shoes, socks and some black paisley silk boxers that made her smile when she found them.

Eric came out of the bathroom in a towel. Holy shit. "It" was alive again.

"What are you doing out of bed, dear one?"

"Getting your clothes ready – is this shirt alright? Did you want to wear a tie?"

"No, a tie isn't necessary. This is a good selection." He smiled to himself – she did this without even asking or thinking about it. She was acting like a wife.

"I love these boxers, by the way." She grinned at him.

"The fabric, the cut or the pattern?"

"All of those, but the fabric mostly. It's sexy."

"Well then, I'll have to keep that in mind when I shop for more. My lady likes silk," he said as he took her in his arms and hugged her. He held her for a long time.

"Wow, good hug," she said when he didn't let go.

"As I was waiting for sleep to come this morning, I thought about our two little dramas last night. I don't want to lose you, Sookie," he whispered in her ear.

"I'm not going anywhere."

"I should have gotten you out of there earlier."

"You didn't know Bill was back until the middle of dinner, and neither one of us could have predicted Bill going crazy like that."

"Well, we are going to be more careful, and I don't want you spending time alone. I'm going to engage someone to stay with you when you can't come to Fangtasia with me."

"Like a babysitter?"

"Call it what you like, but I don't want you unattended. It's a little early for a Doula, but maybe that's the next step."

"So, we're never going to be alone?"

"No, _you_ are never going to be alone. You and I will be together as much as possible. I'll take more nights off from Fangtasia, and you won't always be indisposed. On the nights you are up to it, you can come with me. You can always sleep in my office as you did the other night, or you can sit out front with me so I can show you off."

"You might not want to show me off much longer. The bump is growing."

"Yes, but it's MY bump, so I'll be very happy indeed to show both of you off."

"Awww." She stood up on her tiptoes to kiss him.

"Now, dear one," he said as he finished dressing. "Let's go down to the living room and get ready for our meeting. Margaret should have some tea and some cake ready for our guest."

"Ooohh… cake sounds good! I'm still hungry. Margaret is still here?"

"For the meeting. I don't like to have people here without refreshments, so she comes in for those occasions."

He grabbed his files from the office and ushered her downstairs. Margaret had baked red velvet and German chocolate cakes, and they were both heavenly. Sookie had two pieces of each, and Eric was beaming at her eating for two. The meeting with the accountant went smoothly.

George Anderson was a distinguished Southern gentleman, tall and slim with gray hair and kind grey eyes. Eric introduced her as his finance, and he congratulated them. She could hear his thoughts, and he was an honest man who actually liked working for Eric, even though he was a vampire. He paid well and he was always agreeable and had nice cakes and coffee. He thought Eric had better manners than most of his clients. He thought Sookie was sweet, and didn't make any rude observations about her body or think she was a bimbo.

Eric explained that they were having a child and that they would be married within a few months. Anderson had a couple of credit cards for Eric's accounts in Sookie's name and had forms for her to sign that would set up accounts in her name and eventually give her access to Eric's. Anderson was to set up a meeting with Eric's attorney for estate planning, and everything for Sookie and the baby would be in place as soon as the baby had a birth certificate. He gave Sookie a big folder that had information she might need on all (Eric told her later it was only most) of his businesses and accounts. Eric was loaded, and it made her head spin a little.

Once her part was done, Sookie went back upstairs and stripped. Man, it felt good to be naked. She got into bed and put the TV away. If she had her way, she and Eric would be spending a lot of time in that bed the rest of tonight and tomorrow since it was Monday and Fangtasia was closed. Eric took a long time, so she started looking through the folder Mr. Anderson had given her. Shopping Malls. Factories. Investments in several different countries. Accounts in five different banks and offshore. About two dozen credit cards and purchasing accounts, not including those for his businesses.

He had given her an American Express black card – she didn't even know they came in black – a Visa card and a Discover card and had her sign them. She put those in her wallet in her handbag. They said those should cover almost anything she might want or need. Anderson was in the process of setting up two accounts in Sookie's name that would have regular deposits to them and that she could use for anything she wanted. Eric offered to set up a pre-nup that would insure that her house would remain hers alone after they married, but she wouldn't hear of it. He was giving her access to everything he had. She couldn't exclude him from the one thing she had, and she knew he wouldn't have any interest in it anyway.

It wouldn't take much for her to freak out about all of this. There was so much information and so much money and most of this stuff was over her head. She should feel bad about being given access to all of Eric's stuff, but a part of her understood that this is a part of marrying someone and sharing their life. She'd have to do something similar with anyone she married. Eric just had a lot more than she ever anticipated a husband of hers might have. That's not a bad thing.

It was almost 10 before Eric came upstairs carrying a sandwich and a glass of milk. "What's that?"

"This is a ham sandwich. Alicia and I have a system worked out to try to make sure you get three meals a day on the schedule we keep, so she's to feed you at least twice while she's here, then she leaves something I can make sure you eat in the evening."

"I ate four pieces of cake, you know."

"Yes, I do know that," he laughed, "but you need protein for the baby."

"Since when did you become an expert on nutrition?" she asked as she took the plate from him, and he set the milk on her nightstand.

"When I go down to bed, before I sleep, I do a little research on the web with the laptop I keep down there. I've been reading about pregnancy and birth and baby care."

Sookie laughed loudly. "You're joking?!" She was eating as if she were starved.

"No, I am quite serious. You know, you need to get back into your new laptop and get some things done if you have a day when you can stay awake."

"Oh, yeah – wedding stuff."

"Have you thought about that any more?"

"I think we should have a small ceremony in Las Vegas."

"Really?! Dear one, that would make me very happy."

"How long do you think it would take to set that up?"

"I am waiting for a call from Sandy to set up a teleconference with Felipe. Once we see what he has to say, we should be able to set a date, and you can invite your Witches and your brother. I will pay for all of their travel and expenses, of course, so I don't want you to worry about that."

"Wait a minute – did you say you already called Felipe?"

"I called to make an appointment."

"How did you know I would agree to a Vegas wedding?"

"Even if you didn't, I need to inform him of my intentions and the impending birth. I had a feeling you would be agreeable, though, because of the time constraints and your health. Even with a wedding planner, I don't think you are up to a big wedding."

"Yeah, that's what I was thinking, too, and I do want to be married before the baby is born."

"Well, then, we have a tentative plan, my lover. Your next task is to choose your dress and some resort wear, and we'll plan to stay in Vegas for a few days and enjoy ourselves."

"Can I play some slot machines?"

He laughed, "Yes, my lover, you can gamble, you can eat, you can lie in the sun, we will see some shows – anything you want."

"Awesome. Come to bed."

"Not just yet, dear one. Put this back on for awhile," he said as he threw her the navy tank dress.

"What's going on?"

"I want to show you something. Have you ever been out to my backyard here?"

"No, actually, I never have. Is it big?"

"Come and you will see," and he threw her a pair of Birkenstock sandals.

"Hey, I don't own any Birkenstocks – where did these some from?"

"They must be part of your new wardrobe."

"New wardrobe?" She pulled the dress over her head.

"Yes, well, I thought you might want some new things… a little more polished, or that maybe you couldn't afford before. Alicia has been buying things and adding them to your closet and your drawers. She must have bought those sandals for you."

"You don't like my clothes?"

"Some of them are very pretty, but you don't have a lot, and you might need a wider variety of nice things for some of the things we will be doing together."

"What if I don't like what she buys?"

"Tell her to take it back and buy something more to your liking."

"Eric…"

"Ah, yes, there he is…"

"There WHO is?"

"My old friend, _resistance_. I've just told you I'm having pretty new clothes purchased for you, and you feel as if that's something you should throw a fit over. Nevermind that you often find yourself trying to figure out what to wear, or that I've often had to furnish appropriate clothing for your activities, and never mind the fact that you like the new clothes because you're wearing one of the dresses right now…"

"I thought this dress was strange. I guess Alicia picked it because she knew it was there and I didn't."

"No doubt. You told her what you needed, and she had already anticipated your needs. I pay her a great deal for that service."

"You don't have to, you know."

"I know that. I want to do that to make your life easier and nicer, so that my life will be nicer and easier. I know you are used to struggle, Sookie, but you don't have to struggle anymore. You are allowed to have nice things. You can afford them. You deserve them."

Sookie's lip started to tremble and tears welled up in her eyes.

"Don't cry, Sookie, please –" he never could stand to see her cry.

"I'm so much trouble."

'And hormonal,' he thought.

"You are not trouble, Sookie. You are a dream for me. You've given me things I've been denied for a thousand years. Let me do this for you." He took her in his arms and hugged her, then stroked her hair.

She took a couple of deep breaths and pulled it together.

"Ok, you're right, I'm sorry."

"Now – ready to come outside with me?"

"Yeah, let's go."

He swooped her up in his arms and flew them down the stairs to the first floor. She laughed. "Glad I'm not nauseous anymore."

"So am I," he said as he set her down in the den. He pulled the curtains open and flipped a switch and the outside lights came on. The yard was huge, and there was a big blue tarp on the ground."

"What's that?"

"That's what I wanted to show you – it's a swimming pool."

"You have a swimming pool?"

"WE have a swimming pool."

"Why didn't I know this?"

"I never thought about it before. As you can see, it hasn't been opened since I've lived in this house. I was rarely here before I met you. I spent my nights at Fangtasia, so I never bothered to have it opened and serviced. Remember I told you I was doing research on the web…?"

"Yeah…"

"Well, swimming happens to be a very effective and safe exercise for pregnant women. They have water aerobics classes especially for expectant mothers. How would you like to be able to swim and sunbathe in the afternoons?"

"I would LOVE that!" Sunbathing was her only vice, and she was busting at the prospect.

"I thought that might be the case. I'll have my day man engage the pool services, and we'll get it opened for you as soon as possible."

She threw her arms around his neck and kissed his face over and over, all over.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you."

He laughed loudly. "A thank you from Sookie Stackhouse? No resistance? No drama?"

"OK, ok I deserve that, but this is so COOL!"

"If I had known this was the way to your heart I would have opened it years ago."

He walked over to a closet and took out a really pretty quilt that looked handmade.

"Wow, that's nice," she said.

"And comfortable. Come lover." He opened the door so they could walk around the pool and went out to the larger yard behind it. Eric spread the quilt, a burgundy double wedding ring pattern of all things, out on the grass and motioned for her to sit down. Once she was settled, he lay down beside her, looking up at the stars.

She was looking all around. It was dark, but she could make out a couple of out buildings and see the back of the garage.

"It's nice out here," she said.

"Yes. I sometimes come out and look at the stars, but I've never had anyone with me before."

Sookie shifted and lay down next to him. He took her hand and held it. They didn't speak for awhile.

Sookie ran her hand over the soft fabric of the quilt.

"This quilt is huge."

"I had it made for me about two years ago."

"You did? Did you choose the pattern?"

"I asked for something romantic and the seamstress showed me a book. This is called a double wedding ring pattern."

"Yes, I know. I'm surprised you know."

"I told her I wanted it huge, and soft and very pretty."

"It's all of that, alright. Did you have it made so you could lie here and look at the stars?"

"No, I had it made so WE could lie here and look at the stars."

"Nuh-uh, you're making that up."

"No, Sookie, I'm not. I had it made for you, for this." He reached out and put his arm under her head. She rolled over into him and put her arm across his chest.

"I didn't know Vikings were so romantic," she teased him.

"We were poets as well as warriors, my lover."

He kissed her forehead. Then he kissed her lips. Then he put his hand under her skirt – and she wasn't wearing anything. They made love, and that's exactly what it was, very slowly and quietly.

When they were done, they we lying face to face, smiling and talking.

"Was that what you had in mind when you had this quilt made?"

"Exactly, but the reality is even sweeter than I imagined."

They cuddled and whispered to each other a long time. Sookie noticed that as they talked, Eric kept stroking her baby bump with the backs of his fingers. He really was happy about all of this. He really loved her.

They must have been out there for at least an hour and a half when a car pulled into the driveway out front. Eric sat up.

"We have company, lover. We should go in now."

"Oh… ok. I wonder who it is?"

"Let us go in and see."

He gathered up the quilt and took her arm, and they went back in the patio door. She closed and locked it, and he went to the front door, dropping the quilt on the couch in the den on the way.

"Pam!" she heard him greet his child – what was she doing here?

"I'm sorry to bother you, Master, but there has been a disturbance at Fangtasia, and your presence is required. I came to stay with Sookie so you could go and attend to it. There was no way to avoid it."

"My lover…"

"No, that's ok, you go if you need to. Pam, you don't need to stay with me…"

"Yes, Sookie, she does. I don't want you here alone. I probably won't be gone long – you girls find a movie and watch it on the home theatre system in the den. I'll be back as soon as I can. Pam, give me your keys."

He kissed Sookie on the forehead and headed for her dark blue car in the driveway.

He drove about a mile to a deserted road and got out to see if Pam had put his equipment in the car. In the trunk was a bag with a change of clothes, good strong rope, his gun with the silver bullets, and a special sword he had hidden at Fangtasia for just this occasion, plus two gallon jugs of water and a bottle of bleach. Pam did well.

He drove outside the city about five miles, into the swamp. He parked the car where it could not be seen, changed into the spare clothing, took the bag and sword and flew over the fence into the interior of the Bayou Bandit Alligator Farm. This was one of his businesses that could not be traced to him, and only Pam knew about it. He placed the bag and the sword in a building near a large pen and locked it. He had keys to all of the locks here, and he made sure there was no security on duty tonight. Everything in place, he flew off into the night.

John Quinn was bone tired. He had worked for two weeks setting up a huge fundraiser in New Orleans that was hosted by Felipe de Castro, but attended by the likes of Madonna and Brangelina. It was a huge success, and he was paid well, but he would be glad to get home and sleep in his own bed. He dragged himself and his bags off the elevator and unlocked the door to his apartment. He didn't have time to react to the scent he picked up – he never saw it coming.

"Wake up, tiger." Eric kicked Quinn and he opened his eyes. His head was splitting, and he was tied tightly in a kneeling position.

"Where the hell are we, Northman?"

"The Bayou Bandit Alligator Farm. I own it."

"You got something on your mind?" He was putting on a tough front, but Quinn knew this situation was bad. Northman had reason to hate him, and they were in the middle of nowhere.

"Are you acquainted with Niall Brigant?"

"The fairy – yeah, I know the old bastard, why?"

"Very few people know this, but Niall is Sookie's great grandfather."  
"Sookie? Is a fairy?"

"Part fairy – one eighth, to be exact." Eric walked around behind Quinn.

"So when you said that forces beyond comprehension would be called down if she were harmed…"

"Yes. You and Felipe de Castro very nearly started another war with the Fae. Imagine the carnage you nearly caused."

Quinn was beyond worried now, he was scared.

"Funny thing about fairies, Quinn – my mother was one, too."

"And I care about this why?"

"Because Niall decided to give Sookie a gift like no other – he worked magick so that I could impregnate Sookie."

"Vamps can't…" Quinn was struggling, but Eric had him trussed up so he really couldn't move.

"But fairies can, and I have. Sookie is carrying my son."

"And you want me to congratulate you?"

"No, but Dr. Ludwig warned us that if either of Sookie's former lovers came near her while she was with child, they would try to kill him, even if it meant killing her."

"And this is about protecting Sookie?"

"No, not at all, though Bill Compton did try to kill her last night, and I nearly had to stake him in her front yard."

"What makes you think I would do the same thing?"

"Bill was only acting on instinct that told him to kill another man's child. Your tiger instincts would see the baby as food. You know how fond cats and fairies are of each other."

"So you went to all of this trouble to tell me to keep away from Sookie while she's pregnant?"

Eric walked back in front of him with a huge sword. This was definitely not good.

"I can smell your fear, tiger." He waved the sword with a flourish. "This sword, by the way, is a special design. It is coated with silver – just in case."

"Get on with it, Northman."

"Oh, I will – but I want you to understand something. I am not going to kill you to protect Sookie or my son. Do you remember your date with Sookie, when you encouraged my bonded to defy me and walked out of her house with her on your arm?"

Shit.

"Yes?"

"And then you defiled my bonded with your animal stench?"

"Whatever. Get to the point."

"My point Quinn, is that the minute you walked out of her house, you were a dead man. I waited for the right time and the right place, and now, you are going to pay for touching that which was rightfully mine."

"Northman…!"

THWACK THWACK

The first strike came from behind and separated Quinn's head from his shoulders. The strike backward cut him in half.

Eric laughed out loud. That was a most satisfying kill. He might have preferred combat, but this was more than sufficient.

Eric threw Quinn's head into the largest alligator pen, which churned with excitement. Eric cut the rope and clothing off the pieces of his body and threw it into an oil drum he had near by. Then he threw his upper torso in, and then his legs and lower body. The 'gators were having a fine meal tonight. Eric enjoyed the sound of the beasts fighting over the pieces of Quinn, making sure all the pieces had been consumed.

He stripped off his clothes and burned them.

He flew back out the to car and opened the trunk. He took the water and washed himself off with it. He wiped the sword down with bleach. He put on the other clothing and drove back to his house.

Sookie was waiting for him at the door.

"Hi!" She was so glad to see him.

"Hello, dear one. Did you girls have fun?"

"I guess. Pam really liked Underworld. She thought Vampires enslaving Weres was a fine idea."

"Hmm – I don't know if I'd like keeping the filthy beasts so close."

"Hey, now, some of my best friends are Weres and Shifters."

"Yes, my lover, I suppose they are. If you were up to climbing the stairs, I'd suggest you going and running us a nice bath with that vanilla scent while I speak to Pam."

"Oooh – good idea. I can do it. G'night, Pam!" and she was up the stairs.

"Master – all is well?"

"All is very well. The fight was stopped, the authorities and insurance have been notified, and all interested parties have been dispatched."

Pam looked at him. When he was sure that Sookie was up in their bathroom he said, "Bayou Bandit."

Pam smiled a wicked smile. "Lovely. Good night, Master." And she was gone.

Eric flipped the lights off and stripped. Since Sookie was already in the water and had the candles lit, he got straight in and said, "Wash me off, my lover." She happily complied. He did the same to her, then lifted her onto his "gracious plenty," and moving her slowly, up and down, as she wrapped her arms around his neck, he whispered to her, "You are mine."

TBC


	22. Chapter 22

Disclaimer: The Southern Vampire Series, and all characters from it, is owned by Charlaine Harris. No infringement is intended.

___________________________________________________________________________________

"Good morning, Miss Sookie."

"Hm – oh, good morning, Alicia."

"I'm sorry to wake you up, Miss, but it's 11 o'clock, and Mr. Burnham called and said you would be interviewing personal trainers and a masseuse today beginning at 2:00. He asked me to help you with that, if you'd like." She set the tray she was carrying over Sookie's lap.

"Oh, yeah, I don't really know what to ask." The food smelled so good – oatmeal, whole wheat toast, scrambled eggs, and grape juice. "This looks so good, Alicia."

"I thought the grape juice might be a little easier on your tummy. It was the orange juice yesterday that set you off. Also, I know you tend to prefer eggs over easy, but scrambled are less likely to irritate."

"Yeah, you're probably right. Do you have any idea how many people I'm interviewing today?"

"I believe there are three, set to arrive a half-hour apart. One does fitness training for pregnant women, one does massage and specializes in pregnancy and post-delivery massage, and there's one that Mr. Burnham and I agreed was probably the best bet, who does yoga, fitness training, has experience with water aerobics and can also do massage. She's very skilled."

"Wow, she sounds great – why am I interviewing the other two?"

"Just to give you an idea of whom is available, what they do, and to see how your personalities mesh. You want someone you will be comfortable with when it comes to bodywork."

"Are they all women?"

"Oh, yes, Mr. Northman was adamant about that. There were a couple of very qualified men, but he said absolutely not. He's a bit old-fashioned, that way I gather."

"Yes, it's because he's so old. He's very possessive, but I'm getting used to it - even starting to like it a little," she laughed. "What do I wear for these interviews? Do I need to dress up?"

"I was thinking a nice little dress – Mr. Northman said he prefers dresses, so that's mostly what I've been buying – there's a pretty one here that would be nice." Alicia reached into the closet and pulled out a yellow flowered, sleeveless shirtdress with a full skirt.

"Oh, that's pretty – I hope it fits."

"I'm pretty sure it will, Miss. The fullness of the skirt will make allowance for your little baby bump."

Sookie laughed and patted her tummy. Is it possible it had grown noticeably since yesterday?

"What kind of shoes should I wear?"

"I'd say these little sandals you've already got out – they're very sweet and they're good for your back. It's probably best to avoid heels as much as you can right now."

"Yeah, I guess so. Any ideas what I need to wear under it?"

"I've got a nice cotton slip for you here in this drawer. You wouldn't need anything else if you didn't want, or maybe just a pair of panties."

"That sounds great. Is there a steno pad laying up there on the dresser?"

"Yes, here you go, Miss." Sookie wiped her hands on her napkin and opened the pad.

"Ok, what do I ask?"

"Well, you ask where they were trained."

Sookie wrote that down.

"Got it."

"What kind of certifications they have. Whether they have medical training."

"Right."

"You ask how many expectant mothers they have worked with."

"Ok."

"You ask exactly which services they provide."

"OK."

"What would they expect from you."

"Right."

"When are they available."

"Like what time and stuff?"

"Yes – I would expect you'd want them to come about two or three o'clock, though you could do it as early as noon. That would give you a couple of hours to work with them, and then you'd have plenty of time to get ready if Mr. Northman has plans for you in the evening."

"Yeah, that makes sense."

"And then you just see how you feel with them – whether they seem warm or cold, too clinical, too spacey, not knowledgeable enough, kind, snippy. You want someone you'll be happy to see when she shows up every day."

"OK – and you'll sit in on this with me?"

"If that's what you prefer."  
"I would. If Eric's not going to be there, I'd like another person's opinion."

"That will be fine. You finish your breakfast, and I'll be back for your dishes in a little bit. Would you like the television on?"

"No, not right now. I need to think about this."

"Very good. Miss, Oh – here's your monitor. I've got the other with me."

"Thanks."

Wow – now she understood why Eric hired Alicia. Sookie had no idea how to be the Lady of the Manor, as Eric called it, and Alicia was here to make sure someone had her back and could tell her how to dress and act so she wouldn't seem foolish or be stressed out not knowing what to do. She realized he had thought about this, and thought about what she needed and how to make things easier for her.

A part of her could have assumed that he thought she was stupid or uncultured, but she knew it wasn't that. It was more about having someone to guide her. He knew she had good manners, and she'd want to seem graceful and in control. He was giving her the tools to do that.

He really is a smart man. Sookie realized that she forgets that sometimes. He's not like anyone else she had ever known. He wasn't like the guys from Bon Temps, or even big city guys. He was special, and he thought she was special enough to go to all of this time and expense for. She was starting to realize that she'd been ungrateful several times and knowing that made her wince. She resolved to show him more appreciation and to live up to his good opinion of her. She still wasn't sure she deserved all of this, but he thought she did, so make the most of it. He was trying like hell to make her happy, so she owed him the same effort.

It was 12 by the time she finished eating, and she began to get a little nervous. She had two hours to get ready, so she went ahead and took her shower, got dressed in the outfit Alicia suggested, and put on a little makeup. It was a good call - it did hide her tummy, which was definitely bigger, and it made her look like a lady. She still had over an hour to kill. Now what? She noticed her laptop sitting beside the bed.

She went over to the baby monitor and pushed the button.

"Alicia?"

"Yes, Miss?"

"Do you know if the internet on my laptop will work downstairs?"

"Yes, I believe there's wireless available in the entire house. Would you like me to help you move downstairs?"

"No, I can do it. I'll take the monitor with me and my laptop, and I think I'll set it up on Eric's desk in the first floor study."

"Alright, Miss. Just let me know if you need anything."

Sookie gathered up her laptop, steno pad and baby monitor, and headed downstairs.

She hardly ever saw this part of the house in the daytime, but she guessed she'd she it a lot when the pool was open.

There was a formal living room, really fancy formal dining room, Eric's study, the den, and that big Martha Stewart kitchen. She was standing in the entryway looking around when Margaret came out of the kitchen.

"Hello, Miss Sookie," she said cheerily.

"Hi, Margaret – I didn't know you were working today."

"Oh, yes, Mr. Burnham called about your interviews. I'll have tea and refreshments for them when they get here."

"Oh, that's great. Are you serving the cake from last night?"

"I'll have some of that and some healthier choices in case our guests prefer that."

"Great." Sookie started looking around again.

"Can I help you with something, Miss?"

"I'm not sure where I should do the interviews."

"Well, Mr. Northman's study is good, but it might seem a bit more formal than you'd like, so I was thinking I'd set things up in the living room so it will be a little more relaxed."

"Oh, good, that's great. Thank you."

Sookie went into the study and found the power strip for the big desktop so she could plug her laptop in. She opened it up and got a little thrill because it was so pretty when it was open. The browser was still open, so she did a search for wedding dresses. She knew she didn't want a big white cake shaped thing covered with lace, but she wanted something full length, white and very classy. Wow, look at all those links. She had no idea where to start. She looked at the baby monitor. She looked at all those links. Back to the baby monitor. OK, Sookie, you know you need help, so ask her.

"Alicia?"

"Yes, Miss?"

"I'm sorry to bother you again. Do you know of a good website to look for a wedding dress that doesn't look big and poofy? Something more like a white evening gown?"

"Try VeraWangonWeddings dot com, Miss."

"That's V.E.R.A.W.A.N.G. on weddings, no spaces?"

"Yes, you'll like those very much."

"OK, thanks, Alicia."

Sookie went to the website – wow. They have a lot of information. She clicked on the gown gallery and really liked what she saw. She started just going through the long row of gowns and saw two she really liked. One was strapless and had a green sash, and it looked like it belonged on a Greek Goddess. The other one was also strapless, and the skirt was a little fuller than she had pictured, but she knew it would look great on her as long as she didn't wait too much longer. She clicked on the details – $5,000 to $8,000! Holy smoke! She was thinking a couple of hundred dollars would be a lot. She closed the laptop and panicked just a little.

A few minutes later Alicia came downstairs and looked in on her. Sookie was still sitting there thinking that surely that was too much money. Maybe Tara had something at her store that would do.

"Did you see anything you liked, Miss Sookie?"

"Yeah, they were gorgeous, but they're so much money!"

"Has Mr. Northman given you a budget for the wedding?"  
"No, I haven't asked about that yet. I'm sure he wouldn't want to spend that much money on one dress, though."

"Do you still have the dress that you liked on your computer screen?"

"Yeah, I just closed the lid – I think it will still be there."

"Let's have a look at it."

Alicia came around the desk, and Sookie opened the laptop. She clicked the bottom and opened a window that showed a larger view.

"Oh, that's very pretty, Miss – it would look lovely on you if …"

"If I was going to wear it pretty soon?"

"Exactly. When is the wedding?"

"I'm not sure yet, but it's got to be fairly soon because I want to do it before the baby comes, and I won't be able to fly a couple of months from now."

"Where are you planning to go?"

"I think we're doing a small ceremony in Las Vegas at one of the fancy hotels with just my brother and a couple of friends."

"That will be very nice. This dress would be lovely for that."

"But the price…"

"Let's do this. Let's keep this picture here and show Mr. Northman when he arrives and see what he has to say about it. Then you'll know what your budget for a dress is, alright?"

"Alright."

"Would you like me to take what's left of Margaret's cakes up to your kitchenette for you?"

"Yeah, they were delicious."

"Alright, I'll do that right after our meetings."

Sookie looked at the clock. Two o'clock was fast approaching, and she was getting nervous. Margaret was already in the living room setting up tea and cakes and crudités. Sookie looked at herself in a mirror in the entryway and smoothed her skirt.  
"You look very nice, Miss. Why don't you sit in the large rose colored chair by the fireplace and have a cup of tea. I'll bring the applicants in as they arrive."

"Oh, I need my notebook," Sookie said as she quickly went back into the study to retrieve the steno pad.

She walked into the living room and noticed for the first time that it was decorated in shades of rose pink with burgundy accents. Sookie wondered who designed this room. It was very pretty, but it wasn't Eric at all.

She sat in the large chair by the fireplace, which wasn't lit because it was so warm, so there was a beautiful brass screen in front of it. Margaret had set the refreshments up on a little cart in front of it.

"Would you like some tea, Miss?" She motioned to a selection of tea bags.

"Uh… do you have anything without caffeine?"

"Yes, I do – there's mint or raspberry."

"Mint sounds nice." Margaret poured her tea, added the tea bag, and put two lumps of sugar in it without even asking – she already knew what Sookie would want.

Alicia moved a small side chair just to the left of the chair Sookie sat in, apparently for the applicant to use, then she walked across the room and opened the picture window drapes. Sookie had never seen them open before, and it made the room look gorgeous. You could see a pretty Grecian statue that was a fountain that sat in the yard in front of the window. She never paid much attention to it at night, but in the afternoon it looked really impressive.

The first applicant arrived, and Alicia showed her in. Sookie stood and shook her hand and remembered to offer tea, which Margaret was there to serve. Sookie held the steno pad with both hands to hide the fact that they were shaking, and plastered her panic smile on her face. She went down the list of questions she and Alicia had put together, and Alicia stood at the back of the room. Sookie would look at her and she would smile or nod to show Sookie she was doing fine.

The first woman was nice, but kind of hardcore fitness. She reminded Sookie of the trainer who had a show on BRAVO who was a little intense for her tastes. The second woman did massage for pregnant women, and she was nice, but that's about it. Sookie never felt as if she connected with her, and felt a little awkward. The third applicant was Bobbie James, and they clicked. Bobbie was medium height and curvy with long brown hair. She was kind of a hippie and about forty, but seemed younger. She had tons of experience, could do water exercise, yoga and massage, plus she was into aromatherapy and mentioned she could do facials as well. Sookie had never had a facial before, but it sounded nice.

Sookie explained that the pool would be open very soon, and Bobbie offered to start working with her beforehand, doing yoga and massage. Sookie explained that they had a gym on the 4th floor, and Alicia offered to take them both up in the service elevator. She showed her the main room, which had Eric's swords on the wall, and Bobbie didn't bat an eyelash. She knew Eric was a vampire and that didn't bother her. Sookie showed her the meditation room and the massage tables. Bobbie said this would be perfect for what she normally did.

Sookie asked her when she could start, and they agreed she would begin working with Sookie the next day at 1:00.

Alicia nodded her approval, and added, "Did Mr. Burnham go over the financial arrangements with you?"

"Yes," Bobbie said, "that's all been taken care of, and I was told that Mr. Northman would want to meet me at some point, but Sookie had the final say."

They stepped back onto the elevator to go down to the first floor.

"That she does. So, we'll expect you at one o'clock tomorrow. Is there any special instruction for Miss Sookie regarding clothing or diet?"

"Wear something comfortable and loose, preferably cotton. Eat a good, low fat breakfast some time before noon so that your stomach has time to settle a bit. You already have yoga mats and bricks up there, so we should be all set."

Sookie thanked her again as they got to the front door, and Alicia saw her out to her car. Sookie went back into the kitchen and surprised Margaret.

"Hello, Miss, what can I get for you?"

"Can I have some cake, please? I'll get it myself if you just tell me where."

"That's alright, Miss Sookie – you sit at that table there, and I'll get it for you. What kind would you like?"

"Can I have a piece of each and a big glass of milk, please? I'm suddenly really hungry."

"It's after 4:30 – are you sure you'll be able to eat dinner?"

"Yes, I'm starved. It won't be a problem at all," Sookie laughed.

Sookie sat down and Alicia came in.

"That went very well, Miss Sookie. You just hired your first servant."

"I did?"

"Of course, and you handled it very well. I'll go shopping in the morning before I come in and get you some exercise clothes. You have a pair of leggings and several t-shirts that would work, but you'll need more than one outfit, and I'll get you a couple of tank style swim suits for when the pool is open since that should be any day now."

"That fast?"

"Yes, Mr. Burnham said Mr. Northman wanted it immediately, so it should be ready one day this week."

"That's good – I really like to swim and lie in the sun. So you think I hired the right person?"

"Yes, I think you did. You got along very well, and you were more comfortable with her than anyone. I don't think you could find anyone with more perfect skills for what you need. Honestly, yoga is much safer for you than a more aggressive style of workout. She'll be able to do massage for you after your workout, too. That's going to help make you a lot more comfortable."

Sookie sat in the kitchen, laughing and talking with Margaret and Alicia for over an hour. Mr. Burnham called Alicia's cell to ask how Sookie's interviews went, and she told him Sookie had chosen to hire Bobbie James and she would be beginning the next day. He said he would call her to confirm the financial arrangements and told her to tell Mr. Northman that they were coming to work on the pool the next day.

Sookie was very excited to hear that. They were all still chatting when Eric came upstairs.

"Hello, ladies." He nodded at Alicia and Margaret and walked over to kiss Sookie. "How was your day, today, dear one?"

"I hired a personal trainer and masseuse, and I wasn't sick at all."

"Excellent. How did you find the trainer?"

"Mr. Burnham set up interviews for this afternoon. I talked to the three people and one of them was perfect."

He looked very surprised and looked at Alicia. "She interviewed applicants today?"

"Yes," Alicia said, "and she did it very well. No one would have guessed she had never done it before. She also looked at wedding gowns on the internet, but she was a bit scared by the prices."

"Did you find a dress you liked, Sookie?"

"I didn't look a whole lot because I got spooked by the prices. Are they all that expensive?"

"She was looking at Vera Wang gowns, Mr. Northman."

"She's an excellent designer, Sookie. Many women would love to have one of her gowns."

"But Eric, this one was between five and eight THOUSAND dollars!"

He laughed. "Is that all?"

"Is that all? Are you kidding?!"

"Sookie, I thought you were going to say it was forty or fifty thousand. Show me this gown."

"OK, come into the study."

"I'll be right there, dear one. Alicia did she eat today?"

"She ate at around 11 am, and she just had 2 pieces of cake, but she hasn't had dinner yet, and I still need to make her snack for later tonight."

"Alright, you take care of that, and I will take it from here. Thank you for your help today."

Eric came into the study and smiled at Sookie sitting behind his desk. He walked around the desk and gently pulled her up out of the chair, sat down and settled her on his lap.

"This is a very pretty dress you are wearing, my lover."

"It's one Alicia got for me – she said it would be ok for interviewing people today."

"You know, I didn't know you would be doing that. It sounds as if you handled it very well."

"Alicia walked me through it. I would have been lost without her."

"Well, good that you had her."

"Yeah, I'm sorry I gave you a hard time when you hired her."

Eric laughed and kissed her. "That's two apologies from Sookie in 24 hours. That must be a record of some kind."

Sookie couldn't think of a good comeback. so she bit his cheek.

He purred, "Mmnnn hold that thought. Let's see this wedding dress."

She turned the laptop to face him and his eyes lit up.

"My lover, that is very pretty, and it would look wonderful on you. This is a very well known designer – very prestigious."

"But the price…"

"Is fine. It would be stunning on you. Look through the site thoroughly and make sure there isn't one you like better, and when you have your favorite, get Alicia to help you make arrangements to have a fitting. Choose all of the embellishments you want, and do not worry about the price."

"You do realize I'll only be able to wear it once?"  
"Of course – though we will have it stored in case some day our son's fiancé would like to wear it. Or maybe some day we will have a daughter!"

"You're kidding…"

"Of course not. Wedding dresses of this sort are often passed down through the generations."

She rolled her eyes at him and kissed him. He pulled her back and kissed her very deeply.

"You know," she said, "I won't be able to wear that design much longer."

"Yes, well, I am expecting a call from Las Vegas at 7 pm. We will know more about the time frame we are working with after that."

"Did we tell you about the pool?"

"No – what about it?"

"They're coming to work on it tomorrow."

"Excellent. I don't know if it needs any repairs, but even if it does it should be usable within a few days. I'm looking forward to swimming in the moonlight with you. And there's a hot tub at the end of it, too."

"Of course there is – Eric Northman would never have a pool without a hot tub, even if he had no intention of using it." She teased him and nibbled on his ear. He squeezed her and then put his hand on her tummy. She smiled at him.

"Soon," he said, "I will begin talking to him."

"Talking to him?"

"Yes, I have read that babies can sometimes absorb and even respond when spoken to in the womb. If a normal human baby can do this, my son will certainly be able to understand me. It will help with our bond."

"I never heard of that."

"Well, I have, so we will try it in a few weeks. I must go upstairs and prepare for my phone call and check my email. Will you go up with me? I will carry you, of course."

"Of course."

He slipped his arms under her back and knees, and she grabbed her laptop to take with her. He stepped on the power strip so she could pull the plug out and carried her up to their bedroom. He gently sat her on the bed.

"So can I get naked now?" she asked.

"Not just yet, my lover. We still might need to go out. Wait for me and I'll be back after my call."

She started to object, but then Alicia came up with her dinner tray and she just settled down to eat.

TBC


	23. Chapter 23

Disclaimer: The Southern Vampire Series, and all characters from it, is owned by Charlaine Harris. No infringement is intended.

___________________________________________________________________________________

Eric was laughing softly to himself as he sat down at the computer in his 3rd floor office. His little Sookie interviewed trainers and actually hired one without checking with him, AND she found a beautiful designer wedding dress. Not bad for a barmaid from Bon Temps. She was adapting beautifully to being his bonded, and she was finally letting him do things he had wanted to do for her since he first saw her at Fangtasia. If he could protect them from outside influences, his life was going to be better than he had imagined it could in a very short time. Those outside influences, though, were many and profound. He was going to have to deal with the worst of them to get through this – Felipe de Castro.

Eric had liked Sophie Ann, and he hated the way de Castro used her vulnerability to kill her and take over her kingdom. Now he was in a position where he would have to trust the bastard in hopes that he could garner his protection for the baby as well as Sookie. This was going to take some serious ass-kissing, a lot of luck and faith in the gods that they had plans for his son that would keep him from being harmed.

Faith wasn't something Eric had in abundance, but he did tend to be lucky. De Castro was the X factor, and he didn't like the way that felt at all. He might be jealous of Eric's relationship with Sookie, or the fact that he was able to reproduce. He might like the idea of having such a unique nest in his kingdom – if he could see it as something that brought him prestige, that would be best. Hopefully he wouldn't use Sookie or the child against him, but that would always be a danger. Getting his pledge of protection was still the best bet he had for keeping his family – his _family_! --- safe.

When it came down to it, the biggest threat was from Victor Madden, not Felipe. Felipe just needed to keep power. Victor wanted to seize power, and that made him far more dangerous. He wasn't that worried about Sandy – she was what humans would call a "company girl" – she wanted to maintain her position by being good at it, and she didn't aspire to more than she had.

Eric was also thinking about what would happen when news of the baby did come out. He had survived as long as he had by staying off the radar. Word of a vampire siring a child – a child of magick, no less - could put him and his family in the spotlight within the Supe community. If that were the case, having Felipe on their side would be of great help indeed, so ass-kissing was his best bet.

He replied to a few business emails, forwarded a few items to Pam for follow-up, and had then found the message from Sandy. OK, here we go. She left a number for him to call ASAP. He steeled himself, then picked up the phone.

"This is Sandy."

"Sandy, this is Eric Northman."

"Ah, Sheriff – we had wondered if we would hear from you this evening. Do you still need an audience with the king?"

"Yes, I do."

"Can you tell me what this is about?"

"Actually, there are two personal matters I must discuss. One could be accomplished by teleconference, but the other must be in person."

Sandy was a little perturbed, but she didn't argue with him. "The king is visiting Louisiana as we speak. Can you be at the Horseshoe Hotel in Bossier city by 10 pm tonight?"

"We can…"

"Who is we?"

"Myself and Sookie Stackhouse, the telepath."

"Ah, well, at least his majesty will enjoy seeing her."

Bitch.

"Yes, well, 10 pm then."

"The presidential suite. Don't be late. We're doing you a favor."

"Yes, I appreciate that. I will see you then."

Eric had the in he needed. Now he had to make this look good. He could have done this on his own, but he needed to garner favor with Felipe, and Sookie had saved his life, in addition to being beautiful. Using her to tempt Felipe was a dangerous game, but he had to use all the tools at his disposal. He just had to hope Felipe didn't want to keep her for himself. The idea that she was with child might be enough to squelch that, and if not, her Fae parentage should. He didn't need to tell her to turn on the charm – that just naturally poured out of her. He did need her looking as good as possible, though, so he headed back to the bedroom.

Sookie was just finishing up her dinner, and Alicia had come up for the dishes.

"How are you feeling tonight, my lover?" he said hopefully.

"I haven't been sick today, but I didn't really have time to think about it."

"Alicia, wait a moment – Sookie are you up to going to Bossier City with me?"

"I guess so – what's going on?"

"I'll explain that in a bit. Alicia, does she have any cocktail dresses? Something that would look right in a fancy hotel or high roller room in a casino?"

"I got her a couple of LBDs the other day …" and she moved to the closet, pulling out two dresses on hangers and covered in plastic."

"What's an LBD?" Sookie asked

"A Little Black Dress."

"Let's see them," he said.

"This one," Alicia began, "has a jewel neckline and mesh insert above the bust, with a straight skirt. This one has a low, sweetheart neckline and a full skirt with some very pretty beading on the skirt."

"The second one shows the most cleavage?"

"Uh – yes, sir."

"She'll wear that one. If she's got a push up bra to go with it, put that our for her, too."

"Very well, sir." Alicia set about getting Sookie an outfit together – thigh-high stockings, low heeled strappy black sandals, black push up bra and black thong. She even pulled an evening purse out of the drawer and started moving Sookie's essentials into it.

Sookie was trying not to get pissed off. Why were they deciding how to dress her? What was she, a Barbie Doll? She knew better than to yell at Eric in front of the help, but boy, was he going to get an earful when Alicia left.

"This would look very nice with an up-do. Would you like help with your hair, Miss?"

"Yes, she would. Leave part of it down, though, and curl it a bit. She needs to sparkle tonight." He didn't even give Sookie time to respond on her own! WTF?!

Alicia motioned for Sookie to sit in one of the chairs beside the window and plugged in a curling iron. She was trying not to let her anger show because she knew Eric would be upset if she embarrassed him, but she'd better find out what was going on soon or she was gonna blow. While Alicia was styling Sookie's hair, Eric went into the bathroom and showered.

When Alicia was done with Sookie's hair, she helped her into the foundation garments and dress, and put the shoes on her. He came in and out at vampire speed once, apparently to get his clothes, because he came out of the bathroom dressed. Wow – he looked amazing. A silk shirt in a sort of impressionist pattern, dark slacks and socks, and he was putting on his dress boots. As Alicia helped Sookie with her makeup, he flashed a brilliant smile at Sookie.

"My lover, you are glowing! Perfect!"

"Perfect for what?"

Eric glanced toward Alicia and shook his head slightly to indicate that it was not for outsiders to know.

'Vamp business,' she thought. 'He can't talk about it in front of a human.'

"For our date," he said, giving her a look that let her know this was only part of the story. "We are going to the Horseshoe Casino in Bossier City to meet a… business associate of mine."

'Ok,' she thought, 'who the hell could be in Bossier City?'

"You must remember him, dear one – Felipe?"

Sookie's eyes got big – that's why Eric was being cagey. They were going to see the King of Nevada. "Oh, yes, I do remember him."

"Yes, you made quite an impression on him, so I thought having you there looking as perfect as you do might make our transactions more pleasant."

'Translation,' she thought, 'you're going to flash your cleavage at Felipe and hopefully he'll give us what we want.'

Alicia made a few little adjustments to Sookie's makeup and clothing, handed her a black wrap from the back of the closet, then excused herself for the evening.

"I've really got to look through that closet some time…" she said as Eric laughed. "Seriously, Eric, how does she always know what I'm going to need?"

"She does not know exactly, but she knows certain things about you." He was ushering her downstairs to the garage.

"What kind of things?"

"Well, she knows you are engaged to a man of means, so you will need dressy casual clothes like the dress you wore today. I own a nightclub, so you would naturally need cocktail dresses for entertaining clients. I'm sure she'll put a couple of formal dresses in there in case we have a special occasion, and she'll get you some simple things to wear around the house or running errands. The one thing you'll probably have to buy for yourself would be anything really sexy – I doubt she'll think to buy you clothes to go clubbing in or any teddies or corsets, though I did notice she bought you quite a few thongs – probably because she's seen them in your laundry."

He opened the door of his Corvette for her.

"Yeah, this push-up bra is new, too. Is that weird?"

"What, dear one?" He folded himself into the driver's seat.

"Her buying sexy lingerie for me – does she think I'm a bimbo?" she asked as he pulled out of the garage.

"Have you listened to her thoughts?"

"No – as a matter of fact, it's been really easy not to hear people when I don't want to."

"That might be because you are drinking my blood daily. There's no reason to think she thinks ill of you is there?"

"I guess not. It's just – you know how I feel about being kept."

"You're not being kept, dear one, we are to be married. That's why we're going to Bossier City."

"So are we asking permission?"

"Not exactly. I've thought about this a great deal, my lover, and I think we must tell Felipe about Niall."

"What?! Are you sure?"

"I can't see any way around it."

"Will Niall be angry?"

"Not as long as you are not upset. He only insisted on secrecy to spare your feelings and those of your brother."

"Will Felipe use it against us?"

"It's possible, but I think it more likely he will do as I ask and extend your protection to the child. His blessing over the marriage will work in our favor. He'll be far less likely to interfere with us if he understands Niall is an interested party. I also think that if he announces the child, it will be more widely accepted that I am actually his father."

"Are you worried about that?"

"Not terribly, but the more people understand that he is actually my child and protected by his king, the less likely anyone is to try to harm him or use him against us."

"This is scary."

He looked over at her and smiled. He stroked her cheek with the back of his fingers. "Yes, my lover, it is scary. But it is our best option."

"Are you afraid of Felipe?"

"I would be a fool not to be wary of him, but honestly, I am far more concerned about Victor Madden, and he is the main reason I want to be sure that the King's protection is extended to the child as soon as possible. Victor is ruthless and hungry for power. He already had reason to resent me. This may make him more so."

"They expect you to turn me, you know…"

"Yes, most people do."

"I couldn't even consider that until after the baby is born."

"Not even until after he is weaned, would be my guess."

"So two years, minimum."

Eric looked at her a couple of times between watching the road ahead.

"My lover, are you thinking you would like to become vampire?" he asked quietly and cautiously – he didn't want to scare her into a retreat.

"I don't know. The idea never appealed to me before, but if my child is going to be an immortal, maybe I should be, too."

"It is something to think about, dear one."

"Oh, I am thinking about it. Don't get your hopes up, but let's just say I'm not dead set against it anymore."

Eric smiled to himself. They were quiet on the rest of the drive, but it didn't take long to get there.

Eric knew where Felipe was quartered, so they took the elevator from the garage straight to the room. He held her hand in the elevator, and she was trying to breathe slowly so she didn't hyperventilate. She hated vampire politics, and she would never get used to the idea of royalty in America, but this was Eric's life, and if she loved him she had to accept that.

He kissed her cheek as the door opened, and he let her exit the elevator first, though he got in front of her to knock on the door. Her job was to stay behind him, be charming, and never make him look weak in front of them. She was glad she wouldn't need to speak.

"Northman. Come in." Sandy answered the door. That was strange – no entourage?

"The King will be with you shortly. Nice to see you, Miss Stackhouse." Sandy looked at Sookie strangely. Sookie felt like a t-bone in front of a starving dog. She'd had that feeling around vamps before, but this was pretty intense.

The inner door opened, and they were ushered through to the main part of the suite. Felipe stood with his back to them, looking out the window into the night. Sandy came in behind them and closed the door, apparently intending to stay.

Felipe spoke, "Sheriff – I understand you have personal business to discuss with me?"

"Yes, your majesty, but it is of an acutely personal nature. It would be best for us to be alone, sire."

Felipe turned to look at them. Sookie had forgotten how gorgeous he was – like an Hispanic Johnny Depp. He smiled at Sookie, fangs down a bit, "How lovely you look tonight Miss Stackhouse." He took her hand. "Sandy, wait outside please."

Sandy was not happy about this development, but she exited quietly.

Felipe raised Sookie's hand to his lips and kissed it. Then he turned her wrist over and kissed her there, inhaling her scent. "Miss Stackhouse, your scent has changed. You've always been sweet…" he kissed the crook of her elbow, "but tonight you are intoxicating."

Eric was fighting not to growl and attack. Sookie was freaked out, but plastered the panic smile on her face and tried not to cringe.

"Your majesty is very observant," Eric managed to say. "It is this change we have come to discuss."

"Please, proceed," Felipe said, still holding Sookie's hand and looking at her very intently.

"Your majesty, are you acquainted with Niall Brigant?"

"The fairy – of course- "

"Your majesty, I must place in you a great trust. Few beings alive or dead know that Brigant is Sookie's great grandfather."

That got Felipe's attention. Now he looked at Sookie with surprise, but he didn't let go of her hand.

"You are Fae, my dear? I'm sure I would have known…"

"She only found out herself very recently, sire."

"During the skirmish at her house, you told Madden that forces beyond comprehension would be called into play if she were harmed."

"Yes your majesty."

"If she had been harmed…."

"It could have touched off another war with the Fae." If Felipe had had any color in his face, it would have drained just then. He was scared, but he tried not to show it.

"Brigant wished to give his great granddaughter a gift like no other, something only he could provide."

Felipe stared at him, still holding Sookie's hand. Her palm was starting to sweat.

"Yes, and…"

"He worked magick so that I could impregnate Sookie. She is with child, your majesty – my child."

"Sheriff, you are telling me that you, a vampire, have sired a child with a fairy?"  
"She is only an eighth fae, your majesty. It is a child of magick."

Felipe stepped closer to Sookie, still holding her hand.

"My, my, Miss Stackhouse, you are full of surprises…"

Eric was biting his tongue so hard it bled. He wanted to kill Felipe for touching his bonded this way.

"Your majesty," Eric continued slowly. "Sookie and I wish to marry. I owe you fealty, and Sookie has been offered protection by you for her heroism when she saved our lives from Sigebert, and we are here to beg of you to extend your protection to our child."

Felipe's mind was whirring like a top. Sookie thought she could hear the machinery between his ears making calculations.

"You will have a most unique nest, Sheriff."

"Yes, your majesty."

"And you will be the first Sheriff in the Americas to wed a human. Maybe the first in the world."

"Yes, your majesty."

"A child – and a wedding. How unique. No other regent has hosted such an event. What plans do you have for the ceremony? When is the child due?"

"The child is due in early August, sire, but we wish to be married before then. We had thought about a small ceremony in Las Vegas, perhaps the Bellagio or…"

"Nonsense, Sheriff. This is a most unusual occasion. You and your lovely fiancé will stay at my residence in Las Vegas and spend some time there. Your wedding will be my gift to the happy couple. How would a week from Sunday be?" Now he was holding Sookie's palm open and stroking it, like he was a demented palm reader.

"A week from Sunday would be fine your majesty – we wish to be wed before the child comes, and in another month or so Sookie will be unable to fly."

Still holding Sookie's hand, de Castro stretched his hand over Sookie's abdomen, feeling the baby bump. "Yes, indeed, my dear – bursting with life." His hand stayed there several seconds then drifted south, where he pressed in just a little over her clit, and she jumped a bit. Eric was having visions of decapitating the king.

"Have we covered all of your personal matters, Sheriff?" he never took his eyes off Sookie.

"Yes, sire."

"Very well. SANDY!"

Sandy was in the door so fast it was obvious she had been listening at the door, though with vampire senses she'd hardly need to.

"Sandy, we are going to host a wedding at my home in Nevada. You will make arrangements for the Sheriff, Miss Stackhouse and a party of..." he looked at Eric.

"Four, your majesty." He looked back at Sookie.

"…party of four to arrive in Nevada one week from Friday. We will hold a small cocktail party of about fifty on Saturday to introduce the Sheriff to the Sheriffs and important residents of our kingdom. Sunday we will hold the Wedding at 10 pm, followed by a small formal dinner. Their guests will leave during the day Monday, and the newlyweds will stay until the following Friday. You will make a car and driver available to them, and you will coordinate the decorations and other details with Miss Stackhouse according to her desires. Spare no expense. We have much to celebrate. Are these arrangements satisfactory, Sheriff?"

He was still holding on to Sookie.

"More than we could have hoped for, your majesty."

"I will make the announcement to extend protection to the child at the party. In the meantime, know that you have it as long as it is in its mother's body."

"Thank you, your majesty."

De Castro turned Sookie's palm upward and licked it. She fainted.

When Sookie woke up they were in Eric's car and headed home. She asked him to pull over to the side of the road, and she leaned out and threw up. He didn't ask her if she needed anything – he knew what she was feeling, and he knew why she was sick. They stopped twice more for the same reason.

"Don't hate me," she finally said.

"I could never hate you, dear one."

"I could never hate you, either."

For the first time in a long time, he couldn't think of anything to say.

TBC


	24. Chapter 24

Disclaimer: The Southern Vampire Series, and all characters from it, is owned by Charlaine Harris. No infringement is intended.

___________________________________________________________________________________

'Nine days.' That was the first thought in her head when she woke up. She looked at the clock – 8:17. Wow, that was early for her. She didn't even remember getting home last night. She assumed Eric must have undressed her and tucked her in bed, and she had a vague memory of being wrapped in Eric's arms with his bleeding wrist to her lips – was that a dream?

She felt like such an idiot. Eric managed to arrange a wedding for her and protection for their child and what did she do? She passed out and threw up all night. OK, Felipe seriously creeped her out, but what was this, some bad soap opera?

She knew Eric would have killed Felipe if he could have – and she wished he could have. She thought about telling Eric to make sure she was never alone with Felipe, but he would do that, anyway. That phrase "while it's in its mother's body" seriously creeped her out, too. Did that mean if someone took it out of her body… ew, that turned her stomach. These were vampires – disemboweling a human was all in a days work for a lot of them.

She hoped it wasn't a mistake to tell Felipe about Niall, but she tried to tell herself to trust Eric. Dr. Ludwig told her to trust him to know what needed to be done to keep them alive. He said that was their best option, so it must have been the right thing to do.

She had nine days from today – Friday didn't count because that was the travel day -- to plan a wedding. Actually, Sandy would probably do most of the planning. How the hell they were going to pull this off, she had no idea. She stretched a little and rolled over into Baby Eric position, her arms hugging the little bulge. It was all going to be worth it, she told herself, when they had their family safe and together – Baby E, her and Big E. She laughed out loud – Big E and Baby E. She liked that. Maybe she should start talking to Baby E, too?

There was so much to do. She needed a dress, she needed to ask Amelia, Octavia and Jason if they could come to Vegas for a few days, and this wasn't much notice to give a person with a job – though Jason wouldn't care and he'd jump at the chance to go to Vegas for free. She couldn't really think of anything else she'd need to do. Clothes and guests were the only things she needed to bring. The rest was going to have to be done by Felipe's staff.

She guessed that was part of Eric's plan – make them do all the work, and they'd just show up and enjoy themselves. She knew Felipe would throw a wedding far more extravagant than she'd ever do for herself, and he had the staff to do it up right. She should focus on being happy about being married, and she had to find a way to make last night up to Eric.

Ooh, that gave her a twinge – she had been so busy all day yesterday and so sick last night that she hadn't even had time to think about sex. She put her hands on her breasts and squeezed a little. She played with her nipples. It was light out so Eric wasn't going to catch her. It was only around 9 by now, and Alicia wouldn't be upstairs for a bit. She ran her hands down her body, enjoying the touch and being touched. She squirmed a little, and reached between her legs. Oh, yes. This wouldn't take long, though there was no need to hurry.

She thought about the naked Viking in the basement, and slipped 2 fingers into herself. She thought about his scent. She thought about the cool touch of his fingers – those long fingers that could do magick as far as she was concerned. She settled into an easy rhythm rubbing her clit and pinching a nipple with her other hand. She pictured what might happen if she went down to Eric's hidey hole and was there when he woke up. That was what did it. She was RIGHT THERE. It was short and quick, but whew! what a way to start the day!

Eric would need to go to Fangtasia tonight, but maybe she would go down and surprise him. She went to the bathroom and washed her hands, then she noticed on her way back to the bed that Eric left her a note with some papers attached.

_My Lover,_

_I hope you are feeling better this morning. I'm sorry that last night was so stressful for you. I hope we can look forward to our wedding and be happy knowing we will be a family. _

_I have attached some faxes from Felipe's staff, asking questions about what you would like for the wedding. Please fill them out and fax them back to them this morning. It would be a good idea to call your brother and your Witches to confirm that they are going. Sandy will send the travel arrangements when they are confirmed. You will need to move quickly to get your dress in time, so ask Alicia to begin working on that immediately._

_I love you,_

_Eric_

There were three pages of questions. Some of them weren't too bad – what color flowers do you want, (pink and yellow) what kind of cake, (red velvet – hey, it is a vampire wedding, after all) who will give the bride away (Jason, if he goes) – but some of them were about themes and china and what the hell is a trousseau? so that stuff was going to have to wait for Alicia.

Phone calls she could do. It was way too early to call Jason if he was home, but he was probably at work, so she tried his cell. No answer – it went straight to voice mail. She told him about the wedding a week from Sunday, and could he go to Vegas with them from that Friday to Monday, and she really hoped he could because she wanted him to give her away. Then she tried Amelia, and got through to her. Amelia was thrilled about the whole prospect – Vegas, a wedding, being maid of honor, the vampire cocktail party, even the fact that Pam was going. They chatted for a long time, and Sookie told her as much as she dared about Felipe and his world. Amelia was completely up for it and said she would call Octavia and see if she could go.

Sookie expected Amelia to be cool with the vampire world, but she was much less certain about Jason. He was brash and quick-tempered and not all that bright sometimes. They would be deep in the heart of vamp territory, and it wouldn't take much of a row to get them all killed. Was she being selfish wanting him to be there? Could she trust him to behave himself for a few days? She had a plan for keeping him in line, but she'd have to clear it with Eric. She really did want him to be there.

She heard a noise outside and went to the window. There were some really heavy, strange shades that kept light out of the bedroom, but she could move them enough to see some men moving around in the backyard. They were working on the pool! Yay!

"Good Morning, Miss!"

Sookie jumped a little – "Hi, Alicia. You're early today."

"I was just bringing up some new clothes to put in your bureau and closet. You're usually asleep when I do this."

"Oh – I didn't think about that, but I guess that has to get done early in the morning, huh?"

"Yes, Miss. You're a sound sleeper, though, and rarely stir when I'm in here. I hope you don't mind. Mr. Northman said he leaves at sunrise and any time after that should be fine."

"Yeah, that's fine." She'd have to remember that. Getting caught by Eric is one thing. Getting caught by Alicia would be more than a little awkward.

"I got you some nice cotton yoga outfits for your training sessions, and I've already called a specialty shop and they'll be here tomorrow at 10 am for your first fitting. Mr. Northman left a message and told me it needed to be ready to travel by next Friday. We should be able to get that done – we can engage a private seamstress if need be."

"Speaking of weddings, I've got these faxes I need to respond to about the wedding arrangements. Can you help me with them, please?"

"Of course, Miss. Would you like to do that before or after you eat?"

"I think before – the sooner the better."

"Would you like to bring them to the kitchenette and we can talk about them while I make your breakfast?"

"Yeah, that would be great."

She handed Sookie a pink robe from her closet that she didn't even know she had and they went down the stairs. Sookie sat at the little table.

"Oh, I forgot to mention – can we get a larger chair so Eric can sit here with me sometimes? These chairs aren't quite sturdy enough for a big Vi… a big guy like him." Sookie figured Alicia didn't need to know Eric was a real Viking.

"Of course, Miss – I didn't know that was something he did."

"Yeah, sometimes he likes to keep me company while I eat."

"Alright then…" Alicia was taking things out of the fridge and cupboards. She took out the waffle iron and that pleased Sookie to no end.

"Oh, good – waffles. I'm really hungry."

Alicia smiled at her. As Alicia mixed the ingredients, Sookie read the questions to her and they talked about the possibilities. She decided the theme would simply be Spring, and Alicia said that would work with her pink and yellow colors. She specified a kind of china, but Sookie just wrote down what she said without really understanding what it was.

It turned out a trousseau was the gown and accessories, and they wrote that Eric would provide that. She requested prime rib for the dinner, and when asked what music she wanted for the first dance, she said "In Your Eyes" and tried to hide her face so Alicia wouldn't see she was flushed remembering that night at Fangtasia.

They managed to wrap it all up by the time Sookie's waffles were ready, so she dug in, and Alicia went to the fax machine to send the information back to Felipe's headquarters.

When Sookie got done with her breakfast, it was still only 10:00. Bobbie wouldn't be there for her training for three hours, so now what? She was still supposed to stay off her feet, so Alicia suggested she find a book in Eric's study and take it upstairs to read. That was as good an idea as any other, so she went into the first floor study and looked around.

Eric had a nice library. Not huge, but he had more books than anyone else she knew. Everything was bound in leather and looked expensive. He didn't have the kind of romances or mysteries she usually read, but Alicia suggested Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier and told her there was a wonderful old black and white movie directed by Alfred Hitchcock. Sookie figured if she liked the book, she and Eric could watch the movie. The book turned out to be about a widower who met a young, inexperienced girl and brought her back to his huge mansion where she felt she was in the shadow of his deceased wife. Eric didn't have a ghostly wife hanging over Sookie's head, but she could definitely relate to being a young woman not sophisticated enough for her new surroundings.

She took the book upstairs and snuggled into Eric's bed… or rather, their bed… and she read for about an hour and a half before she fell asleep. Alicia woke her up at 12:30 so she could get into her yoga clothing and wake up a little. She picked a pair of loose pink cotton pants with a soft drawstring waist and a white camisole top, which she hoped would be ok because she didn't feel up to dealing with clothes at all right now, least of all a bra.

Bobbie James was right on time and they went straight up to the 4th floor. She was wearing a lavender unitard under a dark blue skirt that looked like it was made from one of those cotton print scarves from India that Sookie always looked at with longing, but never could get herself to buy. Her wavy hair was soft around her face, and she seemed to be in a genuinely good mood.

She carried a small boom box with her and played soft New Age music while they worked. She taught Sookie some basic moves, explaining that yoga was about stretching gently into position without bouncing, which was harder than it sounded. Years of gym classes full of jumping jacks and sit ups sort of left a person with a natural tendency to want to bounce. It was very different than any kind of exercise Sookie had done before, and it seemed as if she wasn't doing much, but at the end of an hour and a half she definitely could feel she had been doing things she wasn't used to.

Bobbie ended the session with a massage, and Sookie was nervous so she kept her panties on, but she did take off her shirt before she got up on one of the massage tables. She was glad Bobbie couldn't see her face when she explained that she was using an almond scented massage oil. Sookie was pretty sure she wouldn't be using it the way Eric liked to, but thinking about it made her blush and giggle softly.

When Sookie rolled over on her back, Bobbie asked questions related to the pregnancy – yes, she had some morning sickness. Yes, she was having an occasional cramp and was told they would be worse than most women experienced. Bobbie did a little massage actually on her abdomen, but she spent most of her time pressing different points on her hands and feet that were supposed to help. She finished off with a really thorough foot massage that felt heavenly, and suggested that tomorrow they include a pedicure with her treatment. Sookie still had barmaid's feet, and she knew they needed attention so that seemed like a good idea. As Bobbie left, Alicia told them that the pool would be ready to use on Friday, so they could do some water exercises then.

By this time it was after 4pm, so Alicia suggested Sookie go upstairs and read a bit until dinner was ready, but she barely read a page before she was asleep. Alicia brought her tray up at 5:30, and by the time she was done eating, Eric was up.

"Hello, dear one." He sat on the bed next to her and leaned over for a kiss. "What kind of day did you have today?"

Sookie told him about her training and about the progress on the swimming pool. She told him that the first fitting for the dress was the next day, and told him about the selections she had made for the wedding with a little help from Alicia. Alicia excused herself for the evening, and while Eric checked his email, Sookie ran a bath for them. Eric was surprised to find Sookie in the tub when he came back.

"My lover, I…"

"Yeah, I know, you have to go to Fangtasia tonight, but I want to spend some time with you first. We don't have to have sex – I like it when we just soak and talk, too."

Eric realized she was feeling a little insecure about all the changes, so he stripped and joined her in the tub.

"Thank you," she said as she settled between his legs, her back against his chest. He put his arms around her and kissed her hair, then her ear.

"Dear one, if you don't want to get married in Las Vegas…."

"No, that's not it. I realized why you wanted to do it there – they do all the work and we just enjoy the results."

"Yes – I thought it would be less stressful for you, but Felipe…"

"… is seriously creepy. I can't figure out if he admires you or is jealous of you."

"Probably both. Vampires love having things that no one else has, or something better than anyone else has. We are very proud. Siring a child is a unique event for a vampire. Having a bonded is rare. Some would consider me very lucky indeed."

"Do you?"

"Consider myself lucky? If I were religious, I would be tempted to say I have been blessed."

"….or cursed…?"

"Never, my lover. Our life might include a few unique complications, but I am happy to make adjustments. I've had centuries of life alone. I am more than happy to do things differently for a while."

"It will only seem like a little while to you, won't it. For me, it's the main part of my life, unless I go over…"

"I will never push you toward that, dear one, but you know it can be done whenever you choose."

"Yes, and I appreciate that – both the not pushing part and the part that offers it if I choose it. Having a non-human child puts everything in a very different perspective for me. I want to be around for you as long as possible because I love you, but that isn't an obligation. Being there for our son is my responsibility. I have to really think about that."

He hugged her tighter and kissed her cheek.

"Eric, there's something else…."

"Yes…"

"When Felipe said…"

"That he would protect the child as long as it was in your body…"

"Right. That was creepy."

"Yes."

"What did he mean by that?"

"I didn't want to alarm you last night, you were so emotional and sick, but I planned to talk to Dr. Ludwig and to Niall tonight to make sure our child is properly protected."

"Protected from what?"

"There is magick all around this child. It is theoretically possible one with the power and the knowledge could take the baby from your womb and kill it."

"Oh, my god! Do you think…."

"I think Felipe left himself an out so that if an enemy of mine were to try such a thing, he would not be obligated to avenge the child if you were unharmed."

"As if I wouldn't be harmed if someone snatched my child from my body and killed it?!"

"Physically harmed, dear one. Vampires don't think about emotions the same way humans do."

"You think about emotions."

"MY motivation is different. I am happiest when you are happy, so your happiness is a priority for me. Part of ensuring your happiness means factoring in the emotional effect my actions might have on you."

"Do you really do things differently because of me?"

"Oh, yes, my lover. Bill Compton would have been finally dead long ago if not for you. I would have killed him without a second thought the other night if I hadn't known his death would upset you. I'm taking a risk by letting him walk around freely that I would prefer not to take. As Sheriff, I could have killed him long ago by rights, and as your bonded, I would also be so entitled. My first priority now should be the safety of our child – it is wrong of me to put your feelings ahead of my responsibility, but I could not bear for you to be angry with me, and I do not think you could forgive me if I killed him while you still care for him."

"I'm sorry, but thank you."

"I love you, Sookie. You will always come first for me, whether that is right or not. It is my greatest weakness."

"Being in love shouldn't make a person seem weak."

"I'm not a person, Sookie, I am vampire. It doesn't make me seem weak, it is an actual, literal weakness that endangers my position among our kind and threatens my continued survival."

"Do you ever wish you'd never met me?" she asked quietly.

"No, dear one, I never wish that. I should. I should have killed you after the first night I met you when I realized afterward that I could think of nothing else but you. That would have been the smart, logical thing to do to ensure my survival – but I couldn't do it."

"I don't think that makes you weak."

"Let's just hope it does not make me – or you or the child, for that matter – dead."

She turned around and kissed him. "We're a team. We're stronger together than apart. You said yourself the gods must have a plan for this child, so that plan has to include us, right?"

"One would hope."

"It does, I know it does."

"Now who is having suspicions of destiny, my lover," he laughed.

"Hey, I can if you can," she teased. She reached for the soap and began to wash his chest, her hands enjoying the feel of his muscles under his skin. He was so beautiful.

"What are you thinking, dear one?"

"That you're beautiful. You have a beautiful body," she said as she continued to wash his arms, her fingers tracing the line of his biceps.

He laughed out loud, "I always think that about you, my lover. What a beautiful family we will be."

Sookie was glad the mood had lightened a little. She knew Eric was being honest with her, and she sort of understood about the danger they were in, so it was important for them to enjoy the time they had together and to have fun with each other whenever they could.

She washed him well, all over, then she washed his hair as she straddled his lap, and he kissed the top of her breasts. When she finished, he started with her hair and worked his way down, taking great pleasure in doing a very thorough job. As they were drying each other off, they giggled a little and kissed playfully because they both knew they needed to get on the road to Fangtasia.

"Is it OK if I go to Fangtasia with you tonight?"

"Of course, my lover. Are you going to sleep in the office?"

"Actually, I was thinking I'd hang out in the club with you if that's ok."

Eric was very pleasantly surprised. "You are going to sit beside me on the stage?"

"Maybe more like I'll sit with you at your table."

"I would like that very much, dear one."

She went to the closet and looked at it – man there was a lot of new clothes here. "I wonder what I should wear?"

"A dress, please, something that shows your legs. I love to see people admiring your legs."

"I thought that made you jealous…" she teased.

"Not jealous. Possessive. I want people to admire them, but they must also know that they are MINE," he said as he nipped at her earlobe, and she rolled her eyes at him.

She found a pretty black sundress with lavender and yellow flowers that would show off her chest and her legs. She found a black push up bra and a black lace thong. Eric whistled when he saw her in them, then he helped her pull the dress over her head. It fit her wonderfully, and it had an empire waist so it hid the little bulge in her tummy. "Look, it hides Baby Eric," she said cheerfully.

"Baby Eric?" His eyes lit up. It was the first time he'd heard her say it.

"Yeah, that's what I call him, Baby Eric." She patted her belly. "Or Little E. You're Big E, of course."

"Do you talk to him?"

"More like I think at him, but since you told me about talking to him, I'm going to start actually saying words out loud soon."

"Baby Eric," he repeated as he kneeled down on one knee, and raised her dress in front so he could plant a kiss on her little bulge. Sookie had to bite her tongue to keep from laughing out loud at the mighty Viking getting gooey over a baby. If you had told her a year ago that Eric Northman could actually be sweet, she'd have called you crazy.

"I wonder how long it will be before I can feel it move?" Sookie said.

"Move?"

"Yes, move. At some point pretty soon you'll be able to feel him kick and roll over in there."

Eric was literally speechless at the prospect. It had been a very long time since he'd been around a pregnant woman, and that little detail had slipped his mind. He turned his back to pull on his jeans, but she knew he didn't want her to see him grinning like a fool. She got a mental picture of his big hands holding a little baby and just about melted. It was all going to be worth it, she thought, all the danger and the morning sickness and even creepy Felipe, because when it was all said and done, she and Eric would have a healthy baby boy who would look just like Eric – she hoped.

"Should I wear heels? Alicia said I might not want to, but they would look nice with this dress."

"Wear a pair that you like and take some flat shoes with you in case you want to change." He was smart like that sometimes – and he knew the heels would make her legs look even better so he could show her off. She was secretly starting to like the way he showed her off. She knew a proper lady should hate it and be offended, but it gave her a little thrill to know he was proud of her, and took pride in letting people know she was HIS bonded and no one else's.

The fact that he thought she made him look good made her feel good about herself in a way she never had before. When she was on Eric's arm, she wasn't crazy Sookie who hears voices, she was his bonded, his beloved and that set her above anyone else in his eyes. She knew that Eric could literally have anyone he wanted – and had – and he chose her. Their bond might have been solidified under duress, but it was real and it was special.

It was a quiet night at Fangtasia. Pam spent a little time at three different points in the evening sitting at the table with Sookie, chatting about the upcoming trip to Las Vegas. Pam was actually excited about going, and she seemed fine with the idea of Eric being married. Toward the end of the night, Sookie thought it was time to ask Eric and Pam about her plan to control Jason in Las Vegas.

"Speaking of Vegas, you all, I was thinking that my brother might be a problem, but I really want him to be there, so I had an idea about what to do with him."

"Yes, my lover?"

"I was wondering if maybe Pam would be in charge of Jason? He'll go along with pretty much anything a pretty girl tells him to do, so I don't think he would mind. He's not too bright sometimes and I don't want him to get himself or anyone else killed. He can be hot-headed and obstinate." Sookie was talking fast. "I mean I don't want you to have to work while you are there, Pam, but you've mentioned before that you like Jason…"

Pam laughed.

Eric was shocked. "Sookie are you suggesting…."

"Yeah, that Pam kind of be Jason's date so she can control him while we're in Vegas."

"You want MY Pam to … court your brother?"

"Not court exactly… just maybe mess around with…"

Pam was beyond amused. "So, you are suggesting that I fuck your brother so he will be more pliable and less likely to start a fight?"

"You don't have to have sex with him if you don't want to, but he will be more cooperative if he thinks he might get laid."

"What if I want to?"

Eric now looked at Pam with the same astonishment he had directed at Sookie.

"What?" Sookie asked.

"What if I want to fuck your brother while I'm babysitting him to, you know, make him more pliable?"

"Well, if you're into it and he's into it, I don't have a problem with it…"

"Sookie!" Eric couldn't believe his ears. HIS Sookie had suggested that HIS Pam bed her brother, and HIS Pam was considering it!

"What? It's better than letting him start a war over something stupid, and you know he's perfectly capable of doing just that. Pam is stronger and smarter than he is, and she likes him anyway. Jason has no morals to speak of anyway, and I really want him to give me away."

"Pam, you know you are under no obligation…" Eric began.

"Master, may I speak frankly?"

"Of course."

"I'd love to have your future brother-in-law as a pet for the weekend. It would enable you and your bonded to relax and enjoy your time there, and I think Jason and I would enjoy… each other's… company."

"It won't be awkward for you with Amelia there will it?" Sookie asked.

"Oh, no, Amelia and I are friends, and she won't have a problem with anything I do."

"So you wouldn't mind?" Sookie asked, just to be sure.

"Not at all. It will make the whole weekend much more fun for me to have a playmate – especially such a pretty, eager playmate."

"Excuse me for a minute," Eric said as he got up from the table and walked over to the bar. A tourist who had had a little too much to drink made the mistake of grabbing Eric's ass as he stood at the bar and wound up wearing his drink and being thrown out the back door of the club with a great flourish. Sookie cringed just a little at Eric's reaction, but Pam was laughing her ass off. Her master didn't know whether to be jealous, proud, angry or appalled at this new development, and he unloaded all of that on this hapless idiot in a Metallica shirt. Pam lived for these moments.

Eric stalked back to the bar and Sookie was afraid he would kill the next would-be fang banger who touched him, so she decided it would be best to take the proverbial bull by the horns. She walked over to Eric, and he turned to her as she approached him. She took hold of his belt buckle and pulled him back toward his office. He offered a little resistance, but went along just to see what she had in mind.

She pulled him into his office, then shut and locked the door behind them. Without saying a word, she guided him to sit down in his chair behind the desk, turned her back to him, straddling his legs, flipped up the tail of her skirt and bent over his desk in front of him. Her thong didn't survive another second – it was in shreds and he was in her in less than a heartbeat. It might have hurt if she weren't in a state of perpetual readiness, but she was, so when she cried out it was more out of relief than anything else.

She knew he had fantasized many times about bending her over his desk, so she was a little more vocal than usual to spur him on. As he held her hips and slammed into her, she managed to get her dress over her head and throw it across the room. The black bra followed, so he had her wearing nothing but heels and thigh high stockings. She braced her elbows on the desk, and arched her back to raise her back side to him even more, and he was loving it. She knew the tops of her thighs would be bruised with the imprint of his desk, but that was a small price to pay.

He let go of her hips and pushed her forward, reaching around her to squeeze her breasts roughly. That made her straighten up a little, and he pulled her back toward him and drove his fangs into the spot where her neck joined her shoulder. She let out an almost animal scream as he bit, and that drove him over the edge. When his last spasm was over, he sat in his chair and pulled her back on his lap, still sucking hard on the wound as his hands ran frantically over her breasts and between her legs. He liked the reaction he got when his hand went between her legs, so he held her around the waist as he worked her, and he continued to feed from her. He was taking a lot of blood, and she started to worry a little, and tried to move away from the hand between her legs, but he wouldn't let her.

"Eric… Eric," she tried to get his attention, but his hand was instantly over her mouth and the other hand was relentless. She was trying to fight him, but that was impossible. The hand between her legs stopped just long enough to knock everything off the right side of his desk, then he spun her around and pushed her onto her back.

There was nothing comfortable about this, but she realized that he was high on her blood again as he pushed her knees up and back to take her deeply. She was glad the desk had some kind of formica top on it because she'd have splinters now if it was wooden. He was wild and merciless, and she later realized she should have been a lot more scared than she was. It was hard to think – it was all she could do to hang on, but it occurred to her that her best bet was to make him come, and there was one sure way to do that.

"Eric – let me drink from you. Feed me blood."

He didn't speak or slow down, but he did raise his wrist to his mouth and rip it open. He held it up to her and she latched onto it, drawing as hard as she could between gasps for air. He let out a groan and slowed way down, leaning down onto her, literally "rubbing himself all over her" as he'd always said he wanted to do when she smelled of fairy.

He ran his hand over her face and down her body. He leaned down and she wrapped her arms around his neck, relieved that he was calming down.

"Wrap your legs around me," he whispered in her ear. She did and as he straightened up, she came up with him. With his hands under her, he carried her over to the leather couch, laying her down gently and then lying down beside her. He kept her wrapped in his arms and held her tight for a long time without speaking. He was shaking.

"Are you cold?" she asked softly. He shook his head. Eventually, he kissed her forehead softly, and he wiped his face with one hand, and she saw a trail of red on his cheek – was he crying?

"Eric…?"

"Shhhh, my lover," he whispered. After awhile passed, he asked, "Are you alright, my lover? Did I hurt you?"

"Eric, I'm fine – are you ok?"

"You are so strong, my dear one. You are the strongest woman I have ever known."

"Maybe because I'm drinking from you…"

"No, it's more than that. It's more than your fairy blood, and it's more than my blood in you. Were you frightened?"

"Why would I be frightened? I was a little worried that you took so much blood, but I wasn't frightened. Just… a little worried, I guess, but I'm not afraid of you."

"Maybe you should be…"

"That's ridiculous. I'm not afraid of you, Eric – I never have been and I never will be."

TBC


	25. Chapter 25

Disclaimer: The Southern Vampire Series, and all characters from it, is owned by Charlaine Harris. No infringement is intended.

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He loved to watch her sleep. She always slept so soundly as he moved around her with his camera. She had no idea he had all those photos of her naked, asleep, looking so sweet and vulnerable. No one else would ever see them, of course. He'd kill anyone who did. He pulled the covers back quietly, and looked at her, so soft and warm. She was so open and so trusting. She was smart, but she just didn't understand the depths of darkness in the world or in him. She didn't have the capacity to understand that kind of evil. He wished she never would, but that was inevitable.

He focused the camera on her erect nipple – she must be a little cold. He would cover her up in just a minute. He didn't want her to be uncomfortable, but he wasn't done watching her just yet. He'd have to go to ground soon enough.

He loved her… violently. She didn't understand that. She should be afraid of him. He could have killed her in his office tonight and enjoyed it. He'd be grief-stricken afterwards, of course, but the act of taking her life would have been sweet, indeed. He shook himself as he pictured draining the life from her, trying not to dwell in the rapture of the prospect. If she ever let him turn her, that would be the most erotic and satisfying event of his long life – to hold her and drink from her as her life began to slip away, then to fill her with his own essence so she would be a part of him forever. It would be even sweeter than when he turned Pam, his greatest creation, and she'd make a magnificent vampire. She was already magnificent, but once she was immortal, she would be a Goddess.

She had sworn tonight that she would never be afraid of him – he prayed that was true but realistically, he knew that at some point she would understand – really understand – who he was and she'd be afraid of him. The best he could hope for is that it would happen so far in the future that it wouldn't matter anymore. They'd be a family, her life would be so entwined with his own that she'd never walk away from him.

They had exchanged blood so many times now, and would continue to through the birth of the baby, that they were literally inseparable. They could sense each other's feelings and project feelings to one another, but soon she would feel ALL that he felt, and he expected that to be the point where she'd be overwhelmed and start to pull away, but it was already too late. She would have his child, she would have his blood in her, she would be so ensconced in his life that there would be no quarter for her elsewhere - but he'd rather she think she stayed with him for love.

They were a part of each other now, like it or not. He had wanted it that way the first time he saw her. It wasn't just her looks, though – he had been with some of the most beautiful women in history - it was her innocence and defiance that made him take notice. She had started to talk back to him, but Compton had stopped her, twice. She thought she had a choice. She still did. She thought the wedding ceremony they would go through together had meaning. In her mind, that was some kind of permanence or commitment.

She didn't understand that she really did belong to him, literally, and it was entirely up to him where, how and even if she lived or died. She would think of that as slavery, and would balk at it, but that would be like saying his left hand was his slave because he could control what it did. She was a part of him. They were no longer two separate beings. The longer she thought of that in romantic terms, the better, so he was careful to foster her illusion of independence and free will, even to the point that he allowed himself to look weak on a few occasions when he shouldn't have.

He knew Pam disapproved of his leniency where Sookie was concerned. She liked Sookie, but she thought it would be better for all concerned if Sookie understood her place. Pam would have him break her, but that wasn't what he wanted at all. He enjoyed her resistance, as futile as it might be. He liked the struggle, the energy, the defiance, and he enjoyed the process of plying her with words, or gifts or, especially, sex. Pam's approach would be quicker, but he was in no hurry. He was slowly training her to be exactly what he wanted, and she thought it was her idea.

He smiled as he remembered how she took him by the belt buckle and led him back to his office. She had offered herself up to him, bending over his desk just as he had fantasized, and she thought she did it on her own. Now that she had done that, he could bend her over it any time and take her, and she'd think she had initiated it. She didn't realize he had been projecting the image to her all evening. She felt daring and brazen because she thought she was in control of the situation, and it cost him nothing to let her have her illusions. If it made her more pliable, it was more than worth it.

She rolled over on her side, giving a lovely line to her back, and he moved around to the bed to capture the graceful curve of her with a wider-angle shot. Mmmmm – look at that tiny waist, the curve of her hip, those lovely legs. He could see that her hips were beginning to grow to accommodate his son within her, and that filled him with pride, and lust, and a sense of dominance like no other he had felt before.

He was used to being in control, and he liked it, but the idea that his seed was growing in her body was a new and exciting prospect. He was changing her from the inside, out. Her body was altering itself to make a home for his child. He was sure human men didn't really understand what a profound thing this was. He saw the human trash procreating mindlessly, caring little for the progeny left in the wake of their mediocre encounters with equally shallow women.

His son was a child of magick – unique among vampire and Fae alike, let alone his minor human heritage. Sometimes, lately, when he touched her little bulge he could get a clear picture of the baby inside her, tiny and warm, bathed in her sweet blood. The lucky little fucker – he didn't know how good he had it. Imagine, being enveloped in that womb, in that intoxicating blood, listening to her heart beat every minute, warm, and wet.

He put the camera away and walked around to her side of the bed. He pulled the covers up over her legs, but knelt beside the bed to stroke the little bulge with the backs of his fingers. She opened her eyes briefly and smiled at him, going right back to sleep. His angel – his warm, sultry angel. He inhaled deeply, relishing her scent. What a confusing, glorious mix of emotions she created within him. She was a drug to him. She would have this glorious scent and exotic flavor for another two years. What a wonderful time this would be if she continued to love him.

He had two conflicting goals he had to balance carefully between. First, he was putting all the energy and expense he could into creating a fairy tale life for her, complete with a designer wedding gown and a castle full of servants. That was a small price to pay for her favors. He smiled to himself as he remembered taking her on the quilt in the backyard under the stars. He planned to make good use of that quilt when the pool was opened. He'd fuck her under the stars, they would swim in the moonlight, and she would fall asleep in his arms after he carried her to his bed. It was a fairy tale for him, too, and he knew other vampires would literally kill to have what he had. Compton would be suicidal when he realized his seed was planted in her womb. If he were honest with himself, he'd admit that part of the reason Compton still walked the earth was so he could lord his relationship with Sookie over him. It made having her that much sweeter, if that were possible.

The other goal was darker and more dangerous. He'd been very pleased to discover his little angel had a taste for being dominated. That made her all the more perfect for him, and he planned to develop her tastes fully. He had only pushed her hard a couple of times, the last being their threesome with Pam at Fangtasia, but she came away from each encounter with a positive view of their exploration. He was going to push again over the next couple of days.

When he left Pam cleaning up his office, he told her he wouldn't be back to Fangtasia until the following Tuesday. He decided he didn't feel like sharing her between now and the wedding. He wanted more time to explore her and train her. She was in such a state of arousal from the pregnancy that he was pretty sure he could take her very far, if he did it in what she perceived to be the relative safety of their own bed. With the right approach, he would reduce her to nothing but impulse and sensation, and she would thank him for doing it.

He pulled the covers up to her shoulders and bent to kiss her. She opened her eyes, reached up to stroke his cheek and smiled, then dropped back off to sleep. Dawn was coming and he had to leave her for the day, but he would be back tonight, and if all went according to plan, he would do things to her this night she would never forget.

TBC


	26. Chapter 26

Disclaimer: The Southern Vampire Series, and all characters from it, is owned by Charlaine Harris. No infringement is intended.

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"Morning, Alicia," Sookie said sleepily as she opened her eyes to Alicia putting more clothes in her closet.

"Good Morning, Miss Sookie. Did you sleep well?"

"Yes, I had one of my good dreams about Eric." Sookie was sprawled in the middle of the bed, with the covers over her butt, but not much else. She reached for Eric's pillow. It smelled like him, and she buried her face in it. Why did he smell so good to her? How could anything smell that good? It made her hungry and horny at the same time, and IT was a wide awake and throbbing at the thought of him.

"What kind of clothes did you get me this time?" She didn't feel like moving but she didn't mind chatting a little.

"Well, I bought some very pretty dresses for your trip to Las Vegas. I bought you two simple tank suits for your work outs and a little bikini for sunbathing, plus a nicer resort bikini with a higher waist on it you can wear at pool in Vegas. It will hide your little tummy."

"Good thinking. It's becoming more obvious."

"Not too much yet – you'll be able to get away with the dress you want next week. We'll be sure to tell the seamstress to leave a bit of room for expansion. She's bringing a range of sizes today so we can see what works best. You might want to go up a size or so for comfort."

"Oh, yeah, that's today, isn't it?"

"Yes, Miss, I spoke to her – she'll be here at noon, and I asked Miss James to come an hour later today to give you plenty of time. You'll have your fitting and then your workout and massage. That's quite a full day, plus I think Mr. Northman might have plans tonight because he left instructions that you were to rest as much as possible today."

"Did he leave me a note?" Sookie stretched up to look at the dresser – there was an envelope with Eric's lovely script on it. Alicia handed it to her and said she'd be back in a few minutes with her breakfast. Sookie raised up on her elbows, still hugging Eric's pillow, and pulled the note out of the envelope.

_My Dear One, _

_I know you have much to do today, but please rest as much as possible. I'm planning to keep you up very late tonight. Dr. Ludwig will be by at 8 for a check up, then you are mine, and we won't be leaving the bedroom. I told Pam I'm taking a few days off to spend with my beloved. I have something special for you – it's right on the tip of my tongue…._

_I love you,_

_Eric_

'Great – now I'll be thinking about his tongue all day,' she thought, but she knew that was his intention. He wanted her to spend the day anticipating what he was going to do to her. By the time he got up, he'd barely have to look at her to make her come. She wouldn't have a minute alone to take the edge off by herself, either, with Alicia roaming around.

She lay back and looked up at the ceiling. She closed her eyes and pictured the beautiful naked Viking in the basement. Today was the day – she was going to join him in the basement before he awoke. She'd have to figure out how to get rid of Alicia, though. Alicia didn't really know that Eric stayed in the house during the day. Only Sookie knew that. That's why Alicia always referred to Eric "arriving" instead of getting up. No one but her could have any idea where he sheltered in the day.

Alicia came back with a tray. The food on it looked unfamiliar.

"What's this?" Sookie asked as she sat up and pulled the covers to hide her chest. Alicia settled the tray across her lap. "It's smoked salmon, cream cheese and a bagel. Mr. Northman ordered it especially for you. If you like it, he wants you to have it often because it is from his native Sweden, and fish is particularly good for the baby's brain development."

"He's been on the internet again," Sookie laughed.

"I think it's very sweet that he's thinking of your nutrition, though I'm not sure it would have been my first choice for a lady with morning sickness."

"Yeah – actually, though, it smells kind of good. I don't think I ever smelled it before, but it's like I was craving it and didn't know it."

"That's good then – you enjoy your breakfast. Do you want the TV on?"

"Yes, please, that would be nice."

Alicia took the remote from Eric's nightstand and raised the TV from its hiding place. She handed the control to Sookie who zipped around the channels and decided to stay on an episode of Law & Order: Criminal Intent. That show was a little deep for her, but she liked the way the one detective grilled the suspects when they were in the police station.

Sookie really wolfed down her food. She realized she hadn't eaten last night when they got home. "Alicia?" She buzzed on the monitor. "Is there any more salmon?"

"Yes, Miss, would you like another bagel and all with it?"

"Yes, please. I realized I forgot to eat last night."

"I'll be right up with it."

Alicia actually brought two more bagels and cream cheese with lots of smoked salmon. Sookie hoped that stuff wasn't too expensive, but it sure was good. She ate all of it.

"Finished, Miss?"

"Yeah, thanks – I can't believe I ate all of that!"

"You're eating for two – he's going to need more and more nourishment as he grows."

"I just hope I can get into the wedding dress."

"It's good to try it on when you've had a good meal. You'll be at your biggest, and the seamstress can make allowances. She'll be here in about half an hour."

"Wow – I better get dressed!"

"I'll put out some stockings and foundation garments, then you just wear a robe over that. No point in putting on clothes just to take them off again. You'll want to wear what you would have on under it."

"I'll jump in the shower." Sookie was out of bed and in the shower before she realized she got up naked in front of Alicia again. She didn't seem embarrassed though, and Sookie didn't have time to think about it.

She came out of the bathroom in a towel with another wrapped around her head. Alicia motioned for her to sit in one of the side chairs and walked behind her. She blotted Sookie's hair with the towel and combed it out for her. "Would you like me to blow dry it, Miss?"

"Would you mind?" Sookie felt a little funny asking, but it did sound like a nice idea letting Alicia do it. It didn't take long since they left it straight, and Alicia helped Sookie into the lingerie she put out for her. "Wow, this is pretty," Sookie said as Alicia wrapped a strapless corset around her. "You have good taste."

"Oh, I can't take credit for this, Miss. Mr. Northman left it for you to wear under your dress."

"Eric picked this out?"

"I assume so. There are matching stockings and shoes as well." Once Sookie was snugly packed into it all, Alicia helped her into her pink robe and they went downstairs.

The seamstress, Miss Jean, was already setting up in the living room. She had a rack of dresses with her and a case with sewing items. Sookie apologized if she was late, but Miss Jean didn't seem to mind. They tried several sizes on her, and they finally settled on one that was a size larger than Sookie normally wore. That would leave them room to let it out if need be by next week, but they didn't think that would be necessary. Sookie couldn't tell them that this baby was growing faster than a human one, so she just asked that they allow for her to gain a lot of weight if she kept eating like she did that morning.

There were all kinds of embellishments available for the dress, and Alicia said that Mr. Northman had told her to spare no expense on that, so they ordered some really beautiful beadwork that would take some time, but they'd have it ready to travel by Friday. She'd be back Wednesday for another fitting of the gown in it's final form, and that would give them two days for any final adjustments. Altogether it took about two hours, and Sookie was getting hungry again. Her stomach growled, and Alicia suggested she have some yogurt and granola before her trainer arrived.

Sookie changed into her work out clothes as Alicia got her snack, and she ate in the downstairs kitchen. She opened the curtains and could see out where the men were working on the pool. Alicia spoke to one of the workmen and told Sookie it would be usable tomorrow. She was very pleased to hear that.

Bobbie James arrived and they went up to the fourth floor. Things went pretty well for the first half an hour, then Sookie began to feel a little cramping. Bobbie taught her how to use her breathing to slow the cramping, and she stopped the yoga a little early so they could concentrate on the massage part of the treatment.

"Has your doctor made any suggestions for dealing with your cramps?" Bobbie said as she slowly and deeply worked around Sookie's pelvis.

"She suggested ibuprofen, lots of sex, massage, and not to panic if I wasn't bleeding."

"Ok, that sounds reasonable. Sex is probably the best thing you can do for the cramping – it works all the right muscles, sends blood to the pelvis, and relaxes you internally as well as relaxing you in general."

"That's good because I can't think about anything but sex anyway."

Bobbie laughed, "Some women are like that, but some are just the opposite. Be glad you're still enjoying sex."

"Oh, I'm enjoying it. By the way, the doctor wanted Eric to learn some massage that he could do when he's with me and I have cramps."

"Let's see – he's only available in the evenings, right?"

"Right."

"How about we meet later on Sunday, and then I can give him a lesson when he gets… home?"

"That would be great. Could you come around 5 o'clock? We'd have time to work out in the pool a bit before he gets here."

"OK, that should work just fine."

Bobbie finished up with Sookie and helped her get her clothes back on. Once she left, Alicia set Sookie up in her bed again with another snack – apples and cheddar cheese – and Sookie went to sleep for a bit, but asked Alicia to wake her at 5:30. She explained that she was going to meet Eric, so Alicia could leave then and she'd see her tomorrow. Alicia didn't like the idea of leaving Sookie alone, but she did.

Sookie went tiptoeing down to the basement, and went into the room where the rug hid the door to Eric's hidey-hole. She rolled the rug away and raised the door, which sort of raises itself once you open it. The light inside it automatically came on and she could see Eric, ensconced in velvet, lying on the satin covered pillows naked and absolutely beautiful. She took her clothes off and folded them, throwing them toward the bottom of the space. There was plenty of room for her to step down in with him, and she flipped a little switch so the little nightlight stayed on, and she pulled the lid back down. He never moved. She moved his arm up so she could lay her head on it, and snuggled in next to him. Before she knew it she was asleep.

TBC


	27. Chapter 27

Disclaimer: The Southern Vampire Series, and all characters from it, is owned by Charlaine Harris. No infringement is intended.

___________________________________________________________________________________

The first thing he noticed was the scent. He smelled something very sweet and erotic. Feed. Fuck. Both flashed through his mind instantly as he inhaled the scent.

He moved a little and noticed the weight on his arm. He opened his eyes, and it took a minute for him to realize where he was and who was with him. When he realized it was Sookie he couldn't believe it. She had actually stripped and left herself naked next to a hungry vampire.

His fangs were fully down and he was nearly blind with hunger, but he controlled himself enough not to attack her right away. Instead, he got on top of her and forced her legs apart. She didn't really start to wake up until he was in her, and he forced her head to the side and bit her neck, fucking and feeding from her at once. She was scared to death and she liked it.

She wasn't being loved by her fiancé – she was being fucked and sucked by a hungry vampire who was more an animal right now than a person. The bond between them was vibrating with his wildness, and she was riding the wave of it. She never felt anything like this. It was more than sex – it was hunger and instinct and life and death.

It flashed in her mind that she could die right now, and it felt like the most natural thing in the world. He was more a vampire right now than he ever had been with her, and it was unbelievably erotic. It flashed through her mind that she liked the pain, she liked the danger, and she liked the power she had over him – the power to make him lose control.

If she could think, she'd think she was crazy not to be more scared, and did she have a death wish or what?! but thinking was something far off and distant. She would figure out later that she was feeling what he felt as he was fighting not to let go completely.

He was growling against her neck and shaking all over.

"NO, no, nonono NO!" He was talking to himself, telling himself to stop drinking.  
He managed to turn his attention to the fact that he was fucking her hard, and that felt as good as drinking from her tasted. She was crying out every time he entered her, but it wasn't registering as pain – a part of him was listening to hear if he was hurting her, but he wasn't hearing sounds of pain, it was an animal sound. It was like they were feeling the same thing.

He was trying to shake it off, trying to slow down, but Sookie didn't want that. When she realized he had slowed, she dug her nails into his back as hard as she could and bit his shoulder really hard. He howled and went wild again. He grabbed her arms and stretched them above her head .

"Fuck me," she growled.

"What?!" he couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"Fuck me." And she pulled her knees further back.

He groaned and shook his head, his hair flying out like a lion's mane.

He finished with a huge spasm and collapsed on top of her.

What was that sound?

Sookie was laughing.

What?!

"Sookie, what are you doing – are you crying?" He couldn't make sense of what was going on.

"No, Eric," she laughed. "I'm not crying."

"Are you … laughing?" He looked down at her.

"Yeah, I guess I am…"

"This was funny?"

"Not funny, really, but …fun. It was wild!"

He rolled off of her and onto his back.

"And you liked that?"

"Yeah – couldn't you tell?!" she laughed.

"So, you are not hurt, and you are not frightened."

"It was scary at one point, but it was good scary." She crawled over him, straddling his waist.

"Good scary?"

He held his hands up to meet hers and they entwined fingers.

"Yeah – it was a rush, like riding a roller coaster or something that's probably not dangerous, but it could be." She leaned forward, pushing his hands up and pinning them above his head, teasing him with her breasts dangling over his face.

"A roller coaster?"

"Yeah, you know how every year somebody gets hurt or killed riding a roller coaster, but people still get on it and ride it again even though they know that somebody died doing the same thing? Like that."

He laughed. "My little masochist," he said as he playfully reached up and nipped at her breast, deliberately missing her, but making her jump and squirm.

"Eric?"

"Yes, my lover."

"Does anyone ever…."

"…ever…?"

"…tie you up?"

He laughed. "Unfortunately – or fortunately – nothing but silver could hold me."

"Hmm – that would burn you so that's no good."

"Do you want to tie me up, dear one?"

"I don't know – it was just an idea. Now that I think of it, you're more the type to do the tying than to be tied."

"Indeed."

"Oh, well – what are we going to do tonight?"

"We are going to spend some quality time alone…"

"I hope that's not as boring as it sounds."

"You have my solemn promise, my lover, that you will not be bored tonight."

"Good."

"What time is it?" He reached for the clock in the recessed shelf. "7 o'clock. Dr. Ludwig will be here in an hour."

"What's she coming for?"

"To check on your progress, and to talk to me about whether our son can be harmed by magick."

"OK, I guess that's important."

"Very. Let's go upstairs now. I want to check something in my office." He reached up and opened the lid, and it raised itself the rest of the way.

She crawled down where her clothes were, but he threw her a white shirt of his own. "Put this on, my lover – I like to see you in my clothes."

She put the shirt on with nothing underneath and gathered her clothes up in her arms.

"Can I catch the service elevator down here?" she asked.

He showed her how to open the panel and sent her up to their bedroom, then went up to his first floor study. He looked in the top drawer and found that Burnham had left his little surprise exactly where he said he would. He zipped up the stairs where he found Sookie on the bed, sitting back on her feet. He wiggled his eyebrows at her, stepped into his closet and closed the door behind him.

Huh? Sookie couldn't think of any reason Eric would shut himself in his closet. She could hear him moving things around in there, and her curiosity had her debating whether to go open the door on him. Before she could decide what to do though, he came out and walked over to her with both hands behind his back. He bent to kiss her, then she put her hands on each side of his face and asked, "What are you hiding?"

"Hiding?" he replied innocently.

"Ye-es, what are you hiding in your hands?"

"It's a secret."

"Show me." She was kneeling on the bed in front of him trying to reach behind him.

"Show you what?"

"Show me what you have in your hands, please. …"

"I have something in each hand."

"Are they alike?"

"No, they are very different."

"Are they for me?"

"Yes…"

"Both of them…?"

"Yes…"

"Will I be mad?"

"Probably…"

"Hmmm – are they soft or hard?"

"One of each."

"One is soft and one is hard?"

"Yes."

"Are you going to show me?"

"Eventually…"

"When?"

"Pick a hand…"

"Can I pick both hands?"

"No, you must pick one first…"

"Can I see what is in your left hand?"

"Close your eyes."

She closed her eyes and felt something soft brush against her face. She opened her eyes and saw a beautiful, dark blue silk scarf.

"That's pretty – what's it for?"  
"It's for wearing."

"Wearing now?"

"For wearing later…"

"What do you mean later?"

"I mean that you will wear it later."

"Nobody wears a scarf to bed, Eric."

"Ah, but I didn't say how or why you were going to wear it, did I?"

"I have no idea what you are talking about, you know…"

"Yes, I know. We'll come back to that. I still have something in my right hand."

"Can I see it?"

"Will you promise me that you'll wear the scarf for me later?"

"Yeah, I guess – what is it?"

"Close your eyes."

She closed them, and he raised a small box in front of her and opened the lid.

"Open your eyes, Sookie."

She did and she was stunned into silence. She had never seen a ring that big in her life, and she didn't have to ask if it was real – she knew it was real.

"Is that…?"

"I thought it was about time you got your engagement ring, since we're getting married next week."

"Oh, Eric, that's so… so…"

"Beautiful? Spectacular? Amazing? I designed it just for you – no one in the world will have a ring like this one."

"But it's so…"

"Yes?"

"Big…"

"It's a good sized diamond, yes."

"How big is that exactly…?"

"That's a four carat emerald-cut diamond with a one carat ruby tear drop on each side, in a platinum band so it will last forever."

"Oh…"

"Sookie?"

"Yes?"

"Will you marry me?"

"Yes." She was still in shock, so he took the ring out of the box, held up her left hand, slid the ring onto her finger and kissed her hand. She still wasn't moving… or breathing.

"Breathe, Sookie…"

"Yeah, I'm breathing…" she was staring at her hand. At least she did seem to be breathing a little now.

"My lover…?"

"Yeah…"

"Do you not like it?"

"Oh, I … I like it. It's so beautiful…"

"Good. It looks very pretty on your hand. When we are married, there's a matching band to go with it."

"Are you going to have a ring?"

"I have a simple platinum band that will match yours, if you want me to wear one."

"Yeah… I mean, I do… want you to wear one. Maybe it will slow the fang bangers down a little if they see a wedding ring on your finger."

He laughed, "Not likely, but I suppose it's worth a try."

She threw her arms around his neck and kissed him.

TBC


	28. Chapter 28

Disclaimer: The Southern Vampire Series, and all characters from it, is owned by Charlaine Harris. No infringement is intended.

___________________________________________________________________________________

"Am I interrupting?" Dr. Ludwig had arrived.

"Good evening, Doctor.I was just giving Sookie her engagement ring."

"Well let's see it," the little doctor said, and Sookie reached out her hand.  
"Very nice, Northman. I told you he was loaded, girl. Wear that in good health."

"Thank you."

"Well, let's get on with the examination. Lie down, little girl and let's see how you're doing."

Sookie stretched out on the bed, a little self-conscious that she wasn't wearing underwear again, but as Eric said, she'd just have to take it off. The little doctor raised the bottom of the white shirt to expose Sookie's belly – and everything else – and she pressed and felt around her abdomen.

"Any more cramps?"

"A few but not too bad. My trainer gave me a massage that helped the last time."  
"Good. Northman learned to do the massage yet?"

"She's going to teach him Sunday night."

"Good, good." She patted the bulge then reached into her bag – oh no, the gloves.

"Ok, little girl, you know what to do."

Sookie bent her knees and raised her legs so the little doctor could feel inside or her. She looked at Eric because it was embarrassing, and his eyes were soft and comforting. She could feel him sending a sense of calm and relaxation through the bond.

"Well, now, I'd say you've reached your two month point. No need to be quite as careful from this point forward, though I still don't want you on your feet a lot."

"Doctor," Eric said. "We asked the King to extend his protection for Sookie to the child. He specified that the child had its protection while it is in her body, and he will extend it further at an announcement in Las Vegas next week."

"And you want to know if magick can be used to remove the child from the womb?"

"Yes."

"I know Niall Brigant. I think you can be sure that this baby is safe from other magick until it is born, and I'm sure he'll cast protection as soon as he is. Anyone who tries to mess with this baby is going to get a universal backlash that I wouldn't want to be near. Don't let de Castro scare you. He's full of hot air, and probably a bit jealous."

"He was very… touchy with Sookie when we told him."

"And you managed not to kill him? I'm impressed, Northman. What a mess that could have created. I'm glad you had some control."

"He licked my palm…" Sookie said.

"He wanted a taste of fairy. You smell awfully good to the vamps right now."

"Yeah, I got that."

"You're exercising every day now?"

"Just for the past couple of days."

"Make it every day now for as long as you're able. Eat more red meat, as rare as you can stand it. I know you're feeding from Northman because you're strong and healthy. You'll have less and less nausea now, and the belly will continue to grow. The cramps will be worse – ibuprofen, lots of massage, lots of sex."

"She has been very aroused and aggressive lately, doctor."

"Good – enjoy it while it lasts."

"Are you sure she won't get hurt?"

"Another month from now you might need to be a little less active, but for right now, be as wild as you want. Enjoy your time together – you'll have a baby in the house before too long, and he's going to be a handful. Well, that's it – call me if you need me." And she was gone.

"Mmmm – as wild as we want to be…" Sookie wiggled her eyebrows at Eric. He laughed.

"Yes, that's too bad…"

"Why is it bad?"

"Well, my plan for the night is a very quiet one."

"Does it involve sex?"

"Oh, yes."

"Will I like it?"

"Oh, I think you will like it very much."

"OK – what do you want me to do?"

"Go over to your side chair and sit there."

Sookie gave him a quizzical look, but she did as he asked. He picked up the scarf and walked over to her. He stroked her hair.

"Do you remember earlier you promised you would wear this scarf for me?"

"Yes…?" Sookie was confused.

"I'm going to put it on you now, and I want you to be completely still and quiet."  
"OK…"

He stepped behind her and pulled the scarf around so it was covering her eyes. She started to protest, but he said, "Quiet, Sookie, you promised." And she sat still and didn't speak.

"Have you ever been blindfolded before, Sookie?"

"No."

"I thought not. Do you trust me, Sookie?"

"Of course I do."

"OK, then here's what I want you to do. I want you to be as perfectly still and quiet as you can. Don't speak. Don't move. If I want you to move, I will move you. Can you do that?"

"Yes."

"It's harder than it sounds."

"I can do it."

"OK, start now."

She sat still and quiet as she could.

She waited.

She waited.

She waited.

Still nothing. What was he doing?

She couldn't hear him moving – damn vampires don't make noise – and she tried to stay still and listen, but the sound of her breathing was getting in the way, and it was getting louder.

Still nothing. She wanted to move. She had an itch. Her leg wanted to jiggle. She concentrated on not moving, but her breathing was becoming difficult.

Still nothing. What was he doing? She knew he was probably sitting there watching her like he did that time that he caught her… he liked to watch her. There's a word for that, but she couldn't remember what it was…

Nothing. Why was it so hard to breathe? She could feel her breath shaking her.

She felt something brush her cheek and she jumped a little. It was Eric's hand, she thought, stroking her cheek and running slowly down her neck to the top button of the white shirt she was wearing. She felt a tug and then a loosening of the shirt – he had unbuttoned the top button.

Nothing.

Nothing.

Oh, god, she wanted to move, and her breathing was still heavy and shaking her.

Another tug – another button.

Another tug, lower – another button.

One more tug, and the last button was open.

She was shaking. She felt him slowly peel one side of the shirt back a little to expose her breast, and he brushed it back off her shoulder a little.

Nothing.

Slowly, the other side of the shirt was pulled back off of her shoulder, and she was sitting naked except for the shirt still on her arms.

She was trying not to move. Her breathing was getting even heavier and she felt dizzy. She thought she heard a sound like Eric sitting on the bed, or maybe he was lying down…?

Itch.

Damn.

Don't move, Sookie. He thinks you can't do it. Don't move.

Nothing.

*****

He was leaning back on the bed watching her. He could see her inner struggle not to move. He had been toying with her for almost half an hour, but he knew it felt much longer to her. Her breathing was heavy, and he watched as her beautiful breasts rose and fell. Her nipples were very hard. She might be cold, he thought, but more likely she just felt exposed. She was holding up pretty well so far. He knew she was strong, so he wasn't surprised she lasted this long. A lot of people couldn't even do this much.

She was so beautiful, sitting there, fighting so hard not to move, wondering what he would do next. He watched her awhile longer, her breathing so heavy it was making her shake.

He made kind of a production of getting up off the bed so she could hear him. He went over to his closet and slid the door so it banged the frame a little so she'd know he was going in there. He took a couple of things out of a small drawer and closed it loudly, and he smiled when he saw her jump.

He moved at vampire speed and kissed her lips, then moved away. He waited a long, long time before he moved again.

*****

She gasped as she felt him against her lips. She was barely able to react before he was gone, then nothing.

She waited.

And waited.

Something brushed her shoulder. She hoped it was Eric and not a spider or something. Something soft brushed her lips. Something ran up her leg. Now something circled her nipple.

Something soft pressed against her mouth, and she knew it was Eric. She opened her mouth and took in as much of him as she could. She let him do the moving, which was hard because she kept wanting to use her hands. She could feel his hand on the back of her head, and she managed to suck and breathe at the same time. He moved slowly to let her use her tongue as she wanted. She knew it wouldn't take long because he would be so aroused, and she was right. After his release she continued to lick him clean as he stroked her chin with his fingers.

Suddenly, she was lifted in the air and gently dropped on the bed so she bounced a little. She almost laughed but managed not to. She felt his hand move her legs slightly apart. Her wrist was picked up and something wrapped around it. Her arm was stretched high above her head, and she knew it was being tied. Her other wrist was in his hand, and he stroked her palm, then kissed it.

"Sookie, do you want me to stop?"

"No."

"You know I'm going to tie your other wrist?"

"Yes."

"And you are giving me permission to do that?"

"Yes."

"You won't be able to get away from me, Sookie – you understand that?"

"Yes."

Her other arm was pulled upward, her wrist wrapped with something soft, and it was tied. She still had the white shirt on, and she felt him spread each side open so she was completely exposed.

She felt his fingers run gently and slowly down her throat, between her breasts, over her tummy – her legs jerked a little as he tickled her stomach, and he put his hand on her leg to let her know to be still and she tried.

"Sookie are you able to snap your fingers? Show me."

She snapped her fingers a couple of times.

"OK, Sookie, it's going to get very hard for you not to say anything, and you might have an instinct to struggle or say no when you don't really want me to stop. You know what I mean?"

"Yes."

"OK, now unless I see you snap your fingers, I'm not going to stop what I'm doing. Do you understand? Even if you say stop, I won't stop unless you snap your fingers. That's like your safe word – that's how I know you really want me to stop, OK?"

"Yes."

"Do you want me to continue?"

"Yes."

"OK, now try to be quiet, and I won't stop unless you snap your fingers."

She swallowed hard – she really, really liked this. Was there something wrong with her? Is it normal to want him to control her this way? He would stop whenever she wanted him to, so she was really in control of the situation. She trusted him to stop if she really wanted him to.

The room was completely silent, except for her breathing. She couldn't tell where Eric was, and she was practically vibrating with anticipation. She took a couple of deep breaths and tried to relax. She heard him take something from his nightstand, but she couldn't tell exactly what he was doing. She felt him kneel on the bed, and she realized he was putting headphones on her. She didn't know what it was attached to, but she heard beautiful classical music, and nothing else. They completely covered her ears. She wasn't going to be able to hear him move anymore. Can panic feel sweet? Nice touch, Northman – all she could do was feel.

Oh, god, what is he waiting for? Why didn't he just fuck her and get on with it? She knew why, though. He was enjoying this and so was she. She was starting to sweat a little, and she felt cold and hot at the same time.

Ah – something brushed lightly against her nipple.

Nothing again.

Something ran down the inside of her thigh. She spread her legs, but she felt a pat on her ankle, and she knew to be still.

Something tickled her underarm and made her squirm. It touched her tummy, and she reflexively pulled her knees up a little. She felt his hand under her ankle, lifting it up, and she felt him gently kiss the top of her foot, then move up her shin with more little kisses. His finger slowly traced a line from inside her ankle, up the inside of her leg, up the inside of her thigh and around the line where her leg joined her hip. Aw, come on!

She felt his big hands around her throat, then he gently ran them down over her breasts, her stomach, her legs in a way that let her know it was all his. He licked her hipbone and blew cool air where his tongue had been, and that made her bend her leg and arch her pelvis. She knew he was purposely not touching her _there_ because that's what she most wanted him to do. He was going to make her wait, and realizing that made it impossible to keep her pelvis still. She took a deep, shaky breath and stretched – she tugged a little at her wrists. Whatever she was tied with was soft and didn't hurt, but she wasn't going anywhere until he said so.

She felt the mattress go down as he put his knee next to her thigh and straddled her legs so she couldn't move them. He leaned downward – she could feel him supporting himself on either side of her waist. She knew he was avoiding putting his weight on her little bulge. She could feel his hair brush against her skin. Suddenly, her nipple was being pulled hard, and she knew it was in his mouth. He slid his hands under her shoulder blades and pushed her upward to make her chest more accessible. He ran his tongue around her nipple and nipped just a little with his fangs – not enough to break skin, but enough to really feel it, and she cried out just a little.

He blew where his mouth had been, and it made her feel cold. Suddenly he was pulling on the other nipple, harder this time, and she gasped. It was intense but didn't really hurt, and she could feel it in her… between her legs. The way he had her pinned, it felt as if all her feelings were centered on her breasts, and he was enjoying them greatly. She didn't think he was actually taking blood, but he was sucking, nibbling, nipping, one then the other, over and over, for what seemed like hours, but it was probably only a few minutes.

At one point, she felt him lay his face between her breasts, like he was resting it there. She became very aware of her breathing again, knowing he was feeling her chest rise and fall beneath him. Her pelvis was in constant motion under him, but he raised up enough that she couldn't arch against him. After a few minutes, he went back to work on her nipples, which were tender now, and he would occasionally pull until she cried out. Again, he wasn't really hurting her, but he was…owning her.

He was letting her catch her breath, gently kissing his way all over her rib cage, her tummy, and he lingered with his forehead on the little bulge for a bit, then brushed his cheek against it.

Then he was gone.

She was straining to try to hear him, but all she could hear was the music in her headphones. Her breasts felt like they had a life of their own – she had never been so aware of them, and she had never had some of the sensations that left them tingling, either.

She was still moving her pelvis, almost compulsively. She could feel something creating vibrations at the side of the bed – she knew Eric was doing something, but of course she had no idea what. She felt a hand at her knee, pulling her leg up and to the side. Something was slipped around the back of her knee and pulled down. She felt the hand on her other leg, and realized she was being spread like a butterfly. Part of her wanted to kick him away, but it was too late. She knew she could snap her fingers and it would all stop. She didn't want it to stop.

She felt him make adjustments so her legs were bent up and out, and her center was completely open. She was trying not to flex her pelvis as she had been, but she couldn't stop. Oh, god, IT was alive in a way it never had been before. She couldn't control her hips.

Where was he?

Nothing. She couldn't hear anything but the music. She lay as still as possible, but there was no sign of movement except her own. She felt a breeze – something Eric had to be doing, but damn it made her feel naked and cold, though not uncomfortably so – just enough to let her know where she was and who was in charge. She stretched and arched her back, hoping he was watching and he'd lose control and take her soon. No such luck. If he was in the room, she had no way of knowing it.

She was sure he wouldn't leave her alone. Right? He was probably perched on the edge of the dresser with that smirk on his face, waiting for her to snap her fingers. Screw him – she could last as long as he could. He'd have to let her go at sun-up. She knew he wouldn't leave her there for Alic – eww, don't even think about that possibility. If anyone but Eric ever saw her like this she'd die.

She hadn't fed from him yet tonight – oh, that set her off squirming again. It was no wonder people got hooked on V. Drinking Eric's blood was second only to fucking him. Speaking of which – come on, Eric, where are you?!

Suddenly he was kissing her lips, pulling away so she'd have to reach upward to maintain the contact. Something slipped under her head. He was kissing her over and over, then pulling back, leaving her mouth searching for him.

He kissed her very deeply, then when he pulled away, something went into her mouth that wasn't skin, and she felt something pulled up to tie it in place. She was gagged.

He pulled her headphones out just enough for her to hear him say, "You can always snap your fingers, my lover, but until you do, scream as loudly as you want." And he settled the phones back into place. Oh, hell.

She felt something cold drizzle on her….center. She felt fingers spreading … oil, she guessed, over every part, every fold, and back. One of the pillows under her head was pulled down under her body so that her pelvis was elevated a little. She felt him slide – two?- fingers into her, and he began to rub his thumb in circles around her nub. They moved in and out of her, and she felt more stretch, which she guessed was another finger. She was wiggling and moaning – no point in being quiet now – when she felt something – it wasn't skin or fingers because it was colder than his skin, and it was hard – pushing at her other entrance. She yelled, more out of surprise than anything, into the gag as one hand drove her mad, and the other drove something forward slowly so she really felt the sensation of it going into her. This was insane – she was bucking against his hand, trying simultaneously to move away and relax so it wouldn't hurt – it wasn't painful, it was just really, really there, when whatever it was seemed to slip into place and stay put, filling and stretching in a way she never even imagined. She was moaning and squirming as he replaced his thumb with his tongue. Fingers, tongue, whatever – oh, god, who knew you could feel this way? She was frantic, moaning loudly and started to come - then he stopped.

Son of a bitch.

She tried to yell at him but she couldn't. She started to sob a little, but just then he was in her, on top of her, exactly where she wanted him, and he meant business. She couldn't believe he held out this long. She never figured out how he did it, but he managed to release her legs while he was riding her, so she could move a little.

It was less like an orgasm than a grand mal seizure. She never felt anything like it. When it was over, she considered snapping her fingers, but she didn't have to. He knew when to take the headphones off, and the gag was easily released. She could hear him cleaning things up and putting things away, but she still couldn't see or move her arms. He untied her arms and rubbed them. She started to reach for the blindfold but he stopped her.

"Not yet, dear one – I want more."

So she took her hands away and let him turn her over. She knew he was going to do _that_ since she was already lubed up, so she arched her back for him and held onto the edge of the mattress as he did what he wanted. Every part of her body was tingling and alive. She whimpered just a little, and he reached under her to hug her to him and kissed her shoulders. She was exhausted, and it felt so good to be held by him that she never wanted to move again.

"I love you, Sookie, more than anyone I have ever known. You are a living dream for me. I never thought I would find a woman like you, ever."

Sookie gave a tired laugh, and said, "I love you, too. Can I take the blindfold off now?"

He laughed and pulled out the knot so she could see, and he collapsed to the side of her.

She was sort of stunned. That was the most intense experience of her life. He was so good – he knew exactly how far he could push her, and he knew exactly what she would like, even when she didn't know. He was in the bathroom cleaning up, and she heard him turn on the tub.

He came back and scooped her up in his arms, settling her in a warm tub and climbing in behind her. He pulled her close, kissing her ear and shoulder as he gently massaged her body where it was tender. She turned and kissed him as hard as she could. She threw her arms around his neck. "How did you know?"

"Know what, my lover?"

"That I… I never… "

"How did I know you wanted to be tied up and pleasured until you couldn't stand it?" he laughed.

"Yeah, that."

"I know you, dear one. I know more about you than you know yourself."

"I know you do. I don't understand it, but you do."

"I didn't hurt you, did I?"

"No, it was… intense and a little scary, but it was… amazing. You're amazing. Eric?"

"Yes, my lover?"

"You didn't feed me your blood."

He raised his wrist to his lips and tore it open, pulling her back into him and letting her suckle the wound. He moaned as she drank from him, then she looked at him with bloody lips and kissed him.

"I want to be with you forever."

"That's entirely possible, you know."

"Yes, I know."

"We will speak of this after the baby is born."

"OK, wash my hair?"

TBC


	29. Chapter 29

**Chapter 29**

"Ooohh," Sookie said as she woke up. Man, did she know she had had wild sex last night. Her arms and legs were a little sore, IT was throbbing, and her nipples were very, very sensitive. She couldn't believe that the feel of the sheet on them made them tingle.

She stretched, but it hurt just a little, and then she rolled over into Baby Eric position and patted him… well, the bulge actually… but she intended the pat for him. "Your daddy was a wild man last night, Baby E. Are you going to be a big sexy Viking like him when you grow up? I hope so. I hope you have his blue eyes and you're big and strong and love to fight and… other stuff he likes to do." She giggled. It felt a little silly talking to the bump, but it was kind of nice, too.

She put both hands over it… over him… and smiled. "I love you, Baby E, and so does your daddy." It was weird, but she was absolutely convinced that the baby knew what she meant and was happy. She didn't know why she thought that, but she was sure he knew she was talking to him. Maybe Eric was right? The baby was magickal, so maybe in some way he did know she was talking to him? Maybe she and the baby had a bond like she and Eric did? Maybe Eric would have a bond to him, too? Dr. Ludwig had said something about raising the baby in the bond between them – did the bond go three ways?

She would ask Eric, but she bet that was one thing he wouldn't know because the baby stuff was as new to him as it was to her. Maybe newer – she had always had the expectation that she might be a mother, but Eric had spent a thousand years thinking he never could be a father. No wonder he was looking at stuff on the Internet. When he said they were in uncharted territory, he really meant it.

It occurred to her that most of what he knew about being a father was probably from his life as a Viking. She wondered how much Eric knew about Fairies, too. He said she should learn about them, but he hadn't exactly been imparting a lot of Fae wisdom. Maybe he didn't know that much, either. She thought maybe she should have lunch with Claudine one day and have her fill her in on the Fae world.

"Good morning, Miss Sookie! You're already up, I see!"

"Hi, Alicia, yeah I've been awake for a few minutes. I was having a chat with Baby Eric," she laughed. "Isn't that silly?"

Sookie sat up so Alicia could put the tray over her lap.

"That's not silly at all – wait until he starts rolling around so you can feel him. You'll be telling him to stop kicking you," she joked.

"If he's as strong as his daddy, kicking could be a problem," Sookie laughed.

Alicia spread a napkin over her chest.

"His daddy is very big, too. I hope he's not a huge baby."

"How big are babies usually?"

"Well, average is probably between 6 and 8 pounds. I've known of mothers having them as big as 11 or 12 pounds, though, especially if the mother has gestational diabetes. Diabetic mothers tend to have big babies."

"Oh, I didn't know that. What am I eating?"

"A very rare steak, two eggs, grape juice, buttered toast, and and a half a grapefruit."

"Wow – big breakfast."

"Mr. Northman wanted me to make sure you were eating a lot of red meat. I guess your doctor is afraid you might be a bit anemic."

"Yes, she suggested I eat a lot of rare meat."

"I've never heard of that before, but Mr. Northman assured me she was a specialist in such unusual births."

"Yes, this is a very unusual situation."

"So I gather. You've got the best of everything, though, and I'm sure that includes your doctor. The way Mr. Northman fusses over you, I know he'd insist on the very best person available."

"Yeah, he's a little more nervous than I am, I think."

"Lots of new fathers are nervous. All they can do is sit beside you and watch you do all the work for a while. It makes them feel a little bit helpless."

"I guess – and Eric is used to being in control of everything."

"Looks like he left you a note, Miss," Alicia said, retrieving an envelope from the dresser. "I think it's sweet that he writes to you every day."

"Yeah, I love it. He doesn't know it, but I keep all of them. I love to look at his handwriting."

"He does have lovely handwriting. Very old fashioned."

"Yeah, it's because he's so old."

"He certainly doesn't look old. He looks young and very strong."

"He is strong – really, really strong. You'd be amazed at the stuff he can do."

"I'm sure. Would you like the TV on, Miss?"

"No, thanks. I want to eat and make myself get up. I know I'm supposed to stay in bed, but I feel restless."

"I forgot to tell you the good news – the pool is open."

"It is?!" Sookie was very excited at that prospect.

"Yes, it is. I've got towels downstairs for you, and there's a little cover up in the bottom drawer with your swimsuits. I noticed they even had pool toys and air mattresses and such out there."

"Oh, I can't wait. I've got to finish this breakfast."

"I'll just gather up the laundry and put your suit out. Do you know which one you'd like to wear?"

"The smallest bikini in there. I won't be able to wear it very long, so I want to get my tummy tanned before it gets so big."

"There's a simple black one, a pink one with black trim, and a little floral pattern that's mostly blue."

"The pink one, please."

Alicia laid out the little pink and black bikini, a sheer black cover up, a pair of pink flip flops and a pair of sunglasses that matched the suit.

'She thought of everything,' Sookie thought. 'She's good.'

"What kind of sunscreen do you like, Miss Sookie? There's a lotion, an oil and a powder here," Alicia said from the bathroom.

"A powder one?"

"Yes, it's very new."

"Which one smells the best?" Sookie asked and she finished up her eggs.

"Well, the powder and lotion don't really have a scent to them, but the oil is a very strong coconut smell."

"I'll take the oil for today. That will smell most like summer."

"Ok, here you go," Alicia said as she sat it on the dresser. She went to the closet and pulled out a sheer pink nylon tote bag. She added the lotion, the glasses, and excused herself for a minute. She came back carrying an iPod, which she added to the bag.

"Would you like to take your book down with you, Miss?" she asked as she indicated the copy of **Rebecca** that Sookie got from Eric's study.

"Yeah, thanks. Is that an iPod?"

"Yes, Mr. Northman said it was a surprise for you. He said he had all kinds of music put on it, including a playlist called 'Homeland' that he wants you to listen to – I think it's Swedish music."

"Another surprise?! He's out of control. He should never buy me anything ever again after this ring."

"What ring, Miss?"

"See," Sookie held her hand out. "He gave me a crazy expensive diamond ring he had made just for me."

Alicia's eyes were very big when she saw the ring. "Oh, my, Miss, that is a gorgeous ring. You must have been thrilled when he gave it to you."

"I was stunned. I still can't believe it. I knew he would spend too much, but this is really, really too much. And, he had it made just for me so I can't make him take it back."

"Don't you like the ring?"

"I love it! It's the prettiest ring I've ever seen, but that's a really big diamond, right? I just hate that he spent so much money on a ring."

"You know, the ring is for him, too."

"It is? How?"

"Well, men tend to base the size of the diamond they buy on the money they make. Usually a man spends two months salary on a diamond engagement ring."

"They do?"

"Yes, and the size is sort of a… well, you know how men like to measure themselves next to other men?"

"Boy, do I, and vampires are the worst when it comes to that. They all want to show they've got something better than anyone else has."

"Exactly. When people look at your ring, they're seeing how much money he spent on it. A man like him would want his wife to wear the very best. It's not just about how much value he places in you – it's a way to show his own status."

"And this makes him look good to other people?"

"It's very impressive, Miss Sookie. He'll be very proud to see you showing it off to others."

"I don't really like to show off, though."

"Oh, I think you'll enjoy the reactions you'll get to that ring. It says a lot when a man goes to that expense, not to mention the trouble of having it custom made for you. Plus, you'll be wearing that for the rest of your life – you want it to be something you'll always like and that will remind you of how happy you are now."

"Ok, I guess that makes sense. It really is pretty."

"Yes, it is."

"And it makes him look good, and I know that's important in his world."

"Yes, so I'd be very happy if I were you."

"Yeah, I am. It scares me, but I am really happy."

Alicia smiled at her and took the tray away. Sookie had practically inhaled that steak!

Sookie put her suit and cover up on, slid into the flipflops, and took the tote bag and Eric's note with her as she headed downstairs. The curtains were open in the living room, and everything looked beautiful. The cleaning staff was polishing furniture and running sweepers and such. She went into the den and got a thrill when she saw the blue pool sparkling in the sun. This was awesome.

She went out the sliding door in the den and out to the pool. Wow, did it look different out here. There was gorgeous red wood furniture around the pool, and a cart that held stacks of towels. There was a barbecue – what a vamp would do with that, she didn't know, but there was one. There was even a red wooden rack of a thing that was full of air mattresses and noodles and rings to float on. Eric spared no expense. If he was going to have a swimming pool, it was going to rock, and it did.

The grass out in the yard was freshly mown, and it smelled amazing out there. She smiled to herself as she remembered the night they made love on the quilt under the stars. Maybe tonight would be a repeat performance of that. The thought of that made her shiver, and her extra-sensitive nipples stood at attention. She couldn't wait to swim in the moonlight with him. She had a feeling Eric would swim naked. He didn't seem like a Speedo kind of guy, but with some of his underwear, who knows?

She picked out a chaise lounge near the shallow end of the pool and settled in. She took off the cover up and hung it on the back of a chair. She pulled the iPod out – it was a new kind with a touch screen, but it didn't take too long for her to figure it out, and she played the playlist Eric wanted her to hear. She set it on a little side table and decided to read Eric's note before she messed with sunscreen so she didn't smear it. It was going to go in her bottom drawer in her nightstand with all the others.

_My beautiful lover,_

_I hear that the pool will be opened today, so I'll be dreaming of tonight when we can swim in the moonlight and make love under the stars. Rest well today because I'm going to keep you up late again tonight. _

_Mr. Burnham may be by today to drop something off. You'll know what to do with it._

_I adore you._

_Eric_

'I'll know what to do with it?' she thought. 'Way to be cryptic, Northman. What the hell does that mean? I wonder if I need to be dressed when he gets here?'

Alicia came out with a pitcher of sweet tea. "I thought you might like a drink – it's very warm today."

"Yeah, that's great. Thanks. Alicia, do you know anything about Mr. Burnham stopping by today?"

"Yes, I was told that was a possibility."

"Do I need to be dressed for that?"

"Oh, no, he's just dropping something off. You don't even have to see him if you don't want to."

"Do you know what it is?"

"Something Mr. Northman ordered, but that's all I know."

"I hope it's not another surprise… I don't know if I can take another one."

Alicia laughed, left the monitor on the table beside Sookie, and went back in the house.

Sookie leaned back and started reading, but she was asleep before she knew it. She heard a car door slam out front and that woke her up. She noticed someone had moved an umbrella over her so she didn't burn in her sleep. She was trying to decide what to do when Alicia came out.

"Miss Sookie, Mr. Burnham is here. You'll want to put your little cover up on and go out front for a minute."

"Are you sure?"

"Very." Alicia was smiling at her in a proud and sneaky way, if that makes any sense. Sookie put the sheer black cover up on over her suit and slid the little flip flops back on, then followed Alicia through the den to the living room and out to the front door.

"Hello, my dear," Mr. Burnham greeted Sookie. She heard him think to himself that she had nice tits. Jerk. "Well, here you go." And he handed her a set of car keys. Oh no. She looked at the driveway – and there it was.

"That's for me?"

"Sure is, little lady. It's a BMW Security X5 – the whole thing is pretty much bullet proof. It's the kind of car diplomats and heads of state would drive. It has all the trimmings. Your book is in the front passenger seat along with the insurance information. It's all set. Enjoy your new tank. And if you need to fill it up, remember it takes diesel. Oh, and here's a Shell card – don't forget to sign the back."

Burnham left, shaking his head. He couldn't believe Eric spent that kind of money for a car for some little blonde, even if she was going to have his baby, and everyone he knew said vamps couldn't have kids anyway. Still, he knew better than to question Northman. You just do as he says, and he pays you the big bucks. He doesn't like a lot of argument or hassle, and he always seems to know what he's doing. He might be a little over the moon about this little blonde, though. He figured she must be a tiger in the sack because as far as he knew, Northman had seen and done pretty much everything. If he was going to settle down with one woman, she must have something going for her.

Sookie just stood there for a few minutes. It was dark blue, and it looked like it would have plenty of room for a car seat in the back. Alicia encouraged Sookie to go over and look at it. Sookie was a little afraid to touch it, then she figured she might as well because Eric said the car was non-negotiable – plus now she could give her old one to Jason.

"That's some car, Miss Sookie."

"Yeah, it is. I hope Eric is running out of surprises, though. I can't believe all this."

Alicia laughed and encouraged her to start it up. It was powerful, you could tell that right away. The inside of it looked like the cockpit of an airplane. She picked up the book and glanced through it– it was big and had a lot of information. She could also see from the paperwork there was a lot of extra stuff – satellite radio and iPod docks and stuff like that that she had no idea how to use. Eric would have to teach her. It had six speeds – how the hell do you shift for six speeds?

They were still checking it out when Bobbie James arrived. Sookie figured she better take her training and get back to the car later. Alicia checked the garage and said there was a space clear for the car, so Sookie drove it in next to Eric's Corvette before she and Bobbie went back to the pool.

Sookie offered to change her suit, but Bobbie said the one she was wearing would be fine, and it would be easy to take off for her massage. They got into the water, and Bobbie started taking Sookie through a series of exercises. As they were working, one of the servants carried a portable massage table out and set it up, and Alicia covered it with sheets and towels.

The exercises were going fine and it was kind of fun, but then one of the moves that involved tilting her pelvis started a sort of spasm in Sookie's – uterus, maybe? She wasn't sure – but it hurt. A lot. Alicia had been keeping an eye on them and came out pretty quickly with some ibuprofen and handed Sookie a glass of sweet tea to wash it down.

Bobbie helped Sookie walk out of the pool, and she and Alicia helped Sookie get up on the massage table, which was harder than it sounds because she couldn't really straighten out for a few minutes. Bobbie had her lie on her side with her knees bent for a few minutes to give the ibuprofen time to kick in, and in the mean time she rubbed Sookie's back gently with some rose scented oil that was very soothing.

Since this had happened two days in a row, Bobbie and Alicia decided Sookie, who had dozed off for a minute, should take ibuprofen a half hour or so before Bobbie was scheduled to arrive so that it might head the cramps off before they got started.

Alicia and Bobbie gently helped Sookie lie on her stomach, and Bobbie continued with massage for quite a while. Later, they helped her turn over and slowly lean back, and she was able to straighten her legs. Bobbie spent a lot of time working on Sookies tummy and hips and stretched and rubbed her legs a lot.

Bobbie and Alicia decided the pool might have been a little too cold, and Alicia saw that the temperature was adjusted. Of course, Sookie thought, Eric's pool would be heated. When Bobbie was done with the massage, Sookie said she just wanted to lie down, but she decided to lie in the den on the big soft couch and watch TV. She leaned back and asked Alicia to get the quilt out of the closet. Alicia had no idea what the quilt meant to Sookie, of course, but she did admire the pattern and workmanship, and Sookie bragged that Eric had it made for her. Alicia spread the quilt over Sookie, and she settled down into the couch and went to sleep very quickly.

When she woke, she heard Alicia and Eric talking very softly, obviously consulting about her situation. Eric saw her look up and joined her on the couch while Alicia went to get her dinner tray.

"You had a rough afternoon, my lover?" Eric said as she sat up and he wrapped his arms around her.

"Just cramps, but it was pretty bad this time. Bobbie massaged me a long time and I fell asleep, so I'm better now."

"Well, we're going to give you ibuprofen again with your dinner so you don't have a recurrence. We'll have a quiet evening tonight."

"Don't you even think about not having sex with me, Eric Northman," Sookie whispered, looking around to make sure Alicia wasn't in hearing distance yet.

Eric just laughed and hugged her, and whispered in her ear. "Don't worry, dear one. You'll have my undivided attention all night, we'll just take it slowly and make sure you are comfortable."

"I wanted to swim in the moonlight and lie on our quilt."

"We might still do that later and if not, there is always tomorrow night. I see you're already snuggling in the quilt."

"Yeah, it reminded me of you and made me feel better. I pretended you were hugging me."

"Well, my lover, you don't have to pretend now." He squeezed her a little and kissed her forehead.

Alicia came back then with a tuna steak and salad and some baked French fries.

She set a folding table in front of Sookie and put her food where she could reach it from the couch. Eric thanked her and let her go for the evening. Then he sat with Sookie while she ate, and when she was done, he lay down on the big soft couch with her and covered them both with the quilt. He stroked her hair and whispered to her for a long time, and she fell back to sleep.

Eric went into his study and checked his email. Burnham had confirmed delivery of the car, and Pam had a couple of questions to which he responded. There was a receipt for Sookie's ring that he wanted to save, and there were some other business matters to take care of, and he did everything he needed to do before he went back in the den to check on Sookie. She was awake when he came back.

"Where did you go?"

"I was in my study checking my email. If you had called me, I'd have been right here instantly."

"Oh, OK. I guess I'm being a little clingy again, huh?"

"You are not clingy. It's natural to feel a little vulnerable in your condition."

"Baby Eric is doing OK, though. I talked to him today, and I could swear he heard me and was happy."

"Really, my lover? How did you know that?"

"I don't know – it was almost how I know how you feel through the bond. Is there a bond from me to the baby? Is the baby tapped into our bond or something?"

"Good question. Let me talk to him and see if I feel anything." Sookie stretched a bit so Eric could reach her belly. He stroked it, kissed it and laid his head on it for a minute. "My son, are you well? Are you happy in your wonderful nest in your mother's womb?"

"Eric, did you feel that?"

"Yes, I did – a feeling of happiness. Surely he's too small to understand us?"

"That's what I thought, but he's definitely responding. He might not know what we are saying, but he can feel our attention or our voices or something."

"Interesting. He does seem to be a part of our bond. We will be very conscious to send him love from now on and let him know how much he is wanted. Of course, it makes perfect sense that my son would be advanced in his development."

Sookie laughed and stroked Eric's hair as he laid his head back on the little bulge that wasn't as little as it was the day before. Baby Eric was beginning to really make his presence known.

"I hope I'm able to wear that dress next week," Sookie said.

"Did you have the seamstress make allowances?"

"Yes, and the dress is a size larger than I would normally wear, but Little E is growing fast, and I couldn't really explain to them that he's growing faster than a human baby."

"True. I didn't think of that."

"I told them to act like I might gain a lot of weight because I've been eating so much. I ate a ton of that smoked salmon yesterday, and three bagels and a ton of cream cheese with it."

"You liked the salmon then?"

"I loved it. I hope it's not expensive because I ate a bunch of it."

"Do not worry about expense, my lover. I like that you enjoyed something that is so common in Sweden. I'm sure my son liked it, too." He kissed the bulge again, and they both felt a sense of happiness that didn't seem to be coming from either one of them.

"I'm glad you feel that too, Eric. I thought this morning I might be imagining it, but it's definitely there."

"Yes, it is definitely there. I am so pleased he responds to my voice."

"He knows his daddy when he hears him." Sookie beamed at him, and he planted a couple more playful kisses on her tummy, then moved up so he could kiss her on the lips.

"Hey, do we need to worry about… you know… when we…"

"Have sex?" he finished her sentence.

"Yeah. Does he know what we are doing?"

"I doubt that. I think we will know if something disturbs him, and you've had no indication of that so far. It has to be good for him to feel his parents express their desire for each other. I'm sure my son will have a positive response to sexual activity – he is my son, after all."

He was stroking her tummy with the backs of his fingers. Sookie couldn't tell if Eric was serious or joking, but she figured either way he was probably right. She liked thinking that Little Eric would be just like Big Eric in every way possible. Eric was lying in front of her and pulled her close, kissing her shoulders as he unhooked the top of her bikini. He pulled her top off, then gently kissed her breasts as he pulled the bottom of the suit down. She lifted up a little so he could slip it on off.

"Are you feeling better, my lover?" he asked as he stroked and looked at her body all over.

"Yeah, I'm not having cramps anymore. The doctor said orgasms were good for cramps, anyway."

"Mmmm – that she did," he said as Sookie pushed his t-shirt up toward his shoulders, and he pulled it over his head. He wiggled out of his jeans, and he was going commando, so the two of them were naked on the big soft brown couch, and he pulled the quilt back over them.

Eric was taking things very slowly, and she liked it. They were very relaxed, and he gently kissed her over and over as his hands roamed tenderly over her body. At one point he was kissing her very deeply, and he pinched her nipple, which made her gasp a little into his mouth. He smiled at that, but continued to kiss her. He whispered in her ear, "Are they sensitive, dear one?"

"Very – they were very… aware today and a bit tingly."

"Good. I have read that women are advised to work their nipples with a towel to make them ready for breastfeeding a child. Apparently that can be very painful if the mother is not prepared. I intend to see that you are quite prepared for my son. I'm sure he will have a healthy appetite and suckle aggressively," he laughed.

"Oh, is that the reason you're roughing them up?"

"Exactly."

"I thought you just really liked them."

"Oh, but I do, dear one. This will be a great deal of fun for both of us," he said as he moved down to take a nipple in his mouth. She stroked his hair and caressed his shoulders as he sucked and nipped at her nipples, and she moaned and whimpered softly when it hurt just a little, in that good way she never knew about before she met Eric.

His hand went around from stroking her hip and squeezing her bottom to exploring between her legs. She was very wet and unusually warm, and he slowly probed and explored her for what seemed like a long, long time to her. She was vaguely aware that he intended to bring her to orgasm with his fingers to give her the release that would relax her internally without risking making her cramps worse.

He was very gentle, and she was in the mood to take it slowly, so she just enjoyed his touch and didn't push him the way she normally might. She knew this was a way for him to take care of her, and she could feel in the bond that he was sending relaxation, comfort and love to her. When he could tell she was getting close, he said, "Look at me, lover," and their eyes met. He held her gaze and watched her face closely as she finished, enjoying the sensations her release transmitted to his fingers.

"Your face is so beautiful when you climax – I have never seen anything so lovely,"

he said as he bent to kiss her neck. He whispered, "My lover, I am hungry," and he kissed a trail down her body to settle between her legs. He explored her with his tongue, and nuzzled her thigh before he bit. The bite made her spend again gently, and he fought not to drink too much. He didn't want to go crazy with the fairy blood, so he took just enough to sustain himself, and she heard him talking to himself, trying to stay in control.

"Eric, come here," she said, and he came back up to embrace her. She guided him into her, and she could feel his fight not to lose control. "It's OK," she whispered, "you won't hurt me. I want this." He was still fighting with himself to go slowly, and she knew what would allow him to let go.

"Eric, feed me your blood."

He bit his wrist and pressed it to her lips, and she drew deep, triggering his release. Vampires didn't often get tired, but she could tell he needed to rest because of the amount of effort it took to hold himself back. She dozed off again, and was drifting in and out of sleep as he folded the quilt and carried her up to their bed. He sat on the bed next to her and asked, "Can you drink, my lover?" and held a can with a straw in it up to her lips. She didn't really wake up enough to see what it was, but it tasted like a strawberry milkshake, and it didn't take her long to drink it down. She settled back down to sleep, and Eric went to make business calls.

As he checked his messages, he listened to the first, from Bill Compton, wanting to know why the hell he was banned from going to Shreveport. Might as well get this out of the way. He picked up his secure line.

"Hello?"

"Compton – this is Eric."

"Would you like to explain why I was passed out in my living room and I had a message forbidding me to go into Shreveport? I kept expecting you to call and explain, but you never called."

"Yes, well, I've been occupied with other things. I have some news, Compton, that will explain the situation."

"Alright – let's hear it."

"This is to be kept in the strictest confidence. It's a matter of keeping Sookie safe, so I expect that you will share this information with no one."

"Of course – I wouldn't do anything to endanger her."

"That's good. You are familiar with Niall Brigant?"

"Yes, but what does that…"

"Bill, he is Sookie's great grandfather."

"What – you can't be serious?"

"I am quite serious. She has only known for a short while."

"And you are afraid his enemies might seek to use her against him?"

"Among other things."

"What has that to do with me?"

"Niall decided to give Sookie a gift no one else could give her. He worked magick that allowed me to impregnate Sookie. She is carrying my child."

Bill was speechless. Sookie was pregnant – with Eric's baby. This was a nightmare.

"Compton, are you still there?"

"Yes, I'm here," he was trying to sound unphased by this news but he failed.

"Yes, well, Sookie and I were at her house recently and you attacked her. I nearly had to kill you to save her."

"In her front yard…"

"Yes."

"I thought that was a dream – are you saying that really happened?"

"Yes, it did. I finally knocked you out and took you back to your house, then got her as far away from there as possible."

"Oh my god."

"I don't hold it against you, Compton – Dr. Ludwig said it's a natural instinct. You had a reaction created by the change in her hormones. Your nature was telling you to kill the child, but you would have killed Sookie to do it."

"And this is why…"

"Yes – it's why I haven't allowed her to return to her house in Bon Temps, and why I insisted you stay out of Shreveport. Complete separation was the only way to keep you both alive. "

"I am… so sorry. I don't know what to say."

"Don't grieve over it, Compton, just stay out of Shreveport until mid-August."

"Is that when the child is due?"

"Yes, he should be born shortly after the first of August."

"He?"

"Yes – she will bear my son."

Bill was heart-broken. He would never have her back now. She would never leave the father of her child, even if he was a bastard like Eric.

"I suppose I should congratulate you," he said softly.

"Thank you, Bill. I should also tell you that we are to be married in Las Vegas next Sunday."

"Las Vegas?"

"Yes – Felipe de Castro is hosting the wedding at his estate. He is very fond of Sookie and seems to be quite taken with the idea of one of his Sheriffs having such a unique nest."

"Yes, I suppose it will be unique, won't it." Bill was practically talking to himself.

"Possibly the only one of its kind. The child will be unique, too."

"Will he be vampire?"

"No, he will have more characteristics of the Fae, though he'll manifest qualities of both Sookie and myself."

"And how is Sookie – is she well?"

"She's very well. A little normal discomfort, but she's healthy and strong, and her staff is taking good care of her."

"May I speak to her?"

"She's asleep at the moment. If you'd like, I'll give her a message to call you back when she can."

"I'd like that. I would appreciate it if you would do that so I can apologize to her."

"Yes, of course - I don't see any harm in that. I will write her a note, and she'll get back to you in the next night or two."

"Thank you. I will be sure not to go to Shreveport. I wish you both the best."

"Thank you, Bill. I'll talk to you soon."

"Goodbye."

That was a most satisfying conversation as far as Eric was concerned. He got to hear the defeat in Compton's voice when he realized she was carrying his son. It was sweeter than he had imagined.

'My son,' he thought. 'My seed growing in her body. A miracle.' He was more grateful than he could ever have imagined. He decided he should make an offering to the gods to thank them for this gift.

He also decided to call Niall and make arrangements for he and Sookie to meet him at the same restaurant where he introduced himself to her. He wanted to do this before the wedding – Niall might be angered if they married without telling him.

Once that was set up for Monday evening, he returned a call to Sandy. She confirmed some information about the ceremony, and made arrangements to have their travel arrangements delivered via Fed Ex early Tuesday morning, as long as Eric confirmed their plans the next night.

Everything was in place. He went back into the bedroom and slipped into bed next to Sookie. He spooned her from the back so he could hold her and place his hand on the little bulge. A feeling of overwhelming peace and comfort enveloped them. He had never felt such peace or such bliss. If he breathed, he wouldn't be able to right now.

He hugged her tightly to him, trying hard to memorize this moment – how she felt in his arms, against his body, the scent of her hair and her skin, this feeling of happiness and contentment. He prayed to Freya that he would never forget the joy of this moment. He had thought that joy of any kind had waned from his long life forever. No wonder he needed her so badly, loved her so fiercely.

There were other things he could be doing, but he had no desire to move, so he went into down time. At one point, she woke up and turned to face him, kissing him though she didn't open her eyes.

"Make love to me," she said.

"You are asleep, my lover," he laughed gently as he brushed her hair from her face.

"I don't care. Do it really gently the way you do sometimes. I want you in me."

"If you insist, dear one."

Slowly and gently, he took her twice at her insistence. He didn't think she really reached release, but she seemed to enjoy just the sensation of him entering her slowly and repeatedly. He was more than happy to oblige his warm angel, and that's exactly what he considered her.

How could she be so sweet and so sensuous? He had known so many women, but never had he known one with this combination of innocence and sexuality. Even before the baby she was enthusiastic about sex but still had a sense of being unspoiled.

He thought about the night before when he had dominated her, tied her down, explored and pushed her very far, yet she wanted more tonight. The two nights could not be more different, yet she had enjoyed both immensely – he could feel her enjoyment and satisfaction through the bond on both nights. Most people tended to lean one way or the other, but she enjoyed a wide range of activities and approaches. He would never be bored with such a woman, and he knew and hated boredom more than anyone.

When dawn approached, he kissed her. "Have a good day, my lover. I will see you at dark," he whispered as he tucked the covers in around her.


	30. Chapter 30

Disclaimer: The Southern Vampire Series, and all characters from it, is owned by Charlaine Harris. No infringement is intended.

___________________________________________________________________________________

"Hello, Miss. Are you feeling better today?"

Sookie stretched and yawned. "Yeah, I guess I am. Nothing hurts today – so far."

"Well, I brought some ibuprofen with your breakfast, and the pool is warmer today, so you can try it again. Hopefully we can head the cramps off today before they get started." She helped Sookie get settled with her tray.

"The doctor said they'd be pretty bad from this point forward."

"Well, we'll try to make sure you've got the ibuprofen before you need it. That should help a lot."

"This looks good…"

"It's a western omelet and home fries. I thought we'd try some orange juice again today."

"Hmm – doesn't seem to be making me nauseous, so good. I like orange juice."

"Miss James should be here shortly after you eat and shower. She's coming at Noon today."

Alicia retrieved the daily note from the dresser and Sookie opened it as she ate.

_My lover,_

_Please confirm the travel plans with your brother and your Witches today. Sandy will be sending their tickets via Fed Ex tonight once they are confirmed. _

_Take your ibuprofen, eat well and relax today – maybe we can have our swim in the moonlight tonight. _

_I love you,_

_Eric_

OK, breakfast, work out, phone calls and maybe taking the car out for a little spin? She'd like to do a little shopping. Alicia had been buying her clothes, but she wanted to look for herself, and she had all those credit cards Eric had given her, so why not? Ooh! Great idea – "Alicia, could you hand me the phone, please?" Alicia handed her the cordless handset from Eric's nightstand.

Sookie called Amelia and it turned out she had nothing to do that day, so they made arrangements to meet for a late lunch in Shreveport at 3:00. That would give Sookie time to visit with Amelia a little bit, show off her ring, and the best part was it solved the problem of Sookie's luggage, which she wasn't allowed to go to Bon Temps to get for her trip. Amelia agreed to load them up in Sookie's old car and bring them with her, and they'd load them in Sookie's car at the restaurant parking lot.

Sookie finished her breakfast, showered, put on a one-piece swimsuit and went down to meet Bobbie. They did their work out without any cramps today, so she did more exercise and had a shorter massage. When she was done, she went up in the service elevator and changed into a little dress Alicia left out for her.

Alicia offered to drive Sookie to her luncheon, but Sookie insisted that she would be fine. She got to the restaurant, Hannigan's, at just about the same time Amelia did.

"That was good timing," Sookie said.

"Hey, girlfriend. Before we do anything else, let's see the ring."

Sookie held up her hand and Amelia whistled.

"Very nice – and you say he designed it himself?"

"Yeah – he said no one else would have one like it."

"It's gorgeous – and so is the new car. You're moving up in the world. Tall, blond and dead must be loaded."

"Apparently. It's a good thing, but it's a lot to get used to."

"Relax and enjoy it, kid. People would kill to have half of what you've got – not to mention that little baby bump!"

Sookie turned sideways and smoothed the skirt of her dress to show the bump and introduced Baby Eric to Amelia. She could swear the baby was amused.

It took Sookie a minute to figure out how to lock her car with the remote, but Amelia helped her out. They went in and ordered, but they talked more than they ate. Amelia was enjoying filling in at Merlotte's and looking forward to Vegas, including hanging with Pam. Unfortunately, she had news that Octavia wouldn't be able to go.

Amelia suggested that Sookie think about taking Bobbie with her since she was having so many cramps, and Sookie said she'd mention it to her and see if she was available. She thought Eric might like that idea, too.

Sookie told Amelia about her plan to rein Jason in, and Amelia laughed out loud.

"That's a fine idea – I wonder who will enjoy that more – Pam or Jason?"

"That reminds me – I should call Jason at some point today."

"Why don't you call him now? You've got your cell, haven't you?"

"Yeah, I do, but I can wait until we're done."

"Don't be silly – I want to hear his reaction when he finds out he has a date."

Sookie relented and dialed Jason's phone.

"Hello?"

"Jason? It's Sookie."

"Hey, sis, what's up?"

"I need to confirm that you are going to come to Las Vegas for the wedding. I wanted you to give me away, remember?"

"Oh, yeah, I talked to Catfish and scheduled the time off. Do I need to buy a ticket or something?"

"Eric is paying for all of that. All you have to do is be at the airport in time with your clothes. Do you need a tux? Eric will take care of that, too, if you'll wear one."

"Sure, if he wants to pay – what do I do?"

"I'll ask him tonight and let you know."

"Sookie, are you sure you want me there? I won't know anybody, and I don't know if I'll fit in there."

"Actually, Jason, I had an idea about that. Do you know Pam? She's Eric's partner at Fangtasia?"

"Yeah – she's pretty hot, is she going, too?"

"Yes, she is, and I thought maybe you might want to sort of consider her your date for the weekend. Then you'll have somebody to talk to, and you won't be lonely."

"Can I sleep with her?"

"Probably – I'll leave that up to you two. She was OK with the idea of hanging with you, if it's ok with you."

"Hey, free trip to Vegas and a hot date – sounds like a great weekend to me!"

"Good. I'll talk to Eric about your suit- you'll need one for the wedding and one for the cocktail party Saturday night."

"Cocktail party?"

"Yeah, it's sort of a business-slash-political thing, but you'll be with Pam and you guys can sneak out early if you want to."

"That's cool. Call me about the suits and I'll talk to you then. Hey wait!"

"Yes?"

"How are you feelin'? People are asking about you."

"Oh, I'm fine. A few cramps but that's normal. The doctor says I'm strong and healthy. She still doesn't want me on my feet though."

"OK, good to know. When can I tell people about the baby?"

"There's going to be an announcement at the party Saturday night, then when you get home you can tell people."

"OK, cool. Did you get the BMW yet?"  
"Yeah, I got it yesterday. It's dark blue and it's some kind of bullet proof, security thing."

"For real? I can't wait to see it. OK, bye sis!"

"Bye, Jason."

"Well," Amelia asked, "was he OK with the idea?"

"Yeah – he said Pam's hot and it was a free trip to Vegas, so he's in. I didn't even think about suits, though."

"Eric will probably know what to do about that. What is he wearing?"

"I have no idea. I've been so busy thinking about my dress and the baby and stuff, it never occurred to me that he and Jason needed clothes. Speaking of which, do I need to buy you some things to take on the trip? I've got Eric's cards – we could go shopping."

"No, I'm all set, but we could run over here to the mall and look around before you have to take off."

Sookie and Amelia looked around a bit and bought a few things, so it was approaching dark when Sookie got home. She was still in the downstairs kitchen showing Margaret and Alicia what she bought when Eric got up.

"Hello, dear one – did you go out today?" He was looking at the bags she had on the table.

"Yeah, I drove the new car – is that OK?"

He laughed, "It is your car, Sookie. You may do as you like, though I'm not crazy about you being alone right now."

"I met Amelia for lunch and we shopped a little, so I wasn't alone very long. I spent a little money. You said it was OK, right? I used the Visa card and I paid for lunch, too."

"That is fine, my lover, I want you to have fun. Is your W… ah, _friend_ looking forward to our trip?"

"Yeah, but Octavia can't make it. Amelia had an idea, though – she thought maybe you should ask Bobbie James to go so she can keep up with my exercise and massage."

Eric looked at Alicia, who nodded approvingly.

"Alicia, will you see if she is available for that? Tell her she will be paid for her time, and there are already travel arrangements in place if she is willing to go. Now that I think about it, I would feel better if she was there to help Sookie. It might reduce her stress level."

"Would you like me to call her now, sir?"

"Yes, please – I need to confirm the travel arrangements tonight."

Alicia went into Eric's study to call Bobbie. Margaret was making something for Sookie to eat later in the evening, and Sookie remembered about Jason's suit.

"Eric, we never talked about what you are going to wear at the wedding. I know Jason will need a new suit for the wedding and one for the cocktail party."

"Let me call my tailor and see when he is available." Eric pulled out his cell phone and hit a button. He had his tailor on speed dial, apparently. No wonder those expensive shirts looked so amazing on him. When Eric cleaned up, as with everything else, he spared no expense.

They determined that the tailor was available on Tuesday night, and Sookie confirmed that with Jason. The tailor would come to Fangtasia as he usually did for Eric, and Sookie gave him some approximate sizes so he knew what Jason might need. Eric had a tuxedo he'd wear to the cocktail party, but he wanted something new for the wedding. Apparently this tailor was able to do alterations and stuff in just a day or so – he went out of his way because Eric paid so well. Eric was right. You get speed and quality when you pay for it.

"Are you hungry, Miss Sookie?" Margaret asked.

"Actually, I am, even though I just ate less than two hours ago. What do you have?"

"Baked Cornish hen, dressing, mashed potatoes and broccoli."

"Wow, that's a lot, but it sounds good. I can definitely get into some of that," Sookie said playfully. Eric just beamed at her, knowing the hunger was coming from the baby.

"Would you like to eat in here or out by the pool?"

"Oh, in here at the table is good. Eric, can you sit with me or do you need to do something else?"

"I'll sit with you while you and the little one eat. Margaret, is there a True Blood in the refrigerator?"

"Yes sir, what type would you like?"

"AB if you've got it."

"AB positive?"

"Excellent."

She heated that up in the microwave while she assembled Sookie's dinner and served them together.

"Wow – look at that. A tiny chicken! You know, we don't get to eat together very often. This is kind of nice."

"Everything I do with you is nice, my lover." He leaned over and kissed her hand.

"Could we do this every day?"

"Do what, my lover?"

"Have dinner together. I could wait until you get up, and you could have a blood, and I'd eat my dinner just like this." Eric was smiling at the way she was tearing the little roasted bird apart. You'd think she hadn't eaten in a week.

"It's a small thing, Sookie – we can do it every day if you want."

"I know it seems small, but it's what families do. When the baby is here, he'll be here in his high chair with us."

"Well, my lover, if this is what families do, then we will do it. Margaret, did you hear that? Sookie would like us to eat here together every evening like a family. Can you and Alicia work that out for us?"

"Of course, Mr. Northman, anything you want."

"Oh, good – thank you Margaret. Thank you, especially, Eric. It means a lot to me."

Alicia came back in. "Did I miss something?"

"Yes, Alicia, I want to start having dinner here at the table every night, and Eric will have a True Blood and it will be like family dinner, and then when the baby comes..."

"That sounds very nice, Miss. That shouldn't be a problem at all." Alicia smiled at her. Sookie never listened to Alicia's thoughts – she was easy not to read – but she got the impression that she liked her. She was definitely a lot of help.

"What did Ms. James have to say, Alicia?" Eric asked.

"She said she'd be happy to go along. She was concerned about Miss Sookie going so long without a session, and she thinks this is a very good solution. Here is the salary she requested." Alicia handed a notepad to Eric with a number on it.

"This is perfectly acceptable. Very good, then. I like the idea that someone will be there to care for Sookie during the days, so she won't be wandering around the estate alone."

"Estate, sir?"

"Yes, we are to be married at the estate of a wealthy business associate of mine in Las Vegas. He owns a very popular hotel and casino and has invited us to have our wedding there."

"That sounds lovely." Alicia smiled at Sookie.

"Yeah – he's a little…. something." Sookie made a face.

"He's likes Sookie, maybe a little too much, so I'll be very happy to have another pair of eyes to look out for her," Eric said.

"Is he a creepy old man?" Alicia asked.

"No, actually, he's gorgeous," Sookie said. "He's just really hands-y with me and I hate it."

Eric raised an eyebrow when Sookie referred to Felipe in that way. She could feel through the bond that he was jealous, and she cringed a little and gave him an apologetic look, mouthing the words, "I'm sorry." He was still not thrilled, but he'd get over it.

As they finished their dinners, Alicia and Margaret cleaned a few things up and excused themselves for the evening. Sookie set her plate in the sink, and Eric went into the den. Sookie followed him in there, and found that he was taking the quilt out of the closet.

"That looks promising," Sookie laughed.

"Come, my lover, let's swim and cuddle and pleasure each other," he said, wiggling his eyebrows. That sounded fine to Sookie!

"Can we take the elevator up to change?" she asked.

"No, come with me," he said as he opened the back door. He threw the quilt on a chaise, shucked his shirt and jeans, and dove into the pool. He came up glistening like marble, and she couldn't believe how beautiful he looked.

"You are over dressed, my lover," he teased.

"Are you sure no one can see back here?"

"My lover, I would have to kill anyone who saw you naked, so you may be sure that no eyes but mine will see you here."

She walked over where his clothes were laying on the ground and took her dress off. She was wearing nothing but a thong underneath, and she peeled it off quickly as he whistled at her, then went over and dipped her toe in the water. It wasn't cold at all, so she walked on in and he swam toward her. They met in the middle and he wrapped his arms around her.

"You are magnificent, my lover. You look like a Goddess in the water."

"You look pretty amazing, yourself," she said as he lifted her and she wrapped her legs around his waist. He lifted her just a little and she felt him inside her.

"Oh, god," she said and nuzzled his neck. "Eric?"

"My lover?"

"I always heard having sex in the water didn't work. This feels so good."

"It doesn't work for humans, my lover. It works fine for vampires. We never have trouble in the bath, do we?"

"One more advantage of sleeping with vampires," she laughed. "If people only knew!"

"Are you glad I am vampire, Sookie?"

"Yeah, now that you mention it, I am. I would never have the kind of life I have with you with a human guy. You're more exciting and beautiful in every way, and the sex is amazing – not that I ever had sex with a human guy, but I hear stories."

He laughed at that.

"Eric, I love our blood bond. I love our baby." She suddenly became very serious and put her hands on both sides of his face. "I love every part of you and everything about you. I told you, I want to be with you forever, Eric. I really mean that."

"I promise you, Sookie, we will be together forever. I will be yours, always, my lover." He kissed her so long and hard that she gasped for breath when it was done.

"Hold on to me tight, dear one," he said as he walked out of the pool with her wrapped around him. He picked up the quilt and carried her to the back of the yard. He managed to get it mostly spread out, then went down on one knee, leaning forward to let her down gently to the ground, then he covered her with his own body and pulled the quilt up around them.

"How did you know I was cold?"

"You know how, Sookie."

She stroked his cheek. "Yeah, I guess I do, don't I?"

"Eric?"

"My lover?"

"Are you ever afraid of snakes out here?"

He laughed. "I actually thought of that and have had the groundskeepers working very hard to ensure there are no snakes in my yard, even to the point of having exterminators bring other animals in to search for them."

"Seriously?"

"Seriously. You don't know how much I wanted this, Sookie. I would have given anything to have you here under me this way. When I met you, I was so tired. I saw you in that little red and white dress and life had color again. I cared about something besides feeding and running my businesses. I hadn't been happy in centuries. I have never had the kind of happiness I have right now, in this moment. I would have done anything to have this, and I'll do anything to keep it. I cannot think of words to tell you how much it means to me to know that you are mine _forever_.."

He punctuated "forever" with a strong, deep stroke that left no room for doubt that she was HIS, and it made her cry out in a most satisfying way. He wanted to hear her scream.

He became very focused on fucking her now. He got this way when he needed to reassure himself that he owned her. She knew that, but instead of hating it, she was starting to understand it. She was beginning to need it, too. She needed to be in his thrall as much as he needed her. She found a way to give him what he needed.

"Eric, bite my neck, _mark me,_" and she stretched her throat in invitation. He bit her savagely, making sure to leave a mark that would last for a week or longer if it scarred. She cried out and she was talking to him softly and very quickly, telling him she was his and she would do anything for him as he fed deeply from her, losing himself in the thrall of her fairy essence.

She had never spoken those words to him before, and they echoed in his mind - "mark me." He would dream of her saying those words for weeks and months to come. He couldn't think of a more perfect submission to him than asking him to leave physical, visible evidence of his tasting and taking her. He had bitten her there before, but the words, "mark me" took it to a different level. She wasn't just offering a meal or a fuck. She wanted him to brand her in a way that left no doubt of his possession of her, especially to other vampires.

He came in her, but he wasn't done. He turned her over and forced her head down as he pulled her hips up to him. It flashed in her mind that this was called "doggie style," but it was only a flash. She was at that point where he was so wild that all she could do was hang on. Thinking was not an option. There was no way for her to be quiet, even though she knew that the noises she made were spurring him on. At least she wasn't cold. Then she was on her back again, her legs on his shoulders, and she was loud, but he was louder. As he roared she begged – yes, begged – him to feed her. She didn't know how he did it, but suddenly, his throat was bleeding, and he pulled her mouth to the wound. She had never taken blood from his neck before, so she bit down hard and he howled as he came. He let her go and she fell back, and he barely managed not to fall on her.

They were both shaking, and he tried to pull the quilt back around them. When they were both considerably calmer and colder, he picked her up, and she grabbed the quilt as he stood. They managed to get back in the house, dropped the quilt, and he flew her up to their room. Before she knew it, they were in their bed, and she was falling asleep even though he was up on his elbow and looking down at her while he petted her between her legs. It occurred to her that he knew she was tired, and he wasn't trying to "get her off" – he was doing it because he could.

TBC


	31. Chapter 31

Disclaimer: The Southern Vampire Series, and all characters from it, is owned by Charlaine Harris. No infringement is intended.

___________________________________________________________________________________

"Good Morning, Miss!"

"Mm? Oh hi, Alicia – what time is it?"

"It's eleven o'clock. I've got smoked salmon and bagels again for you."

"Oh, yum!" Sookie said, and she eagerly sat up so Alicia could set her tray down. There was a ton of food here, and Sookie knew she was going to wolf it all down in no time. "Alicia – today is Saturday, right?"

"Yes, Miss."

"And I have to leave next Friday for Las Vegas. I need something really spectacular to wear to a semi-formal cocktail party Saturday night. I need to really knock everyone's socks off, you know what I mean?"

"Yes, Miss, I do. I actually had an eye on something at one of the stores that I thought would be perfect, but I wasn't sure what size to get. Would you like to go over today and try it on?"

"Yeah, could I do that?"

"I'll tell you what – right after you have your session with Ms. James, I'll drive you over to the shop that's holding the dresses. I had planned to have some samples brought to the house, but I imagine you'd like to know what you're going to wear today since it's on your mind."

"Yeah – I wanted to get something kind of… ah..."

"…sexy?" Alicia offered.

"Yeah, something that would be a treat for Eric. He loves lingerie."

"Well, why don't we make an afternoon of it? I know a few shops you've probably never been to that have some awfully pretty stuff."

"Cool! Thanks! I won't be taking you away from things you need to do here, will I?"

"Oh no, Miss, Saturdays are light days. I'm really only here to make sure you eat today and in case you are sick. I can do that as we shop. I'll go down now and tell Margaret that she's handling dinner when Mr. Northman arrives – you did want to do family dinner again, yes?"

"Yes. I liked that a lot."

"Very well – you finish up, I'll talk to Margaret, and while you're working out I'll get a comfy dress ready that's easy to take on and off for you since you'll be trying on clothes."

"Thank you so much, Alicia. I'm so glad you're here to help me!"

"I am too, Miss."

Sookie dropped her shields enough to hear Alicia think that she was sweet. Aw – she really did like her. She thought so. She always seemed kind of… maternal…toward Sookie, and she liked it. She thought about her own mom, and how she wished she were here for the wedding. Oh, well. Eric, Jason and Amelia were pretty much all she had in the world right now, and they would all be there, plus Pam and Bobbie James.

She thought about Sam, and Bill, and all the Weres and Shifters she knew. They could have come to a local wedding, but that was just too much to do in this short time. She wasn't thrilled about the prospect of walking down the aisle with a huge belly full of baby, either. The way her dress flared slightly at the bottom, she might not even look pregnant in the photos, except for the abundance of cleavage Eric loved so much. She thought of how beautiful Eric was, and that started the throbbing down there. Her 'little friend down there' was wide-awake now.

Sookie finished the salmon and all in record time and with great relish. She loved that stuff! She took her ibuprofen with juice, then she hopped up in the shower. She came out in a towel, but she put on the black one-piece swimsuit Alicia put out right away and combed her hair out so it would dry a bit. She wanted to wear it down today to try on dresses, or she'd put it in a ponytail for her workout, but if she did that now, her hair wouldn't look good later, so she'd just have to be careful not to get it wet.

She put on her sheer black cover-up and went downstairs. Bobbie wasn't here yet, so Sookie just wandered around in the living room for a few minutes. She looked at the beautiful dark cherry furnishings that matched the rose-colored palette of the room. She looked out the window at the Grecian fountain that was so pretty in the light. She noticed a gorgeous impressionist painting over the fireplace and wondered if it was real or not. She'd have to ask Eric about it. He might have known the Impressionists, she laughed to herself.

"Good morning, Miss." Margaret came out of the kitchen.

"Oh, hi, Margaret."

"Can I get you anything?"

"Oh, no, I'm just waiting for my personal trainer to get here. Margaret – you've worked for Mr. Northman for a long time, right?"

"Oh, yes, Miss. I was with him two years before he bought this house, and the four years since."

"Do you know who decorated this room?"

"This was one of the last rooms finished, actually, just a year and a half ago. I remember Mr. Northman hiring a woman from New Orleans, and he told her he wanted a drawing room right out of a Southern Belle's dream. He said he found his Scarlett O'Hara, and he wanted the house ready for her when she finally agreed to marry him."

"He said that? Scarlett O'Hara? A year and a half ago?"

"Yes, he did, Miss, and here you are."

"Did he say it was me?"

"Not by name, Miss, but you're the only woman who has ever been here and didn't you start seeing Mr. Northman about a year and a half ago?"

"Yeah, I guess I did. I had no idea he did all of this for me."

"Oh, yes, we were very surprised. The only rooms he really used before were the gym on the fourth floor and the bedroom, and I'm not sure he used it for much besides a place to bathe and hang his clothes. He had the kitchen upgraded and the dining room finished in case you decided to do any entertaining, too."

"The kitchen and dining room, too?"

"Yes, indeed – it wasn't much before, but it was enough to serve an occasional snack for an accountant or lawyer. He said he didn't know if you liked to cook or not, but he wanted you to have everything you might need, just in case."

"All of this…" Sookie said, looking around. "Do you know if that painting…?

"That's an original Monet, Miss. He has the papers that prove the provenance in his safe, I believe, along with the ones for the paintings in the dining room."

"And this door here goes to the dining room?"

"Yes, Miss, there's a door on each side of the fireplace that goes into there. The dining room has a fireplace directly in back of this one."

Sookie went over and slid the door into the frame and looked at the dining room. Dark cherry furnishings in here, too, including a huge china cabinet at the opposite end of the room full of dishes with a delicate rose pattern. There was a painting over the sideboard, which had crystal candlesticks and other beautiful bowls and trinkets on it, and a small statue of Venus de Milo in the middle. There was a complete porcelain tea service on a side table, too, and another painting over this fireplace and seating for eight people. The left side of the room was mostly windows and looked out over the rose bushes.

"This is beautiful," Sookie said with wonder. She was stunned again. The doorbell rang then and Sookie knew it was Bobbie, but Margaret went to answer the door anyway, and Sookie slid the door closed again. Like her heroine Scarlett, she'd think about this later.

She told Bobbie she didn't want to get her hair wet, but that was fine because most of the exercises she wanted to focus on were standing ones that she did at the side of the pool closer to the shallow end. The portable massage table was set up out there again, and Sookie actually slipped her whole suit off as Bobbie held up a towel as she got up on the table so Bobbie could really work on her pelvic region. She thought they could head off these cramps if they really worked the muscles deeply.

She confirmed that Bobbie would be there at 5 tomorrow for her session so she could stay late enough to teach Eric, so Sookie invited her to have dinner with them, and she accepted. That would give them a chance to talk about the trip to Las Vegas, and she'd have time to get to know Eric. As Bobbie left, Sookie told Margaret that she would be there for dinner tomorrow evening, and Bobbie filled Margaret in on a couple of dietary restrictions.

When Bobbie was on her way, Sookie went back up to her room and put on a little yellow knit tank dress that had a red belt and was easy to get on and off, though the belt helped hide the ever bigger baby bulge. Sookie took a minute to put both hands over the bulge and say, "I love you, Baby E," and was rewarded with a little wave of love through the bond. She smiled about that the rest of the day.

Sookie did her makeup and found that there was a pair of little red sandals and a red handbag packed with her things sitting on the dresser. She was all set by the time Alicia came up to see if she was ready to go. They took Sookie's new car, but Alicia was driving since she knew where the stores were.

The first shop was called Betty Anne's Closet, and it specialized in dresses for special occasions – weddings, proms, etc. Alicia asked about the dresses she had on hold for the Northman account, and the sales girl brought out three gorgeous dresses. Alicia and Sookie took them into the big communal changing room, and Alicia hung them up while Sookie took off her belt. Alicia put Sookie's dress on an empty hanger she found on one of the hooks on the wall, and Sookie wiggled into the first dress. It was blue, but a little frilly for Sookie's taste, so they tried one that was lavender and very pretty, but a little old fashioned. Alicia said she saved the best for last, though, and she wasn't kidding.

It was a Grecian style dress that gathered on each shoulder and flared at the bottom. Sookie looked amazing in it. Alicia said it reminded her of one Elizabeth Taylor had worn in a movie once, and Sookie said, "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof," and they both laughed. Except for the beautiful pink color, this was the dress Maggie the Cat wore to Big Daddy's birthday party.

It was perfect – the skirt flowed when she walked, and the way it was gathered at the waist, Baby E was well hidden. It made her chest look huge, in a good way, especially when they tried a strapless corset in a slightly paler shade of pink under it. The corset had a matching pink thong and detachable garters, which Sookie knew Eric would love, so she bought the kind of stockings to wear with garters. Alicia had a pair of shoes on hold to go with the dress - satin pumps just a little darker pink than the dress. They got her a small matching bag, just in case, though Sookie was pretty sure she wouldn't need one. She was all set for the cocktail party.

Alicia took her to another shop that had resort style clothing, and they got Sookie two little knit dresses that she could throw on over a bikini and feel dressed if need be. They found a nice little sundress of the type Eric loved in shades of blue at a third store, and the fourth store they hit was a lingerie shop where Sookie found a couple of things that looked sexy even with the bulge.

They got back to the house just after dark, and Eric was sitting in the kitchen waiting for dinner, talking to Margaret, smiling like a Cheshire cat.

"Hi, Sweetie!" Sookie was excited to see him and tell him all about what they bought, so she was practically jumping up and down as she went over to hug him and kiss him.

"Hello, dear one. Did you have fun today?" he was beaming as she sat on his lap.

"Yes! We went shopping, and wait 'til you see the dress I got for the cocktail party!"

"She'll look like a movie star," Alicia said proudly.

"Oh, really… am I going to be jealous of every man that looks at you that night?"

"You'd better be, buddy," she laughed.

His face was showing absolute delight at seeing her this way. Margaret was putting Sookie's plate together and had a True Blood in the microwave. Alicia took Sookie's packages upstairs and Sookie sat at the table.

"Were you waiting for me long?" Sookie asked.

"Not long at all. I was delighted when Margaret told me you had Alicia take you shopping. It sounds as if you had a very successful day."

"Yeah, I feel a lot better knowing I have that dress. I've just got to find jewelry to wear with it. I got matching shoes and a little bag already."

"Did you have your massage today?"

"Yeah, we worked a lot on my lower body and especially around my pelvic region."

He wiggled his eyebrows at her and she giggled. Margaret sat her plate in front of Sookie and gave Eric his blood.

"So what is this about tomorrow?" Eric asked.

"Remember Dr. Ludwig said you should learn to do massage for when I have those cramps?" Sookie was sawing into a very rare rib eye steak that was soft as butter.

"Yes, I remember something about that."

"Well, Bobbie and I had planned for her to come later tomorrow so she could show you what to do, and since she'll be here anyway, I invited her to have dinner with us. Is that OK?"

"Of course, my lover. Whatever you want."

"Good. I thought we could fill her in on the Vegas trip and see if she needs anything, and you could get to know her. I really like her."

"That will be fine. I do want to know what to do for you if you have those cramps. They seem to take a lot out of you."

Margaret and Alicia interrupted briefly and excused themselves for the day.

"OK, goodnight! Yeah, the last time was really bad. I never felt anything like that before."

"I am sorry you were in pain, my lover."

"Yeah, well, that's nothing compared to what giving birth is going to feel like."

"Are you worried about that?"

"Yeah, of course I think about it. I figure it will be OK because there's so much magick going on here, but it's still going to hurt like crazy."

"There are operations that can remove the baby, are there not?"

"Yeah, but then they have to cut me open. I'd really like to do this the traditional way if possible."

"We will learn Lamaze."

"Lamaze?"

"It's a process for "natural child birth" – the father helps the mother deal with the pain, and he is there to see the birth."

"Do you want to do that?"

"If you don't mind… yes, I would like to."

"Will you be able to handle the blood?"

"I have been around bloody scenes many times, my lover."

"Fairy blood?"

"It won't be easy, but I can handle it. I'll be sure to have lots of True Blood on hand and won't let myself drink so I don't lose control."  
"That's going to be so hard for you."

"Not nearly as hard as you pushing a baby through your poor little vagina."

"True," she laughed as she took her plate to the sink.

He was glad she could joke about it, because he was very worried, but didn't want her to know that. He stood and put his arm around her, guiding her back toward the den. He flopped on the couch and held his arms out, so she snuggled in next to him and he hugged her to him.

"Mmmm," she said, "this is my favorite part of the day."

"What part, my lover?"

"The part where I get to feel your arms around me again. I think about this moment all day."

He kissed her forehead. "Did you miss me today, lover?"

"Yes, I missed you – I miss you like crazy every day. It's such a relief when you wake up!"

He smiled and squeezed her, and she stretched her arm around him and hugged him back.

"So, ya big Viking, what are we doing? It's Saturday night, you know."

"What do most people do on Saturday night?"

"Most couples have a date of some kind."

"Do you want to go out?"

"No, I don't want to go out. Hey, do you have a lot of movies?"

"Yes, you know I bought a few hundred to keep around in case we wanted to watch them."

"Do you have one called Cat on a Hot Tin Roof?"

"I do not know – someone else bought them. They are in alphabetical order if you want to look."

"OK, hang on…" she jumped up and went to the cabinet that had his DVDs in it.

"Hey, you've got it. It's never been opened…"

"Most of them have never been opened."

"You bought movies you didn't watch?"

"I told him to buy movies a young woman would like. Is that such a movie?"

"Yeah, it's one of the original chick flicks, though it's based on a Broadway play."

"Would you like to watch it here or upstairs?"

"Let's start down here," she said, handing him the movie. "I want to start living more in the whole house, since you went to all this trouble decorating it."

"What trouble?"

"The way I hear it, this place wasn't much to look at until about a year and a half ago, then you met some Scarlett O'Hara-type chick and decided to have it fixed up for her."

He smiled at her. "Who told on me?"  
"I'm not telling, but is that true? You said you found your Scarlett and wanted the house decorated for her?"

"I did. And, I did."

She laughed and leaned over to kiss him, but she tickled his side too, and made him jump.

"Hey, I didn't know vamps were ticklish."

"We are and we aren't. I can ignore a tickle, or I can give in to it. You on the other hand…" he grabbed her around the waist and started tickling her. She screamed, laughed and struggled for a few minutes that were absolute bliss for him, then suddenly …

"Wait, Eric, wait – put your hand on my tummy!"

He did, and they could both feel a sense of amusement and love that wasn't coming from either of them.

"He likes it – he likes that you tickled me."

"So it would seem. I told you he would be like his father."

"Of course he'll be like his daddy," she teased. "Mostly, though, I hope he has your beautiful blue eyes."  
"You have beautiful eyes, my lover."

"Not like yours – yours sort of glitter at certain times, and they're really blue and so pretty. I'd love to have a baby with those eyes." He kissed her long and hard, then said, "Hold that thought," and went to put the movie in the player and turn on the TV.

He threw the remote to her and went to the closet for the quilt.

They settled in to watch the movie, snuggled under the quilt. Early in the movie, when Maggie came in with ice cream on her leg and changed her stockings, Eric whistled as she did it. "Oh, you like that, huh?" Sookie said, smiling to herself.  
"Yes, I love those… what are they called?"

"Garters and stockings?"

"Yes, garters. One of the few modern improvements in women's fashion and they're nearly extinct."

"Hmm – I'll have to keep that in mind." She was about to bust knowing she had the corset and stockings set for their trip. He would love it!

"This woman is very pretty for a brunette – what is her name?"

"Elizabeth Taylor. She was one of the most beautiful women in the world."

"I can see that. She has a lovely figure. She's not like these stick figures you see in movies these days. She has lovely arms."

"Lovelier than mine?" she joked.

"None are lovelier than yours, my lover," he said in all seriousness.

"You can't tell in this movie, but she has violet eyes."

"Violet? I have never seen a human with violet eyes."

"It's a special genetic variation. We learned about it in school. She has an extra female gene that enhances all of her womanly traits."

"She is one they should clone when they learn how."

"Yeah," she laughed, "I guess they should."

Eric commented on her "lovely figure" again in the scenes where Maggie was walking around in her slip. "Her breasts are almost as beautiful as yours, my lover," he said with a perfectly straight face. He couldn't understand how Brick could refuse to have sex with her.

"My woman will never have to ask twice."

"Oh, really?"

"Try me…" he teased.

"In a little bit – there's something I want you to see coming up here."

Very shortly came the scene where Big Mamma is in the room accusing Maggie of not giving Brick enough sex to keep him from drinking, and Maggie puts the dress on. "This is it – Eric, look at this dress."

"That is very feminine. Why don't women dress like that anymore?" he said wistfully.

"Is Saturday night soon enough?"

"What do you mean?"

"Imagine that dress in pink…."

"That would be lovely…. Why?" he said hopefully.

"That's what I bought today for the cocktail party – it's almost exactly that dress in pink."

"You will be wearing THAT dress on Saturday?"

"Yep – what do you think?"

"I think I'd better take my sword." And he wasn't kidding. "You are going to be a vision, my lover."

"Yeah, I want you to be proud of me."

"My lover, I will always be proud of you, but you will be a Goddess in that dress."

"I know- I can't wait to wear it for you!"

"So are you looking forward to our trip now, my lover?"

"Yeah, I really am. I mean, I won't ever be alone with Felipe, and we'll be having a party and a wedding and we'll see shows and you said I could gamble a bit…"

"I had no idea you were looking forward to this, dear one. This is wonderful news."

"Yeah, I didn't really get excited about it until I tried on the dress. All of a sudden, I can't wait to go!"

"That makes me very happy, Sookie. Now we will have a wonderful time."

"Yes we will!" she said as she kissed him on the cheek, and the other cheek and really planted one on his lips.

As the movie continued, she commented on the necklace Maggie kept playing with in the movie. It was a simple diamond on a nearly invisible chain, and Sookie wondered if any of her little necklaces would fit with that dress.

"What kind of necklaces do you have, my lover?"

"Just some little costume things. I can probably get a cubic zirconia at Walmart that will look a lot like the one she's wearing."

"You would wear a cubic zirconia on your neck and 6 carats of jewels on your hand?" he teased her.

"Yeah, well, it only has to look good one night and no one but me will know."

"That is true." They didn't say much for a few minutes, and then Eric began to nuzzle her neck and tug at the red belt she still had on. The shoes had been gone for a while now, and the panties were being pulled one direction while she was tugging the dress over her head in the other. Before long, she was naked on the couch, posing for him as he quickly took off his shirt and jeans. He took the quilt from the couch and spread it on the floor between the couch and the TV.

"What are you doing?" Sookie asked as he picked her up and put her back down on the floor.

"Have you ever had sex on the floor, my lover?" he said as he crawled over her with a predatory look.  
"Do you really want to know that…?" she asked, looking up at him.

"No. I know you have never had sex on the floor with me, and that is all I care to think about."

"I thought so – " she said as her knees were raised in the air and he took her suddenly. Again, the state of perpetual readiness she was in kept it from being as painful as it otherwise might have been, and while Brick and Big Daddy yelled at each other on the screen, Sookie was yelling for a whole different reason.

She figured he must have taken umbrage (The Word of the Day calendar strikes again) at the idea of her having sex on someone else's floor because he was merciless in the very best way. She was quite sure when he flipped her over and she felt his release spray on her back entrance, and she realized that was going to serve as the lubricant as he claimed his territory. She started to notice that he liked to do _that_ when he needed to prove his dominance, and she was more than happy to be dominated at the moment.

She was starting to dig the caveman mentality of her vampire when it came to ownership of her body. She was going to make damned sure she carried Eric's mark on her neck when they went to Las Vegas. She wanted creepy Felipe to see that she belonged to Eric Northman and no one else in no uncertain terms. The diamond on her hand would do that where humans were concerned, but vampires needed to see proof of feeding rights, and she planned to wear her hair up to make sure Eric's rights were clearly visible at the cocktail party and at the wedding.

Eric was speaking that Nordic language – she started to wonder if just hearing those words would make her come now, since he always said them at that particular moment. Eric was against her back, and she was rolled slightly back toward him because his hand was between her legs to make sure she was finished – which didn't take long at all.

"Hey, I didn't know there was a bathroom there!" she said as he went into a half bath off the den to clean himself up. He came back with a washcloth for her, too, and she was glad to see they didn't mess up the quilt. He was turning off the TV, and she was folding the quilt when it hit. A cramp – a seriously deep, painful cramp that literally brought Sookie to her knees.

TBC


	32. Chapter 32

Disclaimer: The Southern Vampire Series, and all characters from it, is owned by Charlaine Harris. No infringement is intended.

___________________________________________________________________________________

Eric was at her side instantly. Sookie was doubled over and crying, and the only thing Eric could think to do was bite his wrist and put it to her lips. She drank as she sobbed, and in a minute, the cramp faded. She was still upset, and she crawled up on the couch into Baby Eric position and put her hands over him. He was OK, she could feel that. Once she was on the couch and quiet, Eric put his pants on, pulling his cell phone out of the pocket. He hit the speed dial for Dr. Ludwig.

"Dr. Ludwig – Yes, this is Eric Northman," Sookie heard him say as he walked through the kitchen into the living room. She knew he didn't want her to hear what he was saying, but she was too out of it to say anything. The cramp was gone, but she felt sore and tender and all she wanted to do was go to sleep, so she did.

Sookie was vaguely aware that she was being carried, and she knew where she was as Eric gently put her on their bed. She thought he left the room, but then he was kneeling next to her, trying to get her to take some pills. She couldn't really push herself up, so he pulled her up so she could take the pills and drink. She started to go straight back, but Eric told her to turn on her side and had her pull her knees up. He covered her up and stroked her hair for a few minutes, then he went around to his side of the bed and got in behind her. She felt him spoon up against her back, and when he placed his hand over her belly, and she put hers on top.

"He's OK."

"What, Sookie?" Eric knew she had spoken, but his mind was far away and he missed it.

"He's OK, Eric. I know he's OK."

"Yes, my lover, I can feel that, too. How are you, my angel?" He never called her that before.

"I'm really tired, but I'm not in pain right now."  
"That is very good, dear one. I was very worried about you."

"What did Dr. Ludwig say?"

"She said I did the right thing giving you my blood. She says this is probably normal pain from the growth of the baby, but she's coming tomorrow night at 9 to have a look at you. She told me to call back if you have any more cramps tonight, but she thinks that the ibuprofen will help you. You're going to have to take regular doses of that for a while."

"Did you make sure I'm not bleeding?"

"Yes, I did. I checked closely, though I knew I didn't smell any blood."

"I'm sorry, Eric."

"Why are you sorry, my lover? You did nothing wrong."

"I'm sorry I scared you."

"Do not worry about that, Sookie. I am here for you, for whatever you need. We knew this might be difficult at times. When you hold our son in your arms, it will all be worth it. Think of that day, my lover, and we will get there sooner than you think."

"I hope I don't mess up the party or the wedding."

"Do not put more pressure on yourself, Sookie. Things will unfold as they need to. Dr. Ludwig will be there for the party and the ceremony."

"She will?"

"Yes, de Castro invited her. She said she accepted the invitation so she could keep an eye on you. If anything goes wrong, she'll be right there."

"That's good. I feel better knowing that."

"The doctor said you could drink some red wine if you wanted to. Would you like me to get you some? It might help you sleep."

"Where would you get that?"

"There's a climate controlled wine cellar in the pantry."

"Of course there is," she laughed weakly. "What's a castle without a wine cellar?"

She tried to look back at him and smile, but…

"Shhhh – Sookie." He stroked her cheek. "It would be good if you could eat something."

"What was that strawberry thing I drank?"

"That was a supplement that contains vitamins and minerals. Could you drink one of those?"

"Yeah, maybe."

"Wait here." He zipped out at vampire speed and was back almost instantly with a can and a straw. He knelt in front of her and held it to her lips.

"That's pretty good," she said quietly between sips.

"It would be good if you can drink it all. It can be used to replace meals, but we were hoping it would just be an extra source of calories if you needed them. We had to look very hard to find one that didn't contain iron."

"I'm glad you remembered about that."

"The doctor was adamant about that. Until we know for sure, you can't have any iron that doesn't occur naturally in food, and she doesn't want you eating liver or raisins."

"Raisins have iron?"

"Apparently, quite a lot."

"Good to know."

"Margaret was told not to use cast iron cookware, either."

"I never would have thought of that."

"Nor would I. If the baby is sensitive, we will have to remove it all from the house. The wrought iron fences might have to go, too."

"I'm sorry, Eric."

"Stop apologizing, Sookie. I am exactly where I want to be, doing what I want to do for my beloved. Fences mean nothing to me. You mean everything and so does our baby. Your comfort and safety are the only things that matter to me."

"What about your comfort?"

"My comfort comes from being with you. The only comfort in the world for me is to be with you, my lover. I will pay any price for that. I wish you understood that."

"I love you, Eric."

"I love you, too, dear one."

"I think maybe I could sleep now."

"Good. I'll turn off the light and hold you until dawn. Alicia comes in very early so you won't be alone long. I put your cell phone on your nightstand there, and there are numbers for Alicia, Margaret and Dr. Ludwig in it now. Alicia and Margaret know not to call an ambulance if anything happens. They have Ludwig's number and some arrangement will be made for a caretaker who appears human if necessary."

He turned the lights off and got back in bed, spooning her again and putting his hand back over the baby. She put her hands back over his and went back to sleep.

****

"Good Morning, Miss."

"Huh? Oh, hi, Alicia."

"How are you feeling, dear? I hear you had a rough night."

"I had a great night until I got this evil cramp that knocked me out."

"I know you had steak for dinner last night, but Mr. Northman said the doctor wanted you to have rare meat twice a day for a few days. Do you think you can handle that?"

"If that's what the doctor ordered, yeah, I can." Sookie was slowly sitting up.

Alicia put the tray over Sookie's lap.

"This looks good. Those home fries look really good."

"I hope you can keep this all down. There's also toast and jelly, and I peeled a couple of Clementine oranges for you."

"Thank you. Do you know what time it is?

"It's just after 2 pm."

"Wow, I haven't slept this late in awhile."

"That's true, but you don't have your session with Ms. James until 5:00, and I thought some extra sleep might do you good."

"Thank you. I'm still really tired."

"Do the best you can with your breakfast, and then you can sleep a while longer if you want."

"OK. That actually sounds like a good idea. I'm hungry, too."

Sookie dug in, which was easy because Alicia had cut her steak up already. She was glad because she honestly wasn't sure she could fight with a knife and fork right now. Alicia came out of the bathroom with the laundry.

"Alicia – is there any milk?"

"Actually, there is some very good organic whole milk in the fridge. Would you like some cereal?"

"No, but I would love a couple of glasses of good cold milk."

"A couple of glasses?"

"Yeah, it's like I really want milk, and I know one glass won't be enough. Could you bring a whole quart?"

"Of course, Miss. I'll be right back with it."

Sookie was nearly done with her breakfast when Alicia got back with a carton of milk and a big glass. Alicia didn't say anything, but she couldn't believe Sookie ate all that food that fast. She started to wonder if Sookie was getting enough to eat. She opened the carton and poured a glass. Sookie drank it down without stopping to breathe. Alicia filled the glass again and handed Sookie two ibuprofen along with it. Sookie drank it a little slower this time, but she still went through it pretty quickly. Alicia filled it a third time and that was gone in three minutes or so.

As she was filling it for the fourth time, she asked, "Have you been drinking any milk lately, Miss?"

"No, I don't usually. I mostly drink juice or ginger ale these days. I hardly ever just have a glass of milk."

"You know, not drinking milk can give some people leg cramps."

"Do you think my cramps might be because I need milk?"

"Well, you'd have to ask your doctor about that, but I think maybe we'll start including milk with your meals and see how you do."

"This milk tastes better than any milk I've ever had."

"Well, that's particularly good milk - being organic, it lasts a lot longer than regular milk, and it's whole milk so there's more cream in it."

"Yeah, cream," Sookie said as she held the empty glass up for more, "that's what I'm tasting that's so good. It's really rich." Alicia emptied the carton into her glass and she drank it down.

"Would you like more, Miss? I can get another carton," Alicia said cautiously. She couldn't believe what she just saw.

"No, I think I finally had enough," Sookie laughed. "Whew! That was so good."

Alicia took the tray away, and Sookie snuggled back down in her bed and was asleep before Alicia was out of the room. Once down in the kitchenette, Alicia called Eric's service and left a message about what just happened, and suggested maybe she needed to drink more milk – many pregnant women did – so he might want to talk to the doctor about that. She let Sookie sleep until about 4:30, then woke her up so she could get ready for her treatment. She might have suggested cancelling it, but she thought the massage was particularly important right now.

"Whoa," Sookie tried to get up out of bed and fell back on it. Alicia reached for her, so she didn't fall the whole way, and then she insisted Sookie go very slowly into the bathroom. She didn't want Sookie to take a shower – she was getting in the pool anyway, and she didn't tell her, but she was afraid Sookie might fall. She seemed shaky. Sookie realized that she had to go to the bathroom badly, and wondered what might have happened if Alicia hadn't awakened her when she did. She didn't want to ruin Eric's bed.

She got a plain black bikini out of Sookie's drawer because it would be easier for Sookie to put on than a one-piece. Sookie was moving slowly as she came out of the bathroom, and Alicia helped her get into the bathing suit and put on the cover-up. She insisted Sookie take the elevator to the first floor, and had her sit down in the den until Bobbie arrived. Margaret was keeping an eye on Sookie, and Alicia waited for Bobbie at the front door. When she arrived, she quickly told her about Sookie's cramps, dizziness and the fact that she drank all that milk.

Bobbie stuck close to Sookie to make sure she didn't fall. The exercises they did involved floating more than balance or strength, and Sookie got through them fine. When it was time for Sookie to get on the massage table, Bobbie had her lie on her side for half of it, then switch to the other end of the table to work on the other side. She worked on Sookie very slowly and for a long time, so Sookie was still on the table, naked under a sheet, when Eric came out.

"Hi, Sweetie," Sookie called to him as she saw him walk over.

"Hello, dear one," he bent to kiss her, "how are you feeling?"

"OK at the moment – this is Bobbie James."

"Hello, Ms. James."

"Please, call me Bobbie. I'd shake your hand but I have oil all over mine."

"Well, Bobbie, it is nice to meet you. I assume you know about Sookie's problem last night."

"Yes, I hear she gave you quite a scare."

"Yes, she did. Don't people normally lie face down or face up on a massage table?"

"Well, we do things a little differently for pregnant women. There would be a point where she wouldn't be able to lie on her stomach without a special table, and very late in the pregnancy she won't be able to lie on her back. I'm going to start doing her treatments on her side like this from now on, just to be safe. At some point, we might want to get a special sort of massage chair that will be easier for her in several ways. She won't have to get up on a table with that, and she'll be leaning forward without putting pressure on her tummy."

"Do you need that now?" he asked.

"Well, we can use it any time, it just depends on if whether you want to buy one or not."

"Have Alicia go ahead and buy what you need. Better to have it when you need it."

"OK, would you like to learn some techniques now?"

"Yes, I would."

Bobbie showed him a few spots that should never be massaged, like the back of the ankle and a couple of spots on the feet, though foot rubs in general were a good idea because her feet would swell. She showed him how to very gently rub Sookie's belly so that it wouldn't hurt her or the baby, but would be soothing and help her relax. She showed him some techniques for the back and found out he already had some knowledge of Swedish massage techniques.

"Of course he does," Sookie laughed. "Eric has always given great back rubs. Must be a Swedish thing."

Eric laughed, and said, "Of course – we invented massage, you know," which wasn't really completely true, but Bobbie laughed anyway.

Bobbie went over a few more points, like scents and oils to use, and some to avoid, and she explained a few sex positions that would work best as Sookie progressed in the pregnancy. When they were done, they helped Sookie sit up on the table, and Bobbie wrapped a sheet around her toga-style. She didn't want to go upstairs to change, so Eric carried her into the kitchen and sat her at the table. Bobbie sat opposite Sookie, and Eric sat at the head of the table. Margaret served a meal of rare steak, baked potatoes and green beans, and the meal was very pleasant. Eric dismissed Margaret, and she left a cake out on the counter for dessert before she left for the day.

Bobbie was looking forward to the trip to Vegas, and Sookie was pleased that Eric seemed to be friendly to Bobbie. Eric even offered to buy her clothing if she needed for the trip, but she said she'd be fine, even for the wedding and the cocktail party.

Eric very cautiously explained the situation with Felipe without really using the word "king," but Bobbie asked if he wasn't the King of the area. Eric was surprised to hear that Bobbie actually knew a bit about vampire politics, and it turned out Bobbie had dated a few vampires, one when she was very young, even before vampires came out of the coffin, so to speak. Bobbie had been around.

She had figured out the whole deal with the trip to Las Vegas before Eric even said anything, because she knew about the takeover from some of her vamp friends. She had known all along that Eric was the Sheriff in that area because she recognized his name when they told her about the job. Bobbie was turning out to be even more perfect for this job than Sookie had realized, and she could tell Eric was very pleased to know all of this.

Bobbie even asked if Sookie didn't have a non-human doctor because she knew something was up about the pregnancy, and Eric confirmed that and told her the doctor would be present in Las Vegas. Bobbie was very pleased about that because it would give her a chance to find out if there were any particulars she needed to know about Sookie's condition. Sookie even wondered to herself if Niall hadn't done some kind of spell to bring perfect care to Sookie while she was pregnant. She'd have to ask him about that when she saw him.

Sookie asked if there was anything unusual about her so far that Bobbie had noticed, and she said she was surprised that Sookie's breasts weren't more sensitive. Sookie explained that they were more sensitive in that they seemed to feel more when they were touched, but that there was no pain from it – just the opposite, probably. Bobbie said that would be a great advantage if that continued through the end of the pregnancy, but warned her that it might not.

They talked so long that it was approaching 9 o'clock and Eric reminded Sookie that Dr. Ludwig was due. Bobbie asked if she could stay and talk to the doctor about Sookie's cramps. Eric thought that might be a good idea, so he mentioned that the doctor didn't really appear human, and Bobbie had no problem with that. She had met other Supes before, including a couple of fairies, so Eric and Sookie looked at each other to silently confirm what they were both thinking. Eric said that there was Fae magick involved in the pregnancy, but didn't give more detail than that.

Bobbie said that made sense, since she knew vamps couldn't impregnate, and she asked if they knew what the baby would be yet. Eric explained that they weren't sure, but they suspected he would be Fae but have some vampiric tendencies. Bobbie asked if that was the reason for the rare steak Sookie had, and they confirmed that she had been told to eat a lot of rare meat. She said that was probably a good idea, since the baby probably needed blood.

She asked if Sookie had been taking True Blood at all, and Sookie said that the doctor had mentioned it, but she hadn't tried it yet. Bobbie suggested that might help with the cramps, too, and told her it was easier for humans to drink cold. Most couldn't take the taste if it was warmed as the vampires drank it. Eric went to the refrigerator and got Sookie a Type B because he said it had the mildest taste, and Sookie tried it.

It wasn't great, but she could take it if she drank it fast and didn't think about what it was. Bobbie suggested she have a bottle every night after the maids left so they wouldn't know she was taking blood, and Eric agreed that would be best. He wouldn't have to worry about disposing of the bottles, because they'd just assume Eric was the one drinking it.

At 9 o'clock Dr. Ludwig popped into the kitchen, and Eric introduced Bobbie as Sookie's masseuse. Ludwig was happy to meet her and asked about her training and experience. Bobbie included a few tasty details that she hadn't mentioned when Sookie interviewed her in front of the human staff. Ludwig was very impressed to find a human with such credentials and told Sookie she made an excellent choice in her. Eric smiled at Sookie, knowing that she had worried a bit about making the right choice.

"I told you her instincts were strong, Northman. This one's got a strong maternal instinct. That bodes well for the baby," Ludwig assured him. Eric loved hearing that. He knew she was basically healthy, and knowing her instincts were good made him feel more comfortable about the whole thing.

Bobbie filled Ludwig in on Sookie's cramps, her treatment, and talked about the milk and True Blood. Ludwig agreed with a nightly bottle of blood, preferably near the time the baby would wake and feed normally after he was born. Eric said that made perfect sense, and was surprised he hadn't thought of that before. The baby would need to feed when he did, more or less.

When it was time for the exam, Eric carried Sookie into the den, and Bobbie helped her lie on the couch and get out of the sheet, which she then spread over her. Ludwig did her exam and showed Bobbie and Eric a couple of moves they could do on Sookie that wouldn't normally be done on a human woman, including one kind of internal massage Eric could do to her that was similar to the exam Ludwig did to check on the development of the uterus.

Sookie was a little embarrassed when that demonstration took place, but Bobbie held her hand and gave her a comforting smile while Ludwig instructed Eric, and she got through it. Bobbie told her to just consider it practice for the birth, and Sookie smiled – she was right, giving birth would be much worse than this.

Ludwig wanted Sookie to take ibuprofen every 4 hours during the day, have 2 glasses of organic milk- she emphasized organic so Sookie wouldn't be taking in artificial hormones - and one bottle of True Blood every day, minimum; to eat meat as rare as she could stand it – she suspected they were cooking the steaks too long. Ludwig said to tell them just to take the chill off of it. She wanted Sookie to sleep later in the day, too. She'd have to be a night owl for a bit. Sookie mentioned she could feel the baby's feelings sometimes and so could Eric. Bobbie was amazed – she had heard of a blood bond, but she had never met a bonded couple.

She asked if there were other Sheriffs with a bond to a human, and Eric said he didn't know of any. She commented that the wedding might make history, at least in the US, and Eric acknowledged that it would probably be the first of its kind, not to mention the birth.

Bobbie thought to herself that she had lucked into an amazing situation. She'd have to thank her friend Claude for telling her about the job. This was going to be an amazing experience, and it was going to look great on her resume in the cases where she could use it. She couldn't wait to get to Las Vegas. The prospect of a room full of powerful, gorgeous vamps was huge bonus, too. Maybe she'd hook up while she was there.

Ludwig took a syringe and an alcohol swab out of the ubiquitous carpetbag and took a large vial of Sookie's blood before she left, then she was gone. Bobby thanked Eric profusely for allowing her to stay and said her goodbyes, telling Sookie she'd see her at 4 o'clock the next day since Ludwig wanted her to sleep later. Eric saw her to the door, then joined Sookie on the couch in the den. He wrapped his arms around her, and she could tell the way he squeezed kind of tight for a long time that he was worried.

"Eric – do we have any plans tonight?" she asked – maybe she could get his mind off of things.

"No, not tonight. I did forget to tell you that we are going out tomorrow, though."

"You usually have Mondays off…"

"We're having dinner with Niall tomorrow night, dear one. We're going to meet him at the same restaurant where you first met him. I know you wanted to thank him, and I thought it best to talk to him before we are wed. He might take offense if we don't tell him. He might choose to be there."

"Is that a possibility? With vamps?"

"Yes, Niall can cloak himself easily if he wants to."

"I didn't know that was possible – do you think he will?" Sookie asked hopefully.

Eric knew she would want Niall there, but he didn't know if he would do that for her, so he wanted to urge her not to get her hopes up.

"I don't know, my lover, but we will give him the opportunity. I knew it would please you to see him and tell him yourself about our wedding. He'll want to see your ring, as well."

"He will?"

"Oh, yes – Fae care very much about treasure. He'll take that as proof you will be properly cared for. He might object to the union if you were not properly honored."

"He couldn't keep us from being married, though, right?"

"No, but he could make life more difficult than it has to be. He has apparently accepted our bond, since he arranged your pregnancy, but I still have to show him that I offer you proper respect if you are to be my wife. He would kill me before he would allow me to dishonor you. After we are wed you can be sure he will come here to see your home."

"He will?"

"No doubt. While you were single, he would not interfere with your choices in how you lived, but in marriage, it is my responsibility to see that you are cared for. He won't accept anything less than he thinks you deserve."

"Did you do all of this for him?"

"Not at all, my lover – every choice I have made, I made for you and only you. I simply understand the political ramifications of our union. Fae look after their own. I suspect Niall knew long ago that I was half-Fae. In fact, I'm pretty sure that's the only reason I am still alive. I had wondered before why he did not kill me when he learned of our bond."

"He asked me if I wanted him to kill you."

"I suspected that he might – thank you for saying no."

"How do you know what I said?"

"I am still alive, so you obviously had him spare me. I'm glad you thought enough of me to stand for me."

"Even when I was giving you a hard time, Eric, I always cared for you, and I would have missed you even if we weren't together. Even when I was angry and confused, I never wanted any harm to come to you. Somewhere, in the back of my mind, I think I always knew I was yours. I knew it was inevitable that we would be together the minute I met you. That's part of what scared me so much. I didn't understand it. I didn't understand about Supes and magick and destiny. I thought that was all fairy tales."

He looked at her, "That's exactly what they are, Sookie - stories of the Fae."

"I didn't know what that meant then."

"Well, my lover," he leaned over and kissed her, "I am glad you do now."

"Boy do I know now! You do too, don't you, Baby E?" She laughed and put her hands on her tummy. They both felt a sense of happiness in the bond, and Eric placed his hand over hers.

"My son is very smart," he said.

"I hope he's a big sexy Viking like his daddy," she teased.

"Oh, but he will be. I knew that the minute I understood that he was really mine. I saw him just as clearly as if I had a photograph."

"You did?"

"I did. He will be as large as I am or larger. He will be blond, he will have blue eyes and he will be very pale. No one will doubt that he is my son. Niall has seen to that."

"Why would Niall care if he looked like you?"

"Because if anyone doubted I was his father, that might imply that you had been unfaithful to me, and he would never want that disgrace to fall on his granddaughter."

"I never thought about it that way – not since I knew what had happened. I was afraid when I first told you…"

"That I would think you were unfaithful? For a few awful seconds, I did. Thank the gods your Fae cousin popped into my office in time…"

"What would you have done?"

"Honestly, my lover, I have no idea."

"Well, let's not think about it. Everything has worked out for the very best, right?"

"Right."

"So let's watch a movie and snuggle on the couch."

"Fine, but no sex tonight."

"What?!"

"Nothing strenuous, anyway. We are going to be quiet this evening."

"The doctor didn't say sex was causing the problem – it's the fact that the baby is growing so fast."

"We are taking it easy tonight, my lover. I insist."

She stuck her tongue out at him and he laughed. "Maybe later. Are there any other movies with that brunette woman in them? She was very feminine and I liked her accent."

"I don't know, let me look."

She walked over to the cabinet naked, and Eric watched her with love in his eyes. She was so perfect, right down to the little bump that was so cute on her. Her body was filling out a bit and he loved it. She wasn't getting fat, but there was a round-ness to her now she didn't have before that was so feminine and beautiful that it would make him weep if he thought about it too long. He wondered if she would let him photograph her – or better, commission a painting of her – while she was so voluptuous. He wanted to remember this always.

"Ooh," she said, "You've got Suddenly, Last Summer in here!"

"What is that?"

"It's an old black and white movie she made with Katherine Hepburn. It's based on a play, too, and it's creepy weird."

"Creepy weird?"

"Uh-huh. Can we watch it?"

"Of course," he said as he held his hands up so she could throw him the movie. He opened it and took it to the player while she spread the sheet over the couch. He came back with their special quilt. He started to sit but she said, "You're over dressed, dear one."

He laughed at hearing her use his usual endearment for her and complied by removing his shirt and pants. Commando again.

'Ever-Ready,' she thought, and she almost laughed out loud but caught herself. He picked her up, then sat down holding her on his lap and reached for the quilt.

"Hey, we could go swimming," she said.

"I'm afraid it is too cold for you tonight, dear one. It is still early in the year. Spring nights are unpredictable. Plus, I think it is supposed to rain."

He started the movie and they settled in. He was taken with Hepburn's accent, but Sookie couldn't remember where she was from or why she spoke that way. He thought the young doctor was kind of stiff and she agreed. He thought she was younger in this movie than in the other, but Sookie didn't know for sure. He laughed at the offensive behavior of the poor relations, and she objected just a little when he called them "rednecks."

"Alright, my lover, how would you describe them?"

"Well, I guess… yeah, ok, they're rednecks," she laughed. "Is that what you'd call my brother?"

"No, my lover, I wouldn't. He is not that bad."

"That's good to know."

"Your brother is a little greedy and uneducated, but I think he has a good heart and he likes to have a good time – a VERY good time – but I don't think he is a bad person. He doesn't do right by you, in my opinion, so that is the source of my dislike for him."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, aside from striking you, which is unforgivable, he allowed you to work in Merlotte's."

"What's wrong with that?"

"I know what bar patrons are like, Sookie. I'm quite sure that you were harassed by the men who frequent that bar, and I know you were paid very poorly. Your brother should have supported you until you married."

"People don't think that way in modern times."

"Hmpf – There is nothing modern about leaving a beautiful young girl – especially one with your gift - to fend for herself in the world when she has a healthy male in her family who should be seeing that she is safe and provided for. He left you virtually unprotected. I am very grateful that if it wasn't me, the first vampire you met was Bill Compton."

"I never heard you say anything nice about Bill before."

"I think Bill is a fool who didn't deserve you, but as far as our kind goes, he's a gentleman and didn't physically harm you. If another vampire had walked into Merlotte's that night, you might not have fared so well, my lover. We are both very lucky that we found each other when we did. There have been several occasions you might not have survived if I was not there."

"Yeah, I know. You were always there to save me."

"And I pray I always will be, my angel." He kissed her hair, and she noticed he called her his angel again. That was new, and she really liked it. She almost felt like it was a sign of a new closeness between them. Snuggling on this couch watching a movie was the second safest place in the world as far as she was concerned, second only to their bed on the third floor.

Eric was surprised at the end of the movie. "I didn't know that they made such movies back then – cannibalism is very rare, and I thought it only came into the movies in the Hannibal series."

"This was considered very shocking at the time. It still is, especially since it's about a gay man."

"The other movie was about gay men, too, was it not?"

"Yes, and I think the plays were written by the same man, Tennessee Williams."

"A Southern man – no wonder my Southern Belle is so familiar with these old movies."

"Absolutely – my Gran loved old movies, and particularly the ones about the South, like these we just saw or Toys in the Attic, or The Long Hot Summer. She was proud to be a Southern Belle, and she taught me to be proud of it, too."

"Well then, we will see those too, if you like. I love that about you…"

"What?"

"Your… Southern-ness. The whole Belle imagery is very feminine in a way few cultures ever achieved. Women have always been women, of course, but such strength and such femininity – they both seemed to be taken to new extremes in the American South. It's one of the reasons I moved to Louisiana."

"That's part of the colonialism and the effect the War Between the States had on our culture, I guess. We tend to be kind of proud and defensive and ready for a fight."

"The ready for a fight part, especially," he teased.

"Yeah, well… is that really why you moved to Louisiana?"

"There was an opportunity here, but I only considered it because of the Southern Belles. I was very disappointed to find that so few of them exist in true form."

"You said you never saw Gone With the Wind though…"

"I saw a movie on TV in the 70s called F. Scott Fitzgerald and the Last of the Belles. There was a character in it… I think her name was Ailie Calhoun… and she said, "I don't want to be understood. I want to be worshiped." There was something in her attitude that captured my imagination. She was vulnerable and defiant at the same time. It was the same attitude you had, standing there in that red and white dress at Fangtasia. You were so feminine in that dress. I was sick of women in black. I tried to intimidate you and you stood up to me. Few women would do that, or they would do it with a kind of smirk that is so unbecoming I'd like to slap them and throw them out. You were unspoiled."

"Unspoiled?"

"I can't explain it, but I knew you – you were what I had been looking for. I waited all that time, and the fates delivered you right to me, in my own bar."

"Is that what attracted you to Dawn?"

"Who is Dawn?"

"I showed you a picture of two girls – you said you had tasted one of them. Her name was Dawn. Both of those girls slept with my brother, and the authorities suspected him of killing them, so I was trying to find information to help him. Dawn was a Southern girl."

"She was pretty, and she had an attractive accent, but she was only a meal and sex. I didn't find her to be very deep or special."

"I'm not deep."

"You underestimate yourself. You are… unschooled… but you have substance and character. That is rare. Most people are disposable."

"Eric – that's not nice!"

"But it's true, my lover. This is the age of mediocrity. I have lived a thousand years, and I have seen many times and cultures. Most Americans are shallow, hollow people."

"I … I don't know how to feel about that. Part of me thinks you shouldn't say things like that, and part of me agrees with you."

"You have been trained to be kind to others – another Southern trait. I have no such training."

"But I've seen you be nice to people, and you treat the people who work for you very well."

"I was taught to behave honorably and have adapted over time. I am a good business man, and I know that I get good work for decent pay and a certain amount of respect toward those I employ. I do not automatically assume people are good until they prove otherwise as you do. I assume people are dishonorable until they show me they have honor. Your good opinion is given freely. Mine must be earned."

"Hmm. I need to think about that. Would you consider a soak in the tub with me?"

"I would like that very much, my lover." He kissed her. "Let's go."

He turned everything off but left the quilt and sheet on the couch. He carried her up the three flights of steps. She started the tub, and he went through the selections of bath oils and bubble baths he had in a basket. She noticed he was throwing some of them in the trash.

"Eric – what are you doing? Aren't those new?"

"Some of them were on the list of things to avoid that Bobbie James gave us. This one is jasmine, that one contains clary sage."

"I don't even know what clary sage is…"

"Nor do I, but it is in this oil, and your masseuse said they were not to be used by a pregnant woman."

"You could always save them until after the baby."

"Not worth the risk to you or the child. They go in the trash. We can always buy more in the future if we choose to."

"You really think something like that could cause a problem?"

"I do not know, but I will not experiment with your lives to save a few dollars."

"Well, I guess if you put it that way…"

"That is the way it is, dear one."

"Is there one there that's safe?"

"I think the vanilla that we like should be safe – vanilla is edible, yes?"

"Yes…"

"And this is edible…"

"So it says on the label."

"We will use that one. "

"Yes, we will. "

"You are teasing me…?"

"Yes, I am." She burst out laughing. "I'm just kidding, sweetie…"

"Sweetie…?"

"Yes, sweetie! I think it's so sweet that you are taking care of us this way."

"That is my purpose." He was lighting candles now.

"What?"

"I am your mate – it is my job to keep you and the child safe. That means small things as well as big things."

Sookie cracked up. Eric was confused.

"Why are you laughing?"

"Because I love you."

"You are laughing because you love me…?"

"Yes, I love you so much it's just stupid."

"Stupid…"

"Not stupid to love you… just that it's stupid to love anything or anybody as much as I Iove you."

"I know the feeling," he said with a completely straight face.

Sookie wailed at that, and Eric smiled.

He turned off the lights and settled them both into the tub, her with her back against his chest. They relaxed into each other, and he washed her hair, then his own. They were quiet for a few minutes, very relaxed as he stroked her between her legs, and he realized she was asleep.

He was hoping he could get her to sleep without sex this night, just to give her a rest. He gently continued to wash her, and let the water out of the tub. She didn't wake as he gently let her lie back so he could get out to the towels. She didn't wake up as he gently dried her and combed out her hair. She stirred just enough to kiss him back when he said goodnight to her. He spooned her for awhile, until he could tell she was dreaming, then he slipped out of the room to do some work. She slept straight through the night.

TBC


	33. Chapter 33

Disclaimer: The Southern Vampire Series, and all characters from it, is owned by Charlaine Harris. No infringement is intended.

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Sookie stretched, and it took her a minute to realize where she was. She couldn't remember going to bed last night - she had a vague memory of Eric kissing her and telling her goodnight, but that might have been a dream. She remembered being in the tub with him, and how warm and wonderful it felt to be near him. She rolled over to his side of the bed and buried her face in his pillow. She missed him so much during the day. Lately she'd been busy during the day and hadn't had much time to think about it, but she couldn't believe how hollow she felt when she was away from him, and she couldn't believe how warm and safe she felt when he finally wrapped his arms around her again. There was just always something missing when they were apart.

She suddenly had a sense of someone sending her comfort, but Eric was asleep. Was that the baby? Was he trying to soothe her? She shifted onto her side into Baby Eric position and placed her hands over the bulge. There was a distinct sense of love and care coming from him. It was like he knew she needed a hug, and this was the best he could do.

"Is that you, Baby E?"

Happiness. Love. Safety. Very distinct, very present, almost _conscious_….

"Do you know I'm missing your daddy?" Comfort. Love.

"Thank you, Baby E. I love you, too." Overwhelming love that brought tears to her eyes. She lay there a long time with her hands on her tummy, sending him love and enjoying the feelings he was sending back to her. She wasn't alone. It suddenly occurred to her that she was not alone – there were two of them there all the time now. She didn't know anything about how babies grew in the womb or what they were capable of, but she knew with absolute certainty that she and the baby were communicating, and he knew what she was sending him, and he was able to send back to her.

"Good morning, Miss." Alicia came in with a breakfast tray.

"Good morning, Alicia."

"It's just after one o'clock, dear. You have a fitting with the seamstress at 2:00. It was supposed to be earlier, but I changed it because Mr. Northman said he didn't want you taking early appointments. I guess the doctor told you that you needed more sleep?"

"Yeah, she said I need to sleep later. She wants me to be a night owl for a while." Sookie was sitting up on her side of the bed.

"Well, I'm sure more rest will do you good. This is more rare steak. I'm afraid it's very, very rare – if you want me to have Margaret cook it a little more…"

"No, that's OK, the doctor said just to take the chill off of it."

"Well, I've never heard of this, but I don't know anything about this… unusual type of birth. Here's your ibuprofen. You're to take regular doses for a while. Hopefully that will keep those awful cramps under control."

"Let's hope," Sookie said as she took the pills with a drink of milk. "I can't take many like I had the other night. I felt so bad, and I scared Eric to death."

"He was very concerned. This is all new to him, too."

"Very new." Sookie finished the milk. "Any chance I could get another glass of milk? Just one more would do it," Sookie explained so Alicia wouldn't think she was going to drink a whole carton again.

"Of course, Miss. Is there anything else you'd like?" Alicia retrieved Sookie's note from Eric from the dresser and handed it to her.

"Thanks. How much trouble would it be to get some of those home fries you made yesterday? And a couple of eggs over easy?"

"Alright – do you want me to take this away?"

"Oh, no, I'm going to eat it, I'd just also really like a big plate of potatoes and some eggs and another glass of milk."

"Alright," Alicia said as she checked to make sure the monitor was on, "I'll get that for you as fast as I can."

"Thanks so much," Sookie said as she was wolfing down her steak. Alicia had cut it up for her again, but this had to be a big one because there was a lot there, and Sookie was glad. She still had toast, a bowl of strawberries and cream, and one of those drinks Eric had given her, but this one was chocolate. Baby E seemed to like the idea of that one, though how he would know about chocolate, she had no idea. She opened it next and drank it down, and she could feel happiness coming from the bond. She didn't think he could taste what she ate, but again, she didn't know that much about babies, let alone Fae babies. He was clearly happy about it, though.

Maybe he liked it because she liked it? Who could she ask about stuff like this? Eric was as surprised by this as she was. Maybe Niall would know? She looked around for the steno pad – she wanted to make a list of questions to ask dear old granddad tonight when she saw him. She didn't see it, so she checked the top drawer of her nightstand, and it was right on top with a pen. She bet Alicia put it there for her. She was handy like that.

Sookie took a bite of a huge strawberry with cream and sugar on it, and it was just amazing how good it was. She opened the note from Eric.

_My Angel, _(that made her swoon)

_I was pleased that you were sleeping so well and had no cramps last night. I hear you have a dress fitting today, but I hope you'll take it easy as much as you can. _

_You will receive a package today – please do not open it until I awake, because I want to see your beautiful face when you do. _

_I love you, Sookie._

_Eric_

A package? She wondered what he was up to now. Surely he was running out of things to buy for her? Oh, well – whatever it is, it's done. She knew there was no reasoning with him, so relax and enjoy the ride. He wouldn't spend money he didn't have – he was too pragmatic for that.

He would always put survival first, and she knew she could depend on that. He would be a good provider – he is a good provider. She couldn't imagine wanting more than he had already given her. She was living a dream life – an amazing house fixed up just for her, servants, fancy cars, jewels, beautiful clothes, and she knew he'd do anything she asked of him. She and her baby would never want for anything. He'd do anything for them. He'd kill for them – literally! How many women could say that?

Just look at the wedding he arranged for her. All of her family would be there, it would be held on a beautiful estate with the best of everything. It would be glamorous and romantic – he and Felipe both would see to that, because it would be a matter of pride for both of them. She was actually looking forward to the cocktail party. Eric and Felipe both would be showing her off, and she planned to be worth showing that night. She knew other sheriffs would be there, and she'd bet money that bitch Sabrina Maxwell would be one of them. That old girl was going to have nothing on Sookie Stackhouse that night.

Wow – where did that come from? Sookie was feeling downright territorial. Eric was HERS, and Sabrina better act like she knows it. Pam would have her back, too. She loved – yeah, she realized, she _loved_ Pam, because she always let Sookie know what was up. She had helped her know what was going on with Eric when things were rough. She filled her in that night about his history with Sabrina. She figured Pam considered taking care of her part of taking care of Eric now, and she was happy about that. If there was going to be a fight, you wanted Pam on your side.

Not that Sookie was anticipating a fight… but Sabrina better watch her step. This bonded thing went both ways. He might own her, but she owned him, too, and Sabrina better not even look at Eric too long, let alone touch him.

She looked down – the baby apparently agreed. She wondered how conscious he was going to be of her feelings and thoughts as this pregnancy progressed. She needed to pay attention - she didn't want to send him bad vibes or anything. She wanted him to feel as much love as possible.

Sookie finished the first part of her breakfast and jumped in the shower since it would take Alicia awhile to fix the potatoes. She was wrapped in a towel combing out her hair when Alicia came back with breakfast 2.0, and she wolfed it down before Alicia even got the corset, stockings, thong and shoes ready for her to try her dress on.

"Alicia, did I tell you about our plans tonight?"

"No, Miss."

"Eric and I are having dinner with an old… friend of the family, who is sort of a grandfatherly type toward me."

"Oh, that will be nice."

"Yes, I need to look good – like I'm being well-cared for and even a bit spoiled. Do I have anything like that?"

Alicia helped her get dressed, and helped her into her pink robe.

"Let's see now – you want to look sweet rather than sexy, I assume?"

"Yes. It's a very nice restaurant, too. But mostly, I need to show him that Eric is a good provider – does that make sense?"

"Yes, I think I know what you mean. You want him to know that Mr. Northman will be a good provider for you and the baby so he won't object to your marrying him."

"Exactly. I'd like to have his blessing, and he'll give it if he sees that Eric is taking good care of me."

"I think we can come up with a pretty dress that says 'sweet and well-tended,' Miss."

"Cool, thanks. I'm a little nervous about this."

"His opinion means a lot to you?"

"Yeah, it does."

"We can handle that. He'll be pleased with you tonight."

Sookie headed downstairs while Alicia took care of the breakfast dishes. Margaret already had the seamstress setting up in the living room, and she was ready for Sookie when she came into the room. She helped Sookie into the dress, and was just zipping it up when Alicia came down.

"Well, what do you think?" Sookie asked nervously.

"It's very pretty, Miss. Here let's try this." Alicia took Sookie over to the rose chair by the fireplace and had her sit down.

"Is that comfortable? Does it feel tight anywhere?" Alicia asked.

"Maybe a little in the hips?"

They had her try to bend down, too, and the hips were definitely pulling a bit.

The seamstress came over and felt the seams and agreed they might want to let it out just a little. Sookie asked her to let it out more than she thought was necessary, just in case, and she agreed to.

Once she made notes about the final alterations, the seamstress had a variety of veils for Sookie to try, and she set up a large mirror for Sookie to try them on. Each was prettier than the next, but the one Sookie settled on was a small satin piece on a comb that got pinned to the crown of the head and had just a little bit of netting that only covered the eyes. Everyone agreed that it went best with the dress, since it was strapless and very sleek. Any of the other ones drifted a little farther into the "wedding cake" look Sookie wanted to avoid. This would look beautiful and modern with an up-do, and Sookie's throat would be fully visible, though she didn't say that to the other women.

"I guess I'll need to pack hot rollers and a curling iron so I can do my hair?"

"Oh, no, Miss," Alicia reminded her. "Mr. de Castro is providing a stylist and a makeup artist for both the party and the wedding. They said you won't need to bring much at all in that department."

The dress would be delivered on Wednesday, and they'd check it for final fit then. As far as the dress went, Sookie was pretty much set. As Sookie was getting ready to take off the dress, the doorbell rang. Margaret answered it, and came back with a small rectangular package, about the size of a book.

"Look how it's addressed, Miss," Margaret said proudly.

Sookie looked at the address label – it was addressed to _Sookie Northman_. Her eyes welled up, but she didn't want to cry in front of the other women, as they all ooh'd and ahh'd about it being the first time her soon-to-be married name had been used on something official.

"Are you going to open it?" Alicia asked.

"No, Eric said in my note this morning that he wanted to be with me so he can see my face when I did. Margaret – would you put this on the dinner table and I'll open it then?"

"Of course, Miss."

Alicia reminded Sookie that she had to get ready for her session with Bobbie, so she thanked the seamstress and went back upstairs as she packed up. She decided she'd like to play in the water and get some sun while she waited for Bobbie, so Alicia put her undergarments away while Sookie changed into her black bikini and headed on down to the pool.

It was a gorgeous, sunny day, and Sookie grabbed one of the inflated rings from the rack and waded into the pool. Naturally, she kept thinking of how Eric looked the night he dived in and came up wet and glistening. How could a man - any man, let alone _her_ man - be that beautiful? She was glad she was in the water so it could keep her from over-heating at the thought of him taking her on the quilt in the yard. Maybe she could get him to come outside tonight after their dinner with Niall?

Bobbie was a little late, so Sookie got to float around and play in the sun for almost an hour, and she could tell she was getting a little color from it. That was good. She didn't want to be too pale next to that white dress on Sunday. This week was going to include some serious time in the sun. Cleavage, shoulders, back and legs needed to be glowing that weekend – make-up would take care of her face.

Bobbie finally arrived, and they had an uneventful training session. Sookie felt strong, but a little tired, and Bobbie reassured her that it was normal for her to need a lot of sleep. As they were preparing for Sookie's massage, Alicia came out with another dose of ibuprofen and told Sookie her dress, shoes and bag were ready for tonight. Sookie was pleased to notice you could sort of tell where her suit had been when she took it off and got up on the table. She was getting used to being naked on the table, even outside. She started to doze a bit during her massage, and she dreamed of being in the water with Eric in the moonlight.

Sookie jumped back in the shower after Bobbie left and let Alicia fix her hair and help with her makeup. The dress was beautiful – it was an exotic print in navy and shades of blues and green, made of silk with spaghetti straps and softly gathered waist and thin, matching belt that would hide Baby E, more or less. That wasn't going to be possible much longer, but she hoped she could get through the wedding before he made his presence undeniable. Sookie was glad she couldn't really wear anything under the dress but a thong. Alicia had a matching set of navy sandals and a bag for her. She was ready early so she could go back down to the kitchen and wait for Eric. She was dying to know what was in that package, and she wanted to see if he thought she was dressed appropriately for dinner with Niall.

She was sitting at the kitchen table having a ginger ale and talking to Alicia and Margaret when Eric came in.

"Hello, ladies," he nodded to them, and went to Sookie and kissed her.

"What are you wearing, dear one?" he asked, since he'd never seen that dress before.

Sookie stood up and turned around for him. "Do you think it's OK for dinner tonight?"

"I think it is very pretty. You will be the prettiest girl in the restaurant."

"Thank you."

"Did you get your package today?"

"Yes – did you tell them to address it that way?"

"What way?"

"Look – it says _Sookie Northman. _Did you tell them to do that?"

"No, I didn't, but I wish I had thought of it," he laughed.

"If you didn't tell them to do it…"

"I told them to send it to Sookie and to use my account, which says Northman, so I guess they just put Sookie Northman on the label. It has a nice ring to it, don't you think?" he teased.

"Very nice. That's my first one, you know…"

"First what?"

"The first thing I've ever gotten with my married name on it."

"Is that a big deal?"

All three women chimed in at that point.

"Eric, " Sookie said, "that's a huge deal for a girl. I'm going to cut the label off and keep it in my jewelry box."

"Really?" he wasn't kidding.

"Of course!"

"OK… it must be a female thing."

"It is. Now, what's inside it?"

"Open it. I want to watch." He wiggled his eyebrows at her and gave her a wicked sexy smile.

It was taped so Margaret handed her a small knife, and she got the outer package open. Inside was a velvet box – uh oh – it looked like a jewelry box.

"Eric, you didn't …"

"Open it, Sookie…"

Alicia and Margaret were watching silently. Sookie looked at them for moral support, and they nodded to her to go ahead.

"Oh. My. God. Eric, what did you do?!"

It was a large diamond solitaire on a fine, nearly invisible white gold chain and matching earrings. Holy shit.

"That's the necklace she wore with the dress, " Alicia said.

"What?" Sookie said, in shock and not quite catching on.

"In Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Miss. That's the necklace Maggie the Cat wore with the white dress."

Sookie looked at Eric. "Eric, I wasn't hinting around for you to do this…"

"I know you weren't. You were quite serious about going to Walmart for a cheesy CZ. Your cubic zirconia days, my angel, are over. No more cheap jewelry for my bonded. You can do better now, and I expect you to wear better. You have an account with this jeweler, and I expect you to replace all your old things with new, real, substantial pieces that befit a woman of your station."

She didn't know what to say. She realized that there were more issues here than money. What she wore reflected on Eric. She knew she was going to have to start living up to his reputation, and this was a part of it. She was going to be his wife. If she looked cheap, so did he. Niall…

"Can I wear this tonight?" She was still a little stunned.

"I was hoping you would," he smiled softly at her.

"It will be perfect with your outfit," Alicia added.

"Somebody will have to help me with the necklace…"

"Here, dear, I'll put it on you." Alicia came forward, and Eric let her take over. She showed Sookie how to take the necklace out of the box and fastened it around her throat. It was stunning next to her skin, and Eric was beaming at her. Alicia helped her replace her plastic earrings with the large diamond studs.

"It is almost as pretty as you are, my lover… but not quite," he said as he raised her chin and kissed her. She smiled unsurely and it was a little hard to breathe, but she touched it with her hand and looked at the love in his eyes.

"I need a mirror…" Sookie looked around.

"The bathroom off the den is the closest," Margaret suggested.

Sookie went through the den into the small bathroom and looked in the large mirror. She was looking at someone else. A new Sookie, in a silk dress, hair and makeup done by a lady's maid, skin kissed by the sun from her pool out back, wearing what she figured had to be at least 12 carats of diamonds and rubies. She wasn't Sookie Stackhouse, bar maid, anymore. She was Sookie Northman.

"Sookie, are you alright?" Eric looked concerned. He wasn't sure what he was feeling through the bond.

"Yeah, I'm just… I'm just… disoriented."

"Talk to me, my lover. Are you upset?"

"No, I'm not upset… and I'm not unhappy…"

"That is good…" Eric was being cautious. She was conflicted, and he was afraid she was going to react badly.

"I'm just… changing."

"Changing?"

"I'm turning into someone else…"

"Sookie, you are still you. You are still strong and independent. Clothes and jewels do not define you, my angel, they are superficial things. They only matter to others and in our world, we have to be aware of that, but you are still the same person you have always been."

"What if I don't want to be?"

"What?"

"What if I don't want to be who I've always been? What if I want to be somebody new?"

Eric scooped her up and went to the couch. He sat down and held her in his lap.

"Listen to me, Sookie. You are going through a lot of changes – a new home, a new life, but most importantly, your body is going through enormous changes because of the baby."

He put his hand over the bump.

"It's OK to be a little confused now and then. It's OK to be scared. It's normal to be unsure now and then. You are safe. I am with you." He kissed her forehead.

"I know – you'll always be there for me."

"Does that make you unhappy?"

"No, no, I love that you're there and that we belong to each other…"

"Do you want me to cancel dinner with Niall? If you are not well…"

"No, I want to go. I want to thank him."

"Are you upset with me, Sookie?"

"No, Eric, I'm in love with you." She smiled weakly, but still seemed spaced out.

"Is that not a good thing, dear one?"

"It's very good – it's amazing."  
She put her hands over his on the baby bump. She felt comfort and love coming from both Eric and the baby. She smiled and looked at Eric.

"Sookie…?"

"It's just all so new."

"Yes, it is all new."

"Yeah… OK, OK." She started to pull it together. He was relieved to feel her snap back into herself, and he knew she was more grounded now. She wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him hard.

"I love you, Eric. I will always love you."

"I will always love you, too, my angel."

She brightened then.

"I love it when you call me that."  
"What?"

"Your angel. That's new. I melt every time you say it."

"My angel," he whispered.

She laughed.

Eric was relieved, and she could feel that. He thought to himself that this was close. There was a time when Sookie would have had a complete meltdown and run away from him. He had seen her do it many times. This time, she didn't run. This time, she stayed and let him talk her through it.

TBC


	34. Chapter 34

Disclaimer: The Southern Vampire Series, and all characters from it, is owned by Charlaine Harris. No infringement is intended.

___________________________________________________________________________________

"OK," he thought, "crisis averted." He was taking a quick shower so they could head for the restaurant.

She scared him this time. He was sure she was going to have a meltdown and say he was taking over her life or trying to change her. The old Sookie would have. He was seeing some growth, and that was good. She was becoming more polished, and she was more willing to talk about her feelings instead of letting them overwhelm her. That was good – this was progress.

He could tell that she enjoyed her life here. She still had the underlying feeling that she didn't deserve nice things, and that made him sad. She had grown up as "Crazy Sookie," surrounded by rednecks who were afraid of her gifts. She was so much finer than her surroundings had been, and the ignorance of those around her had beaten her down. She actually thought of herself as disabled when he first met her. He couldn't believe it when she told him that she considered her gift something that made her less than others – less than the trash she grew up around. It made him angry that she had been treated so badly by people so much less deserving than she.

He was drying off, combing his long hair, still lost in his thoughts.

'Then Bill Compton had to take her virginity under false pretenses.'

He could still kill him for that… and might yet. Eric might have done a lot of bad things in his time, but he never took advantage of a naive young girl like that. Eric had a sense of honor, at least where innocents were concerned. Bill had rationalized his transgressions by telling himself that he really loved her, but if he had loved her he wouldn't have slept with her without telling her why he had come back to Bon Temps. Now Eric had to clean up his mess, because that hurt her very badly.

He found that Sookie had laid out an outfit for him to wear. He smiled at the thought of her thinking ahead for him. She made a nice selection. She was becoming a wife.

As he was dressing, Eric reminded himself that he was only the second relationship with a man that she had ever had. Her third was Quinn, and he had betrayed her, too. That boggled his mind. She was so beautiful and sweet. How could anyone, afraid of her or not, resist her? He thanked the gods for the stupidity of the dregs in Bon Temps – their stupidity is what kept Sookie untouched and unspoiled for so long. He shuddered to think of his angel losing her innocence in the back of some idiot's pick up truck. At least Bill was vampire and had some class. No, the gods kept her relatively safe until they delivered her to him. He was grateful for that, as impossible as it seemed.

She was an angel… his angel. He was pleased to hear that she liked it when he called her that, because that's how he saw her. She was so much more than just human, and not just because of her gifts. When he said she was unspoiled, he meant that in some ways she was untouched by the ugliness in the world, especially when you considered that she had been surrounded by so much of it. He thought he probably had her Grandmother to thank for that.

He wished he could have met her and thanked her for taking care of Sookie when she had no one else. He thought he would have liked her, because she sounded like a solid person with a sense of honor. It seemed that she had been Sookie's only source of love and approval from the time she lost her parents. Sookie had acquaintances, but as far as he could tell, she had never had a close friend.

That was why she didn't know how to talk about her feelings. There were certain things a young girl would need to talk about that would be embarrassing to say to a grandmother, no matter how close they might be. He knew what it was like to be alone with no one to confide in. That's why he made Pam.

He needed someone to share things with, and Pam turned out to be a wonderful companion for a long time. It might not have been undying romantic love, but there was a strong sense of caring and empathy between them, and their personalities suited each other very well. It pleased him to no end that Pam and Sookie cared about each other.

Neither of them had to say it – he could tell that they had a relationship based in the fact that he was central to both of their lives. He loved to see his girls with their pretty heads together, talking about him. He was proud of them both, and he thought them the two prettiest women he had ever known. The sexual component they had recently explored was a dream come true for him. He knew they would both be open to more nights in his love nest below the club, and he would make the most of that.

Thinking of them together on that bed, naked, gave him an erection that made it hard to get his pants zipped. He laughed at himself. He turned his attention to the bond for a minute, just to check in with Sookie, and he could feel contentment and happiness as she waited for him to get ready. He sent love and pride to her, and he knew she felt it. Someone else felt it, too.

He was surprised when he realized that the baby could feel what he was sending to Sookie even at this distance. He stopped and concentrated for a minute, and he realized he could feel the baby – comfort, happiness, contentment. This was interesting. As far as he knew, this was the first time he had felt the baby without actually touching Sookie's belly. He sent love and pride to him, and he knew he responded. He also knew that when he went back downstairs, Sookie would tell him that she had felt the baby move.

He walked into the kitchen.

"Eric, you won't believe what happened!"

"The baby moved."

"How did you know?"

Alicia and Margaret were still there so he winked at her and said, "Lucky guess. I've been expecting that."

Sookie understood that he was telling her he felt it through the bond, and her eyes got big. He gave her a subtle nod to confirm it, as he could tell she was amazed. Alicia and Margaret were leaving for the evening, and Eric escorted Sookie to the Corvette.

When they were in the car and out of the garage, Sookie turned to him.

"You felt it?"

"Not physically, but through the bond, I knew it happened."

"While you were upstairs?"

"Yes. I was checking the bond to see how you were feeling, and I sent some feelings to you, and I suddenly realized that the baby was feeling it, too. I concentrated and sent to him, and that's when he moved."

"That's right – I felt that, but I didn't think it was possible."

"It was a surprise to me. We need to be careful to send him positive emotion if he is this aware of us."

"Yeah, I didn't get a chance to tell you, but I talked to him this morning. I was just waking up and I was missing you, and I swear he sent me comfort, like he knew I needed a hug. I talked to him, and I felt him respond. It was like we were talking to each other with feelings. I realized for the first time that I'm not alone during the day – there are two of us here."

Eric looked at her and smiled. He took her hand and held it. They were quiet, and there was an overwhelming sense of love and well being going in three directions that filled the car. They weren't a couple – they were a family. They had been a little apprehensive about seeing Niall, but now a sense of peace and contentment replaced any anxiety they had been feeling.

They arrived at the restaurant, and Eric helped Sookie out of the car. Niall was waiting for them, already seated at a rounded booth in the corner, and the waiter showed them the way to the table. Niall had that aura of magick all around him, so that the human staff wasn't aware of the unusual meeting taking place in booth 7.

"Good evening, my dear," Niall said as Sookie bent to give him a kiss on the cheek.

"Hello, Niall – I'm so glad you could see us."

He looked at Eric.

"Northman," he nodded.

"Niall," Eric nodded back.

Sookie scooted into the booth first so she would be between Niall and Eric on the semi-circular seat. Eric and Niall faced each other. Sookie could tell they were wary of each other, but she took Eric's hand and felt both of them relax a little.

The waiter took their orders – Niall ordered whiskey, Sookie asked for a cold True Blood Type B, and Eric asked for a warm AB positive.

"Niall… grandfather," she said hesitantly, but he smiled and she continued. "I wanted to thank you for your miraculous gift."

"Does it please you, my child?"

"Very much. It's a dream come true."

"And you, Northman, does it please you?"

"Yes, it pleases me very much. I will be very proud to have a son."

"And what arrangements are to be made for the child's support?"

"Sookie and I are to be wed on Sunday in Las Vegas…" he began.

"So I hear," Niall interrupted.

Their drinks were served. Niall nodded approvingly at seeing Sookie drink the bottled blood.

"We asked you here to ask you if you would like to attend the ceremony," Eric continued.

Sookie was letting the two of them handle this because technically this was Supe business, but she looked at Niall hopefully when Eric invited him.

"Yes, de Castro invited me. If it is acceptable to you both, I would like to attend."

"Oh, yes," Sookie said enthusiastically, "it would mean so much to me if you could be there!"

Niall gave a gentle, proud smile and patted Sookie's hand.

"Yes, my dear, I would like very much to see you take your vows. I told de Castro I would be there and the arrangements are all in place."

"Oh, thank you!" Sookie squeezed his hand and bent over to kiss his cheek. He had to lean toward her because the bump wouldn't let her get all the way there. Niall motioned to her stomach, and asked, "May I?"

Sookie wasn't sure what he meant, but she nodded and scooted closer so Niall could put his hand on her tummy.

"Very nice, my dear. He's very content." He smiled.

Eric spoke, "The child appears to be a part of our bond. Sookie and I are able to send and feel a response from him."

"Yes, that is a part of the magick. The three of you will always have a psychic link of sorts, even when he is older. That's the mixture of your bloods in him. That's part of the reason for the regular blood exchanges. Dr. Ludwig told you about those, I assume?"

"Yes, and we have been faithful in the exchange."

"Good. He'll have a taste for blood and milk, you know."

"Yes, the doctor told Sookie that would be necessary in breast feeding him."

"Very good. Your blood will keep Sookie strong enough to handle the pregnancy and nursing, too. I can see she is well. Very well appointed, too. That is a lovely dress, my dear."

"Thank you."

"Is there a ring of engagement?"

"There is," Eric said and nodded to Sookie so that she held her left hand toward Niall.

He took her hand and looked closely. She got an overwhelming sense that he knew a lot about diamonds and was doing a thorough appraisal of Eric's wealth.

"Most agreeable. I see you have a diamond around your neck, too, my child?"

"Yes, it was a gift from Eric. There are matching earrings, too," and she moved her hair so he could see her earlobes.

"The first of many, I trust," he said, looking directly at Eric.

"Yes, of course, she will have everything she wants and more."

Niall nodded.

"When you return, I will receive an invitation to dinner in your home?"

"Of course," Eric responded. "We would like very much for you to visit us."

"Very good. And your estate, Northman?"

Sookie didn't like the sound of that.

"Sookie and the child will be well provided for – my accountant and attorney are putting everything in place. As soon as the child is born, everything will be set."

"Very good. I don't anticipate any problems for you, Northman, especially not from my realm, but you understand I must see to the care of my grandchild."

"Of course."

"Heard from Victor Madden lately, Northman?"

"No, I have not."

"It would behoove you to know what Madden is up to. I don't expect you to leave my granddaughter a widow. I expect her to live a long life in your finest care."

"Yes, of course, Niall. I will be vigilant."

"You might have to be more than that. Sookie is a very regal young woman, don't you agree?"

"Absolutely." Eric understood exactly what Niall was telling him. Sookie didn't.

Niall and Sookie both ordered lobster, and Eric ordered a second blood. Their business concluded, the rest of the dinner was relaxed conversation, with Sookie doing most of the talking, telling Niall about her new life - the pool, the house, the servants, her new car, which Niall was pleased to know was bullet-proof - and the wedding dress as he asked her questions. Eric could tell that Niall approved of her lifestyle. She bragged about finding such a perfect trainer and masseuse who knew all about vampires and even fairies, and Niall looked at Eric in a way that let him know Bobbie was no accident.

He didn't know if there was spellwork involved, but he knew Niall had a hand in Bobbie finding her way to provide Sookie's care. That was both good and bad to Eric's way of thinking. On one hand, Niall would always make sure Sookie and the child were cared for, and that meant there would be no threat to the family from the Fae. On the other hand, Niall would watch Eric like a hawk from this point forward, and Eric knew he damn well better be happy with what he saw.

At least he could be sure that Niall knew Sookie would be richer with him alive than dead – you couldn't get insurance for a vampire, so Eric needed to be alive and earning a living to keep Sookie in diamonds as Niall expected, and he'd made it clear he expected a lot. Eric didn't mind – he intended to pamper her anyway for his own enjoyment.

From Niall's perspective, Eric realized he was a good choice for Sookie – he wouldn't die, he would extend her life beyond its human limits, and the child would inherit rights within all of Eric's businesses. He knew the blood bond would never let Eric cheat on Sookie, and that Eric would be miserable without her so he would never abandon her.

Eric could offer Sookie the kind of protection she needed once the Supe community had learned of her gift, and no one would challenge his ownership of her if it were known that she was his wife and not just his lover. Once Niall realized that Sookie could be happy with Eric, it became Niall's best move to see them wed and Sookie bearing his child. She would be loved, healthy, wealthy, pampered and protected.

'Well played,' Eric thought, 'he's a master of the game.'

That's why he didn't ask before he made it happen – he didn't give Eric a chance to say no, and he knew Eric's sense of honor and Sookie's upbringing would drive them to marry, if only for the sake of the child. That in turn would assure Sookie's and the child's futures as Eric's legal heirs. Eric could feel trapped in a web if he chose to, but he was so happy about being a father to a magickal child, that he was happy that he hadn't had a chance to say no. Logic might have driven him to reject the opportunity, and he loved his life with Sookie now.

If it was a trap, he was happy to be snared. He had never known such happiness. He suspected that was part of Niall's calculations, too. You didn't have to spend much time around the two of them to know that Eric adored Sookie. He couldn't hide it, and he knew his regard for her was already widely known in the Supe community. Niall had probably realized pretty quickly that a little push, a little magick, the added incentive of siring an exceptional son, and he'd secure himself a wealthy grandson-in-law that would kill to protect his offspring. Vampire or not, Eric was powerful and respected. He was also feared, and that would carry great stock with Niall as well. Eric realized that he'd have done the same thing in Niall's position. It was the logical move.

Eric suddenly realized why Niall was going to attend the wedding. He and de Castro were looking at it as an arranged marriage between rival factions. De Castro had no idea that Eric was part Fae, and he was sure Niall hadn't told him. By allowing Eric to marry Sookie, de Castro was securing her talent for his use – he was sure Niall would have claimed control of her gifts once her connection was known. Eric wondered what Niall had bargained Sookie for. He had no doubt Niall had extracted some form of bride price from de Castro, and Eric had better find out what it was sooner rather than later. It might not impact them directly, but then again, it might dictate their future.

Eric would have to do this on his own – Sookie would be crushed if she realized she had been sold into marriage by her great grandfather as part of a political maneuver, even if it would never affect them, and that is pretty much what was happening between Niall and Felipe. At some point he'd have to get Niall alone and find out what the real deal was, though it was entirely possible de Castro would tell him what he had paid so that Eric would feel beholden to him.

He should have known – nothing in the Supe world is ever what it seems. There are always multiple layers and agendas. He'd do everything he could to protect Sookie from knowing what was going on between Niall and Felipe as long as he could. At least being wed to Eric would protect her personally from Felipe. The only thing at issue should be domain over use of her talent. Niall was a clever old bastard. Not only had he managed to secure Sookie's future since she and Eric would marry anyway, he had found a way to sell it to de Castro as some sort of contract. Fae were tricky that way. You never wanted to turn your back on them.

Toward the end of the meal, Sookie excused herself to go to the ladies' room. When she left the table, Eric saw an opportunity and confronted Niall.

"What did de Castro pay, and what does he expect?"

"Do not worry, Sheriff, your position is safe, and she will never be touched by our negotiations."

"You didn't answer my question."

"We have reached a form of détente between the vampire and the Fae. You might call it a peace treaty. There are also some matters of commerce involved, but as I said, it will never touch you or your family … as long as you do your part."

"And how do you see my part?"

"Well, there's no hurry, of course, you'll have a decade or so to accomplish it, but I think I made it clear earlier that my granddaughter will be Queen."

"You expect me to overthrow de Castro?"

"No, I expect you to expel him from the Louisiana territories. There are those who are unhappy with his coup against Sophie Ann, who think he aspires to too much. I am putting you in position to oust him, and you will be regent at the end of the process."

"And if I don't want to be king?"

"I don't remember asking you what you wanted. You want my granddaughter – these are my terms. Do you accept?"

"Do I have an actual choice?"

"Not if you want a wife… and a son."

"Then I accept."

"I was sure you would. You're a good man, Northman, for a vampire. Welcome to the family."

Sookie came back to the table as Niall was standing up.

"Are you leaving?" She was disappointed.

"Yes, my dear, but I will see you in Las Vegas, and we have an evening at your new home to look forward to. You have my phone number – call whenever you want. I have your cell number and Northman's home and business numbers if I need to contact you. Make me proud, and be a good wife to this man and good mother to his fine son."

"I will, I'll do my very best."

"I know you will, child. Goodbye." He kissed her cheek, nodded to Eric, and walked out the front door… then he vanished.

Eric paid the bill and walked Sookie to the car. Sookie could feel something strange in the bond – a kind of determination mixed with a little anger. When they were both in the car he kissed her deeply for a long time. She could tell he was taking in the smell of fairy all over her. "When I get you home, I'm going to fuck you like you've never been fucked before."

Sookie didn't know what to say, but it sounded good to her. He didn't say much after that, and she still couldn't identify what she was feeling in the bond.

"Penny for your thoughts?"

"I was just thinking about something Niall said to me."

"He said something I was thinking about, too."

"What was that, my angel?" He smiled softly at her.

"He said I was regal – what did he mean by that?"

"I'm going to be honest with you, Sookie, because we are bonded and that is what bonded couples do…."

"OK…?"

"Your great grandfather just ordered me to make you Queen, and I agreed to do it."

"What?"

"You are going to be Queen of the Louisiana Territories."

"Does that mean…"

"Yes, my lover, that means I will be leading a revolution."

"Do we have a choice in this?"

"No, my angel, we do not."

"I don't know what to say about that."

"Say that you love me, and will be my queen if you must."

"I love you. I will always love you."

"And…?"

"I'll be your queen if that's what I have to do to have a family with you."

"Thank you, Sookie." He took her hand and kissed it.

"Eric?"

"Yes, my lover?"

"Are you scared?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"I told you, Sookie, I will pay any price to have you and my son with me. As it turns out, the price is to do something I had considered doing, anyway."

"You did?"

"The only thing… the only thing that stopped me was you."

"What do you mean?"

"I knew you would not want to be queen, and I wanted you, so I did nothing."

"And now?"

"If I want you and our son, I must seize power."

"And you're willing to do that?"

"Yes."

"What if you said no?"

"Do not think about that, my angel. It is done."

"The baby…."

"Yes."

"Eric, I am so sorry…"

"Do not be sorry, my angel. Life is full of choices and conflict. I have been offered my dreams. I have made my choice. You have made yours."

"Now what?"

"Now we live our lives, and I make a plan."

"Can I help?"

"I hoped you would, but I do not expect you to."

"Of course, I want to help you! It's my fault."

"It is not your fault, my lover – our destiny is what it is."

"Why are you so calm about this?"

"I saw it coming."

"You did?"

"I did not know how it would come about, but I knew it would happen sooner or later."

"When did you know?"

"When you told me about the baby, and I knew it was mine. I told you I saw him."

"Yes…"

"I saw him as king. The most logical way for him to become King is for me to make it happen."

"Do you still want to marry me?"

"Yes, my angel, more than anything," he said softly with a smile.

"Really?"

"Really."

"Why?"

"I've told you many times, Sookie. The only happiness for me is to be with you."

"Even if…?"

"Even if."

"How long do you have to do this?"

"A decade or so."

They didn't say much for the rest of the ride. When they got home, Eric carried her upstairs, put her down gently on the bed, and kissed her as hard as he ever had. Sookie was unbuttoning his shirt as he was pulling up her skirt.

She unbuckled his belt and opened his pants as he destroyed another black thong, and he was in her. Sookie had never seen him this wild without being either starved or high on fairy blood. She knew he was angry, and she decided to make sure he had all the release she could give him, so she was loud, knowing that it spurred him on when he heard her cry out.

She dug her nails into his back, she bit his shoulder, she begged him to fuck her – anything she could think of to get him to let it all out, and he did. It didn't take long for him to reach his first (but nowhere near his last) release of the night. He rolled off of her, and she sat up and pulled her dress over her head. He was lying sideways on the bed, on his back, and she pulled his boots and pants off of him.

He pushed himself more to the center of the bed and she climbed on top of him, taking him inside her, riding him as he rubbed her clit. She could feel him focus on her through the bond, and he began to run his hands all over her. He was exploring her so intently it was almost like he had never seen her before. She was grinding as hard as she could, and he sat up and wrapped his arms around her. She threw her arms around his neck, and they both concentrated on her moving up and down on him, and they were grunting in unison as she came down each time.

He was gripping her bottom cheeks, and she leaned back so he could take her nipple in his mouth. He drew hard and bit down, and she came and nearly fell backwards, but he caught her with one arm as he leaned forward and reached into the top drawer of his nightstand. She was focusing on holding onto him, so it was a minute before she realized he had pulled out a dagger. He leaned back, and she watched in horror and in hunger as he cut an artery in his throat. She latched onto the wound and drew as hard as she could, and he threw the knife on the floor. The wound stayed open long enough for her to drink more than she ever had at one time before, and the effect it had on her was similar to what fairy blood did to him.

"Unh, Eric, bite me, please, bite me!"

Before she knew what was happening, she was on her back under him, and he slammed into her several times before he pulled back and pushed her legs apart. He bit her leg hard, the artery spurting, and he sucked hard, which made her come again. Then he was back on top of her, speaking very fast, only half of it in English, but she did make out that he loved her and wanted to fuck her so hard it made her scream, and it occurred to her that he pretty much was, so she didn't try not to cry out, and punctuated his every stroke with a loud "Ah!" that drove him mad.

He took a few really deep strokes and finished, but immediately put her on her knees, and put her hands on the headboard and said, "hold on," as he took her from behind so hard that she was glad he hit the right entrance. She stretched her arms out, trying to arch her back as he held her hips and pumped her fast in a way he'd never done before, at vampire speed, and she screamed, not in pain but in… something… there were no words, she was just gone and so was he, and it went on for something that felt like hours to both of them.

She was losing the struggle to hold onto the head board, and at one point he pulled back on her legs so she fell on the pillows, grabbing at the edge of the mattress as he held her hips high and finally reached another release. She was trying to catch her breath as he reached for her nightstand, and she knew what was coming, so she tried to breathe and calm herself down so she could relax.

In a familiar move, he put a pillow under her hips, and she felt the cold gel followed by the pressure, and she panted and tried as hard as she could not to tense up. At least he had slowed down and was taking very deliberate but deep strokes. She was shaking, and she liked what she felt, but it wouldn't take much for her to pass out.

She could tell that part of what she was feeling was his intensity flooding the bond, and it was overwhelming.

He pushed in deep and stretched out over her body, half of his weight on her back, and half on his hands on each side of her. He kissed her shoulder, and she could tell he was shaking, as he kissed her ear and whispered, "Who do you belong to?"

"You, Eric, I belong to you."

He pulled back then went deep again.

"Say it again."

"I'm yours, Eric, I'll always be yours."

He did it again.

"You're never going to leave me."

"No, I'm never going to leave you."

He took another deep stroke.

"Do you love me, Sookie?"

"Yes, Eric, ah, ah, I love you."

He was starting to speed up again, and she knew he was close.

"Eric, oh, god, I love you Eric, I'm yours, I promise, forever." She was talking fast, trying to get him off, and it worked. He left out a loud growl and lowered the rest of his weight onto her.

She was still panting a little, and she could feel in the bond that he was concentrating on the feel of her under him.

"Eric…"

"Shhhh, Sookie. If you're not in pain, be quiet for a few minutes."

She was as quiet as she could be until he licked her shoulders.

He whispered, "There is no price too high to pay for you," and rolled off of her, then went into the bathroom to clean up.

She was feeling so many things her head was spinning – she was turned on, satisfied, horrified, exhausted, scared, in love, conflicted, angry … or was that him? She couldn't tell where she ended and he began, bond-wise.

She heard him starting the tub, and she was glad, because they needed the closeness they felt when they soaked and washed each other. He came back with a washcloth, and cleaned her, then put it back in the bathroom and came back for her. She started to get up but he scooped her up, tickling her, and she laughed as he settled her into the tub and climbed in behind her.

"That was intense," she said.

"Yes it was. Was it too much?"

"No, but… it was a lot."

"Yes. It was. Thank you."

"Why are you thanking me – I had fun, too."

"Fun?"

"Yes."

"You are not angry?"

"No, Eric- I like it when you fuck me."

"Most women…"

"Hey – I'm NOT most women, pal, I'm your bonded."

"Yes, you are."

"Alright then. Wash my hair."

"You know I love you?"

"I got that impression," she laughed.

He was laughing and nuzzling her ear, playing with her breasts, and tickling her. She leaned back into him and turned back a little so she could kiss him.

He wet her hair down and squirted a little strawberry shampoo in it.

When her hair was done, she did his, then they dried, went to bed, and both lay in the dark with their hands on the bump. Sookie smiled to herself, knowing he thought she was worth the trouble.

TBC


	35. Chapter 35

Disclaimer: The Southern Vampire Series, and all characters from it, is owned by Charlaine Harris. No infringement is intended.

___________________________________________________________________________________

"Good morning, Miss. Miss? Miss Sookie?" Alicia put the tray on the dresser and walked over to Sookie's side of the bed. She felt her face, which was warm, but not too warm, so she was pretty sure she was just sleeping heavily. She patted Sookie's cheek and called her name again, and Sookie began to stir.

"Sookie, can you hear me?"

"What?" she began to respond, but was obviously groggy.

"Do you feel alright, dear?"

"Yeah, I'm just really tired."

"Do you think you can eat a little bit?"

"I guess…" Sookie tried to sit up, and Alicia helped her a little bit.  
"You were sleeping very soundly. You had me a bit worried."

"I'm OK, I think, just…*yawn* really tired."

"Well, I've got two glasses of milk here, some orange juice, bagels, cream cheese and salmon again." She got Sookie settled with the tray.

"Oh, good! I didn't think I'd get that again so soon!"

"Mr. Northman said when you're not eating rare meat you're to eat fish."

"Good idea. The baby has some unusual nutritional needs."

"So I gather. How was your dinner last night?"

"It was pretty good. He sort of gave us his blessing – he has some high expectations for Eric, but I think he expected that."

"I'm sure he wants what's best for you."

"Yeah, I guess, I just hope what he thinks is best really is best."

Alicia gave her a sympathetic look.

"Do you trust his judgment?"

"I don't know – he's really old and his ideas are very old fashioned. Eric knows what he expects – he knew better than I did – but I just hope it all works out."

"Do you trust Mr. Northman to do what's best for you?"

"Yes – I know he'll always do the best he can for me."

"Concentrate on that – that's what really counts."

"Yeah, that's true." Sookie knew that the situation was more serious than Alicia could imagine, but she did trust Eric, and she was right – that was the main thing.

Alicia handed Sookie the note from the dresser and went to gather laundry, then went back downstairs while Sookie enthusiastically dug into her salmon and read Eric's note.

_My Angel –_

_I hope you had a good night and that you will relax as much as you can today. Remember that we are meeting your brother at Fangtasia so the tailor can work on our suits, so be ready to go with me when I get up._

_There is a Fed Ex delivery expected today. It is the travel plans for Las Vegas. You may open it if you want to see the itinerary, and I'll get them from you this evening. _

_Never forget, Sookie - I love you, and you and our son will always come first for me._

_Eric_

She knew he was trying to reassure her so she wouldn't be scared. She felt comfort in the bond and knew the baby was sending it to her.

"Thank you, Baby E."

Love.

"Daddy will take care of it, right?"

Happy. Love. Comfort. Trust.

The baby had no doubt that his daddy could handle things, so she'd try to have faith, too. For all she knew, since it was about magick and destiny and all that, the baby might know more than she did. She got happy vibes from Baby E when she drank the milk and ate the salmon, too, but he didn't seem crazy about the orange juice. Interesting.

She began to realize that she had a craving - a really strong one - for True Blood. Did she dare drink blood in front of the maids? She felt the baby move, and realized he was telling her he wanted a blood. She couldn't decide if it was a good idea or not. She was torn between being afraid the maids would freak out and wanting that blood badly. She could feel WANT coming from the baby now. He wasn't going to let up – he was a baby, and he needed what he needed.

Bobbie would sneak her one, but she wasn't due until 4 and it was only 2:30.

WANT. Baby E wasn't in the mood to wait.

OK, this was not an option – she had to have it. She decided her best bet was to act like it was the most natural thing in the world. His daddy was a vampire, so she needed to drink it for the baby. Act like it's no big deal, Sookie, and get the baby what he needs.

She decided to put her bathing suit on and go down to the pool. On her way out, she'd just pop into the fridge and grab a blood. It's possible the maids wouldn't even notice. If they did, Eric was a vamp and the baby needed it. Simple, straightforward, logical, right? Please, Freya, don't let them freak out.

Freya?!

When did Sookie Stackhouse start invoking Norse Goddesses? Then it hit her – Sookie Stackhouse wouldn't – Sookie Northman would. Sookie Northman's baby would be dedicated to Freya, and that's the logical source to seek help for him from.

Sookie looked around and noticed her laptop on the table between the side chairs. She went over and opened it, doing a search for Freya – she figured she better know whom she was talking to. The first link, Wikipedia, took her to a definition that said:

In the Eddas, Freya is portrayed as a goddess of love, beauty, and fertility. Blonde, blue-eyed, and beautiful, Freyja is described as the fairest of all goddesses,and people prayed to her for happiness in love. She was also called on to assist childbirths and prayed to for good seasons.

Freya was also associated with war, battle, death, magic, prophecy, and wealth.

Wow – if you were going to pick a Goddess for this situation, Freya was the one you'd want. All three of them; mama, daddy and baby, were blonde with blue eyes, beautiful (as far as she was concerned) and in love. She handled fertility and childbirth, plus war, battle, prophecy and wealth. That pretty much summed up the whole situation.

WANT.

Baby E reminded her what she was supposed to be doing.

"OK, Freya, my baby's hungry, so help me get him what he needs."

Sookie buzzed Alicia and told her she was going down to the pool. She put on her pink bikini and cover up, took her pool bag and headed downstairs. She walked through the living room toward the kitchen, trying to be quiet so maybe no one would notice her. Someone, Margaret she hoped, was working in the dining room. She made a bee line for the fridge, and no one seemed to be around, so she grabbed a blood, put it in her bag, and headed for the little bathroom off the den. She locked the door, twisted off the lid, and guzzled the blood as fast as she could.

Happy.

She put her hands on the bump. "Are you happy now, you little Viking?"

Love.

OK, that would hold him for awhile. She left the empty in the wastebasket and hoped they'd think Big Eric left it there. She headed out to the pool, feeling sneaky but relieved. If the baby started wanting blood more than once in the evening, they'd have to figure something out. She couldn't count on being able to pull this off every morning.

She set her iPod on the table playing "daddy's" playlist and grabbed an air mattress. She played around with it a bit, then got up on it and leaned back, enjoying the water, though at one point she felt a little sick and wasn't sure if it was her or the baby that was queasy. It went away, though, so she was able to stay and get some sun on her belly and legs.

After what she figured was about 45 minutes, she got out of the pool and settled herself face down – she could do that because there was in indent where the cushion on the chaise folded, and it made room for Baby E – and took off her bathing suit top so she could get some line free sun on her back, shoulders and backs of her legs. Sookie was usually careful to make her tan even and as line free as possible.

She fell asleep for awhile, and Bobbie woke her up.

"Sookie – are you asleep?"

"Bobbie, yeah, hi. Is it 4 already?"

"It sure is. Are you up to having a session?"

"Yeah – can you help me…" and she indicated the bathing suit top, which Bobbie fastened for her so she could get up. Sookie made the necessary adjustments in the top when she got up, noticing her breasts seemed really big today, and Bobbie waded into the pool with her, holding her arm because she wasn't sure Sookie was completely awake yet.

As they were exercising, Sookie looked around to see if any of the human maids were around, then she told Bobbie what happened with the True Blood. Bobbie said to make sure, whatever she did, that she got a blood when she felt that way, even if it meant freaking out the maids. The baby had to come first, and Sookie agreed. She suggested maybe Eric could get a little refrigerator for the bedroom, then Sookie could sneak them into the bathroom and leave the empties there. The maids would just assume they were Eric's, and Sookie wouldn't have to sneak into the kitchen to get them.

Sookie said she'd mention that to Eric, because she had a feeling she was going to need more than one blood a day. Bobbie asked if she'd had any cramps, and Sookie told her just a twinge here or there, but nothing severe. Bobbie thought that the severity of the cramps before was due to the fact that she wasn't drinking blood. Sookie told her she was told the baby would need blood and milk, so Bobbie told her to make sure she drank plenty of both right now.

One of the servants brought out the portable massage table, and Bobbie held up the sheet while Sookie slipped out of her bathing suit and got up on her side on the table. Sookie actually liked the feeling of being naked under the sheet outside, and even found herself wondering what it would be like to sunbathe in the nude – no tan lines! - but she doubted she'd ever have the nerve to do that.

Once the massage was over, Sookie walked Bobbie to the front door, and then stopped into Eric's office to call Jason and confirm that he knew he was supposed to come to Fangtasia tonight. He did, and said he'd be there around 8:00. Sookie went upstairs, where Alicia was putting away some of her clothes that had been cleaned. She told her she was going to jump in the shower, and Alicia asked her what she wanted to wear tonight. Sookie asked if the new sundress in shades of blue was ready to wear, and she and Alicia agreed that would be very pretty. Sookie said she wanted to wear heels with it, because Eric liked the way her legs looked in them, and she knew pretty soon they'd be out of the question.

Sookie got in the shower while Alicia got her clothing together, then Sookie let Alicia dry her hair and put a little makeup on her, though she needed very little because she had a little sun glow. Alicia told her she'd look fabulous in her wedding dress if she looked like that on Sunday, and Sookie told her she planned on making sure she got into the sun as much as possible between now and then.

Sookie put on the new sundress, and noticed for the first time that it was very similar to her red and white dress that Eric loved so much. She also noticed that she had beaucoup cleavage today – Eric would be thrilled – and the full skirt almost hid Baby E. Almost. Sookie thought there was only about an 80% chance she was getting into that wedding dress on Sunday, but she wasn't going to dwell on that now. She laid out an outfit for Eric and headed down to wait for him.

Sookie heard someone at the door as she was coming downstairs, and it turned out to be the Fed Ex delivery Eric had told her about. She took it into the kitchen table and opened it. It was a really fancy package, with all of their plane tickets for Anubis Airlines, several copies of an itinerary they could give to their guests, a program for the wedding, a sample of the invitations to the cocktail party and a guest list. There was a handwritten note from Felipe to Sookie – ew! – and a form from Sandy asking about Sookie's nutritional needs that was to be filled out and faxed back.

Sookie sat down and braced herself, and opened the letter from Felipe.

_My Dear Miss Stackhouse,_

_I wanted to say once again how delightful it will be to host your party for your nuptials. I have taken great pains to personally oversee that every detail is executed according to your wishes, and I want to assure you that your wedding will be everything you have ever dreamed of._

_We await your arrival most anxiously,_

_HRH Felipe de Castro_

Sookie debated whether she should show the note to Eric or not, but she realized that the bond required her to do so, even if he would want to decapitate Felipe after he saw it. Sookie noticed that it felt strange to see herself referred to as Miss Stackhouse, and she realized she had already made the mental shift into thinking of herself as Sookie Northman. She was surprised and pleased at that. It occurred to her that the wedding was just going to be a legal designation. She and Eric were already married, already a family, and her life was already a dream come true. Felipe was just hosting a couple of parties for them, so take that HRH Creepy Felipe.

She looked up and discovered she was being watched.

"Hi, sweetie!"

"Hello, dear one," he bent to kiss her. "You were deep in thought when I came in."

"Yeah, I was looking at the package from Las Vegas. Felipe wrote me a note."

"May I see it?"

"Of course." Sookie handed it to Eric, and she saw him raise an eyebrow as she felt the distinct feeling of wanting to kill someone flood into the bond. The baby felt it too, and moved, which caused Eric to look up and smile.

"My son agrees that he should not address my bonded in such familiar terms."

"Your bonded could definitely live without it. Your son has been pretty active today."

"Really?"

"Later…" Sookie whispered as Alicia and Margaret came into the room.

"Good evening, ladies."

"Mr. Northman. She had a good day today. She even got to play in the pool and lie in the sun a bit."

"I see that – she is glowing!" Eric bragged, then he went up to take his shower so they could head to Fangtasia, and Sookie ate a really rare steak while she waited.

In almost no time, Eric came back down carrying a blue purse and a suit bag.

"Did you forget this, my lover?"

"Oh – yes, thank you. I had a lot on my mind today."

"I'm sure. Are we ready to go? Bring the Las Vegas package, too."

"Yes, I'm done eating."

They said goodnight to Alicia and Margaret, who would be leaving soon, too, and headed for the Corvette. Once in the car, Sookie turned to Eric.

"So guess who made me sneak a bottle of blood out of the fridge this afternoon?"

"Who – the baby?!"

"Yep, Baby E wanted a True Blood at 2:30, and he wouldn't take no for an answer."

"What did you do?"

"I sneaked it out of the fridge when no one was looking and drank it in the bathroom off the den."

Eric laughed out loud.

"Go ahead and laugh, but he's wanting more than one blood a day, and I don't know how we're going to take care of that without Alicia and Margaret knowing I'm drinking blood."

"Do you think this will be a daily thing?"

"Yes, I do, because I can feel him getting ready to start now wanting another one."

"Any ideas?"

"Bobbie suggested you put a small fridge in the bedroom and stock it with blood so I can sneak them into the bathroom where the maids won't see."

Eric nodded.

"That's a good idea. They'll think I'm drinking them at night. I'll tell Burnham to purchase one and have it delivered tomorrow. We'll fill it with Type B's for you, and you'll only have to worry about getting around Alicia."

"Thank you. I'm sorry to be a pain, but…"

"Feeding my son is no pain, my angel. I told you he would have a large appetite."

"Well, I think you were right, because I can't believe how much I'm eating for breakfast every day."

"I'm afraid we need to be more careful to see you eat at night, though."

"Yeah, that third meal gets skipped a lot. We could put some of those supplement drinks in the fridge, too. Baby E likes them."

"He likes them?"

"Yeah, I don't know how he knows what they are, but he got major happy when I drank a chocolate one."

"Is it possible he can taste what you eat?"

"I don't know. I don't know that much about human babies, let alone Fae babies. It could be magick or motherhood, or … whatever, but he definitely reacts to what I eat. He doesn't like orange juice."

Eric looked at her, then back at the road, then at her again.

"Orange juice?"

"Orange juice. He's not crazy about it, and I think he gets a little sea sick on the air mattress when I float in the pool."

Eric laughed out loud again.

"What are you laughing at?"

"My son is very precocious. He is already making demands. He knows what he wants, and he knows how to get it."

"Yeah, he's quite the little Viking already. He even had me calling on Freya for help today."

"Freya?"

"Yeah, I was praying for help to figure out how to get him a blood today, and I caught myself talking to Freya. I had to look her up on the computer."

Eric laughed with sheer delight.

"My lover, you called on the right Goddess…"

"Yeah, so I found out – blondes, babies, beauty, magick, war. She's got us all covered."

Eric roared with laughter.

"I'll turn you into a Swede yet, Sookie!" he laughed.

"I think you already have – Sookie Northman, Freya-worshiper," she said, only half-joking, as they turned into the parking lot at Fangtasia.

Eric helped her out of the car with a huge smile on his face, and they went into the back of the bar, he with his suit bag and she with the travel package.

"Master, Sookie," Pam nodded at them.

"Pam," Eric nodded.

"Hi, Pam."

"Pam, you will never guess what my son did!" Eric bragged.

"Your son?"

"Yes, my son made his mother sneak a bottle of blood out of the refrigerator today and drink it in the bathroom where the maids wouldn't see."

"He demanded blood?"

"And would not take no for an answer. He harassed Sookie until she did as he wanted." He was laughing with delight again.

"Demanding blood and pestering Sookie – sounds like your son alright," Pam deadpanned. Sookie was just shaking her head, and went to sit on the couch in Eric's office. Eric was hanging the suit bag up and called Pam.

"Yes, Master?"

"We are expecting Sookie's brother at 8:00. Please bring him back to my office when he arrives."

"Yum. Yes, Master," Pam said as she winked at Sookie, who laughed at her.

Eric was beaming with pride.

'He's quite the Alpha Male at the moment,' Sookie thought, 'enjoying the fact that his son is going to be a warrior-pain in the ass just like he is.'

"You're getting pleased with yourself again, Northman."

"My lover, my son is very exceptional to make himself known so early in his development. Any father would crow about such a child! It is my right as his father."

"Yes, I suppose it is." She just laughed and enjoyed that sexy smirk he was wearing that made her want to slap him, then fuck his brains out.

There was a knock on the door and the tailor came in, stating that he had a rack of clothing he needed help with. Eric sent two of the bar men out with him to bring in his things, and Eric suggested Sookie sit at his desk so the men could use the larger space for their fittings. By the time they had everything set up, Jason was following Pam down the hall, enjoying the view from behind her. This was going to be a good weekend.

"Master, he is here," Pam said, then turned to Jason, and in her sexiest voice said, "Go right in, I'll see you in a bit," as she ran her fingernail under his chin. Jason watched as Pam wiggled back down the hall.

"Pick your tongue up off the floor, Jason," Sookie laughed.

"Huh? Oh, hey Sookie."

"Stackhouse." Eric nodded.

"Oh, hey."

"This is my tailor, Eddie Faulkner. Mr. Faulkner, this is my fiancé Sookie, and her brother, Jason Stackhouse."

"Fiance! You gettin' married, Mr. Northman?"

"Yes, Eddie that's the reason for this visit. Stackhouse and I need suits for two events this weekend – you can squeeze us in on short notice, I hope?"

"Oh, sure, Mr. Northman, anything for a good customer like you."

"That's good."

"Mr. Stackhouse, do you know your size?"

Jason told him, and he looked at the selection of suits on the rack he brought. He found two that he liked, plus found one of the tuxes that might work, and Eddie sent him across the hall to the bathroom to change.

Eric changed into the tux he had in the suit bag so Eddie could see if it needed any alterations. Sookie swallowed hard when she saw Eric in the tux, and he smiled at her, knowing through the bond that she was feeling aroused. He wiggled his eyebrows at her and her little friend woke up, and so did Baby E.

"Eric, any chance I could get a cold blood now?"

"Press that button there, my angel, and tell them what you want."

Sookie was a little unsure about this, but she pushed the button and got an answer.

"Yes, Master."

"Uh, this is Sookie, I'd like a cold bottle of True Blood Type B, please."

"Right away, Mistress."

Eric smiled at her.

"Was that OK?" she said apologetically.

"Yes, my angel, that was fine," Eric said softly.

Eddie, who was checking the fit of Eric's suit, smiled at how sweet she seemed and how this big scary man seemed to dote on her. Even a big old vampire had feelings – who knew?

There was almost instantly a knock at the door, and her blood was set in front of her, and she said, "Thank you," as Eric just shook his head.

"You don't have to thank them, Sookie."

"Yes, Eric, I do – my Gran would roll in her grave if I didn't thank someone for serving me!"

"As you wish, my lover, but they won't think any less of you if you do not."

"But I will…"

Jason came in then in the first suit, looking rather dapper, though the sleeves were too long and the pants un-hemmed.

"Jason, that looks nice on you," Sookie said, and Eric nodded his approval. Eddie was done – Eric's tux was in perfect condition, so he was ready to try another suit and began to undress – so Eddie began to take measurements and make chalk marks on Jason's suit.

"This would be for the cocktail party, right?" Sookie asked.

Eddie looked at Eric and Eric said, "Yes, this is for the cocktail party. Jason and I will be wearing white tie and tails for the wedding."

"Wow – you will?" Sookie said.

"Yes – that's what I've decided would look best next to your lovely dress." Eric smiled at her in that way that made her melt.

THROB. 'I can't wait to get him home,' Sookie thought.

"Oh, OK."

Jason just shrugged – he was taking all of his cues from Eric tonight since he seemed to know what he wanted. Jason had never had a suit that wasn't off the rack.

Eddie was done with Jason and handed him a tux he thought would fit him and sent him back to change. Eddie was pretty fast, and you could tell he knew what he was doing. Now Eric was in the white tie kind of tux, and Sookie had to remind herself to breathe because he was _beautiful _in it.

Eric smiled knowingly at her, "What do you think, Sookie, do you like it?"

"Oh, yeah…" Sookie said, a little more suggestively than she meant to, and she flushed while Eric laughed and Eddie smiled. Eddie stuck his thumb out to point at Sookie and he said, "She's a sweetheart, Mr. Northman," with an affectionate smile.

"Thank you, Eddie. I think so, too. I'm very proud of her. I can't wait to see her in her wedding gown."

"You know you don't see that until the actual wedding, right Mr. Northman?"

"I'm sorry?" Eric was confused.

"It's bad luck to see the bride in the dress before the wedding."

"Really?" he looked at Sookie.

"Uh-huh – I'll get dressed in a different room that night, and you won't see me until Jason walks me down the aisle."

"Alright, then, if that's the way it is done…"

"It is," Sookie and Eddie said at the same time and they laughed.

Eric was beaming at Sookie. 'She looks so pretty in that little dress, and look at that cleavage,' he was thinking. 'I cannot wait to get her home and get her out of it.'

Eric's suit needed very little alteration, so once Eddie had the pants and the cuffs marked he was done, and Eric put his normal clothes back on. Jason came back needing a little help figuring out how to put the suit on. Eric said, "Allow me," and he showed Jason how the pieces fit together. Sookie smiled at seeing the two of them with their heads together, being nice to each other. It was going to be a good weekend.

"Eddie, can you have these ready by Thursday night? We leave on Friday."

"Yes, Mr. Northman, you want me to bring them at the same time I showed up tonight?"

"Yes, exactly. Stackhouse, you'll need to be here to do a final try-on, would you like to spend the night at our house, and you can leave from there with Sookie and the other two on Friday?"

Sookie was shocked. They were going to have their first guest!

"Uh, yeah, is that OK?"

"Yes, I think it would be much better if you all traveled together that day. The car service is expecting all of you, and I'll be making the same offer to the others in our party."

"Who all is going?" Jason asked.

Eric said, "The three of us, of course, Pam, Amelia, and Bobbie James. Amelia lives In your old house."

"Right."

"Bobbie James is Sookie's masseuse, and of course you know Pam."

"Sookie has a masseuse?"

"Yes, to care for her during the pregnancy."

Eddie was surprised, "You havin' a baby, Mr. Northman?"

"Yes, Eddie, I'm going to have a son!"

"That's wonderful, sir. When's the blessed event?"

Eric looked confused, so Sookie chimed in, "He's due in early August."

"Congratulations to both of you. Isn't that wonderful – ain't it amazin' how they can tell the sex of the baby so soon?"

"Yes, it is amazing," Eric agreed, knowing he had no idea HOW they happened to know the baby's gender. "I'm very excited to be a father."

Sookie beamed at him, and Jason gave Sookie an approving nod. He liked hearing Eric brag about the baby – he was taking good care of his sister and his nephew already, and that made Jason feel better about the whole thing. He was going to like getting a look at where Sookie was living, too, so he knew where she was.

Jason went and took off his suit, and Eddie packed up his stuff. Eric had the same two employees help Eddie get stuff out to his van, and Eric wrote Eddie a check for the amount of the bill.

"You all need me for anything else?" Jason asked.

"Stackhouse, let me buy you a drink before you leave. I'm sure you'd like to visit with Sookie for a few minutes."

"Yeah, ok, that sounds cool."

"Come, let us go out to my table." Eric was in his Lord of the Manor role, showing how gracious he could be. Sookie loved it when he took command that way. Eric offered Sookie his arm, and Jason followed them down the hall. Once they were seated in Eric's booth, Pam came over and joined them, sliding into the booth very close to Jason as drinks for the four of them were delivered without being ordered.

"Pam, you've met Jason of course," Eric started.

"Yes," she purred, "I hear we've got a date this weekend."

"Works for me if it works for you," Jason said, flashing the smile that made most women melt and putting his arm around her. "Hey, they're playing a slow song – would you like to dance?"

"Yes, I would." Pam was still purring, and Sookie knew poor Jason had no idea what he was in for, though she was pretty sure he would enjoy it. She and Eric snuggled a bit, but she kept an eye on them on the dance floor, so she giggled when she saw Pam's hand slide down onto Jason's ass and squeeze, and she saw his eyes light up. She could feel through the bond that Eric was conflicted about it, so she slid her hand into Eric's lap and squeezed just a little, which immediately focused his attention back on her.

"Trying to distract me lover…"

"Trying and succeeding…"

"Yes, you are. Would you like to go back to my office?"

"Either that or home to our big soft bed."

"Mmmmmm," now he was purring, nibbling her ear. "Do we dare leave your brother alone with Pam – what if she scares him so badly he won't go to Las Vegas?"

"Good point, but it might be moot – they just left."

Eric turned around and saw that Pam and Jason were gone. He guzzled the rest of the blood he was drinking and pulled Sookie out of the booth. She grabbed her blood and tried to keep up with him as he headed down the hall to his office. The door down to the love nest was open. Pam had Jason downstairs. Eric didn't know what to do or say, and Sookie was giggling. He paced back and forth a little, then they heard Jason moaning and Pam giggling. Eric grabbed a piece of paper, wrote a note on it, grabbed his garment bag, handed Sookie the travel papers and her purse, and got the hell out of there.

He put Sookie in the car and put his garment bag in the trunk, slamming it harder than necessary. Sookie was trying not to laugh out loud. Eric got into the driver's seat, and they peeled out of the parking lot like nothing Sookie had seen outside of a stock car race.

"Eric."

"Yes."

"Baby on board."

He nodded and slowed down a bit.

"Eric?"

"Yes."

"You know how you can feel when I'm turned on because I have your blood in me?"

"Yes."

"Does that work with Pam?"

"Yes."

"So every time she has sex…"

"Yes."

"Does she have sex a lot?"

"Yes."

"So are you like, used to it or to ignoring it, or…"

"I normally enjoy that she is enjoying herself."

"But not right now?"

He didn't answer, so Sookie slipped her hand over and rubbed his crotch. He looked at her like he'd never seen her before. He couldn't believe what she was doing. She unzipped his pants and took him in her hand, stroking him slowly.

"Will you be able to drive without getting us into a wreck?"

"Yes."

Before he knew what was happening, Sookie's head was in his lap, and he was trying to stay on the road. He couldn't believe that Sookie was giving him head as he was driving down the highway. Thank the gods that they lived nearby, because by the time they pulled into the garage, Eric was literally ready to explode, and as soon as they stopped, while the garage door was going down, he did, with a howl.

Sookie was giggling and licking at the same time, and Eric reclined his seat because she wasn't stopping. In no time at all he was hard again, and she was using her tongue and her teeth in ways she never had before, and she had his balls in her hot little hand. He was nearly wild, and she could feel it in the bond. She knew he was going to be amazing once she got him upstairs, and it didn't take long before he reached his second release. She sat up, and suddenly he was at her door, pulling her out of the car, and he laid her on the hood, which was warm, but she was relieved it wasn't enough to burn. He pushed her skirt up and destroyed another thong, then he fucked her with great relish just the way he wanted to the night he took her to the orgy.

"See what you missed that night at the orgy?" he whispered in her ear and they both laughed.

"If I had known it would be this good, I would have 'yielded' years ago."

"I did try to tell you, my lover," he laughed as he pushed her knees back and went down on her like he meant business.

She was writhing, clutching his hair, screaming his name, and he wasn't stopping or letting her get away. She had one earth-shattering orgasm, and he kept pushing her until she had a second. Then she was in his arms as they flew upstairs and he set her down, pushed her on the bed, and turned her over as he pulled up the back of her skirt.

He pulled her hips up and did her sort-of doggie style, which she realized was one of her favorite positions now, because she could put all her attention on her center as it was up in the air and her head was down. She arched her back the way she knew he loved, and he was grunting every time he slammed into her, every stroke making her yell out. He finally roared and collapsed to the side of her, finally letting her breathe.

She laughed in a shaky way, which made him laugh a little, and when she could get up, she pulled off her dress and crawled over to her side of the bed. She pulled the covers down as best she could and tried to crawl in, but he looped an arm around her leg, pulled her back and bit her bottom cheek. She shrieked and laughed, and he helped her turn down the bed. They lay smiling at each other and whispering for awhile, then Sookie started to fall asleep and Eric let her. He took out his camera and got a few shots of her new curves, then put it away and went to his office to work. At dawn, he kissed her, covered her up and left her note on the dresser.

TBC


	36. Chapter 36

Disclaimer: The Southern Vampire Series, and all characters from it, is owned by Charlaine Harris. No infringement is intended.

___________________________________________________________________________________

Sookie stretched and yawned. She put her hands on her belly and said good morning to Baby E, and he sent love back to her. She spent awhile exchanging feelings with him, and she realized she was starting to feel like she knew who he was already.

"Good morning, Miss."

"Hi, Alicia – I was just talking to Baby E," she laughed as she sat up.

"Does he talk back yet?" Alicia joked.

"Not yet, but I know he hears me. Sometimes when Eric speaks to him he moves."

"You're kidding?" She put Sookie's tray across her lap – rare steak, eggs, potatoes and toast. Yum!

"No, I really think he recognizes Eric's voice, and Eric is SO proud…"

"I can imagine. He's going to be a good father if the way he takes care of you is any indication."

"I just hope the baby likes swords."

"Someone mentioned that Mr. Northman has a collection of swords in the gym…"

"Oh, yes, and he's good with all of them. He has studied with sword masters all over the world."

"Really?"

"Uh-huh, he loves his swords. He'll have this kid swinging a tiny sword as soon as he can stand up."

"That's actually very sweet."

"Yeah, it is. If anyone had ever told me two years ago that big, bad Eric Northman would get gooey over a baby, I would have thought they were crazy. He's already bragging about him to the people that work for him! 'MY SON this and MY SON that.' They'll be sick of this baby before he's even born!"

Alicia laughed and handed Sookie the note from the dresser.

"Wait until he has pictures to show, or better yet, when he can take him in and show him off."

"Oh, man, he's going to be out of hand!" Sookie laughed as she opened Eric's note.

_My Angel,_

_I left a message for Mr. Burnham about the refrigerator – when it arrives, have them take it straight up to the room, and tell them you want it stocked with blood and supplements. If anyone asks, say it is for us when we get home from the club at night. _

_Remember we need to go to Fangtasia tonight, so please be ready when I awake. _

_Please talk to your Witch and your masseuse today about coming to Fangtasia Thursday night and spending the night with us so we can all leave together on Friday. Their vehicles and your brother's will be safe in the extra garage behind our house. _

_Tell the Staff that there will be two travel boxes delivered tomorrow for Pam and myself, which should be set up in the living room so they can be loaded on the van easily on Friday. The Anubis car service will be here for us all at 10 am Friday. Also, have the staff prepare the guest rooms on the second floor for company, including stocking some beer and breakfast items in your pink kitchen. There are three rooms, so you may want to put Pam and Jason in the same room, and there are separate rooms for the other two women. You could use the guest room on the fourth floor if you wanted to, but I don't think it is necessary – I leave that to you._

_There is a small cooler bag in the bottom drawer of your nightstand with 2 bottles of True Blood. Feed my son well today. _

_I love you both, Sookie._

_Eric_

'OK,' Sookie thought, 'that's a lot.'

Alicia came out of the bathroom with the laundry.

"Alicia – what do I have on the schedule today?"

"The seamstress will be here at three o'clock, and you'll have the final check on the fit of the dress, then Miss James will be here for your session at 4 o'clock."

"OK, if I have instructions for the staff, who do I talk to?"

"You can tell me or Margaret, either one, though technically it's my job to relay the message to Margaret."

"OK, so I can tell you…"

"Yes, Miss."

"OK, I need the 2nd floor prepared for company Thursday night. We'll need three rooms ready for guests and some beer, some blood and breakfast items in the pink kitchen, just in case they want something in the night, though we'll probably all have breakfast downstairs before we leave at 10 am on Friday.

I guess I'll need Margaret here to do breakfast for us on Friday morning.

There will be two travel boxes delivered tomorrow for the trip that should be set up in the living room.

There will probably be a small refrigerator delivered today that should be brought up here and set up here in the bedroom, then filled with bottled blood in Type B and several of those supplement drinks for when I forget to eat.

And do I have time to make a phone call before I take my shower?"

"Of course, Miss. I'll relay your instructions immediately so the staff can get busy. Here's the phone…"

"Thanks."

"I'll be back in a bit for your dishes. When you're done with your call, it will probably be best for you to start your shower, and I'll get your robe and clothes ready."

"Thank you so much, Alicia – I'm sorry it's so much…"

"Not at all, Miss – it's part of your wedding plans. I think these will be the first guests to ever use the second floor!"

"I'm pretty sure that's true. I hope Margaret doesn't mind…"

"Margaret will be thrilled to have so much to do, and so will the other servants."

"OK, cool, thanks."

Sookie called Amelia, who was excited to have a chance to check out Sookie's new house, then she jumped in the shower. She drank one of the bottles of blood Eric had hidden, which was hard because it wasn't really cold anymore, but she did it and left the empty in her bathroom wastebasket. By the time Sookie was dressed in her corset and robe and heading downstairs, the house was abuzz with activity. Rooms were being aired out, linens being changed, sweepers run and the whole house dusted. Even light fixtures were taken down and cleaned. Alicia told her the lawn would be done tomorrow, and she would help Sookie pack for her and Eric.

The meeting with the seamstress was quick, and the dress fit comfortably, though Sookie was still a little worried about whether it would still fit on Sunday. Alicia carefully packed it in a garment bag and carried it upstairs to an empty room on the third floor that was used for storage, because that's where she was setting up their luggage for packing.

Her session with Bobbie was nice, and they got a lot of exercises done because Sookie was feeling really strong. Sookie was getting so comfortable being on the table with no clothes on that she let Bobbie work on her with just a little cover over her hips and her top undone, so she could enjoy the sunshine while Bobbie worked. Bobbie was pleased to hear she'd had no more cramps and was convinced that it was because Sookie was drinking the True Bloods now.

Sookie began to realize that this baby was definitely going to be a blood drinker as he grew, and she wondered how that would work – would True Blood be enough after he was weaned, or were they going to have to get human blood for him? Would rare meat be enough? Would he need to feed from her as Eric did? Would he get high from Fairy blood the way Eric did?

She wondered when his teeth and his fangs would come in and how it would feel when she nursed him. Eric was probably right – his son was going to have a healthy appetite, and she hoped her little body could produce enough milk and blood for him. She also wondered how much bigger her breasts would get because they felt huge today. Did size have anything to do with how much milk they produced? Maybe she should get Eric to direct her to some of the websites he had been reading about pregnancy, though some of these issues about blood would be learn as you go situations.

"Bobbie?"

"Hm?"

"Are there any vitamins or anything I can take to help with production of milk and blood?"

"Getting worried about producing enough for the baby?"

"Yeah – what if I can't?"

"I know it's natural to worry about things like that when you're pregnant, but let's take it one day at a time. It would probably be a good idea to take Vitamin B supplements and Vitamin D, but you should check with Dr. Ludwig first, just in case. I don't see any indication right now that you won't be perfectly capable of feeding the baby, especially if you keep drinking True Blood while you are nursing him."

"Have you ever seen a fairy baby?"

"Not that I know of – the fairies I know are gay men."

"Really? You don't know Claude, do you?"

"I have a friend named Claude who is a fairy – he told me about this job."

Suddenly, it all made sense to Sookie.

"He's my cousin, Bobbie."

"Claude? Big, gorgeous, male model type, poses for romance novel covers?"

"That's him. Have you ever seen the pictures he took for that?"

"I saw some he had taken with a blonde… wait a minute…"

"Yep – I'm the blonde. I helped him out because he needed a partner for the photo shoot."

"Holy shit – no wonder you seemed so familiar to me when I met you – I had seen pictures of you. You even look a little bit like Claude."

"I do?"

"Yep, you have similar eyes and those perfect little noses."

Sookie laughed, "Thanks."

"So does that mean you're part fairy?"

"A little bit, yeah, but I don't know much about the Fae. I haven't known for very long."

"Oh – I guess that explains the fairy magick that made this baby possible…"

"Exactly."

"Did you plan this?"

"No, a relative wanted to give me a gift," Sookie laughed.

"Wow, that's some gift."

"Yep. I'm thrilled about it now, but it was quite a shock, especially for Eric."

"I can imagine!"

"Once he was assured that he was the father, though, he was thrilled right from the start."

"That's great – it's so much better when the father is involved, and he seems to be very attentive and taking great care of you."

"Yeah, he's been great. I never would have believed it, but he's going to be a great daddy."

"He's got a reputation as quite a bad ass in the vamp community."

"He IS a bad ass – that's why I'm so surprised that he's so good to me and so good about the baby. You never want to cross Eric Northman in business or vamp politics, but mention his son and he goes gooey inside."

"Sometimes, the bigger and badder they are, the nicer they are on the inside."

"Yeah, that seems to be the case with him. He can be very romantic and sweet, and he's already bragging about the baby."

Bobbie laughed and Sookie felt better about the whole thing. She had no doubt in her mind that Niall told Claude to send Bobbie to her. He was making sure she and the baby were taken care of. Between Niall and Eric, she was sure this baby would more than safe and healthy. She was a lucky girl to have such powerful people looking out for her. This was going to be a very lucky baby, too.

The session with Bobbie went a little longer than usual, so Sookie had to get straight into the shower and dressed in the little black flowered sundress she had worn a week or two ago and a new black thong. She noticed that the new little fridge, that was about twice as big as the ones she had seen before, was sitting between the headboard and the window, and was glad to see it was already stocked.

She checked herself in the mirror, sending love to Baby E and getting it right back.

'Damn – look at that cleavage. I hope they don't get too much bigger, though Eric would be happy if they did.'

She was eating another very rare steak when Eric got up, and he was pleased to see that the house was getting in shape for their company. Margaret gave him a blood, and he sat at the table with Sookie.

"You look very beautiful tonight, my lover."

"Thanks – you look pretty good yourself."

"I'll look better after I've had a shower."

"I'll take you any way I can get you," she teased, and he leaned over to kiss her.

She drank a big glass of milk and Baby E was happy, making Eric look up and smile because he felt it, too. Eric was looking through some mail, but Sookie could feel him sending love and pride through the bond to the baby, and the baby moved, which made them both laugh. He got up, bent down to kiss Sookie on the head and hug her as he put his hand on the bump, and the feelings of love bounced between the three of them. Eric put his mail back in his office and then went up to shower.

He hated taking a shower without Sookie so he did it quickly. She had put his clothes out for him again, including the silk boxers she liked so much. He smiled as he put them on, thinking about the minute later tonight when she'd slide them off of him again.

Mmmm – he couldn't wait to be naked and holding her against him, under him. He closed his eyes and thought about how sweet she looked and smelled. And that cleavage! He was loving what the pregnancy was doing to Sookie's body. Everything about her was blossoming and she had that wonderful glow from being out in the sun.

He would insist that she sit on the stage with him tonight – she was too beautiful not to be seen. He wanted everyone to see how glorious she was. He would display her for a while, then he would take her below the club and enjoy those abundant breasts and those round hips. He had every intention of hearing her scream tonight as she writhed beneath him.

They'd have company tomorrow night and be in Las Vegas for a week. He hoped they'd be able to have sex while they were there, but he knew it might not be possible or convenient, so he was going to get his fill of her tonight. She had no idea what she was in for, he smiled to himself, as his fangs ran down and his mouth watered at the thought of her sweet blood in his mouth and the feel of her soft, hot flesh in his hands.

Suddenly he had a strange sense of… approval. He looked into the bond, and found his son all but cheering him on. The little warrior approved of his father's plans to enjoy his mother – what a little Viking he was! What a son he would be, already demanding what he wanted and showing his love of conquest and lust and blood.

'Just like his father,' Eric thought to himself. 'He will have the same love of soft women and warm blood that I do.'

When Eric returned to the kitchen, Sookie gave him the strangest look. They said goodnight to the maids and headed for the Corvette.

"OK, so what were you thinking about upstairs?" Sookie asked suspiciously.

"What do you mean, my angel?" Eric asked innocently.

Sookie wasn't buying it.

"Whatever you were thinking, the baby apparently approves wholeheartedly."

"He is a very smart baby, and very like his father."

"And you're not going to tell me what it is that he approves OF?" Sookie was definitely suspicious now.

"I was merely thinking that tonight might be our last night alone for a while."

"Uh-huh… AND?"

"I thought we should… enjoy each other as much as we are able tonight."

Sookie was shocked.

"Are you telling me that you were thinking about… "

"Yes."

"And he…?"

"Like the little Viking that he is," Eric laughed.

"That's indecent!"

"No, it's not – it's healthy for him."

"To know that we're…."

"My lover, in the past, people did not have large houses with private rooms. It was not unusual for a child to know what his parents were doing at night. It was often done in the very same room as…."

"Shut up."

"What?"

"Shut up. I can't think about this. If I think about it, I won't be able to have sex with you until the baby is born, and if I don't have sex with you I will explode."

Eric was cracking up.

"It's not funny, Eric!"

"Yes, my lover, it is. Should he not know that his parents are in love?"

"Of course he should, but…"

"Should he not be proud of his father?"

"For THAT?!"

"Of course for that, among other things. He should look up to his father and want to be just like him… like me. He will love women and love sex as I do."

"In the womb?!"

"My lover, people have been having sex while the woman was pregnant forever…"

"With a blood bond?"

"Well, blood bonds only happen with humans and vampires, and vampires do not reproduce."

"So this could literally be the first time a child has been… grown… while the parents were bonded?"

"Theoretically, yes, but I'm sure it must have happened at some point before."

"What if it warps him?"

"Warps him? Are you ashamed of what we do together?"

"No, but …"

"Do you think that what we do is sick?"

"No, but…"

"Sookie, let's be logical about this. Is going without sex from now until August a possibility?"

"No, I'll die!"

"You won't die, my angel, but you and I both know it is not going to happen. We cannot keep our hands off each other."

"Right…"

"So, trust that doing what comes naturally will be good for the baby. He should know that his parents love and enjoy each other – it will make him feel loved. He will know he is born out of that love. Remember how happy he was when I tickled you?"

"Yeah, but…"

"He enjoys it when we enjoy each other. That is healthy – that is good."

Sookie wasn't convinced, but he was right about one thing – going without sex was not a possibility. She was throbbing right now just being this close to Eric, and there was no way she'd get through the night, let alone the pregnancy, without jumping him.

'Ok, Sookie,' she told herself, 'trust Eric and trust the gods. Freya let me know what's best for my baby.'

"I'm doing it again…"

"What, my lover?"

"I'm praying to Freya."

"That is an excellent idea – ask for her guidance. She has an interest in this child, I'm sure of it."

"Maybe she does – I sure keep turning to her before I realize I'm doing it."

"Remember, my lover, what the doctor said about the baby."

"That he should be dedicated to Freya?"

"No, that he is a natural Witch."

"I don't even know what that means."

"It means he is an old soul, for one thing, and that his magick will be strong… is strong, probably, but it also means that she has a triple interest in him."

"Triple?"

"He will be a warrior, he will do magick, and he is an infant. Those are three areas in which Freya has an intense interest. Don't be afraid to call on her, Sookie. The gods are real and she will help you, I am sure of it."

They pulled into the back lot at Fangtasia, and Eric helped Sookie out of the car. They went in the back door, and into Eric's office. He had papers on his desk he needed to look at, so Sookie sat on the couch and waited for him.

"Eric?"

"Yes, my angel," he said without looking up.

"Can I get a cold blood?"

"Of course, dear one…" he rang the buzzer.

"Yes, Master?"

"Bring my bonded a cold True Blood, Type B immediately."

"Yes, Master."

"Thanks."

"Anytime. Come, my lover, and look at this…"

He handed her a nice piece of paper and she read it. It was an announcement of their reception at Fangtasia the Monday after they were to return from Las Vegas.

"Who's going to send this out?"

"They will go out the Monday after we are wed."

"Who's going to put the party together? You'll be gone all week."

"Pam has already got things in motion, and she'll continue the preparations when she returns from Las Vegas."

"Isn't that a lot of work for her?"

"She'll be well rewarded. I'm sending her to Hawaii, remember?"

"Oh, yeah. Can we go to Hawaii some day?"

"Of course, my lover, once you and the baby can fly."

"Maybe when he's big enough to play on the beach."

"I hope he can play in the sun with you."

"Even if he can't, we'll go to the beach at night and watch the moonlight on the water while he builds sand castles."

"That will be very nice, my angel."

"Yeah. This says attendance is mandatory for all who owe fealty."

"Yes."

"What about Bill?"

"He'll be excepted."

"I haven't told him I'm getting married, or that I'm having a baby."

"I told him."

"You did?!"

"Yes, my angel, I did. He wanted to know why I forbade him to come to Shreveport, so I called and explained the situation."

"You never told me."

"I was supposed to ask you to call him, but I didn't."

"Why not?"

"I did not want you upset. You were having those awful cramps."

"Did he expect me to call him back?"

"Yes, I believe he did."

"Would you be angry if I called him?"

"No, my lover, you may call him if you like. Would you like me to leave you alone so you can use my phone?"

"Would you mind?"

"Here, my angel, sit here and make your call. I will go see how things are going out front."

"Thank you, Eric." She hugged him as he moved past her, and he kissed her and stroked her cheek as he smiled softly at her.

Eric went out to the stage and sat In his chair. He checked his email and spoke to a few patrons who sought his approval, but his attention was focused on the bond. He knew Sookie was sad, so he sent her love and comfort.

"Hello?"

"Hi, Bill?"

"Yes. Sookie?"

"Yes, hi. I just found out you were expecting me to call."

"I figured Eric never gave you the message."

"He was worried about me. I was having a few problems…"

"Are you alright, Sookie?" Bill sounded very concerned.

"Yes, I just… he told you about the baby, right?"

"Yes, he did." She could hear the sadness in Bill's voice. "Are you happy, Sookie?"

"Yes, I am. I'm very happy."

"Well, then, I guess I'm happy for you. I know you always wanted to be a mother."

"You did?"

"Yes, I knew that was one of the reasons you hesitated to get involved with a vampire. The fates have blessed you anyway."

"It really is a blessing. The baby is a part of the bond I have with Eric. He's only a couple of months in the womb, but he can feel us and we can feel him."

"That must be very gratifying for you."

"It's amazing. Bill, I would have come to tell you in person, but the doctor…"

"Sookie, I am so sorry about attacking you in your yard. I thought at the time that it was a bad dream. It wasn't until I talked to Eric that I knew it was real. You know I would never hurt you."

"I know that. It was scary, but I knew you weren't in your right mind. I know you care about me."

"Sookie, if you ever need anything… anything at all, or if you decide you want to get away from Eric, I'll be here for you. No matter what happens, or who I'm with, you will always be first for me. I want you to know that I'll always be here for you."

Sookie was crying, but she tried to hold it together.

"Thank you, Bill, and I want you to know, I'll always care about you, and I'll be your friend."

"Yes, well, I am grateful for that much, I suppose. It's more than I deserve…"

"It's OK, Bill. It's all forgiven now."

"Alright, Sookie. You take care now."

"You, too. Bill. I'll talk to you soon."

"Goodbye."

"Goodbye."

'Pull it together, Sookie, Eric can feel that you're sad. You don't want to hurt him,' she told herself. She went to the mirror behind the couch and checked her makeup. Nothing a little dab at the corners of her eyes couldn't fix.

Comfort.

"Thanks, Baby E."

She got herself straightened up and went to find Eric.

She went into the main room and saw him sitting on the throne-like chair on the stage. He tried to pretend he wasn't watching for her, but she knew he was anxious and could feel her coming. She went up to him and sat on his lap, putting her arms around his neck, and damn all who were watching. He hugged her and kissed her deeply, and she knew the crowd was watching them but she didn't care.

"Sit out here with me, my angel. You are far too beautiful to hide in a corner tonight. I want everyone to see you looking so ripe and tasty." He smiled at her.

She laughed a little and relented, sitting in the chair next to his, facing the crowd, holding his hand. A waitress brought two bloods, one hot and one cold, to them without being asked. Eric whispered to her occasionally, telling her about different patrons or subjects that came in, and explaining who everyone was and what they did. After the first ten minutes, Sookie forgot that everyone was looking at them and just enjoyed being with Eric. At two points in the night Pam joined them on the stage, standing behind Eric and talking to them both.

"So Pam, how did last night go?" Sookie asked, trying not to laugh and hoping Eric wouldn't be angry.

"Oh, it was FINE …" she purred. "I just gave your BIG brother a little taste of what he can expect this weekend. He's looking forward to the trip."

"That's good."

Eric nodded but didn't say a word. Sookie could tell he was still a little conflicted about the whole thing, though not as badly as last night. She thought by the end of the weekend he'd be fine with the whole thing. She'd just do her best to keep his attention on her, and he'd be fine.

After about an hour a new resident of Shreveport came in to report to Eric as his new Sheriff. Eric introduced Sookie as his mate, and she loved it. She was only a little surprised when the newcomer kissed her hand and called her Mistress, and she said it was nice to meet him. Eric smiled to himself at how Sookie was so naturally charming. His very own Southern Belle, soon to be his Queen.

He darkened a little at what would have to transpire to make that happen, but he was determined not to let it bother him this week. He was going to enjoy his wedding, his new wife, and all of her many charms. Speaking of her charms, he couldn't keep his eyes off of her chest. It was so full, and the way it gently rose and fell with every breath was so enticing.

He could tell she was starting to fidget a little, and he thought they had been on display long enough. He stood up and scooped her up into his arms without a word and carried her back to his office, every eye in the room on them as he did. Sookie ignored the attention of the crowd and enjoyed the romance of the moment as best she could.

Eric swept Sookie downstairs, dropped her on the round bed, and zipped back up to lock the door. He was over her in a second, breathing in her scent, running his hand over her. Sookie didn't say anything – she just let him do what he wanted. He gently kissed her cheek, then her neck, and worked his way slowly down to her breasts. He gripped them with both hands and buried his face between them. Sookie knew this was coming – her newly enhanced breasts were going to be the center of his attention all night – because he couldn't keep his eyes off of them earlier.

He pulled the bottom of her dress up, and she shifted as he did to let him pull it up over her head. He was looking at her so intently she felt like he was fucking her with his eyes. She was lying under him wearing nothing but a black thong, which she was surprised had lasted as long as it had, and he ran his hand all over her again, feeling every curve and valley.

He crawled over her and whispered in her ear, "Magnificent," and he stretched her arms over her head. Sookie swallowed hard and stretched beneath him, and he reached above the bedframe for the restraints.

He looked her in the eye intently and raised his eyebrow. She nodded at him, and he locked her wrists in the restraints. He got up and changed the lights so that only a red light was glowing in the room, and she could barely see.

He was still looking at her intently as he took off his shirt., then his boots, pants and underwear. He had barely touched her yet, but she felt like her whole body was vibrating. He crawled over her again, starting at her feet and kissing his way up both legs, her belly, then he ran his tongue from her belly button up to her collar bone. He reached up to her arm and ran his hand down the underside of it to her waist. He straddled her hips and bent his head to her nipple, sucking slowly, gradually increasing the pressure until Sookie started to moan, and kept doing it until he could tell it was just beyond the point of pleasure. He did the same to the other one, taking it a little slower, making it a little longer, sucking even harder, and she cried out. He smiled at her as their eyes met.

He went back to the first nipple and nibbled gently, then harder. He nipped at it with his fangs, making her cry out. He let her breathe for a minute, then did the same on the other side. He went over the entire surface of both breasts, kissing, licking, nibbling, for a long, long time.

Then he started sucking on her nipples again, gradually getting rougher, and sucking harder, then biting hard and taking blood. Sookie didn't speak, but she cried out freely because she knew it was turning Eric on. By the time he drank from the second breast, the fairy blood was kicking in, and she could feel the wildness in him growing.

He was growling, trying to go slowly, and he backed down her body to take the edge off her thong in his mouth. Using his teeth, he pulled at each side of the thong, slowly pulling it off of her, then instantly his mouth was between her legs, lapping and nipping, pushing her knees back and apart, teasing her by licking her clit until she was close, then he'd nip at her and make her jump. He did that so many times she lost count. She was writhing and moaning and it was music to his ears.

He slipped two fingers into her as he licked her, working her a long time, making her squirm. Then a third finger, very slowly so she could feel the stretch, then all four. He was fighting not to go crazy from her blood, just trying to enjoy the high as he rolled his fingers into a fist and stretched her until she cried out. Sookie knew she could tell him to stop, but she didn't want him to. She wasn't completely sure what he was doing because of the dim red lighting, but she knew she was being filled in a way she had never felt before. She was letting out loud moans, and she felt a huge pressure building as he stretched and licked her.

"Ah! Ah!" she cried, over and over, and when he knew she was about to climax, he drove his fangs into her on either side of her clit, and she screamed, coming harder than anything she ever felt before.

"Oh, god! Oh, god! Ah!, Ah!, AHHH!!!!"

He sucked and licked her until she started to whimper, then he stretched up over her, bending her legs back, and slammed into her. He was taking her at vampire speed, and she was out of her head and covered with sweat.

"Oh, god, Oh Eric, yes, more, oh, oh, OH!"

He came with a howl, but he kept going, the fairy blood pushing him on.

He was taking slow, hard deliberate strokes, grunting each time he hit home, and she was yelling "Ah!" every time he did so they were almost singing in unison. Then he bit his wrist and pressed it to her lips.

He finally finished and collapsed to the side of her. She was panting, trying to catch her breath, trying to figure out what the hell just happened to her so she could ask him to do it again some time.

When he came down a little, he licked her all over her chest and ribcage, took a few more nips at her now very sensitive nipples, and released her wrists. He rubbed her arms and helped her sit up. He slipped her dress over her head, dressed very quickly, and carried her up the stairs, out of the club and into the car.

Sookie was stunned. Her mind was racing. Every time she thought he had taken her as far as there was to go, he came up with a new way to make her insane. He buckled her seat belt, kissed her on the lips, and took her home.

"Sookie, are you alright?" he asked softly about half way home because she still hadn't said anything. Even the bond was quiet.

"Yeah, I'm… I'm…"

"Are you hurt?"

"No, I'm amazed," she said as she laughed weakly.

He could feel in the bond that she was happy. OK, that was good.

"I was getting worried," he said softly. "You went so long without speaking."

"I'm not really sure what you did to me, but I want you to do it again sometime."

"That's a promise," he said as he wiggled his eyebrows, and she smiled back at him.

She must have dozed off a little, because the next thing she knew, he was pulling her dress off and putting her in bed. He made her drink a chocolate supplement as he knelt next to the bed holding the straw for her.

He got in with her, and she asked him to take her again, though she was nearly asleep.

"You asked me to do this the other night when you were nearly asleep, too. Are you sure it's a good idea?"

"Yes, feeling you inside me is a very good idea. Do it gently and do it as many times as you can before sun-up."

"Sookie, that is too much."

"Please, Eric, just do it slow and soft. I just really want to feel you in me."

He did as she asked, and she wouldn't let him stop until finally, toward the end of the third round, she finally went completely to sleep. He pulled the covers back and took some more pictures of those luscious curves, then went to work, wrote her note, and went to bed for the day.

TBC


	37. Chapter 37

Disclaimer: The Southern Vampire Series, and all characters from it, is owned by Charlaine Harris. No infringement is intended.

___________________________________________________________________________________

Ow. Sookie woke up because she moved her arm and it hurt a little. She had that "I fucked a big Viking feeling" – her arms hurt, her legs hurt a little, her breasts were tender and her… hootchie… was a little tender and very aware. She loved this feeling, because it reminded her so strongly of Eric. She could feel everywhere he had been on her body and in her body, and she closed her eyes and remembered how it felt as he pleasured her on that big round mattress.

She was going to have to ask him where you buy a round bed – let alone round sheets! She never knew there was such a thing. If Eric's headboard wasn't so gorgeous and elaborate, she might want one at home. Maybe for the basement… they could make themselves a wild love nest down there if they wanted to – not that the sex in their room wasn't wild enough. She laughed at herself fantasizing about a special sex room – do they call that a dungeon? She'd have to ask Eric – sex maniac Sookie Northman.

Oooh, she rolled over onto Eric's pillow and inhaled as she savored the idea of being Sookie Northman. Sookie realized that she felt like an adult for the first time - a married woman, soon to be a mother, partner of an important man with lots of responsibility, and she didn't feel like a beginner in bed anymore, either. She was sure there was more to learn, but she thought she was getting pretty good at what she did know. Eric didn't seem to have any complaints, she laughed to herself.

Oops – somebody else was awake, and he was hungry.

"Good morning, Baby E!"

Want.

"OK, sweetie, hang on." She listened very carefully to make sure she didn't hear Alicia, then grabbed a blood out of the little fridge and took it into the bathroom. She had to "go" anyway, so while she did that she twisted off the cap and guzzled it down.

Happy. Love.

"OK, sweetie, Mommy's glad you're happy now," she said affectionately as she patted the not-so-little bump and tucked the empty into the trash.

She went back and sat on the bed, trying to remember what was going on today. She heard some noises downstairs that she thought might be the airline service delivering the boxes for Eric and Pam. They would be having company tonight.

She figured she'd better sort of "inspect" the second floor and make sure it was ready for company. She trusted the staff, of course, but Eric said the domestic staff was pretty much her responsibility now, so she'd better make sure. The last thing she wanted was for him to be embarrassed by an oversight if she could prevent it.

"Good morning, Miss."

"Hi, Alicia – did I hear the airline deliver the travel boxes?" Sookie sat back on the bed so Alicia could serve her.

"Yes, Miss, they're setting them up in the living room as you requested, and they'll be all ready to go for Mr. Northman and his friend." Alicia put the tray over Sookie's lap. Salmon – Yay!

"OK, great. Alicia, should I check the second floor to make sure it's ready for company?"

"That's what the staff would expect you to do, so you can make sure the rooms are prepared for your guests."

"Ok, then, I'll do that after breakfast. We have to pack today, right?" Sookie was digging right into her breakfast.

"Yes, Miss. I've been collecting some things in the storage room, but I know you'll want to be sure I haven't forgotten anything, and of course you'll want to approve of Mr. Northman's wardrobe as well. Also, I bought some new silk boxers for him – he said you had requested them?"

"Oh, yes – I love those on him. Thanks. OK, what time is it now?"

"Just after 1 pm." Alicia handed her the note from the dresser.

"And Bobbie will be here at 4?"

"Yes, Miss."

"I'd better get busy. I'm a little nervous, having our first guests and all."

"Oh, I'm sure it will be fine. You've got every convenience available for them, and Margaret will be here today and tomorrow morning if you need anything. This is a lovely house – your friends will be very impressed."

"Yeah, I hope so. I want Eric to be proud, of course, and I want my brother especially to see that I have a nice life here."

"I'm sure he'll be as pleased as any brother would be. It's natural, of course, for him to be a little resentful of your partner."

"It is?"

"Oh, yes – you're his only sister, aren't you?"

"Yes."

"And he's older?"

"Yes."

"And your parents have passed?"

"Yes."

"So he feels that he should look after you. He's never going to think any man is good enough for his baby sister. That's just how brothers are. He and Mr. Northman may always be a little wary of each other. Your brother may never be completely comfortable with the idea of you… sleeping… with a man, and Mr. Northman will always know that."

"OK, that makes sense, I guess. I hope if he sees the house and how nice it is, he'll stop being afraid Eric will hurt me."

"He won't have to spend much time here to see how Mr. Northman fusses over you. He'll know you're safe and well loved. That's what every brother wants for his little sister."

"Yeah, that makes sense. I know he's excited to see my new car."

"Any brother would be impressed by that car, Miss."

"Yeah, it is pretty nice. Jason is big on cars – he absolutely loves his truck – so he'll know just how fancy that car really is. Plus, I know he liked it the other night when he heard Eric brag to the tailor about the baby. He was worried about Eric being a good father."

"Once he realizes how over the moon Mr. Northman is about the baby, he'll soften right up. Don't you worry about that."

"Yeah – I know he's looking forward to being an uncle."

"Babies have a way of bringing families together. People will overlook and forgive an awful lot to be part of a baby's life."

"I never thought about it that way, but yeah… hey, a while back, I bought a little one piece suit for a baby. Have you seen it?"

"It's right here," Alicia reached into the top drawer of the dresser and pulled out the little blue baby togs.

Sookie had finished her breakfast, as big as it was, and Alicia took the tray away after she handed the little onesie to Sookie. Sookie held it up and looked at it.

'It so sweet,' she thought to herself. 'I can't wait until I see him in it!'

LOVE.

Aw – he knew she was thinking about him. She leaned back and laid the little suit over her belly.

"You'll be wearing this in a few months, Baby E. You're a little small for it now, but you won't be small very long. Mommy can't wait to see you."

Love. Happy. Warm.

She sent loads of love back to him, and they playfully sent affection back and forth to each other for a bit. Then Sookie threw on her bathing suit and cover-up, grabbed her bag, and headed for the stairs.

She stopped and went onto the second floor. She had looked down the hall briefly, but she had never really looked at the rooms on this floor. It smelled nice and fresh from the open windows and lavender cleaning solution the staff used. She had a feeling Eric requested that, because he liked flowers so much. The first room on the right was her pink kitchenette, then across from it was a blue bedroom with a slightly masculine look to it. She figured that would be Jason's room.

On down the hall was the bathroom, which had been scrubbed until it sparkled, a large linen closet, then two more rooms that faced each other. One was done in shades of yellow and the other in pink. They both had big beautiful brass beds in them with lots of pillows and nice floral paintings and wallpapers. The pink one was really girly, and the yellow one was feminine, but not overly so.

Sookie went on into the yellow room to have a closer look. Every room had a radio alarm clock on the nightstand, and a flat screen TV on a bracket on the wall. Each had a dresser that matched the style of the room, and each of those had a nice wicker basket full of toiletries, tooth brushes, little slipper socks and other little things that would make a guest comfortable, or that someone might forget.

There wasn't a visible speck of dust, and she knew that all of the linens had been changed yesterday. There were hangers in the closets, with stacks of towels and extra blankets on the shelves. There was a selection of reading material on little shelves near the beds, and each room had a brass quilt rack under the window.

The service elevator was inside the yellow room, but other than that, they were all very similar, and she noticed they all had very expensive looking silk curtains. She figured the decorator from New Orleans had done these rooms, too, in a variety of styles so the room could be chosen that best suited their guests.

She went back out to the refrigerator and saw that there was a 24 pack of Bud Ice and a carton of four True Bloods, plus some bacon and eggs that weren't normally there. There were toaster waffles in the freezer. The cabinet had a variety of breakfast cereals, and there was some instant oatmeal and grits, as well as a couple of boxes of Pop Tarts. Nobody was going to starve overnight, she laughed to herself.

She couldn't imagine anyone wanted more amenities in a private home than were in place there, so she was very happy with what she saw. Alicia came in as she was looking around the kitchenette.

"Have you looked around yet, Miss?"

"Yes, I did. Everything looks wonderful."

"I think your guests will be very comfortable. Margaret takes great pride in the look of the house, you know, so she worked the rest of the staff pretty hard yesterday. She was so excited you were having your first guests. She was adamant that you and Mr. Northman have a spotless showplace for your company."

"Well, I didn't see a speck of dust, and all the rooms smell fresh and wonderful. They're all just gorgeous. The bathroom is spotless. You've got more than enough food here. I guess we're all set!"

"I'm glad you're pleased, Miss. We've got the travel… boxes, I suppose? set up in the front room. Margaret made them be careful not to mar the carpeting or the floors in the hallway. You might want to take a look around the downstairs, too, and the upstairs maid will be in today to take care of the third and fourth floors."

"Sounds like you've got everything under control. Thanks so much for your help, Alicia, I really appreciate it."

"I'm happy to do it, Miss. Why don't you take a run through the downstairs and get some sun. After your session with Miss James, I'll show you what I've packed, and you can make any additions or deletions you want. Shall I start on Mr. Northman's clothing, too? Margaret gave me the list of things he normally takes when he travels."

"If you don't mind. Remember he won't have the second tux until we come home tonight."

"Alright then – enjoy the sun."

Sookie went down to the first floor. She looked in Eric's study, which was neat as a pin, then the living room which looked fine, in spite of the two big travel boxes. She lifted the lid on one to see what they were like, and was pleased to see that they were padded all around and upholstered with black leather. Eric would like that.

She walked through the dining room, just in case, and of course it was all spotless and polished. The den looked perfect. Margaret was in the kitchen, so Sookie stopped to talk to her.

"Margaret, the house looks amazing. Thank you so much for your help."

"Oh, we're pleased to do it, Miss. It's so nice to see Mr. Northman being social for a change. I'm sure you'll both enjoy your guests and have a lovely trip. I hope you'll share the wedding pictures with us when you come back."

"Definitely. I'm going to show them to people until they're sick of them," Sookie laughed, and Margaret laughed with her.

Sookie went out to the pool, set up her iPod and grabbed an air mattress, then she waded into the pool. She hopped up on the air mattress, more or less, and after a little struggle managed to get situated so she could lean back.

"OK, Baby E, hang on. Mommy needs some sun."

No response – she realized he was asleep. Aw, what a sweetie. She had no doubt he'd wake up when daddy got up, so in the meantime, she'd relax and soak up the rays. Sookie figured it was after 2 pm, so she tried to time herself so she got just under an hour on her belly, then she headed for the chaise lounge so she could take off her top and get some line-free sun on her back. She fell asleep, of course.

"Sookie?"

"Hm? Oh, Bobbie! I fell asleep again. Sorry."

"Don't apologize, hon, you should sleep every chance you get. The maid wants to know if they should take my stuff up to my room?" Bobbie helped Sookie fasten her suit top.

Sookie looked up and Margaret was waiting for the OK.

"Thanks, Margaret – yes, and would you have one of the men take her car to the empty garage? Thank you."

"Wow – nice having a staff like that, isn't it?"

"Yes, it is. I really gave Eric a hard time about that when we first got together, but there's no way I could have gotten through this wedding, let alone this pregnancy, without them. I mean, I could have, but it would have been hard. They've really taken a lot of pressure off of me," she explained as they waded into the pool.

"Hey, if he's willing to provide the help, relax and enjoy it. I wish every pregnant mother got the kind of care you're getting. Having a baby is hard work, and most mothers get very little care or credit for all they do. I try to impress upon people that the happier and healthier the mom is, the better off the baby is. Most people act as if what they do has no affect on the baby, but it really does."

"I know in my case it does. He's pretty good at letting me know how he feels and what he wants."

"That's amazing. Is that part of your blood bond?"

"Yes, we can sort of communicate with feelings – Eric, too. The baby recognizes Eric to the point that he almost always moves when Eric sends to him."

"That's incredible. You're going to have such an amazing rapport with him by the time he's born – you're so lucky."

"Yeah, I really am. He's going to be just like his daddy, though. He already knows what he wants and how to get it," she laughed.

"Nothing wrong with that. He'll need a big personality with a father like that."

"Yeah, I never thought about that. Fathers and sons can be rough, I guess."

"They can be, but that's because most men don't really bond with their kids, especially boys because they're afraid it will make them soft. It sounds like Eric already is bonding with him."

"Yes, and the blood exchanges are supposed to help with that, too."

"Has there ever been a birth like this before?"

"Eric has never heard of one, but he says there must have been at some point. As far as we know, though, this is a first, especially where a blood bond is involved."

"Wow – you should write a book!"

Sookie laughed. "No one would need to read it, because it may never happen again."

Sookie was feeling strong again, so they got a lot done. Bobbie was impressed at how Sookie had progressed, and how strong she was becoming. Sookie said it was probably from drinking Eric's blood. Bobbie asked what that was like, and she said that she hated to admit it, but it was wonderful. It gave her such a rush, and it made them feel so close to each other, that is was like knowing him from the inside, out.

Sookie could tell Bobbie wished she had a vamp of her own, and she hoped maybe she'd find one. She was so cool and open about the vamp thing that she'd be a perfect partner for some vampire. Bobbie was really pretty, even if she was little older, she had lovely eyes and great skin and that beautiful wavy/curly hair – plus she had the nice soft curves a lot of vamps prefer.

Maybe Bobbie would meet someone at Fangtasia, or at the cocktail party? If Sookie knew anyone, she'd fix them up, but she really only knew Bill and Eric that well. She wondered if Bobbie liked girls at all, but then Pam would be busy all weekend with Jason. Oh, well, there's always plenty of time when they get back to Louisiana. Maybe she and Amelia would hit it off or something.

The table had been brought out and set up, and they moved on to the massage. Sookie dozed a little as Bobbie worked on her, so Bobbie was very gentle, and worked on her a long time before she had her switch sides. As soon as she was settled, she fell asleep again. When Bobbie was done, she gently woke Sookie and they both went to get ready to go to Fangtasia.

Margaret showed Bobbie to her pretty yellow room, and Alicia got Sookie ready to go so she could look at the items she had packed. Sookie decided to wear the blue dress with the little yellow flowers that she wore the night she told Jason about the baby. She knew Eric loved her in that dress, and she wanted to stand out from the black-clad crowd at the club. She was going to make sure Eric only had eyes for her this week. Not that he didn't anyway, but she really wanted his attention during the whole wedding trip. She wanted to feel special this week in particular.

Sookie looked at the things Alicia had packed and had her add the red and white sundress, telling her that was Eric's favorite because she was wearing it the first night they met. Alicia asked her if it was love at first sight, and Sookie said if it wasn't love, it was definitely something, because they both felt like they were supposed to be together, though it took Sookie a long time to admit it. Alicia smiled, and added the dress, and asked Sookie a few questions about which toiletries she preferred and which make up to pack.

When she was ready, Sookie went to the second floor to check on Bobbie, who was almost ready. She was wearing a black leotard with a low scoop neck and one of those East Indian print scarf skirts that she loved. Sookie asked if there was anything she needed, and was pleased to hear that she was all set, and that Margaret had shown her around the kitchenette and the bathroom.

The two of them went down to the first floor kitchen where Margaret was making rare steak again, and they sat at the table and talked until dinner was ready and Eric "arrived." He came in wearing jeans and a muscle shirt, and Sookie noticed Bobbie's eye get big as he bent over to kiss Sookie on the lips. Sookie listened to Bobbie's thoughts a little and found that she was admiring Eric's huge arms. Who wouldn't?

Eric went up to shower as the girls ate their dinners, and he was back very quickly, wearing the dark red silk shirt and black jeans Sookie laid out for him – also the same thing he had been wearing the night they told Jason about the baby. Eric noticed what she had done, and knew it was to trigger the memories of that night – the sex downstairs in the love nest, the sex at her house the next night, even the fight with Bill.

She was pushing all of his buttons for attraction and protection. He realized that she was a little nervous and insecure, so he told himself he'd better be particularly attentive to her and make her feel special. He figured this had something to do with women and weddings, but whatever it was, he'd be sure to fawn over her and leave no doubts as to his attraction and dedication to her.

Somebody else approved of the plan. He turned his attention to his son, flooding the bond with love and pride, and he knew the baby was moving for Sookie. He liked this little pattern he and his son had, their little "talk" while he dressed for the evening, the fact that he moved when Eric sent to him.

'He knows me,' he smiled to himself. 'That's my boy,' he thought, then he stopped and really thought for a minute. HIS boy. MY SON. What a glorious concept. He pictured the day he'd be able to hold him in his arms, and he had to stifle a tear. In all his long life, he never expected this. He said a short prayer to Freya, thanking her for her blessings and asking for her continued protection of his beautiful family.

He came back downstairs and sat with the girls while they finished their dinner, drinking a True Blood Margaret had heated for him. Sookie told him she felt Baby E move, knowing he knew that already, and she felt a tiny pang of WANT when Eric was served his blood.

'Hang on, Baby E, we'll be at Fangtasia soon, and I'll drink a couple like I've been doing.'

"Since there are three of us tonight, I thought we would take your new car, Sookie. I haven't driven it yet, and I'd like to see how it handles."

"Good idea. I hope it's got gas in it."

"Well, we can stop if necessary. How was your session today, Bobbie?"

"It was great. She has been really strong the last couple of days and able to do a lot, and she even got a little nap while she was on the table."

"Good, very good. How was the rest of your day, my angel? What did you do?"

"Well, I checked the second floor to make sure it was ready for our company…"

He nodded, beaming with pride.

"…and I worked a little with Alicia on packing for our trip. I think we're set. You'll want to make sure we've got everything you need."

"You packed for me, too?" he was surprised.

"Well, Alicia offered and I thought it would be the right thing to do. I like all the outfits she packed for you, and she even packed some swim trunks, in case we go swimming, that I didn't even know you had. Oh, yeah – I had her put all of our toiletries in my train case so you didn't need a shaving kit or anything. Is that OK?"

"Yes, my angel, that is perfect. I'm glad to see you taking some initiative and checking on the work of the servants. I know they can be trusted, but it's always best if the lady of the house is on top of things," he said as he raised her hand to his lips and kissed it.

'OK, I'm going to melt,' she thought. 'He's being so sweet!' Which was, of course, exactly what she wanted, but she didn't know he had figured that out.

Bobbie thought they were the sweetest thing she ever saw when they were together. She wanted a blood bond with a hot vampire, dammit!

Margaret and Alicia excused themselves for the evening, and the three finished their respective meals and headed for the BMW. Eric hadn't really looked it over, so he walked around it a bit, and Bobbie checked out his other ride.

"Wow – nice, 'vette," she said, thinking this guy must be made of money, but then she knew vamps always had money. Eric did seem to be well off, even by vampire standards, though. She had thought he just owned a nightclub, but she was starting to realize the club was just the tip of the iceberg. This guy was loaded and connected. His recommendation would carry a lot of weight in some circles that she was particularly interested in.

Eric opened the doors for both Sookie and Bobbie, and he helped Sookie get settled and buckled her seat belt, kissing her on the cheek as he did it. He started it up, and made a few comments about good timing and shifting and things she didn't really know anything about, but he was pleased and that was all she cared about.

Bobbie asked if this wasn't a special edition or something, and Eric explained that this was a special security model that was made for diplomats and the like, so every part of it, even the trunk, was bullet-proof. Bobbie and Sookie were both impressed with that, and Bobbie thought to herself that it probably had to do with him being sheriff – he would want his family well-protected from his enemies, and any vampire sheriff was bound to have a few.

She knew Eric Northman, with his reputation, would have more than a few. He was sweet to Sookie and polite with her, but she had been assured, by people who knew, that he was feared and respected for a reason. He treated his employees well and his enemies with no mercy at all. She'd heard a few tales of wars among vampire factions and with other Supes, and he was known to be quick and deadly with a sword.

They said he was fierce in battle, and if you ever saw him coming at you with a sword drawn, you could count on that being the last thing you ever saw. Somebody even told her he was an actual Viking, but she couldn't believe it was possible for anyone, even a vampire, to live that long, though he definitely looked like he could be a Viking – he was so huge and blonde. She has also heard, from people who would know, that he was huge… ahem…all over, and he was supposed to be legendary in that respect as well. Sookie was a lucky, lucky girl.

Eric asked Bobbie if she had ever been to Fangtasia before, and she said she had been there once very briefly to meet a friend, but she didn't get a real sense of what it was like, though she did remember being very impressed by some of the dancers.

Sookie said the baby was getting hungry, and Eric said they'd be at the club in just a minute. The girls could tell that he sped up a little so the baby wouldn't have to wait as long, and in no time they were turning into the lot in back of Fangtasia. Eric opened doors for both women, and he helped Sookie out of the car, then escorted them to the back of the club, letting them go through the door first. Sookie led Bobbie back to Eric's office as he went to the front to find Pam and to send someone back with a blood for Sookie.

"So Sookie, who all will be at your house tonight?"

"Well, it's going to be you, my friend Amelia who lives at my old house – she's a Witch, by the way – and my brother Jason, and Eric's child Pam."

"His child?"

"Yes, he's her maker, so she's technically called his child. She usually calls him Master, and he has some kind of control over her because he created her."

A waiter came in with a cold blood for Sookie and a beer for Bobbie.

"Thank you," Sookie said as she started to guzzle her blood.

"I've never met a vampire and their maker together. That would be a pretty intense relationship, wouldn't it?"

"It can be. Eric and Pam really get along well, you'll like her. She has a sense of humor, and not many vampires do. She's sort of in charge of riding herd over my brother this weekend."

"Why?"

"Jason is a sort of a party boy, and sometimes he's not too bright or tactful, so Pam is supposed to hang with him and keep him out of trouble. He's really good looking, and he and Pam like each other, so she said she didn't mind. I'm taking a risk on him being there, but I really wanted him to give me away, so he's going."

"Does he know about Supes?"

"Technically, he is a Supe, but he doesn't know many or know much about the culture or the customs."

"So he's part fairy, too – is that what you mean?"

"That and he was bitten by a Were Panther, so he changes on the full moon."

"Wow – did he want that?"

"No, a guy who was jealous of his relationship with this girl who was a Were Panther kidnapped him and turned him."

"That's awful!"

"Yeah, but he's learning to adapt. He lives out in the country with a lot of woods, so he's got room to roam when he needs to."

"That's good. Do you..."

There was a knock at the door. It was Amelia, who gave Sookie a hug and asked to see the baby bump first thing.

"Wow, Sookie, he's making his presence known!"

"Yeah, I just hope I can get into my dress on Sunday. Amelia, this is Bobbie James. She's my personal trainer and masseuse."

"Hi, Amelia. It's nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you, too. I'm glad you're going with us. You can help me look after Sookie during the day. She's Supe bait, you know."

"Supe bait?"

"Amelia, I'm not that bad…."

"Supes swarm around Sookie. They all want her."

"… and I'm getting married so it doesn't matter."

"What kind of Supes?"

"Oh, you name it – vampires, Weres, WereCats of all kinds…"

"Amelia, I'm not that bad."

"You aren't sweetie, but the Supes that meet you are. There are going to be a lot of sad Supernaturals when you're officially off the market."

"I've been off the market for a while."

"Not like this – getting married is a big deal. At least it will make Eric a little safer."

"It will?" Sookie and Bobbie spoke in unison.

"Yes, it will. As long as you were dating, it was just a matter of time before somebody tried to take you away from him, by force if necessary. Once you're married, other Supes are much less likely to challenge his claim on you, or be willing to kill him to take you."

"I didn't know that," Sookie said.

"Yep – I'm surprised he didn't ask you sooner."

"He did, but I didn't think it was a big deal."

Amelia was amazed. For someone so embroiled in the Supe world, Sookie really didn't understand some of the not-so-fine points of how they operated.

"Sookie, if Eric wasn't Eric Northman, he'd already have had to fight a challenge over you. I'm surprised Bill didn't challenge him."

"He's so much older and stronger than Bill, there's no way he could beat Eric."

"Good thing Bill knew that."

"Sorry, but who is Bill?" Bobbie asked.

"He was my next door neighbor and the first vampire I ever met. He and I dated, and he was the one that first brought me to Fangtasia. He and Eric sort of…"

"Eric and Bill both wanted her. Eric basically waited for Bill to screw up, which he did, then Eric swooped in."

"Amelia – that's not…"

"She's going to try to deny it, but the bottom line is Eric took her from Bill, and there are others who would take her from him if they could, but they're all afraid of him."

"What was Bill like?"

"Bill is a Southern gentleman. He fought in the Civil War, and he's got dark hair and blue eyes. He's very handsome and very sweet."

"And still in love with Sookie."

"But he sort of…"

"Betrayed her, so she'll never trust him again."

"…I forgave him, though, and he's my friend now."

"Wow. That's like a romance novel," Bobbie said with wonder.

"Yeah," Sookie said. "If it was a novel about Supes, then yeah, I guess it is like a romance novel."

The door opened and Eric came in.

"Ladies, Stackhouse is out front with Pam, would you like to join us for a drink?"

Sookie had emptied her bottle of blood, and Eric took it and threw it in the trash. They all went in a group out to the club, which was just starting to get busy. They were nearly all seated when Eric was told that the tailor had arrived. Jason and Eric went back to his office and Sookie introduced Bobbie to Pam.

"Pam, this is Bobbie, my personal trainer and masseuse."

"Masseuse," Pam purred, "now that's a noble profession. Maybe you could… work on me sometime."

Bobbie was a little shocked at how forward… and how beautiful… Pam was, but she managed to say that she was happy to meet her. Pam asked Amelia and Bobbie what they'd like to drink, and she had those and another cold blood brought over to the table, then she excused herself to go back to the door. She and Eric had some things to finish since they would both be away all weekend. The three girls sat and talked about the trip and the plane ride, realizing they and Jason would be together in the daytime and Eric and Pam would be… luggage. Bobbie had never traveled with a vampire before so she didn't really know about Anubis Airlines, and Amelia didn't know a whole lot more. Sookie explained how they'd come and pick up the travel boxes and them and their luggage, and they'd travel together to Las Vegas, where the airline would take them all to the estate.

Then they asked Sookie what she knew about the wedding de Castro had planned, and they talked and giggled about all of the details and arrangements that Sookie knew about. Amelia was very impressed when she heard Sookie had a Vera Wang gown. As they were talking, Sookie noticed that the big biker vamp that Eric had growled at 2 weeks before was at the bar staring at her. Sookie felt panic and sent that to Eric as clearly as she could. The guy was headed for her table when Sookie said, "Uh oh," and suddenly Eric was standing in front of them with his fangs down.

"You with this lady?" The big- but not nearly as big as Eric- vamp asked.

Eric's voice was velvet over steel. "You are new here. I am Sheriff of this area. The Lady you are referring to is my bonded, soon to be my wife. There will be no more disrespect or unwanted attention from you toward her – am I making myself clear?"

"Fuck You."

SLAM!

Eric had the guy up against the wall, holding him up by the throat, threatening him with his fangs. The guy made the mistake of trying to fight back, and Eric beat the hell out of him, breaking a couple of tables and a mirror behind the bar in the process, though they were moving so fast you couldn't tell who broke what. Eric busted the other vamp up badly, clearly breaking an arm and his neck at least, and dragged him out the back door of the club.

He beat him some more, just because he could, and assured him that if he ever set foot in his bar or looked at his woman again he would stake him, and at that point the guy (and whole bar) was absolutely convinced that he could and would do exactly that. Eric left him in a pile on the pavement, giving him one last good kick to the kidneys, and sent a couple of bar men out to see that he left.

Amelia shook her head and looked at Bobbie, who was horrified. "SUPE. BAIT."

Sookie started to object when Eric came back in to see if she was alright. He pulled her out of the booth, picked her up and kissed her as her feet dangled far above the floor. The crowd laughed and applauded, and Eric bought a round for the house, which brought more applause. The broken furniture was cleared away, and the girls could hear Eric growl to several employees that "that asshole never steps foot" in his bar again.

"Could have been worse," Sookie tried to reassure them. "Eric could have killed him – that's something at least."

Amelia laughed and Bobbie just shook her head.

Jason came out of Eric's office and up to the girls' table. "What the hell was that?"

"Some idiot tried to approach Sookie and Eric… objected," Amelia explained as she laughed.

Pam came wiggling over to the table, winking at Amelia and saying, "Never a dull moment with our Sookie." Then she grabbed Jason's belt buckle and dragged him onto the dance floor.

"That dust up was over my sister?" Jason asked Pam.

"Yes, she's very… desirable to vampires. That moron was lucky there was a room full of witnesses. He'd better hope Eric never finds out where he nests."

"Why?"

"Eric would have killed him if there weren't so many vampires here. If he ever catches him out alone – well, let's just say he won't be hitting on anyone else's … fiancé."

Jason had to think about that for awhile. He knew Eric was a badass, but would he really murder someone for hitting on his sister? On one hand, she'd be safe with him. On the other hand, would she be safe _from_ him?

"Jason…"

"Huh, what?"

"Are you alright? You're very quiet." Pam emphasized her question with a nice grind against Jason's bulging crotch – he wasn't so concerned he lost his hard on – and he considered whether he should ask her or not…

"Pam – you known Eric a long time?"

"Yes, you might say we're family."

"OK, can I ask you a question?"

"Of course, you can," she purred at him.

"Is my sister safe with that guy? Would he ever hit a woman?"

"Your sister is safer with Eric than she'd be anywhere else in the world. He'd never hurt her, and he'll kill anyone who does. Her… special talent… makes her a target for powerful Supes of all kinds. She needs protection, and Eric is the best choice of the available options. She could end up in a very bad way without him."

"Is she with him because she's scared?"

"No, she's with him because she loves him. She isn't really even aware of the actual danger to her from others, but he is. He is very relieved that she finally agreed to marry him. He can protect her much more effectively if she lives with him, and she'll be much less likely to be bothered once they're actually married. It's a very smart move for her, politically speaking."

"Ok, so I shouldn't worry about her?"

"Eric will do anything to protect her and that baby. They couldn't be more safe, I promise you."

"Thanks, that makes me feel better."

"Don't you worry your pretty head about Sookie. We should all be as safe and well off as she'll be." Pam kissed him, and he completely forgot what they were talking about.

Eric had concluded business with the tailor and paid him a hefty tip, and he was calm now, so he joined the girls in the main room. He tried not to think about the fact that Pam was rubbing up against his future brother-in-law. Amelia moved into the booth next to Bobbie so Eric could sit next to Sookie, and he hugged and kissed her as he slid in next to her.

He offered more drinks and they chatted for awhile, then Eric went to make his final instructions to the staff before his break. Around one o'clock he summoned Pam and said it was probably time for them all to head home. They formed a little caravan, Jason and Pam following Eric and Sookie, Amelia and Bobbie in Sookie's old car following Jason and Pam.

Jason was awestruck when he saw the big old Southern style home Eric owned, and he whistled as Pam smiled to herself. She knew Jason had no concept of how well Sookie lived with Eric. Eric directed Jason and Amelia around to the spare garage and helped them get their cars situated. Two of the gardener's men had stayed to carry in their luggage, and they took care of that while Eric took his guests inside. They all came in through the kitchen, and Eric showed them where things were, then offered to give them all a tour of the house.

He showed them first into the den, pointing out the home theatre and opening the curtains over the sliding doors and turning on the outside lights so they could see the pool. Jason's eyes were bugging out. Eric then took them all into the dining room, entering one door and bringing them out the other, pointing out the paintings and Sookie's china (Sookie didn't even know she had china, but she didn't say anything..)

He showed them the living room, apologizing for the travel boxes being in the way, but everyone shrugged that off. He showed them his den, and the way upstairs. He asked if they'd like to see the gym on the fourth floor, and they all agreed, so he led the way, pointing out on the third floor landing that his and Sookie's bedroom was located there. When they got to the fourth floor, he pointed out the guest room, bathroom, sauna, meditation room and the big room. Jason couldn't believe his eyes.

In the big room, everyone ooh'd and ah'd over Eric's swords, and Jason asked if they were real. Eric took down a katana and let Jason take a swing or two with it, then showed him a series of moves that showed off how graceful Eric was in spite of his size. They were all impressed, even Sookie, and she had seen him fight with a sword for real. He hung it back up and led them all down to the 2nd floor where he let Sookie take over.

Sookie showed everyone there was food, beer and blood in the fridge and the cabinets, and she showed them to their rooms. Pam's and Jason's bags had been put in the blue room, Amelia's in the pink, and Bobbie's was already in the yellow room from earlier. She showed them all where the towels and extra blankets were, pointed out the baskets of toiletries and clock radios, and the remotes to the TVs on each nightstand, as Eric stood in the hall beaming at her playing hostess. Everyone, including Pam, was amazed at how well put together the rooms were. Pam had been here before, of course, but she had never seen the second floor since it was finished. She was proud of Sookie for stepping up and playing her role as hostess, and she gave Eric a nod that told him she was impressed, which made him very proud, indeed.

The humans agreed they would get up at 7 am for breakfast and last minute preparations. Pam and Eric would already be in their travel boxes. Sookie would be in charge of the itineraries, and Eric had briefed her on what to say to the car service and how to tip the attendants as they drove home. Bobbie and Amelia said goodnight so they could get some sleep, and Pam and Jason had other things on their mind. Eric tried not to think about the fact that they were kissing before they even got their door closed.

Eric carried Sookie up to their room. Since they had guests in the house, Eric decided he would sleep in the silk boxers he was wearing, and Sookie that she would sleep in a little pink nightgown that was in her bottom drawer that she didn't know was there. Eric did because he bought it for her. She pointed out that when they had a baby, and possibly a nanny or doula in the house, they'd probably have to wear clothes at night. Eric didn't like the sound of that and reminded Sookie that's why there were locks on the doors. Sookie drank another blood and a supplement drink, and when Eric asked how many bloods she had had today she realized she had had four of them.

He suggested she keep track of that so she'd know what the baby really needed when, and she agreed. She said the pattern seemed to be one when she woke up and at least two at night, and Eric reasoned that the baby was awake in the early evening when he awoke and slept through the very late nights and early morning hours, then ate once in the day when Sookie woke up and went back to sleep. In other words, they realized, he woke up when each of them did. but was active a little longer in the early evening. It was looking like he'd be a night baby, which was good because he'd be able to spend time with both of them together that way. Sookie joked that instead of family dinner, it would be family breakfast since Eric and Baby E would just be waking up.

Sookie turned the bed down then she pulled off her dress, leaving nothing but a thong on and crawled to the center of it on her knees, crooking her finger at Eric.

"Ok, gorgeous, that's enough talking for tonight."

"Gorgeous?"

"Yes, gorgeous," she teased. "Do you know how absolutely, drop dead gorgeous you are?"

"I was just thinking the same thing about you," he purred.

"No, you weren't, but you'd better get over here and give me some before I fall asleep."

"Give you some?" he laughed.

"Yes."

"Give you some of what?" he teased.

"A piece of that gracious plenty," she laughed, and he dropped his silk boxers.

His mouth found her nipples, and his hands ripped both sides of the thong at once, and he threw it on the floor. He threw an arm around her waist ,and she was already moaning, grinding her crotch into his other hand as he stroked and probed her. He pulled her to the side and down so she was upside down in the bed, head hanging off the end of it over the TV cabinet, as he practically mauled her breasts.

She was trying to be quiet because they had company, and he knew it, so he was trying to get her to yell out and laughing as she tried not to, so she punched his shoulder and that just made him laugh harder. He pulled her back onto the bed a little and eased into her slowly. Uh-oh. It was going to be one of those nights where he goes so slowly she wants to scream and he makes her beg for it. He was up on his knees, holding her hips up and sliding in and out of her so slowly that it consumed all of her attention.

She put her hands over her eyes and concentrated on how it felt to have him sliding in and out of her, and he made it last for a long, long time. She still had her eyes covered as he began to rub her clit with his thumb, and she moaned and starting moving against him as hard as she could. She was grinding faster, and he said, "Look at me, lover," so she opened her eyes, and they held each others gaze as he began to pump her faster. He held her hips tight now and started taking one very slow stroke, then one really hard one, and she was trying so hard not to cry out on the hard ones, but just the force of it was making her gasp, and he had that smug look he gets when he's pleased with himself.

"Please."

"What Sookie?"

"Please."

"Say it, Sookie."

"Fuck me, Eric, please fuck me."

"Say it again."

"Please, Eric, fuck me."

"Who do you belong to, Sookie?"

"You, Eric, I belong to you."

He moved forward over her, still moving in her, whispering in her ear.

"Mmmm, that sweet pussy I'm fucking, Sookie, who does that belong to?"

"You, Eric, it belongs to you."

She swallowed very hard, oh, god, she wanted to scream and he knew it.

"You're mine, Sookie."

"Yes, I'm yours, Eric."

"Forever, Sookie."

"Forever, Eric."

"What do you want me to do," he whispered as he nibbled her earlobe.

"Fuck me, fuck me hard, now, please."

And suddenly, he was riding her hard and fast and she was begging.

"Oh, yes, please, more."

He was really letting her have it, and he whispered, "Bare your neck to me, Sookie."

She brushed her hair away from her neck and tilted her head to the side, bracing her hands against his strong arms.

"_Mark me,_" she said, pleading.

He bit her savagely, and this time she cried out in spite of herself.

She could feel his wildness grow as he drank from her, and he lost control in the very best way. She held on as long as she could, then finally she said in a strangled whisper, "Blood," and his bleeding wrist was immediately at her lips and they came together, each of them high on the other's blood, everything in them merging and blending in the bond.

They both saw a white flash and were still.

Neither one of them ever saw anything like that before. It took a good fifteen minutes for them to come down enough to speak.

Sookie was afraid to say anything. She remembered when he told her to be quiet the other night, so she was silent, waiting for him to move or to say something, but he just nuzzled her neck and didn't speak.

Eric didn't know what to say. What the hell was that? He was pretty sure that over his thousand years on this planet, he had had every type of orgasm there was, and that was… more than that. He finally raised his head and looked at her. They didn't speak, they just looked at each other and eventually, he kissed her lips very gently. He got up, and pulled her up with him. They settled into their familiar places facing each other in their beds. Eric stroked her cheek, then he finally spoke.

"Did you feel that, Sookie?"

"That big white flash? Yeah, it was impossible to miss."

"Have you ever felt anything like that before?"

"No, have you?"

"No."

"What was it?"

"I do not know, my angel."

Sookie closed her eyes, and he knew she would sleep now. He watched her sleep for a long time, then he went to his office to take care of some last minute details.

Sookie was dreaming. She felt as if she was near water, and she could feel a salt spray in her face and smell the ocean. She realized she was standing on the shore, and there was something out in the mist.

Gradually, she saw something moving toward her that looked like…. a dragon.

She watched and realized that it was the bow of a ship, and she saw something white shining on it. Suddenly there was a woman standing next to her, a tall, beautiful blonde woman with glittering blue eyes like Eric's. The woman was dressed in white with a gold pendant around her neck, and she wrapped her arms around Sookie, who was enveloped by an overwhelming sense of peace and love.

"It is nice to meet you, my angel…"

And that was all Sookie would ever remember.

TBC


	38. Chapter 38

Disclaimer: The Southern Vampire Series, and all characters from it, is owned by Charlaine Harris. No infringement is intended.

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BZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ

Ugh. Sookie scrambled to reach the alarm on Eric's night stand and was desperately trying to turn it off. She hated alarms. She hardly ever had to use one, and when she did they were really jarring. What a crappy way to start the day. It was 7 am, and she remembered she had guests, and they were all going to have breakfast together before they left. She got up and looked on the dresser – there was a note from Eric.

_My Angel,_

_Have a safe trip. Keep some blood handy for the baby._

_I love you,_

_Eric_

'My angel,' she thought – she felt like there was something she was supposed to remember but couldn't. Eric's note was short and sweet today. She guessed he figured she had it under control. She jumped in the shower and was out in just a minute or two – no point in lingering if Eric wasn't there. She pulled on the travel clothes Alicia had left out for her – the black dress with the lavender flowers and a thong with a pair of little sandals – and headed downstairs. She stopped at the second floor landing, listening to everyone come alive.

The first person she saw was Amelia, who told her Bobbie was already dressed and downstairs, and she would be down after a quick shower. Jason poked his head out and said good morning, and he'd be down in a few minutes.

Sookie headed on down. She went into the living room. There was no light of any kind in the room except the light from the hallway, so she peeked into the travel boxes to make sure Eric and Pam were there and OK. They both looked beautiful and comfortable, so she kissed her fingers and touched them to Eric's lips, then clicked the locks and left them there, following the smell of bacon into the kitchen.

"Mmm- smells good in here!" she said as she entered the room. "Good morning, Margaret. I'm sorry to get you up so early today."

"Oh, no, Miss, I'm happy to do it. I'll get to see you off for your wedding trip this way."

"Morning, Bobbie."

"Hey, Sookie – did you sleep well?"

"Yeah but man, I hate getting up to an alarm clock."

"I woke up early so mine never got to go off."

"Lucky – you didn't get your nerves jangled," Sookie laughed.

Margaret was putting eggs and bacon, biscuits, juice and sliced grapefruit on the table. She poured Sookie a big glass of milk and put a rare steak in front of her as Amelia came into the room. Sookie introduced her to Margaret, and as Jason came in she introduced him, too. Jason told the other girls good morning, and Bobbie thought to herself that she hadn't noticed how cute Jason was last night. He was blonde and blue-eyed like Sookie and nicely built.

"Sookie, you eating steak for breakfast?" Jason asked.

"Yeah, the doctor wants me to eat a lot of rare meat."

"Would you like a steak, sir? It wouldn't take a minute to get it ready for you," Margaret offered.

"Is that OK, Sookie?"

"Sure – go for it."

"Ok, yeah, thanks. I could eat a steak," Jason said as he was filling his plate with eggs and bacon.

"Amelia, Bobbie – would you like a steak?" Sookie offered, but they both refused politely.

Amelia was digging into a grapefruit with one of the special spoons Margaret put with them, and Bobbie was buttering a biscuit to eat with her eggs. Sookie looked around the table with satisfaction. It was nice having these people – people she cared about – here, having breakfast, getting ready for an adventure.

Sookie looked at her hand, at the glittering diamond and rubies, and reminded herself that this was all for her and she was getting married. It felt like a dream.

'Dream,' she thought, 'did I dream…'

"Sookie, are you excited?" Amelia asked.

"Yes, I really am. I'm nervous, too. I'll be glad when Sunday night is over."

"You'll have fun between now and then though," Bobbie said. "There's that cocktail party Saturday night."

"That's kind of a political thing for Eric. The best part of that night will be wearing the dress I bought for it."

"Oh, really? What's it like?" Amelia asked.

"It's a surprise, so I'll just say I can't wait to wear it. Eric knows what it is, but he hasn't seen it on me, and I hope he's going to love it."

"He pretty much loves anything you wear or do, Sookie," Amelia pointed out.

"Yeah, but I think this chick that has been after him for a long time is going to be there, and I want to make sure I look perfect that night."

"Going to rub her nose in it, huh?" Amelia said.

"Yeah, she was really catty with me when I met her, and Pam told me she was mostly there to check me out and see if Eric really cared about me. So yes, I'd like to…"

"…Stick it to her?"

"Exactly." Sookie laughed and everyone at the table joined in.

"You aren't jealous of her, are you?" Bobbie asked.

"Oh, no, Eric is devoted to me, and I know that. Pam assured me she was no competition at all, but she was just so mean that I kind of want to show her up a little. I know that's not very nice."

"Hey, it sounds to me like she started it."

"Yeah, she did and I want to finish it but good. Is that awful?"

The women agreed it wasn't, and Jason just ate his steak. He didn't pay a lot of attention when girls were gabbing about guys and weddings and such. He was thinking about what he and Pam did before he went to sleep last night. Damn, she was hot! She never seemed to get tired, and she had orgasms like nothing he'd ever seen. He felt like he was king of the world when he was with her. This was going to be a damned good weekend.

They all devoured Margaret's delicious breakfast and chatted until Margaret told them it was almost 9 o'clock. Everybody went to their respective rooms to close up their luggage and get them ready to be taken downstairs. Sookie made sure the two garment bags had Eric's two tuxes and her wedding dress and the pink dress for Saturday, double checked the big suitcase and closed it up, then she rolled it to the landing and laid the garment bags on top of it.

She went into her room, and even though Baby E still seemed to be asleep, she drank a bottle of blood and stuck one in the tote bag Alicia had packed for her, just in case.

She checked her train case, which was sitting on the table between the two side chairs, and she did a mental check list of what she might need – shampoo, deodorant, soap, razor, toothbrushes, etc., and saw that Alicia had put it all in. Then she opened the drawer to her nightstand and put the tube of lubricant in, too. She had a feeling Eric might need to "show his dominance" at some point during the week, so she figured she might as well plan for it.

If creepy Felipe got hands-y with her, Eric would be wanting to claim his "territory," and she'd be happy to have him do it. He wasn't the only one that got some reassurance from it – she realized that she wanted to be owned as much as he wanted to own her. He was right – she was perfect for him. It took her a long time to admit it, but it was true.

She was smiling at that when she carried the train case out to the landing, just as one of the men came up to carry the luggage down to the living room. She went down the stairs ahead of him, carrying the tote bag on her shoulder, and joined the rest of the group who were waiting in the living room with all their bags.

"Jason, have you got both of your suits?"

"Yeah, they're in this fancy bag the tailor packed them in. He said Eric told him I'd need one."

"Ok, good." She heard a clink as he moved his stuff, and she realized he had filled his backpack with beers to drink on the trip. Whatever.

The doorbell rang then, and since Sookie was in the entryway, she just opened it. It was Bobby Burnham.

"Hello, my dear! All ready for the big event?"

"Hi, Mr. Burnham. Please, come in. Yes, we're all ready to go. We're just waiting for the car service."

"I've got some papers Mr. Northman needs to take with him, and I've got a form you need to sign for me."

"Ok, let's go into Eric's office," and she led him through the door.

He had a form that had something to do with a trust fund for the baby that he had her read and sign, and he handed her a folder of papers he said to give to Eric when he got up. She assured him she'd give them to him first thing, and he thanked her and was out the door just at the car service arrived. Sookie put the folder of papers in her tote bag, noticing that Alicia had included a couple of fashion magazines so Sookie would have something to read. She thought of everything.

The attendants loaded the boxes with Eric and Pam into a large van first, then they carried all of the luggage out and packed it all around them. There was a really nice second van to carry all the humans, too, and they all loaded in; Jason in the back with Bobbie, and Amelia and Sookie immediately behind the driver. Margaret stood on the front steps and waved goodbye to them as they left, and Sookie waved back to her with a big smile on her face. This was it – she was going to get married!

"I can't believe it's finally here!" Sookie said to no one in particular.

"Are you excited, sweetie?" Amelia asked.

"I'm almost giddy – it seems like we've been talking about it for so long, and now it's here. I've just got to get through today, and the party tomorrow night, and then I'm married!" she nearly squealed.

Bobbie and Amelia laughed, and Jason just shook his head at these silly women.

"Hey, Sis, who was that guy that came to the door?" Jason asked as he opened a beer. He offered one to Bobbie, but she declined.

"That was Mr. Burnham. He's Eric's daytime guy – he does whatever business Eric needs to be done during the day, like having things delivered or making appointments, or getting papers filed."

"What did he want?"

"He had a form I needed to sign that was about the trust fund for the baby, and he had some papers for me to give to Eric."

"Trust fund?"

"Yeah, Eric is setting up a trust fund for the baby, and he has accounts set up in my name and stuff like that."

"Is he that rich?"

"Yeah, he's that rich. He owns a lot of businesses, and he's got money in accounts all over the place."

"How do you know all of that?"

"We had a meeting with his attorney and he gave me a folder that told all about his businesses and accounts and everything. They gave me access to pretty much everything he has, and I have all kinds of credit cards, and even some accounts that are just for me."

Jason whistled. "Damn, Sookie, you sure did good for yourself."

"Yeah, I really did. He's been so generous, and he really takes care of me – doesn't he, Bobbie?"

"From what I've seen, yeah. She's got the best of everything, and he spares no expense for anything she needs. You can tell he's crazy about her."

"Yeah, I guess so," Jason said. He was starting to get used to the idea of Sookie being with Eric. He had plenty of money and he was already bragging about the kid. He might be a bad ass, but that was a good thing the way Pam described the situation. If Sookie really needed protection, he was a good guy to have around. He sure beat the hell out of that big guy in the bar last night and as far as he knew, all he did was look at Sookie the wrong way.

His sister would be safe and provided for, and his nephew would grow up with all kinds of advantages they didn't have. He'd go to college if he wanted to, and Eric could set him up in any or all of his businesses when he grew up. He even realized that any dislike Eric had shown toward him was based on knowing that he hadn't been the greatest brother to her, and he felt bad about that. He really did seem to have her best interests at heart.

So what if he was a dead guy? She wasn't going to find a guy in Bon Temps that could give her this kind of life. Who was going to do all this for her – Hoyt? Catfish? Sam Merlotte, even? He just lived in a trailer behind the bar. That house was amazing, and she had all those servants, and she really looked healthy and happy. When you got right down to it, he couldn't ask for more than that, so he made up his mind to get along with Eric for Sookie's sake. If she was happy, he was happy. Hell, who knew – maybe Eric could hook him up, job-wise. He might be a good brother-in-law to have, all considered.

Bobbie asked Sookie what time they'd be getting to the estate, and Sookie figured that all together, they should be rolling in there around 4 o'clock. Bobbie figured they'd be able to get a session of some kind in today, and Sookie asked her what she was going to do about a table. Bobbie told her Alicia had made arrangements with de Castro's staff for them to provide a table, and that her diet would be relatively unchanged while she was there, too.

It didn't take long to get to the airport, and they were all making comments about the airport and the plane as they moved from the van to the plane. Sookie thanked the driver and gave him a generous tip, then tipped the driver of the other van as well. She hung back a little, making sure the vampires were situated properly, since she had done this before and knew what was necessary.

It was a smaller plane and relatively empty, so everyone was settled quickly into 4 seats, 2-facing-2, and they were barely in the air before they were being served. Sookie asked for a cold blood, and Jason looked at her a little funny, but Bobbie said it was for the baby, and he figured that made sense since his dad was a vamp. If Sookie could handle it, he could, but he was glad he wasn't the one who had to drink that stuff.

Bobbie suggested that Sookie lean her seat back and try to take a nap. The stewardess brought her a blanket and sure enough, Sookie was asleep in no time. Bobbie, Amelia and Jason talked quietly among themselves so they didn't disturb Sookie. Jason asked Bobbie what she did for a living and during the course of the conversation he found out Amelia was a Witch.

He tried to hide his surprise, and he figured you just never knew what was going to happen around Sookie. She really did seem to draw these people to her. He figured that made sense because of her thing about hearing people's thoughts. She never really had many friends growing up, and now she had people all around her who were as weird as she was. That was probably a good thing. She sure didn't fit in with his friends. He had always been popular in spite of Sookie, but nobody really wanted to be around her when they were in school. Everybody thought she was crazy, but he knew she just knew too much about people to get along with them. She was actually pretty smart underneath it all.

Amelia asked Jason what he and Eric were wearing for the wedding, and he told them "white tie and tails," which impressed both women. He told them that was what Eric said would look best next to Sookie's dress, though he didn't know what she was wearing. Amelia told him the gown was by a very important designer who didn't make anything that wasn't stunning. He asked her how much something like that costs, and he was stunned by the answer. His sister was going to be wearing a dress that cost more than most of his friends spent on their cars.

Bobbie said she had seen Sookie in it at one of the fittings and she was going to be a vision in it. Jason said at those prices, she'd better be. He couldn't believe Eric let her spend that much on a dress, but Amelia explained that he would have spent much more, if that was what she wanted. Sookie was the one who was worried about the price, but Eric told her not to worry about it. Jason was glad to hear she wasn't taking advantage of him – she had been raised better than that. He didn't want to think his sister was greedy. Amelia and Bobbie assured him that he didn't have to worry about Sookie "taking advantage" because Eric had to fight to get to spoil her the way he wanted. He was glad to hear it. He thought to himself he might even tell Sookie he was proud of her at some point during the wedding. He realized he rarely said anything nice to her, but he sure hadn't hesitated to say nasty stuff to her when he was angry.

The captain announced they were approaching the airport in Las Vegas, and they all got a little excited. Sookie woke up and straightened up her seat, and the stewardess stowed her blanket and took her seat. Sookie hated flying, so she white-knuckled it through the landing, which was relatively smooth, and she was relieved. She supervised the loading of the luggage and vampires, and then they all piled into the long white limousine that was waiting for them.

De Castro was pretty much in charge from this point forward. The limo driver told them to help themselves to a glass of champagne if they wanted. Sookie decided she'd better not, but the other three decided they might as well – it was part of the package. The estate was only about 30 minutes from the airport, so by the time they all had their drinks, they were pulling into the front gate. Everybody's jaw dropped. It was damned near a castle with a huge pond out front. A pond in the middle of the desert!

When they disembarked, Sookie tried to tip the drivers, but none of them would allow it. De Castro had taken care of all of them very generously, and all of them were told their money was no good from this point forward. They were the king's guests and he would provide anything they desired.

A tall, beautiful, very classy brunette woman met them at the door of the mansion. It looked like something from a movie. The chandelier in the foyer was larger than Jason's truck. The floor was pink marble with a design inlaid in onyx. The huge staircase was carpeted in red. The doors that lead off in 4 directions were flanked

by life-sized Greek style statues and red velvet curtains.

"Hello, I'm Janet Stevens. I'm His Majesty's day representative. I'll show you all to your suites. You'll be staying in the East wing, so if you're ready, please follow me. She led them up a grand flight of stairs and off to the right down a long, long hallway, then they turned left and went down another hall. They took another staircase upward, and she opened a set of double doors that led into a large, luxuriously, furnished living room all done in white leather. They were all in awe, especially Jason. There was a huge stone fireplace on one end of the room and on the other was the largest TV any of them had ever seen. One side of the room had a large dining table and 6 chairs. Janet directed Sookie into a huge suite to the right, and the other three into a large set of four rooms on the left.

Their luggage was coming in right behind them, and Eric was placed on a marble pedestal in Sookie's room, while Pam was taken into a room next to Jason's. Jason discovered that there was a door that opened between his room and Pam's, and he planned to make good use of that at night. Amelia and Bobbie left the door between their rooms open so they could talk. Pam's room was dark, but the windows were open in the other three rooms. The servants hung the two garment bags for Sookie and Eric in the closet and placed her suitcase on a special stand. She had never seen a bed that big, carved of dark polished wood, with a canopy that had to be 10 or 12 feet high, all with delicate ivory silk drapes and an ivory satin spread. There was a cabinet at the end of the bed that she realized had a TV in it like the one at home, and there was a matching high-boy, dresser, vanity table and armoire in the room. The bathroom had an anteroom like a hotel, with a sink, large mirror, coffee maker, microwave and a tiny fridge full of blood, then had a large room with a big tub, shower stall and commode.

One maid went into each of the four rooms, while three maids, including a lady's maid who introduced herself as Angela, went into Sookie's room and began to unpack her things.

Angela explained that she had talked to Alicia at length and knew what her requirements were. She asked if Sookie would like to have her treatment in the pool or in the gym, as either one would be convenient. Sookie said she'd use the gym today, since it was right down the hall from these rooms, but that tomorrow she'd like to get some sun. Angela said she'd serve Sookie's party's dinner in the outer suite today at 6 pm, and that there was a casual reception in the parlor off the main hall at 7:30 in their honor. There would be a different maid that would serve her a rare steak at 2 am, or earlier if she'd like, and if she ever wanted milk, juice, or a cold blood or something to eat, she should just tell the nearest servant and she would have it instantly.

Bobbie was waiting in the outer room for Sookie, and Angela led them down the hallway to a gym with everything you could possibly want, including four standing massage tables, yoga and weight equipment, treadmills and bikes, a sauna, a spa, and a tanning bed. Bobbie took Sookie through some yoga exercises, then did her massage, which was restful and non-eventful.

They returned to the suite and found Amelia and Jason watching the giant TV, talking about nothing in particular. Jason was lying on the couch, but Sookie noticed at least he kept his feet off of it so he didn't ruin the white leather. Sookie found out later that Jason had asked Amelia about Janet using the phrase "His Majesty," and she explained that there was a caste system among vampires and it was a political thing. Jason didn't really understand it, but none of the women thought it was weird, so he went with the flow.

Sookie took a quick shower and put on her blue sundress, just pulling her hair back with a headband. If creepy Felipe was going to have his hands all over her, at least she'd be clean, and that should keep her natural scent at a minimum. Unfortunately, her cup runneth over in the cleavage department, and she was afraid Felipe would like that as much as Eric did.

They were all served roast chicken and grilled fish with a wide array of side dishes, some standard and some Mexican, for dinner, and Sookie noted they had both tortillas and cornbread. There was Baked Alaska for desert. Sookie had never seen one before, and she couldn't figure out how they kept it from melting and falling apart, but they did. She certainly had no complaints about the food here.

About the time they wrapped up their meal, Eric and Pam were up. Eric came out and kissed Sookie as she finished her dessert, and Pam perched on Jason's lap for a big smooch. Sookie thought it was sweet, and Eric tried to ignore it. Sookie told them about the reception at 7:30, so both Eric and Pam went to their respective rooms and showered and dressed in high vampire gear.

Eric came out wearing tight black jeans and a tight black t-shirt, and Sookie felt like she couldn't breathe when she saw him. DAMN! He was gorgeous. She wondered if he was trying to make sure she was looking at him and not Felipe. He looked so good that she pulled him back into their room, closed the door, then put her arms around him and grabbed two hands full of his award-worthy ass as he kissed her. He laughed with delight at her reaction, and he kissed her again, then ran the back of his finger down her cheek, her neck and down into her cleavage.

"Mmmm," he purred, "they're even bigger today."

"Glad you're happy about it, I'm wondering how much bigger they're going to get."

"I'll love them at any size, my angel, but I hope they get much bigger, just for a while."

She frowned and looked away when he said "my angel," and he asked her what was wrong.

"I don't know. When you said "my angel"… I feel like I'm forgetting something. Oh, yeah, Mr. Burnham sent a folder full of papers for you." She retrieved the folder from her tote bag, and Eric looked through it quickly, nodding his head.

At that point, Janet was back and ready to guide them to the reception, so they went back out to join the others.

Pam was in a demure yellow dress that showed off her figure, and Jason was loving it. He loved girly girls and when Pam wasn't working, she wore very feminine clothes. He hadn't known that, because he had only ever seen her in black, so this was a positive development as far as he was concerned. Bobbie was wearing a peasant blouse and a full print skirt in shades of green, and Amelia was in a simple navy t-shirt dress. When they were all assembled Eric offered Sookie his arm, and they fell in behind Janet to follow her down the hall. Pam held Jason back a bit, took his arm and followed them, and Bobbie and Amelia fell in behind them, catching on that there was a bit of protocol involved.

They wound back through the hallways, down the stairs in the entry hall, and through a door beside them that led into a grand hall. Janet directed them to a small room off to the right, and they were in the presence of the King and his retinue.

Eric stopped and bowed his head. Felipe was wearing a casual white cotton shirt and off white painters' pants. Sookie was surprised to see him dressed so casually. Eric recognized Sandy and nodded to her.

"Ah, Sheriff Northman! It is a pleasure for me to welcome you and your lovely bride. Miss Stackhouse – how lovely you look tonight, my dear," he said as he grabbed Sookie's hand and kissed every individual finger. Eric was trying to hide his anger, and Sookie was trying not to throw up. Felipe wrapped Sookie's hand around his own arm and continued, "Please, my dear, introduce me to your charming guests."

Sookie introduced Pam as Eric's friend and business partner, Amelia as her friend, and Bobbie as her masseuse, then introduced Jason as her brother.

"A brother! I had no idea you had any siblings, my dear. Tell me, Jason, do you share your sister's talent?"

Jason was surprised to be addressed, but he pulled it together enough to say, "No, sir, I don't. She's the only one in my family."

"Ah, well, that makes her all the more rare, does it not," as he was stroking her fingers around him arm. Ew.

Jason didn't like this smarmy asshole and knew Eric was ready to get medieval on the guy's ass, so he played it cool, but looked at Eric to let him know he had his back if there was trouble. Eric was surprised, but nodded to show that he understood.

He motioned to a really nice buffet with a small ice sculpture of two swans in the middle. "Please, my guests, help yourselves to drinks and food. You are most welcome here. If there is anything you desire, you have only to ask it of my staff. If you wish to go into the city tonight, there are cars available to you, and I'd be happy to treat you all at my casino tonight."

"Really?" Sookie said before she realized it. She panicked a little and looked at Eric, who sent her calm and gave her a nod. He thought getting out of Felipe's house was a fine idea.

Felipe liked that he had gotten a positive reaction from Sookie, so he continued. "Of course, my dear. Why don't we all have a drink, and I will have the cars brought around. I would very much like to show you my hotel. It is the shining jewel of the Vegas strip."

Everyone nodded and agreed it sounded like fun. Jason, Bobbie and Amelia were offered beers and margaritas from the buffet, and Pam and Eric were handed a warm blood.

Eric asked if he could get a cold blood for Sookie, who had been pulled down to sit next to Felipe on a divan. When he was given the cold bottle of blood, Eric bent his knees and knelt down to give it to her and said, "Sookie, for you, my lover."

"Oh, thanks sweetie. I guess you knew the baby was hungry." She was hoping that would turn Felipe off, but he didn't back down at all.

"Yes, my dear, you look deliciously rrrripe tonight," rolling his r's so it sounded like he was growling seductively at her, and blatantly staring at her breasts. "Your body is what we would call "mas mujer" now – more rrround and womanly. Very enticing. You have a marvelous glow about you."

Eric was having visions of decapitating this son of a bitch again. Kicking his ass out of the Louisiana territories was going to be a pleasure. He stood back up but never took his eyes off of Felipe. Everyone was outwardly friendly, but there was an undercurrent of tension in the room that even Jason was aware of. Pam did her best to distract Jason while keeping an eye on what Eric was going to do. Bobbie was only aware that Felipe was being too familiar with Sookie, and didn't understand all of the political ramifications. Amelia knew about creepy Felipe from Sookie, and she was keeping an eye on him, too. Felipe's staff was on high alert to make sure they were all served properly, but there were people in the room who were obviously there as security. If trouble broke out, Felipe was well guarded.

About twenty very tense minutes later, Felipe was informed that the cars were out front. "Come, my friends, we will go now. Sheriff, you and your charming fiancé will ride with me. Your friends will follow in the second car. Sandy, you and the others will take the third car."

Felipe never let go of Sookie, but dragged her out with him as Eric followed shooting darts out of his eyes. He had Eric enter the car first, then Sookie, then he squeezed in next to them on the same bench so he was right up next to Sookie. Eric shifted to the facing seat so Sookie could move away from Felipe, though he followed her a little, and she reached out for Eric's hand and wouldn't let go. As they drove, Felipe was pointing out landmarks he thought might interest Sookie, putting his arm around her and leaning into her at every opportunity. She was trying to be as polite as she could, and Eric was doing his best to send calm to her, though he wanted to kill Felipe – and might in the not so distant future.

Comfort.

Sookie touched her belly and looked at Eric, and he smiled at her.

"Are you alright, Miss Stackhouse?"

"Yes, I just felt the baby move – Eric knows when it happens, too."

"Ah – an effect of your blood bond?"

"Apparently, your majesty. The three of us can communicate in a way through feelings."

"Interesting. Has there ever been a blood bond involving a child before?"

"I have never heard of one, your majesty."

Felipe put his hand on Sookie's belly. Her stomach turned but she managed not to throw up.

"It must be very gratifying for you, my dear, to have such a connection with the small one."

"Yes, it is, I feel like I already know him. He's just like his father," she said proudly.

Felipe raised an eyebrow at that, and Sookie could feel the smugness rolling off of Eric and the baby cheering him on. She sent love to them both.

"I had been told by several sources that you had rejected your bond, my dear…" Felipe was digging for information. Now Eric raised an eyebrow.

"I didn't understand what it meant at first, and I was afraid of Eric, but he and I grew closer and he taught me what a blood bond meant. When I saw how close we could be, and how good he made me feel, and I gave him a chance to show me who he really is, now I love him and want to be with him forever." She never took her eyes off of Eric as she spoke.

Felipe never took his eyes off of Sookie and was still pressed up against her. "You are a very, very lucky man, Sheriff. Such a great love and such a unique nest. You will be the envy of the vampire world."

"Thank you, your majesty, but all I want in life is to be with Sookie and our son. That is worth any price to me."

"Indeed. I would imagine that, were I in your position, I would feel the same way," the king said softly. Was Felipe sad? Sookie almost felt sorry for him. Almost.

"Who knows, Sheriff – maybe it will become a trend. Vampires will find Fae hybrids to mate with and find someone who can work such magick. Your son might be the first of a new hybrid race."

Sookie looked at Eric, and both of them knew he didn't know the baby would be Fae, or that Eric was part Fae – and it was better that they keep it that way. Eric wondered if Felipe would try to find someone he could impregnate – was that his interest in Sookie? If Felipe wanted a son, it would make sense to choose fertile ground, so to speak, and Sookie would be the obvious choice because she was already pregnant by a vampire as far as he knew. All this time, Eric had thought Felipe had interest in Sookie's talent and her sexual charms. If he thought she might be able to produce an heir for him, that could make Felipe very dangerous, indeed.

It occurred to Eric that Sookie was going to be alone in Felipe's house for three days after the others left. He had to come up with a way for someone to stay with her – that way she wouldn't be so easy to take, if that was Felipe's plan. Where was Niall in all of this, he wondered? Niall wouldn't sell Sookie as a brood mare, surely? He knew it would be typical of a Fairy to play both ends against the middle, so he'd better be careful, just in case.

Amelia had a job and so did Jason, but Bobbie… that was it. Bobbie's job was to care for Sookie. He would ask that her stay be extended so she could treat Sookie, then at least Sookie wouldn't be alone and vulnerable in the daytime. That would give him some small measure of comfort.

They arrived at the Regency Hotel and Casino, and the party was ushered into a private entrance away from the crowds out front. Flanked by Were and Vampire guards on all sides, Felipe lead the group into the center of the hotel lobby. Sookie had never seen anything like it. Everything was shiny and gold, from the shops and the escalators, to the lights flashing in what had to be the casino, because she could hear the sound of coins dropping into the trays on the machines. The humans all looked around awestruck.

"What would you like to do first, my dear?" Felipe asked Sookie. What the hell, she figured, they were here so, "I've always wanted to try playing a slot machine," she said apologetically. Felipe pointed the way and the group moved into the casino. It was loud and flashy and exciting. Felipe made a motion to a pit boss, and he came over to the king, who whispered something to him. The boss pulled some plastic cards out of his pocket, handing a gold one to Sookie and blue ones to everyone else in the party.

"These cards will work in any machine or at any table, game or restaurant in this building, and you all get to keep whatever you win. Enjoy, my friends!"

Sookie looked at Felipe with surprise and he motioned for her to go on. Felipe spoke to another pit boss, and Eric and Sookie and the whole group migrated over to one section of slot machines. The others put their blue cards in the credit card slots and found they had $500 credit. Sookie's card set off a bell and flashed 'High Roller – No limits.'

She looked at Eric. "What does that mean?"

"It means the bastard king just handed you the whole casino if you want it. You can spend and lose as much money as you want, without limit."

"He didn't?!"

"He did. My advice would be to spend the son of a bitch blind, but you do as you wish, my angel," he said as he kissed her.

"Eric – why would he do that?" Sookie asked. He didn't want to worry her, so he just said, "Just relax and have fun, Sookie. Stay close to me or to your friends the whole time you are here. Try not to be alone at any time."

"OK…. Is something going on?"

"I'm not sure, my lover, let's just say I have an idea, but I don't want you to worry about it. You have an opportunity to have fun, so take it and enjoy it."

Sookie shrugged and found a big shiny machine and played. When she earned her first pay out, about 8 quarters, she jumped up and down and Eric laughed. He was standing behind her with his hands on her shoulders, looking around the room and assessing the situation. He was pretty sure he had spotted all the security on duty, and he knew where every exit and door was. He thought he had all the cameras scoped out and which machines and games were rigged. Felipe seemed to be doing casino business, but Eric was going to stay alert. He was pretty sure that they would be OK if they got through the wedding Sunday night, but until then he wasn't going to let his guard down. At one point he told Sookie to stay put, called Pam to stand with her, and went to talk to Bobbie. Bobbie agreed that it would be good not to leave Sookie alone in the days, and she'd be pleased to stay if he arranged it. Bobbie didn't know exactly what was up, but she knew Felipe was way too familiar with Sookie, and it was a good idea to keep someone with her at all times.

Pam asked Sookie how much was left on her card, and Sookie told her it was a no limits card. Pam nodded to Eric to let him know they were moving and took Sookie over to a $10 per bet machine on a circuit that could hit a grand jackpot, and told her to pull that lever as many times as she could. If Felipe was going to give them a bad time, Pam was going to make sure he paid for it out of pocket at least. Sookie was actually hitting a lot of small jackpots, and Pam looked around to see who was tipping the odds in her favor. She figured the guy in the third cash window was looking at her too much, so he was telling someone which machine she was at.

Eric came back to stand with Sookie and nodded to Pam, who went to see how Jason was doing. Amelia hit a $50 jackpot and showed Sookie her bucket of quarters, and Sookie was thrilled for her. On one pull, Sookie's machine went wild with sirens and flashing lights, and a pit boss came over and gave her a marker for $20,000.

"Eric, did I really win that?"

"You probably had a little help."

"Do I dare keep it?"

"I would. Buy yourself something special with it."

"You buy me more than I need now. I don't know what to do with it."

"Hang onto it. You could always buy treasury bonds in the baby's name."

"Yeah, I guess I could. Creepy Felipe's college fund," she laughed and Eric smiled. Nobody was taking her away from him, not while he was alive. If Felipe tried anything underhanded, Eric would kill him and damn the consequences. At one point Felipe summoned Eric and he nodded. He asked Amelia to stick close to Sookie because the king had summoned him, and she understood what he meant.

Pam and Jason indicated they were going to go into the bar, so Amelia steered Sookie and Bobbie over to a roulette table. If Sookie was getting help, might as well enjoy it. Amelia showed Sookie how you could bet on black or red, and the dealer handed Sookie two big stacks of chips without being asked. Sookie was winning 75% of her bets easily and Amelia knew it wasn't luck or psychic ability, she was being plied with prizes. Felipe was up to something, and she knew Eric knew it, so Amelia kept her eyes open as Sookie and Bobbie placed bets and celebrated their wins.

Eric told Amelia to watch out for Sookie and answered the king's summons. Where he was standing, they could both see Sookie, and he knew the king was watching her as intently as he was.

"So, Sheriff, are you happy in your position in Area 5?"

"Yes, your majesty, I am quite content just now."

"Excellent. Tomorrow night I am going to introduce you to some VIPs from Las Vegas and New Orleans. All of my Sheriffs will be there and a few key players from all of the territories. I will announce the extension of protection to your son, then when we toast your impending nuptials. You can expect a good deal of attention from this. I hope you are prepared for it. A birth in our community is a unique event, even in a case where magick is involved. Am I correct in that you do not wish for Brigant's connection to your family be made public knowledge?"

"Yes, your majesty, I think it would be best to keep Niall's involvement as quiet as possible."

"Yes, I agree. He has many enemies that could be a danger to a young family such as yours. Are you prepared for questions about your paternity of the child?"

"Yes, your majesty. I will state that an act of magick by an interested party made the pregnancy possible, and that I have been assured beyond any doubt that I am the father. When the child is born there will be no doubt. He will look very much like me."

"Is that a part of the magick?"

"Yes, your majesty. Niall would not want people to think that his granddaughter had been unfaithful to her bonded. He has taken pains to make sure the child will resemble me. I have no doubts of this."

"Yes, he assured me of this, also. My announcement, of course, will reinforce the issue of paternity. If I say it is so, no one will dare contradict me. To do so would be treason."

"Yes, your majesty." Wow – Eric didn't expect Felipe to take such a hard line. What the hell did Niall tell him?

"You are a very fortunate man, Northman. The man that she chooses will be very lucky, indeed."

"Thank you, your majesty."

"You may return to her and enjoy your evening. We will all meet at the cars at 1 am. Thank you, Sheriff."

Son of a bitch! He's not trying to kidnap her – he's going to make her an offer he thinks she won't refuse. That's why he's throwing money and limousines at her. He's trying to buy her affections. Well, he picked the wrong girl for that. The question now becomes how well the king can handle rejection. Will he take her word or will he resort to violence to get what he wants? What happens if he decides to kill her bonded and keep her for himself? What kind of warnings or encouragement does he have from Niall? He returned to where the girls were playing roulette.

"Sookie, do you have your cell phone with you?"

"No – almost everybody I know is here."

"Do you know Niall's number?"

"No, I've only called him twice. Why?"

Eric had his phone out trying to see if Niall had ever called him. Nothing.

"When we get back to Felipe's, I want you to go straight to our room and call Niall. Tell him I must speak to him. I think I know what is going on, and I need to know what Niall's part is in it."

"Oh, OK… is this big trouble?"

"Maybe, maybe not, but we need to be prepared, just in case."

TBC


	39. Chapter 39

**Chapter 39**

It was 12:30 and Eric showed Sookie how to cash out and started trying to round people up. Bobbie went into the bar to get Jason and Pam but returned without them. When she came back to the group she said, "I couldn't find them."

Eric and Sookie spoke in unison, "They're in the bathroom having sex."

Everybody laughed, Eric knew because of his bond with Pam, Sookie knew because she could hear her brother's thoughts. They were both getting a theoretical earful. Amelia went in because she was sure they were in the Ladies' room, and she came out shortly with a sheepish Jason and a happy Pam in tow. In spite of the intrigue, everyone had had a good night – they drank, they gambled, they ate, a couple of them even got laid. That's a successful outing by anyone's standard. By vampire standards, a night when no one dies is a good one.

Felipe was equally grabby with Sookie on the way home, keeping his hand on her thigh the entire ride as Eric came up with different scenarios for killing him. Oh, but he would enjoy it when that happened. Niall had just insisted he expel him from Louisiana, but Eric was pretty well set on separating this fucker's head from his shoulders. Eric mentioned that he was concerned about some severe cramps Sookie had been having, and he was worried about her being alone in the day when her masseuse left on Monday. Felipe offered to arrange for Bobbie to stay with her through Friday, and Eric thanked him profusely.

Once back at the mansion, his majesty offered a blood and a further visit, but Eric begged his forgiveness, saying that he'd like to spend some time alone with his bonded. Felipe tried to be gracious and excused them until tomorrow, saying he would see them at the cocktail party at 9:00, telling Sandy to extend Miss James' stay through Friday. Eric thanked him once again. The King kissed Sookie's hand, lingering far too long, and went into his offices.

The entire party returned to their suite, and Pam went into Bobbie's room as Eric led the others in some inane conversation about the casino and turned the TV on loudly, motioning for Sookie to go get her phone. When Pam looked out and motioned, Eric directed them all back into Bobbie's room.

"Find anything?" Eric asked as he closed the door.

"One tiny thing that is now in the plumbing," Pam replied.

"Eric, what does she mean?" Sookie was concerned.

"Bugs – surveillance devices. Bobbie's room is the least likely place to be bugged, and Pam only found one small one. We can be sure our suite is well covered, my lover."

"Ew – he'll be listening to us?"

"Mostly to see if we have any clue what he's up to, but yes. We'll have to act as if we don't know he's listening."

'Oh, I'll act like I don't know alright. Creepy Felipe is gonna get an earful of me yelling Eric's name,' she thought to herself. 'He wants to listen, let's see if he's got the stomach for it.' She was going to maul Eric and make a show of it just to rub Felipe's nose in shit. She'd teach him to paw at her.

Jason was a little slow to catch on, but he knew this guy was a problem.

"Eric, if you need me to help, let me know. I'd love to kick that guy's ass."

"Thank you, Stackhouse, but he's very old and very strong. The only one in this room with a chance of taking him down is me. All of you act normally when you return to your rooms. Jason and Pam, do what you had planned. Tomorrow, none of you is to leave Sookie alone. Who gets up earliest?"

"Me," Amelia said.

"I will awaken you before I go to rest, and you will stay in Sookie's room until she wakes, agreed?"

"You bet."

"Why don't I just get up then?" Sookie asked.

Amelia answered, "You need your sleep, sweetheart. The maid won't come to wake you up until 2 pm, so you just go ahead and sleep, and let Bobbie, Jason and me watch out for you." Bobbie and Jason nodded in agreement.

There was a knock at the door of the suite. Eric motioned for them all to go back out to the living room, and when they were in place, and he answered the door.

"Hello, sir, I'm sorry to bother you, but I have a meal for Miss Stackhouse."

"Good, good, take it on over to the table, please."

The girl sat the meal of very rare steak, potatoes and broccoli down, and Eric told Sookie to go ahead and eat so they could go to bed. Sookie thanked the girl and cut into the steak. Eric indicated that they should all go to bed, except he told Jason Pam would be there in a minute. Eric and Pam went into his room, and Sookie got up to follow them. Eric wasn't happy to see her standing in the door, but then he motioned for her to come over and to be quiet.

He quietly pulled up a false bottom to his travel box and slid two thin katanas out of it. One he put inside the main part of his box, and the other he gave to Pam and nodded for her to take it and put it in her box. He reached into the compartment again and pulled out a dagger and gave it to Sookie, mouthing the word "pillow" and pointing to her side of the bed. She went and slipped it into her pillowcase under the pillow.

Eric made a motion for Sookie to go out and call Niall, which she knew she should do in Bobbie's room. Eric looked around the bed for bugs and found a small one behind the headboard, which he flushed just as Pam had the other. He scanned the room, expecting to find at least one camera somewhere, but there were none that he could find, and his vampire hearing didn't identify that kind of noise.

He went down the hall to Bobbie's room where Sookie was on the phone with Niall, and she handed him the phone.

"This is Northman."

"And this is your future great-grandfather-in-law. Why is my Sookie so afraid?"

"You tell me – what is de Castro planning for her?"

"Well, I'm not completely sure of course, but I can assure you there will be no trouble until after your wedding."

"And why can you be sure of that?"

"Because he knows in no uncertain terms that I will rain Hell down upon him if he prevents my granddaughter from becoming your legal wife and her child your legal heir. You may be sure that he will wait until you are legally wed and your marriage consummated before he tries anything."

"And then…"

"We will cross that bridge when we come to it, Viking. I will be there tomorrow night, and you and I will speak privately. Until then, you are under my protection, and de Castro will not dare interfere with your wedding if he does not want war. Now, you put Sookie's mind at ease. Stress is not good for the child. Goodnight, Northman."

'Fucking Fae… never trust them,' Eric thought to himself.

The others all came into the room, and Eric motioned to Jason to close the door.

"I have been assured that we are safe until Sookie and I are wed and our union consummated. My guess is the trouble starts after Pam, Jason and Amelia leave on Monday."

"Eric, how can you be sure of that?" Sookie was unconvinced.

"Because de Castro has been told that interfering with our wedding will mean war with the Fae, and he is not going to risk that. You might be a widow soon after, but come hell or high water, you will be my bride."

"Eric, don't even joke about that," Sookie said as she wrapped her arms around him.

"Don't worry, my angel, it will be alright. I promise you," he said softly to her.

"Everyone get a good night's sleep. We should be fine tomorrow, but keep close to Sookie, just in case. We will know more tomorrow night."

Jason started to ask a question, but Pam took his hand, shook her head 'no,' and pulled him out of the room with her. When they got into his room she tried to kiss him, but he pulled back.

"Wait a minute."

"Jason…"

"Who was that on the phone?"

"It doesn't matter."

"It sounds to me like it matters a lot. What the hell is 'the Fae'?"

"Fairies."

"You mean fags?"

"No, not homosexuals. Fairies from Ireland, magickal beings who trade in secrets and treasure and play tricks on people just because they can."

"Are you telling me…?"

"Yes, they are real. All those fairy tales you heard when you were a kid had some basis in reality."

"No shit?"

"No, shit. Now, shut up and fuck me," and she pushed him on the bed. He quickly forgot about danger and fairies and his sister's safety.

Bobbie decided the best thing for her to do was to get a good night's sleep, so no matter what happened, her reactions would be sharp. She did a little yoga, some martial arts moves, and went to sleep. Amelia decided a little magick of her own might be in order, so she called down divine protection for Sookie and Eric before she went to sleep, not knowing that was already covered.

Eric and Sookie went to their room, and Sookie took the tube of lubricant out of the train case and threw it to him.

"My lover?"

Sookie spoke loudly, clearly and distinctly. "First, I want you to fuck me. Then, I want you to fuck me up the …"

"Sookie!" he indicated someone might be listening.

Sookie gave him an evil smile, mouthed the words "I know," and wiggled her eyebrows at him. Eric was shocked that she wanted to put on a show, but he quickly realized it would serve Felipe right to have to listen to him plunder his bonded right under his own roof. She didn't have to ask twice.

The first round didn't take long because Sookie was loud and calling Eric's name over and over, which was an incredible turn on under normal circumstances - in these circumstances, it was a nearly instant orgasm. The second round featured a mutual blood exchange that made them both crazy. He took her a third time before he flipped her over and she moaned loudly and confirmed his ownership of her several times, swearing "I'll never do this with anyone but you" over and over. If Felipe was listening, by now he would be sick.

Sookie knew that all the things Eric most loved to hear would be the very things that Felipe would hate, so she made Eric a happy, happy Viking that night, and she took an evil delight in the idea that she might be torturing creepy Felipe at the same time, which made her more voracious and aggressive than she had ever been. Eric, in turn, was loud and dominating, letting anyone who might be listening know that Sookie was HIS in every possible way. He left no doubt in the mind of anyone listening that while Sookie might have been unspoiled when he met her, he had by now thoroughly defiled her in every possible way. At least, that's how Felipe would see it. Eric saw it as claiming what was his.

Eric had so thoroughly satisfied and exhausted Sookie that she was asleep before he got back from cleaning up in the bathroom. He kissed her, covered her up, and put on his pants so he could go out to the living room and go through the papers Burnham had sent to him. As dawn approached, Amelia came out of her room and said she'd take over before Eric even had to wake her. He went to rest knowing that Sookie would be watched closely, and praying that would be enough.

By 9 o'clock all the humans were up, and the staff brought a wonderful breakfast of bacon, eggs, pancakes, fresh fruit and hot biscuits, which the three of them enjoyed thoroughly. They talked about their next best move and decided the best thing to do was to follow through with Sookie's plan to get some sun so they didn't arouse suspicion.

Sookie was dreaming. She was standing on the shore again, with the beautiful blonde woman with the gold necklace, which she noticed was made of some kind of yellow-orange-brown stone and red jewels that she somehow knew were rubies. The woman kissed her lips, not sexually, but the way a mother would kiss a child and told her, "Pay attention." Then Sookie saw that she was wearing a cape of grey and brown feathers. There was a flash of white light, and the beautiful woman became a giant bird of prey and flew back to the dragon ship at the edge of the mist.

"Miss Stackhouse? Miss Stackhouse?" Angela woke Sookie, who was having trouble shaking off sleep. She felt the remnants of a dream lingering at the edges of her mind, but the only thing she could really remember was the phrase "pay attention." She had no idea what it meant. Angela placed a tray over Sookie's lap, rare steak and scrambled eggs with juice and milk, and Sookie asked for a cold bottle of blood.

Sookie ate with the words "pay attention" echoing in her mind.

When she was finished, Angela suggested she and her friends might want to spend some time in the pool since Sookie had said she wanted some sun. She put on the black with white trim, higher-waisted bikini, which she had never noticed was a really cute retro design. Baby E was much less visible than in a normal suit. When Angela left, Sookie put her hands over the bump.

"Good morning, Baby E."

Love.

"I love you, too, sweetie."

Warm. Happy.

"Are you gonna let mommy get into her wedding dress tomorrow?"

Funny.

What the hell? Sookie felt like the baby thought it was funny that her dress might be too tight. That had to be beyond his abilities, right? He couldn't be teasing her?

When Sookie went out to the living room, she found Jason, Amelia and Bobbie ready to head for the pool, too, and the maids had given them a map of the "castle" so they could find their way to the pool. The maid told them the quickest way down was to take the service elevator that went to the kitchen, so that's what they decided to do. Amelia said they probably didn't want people roaming around the halls in bathing gear, and everyone agreed that was probably the case.

When they got to the kitchen, they heard snippets of conversation from the staff that there were guests coming in that would stay in the West wing both for the party tonight and the wedding tomorrow.

"Sookie – who would that be that's coming for the wedding?"

"Maybe Dr. Ludwig? Or Niall?"

Bobbie and Jason didn't know who Niall was, and Sookie didn't know what to tell them, so she changed the subject by asking if anyone brought any sunscreen. Bobbie suggested Sookie go without it for an hour or so because she'd need the vitamin D for the baby.

When they got to the pool, they found that the staff had expected them. Bobbie, Amelia and Jason were welcomed with a pitcher of strong margaritas, and Sookie had sweet tea and cold bloods waiting for her. There was also a tub full of ice and beer that had Jason's complete attention. Jason drank a beer straight down, then jumped off the diving board into the pool.

Sookie took a foam mat off a rack and managed to get on it and lean back so she could tan her belly, peeling the straps off her shoulders so she wouldn't have tan lines. After half an hour or so, she got out of the pool and lay on her stomach with her top off. It wasn't completely comfortable to lie that way, but Bobbie didn't think it would hurt her or the baby at this point. Just in case, they struck a compromise and put two smaller pillows from some of the lawn chairs under her chest and upper thighs to keep from resting any weight on her belly.

The sun in Nevada was very strong, and Sookie got a lot of color very quickly, so she spent a little time under an umbrella to keep from burning. She wanted color, but not hot pink, she laughed. At 3:30, Bobbie waded into the pool and took Sookie through a series of exercises, as Jason and Amelia each wandered in and out of the water, floating on foam mats and getting more drinks. Sookie had a few deep twinges, the first she had had in a few days.

At 4 o'clock a massage table was set up and spread with sheets and towels, and Jason was shocked to see Sookie stand behind a sheet and take off her suit. He didn't watch, of course, but the idea that she was doing it really struck him as odd. When did his sister become so…so… well, he couldn't think of a word, but whatever it was, he didn't think he liked it. He didn't say anything, but he also heard a few things coming out of Sookie and Eric's room last night he wasn't crazy about either.

'I mean, OK, she's going to marry the guy, but I still don't want anybody doing THAT to my sister!' he thought as he tried not to look at her on the table. He knew Sookie had sex, since she was pregnant and all, but hearing it… well, that was a little much for him. Pam tried to keep him distracted, but they were kind of loud, and it was hard not to bust down the door and kick Eric's ass… though he knew Eric would break him in half so that wasn't really an option.

'Fuck it, I need another beer,' Jason thought as he turned his mind to seeing if he could get Pam to do THAT tonight. No harm in asking, right? She hadn't said no to anything yet, even blowing him under the table in the bar last night, and that one thing she did to him… he never even knew about that little trick. It seemed queer at first, but once she got him to relax and let her do her thing, it was awesome!

'And that tongue… oops, better remember I'm wearing swim trunks. Don't want everybody to SEE what I'm thinking!' and he dove into the pool to cool down.

Sookie felt another couple of those deep twinges on the table, and Bobbie tried to relax her, but Sookie was just too keyed up to really relax. At 5:30 Angela asked Sookie if they wanted to eat by the pool or in their rooms, and they agreed they'd go on in so everyone could shower and relax before the party. Angela told Sookie just to shower and leave her hair wet. The make-up artist, hair stylist and manicurist would work on her beginning at 7, and they would be available to others in the party as time permitted.

The servants arrived with their dinner just as they got back to the room, so everyone ate in their swim clothes, with towels on the chairs to protect the wood from their wet suits. At 6:45, Sookie hit the shower, and the others gradually migrated to their rooms for showers and such. Sookie shaved her legs, so it was a little after 7 when she got out, and they were already set up in her room with a special chair when she came out in her pink robe.

The manicurist started on Sookie's feet so the polish could dry, and the hair stylist dried and rolled her hair. Then they had her get into her corset, thong and stockings, put the robe back on, and the manicurist did her nails while the makeup artist worked on Sookie's face. She asked if Sookie wanted her to cover the bite marks on her neck, and Sookie said absolutely not – she wanted them to be easily visible.

When she was done, the stylist took her hair down and used a curling iron to make more curls and started pinning them up on her head in a beautiful updo, while the manicurist and makeup artist went out to offer services to the other women. Sookie was all done except for her dress and putting on her pink pumps when Eric got up.

"My lover, you are perfect!" he said, delighted with the way she looked just in the robe.

"Check this out," she said as she turned and looked back over shoulder at him, peeling first one shoulder, then the other, of the robe off, and finally turning toward him and dropping it, leaving her in the corset, garters, thong and stockings. Eric, who doesn't even breath, gasped.

"Garters!" he growled, popping his fangs, throwing his arms around Sookie's waist, and swinging her around.

"I thought you might like to know what you're getting when you bring me back up to the room after the party and ravish me again."

"Mmmmmmm – maybe we should skip the party…"

"Oh, no, you don't Buster. This whole trip is about you making a big political splash and getting protection extended to our baby. No backing out now."

Eric sighed. "Of course, my lover, you are right, but when we come back tonight…"

"I got the idea – take your shower."

He kicked it into high gear, and while he was in the shower, Sookie slipped on the amazing pink dress and went out to get somebody to zip it up. She wanted Eric to see her completely done when he came out. She took the box with the diamond solitaire set in it with her, too, so somebody could help her put it on.

She was completely ready when Eric came out in a tux. She turned to look at him, and they both just froze. Sookie couldn't breathe, he was SO BEAUTIFUL in that tux, and Eric thought he was dreaming. No woman could be that beautiful. It just wasn't possible. The dress flowed so gracefully over her curves and swung seductively above her knees, and that cleavage! The pink color sparked against her sun-kissed skin, the diamond was glittering at her throat. Bobbie, Amelia, Jason and Pam were waiting to see how long it would take one of them to move. Jason shook his head. Pam rolled her eyes. Bobbie looked on wistfully, wanting a hot vampire of her own, and Amelia beamed pure pride and happiness for Sookie.

"Wow," was all Sookie could say, swallowing hard.

"My Queen," Eric said softly. Finally, he stepped forward and wrapped his arms around her, and she threw hers around his neck. They hugged for a long time until the rest of the group said "AWWwww" in unison and made them laugh. Eric and Sookie were both close to tears, and since the clock was striking 9 pm, Eric said, "So my friends – are we all ready?"

He offered Sookie his arm, and they walked out the door, followed by Pam in a pretty plum dress and Jason, in his suit, walking arm in arm; then Bobbie, in an expensive maroon silk wrap dress and Amelia, in a light blue a-line dress, following behind. Nobody spoke as they wound through the halls to the party. There was a lot at stake tonight and most of them were acutely aware of that.

When Eric and Sookie started down the great stairs, every head down below, guests who were arriving and milling around, turned to watch them. They were so striking together, people stared for a minute, then started asking people near them who that gorgeous blonde couple was.

Sookie knew they looked good, but was a little nervous, so she stood tall and put on her panic smile. Eric was so proud he could barely stand it. He knew the room was stunned by his bonded's beauty, and he stood very tall, enjoying their stares as he escorted her down the stairs and around into the great hall. No one could match her beauty tonight, and she was all HIS. It was one of those nights when it was very, very good to be Eric Northman.

As they entered the great hall, the sight of the two of them created a little stir. Was that the Northman this party was for? He really is a Viking, isn't he?! Who is the blonde woman in the pink dress? Half the women in the room cursed themselves for wearing black, and the other half resolved to find out where that pretty blonde got that amazing dress. She looked like a movie star, and he was obviously someone important. Sookie remembered Felipe had said there would be about 50 people there, but this looked more like 250 to 300.

There was a small orchestra playing on a slightly elevated stage in one corner of the huge room, and there were seats around the perimeter and clusters of chairs and love seats scattered about. There was a blood fountain on one side of the room, and a champagne fountain on the other. There were three ice sculptures on buffet tables full of drinks and food, and some volunteer blood donors wearing red ribbons to identify them. Felipe's crew was gathered into one corner with a large red leather chair and a couple of red silk settees that would enable him to receive visitors.

Eric saw Felipe's face when he first saw Sookie, and it was one of the best parts of the night. Felipe's eyes bugged out and his jaw dropped very briefly before he recovered himself. Pam and Jason found themselves a drink and a quiet corner. Amelia and Bobbie checked out the buffet and looked at some of the artwork displayed on the walls. Eric got a warm blood for himself and a cold one for Sookie, and they were going to mingle when Felipe summoned them. Ok, here we go.

"Sheriff, Miss Stackhouse – welcome. You look stunning, my dear. Allow me to introduce the Mayor of Las Vegas and his lovely wife. Mayor Norris, this is Sheriff Eric Northman and his beautiful fiancé, Sookie Stackhouse. Northman will be the first vampire sheriff in the Americas to marry."

"Oh, you must be so excited, dear!" The mayor's wife took the opportunity and ran with it, talking Sookie's ear off about weddings and grilling her about her wedding dress and flowers and so many things Sookie's head was spinning as Eric and the Mayor shook hands. The mayor asked about their visit to the Regency the night before, and told Eric about some new development planned for the strip, hinting that there might be investment opportunities for a well-connected vampire like himself.

The couple kept Eric and Sookie busy for about twenty minutes, Eric never faltering in his conversation, and Sookie mostly nodding, smiling and answering questions about the wedding. As the four of them spoke, several people came up and paid homage to Felipe or were introduced to him. Sookie noticed the mayor slipping a business card to Eric and him slipping it in his pocket, pulling one of his own out of the other pocket and handing it to the mayor. Eric came prepared to network, and Sookie made up her mind to be as charming as she could to make him look good.

Sookie was trying not to look bored when suddenly Felipe stepped forward and said, "Sheriff Maxwell, how nice to see you."

Sookie got ready to deal with the bitch, then turned around to look right into the face of Bill Compton. Sookie panicked and Eric looked up to see what was going on with her. Bill wasn't moving, except to bow to Sookie and say hello. Eric was on high alert in case of trouble, but he waited to see what Bill would do.

"Bill, what are you…."

"It's alright, Sookie, I won't be attacking you again. I've been inoculated to prevent it."

"Inoculated?"

"Yes, by Dr. Ludwig. You must have known – she used your blood?"

"She what?"

"She has been giving me injections of your blood so I could attend tonight's party without incident. I wanted to apologize to you personally, so when Sabrina invited me, I sought out Dr. Ludwig's help."

Bitch.

Sabrina had to know about Sookie's past with Bill – everybody did - and she did this to mess with her. And what the hell was Dr. Ludwig doing? Was this ethical? Sookie wondered how much Bill had paid her for that particular service.

Sabrina was fawning over Felipe. "Your majesty, have you met Bill Compton? He lives in Sheriff Northman's area. Bill used to date Ms. Stackhouse, didn't you, Bill?"

"That was quite awhile ago. Now we're just neighbors and good friends." Bill wanted to change the subject, "Your majesty, this is a lovely gathering."

"Thank you, Mr. Compton. I had hoped to hire an MC for the evening, but I understand that the man I requested, John Quinn, is missing?"

"Oh, I hadn't heard…"

Sabrina smiled wickedly, "You knew Quinn rather well, didn't you, Ms. Stackhouse? Didn't you date him AFTER you bonded with Eric?"

A word popped into Sookie's mind that proper Southern girls just don't say, but it started with a C, and Sookie thought it was well deserved in this case.

'Rise above it, Sookie, you don't want to make Eric look bad,' Sookie thought as she smiled her emergency smile.

Now Felipe joined in. "Sheriff Northman, you had some disagreement with Mr. Quinn regarding Miss Stackhouse, did you not?"

"There was a brief misunderstanding, sire, but we've long since worked that out. Sookie and I are quite content with our bond and happy to be committed to one another. We are extremely grateful to you for hosting our wedding."

Sabrina had fired all her best shots, and Sookie didn't blow up or cry the way she had hoped, so she linked her arm with Felipe's and started flirting shamelessly, as if Eric might be jealous of him. That didn't work either, and Sookie just turned away as Eric went back to his conversation.

"So, how are you, Bill?" Sookie noticed he seemed shaky and even more pale than normal.

"I'm fine – the inoculations leave me a little weak, but otherwise, I am as ever. You must be well –you are radiant. Being pregnant agrees with you."

"Thank you."

"I'm sure you'll be a wonderful mother, Sookie." Bill seemed sad but sincere.

Just then, Amelia and Bobbie wandered over to make sure Sookie was alright, ostensibly, but really Amelia had told Bobbie who Bill was, and Bobbie wanted to see him up close.

"Oh, Bill, you know Amelia – she's living in my old house now." Bill bowed his head to her. "And this is my masseuse, Bobbie James." Bill bowed his head to Bobbie, and she tried not to melt into her shoes. Goddess, he was GORGEOUS! Sookie was one lucky girl!

"You are a masseuse, Miss James?" Bill inquired.

"Yes, I am. I've worked a wide variety of clients, vampires included."

"Indeed?"

"Yes, one of my specialties is treating vampires who are depressed. I use aromatherapy and Reiki, and I've had great success with it."

"Aromatherapy? And that works?" Bill actually seemed interested.

"Yes. You seem a little shaky. You know Civet oil can be very effective if you are feeling ungrounded. Many vampires find it particularly soothing."

Sookie's ears perked up. Was Bobbie offering Bill a massage? Did she LIKE Bill? That would be so cool if they hooked up! Sabrina was hanging all over Felipe, anyway.

Bitch.

"Bill, Bobbie is very talented. She has helped me more than I can say."

"Oh, thank you, Sookie."

"Miss James," Bill asked, "Would you like to dance?"

Bobbie looked at Sookie, and Sookie wiggled her eyebrows and nodded her encouragement. Bill excused himself, took Bobbie's hand and led her over to where the orchestra was playing and couples were dancing.

Amelia laughed, "How about that?"

"Amelia, that would be so perfect for both of them if they hooked up. She's so open to the vamp thing, and I know she'd love to date one."

"You wouldn't be even a little jealous?"

"I want Bill to be happy. Bobbie is really pretty and sweet. He could do a lot worse."

"Not trying to ease your own guilt, are you?"

"Maybe a little, but I think they would be great together."

"O…K…." Amelia laughed, not quite convinced.

Felipe called Eric over to introduce him to some Nevada sheriffs, and he pulled Sookie over to him so she could be introduced as well. Amelia was asked to dance by someone she was pretty sure was a Were, so she went for it. Jason and Pam were nowhere to be seen.

The song ended, but Bill whispered something to Bobbie, and they stayed on the dance floor, so they were apparently hitting it off. The orchestra started playing Madonna's song "Material Girl," and there was a little murmur in the crowd. Sookie laughed to herself, because it seemed so weird that they would play that song.

Eric was talking to the Sheriff from Lake Tahoe, holding Sookie's arm, when suddenly from behind them…

"ERIC NORTHMAN, you gorgeous hunk of dead meat!"

"Oh, shit!" Eric said. Sookie was shocked because she never heard Eric say that before. What the hell?

Sookie turned to see the petite blonde walk up to Eric and run both hands up his chest like she was going to put her arms around his neck, but he grabbed her hands and stopped her.

"Hello, Maddie, how are you?"

"Between marriages. How are you?"

"Engaged."

"What?" She was shocked.

"Let me introduce you to my fiancé – Sookie Stackhouse, soon to be Sookie NORTHMAN, this is Madonna."

Sookie smiled and said hello, but she was ignored.

"Well, well, I never thought anybody would reel you in, Eric."

"She didn't reel me in, I fought for her and won."

"Well. Isn't that romantic," she said with a sneer in her voice. "Pretty dress, dear. Buy it at a vintage shop? It looks old fashioned."

"Maddie!" Felipe interrupted, "I'm so happy you could be here!"

Felipe and Madonna fawned over each other, and a photographer stepped in to get a shot of them. Eric saw a chance to get the hell away from them, so he led Sookie out onto the dance floor. They were near Bobbie and Bill when Bobbie leaned over to Sookie and said, "Is that who I think it is?"

"Yes, and she just iced me HARD. Eric you actually… slept with that rude woman?!" Sookie was aghast.

Bill interrupted, "Well really, Sookie, who hasn't?"

Eric laughed out loud, and Sookie looked horrified at Bill, who shrugged like it was no big deal. Eric picked Sookie up and spun around with her, making her laugh and she let it go. He was HERS now, and that was all that mattered.

About an hour and a half into the night, Felipe summoned Eric and Sookie and led them up to the bandstand. Eric held Sookie's hand, and she tried to stand tall and not to look nervous. Felipe approached the microphone and a hush fell over the room.

"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to my home!"

_There was polite applause_.

"We are here, my friends, to celebrate two most unusual occasions. Many of you know Eric Northman, the Sheriff of Area 5 in Louisiana. Many of you also know the famed telepath, Sookie Stackhouse, who saved many lives, human and vampire alike, in the attack on the Pyramid of Giza in Rhodes."

_OHHHhh the crowd said and applauded enthusiastically_.

Sookie noticed Niall standing at the right of the stage, and he nodded to her with a sly smile.

"We are here tonight to announce that Sheriff Northman, for the first time in the Americas, will wed a human. He and Miss Stackhouse will be joined in marriage tomorrow in this very house!"

_Shock, then applause that grew as people absorbed the news_.

"And, as the result of a near miraculous work of magick from an exalted master," Felipe nodded to Niall, and there was a murmur of recognition in the crowd.

"Sheriff Northman was enabled to impregnate his fiancé. Miss Stackhouse is pregnant with Sheriff Northman's son."

_Silence, then shock, then amazement and applause_.

"As many of you know, Miss Stackhouse, due to her bravery and service to the crown, was offered protection from all in my realm. Tonight, here and now, I declare that her protection shall be extended to Sheriff Northman's and her child. I hereby decree that all who owe me fealty will honor and protect this unique family from all enemies."

_Huge applause and approval from the crowd_.

Niall still had a sly smile on his face and was now standing next to Dr. Ludwig. Bill looked sick, and Bobbie squeezed his elbow. He smiled at her and held her hand as Bobbie steered him toward the nearest exit. Amelia was beaming. Jason and Pam were gone.

"Please, my friends – feast, drink, dance, celebrate this unique family with us!" and Felipe turned to kiss Sookie's hand and motioned for she and Eric to precede him off of the stage as the orchestra began to play again.

Sookie and Eric were mobbed with well-wishers, congratulations and questions about the wedding, where they lived, how they met and when the baby was due. Felipe went back to his corner, where he was also congratulated for having such a unique and progressive nest in his kingdom. He was gracious and over the top as usual, but he rarely looked away from Sookie.

Eric was paying attention to several things at once. He gave perfect responses to all who spoke to him, he held Sookie at his side so he knew where she was, and he was aware of where Felipe and all of his guard were. He also knew that Niall was here and was keeping an eye out for an opportunity to get him alone.

After about 45 minutes, the crowd dispersed and returned to their partying, and Sookie needed to go to the bathroom. She interrupted Eric's introduction to a sheriff from Arkansas.

"Eric, I need to use the ladies' room."

"Alright, my angel, take someone with you." And he went back to his conversation. EVERYBODY wanted to congratulate him and ask how he felt about being a father after such a long life. He was basking in the glory of being a vampire that had managed to sire a son. Everyone knew the child would be special and offered their best wishes. People were literally standing in line to speak to him.

Sookie looked around. She thought Bobbie was still dancing with Bill, and she wasn't going to mess that up for either of them. Amelia was talking to a really handsome guy, and she didn't see Pam or Jason, and Sookie really had to go! She finally just went out the side door and followed the signs to the rest room. When she was done, she checked her hair and makeup, but she had to lean against the wall for a minute because of a cramp. It didn't last long, but it felt deep. As she came out the ladies' room she was thinking about whether she'd ever be able to wear this dress again, and she wasn't paying attention to where she was going, so she walked through the wrong door. She was pushed from behind through a side door and it locked behind her. She hadn't even seen who had pushed her.

She tried to open the door, but it was locked and bolted. This was some sort of den or office. There was a fireplace, a desk, some chairs and a couch, and lots of books. There was only one way out that she could see. She was trying to figure out what to do when the door opened and Felipe walked in.

"Miss Stackhouse, I would speak to you."

"Oh, well, I was just on my way back to Eric."

"Yes, that is what I would like to speak with you about. You will be wed to him tomorrow night."

"Yes, I'm looking forward to it."

"Have you thought about what might happen after, my dear?" He was walking toward her and she was backing up.

"After?"

"Yes – you know you can marry him, but you don't necessarily have to stay that way."

"I love Eric - of course we'll stay that way."

"Life has a way of taking unusual twists and turns, my dear. What if something better came along? What if someone offered you a chance to be queen, and to bear a king's son?"

"I don't want to be queen, and the only child I intend to bear is Eric's."

"Eric might die. His son might die, too."

"Don't say that – I want to spend my life with Eric, and I love my baby." She backed into the wall and he was still advancing. She was in a corner and had nowhere to go.

"Say the Sheriff had an unfortunate accident after your marriage was consummated. You and your child could have his name and his money, and you would be free to choose another partner. A partner who could give you all of this." He motioned as if his house was the whole world. "Most women would jump at the chance to be Queen, my dear." He was up against her and stroking her chin with his fingers.

"I'm not most women…"

"No, you are not… you are special, my dear, I will give you that."

"I really need to get back to Eric now."

"You could have my child instead."

"No, I couldn't. I'm already pregnant."

"A small matter that can be quickly disposed of…"

Sookie was horrified at what he was suggesting. He couldn't possibly think she would agree to…

"I could kill him and make you my queen whether you like it or not, you know."

"I know no such thing. I won't do anything I don't want to do."

"I can be very persuasive, my dear…" he reached under her skirt, and she felt a stab of panic run through her like a knife. Eric! She sent for him through the bond as hard as she could.

As he touched her a flash of light exploded and knocked Felipe across the room. He was lying on his back screaming and flailing his legs and hands like he was being attacked by something invisible, and Sookie doubled over with a horrible cramp. The door burst open and Felipe's guard ran to him, Eric right behind them heading straight to Sookie.

"Sookie, are you hurt?"

"I don't know – it hurts."

"Why do I smell blood?"

"What?"

"Why does the King have blood on his hand?" a guard yelled across the room. Felipe was still screaming and flailing like he was fighting off an attack "The wings, no, a falcon! Wings! Wings!" he was screaming over and over.

"He touched me."

Eric panicked, "Where?" but he knew where. He reached under her skirt and his hand came out bloody. Sandy was bringing Ludwig into the room.

"Northman – take her to your rooms, I'll be there after I see to the king." Ludwig said as she gave the king a shot and he began to pass out. Eric scooped Sookie up and ran vampire speed back to their room, kicked the doors open and took her straight to their bed.

"Eric, get my dress off me, don't let it get ruined."

He didn't have time to argue with her, so he unzipped it and pulled it over her head. There was a small streak of blood, but it was on the inner lining. Her pink thong was ruined with blood, though. Sookie turned over on her side and put her hands over the baby. She was still in pain, but it was fading. She was crying, but mostly because she was scared. She concentrated.

Love, comfort. Anger.

Anger? Could the baby be angry? At her? No – he was angry about what Felipe tried to do to her.

Hearing the doors kicked open, Pam and Jason ran into the room partially dressed. Bobbie ran in, and so did Bill, who was carrying his shirt. Jason was zipping his pants and Bill pulling his shirt on.

Everybody was freaking out and asking what happened. Eric threw Sookie's pink robe over her since she was in her undergarments and the room was full of people.

Amelia and Niall walked into the outer room. Niall went to a large easy chair and sat down, perfectly calm, and Amelia went to Sookie's side, opposite Eric.

"Did anyone call Dr. Ludwig?" Bobbie asked.

"She was there when it happened – she said she'd see to Sookie as soon as she was done with the King."

"What actually did happen?" Amelia asked.

"I'm not sure - Sookie, are you alright?" Eric asked.

"It was him."

"What?"

"It was the baby."

"What are you talking about?"

"When Felipe… touched me, there was a flash of white light, like a shock, and it threw him across the room. Then he was fighting something off like he was being attacked by something. I think he thought a falcon was attacking him – he kept saying 'the falcon, wings, no.'"

"Yes, I heard that – what does that have to do with the baby?"

"It was him – he was protecting me."

Amelia and Eric looked at each other and then at Bobbie. Bobbie asked Sookie if she was still in pain, and she said no, she was mostly just tired at that point. Jason and Pam went out to the living room since there was nothing they could do. Bill asked if there was anything he could do to help, and Eric looked him up and down, noticing he wasn't quite dressed. Bobbie started rubbing Sookie's lower back as Eric stroked her cheek. Amelia went out to talk to Niall.

"Hey, who are you?" Jason asked like he just noticed Niall was in the room.

"I am Niall Brigant. You, my boy, are Jason Stackhouse."

"Yeah – do I know you?"

"We have never met."

"Are you sure? You seem really familiar to me, like I've seen you somewhere before."

"Indeed?"

Jason sat down, but you could tell he was still trying to figure out why he thought he should know Niall.

"Are you Niall?" Amelia asked.

"I am. And you are the Witch who lives in my granddaughter's old home."

Jason started paying attention – granddaughter? If he was related to Sookie, he had to be related to him, too. Did they have a grandfather living that he didn't know about? He didn't interrupt, but he stayed 'tuned in' in a way he normally wouldn't have.

"Yes. Do you have any idea what happened to Sookie?"

"I have some idea. I gather she was molested by Felipe de Castro, and retribution was swift enough to protect her from serious harm."

"Retribution by whom?" Amelia knew he knew more than he was telling.

"Well, that's the salient question, now, is it not?"

"Are you going to answer it?"

"I'm afraid, my dear, that Sookie will have to reach her own conclusions about the source of her help. I can tell you, however, that Felipe will most likely be indisposed for the remainder of their stay here, and they should be able to enjoy their time here in relative peace as long as they are reasonably vigilant."

"Brigant, do you want to talk to me?" Eric was in no mood for Fae bullshit. He wanted answers from this old bastard and he wanted them now. Niall looked amused by Eric's attitude.

"Calm yourself, Sheriff. She is unharmed and so is the child."

"Why does she think the child is responsible for what happened to Felipe?"

"Perhaps he was? Or perhaps it was someone working through the child. These things are rarely black or white. More often, there is some blurring of the distinctions between object and source."

"Is anything going to prevent our wedding tomorrow?"

"No, Sheriff, the wedding will go as planned, though de Castro probably won't be in attendance."

"Is he planning to have me killed after the wedding?"

"Probably, but I don't know for certain. It would seem to be the logical move from his perspective."

"And what is your logical move, Niall?"

"To see you married to my great granddaughter and raising your son together. Living a long and happy life as a rare and uniquely blessed family. I'm counting on you to raise that boy to a fine strong man like his father. He'll need your influence, especially as he enters manhood. It will take a strong hand to manage him. And there is that other matter we discussed which I'm sure you won't want to go into just now."

"Your wishes are unchanged in that matter?"

"Our agreement is still in effect. Watch your back while you are here, but have a good time. The hard part starts once the child is born. All your best efforts will be required to see that that happens."

"Is Sookie in danger? Or the child?"

"There is always danger to mother and child in the birth process, but I trust you to see that every precaution is taken and all of their needs met."

Niall stood up and walked toward the door, stopping in front of Bill.

"You are Compton, I presume?"

"Yes."

"Well, in another time and place, you and I have a score to settle. In this time and place, however, I think you should elect to stay here the rest of the week with the bridal couple. That pretty masseuse will make your stay more than pleasant, and Northman might need your assistance. Apply to Sandy and have your things moved here from your hotel on Monday after the others leave. Your assistance here might go a long way toward mitigating the damages you owe me."

"Damages?"

"You took something, Compton, that was my right to dispose of as I saw fit. Just because she managed to make an advantageous union, don't think your obligation is expunged. In time I would have demanded reparations from you and from Sophie Ann. Northman will clear Sophie Ann's debt to me, but you, sir, still owe for that which you took under false pretenses. Do we understand each other?"

Bill nodded, "We do."

"Keep in mind that either Northman or I could consider that a blood offense. You live from this point forward at our pleasure alone."

"Yes."

"Ludwig is coming in now. I will see all of you tomorrow at the wedding. We have much to celebrate. Nice to meet you, Jason." And with that he was gone.

Jason, who had been listening intently, sat back in amazement. That guy just vanished right in front of his eyes! What next?!

Actually, what came next was Dr. Ludwig, and Jason felt like he was in the Twilight Zone. How much more weirdness was there going to be around this wedding?

"Dr. Ludwig," Eric began.

"Northman – she in there?"

"Yes."

"You should be with her. She'll need some reassurance from you to get through the next little bit. Come, let's see how she's doing." She went into the room and Eric followed, closing the door.

Bobbie was still rubbing Sookie's back when they went in, and Sookie was nearly asleep. The bed was so high that Ludwig had to push some little steps over to it to reach Sookie.

"Now, my girl, let's see how we are…" She looked in Sookie's eyes, put her hand on her breastbone, then had Sookie turn on her back so she could press lightly around her abdomen.

"Let's get these off of her." Ludwig said, and Eric and Bobbie unhooked Sookie's stockings and gently rolled them down, then helped her out of the thong.

"Eric, I'm sorry…" Sookie started.

"Shhh, my angel. You'll wear it for me again sometime."

She smiled at him weakly, and he held her hand while the doctor checked to see if she was still bleeding. She wasn't.

"Alright then, no damage done. Just a little scare. I want her to have a bottle of blood every hour until dawn, and a glass of red wine now to calm her nerves. Hold her and talk to her, Northman. She needs to feel safe, and you are the only one at this point that can do that for her."

Ludwig turned to Bobbie. "Do exactly what you've been doing, but no pressure on the tummy from this point forward. Ibuprofen as soon as she wakes in the morning, and she's to stay off her feet as much as she can. I'll see you all tomorrow night for the wedding."

She started to leave, but Eric called her back.

"Doctor, what was de Castro screaming about?"

"He thought he was being attacked by a falcon. Maybe he was. Either way, he'll be sedated for a while by a compound I use just for vampires. You won't see much of him from this point forward."

Niall had said the same thing. Was this part of the plan? To keep Felipe away from the wedding? Sookie would certainly be much happier if he weren't there. Or was this revenge because he accosted Sookie before she was wed? Either way, he was pretty sure Niall and Ludwig were working together in this case.

A servant came in to ask if they needed anything, and Eric asked for red wine for Sookie and a cold bottle of blood. She showed him where the bar was, and it had several bottles of wine as well as hard liquor, and there was a cold blood in the bathroom of Eric's and Sookie's room. The servant said she would see that the little fridge was restocked immediately, since Sookie had consumed some of the blood there already, and she said she was going to bring some of the dietary supplements for her, too.

"Compton," Eric summoned Bill. "I take it you are going to be staying with us?"

"Well, that seemed to be what Niall suggested."

"Bobbie, Bill will be staying with you. He can send a servant to his hotel for his things tomorrow. Any objections?" He looked from Bobbie to Bill.

"None at all," Bobbie said. Yum.

"Thank you," was the only thing Bill could think to say. He had no objections to staying with Bobbie, since he was pretty sure the massage she'd been giving him was going to lead to sex anyway. She was very pretty, especially for her age, and very sweet, and frankly, he felt like shit, and a massage sounded pretty damned good right about now. The injections of Sookie's blood had made him sick as a dog for a week. He could use a little tender love and care, and if Bobbie was up for it, so was he.

Pam dragged Jason back to bed, and Amelia went to sleep so she could be up early to stay with Sookie. The maid returned with some bloods, and Eric asked if a travel box was available for Bill or if Bobbie's room could be light-proofed. She said she'd take care of it right away, so Eric went back to his room and closed the doors.

"How are you, my angel?"

"I'm sorry I ruined your party."

"You didn't ruin anything, Sookie. I spoke to everyone I needed to, and I have a pocket full of business cards. I handed out at least fifty. I did more than I expected. And besides, it's not your fault de Castro couldn't control himself. He risked war with the Fae approaching you before the wedding that way. Niall would be completely within his rights to attack his kingdom now for what he did. That might even have been part of Niall's plan."

"Are you sure it's OK?"

"My angel, the only thing I care about is that you and my son are safe. The rest is inconsequential. Let's get you out of this corset and into something more comfortable."

"There's a pink nightgown in the large suitcase."

Eric retrieved the nightgown and slipped it over her head as he helped her sit up. He stripped down to his red silk boxers, and Sookie whistled weakly at him, then laughed and so did he. He lay down next to her, and she faced him, and they whispered to each other a long time as he stroked her cheek and the baby bump, and they sent love all around the three of them. The family was safe for the moment. That was all that mattered. In less than 24 hours they would be wed, and things would be fine.

When Sookie got really tired, Eric bit his wrist and had her drink from him, and he stayed with her until he could tell she was dreaming. She dreamed of the blonde woman, who held up a rose that was dripping blood. She looked at Sookie with those sparkling blue eyes and said, "He used blood magick. You can, too."

Sookie would remember this dream, and gradually piece together the earlier ones in the days to come. She would even come to question whether they were really dreams at all.

Amelia got up just before Eric went to rest for the day, and Bobbie came in after Bill was secured in the light-fast room. Jason didn't sleep at all until Pam went to rest, and everyone knew it because they were loud all night. Bobbie and Amelia knew he wouldn't be up until later, so they had breakfast and talked about Bill. Amelia told Bobbie everything she knew, and Bobbie told her the bits she had picked up – not that they had spent that much time talking. Amelia knew clearly that Bill had Bobbie if he wanted her, and Amelia hoped he did. They looked good together, and Bobbie had a gentle quality about her that suited Bill's Southern manners.

They gabbed like old friends and watched morning TV until the maid came in to feed Sookie, then they got ready to go to the pool. Jason was up by that time, so he threw on his trunks so he could go with them. Sookie was moving a little slow, but she got it together and they all headed out. They found margaritas and beer waiting for them, and Sookie drank three bloods because she thought it might help her feel stronger. They were served hamburgers and hot dogs from the grill at 5:00, since the formal dinner was late that night, and they played in the pool until it was almost dark.

When Sookie got back to the room, they were setting up for hair and makeup, and she jumped in the shower. Eric got up while she was in the bathroom, and the stylists shooed him out of the room so he didn't see Sookie. He took his tux and went to Jason's room to shower and change. He knew he had to help Jason get dressed, anyway. When Eric was dressed, a servant came to take him down to the wedding. Bill was dressed at that point and went with him. There was a flurry of activity in the suite as Amelia, Bobbie, a hair stylist, a makeup artist, a manicurist and several maids fussed around Sookie and got her ready.

Once her hair, makeup and nails were perfect, they helped her into her dress. It was snug, but she got into it, and you couldn't really tell she was pregnant. Amelia was speechless and Bobbie was ready to cry. Sookie looked amazing, her sunglow standing out next to the beautiful white gown, looking like she just stepped out of a magazine.

The maids and the girls all escorted Sookie down to a side room where she would wait for the wedding to begin. Thank heaven, Sookie thought, it wasn't the room Felipe had trapped her in. She didn't think she'd be able to handle that.

The chairs in the great hall were arranged in a semicircle around the platform the bride and groom would be on, with an aisle down the middle. The room was virtually filled with yellow and pink roses, and there were pink decorations and ribbon everywhere. A smaller orchestra was on the same bandstand used the night before, with the addition of a white grand piano and a microphone, plus a few unusual items that appeared to be African drums. There was a head table along the wall next to the bandstand.

Since Felipe wasn't able to attend, Bill agreed to stand up for Eric, which Eric thought was above and beyond the call, but Bill wanted to do it. There were about 60 people in attendance, most of them Sheriffs or other officials from the vampire hierarchy, including Russell Edgington and his mate and the Queen from the Gotham district and her consort.

Niall came in and sat down, then Dr. Ludwig joined him, and Eric noticed they seemed deep in conversation. The mayor of Las Vegas and his wife were there, and a few wealthy business men and their wives who had met Eric the night before and wanted a further chance to speak with him. The dinner would be held in the same room, tables arranged behind the chairs for the ceremony, and it looked to Eric as if all of these people were expected to stay. So much for a small, intimate wedding, but he didn't care, he just wanted to marry Sookie and quell the competition for her.

Eric and Bill stood at the front of the aisle, Bill in the same tux he wore the night before and Eric in white tie and tails. They both looked impressive, and people whispered and marveled at how tall and handsome the groom was and how impressive he had been when they were introduced to him. He was obviously on the rise in the vampire world, and they all wanted to know him or be in business with him.

Eric wasn't exactly nervous, but he almost felt high he was so excited. He had always wanted Sookie but never thought being married made much difference. He was surprised to learn that it apparently meant quite a lot to him. He was actually fighting back tears, and he hoped no one noticed. Pam and Bobbie came in and sat in their reserved seats in the front row, Pam behind Eric, and Bobbie behind the spot where Sookie would stand.

Jason was at the back of the room, and one of the servants motioned to another. A side door opened and out walked the Ancient Pythoness, who was going to perform the ceremony, and two daemon assistants. The vampires in the room were awestruck. Eric and Bill were shocked, and knelt down on one knee before her. She told them to stand, and they became aware that she was surrounded by an aura of magick so the humans didn't know what they were seeing. Felipe had pulled out all the stops for this wedding… or had he? Eric realized that Felipe could not have arranged this, so who did?

Eric, let alone Bill, couldn't believe she had agreed to do this. Eric looked back at Niall, and he had a satisfied smile as he nodded to him. This was huge. Eric began to wonder exactly who it was that thought de Castro had overreached in his coup against Sophie Ann. There might already be very powerful forces aligned that were waiting for Eric to step into place. Niall had said he was putting Eric in position to become regent. He hadn't dreamed it went this high up in the hierarchy. If the Pythoness was involved, there were much bigger things going on in this wedding than just Niall arranging a financially advantageous marriage for his great granddaughter. Eric began to wonder if this wasn't a coronation of sorts.

The orchestra began to play a really slow and sweet song they would later find out was Edelweiss, but no one would ever figure out why that was chosen for the bride to walk out to. The crowd stood. Amelia walked slowly down the aisle in a pretty pink satin Asian style dress and a small bouquet of pink and yellow flowers. There was an audible murmur of awe and approval when Jason walked in with Sookie on his arm.

No one could believe how beautiful Sookie looked, least of all Eric. She was a vision in that perfect white dress, carrying a bouquet of small pink roses, and you could tell even Jason was proud of how she looked. Eric found himself wondering if he remembered to put a handkerchief in his pocket, because he was really afraid he was going to cry. She looked like an angel – his angel – and it was almost too much to handle in front of all of these people. All thoughts of war and politics flew out of his head. The only thing that existed right now, in this moment, was this beautiful girl that was going to marry him. The gods had truly smiled on him.

Jason gave Sookie's hand to Eric and sat next to Pam. Eric and Sookie faced the Pythoness. Sookie was surprised. She didn't know exactly what her presence meant, but she knew it was a big deal. It was a short and simple ceremony, the Pythoness speaking with her thick accent.

"Sheriff Eric the Norseman, do you take this woman as your Lady and your wife?"

"I do."

"And are you satisfied with the bride price?"

"I am."

"Place the ring on her finger and repeat these words: Sookie, as I take and protect thee, I thee wed."

Eric placed the ring on Sookie's hand and said, "Sookie, as I take and protect thee, I thee wed."

"Sookie Stackhouse, do you accept Eric the Norseman as your lord and your lawful husband, heretofore to be known as Sookie Norseman, this man's legal wife?"

"I do."

"Place the ring on his finger and repeat these words: Eric, as I belong to thee, I thee wed."

"Eric, as I belong to thee, I thee wed."

"Kneel."

Eric and Sookie knelt before her, and she said "Cord" and motioned to an assistant who handed her a leather cord, and she bound their clasped hands together. She turned to the other assistant, saying "Besom" and she was handed an old-fashioned, handmade broom that smelled of some herb Sookie couldn't identify. The Pythoness swept around the couple in a circle, then when she returned to her starting place, she pointed the end of the broom up, down to the side, across to the side, straight across, down to the other side and back up to where it started. Amelia told them later it was a pentacle.

She laid the broom in front of them, told them to stand and then jump. Eric was still holding Sookie's hand as they jumped over the broom.

The first assistant handed her a dagger, and she cut the cord opposite the knot and handed it to Eric.

"Ye are now husband and wife. So mote it be, and It is done. You may kiss your bride, Norseman."

Eric gave Sookie a very gentle and proper kiss, and they smiled at one another. The Ancient Pythoness turned and left the platform, taking a place of honor at the front table. Sookie and Eric were photographed before they stepped off the platform, then Bill, Jason and Amelia were added for additional pictures. Sookie and Eric were led over to the center of the table headed by the Pythoness, and Niall was seated at the opposite end, along with Dr. Ludwig. Pam was seated next to Eric, Jason next to Sookie, then Bill next to Pam and Amelia on the other side of Jason, and Bobbie was seated on the other side of Bill. All of the other tables had non-family or friends.

There were pink roses and candles on every table. The seats assigned to vampires featured a cranberry glass goblet on a gold charger. The seats for humans and others had gold chargers under china that looked like it was sprinkled with mistletoe, and clear glass goblets. The humans were served rare prime rib. The vampires were served a red liquid that Sookie and Amelia later decided was a blend of human and fairy blood. They didn't want to know where it came from.

The meal progressed quietly as the orchestra played delicate classical pieces that were soothing and light. Sookie thought it was odd that there were no toasts, but she didn't say anything. As people were wrapping up their meals, Sookie and Eric were asked to take the dance floor in front of the orchestra. The bandleader announced them as Mr. and Mrs. Eric Northman taking the floor for their first dance as husband and wife, and a new group of musicians took the stage as the diners applauded Eric and Sookie. A man sat at the grand piano and began to play, as several people in African dress began to play the drums and other instruments. Sookie and Eric began to dance and they realized that the song they were playing was "In Your Eyes," and the man at the piano was Peter Gabriel.

"Eric, is that…?"

"Yes, it is."

"Did you…?"

"It was a gift from Felipe of all people. I didn't tell you because I wanted it to be a surprise."

"So that really is THE Peter Gabriel?"

"Singing just for you, my angel."

"Wow."

Eric laughed and swung her around and the other guests applauded. The bandleader invited others to take the dance floor with them, and Bill and Bobbie, Jason and Pam, Niall and Amelia were the first to do so, though several of the other attendees did soon after. Mr. Gabriel played three more songs, and Eric and Sookie danced to two of them. As the third began, Mr. Gabriel wished the best of luck to the happy couple, and they thanked him as the song progressed and they returned to their table.

At this point people were mingling and drinking and nobody was feeling any pain. Eric and Sookie were walking around thanking people for being there to share the evening with them, which let Eric make another round among the important business people, politicians and Supes. The mayor of Las Vegas and his wife asked Sookie and Eric to sit down for a few minutes.

"Thank you, Mayor Norris," Eric was in full bull-shitting mode, and Sookie was just doing her part as arm candy, though she was also listening to people's thoughts because it might help Eric.

"I understand that your host has taken ill."

"Yes, it was quite unexpected."

"How long are you and your new bride planning to be in town?"

"We are due to leave on Friday."

"I'll be honest with you, Northman, I'd like to talk more to you about the projects we are planning for the strip. Since your host is indisposed, how would you feel about spending a few days in a penthouse suite at the Bellagio instead? It's more central to the fun, and you and your bride could enjoy the city more. The Mrs. and I would like to take you and Sookie to dinner on Wednesday and show you around."

"That is very kind of you, Mayor. A penthouse suite at the Bellagio, you say?"

"Yes, I took the liberty of reserving it for you. How many in your party – two?"

"Actually we are four – my wife's masseuse and her beau are also with us."

"How about I send a car tomorrow night at 10 to pick the four of you up and move you to the Bellagio. It will be a wedding gift – all expenses paid."

"That is very generous, sir."

"Good, then that's settled. No point in staying all the way out here if your host is not able to entertain you. You be ready to go tomorrow night at 10, and we'll talk more on Wednesday night. We'll call for you at your suite at 9 pm. I'll have Sandy make any arrangements that are necessary."

"Thank you so much, mayor. I know Sookie will be pleased to see more of the city."

"Alright, my boy, we'll see you on Wednesday. My driver is Darrell and he'll be in charge of moving you."

The mayor's wife was going on about how pretty Sookie's dress was and how lovely but unusual the ceremony, and he told her they were leaving and said their goodbyes, saying they'd see her on Wednesday.

"Eric – what's Wednesday?"

"Sookie, my love, how would you like to trade in your bugged room here for a penthouse suite at the Bellagio for three days?"

"Can we afford that?"

"We could, of course, but it's a gift from the Mayor. He has business he wants to discuss, and he apparently prefers not to do it here. He's sending a car for us, Bill and Bobbie tomorrow at 10 pm and moving us there, then we will have dinner with him and his wife on Wednesday night."

"I'd love that! I can't wait to get out of here. I'll feel much safer somewhere else."

"I thought that would be the case. Did you happen to listen in at all to either of them?"

"Yes – she's hard not to read. She adores me, and thinks you're handsome and impressive. He thinks you've got potential, and for some reason he specifically wants a vampire in on this deal he's working on. There's also some tie in with New Orleans he wants to talk to you about."

"Interesting."

"So how much longer do we have to stay here? It's our wedding night, you know," she said as seductively as she could.

He gave her a beautiful smile. "Yes, I do know that. Let's make sure we've thanked everyone, and we'll sneak out."

"Sounds good to me. I can't wait to get out of these shoes."

"And I can't wait to get you out of that dress. I'm looking forward to making love to my wife for the first time."

"Awww – sweetie," she laughed. She was walking on air. She felt like pinching herself to make sure it wasn't a dream – she was Mrs. Northman! How amazing was that!?


	40. Chapter 40

Disclaimer: The Southern Vampire Series, and all characters from it, is owned by Charlaine Harris. No infringement is intended.

___________________________________________________________________________________

He really wanted to get out of here. Not only did he want to consummate his new marriage, he needed some time to think about what's really going down here. Is it possible that the Mayor is tied into the vampire or Supe movement against de Castro? Or does he just not like the asshole? You certainly couldn't blame anyone for that.

Niall is sitting next to Dr. Ludwig and the Ancient Pythoness, and her entourage is at the opposite end of the same row of tables. It almost looks like two heads of state, so to speak, each sitting at a head of the table. How poetic that he and Sookie were placed right between them.

He needs to ask the Pythoness what is going on. Her answer will be cryptic at best and a damned riddle at worst. Niall might be lying his ass off and feeling completely justified in doing so. Dr. Ludwig is normally neutral in these matters, but she's awfully chummy with Niall, and she thought it necessary to get Bill Compton here or she'd never have taken a chance on an inoculation working.

Whatever happened to Felipe was big and traumatic. A vampire that old and powerful doesn't freak out over a hallucination. He WAS being attacked by something, and Sookie thought the baby was responsible or at least involved. Ludwig said he'd be a born Witch. Is it possible he's that powerful in the womb? Or as Niall said, is someone working through him? Eric knew this had something to do with blood. Felipe made the mistake of touching Sookie where she was bleeding and was thrown across the room and attacked by something that has completely debilitated him. That almost certainly implied blood magick, and that normally involves women, except when Freya taught women's blood magick to Odin.

He looked around the room. There's one Witch here, so he'd start with her. Sookie was answering questions about her gown and the dress she had on at the party for some of the businessmen's wives, so Eric headed over to where Amelia was sitting.

"Amelia – what do you know about blood magick?"

"Which kind?"

"Are there different kinds?"

"Well, there's red magick that is natural to all women – menstruation, sex, birth, healing, death, yoga, belly dancing, anything physical. Then there's a kind of sympathetic magick that uses blood as either a connective catalyst or a source of energy."

"Sookie thinks the baby is responsible for whatever happened to Felipe, and she was bleeding where he touched her."

"Someone or something used her blood to shock the hell out of him and send something after him. That's big magick – the baby might be a conduit for or a contributor to that, but there has to be a major power channeling through him or her. It could be Sookie's blood that has the power, the baby, or the fact that that particular baby is in her particular womb. The combination might be… combustible, so to speak."

"Could something be working through Sookie without her knowing it?"

"Well, it's possible she hasn't recognized it yet. Sometimes people are given signs, but they don't connect the dots. Has she mentioned any dreams or visions lately?"

"No, but there has been a lot going on, and I'm never with her when she awakes."

"Start with that – find out if she's having dreams or strange feelings or intuition. Sookie doesn't think symbolically – it would be easy for her to miss a sign or a kenning or even a premonition, just because she'd dismiss it and move on without examining it. That could tell us a lot."

"I'll ask her. You are leaving early tomorrow?"

"Yes, we're supposed to head out at 10 am. Bobbie and Bill will be the only ones here with you and Sookie after that. Sookie has my cell number. If you come up with anything you can't identify, call me tomorrow evening."

"Sookie, Bill, Bobbie and I will be moving to a penthouse suite at the Bellagio tomorrow night and stay there until we leave on Friday."

"Wow – when did you decide this?"

"We were just invited by the mayor as his guests, and I accepted to get us out of this house. He offered because of Felipe's infirmity, and that's a good excuse to accept without offending him. I'd prefer Bobbie and Sookie not be wandering around here all day by themselves. I know something is going to happen."

"Good idea. When you guys get moved, call me and tell me the room number and telephone number there. You know, you have pretty strong intuition yourself. You watch for signs, too. Sookie knows about Goddesses and gods, but you've actually known a few up close and personal from what I infer."

"Yes, I've had some… experiences in that realm."

"Remember, that's your baby, too. Your magick, his magick, Sookie's magick, Niall's magick… there's a lot of volatile energy there just begging for direction. Felipe made the mistake of giving it a place to strike. If you can figure out who or what the source is, and what She, he or it wants to accomplish, you'll have a much clearer idea of how to use it to your advantage, or at least keep it from backing up on you. Ask her what she did the instant Felipe touched her. That should tell you the trigger."

"Alright, thank you. We're going to sneak out in a few minutes."

"Good idea. I'll keep everybody partying down here as late as I can to give you kids a little privacy. Go have fun!"

"Thank you."

Eric still hadn't come up with a way to approach the Ancient Pythoness, but he knew he had to do it before he left. He didn't want her to be offended if she expected his tribute. He also hoped she'd give something away about what was really going on. He tried to center himself and approached her end of the table.

"Priestess, may I approach?" He bowed his head and lowered his eyes, waiting for her permission.

"You may."

He stepped forward and she motioned to a seat. "Sit, Norseman, we will speak."

Eric was shocked that she asked him to sit down. "As you wish, Priestess."

"Enjoy your stay in the West. It is where you belong."

"I'm sorry?"

"Do not be sorry –merely pay attention. The delicate equilibrium between kingdoms has been disrupted. New alliances and borders must be carved and a new order established to repair the voids."

"Voids? As in the void left by Sophie Ann?"

"Yes, and the one encroaching on this kingdom as well."

"Is Felipe going to die?"

"That depends – are you going to kill him?"

"Would there be… repercussions if I did?"

"Every action has consequences – some of them are more pleasant than others, but you alone place the value on the events as they unfold."

"I have never aspired to be king, Priestess."

"And yet you will be. Those who rule by fear and deceit die by violence. Your cause will be just."

"And the other kingdoms?"

"Will align when a leader emerges. You, Norseman, shall be that leader sent to fill the voids."

"Do I have a choice?"

"No. It is ordained and you have struck a bargain with Niall. Now you are family – you cannot break that bond."

"The other regents who are here now…"

"Are prepared to follow where you lead. The Council awaits you. Kill the monster with two heads, Norseman. That is your destiny. You must consummate your marriage before dawn – you may leave."

"Thank you, Priestess."

Fuck. Kill the monster with two heads. Eric curses the fact that she can't just tell him what to do, he has to solve a damned riddle. Fortunately, he knows exactly what the monster with 2 heads is – Felipe is ruling two kingdoms, and his kingdoms have 2 leaders – Felipe and Victor. He has to kill them both to restore the equilibrium. If he understood what she told him, the boundaries of the kingdoms will be redrawn by The Council at the end of this… process, and he would rule a Western territory.

That's assuming he understood what she told him. He can't believe The Council is expecting him to clean up Felipe's mess. When did they become concerned with American territorial disputes? There has to be another layer to this, something he's missing. Felipe didn't just piss off the other rulers and make them worry he'd do the same to them that he did to Sophie Ann. He's run afoul of The Council, and possibly the entire Living Pantheon.

That's why Niall is involved in this. That's why Ludwig is not neutral as would be expected in a simple territorial dispute. He'd bet one of his shopping centers that when he gets back to Shreveport he gets a visit from the Weres and some of the Pagan alliances, which were the closest things Witches had to a power structure. Witches naturally balk at attempts to organize them, so networks and alliances are formed to share information and let individuals and groups decide their own interest in any Supe politics they can't avoid. He figured they'd send an Elder or two his way, and he'd have to deal with several packs of Weres because they're clannish and their packs are small.

The greatest danger facing him right now is from other vampires. Vampires weren't loyal, they were pragmatic. They'd have to believe Eric had a chance of succeeding before they'd back a revolution of this sort. They'd have to see results before they opposed a king to whom they've sworn fealty, even if he took that right rather than earning it. He was standing in front of the blood fountain, having a drink of the _real meal_ provided for their guests, when Russell Edgington and Carolina, the Queen of the Gotham district approached him.

"Hello, Northman," Russell started.

"Hello, Russell, I'm so pleased you could be here."

"Northman, have you met Carolina? She's visiting from Manhattan," and he indicated the petite, very chic and well-dressed woman who looked like a younger, attractive lady-who-lunches, with a short black bob and very pale skin.

"I know of her reputation, of course, but we have never been introduced. Madame you are most welcome," he said as he bowed to her.

"Charming. You and your new bride are most charming. I just spoke to her. She had no idea who I was, but she was so gracious and friendly that no one would believe it. A most desirable _consort_ for a man in your position."

"Thank you. I am very proud of her." Consort. Not wife – consort. She just sent Eric a clear message that she expects him to be king. Russell agreed.

"Yes, she's quite unique, and helped me a great deal when I was in need. I would be most happy to offer help should you ever need it, Northman. You're on your way up in the hierarchy, and I want you to know that I'm behind you if you ever need me or mine."

"I am honored, Russell, and I'm sure I will need your help at some point in the future."

"Yes, I know you will."

"And I want you to know that you can call on me if you need… assistance… in the Eastern states."

"That is very generous of you."

"I'm not a generous woman, I'm a practical one. I know the past when I'm standing in it, and I know the future when it stands before me."

"Thank you."

"Well, we don't want to keep you from your lovely bride. Keep in touch. You have my number?"

"Yes, Russell, I still do."

"And here is my calling card." Carolina handed him a pink parchment card, "That's a secure number. Only other regents have it."

Eric bowed his head again, "Madame."

"You might need this while you're here." Russell added and handed Eric a small black device - a signal jammer. Russell knew the suites were bugged and was giving him a way to work around it. Eric slipped it into his pocket and bowed.

The two regents nodded to Eric and went back to their respective parties. He was right – this was being viewed as a coronation of sorts, with other regents ready to betray Felipe under his own roof. Whatever Felipe did, it was big. Was he dabbling in sorcery? Plotting against a member of The Council? Had he offended a god or Goddess?

Sookie was nodding toward an exit, and Eric looked around – he had spoken to everyone here, and as promised Amelia was trying to keep their party busy. Eric sneaked out a door that led to the same hallway the exit Sookie was at opened onto. He came out one door, she the other, and he scooped her up and flew up the stairs with her. Everyone was pretty intent on him consummating his marriage, so let's get on with it. He could plan the revolution tomorrow. Tonight, for the first time in a millennium, he was a married man and that was all he wanted to think about.

Eric locked the door to their bedroom, and held a finger up to Sookie's lips indicating she should be quiet. He took the signal jammer out of his pocket but didn't turn it on, placing it on the nightstand beside the bed. He kissed her softly and for a long time, then gradually kissed her harder, and he smiled as he felt her breathing get heavier as he held her. He pulled down the zipper of her dress and lifted her out of it, leaving it in a pile on the floor.

She was wearing the white corset and stockings he had bought for her to wear, and he wanted her to keep it on for awhile. He laid her back on the bed and just looked at her – she was so beautiful. He destroyed the little g-string that came with it, going down on her as she writhed in that sexy white corset, her breasts spilling over the tops of the cups even as she lay on her back, and he stroked her legs to enjoy the feel of them in those light, sheer stockings. She stroked his gleaming blonde hair as he licked her, and he used his fingers and tongue to bring her to her first orgasm. She tried to be quiet as he wanted, but she couldn't stifle a few little gasps that were like music to him, they were so soft and sweet.

He felt like every part of her was warmer and sweeter than it had ever been before. He ran his hands down her whole body, then began to take off his jacket and shirt as he watched her reach down and stroke herself. He didn't have to tell her to do it, she just did it so he could enjoy watching her while he undressed. Her face was flushed and her eyes were partially closed, and he could have cried she was so lovely lying beneath him.

He backed off the end of the bed to take off his pants, and as he crawled back up, he kissed her ankles, legs, thighs and finally kissed her baby bump for a long minute, then rested his head on it. The little Viking was practically cheering, and he and Sookie looked at each other and laughed softly. He kissed it again, then he moved up and kissed the tops of her breasts, pushing the cups of the corset down to take her nipples in his mouth. He spent a long time there, enjoying that he kept getting the lace in the cups in his mouth, because in some way it made her seem more exposed. He stroked, squeezed, rubbed and kissed her breasts over and over, then slowly unhooked the front of the corset half way down as he ran his tongue down to where it was still hooked. The way it was half open made her breasts spill out in soft, creamy globes that he teased with his teeth and his tongue.

Eventually, he unhooked the stockings and rolled them down each leg, following them down with gentle kisses. He came back up and unhooked the rest of the hooks on the corset, feeling as if he was unwrapping the most amazing present in the world. He felt as if he was seeing her with completely new eyes. It wouldn't take much for him to think he was acting like a romantic sap, but somehow, knowing that this time it was permanent and official in a way it never had been, and it was the first in a way it never would be again, made it almost a religious experience for him. Sookie could tell that he was moved and taking his time, so she didn't push, she just let him take it as slowly as he wanted and tried to memorize how every touch and every kiss felt, the way he did sometimes. She wanted to remember every moment of this, too.

He stretched out over her, concentrating on the warmth of her flesh against his as he lay on top of her. He kissed her cheek and then her neck as his hand met hers and their fingers entwined. "My angel," he whispered in her ear, as he rose up and reached down to guide himself into her. He kissed her deeply, keeping his tongue in her mouth as he slid into her. It flashed in her mind that he was as "into" her as he could get himself – his tongue in her mouth, his fingers in between hers, his "gracious plenty" wrapped in her warmth as he gently moved in and out. It felt like it went on for hours before he began to speed up, and she pulled her knees up and to the side, wrapping her legs around him so her heels were resting against the back of his legs, her arms around him, lightly running her nails up and down his back.

He nuzzled her neck beginning to take stronger, deeper strokes as she responded by rising to meet him in perfect rhythm. The were both instinctively being quiet, wanting this to be just between them, something they would always have that couldn't be touched by vampire politics or anyone or anything in the outside world. It was just them, now, the two of them, the three of them, a perfect union, a complete unit, whole unto themselves, and they were floating in white light, swirling around each other, unable to tell where one's release ended and the other's began, blooming into a bright hot spasm and then stillness in each other's arms, Sookie's panting the only sound they made.

They clung to each other, and Sookie saw Eric wipe a bloody tear away from each eye as he was kissing her shoulders and neck. He bit his wrist and fed her, as he took blood from her wrist at the same time. Her blood was intoxicating, and he rode the wave of it as he took her again silently, wrapping his arms around her tightly and swinging her up on top of him as he rolled on his back. They entwined the fingers of both hands, and she rose up and down on her knees, bracing against his hands to stay upright. At that point, Sookie became a little wild and was really pounding downward on him in a way she'd never done before, shaking her head and laughing. Eric was so surprised that he laughed too, and as Sookie squealed and fell over beside him, he pulled her close and kissed her while he brought his right hand down on her bottom with a loud crack. She was stunned at first, then she continued to laugh, and they were wrestling around playfully, tickling each other, and he swatted her a couple more times. He made note of the fact that she seemed to like it and planned to give her a real spanking at some point in the future after the baby was born.

They were lying together whispering when she yawned, and it reminded Eric what he was going to ask her. He reached over and turned on the signal jammer. Sookie gave him and inquiring look.

"A signal jammer. It should keep them from hearing us as long as we whisper. Is your dagger under your pillow?"

"Yes."

"Good. Sookie, have you had any unusual dreams lately?"

"Yeah, actually, I keep dreaming about the same woman."

"What woman?"

"She's tall and blonde, and she has blue eyes that sparkle the way yours do sometimes. I see her as a bright light on a ship that's carved into a dragon."

"A dragon ship? The kind we used as Vikings?"

"Yeah, I guess – anyway, she comes to see me on the shore. One time she kissed me on the lips. She wears this pretty gold necklace with these yellow-orange-brown stones and rubies. Once she was wearing a cape of feathers and turned into a bird of prey, though I have no idea why I knew it was a bird of prey and not just a bird. Once she had a rose that was bleeding…"

"Bleeding?"

"Yeah, and she said, 'He used blood magick. You can, too.'"

"Sookie, do you know who She is?"

"No, why? Is she somebody real? I just thought she was a dream."

"My lover, you are describing Freya. The necklace of amber and rubies is called Brisingamen. It's one of the reasons you have rubies in your engagement ring. The cape of falcon feathers allows her to turn into a bird and fly between the worlds."

"Falcon? Isn't that what Felipe thought had attacked him?"

"Yes, and he touched your blood, my lover – Freya's realm is women, birth and blood magick – the legends say she taught Odin about women's blood magick."

"She said the baby used blood magick and I could, too."

"Are you sure she meant the baby?"

"Yes, I told you – he was protecting me."

"He apparently had help – very serious help."

"Help from Freya?"

"My guess would be that you or the baby or both are channeling Her energies. She may be invested in what is going on around us. When Felipe attacked you, he brought down the wrath of the Goddess."

"That's big, right?"

"Very big. Felipe has apparently offended some very powerful forces – so powerful that they're fomenting revolution against him."

"What's more powerful than a King?"

"Kings are regional lords that rule a particular region with pretty much absolute power, but they rule at the pleasure of The Global Council, who includes and serves the Living Pantheon."

"So this Global Council is the real power of the vampires?"

"Of all Supes – it's ecumenical. Any and every kind of Supe is represented and answers to The Council, and they try to maintain a sort of equilibrium between the worlds. They don't normally get involved in territorial disputes like the one between Felipe and Sophie Ann, but Felipe has apparently done something far worse because they're all moving against him. Two regents just offered me help from their territories, and the Ancient Pythoness just told me The Council is waiting for me to make my move."

"She said that?"

"Yes. I'm supposed to kill the monster with two heads."

"What does that mean?"

"I believe it means killing Felipe and Victor Madden. Two territories with two ersatz leaders ruling as one is the monster with two heads.

"Felipe and Victor? What about Sandy?"

"Sandy will follow any regent who steps forward. Felipe is marked for death, and The Council knows Victor would move in his place and doesn't want him either."

"So they've decided they want you?"

"Or, more likely, us. You, me and the baby."

"Why us?"

"That I don't know yet. It may be part of a bargain Niall has struck with someone in The Council, or it may be the will of the Living Pantheon."

"Ok, what is the Living Pantheon?"

"The gods and Goddesses still living and ruling the worlds."

"So they're real? All of them?"

"Some of them have died, some remain. The ones who remain still pull strings and influence larger events of karma and destiny."

"And that has something to do with us?"

"So it would seem."

"Do we have a choice in this?"

"I was told I do not. Now that we are married, that would include you. They were all very intent on us consummating our marriage before dawn."

"All? Who is all?"

"The Pythoness, Niall, the regents and I think Dr. Ludwig."

"Are we still moving to the Bellagio tomorrow night?"

"Yes."

"Is the mayor in on this?"

"I don't know yet. He may be, or he may just not trust or want to work with Felipe."

"I couldn't blame him for that. Maybe he's just smart."

"We will know Wednesday night when we have dinner with them."

"So everyone will be gone when I get up tomorrow, right?"

"Pam, Amelia and Jason will be gone. Bobbie and Bill will be here, and Bobbie will watch over you until you awake."

"Are Bobbie and Bill going to the Bellagio with us?"

"Yes."

"Good. I don't want to do without my sessions, and I don't want to be alone."

"You and Bobbie will be able to go shopping and play in the pool while Bill and I rest, then Bill and I can plan at night."

"How do you know Bill will go along with this whole thing?"

"Because Niall pretty much told him he helps me or dies."

"He DID?!"

"He did."

"Can he do that?"

"The way Niall sees it, Bill and Sophie Ann owed him a debt for taking your maidenhead under false pretenses."

"Why would they owe him?"

"He was the patriarch of your family."

"I didn't even know him then."

"It doesn't matter. Either he or I could consider that a Blood Offense if we chose to."

"A Blood Offense – as in you could kill him?"

"Yes."

"Niall could… and you could, too? Why?"

"Because I married you. It should have been mine by rights."

"This is all sounding medieval again."

"That's because it is. Supes are very old and very traditional. Our customs don't change as quickly as human cultures do. In the minds of the Elders involved here, our marriage was a kind of coronation."

"I don't understand all of this."

"I know you don't. All you need to know is that we are married, we love each other and we love our son. The rest of it is my problem."

"If it's your problem it's mine, too. We're partners in everything now, revolutions included."

He smiled and kissed her, then held her until she fell asleep. He took the signal jammer and went out to the living room to find the rest of their group sitting around the table.

"Congratulations. I guess it's official now?" Pam started.

"Yes, it is official now. Pam; you, Jason, and Amelia are leaving today at 10 am, yes?"

He switched the signal jammer on and put it on the table. Pam and Bill nodded that they knew what it was.

"Yes – we're all packed. I just have to lock myself in."

"Good. Give Bill your sword before you go. Bill, keep it in the box with you."

"Are we expecting trouble?" Bill asked.

"Yes, I believe we are. Now that Sookie and I are officially wed, I am expendable in the eyes of some people."

"Bobbie, you'll stay with Sookie from the time they leave until she awakes, yes?"

"Yes, of course."

"At 10 pm tonight, Bobbie, Bill, Sookie and I are moving to the Bellagio."

"Wow," Bobbie said, "We are?!"

"Yes, we're to be guests of the mayor in a penthouse suite. It should be better and safer for all concerned."

"I'll say."

"If you are moving, why do you need us there?" Bill asked.

"Because we'll still be in Felipe's territory, and Sookie still needs her treatments. That bleeding last night has me worried."

"Yes, we need to keep an eye on that," Bobbie agreed.

"And also, Bill, you and I have some planning to do."

"Planning?"

"How did you feel about Sophie Ann, Bill?"

"I loved her and was loyal to her."

"And how do you feel about Felipe?"

"I think I see where you are going with this. Yes, I think you and I certainly do have things to discuss, and it's about damned time. Suddenly, a lot of things are beginning to make sense."

"Good. Bobbie – it would be best if you and Sookie stayed in these rooms today, near Bill and me. We want to stick close until we're out of here. You girls can plan some sight seeing for the afternoons this week, and some shopping excursions. You'll be right in the center of everything now."

"That sounds great to me." Bobbie was definitely up for this change in plans.

"OK, Bobbie, get some sleep. Amelia will wake you before they leave. Bill, I assume you'll go with her."

"Yes."

"OK, Pam and Jason, get packed and sleep… or whatever. I need to speak to Amelia before I go to rest."

Everybody went their separate ways as Eric sat at the table near Amelia.

"She's having dreams or visions of Freya. She has seen a dragon ship, white light, Brisingamen, the cape of falcon feathers and a bleeding rose."

"Wow – she must have been having these for awhile."

"She also said Freya kissed her on the lips and told her that the baby used blood magick and she could, too."

"Sounds as if your new wife is becoming a Witch, in addition to giving birth to one."

"How can that be?"

"Freya has chosen her. I don't know why, but She's showing Sookie all the tools in Her arsenal and telling her to learn blood magick. Are you that close to Freya?"

"At one point I was. Very, very close – but I lost touch with Her."

"Well, She's back and working through your wife and son. I'd get reacquainted with Her if I were you."

TBC


	41. Chapter 41

Disclaimer: The Southern Vampire Series, and all characters from it, is owned by Charlaine Harris. No infringement is intended.

___________________________________________________________________________________

Bobbie had seen everyone off, and Bill was tucked safely in her light-fast room. She took a book and a chair into Sookie's room and sat near the big, canopied bed reading until almost one o'clock. She knew the maid would be in at 2 to feed Sookie breakfast, but she needed to go to the bathroom and didn't think she could wait, so she slipped into the one in Sookie's room.

Sookie was dreaming. The blonde woman was very close to her saying, "Open your eyes, Sookie, NOW!" and she opened her eyes to see a man in black opening Eric's travel box with a wooden stake in his hand. Without even thinking, Sookie pulled the dagger out of her pillowcase and stabbed him right between the shoulder blades. It happened so fast she wasn't even sure she was awake at the time – she just did it.

The man was in a heap on the floor, killed instantly, when Bobbie came out of the bathroom.

"Oh my Goddess, Sookie, I'm so sorry. I couldn't wait…"

"It's not your fault, Bobbie. We've got to get him out of sight before the maid comes in with my breakfast." Sookie noticed that she was unusually calm considering the circumstances, but she'd make like Scarlett and think about that later.

"Sookie, you have to be careful not to strain – the baby…"

"Right. This is no time to be carrying anything this heavy. Here, roll him onto this rug by the bed."

They managed that, and Bobbie was able to pull him into the bathroom by herself, then they rolled him off the rug and put it back by the bed. He still had the dagger in his back, so there was no blood to speak of yet. They closed the door, and Sookie got back in bed while Bobbie pretended to read just a minute or two before the maid came in with Sookie's breakfast. Sookie told her she didn't feel great today so they were just going to hang out in her room so she could rest. It had been a hectic couple of days, and she was tired and a little crampy. The maid had included ibuprofen on the tray and told Sookie how to ring down if she needed help or wanted something else to eat.

Once she was gone, Sookie ate while they tried to figure out how to get rid of that body in the bathroom. They were having no luck at all coming up with an idea when there was a knock on Sookie's bedroom door. Sookie and Bobbie looked at each other.

"Little girl? I hear you aren't feeling well?" It was Dr. Ludwig. Sookie didn't know what to do so she said, "I'm feeling a little better, Doctor, I'm just not up to company right now, but I don't need any help…" but before she had a chance to shovel the bullshit, the little doctor materialized inside her room. She looked around, walked straight to the bathroom door and looked in.

"Looks to me like you need plenty of help, little girl. You can't be lugging that much weight around. You, Bobbie, help me get this dead fool into the bathtub."

It was a struggle, but Bobbie did manage to get the would-be assassin into the bathtub in Sookie's bathroom. Ludwig came out to her big old carpetbag and pulled a gallon jug out of it.

"Sookie – go out to the living room. I don't want you this close to these fumes."

"What are you going to do?"

"I'm going to make your little problem go away."

Sookie didn't want to know, so she just went out front and turned on the TV. Ludwig told Bobbie to get the man's clothes off, and she did, though it took a while and wasn't easy. When he was naked, Ludwig told her to pour the liquid in the gallon jug all over him. The smell was putrid, so Ludwig sent Bobbie to get some vanilla scented stuff to mask the smell a bit.

"What is that stuff going to do?" Bobbie asked, afraid of the answer.

"Most of him will rinse down the bathtub drain. I'll take the bones out in a hefty bag, and you two will have to find a way to smuggle his clothes out of here without getting caught."

Bobbie wanted to ask why she couldn't just make the whole body go away, or take the clothes with the bones, but she figured there had to be a reason, so she just went out to Sookie as Ludwig stayed with the melting corpse.

Sookie knew she should be more upset than she was, but her main feeling was relief that she awoke in time to save Eric. She thanked Freya profusely. Sookie figured the guy got what he deserved, and so did Baby E, who was awake and kicking like hell, the little warrior. Seemed he liked a good fight as much as his daddy did. Was it possible that the bump was half-again as big as yesterday? Was he holding it in until she wore her dress, and now that the wedding was over, he was letting it all out? Because the bump was undeniable at this point. There would be no more hiding Baby E with a belt or a full skirt. Sookie was visibly, unmistakably pregnant.

"Bobby, have you noticed my stomach is…"

"Suddenly really big?"

"Yes."

"Yes. I've never seen a woman gain that much size just overnight. If you had been near this size yesterday, you'd never have gotten into that dress."

"Do you think… is it possible…"

"That the baby knew and was waiting so you could get into your dress? Honey, at this point, I think anything is possible. I have no trouble believing that he let you get your wedding pictures done so you didn't look pregnant at all, and now he's letting it all hang out. You won't be lying on your stomach for a while now – you can't risk hurting him."

"Would you think I'm crazy if I told you he's kicking because he's mad at that guy and wants to kick his ass?"

Bobbie laughed. "Like father, like son. You knew he was going to be a little Viking, right?"

"Yeah, I did but… can a baby hurt its own mother by kicking her?"

"Yeah, I've known of baby's breaking their mother's ribs. It's rare, but it can happen."

Sookie put her hands on her tummy. "Listen Baby E, you take it easy! Mommy's got it covered – Daddy is fine."

Love. Happy. Fight.

Well, two out of three might be the best she could do in this case. Baby E was going to love kicking ass as much as Big E did, so she might as well get used to it.

Ow! – big kick.

BLOOD! WANT!

"Bobbie, is there any way to get to the cold bloods in the bathroom? The little Viking is hungry."

Bobbie laughed, and went into the bathroom, checking on Dr. Ludwig's progress. She said she figured she was about half way done. Bobbie noticed the window was open to air the room out, and she had the ceiling fan on.

Bobbie took Sookie two cold bloods, and Sookie drank them right down.

Happy. Love. Fight.

Sookie just shook her head. No worries about this baby growing up to be a warrior. She'd be lucky if he didn't come out carrying a sword.

At 4 o'clock a massage table was brought into the room, and Bobbie just had them leave it in the living area and got them back out the door as quickly as possible. She did Sookie's treatment and was pleased that Sookie was able to relax enough to fall asleep. Baby E was quiet, too, and let Sookie get some rest.

It was getting close to dinnertime, and Bobbie and Sookie began to worry about the maids coming in with food. Bobbie checked on Dr. Ludwig, and she was bagging up bones. It would be up to Bobbie to clean the tub. Ew. But Bobbie did it, figuring she'd hit Eric up for a big bonus for disposing of the body of a guy who tried to kill him. Ludwig was gone and Bobbie cleaning the tub when they brought dinner in.

"What's that strange smell?" Angela asked.

"Something Dr. Ludwig used while she was here. I don't know what it was called," Sookie said.

"Oh, the doctor – OK. I'll bring some air freshener."

"That would be great, thanks!"

"I'm sorry to hear you'll be leaving us, Mrs. Northman, but I wrote out a menu for you, and you can ask room service at the hotel to do this for you."

"Oh, thank you, Angela. I'm sorry we're leaving, too. We were invited and since the King isn't well…"

"Yes, you'll have fun down there in the middle of everything. They said the King is very ill. I never heard of a sick vampire, but I saw him and he's not well at all. He was talking out of his head about wings and birds and Vikings – crazy stuff."

"Well, I wanted to thank you, Angela, for taking such good care of me while I was here. You and the others had me feeling and looking good on the most important day of my life and I really appreciate it. "

"Oh, I was glad to do it, Mrs. Northman. Your wedding was just beautiful. I never saw a ceremony like that."

"Yeah, neither did I, but I loved it. It was very special."

"Well, you enjoy the rest of your honeymoon. It was nice meeting you. Someone will be up for the dishes later."

Sookie and Bobbie sat down and were pleased to find that they had steak and lobster for dinner. They were being sent out of the castle with style. The meal was as pleasant as it could be on a day when you had to dispose of an assassin's body, and they were still eating and gabbing when Eric and Bill awoke.

Eric's first words were, "Sookie, why does our bathroom smell like someone disposed of a body in it today?"

"Because we disposed of a body today."

"Oh?"

"Yeah, Bobbie went to the bathroom, and I was dreaming of Freya and she told me to open my eyes and I did, and a guy was getting ready to stake you, so I stabbed him and Bobbie and Dr. Ludwig helped get rid of him. We don't know what to do with his clothes, though."

"Bobbie, you helped with this today?" Bill was surprised.

"Yes – I didn't even know you could melt a body like that."

"Ludwig's idea, I suppose?" Bill said.

"Yep."

Bill and Eric looked at each other. Their girls were sitting here eating lobster and laughing about getting rid of a killer's body and you'd think they were talking about what they had for lunch today. Were they perfect for them, or what?! Eric laughed, but Bill was a little taken aback, though he quickly got over it.

"You say his clothes are still here?" Eric asked, and Sookie showed him where they were folded. Eric laughed to himself that they had folded the guy's clothes, but he looked through the pockets and found out he was human and apparently a hired killer. It didn't escape Eric that he nearly died and that only Freya and Sookie saved him. Lucky Felipe didn't hire a Were – Sookie might not have taken a Were out so easily. Bad planning, Felipe.

They were all waiting and ready to go when Darrell and his crew arrived to take them to the Bellagio. He was all prepared to move Eric's travel box and Bill's things, box included, would be waiting for him there when they arrived, because they were moved from his original hotel earlier that day.

Sookie was never so glad to leave a place in her life. The events of the day finally hit her as they were on their way to the hotel, and Eric scooped her up onto his lap and let her cry it out for a bit while they were in the back of the limousine. Bobbie was a little stressed, too, and Bill was rubbing her shoulders like he'd known her forever.

Everybody brightened when they saw the lights of the strip, and even Sookie smiled and looked out the window at the flashing lights and the beautiful fountain and all the people roaming around. They were away from Felipe and that was the main thing. When they arrived at the hotel, they were treated like royalty. A concierge led them to the penthouse and showed them their luxurious suite. The bedrooms were on separate sides of the large living space so they'd all have plenty of privacy. There was champagne, sparkling water, caviar and real bottled blood waiting for them all, and the view from the room was breathtaking. Once the bell hops and Concierge had been generously tipped and sent on their way, Bill and Eric went over the suite with a fine-toothed comb and were pleased to find no listening or watching devices of any kind.

Bobbie taught Sookie about caviar, and Bill and Eric sat in the living room and put their heads together.

"So, Eric, you are going to oppose Felipe?"

"The general consensus is that Felipe has to go, and The Council is expecting me to take care of it."

"The Council is involved in this?" Bill was shocked.

"Yes. I don't know why they are involved, but that's why…"

"…the Ancient Pythoness performed your wedding."

"Yes."

"They're going to put you in Felipe's place or Sophie Ann's?"

"I believe the plan is to redraw the territories after Felipe and Victor Madden are eliminated."

"I saw you talking to Russell and Carolina last night. Are they in?"

"Yes."

"And Niall and Dr. Ludwig?"  
"Yes."

"So you're expecting a visit from some of the Were packs?"

"Yes, and at least a couple of Witch elders."

"What did de Castro do to bring all of this upon himself?"

"I don't know yet, but it had to be more than just killing Sophie Ann."

"I agree. The Council would consider that a local skirmish."

"Right."

"What do you get out of all of this?"

"I don't want it, but I am to be made regent at the end of the process."

"If you don't want it…?"

"Niall has decreed that his great granddaughter will be Queen. In order for that to happen…"

"You must seize power."

"Yes."

"Does she know about this?"

"Of course."

"Does she want to be Queen?"

"She wants to be my wife – if that means being Queen, she will accept it."

"Why didn't you move against de Castro when they first killed Sophie Ann? Many of us would have stood with you."

"I wanted revenge, of course, but I wanted Sookie more. I knew she would not want to be Queen."

"And now you must be King to have her?"

"Yes, the irony is palpable, is it not?"

"Yes, it is."

"What is our next move?"

"I find out if the mayor who is gifting us this suite is in on the deal or not. Sookie and I will have dinner with him and his wife on Wednesday, and I hope to find out then if he's involved at a higher level or just smart enough not to trust de Castro. I have to figure out the best way to take de Castro and Madden out, and in what order."

"Madden first, Eric. Felipe is little more than a figurehead. Take Madden out and de Castro can't hold the Louisiana territories."

"I agree. The question is do we do it man on man or en masse?"

"I'd say you and I should do it alone. A frontal attack will get people on both sides killed who wouldn't necessarily stay on those sides if Madden were dead."

"Yes, and then Felipe. When we get back to Louisiana, we'll start planning for New Orleans."

"Agreed."

The two couples adjourned to their bedrooms, and everyone had the same thing on their mind. Bill would never admit it, but he was completely turned on by the idea that Bobbie had embraced his world to the point that she helped dispose of a body. She had been showing him her skills in massage the last couple of nights, so tonight he decided to return the favor. Bill turned out to be as skilled in massage as he was in… other things… and Bobbie was a very happy girl for the night.

Sookie was so relieved to be out of Felipe's house that she pushed Eric onto the bed and jumped on top of him, even though they were both still dressed. She yanked his pants down and had him in her mouth before he had a chance to react. He was putting all of his concentration on what Sookie was doing to him, unbuttoning his shirt and cuffs and pulling it off as she all but devoured him. She was getting damned good at this, he smiled to himself, and it took only a few minutes before he finished and she was moving up to take his nipple in her mouth.

She was in the mood to be aggressive, and he was in the mood to let her have her way, so he just cooperated with whatever she wanted. She was out of her clothes in a second, and she climbed on top of him, facing his feet – this was completely new – and mounted him, bracing her hands on his legs. She was moving a little wildly, but became very focused and intent when he reached around her and rubbed her clit as she moved on him. It didn't take long at all until her legs were shaking and she nearly fell, but he grabbed her arms and pulled her back.

They both laughed and she turned around and kissed him, then pulled his head down to her nipples. He bit and drew hard on one, then the other, and she came just from that. When he was done feeding from her, she crawled to the center of the bed, grabbing the edge of the mattress, leaning her weight back on her haunches, arching her bottom upward, so she was facing downward but there was no weight on her stomach. He knew that was the point because the baby bump was very obvious now, so he held her hips tightly so he wouldn't push her forward and entered her from the back as she was nearly begging him to do.

She was in one of her moods where she was a little out of her head, and he loved that because she wasn't going to hesitate or resist anything he wanted. When he came, he released on her other entrance and pushed into her quickly. He was clearly aware that it was hurting a little and that she was liking it, so he let her lose herself in the sensations that were nearly overwhelming her. He grabbed her shoulders and pulled her back to him as he was still inside her, and it made him go deep within her. She had tears streaming down her face as he took short quick strokes and squeezed her breasts. When he came he was rubbing her clit again and she came hard, even to the point of straining her legs a little.

He went into the master bath to clean up, and she was still a trembling heap on the bed when he came back and pressed his bleeding wrist to her mouth. He wasn't sure, but he thought she came again at the same time he did from her feeding from him. Was she that into drinking from him now, that it would make her climax with no other stimulation? There was nothing he'd like more than for her to become addicted to his blood. That would take the bond to its most extreme level, one where she'd crave him constantly and he'd feel her craving. THAT was dominance. He'd seen it in vampires who kept blood slaves, but they didn't really honor their bonds or like the women that were enslaved to them. He felt that was an inferior kind of relationship because there was no real feeling that accompanied the craving. To take a loving relationship to that level, though, had to be the ultimate high. To worship that which you crave and crave that which you worship… he was going to experiment with this and see if the drinking alone invoked a physical response in her. Imagine knowing that your taste alone could make your lover come.

He tucked her into bed and watched her sleep for a long time, thinking about this. He felt the baby's awareness and put his hand on the bump. He could feel his comfort, his warmth, his love for him as well as for Sookie. He was pleased to find that he could tell the difference between the love the baby sent to Sookie and the love he sent to Eric. With Sookie, it was enveloping warmth, as if everything was right with the world. With him, it was a proud love, and Eric knew his son knew he was a warrior and was a warrior, too. He wondered if Sookie could feel this difference. He'd ask her. He felt as if he already knew his son's personality, and it was bold and big, and he would love to fight and fuck and feed the way he had when he was a young vampire. He still loved those things, of course, but there's a lust for life you have when you're young that just doesn't follow you down through the ages. He told his son god natt and went to rest for the day.

TBC


	42. Chapter 42

Disclaimer: The Southern Vampire Series, and all characters from it, is owned by Charlaine Harris. No infringement is intended.

___________________________________________________________________________________

Bobbie was the first one up in the morning. She arranged for Room Service to bring Sookie a rare steak and eggs with potatoes and two bottles of cold blood at 2 o'clock and worked out a deal with them to use a portable massage table during their stay. She turned one of the chairs, trying not to damage the oriental rug it was sitting on, so she could see the amazing view. She just sat in front of it for a while meditating, then she read for a bit. At one o'clock an Anubis overnight package was delivered for Eric, and Bobbie signed for it. She let room service in at 2 and woke Sookie up so she could come out to the table and eat. Both of the girls were excited to be in the city, and they quickly decided to go play some slots and do some shopping until dinner.

Sundresses were the order of the day, Sookie in the one in shades of blue that Eric liked, and Bobbie in a yellow and green floral print. Sookie was bummed to see that it no longer hid Baby E.

"I love you, Baby E, even though you're making me look fat."

Love. Funny.

He was laughing at her again. Just like his daddy, she thought and shook her head.

Sookie was in a good mood and felt free in a way she never had before. She felt centered and open, and she talked to Bobbie about it and how different she felt. She was sure part of it was getting away from Felipe's house, but she thought more of it was being married. Until it actually happened, she had never really thought Eric would go through with it. She was sure something would happen – he'd get cold feet or some old lover would crawl out of the woodwork or he'd realize she wasn't worth the effort – but none of that happened. He actually married her! She'd have bet money against it.

They played slot machines, and she didn't mind using his credit card to buy quarters. She even played a machine that took one dollar bets with her card. She actually hit a 20 dollar prize at one point. They went into some of the stores in the hotels, and Sookie bought herself two outfits and a dress for Bobbie when she caught Bobbie looking wistfully at it. She found a style of sleeveless Indian cotton print dress in one store that was pleated and very forgiving of the baby bump, and she bought them in three different colors.

"I hope Eric likes these, because I'm going to be wearing them a lot," Sookie joked when she saw how they'd expand no matter how big her belly got, but didn't look at all like maternity clothes. She bought a yellow and blue one, a navy blue and light blue one and a red and pink one. She figured they'd all look good with her little Birkenstock sandals and she wouldn't have to wear much under them.

They saw a lot of posters and billboards for different shows, but the only one that sounded good to both Bobbie and Sookie was the Cirque du Soleil show based on the Beatles music. Bobbie wasn't really into "Vegas-style" shows like Celine Dion, and Sookie didn't know what or whom most of the shows were about. Everybody loves The Beatles, though, right?

They shopped until about 6 o'clock, then went back and had dinner. Sookie was on the massage table provided by the hotel when Eric and Bill got up, and Bobbie was giving her particular attention to her lower back, which was starting to hurt a lot more now. Bobbie warned her that as the baby grew bigger, that pain in her back would get worse and her feet would start to swell. Great.

"Hello, my lover. How was your day?" Eric bent to kiss her.

Bill came out and kissed Bobbie on the cheek as Eric and Sookie talked. Bobbie just beamed at him.

"It was good – we played slots and shopped, and I found some dresses I'll be able to wear for the whole pregnancy that are actually kind of cute. It's starting now, you know…"

"What is starting?"

"The getting fat and ugly part."

"Sookie you are not going to be fat or ugly. You are going to be ripe and beautiful…"

"And huge. Look how big the bump is now!"

Eric patted the bump affectionately. "He is growing, my angel. Your body is becoming rounder and softer to make room for him."

"You just like the extra cleavage now…"

"Yes, I do love the extra cleavage, but I love your round hips and your round tummy, too. I will love you no matter how big you get because the bigger you get, the bigger my son is growing."

"I hope he's not huge." Sookie looked nervously at Bobbie.

"Just because he'll be big when he's grown doesn't mean he'll be unusually big in the womb."

"For real or are you just saying that to make me feel better?"

"For real, Sookie. Plenty of five pound babies grow up to be basketball stars and football players."

"There, my lover! He can be small and still end up big. Do not worry."

He was trying to reassure her, but he was worried about this, too. Sookie was a small girl and there were still almost 2 and a half months of this pregnancy. If the baby continued to grow at this rate, it could actually be a problem. He never told her that Niall said there was always danger to mother and child. He wanted her to think that the magick would protect them, and who knew – maybe it would? He remembered that Freya had taken an interest in Sookie and the baby, and that gave him great comfort. If the Goddess was personally interested, he was sure his wife and son would both be safe.

Eric decided to change the subject. "So, what would everyone like to do tonight?"

Bill spoke, "Well, tomorrow Bobbie and I will go on a proper date since you and Sookie have plans, but I thought tonight maybe the four of us could take in a show."

"That sounds good to me," Bobbie said, but then she thought anything Bill said was a good idea, and Bill was enjoying that more than he would have thought possible. He was growing very fond of Bobbie's gentle manner and luscious curves. Most people would assume Bobbie was an airheaded hippie, but she was actually just very lady-like and spiritual, and Bill liked that about her.

"That's a good idea – anyone have a particular show in mind?" Eric asked.

"I kind of know one I'd like to see…" Sookie said as if someone would object to what she had to say.

"What is that, my angel?"

"The one with the Beatles music. I think it's called _Love_?"

"Oh, I love the Beatles!" Bobbie was excited now. She didn't know Sookie actually wanted to see it, but that would have been Bobbie's first choice.

"I could see that," Bill said. "I like their music."

"Alright, then," Eric said, "Beatles it is. Then after maybe we'll have drinks somewhere and stop into a casino for a game or two. I'll call the concierge for tickets and arrange a car for us."

Everyone was in agreement. Eric laughed because he had been absent-mindedly rubbing Sookie's tummy and the baby was apparently in agreement, too, because he gave a happy kick.

"The little Viking thinks it's a good idea. He'd also like me to drink a couple of bloods."

"Alright, then, bloods first," Eric said.

"Go ahead and call the concierge, and I'll get the bloods for her from the mini-bar."

"OK, thanks, Bill."

Bobbie did a little more work on Sookie's back and legs, finishing with a nice foot rub, while Bill got the two bottles of blood and Sookie drank them down, then both girls went to dress for the evening. It was a warm evening, so Sookie wore the red and pink Indian print dress. Bobbie wore a sleeveless blue silk dress she had brought with her.

She thought about wearing the dress Sookie bought for her that afternoon, but she decided to save that for her date with Bill the next night. She was really excited about that. They were already rooming together and he didn't have to take her on a date, but he really seemed to want to and she figured that was a good sign. She couldn't believe how considerate and romantic he was. He was like some dream that stepped out of Gone With The Wind, but had slightly more modern sensibilities and he was very educated and well read. If you offered to build a dream man for Bobbie to her specifications, you couldn't do better than Bill Compton.

Eric made arrangements for tickets and a car and found the package Pam had sent him with his laptop in it. He had hoped get through the week without it, but he found he needed to check on a few items at home. Pam also included a note that confirmed that the announcement for Eric's and Sookie's wedding/invitation to the reception at Fangtasia went out on Monday as planned.

While the girls were getting dressed, Eric and Bill pulled up the false bottom in Eric's travel box and took out the swords and dagger. Eric put the dagger in Sookie's train case where she would find it, and he and Bill both put the swords in the main compartment of their boxes where they could get to them easily if need be. They weren't expecting trouble, but they knew they needed to be vigilant as long as they were in Felipe's territory.

Eric showered and dressed while Sookie did her hair and makeup and they were both ready to go at the same time. She took off the self-belt of the dress and showed Eric how it would expand as she got bigger throughout the pregnancy. He assured her that it was very pretty and he liked it, and she told him she bought three of them, which he thought was a good idea. The dress was very pretty and he knew she'd feel less…conspicuous if she could wear relatively normal clothes, and the design of it really did give it room to expand.

The four of them were ready to go and all looking gorgeous as they arrived in the lobby of the hotel. They all turned more than a few heads, especially Eric and Sookie because they were both so fair and well dressed, and Eric so big and handsome, Sookie so pretty. They stood out no matter where they went.

When they got to the show, they found their seats, which were two pairs in different parts of the theatre. Bobbie and Bill were over to the left of the room, and she was pleased when he took her hand in his almost as soon as they were seated. Bill knew a lot about the Beatles, and he talked while Bobbie nodded and smiled and hoped if she was dreaming that she'd never wake up.

Eric and Sookie were just right of the center of the room, and she wrapped her arms around his and rested her head on his shoulder. He smiled down at her, knowing that as soon as the lights went down and the soothing music started, Sookie would be asleep. Baby E was apparently comfy, too, because he was sending warmth and love to both of them and they were mirroring it back. The lights went down and Sookie fell asleep in middle of the second song. Eric figured it was just as well because he could tell that while she liked the music, she didn't really understand what was happening on the stage.

He laughed to himself when he realized he could tell that Baby E was sleeping, too, but moving a little in time with the music. He laughed at himself because he realized that he really had no idea how wonderful this fatherhood thing could be. Knowing that he was listening to his son's heartbeat in his wife's womb – well, there just weren't any words to describe it. He never expected to feel this because he didn't even know this was possible. Being able to feel love from the baby and send love back to him – every second of it was such a divine gift. He was lost in his thoughts and feelings through the whole show and was actually a little surprised when it ended. He had been so engrossed in listening to Sookie breathe and the baby's heartbeat that the time just slipped away. He was sorry he was going to have to disturb Sookie and the baby so they could leave. They were both resting so sweetly and peacefully, it was a shame to wake them, so he did so very gently.

"Sookie," he whispered, "my lover, it is time to go. Can you awake? Bill and Bobbie will be waiting for us."

Sookie slowly woke up and realized where she was, and she laughed a little. "I'm sorry – did I miss the whole thing?"

"You needed the sleep more than you needed to see the show. I could tell you found the music soothing, even if it was so loud."

"Yeah, but I didn't get to enjoy it with you."

"My angel, I enjoyed this more than you could imagine."

She didn't get it, but she was glad he wasn't mad that she fell asleep. He didn't tell her why he enjoyed it so much. He wouldn't know where to begin.

He held her arm because she was a little wobbly as they moved to the aisle, and they quickly spotted Bill and Bobbie in the entrance of the theatre. Bill had a great time and Bobbie was just happy to be with Bill, so they were both feeling good. Sookie was still a little quiet, but they all agreed to go to one of the casinos for drinks and a few rounds of craps. Bill and Eric bought chips and gave some to the girls, giving them a quick run down on how to play and bet. Bill spent his time helping Bobbie bet – he was more interested in seeing she had a good time than in actually playing, and she actually made a little money with his help, and he let her keep the winnings.

Sookie took a turn at rolling the dice, and she turned out to be lucky for a couple of men from Los Angeles, so they bought her a bottle of blood to thank her for making them some money. She smiled so sweetly and thanked them with such Southern charm that Eric was about to burst with pride. They asked him where he found her and he said Louisiana, and when they found out he and Sookie were just married two days ago, they offered their enthusiastic congratulations and told Eric he was a lucky, lucky man and he agreed. Eric was pretty sure they made about $500 dollars from betting on Sookie's throws. He didn't make a show of it, but she made him about $1,500. He had been in a casino with her twice and come out with more money than he went in with. She was good luck for him in more ways than one.

They were all feeling good and looking forward to getting back to their beds when they entered the suite. Eric and Bill frowned and looked at each other, knowing someone was in the room. A shot, fired through a silencer, hit the door as each vampire grabbed his date and took her to their respective bedrooms. No one followed, so Eric and Bill came back with their swords after Bobbie was locked in her bathroom and Sookie hidden in a closet.

"Where is she, Viking?" The accent was unmistakable – it was Felipe de Castro.

"Bullets, Felipe? You know you can't kill me with a gun." Eric wanted him to talk so he knew where he was.

"These are special bullets, made with silver. They will stop you, then I will kill you and that Witch you brought into my house."

Bill and Eric were advancing, having determined that Felipe was sitting on the couch in the living area, sounding crazy and sick. If he weren't a vampire, they'd think he was drunk.

"What Witch? Amelia isn't here."

"Your wife, Northman, that little blonde Witch that sent that falcon to attack me. Sookie did this to me, and I am going to kill you, both of you. I am bewitched and I cannot rest. I spend the day fighting that thing off. I know it won't stop until she is dead."

"She is not a Witch, Felipe, you know she is not." Eric knew what he was saying probably wasn't true anymore, but he was trying to distract him. He wasn't sure whether Felipe knew there were two of them or that they had swords. Bill was down behind the table hoping to move around behind the couch. Eric thought the best move was to keep Felipe distracted and try to get him to come toward him.

"I know no such thing, Viking! She sent that thing to me – I touched her and it will not leave me alone!"

Eric had never heard a vampire this mentally disturbed. He was surprised Felipe hadn't killed himself. Why the hell would he come here alone? Eric wondered if anyone knew he was there. He must have left the mansion when no one was watching him. His guard would never leave him unprotected this way.

"De Castro – whatever happened to you, you brought it on yourself…"

"NO! NO! That Witch did this to me! I wanted to make her my Queen! I wanted her to have my son!"

"She's having MY son, de Castro. You attacked her the day before our wedding. You'll be lucky if Niall Brigant doesn't bring the entire Fae realm down on you and your kingdom for attacking her."

"Fuck the Fae! This is my kingdom! She belongs to me!" Felipe jumped up and stumbled toward Eric, waving the gun, but spun around when he heard Bill behind him. He moved to shoot at Bill, but before he was able to pull the trigger, Eric separated Felipe's head from his shoulders. Bill caught the gun before it hit the ground, and Eric hit the light switch. Felipe was becoming a pile of ash.

Bill and Eric looked at each other.

"One down…" Bill said.

"And the worst one to go," Eric replied.

"Do you think he came alone?" Bill couldn't believe it, either.

"I can't imagine his guard letting him confront us if they knew he was here. He would have sent an assassin or Victor and his crew the way they did for the coup against Sophie Ann. This was insane. There's no other way to describe it."

"Why did he think Sookie is a Witch?"

"Honestly, Bill, she might be. Things are… happening."

"This was about his attack on Sookie the other night, when he thought he was being attacked by a falcon?"

"Yes. He said the attack was still going on when he went to rest."

"What was it? Sookie couldn't have been responsible for that, could she?"

"Maybe."

"What?"

"Sookie has been having dreams... or visions… of the Goddess Freya. Freya wears a cape of falcon feathers that lets her take the form of bird, and she governs blood magick. When de Castro touched her the other night, she was bleeding."

"Sookie doesn't know magick, does she?"

"No, and she thinks the baby did it."

"The baby? You're not serious?"

"Yes, I am. He's showing some unusual qualities and abilities. We can already communicate with him through feelings. He recognizes my voice. He can let Sookie know he wants blood. We were told he will be a natural Witch. Freya told Sookie he used blood magick and she can, too."

"There are bigger forces involved in this than I realized." Bill was almost in shock.

"Do you want out?"

"No. You'll need me. It took both of us to handle de Castro, as sick as he was. Victor Madden will be much harder. I'm not going to let Sookie end up a widow. It would hurt her too much. And, a child does need his father." Bill's sadness at the thought of having to leave his own children behind was obvious.

"Thank you." Eric didn't know what else to say, but he did know what they needed to do. "We need to clean this up. I don't know how we're going to hide what happened here."

"Should we leave Las Vegas?"

"No. If we're right and Felipe was acting alone, no one will know what happened to him. If we leave, we look guilty. If we act as if nothing happened, they can't trace it to us - if we can get rid of the smell."

"Bobbie has many oils and fragrances – maybe she'll know of something that will work." Bill headed back to let Bobbie know it was safe to come out. Eric went to get Sookie, and he was trying to figure out what to do about this mess.

"Eric, what happened?"

"It was de Castro. He's dead."

"Oh, god – are we under attack?"

"No, Bill and I think he was here without anyone's knowledge. We think if we can mask the smell, no one will connect us with his disappearance."

"Is that possible?"

"I don't know."

They went back out to the front and found Bobbie already scooping up the ash and putting it in a wastebasket from her bathroom. Sookie knelt down to help her.

"Bobbie," Eric asked, "do you know of anything that can mask the smell of vampire?"

"I know we can mask this enough to keep a human from recognizing it, and maybe a Were, too, but I don't know if we can mask it so a vampire can't smell it. I do have an idea, though."

"What's that?"

"Destroy the rug."

"Destroy the rug?"

"Yes. Most of the ash is on this Oriental rug on top of the carpeting. If we can sneak it out of the hotel, you can take it somewhere and burn it. I've got scents that can mask the smell in the air."

"Won't they miss the rug?" Sookie asked.

"If they do, they'll bill us for it. The main thing is to leave no trace that can be found."

"How can we get it out of here?" Bobbie asked.

"That's the easy part," Eric said.

"He can fly," Sookie explained.

"You can fly?" Bobbie had no idea that was possible.

"Yes. We'll roll it up and I'll take off from the balcony. I'll take it to the desert and burn it. You work on the smell."

"It would help if I could get to the internet."

"Use my laptop."

Bobbie went on the internet as Bill and Eric rolled the rug out from under the furniture and Eric took it out to the balcony.

"I'll be back," he said and took off. Bobbie stared for a minute, not believing what she just saw, then she found something that said roses, vanilla and myrrh would mask almost anything, so she mixed up the oils and spread it around the room. Bill pried the bullet out of the heavy front door to the suite and flushed it since it was made of silver. Bobbie was right behind him with the wastebasket of ash that used to be king, and she flushed that, too. The door was a dark color, so the hole would be hard to see. Bill told Bobbie what she could buy the next day that they could use to fill it in. If she could find a color match, it would make the hole nearly invisible. He wrapped Felipe's gun full of silver bullets, silencer and all, in a scarf and they decided to put it in Bobbie's luggage since that's the last place anyone would look.

Bobbie ordered steak tartare for Sookie and two cold bloods. Sookie thought it looked gross at first, but found it was really tasty, and Baby E was practically doing a happy dance when she ate it.

Eric landed on the balcony about an hour later, smelling like smoke.

"Any problems?" Bill asked.

"None – it went up like a rocket. It must have been made in a country that never heard of fire retardants. It smells different in here."

"You think it's enough?"

"Maybe. You girls keep the air conditioner on high tomorrow. If it gets too cold, go down to the pool or go out."

Sookie and Bobbie confirmed that they would, and Bobbie and Bill went to their room.

Dawn was approaching, so Eric took a quick shower to kill the smoke smell so he could go to rest. By the time he came out of the bathroom, Sookie was asleep, so he kissed the bump, then her lips, and went into his box, praying to Freya that they be safe until he awoke that night.

TBC


	43. Chapter 43

Disclaimer: The Southern Vampire Series, and all characters from it, is owned by Charlaine Harris. No infringement is intended.

___________________________________________________________________________________

There was a knock on the door to the suite, which Bobbie answered. It was Janet Stevens, Felipe's day representative, trying not to look frantic, but failing miserably.

"Hello?"

"Hello – it's Janet Stevens from the de Castro estate."

Bobbie opened the door and let her in. The woman looked around anxiously, and asked, "You are Ms. James, are you not?"

"Yes, I am. Can I help you? I'm afraid everyone else is asleep."

"Yes, well, I'm sorry to bother you so early in the day, but we were wondering if perhaps Mr. de Castro had paid you a visit last night? He was very disappointed that Mrs. Northman's party left so soon."

"Oh, I didn't know that. No, we didn't have any visitors last night. We went to the Beatles show on the strip and we played craps in one of the casinos, so we really weren't here until near dawn."

"Yes, well, I'm glad you are having a good time. His majesty was very sorry that his illness made it impossible to spend more time with all of you."

"He was very generous to us while we were there. I know Mrs. Northman enjoyed the wedding very much, and they were very sorry to hear that he wasn't well. I think when they were invited here they thought it would be the polite thing to do to let his majesty recover without worrying about entertaining guests."

"That was very considerate. I hope they were not too disappointed."

"Mr. and Mrs. Northman are newlyweds. They barely know anyone else is in the room at this point, anyway."

"Yes, I can imagine. Well, I'm sorry to bother you. I just wanted to see how you were faring here and see if you needed anything. Your car service has been changed and will pick you up here on Friday morning for your departure. You still have your travel papers, I assume?"

"Yes, Mr. Northman has the information for the whole group. He's resting now, of course."

"Yes, of course, well, thank you. Enjoy your stay."

"Thanks for stopping by…" Bobbie said as she closed the door. She turned around to find Sookie watching her.

"Wow – you're going to fit right in with the vamps. Nice bullshitting. I almost believed you," Sookie laughed.

"It's not lying if you really believe it, you know," and they both laughed quietly just in case she was still lurking out there.

"How about doing my treatment early today, and then after I have breakfast we can go down to the pool until dinner time?"

"Do you think it's safe?"

"For us, or Bill and Eric?"

"Either?"

"Well, we can lock the travel boxes to give them a little extra security, and there will be lots of people around at the pool, so I say we go for it. We've only got today and tomorrow here."

"True – we're leaving Friday morning so it doesn't really count."

"Where is Bill taking you for your big date tonight?"

"He wouldn't tell me. He says it's his choice and for me to just look fabulous and let him do the planning."

"Ooh – sounds nice. I'll be stuck having dinner with Mayor Norris and his Chatty Cathy wife. She's sweet, but it's like being grilled, she asks so many questions!"

"He's a major contact for Eric, though, isn't he?"

"Yes, so I need to be the sweet Southern Belle he loves to show off and make him look good."

"You love the way he shows you off, and you know it," Bobbie teased her.

"Yeah, and I won't be worth showing off much longer…"

"Sookie, you look and feel better than any pregnant woman I've ever seen. Most people think pregnant women have a glow about them, anyway. The picture of you two newlyweds with a bun in the oven is just too sweet for words. Believe me, Eric is going to be showing you off through this whole pregnancy and for many years thereafter."

"I hope so."

"What are you going to wear tonight?"

"I'm not sure how dressed up I should be. I need Alicia with me," Sookie laughed.

"There aren't many places you couldn't go in those new Indian print dresses. The one in shades of blue looks expensive."

"You think so?"

"Definitely. It's going to be really warm tonight, so that would be comfortable if you end up outside anywhere."

"Is that what you would do if you were me?"

"No, honey, if I were you, I'd take Eric's credit card and head for the designer stores downstairs. There's a Chanel store, Dior, Fendi, Gucci, Hermés…."

"I've never shopped in a place like that…"

"Might as well start now - Eric wants you to look great, right?"

"Yeah, but, aren't they really expensive and snooty?"

"Yeah, but don't you have a gold card or something like that?"

"I've got a black American Express card…"

"A BLACK card! Honey, they're going be nice as pie to you. After your treatment, let's go down and shop a bit. You might find something that will knock Mrs. Mayor's socks off…. And Eric's, too."

"Oh, OK…"

Bobbie took Sookie through some yoga and did a very thorough massage, then they each threw on a sundress and headed down to the shops in the lobby. Sookie was a little nervous, but Bobbie took charge and was really good at dealing with the uptight help in the upscale stores. Most of the stuff in the stores was too modern for Sookie's style, but she didn't need much.

The woman who waited on them at Chanel took sort of a maternal attitude with Sookie when she realized she had just married a man with money but had a lot to learn about spending it. She steered her away from the runway fluff and showed her the really pretty, feminine things they had. Sookie walked out of the Chanel store with a cream colored dress hand-embroidered with pearls, an empire waist that made the tummy of the dress more forgiving, and pearl straps, plus a small matching bag and some simple strappy shoes. It was a size larger than normal, but Sookie was sure she'd still be able to wear it after the baby came, and it would work with her white strapless corset. Bobbie told her not to look at the price when they added it up, and she held her hand over the total when Sookie signed the credit slip. Bobbie knew Eric wouldn't care and Sookie was better off not knowing.

"So you think Eric will like it?"

"Honey, I think Eric will be beside himself when he sees you in head to toe Chanel. That dress was perfect on you. That's the sort of thing he wants you to wear."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, I am. Alicia and I talked about what she's supposed to do regarding your wardrobe. The plan is to gradually replace all of your stuff with designer stuff like you just saw, but they're doing it in stages so you wouldn't get too upset as things got more expensive. Eric will be very proud that you took the initiative to buy yourself something so chic and beautiful. You're going to look amazing tonight and make him look very good in front of the Mayor and his Mrs."

"Ok, then, that's what I want. I want him to be proud of me. I'm going to get dressed before he gets up, so I'll be all done and he'll get the full effect."

"Good idea. He's going to be very surprised."

They had an early dinner so Sookie could get dressed before the vampires rose for the evening. Sookie decided to wear her hair down because the dress had a lot of embellishment and she didn't want to look overdone. She went a little heavy on the mascara and wore a slightly brighter pink lip gloss, but still looked natural and pretty.

Bill was the first one to come out to the living area where Sookie was waiting.

"Oh, my god…" he blurted out before he could stop himself.

"Is it too much? Did I over do it?" She was a little nervous about Bill's reaction.

"No, Sookie, you look… you look lovely."

"She always looks lovely…" Eric said as he came out of the bedroom, before he actually saw Sookie. "My lover! You are radiant! What are you wearing?" He was obviously delighted.

"Bobbie and I went shopping in the stores downstairs. This whole outfit is Chanel. Is it OK?"

Eric laughed out loud, "My angel, that is more than OK! You look wonderful!"

"I don't have any idea how much it cost – Bobbie hid the total from me," she explained nervously.

Eric laughed again and Bill just shook his head.

"I must thank Bobbie and be sure to keep her around if she gets you to buy things like this for yourself. I am delighted that you bought this dress, especially for tonight. You always look good, Sookie, but this is stunning and very classy. Women who know the value of such things will be very impressed by this outfit. It makes you look well-provided for and me well off."

"OK, good. I wanted you to be proud of me."

"I am always proud of you, my angel, but tonight I am especially proud." He kissed her lips carefully, not wanting to mess up her makeup.

Bobbie came out in her new silk dress Sookie bought for her. The expression on Bill's face showed that he was very pleased with how she looked.

"Bobbie, you helped Sookie shop today?" Eric asked.

"Yep, it took a little prodding to get her to buy anything, but you can see we managed pretty well."

"Bobbie, if you would, please take her shopping again tomorrow, and buy some things for yourself, too. Use her black card - she can spend as much as she wants. I'll buy more luggage if we need to, but I would love for her to take some more pretty things home with her. Shopping is very limited in Shreveport."

"My pleasure. I know the lady at the Chanel store will be glad to see her again, and we didn't even get around to Gucci or Fendi today."

"Good, very good. She also needs jewelry. If you ladies want to go to the spa, do that, too."

"No problem. There's a Tiffany's down there, and Chanel and Dior both make killer jewelry. You never have to twist my arm to get me into a spa, either," Bobbie laughed.

"Eric, are you sure?" Sookie was still hesitant.

"Yes, my lover, I am very sure. Bobbie, don't bring her home until she has spent at least 40,000 dollars."

"ERIC!"

"No problem. Don't panic, Sookie – we could spend that much in Tiffany's in 20 minutes."

"Remember, Sookie, Niall will be coming to visit us and he'll want to see more gold and jewels. Fae judge everything by treasure, and he made it clear he expects to see you dripping in diamonds, did he not?"

"Yeah, but we're married now – it doesn't matter, does it?"

"Niall will think it matters very much indeed, so make sure you buy some diamond earrings and at least one good diamond bracelet. Her ring is platinum, Bobbie, but white gold is acceptable, too. No silver, of course."

"Of course."

Sookie felt like they were ganging up on her a little, so she looked at Bill as if he was going to help her.

"Sookie - he can afford it, believe me. You _should_ have nice things and you don't want to mess with Niall. If he expects to see diamonds, you'd better show them to him."

"I'd better take my shower and get dressed. They'll be here at 9 o'clock," Eric said to no one in particular.

"And I need to get ready for our date," Bill smiled at Bobbie and kissed her on the lips, then went into their room.

Bobbie and Sookie sat at the table since they were both dressed. Sookie was a little dazed at the prospect of more shopping, but Bobbie joked her out of it.

"Sookie, most women would kill to have the opportunity to shop that way. I know you aren't used to having money, but you do now, so enjoy it. Eric enjoys seeing you dolled up. It makes him feel like he's taking good care of you and honestly, other people will judge him by your clothes. It's a status thing."

"I know. It's just so much all at once…"

"Sookie, relax and enjoy all the gifts life has given you. You're married to a guy who loves you and wants to spoil you, you're having a unique and blessed baby, you live in a wonderful house, you're young, you're beautiful, you're rich. Life doesn't get any better than that, Sookie. You should be walking on air instead of feeling guilty."

"Yeah, I guess if you put it that way…"

"That's the way it is, sugar. Enjoy the ride as long as it lasts. Life can change in a heartbeat. You owe it to yourself, to Eric and to the baby to make the most of everything you have, every day."

"OK. That seems right…"

Bobbie noticed Sookie was developing a habit of putting her hand on the baby bump when she was unsure about things.

"Sookie, when you put your hand over the baby that way, what do you feel?"

"Well, it depends on if he's asleep or awake and whether he's hungry or not. Mostly though I feel comfort. When I feel anxious or off-center, he sort of comforts me and calms me down the way Eric does when he's around."

"He can actually tell what you need and give it to you?"

"Yes. He can actually communicate pretty well considering he's not even born yet."

"I'll say. Does he communicate anything other than sleep or hunger?"

"Well, sometimes he'll laugh at me."

"Laugh at you?"

"Yeah, like when I asked him if he was going to let me get into my wedding dress, he thought it was funny."

"You're kidding?"

"No, I'm not. And when Eric and I tickle each other or even when we…."

"Have sex?"

"Yeah, he likes that. He sort of cheers Eric on in a way. I know it sounds weird."

"Not weird, honey, fascinating. Those are pretty advanced concepts for a child under 3. It's going to be amazing to see what he's capable of when he's born."

"Bobbie, have you ever worked as a Doula?"

"Not officially, but I've done pretty much everything they do - helping a mother get ready for the birth, recovering from it, helping her care for the baby…"

"I haven't talked to Eric about this yet, but I think I'd like it if you'd do that for me. I feel comfortable with you and I learn a lot from you."

"Well, that's really nice, Sookie. You talk to Eric about it and see how he feels and we'll go from there, OK?"

Eric came out of the bedroom in a perfectly tailored silver grey suit and a pink silk shirt and tie. Sookie forgot to breathe for a minute, then she remembered what they were talking about.

"Eric, can Bobbie be my doula?"

"I don't know, my lover – Bobbie, are you able to do that?"

"I've basically done it before, though it was never what I was officially paid for."

"Are you available to do it for Sookie?"

"Sure, I'm available. I thought you might have someone else in mind or want to see who is available…"

"Eric, I really want Bobbie to do it. I'm so comfortable with her…"

"If that is what you want, Sookie, I think we can work that out. You two already have a good relationship, and she has gone above and beyond her duties to help you with things that she didn't have to. Bobbie, think about what you would like to be paid and let me know if you want to live in or not and we'll work this out."

"Great! Can I let you know on Monday?"

"That would be fine."

"Oh, good – I feel better now." Sookie sounded so relieved that Eric was sure this was a good choice. He realized she was already adjusting to a lot of new things and people in her life. If this made her feel more comfortable, he couldn't see the harm. They could always add a nanny later if they needed to, and Bobbie already knew Dr. Ludwig, which was a huge plus.

Bill came out of their room then in a dark blue suit and light blue shirt and tie. Now Bobbie had to remember to breathe.

"Bobbie, it's 8:30. Shall we go?"

"Do you need me for anything, Sookie?"

"No, you two go have fun!"

Bill offered Bobbie his arm and she was more than happy to take it. They said goodnight and left the suite.

Eric took Sookie's face in his hands and smiled at her. "You look so beautiful, Sookie. Sometimes it shocks me how pretty you really are."

Sookie flushed a little and he bent down and kissed her neck. She thought her knees were going to buckle, but there was a knock at the door and their guests had arrived. Eric went into full bullshitting mode, and Sookie plastered on her emergency smile. She also tuned in to listen to their thoughts because she knew Eric would want her to.

"Mayor, Mrs. Norris – please come in," Eric greeted them. "Can I offer you something to drink?"

"Oh, no, Eric, we have champagne and bloods down in the limousine. Let's head on down and take a little tour of the city, shall we?"

"My dear, you look marvelous! Who are you wearing?" Mrs. Norris latched onto Sookie's arm and she was off. She was beside herself when she found out Sookie's entire ensemble was Chanel. She went off telling Sookie all about their last trip to Paris and didn't take a breath for a good 45 minutes. Man, that woman could talk!

Sookie just tried to follow her conversation, but it wasn't easy. She'd go way off on a tangent then go back to something she said 20 minutes earlier. Sookie was torn between trying to look interested and trying not to laugh at this crazy lady. It didn't help when she noticed the sidelong looks Eric would occasionally give her as he suppressed a smile. He thought this was funny. Oh, he owed her big-time. She was going to make him go down on her for _hours_ after this. That thought woke her hootchie up, and she could tell Eric knew it because he arched one of his brows and met her eyes with a brief but smoldering look. Oh, hell!

Mayor Norris was pointing out landmarks and talking about different construction that was planned in the next two years. Eric was looking for an opening to see if he could find out how the mayor felt about Felipe when Mrs. Norris did it for him.

"Oh, Walter, aren't you glad they got out of that awful Felipe de Castro's house?" She turned back to Sookie, "I never trusted that man – he's sneaky and disloyal. Even other vampires don't trust him from what I hear. And frankly, dear, he made a few comments about you that were in poor taste considering you were there to get married."

'OK,' Eric thought, 'They know I don't owe Felipe anything, and they know he had designs on Sookie. The Mayor wants to go around Felipe.'

"Is de Castro involved in any of your projects, mayor?"

"Oh, no – we tried to work with him at first, but he demands too much and offers too little. He also ran afoul of some of the unions and silent investors. Certain key players won't deal with him. They want a vampire involved in the projects because your age gives you a broader perspective on city planning and development, and they want very much to cater to vampires as their clientele – all that old money, you know. There's a feeling that de Castro is on his way out. We want a vampire on his way up. When we were invited to your party at de Castro's, some of the investors did a little research into your background and they liked what they saw. They particularly liked that you have experience with nightclubs, and their vampire contacts suggested you were on the rise within the hierarchy. Even your location in Shreveport is a bonus because there will be associated projects in the reconstruction of New Orleans."

"That sounds very interesting, Mayor. What kind of participation are you looking for?"

At that point he and Eric started horse-trading and Sookie tuned out, though she still listened to the mayor's thoughts now and then. He was as honest as a politician could be, which meant some but not completely, and she picked up that the "silent investors" he referred to were mob connections that had a hand in a lot of things in Vegas. She also picked up that Mrs. Mayor had more than a passing interest in Witchcraft, and she recognized that Sookie had unusual gifts right away. Mrs. Norris' opinions apparently held great sway with the Mayor, and her reaction to Sookie and Eric was the icing on the cake as far as the Mayor was concerned. When he found out Sookie was gifted, though he didn't know exactly what her gift was, he knew Eric was a formidable force with some unique advantages that would please the investors a great deal.

When their tour of the strip was complete, the Mayor had the driver take them back to the Bellagio, where they had reservations at Le Cirque. Sookie didn't speak a lot of French, but she knew enough to manage to order a small mesclun salad and a duck dish, Margret de Canard, that was really pretty tasty and didn't have anything gross in it. Eric was served a unique blood beverage in a silver chalice that she would later find out was real blood. The waiter was very discreet so that the humans at the table wouldn't know what he was drinking.

As the evening wound to a close, Eric had confirmed his interest in the Mayor's projects and Mayor Norris promised to have some plans and a prospectus delivered to him the next day. They made an appointment for a teleconference after Eric returned to Shreveport, and after one last cocktail the Mayor and his Mrs. said goodnight, paid the bill and left Sookie and Eric in the lobby. Eric was pleased to discover that some of the shops at the Bellagio had adopted vampire hours, and one of them was Tiffany's. He insisted Sookie let him take her in to look around because he wanted to get her a gift to celebrate. He told her to get whatever she wanted, but she tried to pick something simple that didn't look like it was the most expensive thing in the place, but by the time he specified diamond earrings and platinum setting the "simple" earrings she decided on, Tiffany Legacy Fleur de Lis hook earrings, were over 16,000 dollars. She thought she would faint, but Eric frowned at her and she held it together. She couldn't think about anything except the fact that her new earrings were worth more than every car she had ever owned combined, except of course for the BMW. Eric suggested she put them in now and wear them tomorrow when she and Bobbie went shopping again. She couldn't focus enough to argue with him.

Eric didn't say anything until they were in the elevator. "Sookie, I know you like those earrings, I saw your eyes light up when you saw them."

"Of course I liked them, Eric, they're gorgeous, but…"

"But nothing. You liked them, you can afford them, you deserve them, you've got them. Be happy."

"That's kind of what Bobbie said – that I owe it to you and the baby to be happy because this is as good as life gets."

"Bobbie is very wise, sometimes. I'm glad you want to keep her as your doula in addition to doing your exercise and massage sessions. She'll help you grow into your role as wife and mother."

"That's sort of how I felt about it. She's good at talking me through it when I get overwhelmed, the way you do."

"That's good. Eventually I hope you aren't overwhelmed so easily and you'll be able to enjoy all the benefits you have being married to me."

"I know one benefit I enjoy alright…" she said, wiggling her eyebrows at him. He responded instantly.

"And what might that be, my lover?" He smiled down at her and backed her up against the wall of the elevator.

"Well, when I was into hour 2 of Mrs. Norris talking my ear off and I realized you thought it was funny, I decided you owe me a few hours."

"A few hours of what?" He liked the sound of this…

"A few hours going down on me."

Eric laughed out loud and scooped her up in his arms. "That's a promise, my angel." They reached their floor then and he swept straight into their room with her. He dropped her gently on the bed and she said, "Get me out of this crazy expensive dress first," and he was more than happy to oblige.

It occurred to both of them that it had been a couple of days since they'd had any alone time, and they were on their honeymoon! Eric undressed Sookie very quickly, then undressed himself even faster. He was between Sookie's legs and making her squirm in no time at all, and they were both so happy about it they were almost relieved to be naked and together. Eric was in what she called "virtuoso mode" and between his lips, tongue, teeth and fingers, Sookie was being played like an instrument. It flashed through her mind that she hoped no one could hear her because she couldn't be quiet - he was just too good at this. She was stroking his hair and pulling his head into her center so enthusiastically that he actually laughed a little. He loved it when she got wild and demanding. He never thought she'd be that comfortable with him, but she had no trouble now asking for exactly what she wanted, and she hadn't shown any hesitation to do different things he had introduced her to. He had another trick to teach her when they got back to Shreveport, and he was hoping she was as enthusiastic about it as she had been other things. This was something she would do to him, and he loved it, but he wasn't sure if she'd go for it or not. If she did – ah, well, that would be his idea of heaven.

Sookie reached her first release pretty quickly, and he didn't let her rest long before he was pushing her to another. By the third round she was exhausted, but he was merciless and pushed her hard, making her frantic and causing her to whimper. She loved it and hated it at the same time. He had that scary smile on his face as he watched her squirm and struggle, and he was holding her down so she couldn't get away. She mostly didn't want to get away, but part of her did, and that part was being completely subjected to his will. She was getting wild and beginning to sob, but he didn't let up. He was pushing her farther than he had ever pushed her before and she was nearly incoherent.

"Do you want me to stop, Sookie?"

"N-n-no," she said, though she sounded unsure even to herself.

"Then I won't." He moved up her body to hold her more immobile and his hand was relentless. She was kicking and trying not to scream, bucking and twisting, panting as tears streamed out of her eyes. She was just about to lose it completely when he bit down on her nipple and drew blood from her, drinking deeply as she sobbed, shuddered and seized up several times in a massive orgasm. Her mind wasn't able to register what was going on when he took her with such force that the bed hit the wall, fucking her hard and fast until he had a massive release, shaking his mane and biting her shoulder savagely. He held her head and shoulder hard so she couldn't move, and he fed from her with great relish. He licked his bloody lips and whispered in her ear, "You are MINE." She couldn't speak, so she just nodded and grunted.

She felt like she was just shreds of herself, lying there trying to breathe. He was lying beside her, smiling at the way she was exhausted and disoriented. She knew he loved to do this to her, to make her lose control of herself and leave nothing but a mass of gooey bliss where she had been. She was coming back to herself, realizing that he was stroking her belly and sending love to Baby E, who was practically cheering and kicking. She had the distinct impression that Eric was already Baby E's hero, and she could tell that the feelings he sent to Eric were different than the feelings he sent to her. His feelings for her were more about comfort, but with Eric they were proud feelings, and she could tell Eric knew that, too.

"He's happy," she said weakly.

"Yes, he is. He likes it when we show love for each other. By the time he is born, I will make him the happiest baby in the world," and she knew Eric had every intention of doing just that. There was something different in the way he touched her now. He was more secure and felt more… entitlement, maybe?... in how he approached her. She hadn't realized that before he always had a need to be sure he had permission from her. Now he didn't need permission – she was HIS, and that felt wonderful and different to her. He had never been shy with her, of course, but there was a new boldness now where she was concerned. He knew she wasn't going anywhere.

When she was completely settled down, he said, "Sit up, Sookie, I want to feed you," and he sat up with his back to the headboard. She crawled between his legs, sitting with her back against his chest, and she relaxed into him. He kissed her cheek and her shoulder, and wrapped his arms around her. He tore his left wrist open and pressed it to her mouth while his other hand went between her legs, his fingers just at the opening. He wasn't rubbing or stimulating her, he just wanted to see if there was movement. She drank deeply from his arm, feeling him get hard against her back. After a minute, Eric began to move against her, and she began to act as if she was coming. His right hand felt the unmistakable contractions as she did, and then he reached his own orgasm.

He was rubbing her breasts and kissing her shoulder blades when she spoke again. "Eric, what was that?"

"What was what, my lover?"

"Why did you touch me down there but you didn't really do anything?"

"I wanted to test a theory." He was running his hands all over her.

"What theory?"

"That drinking my blood makes you come."

"Does it?"

"Yes, apparently it does."

"Is that good or bad?"

"That's a value judgment, my angel, that's up to you or me to decide."

"So does it have value for you?"

"Yes, it does."

"Why?"

"Because it means that just the taste of me is enough to bring you to orgasm."

"And…?"

"It's a rush – a power trip – to know that I can do that to you. It means soon you will begin to crave me."

"Don't I do that now?"

He wrapped his big hand around throat, and kissed the side of it.

"Not the way you will soon. Now you enjoy drinking from me, but you don't beg for it. Soon you will beg for a taste of me."

"What if I don't?"

"You will."

"And you want that?"

"Yes, I want that."

"Why?"

"It's another level of dominance over you."

"How much of that do you need?"

"Total, complete dominance."

"I thought you already had that?"

"Not yet, my lover, but we are getting there."

TBC


	44. Chapter 44

Disclaimer: The Southern Vampire Series, and all characters from it, is owned by Charlaine Harris. No infringement is intended.

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He was watching Sookie sleep, kicking himself for not bringing his camera with him, but he didn't want to have to explain it to her because he only ever used it when she was asleep. He wasn't even sure she knew he had a camera. Damn, she was beautiful lying there, so sweet, and that belly was getting sexier every day. He loved that baby bump – what it represented, what it contained, the way it looked on her. He had never seen anything so ripe and luscious, and it was only going to get better over the next two or three months. He would love it as much as she would hate it. He thought it was funny how the bump grew practically overnight, the night of their wedding. He knew the little Viking held back to let her fit into her designer gown, then let it all out as soon as she was out of it. What an amazing son he was already.

He had never told anyone about his fondness for pregnant women. He had preyed on them for a millennium. He tried never to really harm them or their children, but the look of them was so sexy and the taste of them was so sweet that once he had tasted one, he had to taste it again and again. It wasn't something he did all the time – just when he really needed it, maybe a few times a year. He never wanted for willing donors, but something in the hormonal fluctuations of the pregnant human female was exotic and luxurious in a way no other blood was. Sookie's blood was always sweeter than human blood, and the Fae taste of her was intoxicating, but it was that something extra special that came with the pregnancy that made her so, so very sweet to him.

He was pretty sure that was what ended Felipe – when he licked her palm, he got a taste of it. It's not a taste one would come across every day, and it's one you'd never forget once you'd had it. It had overwhelmed Felipe to the point that he risked everything he had to get it, including risking war with the Fae. He wasn't sure what would have happened if Freya hadn't shocked his ass across the room when he made contact with her blood, and he was glad they never found out. If Felipe had seriously harmed or violated her, Eric would have tortured him for months before he finally let him die. This way, it was quick, he was gone, and no one except Bill, Bobbie and Sookie knew what happened to him. Bill wouldn't betray him because that would mean instant death and he knew it. Bobbie wouldn't tell while she was enthralled with Bill, and it was obvious Bill was enjoying her attentions. Eric would make sure that connection was nurtured and continued as long as possible. It kept him from mooning over Sookie, it kept a valuable servant in his employ and it made Sookie happy. Bobbie was turning out to be a good investment all around.

Just look at Sookie tonight – when he walked into the living room of the suite, he was stunned. If his heart beat, it would have stopped when he saw her. She was so polished and precious in her new clothes, and she was actually nervous that he wouldn't like it. Oh, if she only knew how much he wanted her when he saw her like that. He wanted her to have the finest of everything. When he saw her wear a dress she could never have afforded, or jewels he bought for her, it was like a drug for him.

She was worried about spending money – he cared nothing for money when it could buy him such beauty and luxury. People didn't understand how vampires felt about luxury. They were all wealthy, yes, but they didn't need wealth to survive. They needed wealth to create what they wanted - luxury, elegance, comfort. Vampires never struggled to stay alive as humans do – they'd meet the sun before they'd suffer. Their senses were far more refined than humans' and they were driven to indulge their senses just as they were to drink blood. People thought their need for blood was a sickness. That couldn't be further from the truth. It was the most delicious addiction there was, and he never knew one that would give it up if he could. Even Bill Compton wouldn't go back if he could. He might miss the sun, but he loved the taste of blood more. It was no accident that the minute he decided to try to go mainstream, he latched onto a sweet little fairy like Sookie. He was starved and dying of thirst and Sookie was like an oasis when he found her. Even if Sophie Ann hadn't ordered him to seduce her, he would have pursued her once he saw her, smelled her, tasted her.

He intended to do everything he could to foster an addiction to his own blood in Sookie. He didn't really fear losing her at this point, but she held a kind of power over him that he hated. If she came to crave his blood, it would even the scales, so to speak. She'd have a physical need for him that was nearly as strong as his for her. The blood bond was only the beginning of the kind of bond her addiction would create. It was the ultimate vampire high taken to its most extreme level. He wasn't sure if she understood yet that it was physically impossible for him to leave her, but it was still physically possible for her to leave him. He would change that. She didn't understand that when he asked her to tell him she belonged to him, it was because he knew he belonged to her, no matter what. He was forever changed by his bond to Sookie, no matter what happened from this point forward. Losing her would leave a wound that would never heal, no matter how long he lived. Unless he controlled her, he had no control of himself. He was at her mercy. She had walked away from Bill Compton. She had walked away from Quinn. By the gods, she would not walk away from him, ever. He would own her completely, forever. Her addiction would also make her more accepting of the parts of him she didn't know yet, the parts that she would be afraid of. He was going to feed her more than necessary for the baby. The more she took in the more addicted she would become and the more quickly. It couldn't happen fast enough to suit him.

He felt his phone vibrate and took it out to the living area, where Bill Compton was sitting looking at the view. The number was from Felipe's offices.

"This is Northman."

"Hello, Sheriff, this is Sandy. We were wondering if perhaps his majesty was visiting you?"

"No, he's not, Sandy – I haven't seen him since the night before the wedding. I thought he was ill?"

Bill looked up at him and listened intently.

"He was… he is… we just thought he might have wanted to see you while you were still in town. He was very upset that you and Mrs. Northman left so early."

"I'm sorry to hear that. When we were invited to move our party here, we thought it would be the polite thing to do to let him recuperate in peace. We didn't want him to feel obligated to entertain us. He had already been so generous to us that we didn't want him to feel any additional obligation."

"Yes, that is very kind of you. You will contact me, of course, if he happens to visit you?"

"Yes, of course I will. Is there a problem? Is there anything I can do to help?"

"No, no, we have it under control, of course, we just wanted to check in with you."

"Thank you for your concern. We will certainly let you know if his majesty pays us a visit."

"Alright then, have a safe trip back to Louisiana."

"Thank you, Sandy. We appreciate all you have done for us."

"Goodbye, then."

"Goodbye."

"You know, we can probably expect a visit from Sandy or her minions tomorrow night," Bill said.

"I'm not nearly as concerned about that as I am that they might send a Were here during the day when it's just Sookie and Bobbie."

"You know Janet Stevens was here this morning, don't you?"

"No, I didn't – what happened?"

"Bobbie answered the door and told her he hadn't been seen. Sookie didn't get up until she left. She's only human so she would have had no clue anything was amiss."

"Sookie didn't tell me."

"Tonight we'd better make sure we all know what is going on before we go our separate ways, if we do."

"I was thinking it would be best not to be here tonight. Would you and Bobbie like to go to a show or a casino with us tonight, or did you want time alone with Bobbie?"

"The practical thing to do is to stay together. I'll have plenty of time alone with Bobbie when we get back to Louisiana."

"You're going to continue to see her, then?"

"Yes, I am. She's very good company and we have a strong….sensual… connection."

"That's good to hear. Did she tell you she's going to stay on as Sookie's Doula?"

"Yes, she did. She's very excited about it."

"Are you alright with that?"

"Yes, I think it's a fine idea. It will keep her in the area. She had been thinking about moving to California, but that will give her reason to stay."

"Don't kid yourself, Bill – that's not why she's staying."

"I know that, and I'm surprised to say that I'm pretty happy about it, too."

"I think you two are a good match."

"You think I'm a good match for anyone except Sookie."

"No, I don't. I am obviously glad you are moving on with your life, but I wouldn't express an opinion one way or the other if I didn't think you worked well together. She has a gentleness that suits you and she's very pretty."

"Yes, I agree. I must confess I didn't expect to enjoy this trip as much as I have. She has a very sweet way about her that is very comforting."

"She has a positive influence on Sookie that I'm very grateful for. She managed to get her to do something the rest of us had been unable to do."

"She helped, but Sookie wanted the help. Sookie wanted very much for you to be proud of her when you went out with the Mayor and his wife."

"I was proud of her. I'm always proud of her, but to see her rise to the occasion that way was very special to me. I'm very grateful to Bobbie for helping her do that."

"Good. Pay her very well, because you know she's going to take good care of your wife and son."

"I will. Thank you."

"For what?"

"For letting her take the position. I was afraid you would be against it."

"I want Sookie to have the best care possible. I think Bobbie is the best you are going to find. She wanted the position before Sookie even mentioned it, but didn't know how to ask."

"Sookie has good instincts. I've been told that several times by Dr. Ludwig. I think that she has an intuition about Bobbie that she will be the right person for the job, and you dating Sookie's doula gives us reason to find ourselves in the same place at the same time without arousing suspicion."

"I thought of that, too. Have you thought any more about Victor Madden?"

"Not yet – I need more time to work on it."

"Alright, the sun is about to rise – I'm going to rest."

"I'll leave a note for the girls to go shopping and stay out of the room as much as possible when they wake up. I think they'll be safer away from here."

"I agree."

Eric called Bobby Burnham and told him to make arrangements for Sookie to make a large purchase at Tiffany's to make sure she didn't have any hassle with it. He wrote a note to Sookie, left it on the bureau in their bedroom, and went to rest for the day.

There was a loud knock on the door, and Bobbie was struggling to get into her blue satin robe as she went to answer it.

"Who is it?"

"It's Janet Stevens – I'm sorry to bother you again."

Bobbie opened the door and put on her best fake smile. She opened the door to see Janet standing there with a large… driver? Body guard?

"Hi, Ms. Stevens, what can I do for you?"

"I'm sorry to bother you again, but I was wondering if you had heard from Mr. de Castro? We thought he might have sheltered here for the night. Would you mind if Edgar looked around a bit?"

"Look all you want, but he isn't here." Bobbie stepped back as the large, dark haired man walked into the living room and looked around. He cocked his head to the side and almost seemed to be sniffing the air. Bobbie thought he was probably a Were, but she didn't know how to tell. Edgar peeked into Bill's and Bobbie's room, then into Eric's and Sookie's, and shook his head as he walked back to Janet.

"Well, I guess that's all we wanted. Again, I'm sorry to bother you. Have a good trip."

"Thanks – it was nice to see you again."

Bobbie locked the door and went into Sookie's room. Sookie was sitting up.

"Did you hear any of that?"

"Yes, and he was a Were. Did he act like he smelled anything?"

"No, he sniffed around and then shook his head to Stevens. I think he decided there was nothing to smell."

"OK, that's good. Is there a note on the dresser there?"

"Yes, here."

Sookie opened the note from Eric, smiling because she had missed them since they had been on this trip.

_**My**_ _Lover__**Wife**__, _

_Bill and I agree that you and Bobbie should not stay in the room today. Go shopping, go to the spa, play in the pool, but whatever you do, stay out among people. Eat while you are out and only come back at the edge of dark so we can all get ready to go out. If anything goes wrong, call on Freya._

_I love you. _

_Your husband, Eric_

"They want us to go out today."

"I think that's a very good idea. Let's get dressed and we'll get your breakfast at one of the restaurants downstairs. Eric wants you to shop anyway, so we'll spend the day spending money and being pampered. I can be ready in 20 minutes."

"Me, too. Let's rock."

They each went to their bathrooms and got ready as quickly as they could. Sookie suggested they lock the travel boxes the guys were in and they did. At least it would slow an intruder down, hopefully enough for them to respond, though that was iffy.

Bobbie was wearing a lavender silk top and a matching print skirt. Sookie was wearing her dark and light blue Indian print sundress. They double locked the door and went to the elevator.

"Any idea where we should eat?" Sookie asked.

"There's supposed to be a killer buffet downstairs. They have a wide variety of things – Chinese, Italian, American, almost anything you want – and they have chef stations where they make things to order."

"OK, that works for me. I wonder if they have smoked salmon?"

"Probably – you love that stuff, don't you?"

"Yes, I have to admit, of all the things I'm supposed to do for this baby, eating salmon is my favorite," she laughed.

"If they don't have it there, we'll find a place that does."

Sookie liked the look of the buffet, and they were just in time for the 11 am switch to the lunch menu, so they took their time and Sookie sampled almost everything. Bobbie just laughed to herself – what was she thinking taking a pregnant woman to a buffet? Would she ever get Sookie out of there?

Sookie went back for her third serving of seafood, and Bobbie started looking for the ladies' room, though she knew better than to leave Sookie alone. They both had a small taste of several desserts, hit the ladies' room and went shopping.

Bobbie took Sookie to Tiffany's first.

"Oh, man…"

"Come on, Sookie, it's just jewelry."

"Did I tell you how much he paid for these earrings here last night?" she asked as she pulled her hair away to show Bobbie.

"No, but I'll bet they cost a pretty penny. They're diamonds, right? In platinum?"

"Bobbie, Eric paid over 16,000 dollars for these. Isn't that enough jewelry?"

"Eric doesn't seem to think so. Let's go in and see what they have."

"Can I help you, ladies?" a pretty young woman named Asia asked them.

Bobbie took charge. "She needs diamond jewelry, preferably in platinum to match this ring," she said as she held Sookie's left hand up. The girl's eyes got big – and she spent every day around big honkin' diamonds.

"Alright, then, let's start over here." The girl led them to the case Sookie and Eric had looked at the night before.

"Yeah, this is where we bought these earrings." Sookie said.

"Earrings?" The girl asked and Sookie showed her. "Is your name Mrs. Northman, by any chance?"

"Yes, it is."

"We've been expecting you, ma'am. I have some pieces set aside to show you. I didn't realize you were so young."

The girl pulled out some very nice pieces. Sookie bought several items by Elsa Peretti called Diamonds By the Yard (earrings, 2 bracelets, 1 necklace with diamonds and one with aquamarines,) and another bracelet called "Every Other Link" that looked really nice with them. She chose an art deco inspired bracelet of diamonds, a bracelet from the Victoria line with two rows of pearls and diamond "X" or "butterfly" shapes and matching diamond earrings, a Swing bracelet with three rows of different shaped diamonds, Victoria drop earrings with that same butterfly design, Tiffany Hearts drop earrings, Tiffany Swing triple drop earrings, Tiffany Nature butterfly pendant, a large Tiffany Heart pendant, a large green tourmaline pendant in an art deco setting that matched all of her diamonds and especially the art deco bracelet, an ornate Morganite necklace with diamonds and platinum, and an large aquamarine and diamond pendant. She also bought Bobbie an Etoile bracelet and matching hoop earrings in yellow gold with diamonds, and a Diamonds By the Yard pendant and stud earrings also in yellow gold. She wanted to buy her more, but she wouldn't hear of it. She knew Sookie had no idea that those totaled more than Bobbie would make in two years, and she didn't want to take advantage – too much.

"I was told not to ring these up for you, Mrs. Northman. I'm just to confirm your credit card number and send the final total to Mr. Burnham."

"Oh, OK – I never heard of that…."

"Mr. Northman didn't want you to be upset by the prices, apparently, and they're going to wire the money directly to our store."

Sookie looked at Bobbie. Bobbie said, "So I guess you're all set, sugar! Let her write this stuff up and we'll move on to the next store."

"Would you like me to have these delivered to your room this evening Mrs. Northman, so you don't have to carry it all around as you shop?"

"Yes, that would be great. We're in the Penthouse…"

"Yes, ma'am, I have that here. They'll be delivered at 8 o'clock, in case you want to wear any of it tonight."

Bobbie thanked the girl and dragged Sookie to the next store.

She bought a beautiful pink moiré faille coat at Dior, as well as a sleeveless embroidered white silk top and a really cute flared pink silk skirt. She also found an organza bustier dress with alternating lace inserts that was lined so it almost looked as if you were naked underneath. She got a gorgeous pale blue asymmetrical dress with embroidery around the neck that was probably more formal than anything she'd ever need, and a cute short pink bustier dress with pleats that she was pretty sure Eric wouldn't let her wear outside the house, but she wanted it anyway. Maybe he'd let her wear it to Fangtasia, after the baby, of course.

The Chanel lady was happy to see Sookie again and helped her find a really sexy suit in case she ever needed to dress up, and helped her with all kinds of shoes, accessories, sunglasses and a lot of makeup. Her favorite thing, though, was the splash bottle of Chanel No. 5, just like Marilyn Monroe used. They even had a picture of her using it on display. She hoped Eric would like it, because she knew he loved her.

Bobbie dragged Sookie to all kinds of stores, and most of them offered to deliver her purchases at the end of the day, so she didn't have to carry much. They bought some really fancy chocolates at one store, and she bought several more pieces of clothes and scarves and little things, but nothing like she did at Chanel and Dior. She bought Bobbie a beautiful scarf at Hermés. They had to rest a bit right after, though, because Sookie was feeling a little crampy. It didn't last long, but it was pretty intense.

Sookie had reached her limit with the shopping, so Bobbie took her to the spa where they both decided on the Bellagio Signature Bath With Hydrating Mini-Facial since they had openings and it only took 45 minutes. After, they went to the salon and had make-up done and their hair washed and blow-dried so they left looking and feeling really beautiful.

At that point, they knew they needed to get dinner and head back to the room to receive their packages.

They wandered around and looked at a few menus, and Bobbie was surprised when Sookie picked a rather upscale restaurant called Prime Steakhouse because they had two favorites on their menu – French onion soup with cheese and steak tartare with frites. She had really liked the steak tartare from the other night, and it really was what the doctor would prefer she eat – raw meat. The raw egg was a bit of a risk, but the blood made Sookie and the baby so happy it was worth more than worth it.

Once they had their seats, and placed their orders, Bobbie was surprised how comfortable Sookie was in here.

"You didn't like the look of the raw meat the other night," Bobbie teased her.

"That was before my little Pagan baby did the happy dance when I ate it. Baby E loved that stuff."

"Baby E loved it…?"

"Yeah, well, I liked it, too," Sookie laughed.

"Little Pagan baby, huh?"

"Yeah, he's turning me into a Freya worshiper."

"How does that sit with your Southern Christian sensibilities?" Bobbie asked.

"Well, I've never really thought it through, but I know that gods and Goddesses are real, and I know I've been dreaming about Freya and the baby will be dedicated to Her because She's Eric's personal deity. My upbringing tells me that's wrong, but it says a lot of other things I do or believe or know are wrong, too and they just aren't."

"How does the Supe world jibe with Christianity?"

"Honestly, I have no idea. I don't really think about religion a lot, but I always considered myself a good girl."

"You know, Sookie, there are groups of people, women especially, who are turning back to the original Mother Goddess in her various aspects."

"Aspects?"

"Yes, like in some places She's blonde and called Freya, in others She's called Isis and has black hair, in America She was White Buffalo Calf woman…"

"And they're all the same Goddess?"

"They're part of a larger whole that is really just one living Goddess, though a lot of areas believe Her favorite name was ISIS or Au Set."

"What do they call people who worship the Goddess?"

"Well, it varies, but most of them call themselves Witches."

"Like Amelia?"

"Amelia is a kind of Witch, though she doesn't talk much about the Goddess, so I don't know if she's that kind of Witch. She could be, though."

"Are you a Witch, Bobbie?"

"I'm a Goddess worshiper, so some would say yes, but I don't do a lot of spell work the way Amelia does. I have done magick and could if I wanted to, but it's not my main focus. My main focus is knowing that I am part of the living Goddess, and that I am connected to everything past, present and future as one living whole being."

"In my dream the other night, Freya told me the baby used blood magick and I could, too."

"That's a pretty direct invitation, Sookie."

"Yeah, but I don't have any desire to turn people into cats or things like Amelia does."

"Hasn't Amelia also helped you in fights, to make sure the right people were spared and the bad ones got hurt?"

"Yeah, that's true."

"There are all kinds of magick, Sookie. Maybe you should learn a little about it? Then at least you know what it is, even if you decide it's not for you."

"Yeah, maybe. I definitely need to understand Freya if she's going to be around my family so hard."

"The next time you dream about her, try to wake up in your dream. That's called Lucid Dreaming. If you can become conscious inside your dream, you can ask her questions. You could find out what she wants, or what she wants to tell you."

"Lucid dreaming…. Have you done that?"

"Yes, but I've never had such a direct connection to the Goddess. Mine is more subtle."

"I wonder why she picked me?"

"Maybe because you picked Eric? Or because of your baby? Or maybe she just loves you, Sookie, and wants you to be happy."

Sookie didn't say anything, but Bobbie knew she was thinking about what she had said. She didn't have any goals with Sookie, because Goddess worshipers don't proselytize the way patriarchal religions do, but she felt like she had a responsibility to help Sookie understand what was happening around her. Sookie was so blessed in so many ways, Bobbie just knew it was important for Sookie to understand her own luck and her own power. Sookie had so many advantages that she didn't even understand yet, and Bobbie wanted her to enjoy them as much as possible.

The waiter brought their appetizers then, and Sookie practically inhaled the steak tartare. Sookie had her hand on her tummy, and laughed. "The little Viking is happy. I'm telling you, Bobbie, he loves this stuff."

"That's so amazing that he can communicate with you that way. It must feel wonderful."

"It does. I realized the other day that I'm never alone now. I was missing Eric so much during the day, and one day Baby E was sending me love and it occurred to me that he knew I was missing Eric and wanted to comfort me. I realized that I wasn't alone in the daytime, I had Baby E with me. I can't wait to hold him and play with him. I think he's going to be very smart."

"I think he will be, too. Has the doctor told you anything about that?"

"She says he'll be a handful. I figure that's because he'll be so much like Eric, wanting to be dominant all the time."

"Dominant? I know he tends to take charge… or do you mean sexual dominance?"

"Yeah, that. I don't really understand it, but he does and I like everything he does, so I just do what he tells me and it's always amazing."

"Really? You enjoy it?"

"Yeah, of course. This is weird – I've never really talked to anyone about this, but he's amazing, you know, in bed."

"He looks like he would be."

"He's been doing everything for so long that he's really, really good at it."

"He doesn't hurt you, does he?"

"No, not at all. I mean, not… you know how sometimes things hurt a little but in a good way?"

Bobbie laughed, "Yes, I do."

"Nothing more than that. He would never really hurt me. He just makes things really…. exciting."

"Well as long as everybody is having fun, and nobody is getting hurt too much, there's nothing wrong with that."

"Oh, I'm definitely having fun. I've only had three boyfriends, and Eric is one of them, but he showed me things and made me feel things neither of the others did. I didn't even know it was possible to feel things he makes me feel. I never really understood what all the fuss was about until Eric. He takes things to a whole new level I never even knew about."

"You are a lucky, lucky girl, Sookie, in many ways."

"Yeah, I should relax and enjoy it while it lasts."

"Yes, you should."

The waiter brought their onion soups, and Sookie dug right in as Bobbie watched her with amusement. Sookie was so innocent in some ways, but so open to new ideas and she was obviously experienced in areas that most would consider advanced. Bobbie had had a feeling that there was a strong sexual component to Sookie's relationship with Eric, but this conversation had revealed an aspect of it she hadn't expected. She could definitely see Eric being a talented and enthusiastic Dom, but she hadn't known Sookie would tolerate that, let alone be into it. You just never knew with people.

"Wow – look at all this cheese! This is my favorite part!" Sookie was really enjoying her soup, and Bobbie had to admit it was unusually good.

Whatever was going on, Sookie was happy about it, which was not surprising because Eric was pretty much sex walking on two legs. She had always understood Sookie's attraction to him, but she had wondered about his attraction to Sookie. She was pretty, and charming, but the submissive aspect of her was the missing piece of the puzzle. Eric had found a woman who responded to his need to dominate, and enjoyed it. Finding that kind of compatibility is very rare, and once a person finds it, they'll do anything they can to keep it. What a turn on that must be for him to take her places "no man had gone before." No wonder he wanted to spoil her and doted on her the way he did. She was a rare find. Add that compatibility to the telepathy Bill had told her about, and it made sense that Eric valued her so highly, and that other Supes wanted to take her from him. She knew Bill still had feelings for Sookie, but he was definitely developing feelings for her, and since Sookie was married now, she hoped she'd have Bill's full attention. Sookie had completely moved on, and she was pretty confident that Bill was doing the same. She planned to hang onto him as long as she could – he was so gorgeous! She was looking forward to going home so she could see his house.

Bobbie also understood how special and rare Sookie having Eric's baby was. Bill had confirmed to her that Eric would probably be the only living vampire with actual offspring. What a head trip! The only vamp daddy in existence. No wonder he was so involved with Sookie's pregnancy and seeing to her care so intently. This would make him an almost-living legend. And the blood bond he had to Sookie and now shared with the baby – wow. Bobbie had a front row seat to history in the making. She was so glad Sookie asked her to be her doula. She couldn't wait to see this baby, who would almost certainly be touched by the Goddess. She loved babies anyway, but this baby would be a real adventure for all of them. She was pretty sure even Bill would be crazy about the baby because it was Sookie's.

She tried not to think about how much she'd like to have a blood bond with Bill. If he were ever going to consider that, it would be far in the future. She just hoped he didn't wait until she got a lot older. Bobbie would be more than happy to be turned before she got much older. She wondered when he'd let her taste his blood. He had already had hers a couple of times.

The waiter brought Sookie's Parmesan Crusted Free Range Chicken and Bobbie's Chilean Sea Bass. Sookie had also ordered Gruyère Cheese Fritters & Truffle Salt and Broccoli Parmesan, and Bobbie thought to herself that that was a lot of cheese, but Sookie wolfed it all down. Oh, to be pregnant and get to eat that way without feeling guilty! Bobbie just had a salt baked potato and steamed asparagus because she needed to watch her weight. She was just what someone might call pleasingly plump, and intended to get no bigger. Bill loved the curves she had now, and she was going to fight like hell to keep them.

By the time they finished dinner it was nearly 8 o'clock, and they headed back up to the penthouse. Bobbie smiled to herself thinking about how she was actually getting to stay in the penthouse at the Bellagio. Even if it was because she was working, that was pretty damned special. And that gold and diamond jewelry would be on its way up, and the Hermés scarf and a few other things Sookie bought for her. They'd had that fabulous bath, facial, professional makeup application. This was a seriously successful day for a masseuse!

"So did you have fun today, Sookie?"

"Yeah, I really did. I really like some of the things we bought, and we had amazing food and the spa and salon stuff was heavenly. We're all set to go out tonight!"

Bobbie wondered how much Eric would be willing to pay her as a doula. Maybe she should ask him to make an offer. The way he operates, she was pretty sure he would offer a lot more than she'd dream of asking for. He might even pay as much as $40,000. Plus, he said she could move in if she wanted to! She wondered if they'd consider letting her have the guest room on the fourth floor. She'd be right there with the meditation room and yoga paraphernalia. A room on the second floor would be nice, too, but the fourth floor would be her first choice. She knew Eric worked out with his swords sometimes and she was sure they'd use the sauna, but that would only be once in a while. Seeing Eric practice with a sword certainly fell into the "Perks" category, because seeing him do the bit that he did the night before they all left was hot as hell. If she was making that kind of money and not paying rent, that was like winning the lottery!

It wasn't quite 8 when they got upstairs, but the guys were up and dressed, waiting for them in the living room and having a blood as they talked. They stood up immediately as the girls entered. Such manners! Bobbie loved the old fashioned manners most vampires had.

"Hello, my darlin'," Bill said as he stepped forward and kissed Bobbie. Eric already had Sookie in his arms, whispering to her, and she was beaming at him.

"Did you ladies have fun today?" Eric asked, playing host.

"Yes, we did," Bobbie answered.

"Wait 'til you see what I bought, Eric. I got some really pretty clothes and a lot of jewelry and stuff. It will be here any minute."

"Did you go to the spa, my angel?"

"Yes, we had a special bath and mini-facial and we got our hair and makeup done."

"That's why you both look so lovely," Bill said to Bobbie as he kissed her hand and led her to the couch to sit with him. *Swoon*** **- Bobbie was ready to melt. She wished they didn't have to go out tonight. She'd love to lock herself up in that nice bedroom with Bill and forget about everything but him.

"Did you ladies have any visitors today?" Eric was trying to make sure they knew everything there was to know.

"Janet Stevens came by with some driver or body guard who looked around," Bobbie answered.

"He was a Were," Sookie added, "and he sniffed around but didn't pick up anything."

"Bobbie, could you do your thing with the oils again, just to be safe?" Eric wanted to be sure there was nothing to pick up.

"Sure. I'll get my bag…"

"I'll come with you," Bill said. It was like he didn't want to let her out of his sight, and that was fine with her.

There was a knock at the door, and Eric answered it. The delivery guy was a little shocked at running into a big vampire unexpectedly, but he brought the packages in on a rolling rack and Eric gave him a large tip, indicating he could unload them on the table.

Sookie went through all of it, showing the pieces to Eric with nothing short of glee, and he was enchanted by her, as ever. He was very pleased with the jewelry selections. "It just occurred to me, my angel, that you need a jewelry box. I'll ask Alicia to get you one so you'll have a nice place to store all of your treasures. Did you have any problem at the store?"

"No, they were expecting me. They said Mr. Burnham had made arrangements and they even had some pieces set aside to show me when I got there."

"Good. I'm glad to see you got several very nice pieces. What are those boxes there?"

"That's stuff I got for Bobbie – that's OK, right?"

"Yes, that's what I hoped you would do. Did you let her pick them out? I want her to be very happy with them."

Bobby and Bill came back in, and you could tell they had been making out because Bobbie was flushed and flustered. Sookie asked her to show Eric what she got, and she did, with Bill looking very pleased with her choices. Bill was more than happy to have Eric spending money on Bobbie. He'd end up spending a lot on her, too, but he wasn't as rich or as lavish as Eric, and he could tell that Bobbie loved these new things. When she wore these gold pieces, Bill would get the credit instead of Eric, and that suited him fine.

Bobbie went ahead and did her thing with the oils and it made the room smell wonderful. Sookie was showing Eric the bottle of Chanel No. 5 just like Marilyn's and he liked that a lot.

"Mmm – this smells heavenly, Sookie – put some on now," and he dabbed the top of the bottle on her neck, in her cleavage, then dipped it again and bent down to dab it behind her knees and at her ankles. Before he stood back up, he wet the top again and reached under her dress to dab a little on each thigh, wiggling his eyebrows at her. She laughed and beamed at him.

"Do we really have to go out tonight?" Sookie asked hopefully.

"I was thinking the same thing," Bobbie said looking at Bill. It was obvious all four of them wanted to stay in their bedrooms rather than going out.

"Bill, what do you think?" Eric asked, taking Sookie in his arms, never taking his eyes off of her.

"Well," Bill said as he wrapped his arms around Bobbie, "There's some risk in staying here, but if they were going to attack, they'd have probably done it by now. The security in this building is pretty good."

"They could attack us while we were out as well, and at least here we have our swords," Eric added.

"Not to mention that gun," Bobbie reminded them.

"And my dagger," Sookie added.

"It sounds as if none of us wants to go out," Eric said, looking at Bill.

"I vote we take our chances and all go to bed early," Bill agreed.

"YES!" Bobbie and Sookie spoke in unison and everybody laughed.

"Alright then, we turn off all the lights out here, we hook a chair under the door, we keep our swords within easy reach and retire with our ladies for the evening." Eric was more than ready to take Sookie to bed. She looked amazing.

"That works for me." Bill smiled at Bobbie. Eric and Sookie gathered up her packages and took them into their room, and Eric took two cold bloods from the bar for Sookie to drink later. Bill put a chair under the door, Bobbie gathered up her packages, and they turned off the lights as they went to their room.

********

Nobody was happier to stay in than Bill. Bobbie looked and smelled so good from the spa treatment, and though they had had sex every night for the last five nights, he was still in a state of extreme arousal. Part of it was from being so close to Sookie, but more of it, he told himself, was the newness of the relationship with Bobbie. She was becoming more attractive to him every day. Her creamy skin, her soft curves, her gentle touch, her sweetness - she seemed ideal in so many ways.

She was an unusually responsive lover, too, which surprised him. He thought she might be timid or uninterested in sex, but she was a tiger in bed, and she was very adept at things most women didn't like to do. She had a thorough knowledge of the body, and she made the most of it. He was enjoying the time he spent with her and he saw real potential in this relationship. She loved being bitten. After they finished the first time and he fed from her, he opened his wrist and let her taste him. He was surprised that as she fed from him, they both climaxed. That so excited him that he immediately took her again, and again, giving her no rest in between, and he was pleased that that seemed perfectly fine to her. She hadn't said no to anything yet, and he had helped himself to a lot more than he normally would have in a relationship this new. He had already done more with Bobbie than he ever dared do with Sookie, and as if to prove it to himself he asked Bobbie to roll over and kissed her back, then entered her other entrance slowly and with great relish.

************

Eric was very happy to have Sookie alone and he was undressing her before she had even put down her packages. She was going to hang the clothing in the closet, but the skirt of her dress was being pulled up her body, and she had to drop them so the dress could come completely off. Eric's hands were all over her, her thong was destroyed, again, and she was naked all but her shoes, which he lifted her out of and put her on her back on the bed. He was between her legs, kissing her and undressing himself, licking just long enough to get her moving, then he moved up and took her with no warning and almost before she was ready. Even with the permanent state of arousal the pregnancy had her in, she hadn't quite shifted gears enough to really be prepared and she cried out, which made him crazy and he bit her right away. He was fucking her hard all of a sudden and drinking from her.

He was being rougher with her than usual, maybe because he was expecting trouble, or because he knew Bill could hear him, and she knew this was going to be one of those nights where he had to prove his ownership of and dominance over her. Except that he caught her a little off guard, she was more than happy to be dominated, so she was a little more vocal than necessary because she knew he loved it. He finished the first round very quickly, then held her down and mauled her breasts more thoroughly than he had in a few days. He was using his teeth, causing that bright, exquisite pain that she loved and she was really aware of and into the idea that he was holding her down. She was glad that he was being careful not to put any weight on her tummy, and she was very glad when he turned her over on her knees so there was no pressure on her tummy at all. He bit her butt on one side, then the other, then he did something with his tongue that she couldn't believe. She was still trying to deal with what had just happened when he took her "doggie" style, slamming her hard, holding her with an iron grip so she didn't fall. He finished very quickly and said, "Get up." She didn't know what was going on, but she did as he said as he pulled the lubricant out of her train case and sat in a chair to the side of the bed after he covered it with a towel.

She had only a vague idea of what he was up to when he motioned for her to come stand in front of him, facing away. She felt the cold gel being liberally applied and let him slowly guide her downward, trying to relax as she was deeply, definitely impaled on his extremely gracious plenty, which she could swear she felt in her throat as she tried to concentrate on breathing. When she was all the way down he pulled her tightly back into his chest and held her still. She felt like she was splitting in half from her soul on out and she trembled and panted as he held her immobile. She knew she didn't dare express pain with Bill in the suite, and she knew Eric was counting on that. One arm held her still while his other hand ran all over her in one of those "just because he can" moments. Why was she trembling so badly?

Eric bit his wrist so it was nearly gushing, and pressed it to her mouth. She was trying to drink fast because she could barely breathe, and she knew she drank a lot. Eric was rubbing her clit, and she could feel a massive orgasm rising in her, and from the way his hand was shaking he was, too. It was building, building, then there was an explosion of hot red light that enveloped them. Sookie thought maybe she fainted, but she wasn't sure. All she knew was that she was on the floor, on her knees, and Eric was moving in and out of her in deep, definite strokes and he was coming again, or still coming, she wasn't sure, but she felt utterly debauched and completely owned. If she wasn't HIS before, she certainly was now. She was lying on her side on the floor, stunned, while he cleaned up in his bathroom, and she was counting the seconds until he would come back and wrap his arms around her. He washed her, then picked her up and put her on the bed. When he spooned up behind her and pulled the covers over them, he asked, "Did you feel that?"

"The red light?"

"Yes."

"What was that?"

"I don't know, but I'm pretty sure it's related to that white light the other times."

"Have you ever felt anything like that before?"

"Never. Only with you, and only recently."

"Is it the baby?"

"I don't think so, but I'm sure he feels it, too."

"What is it, then?"

"I only have a theory."

"Hold me tighter. What's your theory."

"It's blood magick. It's coming from you, or the Goddess Freya, or both."

"Why would she pick me?"

"Again, only a theory."

"And?"

"Because you picked me – or I picked you. I used to be an avid servant of Freya, but I lost my connection to her. I think she wants me back – she wants US back, the three of us."

"Is that good or bad?"

"To be favored by a Goddess is a wonderful thing, Sookie. Being a woman, you could literally be the Goddess at times. If you knew the ritual, when we had sex, you could be the Goddess, and I would be making love to you both as one."

"And that's good?"

"It would be a great honor for us both and a great offering from us to Her."

"Bobbie said I should learn about magick so I at least know what it is."

"Knowledge is always a good thing, my angel. You need to know your options to make good choices."

"Is Freya making me a Witch?"

"I think Freya is telling you that you are a Witch and always have been."

"How can that be?"

"Witches are born, not made. It's more likely you have always been a Witch but ignored your own power."

"So what's bringing it up now?"

"The logical assumption would be that it's the baby, or at least our sex."

"What does the Goddess have to do with sex?"

Eric laughed. "Everything, my angel. The Goddess is sex – an orgasm is a joining with the Goddess and tapping in to Her power. Sex is sacred to Her."

"So you think I have power of some kind I don't know about?"

"Probably."

"I need to talk to Bobbie about this."

"Good idea. Ask Amelia, too. It's good to have more than one source in such things. One might know something the other does not."

"Will you still love me if I'm a Witch?"

"Sookie, I will always love you, no matter what."

"Hold me until I go to sleep, OK?"

"Of course, my angel."

*******************

No one was seen in the living room again until Bill and Eric both came out around 5 am to make sure things were secure. Eric opened his laptop, and Bill offered him a blood.

"Thanks – are you all packed?"

"Yes, they're taking us all to your house – is that alright?"

"That's fine. You're welcome to stay a few days if you'd like. There's plenty of room."

"I'll see what Bobbie wants to do when I get up. I guess they'll be back tomorrow to pick up the travel boxes?"

"Yes, but there's secure shelter elsewhere in the house. Has Bobbie mentioned whether she would like to live in or not?"

"She'd like to live in, and I think she particularly likes a guest room on the fourth floor?"

"That's a good idea. You two would have some privacy there if you stayed over and she'd use the sauna and meditation rooms, among other things. Did she mention a salary?"

"What would you be willing to offer her?" Bill obviously considered Bobbie his if he was negotiating for her. He knew what she was hoping to get out of the deal.

"Well, I was thinking of a fixed salary from now through the child's first birthday of $150,000."

"I'll mention that to her. I think she'll be pleased with that." Bobbie would be ecstatic, but Eric didn't need to know that.

"I'll give her half up front as a retainer, and the second half when he turns one year old. I'll cover all her expenses, room and board, and I'll expect her to be available whenever Sookie needs her for whatever she needs."

"That sounds very reasonable."

"Alright then, I'll leave Sookie a note with the details, and you can tell Bobbie if you like. She can start immediately and move in as soon as is convenient. Then Sookie won't need to go to Fangtasia so often with me if she's not feeling well. I haven't wanted to leave her in the house alone."

"That's understandable. I know she had been having some problems."

"Some nausea, which is normal, and some cramps which we were told will be worse than most women experience. She's been doing pretty well since we've been here, but the baby is growing so quickly that I expect her to start having more difficulty with that."

"She has grown quite a bit while she has been here."

"Yes, she has. I love the way it looks on her, but that's a big change for that little body to go through in such a short time."

"You aren't really worried, are you?"

"I don't want Sookie to know this, but Niall said there is always danger to mother and child in childbirth."

"So the magick doesn't protect them?"

"Not completely. There are some limits to what magick can do, apparently."

"Maybe other magick can help? Maybe only Niall's magick has limits?"

"That's a possibility. I'll talk to Amelia about that when I can."

"Feel free to ask Bobbie, too. She's a Goddess worshiper, you know."

"No, I didn't. That's excellent. Sookie needs to learn about the Goddess just now."

"You really think she's a Witch?"

"Yes, I really do. She just doesn't understand it yet. Did Bobbie set her alarm clock?"

"I set it for 8 am. That should give them time to get ready."

"Good – I'll set Sookie's for 8 as well. I'm going to finish packing our things as much as I can before I go to rest. I hope I can find room for all her new things."

"Would another garment bag help?"

"Yes – do you have an extra one?"

"Actually, yes. I can put my suits in with Bobbie's clothes. Neither of us brought much because we didn't expect to be here long and we talked about this earlier. I'll combine our clothes and you can use my garment bag for Sookie's new things."

"Thank you – that would help a lot."

"I'll get it for you."

Bill's garment bag in hand, Eric returned to their room. He packed up their clothes, left one dress out for Sookie to wear, and wrote her a note for the morning. She woke up just enough to kiss him back when he kissed her and the baby before he went to rest.

TBC


	45. Chapter 45

Disclaimer: The Southern Vampire Series, and all characters from it, is owned by Charlaine Harris. No infringement is intended.

___________________________________________________________________________________

OUCH! Sookie woke up suddenly with a really bad cramp. What time was it? 7:16. The vamps would be asleep and Bobbie wouldn't be up yet. Bobbie was her best bet, so Sookie tried to get up, but couldn't really stand. She crawled from the bed onto the floor and started to move slowly out the door.

'Oh, god.. no, wait … FREYA! help me,' she thought as she tried to get the door to her room open. There was a knock at the front door of the suite, but Sookie couldn't get to it. Bobbie came out to answer the door and saw Sookie lying there.

"Sookie, are you alright?"

"Get the door first, Bobbie, I'll be OK."

Bobbie opened the door, but the bellhop who had knocked was getting back on the elevator, realizing he was at the wrong door.

"Sorry to wake you ma'am."

"That's OK, thanks."

"Who was that?" Sookie asked. Bobbie was bending down to help her.

"A mistake, apparently. I'm glad he woke me. Where does it hurt?"

"My stomach and my back – I can't straighten up."

"OK, try to relax. I'm going to get you some ibuprofen and a small glass of wine, here…" and Bobbie popped up and got Sookie one of the pillows from her bed so she could relax where she was.

Bobbie got the ibuprofen from Sookie's train case and used one of the glasses from the bathroom to get her some water. Sookie managed to rise up with Bobbie's help, just enough to get the pills down and then went back down to lay her head on the pillow. Bobbie got her a small glass of red wine and helped her get up enough to drink it.

"That should start relaxing you right away, and the ibuprofen will kick in about twenty minutes from now. Our best bet in the mean time is to make you comfortable, and maybe I'll do a little aromatherapy to help you relax. Do you think you could drink some more wine?"

"Maybe in a minute. I've got to pack –the driver from Anubis will be here at 10."

"Don't worry about that right now – that's almost three hours away. Besides, I'm pretty sure you are mostly packed. Bill lent his garment bag to Eric last night to pack up your new clothes. He was just going to leave something out for you to wear and get the rest of it ready."

"He did?! That's so sweet…"

Bobbie laughed. "Sookie, you're something else. You're lying there in pain and you're thinking about Eric. A lot of women would be cursing his name for getting them pregnant in the first place."

'Yeah, but I love that I'm pregnant, and I love that Eric went out of his way to help me. He could have left all the packing to me. That's what most men would do."

"Eric is nowhere near being "most men."" Bobbie laughed again.

"Thank Goddess."

"Thank Goddess?! Have you converted?" she laughed.

"I don't know about converting, but I know I called Freya to help me, and in a second somebody knocked on the door and woke you up when I really needed you. She's making a believer out of me!" Sookie laughed weakly.

"Sookie, where is the travel information?"

"In that folder on the dresser."

"You usually get very tired after these cramps. I think I should call Anubis and make arrangements for a wheelchair just in case you can't walk, or are too tired to get around."

"I hate to do that, but we have to be on that plane, so maybe you'd better, just in case,"

Bobbie called the car service for the airline and told them she had a sick travel companion, and they were very cooperative in making arrangements for her. Anubis was always very cooperative – vamps expected excellent service and Anubis provided it, for a price. Sookie was still in pain, but it wasn't as severe anymore and she was getting tired, so Bobbie helped her get up and got her dressed. Eric had left the yellow and blue dress out for her, so it was easy to get on, and Bobbie brushed Sookie's hair and pulled it up into a ponytail. She helped Sookie with a little makeup, then finished packing her things and carried everything to the living area while Sookie lay on the bed resting.

By the time Bobbie had everything out of both rooms, Sookie was asleep and Bobbie just let her rest until the car service arrived. Bobbie was only a little surprised when Janet Stevens showed up under the pretense of seeing them off, but really wanting to see if there was any sign of Felipe. Her Were companion sniffed around but didn't find anything. They left when the car service came up to take the travel boxes, and they had an extra female attendant with a wheelchair. Bobbie and the attendant helped Sookie into the chair, and Bobbie was glad they had arranged it because Sookie couldn't really wake up. She'd never have been able to walk down to the limo, and Bobbie was pretty sure she would sleep all the way back to Shreveport.

The van they brought had a ramp, so they were able to wheel Sookie right into it and let her shift over to a sort of cot for the ride to the airport, then they were able to transfer the whole cot into the plane via a special long ramp. Sookie didn't even wake up as they moved her, and Bobbie was impressed to see that some seats had been removed from the plane to make room for Sookie's bed. They buckled her in safely, locking a special belt over the blanket, and Bobbie was able to sit next to her and keep an eye on her. She kept her bag, Sookie's tote and the folder with their travel documents in the seat next to her, since no one was sitting there. There were about ten people sitting at the rear of the plane, but Bobbie and Sookie were pretty much alone in the front. Bobbie was very glad she and Bill had stayed to travel home with them, because Sookie could never have gotten through this alone. She was going to have Eric call Dr. Ludwig when he got up. She was pretty sure Sookie would be alright until then, since she'd sleep most of the way.

About half way through the trip, Sookie woke up enough to drink a couple of cold bloods and a nutritional supplement that they had on the plane that luckily didn't contain iron. Bobbie was very glad she knew to check about that, and she wondered if they had that particular brand because they had a lot of Fae passengers. Sookie slept the rest of the trip, and they were even to wheel her cot into the service elevator and take her to the third floor, where Bobbie and Alicia helped her get into bed. The travel boxes were set back in the living room, and Bobbie gave the attendants an extra large tip.

It was four o'clock when Sookie woke up hungry, and Alicia already had a plate of salmon, cream cheese and bagels ready for her. Bobbie did some massage treatments on Sookie in her bed, and they decided it would be better for Sookie to stay in bed until she saw the doctor. Eric had told Alicia about Bobbie's new position, and she had Bobbie's and Bill's luggage taken up to the fourth floor. She had also found a moving service to help Bobbie move her things over. She didn't have a lot, but the service would make the transition quick and painless and that was fine with Bobbie. She could call them the Saturday and make all the arrangements. She was in a month-to-month lease on a furnished apartment where she was, and Eric would pay any difference if they objected to her leaving.

Sookie had had some salmon, some cold blood and some ibuprofen, so she settled down in front of the TV that Alicia raised from the cabinet, and dozed off and on for a while. This week had been a lot more activity than she was really up to, and she was glad to be home in her own bed. She couldn't wait until Eric woke up. She knew she'd feel a lot better when he was with her. This pregnancy was making her so tired, and those cramps just drained all her energy. Dr. Ludwig had told her the baby would draw a lot of her energy and she wasn't kidding. Sookie remembered how active she normally was, and now just a couple of days of shopping did her in. Of course, the stress around dealing with creepy Felipe didn't help anything.

Alicia asked if she'd like her to unpack her things now or wait, and when Bobbie came to check on Sookie, she asked her to stay and help her show Alicia her new stuff. Alicia was very impressed with Sookie's choices. Everything she got was young, chic and suited her very well. She realized she could start buying Sookie a better grade of clothing now, since she'd had a taste of designer quality. There was a delivery downstairs, and Margaret brought the deliverymen up with a box that turned out to contain Sookie's new jewelry armoire/mirror.

"Hi, Margaret!" Sookie hadn't seen her yet and was excited to see her.

"Hello, Mrs. Northman. Did you have a good trip?" Margaret was beaming at her, so proud that she was married now.

"It was great. I'm sorry I came back in such a pathetic state."

All the women reacted with 'Oh, no's' and 'don't be silly's.'

"Now, now, Mrs., that's to be expected with a baby on the way. You probably had too much excitement. Now you're home and things will be peaceful for you, and you'll get back into your routine. I'm going to stay a little later tonight so I can make you a nice steak when you're hungry again, and we'll get you back on schedule."

"Thank you, Margaret."

"Things did get a little hectic," Bobbie added. "We didn't even do a massage yesterday. I hope that's not why you had such a bad time today."

"No, don't worry about that, Bobbie. I think maybe it was the walking and the stress and all. I was lucky I didn't have more days like this week. I was really lucky you were there today, too. I don't know how Eric and I would have gotten home without you. Thank you so much!"

"Well, everything worked out for the best," Alicia assured them both..

"I'm glad you're back, Mrs. You just let me know if you need anything. I'll be right down stairs," and she nodded to the monitor on Sookie's nightstand. She hadn't even noticed it.

Alicia helped the men gather up the packing material and they took the boxes away. The "armoire" was a full length mirror that would stand right outside the door to the bathroom, and the mirror swung open to show a 6 foot space with drawers, hooks, shelves and little cubbies for jewelry. The outside pretty much matched Eric's furniture, but the inside was a pink velvet-y textured fabric that was supposed to reduce tarnishing, though Sookie didn't have any silver. Alicia started putting Sookie's new Tiffany's pieces in along with her Solitaire set and some new pieces Sookie didn't recognize. Alicia had been shopping, too, and showed Sookie some very impressive pieces of yellow and rose gold, plus one spectacular set of necklace, bracelet and earrings that was woven of yellow, white and rose gold. Alicia was very impressed with the things Sookie bought, especially the morganite and diamond necklace and the large aquamarine pendant surrounded by diamonds.

"Have you thought what you might wear to the reception on Monday night, Mrs. Northman?" Alicia was thinking ahead, as always. Sookie had really missed her.

"What do you think of the blue Dior gown? I would wear my pink dress, but there may be people there who were also at the party last Saturday, and one is exactly the one person I don't want to see me in the same dress."

Alicia pulled out the Dior dress and they all ooh'd and ahh'd over how beautiful the fabric and the embroidery around the neck was. You'd be able to tell Sookie was pregnant, but that would be true of anything she wore at this point.

"It's very regal, Mrs. Northman. You'll look like a queen."

Bobbie and Sookie looked at each other. "Ok, then, I'll wear that one. Eric will like that."

"Eric will like anything, but more importantly, that certain person you're thinking of will shit a brick when she sees you in it," Bobbie laughed and Sookie and Alicia joined in.

"An old girlfriend?" Alicia asked.

"She wishes," Sookie said, "and she's really catty. She brought my ex with her to Las Vegas to try to embarrass me at my own engagement party!"

"Worked out great for me though," Bobbie laughed and they explained to Alicia that the other box downstairs was Bill Compton, Sookie's ex and Bobbie's new beau. Alicia didn't say anything. If Sookie was OK with that, it was no skin off her nose.

"Wait until you meet him – he's gorgeous!" Bobbie said, and Sookie agreed.

"If it hadn't been for him, I never would have met Eric. He has been a really good friend to us, in spite of everything," Sookie explained. Alicia didn't ask what everything was, but she was pretty sure the story was that Eric had taken Sookie from another, somehow subordinate, vampire. Now she'd get to see Sookie's past. She had to admit to herself that she was curious to see the other man in the triangle.

"Hello, ladies." Eric was up! Sookie was reaching for him before he was even in the door, and he sat on the bed and hugged her tight.

"I hear my angel is not feeling well. What happened?"

Sookie looked at Bobbie, who explained. "She woke up at about 7:30 with a terrible cramp that lasted a long time and knocked her out. We had Anubis bring a wheelchair and they brought her in on a cot. She slept most of the day."

"I barely remember being on the plane. I know I drank some blood and chocolate stuff and I was in a bed, but that's about it."

Eric looked concerned. "Are you in pain now, Sookie?"

"No – maybe a little tender in those spots and still a little tired, but I'm ok."

"Bill is waiting to hear how you are – do you want him to come up?"

"Yeah, sure."

"Bill, come on up, she's alright."

Bill was at the door instantly. He nodded to Alicia, and Eric introduced her as Sookie's maid. "Nice to meet you. Sookie, are you better? What happened?"

"Just those awful cramps I get. Thank heaven Bobbie was with me. I don't know how we'd have gotten home without her!"

"Yes, I'm glad she was with you. I think it's good that there's going to be someone with you all the time now. I noticed yesterday evening that you seemed very tired."

"Too much excitement," Eric agreed, "but, we are home now, you'll be back into your routine, you're in your own bed and all will be well."

"I was thinking you might want to tell Dr. Ludwig about this," Bobbie suggested.

"That's a good idea. She needs to know about your new position, too. She'll be able to give you special instructions if need be. Any idea when you are moving in?"

"I'll call the moving service Alicia contacted for me tomorrow, and as soon as they're available, I'll bring all my things here. I can start staying here now if you'd like."

"I think that would be best. I'm going to go into Fangtasia tonight and tomorrow to take care of some business that needs my attention, and I'd feel much better knowing you were here with her. Otherwise, I'd want her to come with me, and I don't think she's quite up to that tonight." He looked at Sookie and she wrinkled her nose at him, agreeing that it wasn't a good idea.

"Bill, you're staying tonight, too?"

"Unless you'd prefer someone take me home."

"No, I think it would be good for you to be here with the girls. You can all watch a movie or something, and I'll come home as early as I can."

"Ouch," Sookie touched her tummy. "He kicked me."

Eric smiled and put his hand over hers, and he could feel the baby moving. "That is…remarkable." He was trying not to cry in front of all these people.

"He wants a cold blood," Sookie said without thinking.

"I'll get it for you," Alicia said, stepping over to the little refrigerator. Apparently, the word about Sookie needing blood for the baby was out. Just as well, because she was drinking a lot of them lately.

"How many of those are you drinking in a day now?" Eric asked.

"At least four but as many as eight if I'm very active," Sookie said.

"I told you he would have a big appetite," Eric smiled.

"You were right, Eric. Imagine that," she teased him. "Hey, can we all go down to the den? This not very comfortable for you all."

"Are you sure you're up to it?" Bill asked.

"I think so. Eric, will you carry me down?"

"Yes, I suppose so, but if you start feeling bad at all I want you back in this bed."

"I'll bring her back if need be," Bill assured him. Eric nodded. He wasn't crazy about the idea but under the circumstances he was sure Bill's gentlemanly ways would keep him from hitting on Sookie. Wouldn't have stopped Eric, but that's why he had her and Bill didn't, he thought smugly to himself.

Everybody migrated to the den, Eric carrying Sookie and settling her in a big recliner that she had never seen anyone use. He got a blanket from the closet and she looked at him curiously as he covered her.

"No quilt?"

"That's private. It's just for me and you."

She smiled at him. She liked the idea that it was just between them. He kissed her and went to get ready to go to Fangtasia. Bobbie and Bill were looking through the movies. Bill wanted to see The Matrix, and neither Sookie nor Bobbie had seen it, but they both agreed they could watch Keanu Reeves do just about anything. Margaret asked Bobby what she'd like for dinner, and she asked Sookie if she'd like a snack.

"This might sound a little crazy, but you wouldn't have the ingredients to make steak tartare would you?"

"Yes, Mrs., we were told that you liked it a lot, and I've got some nice pieces of beef – it doesn't take long at all."

"Really? I'd love that!"

Bobbie asked if she could just get a hamburger, and Margaret asked Bill what kind of blood she should heat for him and went to make their meals.

Eric came down in his signature black t-shirt and black jeans.

"Oh, I wish I could go with you!" Sookie said.

"I do, too, my angel, but you need to rest."

"I know but you look way too good. I wish I could be there to keep the fang bangers away from you."

"Do not worry, my lover, I am wearing my wedding ring and no one will likely see me all night. I have work to catch up on, so I'll be in my office most of the night."

"No, you won't, you have to put in an appearance as the Big Boss. Nobody better touch you…"

"No one will. I am married and bonded, my lover, I'm not interested in anyone but you. Most will already know that, but after Monday night, they will all have no doubt. You relax and enjoy the movie, and I will be home as early as I can. Nap if you can and we can spend some time together when I get home." He kissed her, said goodnight to Bill and Bobbie, and left.

Sookie was sulking a bit, so Bobbie suggested they watch a comedy on TV while they ate, then they'd put the movie in after. Bobbie couldn't figure out why Bill was fidgeting, and Bill would never tell her it was because he could smell that Sookie and Eric had had sex in this room, on this couch and maybe on the floor. He expected that smell when he went in their bedroom, but he was worried about Sookie and had to know if she was alright. He didn't expect it in this part of the house. It obviously wasn't recent, since they'd been in Las Vegas, but it had to be often or right where they were sitting because the scent was overpowering. Knowing Sookie was with Eric was bad enough, but sitting right in the middle of it was hard.

They were in the middle of a second episode of Everybody Loves Raymond when Margaret brought their dinners in and put them on trays in front of them. Sookie didn't even know those trays were in the closet… or did she? Did she use one once? She wasn't sure. She was sure she liked this steak tartare, though. She was smearing big gobs of it on the toast points Margaret served with it and wolfing them down.

"Margaret this is delicious! It's even better than the stuff I had in Las Vegas!"

"I hadn't made it in a long time, Mrs., but it's a simple recipe. Now that I know you like it, I'll make it for you regularly."

"Great! Thanks. I like it better than steak, even. Bobbie how is your burger?"

"It's delicious. What's this sauce that's on it Margaret?"

"It's a blend of homemade Catsup and Miracle Whip. Even better than what the burger places use, I'm told."

"It is – it's amazing. I love the red onion on it, too. Nice touch."

"I'm glad you like it, Bobbie. Just let me know if you want more chips or I can bring you or Mr. Compton anything else."

"Why'd she call you Bobbie and Bill Mr. Compton?" Sookie asked Bobbie.

"Because I'm a servant and he's a guest. Technically, that's the proper protocol."

"That seems weird. Why can't they just call everybody by their first names?"

"That's just not how it works, Sookie…"

"Nor should it," Bill added. "There needs to be a line between employer and employee." Bill was antsy and didn't understand why. Yes, the smell was torturing him, but that shouldn't be enough to do this to him.

"I don't feel like there's a line between me and Bobbie."

"But there is, Sookie. It's subtle, but it's there." Bill was a bit snippy.

"It seems… I don't know – undemocratic."

Bill laughed, exasperated, "It is, Sookie, it's more aristocratic. Don't worry about it, though, you're the lady of the manor. You don't have any rules you have to follow."

"That's what Eric calls me, too. I don't really understand what that means."

"It means that everyone who works for Eric works for you, too, especially the domestic staff. They're supposed to do things to your standards. If you told them they could only use lavender dryer sheets in your laundry, they'd have to do it. If you told them you wanted breakfast at 4 am every day, it would be their job to provide it." Bobbie was wondering why Bill was so agitated about this. He knew Sookie was new to all of this.

"You mean I could say, for example, I want bacon 7 days a week…"

"And you'd get bacon 7 days a week or you could fire them."

"Fire them?! I would never do that. Margaret and Alicia are like family. I don't really know all the others, but I wouldn't fire them over something silly."

"Of course not – if you did, you'd have to hire their replacements," Bill explained.

"The only time I ever hired anybody…."

"…. Was me," Bobbie laughed. "I thought you did a rather good job of it."

"Me, too!" Sookie agreed. The girls were done with their dinner, and they decided to start the movie. Margaret came in with two bowls of popcorn, much to Sookie and Bobbie's delight, and said goodnight, telling Sookie there were two turkey sandwiches in the downstairs fridge if she needed to eat later.

"Excuse me, ladies, I'm going to step outside for some fresh air," Bill said abruptly and stood up to go out by the pool.

Eric was unhappy to leave Sookie. He felt as if he should be with her, not dealing with the vermin that came to Fangtasia looking for a sick thrill by telling themselves they're in danger from the bloodsucking freaks. He knew through the bond she was sitting home sulking, though he could also feel it didn't last long. What kind of protector was he? He left her alone in the house with Bill Compton! How long would those inoculations last? He was pulling into the parking lot behind the bar when he realized that it might be a good idea to check with Dr. Ludwig. Without getting out of his car, he pulled out his cell phone and called the Doctor.

"Dr. Ludwig? This is Eric Northman."

"Yes, how's your little wife?"

"Well, I left her home this evening because she had severe cramping today. She had to fly home in a cot and be wheeled into our bedroom. She's up now, but I'm concerned."

"You didn't leave her home alone, did you?"

"No, her masseuse… well, doula, now… and Bill Compton is there."

"Bill Compton is at your house now?"

"Yes, he's dating Bobbie."

"He needs a booster shot, then. If he gets a whiff of you and Sookie having sex in the house, it could set him off."

"Should I go back?"

"No, I'll pop in there and give him another shot. If he's going to be around her, he'll need them regularly."

"For how long?"

"At least another month, maybe longer. Listen, let me get over there now and take care of this. You're at work, I take it?"

"Yes, I am."

"You want me to call your cell when it's done?"

"Please. I'll be waiting."

"Alright, then."

Bill walked beyond to pool into the outer back yard. He had to get that smell out of his nose. He could almost smell it out here. He wondered if Sookie would have sex out here in the yard, then he remembered that she'd had sex with him in a graveyard when he was covered in dirt. She'd absolutely have sex with Eric in a private back yard. Sookie wasn't shy about sex once she started having it. She might have been a little naïve, but she had a touch of the wild streak her brother was so famous for. Considering how eager Sookie was to have sex, he was amazed she reached such a late age untouched. The men of Bon Temps were fools. She was hungry for some attention, some excitement. God she was so sweet.

Stop it! He berated himself. Sookie was a married woman, and pregnant. Bobbie was beautiful, sweet and completely falling for him. He was thrilled with the closeness he was developing already with Bobbie. Why can't he just be happy? Why can't he get that smell out of his head? Why did he want to kill something?

Dr. Ludwig popped into the den and scared Sookie and Bobbie half to death.

By the time they were done shrieking, Bill had burst back through the door and was looking around crazed. He was staring at Sookie in a hungry way, and Sookie was scared.

"Compton!" Dr. Ludwig called him. "Sit down. I'm going to give you a booster to keep you from losing your head and attacking this girl."

Bill looked dazed and unsure. His brain was telling him one thing but his body, his instincts were telling him something else.

"You with him now?" the doctor asked Bobbie.

"Yes…"

"Let him feed from you while I get the inoculation ready. That's the only thing that will distract him long enough to let me get this done."

"Bill, come here," Bobbie said. "Feed from me." And she stretched her neck in offering. He grabbed her hard and bit her savagely, feeding as if he were desperate.

While that was going on, Ludwig took a vial of blood from Sookie's arm and added something to it, then shook it up. Bill and Bobbie had sort of fallen, sort of lowered themselves to the couch, and Bill was feeding enthusiastically. Bobbie was obviously enjoying it. She knew she should be scared, but this was too hot to be scary. Bill was on fire. Ludwig filled a syringe from the vial and walked over to them, sticking the needle into Bill's arm right through his shirt. Bill barely reacted, but he slowed his feeding, and finally licked the wounds on Bobbie's neck to help them close.

"A little calmer now, Compton?"

"Yes, thank you… I don't know what came over me."

"You were having another hormonal reaction to Sookie and the baby. If you're going to be around her this much, we need to give you a booster at least twice a week."

"Alright," Bill was starting to shake a little and got even paler than normal.

"Bill?" Bobbie asked. "Are you alright?"

"I'm just a little… sick, I guess."

Doctor Ludwig spoke to Bobbie. "Do you two have a bedroom here you can use?"

"Yes, on the fourth floor."

"Take him up there and spend some time with him. I'll stay down here with Sookie for a while. I need to examine her, anyway. Take your time and give him what he needs." Bobbie understood exactly what she meant – take him upstairs and fuck him. With pleasure, Bobbie thought as she led Bill back to the service elevator.

"Alright, little girl, let me call Northman so he can relax and get some work done."

Eric couldn't sit still. He'd sort through papers, then he'd pace and stare at his phone. What the hell was happening at his house. He knew he should be there. Maybe he should sell Fangtasia so he could stay home with Sookie? He'd never seriously considered that before, but he didn't like this feeling at all.

He was ready to call Pam when his phone rang.

"Doctor?"

"Yes, Northman, you can relax. We almost had a problem, but we solved it. It was a close call, but that's it. Bobbie is tending to Bill and I'm with Sookie."

"Are you sure she's alright?"

"I'm going to examine her now. I wanted to let you know things were alright because I knew you would be worried. Can I make a suggestion?"

"Yes, of course."

"I know you can access your accounts from here. You should grab all the mail and invoices you need to work with and bring them home. You aren't going to scare any tourists in the state you're in. I'll stay with Sookie until you get here."

"Alright, doctor, I'll be there in twenty minutes."

"Is he coming home?" Sookie asked hopefully.

"Yes, child, he's coming home. Can you get out of that chair and lie on the couch so I can examine you?"

"Sure."

Sookie was wearing a dress, so she just took her thong off and lay back on the couch. Out came the latex gloves that she dreaded, but the exam was short and it was over. Dr. Ludwig pressed around her abdomen and let her hand rest over the bump.

"OK. Little girl, let's test your instincts. What am I going to tell you?"

"Stay off my feet, take ibuprofen, drink a little red wine, and the baby needs more blood."

"Good. I was wondering if you'd pick up on that last one. Are you feeding from Northman regularly?"

"Yes, some every day."

"You need more. You might also need to do something other than True Blood."

Sookie didn't like the sound of that. "You don't mean…"

"If Northman's blood isn't enough, we might have to get you some real blood to supplement your diet."

"But, that's not safe, is it?"

"There are bottled products used in some of the fancier restaurants that contain human blood. I've known of a few prostitutes who specialize in vampires that drink it regularly. It's screened and filtered, so it should be safe. Northman should be able to order it through the bar."

"I think Eric had some the other night in Las Vegas. It's probably really expensive, right?"

"The cost won't matter to him, it's the health of the baby were concerned with. I see the belly is growing, but you aren't putting on much weight that I can see. You need to eat more, you need to sleep more. Are you still having sex?"

"Yeah, of course, I'm permanently turned on since I got pregnant."

"You need a lot of it, when you're up to it. You need your hormones percolating and you're likely to drink more from Northman if you feed during sex."

"Is there a chance I'll get addicted to Eric's blood?"

"Yes, but that would have happened eventually anyway. Most bonded humans do."

"Is that bad?"

"It's unavoidable. The good part of it is it extends your life span by several decades and keeps you young and pretty. It gives you plenty of time to think about whether you want to go over."

"Yeah, I think about that a lot."

"You know you can't consider it until the baby is weaned?"

"Yes, I do. I know he needs me to feed him."

"Right. After, who knows? If you don't want another child, and this one is a moonchild, you might find it easier all around to go over. You'd all be on the same schedule then."

"I'm thinking about it. Do you think the baby will have a long life span?"

"Very long, like Niall, most likely. Northman's contribution might increase it even beyond that."

"Do you think he might be immortal, like a vampire?"

"It's a strong possibility. That's a powerful reason for a mother to make the change."

"Yes, it is."

Sookie could feel Eric getting near, and then she heard the garage door open. She was getting herself together when he came in.

"Hello, doctor, how did the exam go?" he asked as he took Sookie's face in his hands and kissed her. He was really, really relieved to be back with her, and he wrapped his arms around her, hugging her close.

"She needs to stay off her feet. She needs more blood. She needs to eat more. Ibuprofen, red wine, and we may have to start her on a muscle relaxer. At least that will help her sleep. I think it's time to start giving her the Real Meal."

"Really? Could she drink that?"

"She may not have a choice. I want her to drink more from you, but you should get a case of RM and try her on that. That baby needs more blood, and she knows it. One bottle of RM will go further than 3 or 4 bottles of True Blood. I'm starting to think this baby will be able to eat food, but rarely do so. He's a vampire at heart."

That made Eric beam with pride. "Just like his father."

"Yes, Northman, he may be more like you than we first suspected. Have you heard any news from Las Vegas?"

"News? Not that I know of."

"Felipe de Castro has gone missing. That's the second person I know lately who has disappeared without a trace. It's very strange," she said knowingly.

"Really? Who is the other?"

"John Quinn, the tiger."

"You mean he still hasn't shown up?" Sookie was surprised.

"No, and there's no sign of him. He's just vanished without a trace. Same with de Castro, although, they hardly travel in the same circles. What could they possibly have in common?" Ludwig said, looking right at Eric, who showed no emotion whatsoever. Ludwig knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that Eric killed them both, and she knew there would never be any trace of them found. She also knew he paid her enough to keep her mouth shut, but it was better he knew that she knew. Others might put two and two together, too.

"That's very strange. They have no idea where the king is?"

"That's the rumor. There were whispers you might have had something to do with it, but that was only because you had been there for your wedding. There's no evidence of anything that anyone can find. Sandy is frantic, and Victor Madden smells blood in the water. I'd watch my back if I were you, Northman."

"Yes, that's very good advice, I'm sure, doctor. Thank you."

"Alright then – I'll see that you get a prescription for a muscle relaxer. I have a contact that can do that for you. Get the RM, feed her more and keep her in bed. Don't neglect the feedings. Rest, sex, food, massage, blood – that's her whole routine right now, understand?"

"Yes, doctor."

"Good night to you."

The doctor left and Eric said, "You can come in now, Bill, Bobbie."

"We didn't want to interrupt," Bill explained.

"She's gone now. How are you feeling, Bill?"

"Embarrassed, mostly, but grateful the doctor showed up when she did."

"Are you going to continue with the injections?"

"Yes, I don't want to be danger to Sookie, and I certainly want to see Bobbie."

"Good," Eric said. "That's good. I'm glad I called the doctor when I did."

"Why did you call the doctor, Eric? She just popped in here with no warning," Sookie said.

"I don't know – I just had a feeling that I was leaving you unprotected, and then I realized Bill hadn't had any injections since we'd been in Vegas."

"I had hoped I didn't need them anymore, but the doctor says I'll need about two a week for at least a month."

"I'll cover the cost of that if you'd like," Eric offered.

"That's kind of you, but I'll take care of that. It's the least I can do."

"I'm sorry you had to come home…"

"I didn't have to - I just... had to see Sookie. I brought some work home with me. You and Bobbie are free to do whatever you want since I'm here. I'll stay with Sookie."

"Well, if you don't mind…"

"Go ahead," Eric laughed, knowing they wanted to go back to bed.

"'Night, Bobbie!"

"G'night, Sookie!" and Bill picked Bobbie up and took the four flights up at vampire speed.

"Well, that just leaves us," Sookie said, wiggling her eyebrows.

"I do need to go through some mail and do a little work, but I thought maybe I could do it upstairs in bed and you could keep me company?"

"Sounds OK to me, let's go, but stop in the fridge down here and get the two sandwiches Margaret made for me to eat later."

"Good idea. That last meal of the day gets skipped too often, and you should probably be eating three meals and a couple of snacks from what I've read. Monday night I want you to try to drink Real Meal and see if you can stand it. If you can, I'll buy a case or two for here. They have it available in a false label so humans don't know what it is."

"They do? Is that legal?" she asked as she retrieved her sandwiches and a couple of apples from a bowl on the counter.

"The company is vampire owned. It's kept very quiet. It's a way to drink real blood without humans knowing what's happening." He handed her the folder of paperwork and picked her up, heading for the stairs.

"You had that the other night, right?"

"At the restaurant, yes, and there was a fountain of it at the cocktail party and the wedding."

"That was REAL?"

"Of course, Sookie. Felipe wouldn't serve his guests synth blood. He paid a small fortune for that fountain, I'm sure."

"Is RM really expensive?"

"It's more expensive than True Blood, of course, especially in the covert labels, but the cost is not prohibitive considering the circumstances. Feeding my son is essential. I want him to have the best of everything. If the doctor thinks you need real blood, you'll have it, one way or another." He put her down on the bed and took the sandwiches and apples from her, putting them in the small fridge and bringing back a blood for her to drink.

"Dr. Ludwig thought the RM would be safer because it's filtered and such." She was struggling out of her dress, so he helped her pull it over her head.

"That's true. It was originally created to prevent the spread of Sino-AIDS, and since they were testing it anyway, they test it for all strains of HIV and Hepatitis. They knew some prostitutes and people in long term relationships with vampires might use it, too, so they make it safe for humans."

"Ok, that makes sense. I forgot my underwear downstairs," she said, crawling under the covers. He was nearly undressed.

"I'll go down and get it before I rest."

"You're going to take it with you, aren't you?" Sookie said, half joking, half knowing she was right and that's just who he was…

"Of course! It will remind me of you all soft and warm, snuggled in my bed and give me wonderful dreams of you."

"Do vampires dream?"

"Sometimes – I have had dreams of you before."

"What kind of dreams?"

"Lovely ones – sometimes we are lying here talking," he said as he lay down beside her. "Sometimes we are making love, sometimes we are downstairs at Fangtasia…"

"Who else is there at Fangtasia?"

"Just you and me. I don't share you with anyone in my dreams."

"But you would in real life…"

"I have, but it was at your request."

"True."

"Would you like the TV on while I go through my mail?"

"Yes, if that's OK."

"That is fine." He reached for the remote and brought the TV up out of the cabinet.

"Here, find something you like," he said as he handed her the remote.

She flipped through the channels – who knew what was on in the middle of the night on a Friday? She found an old movie channel showing The Long Hot Summer and stuck with that.

"This is one of the movies I'd eventually make you watch with me."

"Good, now we can see it together."

"You won't be paying attention."

"My angel, I can pay attention to many things at once. Vampires invented multi-tasking," he teased her.

She laughed and bit his shoulder.

"Mmmm – hold that thought. When your movie is over, I'll be done with this and then you can bite me like you mean it."

"Oh, I'll mean it, alright," she teased. "Can I put my head on your shoulder?"

"Of course, my wife, you may put your head on my shoulder whenever you want. It is YOUR shoulder now."

"Mmmm – I like the sound of that," she said as she snuggled up on his shoulder.

"So do I." He kissed her on the head and went back to his paperwork.

He read mail, made notes and filled out forms. He looked up occasionally to ask who the woman with the blonde hair was, and Sookie told him about Joanne Woodward and Paul Newman and how long they were married. "If our life together were a beach, that would only be one grain of sand. We will live together much, much longer."

"I hope so," Sookie said, a little sad.

Eric noticed a shift in the bond. "What is wrong, my angel – you are sad now."

"I was just thinking. I was talking to Dr. Ludwig tonight about being turned."

"What did she say?"

"That I couldn't consider it until the baby was weaned, but having the baby would be a good reason to go over, especially if he's a "moonchild" because we'd all be awake at the same time."

"That's a good point."

"Part of me wants to, and part of me is scared I'll lose you if I do. If I go over, we might not stay together, but if I don't, eventually I'll die and leave you and the baby alone."

"You will never lose me now, Sookie. We are married. We are having a child. I will never leave either of you. I will always be your husband, and I will always be his father. There is nothing to fear if you come over."

"How do you know? Most vampires don't stay with their makers."

He put his papers in the folder and threw them on the floor next to the bed. He scooted down so he was face to face with her, and looked her right in the eye as he put his hand on the not-so-little bump.

"Most are not bonded first, nor are they married, nor do they share a child between them. We are not like anyone else alive, you and I, nor is our child. We are unique and we will create our own destiny, together as a family. I meant my marriage vows. You are stuck with me forever, Sookie," and he smiled warmly at her and kissed her. Then he kissed her again, more deeply. The bond told him that was what she really wanted, so he took her in his arms and kissed her for a long time. It wasn't that she didn't want to have sex – she did – but what she needed from him just then was the closeness of being held and kissed and comforted, and if he were honest with himself, he needed that too. He hated leaving her that evening, and he couldn't believe how relieved he was when he walked through that kitchen door.

"Sookie, do you want me to sell Fangtasia?"

"What? No, Eric, Fangtasia is your baby – I wouldn't ask you to give that up."

"It's just a bar, Sookie. It's a tourist trap. I have other businesses and will have many more in the future, I am sure. I don't want you to be left unattended. I am supposed to protect you. I'm not convinced that it is safe to leave you alone."

"I won't be alone, Eric. Bobbie will be here now, and you know Bill will be around a lot – they really like each other."

"Yes, but if Victor Madden tries something, my place is with you and my son."

"Do you think he's going to try something?"

"Felipe is missing. He'll never have a better time to strike."

"You don't think Sandy can fend him off?"

"No, I don't."

"What are you going to do?"

"I'm going to kill him before he has a chance to try anything."

"Oh, Eric, please be careful."

"I am always careful, Sookie. You don't live as long as I have by taking stupid risks. But you don't get this old by ignoring immanent warnings either. At some point, I will have to deal with Victor. A good offense is always better than a good defense. There is no point in waiting for him to strike – I know he will."

"You think he'll come here?"

"He came to your house in Bon Temps. It wouldn't take much more effort to find this place. Everyone knows about our wedding and the baby now. And, unfortunately, he doesn't know about Niall."

"Would it help if he did?"

"It would go a long way toward keeping him from coming after you and the child."

"Then tell him."

"I will – I just have to figure out how to do it. I have to act as if I have no idea that Felipe is missing or that he's not coming back."

"Should you tell Sandy?"

"Sandy was at the announcement. She already knows. Felipe as much as acknowledged Niall as the reason you are pregnant. No one is going to think he did that because he's a nice guy, and they know he doesn't need the money. Everyone knows about your gift, and you clearly smelled of Fairy while you were there."

"Is it possible she told Victor Madden?"

"It is possible. I need to find a way to find out if she did or not." He started playing with her hair and stroking her shoulder.

"Monday night," Sookie said.

"What about it?"

"Did you invite Victor?"

"Of course." He stroked her throat with his fingers.

"And Felipe went missing apparently while you were in Las Vegas. If you were Victor…"

"I'd show up and try to see what I could find out." His fingers slowly ran down her throat and between her breasts, then he brushed her nipple with the back of his forefinger.

"Right – so work from the idea that he'll show up. It's his best excuse to get close to you."

"Yes it is." Eric already knew this, of course, but he liked that Sookie reached the idea on her own. She was learning a bit about politics and strategy. He needed to teach her to wield a sword, just in case. He had planned to do that after the baby, but he thought tomorrow night he would take Sookie and Bobbie both up and show them some basics, just in case.

He reached down over the covers and touched her top leg. "Bend this knee up and put your foot flat on the bed."

She did, realizing as she did it that it opened her center up to him. His hand slipped under the covers and began to stroke her between her legs, very slowly. "Look at me, Sookie. I want to watch your pretty face as I touch you."

She tried to keep her eyes on his, but it was hard not to close her eyes as she began to respond to his fingers as they explored her over and over, rubbing her clit, teasing her labia, for a long time, but she couldn't understand why he hadn't entered her yet. She started to speak, but he said, "Shhh," and she stopped. He wanted to focus his attention and hers, too, on what his hand was doing. She was raising her pelvis into his hand when he shook his head, and she realized that he was going to make her wait until HE was ready to move it forward. She tried to relax, to look in his eyes, and concentrate on his gentle explorations of her. That's harder than it sounds. Everything in her wanted to push it forward, to entice him, to beg him if she had to, but she knew not to. He had already told her the rules of this game. She was to be quiet, look at him, and concentrate on what she felt.

It went on and on, just enough to keep her going, not enough to bring her along. She was having trouble looking him in the eye – she wanted to close her eyes and give into the sensations, but the one time she gave into that he cleared his throat softly, and her eyes popped open immediately. Her breathing was very heavy now, and she was starting to tremble. Oh, Goddess, she was trying SO HARD to do what he wanted. She licked her lips – her mouth felt dry. His hand continued to do just enough to keep her wanting more, and he leaned toward her and took her nipple in his mouth. At last, at least she could close her eyes and throw her head back.

He was using his tongue and his teeth on that one nipple, getting a little rougher as the minutes passed. His thumb found her clit and rubbed it in little circles. Sookie began to whimper when suddenly - AA-0w! With no warning at all, his thumb slipped into her, and his middle finger went into the other entrance with surprising speed and force, and he bit her breast simultaneously. Her entire body was trembling and she was writhing in his grip. She couldn't be still now and she couldn't be quiet. He released her breast, then bit the other one hard as his hand got very aggressive, moving roughly in and out of her, and she was in spasms of pleasure that seemed to go on for a long time as she came, and came, and came before he finally let her breathe.

She was still trying to catch her breath when he came out of the bathroom from washing his hand. She could tell he was fighting the Fairy blood so he didn't lose control. He pulled the covers off of her and climbed between her legs, pulling his pillow over and having her raise up so he could put it under her backside. She realized he didn't want to risk putting pressure on her tummy, and he was raising her up to make it easier to take her on his knees. He pulled her hips up and entered her, going very slowly at first, but he was losing the fight not to give in to the intoxication of her blood, and his strokes were getting faster and harder. Sookie reached above her and got took hold of the headboard to brace her self and just held on. Goddess, it felt so good! When he started rubbing her nub with his thumb as he was approaching his release, she felt that wonderful pressure building and she finished just after he did.

He released her hips and sat back on his feet, throwing his head back and closing his eyes. After a minute or two, he crawled back up beside her, putting his arm under her head and his hand on the bump.

"Somebody is awake," he said and laughed a little, feeling a little kick.

"Yep, I guess we woke him up," she joked.

"He is very happy. He loves it when we are together."

"Yes, he does. I think it's mostly because you're close to me."

"You do?" He was delighted to hear that.

"Yes. When it's just him and me, he sends sweet feelings – comfort, love, just affectionate stuff. When you're around it's like he's cheering. He jumps up and down. It's like he already knows you and you're his hero."

He kissed her, then bent down to kiss the bump. He moved down and pressed his forehead lightly to her tummy, and he could feel another kick which made him laugh. He already knew what she had told him, but he loved hearing her say it. He and his son had a bond already. Speaking of bonding….

"Sookie, I need to feed you."

"Yes, you do," she said as he moved up to sit against the headboard, and she moved between his legs into their favorite position. He wrapped both arms around her for a few minutes and pulled her back into him, nuzzling her neck. She laid her head on his chest and they both took a few minutes to just enjoy the sensation of him holding her. Eventually, his hands started roaming slowly over her. When everything felt just right, he bit his wrist hard, so it would bleed profusely for a minute, and held it to her mouth. She latched on with her teeth and sucked as hard as she could, both of them beginning to moan and move against each other. He touched her lightly between her legs and she came, pressing back into his throbbing gracious plenty folded up between them. He was close, but not there yet, and though she was shaky, she moved down the bed to take him in her mouth. It took less than a minute for him to explode, and she kissed and nibbled her way back up his chest. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled the blankets up, cocooning her in warmth and love.

She was asleep in a few minutes, and he held her a bit longer. When she was sleeping deeply, he took his work into his office and finished what he had to do. He finished in about 90 minutes, then went back into their bed and took her in his arms again. She woke up a little.

"Hi."

"Hello, my angel. Are you awake enough to eat a sandwich or two?"

"Maybe in a minute. Hold me for a bit, first."

"Of course," he smiled, stroking and rubbing her back. This was heaven. He thought about how warriors wanted to go to Valhalla when they died, though Freya got her pick of half the best warriors, and they could bring their wives and lovers with them to her home Folkvang. Eric had always wondered where he would end up, but now he knew. If he died, Freya would take him to her home where he could be with his wife and child.

He thought about a time in his life when he knew the Goddess. She had been with him in battle, and spared his life more that once. Her power had been strong in him and around him, even after he was turned. There were times when he had sex when he could tell that Freya had entered the body of his lover so She could be with him directly, and he believed that She considered him one of Her favorite warriors. Through the centuries, though, the world had changed and it was harder to feel the presence of the gods and Goddesses in the cacophony of machinery, traffic, electrical fields, radio waves, beams from satellites and lasers, not to mention the unending chatter in the minds of distracted, over-stimulated and undisciplined humans.

He had feared that She had died along with many deities who had faded away when the world stopped honoring them. He had stopped feeling Her presence, even in battle and stopped praying to Her thinking there was no one left to hear him.

Now he found himself in this strange and wondrous situation, with a beautiful wife who was practically the living embodiment of Freya, a magickal child on the way who could already communicate from his mother's womb, and now Sookie was having dreams or visions of Freya. She was back in his life, all at once, in miraculous ways. Why here? Why now, after all this time?

"Eric, tell me what you know about Freya," Sookie said, out of the blue.

"Sookie, why did you ask about Freya just then?" He was startled. Could she read his mind? Was he sending something into the bond? Was the Goddess speaking through Sookie?

"I don't know. I just… felt Her, all of a sudden. Lying here in your arms feels like that first time I saw Her where when She wrapped Her arms around me and said…."

"Said what?"

"She said… 'nice to meet you, my angel.'"

"My angel?"

"Yeah, and it was funny, because you had just started calling me that. I knew that in the dream, but I forgot about it when I woke up. Oops – Baby E wants a blood. I could probably eat those sandwiches now, too."

He got up to get them for her. "Sookie, how do you feel in these dreams?"

"Wonderful. I've never been scared, not even when I saw the dragon coming out of the mist."

"Was it a real dragon or just ship?"

"It was a ship with the front of it carved in the shape of a dragon's head and the back carved like its tail. Have you ever seen anything like that?" She was sitting up so she could eat and drink. She pointed back at the fridge and he got her a strawberry supplement drink, too.

"I've sailed on several. Vikings used them for many years. They were carved that way to intimidate the settlements we were about to invade."

"Did it work?" She was wolfing down a sandwich and he opened her strawberry drink so she could wash it down.

"Oh, yes. Most of them had never seen such a sight. By the time we got there, they were in a panic and that gave us an advantage over them, as did our size and appearance."

"Were Vikings all as big as you?"

"No, I was bigger than most, but they were still much bigger than most people in the rest of Europe. An average man was only a little over 5 feet tall. My people were closer to 6 feet, and then there would occasionally be one my height or taller. We looked like giants to them, and we wore a kind of armor that was not widely in use yet. Many of us were also blonde or red-haired and that was unusual as well."

"How tall are you, exactly?"

"6 feet 5 inches."

She whistled and laughed.

"Is that too tall, my lover?"

"It's really tall, but as far as I'm concerned it's just right. I wouldn't change anything about you, Eric. You're perfect."

"Perfect…" He said, a little bit skeptically.

"Pretty much. I'm not crazy about some of the vampire politics, but just you, as you are, I wouldn't change anything about you."

"I wouldn't change anything about you, either, my wife."

"You're always changing me," she laughed and downed the bottle of Type B.

"Why do you say that?" He was genuinely surprised.

"You want me to dress differently and stuff."

"Those are not changes, my angel, those are improvements. You dressed as you did because it was the best you could do. Now that you are with me, you can do better. It may change the way others see you, but it does not change who you are inside or even out. I would never ask you to change your hair, or your lovely face. I wouldn't want you taller or shorter or thinner or fatter…."

"Uh…"

"Yes, I want you fatter for the baby but that's because he needs it, not that I want it."

"What about the extra cleavage?"

"You have it – I might as well enjoy it while I can. When they are smaller, I will love them just as much. I would never want you to alter them for me. I will admit though…"

"Ye-es…?

"I very much enjoy that your body is changing itself to accommodate my son. That is a level of dominance I never encountered before and it is…. Intoxicating."

"Dominance, huh? You know, that concept scares most people."

"Most people are not very bright, my angel."

She laughed. "You know what I mean – they think it's like, abuse or something."

"Do you feel abused, Sookie?"

"No, I feel lucky as hell. I like the stuff we do together."

"That is all that matters, then. We are bonded - we define our own relationship."

"How come people associate it with getting whipped and stuff?"

"In its more extreme forms there can be physical punishment or torture, but you do not need to fear that from me."

"But some of it's not extreme, right? Like just spanking and stuff?"

"No, there are minor things like that which can be harmless and fun."

"Why would somebody be punished?"

"It depends on the game. Generally, the Dominant "trains" the submissive to an ideal image of what he wants for himself. The submissive always has the right to refuse or stop the play, but most of the time they trust the Dom to know what they need, and they love their Dom so much that they work hard to give it to them. There must be love and trust between them both, or it will not work."

"Are you "training" me?" She didn't seem angry, but there was a kind of hesitance about her.

"What do you want me to tell you, Sookie?" he said calmly.

"How about the truth," she said softly.

"What would you say if I said 'no' and what would you say if I said 'yes?'"

"If you said 'no' I'd…" she thought a minute. "ask 'why not?'" She was surprised at her own answer.

Eric smiled. "And if I said 'yes'…?"

"I'd ask how I'm doing," she said to her own amazement.

TBC


	46. Chapter 46

**Chapter 46**

"You didn't answer my question, Eric."

"You are doing fine."

"So you ARE training me?"

"There is some mild training going on between us. Nothing official yet."

"What kind of training?"

"I have been teaching you what I like sexually, and learning what you respond to."

"Isn't that just being in a relationship?"

"Yes, of course."

"So what do you mean "nothing official?""

"I mean we occasionally play games but we haven't established a formal Dominant/submissive relationship in our day to day life. I am dominant when we have sex, but not necessarily at other times."

"Isn't that what you want? To be that all the time?"

"Yes, but I don't expect it."

"What would it involve that we aren't already doing?"

"Stricter training, specific rewards and punishments."

"Mostly reward. You respond to stern looks and firm orders but I have never really punished you, even when I should."

"When should you have punished me?"

"When you didn't tell me that Janet Stevens had been in the hotel room the first time."

"Why should you punish me… for forgetting?"

"For putting us all in danger by not telling me something I needed to know to keep us all safe."

"But I didn't do it on purpose."

"No, but you did it, and I did nothing to assure that you will not do it again. It doesn't matter, Sookie, I would not have done anything with Bobbie and Bill there."

"If they hadn't been there, what should you have done?"

"I wouldn't have done it anyway, Sookie, not while you are pregnant."

"OK, Bobbie and Bill aren't there and I'm not pregnant, but I forgot to tell you something that put our family in danger and you want me not to do it again."

"There is no point in dealing in hypothetical situations, my angel."

"This is not some press conference in Washington, Eric. What should you have done?"

"I should have spanked you."

"Isn't that just sex play?"

"It can be, but it would not have been that kind of spanking."

"What kind would it have been."

He looked her right in the eye, and was absolutely serious. "The kind that really hurts, and makes you cry, so that you want very much never to earn another one."

"See, most people would see that as abuse."

"Most people are not a vampire and a Fae telepath with a magickal baby who might be attacked, raped or killed by rival factions or jealous vampire kings. We were in serious danger, and you didn't tell me something very important."

"I never thought of it that way."

"I have to think of it that way. It's my job to keep us all alive. It's also my job to teach you to think that way so you do the right thing in dangerous situations. I failed to teach you an important lesson."

"But you weren't angry with me…"

"It has nothing to do with anger, Sookie. It has to do with discipline, with knowing what to do in a dangerous situation. If we were human, those measures would be extreme, though there are still those who function that way willingly because they find it gratifying or fun. The circles we travel in not only expect that dynamic in our relationship, they require it. "

"So do you want to spank me?"

"Not while you are pregnant."

"Do you ever spank just a little, just for fun?"

"Of course, but again, not while you are pregnant."

"Who was the last person you spanked?"

"For fun – I don't remember her name – some girl at Fangtasia. For discipline, Pam."

"You spanked Pam until she cried?" Sookie was incredulous.

"The spanking – well, whipping, really - didn't hurt her as much as the situation did. There were others present and she was humiliated."

"But you love Pam."

"Yes, but Pam defied me in front of my superiors. Not punishing her would make it look as if I could not control my own child and that could have been deadly for both of us. She left me no choice, so I pulled her over my lap and used a riding crop on her bare bottom in front of the Queen and her party. She has not defied me since."

"I guess not." Sookie couldn't believe it. "Is that why she calls you 'Master?'"

"Yes, among vampires, the maker is always Master of the child. That is a physical reality, not just a role that we play. When you make a vampire child, you take on the responsibility of her training and obedience and she is bound physically to heed your call. Pam is literally not able to say 'no' to me in certain respects."

"So if I go over, this is going to be the way it is, anyway?"

"To a degree, yes. At that point I doubt that you will need much training."

"Why do you say that?"

"Because that will be at least 2 years from now, and by that time you will know what I expect and you will be disciplined enough to do it."

"You sound sure of that."

"I am sure. I will do what I have to do to keep you and my son safe. Part of that will involve teaching you what you need to know, even if the methods are occasionally harsh. "

"But you didn't this time."

"I was wrong not to, but Bobbie told Bill and Bill told me, so I got the information anyway." He looked straight at her again. "Sookie, I have told you what I expect now. You will not neglect to tell me such a thing again, or there will be a punishment, agreed?"

Sookie hesitated and he looked at her sternly, raising an eyebrow.

"Agreed," she said softly. "How would Niall feel about this?"

"He would think me weak because I give you a choice."

"And Freya?"

"Life was much harsher in the past my lover. Your life will never include some of the hardships that Freya would consider normal. You do understand, Sookie, that Freya is trying to teach you about your own power, right?"

"No – what power?"

"Freya seems to be encouraging you to embrace your own power as a woman and as a Witch."

"Can I be powerful and submissive?"

"A good submissive always knows her own strength, my lover. It takes strength to submit to someone older or wiser. A weak person puts the needs of her ego above needs like safety or security or sometimes even common sense. It takes strength to turn away from your ego enough to accept discipline and bend your will to someone else's demands. People in the military do it every day and it doesn't make them weak, it makes them strong.

Think of it this way, Sookie. If you had married one of your brother's friends from Merlotte's, your ages would be very close – within two or three years probably – and you would have relatively similar life experiences and education, yes? There would be no reason for you to assume that he had any more wisdom or knowledge than you do, so you would be equally capable. Does that sound reasonable?"

"Yes, it does…"

"I am over 1000 years old. I have lived a long life in many places and many cultures and I have learned not only to adapt and survive, but to become wealthy and successful. Everything we have is the result of my learning and skill, is it not?"

"Yes, it is…"

"If one of us has a millennium more experience and one of us is very young and inexperienced…"

"Yeah, yeah, you should be calling the shots – but I have a say in things, too, right?"

"Of course, Sookie, you always have the freedom to say 'no.'"

"But you don't want me to have it…"

"I want you to have it but to choose not to use it."

Sookie thought for a minute.

"Because it means more if I have it and don't use it than if I didn't have it at all."

"Yes."

"And I would choose not to use it because I trust you to know the right thing for me to do, and to know what I need."

"Yes." He made her look directly into his eyes. "And it is my job to meet all of your needs because nothing is more precious to me than you are. If caring for you means an occasional punishment to help you learn what you must not do, then it is my job to provide it."

"And my job to accept it."

"Yes."

"Where does feminism fit in with all of this?"

"Well, in a sexual context, it doesn't because it's just sex. In a lifestyle context, there doesn't have to be any conflict. If you had to work you should be paid fairly. If you want to start a business or go to school, you would be able to. I'll never abuse you or hit you in anger. I've told you that you can do whatever you want. We can live where you want and how you want. You have complete freedom."

"Because it's my choice."

"Yes."

"And I chose you."

"You did."

"And you chose me…"

"I did."

"So that means you care enough about me to take the time to train me."

"If you are willing to be trained, yes, it does."

"I'm willing."

He looked at her for a long time.

"Go to sleep, Sookie. We will talk about this another time, alright?"

He spooned up behind her as she settled down and went to sleep. If they were human, this would be a great gift she just gave him, but they were not human. He wondered how long it would be before she realized that she really didn't have a choice. Their lives made her obedience to him a necessity but she would accept it more readily if she thought she was choosing it. She was turning out to have quite a taste for being dominated anyway and that was good. It made it much easier to explain to her if she could see that she had chosen it. She HAD chosen it when she chose him, but when Niall arranged her pregnancy, that sealed the deal, so to speak.

He hoped Sookie never put together the fact that she had more or less been bartered by Niall to get what he wanted. Niall would say it was what everyone needed and it was for the good of Felipe's subjects or he made Sookie's dream come true or something like that, but the bottom line was he found a way to achieve a political goal and he used Sookie to do it. He was using all of them – Sookie, Eric, Bill, even Felipe – to… what? Was Niall working for the Council? With the Council? Trying to get a spot on the Council? That made the most sense. Maybe Niall was trying to get his family line into the Council? If he got in, and Sookie was married to a King, she could conceivably inherit Niall's position. No, he realized, Sookie could inherit, but her child, a male heir, born of a King and Queen, with Niall in his lineage – he WOULD inherit Niall's place if he were to attain a position on the Council. Somebody had to be backing Niall's move, though and there was still a matter of figuring out what Felipe did that made the Council turn against him.

Victor Madden. Eric was sure that there was something Victor would know about why Felipe had fallen out of favor. He might even have been behind it if he were the one that exposed Felipe's treachery, whatever it was. Now, how to get the information from him?

Sookie was sleeping soundly and Eric took his papers into his office across the hall. He stood in the hallway for a few minutes, thinking about the storage room next to their room. He turned on the light and looked at the room. That would be the logical place for a nursery. He'd have to point that out to Sookie. It was time to start getting that together since they had a maximum of 3 months to put it together, though Eric had a feeling it would be sooner than that. The baby was too advanced for it to be that much longer. Bobbie and Alicia would be great help to Sookie in feathering her nest, and he was glad they'd be there for her. They'd make good surrogates for the mother, sisters and friends most girls would have in her condition. He thought sadly about Sookie being so alone in the world. A tomcat of a brother and a manipulative old Fae, plus a couple of Fae cousins didn't amount to much of a family. His angel was almost as alone as he was, since he really only had Pam and now Sookie. It was a terrible thing to outlive the ones you love, but once you become vampire, that's your only choice if you love a human.

He checked his email and his messages. There were messages from Pam and from Sandy. Sandy was coming to the reception Monday to deliver the wedding pictures. Pam said Calvin Norris and Alcide Herveux were going to stop by Fangtasia at 10 o'clock tomorrow evening with a lady named Robin Prentiss and a man named Merlin White, 2 packmasters and either 2 Witches or a Witch and a Wizard, judging by those names. It was starting. He heard someone moving on the 2nd floor and thought it had to be Bill so he zipped down silently to see if he was still up.

"Bill?"

Bill looked up from the refrigerator. "Eric- I was just getting a blood –would you like one?"

"No, thanks, I fed tonight."

"You're lucky you can get enough nutrition from one source that way."

"Yes, I'm very lucky in that respect. Do you have plans tomorrow night?"

"No, why?"

"Two Were pack masters and a couple of Witches or Wizards or whatever are coming to Fangtasia at 10 and I'd like you to go with me, and leave Bobbie here with Sookie."

"It's starting." Bill was resigned to the fact that they were likely facing war.

"Yes, and if you and I are going to work together, I think you should be there to hear what they have to say."

"Yes, you are probably right. We also need to discuss a strategy for handling Victor Madden Monday night."

"Monday night should be interesting. Sandy left me a message that she'll be there with our wedding photos. She wanted to drop them off personally."

"She wants to see if you know anything about Felipe."

"Exactly."

"Do you think Victor knows Felipe is missing yet?"

"I think so – Dr. Ludwig said he smells blood in the water."

"I can't believe Ludwig is involved in all this."

"That's one of the reasons I believe the Council really is involved. That's the only way she'd bother with any of this."

"What did she say, exactly?"

"She told me there were two disappearances lately – Felipe and Quinn the Tiger – though she said she couldn't imagine what the two of them could have had in common. "

"What they had in common is asleep in your bed."

"Yes, but let's hope very few people know that."

"So, Eric, are they ever going to find Quinn?" Bill already knew the answer, but he asked anyway.

"My guess would be that they have a better chance of finding Felipe in the Las Vegas sewer system."

"Fire?"

"Alligators."

Bill shuddered. "Please tell me he was dead first…"

"I'm not a barbarian, Bill."

"You must be mellowing with age." Bill said wryly.

Eric laughed and smacked Bill on the back, and Bill just shook his head. He also knew that he could easily wind up like Felipe and Quinn if Eric ever even suspected that he had crossed him, and so would anybody that looked at Sookie twice from this point forward. He was pretty sure he'd be dead already if it weren't for Sookie. Eric had a perfect opportunity to kill him when he attacked her but he didn't and he was sure it was because Sookie was there. Bill didn't have to get involved in this war, but he needed to get on Eric's good side and stay there.

He couldn't count on Sookie's wishes taking precedence now that they were married. Eric had her and she wasn't going anywhere, especially with a baby on the way, so he didn't have to worry about keeping her happy by letting Bill live. Sam Merlotte and Alcide Herveaux better watch their backs, too. They never slept with Sookie, but they got close enough for Eric to see them as threats and that was no way to stay alive. Alcide even made the stupid move of telling his bitch fiancé that he had had sex with Sookie and he did it where Eric could hear him. Eric might kill him just for saying the words.

Up until now, he had thought Sookie had had a positive effect on Eric and maybe he wasn't as ruthless as he used to be, but knowing he fed Quinn to alligators let him know this was the same old Eric and worse – once Eric had a son, retribution would be swift. He wouldn't let enemies walk around unharmed. He figured the only reason Eric told him about Quinn was to let him know that he'd better not cross him. He was quite sure there would never be a trace of Quinn found and he knew they had successfully erased any sign of Felipe. That was typical of Eric. As much as he loved hand-to-hand combat, he was pragmatic enough to handle his business privately and leave no evidence and no witnesses. And the worst part of it was that Eric would actually make a good king. He always treated the people under him fairly, even to the point that his superiors sometimes thought he was too lax. He wasn't, he just knew that fairness gets him more of what he wants with less effort. Anyone stupid enough to think they could cheat Eric was already dead. Where Sookie and the baby were concerned, he'd show no mercy at all. Threaten Eric's nest and die – Bill knew it was as simple as that.

It was approaching sunrise so they went their separate ways, Eric to his secret spot and Bill to a converted closet in one of the bedrooms on the 2nd floor. Since Bobbie was going to be here so much, Bill was going to have a simple but secure box installed on the 4th floor. He'd be here most nights with Bobbie, Monday night being the exception because Fangtasia was closed that night and Eric and Sookie would want some privacy. Eric would want to mark his territory by fucking her in every room in the house, Bill thought bitterly to himself, so there would be no escaping the scent. He fully expected to come back a week from Tuesday and find their scent on the 4th floor – that was Eric's style. Might as well be prepared for it.

Eric had a lot on his mind as he went to rest. The biggest problem he had right now was Victor Madden. He knew Sandy would be looking for Felipe but he needed to know what she had said to Madden and how Sandy felt about Madden. He'd have several pairs of eyes watching them through the reception – Sookie, Pam, Bobbie, Bill, and his own. That many people should be able to glean some kind of information. His meeting with the Weres was probably going to put more eyes on his side since he knew that at least some representatives from all the packs would attend the reception. This reception was a huge event. That's why Felipe had made such a big deal about the wedding and he was sure it was why they wanted to make sure they talked to him Saturday. Monday might be the time to strike, depending on what they had to say.

The last thing he thought about before he went to sleep, as usual, was Sookie. Every day she surprised him in some way, or delighted him. Now she was asking to be trained as a submissive. Oh, he was going to enjoy that. He really loved that girl more every day. "My angel" he thought to himself as he closed his eyes and slept.

Sookie stretched and heard some footsteps upstairs. She wondered what was going on but she knew Alicia and Margaret had it under control, whatever it was. She looked at Eric's clock as she moved over to his pillow – almost noon. She was awake early today. Somebody else was awake, too.

"Good morning, Baby E. Mommy loves you."

Love. Warm. Happy. Want.

"You're hungry aren't you, Sweetie. Let me see if I can get us some food and some blood. Hang on."

She looked at her nightstand and saw that Alicia had already put her monitor there. She rolled back over and pushed the button.

"Yes, Mrs. Northman?" Alicia answered.

"Hi, Alicia – any chance I could get some breakfast?"

"Of course – I have it all ready. I'll be right up. "

"Hang on, Baby E, food is on the way. Did you sleep well?"

Love. Funny.

He was laughing at her again. Just like Daddy.

"You're just like your daddy, you know that Baby E?" She said as she patted the big bump.

Happy. Love. Fight.

Sookie laughed out loud. Yes, he and his daddy both loved a good fight. She couldn't wait to meet Baby E face to face. She wondered if she'd still feel what he was feeling when he wasn't inside her anymore. If not, she'd really miss this. She liked being able to put her hand on her tummy and check in with him. Eric liked it, too. She got a picture in her mind of Eric playing with the baby and melted. Eric was going to be a great daddy. She had no doubt of that at this point, considering the way he already talked to the baby and was so intense about taking care of both of them.

"Good morning, Mrs. Northman" Alicia came in with Sookie's tray.

"Hi, Alicia – what's for breakfast?"

"Well, I hope you aren't getting tired of it, but it's Salmon and bagels."

"Yay! We love that stuff!"

"We?"

"The baby and me."

"Ah – of course. How are the two of you feeling today?" Alicia took the note from the dresser and handed it to Sookie.

"So far, so good. No cramps this morning."

"That's good. You've got some ibuprofen on your tray there, so hopefully we'll head them off today before they get started. Is there anything else I can get for you?"

"Could you hand me a couple of bloods from the little fridge? Thanks. Oh – what's the noise I hear upstairs? It can't be just Bobbie can it?"

"Actually it's the movers helping her get settled. When she called them this morning they had a cancellation so they were able to meet her at her apartment, pack her up and bring her stuff on over. She didn't have a lot so they're almost done. "

"That's great! After I eat I'll go up and see if she needs any help."

"Just remember, Mrs. Northman – you're to stay off your feet and you aren't to lift anything heavy."

"I'll remember. Thanks."

"I'll be downstairs if you need me. Enjoy your breakfast."

Sookie dug into the salmon, noticing that Alicia brought her a lot of it the first time now because she always ate so much of it, and that was fine with her. Baby E was doing a happy dance because she was eating salmon again and drinking bloods. She thought he might really like fish when he grew up and then smiled to herself at the picture of a blond, blue-eyed three or four year old chowing down on salmon. Baby E was sending Happy and Funny, and she wondered if he could read her mind.

She turned her attention to the note from Eric.

_My Wife –_

_I love you very much. I felt I needed to say that first for some reason, though you probably already know that. You are the best thing that ever happened to me._

_Tonight I will need Bill to come to Fangtasia with me, and I would prefer that you and Bobbie stay home because we will be meeting with some people about matters of great importance. Since I'd prefer that you stay in anyway, Bill and I will take your car. I don't know how late we will be, so if you get sleepy, don't wait up and I'll wake you when I get home so we can spend time together._

_Take good care of my son, my angel._

_Your Husband,_

_Eric_

Sookie was able to read between the lines. This was about war against Felipe and Victor Madden and he wanted her and Bobbie to be safe in case anything happened. There was nothing she could do to help right now, so she'd try not to think about it after she asked Freya to please protect them all and let this be over quickly with as few casualties as possible. She noticed a different feeling when she prayed this time, like her head opened up and she knew she was being heard. She didn't think much about it at the time, but she would think about it a lot in days to come.

Sookie finished and set her tray on the dresser, brushed her hair and threw on a little pink knit dress so she could see how Bobbie was doing. She went up to the 4th floor and found several boxes in the hall way but Bobbie's door closed. She knocked quietly, calling to her.

"Bobbie, are you awake?"

The door opened and a smiling, very happy Bobbie opened the door. There was some kind of strange music playing in the background.

"Good morning, sunshine! How are you and the little Viking today?"

"We're good. I wanted to see if you needed any help."

"Nope, I'm doing fine. You're welcome to keep me company while I put things in place if you want to."

"I wouldn't be intruding, would I?"

"Of course not. It'll go much faster if we're gabbing while I work."

Sookie went in and Bobbie cleared a spot on the bed for her to sit down. She noticed there was already a stack of empty boxes, and figured Bobbie still had about 2/3 of her stuff to unpack. She was opening a big box that said "wardrobe" on it.

"That's a big box."

"Yes, it has my stuff hung up in it."

"Hung up? Like there's a bar in there?"

"Yep, see?" She pulled the panel down that allowed access to the clothes and Sookie could see it was like a little closet in a box.

"Wow – I never saw anything like that before."

"You've never moved before, have you, Sugar?"

"No, not officially. Just moving a few carloads when I went to live with Gran and about the same when I moved here."

"Moving companies use these so all you have to do is put your things from your closet on the rod in the box, then when you get there, you reverse the process." Bobbie was laughing and obviously in a great mood. She started pulling stuff out of the box – beautiful prints and full skirts, things in bright colors and a little sparkle here and there.

"Wow, you've got really pretty gypsy-looking clothes. I always wanted clothes like that."

"Yeah, they're pretty and they're comfortable, and most of my stuff didn't cost much. If you like them so much, why don't you wear clothes like that?"

"Everybody was already afraid of me when I was growing up because of my disability. The last thing I wanted to do was wear anything that looked mystical or Witchy. That would just add fuel to the fire. It was better to let them think I was crazy than to think I was a Witch or something."

"Sookie, I'm so sorry that you grew up in a place where you couldn't be yourself. I hate that you call it a disability. Telepathy is a great gift, and you should be proud of it."

"It makes me a target with the Supes, though. They all want to control me and make me work for them."

"Well, you've got Eric to protect you from that. From what I understand, he was a really good choice in terms of protection." Bobbie continued to empty the box into her closet.

"Yeah, of the available options, he was the very best choice. That's not why I'm with him, of course, I love him, but I do know that he was my best option for protection, too. It's like we were made for each other." Sookie was playing with a little stuffed lamb Bobbie had on her bed. Bobbie liked stuffed animals – how cute!

"Yes, it is. You two are charmed, you know. There's magick all around you. Goddesses and Supes and lots of love. The Universe is taking care of you, Sookie."

"I never thought of it that way."

"There's a saying – 'Trust the Universe and She will provide.' I think that's especially true of you. You've had larger forces looking out for you your whole life."

"I don't know about that. I know they definitely are now. Like when I talk to Freya, I can really feel Her listening."

"That's good. Enjoy that and be grateful for it and make the most of it. Whenever you are worried or in need, call on Her."

"Like when I had those cramps the other morning. I'm sure she made that guy knock on the wrong door to wake you up."

"So am I and I was very glad she did. I'm not sure I would have heard you calling me, but that loud knock got my attention because I was sort of listening for it."

"So, this might be rude to ask, but is Eric paying you enough for all of this? Should I ask him for more money for you?"

"Eric was extremely generous – more than I would have dared hope for. Don't you worry about that, Sweetie. Getting this job was like winning the lottery for me in a lot of ways."

"Really? I didn't know that but that's good, huh?"

"That's great. Your little family is making history and I get to be right here with you as it happens. That's going to look great on my resume. I'm crazy about you and Eric, and of course I'm completely gone on Bill."

Sookie smiled at that – she was happy for Bill and Bobbie.

"I'm making a ton of money and I don't even have to pay for rent or food. I'm living in this beautiful house, I get to take care of you and eventually a baby, and I just love kids. I can use the meditation room, the sauna, the swimming pool. I just got to stay in a penthouse suite at the Bellagio – how many people ever get to do that? I love this job." She was laughing again.

"OK, good. If you need anything at all, like furniture or something, just tell me and I'll tell Eric or you can tell Alicia."

"Don't you worry, Honey, I'm as happy right now as I've ever been. This is my dream job." Having emptied the wardrobe box, Bobbie moved it out into the hallway.

"Oh, good – I'm glad. I was so glad you took it! I'm so much more comfortable with you than most people. You're easy to talk to and you know so much about everything."

"Thank you, Sookie. Did Eric tell you about he and Bill going to Fangtasia tonight?"

She opened another box and started putting clothes into dresser drawers.

"Yeah, he left me a note. It's just you and me tonight. They're taking my car or we'd go somewhere or do something."

"There will be plenty of time for that later on. I think he wants you to stick close to home until he knows what's going on. There are apparently big things brewing."

"There's always drama with Vampires – Supes of any kind, really. The power struggles just go on and on."

"It keeps life from getting boring though."

"I could use a little boring. You've never been in a war with them, Bobbie, with heads and blood flying everywhere. I was never in the hospital until I met Bill and I've been in several since. I could live without getting beaten up, blown up, shot at..."

"Eric's not going to allow anything to happen to you while you're pregnant. Anyone who looks crossways at you is going to be finally, irrevocably dead. Bill already prepared me for that. He said not to be freaked out because it will definitely happen. Where you and the baby are concerned, Eric will kill first and not bother with the questions."

"I'm glad Bill told you that. I was afraid something would happen and you'd freak out. When you're around Supes for any length of time, you'll see violence."

"Yeah, I figured that out when we had to get rid of that body when he tried to stake Eric and you stabbed him."

"Yes, and odds are you'll have to do something like that, too. There are huge advantages to dating a vampire, but there are costs, too. As ugly as it can get, though, I can't see myself living with a normal guy after this. I can't see myself with anyone but Eric."  "As far as I'm concerned the sexual advantages are worth the risk."

"Really? I've never had sex with a human guy…"

"You aren't missing much, believe me. Now and then you'll find one who knows what he's doing and cares about what you're feeling, but I've never met one who was as skilled as the vampires I've dated or as generous. Most guys can't go on for hours the way a vamp can, and vamps are always ready. Some of the things you do to them are less messy, too."

"Less messy?"

"Yeah, you know – like that they don't go to the bathroom. It saves a lot of clean-up, especially considering how much Bill likes p-spotting."

"What's that?"

"What? P-spotting? You know what that is, right? Bill loves it – you must have…"

"I never heard of it. It's a sex thing?"

"Yes, it's what you do to them sometimes while you're blowing them."

Sookie was lost. "I don't think I know what that is. I mean, I know what a blow job is, obviously, but I don't think I ever did anything extra."

"Really? Eric never taught you, either?"

"I guess not. I'm always asking if there's anything else I should be doing."

"Maybe he doesn't like it – though that would really surprise me. I know Bill loves it and wants it every time."

"I know this is a little embarrassing, but can you tell me how it's done?"

"Sure – you can surprise Eric with something new."

"That would be awesome! So what do I do?" Sookie was stoked – she was going to have something new to do for Eric!

"Well, you need lubricant…"

"Got that, and…"

"When you're going down on them, you put a couple of fingers in their rectum…"

"What?! Seriously?" Sookie was more than a little freaked out.

"Uh-huh – that's why I said it's better to do it with a vampire."

"And they like that?"

"Yes, but there's more…."

"OK, after your fingers are… in…"

"Right, you curl them forward a little and you'll feel a little lump. That's the prostate gland, and you sort of stroke it. It drives them wild."

"Huh – I wonder why Eric didn't teach me that? Or Bill, even."

"Maybe they were afraid it would scare you or gross you out? Aren't you sort of... still learning?"

"Yeah, there are a few things he has only been doing to me a little while…"

"Anal stuff?" Bobbie was pretty sure that was what she meant.

Sookie blushed. "Yeah, that."

"He probably planned to show you, he just hadn't gotten that far yet."

"He did something the other night that really shocked me – I couldn't imagine why anyone would want to do that…"

"What's that, Hon…?"

"He… licked me…. back there…."

Bobbie laughed a little. "That's called 'rimming'. Some people really love it."

"Doing it or getting it done to them?"

"Either, both, whatever."

"I don't know if I could ever…"

"Just take it one step at a time, Sookie. Try the trick with your fingers first and see if he likes it. My guess is he'll be thrilled. You'll like it, too."

"I will?"

"Yes – it gives you a little power over them. He'll be at your mercy." Bobbie wiggled her eyebrows and Sookie laughed.

"OK, that sounds good. Maybe it's something I can do when he's in 'virtuoso mode'"

"You mean playing you like a violin?" Bobbie smiled.

"Exactly. I can't believe how he can make me feel sometimes."

"Like I said, the sex alone is worth the risk. Add in their beauty, their charm, their great manners, the fact that they can and will dance in public, they're well educated, the lifestyle is lavish and exciting…"

"They're fantasy guys, like from a romance novel…"

"Exactly. I'd do just about anything to have that in my life." Bobbie had thought about this a lot.

"Yeah – me too. We're really lucky, huh?"

"Yes, we are." They both laughed. Bobbie put another empty box in the hallway, and brought in a heavy box that she sort of dropped on the bed.

"What's that?" Sookie was curious what would be so heavy.

"Books. I'm glad there's an empty shelf in here."

"You have a lot of books?"

"Not a huge amount, but some that I need around to consult or enjoy. Don't you have books?"

"Not many. I get most of mine from the library. Eric has books in his first floor study, but I've only read –or I'm reading – one so far."

"Which one?"

"It's called **Rebecca**…"

"By Daphne du Maurier?"

"Yeah, have you read it?"

'Yes, and I've seen the movie many times, of course."

"I've never seen it – is it good?"

"Yes, very – it won Best Picture way back when. Alfred Hitchcock directed it. We should rent it if you're reading the book. The movie is a little different than the book, but you'll love it. "

"That sounds cool. Alfred Hitchcock – he did **The Birds**?"

"Yes, and as a matter of fact, the same woman that wrote **Rebecca** wrote **The Birds**."

There was a knock at the door and Bobbie opened it. It was Alicia.

"Excuse me, Mrs. Northman, I 'm getting ready to run some errands. Is there anything you'd like me to bring you from town?"

"Do I have a garter belt and stockings I could wear under my dress Monday night?"

"No, you'd need a beige one for that – I'll add that to my list." She wrote it on her list.

"Also, this is weird and if it's too much trouble, don't bother, but you know that book I'm reading – Rebecca?"

"Yes, of course."

"Would you get me a copy of that movie? Are they expensive to buy, or can we rent it or something?"

"It's easier just to buy it and add it to Mr. Northman's collection. OK, I'll put that on the list and see if I can find it. Anything else?"

"Caesar salad…?" Sookie said apologetically.

"With lots of anchovies – no problem. Bobbie do you like anchovies? Should I make enough for both of you?"

"Yes, that would be great, thank you."

"Thank you so much, Alicia. I really appreciate it."

"No trouble at all, Mrs. Northman. Margaret is here if you need something to eat and we've already taken the massage table down for your session today. I'll see you in a few hours."

"Thanks – bye!"

"Thank you, Alicia" Bobbie chimed in.

"Cool – we can watch that tonight while the boys are being big wheels." Sookie laughed.

"That's great, I can watch that movie any time."

"So what kind of books do you have?" Sookie was peering into the copier paper box marked WK BK.

"You can look through them if you want. I have quite a few on massage and aromatherapy, of course, some books about the Goddess, Wicce, Herstory books…"

"Wicce is the Witches' religion, right?"

"Yes, exactly."

"Is that mostly women?"

"Mostly, but not exclusively. There are women only groups, but there are also mixed groups and even a few male only or gay men only groups. It is sometimes referred to as The Women's Religion, though."

"And what was that other thing you said?"

"Herstory? It's a type of book where feminists and/or female researchers are trying to find the truth under the patriarchal structure that was imposed on culture, religion and literature starting about 6,000 years ago."

"Patriarchal structure?"

"Yes – it's the Abrahamic concept that the father rules. For example, Supe culture is, for some reason I don't understand, extremely patriarchal – they care a lot about hierarchy, men sort of "own" females they date, all the traits we consider old fashioned are patriarchal elements. Most Witches – not all, but most – advocate a Matriarchal system where everyone would be more or less equal and people would live in peace instead of having their economies rely on war."

"War, so rich people can stay rich? Bill said that one time."

"Exactly. Only the rich benefit from war. They make money no matter who wins in most cases. They use things like religion and patriotism to get people to do things out of a sense of honor that they would normally never consider doing to another human being."

"I never thought about it that way. I don't know a lot about politics."

"It's all tied in together – religion, politics, science, education, art and culture. They have all been manipulated over the centuries to keep women from having their fair share of power all because they wanted to establish a patriarchal system of inheritance."

"Were there people that lived the other way? The Matriarchal way?"

"Were and still are. At one point, all people started out that way, but the evidence of that has been destroyed or deliberately hidden. The Mosuo of China are still matrifocal and have no concept of marriage. Many Native American tribes still have functioning matriarchies. There have even been conferences here in America where matriarchies from all over the world were represented." 

"Wow – I never heard of that."

"A lot of people never heard of that – but more are hearing about it every day. The Goddess is reawakening in us, and She's speaking more directly to people every day. It's an exciting time to be a Witch or a Goddess-Worshipper."

"They're mostly the same thing, though, right?"

"Mostly – some will use one label but not the other, but most are comfortable with either descriptor."

"How do you know if you're a Witch."

"No one has to tell you, Sookie. If you are, you know."

"You think I am, don't you."

"Goddesses speaking in your dreams is a pretty direct sign, Sweetheart."

"Yeah, I know. I've been thinking about that a lot. They're a lot more real than regular dreams, you know."

"No, I didn't know but it's not surprising that they would feel differently. Just as it feels different when you remember a dream or you remember a fantasy. They're both forms of thought, but you can tell the difference."

"Yeah. If you were going to read a starter book, what book would you read?"

"Well, there are a few good ones, but there is a good one – hang on…"

Bobbie brought in another copier paper box from the hallway that was marked with a star inside a circle. She set it down next to Sookie and took the lid off. Sookie looked at the books as she took them out – **The Spiral Dance: A Rebirth of the Ancient Religion, The Women's Encyclopedia of Myths and Secrets, When God was a Woman, The Living Goddesses, The Holy Book of Women's Mysteries, Women's Rites – Women's Mysteries, Goddesses in Every Woman, Goddess Alive, The Return of the Goddess, The Once and Future Goddess. The Great Cosmic Mother**…

"Wow – I didn't know there were so many."

"This is just a fraction of what's available, Sookie. There are millions of Goddess worshippers all over the world and more every day." Bobbie was still pulling books out of the box. "Naturally the one I wanted was on the bottom," she laughed. She handed Sookie a book.

"**Ariadne's Thread: A Workbook of Goddess Magic** by Shekhinah Mountainwater…" Sookie read aloud. "

"I studied with Shekhinah many years ago. She passed away last year, but she managed to get the basis of her teachings into book form. They were just Xeroxes when I studied with her. She was a gentle soul, and a good teacher. You'll like this book."

"OK, can I borrow this?"

"Sure you can…"

"I have a question. Eric believes in Goddesses and gods – why isn't he a Witch?"

"Well, from what I have seen, Eric is a Norse Pagan. Most of their groups are post-patriarchal, and they consider magick to be a woman's thing. They even believed that a man who practiced magick would become a woman once every 8 days because the Goddess wouldn't work through a person who was male all the time."

"Then why would Eric be so close to a Goddess like Freya?"

"Freya was a special Goddess where warriors were concerned. She leads the Valkyries into battle where they're Shield Maidens standing behind the warriors to protect them. Freya chooses half of the best slain warriors to live with Her and the other half are taken by the Valkyries to Odin's place, Valhalla, where the Valkyries make a feast for them. The advantage of being chosen by Freya is that your lover or wife can go with you to her house, where Odin's was men only."

"I guess that's good then – She cares about babies, too…"

"Yes, and I'd say She has quite an interest in your little Viking. He's already a scrapper, I'll bet."

"He is. I'm telling you Bobbie, this is not just my imagination, he can't wait to be able to fight. He's just like Eric. He worships Eric, too. I can feel such pride flowing between them."

"That's sweet, though I doubt Eric would want it described that way. He can communicate with the baby, too, right?"

"Yes and now he can even do it when he isn't touching me. He can be on another floor and communicate with him. Pretty soon I'll bet he can feel him at a distance the way he can me."

"At a distance?"

"Yeah, like if he's at Fangtasia and I'm here, or when I worked at Merlotte's, he'll know how I'm feeling and if he doesn't like what he's getting from me, he'll come home or come to where I am. I was kidnapped once and the bond led him straight to me."

"Wow – that's handy! That's from the blood bond?"

"Well, if you take in a significant amount of a vamp's blood, they can track you. Have you fed from Bill yet?"

"Yes, I have. It was wonderful."

"It took me a long time to admit that I liked it, but honestly, sometimes the feedings are the best part of sex. Anyway, now Bill knows things about you."

"He does?"

"Yeah, if you were in trouble, he could probably find you, and he'll know if you're scared or sad or especially if you're horny."

"That could REALLY come in handy," Bobbie laughed.

"Yeah, you can't hide how you feel from them once you've tasted them."

"You can't walk away from them either, can you?"

"After a certain point, no. I'm probably very close to that point with Eric, and he's happy about it. He wants me to be so I can't ever leave him."

"He does?"

"Yes, and he never said this, but I'm pretty sure that's because he can't leave me."

"He wouldn't want to, would he?"

"No, but he couldn't if he did. I think he wants to make sure that works both ways."

"Is he insecure?"

"No, but he's possessive and jealous. I'm getting used to that though. Aw, who am I kidding, I'm starting to love that." Sookie laughed. "He can be such a cave man."

Bobbie laughed, too. Bill didn't really do caveman, but he could do crazy intense and she liked it. She looked at the clock on her nightstand.

"Sookie, you know it's almost 3 o'clock. Why don't we go down to the pool and do your session. You need to exercise and I want to make sure you get a thorough massage today. You could probably use another dose of ibuprofen, too."

"Good idea. I'll meet you at the pool." Sookie stood and shook her legs out a little, taking the book with her and heading down to her room. Bobbie changed into her suit and a terry cover up, and took a beach towel with her though she knew they would have towels downstairs. She took a minute to empty a couple more boxes of books that she just stacked in the floor next to the shelf so she could leave the empty boxes in the hallway to be cleared away.

By the time Bobbie got downstairs, Sookie was floating in the pool.

"You look comfortable!" Bobbie called to Sookie.

"Grab a mattress over there and join me. We can hang out for a while before we work out." Sookie was in the mood for some sun, and it was the best time of the day for that as far as she was concerned.

Bobbie did exactly that, and soon they were both floating around, chatting and giggling like school girls. Sookie loved this. She never had a really close friend and certainly never one she got to hang around in the pool with. She didn't feel like Bobbie was an employee at all. She felt almost like she was a sister, even though she hadn't known her that long.

"Ohhhhhhh- it's so nice out here!" Sookie said. "I love floating in the water. Even Baby E is liking it today, though I think he's actually asleep," she laughed.

"Doesn't he always like it?"

"He gets a little sea sick, sometimes, I think."

"A Viking that gets sea sick? Don't tell Big Daddy. He'd never live that down," Bobbie joked and Sookie laughed with her. They floated around that way for about an hour, then Bobbie insisted they get to work. She put Sookie through a pretty thorough workout in the water, and Sookie was relieved when it was time for her massage.

Sookie got completely undressed this time without thinking anything about it. She was glad they were doing this on her side now, because the bump just kept getting bigger.

"I can't believe how big this bump is getting. I know I say that every day, but seriously, have you ever seen anything grow so fast?"

"No sweetie, I have to admit, you've got almost a volley ball there."

"Nothing will hide it anymore. I'm just going to have to deal with being pregnant," she laughed. "Saying it is one thing, but being it, where it's this visible, is something I just haven't processed yet. I hope my dress looks OK Monday night."

"You'll look like a Goddess in that dress, especially because you're pregnant. It's going to get even bigger, Sweetie, so just accept it. You're going to get big and round so you can have a fat little Viking baby with blond hair and blue eyes whose first word is going to be "fight." Bobbie laughed and Sookie did, too.

"Ain't that the truth?! Fight, Daddy, Sword, Blood. I just know Eric will give him a little plastic sword in the crib."

"Speaking of cribs, have you thought about a nursery yet? You've only got a couple of months. You want to have it ready well before you go into labor so you have a place to take him."

"Yeah, we'll have to look for stuff like that. Alicia will help some. She probably knows where to shop for stuff like that."

"You've got a laptop, right? We can use that to look at stuff on line and see what's available. That way you know what to look for, what you like, what you don't, what prices are like, all of that."

"Good idea. I was going to ask Eric if we could use the storage room next to our room. If he says yes, I guess the first thing to do is get it painted."

"Any ideas about that?"

"Yeah, I want a really pretty robin's egg blue to match his eyes."

"I hope his eyes really do turn out to be blue…"

"Eric says they will. He saw him and he had blue eyes."

"He saw him?"

"Yeah, the minute he was convinced it was his son, he said he saw him very clearly."

"You know, Eric is a bit of a Witch himself, but I'm sure he wouldn't admit that."

"Because they think magick is a woman's thing?"

"Exactly."

"He'd think that made him a sissy, right?"

"Basically."

"That's silly."

"Yes, but that's the way it is."

Margaret came out the door, "Hello, girls, what time would you like to have dinner?"

"Any time – the guys will be up soon so maybe we can have family dinner?" Sookie looked at Margaret and Bobbie.

"Works for me," Bobbie said.

"Alright then, I'll start dinner now. "

"Margaret, what are we having?"

"Well, I was thinking rare steak unless there's something else you'd like."

"Can I have steak tartare instead?"

"Of course, Mrs. Northman. I'll get right on that. Bobbie what would you like?"

"I could take a rare steak if that's not too much trouble."

"Not at all, dear. Ok, It will be about an hour."

Bobbie and Sookie each went to their rooms to take showers and change into some regular clothes. Sookie drank a blood and lay down for a few minutes after she got out of the shower and promptly fell asleep.

"Wake up, my beautiful wife," Eric was leaning over her, smiling at her.

"I fell asleep."

"Yes, apparently you did."

"Did I miss dinner?"

"No, my angel, we are waiting for you to come and eat. Can I help you get dressed?"

"Yeah, I guess." He helped Sookie sit up because she was groggy, and picked up the pink dress folded on her side chair.

"Here, my lover, let's slip this over your head." It took a little effort but they got her into it, and he picked her up and carried her downstairs.

"Sleeping Beauty has decided to join us." Eric joked.

"It's about time," Bobbie teased her.

"I'm sorry – I just lay down on the bed for a minute and I guess I passed out." Eric set Sookie gently in her chair.

"That's understandable, Sookie. Babies take a lot out of a pregnant mother." Bill chimed in.

"Yes, and my son will need a lot of energy from you to grow big and strong, so we will feed you and you will go back to bed."

"I can't – Bobbie and I are going to watch a movie."

"We can do that in your room, Sookie and then if you get sleepy, you just go with it and don't worry about it. "

"Yes, the TV has a DVD player built in." Eric reminded her.

Margaret served Bobbie's steak and Sookie's steak tartare with some of the Caesar salad that Alicia made for them on the side, and went back for the bloods for Bill and Eric.

"So this is a nightly tradition here?" Bill asked.

"Yes," Eric replied, "Sookie asked if we could have family dinner every day."

"The baby wakes up when I do and when Eric does right now, so I figure he'll be here in a high chair sometime soon. Families should eat together when they can."

"Makes sense to me," Bobbie said.

"I think it's a pleasant idea," Eric says "even if I don't technically eat, I like to keep Sookie company while she has her dinner."

"I think it's a very nice idea. I can see us all here with a little baby throwing food at us," Bill teased. Eric laughed and Sookie pretended to be offended.

"Hey, now, my baby will not throw food at people."

"No, but he might enjoy tracking it down and clubbing it himself," Eric added. Everyone laughed.

"I just got this picture of Bam Bam sitting here with a club."

"Who is Bam Bam?" Bill asked and Eric shrugged.

"Bobbie, can you explain it?" Sookie just wanted to eat.

"There was a cartoon in the 60's called The Flintstones and two of the characters had this little towheaded baby boy named Bam Bam and he was unusually strong. He'd yell "Bam! Bam!" and slam this club that he played with down and everything in the house would shake."

"Blond and unusually strong – that sounds like my son." Eric said smugly.

"Oh, boy – here he goes with the "my son" stuff."

"Sookie, I have told you many times that when a man sires an extraordinary child, he is entitled to crow a bit."

"We'll see if you're still crowing when you get to change your first diaper." Bill said.

"Do you think I will be unable to do something so simple?" Eric asked.

"Not unable – unwilling. I think you'll hand him off to Sookie or Bobbie or Margaret or Alicia…"

"And this is a problem because…?" Eric asked

"Well, Eric, you know, a father really should be involved with his child and do things like that, too." Sookie said hopefully.

"My wife, I am sure that, while it will not be my favorite thing to do, I will be able to do that for my son when it is necessary. I will need to be able to do that when he and I are alone."

"When would that be?" Sookie asked.

"If, for example, I take him to Fangtasia with me, or we travel together, or you are asleep and he needs to be changed."

"Would you really change a dirty diaper rather than wake me up?" Sookie said. Bobbie was impressed.

"I am sure you will be very tired, my angel, and I do not get tired. I do not expect to do it that often, but I would certainly take the initiative to allow you to rest."

"And you would actually take a baby into Fangtasia? A FAE baby?"

"We'll see if he's actually Fae when he is born."

"Eric, he's going to be Fae."

"We will see. I think he will be vampire."

"Eric, don't get your heart set on that – you know he'll be Fae."

"Did you not hear the doctor say that he is a vampire at heart?"

"I don't think she meant…"

"I do. Look at the way he demands blood even now and you've been told he needs more. I think he will be able to eat food, but he will be vampire first of all."

"What if he's Fae?"

"I will love him no matter what he is, Sookie, but I believe he will be vampire. I think Niall tried so hard to make him resemble me that he resembles me more than he'd probably like."

"So you won't be angry or disappointed…?" Sookie was a little concerned.

"I wouldn't be disappointed even if he were human, though we know very well he is not. What was the first thing he sent to you after Love, Warm, Happy?"

"What?"

"Fight."

Bobbie laughed.

"Yeah, we were talking about that today," Sookie said.

"He will be just like me." Eric said proudly.

"I said that to him this morning."

"You did? Why – what happened?" Eric was excited. Bill was amazed at how important this child was to Eric. Maybe there was some feeling in him after all.

"He was happy because I drank some blood and ate some salmon, and I said 'you're just like your daddy, you know that?' and he sent Love. Happy. Fight. He associates "Daddy" with "Fight" already."

Eric beamed with pride and Bill and Bobbie laughed.

"You're right, Sookie, he's already like his daddy." Bobbie laughed as Bill shook his head. "Which reminds me – we were talking about a nursery today."

"I thought you might want to use the storage room next to ours, Sookie. I can put those things elsewhere and then the baby will be near us. "

"Oh, good, that's what I was hoping we could do."

"When do you want it cleared out?" Eric asked.

"Soon. We need to paint it and I need to start getting it set up."

"We need to be careful about the paint you use, Sookie." Bobbie mentioned.

"Why?" Eric couldn't imagine why it would matter.

"Well, paint can have toxic fumes. We want one that won't affect Sookie or the baby."

"Can you take charge of that, Bobbie and assure a safe paint is used? We'll engage painters as soon as you know what you need to use. I'll give you Bobby Burnham's number and you can work it out, if that's alright."

"That's fine. I think I spoke to Mr. Burnham about this job early in the process?"

"Yes, that's right. He takes care of anything I need done in the daytime. I'll have some of the gardener's men move the things in that room to the basement, you find the paint and then have him arrange the painters. Then Sookie will have a place to acquire all the baby equipment she will need. I understand that is a major project for women."

"Yes, it's a big deal." Sookie said.

"Yes, and a great joy, I gather. Modern American women celebrate everything with shopping."

"Since when did you have a problem with me shopping?"

"I don't have a problem, I just find it funny that women today need so much for a baby. We had next to nothing where I lived my human life and yet our children thrived."

"Thrived?" Bobbie called him on that.

"Some of them, anyway."

"A lot of them died in those days because they didn't have the kind of things Sookie will have."

"Yes, but Bobbie you will admit that women take great pleasure in feathering their nests, will you not?"

"Yes, I will admit that."

"That's all I am saying. You two enjoy the process, get whatever you want and I have no doubt my son will have the finest nest available in the 21st century."

"Eric, we should be getting ready to go."

"Yes, Bill, you are right. I need about 20 minutes."

"I can be ready then."

"Alright," Eric stood and kissed Sookie then zipped up the stairs. Bill kissed Bobbie and followed after shortly while Bobbie and Sookie finished their meals with a piece of German chocolate cake. Sookie was very happy to see that Margaret had been baking and thanked her profusely so she'd keep it up. Bobbie shook her head and smiled as Sookie ate a second HUGE piece of cake with such enthusiasm it made Bobbie wonder what she was like in bed. She knew from the Vegas trip she could be a little loud, but she also seemed to be very responsive to any kind of stimuli – almost like a vampire. She wondered if that was natural or if it was from drinking so much of Eric's blood.

Bill was the first one to come back into the kitchen and he looked around for Margaret since Alicia had already gone home. He went back and they heard a door open, a car trunk slam and then the guys came back in and kissed Bobbie and Sookie good bye.

"What was that about?" Sookie asked Eric very softly.

"Swords." Eric said, and she understood. He didn't want Margaret to see him loading swords in the car and they thought they might need them tonight.

"Please be careful" Sookie pleaded with him.

"Always, my angel. Go to bed and watch your movie. I will come home as early as I can, but it may be very late."

Bobbie grabbed the movie and she and Sookie took the elevator upstairs after the guys left. Sookie also grabbed the large container of Caesar salad and two forks. They went up to Eric's bed and Sookie raised the TV out of the cabinet as Bobbie opened the movie and put it into the slot on the side of the TV.

"Do you think anyone saw you put the swords in the trunk?" Bill asked.

"No, I'm sure no one did. Have you ever used a Katana?"

"I'm more familiar with sabers, of course, but I have used one once or twice. I'm surprised you use one."

"I prefer a broadsword but they are hard to move around without arousing suspicion. I have one in my office and one in the house, though. I'm bringing these more for you and Pam. She's good with a sword."

"Where did she learn that?"

"From me, just as Sookie will."

"You're going to teach Sookie to use a sword?"

"Yes, I want her to be able to protect herself. She'll probably never be able to attack with one, but I want her to be able to defend against an attack."

"Do you think that's necessary?" Bill didn't like the idea of Sookie fighting.

"Yes, I do. We may be under constant threat if I'm put in power."

"Is she strong enough?"

"She has had so much of my blood at this point that she's very strong and she's getting quick, too. The yoga and other exercises Bobbie has been doing with her are making her more graceful and limber. I'm going to teach Bobbie to use a sword, too."

Bill didn't say anything. He didn't like the idea of either girl using a sword, but he knew that it was the practical thing to do. He hoped he didn't get Bobbie into something that was going to get her hurt. It was up to Eric to protect Sookie now, but Bobbie was Bill's responsibility. Eric would protect her because she worked for him, but Bill was the one who should really be looking out for her.

"Bill, are you alright?" Eric asked, knowing he had something on his mind.

"I was just thinking about Bobbie. I hope she doesn't get hurt in all of this."

"I hope not, either. She's a nice woman and she's becoming a good friend to Sookie. By the time the baby gets here, Sookie will consider her part of the family if she doesn't already. She deserves a long and happy life."

"Eric, you almost sound as if you care."

"I do, if only for selfish reasons. She is good for Sookie and she'll be good for my son. I want her around because of what she can do.'

"That I can believe. I can't believe she hasn't run yet."

"She's not going to run, Bill. She loves everything about you, including… or maybe especially… that you are vampire. She's old enough to know what she wants. She already helped dispose of two bodies without even blinking. She's exactly where she wants to be. And if you are going to insist on dating a human woman, you'd hardly find one better suited to dating a vampire."

"I suppose so."

"The first thing we do when we get inside is look for listening devices in my office."

They pulled into the back lot at Fangtasia, looked around the area and took the swords out of the trunk. They went into the club, which was already unlocked.

"Pam" Eric nodded to her.

"Master" she nodded back, "Hello, Bill. Is that a sword or are you just happy to see me."

"Hello, Pam. I don't know that I've ever been happy to see you."

Pam cracked up and walked away.

Bill and Eric went through his office thoroughly twice and found no bugs of any kind. Eric sat at his desk and Bill sat at the chair facing it.

"So what are we going to tell these people?" Bill asked.

"I expect we'll do very little telling and a lot of listening. I need to know what they've been told and by whom. There's a huge shift of power going on here and I'm not sure why."

"Eric, do you think any of this could be connected to Sookie seeing Freya? Or to her being pregnant?"

"There's no doubt in my mind that there's a connection to the pregnancy and that Niall is it, but I don't know how he could pull all of this off. I'm not sure about Freya's part in it all, if there is one."

"Have you figured out yet what de Castro did to bring all of this on himself?"

"No, but I have a theory that part of what is going on is that Niall wants to get himself on the Council."

"Really? What would that accomplish?"

"Eventually, it would mean my son would inherit his seat on the Council when he was grown."

"And what would that do?"

"I don't know. It's frustrating. It's like a giant chess game and I can only see part of the board. I'm playing blind without more information."

They drank some bloods and considered different scenarios – should they go to New Orleans and track Madden to his nest? Lure him into a trap? Wait for the perfect opportunity to strike? No obvious solution presented itself and Eric grew more frustrated. He was used to seeing a clear way forward. In the past he had always concluded quickly what the best course of action would be. This situation had too many unknowns and variables. Without more information, there was no way to account for all contingencies. He knew Niall had said he had a decade to drive Felipe's forces out of the Louisiana Territories, but he felt as if things were moving into place much faster than that. It was as if larger forces wanted him gone from both territories now. It almost seemed too fast.

At 10 o'clock Pam brought the Pack Masters and their associates back to Eric's office. Eric and Bill stood up as they entered.

"Norris. Herveaux." Eric nodded to them "You know Bill Compton, of course."

"Yes, Hello, Compton, Northman. Allow me to introduce Robin Prentiss from the Southern Alliance of Covens and Merlin White of the Union of Magickal Practitioners.

Hellos and nods were exchanged all around, and Alicide seemed to take the lead in speaking for the group.

"We're here to tell you that we're behind you. As soon as we have the word, you have our backing. We understand that Monday night is the next step."

Eric couldn't let them know that he didn't know what the plan, if there was such a thing, was.

"What preparations have you made for Monday?" Eric thought he might piece it together if he knew what they had planned.

"We'll be here with small forces inside the club and larger ones throughout the neighborhood in case Madden makes it out of the club. All of the Louisiana Territory Packs are on alert, though they don't really expect trouble here. Most residents weren't happy with Felipe's coup against Sophie Ann, so most will just see this as Madden's chickens coming home to roost."

"We are preparing the scene and have been working on it for a week or so," Robin Prentiss explained. "One of our readers felt that your Norse heritage might be a factor and she felt that we should call on Freya for assistance. Is that consistent with your own works?"

Freya, Eric thought, She's in on this somehow?

"Yes, that is consistent. My family has strong ties to the Goddess."

"We think she'll help clear the way to an easy victory. Once Madden is gone, we assume Las Vegas operatives will be given 30 days to leave our territories and we understand that you will be the new regent. This is acceptable to us, and we will make ourselves available if you need us."

The Wizard spoke next. "We know this process has two parts. We are willing to help with the first phase in clearing the Vegas forces from our territories. If the Council wants you to take over Las Vegas Territories as well, that will be up to them to clear your way."

"Have you communicated directly with the Council?" Bill asked.

"Yes, the Ancient Pythoness came to us personally and explained that de Castro had broken trust with the Council in killing Sophie Ann. She said they looked at all available leaders in both territories and found you to be the best choice to move their interests forward. She also predicted you would have family on the Council at some time in the near future, but she didn't tell us more than that. She said you were known to be fair with your subordinates and would make a good king. While we don't know you that well, we do trust the Pythoness implicitly."

"Thank you," Eric began, "I'm not ambitious – you should know that. I'm doing this because it was asked of me. I know that fairness gets the best results in dealing subjects. I will not hesitate to strike against those who defy me or threaten my realm in any way. You should know that, too."

"We all know what you are capable of, Northman." Alcide interjected "I see you're wearing a wedding ring. I guess the rumors are true?"

"Yes, Sookie and I were wed last Sunday and she is carrying my child."

"How is that possible?"

"Magick," Prentiss interjected. "There are rumors about the kind of magick, but no one has any doubt that magick made it happen. The child will be touched by the Goddess."

"That is our primary interest here," the Wizard added. "Vampire politics rarely affects us, but such a child in our midst must be protected no matter who his parents are. Our loyalty will be to your child, Northman. We will do anything in our power to protect him."

"As will I," Eric said, "I'm happy to have your support for him. He promises to be a remarkable boy."

"May I ask, is he to be dedicated to a deity?" Prentiss asked.

"Yes, he will be dedicated to Freya. That was established some time back."

"Wonderful. We would like to make an offer of our services, when he is born, to host his Wiccaning at a nearby grove. Our High Priestess would be proud to officiate if you'd like."

"That is very gracious of you. His mother and I would be very proud to accept your offer."

"When is he to be born?"

"We were told mid-to late August, but I believe it will be earlier than that."

"Our readers and scryers agree that he will be a Lughnasadh baby. We expect him around the first of August."

"That would be my estimation, too. He is very advanced for his time in the womb."

"Really? Would you share with us?"

"My wife and I are blood bonded. The child is a part of the bond. He can communicate with us both through the bond by sending emotions. He can let us know when he is hungry, happy, what he likes to eat, and he cannot wait to be old enough to fight."

"A tiny Viking, like his father!" The Witch seemed enchanted at the idea.

Eric was beaming at the thought of his son. "Yes, he is already very special to us. He will be an amazing son – he already is."

Everyone relaxed a little when they heard Eric speak of the baby. The ruthless Eric Northman was getting almost misty at the thought of his son. They had no doubt that he would be a good father and a good father would be a good king. Even Alcide had to admit that it was obvious Eric was touched by the baby. Maybe he would be a good husband to Sookie, too.

"Well, then, you know we will be here Monday night. If trouble breaks out, we will be prepared to act. Let's all hope that Victor Madden shows up and that he doesn't leave the reception alive."

Everyone nodded and voiced their agreement. Eric saw them all to the door, offered them drinks, which they all declined and said goodnight. He returned to his office where Bill was heating another blood.

"The expect you to kill Madden tomorrow night."

"Yes, it would appear that they do." Eric sat behind his desk and leaned back.

"Are you prepared for that?"

Eric was looking at the ceiling. "Honestly, Bill, I'm not prepared for any of this, but no one asked my opinion. I'd best steel myself to the idea that I may have to execute Victor Madden in the middle of my wedding reception. They made it clear that they don't expect him to leave alive."

"I don't understand why they're moving so quickly and I don't understand why they didn't tell you all of this stuff directly. Why didn't they just come to you and say "do a, b, and c and then you will be king."

"I have no idea – unless they knew that if they told me up front, I'd tell them to go to hell. I never wanted any of this. I wanted to rule area 5, run my businesses, enjoy my wife, and then later on, enjoy my son. All of this intrigue goes back to Niall somehow. Niall is ready to move into the Council for some unknown reason and he's dragging me and Sookie upward behind him. That damned old Fairy had this planned from the beginning. The baby was his way of dragging me into all of this."

"Unless someone else planned the whole thing and made Niall do his part in it. Maybe his position on the Council is his payment for doing what he was told to do."

"That's possible, but I think it's more likely Niall cooked up this scheme and took it to the Council and offered to make it happen in exchange for a seat. He was the one with intimate knowledge of Sookie and my relationship with her. He played that part of it perfectly. By the time he dropped the bombshell about me being regent, he knew we would be so attached to the idea of the baby that we would do anything to keep it."

"He didn't actually threaten the baby?" Bill was horrified.

"Yes, he did, and at that point, there was nothing I wouldn't do to have my son. When I said I never wanted this, I wasn't kidding. All I wanted was Sookie. Once we found out about the baby, all I wanted was the two of them. When it came down to the risk of losing either of them, I didn't even have to think about it. I'd have done anything – and apparently I'm going to."

"I had no idea that was how it went down."

"Believe me, all I want to do is run my businesses and spend as much of my nights at home with my family as I possibly can. I even considered selling Fangtasia so I wouldn't have to leave Sookie and the baby at all. Now it looks like I'll be managing two kingdoms. I'm going to have to figure out a way to do it and still have them with me. I won't give them up. My son is not going to grow up with a father who just drops in once in a while. My family will always come first with me."

"Maybe that's why they chose you, Eric. They knew that. You won't be out micromanaging the areas. You'll look at the big picture and you'll delegate authority, then if someone gets out of line, you'll handle it swiftly. That's a recipe for a good king."

"Maybe. It's too late to worry about it now. It's almost one o'clock. Let me say good bye to Pam and we'll head home."

"Sounds good to me." Bill would be more than happy to get back to the house and to Bobbie.

It was just after 1:30 when they both quietly entered Eric's and Sookie's room. Bobbie looked up and waved at Bill with a big smile then put her fingers to her lips because Sookie was asleep. Bill helped her up quietly, and put the empty container from the salad on the dresser. As they started out of the room, Bobbie turned to Eric and said "she needs to eat something." And then waved good night. Eric looked in the little fridge – blood, nutritional supplements, strawberry yogurt and apples.

He opened a chocolate nutritional supplement and put a straw in it that he got from a basket on top of the fridge that held straws, spoons and napkins.

"Sookie, my beautiful wife, can you wake up enough to drink?"

She opened her eyes and smiled at Eric, who was looking at her lovingly as he held the straw to her. She drank a little and had to rest and catch her breath, then drank some more. She finished it pretty quickly and said "blood," so he stuck the straw in a bottle of synth blood and held it up to her. She went through it very quickly, partly because she and the baby craved it and partly because she really still didn't like the taste. When she finished, she let out a deep sigh and Eric stroked her cheek.

"Want some more, my angel?"

"No, not right now. Maybe later, though."

"Alright, then" he said as he threw the empties in the wastebasket.

"Come to bed and hold me, please?"

"Of course, my angel, just let me get undressed."

"Mmmm – I want to watch." She teased as she turned to follow him as he walked over to his closet. He stood facing her, slowly unbuttoning his shirt so she could enjoy the show. He was SO beautiful, she thought at she watched him unbutton his cuffs and slip his shirt off, blinking lazily because she was still half asleep.

The soft lighting in the room showed off his muscular torso and the wonderful curves of his biceps. He unbuttoned his jeans and slipped them off his hips, kicking them off with his boots. He posed a little in his boxers, turning slowly to let her get a good look, then turned his back and slowly slipped them down over what he knew was her favorite part of him. Once they were past his award-worthy butt he let them drop and looked over his shoulder at her and wiggled his brows. She giggled a little and he slid into bed next to her, wrapping his arms around her and hugging her close to him then helping her slip off her dress. It was such a relief to feel her naked body against him.

He was so glad to be home he felt as if he would burst. She was so warm and smelled so enticing and sweet – how did he ever manage to leave her even for a few hours?

"So, you gonna fuck me or what?" she said as she yawned.

He laughed softly into her hair. "Wouldn't you rather sleep, little one? You sound like you need more rest."

"You're kidding, right?" She looked up at him. She obviously wasn't kidding.

"How about if I do it very gently and you let yourself drift off to sleep?" He was smoothing her hair back away from her face.

"OK, as long as I get to feel you inside me. I feel lonely when you're not here."

"I know you do, my angel. I feel lonely when I'm away from you, too. Roll over so your back is to me."

She turned toward the window and pressed his bleeding wrist to her mouth. She fed from him hungrily, then he took her very gently, twice before she fell asleep. It amazed him how she loved to have sex even when she was nearly asleep. Even the orgasms he brought her to at these times were quiet and gentle and he loved the way it felt when she tensed a little in his arms and made those soft whimpering noises. It made him feel good that the feel of him inside her seemed to make her feel safe. As she was sleeping he ran his hands over her – her skin was so soft and warm - and he nuzzled her neck.

His hand came to rest on the luscious round bump that held his son, and he closed his eyes, feeling and hearing his tiny heartbeat as he slept. He sent love and pride to him, even though he knew he was sleeping, just in case he could still feel it. He thought about how important the baby had become to him. He was changing his whole life for this tiny being, in many ways. He didn't care about anything anymore beside Sookie and the baby. He would do whatever he had to to keep them with him and safe. Moments like this, where he had them next to him asleep, would be far too rare in the coming years. He knew he'd better savor them while he could.

Eventually, reluctantly, he went to his office to check his messages and email. He ordered 2 sets of silk sheets, one black and one purple, and he returned an email to his accountant who had paperwork for Sookie to sign, including her name change, now that they were married. He told Alicia to have the stuff in the storage room moved elsewhere and said he wanted to come up with something more substantial for Sookie to eat at night. He left Pam a message that he needed to speak to everyone Sunday night who was scheduled to work security on Monday night, and that she should "confirm the performance by Dark Star." Only Pam would know what that meant.

He took one last look at Sookie and the baby, and went to rest for the day, praying to Freya that they be safe when and if he killed Dark Star at their wedding reception.

-


	47. Chapter 47

**Chapter 47**

Sookie woke up to hear something bump the wall behind her bed. She thought for a minute and realized that they were emptying the storage room so they could turn it into a nursery. YAY! Eric wasn't wasting any time – they had just talked about it last night.

Alicia came in a few minutes later with Sookie's breakfast tray.

"Good morning, Mrs. Northman,"

"'Morning, Alicia. How are you today?"

"Oh, I'm fine. They're almost done moving things out of the nursery, you know."

"So I hear. I'm so excited – is that silly?" She sat up and Alicia put her tray in place.

"If it is then we're both silly because I'm excited for you," Alicia laughed. "It's going to be so nice to have a little baby in this house. Margaret is beside herself, too. She worked for Mr. Northman for so long when this house was quiet and empty and she loves all this new activity with young people around and a baby coming. Don't tell her I told you this, but she said she's just as excited as she was when her own grandchildren were born, and I know just how she feels." She handed Sookie the note from the dresser.

"I can't wait 'til I can hold him in my arms and play with him. I know there's going to be gross stuff and not getting a lot of sleep and everything, but I can't wait for all of it. You're going to help me with the nursery, right?"

"Of course, I will, dear. That little one is going to have the finest nursery in Louisiana, and people that love him all around him. He'll be spoiled rotten," she laughed.

Sookie laughed with her. She was glad they weren't dreading the baby. She was definitely looking forward to this and it helped to know that there would be some older women around that could help her learn what she needed to do for Baby E. She wanted to be a good mommy and she hoped he'd be a happy baby.

LOVE!

Aw – he was telling her he loved her. She knew he'd be happy because he already was. She patted the bump and said "I love you, Baby E!"

"Did you feel him move?" Alicia didn't know about Sookie and the baby communicating. Oops!

"Yes, he's awake and hungry," Sookie laughed.

"Well, you and Baby E dig into that steak and eggs and he'll be happy."

Sookie knew Alicia was humoring her. She didn't realize how right she was – Baby E would be very happy, especially when she drank those 2 bloods Alicia brought with the tray. Sookie drank a huge glass of milk that was on the tray and sipped a little grape juice before she cut into the steak. It was really tender and juicy – she was eating it with absolute joy and Baby E was doing his happy dance. Food tasted so much better to her now than it ever did before. She figured it had to do with the pregnancy but she would realize later it was the effect of Eric's blood. Her senses were becoming more acute so things really did taste better than ever. It was affecting her in many ways she wasn't aware of – she was stronger, faster, hornier and it was giving her mind-blowing orgasms. She would be a lot sicker and more tired without it, too, because this pregnancy was a huge strain on her body.

In weeks to come she'd have to sleep a lot more, especially as the cramps worsened. A doctor would prescribe Soma and that would add to the sleepiness. Sookie was afraid it would affect the baby, but Dr. Ludwig assured her it wouldn't. Ludwig knew the baby was pretty much fully formed. It was just a matter of him getting bigger and his brain developing and that wouldn't be affected by the drug. If anything, it would help because he'd sleep a little more, too and those were the times he grew most.

Bobbie came upstairs as Sookie was finishing her breakfast.

"Good morning, Sunshine!"

"Hey, Bobbie – did you see they cleared out the nursery?"

"Yep, I saw that. I've got a tape measure in my pocket so we can measure for curtains and things like that. I've been on Bill's laptop looking for paint. We'll have to have the brand we want shipped from Chicago, but they have it set up so you can choose your color on line. If we do it today, we could have it early next week if we pay a rush fee, then we can get the painters rocking and start filling the room up."

"Oh, this is so fun – it makes it seem so real. I mean, I always know I'm pregnant, but sometimes it really hits me that I'm going to have a baby! I'm a mommy! I never thought this would happen to me and I'm afraid I'll wake up and it's all a dream."

"Oh, it's real, alright. Those cramps you have are no joke and you just wait until the Little Viking comes fighting his way through your vagina. You'll have all the reality you ever wanted then." She laughed and Sookie laughed with her.

"Yeah, but that just a few hours or so, then I'll have my little baby Viking to snuggle and love."

Happy. Love. Funny.

Sookie beamed and rubbed the bump. "I love you to, honey!"

"He's sending to you now?" Bobbie was fascinated.

"Yep, he's wiggling around, too."

"May I?" Bobbie asked as she pointed to the bump and Sookie nodded and put her hand in the spot where she could feel the movement.

"What did he send you?"

"Happy, Love and Funny."

"Funny?"

"Yeah, we were laughing and he laughed with us."

"That's unreal," Bobbie said, really impressed.

"Yeah, it's so cool. He's so smart already."

"I wonder how long it will take him to learn to walk and talk. I'll bet he starts early."

"Very early would be my guess. I'll be lucky if he doesn't walk out," Sookie laughed.

Bobbie could feel the baby really move then, and laughed.

"That's his happy dance. He does that when I eat something he likes or when I'm having fun. You should see him go if Eric and I are tickling each other or … you know… having sex."

"That's so funny that he likes that."

"Yeah, Eric says he likes it when we enjoy each other because it makes him feel safe and loved."

"That makes sense. It gives him a sense of family. That's sweet."

"Yeah, it is. Oh – I forgot to read Eric's note!"

She opened the envelope and pulled out the note.

"He has beautiful handwriting." Bobbie said.

"Yeah, all the vamps do – because they're so old."

_My Wife-_

_Please rest well today. You seemed tired last night and I worry you aren't sleeping enough. I'll have to go to Fangtasia tonight to make sure everything is ready for our wedding reception tomorrow night, but Bill will stay here in case you ladies need him. Stay in the house and keep the windows and doors closed, please. _

_I'll wake you up when I get home. _

_I love you more than anything,_

_Your Husband,_

_Eric_

"Any instructions for the day?" Bobbie asked.

"He wants me to rest. He didn't say this, but I think he and Bill are expecting trouble tomorrow night. Bill is going stay here to guard us tonight, just in case. I think he wants me well-rested so I'll be sharp, more than just so I'll look good."

"That's a good plan. The more rest you get today, the more you'll enjoy yourself, anyway, and he's right – you need to be sharp, just in case."

"Yeah, he's always thinking about what I need and what's best for me."

"You're lucky, Sookie. A lot of men only think of themselves."

"I know I'm lucky. He thinks about me all the time. I swear sometimes he knows what I want before I do."

"I can't wait to see him with a baby."

"Neither can I," she laughed. "When we first found out I was pregnant, I wondered if Eric would be able to be a daddy. Vampires tend not to show a lot of emotion or be very demonstrative, you know? But he's so into this… I never would have believed he'd be this crazy about being a father. I thought he'd be mad at me for ruining his life."

"His life was pretty boring from what I hear. He spent all his time in that club, he was never home, he didn't have the pool open, he had no love in his life unless you want to count Pam. You didn't ruin his life, Sookie, you gave him a life."

"I guess. He was happy right from the start. I guess after a thousand years of doing the same things over and over that this is kind of a relief because it's something different."

"I'm sure that's part of it, but he really loves you, girl and he is wild about that baby already. That's not just relief from boredom. That's joy and pride and happiness. Even Bill has said that he has seen a change in Eric. He rarely saw Eric smile before. Smirk, yes, but not smile and rarely laugh. He said he was shocked to admit it, but he thinks Eric will actually be a good father."

"Wow – that's something. Bill doesn't usually have much nice to say about Eric."

"That's understandable, though, don't you think?"

"Yeah, it is. I'm glad Bill is with you now. It's so good for him. He deserves to be happy."

"Yeah, he does. Now, are you ready to take some measurements?"

"Yes, I am. Hang on." Sookie looked in her nightstand and found her trusty steno pad and a pen. Alicia always made sure it was where she could find it. "OK, let's measure that nursery."

Bobbie and Sookie spent a lot longer doing that than it really required because they were giggling and dreaming about what kind of furnishings they wanted. Sookie was pretty sure the fru-fru stuff was out – Eric wouldn't want HIS SON in a nursery that had any hint of feminine anything in it.

"You know, Sookie, that blue color you want would make a good sea and sky color. We could do a little mural of a dragon ship crossing the ocean."

"Eric would love that! Can you paint?"

"Well enough to do that, yeah. We could do a big ship with Vikings looking over the bow at a sea monster."

"Oh, I love that idea. Don't tell Eric – we'll surprise him." Sookie was practically jumping up and down.

"OK, so tonight while he's gone, we'll get on the internet and see what's out there, baby-wise. Now, I have a suggestion."

"What's that?"

"Let's hit the pool. We could both use some sun and some fresh air."

"That works for me – I'll meet you down there."

Sookie and Bobbie enjoyed the pool for a few hours, floating and talking about nothing in particular. At about 4:30 Margaret and Alicia came out. Alicia had Sookie's terry cloth cover up, which she laid on the chair with Sookie's other sheer cover and her shoes.

"Mrs. Northman?" Margaret called her.

"Yes, Margaret?"

"Would you ladies like some burgers on the grill? I got some lovely sirloin that I can grind into burgers and you could eat yours rare that way. It wouldn't take us long at all. I thought you might want to treat the gardeners crew for clearing out the room today."

Sookie looked at Bobbie and they both loved the idea.

"That sounds great!"

"OK, and I'll do a chicken at the same time that you can eat later tonight." Margaret added.

"Awesome! Thank you!"

Alicia set up the huge gas grill while Margaret went in to get the food ready. Sookie and Bobbie could hear the food processor grinding the burgers and soon Margaret brought out a large tray of food for the grill. They saw baked potatoes wrapped in foil, a long foil packet that turned out to be asparagus, lots of burgers and half a dozen chicken halves, with corn still in the husks. The gardeners crew set up 2 folding picnic tables – Sookie had never seen such a thing – and while Alicia manned the grill, Margaret prepared the fixings for the burgers and some potato salad and coleslaw she had gotten at the store.

Bobbie and Sookie got out of the pool when Alicia started taking things off the grill and dried off. Sookie put on the terry cover-up, which reached almost to her knees and went over her head so it was closed in front. She was pretty sure Alicia thought it was more modest and that she knew Eric wouldn't want his wife running around in a sheer shirt and bikini in front of the help. Alicia was always a step ahead and Sookie was glad. She realized she would have felt funny in what she originally brought down. Walking through the yard to get into the pool was one thing, but milling around a grill eating burgers did call for more clothing.

The old gardener, Howard was a pleasant white man who used to own a plant nursery outside of New Orleans. His two helpers were Leroy, a young white kid with shaggy brown hair, a not-quite-thick-enough to be called a moustache, and lots of muscles from playing football in high school, and Lonnie, a young black kid working his way through college by helping Howard out. Howard was able to pay well because Eric paid so well, and Sookie picked up through the conversation that Eric had some hand in helping pay Lonnie's tuition. Lonnie as much as said that there was no other job a college kid could get that would give him the benefits Eric provided. These boys even had health insurance. Eric just naturally took care of the people who worked for him.

Sookie realized it was no wonder Eric took such care of her. He went the extra mile for the people he paid. He expected excellent work and no bullshit, but he paid for it, too. Sookie started to wonder if Eric didn't believe in Karma. Maybe being so kind to his employees and subjects balanced out being so ruthless with his enemies in his mind?

Everybody ate a lot and had a good time, even Margaret and Alicia. They all chatted and laughed until after dark, and before they knew it, Eric and Bill joined them. Eric went straight to Sookie and kissed her as she sat at the table. Bill went to where Bobbie was standing next to the grill and hugged and kissed her.

"Good evening, Mr. Northman," Howard started.

"Hello, Howard – Lonnie, Leroy, how are you boys?"

"Just fine sir," Lonnie said

"Thanks for dinner, sir," Leroy said. He was more afraid of Eric than the other two men.

"That's fine, Leroy – we wanted to thank you guys for going out of your way for us recently. Did the storage room get cleaned out today?"

"Yes, sir," Howard said.

"We even swept and dusted so the womenfolk wouldn't have to," Lonnie added.

"That's good to hear, Lonnie. How is school going?"

"Doin' great, sir – I got three A's and a B this semester."

"Very good. When you graduate maybe I'll buy a plant nursery you can run for me."

Everybody laughed but the cool part was that Eric might just do that. Sookie was really proud of how he treated his help and she loved it when he played "Lord of the Manor" which was a role she was finally starting to understand.

"What did you all have for dinner?" Eric asked.

"We had sirloin burgers and grilled Chicken – Margaret made extra chicken for me to eat later tonight," Sookie said happily. He beamed at her. She was being very gracious to the help and he was particularly pleased to see that she was covered up after having been in the pool. He liked his employees but they didn't need to see his wife nearly undressed.

"If you don't mind, Mr. Northman, we also have watermelon for everyone." Alicia interjected.

"That's fine. Everyone relax and take your time. I'll be leaving for the club in a bit, but the rest of you don't need to hurry. I'm pleased to see you all enjoying yourselves." Eric sat next to Sookie for a few minutes.

Lonnie and Leroy carried out the melons and Margaret cut them. Some of them passed the salt shaker around for their melon and nobody was shy about digging in.

Sookie had it all over her face and Eric could taste it when he kissed her.

"That smells delicious," Eric said with great surprise.

"It does?" Sookie was surprised, too."

"May I have a taste?" Eric asked

"Of course, Sweetie, but won't it make you sick?"

"I'll risk it – it smells really good."

Bill was paying attention now – was Eric going to try to eat food? Sookie grabbed a small piece of melon off the newspapers they had spread on the table and handed it to Eric. He took a bite, chewed it up and enjoyed it. Then they all waited.

He looked at Bill. "Nothing," He said. Bill couldn't believe it. Eric finished the piece then hugged Sookie and went to shower. Everyone kept waiting for him to get sick, but by the time he got ready to go to the club, nothing had happened.

"Eric, you're sure you're OK? Should you try to drive to the club?"

"I'm fine, Sookie. I enjoyed eating it, and I don't feel unwell in any way. I will be fine. You have fun but get some sleep so you can spend some time with me later on, OK?"

"OK, be careful tonight."

"I probably won't be too late unless I stay to supervise the decorations for tomorrow night, but I doubt that I will. Pam will have that under control, I'm sure. Bill, keep an eye on things."

"Yes, of course, Eric."

Sookie walked Eric to the garage and kissed him for a long time before she let him get into the corvette. She stood in the driveway and waved goodbye to him, then went back to the backyard.

"Bill, will he be OK?" Sookie asked

"If he were going to get sick, I think he already would have. It would make me sick almost instantly. I can't believe it didn't affect him."

"Maybe I'll call his cell later just to check on him. Anyway – I'm going to go take a shower. Margaret will you save me some watermelon to eat later, too?"

"Of course, Mrs. Northman. I'm glad you enjoyed it."

"OK, thanks again guys – I really appreciate your help."

"Thank you, Missus!" They all said thanks and good bye and Sookie went up to her room to shower.

Damn, it was lonely to shower without Eric. She looked at the tub that they hadn't used in what seemed like months though it was really only a week or two. She really wanted to be in a tub full of suds and warm water, her back leaning on Eric's chest, his hands roaming all over her.

Comfort.

"Thanks, Baby E. You know I'm missing daddy, don't you?"

Love. Warm. Comfort.

"I love you, too, darlin'" she said softly, knowing he could feel the love she sent him. Suddenly, she didn't feel like she had the energy to shower. She'd just lie down for a bit, then shower later. She was asleep before her head hit the pillow.

Bobbie came up about an hour later to look in on her and saw that she had gone to sleep with her suit on. Bobbie checked to see if her suit was still wet and found that it was damp, so with some great effort she pulled the suit off and left her in the terry cover which was basically dry at this point. Bobbie made sure the monitor next to Sookie was on, then went down to get the other end of it from Alicia before she left.

Alicia was in the second floor kitchen. "Hi, Alicia,"

"Hi, Bobbie – how's Mrs. Northman?"

"She's sound asleep. I got her out of her damp bathing suit, but she's still got that little terry cover on. She never even made it to the shower."

"She did seem tired today…" Alicia noted.

"Yes, she did. She had fun in the pool, but I could tell that she was a little frayed around the edges. Anyway – where do you keep the other end of that baby monitor?

"Right here," Alicia took it out of her pocket and gave it to Bobbie.

"Thanks. I figure I'd better keep it handy. I'll check on her again in an hour or so. I don't think Eric's planning to stay late at the club tonight, so she'll probably be fine until then."

"That's good. How do you feel about her weight now?" Alicia asked with obvious concern.

"She's not gaining enough that I can see. The baby bump is much larger but it looks like her body isn't adapting the way you'd expect it to. She needs more calories, but it seems as if she eats a lot when she does eat."

"I told Margaret to make sure there's always cake in the kitchen. It might not be the healthiest thing for her but at least there's milk and eggs in it and she'll eat a lot of it. Either you or Eric needs to make sure she eats as much of that chicken as possible later. There's a baked potato with it and an ear of corn, plus I put two big pieces of Margaret's German chocolate cake in there, too. Also, I was wondering…"

"What's that, Alicia?"

"Is it good for her to drink those synthetic blood things?"

"Yes, actually, she needs those. The baby has some unique nutritional needs. We're thinking about trying a different brand, though. She's going to try it at the reception tomorrow night and if she likes it Eric will start ordering that through the club. It's a more natural recipe we think she might respond to better."

"Well, if you're sure. I know that this pregnancy is…"

"Unique and special in ways you can't even imagine. I can't explain it all to you, but trust me, you're watching history as it happens. These are very special people and that is a very, very special baby."

"I'll take your word for it, then. I'm off. I'll be in late tomorrow, but I should be in plenty of time to do her breakfast. If I'm ever not here for some reason, make sure she eats by no later than 2 pm."

"Will do. You have a good night, Alicia."

"Thank you, Bobbie. Oh, and by the way – you were right. Mr. Compton is gorgeous," she laughed. "And that accent, and those manners. You're dating Rhett Butler!"

Bobbie laughed and walked Alicia down to the kitchen, where Alicia headed out the door and Bobbie went into the den. Margaret had cleaned and closed the kitchen and was on her way out, telling Bobbie what was there that she or Sookie might want to eat later. Bobbie found Bill on the couch watching TV.

"Hello, darlin'" he said as she sat down. He put his arm around her and kissed her for a long time. Almost reluctantly, he pulled away and asked, "So how is she?"

"Poor little thing fell asleep in her swim suit. I got her out of it and left her in that little cover, but she didn't even wake up as I was wrestling her around. She's completely out of it."

"Is that normal?"

"Normal is hard to gauge in this case. She's only about 2 ½ months pregnant, but Dr. Ludwig and I are pretty sure that's at least the equivalent of a 5 month fetus. We think he's basically fully formed and just getting bigger at this point. The problem is she's not gaining enough weight and we think she needs real blood. I don't think the baby is getting what he needs from the synthetic stuff."

"Are they going to try something else?"

"Tomorrow at the reception they'll have some RM and she's going to see if she can stand to drink it. I'm praying she can because I'm sure that baby needs real blood. I think Eric might be right – he may be more vampire that anyone originally thought."

"You don't think that's just wishful thinking on Eric's part?"

"No, I don't. From what I've seen, Eric is very intuitive and he has a strong tie to that baby already. I think his hunches about this baby are dead on. I think he knows that kid as well as he knows himself at a certain level."

"You know he's worried about the two of them…?"

"Sookie and the baby?"

"Yes. Niall told him there's always danger to mother and child in child birth."

"Well, that's true. The biggest problem I can see looming is that the baby might get too big for a vaginal delivery. That would be dangerous because she can't go to a regular hospital. Odds are, that birth will be attended by Dr. Ludwig and me right here in this house. I'm going to suggest that we turn one of the rooms on the second floor into a birthing room and I want them to do it within a month."

"A month? I thought she wasn't due until August?"

"That's what the doctor said, but Eric expects it sooner and so do I. If he came prematurely right now, I'm sure he would survive. By the end of another month, I think we need to watch for it very closely. I think he'll be with us by Lughnasadh."

"The Witch at the meeting last night said that. She said he would be a Lughnasadh baby. Eric agreed that he'd be early. They offered to host his Wiccaning whatever that is and Eric accepted."

"That's amazing! A Wiccaning is like a Christening but instead of just naming the baby and saving his soul, the parents take a vow to protect and nurture the child. It's a wonderful ritual for a new family. I think that will be fantastic. I wonder why Sookie didn't tell me?"

"I would guess that Eric didn't tell her. He's not one to give people advance notice. He tends to function on a need to know basis just out of habit. But, who knows, maybe he'll tell her tonight, or tomorrow if they're at the reception. Dr. Ludwig will be there, by the way, she's going to give me another booster then."

"That's good. I know the shots make you sick, but it enables you to be around and I like having you here."

He smiled gently at her. "And I like being here with you. It's worth a little nausea. And besides, it didn't make me that sick last time and you gave me that wonderful massage. It was worth getting sick to have that kind of care."

She pressed her forehead to his and looked him in the eye. "you don't have to be sick to get a massage. I'm happy to massage you, among other things, any time at all."

No one was home but them and Sookie and Sookie was sound asleep, Bill thought so maybe he'd give Eric a little taste of his own medicine. Bill kissed Bobbie hard and kept kissing her. Eventually, they found their way to the floor and Bill pushed her limits, knowing Bobbie wouldn't dare say 'no' to him. They wound up having sex on the floor three times before Bill heard Eric's car pull into the garage. They managed to be dressed and sitting at the kitchen table when Eric walked in.

"Hello…" Eric immediately knew what had been going on in his den. Whatever. He had Sookie waiting for him, so let them have their fun. "Where is Sookie?"

"She fell asleep almost immediately after you left. She didn't even manage to get out of her bathing suit, though I helped her. I've checked on her a couple of times but she has been fine. She might have been hoping she could spend more time with you when you got home."

"I did tell her to sleep if she could, but I'm surprised she would sleep in her bathing suit. You are sure she is not ill?"

"No, not last time I checked. Speaking of ill, did you ever get sick from that watermelon?"

"No, and I really enjoyed it. I may try it again sometime. Next time I see Dr. Ludwig I'll ask her if she knows what's going on with me. I thought about it tonight and I think it has something to do with Sookie bleeding Fae blood now."

"She what?" Bill was startled.

"Oh, didn't I mention that? Sookie's blood is pure fairy right now." He started laying it on thick. "I can't begin to tell you how sweet and intoxicating she tastes. I can barely control myself when I drink from her. It's one of the reasons you have to take those shots. She's quite literally irresistible right now. I'm convinced that's what overcame de Castro – between the Fae essence and the pregnancy hormones, she's the most delicious thing on two legs. And now that I'm thinking of her legs, I think I'll say goodnight." Eric smiled to himself knowing this would eat at Compton no matter how much he cared about Bobbie. The idea of Sookie bleeding fairy was a vampire's wet dream.

Bill was trying to hide his jealousy and Bobbie pretended not to notice anything as they took the elevator to the 4th floor. How the fuck does Northman rate all these blessings. He gets Sookie as his bonded, she bleeds fairy blood, he gets a magickal son touched by the gods – it was too much. Why Northman? He didn't even like humans, he never had any sense of conscience or morality. OK, that's a little harsh but still, he was ERIC NORTHMAN. If anybody ever never deserved any kind of blessing or good luck it was Eric, yet the Universe was showering him with unimaginable gifts. Did he have a personal connection with the gods? Was some god or Goddess playing favorites with him? If only Bill had known.

Eric zipped silently into their room and saw his little angel lying there in that silly terry cover up. She hadn't had a shower because her hair was obviously straight out of the pool. Well, he could fix that. He went into the bathroom and started the tub, using the vanilla bubble bath they both liked so much. He watched her sleep as he undressed, smiling at her the whole time. When he was naked, he raised her up so he could pull that cover thing over her head, then he scooped her up in his arms, carried her into the bathroom and levitated them upward and over the tub, settling them gently into the water. He was gently washing her when she woke up.

"Hey, you're home!" she kissed him so hard it shocked him. "I missed you."

"I missed you, too, my lover. You fell asleep in your bathing suit, I hear."

"I was going to take a shower and it was no fun without you and then I was so tired I thought I'd just lie down for a while and then I woke up here." She snuggled into his neck as best she could. She was almost baby-talking and Eric was beaming at her and laughing a little. She needed to be baby-ed right now and he was more than happy to do that. He loved her when she was in this little girl mood. He was pretty sure that these phases related to her growing up without a father. That's why she was so eager to please men in spite of wanting to see herself as independent. Intellectually, she knew what a modern woman should want, but emotionally she had needs she didn't understand. He felt sad for her, but it only worked in his favor. It made her pliable and delighted him – he just wanted to pamper and spoil her when she was this way. It brought out all of his protective instincts that he had thought were dead and buried.

Until he met her, Eric Northman would never have instinctively stepped in to protect a human for any reason. He wasn't completely heartless or cruel, he just didn't care about them. Oh, how he had resented this smart-mouthed little blonde for making him feel again. She had frustrated him and defied him and he still couldn't stay away from her. As far as he was concerned, she was his the minute he met her. No matter what anybody thought, she was most definitely his now, in every possible way, forever. He wrapped his arms tighter around her and held her against him in the warm water, then he began to gently wash her back. She was still half asleep and making very sweet little sounds as he washed and rinsed her.

"My angel, are you up to having your hair washed? We should get the chlorine out of it."

"Um-hm" she hummed but didn't really open her eyes. He used the hand-held shower to wet her hair, then soaped and rinsed it, conditioned and rinsed it again and the whole time she was soft against him, just enjoying the sensations as his hands and the water gently caressed her. She was unbelievably beautiful this way. She was sexy as hell but he'd have to wake her to fuck her and he just couldn't bring himself to disturb her quiet reverie. When they were both clean, he let the water out of the tub and gently rubbed some nice lotion into her wet skin. Threw some towels open on the floor, and then he levitated them again so he was sitting with her still in his arms. He took another towel and blotted them both dry, then he combed out their hair and stood, carrying her into the bedroom. He pulled the covers down and laid her gently on the bed and in all this she didn't make a sound until he started to pull away from her.

"Uh-uh!" she whined.

"Shhh- Sookie, I'll be right there."

He turned a soft light on in the headboard of the bed, then turned off the lights in the bathroom. He slipped into his side of the bed and snuggled up to her as she rolled into his arms like she was magnetically drawn to him. He held her for a long time, stroking her hair, fluffing it up so it would dry nicely, gently kissing her forehead and eyes and cheeks and lips. If she had awakened, he might have had sex with her, but she was really out of it and he knew tomorrow night would be stressful no matter how well it went.

He'd try to prepare her in the car so she'd know to take cover if things got rough. He would show Bobbie where the exit from the dais was and remind them both that if they got trapped in the club to go down to the love nest and lock the bathroom door because it was actually a safe room with a closet full of emergency supplies. He had never shown that to Sookie so he'd make sure he did before the club opened tomorrow. The doors didn't open until 10 pm so they would have plenty of time for that. He had weapons hidden all around the club that only he knew about, and a few Pam knew about, plus all of his vampire employees were going to be on alert and packing some form of offensive weapon. When he met with them all earlier that night they had all heard rumors and he had tried to be careful what he said to them while also preparing them to fight.

They had heard that Felipe was missing. They had heard there was a coup in the offing but no one knew from where or what quarter. Eric had asked them all to be calm and listen. He said that that there may be an attempt against him tomorrow night and that if they owed fealty to him, they should be prepared to protect him and his wife and child before anyone else because in all probability, they had no king. One of the bouncers spoke up and said they all knew that the danger was coming from Victor Madden and whomever he managed to back his move to take Felipe's territories. Finally, Felicia couldn't take it any more.

"Master, we want you to be king."

"Felicia…"

"No, please let me say this. We know who the sheriffs in the territories are and we know that there are many of us who never liked the way Felipe and his crew killed our Queen when she was injured so badly. We would follow you if you would lead us. We know you have a family now and that has to come first, but on some level, aren't we your family, too? You wouldn't make us be subject to Victor Madden's greed or Sabrina Matthews' ego, surely. We don't care what happens to Felipe's Nevada territories but you should be king of the Lousiana territories and everyone, including Victor Madden, knows it."

"You realize, all of you, that what you are talking about would be called treason if we failed."

"Then we won't fail." The bouncer spoke up and they all agreed.

Eric had steeled himself to the fact that this was the time to act. "Alright, then, if we are all agreed, then know this. Victor Madden, if he shows up her tomorrow night, cannot be allowed to leave Fangtasia alive. Also know that he most certainly will have the same idea about me. Sandy will be here, but I don't expect her to have arms with her. All of Area 5 is invited so you will have to know who is with us and who is not. Madden will be armed to the teeth and I expect him to have forces within and outside of the club. There will be Were packs from our territories inside the club and out in case Madden makes it past us."

They all gasped. "You already knew" Felicia said.

"Yes. I wanted to keep all of you out of it until I had no other choice and we appear to have reached that juncture. The powers that be apparently expect me to kill Madden, and I will try, but if I fail, he cannot leave this club alive. If anything happens to me, turn to Bill Compton. You all know him. He has fought in many wars and will know how to lead you. More than anything, though, please protect my wife and son. No harm must come to them. The child… is… special. Protect him as you would protect your king."

They all nodded and understood. This was rebellion and the rumors about the child, the ones that said he was sacred, were true.

Eric held Sookie for nearly 2 hours, just listening to her breath and the baby's heartbeat. He bit his wrist and held it to her lips and she drank hungrily with her eyes closed. He knew she should eat, but she was so tired…. He got one of those supplements and a bottle of blood and had her sip them through a straw, after which she went right back to sleep.

He heard Bill on the 2nd floor and went down to talk to him.

"Eric – blood?"

"Yes, thanks."

"Did you talk to your employees."

"They all knew. They're all ready. If anything happens to me, I told them to follow you."

"Me?!"

"Who else, Bill? Sandy? Sabrina? You're the obvious successor at the moment."

"Well then we'd better make damned sure you live through this."

"Consider it your incentive."

"How did you tell them?"

"They told me. There are rumors flying about Felipe's disappearance and a coup, and they asked me to lead them and be king."

"That was convenient."

"Yes, it was. This is all too…."

"Easy?"

"Yes. It's almost as if…"

"The pieces of a puzzle are falling into place. It's like everything in the Universe suddenly decided it was time for you to be king and it's just happening without you really being aware of it."

"That's how it feels."

"That's how it looks from the outside. Tell me, Eric, do you have some god or Goddess that is playing favorites with you?"

"I'm wondering that myself."

"Any idea which one?"

"Freya."

"You have a history with her?"

"We were lovers once."

"Yes, of course you were. I'm going to rest now. I assume we want to leave around 8 tomorrow?"

"Yes. Semi-formal dress."

"What are you wearing?"

"My tux."

"I guess I will, too, then."

"Look at it this way, Bill. If we die, we'll go out in style."

"Goodnight, Eric"

"Goodnight, Bill."

Bill went to rest wondering how the hell they got into this mess.

Eric went to rest talking to Freya in a way he hadn't in a long, long time.


	48. Chapter 48

**Chapter 48**

"Wakey, wakey!" Bobbie came through the door with a breakfast tray for Sookie.

"Huh? Bobbie – where's Alicia?"

"Held up at the doctor's office so I'm doing breakfast. Or lunch. It's almost 2 in the afternoon, so take your pick."

Sookie tried to sit up but she was groggy and slow. Bobbie set the tray on the dresser and helped pull her up.

"Wow – you've been sleeping for a long time, sweetie. Are you still that out of it?"

"I guess. I couldn't even wake up when Eric came home. He gave me a bath and held me while I slept."

"That's some talented and thoughtful vampire you've got there. He's a keeper." Bobbie said with a wink and Sookie laughed. She brought the tray over and Sookie looked at it.

"What are you feeding me?"

"A Chicken stir-fry made with that chicken you didn't eat last night, served over rice, and some fresh veggies, orange juice, milk, and two ibuprofen."

"Margaret made a stir-fry?"

"I made a stir-fry – Margaret is trying to get the house in order. Apparently you've got a dinner guest coming Friday who's a big honkin' deal."

"A dinner guest? Us?"

"Mm-hm. Eric put the word out that it's a huge deal and he wants the whole house, especially the dining room, spotless. They're going to start today and work all week. Whoever this is is going to look the place over but I didn't really understand why. You aren't selling this place are you?"

"No, I'm sure it's Niall. He's coming to see if Eric is providing for me according to his standards. I forgot about that. He must have told Eric he wanted to do it Friday."

"So this is a big deal, huh?"

"Yes – and I don't even want to know what it means if he doesn't like what he sees."

"What's not to like? He'll be thrilled. Isn't it nicer than your old place?"

"Much nicer but I inherited that. Now that I'm married it's on Eric to keep me up to Niall's standards. I'm telling you, Bobbie, this medieval crap gets old. He's going to want to see me wearing tons of diamonds and living in a mansion."

"Well, you DO live in a mansion and you've got lots of diamonds, so no sweat."

"It's the idea that bugs me. Being dominated in sex is one thing – I LOVE that. But being treated like property the rest of the time…"

"Eric doesn't treat you that way, honey."

"Oh, no, I don't mean Eric. He loves me. I mean Niall. I've only known him for a little while and suddenly he's my "patriarch" of my family and I'm a commodity."

"Yeah, he does see you that way. I saw that in Las Vegas."

"He makes decisions about my life without even asking me. He never asked if I wanted this baby, which of course I do and I love my baby, but it would have been nice to say 'yes, next April might be a nice time to get knocked up with a magickal vampire fairy Viking – OW! I love you, Baby E – I'm not mad at you, I'm just aggravated with grandpa."

Love. Warm. Happy.

"What was that?"

"He kicked me, hard! He's OK now, though he's sending Love. Warm. Happy."

"He kicked you because he thought you were bad mouthing him? Baby E nothing – maybe you'd better name him Damien."

"I know, right? Sometimes I think he can read my mind, Bobbie."

"Uh… don't YOU read minds, Sookie?"

"Well, I hear thoughts…."

"Think about it…."

"You think he can hear my thoughts like I hear human thoughts?"

"That would be my guess. Isn't he supposed to have qualities from both you and Eric?"

"Yes – so you think he can already do that? It never occurred to me that he could do that before he was born."

"I really can't wait to see this kid. I wonder if he's going to be able to talk when he comes out."

"Don't even say that – there's no way I could explain a talking infant."

"Well, look at it this way – this pregnancy hasn't been boring and this baby won't be either. Every day will be an adventure."

"Easy for you to say…"

"True. Say, you know, it's creepy and grey outside today. How about we rev up your laptop and do some baby shopping."

"Do we have any idea when the room will be painted?

"Wednesday."

"You're kidding?"

"No, I found a place in Louisiana that carried the paint, I called Mr. Burnham and they'll be here at 8 am Wednesday to paint the nursery. Today's Monday so if you order stuff today, by the time it gets here, barring any problems, the nursery will be ready."

"Do you do the mural before or after the furniture?"

"After. We won't know where to put it until we see how things fit."

"OK, well, my laptop is right there on the table. Get it started up and when I'm done you can come sit in the bed with me and we'll look at baby stuff."

"Sounds like a plan." Bobbie sat in a side chair and opened Sookie's MacBook, and it didn't take her long to figure out how to turn it on. Sookie finished her stir-fry and rice, listening to the familiar "bong" sound that it her laptop made at start-up.

Bobbie put "Baby furniture" into Google, then followed a related link to "designer baby furniture and pulled up some likely prospects. Sookie finished and Bobbie set her tray over to the dresser and brought the laptop over to Sookie's bed. Sookie settled it on her knees and they started looking at the links Bobbie had found. Sookie didn't know about tabbed browsing so Bobbie had to show her how to flip between the tabs like pages in a book. **LuxuryLamb** looked a little too fru-fru. **Modern Nursery** was way too modern for Sookie. Bobbie joked that their stuff all belonged in a loft in Manhattan and that was probably what their stuff was intended for. Sookie didn't like the looks of the **Distinctive Nursery** site. **2 Little Monkeys** was too hard to navigate. The went through a few more and Sookie finally settled on two sites that she liked - **Pottery Barn Kids **and a site called **Baby and Me Boutique** that said it was "mommy owned and operated" and Sookie liked that.

Sookie was very excited when they pulled up the Baby Rooms on **PB Kids** and the first one was a Fairy room. She figured she was in the right place and she and Bobbie both got a good laugh out of it. When she scrolled down the page she was very excited to see a crib that looked sort of like a dragon ship! It was called a Sleigh Crib but it was close enough for Sookie. She got really excited when she discovered a thing called a "co-sleeper" on the other site that had a similar design to the first crib but attached to an adult bed so the mother had easy access to the baby while she was in bed. It was on rollers and looked like it would come in handy.

She found a glider and ottoman that she wanted with a simple denim covering and she fell in love with some **Dr. Seuss** crib bedding and sheeting. She chose red black-out curtains in case they needed to keep light out and because she thought a kid's room shouldn't be dark and the furniture she was picking was in an espresso color.

She fell in love with a thing called a **Bloom Bouncer** that had a little harness to hold the baby in and it let his movement rock and move him. She just knew Baby E would love it. She picked a special pillow to use in nursing the baby and since she figured that was for Mommy, she ordered it in pink. They had a navy patent leather tote that didn't look at all like baby equipment and she figured that would look dressy if she needed to take the baby any place fancy, or even to Fangtasia. She got a less expensive nylon diaper bag for every day use. She got a cubby and base storage set that matched the espresso color of the other furniture. She got two microfleece, silk trim blankets, one in blue and one "butter." She didn't like the clothes they had or the lighting options, but she did buy one more diaper tote in red that was offered when she went to check out. At that point she was at 3,998.98 without figuring in shipping and taxes, and it started asking about shipping and things like that so she handed it to Bobbie to finish all that up while she got her AmEx out of her purse.

She then got serious on the **Baby and Me Boutique **site. She ordered the co-sleeper that matched the other furniture from **PB Kids**. She got two **HotSlings** that slipped over mom and let her hold the baby with no hands. The **Kate Spade stroller** was the only one she liked at all, and she wasn't crazy about the selection of changing tables on either site. She bought a couple of pairs of bikini panties made especially for pregnant women, and that was it. She was just over $834 at that point and decided to stop for the day. She was getting a little overwhelmed. There was still so much she needed, but Bobbie reminded her that Alicia would fill in the gaps and she felt better. She still realized that this birth was looming large and she had a lot to do to get ready.

"Man, Bobbie, how am I ever going to be ready for this? It will take forever to get the stuff for the nursery."

"No, it won't. The only real furniture you need now is a changing table and some form of light for the room. By the time you have the baby, Alicia will have the place stocked with diapers and wipes and bottles and breast pumps and all the little things you need. Everybody here has your back, honey – you'll be fine."

"I'm scared about all of this, Bobbie."

"I know you are, sweetie. It's a scary thing to bring another life into the world, and this baby will have some unique qualities that no parent is prepared for – except maybe Eric. Eric is ready, I think, and he knows who this baby is and what he's going to need."

"You really think so?"

"Yes, I do. Eric and that baby have already bonded in a way most men never do with their kids. They're already linked psychically and emotionally. You don't need to worry about that. You aren't doing this alone, Sookie. You've got Eric, me, Margaret, Alicia, Bill, Pam, Jason and even Niall. That's a hell of a team you've got going there, kid, so relax."

"If you were me, Bobbie, what would you be most worried about?"

"I think you need to be drinking RM or something similar. My one concern is that the baby needs real blood and he's either not getting it or he's taking it from you which could be why you're so wiped out. You probably also need to be taking b-12. I think we should find out if Dr. Ludwig can hook you up with B-12 shots next time we see her."

"What will those do to me?"

"They'll replenish you for the feedings you're giving Eric and maybe the baby and it will give you energy. They can't hurt you, so if she can arrange them, I think that would be a good idea."

"I'll tell Eric to call her and ask – or, I guess you could do that now, huh?"

"Yes, I probably could, but I'd rather check with Eric first. How awake are you now?"

"I'm awake I guess. Not especially energetic, but awake."

"Let's go upstairs and do some yoga and give you a good massage. By the time we're done with that, it will be time for dinner and showers and getting ready and the boys will be up and we'll go to the reception."

"I'm not looking forward to this, Bobbie. I think it's going to get ugly."

"All you can do at this point is pray for the best, put a smile on your face and make Eric proud. He's going to be showing you off to all the people who owe him fealty so you put a smile on your face and stand up straight and be the Queen he thinks you are."

"I just wish I wasn't Queen-sized…"

"Sookie, you're not that big and in that particular dress, you will be the archetypal Earth Mother Goddess, so get that in your head and play the part. Eric will be there with you and Freya is certainly with you. Everybody in that club will be ready to swear fealty to you and you need to act like you deserve it."

"OK. I can do that… for Eric."

"As long as it gets done, everything will be fine."

"So let's do some yoga…."

Sookie was moving slowly but she got changed and went up to the 4th floor where Bobbie was getting things set up. Bobbie took it slowly with her and she got a good workout and had a sense of accomplishment by the time Bobbie put her on the massage table. Bobbie had to work extra hard on Sookie's neck and shoulders because she was tense and she was determined to have Sookie as relaxed as possible because this night would be stressful enough without her going in that way. When they finished, both went to their rooms to shower and get ready for the evening.

By the time Sookie got down stairs Alicia was laying out her underwear and steaming her dress to make sure it looked great. When Sookie came out after her shower in her little pink robe, Alicia was ready to dry and style her hair in a full, wavy fall with some height at the crown to make her look a little longer and thinner. She did Sookie's makeup so that it made her features look pale and delicate and Sookie wondered if she was deliberately making her look a little more like a vampire. She used delicate pinks on her cheeks and lips and her eyes were done in sandy beiges and very black false lashes, mascara and liner. The she sprayed her face with a liquid that would set her makeup and keep it fresh, and put a sealer on her lipstick so it would last the whole night without needing to touch it up.

Sookie went into the bathroom to dress. She put on the really pretty, delicate beige lace garter belt and stockings and decided to go without underwear and mention it to Eric after they were already at the club. That would give them something pleasant to think about because she knew he'd have her at the very earliest opportunity after he spent a few hours with that on his mind. She slipped the dress over her head and then went out to let Alicia repair any damage. Alicia had two new pairs of shoes that she bought to go with the dress and Sookie chose a blue satin pair that were almost exactly the color of the dress and had just enough of a heel to shift her posture and make the dress flow better over her body's now ample curves. She added the aquamarine and diamond pendant, Victoria pearl and diamond bracelet, and the Victoria diamond earrings that looked sort of like butterflies. She looked almost like Ursula Andress in an old picture she had seen once, especially with her new curves. Bobbie was right – she looked like a Goddess, specifically of the Earth Mother variety. She was thinking that she hoped Eric would agree when he came through the door and Alicia excused herself.

"Sook…" he was about to speak and stopped dead. He couldn't believe what he was seeing. She was the living embodiment of Freya and it stopped him dead in his tracks.

"Eric – is something wrong? Do you not like it? Am I too fat?"

"My lover… my wife… you are a Goddess," and he took her hand in both of his and kissed it a long time, never taking his eyes off of her. His voice was soft and full of emotion. "My subjects will be very happy to offer you fealty, my angel. No one could ask for a more beautiful Queen."

"You're not just saying that?" She was still unsure.

"No, I could never just say that. I have never seen anything more lovely." He said as he hugged her to him tightly but carefully so he didn't mess her makeup or hair. He was shaken and fighting back tears, so he tried to cover it. "That is a beautiful dress. Did Alicia buy it for you?"

"No, I bought it in Las Vegas, remember?"

"Oh, yes – well, you made an excellent choice. That blue color is very becoming. You look… ethereal." Etheral, Eric thought, didn't begin to cover it. She would have fit quite nicely sitting with the other Goddesses in the Living Pantheon. Goddess, angel – these words only hinted at what he saw before him.

When he said 'ethereal' that made her happy and she relaxed. He took a quick shower and tried to calm himself. When he came out she was fussing with her handbag as he turned his back to her to put on his tux , still trying to regain his composure. It wasn't that she didn't look like Sookie – she did, and she was beautiful as always but there was something… something of Freya in her or around her or something he couldn't describe. If someone had told him in that moment that Sookie WAS Freya, he would have believed it. Maybe she was? The gods and Goddesses sometimes took human form. It wasn't a possession, as when the Witches ritually "draw down the moon" so the Goddess speaks through them, it was substantial and there was nothing fleeting about it. It wasn't like the times when Freya would enter the body of his lover while they were in the act. If there was a word for this, Eric didn't know it. He felt like he was high on fairy blood even though he was in control of himself. He thought this must be what humans meant when they said they were "high."

He would have to think about this when he was alone and could piece it together. He knew the Goddess would never harm Sookie, especially while she was pregnant, and he was satisfied that whatever this was, Sookie was unaware of it and perfectly present within herself. He would give anything not to have to leave the house that night. He needed to make love to Sookie more than he had ever needed anything in his long life. He had a feeling if he could just touch her and spend time alone with her in their own bed, he could figure this out.

The last thing he wanted to do was display her – what if others could see it? Would she be as irresistible to them as she was to him right now? Yet the events for tonight required that she sit in the new chair he had placed next to his own seat overlooking the main room of the club and she would be the center of attention, especially because of the baby. Everyone would want to see her because he had fathered a child in her. This was so rare that people would naturally be curious, and they were expected to be presented to her individually and pledge fealty to her. On top of that, he was expected to kill Victor Madden that night and he had to prepare himself as well as her for the fact that he might have to do it in front of her.

A part of him wanted to run. He wanted to take his wife and baby and go far away from the American Vampire power structure and just live and enjoy them without all this bullshit and war and intrigue. His sense of honor, though, wouldn't let him. He couldn't turn his back on his subjects when they were depending on him, and everything was in place for him to move upward and take control of at least the Louisiana territories.

'Get it together, Northman,' he scolded himself, 'the Fates are at work here and you know that running is not an option. She is your Queen – she has seen this part of your world before and handled it, even if she ran for a while after.'

This time she would not run – he was sure of that. She wouldn't want to be away from him while she was pregnant no matter what happened. He could count on her clinging to him no matter what. At least he hoped he could.

"Eric?" Sookie touched his arm.

"Yes, my angel?"

"What were you thinking? I was talking to you and I realized you were completely lost in your thoughts and not hearing me."

"I was thinking about what we must do tonight. It will be a very full night, to say the least."

"You're expecting trouble, aren't you? Please just tell me. I promise I won't run this time, no matter what."

Was she reading his mind? Was Freya speaking through her?

"I have to be honest with you as my bonded and my wife. I expect there may be an attack toward me by Victor Madden, and I believe that the Council expects me to kill Madden tonight. It might happen openly, in front of others, including you."

She reached up and took his face in her hands and he bent toward her as their eyes met. "Eric, I'm so sorry you are in all of this mess, but I know this is our life. The only thing I'll feel if you kill Victor Madden is relief. I don't care how it happens – I wouldn't even mind doing it myself."

"What?!" He couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"He's going to be an albatross around both our necks as long as he's alive. He's a threat to you and my baby. I want him dead, Eric, because we'll never be safe while he's alive. If you were worried I'd freak out and run away again, I promise you, I won't. I meant my marriage vows. We're forever, no matter what."

"Thank you," was all he could manage to say and he took her in his arms. He felt a great weight lifted from his shoulders. He realized that she had given him a great gift and that she had felt his need and risen to the task of giving him what he needed there, in that moment. She wouldn't be horrified if he killed Victor in front of her. She was ready for what might happen. He wasn't alone in this. There were three of them here – maybe four, if you counted Freya – and they were going to get through this together. He no longer wanted to run. Instead, he wanted to be worthy of the faith she was placing in him, and the fealty his followers were giving him. He was ready.

He tilted her chin up to look at him. "No matter what happens, Sookie, this is our wedding reception. We will smile and enjoy it when we can, and if trouble happens we will handle it. Our family is strong. We'll come through this together."

The both laughed suddenly because Baby E chimed in at that point.

LOVE. HAPPY. FIGHT!

"Well, then," Daddy laughed, "since we are all spoiling for a fight, let's be on our way." Sookie gave him a peck on the lips and they headed downstairs.

Bobbie and Bill were waiting for them in the kitchen. They looked stunned when the two of them walked in.

"Sookie, you look amazing!" Bobbie said, obviously delighted for her. Bill looked a little sick, but said he agreed.

Eric was relieved. They were apparently just seeing it as Sookie being extra pretty from clothes and makeup and jewels. She'd be unusually attractive to people tonight, but nothing more than that. He was relieved he wasn't going to have to fight their way out of there for that reason, at least.

"Bobbie, you look very lovely. The four of us clean up well, it appears," he was laughing trying to keep the mood as light as he could. "Shall we go to a party?"

"Yes," Bill said, "I think we're all ready to… celebrate."

Eric led the way to Sookie's car, which they were taking because it was bullet-proof and had superior handling if it needed to be used in an escape. Eric had known exactly what he was doing when he bought this car. He knew there would be nights like this. As they drove, he told Bobbie and Sookie what the plan was for the night and told them a few things to be aware of. He reminded Sookie of the escape door behind the stage. He told Sookie about the safe room below the club, and asked her to remind him to show her how to access the closet if she needed to. He told them there would be Were packs in and outside of the club and that his crew knew exactly what was going on. They were closer to revolution than the women had realized. They pulled into the back lot at Fangtasia to find that Sandy was already there.

"Here we go, everyone. Smile and be aware," Eric reminded them as they got out of the car. "Hello, Sandy" Eric started.

"Northman," she nodded to him, "I have your photos. I thought we might speak in your office while Sookie and your friends look through them."

"Alright, follow me." The club was open and Pam was tending to last minute details.

"It would probably be good for Pam and Bill to join us," Sandy said, and she handed the photo album to Sookie.

"We'll just take these out to your table, Eric and you let us know when you're done." Sookie said, taking her cue to let the vamps have space to conduct their business, leading Bobbie to the front of the club. Sandy's driver had stayed at the car and her two assistants took posts outside the door of Eric's office. Eric, Pam and Bill went into the office after Sandy and Eric locked the door at her urging.

"Alright, Sandy, what can we do for you."

"I have an offer for you, Northman. Victor Madden knows about your relationship to Niall Brigant and plans to claim that you are conspiring with the Fae against your own people as an excuse to kill you. My spies tell me that neither you nor your wife are to leave this club alive tonight."

"Interesting twist. It's not true, of course."

"No, and I know that. There has been no sign of Felipe de Castro and I'm quite sure he's dead, though we can't prove it. I don't want to know whether you are responsible or not. Madden sees you as his primary opposition in seizing power. He doesn't think I can stand up to him."

"That sounds like an accurate assessment. Do you have a proposal?"

"Yes, I do. Felipe bit off too much when he invaded the Louisiana Territories. We don't have the manpower to administer all of it properly. I want to make you this offer: Kill Victor Madden tonight and I will turn the Louisiana Territories over to you. You will be king, and I will withdraw all of out people from your areas. We all go back to Las Vegas and forget it all ever happened."

"What happens if I fail to kill Madden?"

"It won't matter anyway – you're eventually going to have to kill him or he'll kill you. The only question is whether I have to run the Louisiana Territories or not, and I'd prefer not to. Victor would never settle just for the Louisianas and even if he did, he'd always be plotting to take the Nevadas. I don't want to be at war with him for the next 30 years or so, so this seems the best compromise."

Eric looked at Bill and Pam. They nodded. Sandy was completely accurate in her assessment of the situation. This was a good solution.

"Alright, Sandy – I take Victor out and you have your people out of the Louisianas in 30 days. I take over as regent and we function from that point forward as we always had. That is acceptable to me."

"Good. Now, I'm going to stay and enjoy your reception since I helped set it up. I have people who will be in the club and there is a small but very capable force outside. If you don't get Madden, they will. Either way, I hope that as of sunrise I no longer have to deal with Louisiana business at all. I'm more than happy to let you rebuild New Orleans." Eric knew exactly what she meant. That was going to be a major pain in his ass.

"Alright, Sandy – go have fun. I'm glad to see you here."

"I thought you might be. Pam, Bill," Sandy nodded to them as she left.

"Well, that was convenient…" Pam started.

"Why do you suppose she did that?" Bill asked.

"Sandy is strict but not devious. She probably knew better the state of Felipe's finances and capabilities than he did. She was right – he bit off more than he could chew. My guess is that he let Madden persuade him to invade us all the while Madden planned to weaken him and take both territories from him. Felipe was an egomaniac, but he wasn't the type to pull off a coup – that was Madden's doing, I'm sure. As far as I'm concerned, Madden killed Sophie Ann whether he did it literally or not, and that makes it my duty to kill him."

"Working on your speech for the Council already?" Bill asked.

"No, just letting my two lieutenants know what my thought process is. Pam, as we discussed, I've told our forces to follow Bill if anything happens to me."

"Good – I'm glad to hear it. Area 5 is all the headache I want to deal with."

"Pam, you knew about this?" Bill was surprised.

"It was my idea. Naturally, Eric wanted to put me in charge, but I don't want it. Besides, if I were in charge, I would have to learn to be regent and you would have to learn to be Sheriff. This way, you have to learn to be regent and I already know how to be sheriff. Ultimately, it's less headache for both of us."

"That makes sense…" Bill was surprised. Pam was smarter than he realized and was looking at the bigger picture as well as her own part. "So, Eric, say it all goes as planned – Madden is dead, you are regent, Pam is sheriff – what happens to me?"

"I was planning to make you an assistant like Sandy and Victor were to Felipe. There aren't many people I trust enough to give them that much responsibility. I thought you might agree to do it in memory of Sophie Ann. I know you were close to her."

Bill was taken aback – Eric just told him he trusted him. "Yes, I was. I will, of course, if you need me."

"I do and I will. Pam, send the girls back here. Bill when she brings the girls back I'll show you all the lay out downstairs."

"What exactly is downstairs?"

"Ostensibly it's a sex room, and of course there has been a lot of sex in it. What is not apparent, though is the safe room. It looks like an ordinary, though somewhat large, bathroom, but it's got a reinforced door and a hidden closet full of weapons and supplies. It's also fireproof. If we were trapped in the club and it was bombed, we could stay in there and survive for quite a while."

"I had no idea you had that kind of set up down there."

"Only Pam knew about it until now. I upgraded it to include humans when Sookie and I reached our understanding and I've made sure there are provisions for 4 in case you and Bobbie need to join us there. I want you three to know how to use it, just in case I don't make it."

Sookie and Bobbie walked into the back, Sookie still carrying the photo album.

"How are the pictures?" Eric asked.

"Really good. I love them."

"They did a great job," Bobbie agreed.

"I thought maybe we'd put them on a lectern out front and let people look through them." Eric suggested.

"That's a great idea! You know they show the Ancient Pythoness, though."

"That can only increase my prestige."

"So, let's go down stairs. Here's the latch for this door." He leaned over and flipped what looked like a light switch and they heard a lock click. He pulled the door open and led them down the stairs. Naturally the first thing they saw was the big round bed."

"Good lord," was all Bill could say.

"Wow!" said Bobbie.

"Isn' it cool. I never saw a round one before. It's pretty comfy, too." Sookie added, sitting on the bed and bouncing on it. Bobbie couldn't believe Sookie had had sex in a setting like this. "It's got all kinds of special goodies like for tying people up and stuff." Bobbie laughed and looked at Sookie with shock and delight. Bill glared at Eric. Eric looked smug, sporting that "shit-eating grin," as Sookie called it."

"There are bloods and drinks in the fridge here, and a few snacks in this cabinet. The microwave is here." Eric continued his tour.

"What's the chair for at the end of the bed?" Bill asked, knowing full well what it was for.

"That's for when I want to watch the action." Eric said in the most matter of fact way. 'The bathroom here is what I want to show you all."

It looked like just a large full bathroom with a big tub and a shower as well as a commode and a sink, plus there was a large area to the side hidden by a sliding door. He showed them how to open the panel and it let into what looked like a lounge with a couch and two chairs, a shortwave radio, some internet hookups and some other electronic stuff.

"The supplies are here." He stepped to the end of the room and raised a sliding panel to expose a small refrigerator and a large pantry full of supplies and weapons."

"Wow – I didn't know this was here!" Sookie said.

"No one did except Pam and me. I thought it was time for you to know it was here and how to access it. These walls are fireproof and this is a type of bomb shelter. If you ever get caught in the club and they set it on fire or bomb it, try to get to this room."

"This is very complete – it must have cost a fortune." Bill said.

"Not as much as you might think. The main problem was getting the shell of the shelter in here without arousing suspicion. I had to hire a contractor from out of state for that."

"Wow – you've got True Blood and food in here." Bobbie noted.

"Yes, I added the food when I started seeing Sookie. I've increased the amount in case the four of us end up needing to shelter here."

"Thank you for thinking of us, Eric." Bobbie was in awe.

"Not at all. You both play an important role in my life. I need you safe to keep Sookie and the baby safe."

Bill couldn't believe Eric was being so gracious. He knew he had to be worried if he was being this nice.

"So, that concludes the tour. Go out and mingle, you two, have some fun while you can. I want to spend a few minutes with Sookie before we face the world."

Bobbie and Bill went back up the stairs. Bobbie was full of questions about the sex room. Nobody had to tell her that some wild stuff had gone down in that room, with its black walls and red ceiling, and she was dying to know what, with whom and how many. If she had met Eric and known nothing about him, she would have thought that somewhere in that man's life, there was a room just like this. This was where the scary, intimidating part of Eric got unleashed and that was H.O.T. She promised herself to pump Sookie for information, though she had a feeling Sookie had only a shadow of a clue what that room was for. Sookie let enough slip to know she had had sex there and that was a place to start. Man, she loved this job! She wondered if she and Bill could use it sometime. Hell, she wondered if she and Bill and some friends could use it some time.

Since it was a reception the drinks were free and Bill and Bobbie got what they wanted from the bar and sat at Eric's table talking. Bill told her what he knew about the history of the club, Pam's relationship to Eric, what it meant to be a Maker and a Child. He was in the mood to impress Bobbie and after that tour of the love nest he had to step up his game, so he bragged a little to Bobbie about the Witch war, the Bombing at Rhodes, and a few other war experiences and he answered her numerous questions about the difference between the Civil war and a Supe war. He described what Witches had done to help and told her about the Were-Witches that drank vampire blood. She was fascinated with that concept – talk about exploring all avenues. Bobbie was adventurous and extreme for a girl with such a sweet temper and Bill found that fascinating and sexy. The more he got to know Bobbie the more he cared about her. She was an amazing woman.

When Bobbie and Bill left, Eric wrapped his arms around Sookie and held her a long time. She didn't say anything because she knew he was under tremendous pressure and just needed a bit of comfort before they faced all of his subjects. He pulled back, took both her hands and looked at her.

"You really are the loveliest thing I have ever seen, Sookie. You will shimmer like a oasis in that black room under those lights."

"Hmmm- I hope the lights don't make my dress transparent. I'm not wearing any underwear."

Eric's eyes popped and he smiled for the first time all night. "My wife, are you telling me that underneath that lovely dress…"

"… is nothing but a lacey garter belt and stockings." She smiled wickedly at him.

He laughed out loud with absolute delight.

"But we can't do anything right now because you'll mess up my hair and dress. After I've been… what are you doing again?"

"I'm presenting you to my subjects in Area 5 so they will know you and they can offer you and the baby fealty."

"Right, well, after you're done presenting me, we'll find some time to have a little fun, promise?"

"Yes, my angel, that is a promise."

"Good, now let's go upstairs because your son is hungry. He's kicking me."

Eric laughed and put his hand on her stomach to feel the kicks, then scooped her up and carried her up the stairs. He set her down and closed the door, picked up the photo album, then opened the door to the hallway and held it for her. They walked down the hall arm in arm, smiling sweetly at each other, and Eric led her to the new chair on the stage.

"Uh… you didn't?"

"I did. You must sit beside me so my subjects can present themselves to you." He bent to whisper in her ear, "A Queen must sit by her King."

She took a deep breath, blew it out, and he held her hand as she lifted the hem of her long dress to step up on the platform and he followed her as she sat down, he taking his seat beside her. He motioned to a waitress who came over and Eric asked for two bottles of Real Meal and told her to put the book on display on a lectern beside the stage. A different waitress brought the RMs and Sookie drank hers down without stopping to breathe and asked for another.

"You like it?" Eric was shocked.

"Yeah, it's like I've been craving it my whole life. Can you get me a couple more? Baby E is doing a happy dance like you wouldn't believe."

"Yes, I can feel how happy he is. Interesting."

She drank another pretty quickly and finally got to where she sipped the third one. Eric smiled lovingly at her.

"You sparkle like a diamond in this light, my angel." He said, smiling at her and kissing her hand.

"Yeah, well, I'm wearing enough of them" she cracked and he laughed.

The room was beginning to fill up and three vampires approached the side of the stage and waited for Eric to nod before they approached them. The first was a small man who looked like an accountant.

"Good evening, Sheriff Northman. Congratulations on your wedding."

"Thank you. May I present my lovely wife, Sookie Northman?"

"It's an honor to meet you, Mrs. Northman. I offer you fealty and your child as well."

She looked at Eric, not sure what to say, then she said, "Thank you so much. Thank you for coming to our reception. I hope you have a good time."

The man smiled broadly because she had greeted him so warmly. Eric beamed at her, those Southern manners making her an ideal consort for any man in a position of power. Gradually a line formed and Sookie was equally gracious to all of the subjects that presented themselves. Eric was bursting with pride at how she handled them – she was graceful and warm and even made personal comments occasionally about how pretty a woman's dress was or how much she liked something about another. She didn't rush them and she made them feel welcome.

Eric could tell that they all came in expecting a bimbo and wound up face to face with a Goddess. Some brought presents for them or the baby and Sookie thanked them profusely and piled them up next to her chair. When they complimented her dress or her beauty, she beamed at them and thanked them sweetly. Eric mostly nodded and smiled between introductions. Sookie just naturally fell into the role of hostess and she needed no instruction or encouragement. He couldn't have asked for anything more. She was truly angelic this night.

Sookie would look over occasionally and see Bobbie wink at her, shoring her up and encouraging her. She noticed Sabrina Matthews sneering at her from the bar, but she ignored the bitch. This was her night and Sabrina's sour grapes were not going to ruin it. She was surprised at how comfortable she was meeting all these strange vampires, but it was just like being at any party, except she had never been the guest of honor before. It was great to see all the people showing their respect for Eric, and they were just as nice as they could be to her. No one – except Sabrina - seemed resentful in any way. It was approaching 12:30 and the place was packed. The line, mercifully, was beginning to dwindle when up came Victor Madden. Sookie noticed Sandy walking forward and her assistants moving to each side of the stage.

"Eric?"

"Yes, I see him. Keep smiling, sweetheart."

"Sheriff, may I offer my congratulations to you and Miss Stackhouse?" Madden was obsequious and snide at the same time.

"MRS. - Northman" Eric said slowly in a low and threatening tone.

"Of course, my apologies my dear. You were legally married, after all. Is it true that the Ancient Pythoness was there?"

"Yes, she was…" Sookie answered, unsure what to say, so she looked at Eric.

"Hard to believe Our Lady would attend something as simple as a wedding, Northman. A family connection, perhaps?" He was already working the Niall/traitor angle.

Sookie could see Sandy and her group moving forward and the tension was thick. Suddenly there was a murmur in the crowd and it literally parted like Moses parting the Red Sea. Speak of the devil… or whatever… it was the Pythoness, moving slowly and ceremoniously through the crowd, her two attendants on either side of her, all wearing long black robes with purple satin sashes around their necks, flowing as they moved. As She approached, Madden turned and bowed. Eric started to kneel but she held up her hand to stop him. The crowd was absolutely silent and still as a graveyard. They couldn't believe SHE was here!

"Eric the Norseman, I bring a decree from the Council."

Madden looked up in a panic. What the hell was she doing. It couldn't be….

"Hear me, all in attendance. I am here to deliver this sword to Eric the Norseman as a gift to honor his unique family." She pulled a large, very ornate broadsword from its sheath, waved it in a flourish and offered the handle to Eric, holding the blade flat over her arm. Eric stood and took it from her, kneeling and saying "My Lady." The Pythoness motioned for him to stand, then stepped up on the stage. Almost the entire crowd went down on one knee except for the Weres scattered through the room, Sandy's crew and Victor, all of whom stood ready to fight.

The Ancient Pythoness continued:

"The Council, with the approval of the Living Pantheon, hereby decrees that Felipe de Castro is dead."

The crowd reacted with Oohs and Ahhs and a small shriek here or there – the rumors were true! Felipe was dead!

She went on "Having no King, his territories are at risk and are therefore…"

"NO – You…" Madden yelled and stepped toward her and everyone shifted forward to protect her but before he could approach her or finish his sentence Eric separated his head from his shoulders with the sword in one invisible strike. Nobody dared move. (Except Baby E, who was kicking Sookie like crazy sending FIGHT! FIGHT! But she didn't want to call attention to it, so she bit her lip until it bled. What a little Viking he was!)

The crowd gasped collectively and a murmur went up as Madden's 6 henchmen started toward the stage. One was next to Felicia and when he moved she staked him through the back. One went toward Sandy and one of her assistants stopped him with a dagger in one hand then a stake in her other. Two that went to the middle of the crowd were stopped and staked by Weres from Alcide's pack who had been stalking them through the club since they came in the door with Victor, though one of them wrestled, bit and put up a good fight, wounding a big Were who was in mid-transformation, though not gravely. In the end, the Were was only wounded and the vampire was dead. One of Victor's men tried to make for the door when he saw others going down one by one, apparently hoping to sound an alarm, but one of Eric's bouncers produced a sword from his long black coat Highlander-style and cut him in half – at least, that's what everyone thought had happened because the movement was so fast it was invisible.

People were stunned. What just happened?! And right in front of their eyes?! Madden was in pieces in front of the stage, turning to ash.

"Silence!" The Ancient Pythoness continued and the room fell quiet again. "Having no King, his territories are in peril. The council hereby anoints Eric the Norseman as King of all the Louisiana and Nevada territories."

"But…"

Wait.."

Eric and Sandy both tried to stop her but she held up her hand and they stopped. "This is the decree of the Council. It cannot be changed." The Pythoness turned to Eric. "You will kneel."

Eric went down on one knee before her and handed the bloody sword back to the Pythoness. She raised the blade high in the air, then brought it down gently and ceremoniously on his left shoulder, took it over his head and touched his right shoulder, then back to the left. She stepped back, raised the sword and said "By the gods, it is DONE. All you in these territories will pledge fealty to your King, Eric the Norseman!"

She handed the sword beck to Eric, handle first, blade flat across her arm, and he took it. "Rule them well, Norseman. The Council is watching." She handed him the sheath for the sword, then she stepped forward and motioned to her attendants who stepped next to her, took her arms and they all vanished in a sparkling purple haze.

The crowd was stunned. Sookie finally remembered to breath – she had stopped when Victor had come forward. Her heart was pounding. She looked over to where Bobbie was sitting in amazement, her mouth hanging open. For a second Sookie could have sworn she saw Niall standing behind Sandy laughing, but then he was gone. Bill was up and out the door then came back in yelling, "There's fighting in the street. Madden brought a small army. The Weres are trying to hold them off, but they need help!"

Vampires poured out of the club and into the street. Eric grabbed Sookie and Bobbie and made Pam take them downstairs, ordering her to stay with them. Pam was none too happy about missing the fight but she did as he said. Eric took his sword and went outside, where Weres and vamps were fighting wildly. Eric raised his voice to the sky and let out a war cry that curdled the blood, even in vampires, and most of the fighting stopped in a minute as the sound shocked them all.

"Here me!" Eric called, "Victor Madden is dead. The Council has anointed me King. Pledge fealty now or die."

Warriors were turning to each other, asking if it was true. Those who had been in the club confirmed that they had seen the Ancient Pythoness with their own eyes and they had seen Eric kill Victor Madden in front of the whole room. Gradually, most of them put down their arms, though a few ran away. Eric turned and went back inside, calling Pam to bring Sookie back to his side. He wasn't going to fuck around with a street fight. The ones who would pledge fealty needed to do it now, and the rest he knew he'd have to deal with at some point, but they were few in number and it was pointless to follow them into the night. Better to solidify his forces right now.

Sookie and Bobbie came back out to the main room. Except for the remnants of Victor on the floor, and some of his blood on the floor, stage and wrapped presents by Sookie's chair, the room was none the worse for wear.

"Eric, what happened?!" Sookie was alarmed, but not as much as she would have been a few years ago. As Supe events go, this was pretty mild. She didn't even get beaten up!

"I told them Madden was dead and that they pledge fealty now or die. Most of them will be in here momentarily, though a few of them ran. Most of the runners will be killed before they make it out of Shreveport. Herveaux's Weres gave chase. I owe him for that. They took out a couple of Madden's people inside here as well, and so far they've only had one man wounded."

"Will the vampires just accept that you're King, just like that?"

"Most of them, yes. Without Madden to lead them, what are they going to do? There is no obvious leader right now. I'm sure there will be opposition, but it won't be a problem tonight. Everyone knows it is the will of the Council. You saw how everyone here moved forward when Madden threatened the Pythoness? Now they will do that for you and me. This was the best possible way for this to happen. The whole of Area 5 and more heard the Pythoness announce the decree of the Council and the Living Pantheon, and they saw me kill Victor so there's no question that he's dead or that it was me that bested him."

Bill came back in carrying a bloody sword. He zipped over to Bobbie, kissed her hard because he was in a bloodlust, and asked her if she was alright. She said she was and he turned to Eric.

"Most of them are coming in."

"Good. Any idea how many escaped?"

"Maybe three. Most of them were stopped or surrendered. He didn't have much of a force to begin with and Herveux's men aren't likely to let them get away. They were good tonight."

"Yes, they were. I have to think of an appropriate way to compensate Herveux and his men. I might even want to hire some of them."

Sandy came back in. Eric summoned her.

"I am sorry, Sandy…"

"No need. I know it was the Council's decision, and I saw you try to speak up. The decision had been made before you and I even spoke."

"If it helps any, I liked your solution better."

"I'd much rather assist than rule. I'm not cut out to be regent."

"Can I depend on you to stay as my assistant and continue to run the Nevada territories for me?"

"Of course. That's what I really wanted – to just keep doing what I'm doing. You'll need to come and claim your properties sometime in the near future."

"Yes, I will. Can you get a report together for me as to what that includes so I can start deciding what to keep and what to dispose of?"

"Of course, your majesty." She bowed to him.

"Thank you, Sandy. I'll need a list of everyone's salaries, yours included. My guess is you are all being underpaid. As soon as I get your numbers, I'll make some decisions. Can you get all this together for me in 2 weeks?"

"Yes, sire, I can."

"Alright, do that, get them to me and I'll probably be there to see you in about 3 weeks. The pledges of Fealty for the Nevada territories can wait until after my child is born, if need be, unless you anticipate rebellion?"

"No, your majesty, I think they will all be relieved that Madden is not in charge. Is there anything else I can do, sire?"

"No, that's plenty to start with. You can use my home numbers if you need to contact me. Pam will be taking over Area 5 and Bill Compton will be your liaison for the Louisiana Territories. Enjoy the rest of the night and if you don't need me before then, I'll expect your report in 2 weeks. Call anytime you need to, though."

"Thank you, your majesty. My party will leave now if you don't mind."

"That's fine. Travel safely."

Sandy bowed and pledged fealty, then her assistants and drivers did the same and they all left. People were wandering back into the club, and there were quite a few new faces since people who had attended from other areas had to pledge now, too. The line formed again and the pledges continued, some coming through a second time since Eric's position had changed. Sookie was getting tired but she didn't show it. She was just as charming and sweet as if she hadn't been doing this for 3 hours already and just witnessed an execution and an attempted coup. Eric smiled to himself at how gracious she was when most women would be a basket case after a night like this. She really was perfect for him and an ideal Queen in spite of her tender age.

Sookie looked up and noticed Sabrina Matthews was in line. Ugh. She made up her mind to be just as sweet as pie. Her Gran always said with women like that your best bet is to kill 'em with sugar. The bitchier she gets, the sweeter Sookie would be. She knew Eric would like that, too. Eric saw Sookie sitting up straighter and steeling herself to dealing with Sabrina. Sabrina had made Sookie uncomfortable for the last time as far as he was concerned.

"Eric, Sookie, nice to see you," Sabrina began.

"Sabrina, have you forgotten to whom you are speaking?" Eric's voice was stern. He was still not happy about her bringing Bill to Las Vegas to try to make Sookie unhappy and he was even less impressed that she had ditched Bill, a perfect gentleman, to fawn over Felipe. Any respect or tolerance Eric had for Sabrina was long gone.

"Oh, well, I just thought…" she stammered. Eric did nothing to help her out. "I just thought since we've known each other for such a long time…"

"I don't care how long we've known each other, Sabrina, you won't be as familiar with me as you were with Felipe, is that clear?"

"Yes, sire."

"Nor will I tolerate any disrespect in any form toward my Queen. Now, do you have something to say to us?"

"Yes, your majesty, I offer you fealty. Sook – ah - Mrs. Northman, I offer you and your child fealty."

Eric spoke before Sookie had a chance to. "That's nice Sabrina. Now if you want to remain Sheriff of Area 3, I expect you to show proper respect at all times and I'll tolerate no more attempts to make my wife uncomfortable. NOTHING comes before my wife, is that clear?"

"Yes, your majesty."

"I'll expect a full report on the state of your area and its finances no later than Friday and it had better be thorough. You are excused." He had utter contempt in his voice.

Sabrina bowed and backed away. She knew she overplayed her hand when she took Bill Compton to Las Vegas. She hadn't realized that they were all friends and she thought Eric would think it was flattering and funny, or that he'd hold her relationship with Bill against Sookie. He didn't, and now he could take her position any moment the mood struck him. That was a really stupid move, she realized. She'd better turn in a thorough report and she'd better do it early, which meant she was facing some late nights and no fun at all this week. Eric could have her executed for no reason at all if he chose to. There had never been a worse time to be on Eric Northman's bad side.

Bill came up to offer fealty and make a suggestion. "Eric, you'll need someone to go to New Orleans to get hold of what Madden was doing."

"Yes, I will. Would you and Bobbie like to go to New Orleans for a few days?"

"Yes, if you'll allow her to go…"

"I'm going to keep Sookie close to me for a few days, no matter where I am. Get Victor's address from his clothes there and use his place. I'm sure it's spectacular. Do you want to take some security with you, just in case?"

"It wouldn't hurt to have 3 or 4 guards, in case of trouble. I might need some enforcers at first."

"Alright, let's see…" Eric looked out at the crowd and motioned to his head of security.

"Yes, your majesty."

"I need four of your men to go with Compton to secure the New Orleans offices, preferably 2 vampires and 2 Weres. They'll be back here on Friday. I need them ready to leave tonight. They'll report directly to Bill."

"Yes, sire, I'll get them together now."

"Bill?" Bobbie was hesitant to approach him.

"Bobbie, come here, darlin'. How would you like to spend the week in New Orleans?"

"I'd love that. What's up?"

"Eric wants me to secure the offices there, and I'll be leaving tonight. You can come with me if you want to."

"Will Sookie be OK if I do that?"

"Eric suggested it, but you can ask Sookie to be sure."

Bobbie stepped up to Sookie as she was receiving the last few new subjects and stood behind her chair once Sookie smiled and nodded to her.

"Sookie, could you do without me for a few days?"

"You going to New Orleans with Bill?"

"Yes, I thought I might. Is that OK? I'll stay if you need me to, though."

"No, go, Bill will enjoy having you there and you'll have fun. I'll be OK for a few days. It's later on I'll need you most."

"I'll be back on Friday. Try to get out in the pool every day and do some of the exercises we've been doing. I don't know though… are we sure you can do without your massages?"

"It's just three days, really. I'll be fine."

Bill came up "Eric – there's a driver with a large van available tonight who can double as security and the other three are on their way back in here with their bags. Do you mind if we go back to your house now and get our stuff then we'll head out from there?"

"Actually, Bill, I'd prefer if you and Bobbie took the car now and got your things then met them back here. I don't want to let everyone know where I live just now. Here are the keys – you go and bring them back to me. We have things to do here for a while."

"Alright, we'll be back." He took Bobbie by the hand, spoke to the head of security and they left.

"Sookie are you sure you'll be OK without your massages? If you aren't sure I'll ask Bobbie to stay here." Eric offered.

"No, I'll be OK. You'll need Bill's help and this will make him happy. Let them go and have fun. He's probably going to have to be there a lot and later on she won't be able to go."

"OK, but remember, you and the baby are my priority. What you need is to come first, always."

"It's only three days. Nothing's going to happen. Alicia and Margaret will look after me."

"Yes, and you're going to be with me all the time I am awake. I don't intend to let you out of my sight."

"Why not?"

"Because," he shrugged. "…just because. I don't know. I just want you close. I want you with me all the time."

"That's fine with me. I want to be around you all the time anyway." She leaned over and kissed him on the cheek and he smiled. "Can I get another RM – those things rock."

"I'm glad you think so. We'll take a case of it home with us tonight. I set back a case with the false labels. I'm very relieved that you can drink it."

"Me, too. It's weird that I like it, though, isn't it?"

"It's certainly unexpected, but then so much of what is happening around us is unexpected that there's just no way to sort it all out."

"Eric, are you OK? You sound overwhelmed."

"My angel, if you can handle all this change, I think I can man up and handle it, too. You realize you are Queen of two kingdoms now, yes?"

"I'm trying not to think about that. I'll think about it tomorrow."

"Good plan, Miss Scarlett." He teased her. His little Southern Belle would need a little time to adjust and that was understandable. She was barely used to being his wife and now she had to get used to being his Queen. That's a lot for a little girl from Bon Temps. The crowd thinned out after the last fealty was offered and Eric took Sookie back to the office, stopping to thank a few people and speak to an employee here or there. Pam came back after she closed the door and the crew started cleaning, taking down decorations and sweeping up Victor. Two of the bar backs carried the large stack of presents back in about three trips.

"I tried to get the blood off of these, sire." a new employee named Antonio said when they brought the first armloads "I'm sure it didn't soak through on anything, so the Queen should still be able to enjoy the contents."

"Thank you, Antonio," Sookie spoke up, "I'm sure they'll be fine. Thank you for your help."

He bowed to her and went back to get more presents.

"You know you don't have to thank them, Sookie?" Eric offered, smiling as he sat behind his desk because he knew what she would say.

"Is it wrong or against protocol if I do?"

"No, my angel, you are the Queen. Protocol is whatever you say it is."

"Ok, then, The Queen says protocol is to thank people for helping." She was being a little sassy and Eric liked it. He laughed and shook his head, noticing that this was the first time she had referred to herself as Queen. She was already adapting. He loved that amazing little girl.

She walked around behind the desk and sat on his lap, kissing him on the lips briefly but definitely. "Am I allowed to do that to the King?" she teased. "My dear, you can do much more than that to this King." He teased her back and they kissed playfully a few times. The guys were still bringing presents back and when they came back the second time the blond one, Gary, said "oh, excuse us!" and started back out but Eric called out to him, "no, no, that's alright. Bring them on in." And they did, apologizing profusely.

"Hey, how come we got presents?" Sookie asked.

"Don't people normally get presents at a wedding reception?"

"Yes, I guess they do. Some of them are for the baby, too."

"That is very wise of people to curry our favor. Make sure you keep track of who gave you what so you can send out thank you cards."

"Royal thank you cards?" She teased.

"With the royal seal and everything," he confirmed.

"When do I get to open them?"

"Open them now if you wish, though you might want to wait until Alicia can be with you so she can help you keep track of whom you need to thank."

"Good idea. I'll probably need her to figure out what stuff is, too. I can't imagine what people would give us. We already have everything, don't we?"

"It's not likely to be toasters or blenders, my angel. It's more likely small pieces of artwork or wedding momentos. Jewelry for you. Necessities for the baby, or small toys. Small tributes of some sort. You'll have fun seeing what's in them, I'm sure."

"Yeah, I guess I will. I never even thought about presents. I already got you – what else would a girl want." She teased him and wiggled on his lap a little to get him going.

"Careful – you don't want those guys to walk in and find you bent over my desk, now do you?"

"Probably wouldn't be the first time they've seen a woman bent over this desk."

"Actually it would be because they're both new. Now if we were talking about Felicia, or…"

"That's OK, I get the picture." She pouted at him.

"Mmmm – I love it when you pout. That beautiful lower lip… has been bleeding!" he said as he noticed the cut on her lip.

"Blame your son for that."

"My son cut your lip?"

"Your son wanted to FIGHT, FIGHT so badly when you killed Victor that he kicked the crap out of my insides and I didn't want to call attention to it so I bit my lip to keep from screaming."

"Are you hurt? Why did you not tell me?" He was very concerned.

"I'm sure he didn't do any damage, but it hurt like hell for a few minutes. There was so much going on, I just didn't want to add to the drama."

"Are you sure I shouldn't call Dr. Ludwig? Speaking of which, where was she tonight? She was supposed to give Compton another booster."

"Yeah, that's right. Did I tell you I think I saw Niall tonight?"

"You did? When?"

"Right after you killed Victor, I swear I saw him standing behind Sandy, laughing his ass off, but then he wasn't there."

"I've no doubt you actually saw him. He _would_ think that was funny. The minute I did that, all his plans fell into place."

"What plans?"

"Making you Queen, our son a Prince, and in all probability getting him a seat on the Council."

"Is that a big deal?"

"Oh, yes, my angel, it is a VERY big deal. I suspect that was the driving force behind everything he has done."

"You think he's that Mahchy…macki.."

"Machiavellian? Yes, I absolutely do."

"Do you think he loves me, even a little bit?"

"Yes, my angel, I think he loves you as much as is possible for him. He can't help being a fairy. It's in his nature to be shifty and conniving. We have that in common, he and I."

"You killed Quinn, didn't you?" She held her breath waiting for the answer.

"What do you want me to say, Sookie?"

"Nothing. I guess it doesn't matter."

"That's right. It does not. No answer I could give you would change anything, would it?"

"No. It wouldn't. I'd love you anyway, even if it made me sad."

"There's nothing to be sad about, my angel. The gods and Goddesses just handed you half the world."

"More like one Goddess handed me the world."

"Perhaps. Have you seen her lately?"

"I haven't had any dreams, but I hear her sometimes, and you know what's weird?"

"What is that, my wife?" he spoke softly as he brushed her hair away from her face, listening to her intently.

"I think I always heard her. I can remember being a little girl and hearing this woman's voice that I knew was older than everything and she would sort of advise me and tell me things sometimes. I heard that voice again the other day and I realized it was Freya – it always was."

He pulled her to him and kissed her forehead, then kissed her lips. He was starting to understand.

Bill and Bobbie came in then to return Eric's keys.

"OK, we'll be off now. The guards are waiting," Bill said.

"Oh, bye, Bobbie" Sookie got up and hugged her tightly and Bobbie hugged her back. Bill and Eric both smiled at them, knowing that they were growing closer in that way only women can with other women and they both thought it was a good thing for the two of them.

"Here, Sookie, I wrote out your exercise routine on this sheet, then on this sheet I wrote out what I think they need to put in a birthing room."

"A birthing room?"

"Yes, I think Alicia and Margaret should start setting up a birthing room in one of the bedrooms on the second floor so we have everything you need when you go into labor. I don't want them to wait – it should be done now. Have them get all of these things and if you see Dr. Ludwig ask if there's anything else she can think of. Don't put this off, Sookie, promise me you'll give this to Alicia tomorrow and have them get started."

"I will, I promise. Why such a hurry?"

"Just in case – I want us to be ready early. Remember they're coming to paint on Wednesday morning and you'll start receiving things we ordered at the end of the week."

"OK. I wish you were going to be here to open all these presents with me!"

"Me, too, Sweetie, but you keep a list and I'll call you tomorrow or the next day and you can tell me all about them."

"OK, you guys have fun."

Bobbie kissed her on the cheek and she and Bill went out to get in the van. The guys came in with the last load of stuff and Eric gave them the keys to the BMW so they could load them into the car with the presents and he had them take a case of RM that he had set aside out as well. Pam came into the office while they were waiting.

"Well, this was an eventful night." She had a gift for understatement.

"Yes, it was." Sookie agreed.

"Pam, are you going to train a second to back you up as Sheriff?" Eric asked.

"Yes, if you don't mind, I'd like to train Vincent to back me up."

"Vincent, the head of security?"

"Yes. He's got brains as well as brawn and he's loyal. I think he could be trusted to run the office if I'm not here."

"As you wish. You will be gone from the 15th through the 21st, yes?"

"Yes, if you'll still allow me to go."

"I made you a promise and your tickets are already on their way here."

"Where are you going, Pam?" Sookie was surprised Pam would leave right now.

"Your husband promised to send me and a friend to Hawaii for a week to make up for my having to cover for him while you are with child."

"Oh, that's great! Who's going with you?"

"Jason."

"WHAT?!" Eric and Sookie both reacted in unison.

"My brother, Jason?" Sookie couldn't believe it.

"Yes, we had such a good time in Las Vegas we thought it might be fun to romp on the beach in the moonlight. You don't mind do you, Sookie?

"No, I'm just surprised you liked him enough to take him with you."

"He's awfully pretty and he's fun to have around if you can keep him from talking too much – and that's not a problem as long as I remember to take a gag with me."

Sookie laughed and Eric closed his eyes and shook his head. At that point the barmen were done loading their car and Eric left the club in Pam's capable hands, carrying Sookie to the car in his arms. He tucked her into the passenger seat and they started home. About 2 blocks from the club, Eric told Sookie to buckle her seatbelt and duck down in the seat.

"What's wrong?"

"We're being followed. The car is bullet-proof, but keep your head down anyway," he said as he drove looking frequently in the rear view mirror. He turned away from the direction of their house, hoping to throw whoever this was off the trail to their house. Once they were home, there was lots of electronic security, but Eric realized they would have to add some armed guards around the clock now. When you're King, that's not paranoia, it's simple preparedness. He took out his cell and dialed Pam back at the club.

"Master?"

"Pam – is Vincent still there?"

"Yes, is there a problem?"

"Yes, we're being followed. Can he set up some emergency guards for tonight and tomorrow and then tomorrow hire some 'round the clock security for my house?"

"Hold on, I'll call him."

He could hear Pam buzzing Vincent and heard him respond. She explained what was happening and he said he would take care of it. He came into the office and picked up the phone.

"Sire, I thought this might be a problem so I was already making calls. I'll have a security detail at your house in 10 minutes and I know some guys with a Were security firm that can take over at daylight. Drive around the neighborhood for about 15 minutes before you head to your house, and somebody will get there and secure the area before you arrive. We'll have you covered. Tomorrow night I'll set up a regular, around the clock guard for your house."

"Alright, thank you, Vincent." He hung up.

"Which one is Vincent?" Sookie asked.

"Remember the guy in the long coat that made like Duncan McLeod when that guy tried to get out the front door? That's Vincent."

"That's a big, scary dude."

"Yes, and he's one of the best guys around when it comes to security. I hired him a few months ago when I knew things were going to get intense."

"You've already been working on this?"

"I have to think 5 moves ahead. Our house is wired for security, but we haven't had a live guard before now. From this point forward, there will be live guards both visible and invisible around our house. I've already got a list of people typed up to give them so they know who is supposed to be around the house during the day. You won't be unprotected when I rest – there will be Weres all around on my payroll."

He turned down another street that moved them further away from their house.

"Are we on the way home? This doesn't look familiar."

"We're taking some evasive measures to give the security force time to get to the house. I'm hoping this asshole gives up and goes home. If he insists on staying behind us, he's going to get a nasty surprise when he gets to our street."

"What will they do?"

"Do you really want to know, my angel?"

"Yes, I need to know."

"They'll torture him until he tells them who he's working for and then they'll kill him."

"Wow. I guess we're in the big time, now."

Eric smiled at her and stroked her cheek with the back of his finger. "Yes, my angel, this is the big time now, but don't you worry. I'll move heaven and earth to keep you safe. "

"OK." She swallowed hard and closed her eyes. "OK."

He gave her a few minutes to process all of this so he was silent as he turned down another street. He was making a big circle that would take them back to the club and then he'd head home from there. The street that the club was on was deserted and it was a long stretch. Shortly after they turned onto it, the car behind them sped up and drove up beside of them, shooting three times at Eric as they sped by, but the bullets just glanced off the side of the car. Eric sped up, took an unexpected turn and came back out on the road toward the exit to his house. He was driving very fast. If that guy didn't know where they lived, they were safe. If he did, he'd be behind them again in about 5 minutes.

"Sookie, are you alright?"

"Uh-huh. I was just afraid to make any noise. I didn't want to distract you."

"He's gone for the moment. Just relax. We'll be home in a few minutes and the security should be in place." He held her hand and that seemed to calm her down. When they turned onto the long street that led to their house, there was no sign they were being followed. As they pulled up to the house, Eric told Sookie she could sit up. She straightened in her seat and she could see men in front of their house, some with guns, some of whom she recognized from the club.

One of them put up his hand and Eric slowed and rolled down the window.

"Hello, your majesty. We've been all around the property and it's secure. We'll stay here until one hour before sun up, then the Were guards will relieve us and they'll stay through the day. By tomorrow night Vincent will have a regular force in place. You don't need to worry about anything, sire. Nobody will get past us."

"Very good – they shot at us on Preston Street near the club. It was a dark blue, late model Nissan. If anyone comes down this lane who looks suspicious, sniff for gun powder. You know what to do if you suspect anything amiss?"

"Yes, sire. Find out who sent them and make sure they don't report back."

"Exactly. Good night."

"Yes, Sire."

Eric opened the garage door and pulled the car in. He waved to the men in the drive as they went into the house as the door went down. They went in the kitchen door and he picked Sookie up in his arms and kissed her. She hugged him hard as he took her upstairs. He dropped her playfully on the bed and she laughed. She was trying to act like none of this bothered her. She was also running on adrenaline at the moment and it was making her horny and giddy. He seemed to have the same idea because he was on his knees beside the bed, pushing up the hem of her dress. She was leaning back on her elbows, and she raised her bottom as the dress moved upward so he could push it on past her bottom up toward her waist. She lowered her hips again and his mouth and fingers were on her and in her and she was half writhing and half struggling to get the dress over her head. It took a few delightful minutes of working and wiggling to get the dress over her head and Eric was tickling her as well as eating her so they were both giggling and acting silly.

"Keep the garters and stockings on, please" Eric said in between licks and nibbles and she said "sure" breathlessly as he reached up and grabbed her nipple. She let everything from the night just fall away and just concentrated on the feelings he was creating in her. His fingers were working her enthusiastically and he pushed her leg up and back, nuzzling her thigh. She knew he was going to bite, so she wasn't shocked when he did, but the intensity of it made her come as he fed from her and fingered her. He was in no mood to fight the fairy blood tonight. He was King and he was going to take what was his and enjoy it like never before. He let the intoxication wash over him, bending her legs up and back and taking her deeply. Neither one of them was holding anything back. They were alone in the house for the first time in a while and they were loud and wild, fucking and laughing with relish and abandon. Eric came quickly and flipped her over on her knees, pulling her hips up and fucking her hard from behind. She was laughing and clawing at the bed, but the bedspread was slipping and she couldn't get hold of anything. The covers slipped from beneath her and she saw why there was no traction with the bedspread.

"Hey – purple satin sheets!"

Eric laughed, but didn't slow down.

"When did we get these?" She asked, in between grunts and panting, and she was cracking up from her adrenaline high.

"I ordered them the other day. I told Alicia to have them washed, ironed and on the bed as soon as they arrived."

"I never – unh, unh – slept on – ah – satin – oh – sheets befo-ore."

"Silk, actually" he said, beginning to take one quick stoke and then one slow one with an extra slam at the end, repeating the pattern over and over.

"They're pretty. Ah. Ah. Ahhhhhhh!" She twisted as she came a second time and Eric followed soon after, collapsing on the bed beside her when he was done. They were both laughing like kids, and when the aftershocks began to subside, they crawled up into their usual spots, Eric pulling the spread back up with him, pulling it over them and he pulled her close and began to kiss and nibble on her neck and shoulders, his hand busy between her legs. He moved his mouth down to her breasts and began to suck hard, making her cry out and writhe as he stretched her with more fingers. She vaguely remembered this move with his hand, remembered liking it but wasn't really aware that she was saying "do it, please, do it." He curled his fingers and continued to stretch her and she pulled her pillow from under her head, put it over her mouth and screamed into it out of sheer bliss, as he moved his mouth down to her center, sucking her clit as she rode his fist, driving her to an explosive orgasm that looked like a seizure and made her squeal, it was so hard. He was laughing as he crawled back up beside her, very pleased with himself, kissing her all over her face and pulling her to him.

"Oh, I love you, Sookie. I've never had so much fun in bed."

"Yeah, right." She didn't believe him.

"What – why do you say that?" He was actually mildly hurt.

"Eric, I'm sure nothing we've done approaches the wild scenes that have taken place in your little love nest under Fantasia.'

"That was never fun the way this is fun."

"What?"

"Sookie, while I am able to take pleasure in many things, I rarely had fun before I met you. I was darker then – my tastes were darker. What we did just now was light hearted, even in spite of what is going on around us. We were laughing and having fun – no one has ever made me laugh or delighted me as you do."

"Aww " She grabbed his face and kissed him and she almost believed him.

"You are hungry, my angel."

"How did you know?"

"Sookie…"

"Yeah, yeah, the bond. I wonder if there's anything up here in the fridge?"

He jumped up to check, finding a little salad with a lot of chicken in it. He grabbed a fork from the little basket and brought it back with a strawberry supplement and a dose of ibuprofen Alicia left out with a note on top of the fridge. Sookie sat up eagerly to eat the salad. He lay down across the bed in front of her, enjoying the sight of her happily munching on her salad which she had drenched with a large packet of salad dressing that was with it. She noticed he was smiling at her.

"What?" she said, laughing a little, pushing an errant piece of lettuce into her mouth with her finger.

"I love you, Sookie Northman."

"Mmmm – I like the way that sounds."

"So do I. There is nothing I would not do for you, you know."

"Oh, really?"

"Yes – why? What do you want?" He could tell she was leading up to something.

"We-ell… I could really get into drinking a couple of those bottles of blood you brought home. I know they're still in the car, but the baby…"

"Yes, I can feel it, too. WANT! He is a persistent little thing, is he not?"

"You should try having him inside you."

"I'll leave that to you, but I get your point. I shall return…'

He zipped out of the room at vampire speed. By the time she finished her salad and was drinking the last of the strawberry drink, he was back with an armful of bottles. He handed her two, and put the rest in the little fridge.

"Thank you!"

"How many of those did you drink tonight, Sookie?"

"I don't know – maybe six?"

"These two will make eight?"

"Yeah, I think so – why?"

"That's a lot of blood in the space of less than six hours. I want you to drink a bottle tomorrow whenever you feel the urge and count how many bottles you take in. I'm hoping that tonight you just drank a lot because the baby hadn't been getting any, but if you need that much consistently, we should plan for that."

"How much is that – like one an hour?"

"A little more than that. A full grown vampire couldn't drink that much. I'm wondering if the child has been starving."

"Well, I have noticed that he feels different tonight. He feels stronger and happier and he doesn't have this undercurrent of… something – need, maybe?… except when he specifically wants me to drink. I never noticed it before, but now that it's gone, I do. Does that make any sense?"

"Yes – you have been needing blood all along. We should have tried this sooner. I regret that we didn't."

"Well, we didn't know though, Eric, we thought the True Bloods were enough."

"I should have realized he would need real blood. It's like a newborn vampire – they need to feed a lot and often and they can't subsist early on without real blood."

"But I thought they could…"

"No, that's propaganda vampires have spread so we could come out of the coffin. Newborns need the real thing. I am sorry I have neglected my son."

"Eric you haven't"

Comfort. Love. Proud.

Eric smiled.

"You felt that, right?"

"Yes, I did."

"He's perfectly happy. You love your daddy don't you, Baby e?" She put Eric's hand on her tummy.

Proud. Fight!

Eric laughed out loud.

"See, he can't wait to kick ass like his old man." Sookie teased.

Eric stretched across the bed and laid his head on Sookie's belly. He closed his eyes and listened to the tiny heartbeat, and felt him wiggling inside. Sookie stroked his hair as he lay there, eyes closed, communing with his son. She could feel the baby and him trading feelings, bouncing love and pride back and forth between them. He looked so beautiful that way – he was rarely at peace this way, and it was precious to watch him bask in the wave of emotion the baby sent to him. Sookie didn't want to disturb him, so when she finished the two bloods, she put the empties on the nightstand and settled down with her head on the pillow. After a few minutes, Eric realized from her change in breathing that she was asleep.

"Sookie?" he said softly. He got up off the bed carefully, and she didn't stir. When her eyelids started to flutter, he knew she was in REM sleep and he slipped the covers back off of her, then got his camera out of the closet. This was the reason for the purple sheets. He'd try these and then eventually the black ones. As he looked at her through the camera, he saw that the sheets showed off her curves just as he had hoped they would. There was much more definition with her white skin next to the dark sheets. These pictures would be wonderful and they'd chronicle the growth of her body as she nurtured his son. She was so luscious lying there that he was tempted to take her again before he went to work, but he decided just to finish with his pictures and go to work. He had a lot to do. He put the camera away and covered her up, then turned off the lights and left her there with a gentle kiss on her forehead.

He went to his office, now the headquarters for two kingdoms, for good or ill, and he notified Bobby Burnham that his position had changed – he didn't say more than that, but that he would be adding an around the clock security service that would be coordinated by Vincent Olivieri, who would contact him tomorrow evening about payrolls, which should be accounted for separately from the security for the club. He sent a message to all of the sheriffs in both territories confirming that he was now the regent and telling them he wanted a thorough accounting of their finances and subjects by Friday.

He left a message for Alicia that told her to get the information from Sookie about a birthing room, telling her about the new security and explaining that there was a new bottled supplement that Sookie would be drinking instead of the True Blood. He also thought to mention that Sookie had enjoyed eating caviar in Las Vegas and that it might be a nice treat for her to have an assortment available for her along with her smoked salmon. He also asked her to keep detailed notes as Sookie opened the presents from the reception, which she should have the gardeners men carry into the living room before Sookie got up.

Finally, he went to rest, thanking Freya for her assistance and requesting that she keep Sookie and the baby safe until he could be with them again. He fell asleep just as he felt a kiss brush his cheek.


	49. Chapter 49

**Chapter 49**

"Good morning, Mrs. Northman!"

"Hm – oh, hi, Alicia. Is it morning already?" Sookie laughed a little.

"Doesn't it feel like morning, hon?"

"Actually, I feel like I barely slept. It was a long night last night."

"So I gather. Apparently Mr. Northman got some kind of promotion last night?"

"And how – he's a big deal in the vampire community now."

"Well, that's nice, I suppose…?"

"Yeah, it is – I guess there are guards outside now?"

"Yes, some very big, impressive looking men. They seem very well-mannered, though." She settled the breakfast tray over Sookie's lap. Salmon, YAY!

"That's not going to be a problem for you or Margaret is it? The guards, I mean?"

"Not at all, dear. We've both worked for wealthy men who had to have security guards on the grounds. I heard them talking to the gardener about adding to the fence line to cover the front of the house, which is probably a good idea, too."

"Yeah, that would be a good idea. I'm sure they'll talk to Eric about it. He's got a head of security that will be handling all that, I think." She was smearing lots of cream cheese on a bagel and piling it high with salmon. Alicia brought even more than usual and Sookie had every intention of eating all of it.

"Well, this must be exciting for you?"

"I guess. It's nothing I was ever looking for, or him either, really, but circumstances sort of forced him into taking a more active role than he wanted. There are a lot of perks and property and things that go with it, though. We'll probably be traveling a lot to New Orleans and Las Vegas, which could be fun."

"Oh, yes, you'll enjoy that. You'll have your days to shop or go to museums or nice restaurants, and he has apparently said you'll be with him when he works. Maybe he's going to have a little job for you or something?"

"Yeah, I guess you could call it a job. I'm not exactly sure what it involves, but I'll learn. A lot of social stuff, I think. I'm not exactly sure how having a baby fits in with it all, but I think I sort of get to call the shots about that, which is good. I can set it up the way I want and people just have to deal with it." She laughed. She never thought about it that way before.

"That's every mother's dream, to be able to arrange things around her baby. I'm sure that will be very nice for you."

"Yeah, I mean, we'll have a doula or a nanny or whatever, but she'll just kind of be back-up, I hope. I don't want to hand my baby off to someone else to raise. I want to keep him with me and Eric as much as possible. I know he'll need his daddy close by."

"You're sure it's a boy, right?"

"Very sure, and Eric is beside himself."

"Men are often that way about sons. It can be very sweet."

"Yeah, it is sweet. Sometimes I think he's more excited than I am. He's always thinking about what the baby and I need."

"Let's hope he stays that way." Alicia was arranging things in the closet and gathering laundry as they talked.

"Oh, I think he will. I'm pretty sure that no matter how demanding this new position is, he's going to put us first."

"That sounds very reassuring. You're very lucky. Most young mothers have to do it all themselves and even the ones with husbands often get very little help. Mr. Northman is a rare specimen," she joked.

"Ain't that the truth?" Sookie laughed. "So after I eat I guess we have presents to open?"

"Whenever you want. Are you excited to see what you got?"

"Yeah. I didn't expect presents at all. I can't imagine what they could be! Eric said not to expect any toasters or blenders." She laughed.

"Well, when you get ready, we'll tear into them and see what's there. I gather he wants you to keep careful notes on who sent what?"

"Yeah, we have to send formal thank you's to them all. Part of the new job."

"Well, most brides or new moms do that, anyway."

"Yeah, I guess they do."

"You know they're going to be painting the nursery tomorrow?"

"Yeah, that's right. They're going to start early, aren't they?"

"Yes, and I had an idea about that. No matter how safe the paint might be, you shouldn't be in here with all those fumes. What if you and I got out and went to breakfast and then did some shopping?"

"Oh, that would be fun! You got any ideas where we'd go?"

"I was thinking you might want to check out some baby shops and maybe go to the jeweler's that Mr. Northman has your account at. You've got lots of dressy jewelry, but I'm thinking you might like to have some real pieces for more casual wear – some simple earrings and things like that."

"OK, that sounds good."

"You probably also need a few maternity outfits and some little "necessaries" for new mommies. We'll make a day of it and have fun."

"That sounds great. Now that I think about it, I do tend to get headaches from paint fumes."

"While we're gone Margaret can open all the windows and we'll close this door and put a fan in here to make sure it's minimized as much as possible. Any idea what you want to wear today?"

"Is it going to be sunny enough for the pool?"

"I think it's going to stay cloudy all day and rain tonight. You probably won't get a pool day until Thursday."

The doorbell rang and Alicia stepped to the top of the stairs, but came back when she was sure that Margaret had answered it.

"Sorry, dear, Margaret got it."

"OK, well, how about just an easy little dress that I can just throw on and put my hair in a pony tail and not hassle with anything big today? Do I have anything like that?"

"You certainly do, in this drawer down here." Alicia pointed to a drawer in the dresser. "What color would you like? Navy, yellow or pink?"

"Pink, I guess. What will I wear shopping tomorrow?"

"This navy dress would be good. You can dress it up with the right shoes and bag and it will be comfortable and won't wrinkle at all."

"Sounds good. I think I'm done with this, so let me run to the bathroom and put my hair up and I'll meet you… where are the presents?"

"The living room."

"OK, I'll meet you in the living room."

"That's good, then, I'll just take care of your tray and be right there."

Sookie waited until Alicia started down the stairs to get out of bed since she was naked, but she stood in front of the mirror and stretched, then turned to the side and patted Baby E.

"Good morning, Sweetie. Did you like the salmon?"

LOVE. HAPPY.

"OK. That's good."

WANT.

"Oops – you want blood, don't you. I think there's some up here." She looked in the fridge and there were a few Eric had put in. She drank one straight down, then took the other to the dresser so she could grab it on her way downstairs. She put her hair in a ponytail, used the commode, then threw on a cotton thong and the little pink dress. She realized she had just worn this a couple of days ago, but she liked it so that was cool. She went down to the living room, remembering to take the list for the birthing room that Bobbie had written out with her, and got there in time to see several boxes addressed to Eric being taken into his office, and there was one box for her.

"What's this?" Sookie asked. "Hi, Margaret."

"Good morning, Mrs. Northman. I believe it pertains to Mr. Northman's new position. They said these things were sent by special courier so you two would be able to begin immediately." Margaret said.

"And one of them is for me? I wonder what it is?" Sookie said.

She opened her box and found a royal seal with her name on it – HRH Sookie Northman - a set of printed Thank You and note cards, also with her "new name" on it, expensive printed stationery and calling cards, a social calendar, a social register of all their subjects for each kingdom, a huge rolodex, an accounting of the contents of all their new properties – silverware, art work, furnishings, etc. with photos of it all and estimated value – and two small locked boxes that turned out to contain, no kidding, royal jewels that were to be worn on certain occasions that belonged to each kingdom. It was all Sookie's now to do with as she wished.

"HRH?" Alicia asked.

"Oh - it's a vampire title. It only applies when I'm dealing with them."

"Ah – interesting. May I make a suggestion?"

"Please! I have no idea where to begin!"

"Start with the calendar and see if you have any immediate social obligations to attend to, then work from there. We'll need to set you up an office somewhere in the house."

"An office? For me?"

"Yes, dear, you'll need a place to store all of these things and keep up with them. We'll ask Mr. Northman when he arrives where he'd like you to do that."

"OK, well, at least we've got the Thank You notes we need," Sookie laughed. It was either laugh or cry so she decided to laugh about it.

"Best to laugh about it, dear. Don't you worry – we'll figure it all out. Now, let's take a look at that calendar." She flipped through the pages settling on June. "It looks like the next official engagement here is called the Sheriff's Ball and it's slated to take place at the Bellagio on June 27th from 10 pm to 4 am. It says see note 56-e." She flipped to the back of the book which was a group of notebook-like pages that had numbered and lettered notes. "OK, here's 56-e: '300 guests, Council, all American Regents, Sheriffs for NV, LA t's and assorted other guests.' Then there's a long list of names."

"Oh, great – we have to host a ball at the Bellagio. I wonder why it's not at the residence?"

"The Residence?"

"Yes, the… guy Eric is replacing in the Nevada territories has a huge mansion that I'd expect him to use for this. Instead, it's in a hotel. I'm wondering why."

"Is there an obvious person to ask about that?"

"Yes, actually, now that you mention it, I could call Janet Stevens and see if she can explain it. Is her number in the rolodex?"

Alicia spun the huge thing around and pulled out a card. "Here she is. Are you going to call her yourself?"

"Yeah, I don't see why not. I'm supposed to sort of be in charge." Sookie took the card and went into the study. She dialed the number and got a secretary.

"Hello, Janet Steven's office."

"Hello, this is Sookie Northman,"

"Oh, my god, your majesty, I'm sorry if I was rude…"

"No, you're fine. Is Janet there? I have a question for her about the Sheriff's Ball."

"Yes, your majesty, right away."

Sookie could hear her in the background – "It's the new Queen! Hurry!"

"Your majesty, this is Janet Stevens. How may I serve you?"

"Hi, Janet, I was looking at the calendar of upcoming events and I had a question. Why is the Sheriff's Ball being held at the Bellagio instead of at the residence?"

"I believe Sandy made that decision – she thought the security would be easier there and more of the attendees would be able to stay on site. She said she didn't know if the new regent would want to keep that residence or not."

Sookie caught something strange there.

"Janet, when were the reservations for the ball made?"

"January, I believe. I can send you a portfolio on the event if you would like, so you can make sure you approve of the arrangements and decorations. I could have it to you tomorrow."

"Yes, I think I'd like that. You have my address?"

"Yes, your highness, I will get that to you by tomorrow."

"Alright, Janet, thank you. Good bye." Damn, Sookie thought, I could get used to this being in charge thing. She liked making snooty Janet Stevens nervous. That'll teach her to be rude to people. You never know who your next boss is going to be.

January. Did Sandy know there would be a new regent in January? Was she part of this… whatever it was? Conspiracy, maybe? She needed to be very sure she told Eric about this first thing.

"How did it go, dear?" Alicia asked.

"Very well, actually. She's going to send me a portfolio on the event tomorrow that I can look at in case I want to make changes in the decorations or other arrangements."

"Very nice. I heard you on the phone. You handled that very well."

"Oh, thanks. Well, let's open some presents." She rubbed her hands together in anticipation and made Alicia laugh.

Sookie and Alicia went to the large pile of gifts on the living room couch. It was covered.

"OK, how do I do this?"

"I've got a notebook here. You open the boxes, tell me what the card says and I'll make notes about the item and the name. So – tear away!"

That sounded fun to Sookie, so she picked up a small box and opened it. "Ooh – are these emeralds?" She held a small velvet jeweler's box to Alicia and showed her to huge Emerald earrings with diamond accents."

"Yes, my dear, those are real emeralds. Very nice!" Sookie read the name on the card and went to the next box. This one was an engraved rattle that said Northman on the handle.

"Aw, this is cute!"

"It's also apparently solid gold," Alicia added.

"Wow."

"Wow, indeed." Alicia laughed as she wrote down the name.

Sookie tore into another box. It was a **Fabergé** Egg.

"Oh, uh, this is nice…?"

"Let me see that?" Alicia jumped up and looked at it. "We'll need to have that appraised."

"Why?"

"The base of it says "Romanoff" – this may have belonged to the last Czar of Russia."

"You're kidding."

"No, I'm not. Mr. Northman has some wealthy associates, I take it?"

"Yeah, they're all rich."

"Apparently."

Next Sookie opened an envelope that had a $1,000 gift card for a baby shop in Shreveport called **Baby Depot**.

"Oh, cool – we can use this tomorrow!"

"Yes, we can. I hope they deliver," Alicia joked.

"Do you know where it is?"

"It's in the Burlington Coat Factory mall."

"Oh, good, that's not far."

The next box contained a sapphire and diamond necklace and matching earrings. Alicia's eyes bugged out. Next was a small original Mary Cassatt pastel of a mother and baby.

"Is that…?"

"Real, yes, I believe it is – there's a certificate to prove the provenance here on the back."

"It's really pretty."

"Gorgeous. It's a very sweet subject, too. Appropriate for a new mother."

She continued through the packages and the list grew:

Gorgeous diamond chandelier earrings;

an antique diamond bracelet;

a _natural_ pearl necklace 30 inches long;

a box of 40 cloth diapers with two treasury bills totaling $4,000 for "baby Northman" also payable to Eric;

a very expensive breast pump and a savings bond for $5,000;

a beautiful ruby and diamond ring that had a certificate proving it once belonged to Marie Antoinette;

A matching set of his and her jewel encrusted daggers;

Star sapphire earrings and bracelet;

another $500 gift certificate for Baby Depot in Shreveport;

a deed and prospectus to an active and lucrative silver mine in Nevada, made out to Baby Northman, with Sookie's name on it as his guardian;

a mink teddy bear wearing diamond earrings, which were for Sookie;

a gift certificate for a $5,000 miniature pony for the baby when he was old enough;

a beautiful diamond encrusted peace sign necklace in a Tiffany box – Sookie wondered how she missed that one!;

a solid gold spoon, cup and bowl for the baby all engraved Northman;

a $5,000 gift certificate for ;

3 of the biggest, newest ipods for mommy, daddy and baby;

2 blue cashmere baby blankets and black cashmere robes for Eric and Sookie;

A double strand pearl necklace that once belonged to Jackie Kennedy;

a small original Van Gogh painting of flowers;

a box full of expensive clothing for an infant with no identifiable source;

a beautiful lace "christening" gown that was made by hand in a convent in France;

a Kate Spade diaper bag full of Mustela and Kiehl's baby products;

a Juicy Couture Quilted Velour Baby Tote with a $2,000 treasury bond in it for Baby Northman payable to Eric;

white mink crib bedding and a white mink stole for Sookie;

a $1,000, a $500 and a $250 gift certificate for FAO Schwartz from 3 different people;

a "Baby Shiloh" 3 Carat White Diamond Pacifier;

a Hand Blown Cobalt Blue Chandelier by P Greenwood;

Boys' Silk Shantung Christening Shoes;

An heirloom Silk Dupioni Christening Tuxedo;

A Gift Set of 3 Petite Luxury Loveys 14 x 23 baby blankets;

4 Royal Posh Swarovski® Crystal Bling Baby Tees and V.I.P. Baby Swarovski Aurora Borealis Baby Gift;

a big box of Ralph Lauren infant boys clothes;

a "comfy cozy" lamb blanket and $1,000 savings bond;

a Rockabye Baby blue rocking horse;

a $500 gift certificate for a website called Petit Tresor;

a box of baby bibs and clothes with Vikings on them from Nordic Kids;

a Bugaboo 'Cameleon 2008' Stroller with red fleece set and cup holder;

a big Nordstrom's box full of :

Mustela® Newborn Set,

Elegant Baby Squirtie Bath Set,

Little Me infant Robe & Slippers in blue,

Beary Basics Hooded Towel with Duck and Mitt (Infant),

BVLGARI 'Petits et Mamans' Gentle Bath/Shampoo Gel,

Ralph Lauren Layette 'Darrel' Sandal (Infant)

Nordstrom Baby Quilted Bunting (Infant) in blue,

Bunnies by the Bay Baby Gift Basket (Infant)(blue bunny, bunting, cap),

Little Me Print Bodysuit Set (Infant),

a blue HotSlings for mom,

Juicy Couture Maternity 'Dreamy' Hot Pink Dress for mom, and a

Juicy Couture Maternity Dahlia Print Dress, also for mom.

"Wow!" Sookie said as she looked at all the stuff. "I can't believe we got all this home!"

"I can't either. I also can't believe how much more there will be when you spend all those gift certificates. And the Treasury and savings bonds! This child is rich in his own right already – he owns a SILVER MINE!" Alicia was cracking up. She had never seen such a collection of bling and baby goods.

"How much do we have to spend in that store in town?"

"$1500."

"Cool – I still need a changing table and lights for the nursery. I hope I can find stuff I like."

"I'm sure you will. There are still a few things you could use that you didn't order."

"Really? Like what?"

"a play pen, a crib for the den, a high chair, baby gates, baby proofing items, bottles, nipples, more baby clothing bits like socks and t-shirts. You should probably have a throw rug for the baby's room, too. And, if you're going to be traveling a lot, you'll need a portable crib and high chair."

"OK, we can probably get all that tomorrow, right?"

"Right. How about we leave all your booty here and I'll just clear away the paper and boxes, and you can show Mr. Northman all your goodies when he gets here. He'll need to list some of it with his insurance company and there are one or two items that will need to be appraised. He might want to put some of these jewels in the safe, too, like the Marie Antoinette piece."

Sookie and Alicia were scooping up paper and smashing it into boxes when Margaret came in.

"Are we doing family dinner tonight, Mrs. Northman?"

"Yeah, if that's OK. He'll be home pretty soon, won't he?"

"Yes, it's just the edge of dark now. You two have been at this all day!"

"You wouldn't believe what all she got, Margaret. I've never seen such gifts!"

"Oh, that's wonderful! People must care a great deal about you and Mr. Northman."

"I don't know if they care about us so much as want to stay on Eric's good side."

"Nothing wrong with that, sweetie," Alicia pointed out, "not when you get presents like this. Some of these things are priceless."

"What would you like for dinner, Mrs. Northman?"

"Honestly, I know I shouldn't, but I could kill for some fried chicken."

"Just this once won't hurt. I'll start that now and it will be ready by the time Mr. Northman gets here."

"Thanks, Margaret. Actually, now that I think about it, I need another bottle of that new stuff. I'll be back, Alicia."

"No need, hon, I've got this."

"Thanks." Sookie followed Margaret into the kitchen and went to the fridge, taking out two bottles of RM. She opened one and drank it straight down, then went to sit at the table while she drank the other.

"Did you have a good time at your reception last night, Mrs. Northman?" Margaret asked.

"Yeah, actually. It wasn't nearly as bad as I expected. Dealing with Eric's… associates can be a little intense sometimes, but last night ended well."

"Oh, that's nice. So you got lots of nice things?"

"Yes, lots of it is really nice jewelry. There's a ring there that supposedly belonged to Marie Antoinette!"

"Well, let's hope it brings you better luck than it did her," Margaret laughed and Sookie joined her.

"Yeah, let's hope. I wonder when I'll ever wear anything like that?"

"Didn't I hear you say you had a ball coming up in Las Vegas?"

"Yeah, I did, and Eric and I are sort of hosting it, so maybe that would be a good time to show it off. I'll have to be looking pretty spectacular that night. Everyone will be looking at me."

"Don't you worry about that, Mrs. Northman. You'll be the most beautiful thing there, I'm sure. I've heard Mr. Northman talk about how you sparkle next to all the other women. He says he's always so proud to have you on his arm, because you're always sweet to everyone. I don't think he likes hard women. I take it he's around a lot of them?"

"Yeah, some of them are not very nice at all. There's this one, Sabrina Matthews, and she has had a thing for Eric for a long time, and she tried a couple of times to make me look bad. She got smart last night and Eric chewed her out and told her he'd better never hear any disrespect toward his wife again. It was awesome." She and Margaret laughed and still were when Eric came in.

"Hello, my wife, how are you tonight?" He bent and kissed her, sitting down beside her.

"I'm good. I was just telling Margaret a little bit about last night."

"What was so funny that happened last night?" He was stumped as to why she would be laughing about an assassination, a coup, a coronation and getting shot at.

"I'm sorry – this is mean – but I was telling her about what you said to Sabrina."

"Well, Sabrina deserved what she got. I don't want anyone deliberately trying to make you unhappy, not to mention the fact that it showed disrespect for me. You, on the other hand, were perfectly sweet to everyone and I was very proud to have you by my side. You should have seen her, Margaret! She shone like a diamond and was the perfect hostess. No one had ever seen anything so lovely or so sweet."

"Eric, you're embarrassing me!" Sookie was half kidding but she was blushing.

"Oh, I'm sure she was, Mr. Northman." Margaret loved to hear him brag on her that way. Sookie had always been as sweet as she could be and she was sure everything he said was true.

"She had to sit there for hours and greet people she didn't know and she never let one of them know that she was tired. She just kept smiling and charming them and making me look like the luckiest man in the world."

"OK, now you're laying it on too thick," Sookie started.

"I am stating a fact, my angel. Last night was one of my proudest moments because of you." He leaned over and kissed her, lingering for a while to let her know he meant it. "What did you do today, Sookie?"

"Alicia and I spent the whole day unwrapping presents. You won't believe some of the amazing stuff people gave us. Oh and you got some boxes and I got one, too, that had… official stuff in them. And I have something important to tell you so remind me later."

"Dinner won't be for at least 20 more minutes, Mrs. Northman, if you'd like to go show him all your gifts."

"OK, thanks." She bounced up out of her chair and took him by the hand, leading him into the living room. "See?! Can you believe all this stuff?!"

Alicia was finishing the clean up and spreading the items out on the couch and table so he could look at them.

"Lots of jewelry, I see – that's good. And what is this?"

"Baby stuff. There's a lot of stuff for the baby. Someone even gave him the deed to a silver mine!"

"A silver mine? Interesting choice for my son. Alicia did you keep a list of who gave which items?"

"Yes, sir, it's right here."

Eric looked at the list, scanning the names. The silver mine was from Victor Madden. A joke or an insult, but Eric had the last laugh this time around.

"Where are the boxes we received today, Sookie?"

"In here." She led him to the office. "These are yours and that one is mine. Did you know we're hosting a Sheriff's Ball at the Bellagio on June 27th?"

"I remember something about that."

"Don't you think that's strange that they didn't have it at Felipe's house?"

"Now that you mention it, yes."

"I called Janet Stevens and asked her why they chose the Bellagio and she said Sandy decided the security was better and the new regent might not want to use the residence."

"She said that?"

"Yes, and I asked her when the arrangements were made at the Bellagio and she said January."

"January?"

"Uh-huh. She's sending me a portfolio on the thing so we can see if everything meets our expectations. I'll get it tomorrow."

"You called Janet and you had her send you information on the ball?"

"Yes – that's alright isn't it?"

"That's excellent. I'm glad to see you take the initiative."

"Oh, good. Also, Alicia thinks I need an office and wanted me to ask you where you'd like that set up."

"Good question." He looked around, thinking about the house, and the obvious solution presented itself. "Use this office. Redecorate it to your tastes and set your things up here. I only use it for meetings, anyway, and I could still do that if you used it."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, come to think of it. Most of your work will have to do with our houses and social calendar. This room is big enough for you and Alicia to work together on that and most of your items won't need a lot of security. This is the logical place."

"Do I have to redecorate it?"

"You may do whatever you wish. You should set it up right away since you'll have things you need to do."

"Yeah, like Thank You cards – they sent me a bunch of stationery and cards and stuff that says HRH Sookie Northman."

He laughed out loud. "Get used to it, my angel, you are Queen now."

"Yes, I am. Anyway, do you think Sandy could have known back in January that something was up? Like a movement against Felipe?"

"Sandy was awfully cooperative about all of this. It's possible that she was in on the move by the Council. I'm going to have to think about this. I'm very impressed that you picked up on that, Sookie. The fact that you noticed something wrong and called Janet to investigate is remarkable. That's thinking like a Queen, and I love the fact that you made her send you a portfolio for your approval."

"Eric, there's something else – how did they get all this fancy printed stationery done when you were just appointed last night?"

"Obviously this was all planned for some time now. I'm just wondering who initiated it – was it Niall or did someone else approach Niall? Speaking of whom, you know he'll be here Friday night?"

"Yeah, so I hear. He'll be happy about this development. He'll like those new jewels, too, especially that ruby and diamond ring from Marie Antoinette."

"Marie Antoinette?"

"Yes, one of the rings supposedly belonged to her."

"Sophie Ann had a ring like that. I'll have to see who gave it to you. Whoever it was might have gotten it from Victor or Felipe. I need to know if it was someone in their employ."

Alicia knocked on the door. "Excuse me, Mr. Northman?"

"Yes, Alicia."

"Did you want to look at the list of items you received last night? There are a couple of items that will need appraisal and you'll want to add some of the pieces to your insurance."

"Yes, Alicia, I would like to see it. Do you have the name of the person who gave Sookie the ring from Marie Antoinette?"

"Yes, let's see – Sabrina Matthews."

Eric and Sookie looked at each other. They were both pretty sure how Sabrina got her hands on that and Eric was pretty sure she'd be the first one to put a knife in his back if she got a chance. It might be time to replace Sabrina as Sheriff of Area three. He'd have to think about that.

"Alicia, Eric said we should use this office for my stuff."

"Yes, I think you two would be comfortable working in here. You can decorate it for Sookie if you like, but go ahead and put her things in place because I know she has things she needs to take care of."

"Yes, sir, I think that's a marvelous idea. Maybe slightly more feminine furniture – you'll still need to use it for meetings, though, yes?"

"Yes, but I don't mind if it looks womanly. Everyone knows I'm newly married and this would be the proper place for the lady of the house to administer household affairs. No one will think less of me," he laughed.

"Can I make a suggestion?" Sookie asked.

"Yes, of course." Eric said.

"I love the dark cherry stuff in the dining room and living room. How about we do this office in that. It's feminine but not too much so and it would suit both purposes. Would that be alright? And could I get a computer armoire to get this big computer off of the desk?"

"Those are excellent ideas, Mrs. Northman. I'll start looking for something appropriate right away."

Eric was nodding – he liked this idea and he liked that Sookie was taking charge a bit. She was adapting so quickly to all of this – it was inspiring. She was going to be an excellent Queen.

"Margaret has dinner almost ready if you'd like to go into the kitchen now."

"Alright, shall we, my dear" he teased Sookie a little, offering her his arm.

"We shall." She teased back, taking his arm.

Alicia smiled proudly at them. She genuinely liked these two, and she loved to see how sweet they were to each other. It was going to be fun watching them raise a little family, and she had a feeling her expanding duties would come with an expanding salary, which was a very good thing. Eric was so generous and so handsome, she didn't even mind him being a vampire. It just made him more mysterious and sexy. She could see why Sookie was so crazy about him, especially the way he spoiled her. He was an ideal spouse from what she could see.

They went back through the living room, stopping at the coffee table because Eric wanted to see the Marie Antoinette ring. He whistled when he saw it. "That's some ring."

"Think I could wear it to the Sheriff's Ball?"

"You'll have to get a sexy red dress to go with it."

"Yep, I'm going to have to be looking sharp that night."

"You always do." He winked at her. They went on into the kitchen and Margaret was setting Sookie's place with a plate of Fried Chicken, mashed potatoes and green beans with a cute little pone of corn bread on the side and some sliced cucumbers and green onions.

"Wow, Margaret, this is a real country meal. Thank you!"

"I fried enough chicken for you to have another meal of it later tonight. I hear you need to eat more."

"Yeah, they don't think I'm gaining enough weight. Can I get another bottle of that new stuff?"

"I'd like a bottle of that, too, if you don't mind." Eric said.

"Of course, coming right up." Margaret said cheerfully. She loved this new "family dinner" thing. They were sweet together and she liked seeing that Sookie and the baby were properly fed. She agreed that Sookie wasn't gaining enough weight. Well, a few of her famous cakes and some good country cooking would put that to rights.

She came back with their bloods, not realizing what they were.

"Miss Sookie, do you like Low Country cooking? I make a mean shrimp étouffé and a good crawfish gumbo."

"Ooh! I love that! Gran never made it much because it was so expensive, but yeah, I love that stuff! I always ate a ton of it when she did."

"Well, if you don't mind my saying so, I think that's what you and that baby need – some serious country cooking."

"It will definitely make me gain weight!"

"That's what we want, right Mr. Northman?"

"Yes, indeed. We want my son to be a fat and happy baby." He laughed.

"Easy for you to say – you don't have to give birth to him." Sookie teased.

"True, my angel, and I am forever grateful to you for doing that for me." He was only kidding a little, and he leaned over to kiss her.

"Can I get another one of these, Margaret?" Sookie asked, indicating the RM.

"Of course, dear," and she brought a new bottle straight over to her removing the empty.

"How many so far today?" Eric asked.

"6 so far. I think it's going to end up being about 10 a day."

"And I like them much better, too. That's 2 ½ to 3 cases a week for a while. I'll have Pam order three for us and we'll see how far they go. That smells very good, what you are eating there."

"It does?"

"Yes. That is fried chicken?"

"Yeah – you want to try a bite?"

"Yes, actually, I would." She tore off the little "leg" part of the wing and handed it to him. He sniffed it, made a face that indicated it didn't smell bad, and ate it.

"Anything?" She asked, expecting him to get sick.

"It was delicious."

"You're not sick?"

"No, I feel fine."

"Weird."

"Very."

Alicia came in with the list from Bobbie. "Mrs. Northman, Bobbie wants us to set up a birthing room? Are you going to try a home birth?"

"Yes, I have to because of the… unique nature of the baby."

"Are you sure? It's dangerous."

"Her doctor will be in attendance and she'll be able to handle the situation." Eric assured her. "I think she wanted it put together very soon."

"Well, alright, then. We can get some of this tomorrow. Which room on the second floor do you want to use?"

"One of them has a bathroom in it, doesn't it?" Sookie asked.

"Yes, the one nearest the kitchen. That would be a good choice. I'll make sure there's a bag of ice in the freezer so you'll have it to munch on in between contractions. That's what they do in the hospital. This list is pretty simple – white cotton sheets and towels, alcohol, Betadine, twine, scissors, Plastic drop cloths, a plastic mattress cover, rubber gloves, white cotton receiving blankets, a baby bath basin, a couple of plastic pans, a blood pressure cuff, a couple of apron style hospital gowns. We'll get this stuff tomorrow and put the room together. Apparently she wants us to spread the drop cloths on the floor under and around the bed, put a plastic cover on the mattress, and cover everything with white sheets. We'll take one of the trays from the closet in the den up to put supplies on."

"It seems early for this." Sookie said.

"Bobbie wants to be ready in case he's premature. Better to be safe and have it ready to go than to need it and not have it ready. Even if we have to clean things a few times as we wait, I agree with her, let's have it set up and ready to go. This will be hard under the best of circumstances, so let's make sure we've got the best of circumstances to work with."

"Actually, some of this I'll need to go to a pharmacy or medical supply store to get. If you don't need me anymore tonight, I'll go get started on this. I'll feel better if these things are at least here in the house."

"Yes, that's fine, Alicia. Thank you." Sookie said.

Eric smiled to himself – Sookie said that with such an air of authority. This was wonderful. They were years ahead of where he thought they'd be in building her confidence and helping her grow into her new roles.

"So, do you have to go to Fangtasia tonight?" Sookie asked.

"No, I already called and told Pam to take care of it. I need to go through those boxes and get organized, and you need to do the same in the office down here. You and I are going to be running two… " Margaret was still in the room "territories from here and we need to get a handle on what's happening as quickly as we can. I have to check on the security arrangements with Vincent. I'll need to talk to Sandy and Bill later on tonight, and you might need to talk to them, too, once you see what all is happening. I'm glad you got the jump on the Sheriff's Ball. That's a major event and a lot of the other regents will be there. I'm sure Sandy has it under control, but you need to stay on top of that. You're technically the hostess and people will be looking for things to nitpick about."

"Great."

"You can handle it. You've handled much more challenging things."

"I'm glad you think so. Can I ask you questions if I'm not sure about something?"

"Of course, Sookie, I'm always here for you. You also have Alicia, Margaret, Bobbie, Sandy, Janet Stevens, Bill – I'm sure he'll set up a liaison for the Queen and I'll ask Sandy to assign someone to work specifically with you, too. You aren't doing this alone, my lover, you have many servants to help you. A lot of the things you'll do will be in reaction to requests or requirements of some process or project and the answers will be obvious. Just remember that you are in charge and others must do things so that they suit you. You don't answer to them and you shouldn't be apologetic or timid with them. You have lovely manners and good taste. I'm confident that you will be perfectly fine in your new position."

"OK. We are going to get to spend some time together tonight, though, right?"

"Of course. We'll make it a priority to be together as much as possible. We should be able to arrange to be together most of the time since most things will be flexible. We'll even be able to keep the baby with us most of the time as long as there is someone there to help you."

"Good, I was hoping that was the case. I don't want you being an absentee father."

"That will never happen. I intend to be with my son as much as possible and enjoy watching him grow and learn. I'll teach him to fight and to be a good king, and someday, I will give part or all of the kingdom to him."

"You've got this all worked out, huh?"

"Yes, my lover, I do. It's all going to be fine."

Margaret set a huge piece of cake in front of Sookie.

"Yum! Thank you!" She said as she dug in. Eric enjoyed watching her and even took a taste of the chocolate cake and liked it. He still didn't get sick. When she was done they thanked Margaret and went back into Sookie's new office. He started opening boxes and looking through them. Some things were duplicates of things Sookie had, like the Social Registers of their subjects and the catalogs of their possessions, though neither of them had anything about the properties or businesses yet. Sandy would be working on that. They each had stationery and royal seals in several forms. Eric had a different calendar, though some of the items, like the Sheriff's Ball, over-lapped.

Sookie showed Eric the royal jewels from both kingdoms and he was impressed. He said that she could wear them whenever she wanted, though the fancier pieces would probably best be saved for major affairs of state. He marked down that he should have Sandy's report on the properties by June 15th, and figured he and Sookie should head for Vegas on June 22nd and stay until the Monday after the Sheriff's Ball, which was June 29th and Bobbie would need to go with them. Eric was afraid Bill would be needed in New Orleans, but he could join them on the 26th so he'd be there for the Ball and he could come back with the three others. They both added Niall's dinner with them on the 5th to their calendars. They'd have to get used to accounting for things like that and making sure their schedules were coordinated. They both noted Pam's vacation from the 15th through the 21st. June was going to be a busy month.

"Do you have plans for tomorrow, Sookie?"

"Yes, they're coming to paint the nursery, so Alicia is taking me to breakfast and shopping to get me away from the paint fumes. We've got $1500. in gift certificates to spend at Baby Depot."

He laughed. "Baby Depot?"

"Yeah, it's at Burlington Coat Factory. They've got all kinds of good stuff for babies and we're going to load up. Oh, there are a lot of packages expected this week where I ordered furniture for the nursery, too. The gardener's men probably need to be warned that I'll need help with that stuff."

"I need to mention all of this to Vincent, too. He'll need to make provisions to check things for bombs."

"Bombs?!"

"Yes, of course, Sookie. We have to be careful now."

"Great."

He didn't bother to tell her to get used to it. She would, and probably more quickly than she thought possible.

"Anything for the rest of the week?"

"Just Thank You notes, putting the nursery together and then Niall on Friday. Things may be in a bit of a mess because of the birthing room and the nursery."

"Margaret will see that it's all as neat as possible and Niall will understand that we are preparing our nest. He's going to love seeing all of your new jewelry. You should probably lay out all the gifts you got in one of the guest rooms until he can see them, then put them away later. He'll like seeing how you were honored by my subjects. There may be other gifts on the way, too."

"More? Why?"

"Because only Area 5 was notified. Once the word is out that there is a new king with a new wife and a magical child on the way…"

"Ah… gotcha. The rest will want to curry favor, too."

"Yes, we'll probably receive things at Fangtasia, the New Orleans Office and the Las Vegas residence. Do you want to stay in the residence when we go to Vegas or would you prefer to stay in the Bellagio?"

"This may sound crazy extravagant, but can we do both? I'd like to stay at the residence a few days to see what's there and see if we need to make any decisions there, but then I'd like to have a room at the Bellagio to escape to."

"That is fine. Actually, it's a really good idea, now that you mention it. It's best for us to have options. Good thinking."

She smiled to herself because he had praised her a couple of times today and she was glad she was doing things correctly. She loved knowing he was proud of her.

"Do we have to keep the residence in Las Vegas?"

"No, we don't and we don't have to keep this place either, just so you know. It's up to us where we want our headquarters. We will need homes in New Orleans and Las Vegas, but we don't have to use the ones we have there now. Our primary residence is up to us."

"I really like it here, and I'd rather not get used to a new house with all the rest of what is going on, so let's please keep this as our primary home. We'll have fancy houses in Vegas and New Orleans for when we need to receive guests and stuff, but I don't think we need anything as huge as what Felipe had, even if we can afford it. It's just too much."

"I agree. We can have nice large, gracious homes without having literal palaces. We need to feel comfortable in them, first and foremost."

"Good. I was worried you might want to move. I'd like to go through Felipe's residence, pick out whatever we want to keep, like artwork and stuff, and sell the rest. You could put the money toward rebuilding New Orleans and find us a more reasonable place. Hell, I'd be happy if we had a set of rooms in the Bellagio instead of a house."

"If that's what you would prefer, Sookie, that can be arranged. I'm sure with enough financial incentive, the Bellagio would give us permanent use of a penthouse suite to use as our offices and home away from home. Or they have private villas there that are the finest lodgings available."

"They do?"

"Yes, they do, very luxurious ones. They also have a presidential suite with a conference room, a luxurious living area and 3 servant's quarters for your "entourage." Then the hotel worries about cleaning and butlers and things, you get all kinds of perks with the restaurants and shows, all kinds of luxurious things. We need to spend some time with the mayor next time we're there and he got us the suite we stayed in before – he might have an in that would let us move the whole headquarters there. It's certainly more modern and convenient and if we needed to entertain, we can put guests up in the rest of the hotel."

"I would love that – then all we'd have to worry about is a doula or nanny, some assistants and everything you need to conduct business is available there, isn't it?"

"Yes, it is. I'll make dinner plans with the mayor and his wife and when we see them I'll tell him what I am interested in. He's going to be very happy with my new position."

"Yes, he will. His wife will be over the moon, too. I think she has a crush on you."

"Do you blame her?" he wiggled his eyebrows at her.

"No, not a bit. I've got a crush on you, too." She kissed him and started to pull away but he held her and kissed her more deeply in one of those soft, intense kisses that made her melt into her shoes. "Mmmmm – good kiss. How much longer do we have to do this?"

"Another hour, at least, then we go to bed."

"OK, what's next?"

"You find places in this office for your things, I find places in my office for these three boxes of things, I make necessary phone calls, check email and messages, then I'm probably done for the night. You should probably thumb through your calendar to get an idea what the rest of the year will be like. I'm going to take this stuff upstairs." And he kicked it into vampire speed, taking the boxes in one quick zip up the stairs.

He called Bill's cell and found him at the New Orleans Head Quarters.

"Bill?"

"Yes, Eric."

"Have you had time to find out anything?"

"Well, we all stayed at Victor Madden's small castle – you wouldn't believe how high on the hog he was living, Eric – and we got in here an hour or so ago. We didn't meet any resistance. They expected us, and they had already started getting an accounting of the business for this office together. Hang on just a minute."

Eric heard a door close.

"Sorry – I wanted to have a little privacy. It's the strangest thing, Eric, it's almost as if no one is surprised that Madden is dead. His servants had his house prepared as if for guests, and they even had his bedroom cleared out for Bobbie and me to use. No one is mourning, or sad or resentful. It's like they were all expecting this."

"I'm finding that's the case in several quarters. I almost feel as if someone in Felipe's own organization helped orchestrate this."

"Any ideas who?"

"Sandy is the logical choice – maybe she didn't want to work for either of them?"

"But did she want to be Queen?"

"No, I really think she was sincere about just wanting to do what she was doing. I'm just wondering who put all of this into motion. You know Sookie and I received boxes of printed stationery with our titles and names on them today? That had to have been ordered weeks ago."

"Well, look at it this way – somebody wanted you in that position and now you're there. I think I'll be able to get a good idea of what is going on here. I suspect something is amiss in the funds for the reconstruction because things that should have been done to some of our properties in the Quarter are still undone but so far I haven't located the funds for it. I think Madden has been stealing from Felipe."

"That's about what I'd expect from that snake. Make sure you and your security search his house thoroughly. My guess is there's a second set of books hidden somewhere and keep an eye out for keys to safe deposit boxes and any paperwork from a bank. He was too cocky to hide things that thoroughly. I'm sure he thought no one would catch on."

"We'll search very thoroughly. The men you sent with us have a lot of experience in this sort of thing. Vincent put together an excellent crew for such short notice."

"Good, I'll let him know you're pleased. Is Bobbie liking it there?"

"Yes, she was out in the Quarter today – that's how I knew some of our properties are neglected. I gave her a list of some of the places I knew and asked her to make notes, then we went through there on the way here after she told me what she saw. I'm telling you, Eric, they've done nothing to most of it. I don't know how Madden got away with this."

"Well, technically, he didn't." Eric laughed. "One last thing – can you assign a liaison to the Queen so she'll know who to contact for whatever she needs?"

"Yes, of course, I'll assign a team for her for day and night. Is she already taking on royal responsibilities?"

"Yes, it seems we have to host the Sheriff's Ball in Las Vegas on June 27th so she has to take hold of things pretty quickly. She'll have the details on it tomorrow so she might need information from your office then about travel or reservations, that sort of thing. For now her lady's maid will assist her, but depending on the demands of the office we may have to hire a full time assistant for her."

"I'm amazed that she is already doing things like that."

"She took control of it herself – she had already talked to the Las Vegas office before I even knew about it. She's going to be good at this. She has a way of rising to the occasion."

"Yes, I know she does. That's wonderful. What is her assistant's name?"

"Alicia, but for the most part I think Sookie will want your people to report directly to her. She'll need to synchronize the social calendar with your office's to make sure we aren't missing anything. You can use the house number for her for now – I'll be getting her an iPhone and she'll give you the number once it's in place. Call me back as soon as you know anything, and make whatever changes in staff you feel are necessary. I'll talk to you later."

"Alright, goodbye."

One Down. Now Vincent.

"Yes, your majesty?"

"Hello, Vincent, any progress on the security force?"

"Yes, sire, I have quite a few eager applicants with good experience. The word of your ascent went through the community like wildfire and everyone wants to work for you. I'll need to meet with you about the fences at your house. You should probably consider extending them to cover the front of the house and add a small guard stand."

"That's a good idea. Find out who is available to do that. Also, we're going to be receiving quite a few packages in the next month or so, do you have an explosives expert who can work days?"

"Yes, sir, there's a Were named Kerik who did EOD for the military. He's the equivalent of a bomb sniffing dog and an explosives expert rolled into one. I'll make sure he's scheduled on weekdays so he can handle all of your packages."

"I'll need him to start this week."

"He'll start at 5 am, sire. The whole team schedule will be in place by tomorrow night. I won't let you down. Also, sire, you might consider making sure the Queen has my number in case she needs help, and if you'll approve it, I'd like to assign a driver and bodyguard to work for her during the days. He'll be an extra pair of eyes when he's not driving her and he'll be protection for her when he is."

"She won't like that, but it's an excellent idea. Do you have someone in mind?"

"Yes, his name is Bjorn Anderson. He's a Were and a former Navy Seal. He did some military intelligence work, too. You'll like him – he's a big Swede with muscle and brains. She'll be almost as safe as if you were with her."

"Anderson – when can he start?"

"Immediately if you'll meet his salary requirements."

"What does he want?"

"$80,000 a year, with 20 of it up front."

"He's hired. Have him at my house at 7 am – my wife and her maid are going shopping and I'd like him to drive."

"He'll be there. I'll wire the money to him now."

"Good. Keep me informed and when you have it, fax a list of your personnel and their schedules to my house."

"Will do, your majesty. Good night."

"Good night, Vincent."

Sookie might not be happy about it, but he'd feel much better knowing she was being guarded. There's no telling whether Madden had any contracts out on them that might not have been cancelled. They needed to be extra careful for the next month or so. Now, to talk to Sandy.

"Yes, Your Majesty?"

"Good evening, Sandy. I'll be calling you at least once every night to check in. Anything I need to know about?"

"Things are fairly quiet. I expect to have your information about the properties done and in your hands by this Friday, and the Queen's information about the Sheriff's Ball is on its way and should arrive in the morning."

"Excellent. You will be reporting to me, but I'd like you to assign a liaison for the Queen for whatever she needs."

"Yes, sire, I have already done that. Angela will contact her tomorrow evening and she'll have the names of her day and night people. Everyone is excited to meet the new Queen, sire."

"Really?"

"Yes, sire, they've all heard how gracious she was when you were appointed and they are hoping for their own sort of Princess Diana – they know she's very young, very sweet and very kind."

"That she is. They'll get to meet her on June 22nd. We're going to come in the week before the Sheriff's Ball and stay until the following Monday. We'd like to stay at the residence part of the week but we'll keep a suite at the Bellagio, too."

"I'll make those arrangements for you right away, your majesty. Did you receive the catalogs of the household goods?"

"Yes, we did. We'll look things over and see what we want to keep. I do want to prepare you, Sandy – we'll probably sell the residence and opt for something more modest for our home and for your offices."

"I suspected that might be the case, sire. This place was far too expensive but de Castro insisted on it."

"I'm open to seeing or hearing any suggestions you might have for alternatives so if you have a preference, speak freely."

"Thank you, sire. Have you considered moving the headquarters to the Bellagio, sire? They have villas there that are very private and they would only cost a fraction of what this place costs, plus you would need very little staff. A Villa for your family and a commercial suite in the building would more than suffice for our needs."

"My wife and I had discussed something like that earlier today. If you'd like to investigate the particulars of that option, I'll be happy to hear what you find out. The Mayor of Las Vegas might also be of help in that area if you tell him it is for me. He and I will be doing business together later this year."

"As you wish, sire. I'll also include a financial report for the kingdom with the property listings that will arrive on Friday. I think you'll be pleased with what you see from my territory."

"As opposed to what I will find in the financial report for Madden's territory?"

"Yes, sire."

"So I hear. Fortunately, that situation will be rectified immediately."

"Yes, your majesty."

"Good night, Sandy – I'll talk to you tomorrow evening."

"Yes, your majesty. Good night."

'So Sandy knew Victor was stealing,' he thought to himself. 'It had to be Sandy – the question is, did she go to the Council or did the Council go to her? And what did Felipe do to earn their ire?'

That was enough intrigue for tonight. He had a beautiful wife who was a much more pleasing prospect than untangling Madden's web of lies. He zipped back down to her office.

"Hello, my lovely wife."

She was kneeling behind the desk where she was moving stuff around in the drawers and looked up at him a little out of breath.

"Why are you working so hard. my angel?"

"I want to have everything done so Thursday all I have to do is come in here and write Thank You notes."

"How much more do you have to do?"

"I can stop any time now… can we go to bed?" she asked hopefully as she stood up.

He scooped her up in his arms, turned off the light in the office and took her to bed.

He dropped her playfully on the bed, both of them tearing at their clothes to get them off, and Eric destroyed yet another thong to get at her. He rolled on his back, pulling her on top of him and helping her lift up and lower herself on his very erect, very hard cock. She wasn't quite as ready as she might have been but it hurt in a good way, and soon she was grinding away on him as he helped her raise and lower her hips.

She leaned forward and put her hands on his shoulders, really concentrating her strength and her attention on the feel of him inside her. She had her eyes closed, lost in the sensation, and he marveled at how pretty she was like this, all desire and warmth. He wrapped his arms around her and sat up as she leaned back so she could straighten her legs out and wrap them around him. He was kissing her face and her shoulders, then she threw her arms around his neck and she bit his shoulder hard, but didn't break the skin.

They were both in continuous motion and he leaned forward, pushing her back, so he could get to the dagger he kept in his nightstand. OH, YES! She loved this. He tilted his head to the side and cut his artery, and she sucked hard for as long as she could before it closed up. He came while she was drinking from him and he moaned as she licked all the blood that had spurted on his chest and shoulder up, coming as she did, his blood intoxicating her. They clung to each other for a long time, just enjoying the heat of their bodies, Sookie out of breath, Eric licking the sweat off her shoulders and neck.

Suddenly he bit her neck savagely and she came again as he drank deeply from the wound, every draw he took at her neck reaching right down to her center, extending her orgasm over and over. The Fae blood hit him hard and he flipped her on her back, throwing her legs up over his shoulders and going deep as she moaned loudly, managing, somehow, not to put any pressure on her stomach though it was getting so big it was beginning to affect the way they had sex. It didn't take him long to come because he was high on her blood, and soon he was just holding her with one arm, nibbling and sucking on her breasts, his hand between her legs, working her to another release that was short and sweet and made her beg him to hold her as she ran her fingers through his long hair and hid her eyes in his neck, unable to believe the ache she felt inside for him even though she had just had him.

She whispered in his ear,"Oh, god, I feel like I can't get enough of you – I just want you inside me so much, I wish you could stay inside me for hours and hours." Those words were like music to him, and he took her again, moving very slowly in and out, trying to stretch it out and make it last as long as possible, which turned out to be two slow, blissful hours of him slowly stroking in and out of her, whispering in her ear. Half of what he said was in Swedish, but it didn't matter because she knew what he was saying, what he meant, and the sound of the words was like a song. He gradually turned off the light with the switch in the headboard and she fell asleep with him in her, which is what she wanted more than anything.


	50. Chapter 50

**Chapter 50**

"Can you wake up? Sookie, can you wake up?"

"Oh, 'morning Alicia."

"Whew – you had me worried for a minute. It took forever to get you to stir."

"It's early, right?"

"Yes, they're setting up to paint next door, so you need to take a quick shower and we'll go shopping. The driver is going to take us anywhere we want to go."

"Driver?"

"Yes, Mr. Northman hired a big strong body guard to drive for us. He's very impressive. Get dressed and you can meet him."

"Oh, OK." Sookie tried to drag herself upward and Alicia reached into her little fridge and gave her a bottle of blood which perked her right up. She took a quick shower, pulled on the little blue knit dress and a thong, put on just a touch of makeup, and she was ready to go in just about 20 minutes. She went down to the kitchen where Alicia said she'd be waiting, and saw a mountain of a man sitting at the table drinking coffee. He was a little shorter than Eric but had big muscles of the type a man has to really work on and take special supplements and stuff. He had close cropped blonde hair and a bit of a Swedish accent. He wasn't beautiful like Eric but, as Alicia had said, he was impressive. Heads would turn when this man entered a room. He and Eric together would be an army.

"Bjorn, this is Mrs. Northman."

"How do you do, ma'am. I was expecting someone older." He smiled a brilliant white smile of very straight little teeth. Sookie hoped no one noticed that she blushed a little. It must be the Swedish thing…

"It's nice to meet you, Bjorn – did I say that right?"

"Yes, ma'am, that's fine."

"Oh, good. Well, I guess you're going to have to put up with Alicia and me all day to day."

"That won't be hard at all, Mrs. Northman. This is already the best job I've ever had."

Sookie smiled but didn't know what to say. Was he flirting with her? He wouldn't flirt with his boss's wife, right?

"Well, I'm ready to go whenever Alicia is ready…"

"I'm ready, Mrs. Northman, I've got your gift certificates right here. I also alerted the gardener that he might have to bring his truck to pick up furniture or something."

"Oh, that was a good idea. I hope I find a changing table I like."

"I wrote up a little list of things you still need. Now. Let's go get breakfast and then we'll hit the stores."

Bjorn walked in front of them and opened the door for them, then helped them into the back of Sookie's car. He slid into the front seat, not having to move it because the last one to drive it was Eric. Alicia directed him to the restaurant she wanted to go to for breakfast and she and Sookie insisted that Bjorn join them. He didn't tell them he had to stay with them anyway, because while they were calling him a driver, his real job description was bodyguard for the Queen – a prospect that got a lot more appealing when he saw her in that short little dress. He hadn't seen the King yet but he figured he must be really rich or the luckiest bastard walking. And he was a vamp! That sweet little thing fucked a dead guy every night. That seemed like a waste to him, but women were funny that way. Whatever – he sure wasn't going to mind looking at those legs every day.

She was hot even though she was pregnant, and he didn't think that was possible. He wanted to know the story on that, too. As far as he knew, vamps couldn't make kids, but everyone insisted that this Northman guy was the baby's father even though they couldn't explain how. He wondered if that was because they thought it was true or if they were just really afraid of the new King. His money said they were scared of the guy, which made him wonder why she wasn't. She didn't seem like a whore or a gold digger. She seemed really sweet, especially with that cute Southern accent.

They all got a round booth with Sookie sitting in the middle. Alicia excused herself to go to the ladies' room, and Sookie took the opportunity to ask Bjorn about his "affiliation."

"Are you a Were or Shifter?"

"I'm a Were, ma'am."

"OK, cool. I couldn't ask you in front of Alicia. She doesn't know. She just barely handles the vampire thing."

"Ah, I see. Your husband is very old, yes?"

"Yes, but he doesn't look old. He's really gorgeous. A little taller than you, not quite as bulky, though, and he's Swedish, too. He has long blond hair and amazing blue eyes."

"How long have you been married?"

"Uh, let's see… 10 days."

"10 days?"

"Yeah, we got married May 24th."

"Was he the King then?"

"No, he just became King Monday night."

"Really? So this is all new to you?"

"Yes, all of it, including having a bodyguard. That's your real job, right? To protect me?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"That's what I thought. Otherwise, Eric would have asked me if I wanted a driver. If it's about my safety or the baby's, though, he won't have any argument. That's why he bought me that crazy car."

"You don't like the car?"

"The whole thing is bullet-proof, even the trunk! Of course, that was good when the guy shot at us Monday night."

"Someone shot at you?"

"Yeah, after the… reception, coronation, coup whatever it was."

"You don't seem too upset about it."

"Since I met my first vampire, I've been beaten up repeatedly, shot at, caught in an exploding hotel with a bomb in my hand, and a whole lot of other things I don't even want to think about. This vampire shit just goes on and on. As long as I didn't actually get shot, I'm doing fine. Besides, the adrenaline rush was worth it. We had great sex that night." OOPS! Sookie why did you say THAT?! Quick, change the subject! "Alicia has been gone a while, huh? Do you know what you're going to order?"

He was trying not to laugh – he knew she let that slip and was embarrassed but he couldn't bring himself to let her out of it gracefully. He stared at the menu and tried not to laugh, but she was blushing and it was really cute, so it was hard.

"I don't usually eat this kind of food," he finally said.

"What do you usually have for breakfast?"

"A smoothie of fruit, protein powder, amino acid supplements and soy milk."

"Oh, wow – you're into healthy stuff, huh?"

"Yeah, it helps with my other job."

"What's your other job?"

"I'm a fitness model. I model in body building magazines and things like that. Sometimes I'll do a romance novel cover for extra money."

"I was on one of those once."

"You were?"

"Yeah, my cousin Claude is a big, gorgeous guy and he wanted to get into the business, so I did a photo shoot with him where I wore this sexy, long, off the shoulder dress with cleavage spilling over in all these sexy poses. They used one of the pictures on the cover of a book once. I've got it somewhere but I never read it."

"Those must be nice pictures if they actually used one."

"Yeah, I was amazed they made me look so good."

He was SO trying to stop picturing her with cleavage spilling over a long sexy dress, but it wasn't working. He took a drink of ice water. She was so sweet and completely unaware of how hot she really was. He may not get what she sees in the King, but he could sure as hell see what the King sees in her. It was all he could do to keep from asking her if she had a sister.

Alicia mercifully came back to the table. She sat down and opened the menu.

"Do you two know what you want yet?"

Yeah, he thought, I'll have a hot blonde with great legs and a side of cleavage. One that gets turned on by gunfire, thanks. Shit. He really needed the money he was going to get paid for this job. They already gave him 25% up front and that saved his ass in a major way.

"What are blintzes?" Sookie asked.

"Oh, you'd like those. It's ricotta cheese with a little sugar and eggs, rolled in a sort of crepe."

"OK, I didn't understand half of that…"

"Order them – you'll like them. It's like having a dessert for breakfast. I'm surprised to see them on a menu here."

Sookie ordered blintzes, which she loved, Alicia got a blue plate special and Bjorn ordered coffee, grapefruit juice and dry whole-wheat toast. Yikes.

They chatted about nothing in particular and were done fairly quickly, then headed for Baby Depot. Bjorn went in with them under the pretense of helping with packages and high shelves. Sookie noticed that he looked all around constantly and was always in a position to react. They shopped for hours and Alicia joked they should have just told the clerks "one of everything" and let them pack it up because Sookie spent the whole $1500 and the pile of stuff was god-awful. Alicia called the gardener to come save them and between his truck, the trunk of the car, the passenger seats of both the truck and the car, plus Alicia and Sookie holding things on their laps, they managed to get it all home just after dark. They came in the door laughing, the gardener's men carrying things in and Bjorn right behind them. Eric was in the kitchen, and got up to kiss Sookie when they came in.

"Hi, Sweetie," She threw her arms around Eric's neck and kissed him.

"Did we have fun, my lovely wife? I hear you needed more transportation."

"We had a blast! I spent all of it – the whole $1500 and wait 'til you see all the cool stuff I got for the baby. Oh, yeah, Eric, this is Bjorn"

Eric and Bjorn hated each other on sight and it was palpable to the point that Alicia helped the guys carry stuff in from the cars to get away from it. Eric said something to Bjorn in Swedish and he answered. They exchanged a few more words no one but them understood and the exchange ended with Eric giving Bjorn something between a smirk and a sneer. Sookie knew Eric was tense but she couldn't imagine why so she wrapped her arms around him and tried to break the staring contest he and Bjorn were having.

"Ya wanna see the list of what I bought?" She was baby-talking because she knew that sort of melted him, and he looked down at her an smiled. She held up the receipt from the store:

Combi Hero 2-in-1 High Chair – Mandarin 159.99

Evenflo Baby Go High Chair – Red 49.99

Playtex Complete Nurser Starter Set 14.99

iQ Electronic Bottle Warmer 44.99

Soft & Play Activity Playpen 149.99

BABY BJORN Original Baby Carrier 79.99

Eddie Bauer Lamp Base with Shade (TEDDY BEARS) 35.99

Eddie Bauer Deluxe 3-in-1 Convertible Car Seat 154.99

Clean Air Odor-Free Diaper Disposal 42.99

Terry Contour Changing Pad Cover – Blue 11.99

Cleanwater Infant Tub with Thermometer 39.99

Johnson & Johnson Sweet Bedtime Sleep Set 24.99

Baby Care Nursery Cart 21.99

Deluxe Audible Bath Temperature Alarm 14.99

Kids Line Denim Juvenile Hamper 19.99

26 Piece Deluxe Baby's Essentials Kit 21.99

Grow with Me Ear Thermometer Set 24.99

Mommies Melodies Bear 24.99

Fisher-Price Open Top Take-along Swing 69.99

Pregnancy Wedge Cushion 15.99

Nicki Changing Table 149.99

Travel Lite Crib 89.99

Celebrity Portable Crib – Navy 89.99

Symphony-in-Motion Mobile 39.95

eveloplay Two-sided Activity Center 29.99

Easy-fit Sateen Crib Sheet – Red 9.99 x 3

Close and Secure Sleeper 42.99

Eric laughed out loud.

"My angel, did you leave anything in the store?"

"Nope, I cleaned them out."

"Apparently – sit with me and tell me what these things are."

He pulled out her chair and then sat next to her. Bjorn continued to help with the packages, thinking about what Eric had said to him. Eric had said "you're the bodyguard?" and he said "yes, I'm happy with the job. She is very sweet." Eric had replied "Anyone who touches her dies, you understand?" To which he had said "yes," knowing that was not only his mission statement, but a straight-up threat. There was no doubt in his mind that man would kill anyone who touched his wife. None at all.

Once again the living room was full of boxes and paper. The gardener's men took the changing table up to the nursery to put it together for Sookie, while she and Alicia tore into boxes and plastic wrap. Sookie was having trouble with one package and Eric produced a big knife that cut into it easily and he stayed around helping by cutting into packages and listening to Sookie chatter about what each thing was for and how cute it was. He was delighted to see her so animated and happy, and he quickly forgot about the other bull in the pen.

Bjorn quietly continued to carry things in but he studied the way they interacted with each other. It was obvious they adored each other, but he couldn't understand why that amazing woman was with a vampire. That comment she made about having hot sex after being shot at haunted him. First, where do you find a woman that appreciates an adrenaline rush like that, because that was the woman for him. Second, the idea of that big fucking dead thing fucking her when she was high on adrenaline made him want to kill something – namely the big fucking dead thing. Oh, he was going to earn every fucking penny of that 80 grand because this was the best worst job in the wide world.

It was late and Alicia needed to head home. She promised to help Sookie finish cleaning all this stuff up in the morning and Sookie was fine with that. The gardener and his men finished with the changing table and told Sookie it was all set and headed out. Bjorn said he needed to check out with the head of security and said good night. Sookie smiled sweetly and said good night and Eric glared at him. Eric knew exactly how good he had it and he was going to keep it that way. Stop thinking about her, idiot, he's a killer. He has to be to be King of the vampires. He's got to be ruthless and deadly and you just know he's never deadlier than when she's involved.

Sookie straddled Eric's lap where he sat in the side chair in the living room, sliding her dress up her thighs and pulling his hands along behind it. She slowly, gently kissed him. "Take me upstairs." She whispered and she was in their room before she took another breath.

"you know that blue scarf you had me wear for you that time?"

"The blindfold?"

"Uh-huh. Can I see it?"

He reached into the closet and did something that opened a door she had never seen. What was that? He produced the navy silk scarf and gave it to her.

"Strip." She told him, giving him a wicked look. She wanted to play, so he decided to go with it and see where she was going with this. He stripped for her while she watched and she obviously enjoyed it. When he was naked, she patted on the bed, letting him know she wanted him to lie down. OK, fine. He lay on the bed and she went up on her knees beside him. She leaned forward with the scarf and started to blindfold him. He caught her wrist and looked at her.

"Please?" She said very sweetly and he let her wrist go, letting her blindfold him. His senses were so acute he would know what was happening anyway. This could get interesting. What was she up to? 'My little minx' he thought, 'she must have a reason for this.'

He lay back and listened. He could hear her pull her dress over her head and pull the thong off that was under it. She ran her hands down the length of his body, making him purr. He felt her softly kissing his stomach and his chest. He heard something click, but couldn't really identify it. He felt her hot tongue on his stomach, his hip bone, his cock. Oh, yes, that's my girl…

She took him in her mouth and began sucking him off enthusiastically but slowly. He LOVED this. She was sucking and stroking his balls with her hand. After a minute, he felt something cold at his asshole. She wouldn't! He had to be dreaming – this was too good! Sure enough, her little fingers were all lubed up and sliding into his ass as she sucked his cock. He was moaning loudly and he couldn't be still. She found his prostate and stroked and it made him cry out "Ah!" She did it again and he yelled again. This was hot. She had him at her mercy, just like Bobbie said and this time SHE was playing HIM like a virtuoso. She slipped her fingers out a little, then back in and stroked, and he yelled again. She was trying to suck but she was smiling so big it was hard. She focused, sucked hard and stroked him several times in quick succession and he came like nothing she had ever seen, shooting into the back of her throat so far she barely tasted it. He actually sort of seemed out of breath. She was kissing her way back up to his mouth and she kissed him. He took off the blindfold and rolled her on her back, kissing her hard.

"MY lover, that was incredible. Where did you learn that little trick?"

"From Bobbie."

"I knew there was something about her I liked."

"So you like that? You'd like me to do it again some time?"

"I want you to do that every time you want to – that was beautiful. I did not know you would do something like that. I wanted to teach you too, but I was worried you would be…'

"…grossed out? I was when I first heard of it, but I got to thinking about it and Bobbie said you'd be at my mercy and you sort of were."

"Yes, my lover, you will have my complete attention when your fingers are inside me that way."

"Cool. Did I do it right?"

"Did you hear me moan and feel me come in your throat?"

"Yeah, that was awesome" she giggled.

"Every day, you surprise me, Sookie. You get more beautiful, sweeter, more delightful every day. I don't know how you do it, but you do." He kissed her slowly and for a long time. "Do you know what I would like, my angel?"

"You'd like to do something similar to me and you want me to roll on my stomach."

"Is that all right?"

"Yes, I like it when you do that to me."

"You do? I thought you just tolerated it?"

"No, it's not so much the way it feels orgasm-wise but it makes me feel…owned. Like I really know I'm yours when you do it."

"That is how it makes me feel, too. Like you are truly mine."

She rolled over on her stomach, but knelt up on her hands and knees. She felt the cold gel, and she felt him possessing her right down to her soul. Right now, in this moment, no one existed but the two of them, and they weren't even two – they were one. One person trembling all over. One person wrapped in warmth and love, one perfect unit, union, arms wrapped around, back to front, his lips on her shoulders, his forehead against the back of her head, soft kisses on her back as they fall together afraid to move or even breath because they wanted the feeling to continue.


	51. Chapter 51

**Chapter 51**

"Good Morning, Mrs. Northman."

"awhhh-epp" she yawned, "'morning, Alicia!"

"How are you feeling today. dear?"

"Awfully tired, but I know I have a lot to do."

"What do you have planned?"

"Well, I was hoping you'd help me with those thank you notes and then we have to go through that portfolio about the Sheriff's Ball. It did come yesterday, didn't it?"

"Yes, it did, it's on your desk in your office, along with several faxes you need to look at that have your contact information for the Las Vegas and Louisiana offices. Does the vampire community have its own sort of internal power structure?"

"Yes… why?"

"Well, they refer to you as HRH and 'your majesty' – is Mr. Northman some kind of King now?"

"Within their community, yes, he is. He's over what used to be two kingdoms, which is several states called the Louisiana Territories and the Nevada Territories. I didn't tell you because I know how weird it sounds to have royalty in America, but that's how they organize themselves."

"So you're Queen of the vampires?" She was slightly amused and plenty impressed.

"Technically, yes. That's why it's such a big deal and why those presents…"

"… were so extravagant. In that context, it all makes sense now. And being royalty, there has to be good security, hence the body guard and guards around the house?"

"Yeah. You're not going to quit, are you? I really need your help."

"Don't you worry, I'm not going anywhere. This is just getting interesting." She winked at her and they laughed as she set Sookie's breakfast over her lap.

"This looks good – what is it?"

"It's a big Western omelet with lots of ham and cheese. Margaret is determined to fatten you up," she laughed.

"Well, I'm going to enjoy her trying. She's an awesome cook."

"Wait until you see what's for dinner – she already started it because she hopes you'll eat several bowls of it throughout the day."

"Is it shrimp étouffeé?!"

"Yes, it is and you should see how huge the shrimp are. They look more like lobster tails."

"Oh, yum! You know, it never occurred to me to ask her if she could make stuff like that. I love it, but Gran hardly made it because it was so expensive. It never dawned on me that I can afford it now."

"You certainly can, and Margaret is thrilled to be making it for you. She has been more worried than anyone that you don't seem to be gaining enough weight. She's counting on a cute little blonde chubster running around in a year or so."

"Yeah, me, too. I didn't know she was so excited about it, though."

"Oh, yes, she has always wished Mr. Northman would find a nice girl because he was always so kind and generous to her. She always wondered why such a handsome and kind man was alone and he seemed kind of sad much of the time. She was tickled to death when you started coming around and he started smiling. She thinks you two are just wonderful together. "

"Awww- that's nice to know. I really think of you and Margaret like family and I want you all to be happy working here."

"We are, sweetie, don't you worry about us. We love being here."

"Thanks."

"Now, you dig into that omelet, catch a quick shower and we'll dig into those royal thank you notes. We've got to make sure King Eric looks good in front of his subjects." She winked at her again. She was being a really good sport about this. Sookie was relieved not to have to hide it any more.

Baby E was awake and kicking now and she asked him to hold on and she'd drink some blood after she finished her omelet. He was a little persistent, but not as bad as he could be and she was able to eat in relative peace. When she got done, she sat the tray on the dresser and downed a couple of bottles of RM, which made the little Prince happy as a clam.

"Happy now, Baby E?"

Happy. Love. Funny.

'Oh, great, now he thinks it's funny harassing mommy to drink blood.'

Funny. Funny.

'Bobbie was right. He can read my mind.'

Soothing.

Sookie never felt that before. What was she thinking? Bobbie?

Soothing.

He knew Bobbie was the one who soothed them with the massages? Is that possible?

Soothing. Happy.

"Yeah, I miss Bobbie, too, Sweetie – she'll be back tomorrow night and give us a massage."

Happy.

She laughed and got into the shower, and she could feel that Baby E liked that the water relaxed her. She washed her hair and started thinking about Eric and felt

Love. Fight!

And she knew he was thinking about Eric now, too. She couldn't wait to see the two of them together.

She threw on the little yellow knit dress, because she wouldn't be able to wear these much longer, and she went down to her new office. Alicia had everything piled on the desk waiting for her.

There was a fax from Bill in New Orleans that said to contact Emily Jacobs in the daytime and Jasmine Raj after dark if she needed anything at all, and it gave her their numbers.

The fax from Las Vegas was from Sandy, and Sookie's liaisons there would be Janet Stevens in the daytime, and Bruce Dunlop after dark. There was a reminder that the time zones might differ, which was good because Sookie hadn't thought about that. It would get darker in Louisiana a little earlier than in Las Vegas. Not a lot later, but it could make a difference in trying to get a hold of a vampire assistant.

There was a fax from Jasmine already asking her to confirm her attendance at an event for the reconstruction of New Orleans on July 3. Sookie looked at the calendar but there was nothing about that, so she wrote out a note saying she needed all the information on the event ASAP and clipped it to the fax. There was a new steno pad laid out for her, by Alicia she assumed, and she made a note to check Eric's calendar and see if he had that on there and ask him if they wanted to go. Her guess was that it was something they should do, since reconstruction would be a priority for Eric because he had said some time before that it was lost revenue every day it was delayed. She didn't know yet that Victor had been skimming off the top and not doing what he was supposed to do, but she had accurately anticipated Eric's interest in the project.

Alicia came in and asked how she was doing. She showed her the note she needed sent back to Jasmine, and Alicia sent it immediately through the fax in the corner. About 10 minutes later there was a return fax from Emily with a brief overview of the event and a promise that the portfolio for it would arrive by messenger the next day. It was a star-studded event for humans and vamps and their attendance would greatly enhance their ability to get donations from the rich and famous who would be in attendance. Apparently, knowing Vamp royalty was the trendy thing for the Hollywood crowd, so they'd be hobnobbing with some seriously big names that night. Sookie wanted to go just to see who would be there!

Sookie pulled out the portfolio on the Sheriff's Ball and started through it. There was a floor plan of the Grand Ballroom at the Bellagio and little icons drawn to show where everything would be placed. There was a note on the top about ice sculptures and Sookie specified she liked Swans and graceful aquatic themes, no modern art that didn't look like anything and no castle as Felipe had requested – how pretentious! The decorations chosen were in colors of black and blue, which Sookie changed to black and red because she was going to wear a red dress that night. Alicia was impressed that Sookie made that connection that the décor should suit her outfit since it was her party. Sookie made a note on the steno pad that she needed a killer red dress for that night and put MA next to it because she was going to wear the Marie Antoinette ring that night to wave it in front of Sabrina's face. She knew why she gave her that ring – two of its royal owners had been killed – and she was going to show her she wasn't a bit scared of her. Bitch.

Harry Conick, Jr. was the entertainment for the Ball, in between the orchestra playing and while he wouldn't have been Sookie's first choice, she figured he was a nice choice for a black tie affair like this.

She looked at the refreshments that were to be offered and she wanted RM to be available for their guests as well as True Blood, and she wanted at least three more hors d'oeuvres, including two that didn't contain meat or dairy of any kind in case there were vegan guests and she wanted more variety in the caviar, champagnes and beer to include some American equivalents. This was America, after all, and she felt they had a responsibility to support American products. Felipe had shown too strong a preference for products from Spain and France for her tastes and the prices listed for Iranian caviar were ridiculous when you compared it to Russian, let alone America equivalents and she didn't believe for a minute the people there would actually taste a difference. She also remembered that she loved to mix the beluga with the big red berries of salmon caviar when she had tried it with Bobbie in Las Vegas and she specified she wanted Salmon and some others available as well to make it more colorful. She also asked that the cheese platter include gruyere in addition to the ones listed, because it was her favorite.

She showed the changes to Alicia and she was very impressed. She never expected Sookie to know that much about caviar (thanks, Bobbie!) or to be that aware of the availability of American caviar and champagne that were equal in quality to what was to be offered from Iran and Russia, or Spain and France, let alone the idea that they needed to provide for the possibility of vegan guests!

"Gruyere cheese? Where did you learn about that?"

"French class."

"Caviar?"

"Las Vegas."

"Champagne?"

"An article in Vogue magazine waiting at the doctor's office."

Sookie was not only resourceful she was apparently a sponge. She read a lot and she remembered information later when it came in handy. Alicia offered to type up the changes for Sookie's signature, and went to do that while Sookie got set up for thank you notes. Alicia left the list of presents with her, but Sookie decided to wait until Alicia got back to make sure she followed proper protocol. She couldn't afford to look like a bumpkin here.

Alicia was pretty quick, and had the fax on its way in about 15 minutes. There was a confirmation from Janet half an hour later that said she had checked on all of Sookie's suggestions and they were not only doable, they would bring them back under budget, which Felipe had totally blown. Felipe apparently cared more about appearance than the solvency of the kingdom. Sookie and Eric would show off when it counted, but use some restraint when it was called for, too.

Alicia called a couple of designer stores she had dealt with before, telling them she needed a spectacular red dress for a special event and arranged to have samples sent to the house on Tuesday.

"That was quick." Sookie said.

"I told them the dress was to be worn at an event hosted by royalty."

"Nice." Sookie laughed. Well, it was true.

"The color will tip them off that the person wearing it will be the royal – you aren't supposed to wear red in the presence of royalty because it's reserved for the Queen."

"I didn't know that."

"Now you do – you should be the only one wearing red that night, though most Americans wouldn't know any better."

"Vampires might, though. They tend to be really old."

"Do you mind my asking… how old is Mr. Northman?"

"You won't believe me."

"Try me."

"Don't freak out. He's over a thousand years old."

"You're joking…"

"No, I'm not. He's lived almost everything you've ever read about."

"That is amazing!"

"I know. I can't imagine it. It's easy to forget because he looks so young, but he's done and seen almost everything."

"Does aging not affect them?"

"It works the opposite way with them. The older they get, the stronger they get and the more powerful. A lot of vampires are afraid of Eric because his age makes him stronger than most. He was a good choice for King. Very few people would even consider opposing him."

"Well – that's something. Now, let's get to these thank you notes. I pulled all the cards and put them in order of the gifts as you opened them so we can follow right along. You might need addresses for some of them…"

"They should all be listed in this register. Most of them are from Area 5."

"Area 5?"

'The states are divided into areas which are ruled by Sheriffs who report to the King. Eric was Sheriff of Area 5 before. Now that he's king, we'll probably get more presents from people in the rest of the Territories."

"I had no idea vampires were that organized."

"They had to be to survive as long as they did without detection."

"I've always wondered – why did they decide to come out?"

"Mostly because of technology. With the advances in forensic sciences, it was only a matter of time before law enforcement found out about them. It was a matter of survival, and once True Blood was invented, they didn't have to hide anymore."

"I guess that makes sense. It was quite a shock to a lot of people. It took some getting used to."

"Yeah, there's still a lot of prejudice, but honestly, they're just like human people in most ways. There are good vamps and bad vamps. I've been lucky to know some of the really good ones. Bill Compton was the first vamp I met, and he was basically a good guy. Most people think Eric is a bad guy, and I did, too at first, but then he was… sick for a while and I got to spend time with him where he wasn't being Big Bad Sheriff Northman and I realized that it's a role he plays so no one will mess with him. When he's with me, you couldn't ask for a sweeter guy."

"He is very sweet with you. He's probably much more comfortable in his own home."

"Yeah, when we're around other vampires, of course, he has to be a bad ass, and he's good at it," she laughed, "and he lets it be perfectly clear that no one is to mess with me. I wasn't too nice to him early on, so now I go out of my way to make him look good. I like him to be proud of me."

"You don't need to worry about that, hon. He thinks you walk on water and anyone who sees the way he looks at you knows it. I've never seen a man so head over heels in love."

"Aw – thanks. I never thought I'd get married or have a baby. I was kind of an outcast where I lived before. Having Eric's baby is a dream come true."

Happy!

"Oops! Somebody's awake" Sookie laughed.

"Is he kicking?"

"Yeah, feel…." Alicia let Sookie put her hand on the spot where Baby E was kicking and she smiled at her.

"That's a pretty strong kick!"

"Yeah, he's gonna be a little bad ass like Daddy, aren't you, Sweetie?"

He kicked again and made them both laugh. Sookie didn't tell Alicia, but he sent her Love. Proud. Fight! – the three words he associated with Daddy already.

They got serious then about the Thank You notes and it took hours but they got them done, and Alicia assured Sookie throughout that she was being gracious and grateful, which is what she was trying for. Even the one to Sabrina was done just as sweetly as she possibly could. She didn't tell Alicia why they skipped the one for the Silver Mine. About half way through the list, Margaret brought Sookie a big bowl of étouffeé and rice. She took a break in the living room to finish it so there was no chance of a spill near the cards. It was heaven. The shrimp were almost as big as Sookie's palm – they must have cost a fortune, she thought – and they were cooked perfectly. It was spicy, but not too much so, and it was so good she went back to the kitchen for more and Margaret was tickled to death to see her eat that way. Sookie told her this was all she wanted for dinner, too if there was enough and there was. She made a ton and Sookie was glad. While she was eating, Alicia answered the door where one of the guards brought in some screened packages.

"Hello, ma'am, I'm Jerry Kerik – I'm the screener. These should be safe for the Queen to open. These big boxes are safe, too, but you'll need some men to handle them."

"Oh, well, thank you. I'll call the gardener's men to get them."

"Could I introduce myself to the Queen, ma'am? The king said he wants us all to recognize her on sight."

"Oh, of course, come right this way." She led him into the living room where Sookie was sitting, enjoying her lunch and looking like she owned the place, finally.

"Mrs. Northman, this is Jerry Kerik. He's the new – screener, was it?"

"Yes, ma'am, I screen your packages for explosives and such."

"Oh, well, it's nice to meet you, Jerry. Thank you for doing that for me." She shook his hand and he was surprised that she offered it.

"It's my pleasure, ma'am. I just wanted to say hello and let you know we've got you covered. Enjoy your lunch."

"Thanks, it was nice to meet you." She gave him a big smile and he bowed a little and left.

He went back out to his post in front with the other guard, Harold.

"Did you meet her?"

"Yep – just like everybody said. Princess Diana. She's sweet and blonde and really friendly. She's a beautiful girl – I didn't realize she was so young, but she's a doll. She's going to be a very popular Queen if she stays that nice."

"I worked for Sophie Ann and people liked her, for the most part and she wasn't mean or anything but I wouldn't call her nice. I've never heard of a sweet, friendly Queen, have you?"

"No, I haven't. I hope it doesn't go to her head. I'd hate to see her lose that sweet manner she has."

"Does she seem the type?"

"Honestly, no. I think she'll stay just as sweet as she is. That was not an act – she's a genuinely nice girl."

"How'd she end up with Northman? I heard he's a mean SOB,"

"I don't know, but I'd like to know his secret, because he's obviously doing something right."

Bjorn pulled up then and parked on the street, carrying their lunch over to them.

"Hey, guys – what's up?" he said, handing their drinks to them from a tray.

"Kerik just met the Queen."

"Queen Sookie? She's something else isn't she?"

"Yes, she was very sweet."

"Did you check out those legs?"

"No, I didn't notice that…"

"How could you not? She's gorgeous!"

"I'd watch that kind of talk if I were you. I've heard things about the king… there's no proof or anything, but if half the rumors are true, you don't want to be on his bad side."

"What rumors?"

"The rumor is that before they got married she dated a Were-tiger…"

"You mean Quinn?"

'Yeah, that's him. He went missing right before they got married."

"They think he did it?"

"Like I said, there's no proof, but they say there was seriously bad blood between them over her."

"There's probably no connection," Bjorn said dismissively.

"Yeah, well while they were at his palace in Vegas for their wedding, they say de Castro tried to force himself on her, and he went missing within a couple of days and the two of them moved to a hotel on the strip. That was less than 2 weeks ago and now he's got Felipe's entire kingdom. I'm telling you man, fuck with that guy, or his girl, at your peril."

"They think he pulled a coup?"

"No, they think he killed a guy who fucked with that girl. The fact that he was king was secondary. Then when the Council went to declare de Castro dead at their wedding reception at Fangtasia, Felipe's second in command tried to object and Northman sliced his head off in front of all of Area 5."

"Why would they announce that at his reception? Who did it?"

"The Ancient Pythoness. She performed their wedding, too. She said it was the will of the Council. Rumor is, the Queen has a relative on the Council or who soon will be."

"Shit."

"Yeah, seriously. I wouldn't let that guy catch you looking at her too long. He's connected and he's not afraid of anything if he'd kill Victor Madden in front of everybody like that."

"Victor Madden? Northman is the guy who did that?"

"Yep, and didn't care who saw him."

"If the Council is behind it…"

"… then he's fucking untouchable. Anybody who fucks with him is a dead man, and messing with her equals fucking with him. Also, be careful what you think around her."

"What I think? Why?"

The other guy, Harold, chimed in now. "Oh, yeah, I heard about that – she's a telepath. She knows what you're thinking. They say it's a little harder for her where Weres are concerned, and she can't do it at all with vampires, but she can read a human's mind like listening to a radio."

"That can't be true." Bjorn argued.

Kerik continued: "Did you hear about the bombing of the Pyramid of Giza in Rhodes? About the two telepaths that saved all those lives?"

"That was her?!"

"Yep. I hear she saved de Castro's life once, too, when one of Sophie Ann's guys tried to get revenge. She had protection from de Castro's kingdom for that. De Castro should have protected himself from Northman. He'd still be alive if he hadn't tried to take her from him. There are stories about that baby, too."

"I thought vamps couldn't have kids."

"All anyone knows is that Niall Brigant made it happen but it is definitely Northman's kid."

"Why would an old fairy do that?"

"Nobody is sure, but the rumor is that she's his granddaughter or something."

"Seriously? She doesn't seem like a fairy…"

"She's only an eighth or a quarter or something. Anyway, they say the baby is touched by the gods."

"Bull shit."

"All I know is there's big magick going on around the King and Queen and if you're smart you'll do your job and shut the fuck up. He's known for paying well and being pretty generous and cool with the people that work for him, but he shows no mercy to an enemy. You do not want to be on that mother fucker's bad side if you want to live."

"That stuff can't all be true." Anderson wasn't buying it.

"Ask her," Kerik challenged him.

"Ask her what – did her old man off Quinn and de Castro? Even if it were true, she wouldn't admit it. Hell, she might not even know it. They say there's no trace of either of them. They just vanished." Harold pointed out.

"Ask her about Rhodes, then. See if she's not one of the telepaths. Somebody told me she saved a lot of lives that day, Northman's included. They say she went back in to get him."

"That little girl went back into an exploding building to save that big fucking vamp?"

"From what they say, she's not afraid of anything, either. Do you know what a blood bond is?"

"No – is it a vampire thing?"

"Yeah, see, once a couple has exchanged their blood 3 times, it creates a mystical bond where they can feel what the other is feeling. If she's horny, he knows it."

"I never heard of anything like that."

"I've heard of it." Harold said. "It's really rare. They say a thousand year old vampire will only bond once or twice in their whole life. Are they blood-bonded?"

"Yep, that's supposedly how she knew about the attack on de Castro. Siegbert- you heard of him?"

"Yeah" Harold and Bjorn said together.

"They thought he was killed when de Castro pulled his coup against Sophie Ann, but he escaped. He had Northman and de Castro tied up and getting ready to torture them, and she came back and ran over him with a car, backed up and ran over him again. It was enough to stop him long enough for her to let Northman loose and he killed the guy. They say she found them because of the blood-bond with Northman. She knew through the bond he was in trouble and she had to save him. She had no choice. It compels them to do things like that for each other. That's why you don't want to mess with her. He'll know it and if he knows it, you're dead."

"Is that why they're so close? I saw them together and they seem crazy about each other. I don't get it on her part, but they do."

"Damn near made for each other is what I hear. Where else you gonna find a woman that would go through all that danger and still smile at the guy who got her into it. She was nearly famous before they got married. Now that she's Queen, everyone will know her and most of them will love her."

"You make her sound like a Witch." Bjorn said.

"I don't know exactly what she is, man, but I know what I've heard about her old man, and that's all I need to know. She doesn't look it, but to live through all of that and do what people swear she has done, she has to be as tough as he is."

"They have wild sex, too." Harold added.

"How the fuck do you know that?" Bjorn didn't like hearing that, though she'd said enough for him to know it was true.

"My buddy worked the night shift last night and the night before, and he said you could hear them outside. They got shot at Monday night and when they got home, she fucked his brains out and the guys out here could hear it all. She may be a lady in the living room but she's a wild cat in the sack. That was the night he killed Madden, too. Most women would have been a basket case after a night like that, but they said she was loud and begging for more. That rumor about her not being afraid of anything has got to be true. It almost seems like the danger turns her on."

"She said something…" Bjorn stopped himself.

"What'd she say?"

"Let's just say the lady knows what to do with a good adrenaline rush."

Sookie came out the front door and they shut up.

"Hey, guys, have y'all had lunch? We've got lots of shrimp étouffeé if you'd like a bowl. Hey, Bjorn. I met Jerry, but I don't know you – I'm Sookie." She offered her hand to Harold, who was standing with his mouth open but recovered enough to shake her hand.

"I'm Harold, ma'am"

"Nice to meet you, Harold. Like I said, we've got plenty if you want…"

"No, ma'am, thanks, but we've already got our lunch." Kerik said.

"Well, OK, I just wanted to offer and make sure I introduced myself. I guess you all will be regulars in the day time?"

"Yes, ma'am, mostly" Kerik said.

"Well, OK, then, I'll see you later." Sookie bounced back into the house, determined to finish those thank you cards before dark.

"Damn!" Harold said.

"Yeah." Bjorn agreed.

"She's a sweet girl, I told you," Kerik said. "Look but don't touch and make sure you don't get caught looking or you'll end up like Victor Madden or vanish from the face of the earth like Quinn and de Castro and god knows how many others. I can wait to get a look at the King."

"I met him last night. He's about six and a half feet tall, with long blond hair. He looks about 30 years old, but obviously he's not. He basically threatened me."

"No shit?" Harold said.

"What did he say?" Kerik figured he'd better know what was going on, just in case.

"He spoke to me in Swedish so I don't think she understood it. He said anybody who touches her dies. I could just take it that he was telling me my job, but the way he said it, it was a threat as well as an order."

"You need to think seriously about whether you really want this job, then. He's already pegged you as a potential threat. Like I said, you do not want to be on that guy's bad side. People who piss him off have a tendency to disappear… or get beheaded in fucking public."

Bjorn was thinking about what he said. He had worked for Victor Madden for a while but he didn't owe him any loyalty. He wondered why Sabrina thought he should try for this job. There had to be an angle – there was ALWAYS an angle where Sabrina was concerned. She didn't pay well like Northman did but the fringe benefits were awesome when she was in the mood, and Sabrina was always in the mood. Too bad she was mad as a hatter. He wasn't up for that brand of crazy as a steady diet, so he never worked for her on a permanent basis, though she'd offered many times. This job paid really well and had one very beautiful fringe benefit but thinking about that might get a guy killed. He thought he really lucked out when the guy offered to give him 25% up front. Now he was obligated to stay for at least 6 months. That was the contract, and he'd already used the money to get himself out of a jam. So why did he feel like he just jumped out of the frying pan and into the fire?

*****

When Sookie got done with the last thank you note, she was exhausted, but she knew she still had a lot to do.

"Is everything ready for my dinner guest tomorrow night?" Sookie asked.

"Everything will be perfect by then. The things you got yesterday are spread out on the bed in the yellow guest room the way Mr. Northman suggested, and of course the men are still upstairs working on the packages you got today."

"What were they? Stuff for the nursery?"

"The large two, yes. The other smaller packages are still there for you to open."

"OK, let's do that."

Alicia brought the three small packages in. One was about the size of a book, and when Sookie opened it it turned out to be an ornate emerald and diamond necklace."

"Oohh! That will match your earrings." Alicia said.

"Yes and that's another card I need to write out. Can you start a second list, please?"

While Alicia did that, Sookie opened package number two – ruby and diamond chandelier earrings."

"Those will be perfect with your Marie Antoinette ring and your engagement ring. You might not even need a necklace with these, especially if you wear your hair up."

Alicia added those to the new list.

"And behind door number three…" Sookie was really tired now, "a baby bracelet with something on the front and Northman on the back? Do boy babies wear jewelry?"

"Baby Princes might. Isn't that the royal seal we've been putting on everything today?"

"Oh, yeah. That's weird – who is this from?"

""Niall Brigant" – anyone you know?"

"Yes, and there's no need to send a card because I'll thank him tomorrow night when he's here for dinner. I wonder why he didn't just bring it? He'd better not cancel on me!"

"Is there anything in the box – a note or something?"

Sookie shook the box and a small note fell out.

"See you at 8 tomorrow, Dear One. Love, Grandpa Niall."

"Oh, he's your grandfather?"

"Great grandfather, yeah, but I haven't known him very long. He's sort of responsible for Eric's new position."

"Oh? How is that?"

"I'm not exactly sure – all I know is he decided I should be Queen and made it happen. It's complicated. I don't understand all the political stuff, but he and Eric do, so I just let them fight it out."

"Do they like each other?"

"Not really. They don't trust each other, but they both love me in their own ways so they're stuck with each other."

"He must like Eric somewhat if he helped him?"

"I don't know – I think he helped him because in his mind he was helping me. I haven't known him very long, and he tends to step into my life in ways I'm not used to."

"You know, dear, when people get very old, they sometimes have a sense of their own mortality and try to make things right with the people around them that they've hurt or disappointed before it's too late."

"I never thought of that. You think he might have done it to take care of me? Like he might not be around but Eric will so he made sure Eric would stay with me?"

"Maybe. Didn't you say Eric was a good choice?"

"Yeah, he is, not just as King but where I'm concerned, too. If you were going to look in my life for the person best suited to take care of me and protect me, it would easily be Eric."

"So even if Eric wasn't his first choice, he was his best option for making sure you'd be taken care of."

"Yeah, I guess that's true."

Leroy came down the stairs and peaked into the office.

"Hi, Mrs. Northman, we just wanted to let you know we set everything up and we've got all the trash out of the nursery, so you're all set. Have a nice evening."

"Thanks, Leroy, I really appreciate it! Alicia – let's go see!" Sookie and Alicia headed up to the nursery to see what they put together.

"Oh, this is so cute!" Sookie said when she saw the new Sleigh crib and the matching sleigh co-sleeper.

"What is this one, exactly?" Alicia asked pointing to the smaller crib on wheels."

"They call it a co-sleeper. It attaches to the side of my bed so I can reach the baby easily for breast feeding, but he's not in the bed so I can't roll over on him."

"Well, that's handy. I wish they'd had those when I had my kids! I didn't know you were going to breastfeed. That's much healthier for the baby."

"With this baby I don't really have a choice. The doctor says he's going to need what only my body can give him."

"I'm with doctor on that one. A good part of a child's immune system comes from the first pre-milk the baby takes in."

"I didn't know that. That's good, though, I'm glad. I read that it makes you bond quicker with the baby, though I don't think that will be a problem."

"I don't think it will either. That child is not going to lack for any love. His father is already bragging about him."

"I know, it's so sweet. He was bragging about him to his partner in the bar the other night, and these are people that have no interest in babies at all, but he bored them with it anyway."

"Wait until he has pictures to show…"

"I know. You know, I don't know if he has a camera or not. I'll have to ask him."

"I'd be surprised if he didn't. So now you've got the crib and the changing table – what else are you waiting for?"

"A big storage unit, a glider and an ottoman is the furniture. Then there's a bunch of bedding and things like that. I ordered red curtains to brighten the room since the wood is so dark, and they'll match the Dr. Seuss bedding. That was why I bought those three red crib sheets – I figured they would get changed a lot."

"What kind of fabric is the glider and ottoman set?"

"Denim. I thought it would be easy to clean. I didn't want anything too fussy – I think a baby should be able to be a baby, you know?"

"My experience is that babies will be babies no matter how much you try to dress them up." Alicia laughed.

Sookie looked at a pile of the stuff she bought shoved in the corner. "So, we need to start putting this in order, right?"

"Right. Let's start with this…"

And they worked until after dark, organizing and planning and talking about what they still needed for the baby.

"Hello, ladies." Eric was in the doorway, smiling at them.

Sookie jumped over to him and threw her arms around his neck and kissed him. "Isn't it sweet?" She pointed at the crib "It looks almost like a dragon ship."

Eric laughed. "Is that why you chose it?"

"Of course!" She laughed.

"What is the little one for?" He asked and she told him about the co-sleeper and how it attached to the side of their bed.

"So he will sleep in our room sometimes?"

"Yeah, if that's OK, just when he's real small and needs to be fed often."

"I told you, Sookie, where I am from, families all slept together in one space. He can stay with us as long as you wish, whenever you wish. So this keeps the baby close, but safe? That's a very good idea."

He bent down and looked at the little crib, seeing how the side could be lowered so the baby is right next to mama.

"I have read about families in modern times who do "co-sleeping" or they also call it a "family bed," and the primary argument against it seems to be that the baby might be crushed or suffocated. This solves that problem while he is very small. Yes, I like this very much, Sookie. He _should_ be within reach of his mother when he is small. I told you he will want to feed often and this way you won't have to get up to attend to him. It will soothe both of you to be so close, and they say babies are much more secure and happy if they are fed quickly when they are hungry. It helps them learn to trust that they will be cared for when they are in need and only you can do that for him."

"I never heard of a family bed…. I guess you've been on the internet again?"

"Of course. I want to know everything I can before he is born so I am prepared."

"I've read about co-sleeping, too." Alicia said. "It's somewhat controversial, but he's right, this is a good solution. When the baby is very small, they recommend feeding every two hours, or some mothers will feed "on demand.""

"On demand?" Sookie thought she knew what that meant but wasn't quite sure.

"Yes – whenever the baby wants, rather than on a schedule"

"That would be best. I would prefer you do that for him, my angel." Eric said. "Yes, Sookie, this was a very good choice. And I like this bigger crib, too. He will be master of his own little ship," he laughed. "This room is beginning to take shape. Is there more furniture to come?"

"Yes, there's a chair and ottoman so you or I can sit and rock him, and a big storage unit some of this stuff will go in. There are still a few things we need, but it's stuff I could get at Walmart or or anyplace like that – just t-shirts and diapers and little things like that. And of course there will be red curtains and some really cute bedding in bright colors that goes in the crib. Oh, and I still have some gift certificates to spend."

"This child won't want for anything." Alicia laughed.

"That is good. I want him to have everything to make him healthy and happy. I am very happy to see you working on this so enthusiastically, Sookie. I'm sure he appreciates it," he winked at her. "You are already a good mother, and it will only get better when you can hold him in your arms." He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her on top of her head.

"Yeah, we'll see how good I am when I haven't slept in a couple of months," she said wistfully.

He kept his arms wrapped around her. "If need be, you can sleep at night and I will stay with him. I won't leave you to do this alone, Sookie. I promise I will be an active participant. We will be very close, he and I. I will rock him when he cries and play with him and even change his diaper when I must. I intend to enjoy every minute of his short infancy. We have been given a great gift and I intend to make the most of it. These will be the best years of my long life, watching him grow."

"Hey, that reminds me – do you have a camera? We'll want lots of pictures."

"Yes, I have one somewhere, but I'll buy you a good one of your own that will be very easy to use. I was thinking a video camera would be a good idea, too."

"That would be nice – you'd have a permanent record for years to come." Alicia added.

"Yes – I never want to forget." Eric said, almost to himself. Sookie hugged him tightly. "What are these boxes here?" he asked, indicating the closet.

"That's a portable crib and a portable high chair for when we travel. I figured we'd be going to New Orleans and Las Vegas a lot and we'd need some baby stuff that was easy to take with us."

"Good planning. Sandy is investigating the possibility of moving our headquarters to the Bellagio as we'd discussed. She had the same idea. My predecessor was apparently far too extravagant for the good of his territories."

"They were pleased when Mrs. Northman cut the budget on the Sheriff's Ball this morning." Alicia told him.

"How did you do that, Sookie?"

"Some of the stuff they had was just too much – Iranian caviar and French champagne. I told them to incorporate more American varieties and brands to make it more colorful and support American products and they said that put them back within the budget for the event. Felipe had gone way over. I also made a few other changes – you don't mind do you?"

"The changes she made were very good." Alicia assured him, "I was surprised how much she knew about throwing a good party. She came up with things I would never have thought of and the Las Vegas office was very pleased."

"I knew she would be a natural at this – being a good hostess comes naturally to my little Southern Belle. She's always thinking of other people's comfort." He said proudly.

"Don't let me forget – we need to confirm attendance at a fundraiser in New Orleans on July 3rd. It's a big deal with lots of Hollywood people and they said they'll raise a lot more money for the reconstruction if we're there. Apparently vampire royalty is all the rage these days."

Eric looked worried for a second and looked toward Alicia. "Oh, it's OK, sweetie, she knows. I got some faxes this morning that used my title and I had to explain it to her, so she's on board, right Alicia?"

"Right. We'll do everything we can to make you look good to your subjects." She smiled.

"Thank you, Alicia." He was relieved. "Naturally I'll adjust your salary to account for your new responsibilities and you let me know if you need me to hire more help."

"Thanks for that. So far we're fine. We did pretty well today, didn't we, dear?" She winked at Sookie.

"Yes, we did. Alicia can type and use the fax machine and she knew how those fancy

thank you cards and royal seals worked AND she already arranged to have dress samples brought to the house for my ball gown. Oh and I met some of the security guys today – which reminds me. I want some more étouffeé! Let's go have dinner!"

"Good idea. You've worked enough for the day. There will be more to do tomorrow, now doubt. You still have many packages on the way, I am sure." He laughed.

They all went down to the kitchen, Alicia stopping off in Sookie's office to check for faxes, and there was one from Bruce Dunlop asking for confirmation of a couple of details for the Sheriff's Ball. Sookie approved most of the items, but not all, that he asked about and Alicia returned the fax. Eric was impressed with how self-assured Sookie was in handling that. She had a clear sense of what she liked and didn't like.

Margaret was all smiles when she served Sookie a big bowl of étouffeé and brought them both a blood.

"There's a message from Mr. Compton that he and Bobbie will be here in time for dinner tomorrow – will they be joining you and your guest?" Alicia asked, knowing Margaret needed to know.

"Could they, Eric? I'd like that."

"You are the hostess, my dear. If you want them there, that is your choice. Alicia can you send them a message that we will have dinner at 8 o'clock and that Niall Brigant will be joining us? Bill will want to know."

"Alicia, as you come back will you bring the bracelet Niall sent for the baby?"

"Of course, Mrs. Northman. I'll be right back."

"Bracelet? For a boy?"

"It's solid gold, has the royal seal on one side and says Northman on the other. It's cute, but it's kind of like he's branding the baby, don't you think?"

"Niall is thinking of the rings royals often wear. Rather than have a tiny one made for a baby, he had a bracelet made. I'm sure he will provide a ring for him at some point in the future. Niall has a lot invested in making our son a Prince."

Alicia came back in with the little box, handing it to Eric.

"This is very good quality. It's beautifully made. We will save it for more official occasions when he is to be presented to others." Eric said, "Like his Wiccaning or formal occasions when he attends with us."

"OK – what's a Wiccaning and why would we take a baby to a formal occasion?"

"A Wiccaning is a kind of blessing ceremony where the baby is named and the parents take vows to protect he child. A local coven has offered to host one for our son and I had to accept. It will be a lovely ceremony – you'll love it and Bobbie and Amelia will be over the moon, literally. And we might take a baby to a formal vampire event because he is unique and many people will be interested in meeting him. He may be the first vampire Prince in history. Everyone will be greatly interested in his progress. He'll be a bit of a celebrity in our world. Actually, his mother already is, from what I hear." He smiled at her.

"What does that mean?" Sookie asked as Alicia came back into the room.

"You are being compared in some quarters to Princess Diana – young, beautiful, gracious. People are very anxious to meet you, my dear. Las Vegas is buzzing about you."

Alicia laughed, delighted "That's very appropriate, actually. She probably will be a very popular Queen. That's why the guards wanted to meet you today. People want to see their new Diana. They've all heard how sweet you are."

"Aren't most Queens popular?"

"No, most vampire Queens are bitches. Some are loved, but few are adored. You, however, are adorable." He laughed. "You may be quite the sensation, my angel. No doubt everyone has heard how gracious you were Monday night and they're excited at the prospect. They'll be putting your image on souvenir plates," He teased her, absolutely beaming at her.

"You're kidding, right?"

"Not at all. Sandy said everyone in Las Vegas is looking forward to seeing their new Queen. I told her they would meet you on the 22nd and they are all excited. You may get quite the reception."

"Do they know I'm not vampire?"

"My angel, I'd say they know everything about you. You have been a key player in some major events in recent years. Remember the reaction of the crowd when Felipe mentioned the role you played in the Rhodes bombing? You were already a heroine to many people. Important people are still alive because of you. Now that you are Queen and have been so gracious to people already, you will be beloved. You will receive many gifts and invitations, and our son will be lavished with attention and gifts. There will be great celebration throughout our kingdom when he is born."

"I better not see anybody wearing a Baby E t-shirt," she laughed.

"More like a Prince Eric t-shirt. We are naming him Eric, are we not?"

"Yeah, I knew that would be your first choice and it's fine with me. Do you want to add anything to his name, like a middle name or initial or something?"

"I was thinking about Alexander."

"Eric Alexander Northman? I like that!" She looked at Alicia, who nodded and smiled proudly. It was a good strong name.

"Yes, it means "a ruler who defends his people." Both names are common for Kings and men of valor. Then we can call him Alex or Xander, whichever you prefer, and there won't be any Big Eric, Little Eric confusion. Though I may call him Alvar."

"What does Alvar mean?"

"Elfin Warrior."

"So that would be like a nickname?"

"Yes. Something between father and son – when he is older."

"OK, I can handle that as a nickname and I really like Eric Alexander."

"Excuse me, Missus – would you like more étouffeé?"

"Yes, believe it or not, I would" Sookie laughed. "How do you like the name, Margaret?"

"I didn't hear it. What is it?"

"Eric Alexander Northman."

"Oh, that's beautiful. It sounds like a very strong and intelligent man."

"I agree." Eric said, smiling. He didn't say anything, but he was glad Sookie liked it because he was absolutely set on that name for a very specific reason. He hoped it would be prophetic and he would be a good King who took good care of his people. A child touched by the gods would most certainly be a defender or deliverer. Eric thought perhaps there would be war with the FOTS or some other army or organization in the future that his son would fight to defend his people. His son would have honor and be a warrior. He knew this with every fiber of his being.

Alicia excused herself for the evening and Margaret was closing up the kitchen, leaving more dinner in the refrigerator if Sookie wanted it later. She was very pleased she got Sookie to eat so much that day. She'd have her and that baby plumped up nicely in no time.

Eric and Sookie got their calendars, met in the bedroom, sat on the bed and synchronized them. Eric leaned his back against the headboard and Sookie sat cross-legged facing him. Eric was very interested in the New Orleans event, so Sookie would confirm that the next day and he added it to his book.

"We have a lot to do in New Orleans. Madden did nothing from what Bill tells me."

"You're kidding – shouldn't that stuff be almost done now?"

"Bill says it is barely started. He believes Victor was stealing from Felipe and not doing the work he was getting money for. He said you wouldn't believe how lavishly Madden was living. He also said that his house was ready to receive them when they arrived and that no one was surprised or saddened that he was dead. It was as if they all knew he wasn't coming back."

"They knew? And they let him come up here?"

"Exactly. It's as if Felipe's organization was in on it."

"Why would they do that?"

"Felipe was about to bankrupt both kingdoms and Victor was stealing and not doing what was needed to meet the needs of their subjects. Greedy kings who neglect those who depend on them don't live long if people know what they are doing."

"Who knew?"

"I'm pretty sure it was Sandy. My question is whether she approached the Council or they approached her and what part Niall had in it all. There were apparently some intense negotiations going on at the highest levels and somehow I came out on top. It would be better if I knew why, so I can be sure they won't get rid of me."

"They wouldn't go to all this trouble just to get rid of you, would they?"

"I don't know. Until I know otherwise, I must function as if it is a possibility."

"Will Niall know?"

"Probably, but he may not tell me. Or he may tell me part of it, or tell it in a way he thinks I will want to hear it. When we had our dinner with him, he told me this could take a decade, yet it has only been 17 days since he told me what must happen."

"It has to have been longer than that?"

"No, we met him for dinner on May 18. Today is June 4th. They have been very eventful weeks to be sure, but we are only in the middle of the third week. You told me you were pregnant one month ago tomorrow."

"It feels like that was 6 months ago."

"Yes, it does. It is as if time is compressed… or extended."

"Is that possible?"

"Yes, it is. Ask Bobbie or Amelia about that. Time is flexible and there are those who can manipulate it. I have no doubt Niall is one of those, but I still feel that there is a higher force behind all of this."

"How directly could Freya be involved in this?"

"She could literally be pulling our puppet's strings. It would be nothing for her to arrange all of this."

"Would she do that?"

"Possibly."

"Why?"

"For you. For me. For the baby. For any combination of us. For the people in these kingdoms."

"For Niall?"

"Yes, but I can't imagine it. I think it's more likely Niall would be doing her bidding."

"Why would he do that?"

"I think to get himself on the Council. Why he would want that, I don't know, but there is great prestige and power, and a good deal of wealth involved and it would pass down to our son eventually."

"It would?"

"Yes, it would and the Council answers only to the gods."

"Are they favored by the gods?"

"To an extent, yes."

"Do people ever meet the gods for real, the way you meet a real person?"

"Oh, yes, my lover, they are as real and substantial as anything."

"Have you ever met Freya for real?"

"Yes, a long time ago."

"And?"

"I have to be honest because of our bond, Sookie. We were lovers."

"You actually had sex with Freya."

"Literally and in other ways."

"What do you mean?

"There have been times when she would come into the body of a woman I was with as we were fucking and I would be with both of them that way."

"Has she done that with me?"

"No. I don't think she has to."

"What do you mean."

"You told me the other day that you think you have heard Freya's voice your whole life, did you not?"

"Yes, and I have."

"Did it ever occur to you that the voice was your own?"

"What?!"

"An older wiser part of you that seemed to be watching you live this life?

"That's what I thought it was growing up but now I know it's Freya"

"I believe that is one and the same, Sookie. The gods sometimes take human form by manifesting their qualities in a human being. Dionysus does it all the time – Jim Morrison, for example, or Brian Jones, lots of musicians are manifestations of Dionysus."

"So they're Dionysus? Did they know that?"

"Some do – Morrison famously knew, but most are unaware. Dionysus in particular does not age so they often die before they reach awareness."

"So they are but they don't necessarily know it."

"Yes."

"And if they know it, do they have everything – the powers or knowledge or whatever – the god or Goddess has?"

"No, there are limitations in taking on a human body. Only a part of the power can manifest, so you have Witches or prophets or other god-touched individuals."

"So you think I'm a manifestation of Freya and that makes me a Witch."

"Yes."

"So am I having a baby or is She?"

"There is no "you or She" there is only She and you are She."

"If I were Freya, wouldn't I tell myself?"

"You might speak to yourself as you did as a child, or you might visit yourself in dreams or visions."

"But She did and She is…"

"Because you ARE."


	52. Chapter 52

**Chapter 52**

"Eric, are you seriously…"

"Sookie, stop. You need a Witch to explain this to you. Tomorrow, call Amelia, or wait until tomorrow night and talk to Bobbie. They will know the right words. I have experienced the phenomenon, and know it to be true, but I do not know how to teach about it. I'm a warrior not a shaman. You need a specialist for this."

"You're not making fun of me?"

"No, my angel, I would not do that to you – not about this and certainly not about Freya. I know better than to anger a Goddess… that one, in particular."

"Have you "angered" her before?"

"I have seen what happens to those who did. I loved her, in a way, and I think she loved me but we lost each other a long time ago in a time of war. She promised she would return to me somehow but that was centuries ago. I thought she had forgotten me."

"Are you wanting her back now?"

"That is not the right way to explain this. It is not that Freya is there and I want to be there with Her. It is that I am here, in love with a wonderful woman, having a child, and I have realized that She is Freya come back to me, giving me everything I have ever wanted. It is as if the stars have aligned and the pieces are finally falling into place after the centuries it took to put them in proper position. I am not wishing you were Freya, I believe you are. You are the one I love, but you are Freya."

"That sounds crazy, Eric!"

"Crazier than Fae vampire babies? Than Werewolves and Witches? Sookie, have you not seen enough of the Supe world to know that things are almost never what they appear to be? That there is always another layer to be uncovered?"

"OK, intellectually, you are making sense and I should wait and talk to a Witch, but something inside of me feels as if I should be jealous."

"You would be jealous of yourself, my angel. I love YOU."

"What if you are wrong and I'm not Freya?"

"You are still my Sookie, my wife, my bonded and I will still love you forever."

"Promise?"

"My lover, I have promised and I will promise you every day for the rest of our lives if I must. You have cell numbers for Bobbie or Amelia? Call one of them now. Call them both."

"Will you be mad if I do? If I waste our time together on the phone when I could call them tomorrow in the day?"

"I want you to be at peace, Sookie. If you are going to be upset, then call them now. I don't want any misunderstanding between us."

Sookie hesitated, then she reached across Eric for the phone. She wasn't sure where Bobbie was, but she was pretty sure Amelia would be at home so she called there first.

"Hello?"

"Amelia? Hi, it's Sookie."

"Hey, sweetie, what's up?"

"I need some information about magick and Goddesses and stuff."

"OK, shoot."

"Is it possible for a human to be a direct manifestation of a god or Goddess?"

"Absolutely. We all are to some degree."

"Huh?"

"Part of this gets into quantum mechanics, so try to follow me. On a subatomic level, nothing actually IS, it only has the potential to BE. In quantum physics, a particle doesn't have a location until you try to measure it – it only has potential locations. The person who measures it chooses the location by the act of measuring."

"OK…"

"On one level, everything that is, was, ever will be, ever might have been or ever might be co-exists in one Macrocosm known as Goddess, or the Dragon. Everything that exists is a microcosm within Her body. Every thing that is, is a part of Her. You are Goddess, I am Goddess, the chair I'm sitting in is Goddess, the phone you are speaking into and the electricity that transmits your voice is Goddess. OK, you with me?"

"I think so."

"Ok, as She approaches physicality, the Goddess can be perceived as fragments of the whole, or aspects of the larger reality. As the fragments take shape they have potential, but they are not omnipotent in the way the Whole is. The Goddess is omnipotent and omnipresent, but the aspect of her known as Diana responds best to the moon and the god known as Apollo responds best to the sun. They have individual qualities that are ultimately part of the whole, but are temporarily concentrated and limited to an aspect that has personality and limitations and preferences just as some particles are have a negative charge and some have a positive charge and some won't have any charge until something else creates it."

"OK, so the fragments are part of the whole, but for some reason they're going to be fragments for a while and have some limitations."

"Right. When we speak of Goddess, we say that all gods are Goddesses and all Goddesses are one Goddess. You have to be able to accept that there is no 'either/or,' there is only 'and.'" One Goddess, many gods and Goddesses, many beings and varieties of life, but all part of the original, whole Goddess.

"OK, so say one of these fragments is Freya."

"OK."

"Could Freya still be the Goddess that She is, but let part of Herself be human for a while?"

"Absolutely. Some believe that we are all aspects of larger deities that are themselves aspects of the whole. Ultimately we are all cells in the same body."

"OK, is it possible that person wouldn't know she was the…"

"Manifestation…."

"…manifestation of Freya?"

"It would be very rare for that person to know that she was. Most people never tap into that energy or even know they have the potential for it. The ones who do are usually Witches or shamans or god-touched in some way… it's why we call them "god-touched" to begin with."

"OK, now, say this woman had visions of Freya and has heard Freya's voice speaking to her her whole life…"

"Sookie, let's cut to the chase. Someone, probably Eric, has told you that they believe you are a manifestation of the Goddess Freya and you want me to tell you he's not crazy or making fun of you?"

"Exactly."

"Listen very carefully to me, Sookie. He's right. I have known you were a Goddess of some sort manifest ever since I met you. I might not have come up with the name Freya, but that makes perfect sense considering your looks and your life. Yes, you are part of Freya. Yes, you are a Witch. No, Eric is not crazy. No, you should not be jealous of his relationship with Freya and I'll bet money he knows Her personally, am I right?"

"Yes."

"Eric loves YOU, YOU just happen to be Freya. Well, you don't just happen to be, She obviously chose you. It's up to you to figure out why She chose you, but my guess would be it's that big undead Viking sitting next to you. I always said you two were made for each other. It would have been more accurate to say you were made for him – tailor made by a divine hand. Freya found a way to be his wife, have his baby, make him King and give him everything he ever wanted. She's been working on this for centuries I'll bet, and everything all of a sudden is just falling into place for him."

"Yeah."

"Relax and enjoy your life, kid. It's you that gets to live it and She's right there to help you with whatever you need. We should all be so lucky."

"Are you a Goddess manifest, Amelia?"

"Probably, but I'm more of a Crone Goddess – Hecate would be my guess because She's both Crone and Maiden, but I'm still looking for those answers for myself. You're lucky – yours walked right up to you and put a 4 carat diamond on your hand."

"Yeah…" she said softly.

"Don't let it overwhelm you, Sookie. Just live with it a while and soon it will make sense to you. You need to put more trust in Eric, you know. He made you call because you were being insecure, didn't he?"

"Yeah."

"He loves you, Sookie. No one but you has any doubt of that. Cut yourself and him some slack. How's that bun in your oven?"

"Amazing. Telepathic. Really fucking smart and wanting to kick ass like his old man."

"Awesome. You should come into Merlotte's some night and see everybody. Sam would feel a lot better if he could see you and just know you're OK."

"Yeah, I'll do that. I'll do that real soon. It's just been crazy busy for us lately,"

"No shit! Everybody is buzzing about badass King Eric and sweet Queen Sookie. They're calling you Princess Diana, you know?"

"I thought Eric was kidding about that!"

"Nope, everybody in the Supe world knows about it. The best part about it is that they all think Eric is damned near untouchable so they aren't likely to mess with him or you."

"Really? That's good!"

"Yes, it is. Everything around you right now is really, really good, so have fun with it. It might not last forever, so make hay while the sun shines."

"OK, Amelia, thanks."

"Good night, sugar, give the gorgeous hunk a big kiss on the lips for me."

"OK," Sookie laughed, "I'll do that. 'Bye!"

Eric was looking at her waiting for her to admit that he was right. Sookie was somewhat chagrined but she finally said it.

"Alright Eric, you're not crazy and I'm not jealous, there's every possibility that you are…."

He leaned forward…

"…right."

He laughed because it so pained her to say it. He took the phone from her and snuggled her up against him, planting kisses all over her face and neck.

"Are we done with work for tonight?" Sookie asked hopefully.

"You are. I will work after you sleep, but first…"

"Ye-es…" He acted like he would kiss her but instead he tickled her and she squealed and kicked. They were laughing and acting like kids again, not really aware that they had an audience now, especially because the bedroom window was open because of lingering paint fumes. He wrestled her out of her dress and she was tugging his shirt over his head. They giggled and tickled and Sookie let out an occasional scream as they gradually got naked and got busy.

Eric was kneeling beside the bed, Sookie's knees on either side of his head. She was moaning and yelling as he drove her mad with his long, long fingers, his tongue and his teeth. She intended to put on a show for Eric because he liked it when she was loud. She wasn't aware of the rest of the audience, who was getting as turned on by it as Eric was, which was plenty. She came like gangbusters and let him know it in no uncertain terms as her audience gaped at each other in awe of the new King's prowess.

As soon as she finished he was up and in her, she still on her back and he still kneeling by the bed. Her tummy was big enough now that this position was their safest alternative, and Eric had no complaints. He was slamming her hard enough to make her cry out with each stroke and she screamed when he bit her breast hard in that good way. He tore his wrist open and put it to her lips and let out a loud growl as he came. She followed soon after and yelled his name in between "Oh – Oh – OH – Oh!" which went up gradually in pitch until they became a long squeal ending in 'OH. MY. GOD!" When it was done he crawled up on the bed next to her, both of them laughing, They had no idea they were creating the legend of King Eric and his mighty "broadsword." Queen Sookie's talents became legendary that night as she treated Eric to her new trick for a second time, being bolder and more controlling as she gained confidence in doing it, sending his moans, cries, growls, and her name soaring out into the warm spring night, also while the windows were still open.

News of Eric's ascendance in Fangtasia by such spectacular means had spread like wildfire through the entire Supe community and the new guards at Eric's house were adding to the furor with tales of their sex life that didn't need much embellishing, though details were added through imagination that only happened coincidently to be true. Between killing Victor in public with the sword presented by the Council to the wild sex everyone knew they were having, Eric wasn't just feared as a King normally is, he was revered. People loved Sookie too much to think badly of her and she was so sweet, it made Eric look good that she was so smitten with him. He became known very quickly as Eric the Untouchable because the rumors said he was chosen by the gods as human Kings were in the distant past. Every vampire or Were warrior from Mexico to Canada wanted to work for this spectacular new King who was handsome and generous, but merciless and swift. Vampires joked amongst themselves that no one dared touch King Eric but Queen Sookie, but there was awe behind the laughter. Sookie and Eric were completely unaware of all of this, of course, so they were amazed at the receptions they would receive in weeks to come.

Sookie woke up Friday morning with a headache, but she knew she had a few notes to write, faxes to answer and a dinner with Niall tonight that had to be perfect. Around noon once she finished her steak and eggs, she started on the fourth floor and looked through each room, taking a notepad with her to write down anything she thought needed to be done. She didn't open Bobbie's door because she felt that would be an invasion of privacy and she hoped Niall would not insist on seeing inside it.

She wanted the large room dusted again and particular attention paid to Eric's swords, which she wanted to shine. On the third floor, Eric's office was reasonably neat, and the nursery was shaping up but she'd put some time in there this afternoon. The bedroom would be fine once the maids had done their thing in there for the day. She went down to the second floor. The kitchenette was neat, the pink room was perfect and the more masculine room that would be used for the birth looked fine because the supplies Alicia was accumulating were stored neatly in a box in the closet out of sight. After this dinner with Niall was over, Alicia and Bobbie would get serious about setting up for the birth. Everyone expected this baby to come soon, no matter how early it was. Sookie's belly was growing rapidly and the baby was extremely active and aware.

The yellow room was covered with the items Sookie had received at the reception, the jewelry neatly laid out on the dresser in the room, the boxes of clothing and baby gifts arranged neatly on the bed. The bathroom on the second floor was spotless, as always. Sookie's new office was neat except for the stack of papers waiting for her, and the living room had been cleaned to within an inch of its life.

The entire dining room had been polished and everything in it was gleaming and dust-free. This would be the first time this room had ever been used, and the first guest Sookie ever had besides Bill and Bobbie, Pam and Jason and they were basically family. Niall might have a blood relation, but he never made Sookie feel like family, though she wanted that desperately. Part of her felt resentful that he was coming to inspect her home. It wasn't only disrespectful to Eric it was disrespectful of her. She was able to say for herself whether her home was adequate or not. Niall didn't even know who she was, let alone what she needed. Eric seemed fine with it all, though, which mystified her. She would expect him to tell Niall to go to hell, but he seemed perfectly content to have Niall treat him like… like what, exactly? A suitor? An applicant? A supplicant?

The table in the dining room had a perfect white cloth on it and was already set for 5, with just chargers and goblets for Eric and Bill. Eric would sit at the head of the table, Niall next to him, then Sookie. Bill and Bobbie would sit opposite them and Sookie was counting on them to help get her through this. Sookie passed on her notes to the staff and was working on returning faxes and writing thank you notes by 1 o'clock.

The mail came in at two o'clock with four more packages delivered by Jerry Kerik, and there were more boxes at 4:15 that turned out to be the glider and ottoman, which were unpacked and put together by Leroy, again. Sookie made a note that he should get an extra reward for the help he was giving her in the nursery. He had really gone out of his way to help her and even organized some things in there and got the room ready because he knew she was having company. The packages turned out to be:

a blue and grey baby cashmere blanket and a Michael Kors Women's Ranger Carry All Baby Bag with a $500. Savings bond;

a Gund Boys' My First Blue Teddy Bear and Bvlgari Petits et Mamans Deluxe fragrance set;

a Gund Boys' Comfy Cozy Teddy Blanket and a diamond tennis bracelet;

Bubu 4 Piece Dinner Set in Round Gift Box and $250 gift certificate to .

Baby E made out like a bandit again, but mama got a tennis bracelet! Sookie knew she had more expensive pieces but she always wanted a tennis bracelet and had bought dozens of the rhinestone kind that turn your arm green when she was in school. Sookie particularly liked the two different blue Gund items because they were so soft, and she thought it was funny she received both at the same time from two different people. Alicia took it all up to the yellow room to add to the pile of booty to show Niall.

Margaret tried to get Sookie to eat at 4 o'clock, but she just picked at her food. She was really nervous about Niall coming to her house and kept asking questions about dinner, which was lobsters that were crawling around in the sink. Sookie answered a couple of new faxes and was feeling crampy and antsy as hell so she wound up going to her room to take a shower at 5:00. She was done in 20 minutes and lay down on the bed, still not feeling well and her headache a little worse. Alicia came up to check on her at 6 and started working on her hair and getting her outfit together. Alicia had picked a pretty lavender silk dress with a full skirt, scoop neck and no sleeves. She pulled the sides of Sookie's hair back in a pretty barrette and helped her pick out her jewelry, which had to impress Niall. The van carrying Bobbie and Bill arrived just after 7, and Sookie was never so happy to see anyone as she was Bobbie. The van stayed parked outside the house until after dark, because Bill was in a box in the back.

Bill came in the house at about 7:45 and Eric came up and was showering quickly and dressing up a bit to impress Niall. Sookie was a wreck, and was holding Bobbie's hand tightly as they waited in the living room. Bobbie stroked her back a little, realizing that Sookie was so uptight her muscles were rigid. Eric was dressed by exactly 8 and the four of them sat in the living room waiting as Alicia said good night and left for the day, wishing Sookie luck. Margaret had an extra helper in the kitchen with her to make sure everything went well. Sookie was up and pacing the floor, and Eric went over to her and stood behind her with his arms around her. He hated that Niall was making her this nervous and he could feel through the bond that she wasn't well at all. If it were up to Eric, he'd make her go to bed and relax. This wasn't good for her or the baby, though he seemed to be sleeping just now.

At 8:30, the doorbell rang and it was Niall. He came in very politely, going straight to Sookie and kissing her on the cheek, but it was obvious she was only trying to look happy. She couldn't remember the last time she was this miserable and she felt like she wanted to cry. She suggested they all go into the dining room, and they did.

Niall chatted pleasantly with Eric and Bill once they were all seated, but Bobbie was keeping an eye on Sookie, who looked a little green. She had a bad feeling about this.

Niall didn't beat around the bush. "Compton, how did you find the affairs of the Louisiana Territories when you were in New Orleans?"

They all looked at each other. No one had told him anything pertaining to that. They hadn't even mentioned that Bobbie and Bill just got back.

"Madden was a thief," Bill said, "and not a very careful one. Even his second set of books was sloppy. He was apparently not worried at all about being caught or even suspected."

"Madden thought de Castro was a fool, and forgot that de Castro wasn't the only one watching him. I trust that the reconstruction of New Orleans will be a priority for the new regent, will it not, Northman?" He wasn't waiting for them to tell him the news, but then they knew everyone had already heard about it anyway.

"Yes, we intend to move very quickly on that front. Sookie and I will be attending a fundraiser there soon. Sweetheart, do you remember the date?"

She was startled anyone spoke to her. "Oh, yes, it's July 3rd. They thought they would raise more money if Eric and I were there, though I don't know why." That wasn't true and Eric couldn't understand why she said that.

"Attractive young royals always draw attention, particularly when they are as charming as you, my dear." Eric noticed Niall was very pleased with himself. "You are already quite popular among the vampire community. You will be in a position to do a lot of good for many people in need, so do your best for them, Sookie, and be happy you are able to help."

Margaret served dinner and the conversation continued, but Sookie barely touched her lobster, which was odd because she loved it, and Eric, Bill and Bobbie were all aware that she was not eating and that her hands were shaking. Niall admired Sookie's jewelry, and she tried to tell him where she got it and how she and Bobbie had gone on a shopping spree, but she was really shaky and everyone could see it.

Bobbie chimed in and helped explain that Sookie was wearing the Elsa Peretti Diamonds By the Yard necklace and matching earrings, and pointed out the diamond art deco style bracelet from Tiffany's that would knock anyone's eyes out. Altogether, though she didn't know it, Sookie was wearing over $90,000 worth of diamonds plus her quarter of a million dollar engagement ring. Niall knew almost to the penny what they were worth, and knew she had received other stuff that was elsewhere, so he was more than satisfied, but as he looked closely at the bracelet Sookie fainted.

Eric was around Niall's chair and had her up in his arms immediately and asked Niall to excuse them for a minute and nodded to Bill and Bobbie to continue the conversation while they were gone. He carried Sookie into the den and sat her down, sitting next to her with his arm around her.

"Sookie, can you hear me?"

She tried to respond but couldn't quite do it. He cradled her head with his hand and held her next to him for a minute. "Sookie, can you hear me?" He noticed that her breathing had changed a bit and her heart was slowing down a little, so he held her and kissed her forehead, speaking gently to her and telling her everything would be alright, He was trying to send comfort through the bond which was difficult because he wanted to throttle Niall right now. Sookie didn't need this extra stress and he was pretty sure this was Sookie making herself sick over wanting Niall's approval.

Bobbie tried to distract Niall by asking him if he had been to New Orleans lately, but he wasn't biting. "Do you know how to use a blood pressure cuff, my dear?"

"Yes, I do."

"You'll find one in a box in the closet of the blue room on the second floor. It would be a good idea to get it and check Sookie's blood pressure. Pregnant women often have spikes that can cause fainting. If it's very high, you'll want to call Dr. Ludwig."

Bill zipped out of the room at vampire speed and was back with the cuff almost instantly. Bobbie excused herself and went into the den, asking Margaret to bring a bowl of ice when she could.

Eric was still holding her and talking to her as Bobbie put the cuff on her arm and checked it. It was high, but not dangerously so. Still, a young girl like Sookie should have a much lower reading than that. Margaret came in with the ice then and Bobbie rubbed it on Sookie's wrists and she started to come around.

"Here she comes," Bobbie smiled at her as she opened her eyes.

"Sookie, can you hear me?" Eric was still trying to send calm to her and he had his hand protectively on her stomach so he could feel what was happening with the baby.

"Mm-hmm." She responded. "What happened?"

"You fainted on us, sweetie" Bobbie was trying to draw her out more by stroking her chin. She knew Eric wanted to kill Niall right now, and it was hard for him to see Sookie this way.

"Are we in the den?" Sookie was becoming aware of her surroundings now.

"Yes, my angel, we came in here so you could get sick if you needed to. How are you feeling now?"

"My head still hurts."

"How long has your head been hurting, Sookie?" Bobbie asked.

"Since I woke up today."

"Did you eat today?"

"I ate a big breakfast, but I wasn't really hungry when Margaret gave me lunch."

"Do you feel nauseous?"

"No, just dizzy and my head hurts."

"Have you had any RM today?"

"Not since around noon."

"I think maybe we should call Dr. Ludwig, just in case." Bobbie said. Eric nodded and pulled his cell out of his pocket. Dr. Ludwig was in the room with them in just a minute.

"Well, now, little girl, I hear you fainted on us."

"I guess so."

"Let's try that blood pressure again." Dr. Ludwig put it on her again and it was slightly lower this time.

"I hear there was quite a ruckus at Fangtasia Monday night, Northman."

"Yes, but I'm sure you and Niall know all about that."

"Is Niall here?"

"Right here, doctor. How is my granddaughter?" He was standing behind the couch directly behind Sookie. Bill was standing in the doorway between the dining room and den.

"All things considered, she's alright, but I'd like her to go to bed now. She's got herself worked to a frazzle. Tell her everything is fine so she'll relax, you old buzzard. You've got this child scared to death."

Niall patted Sookie's shoulder. "Sookie, my dear, everything is fine. You have a lovely home here, and a good provider in Northman. You two will be fine royals and fine parents. We've got everything in place now, dearest, so you relax and enjoy the next few years. I can't promise they'll be trouble free, but you've got all the resources you need now to do whatever you want. The rest is up to you, my girl." He bent and kissed her forehead and she exhaled as if a weight had been lifted off of her. "If you need anything at all, Sookie, you call me. I'm on the Council now and you'll get an invitation to my induction ceremony, but my powers are already active. The same goes for you, Northman, though I'm quite sure you are ready to handle your position – you wouldn't be in it if we didn't think you could handle it."

"Speaking of the Council, Niall, are they going to redraw the territories or assign another regent?"

"No, my boy, under further reflection they've decided things are fine as they are. They've got a glamorous new pair of royals with good sense, good taste and a sense of honor, plus they're anticipating the first vampire Prince in recorded history. We've all voted to let things stay as they are for a few years and see where we end up."

"Who put all this in motion, Niall?"

"You know very well who it was, Northman. She has always been here. Now, don't over estimate Sandy – she's honest but not terribly creative. Don't underestimate Sabrina, she's insane. There are snakes in every garden my boy, no matter how well manicured it may appear. Dr. Ludwig, would you agree that Sookie's blood pressure needs to be closely monitored?"

"Yes, I would, no less than twice a day. And Bobbie, I want you to get back to her massages as soon as possible. She's going through crazy stress right now, and she needs you here."

"I won't leave her alone again any time soon." Bobbie assured her.

Ludwig felt around Sookie's abdomen a little and frowned. "I want you to have an ultrasound, Sookie. I spoke to a Were who works at the hospital in Monroe. His name is Dale Sears and he's going to do the test for you. You be there next Friday night at 10 pm. That should be late enough that Northman can be with you. You'll want to see the baby, I assume, Northman?"

"See him?!" Eric didn't know that was an option, and the prospect thrilled him.

"Yes and you'll probably come home with a little CD of him after. How is the RM working out?"

"I love it and so does Baby E."

"You know what the baby likes?"

"Yes, he lets me know through the bond, plus he kicks."

"Does he respond when you speak to him?"

"Yes and I think he's telepathic, too. He can react to my thoughts. He can also distinguish between people. He has different feelings for me, for Eric and today he had a different one for Bobbie."

"For me? Really?"

"Yes, he associates you with being soothed. He knows Bobbie does the massages. He missed you, too."

"Aw – I'll work on you guys tonight if you want."

"We'd like that."

"Yes, I think a massage is exactly what Sookie needs. Exactly how does he communicate with you, Sookie?" Dr. Ludwig asked and Niall was mighty intent on hearing the answer.

"He sends feelings through the bond. Eric can feel it, too. For me he sends LOVE. HAPPY. WARM. Sometimes he sends COMFORT, especially if I'm lonely or upset. For Eric he sends LOVE. PROUD. FIGHT."

"Fight?" Ludwig and Niall both perked up at that.

"Yes, he associates Daddy with FIGHT. He can't wait to kick ass like his Daddy does," Sookie laughed.

"And Northman, you can communicate with him, too?"

"Yes, and it no longer requires that I touch Sookie's abdomen. She can be on a completely different floor and he and I can send feelings to one another. He's completely tied into our blood bond."

Niall never looked more smug. "Have you settled on a name for him yet, Northman?"

"Yes, we agreed to call him Eric Alexander Northman."

"That's a good, Kingly name. Teach him well so he doesn't disappoint us. He'll be a handful, but the effort to control him will pay off eventually." Niall was very sure.

"You've both said that before – is this going to be some kind of baby from hell?" Sookie was exasperated and just wanted them to spit it out if there was more they weren't telling them.

"Niall, you want to take that one?" Ludwig said as she mixed up a shot she intended to give Sookie.

"He's going to be energetic and bright which will probably make him willful and stubborn, but he'll be enjoyable for the most part and quite beautiful. He may have a few talents that are inconvenient until he's old enough to temper his use of them. Nothing you two can't handle with good help and a lot of patience.

Ludwig gave Sookie the injection she'd been mixing.

"What's that?" Sookie asked.

"Something to calm you down. I'm still thinking about putting you on a muscle relaxer, not just for the cramps but to numb you out a little while you adjust to all these radical changes."

"Won't that hurt the baby?"

"Not that baby and not at this late stage in his development. It will make both of you sleep more, which is the best thing for you. I want you eating more, too. Why aren't you gaining weight?"

"I have a theory about that," Bobbie said, "I think it was the lack of real blood. She's only been drinking the RM's since Monday night, and she's drinking a lot of them now, so I expect her weight to go up in the next week or two to a healthier level."

"How many is she drinking per day?" Ludwig looked at Eric.

"About 10 of them."

"In addition to three meals or instead of?"

"In addition to. She usually drinks at least two at a time." Eric said, "I've been drinking them, too. They're much more satisfying than True Blood."

"Naturally. And you say the baby likes them, too?"

"Yes, and while I'm thinking of it, Doctor, any idea why I might be able to eat a little food now?"

"Food? What have you eaten?"

"Watermelon once, and chicken once."

"And you didn't get sick?"

"No and I enjoyed it. And isn't it strange that Sookie likes drinking RM? Are we exchanging capabilities?"

"To an extent, yes, but in your case, Northman, I think your age is a factor. I've heard of cases where very old vampires are able to take in food after a point. As you get older, your need for blood decreases and your attraction to food can make it tolerable in small amounts. It used to come in handy when an old vampire needed to appear to be human by eating. Not many live long enough to reach that stage, though. There used to be a legend that said if a vampire lived long enough he could eat like a human. You'll probably be able to drink human beverages, too, though alcohol won't make you drunk. It will still take Fae blood to do that."

"Ahem." Niall cleared his throat and frowned at the mention of vampires drinking from Fairies. Eric considered telling him his granddaughter didn't seem to mind, but he managed to restrain himself. It would make him feel better but that wouldn't do anything to help Sookie's nerves.

"Sookie's ability to drink RM may be connected to your age, too. She's drinking a lot of your super old, super strong blood and she may develop some vampiric tendencies at some point, if she isn't already. It's possible she could begin to associate it with sex to the point that drinking from you could bring her to orgasm."

"Uh," Sookie said, "we're there." She blushed because Niall was still there.

"Well, that will keep things interesting." Ludwig laughed. "Alright, between now and Friday, you get as much sleep as you can. Let your maid bring your mail and faxes up to your room for a few days. Eat a lot, drink a lot of RM, sex and massages every day, Am I to assume you have some travel coming up soon?"

"Yes, we'll be going to Las Vegas for a week beginning the 22nd and then go almost immediately to New Orleans for a benefit on the 3rd." Eric explained. "They're important events and we really need to be there if at all possible."

"OK, then I want her in bed until then. No climbing stairs, let Northman carry you or use an elevator. Bobbie, you're living here now?"

"Yes."

"Keep her company when she's awake so she's not tempted to go downstairs, make sure she eats. I want some meat on those bones."

"What about her workouts and using the swimming pool?" Bobbie needed some clarification. She couldn't possibly mean Sookie had to stay in bed 24 hours a day?

"No more than 2 hours in the pool and the exercises need to be gentle. Focus on stretching, especially where her hips are concerned. A little sun and activity is good for her but rest is the number 1 priority. If she can sleep she should be asleep. Is the nursery on the same floor as your bedroom?"

"Yes, it's right next door," Sookie said.

"You can putter around a bit as long as you don't lift anything heavy and you stay off your feet as much as possible. I know you are going to want to play with your new baby items. No point in fighting that nesting instinct. You've had so much blood from Northman already that you're getting stronger in your primal aspects, and the nesting instinct is a part of that. Anybody that messes with your maternal side from this point forward is going to be dealing with a mama tiger. As you get closer to delivery, you'll start to get very protective of yourself and that's good. Follow your instincts and don't worry about being rude to people. Your baby will and should come first. Now, have you thought about a birthing room?"

"I think Sookie's maid has been acquiring the supplies and we're going to get it set up so it's ready to go at a moment's notice. We'll have that done by the end of next week, probably." Bobbie said, "We expect her to go early."

The doorbell rang then, and they could hear the Margaret head for the door. Bill went back through the dining room to see what was going on, and keep Margaret from coming back where Dr. Ludwig was.

"Good. What do you have in mind for the set up?"

"Plastic covering the floor under and around the bed, waterproof cover on the mattress, Everything draped with clean white cotton sheets. Alcohol and betadine for sterilizing, twine and scissors for the cord, ice chips for Sookie in between contractions. Clean white receiving blankets for the baby and a small bathing unit to use in the bathroom to clean him up. Anything else you'd suggest?"

"Make sure you've got one of those little syringes to clear the mucus and a small scale and measuring tape so we can weigh and measure him. Anything else I need, I'll bring with me."

"Do you still think he'll be Fae?" Sookie asked.

"I'm not sure at this point. He seems to have a strong need for blood. I have no idea what qualities a vampire-fairy hybrid would have. I've never seen one before. I don't know that anyone has. All I can say for sure is that he seems to need real blood."

"He will be vampire." Eric said with absolute certainty.

"You may be right, Northman. We'll just have to wait and see." Dr. Ludwig said, looking at Niall, who shrugged and seemed unconcerned.

Bill came back in with a package. "It's for you, Eric – Anubis special delivery from Las Vegas."

"That's the list of the Kingdom's properties. Were you able to get the information for Louisiana?"

"Yes, it's in my briefcase."

"Good, when things settle down later, we'll go over these and see where we are. I want to get Sookie settled for the night first."

"Well, we're about done here." Dr. Ludwig said.

"I'm going to be leaving as well," Niall said, "Thank you for dinner. Sorry for any inconvenience." And with that he vanished.

"I'll be going as well. Call if you need me. Put her to bed and let Bobbie work on her there until she falls asleep – that won't take long as that shot kicks in. Good bye." And she was gone, too.

"Eric, why don't you take Sookie up to bed and we'll get Margaret to take the meat out of her lobster so she can eat it. I know she's hungry and won't want to waste it. Once they clear the table, you and Bill will probably want to spread out your paperwork there and go over it." Bobbie had already thought out what they all needed to do, and Eric and Bill realized that she was right – the dining room was the most comfortable place for them to do what they needed to do.

Eric carried Sookie up to the bedroom and Bobbie went into the dining room and asked Margaret to shell Sookie's lobster for her. She said she had made 2 extra for Sookie to eat later, so she'd shell all three and bring them up with a bowl of butter. The other girl cleared the table very quickly and Bill started getting out his paperwork and got out the report from Las Vegas that Eric had asked him to open.

Eric pulled down the covers and put Sookie into the bed.

"Does this mean no sex tonight?" Sookie asked unhappily.

"We'll see. That shot will put you to sleep for a while, but you might wake up later. I have a lot of work to do, so I'll try to get as much of that done as I can while you sleep and I'll check on you later. I'm worried about you. Sookie, so please try to rest."

"There's nothing to be worried about. I'm fine," she protested.

"'Fine' does not lose consciousness for several minutes, my angel." He sat on the bed next to her and smoothed her hair away from her face.

"I was just nervous."

"Yes, and I know Niall was the cause of it. I hate that you care so much what he thinks, Sookie. I know you want family desperately, but it's not good to put your faith in a fairy. They have motivations that are very different from humans or even vampires. They twist situations to their advantage in ways that can be harsh and inconvenient for others and they don't care about how much hurt they cause. They're tricky and devious and twisted."

"As opposed to vampires, who are always straightforward and considerate…?"

"I'm not trying to hurt you, Sookie…"

"I know that. I just…" she was struggling for the words.

"You just want to be loved."

"Yeah – how come I don't get that in my life."

"You do, Sookie, just not from the people you might expect it from. Niall is doing the best he can for you in his own way. He helped to make you Queen – in his mind, that is taking care of you. He helped to make you my wife so I would care for you and he made you a mother because he knew you would want that. Many human grandparents do far less for their grandchildren."

"Yeah, that's true."

"I love you, Sookie, does that not matter?" he was actually hurt and he was showing it – Sookie remembered Eric being angry but she never remembered him being hurt or vulnerable before and it took her by surprise.

"Eric, of course it matters – you're the most important thing in the world to me. I didn't mean…"

"Everything I am doing, Sookie, I am doing for you, to be with you."

"I know that and I didn't mean to seem ungrateful. I was just feeling sorry for myself. It's hard to explain, but when somebody who is supposed to love you doesn't, you wonder what you did wrong. I didn't mean to hurt your feelings – you know I would never want to do that, right?"

"Yes, my lover, I suppose I do."

COMFORT.

"Well thank heaven somebody knows it!" Sookie laughed and Eric brightened up, too, rubbing her belly and bending to plant a kiss there. "That's one smart son you've got there King Eric" she teased him.

"Yes, he is very smart. Smarter than we are, perhaps… or at least more secure. He never doubts that he is loved."

"No, he'll never have a reason to doubt that. We'll make sure of that."

"Yes we will." He bent to kiss her and lingered a long time. "Sleep my angel and I will come be with you later."

"OK, as long as you promise to come back later."

"I promise."

Bobbie came through the door with a bowl of lobster and butter, some bottles and oils in her hands. "Am I interrupting?"

"No, I was just telling her to sleep and promising I will be back before dawn."

"Sure – she'll just take a little nap and then she'll be more up to whatever you all have planned for later." She wiggled her eyebrow and made them both laugh. Eric kissed Sookie's hand and went back downstairs.

"I think I hurt his feelings, Bobbie, and I never meant to do that."

Bobbie gave her the bowl of lobster, which she devoured, and Bobbie brought her two RMs from the little fridge.

"He knows that, sweetie. He was beside himself when you fainted. It makes him angry that Niall has that effect on you. He doesn't trust Niall to begin with, and that's for good reason from what I hear. Sometime when you're in a quiet mood, picture what it was like to be Eric, trying to get you to admit that you loved him, only to have Niall come into your life and knowing he would be one more person that would disappoint you. Here, let's get this dress off you."

"I know I gave Eric a hard time at first. Part of it was because I didn't really understand the rules that Supes live by, and part of it was because I was afraid of my feelings for him and wondering how I'd ever be able to fit into his life."

"And here you are, doing just fine, Queen Sookie. Here, roll on your side. You know they're calling you…"

"Princess Diana. Let's hope Queen Sookie lives a much longer, happier life than that poor girl did."

"Amen, sister! You should have heard the people in the New Orleans office asking Bill all about you. They were more interested in you than they were in Eric." Bobbie laughed.

"What?!"

"They've had Kings before, Hon, but a sweet young human Queen is a first for most of them. They asked if you were really as beautiful as people say and were you really that sweet to people you didn't even know and they wanted to know where you got the blue gown they all heard about that made you look like a Goddess…"

"You've got to be kidding."

"No, you may be the first celebrity vampire King and Queen. You've heard what they're calling Eric, right?"

"No, what?"

"Eric the Untouchable. They think he was chosen by the gods because the Pythoness gifted him that sword from the Council. I noticed at the time that it was very Arthurian, but apparently that's because those tales are partially vampire and Fae in origin. Plus, they're in awe that he executed Victor in public like that and didn't care who saw. They think you're both fearless."

"I can see that with Eric – he kind of IS fearless, but me?"

"Apparently you were a big deal during the bombing of the Pyramid of Gizeh?"

"Yeah, well, I just did what I could to help…"

"Did you hold a bomb in your hand until the bomb squad arrived?"

"Yeah, but…"

"Did you go back in to get Eric and Pam?"

"Yeah…"

"And you and Eric rode a coffin down the side of the exploding building?"

"Yeah…"

"And you and some other guy dug through the rubble all day with the fire fighters getting humans and vampires out?"

"Yeah, but…"

"And you saved Felipe and Eric from Siegbert…"

"Yeah…"

"FEARLESS. Some of the girls in the New Orleans office asked me if it was true you had super-human strength."

"You said no, of course…"

"I told them the truth – you're stronger than most humans because you feed from Eric and he's so old. There's a rumor that Eric is so old that it made him fertile again and that's how you got pregnant."

"He'll like getting the credit for it."

"Yeah, that's what I said. They asked why a beautiful young human would be with such an old King and I told them he was gorgeous, so they're all buzzing about you two coming to the fundraiser. They were getting calls from all over the Americas and Europe asking if tickets were still available because people want to see you and Eric. I guess the same thing is going on in Las Vegas, but that's a lot harder to get into."

"Yeah, the Sheriff's Ball is strictly for the power structure – it's the Royals thanking the Sheriffs for what they do for them. It just happened to be Nevada's turn to host it this time. The fundraiser is a lot bigger and there will be Hollywood celebrities there and they'll be asking people to make donations so they'll take as many people as they can get there. "

"I'm looking forward to both of them. Eric already made arrangements for me to be in both places with you and Bill will join us in Vegas at the end of the week then we'll all go to New Orleans together."

"I'm sorry you have to be away from Bill, but I'm glad you'll be in Vegas with me. You can help me go through the residence and decide what to keep and what to sell."

"That big castle, you mean? Awesome. That will be like the world's greatest fleamarket. So you're definitely going to sell it?"

"Yes, it's too much and it was a burden on the kingdom's finances. Sandy is looking into moving our headquarters to the Bellagio. Apparently they have super exclusive villas and all we need is one of those for us to live in and a commercial suite for the offices."

"Wow – how amazing would that be?!"

"I know – I wouldn't mind living there part time. The shopping, the food, the spa. I'll bet they've even got baby facilities I don't know about yet. It would cut way down on the number of servants we'd have to keep, too, because the hotel would be in charge of cleaning, butler service, stuff like that. AHHHhhhhhhh!" Sookie let out a big yawn and Bobbie knew she would be out soon.

SOOTHING.

"Hey, Bobbie, the baby knows your back. Put your hand here." She put Bobbie's hand over the spot where the baby was moving and she could feel him.

"Hi, Baby E. I can't wait to meet you!" She smiled and he kicked as if he was responding to her.

"He sent Soothing again – he likes it when you massage me." She said softly with her eyes closed.

"Well, when I get done with your back I'll give him a few very light strokes."

"Mm-hmm" Sookie was becoming more relaxed and her eyes were slowly opening and closing. Bobbie used a lighter and lighter touch and soon she could tell by her breathing that Sookie was asleep. Bobbie turned off the light in the headboard and quietly left the room, softly closing the door behind her.

Bobbie went down to the dining room where Bill and Eric had papers all over the place. Eric looked up. "She is asleep?"

"Yes, she is. Just make sure you go up later. She'll be disappointed if you don't. She was worried that she hurt your feelings."

"I will see her before I rest. I just know the doctor wants her to sleep. Bill and I have another couple of hours work here."

"Do you guys need me down here? I could unpack and sleep a little if you don't."

"That's fine, Bobbie, thank you for your help with her." Eric said. "I know she is very glad to have you back."

"I'm glad to be back. I missed her." Bobbie said. She kissed Bill and went to take the service elevator up to the fourth floor. Once she got to her room, unpacking took a back seat to snuggling into her soft lavender duvet and sleeping.

Bill and Eric were going through the list of properties owned by the kingdom.

"What do you think, Bill?"

"I think we need to sell a lot of this. I don't know what the hell Felipe was doing but it's pretty clear Victor Madden wasn't doing even the most basic maintenance and no rebuilding."

"The Nevada properties are in pretty good shape. I think selling the residence will put their books back into the black by the end of the year if we can find a buyer. I'll take the funds that were used to maintain the residence and send them to the reconstruction fund. That will more than double what's going in there, and now that Victor won't be bleeding that pool dry, we should have enough to do some significant work by the end of the year. I'd say we can get our interests in the Quarter back to earning money by next Mardi Gras and the income from that should make the New Orleans office solvent again. I'm starting to understand why the Council got rid of Victor and Felipe. They couldn't possibly have been paying their tribute regularly, and they were tired of the excuses and the lies. How did you like Madden's home?"

"It was overly ornate, but the building was beautiful and had a lot of potential. It was convenient to the offices and the Quarter."

"How would you like it? If you'll agree to take over the New Orleans office, I'll sign all of Victor's property over to you and we'll pay you the same salary Sandy gets in Vegas."

"Do I have to live in New Orleans full time?"

"No, half time at the most, I'd think. With telephones, computers and fax machines, you should be able to administer the offices from here or from your home. You'll still be able to see Bobbie, and of course, we'll all come to New Orleans often, too."

"Alright. I think I'd like working on the reconstruction for a while. If Victor weren't already dead, I'd hunt him down and kill him myself for what he allowed to happen to the Quarter. He was lucky he lived as long as he did."

"Are things in place for the fundraiser in July?"

"Yes, and there has been a surge of interest since your ascendance. If you and Sookie let it be known that you'll attend, we'll make a fortune that night."

"Why would our attendance matter? I thought it was a Hollywood thing?"

"It is, but you and Sookie are all the rage in New Orleans already. Everyone, even the humans, are talking about the way you killed Victor in front of all your subjects and how you sired a son even though you're vampire. They're calling Sookie the new Princess Diana."

Eric laughed. "Sandy mentioned that, too. Are people really saying that?"

"Yes, they are, and you are known as "Eric the Untouchable." They think you were chosen by the gods and that you are fearless, generous, merciless and swift." Bill was obviously aggravated and not a little jealous at Eric's new popularity.

Eric laughed out loud, then caught himself because he didn't want to wake Sookie. "Well, then, I guess it's a good thing we decided to attend. We wouldn't want to disappoint our public." He shook his head, then he and Bill spent the next few hours going over the repairs needed line by line and looked at contractor's bids, which made it obvious that contractors were chosen by how much they kicked back to Victor rather than whether they could actually do the job. It was after 3 am when when Eric went back up to the room and crawled into bed with Sookie.

Eric pulled Sookie close to him, but didn't say anything or wake her. He held her for a while and listened to her heartbeat, and the baby's, thinking about the ultrasound that would let him see his son for the first time. He couldn't wait for that moment.

HAPPY. FIGHT!

Eric laughed softly and put his hand over his son, feeling him move within his mother's body, obviously awake and aware of him. Eric wondered if the baby could read his mind, so he thought "KICK" and the baby kicked. He thought "Daddy" and the baby sent FIGHT! The baby could read Eric's thoughts, something he didn't think Sookie had ever been able to do. Eric wondered if that was an effect of the bond or is his son's telepathy would extend to vampires. If it did, that would have to be well hidden to protect him. Vampires wouldn't be happy about the existence of a telepath who could read their thoughts – every vampire walking the earth had something to hide.

Eric was lost in thought, not even aware that he was stroking Sookie's tummy, when she woke up and kissed him.

"Hey." She said sleepily.

"Hey." He smiled down at her and kissed her forehead.

"Make love to me."

"You need to sleep, my angel."

"Come on, you know how this works by now. You do it gently and I'll fall asleep during."

"Do you really enjoy that?"

"Yeah, I love it. Don't you? If you don't like it…"

"I always like being with you, Sookie, no matter what we are doing."

"I hope you still feel that way when I can't have sex, like right before and after the baby."

"I will always feel that way, my lover. A few weeks, or even a few months is nothing in the span of my long life. I could go without feeding for longer than that. I have gone years without sex. Even if we could never have sex again, I would be with you. I will always be with you, no matter what."

"I'll always be with you, too, Eric, as long as I possibly can."

"Yes, my angel. We are stuck with each other." He kissed her forehead again.

"Help me roll over." He pushed her hip and shoulder toward the window, and put his hand under her, helping her shift her weight to her other side. This was the first time she asked for help with that. The weight of the baby was beginning to affect the way she moved. His arms encircled her, pulling her back against his chest and nuzzling her ear as he entered her gently as she liked him to do. As much as he loved their wilder sexual adventures, sometimes he liked this the best, gently holding her, the scent of her filling his nostrils, the feel of being inside her, being next to her. Even though she was half asleep, this was when they were closest, and he loved the warmth and the love that radiated gently between them.


	53. Chapter 53

[Author's Note – Bjorn is based on Alex Skarsgård in **Generation Kill,** just a little shorter and more muscular]

**Chapter 53**

Compared to the weeks before, the next week passed quietly. The big project around the house was setting up the birthing room, which was stripped down, cleaned thoroughly, and all the new white sheets were washed and bleached. All the new instruments were soaked in alcohol, Alicia having bought a case of bottles. The gardener's men helped lift the bed so the drop clothes could be stretched all underneath it and the plastic extended out into the room where it would hopefully protect the hardwood floor from blood. The baby bath basin was set in the bathtub, and the scale and measuring tape were arranged on the counter in the bathroom along with some pristine receiving blankets. A tray sat beside the bed holding a box of plastic gloves, new scissors, a roll of twine, a large bottle of Betadine, a bottle of alcohol, a box of cotton wool and clean cloths. Three "scrub" aprons and a hospital gown were folded on the bed which was draped with several king size white sheets. Another stack of white sheets was on the dresser along with towels, a box of diapers for newborns, a DVD player with soothing music that Sookie liked, a video camera, and a couple of tiny t-shirts that snapped at the shoulder. The door was kept closed to keep the dust down and so that Sookie wouldn't be reminded of the impending event because she was getting scared as time went by.

On Sunday Ludwig arranged for a doctor to call in a prescription for Sookie for Soma, and Alicia filled it, starting her on it that afternoon. It knocked her out for a couple of days, so they skipped her dose Tuesday morning so she could wake up enough to try on dresses that were brought to the house so she could choose what to wear to the Sheriff's ball. Fortunately, the representative from the store brought more than Alicia had asked her to, including items that she just included because they were new and pretty, and Sookie wound up buying 8 dresses – the one for the Sheriff's Ball, 2 that were possibilities for the fundraiser, and 4 short, cute, post-baby dresses and another long really pretty dress that should be wearable after the pregnancy. She didn't want to be extravagant but Bobbie pointed out that there may be many events coming up that she'd have to attend, so if she saw things she liked, it would be better to have them in her closet in case she didn't have time later and Alicia agreed.

The social calendar for the kingdom was filling up rapidly with invitations for the new King and Queen. They didn't accept them all, of course, because there were so many, but they were still going to be very busy, especially in the fall and winter which was prime time for vamps because the days were so much longer. Vampires didn't hold a lot of events in the summer because of the short days, so Sookie would have some time to recuperate after the birth and adjust to having an infant that needed her care.

Alicia and Sookie developed a routine where they would sit in Sookie's room after she ate lunch and review the day's mail, writing thank you notes for the various gifts that were still trickling in, answering questions from Sookie's liaisons in both offices, updating Sookie's calendar which was synchronized with Eric's right after dinner, which they had in the kitchen after Eric carried her down. Sookie wouldn't give up on family dinner no matter how sleepy she was. After a week or so, she adjusted to the Soma and it didn't make her so sleepy, but Dr. Ludwig was very happy she spent most of that week sleeping in between meals and bottles of RM. The Soma went a long way toward helping Sookie deal with the cramping, which was becoming almost constant. As she adjusted to the Soma, she was able to be functional even though there was some cramping and she went quite a while without any severe cramps that knocked her out.

The storage unit for the nursery finally arrived on Wednesday and they were able to start putting things into the little cubbies, which they were eventually going to order baskets for to help keep stuff in place and make them hold more. Sookie noticed more was done in that room every time she went in there, assuming Alicia or Bobbie were making little changes and improvements, but she woke up in the wee hours Thursday night and noticed the light from the room shining into the hallway. She went out to the hall and saw Eric moving things around in the nursery, then opening a box that held a portable play pen and setting it up to see how it worked. When he had it up he acknowledged her presence, knowing that she knew he'd know she was watching.

"Hello, my angel, what are you doing out of bed?"

"I saw a light on in the hallway and wanted to see if I could catch the elves that have been working in here while I'm asleep," She teased him, tickled to death that he was doing things in the nursery.

"No elves, I'm afraid, only one vampire who wants to make sure he can operate all of these things before they are needed. What is this, exactly? It looks like a cage."

"It's called a play pen or a play yard. It's a safe place to put the baby where he can move around and play with toys, but you don't have to watch him every second. Once he starts crawling, it will be important to keep him from getting into things or getting hurt."

"And this goes in this bag so we can take it with us when we travel?"

"Exactly."

"Very clever. No matter where we are, he will have a familiar place to play."

"Right. If we're in a hotel or something like that, the rooms won't be baby proofed, but if he's in his playpen, it won't matter. There's a portable high chair in there, too."

"That is what he sits in at the table so we can feed him?"

"Yes, a lot of places won't have them, but this way we'll always have one with us that we know how to use and that will feel familiar to him."

"Babies like things that are familiar," he said, sort of talking to himself.

"Hey, I just noticed the curtains are up!" Sookie was delighted at the way the bright red color looked with the pretty blue of the walls.

"Yes, Alicia did that. She arranged the crib, too."

"Arranged it?" Sookie looked over there. "Oh, cool! She put the Dr. Seuss bedding on it! Isn't it sweet?"

"Who is Dr. Seuss?"

"He was a man who wrote wonderful rhyming stories for kids and did his own illustrations. They're very sweet and very smart. You'll get to know them by heart, I'm sure."

"I will?"

"Yes, from reading to the baby. Kids love Dr. Seuss. I did."

"At what age do you begin to do that?"

"Right from the start. You hold them in your lap and read them a story and they get used to you holding them and they learn to speak from hearing you read the repetitive words. A lot of times if a kid is upset about something, you can distract them with a book. It also makes them love reading later on."

"Is that what this chair is for?" He tried out the glider.

"Yes, for reading to him and rocking him when he's fussy or can't sleep, or sick or has colic."

"This chair doesn't rock."

"Well, it's technically a glider, but it's the fact that it moves that is important. Babies like the movement."

"Yes, I read about that. It reminds them of being inside their mother – but too much movement can make them throw up."

"Yeah, you have to learn how much is enough. I think we might have an advantage there, though."

"The bond?"

"Yes – I think we'll know he's sick as soon as he feels it. That will come in very handy. So how often do you come in here?"

"Every night since the cradle was assembled. I come in and I look at the tiny clothes and the furnishings and the little toys and I send love and pride to him through the bond, and he sends LOVE, PROUD, and FIGHT back to me. I picture how soon I will come in and he will be here, and I will hold to him and tell him stories of my long life. I am looking forward to tomorrow night when I will see him for the first time, and know that soon I will hold him in my arms. It seems like a dream sometimes so I come in here to make it real."

"Yeah, it's hard for me to believe sometimes and he's inside me kicking me," she laughed.

He picked her up and carried her into their room, putting her down gently on the bed and lying down with her. "The bond tells me how you are feeling too, my angel, and that comes in handy, too," he said as he put his arm under her head and she snuggled against him.

"I hate that I'm sleeping so much."

"The doctor wants you to get a lot of rest so you will be up to our trips. Just relax and enjoy the vacation," he teased her. "It's good to see you and the baby sleeping so soundly. I come in every night and lie down with you for while, even when you don't know I'm here."

"I miss you, though."

"I miss you, too, but we will have time together soon. We will be together when we travel and we will be going to wonderful events where you will be the center of attention and I will be able to enjoy showing you off."

"I'm fat, you know. I had to go up another dress size to get into the gown I wanted for the Sheriff's Ball and the dresses that I might use for New Orleans have lots of room to them."

"You are not fat, Sookie, you are with child. You are glowing and ripe. Everyone will envy me having such a beautiful Queen who is giving me a son."

"Bobbie said that the rumor is that you're so old that you are fertile again. They think you impregnated me without magickal intervention."

"No need to correct them – they can think I did it on my own," he beamed at her.

"Yeah, Bobbie and I both knew you'd like that idea."

"It is a very flattering concept. Of course I would like it. The more virile their King the more they will respect me."

"Oh, they respect you, from what Bobbie said – Eric the Untouchable," she laughed.

"Yes and you are Princess Diana," he teased her back.

"I hope I don't end up like that poor woman."

"You won't. They are making the comparison because you are young and blonde and very sweet as she was. You will be beloved like she was and still is, but your King will not treat you as badly as hers did to her."

"You know about that?"

"Yes, I looked her up when I was told you were being compared to her. It is a very sad story that the Prince married that innocent young girl when he was in love with someone else. Very dishonorable. A vampire regent would never get away with something like that and keep his throne."

"Felipe got away with killing Sophie Ann."

"Where is Felipe now?"

"Good point."

"No one would have bothered him if he hadn't killed her. Between the coup and then Felipe's extravagance and Madden's thievery, it's no wonder the Council decided to eliminate them."

"Victor was stealing from Felipe?"

"From the entire kingdom. He was siphoning off the money that was intended for the reconstruction and he did almost nothing to repair our properties, especially in the French Quarter."

"I thought that was the first thing they would do? You said every day that was undone was lost revenue."

"Exactly. The money was there to do it, but Madden stole it and didn't do the reconstruction."

"Felipe didn't know?"

"I don't know. Sandy definitely knew and that's probably why Madden is dead. She had to play some part in getting rid of him, and probably Felipe, too."

"You think she set all of this up?"

"She could not have done it alone, but she had to be in on the decision by the council. I'm not sure if she went to them or they went to her, but there was a deliberate move against both of them, and to put me in their place. I don't know how or where Niall got involved, but his new seat on the Council was apparently part of the deal."

"They paid Niall to do all of this?"

"Not exactly. I think – I'm not sure – that Niall approached the Council with a proposal that would give them a new King, a Prince, an attractive young Queen, and eliminate the excesses of de Castro and Madden. The big question is whether Niall came up with the scheme on his own, or if Freya told him what to do."

"Which is more likely?"

"Well, I'd say Freya's help was integral in enabling me to impregnate you. My guess would be that Niall started out with a plan to get you pregnant so I would marry you, and She presented the idea to the Council as a way to solve their problem. Niall would have had no choice but to play it the way they wanted it, but he's a clever negotiator and probably got them to give him a seat on the Council for his trouble. Either that or the whole thing originated with Freya and she was pulling Niall's strings in exchange for his seat."

Sookie was quiet for a few minutes and Eric knew she was trying to process the whole thing. On some level, he knew that she was beginning to realize that Niall had bartered her for his own advancement, even though he made sure she was provided for in the deal. It would still take a while for her to admit it to herself, but the knowledge was around the edges of her consciousness and he knew it was only a matter of time before the weight of it hit her. He prayed that the fact that there would be no baby without the deal would ease the pain for her. He hoped that by the time it hit her, she would be occupied with diapers and breastfeeding and it wouldn't matter anymore. He decided it was best to distract her.

"So, my angel, is there more shopping to do for the baby?"

"Yes, I've got several gift certificates to spend. Somebody just sent me one to Nordstrom's, and there's a huge one from and a couple of baby websites. Bobbie and I are going to do some shopping while you're at Fangtasia next week because of Pam's vacation. I know you won't abandon the whole thing to Vincent so soon."

"True, and I need to make myself available sometimes. People who have requested audiences were directed to meet with me there during the week. You are welcome to come with me if you feel up to it, but it would be better for you to rest and shop. There is still a little space in the baby's room," he teased her and kissed her.

"Hey, I've got the gift certificates, it would be dumb not to use them."

"This is true," he laughed. He knew she was enjoying the baby shopping more than she would ever admit because she would be afraid of being perceived as greedy even though it was a natural mothering instinct that was behind it. He loved to see how excited she got with the new things for the nursery and the little baby clothes and toys. He could just imagine how she would be when she was playing with the baby, dressing him in those little clothes in the cubbies of the new storage unit.

He didn't have to ask her if she wanted sex because it had been a few days and he could feel it through the bond. He didn't want her exerting herself, though, so he undressed and took control of the situation, very gently taking her twice, making her very happy but not getting her too riled up. There would be plenty of time for that later. He wasn't sure why the doctor had ordered this test she was going to have and he wasn't going to take any chances right now.

He got her a couple of RMs from the little fridge and she took a Soma. She was very close to falling asleep again, her medicine beginning to kick in, and she asked him not to leave until she did. He assured her that he had no intention of leaving her while she was awake.

"Listen, if this test turns out OK tomorrow, and now that I'm adjusting to the medication, I want us back on schedule together."

"What kind of schedule?"

"I want us to take a bath together every night when you get home from Fangtasia and have sex like we did before all the wedding and coup and stuff happened. I need time alone with you or I'm going to get depressed. I feel like I could cry all the time, lately."

"That's mostly from the pregnancy, but we will get back to our baths and our time at night. After tomorrow we have 10 days before we have to travel. No doubt we will have lots of sex while we are in Las Vegas and New Orleans. We did last time." He wiggled his eyebrows at her and she laughed softly.

"Yeah, but I'm getting really pregnant now. Are you sure you aren't losing interest in me?"

"Sookie, my angel, that will never happen. Just be patient. If the doctor tells you that everything is fine tomorrow night, you will see exactly how much I am still interested in you. Are you ready to feed from me?"

"Yes, help me turn over." He helped her turn her back to him and he pulled her close. He bit his wrist and put it to her mouth and she drew hard on the wound, bringing them both to a strong release almost simultaneously, which was happening every time she fed from him now. His hands roamed over her, and he was stroking her belly and kissing her shoulder when he heard her breathing and heartbeat slow and he knew she was falling asleep. He could feel the baby was asleep, too and he closed his eyes, enjoying the sounds of both their hearts, of Sookie's breathing. This was becoming a favorite part of the night for him, having them close and warm, knowing they were safe in his arms and nothing could touch them. He was always a little

apprehensive leaving them in the daytime. No matter how good the guards they hired might be, Eric knew no one could protect them the way he would. He hated being unreachable for so much of the day. It was the worst part of being vampire to be so helpless for half of the day.

He finally made himself get up and go into his office. He had a lot to do, though he had been working more than usual because Sookie had been sleeping a lot. He would be as glad as she when she didn't have to stay in bed just because his life was so much more fun when she was awake. He didn't miss the sex as much as he just missed her – her sense of humor, her excitement about the baby, her sweetness and especially that smile. It made him feel good that she wanted their old habit of bathing together back. He missed that, too. There was a closeness that came with washing each other's hair and soaping and rinsing each other that nothing else matched. It seemed like months since they had done that, but it had really only been a week or so, though they didn't do it nearly as much after the wedding as they had before.

So much had changed so quickly – he was amazed Sookie could handle it as well as she did. Even he felt a little overwhelmed at times. Only a month ago, they'd been dating but not living together; they had no thoughts of ever having a child; they had no ambitions to be anything but a barmaid and a Sheriff, though he did want Sookie not to work at Merlotte's anymore back then. Now they were living together as husband and wife, they were to be parents and they were King and Queen. It seemed impossible all of that had happened in so little time. He was adapting to running more than just Area 5 reasonably well but that was largely thanks to Sandy and Bill helping him out. He was very relieved Bill agreed to take the New Orleans office for him. Pam didn't want it and he didn't trust anyone else to work that closely with him. Compton was essentially honest and had a conscience, which rarely survived a person's transformation to vampire.

Pam was going on vacation at an inconvenient time, but Eric had made a promise and he would not break a promise to Pam if he didn't have to. She was adapting very well to running Fangtasia and being Sheriff, and Vincent was coming along as her second. He would spend at least part of the night at the club next week every night Pam was away to make sure Vincent was catching on, and it would give Vincent and him a chance to talk about security on the upcoming trips.

It looked as if they'd have 7 guards traveling with them, 2 vampires and 5 Weres, one of them being Bjorn since he was officially the Queen's bodyguard. The others would protect them all generally, Eric not necessarily needing a personal guard as Sookie did. Sookie and Bobbie would have Bjorn to drive and guard them, Bjorn being awake whenever Sookie was, and of 2 daytime guards, 1 would accompany the girls and Bjorn if they went out and and 1 would guard Eric. There would be 4 of them at night for the parties, the Weres taking 12 hour shifts so they could each get enough sleep while the vampires would work from 8 pm to 5 am.

The Nevada territories would pay the guards from the 22nd thru the 30th, then the Louisiana Territories would pay them from the 30th to the 5th of July. When Eric looked at the logistics, he started to wonder if he shouldn't combine the two kingdoms so that here was one set of books instead of two. He needed to think seriously about that if they were going to leave him in charge of both. He might add a layer to the hierarchy so that he had an administrator directly below him that also dealt with the money for both Kingdoms. It was one of many things he would have to think about now that he was King, and it was a pain in the ass.

He handled some paperwork, answered questions Burnham had concerning Eric's new income and the need to meet with his accountant. He confirmed Pam's reservations at the exclusive hotel he booked her into and tried not to think about the fact that she was taking Sookie's brother with her. At least they wouldn't be right in his face as they were in Las Vegas. He didn't know why it bothered him, but it did. Pam could do much better.

He made his nightly call to Sandy and she told him the travel arrangements were made and on the way to him. She had a few issues regarding their properties in Nevada that couldn't wait, one of which was an offer to buy a bar that was located off the strip and which was only marginally profitable, so he told her to go ahead and accept the offer. He planned to only keep the prime real estate and businesses and maximize their potential. He didn't like to bother with things that were too mediocre.

He had the distinct sense that Felipe liked to own things, the more the better, and quality didn't matter where businesses were concerned. Eric was just the opposite – he wanted a few very fine things that were of exceptional quality, both in business and in his personal life. That was the way he would run both kingdoms and it would reduce the need for administrative staff and allow them to focus on their really profitable businesses that were apparently often pushed to the side while lesser properties demanded attention. He was finding that everything associated with Felipe was marked by excess. No wonder Madden was able to steal from him so blatantly – there was so much going on that there was no way Felipe could keep track of it all. He could tell when he spoke to her that Sandy was very relieved to see some of these issues being resolved after so long. She was a person who wanted to do a good job, and Felipe made that damned near impossible. No wonder she had been so frustrated.

Eric finally felt like he had things under control, and went back to watch Sookie sleep for a few minutes before he went to rest. When he woke this night, he would get to see his son for the first time. He couldn't remember the last time he had looked forward to anything so much. He went to sleep smiling, thinking of his son.

Friday afternoon Sookie woke up at one and she refused to take a Soma because she wanted to be really awake for the test that night. She and Bobbie went out to the pool for the first time in a while and it felt good to be in the sun and the water again, even if she was fat. Margaret's good cooking was beginning to show in Sookie's hips, though Bobbie insisted that was just her body preparing for the birth, and the cleavage Eric loved so much was still increasing. At 3:00, Eric's accountant came over with some updated papers and credit cards, and he needed Sookie to sign some papers so she went in wearing her suit and cover up. He didn't think anything about it, but when she walked him to the front door, she picked up some surprisingly impure thoughts from the guards. They couldn't possibly think she looked good, could they?

When she went back, Bobbie had the massage table set up and she tried to get on it for the first time in a little while and found that it was becoming difficult. Tomorrow they would use the new massage chair Alicia had ordered. They didn't want to use it until they had to, but considering the struggle it took to get Sookie on the table now, they had to. She was just a little too short to get leverage with that much weight.

"Am I fat enough now?" She laughed to Bobbie when she was finally settled.

"Actually, sweetie, you still need 10 to 15 pounds, minimum, but I think the bambino will take care of that now that you're drinking the RMs."

"You think that's what's putting the weight on?"

"I'm pretty sure, yeah. Only a little of the new weight is in your hips or bust – most of it is baby. He was just waiting to get some real nourishment."

"I hope he doesn't get dangerously big." Sookie was worried about that. Really worried.

"He's nowhere near that point yet, Sookie. I'll let you know when it's time to panic." Bobbie was teasing her so she wouldn't dwell on it. She finally relaxed and Bobbie was able to get the knots out of her

She was still in her suit when Eric came up for family dinner and he was surprised to see her so awake.

"Hello, my angel – you are not in bed?" He bent down to kiss her.

"No, I wanted to be awake for the test tonight so I didn't take any medicine and I even went out to the pool and had a proper massage, though I won't be able to get up on the table after this."

"She's a little too heavy to get up on it, so we're going to start using the chair." Bobbie explained.

"That is good – you needed more weight for the baby!"

"Eric, I'm fat."

"Sookie, you are not. I told you how beautiful I think you are. You are ripe and luscious – you've never been more beautiful to me."

"He's not just saying that, Sookie. You have that glow pregnant women get and you look amazing, even with your baby bump. I've never seen a prettier mommy."

"See that, my angel – she agrees. Don't you agree, Margaret?"

"I think she's just lovely and we still need to fatten her up, so I made her a treat." Margaret put a bowl of crawfish gumbo in front of Sookie and her eyes got big.

"Is that?"

"Crawfish gumbo. I believe you said it was one of your favorites?" Margaret said proudly as she set a dish in front of Bobbie.

"Oh, yeah!" Sookie dug in and Eric and Bobbie exchanged smiles because Sookie had forgotten all about being "fat" when she saw that bowl of gumbo.

Bill came into the kitchen then, going over to Bobbie and kissing her. "Hello, sweetheart."

"Hi." Bobbie beamed at him.

"Good evening, Bill." Eric said.

"Eric. Sookie. I slept very late, it seems."

"Actually I think I woke up early. I was very anxious about our trip to the hospital tonight."

"You don't anticipate any problems, do you?" Bill asked

"No, not really, but I am very anxious to see the baby." Eric smiled. He was obviously excited. Margaret smiled proudly at him as she sat an RM in front of him then in front of Bill.

"Yes, I can imagine you would be. I was thinking I might go to my house for the weekend to catch up on some things and come back on Tuesday."

"You may take Bobbie with you if you like – we'll call you if we need you, and this might be your best time to go since we'll be traveling. " Eric was trying to be very generous.

"How about if I follow him in my car, then if I need to hurry back I won't need to wait for Bill?"

"That seems reasonable." Eric said.

"Sookie, would you mind?" Bobbie asked her

"No, I don't mind. Like he said, you won't be able to later. It's just a couple of days."

"Bill, do you want to take guards with you?" Eric was a little worried about this now that he thought about it. Bill could easily be a target, too.

"I don't think that will be necessary. I doubt anyone will try anything at my house. I don't have any enemies that I know of."

"If you change your mind, call Vincent and tell him I ordered it. I think you should have a least a couple of men outside your house, but it's up to you."

"Thank you, Eric. I appreciate the offer."

"Margaret? May I have some more gumbo, please? And another bottle of the new stuff? " Sookie had already cleaned her plate. Eric smiled, knowing she was eating for the baby, and that it would just make her rounder and more beautiful. He couldn't believe she didn't know how lovely she was this way. Her skin was rosy and her body was even warmer than usual. She smelled like heaven and tasted even better.

"When you finish this dish, we should be on our way, Sookie." Eric didn't want to take a chance on being late. He was busting at the seams to see this baby. Apparently this place they were going could give him a 3D image and he couldn't wait. He knew what to expect from seeing such pictures on the internet, so he knew it wouldn't look like a baby looks after it's born, but still – it was his son!

Sookie and Eric were ready to head out as soon as they were dressed and they took a quick shower together, which was fun even though they didn't have time to fool around. They'd do that later if everything was OK.

Bjorn drove to the hospital in Sookie's car, Sookie and Eric in the back. Sookie was chattering about baby stuff but Eric kept getting lost in his thoughts about the baby. She knew he was too excited to listen to her, but she kept talking anyway. She missed him so much, even in her sleep, though that didn't make any sense. She picked up his wrist and put his arm around her, snuggling into him. He smiled at her and pulled her into him, kissing her on the forehead.

"I'm sorry if I'm not keeping up my end of the conversation, my angel."

"It's OK, I know you're excited. I'm excited, too, but I'm just the opposite of you – you get quiet and I can't shut up." She laughed and he laughed with her, reaching his other hand across to intertwine his fingers with hers and inclining his head to rest on hers.

Bjorn was having trouble keeping his eyes on the road. How could she let that big vamp touch her that way? He knew what he had heard about their sex life and from the way they looked at each other, he knew it was true, but she was so sweet and he was so big and … something. He didn't know what he word was, but he was it. Scary, maybe, or just old and creepy? No, the word was DEAD. He was a big old dead Viking touching that sweet young warm... girl? Was she a human girl or a Witch or was she Fae? He couldn't tell. She didn't smell exactly like a fairy, but she didn't smell completely human, either. She smelled better than human, sweeter. She made his mouth water. Sometimes she smelled like food, sometimes she smelled like sex. He never met anyone like that before.

They pulled up at the hospital and Bjorn went in with them, standing outside the only door of the room the Ultrasound was in. Dale Sears was a tall skinny were with brown hair and pale skin. He wore glasses, but Eric said later they were probably just clear glass since Weres usually had perfect vision. They were probably part of his cover as a mild mannered hospital technician.

Eric lifted Sookie onto the table once she was in the gown he gave her, and he pulled a sheet over her lower body, rolling it down below the bump. She was nervous and he told her to just relax, because this wouldn't hurt her or the baby. Eric held her hand, fascinated at the machinery and the little image on the screen. He could see a faint outline of a baby, but it was hard for Sookie to see. Sears explained that this was a 2D ultrasound that was normally used for diagnostic purposes, but that they could do a 3D image for an extra charge. Eric wanted that very much, no matter how much it cost. They were in the middle of taking the 3D image when Doctor Ludwig popped in.

"How are we doing, Sears?"

"Just fine, doctor. Everything looks good. Hang on one second." He came out of his little office with 4 images, one set of two for Eric and one for the doctor, plus a CD for Eric. One of the images was of the 2D scan and the other image was the 3D "photo." Eric was beside himself and he couldn't stop looking at it. Sookie thought it looked a little weird, and thought to herself that she was a terrible mom, but Eric was flooding the bond with so much happiness, love and pride that there was no room for her to feel anything but positive feelings. He couldn't take his eyes off the pictures. She had never seen him look so happy or so beautiful.

"Yes, yes, this looks very good. He's in a good position, he's well developed and he's well along in his growth. I see you're gaining a little weight finally, little girl. That's good – that RM is working well for him then?"

"It's either that or my maid's cooking." Sookie laughed.

"I think it's the RM. He was taking his blood from you and keeping you puny. Now that there's an external source, you're filling out and so is he. Now don't you go getting vain and trying to keep your weight down. You might need a little extra reserve to get you through this delivery. How many RMs are you drinking in a day?"

"About 10."

"OK, I want you to increase that to 12 minimum. I know it's a lot, but you need to drink it before he lets you know he needs it. Northman, can you arrange for someone to give her at least one bottle every two hours – more if she can drink them?"

"Of course, doctor, whatever she needs."

"That sounds like a feeding schedule for a baby." Sookie said.

"It is, my dear. I don't want the little one going more than 2 hours without a feeding. Start this schedule now and he'll be used to it by the time he's born. He won't drink as much as a whole bottle then, but he'll want to feed at least that frequently. Have you thought about how to get to him that often or is he going to sleep in your bed?"

"She bought a kind of crib called a co-sleeper," Eric explained, "that keeps the baby right next to her but protects him from being crushed or suffocated. It attaches to the side of the bed. It's a very clever design."

"Good, good. That will keep her from having to get up and down all night. Getting out of bed will be hard for her for a while and that will be right when he needs to feed most often. I know you'll have lots of help, but it still ends up being an effort for the mother. Sears, do you think she'll need another one of these?"

"Only if there's a problem between now and delivery, and it doesn't look like delivery is that far off."

"We're expecting him in August, aren't we?" Sookie said

"That's an awfully optimistic view. I'll be shocked if it goes that long." Sears said. "I think you're farther along than you realized. Mid- to late July is my estimation."

"Oh, god – will he be big enough then?" Sookie thought he couldn't possibly be ready by then. She knew approximately when she got pregnant.

"If you and he keep growing at the rate you are now, yes." Doctor Ludwig was a lot surer about this than Sookie was. "Well, I'm off. Sleep, eat, have sex, have massages, and stay off your feet. Call if you need me," and she was gone.

"Ok, Mrs. Northman, you can get dressed now." He gave Eric a washcloth to clean the gel off of her belly, then Eric picked her up and carried her behind the screen where her clothing was. She only wore a thong and one of the Indian cotton dresses, so she was dressed very quickly.

Eric thanked the technician and paid him per Dr. Ludwig's instruction and took Sookie outside where Bjorn was waiting.

"Bjorn – would you like the see the first photo of the Prince?" Eric was beaming and had to show someone, even if the someone was Bjorn.

"Wow – that's a very nice picture. I didn't know they could do that."

"It's a new technology. It is amazing, is it not?" Eric handed the photos and CDs to Sookie, then picked her up and carried her to the car.

"I don't mean to pry, your majesty, but I was wondering if the Queen is alright. She hasn't been out at all this week and some of us were worried. If there's anything we can do…"

"Thank you, Bjorn. The doctor wants her to sleep as much as she can and prescribed a new medicine that made her very sleepy for a while. She's adjusting to it now, so she'll be around more in the daytime, but she still needs rest. Has Vincent informed you of the travel plans yet?"

"Yes, your majesty, he scheduled me to go to Las Vegas and New Orleans with you along with the other 6 guards."

"Good. I know the Queen will want to shop and go out during the day and I want to be sure she's protected."

"Hey, the Queen is right here, ya know…"

"Yes, my angel, but I was informing your bodyguard of your plans. I was not ignoring you. You know I would never do that."

"OK," she relaxed and leaned into him.

"As I was saying, her Doula will be with her to help if she has medical needs, but I still want armed guards with the two of them."

"I believe Vincent has us scheduled so that when the two of them go out, one of the other guards will accompany us, and one will stay where you rest, your majesty."

"That should be fine. If you need additional guards, the Las Vegas or New Orleans offices can provide locals, too."

"I believe there are to be two local guards outside the door at the Bellagio, and of course the usual guard will be at the residence."

"Good."

They reached the car and Bjorn held the door open as Eric settled Sookie into the car then he walked around to the other side to get the door for Eric. They managed to be civil to each other, but it was clear they still didn't like each other. So okie couldn't figure out why Eric got so serious around Bjorn. He seemed like a nice guy to her.

Eric took the 3D picture from Sookie when they got in the car and studied it, though he could barely see it in the dark.

"You can't really tell what he's going to look like yet." Sookie said

"No, my lover, but you can see him. He has a face, and hands and he moves. He will be strong and beautiful, just like you."

"Just like you is more like it. Does he have a sword in there yet?" she teased him.

"He will have a sword very soon, I promise you, Sookie."

"I have no doubt of that, Eric. That's the world's tiniest Viking in that picture," she laughed.

"That is my son's face." He said softly. "My son's face…" he repeated with awe in his voice.

LOVE. PROUD. FIGHT!

They both laughed out loud. Bjorn looked in the rearview mirror, wondering what they were laughing at.

"Guess who's awake, Daddy?" Sookie laughed.

"Yes, so he is." Eric put his hand on the bump and felt the baby moving around. "That is the most amazing thing in the world, my angel. To see him, to see his face and to feel him move. I never want to forget this. Bjorn, do you have children?"

"No, your highness. I am not married."

"Take my advice. I have lived over a thousand years. There is no pleasure greater than the feel of your child moving in the body of a woman you love. People take this gift for granted or treat it as a burden, but I tell you, along with fighting and fucking, it is one of life's greatest joys. Find a fertile woman and have a child. You will never regret it."

"Yes, your majesty." Bjorn had to laugh along with him. He believed Eric was every bit the badass his reputation made him out to be, and he just admitted he was every bit as old as people said, but there was no doubt he was sincere in his love for that child and probably even for Sookie. Heaven help anyone who threatened his family, because he had no doubt any threat to them would be rent to small pieces. So, probably, would any guard that let harm come to them. He'd better stay on his toes and keep his eyes off Sookie, though that wasn't going to be easy. How the hell can a pregnant chick be that hot? Why does she smell so damned good?

Bjorn said good night to them once they were out of the car and walked across the road to where his own car was parked. He needed to get her scent out of his head. He had met women with an unusually attractive scent before but this was unbelievable. Some people smelled like food and made you hungry for flesh, and some women smelled like sex and made you want them that way, but this chick smelled like both, but better than either, and it was messing with his head. He had no doubt that big vamp would kill anybody who messed with her. Who would risk losing that? If she tasted as good to a vampire as she smelled to him, he was surprised there hadn't been war over her yet. This was like a damned drug. His cell phone rang – it was Sabrina. Now what?

"Hello, Sabrina. What can I do for you?"

"I was just wondering if you'd like to come over for a drink?" She purred. She sounded like she was in a "friendly" mood.

"Yeah, why not. I'll be there in about 40 minutes." Why the hell not? At least he'd probably get laid, and that sounded pretty good right now, even if it was with the wrong woman. Psycho Sabrina could be a lot of fun when she wanted to be. The trick was to get away from her before she got close enough to do any damage to the rest of your life. That's why he wouldn't work for her. He'd take some work under the table but there was no way he was letting that bitch have his Social Security number. He was glad he knew about her before she had offered to hire him. Vincent had filled him in on her when he called around to check her out. He had done some slimy things for her when the price was right, but never to anyone that didn't deserve what they got.

Eric and Sookie went into the kitchen and found a note from Margaret that there was more gumbo in the fridge, so Sookie decided to have a bowl before they went upstairs. Eric put turned the TV in the den on and got the quilt from the closet, asking Sookie to bring her snack in there so they could watch a movie. Sookie told Eric to pick something and she'd be right in. Eric put a movie in the player and took his shirt and boots off. Sookie came in stirring a big bowl of gumbo.

"Mmmmm – nice view!" she said as he removed his shirt.

"It could get better…" he teased her.

"Well, don't just stand there, turn around and drop 'em" she laughed.

Eric turned his back to her and slowly pulled his jeans down, revealing that he was wearing no underwear.

"Mmmmm, I don't know which looks tastier, this gumbo or those buns." She laughed.

He took a tray out of the closet and set her dish on it. "I'm waiting."

"Waiting for what" She looked up and batted her eyelashes, playing innocent.

"Sookie, my angel, I thought you liked that dress."

"I love it, why?"

"If it's not off your body in 10 seconds, I'll shred it."

"No you won't"

"One…"

"Eric…"

"Two"

"come on"

"Three…"

"Alright hang on," she started trying to get her dress over her head but she was tangled in it.

"Four"

"Eric, hang on!"

"Five"

"Ahh!"

"Six…"

Finally she got it over her head and off. Before she could do or say anything else, he hooked a finger into each side of her thong and snapped them into pieces.

"There's another one I have to replace."

"Poor baby. Now," he scooped her up in his arms, "you eat and we watch a movie. It might be a while before we get to have the house to ourselves." He sat on the couch with her on his lap and handed her the dish, then pulled the quilt over them, under her arms.

He clicked the remote and the movie started.

"Nine and a half weeks? Isn't this kind of old?"

"Not nearly as old as the movies you choose."

"True"

"Have you ever seen it?"

"No, is it good?"

"Parts of it are very good."

"OK, what's it about?"

"It's about a relationship between a beautiful woman who works in an art gallery and a mysterious man she meets while buying a chicken."

"What?"

"You'll see."

Sookie settled in, more interested in the bowl of gumbo than what was happening on the screen. She liked the part where he surprised her with the shawl. She threatened Eric when she saw the part where he leaves her stranded on the ferris wheel but he reminded her that he could fly. At the point where Kim Basinger's character pleasures herself while sitting on the control for the slides, the movie had captured Sookie's attention which quickly became refocused on Eric because she was sitting on his lap and the ever-ready gracious plenty was begging for attention, which she was more than happy to provide.

Sookie slipped off Eric's lap so she was kneeling between his legs and took him in her mouth as if she were starving. Between what was happening on the screen and what was happening in his lap, Eric was moaning loudly and lost in sensation, neither of them aware that the curtains to the back yard were open and there were guards patrolling all around the perimeter of the property. Eric noticed Sookie was looking around as she sucked him, and he asked her what she was looking for. She said "lubricant" breathlessly and continued her attentions to him, as he reached to the side and pulled a locked box out of a drawer in a side table. He flipped the combination on it, and lo and behold there was, among other things, a tube of lubricant in it. Sookie stopped for a minute.

"I thought I was the only girl you ever had here."

"You are."

"So what's with that being in that drawer all handy and everything."

"My lover, there are little surprises all over this house you will discover in time."

"Oh, really" she was being sassy, but she was also squirting lube on her fingers.

"Really." Goddess he was beautiful when he was smug like that. She went back to work on his cock eagerly, moving with him as he slid forward so she could do that little trick they were both becoming so fond of. Eric loved it for obvious reasons, but Sookie loved it because it gave her an odd sense of power and control that she could do something that produced such an intense reaction in him. She was merciless with him this time around, making him writhe and cry out as she giggled wickedly, which only added to his pleasure.

He swore to himself he was going to give Bobbie a raise for creating this sexy, sadistic little monster between his legs. He came and the two of them slipped to the floor, but Sookie didn't stop. Being a vampire, he didn't really have a "down time" so Sookie made him come, always in her mouth, three more times, howling and growling each time he did, she sliding her fingers out, then in and rubbing a few times, before she would stop. He could easily have stopped her, of course, but this was too good. He never thought his sweet little Southern Belle would be brave enough to be that dominating and it was the sexiest thing he could ever remember. By the time she was done with him, he was a quivering mass of jellied bliss.

He laughed loudly, "Oh, Sookie, I love you…. I love you more than anything. There is nothing I would not do for you."

"Oh, really?"

"Yes, and when I stop shaking, I'm going to return the favor you just did for me."

"You think you can do that to me?"

"Not exactly but I can get the same effect and have you begging for more… or begging me to stop… whichever I choose."

"I'd like to see you try, _your majesty." _Oh, she was being sassy and he was loving it. He grabbed the quilt off the couch and spread it on the floor.

"Are you still able to lie on your back?"

"Give me a pillow under my shoulder to prop me up a bit."

He took a cushion from the couch and helped her get into a comfortable position on her back, but not completely flat. "Comfortable?"

"Yep – now show me what you've got, you big Viking." They both laughed as he settled into a position between her legs, licking, sucking, nibbling, working her with his fingers so that she came very quickly. While she was catching her breath, he got the tube of lubricant and put it on his fingers. He resumed his position, sliding his fingers into her back entrance, his thumb into the front and his tongue and teeth on her clit, and she was writhing again in no time. She was very animated and turned on and he looked up at her as she was approaching another release to see her playing with her breasts. The sounds she made were sweet and hungry and they got louder when he continued with his hand, but moved up her body to suck on her nipples. When he bit them a little, the sensation went right down to her center and she cried out in absolute bliss. She came hard, seizing and twisting but he didn't let her get away from him.

"Eric, please…"

"Please, what, Sookie."

"Please fuck me."

He pulled her forward and helped her to her knees facing the couch, her arms resting on it, her back arched and her legs spread wide for him. He took her hard from behind and she cried out at feeling the fullness of him in her, finally, and she was in that headspace where all she wanted to do was hold on and stay in there with him, He was moving quickly, going deep and she began to come again, her legs slipping under her but he held her hips so she didn't fall. He reached another release and reached for the lubricant and she looked back and nodded yes to him. She reset herself into position in front of the couch, pushing her backside toward him, feeling the familiar cold jelly and the pressure that always created a little panic, then she relaxed and let him take her, completely, as he nipped at her shoulders and back with his fangs, making her cry out in that bright exquisite pain that she loved.

"Come to me, Sookie" he said as he pulled her shoulder back so she took him in deeply and he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her back against his chest, feeling her tremble against him. One arm held her tight against him as the other pulled her hair to the side away from her shoulder. He held her tightly as he sank his fangs hard into her shoulder and she moaned with pleasure. He fed deeply from her, then he bit his own wrist and held it to her mouth as she was still against him, him inside her. She drew as hard as she could, and both of them climaxed in unison from it. He felt Sookie go limp in his arms so he slowly, gently helped her lie down on her side, whispered "I love you, my beautiful wife," and went into the little bathroom to clean up.

She was exhausted, out of breath and completely blessed out as he washed her up a little, turned things off and carried her up to their bed. He settled her gently on the new purple silk sheets and got 2 bottles of RM out of the little fridge and held them for her with a straw in the bottle. She drank them down hungrily and he gave her a strawberry supplement, too, to make sure she was getting enough calories.

As he was putting the bottles in the trash she said "don't you even think about leaving us while I'm awake."

He laughed "No, my angel, I wouldn't miss out on this part of the day for anything."

"What part of the day?"

He slipped into bed behind her, turning off the lights. "The part where I listen to you breathe, I feel the baby's heartbeat, and I send you both love as you drift away."

"Do you do that every night?" She yawned.

"Yes, even if you are already asleep, I get into bed with you and spend time with you and the baby."

"Aww – that's nice." She smiled and turned her head back toward him a little and he kissed her cheek."

"Are you happy, my angel?" He already knew the answer as he stroked her hair and kissed her shoulder.

"I am very happy, my husband and so is our son, though I think he's already asleep."

Bjorn was getting dressed as Sabrina finished up in the shower. She was full of questions tonight and he was getting suspicious. She was awfully interested in his new job, and yes, he did notice that she was pumping him for information as she scratched the hell out of his back. He had to figure out what she was up to before she got him into something he couldn't get out of. There was always an angle if Sabrina was concerned.

Eric listened to the sound of Eric Alexander's heart, and his wife's breathing. There was no peace on this Earth greater than this. He said a prayer of thanks to Freya, in Swedish, grateful with every fiber in his being for the gifts she had given him.

When Sookie was asleep, he pulled back the covers and took a few more pictures. He wished she could see herself through his eyes, how luscious and juicy and ripe she was, how he loved her this way so much that he hoped he could remember every curve of her body, heavy with his child. He moved silently around the bed, the only sound the soft clicking of the camera.

He went out to make his nightly call to Sandy, who had things under control. Bill had left a message that there were things moving along in New Orleans and they'd get a complete report on Monday, including information about one of Victor's possible hiding places for the disappearing reconstruction funds. He scanned and made a copy of 3D image of the baby.

He kissed Sookie one last time, leaving the original picture of the baby on her night

stand, and went to rest, leaving Alicia a note that Sookie was to drink at least one RM every 2 hours. He went to sleep with the picture of the baby on his chest.


	54. Chapter 54

**Chapter 54**

"Mrs. Northman? Sookie – can you wake up enough to drink this?"

Sookie opened her eyes and saw Alicia standing beside the bed with a bottle of RM and a straw.

"Hi, Alicia, what time is it?"

"I'm afraid it's only 7 am, dear. I have to wake you every two hours for a bottle of this new supplement."

"Oh, yeah, I forgot. OK, thanks." Sookie was sleepy but she managed to drink the whole bottle pretty quickly. "Thank you – that hit the spot," she laughed weakly.

"Well, good! Now you go back to sleep and I'll see you at 9 o'clock."

"OK." Sookie settled back down, and went almost to sleep. She was drifting in and out of a strange dark dream and she wondered if she was sharing a dream with the baby. She didn't know why she thought that but she was in a place where there was nothing to see, only things to feel, and for the most part things felt good. Nice and warm, soft, floating. Love. Happy. Warm. She was still physically asleep but Sookie became conscious and remembered Bobbie telling her about Lucid Dreaming. Ok, she was lucid, but she was sure she wasn't dreaming. This was someone else's dream and from the feel of it, she was sure the someone was Baby E.

In her lucid state she asked "Eric Alexander – is that you?"

LOVE. COMFORT. WARM. She'd take that as a yes.

"Mommy loves you, Baby E."

"He can't answer you, but he understands." Something was shining brightly around them.

"Freya? Is that you?"

"Yes, my angel, I am with you. I have always been with you."

"Is my baby alright?"

"He's magickal. You are too, if you want to be."

"I don't know if I can."

"You can, my angel, you just need to choose."

"I don't know if I want to."

"Don't be afraid of your power, Sookie. I won't let you harm the innocent."

"Mrs. Northman? Sookie?"

Sookie's eyes flew open. "Hi, Alicia. Was I asleep?"

"Yes, and you were humming. I hated to wake you again, but it's time for another bottle."

"Oh, that's OK, it's for the baby so it's fine." Alicia held the bottle to her and she sucked it down with the straw. "Ah, thank you. I was humming?"

"Yes, it was very sweet. You were humming **Brahms Lullaby**. You know the one "_lullaby, and good night, you're your mother's delight, shining angels beside my darling abide_."

"Shining angels – those are the words to that?"

"Um-hmm, part of it. Do you want me to get the lyrics for you? You can sing it to the baby."

"Yeah, that would be good. I was singing it in my sleep?"

"Yes, you were. Maybe you dreamt you were singing to the baby?"

"Yeah, I was dreaming about him. I must have been singing him to sleep."

"You're getting anxious to do it for real, I'll bet. Is this the picture from the ultrasound? No wonder you're thinking about him so intently. Isn't it exciting how they can show you his little face?

"Yeah, it is. It seems so much more real now. Eric was beside himself. He told my bodyguard to get married and have a baby." She laughed.

"That's sweet, but don't tell him I called him sweet." Alicia laughed. "You know, it's not unusual for pregnant women to have sleep problems or strange dreams."

"No, I didn't know that. I'm not having trouble going to sleep but I am having some wild dreams."

"Well, maybe you'll rest better this time. I'll be back at 11." Alicia left and Sookie rolled back on her side, which wasn't terribly comfortable, so she took Eric's pillow and put it under the bump and that seemed to help. She made a note to herself that it was time to get one of those special pregnancy pillows and she went to sleep.

She didn't dream at all this time, and when Alicia came in, she drank her blood and debated whether she should go ahead and get up. She thought about going to the window to look out, but she knew Bjorn and the other guards might be out there so she went to her closet to pull out her pink robe, but she was dizzy and the hangers got tangled and she fell to the side, catching herself by placing her right hand on the wall of Eric's closet and it moved. Why would the wall move? She hoped she didn't break anything, so she looked around a little and noticed a switch that looked just like the one in the bomb shelter under Fangtasia. She moved the switch and a door popped open that would roll out of the way once it was loose. Was this one of Eric's little secrets?

Part of her was scolding her and saying she shouldn't snoop, but her inner Nancy Drew was screaming at her. She listened to make sure no one was coming up the stairs, and pushed the door to see what was hidden her. There were a couple of drawers and some shelves that had books and videos on them. Some of the books looked really old and had names she recognized, sort of – Fanny Hill, The History of Tom Jones, A Foundling, and Justine, or Good Conduct Well Chastised by the Marquis de Sade, which she read when she was a little younger, and she remembered having to hide it so Gran wouldn't find it when she cleaned her room.

There were other books in different languages that she couldn't decipher at all, but she found one by a French woman that was in English called The Story of O and she thumbed through the beginning of it and realized this was a very dirty book. She also noticed there were several videos with the same title, and this copy was almost worn out, so this must be a favorite of Eric's. She wondered if she dared sneak it out to read. It was very likely she could read it and put it back before he ever knew. She looked around a little more and found one of the drawers had the blindfold they had used and a couple of things that looked like sex toys but she wasn't sure quite what they were for.

She was pretty sure the chain with clips on the end were what they called nipple clamps but she tested them on her finger and they could really, really hurt so she wasn't sure that's what they were. There were several kinds of cuffs and some folded stockings – why would he have stockings? – and some really soft ropes. In another drawer there were some books, some of them prints of woodcuts, some were drawings or cartoons and some of them photographs or magazines, but they were all at least of people having sex and some of them were of people in various states of undress except for leather or vinyl bound in all crazy kinds of positions, and often with really intricate patterns of knots.

She opened the bottom drawer and got a glimpse of a camera, but she heard Alicia coming up the stairs so she slid the door back as quietly as she could, taking the book about O with her, and got back into bed. Alicia came in with some clean clothes to put away and saw the mess in the closet.

"Were you looking for something, Mrs. Northman?"

"Yeah, sorry I made a mess. I was looking for my pink robe."

"It's right here, dear. It was in the laundry." She took the robe out of the stack and handed it to Sookie

"Oh, OK, I didn't think of that. What's the weather like outside?"

"It's overcast today but tomorrow is supposed to be bright and sunny. Planning to spend some time in the pool?"

"I was thinking about it, but I think I'll stay in bed a bit longer. I'll plan to go out tomorrow, definitely."

"When would you like to have your breakfast?"

"Well, it's about 12 now – how about 1 o'clock?"

"1 o'clock it is. You've got your monitor there so you give me a call if you need anything."

"Thanks, Alicia."

Sookie waited for her to leave then pulled the book out from under her pillow. Now she was going to see what was so interesting that he had three movies and several books all with the same name. She would read this first then look at the bigger ones when she felt a little braver. She didn't think Eric would care if she was looking at his stuff, but she wasn't sure and her curiosity got the better of her. So she leaned back, opened the book and started reading. The story started out with a guy partially stripping his fiancé and dropping her off at a Chateau with she was pretty sure meant castle. She noticed that at one point he took her panties and made her pull her skirt up so she was sitting bare against the seat – just like Eric did to her at Fangtasia that night. Well, she thought, I guess we know where he picked up that little trick. What followed was … shocking. And vile. And horrific. And she couldn't put it down. Part of her wanted to go down to Eric's hidey hole and attack him and the other part wanted to run away screaming. Did he find this sexy? Did SHE?!

At 1 o'clock she had to put the book under the covers and she hoped Alicia didn't notice she was flushed and painfully horny. She felt like it had to show on her face, it was so intense. Alicia set her breakfast tray across her lap and Sookie focused on getting her breakfast over and done with so she could go back to reading the book. Alicia had made her waffles today and Sookie practically inhaled them, plus lots of syrup and strawberries and whipped cream on top, plus juice and two bottles of blood. Reading seemed to be giving her an appetite – and some of it was for food.

She debated with herself about asking Eric about the book. What did he like about it? Why would he read it so much and have so many movies of it? What was all that stuff in his closet?

Intellectually, she knew she was being silly. They were married, she was his wife, they were blood bonded and she should be able to ask him anything, even about sex. No, _especially_ about sex. Emotionally, though, she felt guilty and curious and completely confused about why this horrible story was turning her on. If Bobbie were here, she might be able to talk to her about it, but it's a little personal, she thought and she wasn't sure if Bobbie would think there was something wrong with her.

When she came right down to it, the one person she knew wouldn't judge her would be Eric, and if he wasn't mad that she got into his stuff, she knew he could explain it all so she could understand. Eric understood everything and accepted everything and he could explain things in a way that was different from anyone else. He never really got angry at her, and she was sure she could trust him. This was just a part of him she didn't know yet, but she knew him and she loved him so she was going to make herself talk to him about it and tell him she found his stuff. But first, she was going to make herself come before Alicia came in for the 3 o'clock feeding or she was going to burst into flames and she was only halfway through the book.

Actually, it took two orgasms to calm the stormy seas and Sookie really wanted to go down to the pool, even if it was a little cloudy. She hid the book in the bottom of her nightstand, not that it would be impossible to find there, but just because knowing it was closed up in a drawer seemed to give her enough distance from it that she felt like she could go out among people without feeling that they could read all over her face what she had been doing. The more she thought about it, the more she realized that the cool water in the swimming pool would be just what she needed. She pulled on the old fashioned looking bikini that covered more of her tummy and still looked kind of cute on her (especially with the generous cleavage,) got the sheer cover-up that matched it from the drawer and grabbed her tote bag, stopping into Eric's office to get her iPod from the charging station mounted on the wall.

She went downstairs and found Alicia in her office. "Hey, Alicia, I can't stay in that room anymore, so I'm heading for the pool. I promise I'll take it easy."

"Alright. I was just looking at your mail. Nothing here that can't wait until Monday if you want."

"Yeah, let's do it then. Things are going to get crazy busy soon and it would be nice just to have a day without dealing with thank you notes," she laughed. Sookie bounced down the hall and into the kitchen a little too quickly and bumped straight into Bjorn.

"Oops, I'm so sorry!" She said, as he caught her arms and they both steadied themselves.

"I'm sorry, your highness, I should be more careful. I was just getting ready to show a couple of new guards the layout of the property."

"Oh, that's good. I'm just going out to the pool. See you later!"

Bjorn could get into swimming – or an ice cold shower – right now. He tried not to think about the fact that he got a strong whiff of sex on Sookie or how that might have happened since the King was resting and he knew that she had supposedly been upstairs alone, and he berated himself because he almost flattened the Queen he was supposed to be protecting. He went out to get the new recruits he was supposed to show around and the guard in charge told him when he was done that he should take a station out back because the Queen was in the pool. DAMN IT! He wasn't just going to have to know she was out there half-naked he was going to have to watch her, and there was no way out of it. He was her bodyguard so he's the one that should take the post. What's he going to do, tell this guy that he can't do his job because she's too hot? Because she smells like sex? All he could do is pray that what the guys said about her having trouble reading Supe minds was true because he was going to thinking about her, if only to think about not thinking about her.

"I'm Anderson – I'll be showing you around."

"I'm Jansen," said the big Were with the grey hair

"I'm Cody Lane" said a young Texan were who wasn't big but he had impressive martial arts credentials.

He showed them where they should park, and where the guards met when they changed shifts. He walked them through the garage, the young Texan whistling when he saw Eric's corvette, while Jansen pointed out you could probably buy three of those for what that high security Beemer must have cost. Bjorn told them it had already proven to be bulletproof and that sobered the young guy's mood. They were going out the back to the out buildings – the extra garage, the summer kitchen the little tool shed that was used for storing pool supplies, the servants quarters that were used by the gardeners men for lunches and storage. They came back up beside the pool, and there was Sookie, floating on an air mattress looking every bit the pampered little Queen she was, those amazing legs glistening with water and sweat.

"Forgive us, your majesty, we're just cutting through." Anderson said.

"Oh, that's alright. Hi, guys – I'm Sookie." She wave at them.

They nodded back and Bjorn pointed to them in turn – "Jansen. Lane."

"Nice to meet you. Thanks for helping out."

"Thank you ma'am" Cody responded and Jansen just nodded to her. Cody wasn't really up on the protocol yet, but Sookie never noticed.

"Wow, she really is nice," Cody said.

"Yes, she's very sweet and friendly but it's your job to maintain a professional distance." Yeah, he thought, look who's talking. "Her husband, the King, is not a man to upset and anything that bothers her, bothers him."

"Is it true he killed Victor Madden in front of all of Area 5?" Cody was going to be a pain in the ass.

"Yes, he beheaded him with a sword. In public."

"Is he really untouchable?"

"He damned well better be or you aren't doing your job." Bjorn had a short fuse under the best of circumstances, and there was nothing "best" about today. He still had her scent on him where he bumped into her. He stretched out the tour and his other work as long as he could.

He took them back out and the supervising guard gave them their assignments. Bjorn knew he couldn't get out of it, so he headed back to the back yard. Sookie was just finishing up her 5:00 blood.

"Hey, Bjorn – what are you doin'?" Sookie asked.

"I'm guarding you."

"You mean you have to stand there while I'm in the pool? Aren't you at least allowed to sit down?"

"I shouldn't."

"Would it be better if I went back in the house?"

"No, ma'am, you relax and take your time."

"Are you allowed to talk to me?"

"Only if you want me to."

"Well, yeah, of course. I'm not going to float and ignore you. Sit down, ple-e-ease."

"Your highness…"

"My name is Sookie. When we're just here at the house, call me Sookie. Save the protocol for when we're out around people."

"Yes, ma'am."

"Where are you from originally?"

"Sweden, but I've been here since I was 7."

"Eric plans to take us to Sweden some day. That's Swedish music playing on my iPod, right?"

"Very old, traditional stuff, yes, ma'am."

"Yeah, well, Eric is a very old Swede," she laughed.

"Yes, ma'am" he laughed. G-ddammit he laughed. Did he have no discipline at all? He was kicking himself. Again.

"So, how'd you end up in Louisiana?"

"I moved here after I got out of the military for a job that fell through, but I decided to stay."

"A security job?"

"Sort of, yes, ma'am, down in New Orleans."

"What did you do in the military?"

"I was a Navy SEAL, ma'am and I did some intelligence work."

"Intelligence? Like spy stuff?"

"Yes, ma'am." He was smiling. 'Stop smiling, you idiot.' He told himself, but he couldn't seem to stop. She was too damned cute.

"You work out a lot, I guess?"

"Yes, ma'am, I try to stay in shape."

"You're way more than in shape – you've got a body builder-type body. That takes a lot of work, doesn't it? My brother works out a lot but he's not nearly as big as you are."

"Yes, ma'am, it takes a commitment to yourself. I consider it part of my job."

"You know we've got a gym on the fourth floor?"

"No ma'am, I've only seen the downstairs."

"You can use it sometime it you want. My doula is living in the bedroom on that floor, but you wouldn't bother her. She spends most of her time with me when she's here."

"Doula, ma'am?"

"Yeah, she started out as my masseuse, but now she's going to help me with the baby. I never heard of it before, either, but everybody else seems to know what it is," she laughed.

"Is she a good masseuse?"

"Yeah, she's amazing. If she were here, they'd be setting up the table over there right about now."

"You get your massages out here, ma'am?"

"Yeah, after I do my workout in the pool. I spend a lot of time out here."

Holy shit. "That's nice, ma'am. The sun and the fresh air are good for you, I'm sure."

'And I get to watch you run around in a bathing suit and take your clothes off for a massage,' he was thinking, 'and try not to let you see me watching you or notice my hard-on. Please, god, don't let me need to stand up right now.'

"Mrs. Northman?"

"Hey, Margaret."

"Would you like to have dinner out here, ma'am?"

"Is it getting that late?"

"Yes ma'am – Mr. Northman will be up soon. I thought you might like a rare steak on the grill."

"OOhh – that sounds good! Do you have any corn on the cob?"

"Yes ma'am and I'll make a baked potato and there's even a little watermelon."

"Oh, cool – maybe Eric will eat some again."

"Alright, dear, we'll set up the grill."

"Excuse me, ma'am?"

"My name is Sookie. What?" She laughed. Damn she was cute when she laughed.

"Did I hear you say that the King can eat watermelon?"

"He did once a week or so ago. Dr. Ludwig says it has something to do with his age and the mutual feedings we do for the baby."

"You feed from each other? Do you do that often?"

"Every day. It's part of what we do to feed the baby."

"I've never heard of that."

"You've never heard of a vampire being a father before either, have you?"

"No, ma'am"

"It's a very rare thing. We have to do some unusual things to make it work, but we love the feedings anyway – it's like the best part of sex." Oops! Now Sookie was kicking herself. Why did she keep telling this guy about her sex life? She started to wonder if she was conditioned to flirt with big Swedish men. Flirt?! Why was she thinking about flirting with Bjorn? Sookie, stop! She could feel her face turning red, but it was starting to get dark so she hoped he couldn't tell.

Aw, man, she was blushing again. He loved it when she blushed. Most of the women he knew wouldn't be embarrassed by anything, let alone a little slip about something sexual. In fact, they'd draw you a diagram for their sex lives and lend you a videotape. This girl was so sweet – how the hell did she get hooked up with a big, ruthless vampire and once she did, how did she manage to stay that sweet? The whole thing didn't make sense.

Bjorn was relieved that the maids were messing around with the grill. It was too intimate when it was just the two of them out there.

"OW!" Sookie jumped and rolled off of the raft.

"Are you all right, ma'am?" He didn't like the sound of that.

"Yeah, it was just the baby kicking me," she said as she was holding on to the side of the pool. "I think floating was making him nauseous. It does that some times."

"You know how the baby feels?"

"Yeah – do you know what a blood bond is?"

"I've heard of it but I don't really understand it."

"I don't think anyone does, but anyway, Eric and I are blood bonded and the baby is tapped into the bond with us. The three of us can feel what the others are feeling and we can send emotions to each other, so yeah, I can feel what the baby feels."

"So he always knows what you're feeling?"

"Yeah, and vice versa. I was kidnapped once and he found me through the bond."

"Really? I never heard of that."

"Yeah, once you take in blood from a vampire, they know how you feel and they can always find you."

"How much blood do you need to take in?"

"It varies, depending on how old the vampire is. It only took a little for Eric to find me."

"Were you together then?"

"No, we were in a house that was shot up by the FOTS and he took a bullet for me and he told me if I didn't suck the bullet out it would close up in his skin, and I believed him. I was dating Bill then. I spit most of the blood out but the tiny bit that got into me was enough for Eric to find me."

"Bill? The only Bill I know is the guy that's in charge of the New Orleans office now."

"Yeah, Bill Compton, that's him. He's dating Bobbie now."

"Bobbie?"

"Yeah, my doula or masseuse or whatever. He's here with her a lot. They're at his house this weekend. He lives next door to where I grew up."

"Your husband lets your ex stay around?"

"They have sort of a difficult relationship. He likes to lord it over Bill that he took me from him – that's how he sees it anyway – but they sort of respect each other and they need each other's help. If it weren't for me though, Eric would have killed him a long time ago."

"Really?"

"Oh, yeah, if he didn't know it would make me furious, he would kill him right now."

"And they still work together?

"Yeah, he stays over here now, too, since he's seeing Bobbie."

Just when he'd think Sookie was the most innocent thing in the world, she'd come up with something like an ex-lover doing her masseuse under her own roof that just blew that all to hell, but there was nothing jaded about her. He knew they had wild sex the night Eric killed Victor. Who the hell was this woman? And she drank vamp blood every day? During sex? And _loved it_? Trying to reconcile the two extremes in his mind gave him a headache. And she was pregnant. He had never been attracted to a pregnant woman before and she wasn't just recently pregnant, she was obviously pregnant with a _vampire's baby_. He got an image of having sex with her and being pierced by tiny little fangs. Yeah, not too Freudian – the Madonna-Whore Complex was now accompanied by fear of castration and he had just had sex with Psycho Sabrina. If there were fangs a guy needed to be afraid of, they were Sabrina's. Sabrina had drunk from him once – he wondered if she could follow him that way now. And the worst part of that was that his marathon throw-down with Sabrina did nothing to take the edge off his hard-on for Sookie.

At least it was getting dark. Eric would be up, and he could go home and get Sookie's incredible scent off himself. He damned well better lose this hard-on before Eric sees him, and he'd better not get too close because he'd be able to smell Sookie on him where he bumped into her. He didn't know if Sookie would get mad enough to keep Northman from killing him. She saved her ex-boyfriend but she had no problems at all with Eric beheading Victor Madden in front of "god and everybody" as the locals say. He had no idea where he might fall on the "I used to love him" to "I'm glad your dead and I'm having sex on your grave" continuum that defined Sookie Northman. Holy hell…

"Hello, my angel." Eric came out of the door and went straight over to Sookie sort of falling down into a push-up position so he could kiss her while she was in the water.

"Hey, sweetie. We're having family dinner out here."

"That sounds nice. Maybe after we'll swim together."

"Yeah, we've only done that once."

"Yes, we've been very busy. Anderson you may go home for the day." Eric spoke without ever taking his eyes off of Sookie, letting Anderson know without a shadow of a doubt that he was a servant and beneath his notice.

"Thank you, your majesty." Bjorn got up and headed for the front door, but he noticed Eric turn his head as he walked past him. Did he smell her on him? 'Fuck, just let me get out of here,' he thought. 'Being around that guy is way too intense.'

"Come out of the water, my angel," Eric spoke to her softly. She walked toward the end of the pool and he got her towel, wrapping it around her and holding her In his arms. "I love you, Sookie," he whispered to her.

She looked up at him. "I love you, too, Eric. Are you OK?"

"Yes, of course. Why wouldn't I be?"

"I have no idea but I almost came to your… place today." She couldn't be more specific in front of the maids.

"Any particular reason, or did you just miss me?" he smiled and stroked her cheek.

"I always miss you in the daytime, but I have something I want to talk to you about."

"Anything serious?"

"No, just…" she motioned for him to bend down so she could whisper. "It's sex stuff. Something I read."

He laughed and smiled. "My angel you can always talk to me about that."

"Yeah, I know, I have some questions…. We'd better eat first."

Eric was very interested in what Sookie might have read that would have her burning with such questions she couldn't wait until bedtime to bring it up. They sat at the picnic table and Sookie enjoyed her steak while Eric watched her, smiling and admiring her pretty face and her beautiful breasts ,which were even bigger today than yesterday. Only a little bigger, but enough for him to notice and enjoy. He really considered having her portrait done before the baby comes - she was so lovely this way.

When Sookie finished her steak, Margaret cut the cute little watermelon into quarters and Eric munched on one of them and enjoyed it, still not getting sick from it. Sookie ate the rest of it with relish because it was really sweet and just ripe enough, but not too ripe. When the dishes were in the dishwasher and the kitchen cleaned up, Margaret and Alicia said good night. As soon as they were gone, Eric stripped and jumped into the pool. Sookie laughed and walked down to the end and walked in, and they met in the middle. Eric started to undo the back of Sookie's top, but she stopped him.

"Eric, aren't there guards roaming around out here?"

"Yes, but they won't spy on us."

"Are you sure? What if they hear us?"

"They can't see into the water at this hour and I will get you a towel when it's time to get out of the pool. If they hear us, they hear us. We are doing nothing wrong, Sookie, this is our home and we are married. There's no harm in people knowing we have sex. You are pregnant – they've seen the evidence," he laughed as he divested Sookie of her bathing suit and threw it on the concrete at the side of the pool.

"Are you sure they won't look?"

"Think, Sookie, isn't it exciting that someone might see? Let that add to the pleasure," he urged her as he lifted her onto him and she wrapped her legs around his waist. She still felt a little shy so she buried her face in his neck but that didn't last long. Once the pleasure started to build, she quickly lost her inhibitions and went with it, unable to suppress her moans. She realized he was right – the idea that someone might be watching made it seem forbidden and risky and it was more exciting. After they both reached an energetic release, Eric swam around the pool a bit and Sookie floated around holding onto an air mattress sideways, watching him slip through the water like a dolphin, he was so strong and graceful. Damn, he was beautiful. After a few minutes he swam over to her, floating on the mattress with her, face-to-face, and he whispered to her "What did you want to ask me?"

"Promise you won't get mad at me?"

"Did you do something wrong, my angel?"

"Well, I sort of found some stuff in the closet today…"

He was apprehensive now – did she find the photos of her?

"What kind of stuff in which closet?"

"Stuff behind a door in the bedroom closet. It was an accident, but I did look a little bit and I took a book out to read."

"You read one of the books in there?" Now his interest was piqued. "Which book?"

"I'm only about half-way through it, but it's called The Story of O."

Eric smiled. This could be good.

"And what did you think of it?"

"It's weird. The story is horrible and I should be disgusted by it, but I couldn't put it down and it made me…" she was searching for a word.

"Aroused?"

"Yeah."

"And you feel guilty?"

"I feel confused. I would never want to be treated that way, but there was something exciting about it."

"It's a tale of extreme dominance and submission, Sookie. Very extreme, but it's a fantasy and that's alright. Fantasies can be as extreme as you want them to be, about anything you want. That story was written by a woman for her lover, to entice him."

"Did it work?"

"Oh, yes, and it's very famous."

"You have a bunch of books of it and some videos. Is that what you like?"

"You said you read half of it, yes?"

"Yes."

"Well, there's even more extreme stuff later on, but the story sort of falls apart after a point and gets off track. But yes, I enjoy the fantasy."

"Have you ever done stuff like that? Like in the basement at Fangtasia?"

"To a degree, yes."

"You wouldn't ever hit me with a whip, would you?"

"No, my angel, you are not the type that enjoys that."

"People enjoy that?"

"Anything you can think of, Sookie, there will be someone who enjoys it, no matter how painful or disgusting it might seem."

"OK." She was obviously trying to process what he was saying. "You said I have a taste for being dominated."

"Yes, you do, and you've shown a bit of enjoyment in dominating, as well."

"Why do I like that. It still seems wrong." He knew that she would come back to this occasionally, and he just needed to reinforce the idea that pleasure was allowed. American Puritanism was hard to shake off no matter how smart or sophisticated a person might be,.

"With consenting adults there is nothing wrong as long as everyone enjoys what is happening."

"OK, remember the night at Fangtasia you took my panties and made me sit on the seat in the booth bare, like in the book?"

"Yes, my lover, I will never forget that." He gave her that wicked smirk that made her melt.

"Well, did I enjoy that? Or did I hate it?"

"You enjoyed the spectacular orgasm that followed it very much."

"Yeah… OK… yeah."

"You are wondering how something that was so hard to endure could be pleasurable?"

"Yes. I mean, I thought I hated it, but I still think about that night. It was so intense and so wild."

"Yes, my angel, and in spite of your strict Christian upbringing – or maybe because of it – you like intense, and wild, and scary. Remember when you came to my resting place and it was very wild and you said it was "good scary?""

She laughed. "Yeah, that was intense." She smiled and leaned in to kiss him.

"You enjoy taking risks, Sookie. You like danger, and you trust me to keep you safe. We play little power games where you can experiment with extreme behavior and be pushed to new limits because you know that ultimately, I won't hurt you or let anyone else hurt you. That's where the trust comes in. You knew if anyone got out of hand, I'd beat them the way I beat that biker that tried to approach you. I'm sure you will not admit it, but you enjoyed it when I threw that jerk out of my bar."

"I did?"

"Oh, yes, my angel, you did. Your eyes were bright and shining when I came back and you were flushed with desire and glowing with pride that your girlfriends got to see first hand what I would do for you. You enjoy that you have the power to inspire such attraction" he kissed her, "and violence." He kissed her again.

"But that's awful…" She was about to lose her train of thought because he kept kissing her.

"That's not awful unless you insist on making it so. I think it is sexy and shows strength and pride and a kind of fearlessness. What we are doing right now shows fearlessness."

"Floating in the pool, whispering?"

"Floating naked and having sex with guards roaming around. You like to show off, my angel, you just can't admit that to yourself."

"YOU like to show off…"

"Yes, and it only takes a little reassurance to get you to go along with me. You love this, Sookie."

"Oh, really?"

He grabbed her waist and threw the mattress off to the side. "Yes, really." He kissed her hard and she wrapped her arms around his neck. She kissed him over and over, gasping for breath in between as his hands ran down her back and squeezed her bottom cheeks, pulling her against him, grinding his pelvis into her then lifting her onto his rock hard cock. She continued kissing him as he lowered her onto him, then she threw her head back when he gently bumped her inside. As she leaned back, he latched onto her breast with his mouth, sucking and nibbling, making her cry out, then he bit and fed from her other breast, sending stabs of pleasure from her breast down to her center. He held her in place with one arm and raised the other wrist to his mouth, then held it to hers. As she drew deeply from his arm they both reached a spectacular end, clinging to each other and kissing hungrily though they had both reached climax.

"Hold on," He whispered to her and she locked her legs around him. He walked out of the pool with her wrapped around him, still kissing her as he grabbed her towel and wrapped it around her back, then he carried her into the den and took her on the floor, being careful not to put any weight on her tummy. He climaxed again very quickly, then sat back on his knees and raised her hips to continue, and she put her hands out above her head and stretched as he took her. He knew she was imagining that she was tied up, and planned to do that to her very soon, indeed, since she was hungry for it. He came quickly this time, then stretched out beside her and put his arm under her head because she needed to raise up a bit. She hadn't finished yet, so he stroked her with his hand, concentrating on her clit, enjoying the sight of her writhing, eyes closed, lost in pleasure and he flooded the bond with desire. He bent his head to her breast and that pushed her over the edge, whimpering and calling out his name as she tangled her fingers in his hair. As she caught her breath, he realized it was a little past time for her to have another blood and went to get one for her. He came back with a blood and a straw and she drank it down hungrily and asked for another one. While she sipped the second bottle, he carried her up to their bedroom. The two of them were mostly dry except for their hair, so he went ahead and settled them under the covers.

"This feels so good," She murmured as she snuggled against him.

"Where is the book, Sookie?"

"It's in my nightstand in the bottom drawer."

He straddled her to reach it, then settled back in his spot next to her.

"Show me where you left off?"

She opened the book to the page she last read, and he pulled her close, his arm under her head, reading to her as his voiced lulled her to sleep. He spent his time alone with them as usual, listening to her breath and Eric Alexander's heartbeat for a long, satisfying time in the dark before he gave Sookie more blood and then went to work in his office.

Even though it was a Saturday he had a lot of things that needed his attention, and he ploughed through it quickly and efficiently, ending the night with his call to Sandy and a call to Bill to get the daily reports on the state of their territories.

Sandy told him that their travel information should arrive Monday or Tuesday and that she already had an offer on the small bar that he told her to sell. Bill told him he was going to quarter him and Sookie at Madden's house because that was the most secure venue at this point. Eric liked the idea because he wanted to look the place over himself and see if he could find anything Bill and the others missed.

He had been at it almost 2 hours and realized that Sookie needed more blood, so he went into their room and got a bottle ready with a straw, leaning down next to the bed.

"Sookie, my lover, you must wake up and drink."

She opened her eyes lazily, and moved her head to drink from the straw. She fell back to sleep almost immediately after finishing it, and he left her with a kiss on the cheek and a goodnight to Baby E, to whom he sent love and pride as he went into his nursery, though he was asleep. Eric looked at the tiny clothes, touching them, enjoying their softness, and he picked up the mink teddy bear and sat in the glider, holding it to his shoulder, imagining what it would be like to sit there and rock his son. He felt tears well in his eyes. He was so anxious for the birth, it amazed him. He had never wanted anything so much. He spent another hour and a half looking through the contents of the nursery and learning how to use the portable high chair. He was determined to be able to assemble these portable items with a wailing baby in one hand as he did.

He gave Sookie another blood and a kiss, wrote Sookie a note, left a message for Alicia about when she'd had her last blood and went to rest for the day.


	55. Chapter 55

**[Author's note: Someone asked if The Story of O was a real book, but her profile didn't allow me to respond to her PM. So, yes, The Story of O is a real book written by Pauline Reage. Everything Eric says about it is true. There is a sequel which is terrible. Just get this one, and enjoy it until the story falls apart at the end. It's available at the larger booksellers on the web for $7.99. I highly recommend it.]**

**Chapter 55**

"Sookie? Time to drink." Alicia shook her gently and she opened her eyes.

"'Morning, Alicia," she smiled and drank from the straw as Alicia held the bottle. When she was done she smiled and said "Thanks."

"You're welcome dear. I'll see you in two hours."

Sookie was back to sleep before she was out of the room. The 9 o'clock and 11 o'clock feedings went pretty much the same way, but Sookie was up for breakfast at 1:00. Salmon! Yay!

She looked at the note from Eric.

_My beautiful wife,_

_Last night was wonderful. If you feel up to it, be ready to go to Fangtasia with me tonight. I feel like showing you off. If not, stay in bed, but if so, I'll shower quickly and we'll go. It's the last night before Pam's vacation so we can say goodbye to her. _

_Don't forget to feed the baby. _

_I love you very much. _

_Your Husband,_

_Eric_

That was weird, she thought. She was supposed to be spending time in bed but he suddenly wanted to take her to Fangtasia? Her eyes got big when she thought maybe he wanted to take her to the basement at Fangtasia and that sounded like lots of fun. She wouldn't say anything to him, but that's what she was hoping for – something wild and kinky and extreme. She could still hear Eric's voice in her ear, reading that book to her, making her feel sexy and safe in his arms. She thought hard for a minute. Did she dream about Eric? What did she dream…when? She knew she had another important dream recently, but she couldn't put her finger on it. The concept of Lucid Dreaming was going through her mind. Why? Did she do that? It was right on the edge of consciousness for her. Whatever – she shook it off and hoped it would come to her later.

She wolfed down the salmon and bagels, drank 2 bloods and put her swimsuit on. She grabbed the iPod, wondering when and how it got back on the charging station. It had to be Alicia or Eric, but she wasn't sure which one. She grabbed her tote and headed down to the pool.

"Hey, Alicia, Hey, Margaret – I'm going out." She was happy and bouncy anticipating some kinky sex tonight. Please, please let that be why he's taking me there, she thought. She had just settled onto a mattress when Bjorn came out.

"Hey, Bjorn! Isn't it nice out today?"

"Yes, your majesty, it's very warm and sunny."

"Don't you even think about standing in this heat. Get over there under an umbrella so I don't feel so guilty about making you stay out here."

"Don't feel guilty ma'am, it's my job."

"Yeah, but still – I wish you could swim with me."

"I couldn't protect you very well that way, though."

"True. It would be fun though. I'll be glad when Bobbie gets back. We have fun out here. Eric swam with me last night, but it gets lonely in the daytime and I like to sunbathe. It's my only vice," She laughed. She was obviously in a really good mood today.

She was quiet for a few minutes and he tried to get the image of being in the water with her out of his mind. He had heard through the guards' grapevine about the sexcapades in the pool last night between the King and Queen. It was obviously very, very good to be that particular King, if even half of that story was true. Would that girl actually get naked and have sex out in the open like that, then let him walk out of the pool with her wrapped around his waist, bare before the whole world? Maybe she didn't know people could see her? He thought about telling her but he was afraid the King would have his head for ruining his fun if she didn't. As much as he might want to spare her some undue embarrassment, he wanted to stay on that King's good side, or at least stay off his bad side, more.

The King made no secret of the fact he wasn't crazy about Bjorn, and he probably knew Bjorn wasn't crazy about him. He figured he still had a job because he was the closest available thing to him being with her in the daytime. That might be the problem, though – he had access to her when the King was unconscious. That must suck to be out of it for half the day. No matter how tough he is, there's still a part of the day that he can't do anything to protect her. In fact, she had saved him when that hotel was bombed. Not many people would do that for another person – that alone would make you fall in love with her. He couldn't blame him for wanting her, but he was determined to figure out what she saw in him. She had mentioned sex with him twice – maybe that's the key? Could he possibly be that good in bed? He'd heard a lot of stories about her screaming and moaning. There were stories of him moaning and calling out her name too and he was dying to know what she did that would make that big vamp lose control that way if it was true. Bjorn had been with a lot of women and he didn't remember ever calling out a girl's name like that. He'd love to know what that was about.

"BJORN!" "BJORN!" Sookie and Alicia both called his name.

"Yes?"

"Would you like some sweet tea?" Alicia laughed.

"Oh, yes, thank you." Damn – what was he doing? He was supposed to be watching for danger and here he let his boss and her maid catch him daydreaming… about her! Damn – there was no way he could get back the advance he took for this job so he was going to have to deal with this for at least 6 months. He needed to think about finding a girlfriend in the area. Sabrina was OK for an occasional marathon, but she was the very definition of high maintenance and he had heard some serious horror stories from the guards that worked for her. In the end, the only ones that stayed were the ones she didn't find attractive because she'd leave them alone. If she decided you should belong to her, though, look out. She'd go after your new girl, her family, your friends, her friends, your job, you name it.

She had to beg him to even give her his cell number and he only did that so he wouldn't have to try and chase her down if she was in the mood to be friendly. He knew if she had an open night he'd get a call from her. Sabrina didn't do "alone" – she wanted a man around all the time, no matter what she was doing. He had made it clear to her not to call unless she planned to spread her legs, and that's what she did so far. He was not the guy that was going to go shopping with her or fix her sink. He was strictly in it for the sex in her case. He was going to need something regular to handle Sookie Syndrome and seeing Sabrina that much was probably not an option. Even if she was available that much, the more he saw her, the more likely she was to get attached to him and he didn't want her thinking of him as relationship material.

"Bjorn?"

"Yes, ma'am?"

"Do you have any friends in the area?"

"No, ma'am, just business contacts."

"Have you ever been to Fangtasia? My husband's club in town?"

"I met somebody there once but I didn't stay. I didn't know how they'd feel about Weres there. "

"Pretty much anything goes there, though it's mostly a tourist trap. Humans who have a thing for vamps go there, or tourists who want to think they're walking on the wild side. There are a lot of open-minded girls there, though, and now that Eric is off the market, the field is wide open. A lot of them will be looking for someone new."

"He… got around a lot?"

"He was the main attraction for a lot of them – men and women, though he won't tell me if he ever did it with a guy. I don't even want to think about how many women he's been with in a thousand years. I'm sure the number at Fangtasia alone would keep me up nights," she laughed.

"Quite a ladies' man, huh?"

"Oh, yeah, but now he's MINE and nobody can touch him without my permission."

"Have you ever given anyone permission?"

"Only because I was touching her, too." She laughed. Why was she talking to him about sex again? And why would she tell THAT?! It had to be the Swedish thing.

FUCK – now he had the image of Sookie, the King and another woman in his head.

"A friend of yours?"

"No, his – another vampire." She had had sex with a male and female vampire at the same time? And her ex was a vamp, too? Damn, this girl loved fangs.

"Please tell me her name was not Sabrina?"

"Ew – no way. The only vampire named Sabrina that I know is a… well, I can't say that word, but she is one."

Uh-oh – do they know each other? He was suddenly very focused on something other than Sookie's legs.

"The Sabrina I know is a Sheriff," he said.

"You don't like _her_, do you?" Sookie was obviously horrified.

LIE, DUMMY! "No, I just worked for her once. She's the only female vamp I know around here, but I don't know that many people."

"She brought my ex-boyfriend all the way to Las Vegas to try and ruin my engagement party. And then she _ditched_ him to flirt with Creepy Felipe."

"You mean de Castro?"

"Yeah, he was always touching me. It made my skin crawl. He licked my palm one time… and he tried to… mess with me." She was making faces and shaking her hands to illustrate how he creeped her out.

'And now he's dead. That's one rumor that seems to be true.' Bjorn thought to himself. He needed to know this story and he needed to know it now, so he just got straight to it because Sookie wouldn't think anything of it. "Why would Sabrina try to ruin your engagement party?"

"She thinks she should be with Eric, but he never had any interest in her, or if he ever did, he doesn't now. She's jealous of me."

THAT'S why Sabrina wanted him to go for this job so badly. She wanted to pump him for information and she hoped throwing him in front of Sookie might cause her a problem. She was hoping he'd be attracted to Sookie and that Sookie would be attracted to him. Now that he knows this, how does he use it? And the fact still remains that he IS attracted to Sookie and he can't leave this job. He couldn't believe that he fell into one of Psycho Sabrina's traps. You had to give it to her – she was good at being evil.

"So you worked for her?"

"Just some under the table stuff. Never officially. I wouldn't trust her enough to give her my address or Social Security number."

"You're smart, then. I wouldn't trust her, either. Eric really chewed her out the night he was appointed. He told her he better never see her disrespect me again."

She had a personal vendetta against the King? Great, just fucking great. Does he tell Vincent? The King? He couldn't let Sabrina know he knew what she was up to, that was for damn sure. She was crazy and vindictive. He was sure she was probably in the club when Eric killed Victor and the crazy bitch was still going to mess with his wife?

"I'm glad you trusted Eric enough to work for him. He's really generous to his employees. He pays well for good service and he rewards loyalty. People that work for him really like him."

"He does pay unusually well." She was right about that, and he had heard from other sources that Northman was great to work for. It's one of the reasons he took this job. The more he thought about it, the more he thought he needed to just tell the King what was up. Maybe it was a way to get on his good side? At any rate, this was technically a plot against the Queen and it was his job to warn him that Sabrina was gunning for his wife.

Alicia came out and handed Sookie a bottle of blood. When she went back in the house, Bjorn asked about it. "Is that what I think it is?"

Sookie put her fingers up to her lips to tell him to be quiet. "Yeah, they don't know."

"For the baby?"

"Yeah." She nodded.

"Doesn't it taste bad?

"No, it tastes good. It's like I crave it – I guess because the baby needs it."

"Is it worth all this?"

"Oh, yes – it's a dream come true. The only reservation I ever had about being with Eric was that I could never have his baby. This is an amazing gift."

"That was the only reservation?" He found that impossible to believe.

"I was never crazy about the vampire politics stuff, but I love Eric and this is our life, so I deal with it. It's worth it all to be with him. I never thought I could be this happy. I never thought I would be married or have a baby – I thought I was always going to be alone. I never dared dream my life would be this good."

"But you're gorgeous – why would you think that?"

"I can't be around humans – they're all afraid of me because I'm telepathic. I never had a boyfriend until I met Bill. I can't hear vampires so I can be normal with them. I never had that before."

"Can you hear me?"

"Now and then. It's harder with…" she looked around to make sure the maids weren't where they could hear, "Weres for some reason and since I'm drinking so much of Eric's blood, it's a lot easier for me to screen thoughts out so I'm actually having some peace for the first time, ever. You wouldn't believe what a relief it is."

"What have you heard from me?" This was not going to be good.

"I know you like my legs." She smiled at him. "And I know you know not to mess with Eric. That's about it, though."

"Really?"

"Really. Believe me, I've heard it all, being around people, especially when I worked in a bar. You wouldn't believe what goes on in the minds of perfectly normal seeming human beings. I'm sort of … un-shock-able when it comes to random thoughts or fantasies. I don't really get words from you – what you project is more like pictures. Mostly of my legs." She was teasing him a little now to get him to relax. "Just relax, OK? I've had a lifetime of people being afraid of me. I like being around Supes because you get it – you know what it's like to be different."

"Aren't you one, though?"

"Technically, I guess, but I never knew it – I never knew what it meant or about some of my ancestry. As far as I knew I was the only one like me until I was about 25 and I met Bill."

"And you're already Queen? That's quite a change."

"Yeah, it is, but I was lucky to meet some good Supes or I'd probably be dead now, I was so innocent and trusting."

"You still seem that way."

"Yeah, I guess I am, in some ways, but I'm old in other ways, if you know what I mean. I lost my parents really young, I was abused by a family member, and my Gran who raised me was murdered by someone who wanted to kill me because I dated a vampire. Believe me, I know who the real monsters are."

"I didn't know that about your…"

"Grandmother. She was pretty much all I had in the world. I have a brother but he's kind of wild and we aren't really close, though he did manage to give me away at the wedding, mostly because Eric's child, Pam took care of him for me. She's taking him to Hawaii with her, though, so she obviously didn't mind."

"The Pam that runs Fangtasia now? Eric is her Maker?"

"Yeah, she's cool. She sort of has a sense of humor and not a lot of vamps do. Eric does, though, He can be really funny. He can do everything well, and he knows everything. He can explain things in ways that other people can't. He's been all over the world and lived through so many different ages and cultures, it's like you can't even imagine."

"You sound like you're star-struck. Like a little girl talking about a movie star or something."

"Being with Eric is kind of like that. He's the ultimate Prince Charming. He's beautiful, he's romantic, he's sexy, he's a _Viking warrior_ – how cool is that? You should see him fight with a sword. He loves to fight and even the baby knows it. You should see the way he dances with me, the way he twirls me and makes me fly. He's like something out of a movie. I can't believe how lucky I am."

She really meant that, he could tell. That's how she saw that big vampire. He was her Prince Charming. He took her from a sad little life where no one cared about her except one person who wound up being killed because of her and he gave her all of this – the big house, love, sex, a swimming pool, big diamonds, fancy cars, gorgeous clothes and now even an impossible, miracle baby. He took a sad, lonely little girl and made her a Queen. That's the attraction. He got it now. What woman wouldn't fall in love with that?

He had to admit Eric was good looking and women go for guys like that – tall, slim, long hair, extravagant, over-the-top, he dressed well, and he bragged about Sookie like… like she deserved. He was her dream, she was his. That's why he'd kill for her, and that's why she wasn't afraid of him. There was no point in ever being interested in Sookie – she was HIS. Nobody would ever compare to him in that girl's eyes. Maybe nobody should. He saw what was in her before anyone else did and he did what it took to bring it out of her. He was smart enough to know a good thing when he saw it. He had to give him credit for that.

Well, damn it, he was definitely going to tell Eric what Sabrina was up to. Sookie deserved to be safe, so he was going to keep his job and make sure she was, and part of that would be making sure Psycho Sabrina didn't mess things up for her. He went from lusting after Sookie to feeling protective of her. Like she said, she finally had some peace, and he was going to make sure it lasted. Maybe her real brother didn't look out for her the way he should have, but he would. Between him and Eric, nobody was going to hurt that girl again.

Alicia came out with another blood for Sookie and she drank it right down, and they talked about what Sookie wanted for dinner. Fried chicken, though she knew it wasn't really good for her, but the maids thought she needed to gain weight and he could see that. Except for the baby bulge, the rest of her was small. Even he could tell she wasn't as heavy as she should be to be pregnant. If she got sick, there was nothing extra for her to lose. It was like her little body couldn't keep up with the baby.

"You want to have some fried chicken with us for dinner, Bjorn?"

"No, ma'am, thank you. I'll need to stay to talk to your husband a bit, and then I'll be on my way. That's nice of you to ask, though."

"Well, listen, any time you want to stay for dinner, you feel free. If you're going to be around this much, you'll be part of the family like everybody else who works here, OK?"

"OK, I'll remember that." She really was that sweet. If anyone asked him, he'd tell them that rumor is absolutely true. She's an angel.

Sookie rolled off the mattress and lay across it sideways, floating around.

"I never saw anybody use a mattress that way," he teased her.

"I want to get some sun on my back. It's hard to balance face down on these things and I can't really put any pressure on Baby E."

"Baby E?"

"Yeah, Baby Eric. His name is going to be Eric Alexander, and we'll probably call him Alex, but for right now he's Baby E to me and Eric is the Big E."

"So you can feel him, right? Do you know anything about him?"

"I'm pretty sure he's going to have blond hair and blue eyes like Eric. I hope he has Eric's blue eyes. Mine are blue, too, but his are really bright blue and they sparkle sometimes. But yeah, he's supposed to look like Eric specifically so no one will doubt Eric is his father."

"Yeah, I can see where that might be a problem."

"That's why we had Felipe announce it. Part of it was to get his protection for the baby, too, but part of it was so people would know it really was his baby."

"How did that happen?"

"Magick. I don't know any of the particulars, just that some of my qualities and some of his qualities were combined. I think he's going to be telepathic because sometimes he reacts to what I'm thinking. I was already pregnant before we knew anything about it."

"Is it true a member of the Council made it happen?"

"Well, I guess so, he just got appointed or whatever to the Council."

"Is he a relative?"

"People aren't really supposed to know but he's my great grandfather. I've only known him a couple of years, though."

"And he didn't ask you first?"

"No, he just did it. We kind of think he didn't want to give Eric a chance to say no, but Eric has been excited about it from the very beginning."

"What would you have said if he'd asked you?"

"I might have waited a couple of years, but the only real hang up about being with Eric was knowing I could never have his baby and it made me really sad sometimes, so I'm thrilled. I get the best of all worlds this way."

"And your great grandfather thought you being with Eric was the best thing for you?"

"We were already blood bonded, so Eric wasn't going anywhere, and my telepathy kind of makes me a target for Supes that want to exploit me so I needed protection, and he figured this way Eric would marry me and I'd have access to all his money and he'd take care of us. He was looking out for me, in his own way. He made sure I'd be taken care of, and that I'd get to have a family."

"Yeah, I can see that. He set you up for life this way and he did it by giving you something you wanted but didn't know you could have."

"Yep and so far it's working out great. Eric is so happy about the baby. You know he goes into the nursery every night and looks at the stuff and opens the playpen and stuff to see how it works. When he goes to rest every day he looks at the Internet and reads about pregnancy and babies. He's lived so long that I think anything different is a welcome change to him. For a thousand years he never thought he could have a son and it turns out he really wanted one."

"Yeah, he was very happy when I drove you to the hospital the other night. I never heard a guy so crazy about a baby."

"I think he has the ultrasound picture in his resting place, because the one he left on my nightstand is a copy. He probably thought I wouldn't notice, but I did. He was so fascinated with getting to see his son's face. Sometimes when I'm asleep he just lies there and listens to the baby's heartbeat. You should see his face when the baby moves and he can put his hand on my tummy and feel it. He's just fascinated with the whole process. I can't wait to see how he is at the birth."

"He won't be there, will he? All that blood?"

"He says he'll drink RM and handle it. He wants to be there. Part of it is also because he's always there to take care of me when I'm in pain. He's stayed with me at some times when other vamps and Weres ran off and left me. He has enough control of himself to deal with the blood. He stayed with me all night once when I got staked."

"You got staked?"

"Yeah, a member of the FOTS tried to stake a woman that worked for Russell Eddington and I warned her and got in the middle of it and he staked me. The Were I was with ran off in a bloodlust but Eric was there in disguise and he stayed with me all night and got me the healing I needed. He let me dig my nails into his hands when they pulled the stake out. Of course, next morning when I was better he made a pass at me…" she laughed. "He was always after me to leave Bill for him back then. As it turned out, Bill wasn't what he seemed and I left him anyway, but Eric wouldn't let me go no matter how much I said I didn't want him. The thing is, I did always want him and I was afraid of it. He always knew, though. I wanted him the minute I saw him and he wanted me, too. He knows me better than I know myself sometimes. He's amazing."

'It always comes back to him for her. Lucky guy, but it sounds like he's earned it,' he thought, 'he's been there when she needed him. They've been through such intense trauma together, dynamite couldn't get them apart – literally. They're like war buddies.'

"War Buddies? That's a good one."

"I thought you didn't hear words from me?"

"That one was real strong. You've got a strong emotional response to war concepts. I guess that's from your time in the military. That could come in handy."

"It could?"

"Yeah, if we're ever like, under fire or something, you can think at me and I'll know what you're telling me. Once you get used to it, it will be handy."

"Hmmm – I'll take your word for it."

She laughed at him.

"You can't read vampires, though, so that's no good."

"Well, not exactly. If vamps are around, they're like blank spaces. I just count the blanks and I know how many and where they are. That came in handy in the Witch War."

"You mean that showdown with Hallow's group? Were you part of that?"

"Yeah, I went in first and told people how many there were and where they were in the building."

"You did reconnaissance for the Witch War?!"

"I guess – is that what you call it?"

"Eric let you walk into that?"

"He was cursed then and didn't know who he was, so I was taking care of him. I took him into it, even though he tried to get me to take him home and marry him."

"Even when he didn't know who he was, he was after you?" he laughed.

"Yeah, he was. If it hadn't been for that time, we wouldn't be together now. I got to see who he was when he wasn't the Big Bad Boss Vampire. There's a part of him that only I get to see that's all anyone would ever want. He's cool with the people that work for him, too, as long as they do what they're getting paid to do. The rest of it is politics and war – and he's good at it. The best."

"Yeah, I heard he's not somebody you want to mess with."

"Exactly. People that do…"

"Don't live long?"

"Something like that. Sometimes they just aren't around anymore." She sounded a little sad and resigned about that.

"Doesn't that scare you?"

"No, he would never hurt me. I know that. I've seen him hungry and in bloodlust and he didn't hurt me. I've seen him in war, with his eyes shining and he protected me and kissed me then went back to the fight screaming like nothing you've ever heard."

"Yeah, the battle cry. Everybody is talking about that. The night he became King there was a skirmish outside… Fangtasia, is it?"

"Yeah."

"And they say he made a sound that a human couldn't even imagine and people froze in the streets and stopped fighting and he just told them to pledge fealty or die and everybody there knew they damned well better do what he said."

"I wasn't where I could hear the battle cry that night, but I heard it once when he was defending Sophie Ann. Some guy had his head cut off and Eric grabbed it and said "bowling for vampires" and threw it at a guy and knocked him down. He loves a good fight – even when he didn't know who he was, he said there was nothing like a good fight. Even the baby knows it."

"How do you know that?"

"The baby associates three words with Eric – love, proud and fight. He can't wait to kick ass like Eric does. When Eric cut Victor's head off, Baby E kicked the crap out of my insides, he was so excited. I bit my lip until it bled because I didn't want to distract Eric at such a critical moment, but the baby was all excited. He sort of cheers Eric on when he's fighting or….uh" she caught herself, but she blushed and he knew what she meant.

"Really?"

"Yep – he's Eric's tiniest fan. They're already crazy about each other."

"What does he associate with you?"

"Love, happy, warm, and sometimes comfort. He'll send me comfort if I'm lonely or sad. He already looks out for me when daddy's not around." She was patting her tummy and smiling. "He even has an association for Bobbie – soothing. He knows she gives the soothing massages."

"These are words that he knows?"

"Not words, exactly, more like feelings, but they're real and they're distinct. It's not our imagination."

"Our? Eric can feel it, too?"

"Oh, yes, they have some time every day where Eric sends him love and pride and he sends it back. He's going to be a very plugged-in daddy." She was laughing and he could tell she was proud of him and really happy.

"That must be amazing."

"It is. This may be the first baby ever tied into a blood bond. No one has ever seen it before so we don't really know what to expect. We're learning as we go."

"So this baby is like, the first of his kind, ever?"

"Maybe. Probably. He's special. He's…."

"God-touched?"

"Goddess, to be exact, but yeah, Freya is very involved with him."

"Freya?" Bjorn was taken aback. Freya was a formidable Goddess and he knew he'd better damned well do a good job protecting this baby. This was why he got this job. Psycho Sabrina notwithstanding, Freya wanted a Swede watching that kid day and night. This might be the whole reason he ended up in Louisiana.

"You know Freya?" Sookie had a feeling that would get him.

"All Scandinavian soldiers know Freya. She stands behind us."

"So I hear. You should feel right at home then, because She's all over this deal."

"Do you… know Freya?"

"I see Her in my dreams, but Eric has known Her personally. Biblically, in fact."

"Are you serious?" He was in awe, because he knew Sookie wouldn't lie.

"Yep. A long, long time ago."

"Then you must be…"

"So I've been told, but I don't know if I believe it."

NO WONDER he was so attracted to Sookie! It was Freya! SHE'S Freya! That's why she's so irresistible to Supes. That's why she has that unusual scent. That's why she can have a vampire baby. That's probably why she grew up with humans being afraid of her – she might have been intended for Eric from birth and the fear kept her unattached and probably untouched. He'd heard of situations like this before but he never landed right in the middle of one. He had thought before that he was the closest thing to Eric that could protect Sookie in the daytime. That's got to be it. He's literally supposed to be the daytime Eric from a soldier's standpoint. He wasn't supposed to mess around with her, but he was sent there to do what Eric couldn't.

"Bjorn – are you OK?"

"Yeah, I'm just a little … awe-struck. I believe it, Sookie. It answers a whole lot of questions I've had about you and about this job. It has to be true."

"You're not going to quit are you? I'm just getting used to having you around."

"Don't you worry, ma'am, I'm not going anywhere. I think I'm right where I'm supposed to be."

Sookie smiled. If he thought he was destined to take care of her like everybody else did that was fine with her. She liked Bjorn and he was good company, plus she could just tell that he was going to keep her safe. And she liked that he still thought she was hot even though she was pregnant. She knew a little more about what he thought of the situation than she told him, but she didn't know about the connection to Sabrina yet. She told him as much as she did today to get him to soften up on Eric a bit, and she was planning to do the same to get Eric to ease up on his dislike of Bjorn.

It had finally dawned on her that they didn't like each other because they were so similar – but she needed someone similar to Eric to watch her in the daytime and if she could get Eric to admit that, and convince him she wasn't going to cheat on him with Bjorn no matter how hot he was, this would be a good arrangement. People thought just because Sookie was sweet and blonde that she wasn't smart, and sometimes that included even Eric. Eric might have a lot to teach her about sex, but she could teach him a little about getting along with people and in this case, she really did think Bjorn was the best guy to watch out for her. She didn't have to be a genius to make the Freya – Swedish connection. Naturally Freya would want a big Swedish warrior watching Baby E night AND day. She would want the best, and she would think the best was from Scandinavia. Sookie couldn't argue with that logic – based on the available candidates the big Swedes in question really were the best available.

Alicia came out with a bottle of blood then and handed it to Sookie.

"Wow, has it been two hours already?"

"Yes, it has. Margaret is starting your dinner and Mr. Northman will be home soon."

"Cool. Can I get another one of these?"

"Of course, dear."

Alicia went back for a bottle.

"You like her a lot, don't you?" Bjorn asked

"Alicia? I love Alicia and Margaret – they're part of the family. They're both so supportive and excited about the baby. Margaret has worked for Eric for years and always thought he seemed sad and lonely and she was glad for him when I started coming here. I'm the only woman that has ever been to this house with him, and he only had it finished and decorated when we started being an item He did all this for me. He had never used the pool before, either. Oh, thanks Alicia!" Alicia handed her the bottle with a smile, took the empty one and went back inside.

"He hired Alicia as a ladies' maid when I started staying here a lot so she could make sure there was food for me and she took care of laundry and stuff so I didn't have to worry about it, and he had her start buying better clothes for me. Then when I found out I was pregnant, just about a month ago, we decided I'd move in here and we'd get married and Alicia took on additional duties to help me buy for the baby and lately she's been acting as my assistant with the Queen stuff. I'd be lost without her. She always helps me know what to wear and the best way to do things. I gave Eric a hard time about hiring her, but she has helped me more than I can say. She's good at explaining a lot of the fine points of manners and social expectations and I really love that because I want to seem polished and well-mannered so Eric will be proud of me."

"I don't think you need to worry about seeming well-mannered. Everybody in both kingdoms thinks you're an angel or a saint." He laughed, "and from what I've seen, the King thinks you are, too. He even calls you his angel, doesn't he?"

"Yeah, he just started doing that a little bit ago. I love it when he says that."

"He's very proud of you, Sookie and he should be. You make him look really good to his subjects. They'd think he was one evil motherfucker if it weren't for you. They figure if anyone as sweet as you cares that much about him, he must have a good side somewhere. There's even a joke about it."

"There is? Is it mean?"

"No, it has more to do with everyone thinking you're fearless. They call him Eric the Untouchable, you know?"

She giggled "Yeah, I love that."

"Well, the joke is that nobody dares to touch King Eric except Queen Sookie but she's not afraid of anything."

She cracked up. "Well, that's good. Maybe that will keep all the fang bangers away from him now. I swear, when he was at Fangtasia all the time, it was like dating a rock star. Talk about some evil, jealous women! That Sabrina we were talking about for example – she's horrible, but she's on a different, maybe more dangerous, level. The fang bangers are mean young girls that will scratch your eyes out if you aren't careful. He won't tolerate any outward show of disrespect toward me, of course, but I can hear the awful things they think about me. I mean, I can understand that they don't have access they used to have and that would be awful to lose Eric in any way, but they're so vicious! I hate the thought that he was ever with any of them."

"He didn't have a choice, did he?"

"No, he had to feed and he's not the type to be celibate unless he has made a commitment so I understand. And I'm sure he had fun, although he swears he never had the kind of fun he has with me. He says I brought light into his life and that he used to be darker."

"Yeah, I can see that. I know the kind of girls you're talking about – they're dark and intense, which can be enjoyable if you're just looking for sex, but there's a brightness to you. You sort of light up any room you're in. To a guy like him you must be the closest thing to the sun."

"Aw – that's sweet of you to say. Thank you."

"You know that Freya is described as "shining on the sea?"

"No – but She shines in my dreams."

"She shines in your eyes, too, Sookie." He couldn't believe he just said that. It was out of his mouth before he realized what he was saying.

Sookie blushed and smiled, and didn't know what to say. It was getting dark so she hoped he couldn't tell she was blushing because she did that a lot around him.

"Wow, I really talked your ear off today, didn't I?" Sookie laughed and changed the subject.

"It made the day go fast. I feel like it was so short, but we've been talking for hours," he said.

"You said you're going to stay and talk to Eric, right?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"You aren't going to quit, right? Promise?"

"No ma'am, I just need to talk to him about a security issue. Something he needs to be aware of."

"OK, good. You're fun to talk to. Most bodyguards are kind of gruff and boring."

"I usually am, too, ma'am. I rarely talk as much as I talk with you. I'm being a bad bodyguard."

"No, you're not. If we're friends you'll look out for me a lot better than you would if you didn't like me."

"Yeah, but my attention is on you and it should be on what's going on around us."

"There are other guards all around, though. If anything happens, they'll see it. You're just staying close because if something does happen, you can get to me first, right?"

"Yes, ma'am, I guess that's true."

"So no harm done. When we're out in public you can be a bad ass – believe me, I know about the need to be a bad ass – but I have no doubt that you're plenty ready to fight if things around here get rockin'. Your eyes are constantly roaming around looking at things as we talk – you probably don't even realize you're doing it any more."

"It does get to be a habit if you're any good at your job."

"See that? You're supposed to be the best, right? You must be or Eric wouldn't have hired you to protect me. I know him. He picked the best of the bunch to look out for me, didn't he?"

"Yes, ma'am, he went out of his way to get me to work for you. He hired me away from another job and gave me a huge advance."

"Yeah, he pays well. He believes you pay well for good service and you end up with even better service and more loyal employees. He gives scholarships and stuff to employees and their kids. Most people will do anything to keep a job with him because they can't make as much money anywhere else for the same work. He says "bean counters rarely look at the big picture.""

"That's an unusual attitude for a business man."

"He's unusually good at business. I told you, he knows everything. He's going to be a great King."

"This is a rude question, but, if he's that good, why wasn't he already King?"

"He never wanted to be King. Something came up and he didn't have a choice but to take control, so when he decided to do it, it got done."

"So something happened and he just decided 'OK, now I'll be King' and he was?"

'Yep, pretty much. He probably could have been King centuries ago if he wanted to."

"So what happened?"

"I can't go into detail, but let's just say somebody made him an offer he couldn't refuse. It was a family thing."

"OK. And you think he'll be good at it anyway?"

"He'll be great. He does everything as well as it can be done. If he's going to do it, he'll do it better than anyone."

"You don't think you might be a little biased?"

"I'm not biased, I'm convinced. I made him work hard to get where we are in our relationship and he had to prove himself. You just wait and see. He'll be fantastic."

"I guess wait and see is all I can do."

"Yeah, but it won't take long – you'll see."

Suddenly the outside lights came on.

"Sookie, my angel, you are not ready to go?"

"I want to have family dinner and our shower and _then_ we'll go, alright? We'll be there plenty early."

Eric kicked off his boots, took off his shirt and dived into the pool swimming toward Sookie, who screamed a happy scream and laughed at him. He came up out of the water face to face with her and said "As you wish, my lover." And kissed her. Bjorn was standing looking away.

"Eric, sweetie, Bjorn needs to talk to you about something?"

"What is that?"

"I don't know – he said it's security related."

"Alright – stay here and I will be back. " Eric walked out of the pool, his jeans all wet, and he smoothed his hair back as he walked toward Bjorn, who nodded and spoke first. "You majesty."

"Yes, Bjorn, you have something to discuss with me?"

"Yes, sire, I think you need to know how I came to work here."

"And how is that?"

"Sabrina Matthews told me I should apply for the job as the Queen's bodyguard. I believe she had an ulterior motive and when I realized that she had a vendetta against your wife, I thought it best to tell you about it immediately."

"You think she put you here to trap Sookie?"

"I don't believe it would have worked, of course, but knowing her as I do, yes, sire, I believe her intention was to create problems in your marriage."

"That's about what I'd expect from her. Sabrina is going to be leaving my territories one way or another. Do you wish to continue working here?"

"Yes, your majesty, the Queen and I spoke today and she told me about Freya. I'd consider it an honor to keep her safe. You'll never have to doubt my loyalty or my respect for her or for your relationship."

"You believe Freya had a hand in your being here?"

"I do, sire – I believe that is why I came to be in Louisiana by such odd circumstances. I think Freya wanted a Swedish warrior with your wife and child both night and day. I'm honored to do that for you if you'll allow me to."

Eric nodded. "Alright. You keep showing up as you have been. There'll be a bonus in your next check for alerting me about Sabrina. You realize I'm trusting you with my life – that Sookie and the baby ARE my life."

"Yes, sire, I believe I understand that as few people would."

Eric nodded and offered his hand. Bjorn offered his and they shook but it wasn't a normal handshake. They gripped each other's forearm, met eyes and nodded to each other. Sookie figured that was some kind of male bonding thing, like a pact between warriors, and she was proud of both of them. She knew their loyalty to Freya was strong enough to make them work together. This was good. Both of them swallowed a little pride and agreed to accept help from the other.

"Alright, I'll be leaving for the night if you don't need me anymore."

"Sookie and I are going to my club, Fangtasia, later on. If you'd like to come by around 10 o'clock, I'll buy you a drink and introduce you to Felicia. She's a bartender – I think you might like her."

"I could do that. I don't have any plans tonight."

"Alright, and I assume you won't be sleeping with Sabrina anymore?"

"No, sire, I've had enough of Sabrina's machinations for one lifetime."

"Yes, I reached that point about 150 years ago. Live and learn." Eric actually laughed and patted him on the back. Bjorn knew he had slept with her, too, and got sick of her games. He also knew Sabrina would be lucky if all he did was run her out of his territories. If she called him he would tell her that she'd better get the fuck out while she can, and tomorrow he would get a new cell phone.

"Yes, sire."

"I'll see you later, then." Eric nodded and dove back into the pool near Sookie, splashing her, then he picked her up in his arms and kissed her as she threw her arms around his neck.

'Yep, no one will ever get between them.' Bjorn thought, laughing at the way he had looked at Sookie earlier on. Goddesses were definitely out of his league. A cute vampire bartender, though, might be just what the doctor ordered. Even if they didn't hit it off, "I'm the Queen's personal bodyguard" is a great pickup line. No harm in checking the place out.'

Alicia and Margaret had dinner on the table and Eric carried Sookie out of the pool. He sat her at the picnic table and she ate her chicken while he drank an RM. He actually ate a bite of chicken, and thought it tasted good, not getting sick at all. When they finished, they went to shower, telling the maids good night because they would be gone before the two of them were dressed. They had fun in the shower, but they mostly washed each other's hair and made out a little instead of actually having sex because Eric really wanted to get to Fangtasia. Sookie was hoping he wanted to get to the basement, although that would probably be later since Bjorn was supposed to stop by at 10 o'clock. She thought it was cute that Eric was going to introduce him to Felicia. She was sweet and hadn't been out with anyone in a while as far as she knew and she knew she'd like to have someone because they had talked one night when Sookie was waiting for Eric to finish some paperwork. She was pretty sure Felicia liked blonds, too.

Eric went to check his messages and email while Sookie got his clothes out and she decided to wear a red Juicy Couture maternity dress that had white flowers on it that someone had given her at the reception. It was cute and would be comfortable and she knew it would fit. A part of her was kind of proud of her new curves because they were signs of being a mother and she knew Eric really loved them and wasn't just saying it, but that part of her that absorbed too much from TV and fashion magazines cringed every time she tried on something that fit a week ago and doesn't now. She knew she needed to be proud of her connection to life and to the Goddess. She was trying to make the cognitive shift that it would take for her to love getting heavier with baby, her hips widening, her breasts filling – it wasn't easy, but Eric was helping a lot and actually, so was Bjorn because she knew he thought she was hot even as pregnant as she was.

She stared at herself in the mirror for a few minutes, looking at the dress, looking at her tummy and chest, trying to see Freya within herself. Eric was at the door but she didn't notice him and he didn't make any noise. He was trying to see if he could tell what she was feeling because she was obviously looking into the mirror very intently. There was a swirl of emotions flowing from her into the bond, but he decided the primary emotion was insecurity, and that made him sad.

"Sookie, my angel, that is a very pretty dress."

She was a little bit startled when he spoke, but she shook it off quickly. "Oh, thanks. It was one of the presents from the reception. You really like it?"

"It's very sweet on you. Very young and bright – like a summer day."

"It's a maternity dress, you know…"

"Yes, but that's good." He stood behind her and put his arms around her, kissing her shoulder.

"It is…" she didn't really agree, but it wasn't really a question, either. It's like she was trying to convince herself. "Am I being childish, worrying about my figure when I ought to be proud I'm having a baby?"

"Childish is a little harsh. Girls in these times are brainwashed into thinking they should be sticks and bones their whole lives. Women have curves, my angel, you are supposed to be soft and round and warm. You should be proud of being a mother, and treasure this time with your child."

"I do treasure Baby E, more than anything. I guess I'm just vain."

"Focus on the joy, Sookie. Focus on being a part of Nature," he rubbed her belly, "growing ripe and bearing a fat, healthy baby is such a gift, my lover, I don't want you to look back and be sorry you didn't embrace it."

"I don't want that either. I want to enjoy this and remember it. I was looking at myself, trying to see Freya in me since everybody else seems to. I think I had another dream about her."

"What happened in the dream?"

"I just get flashes of it. It was like the baby was dreaming and I was there. There weren't any pictures, just warmth and feelings of love and happiness, and I said 'Eric Alexander, is that you?' and he responded with Love and Happy the way he does. I think I said 'I love you, Baby E' and suddenly there was light shining around us and Freya spoke to me. She said he couldn't answer me, but he understood what I said. I asked Her if he was all right, and She said "he's magickal. You are too, if you want to be." I was… I don't know, scared, I guess? She told me not to be afraid of my power, that She wouldn't let me harm the innocent. Then Alicia woke me up to drink an RM and she said I was humming a lullaby like I was singing to the baby. She told me the words to the song and it was about 'shining angels' watching over a baby."

Eric kissed her hair, and rubbed his cheek against the top of her head. "That is a very beautiful dream, Sookie. You were with the baby mind to mind, then Freya told you about your power, and you woke up singing to the him." He turned her around and bent over to look her right in the eye as he held her hands. "Freya is telling you that She's there for you, Sookie. She wants to help you be a good mother. She wants you to be proud of yourself and own your own power. Part of that is loving your body. I promise you, Sookie, you have never been more beautiful than you are right now. Try to revel in the changes to your body." He straightened up and stroked her cheek. "I'll be glad when Bobbie gets back. You need your massages and you need her reinforcing your self image."

"Don't make her come back early, though…"

"I won't do that unless you are in pain. I need Bill to be cooperative and time with Bobbie makes that more likely."

"Good. I'm sorry if I'm…" He put his finger across her lips.

"Shhh, my angel. Don't be sorry. Feel what you feel and then focus on the joy. I know there's a part of you in there that is enjoying watching that tummy grow." He smiled and stroked her cheek and she laughed a little. He turned her sideways to the mirror and smoothed the dress over her stomach. "Look at that strong healthy boy in there! How lucky is he, Sookie, to have a warm place full of love to thrive and grow strong! He's bathed in your sweet blood and your love for him washes over him in waves. That's why he's so happy, my angel. Be proud of giving him life. Let the whole world see that you are willing to give of your body to let your baby flourish!"

She laughed and nodded. She was getting it, finally. No one with a brain would judge her for not being skinny. People who had any heart at all loved to see pregnant women looking healthy and happy. How many times had she been in Walmart or Merlotte's and smiled at seeing a Mommy ready to pop? It made everyone feel good to think that a woman would put her body through all that change and endure all that pain to bring new life into the world. "Ok, I think I'm getting it."

"Good, because I want you to sit tall and proud as I show you off tonight." He kissed her head and started to get dressed. She had put out his black jeans and a tight black t-shirt and he knew this was a favorite of hers. She was in the mood to show him off too, he smiled to himself. He wondered if she had figured out why he wanted to take her to Fangtasia. He planned a little fun in the basement if everything went smoothly because he knew she was craving a little kink since she had been reading that book. Their sexual positions were becoming a little limited, but he was planning a little game that wouldn't be physically taxing but it would get her blood and her imagination going.

When they were ready he scooped her up and carried her to the car just because he liked to feel her in his arms. He settled her into the front seat of the BMW and buckled her seatbelt, making sure the lap belt was below the bulge and the shoulder belt was above it the way he'd read on the Internet. He drove at a normal speed and she smiled to herself, knowing that it felt like a crawl to him, but he wouldn't risk hurting the baby unnecessarily. They pulled into the back lot at Fangtasia and he was at her door immediately, carrying her in.

"How come you're carrying me everywhere?"

"To make up a little for the fact that you are not in bed. Actually, that's not true. I must be honest with my bonded." He sighed, "I'm doing it because I like the feel of you in my arms, against me." He smiled at her and she laid her head on his shoulder, relaxing and enjoying the ride. She might as well enjoy it while she can, because pretty soon he'd be carrying the baby instead. She figured she'd be lucky if she could get the baby away from him at all and laughed out loud. "Why are you laughing?"

"I was just thinking how you'll be carrying the baby instead pretty soon and wondering if I'll ever get to hold him at all," she teased him.

"Don't be silly, my lover, I have to rest every day. You can hold him when I am asleep."

She cracked up as they went in the back door of the club, which was propped open with a case of beer.

"Hello, Pam"

"Hi, Pam"

"Master," she nodded, "Sookie. Are you ill?"

"No, Eric just wanted to carry me."

"Alright…" she would never understand the effect this girl had on her Master.

"Expecting a delivery?"

"Yes, rather large one so they won't run out while I'm gone."

"I'll be here, if they do."

"I wanted to leave you as little as possible to do so you could get home to Sookie early every night."

"Aw – that's nice, Pam. Thanks." Sookie gushed a little which amused Pam.

"Your brother will be here later on. He's going to stay at my house tonight so we can leave from there tomorrow."

"I hope you can trust him to get you there safely" Eric was still not crazy about this.

"I told Anubis to take extra care because my travel companion was unreliable. I think he'll be fine, but I thought it best to be sure."

"That is wise," Eric said as he took Sookie into his office. "It's almost 9:30, my angel, we should go out front and see if Bjorn is here yet." He sat her down and glanced through the mail quickly, seeing that Pam had everything under control. He offered Sookie his arm and escorted her into the main room, taking her up to the stage. She started to protest but he raised and eyebrow and that was enough to silence her. She knew he meant what he said about showing her off. He settled her into her chair then sat beside her, one of the bartenders running over to see what they wanted.

"A warm RM for me and a cold one for your Mistress. And tell Felicia I'd like to speak to her."

"Yes, Master."

Felicia came back immediately with the RMs. "Here you are, Master. You wanted to speak to me?"

"Yes, Felicia, there's a gentleman coming here tonight I'd like to introduce you to. He's the Queen's bodyguard" Felicia's eyes grew big, "He's new in town and doesn't know many people, and I thought you might like to get to know him. You're under no obligation, of course, I just thought you might like him"

"Thank you, Master." She was beaming that he would think of her that way.

"You'll like him, Felicia, he's really nice, good looking and he's built like a brick outhouse." Sookie laughed and Felicia laughed with her. Eric rolled his eyes, but he couldn't blame them. He could see where a woman would find him interesting – that's why he wanted him to meet Felicia, after all. He didn't normally play matchmaker but he had an intuition that they would be a good match and it would make him less tempted to see Sabrina again.

Eric remembered perfectly well how much fun could be had with Sabrina. Too bad she was a lunatic. He had no patience at all for mind games. That's one of the things he liked so much about Sookie. She was perfectly sincere, always. She said exactly what she thought and spoke up when she didn't like something. He found that refreshing and charming. Sookie might have a negative reaction now and then, but she wasn't addicted to drama. Being in charge was always more than enough drama for Eric. He didn't need drama with his lovers.

A few people came up to congratulate Eric and Sookie and one pledged fealty because he had been out of town. It wasn't long until Pam came wiggling through the bar with Bjorn following her, trying not to be obvious about watching her ass as she walked. Eric stood and shook his hand, and asked what he would like to drink. He asked for whatever dark beer was on tap, and Pam went to the bar and told them. Felicia came back with his beer.

"Felicia, this is the gentleman I was telling you about. He's Sookie's bodyguard and he's new around here. I thought you might be willing to show him around and introduce him to people."

"Of course, Master, I'd be pleased to." She offered her hand and Bjorn shook it.

"Sit down for a few minutes if you like, Felicia." Eric was being very generous. Felicia was shocked that he invited her to sit.

"Thank you, Master." She sat in the chair Eric had pointed to next to Bjorn. Bjorn took his cue and asked Felicia where she was from and where she lived now. He told her about his time in the service and how he came to be in New Orleans, and he asked her to dance. Felicia looked at Eric and he nodded. "Relax and entertain our guest, Felicia and show him around."

So they headed to the dance floor. It was a slow enough song that they could dance close and talk and Eric was pleased.

"Eric, I think they like each other, " Sookie was happy for Felicia.

"Yes, he's attracted to her, at least. That might be good for both of them, and at least he'll meet some new people. Felicia will probably take him around and introduce him to people since she knows he's working for you. I'd like him to find a girlfriend so he'll stay away from Sabrina."

"So he slept with her, too, huh?"

"She can be a lot of fun, but if you let her get too close, she's a nightmare. I haven't been with her for 150 years and she's still being a pain in my ass. I'm going to find a replacement for her and order her to leave my kingdoms."

"Wow – you can just run somebody out of town that way?"

"I can just have somebody executed that way, too. If she's smart, she'll go away and stay away. I'm not going to tolerate any nonsense from her, particularly where you are concerned. You have enough to deal with."

She smiled and took his hand and he bent over to kiss her.

Love. Fight!

They laughed.

"My son is awake," he laughed as he reached over to feel the baby kick.

"He's awake and doing a happy dance. I think he likes Fangtasia."

"He might associate it with my killing Victor."

"He did enjoy that – a lot. I hope he's not a sociopath." She was half kidding.

"He will be a warrior, Sookie. A warrior does what must be done, and he fights proudly and enthusiastically, with honor."

"In other words, he'll be an ass-kicker like his old man." She cracked up.

"I don't see the humor in that, Sookie. Of course he will be like me. He is my son, after all, and Freya protects him. She only picks the best warriors."

"Are you ever going to tell me any of the particulars of your relationship with her."

"You know the particulars of our relationship, my angel."

"You know what I mean – what's it like to fuck a Goddess."

"Ask me that question an hour from now." He gave her a look that would melt butter. Holy shit. That got Sookie's motor running in overdrive. She could barely sit still, and Eric knew it. He would let her stew a little bit, then he would take her downstairs. A couple of vampires new to town came to report to Eric and he welcomed them, and introduced Sookie who hoped they couldn't smell her arousal but one of them looked at her hungrily and she thought he did. She also couldn't keep one of her legs from shaking. She knew Eric was watching her out of the corner of his eye and smiling about it. He SO knew how to push her buttons. It would be irritating if it weren't so damned HOT.

When they left, he leaned over and whispered in Sookie's ear, "Would you like to play a little game, my lover."

She swallowed hard and nodded quickly.

"Got down stairs, strip, turn the lights completely off, get on the bed and put the cuffs on your wrists. I'll be down in a bit."

Sookie flushed and looked at him with huge eyes. What if someone else came down there? What if there were spiders? What if something happened and no one knew she was there? She was trying to think of something to say when he leaned over and said "Be a good girl and do as you're told, or you'll be punished."

Punished?! Punished how?!

She was still processing it all when he looked at her and raised his eyebrows expectantly. He stared at her and didn't say another word. She finally took a deep breath, stood up, slightly shaking, and walked to the door. As she started to go into the hall, she looked over her shoulder and he was giving her that scary, sexy, mean look that made her feel light-headed. She could feel the blood rushing in her ears. Was she really going to do this? This was HUGE trust he was asking for, and her face was burning with – what? Embarrassment? Desire? Fear? She thought wryly that her thong would be in flames right now if it weren't so wet.

She took a deep breath as she opened the door to his office. She closed the door carefully, praying no one but Eric would come in there. She flipped the latch to the door, hit the light switch and went downstairs. She had never been down here alone before. She could feel the thump of the music upstairs and realized that if you screamed while it was playing, no one would hear you, probably not even a vampire. You sure wouldn't want to be laid out like dessert if a strange vamp found you tied up, especially while you were tied up and tasted like a freaking FAIRY!

She took a deep breath and blew it out. OK, think. The light switch is over here. The bed is there and the cuffs are down below the frame. She had to turn the lights off, then do the cuffs. She went to the bed and brushed the top of it, making sure there were no creepy crawlies on it. The basement was clean but it was still a basement. She looked around and didn't see any webs or anything, so she reached under the base and felt around until she found the cuffs and pulled them up to the top.

Ok, so she could find them in the dark as long as she could make it to the bed. Now came the hard part. She had to strip while she was down there alone with no Eric to protect her. She knew logically that he could feel her through the bond and be there in seconds if she needed him, but emotionally, this was almost, but not quite, like stripping in public. OK, Sookie, you wanted to play, she thought, and she kicked her shoes off and pulled her dress over her head, folding it and laying it on Eric's chair. Another hard swallow and a deep exhale and off came the thong, which she hid in the folded dress. Why she hid it, she didn't know, but she did.

OK, two steps to go – no three. She had to turn off the lights. She had to find the bed without breaking a toe. She had to get in place and lock herself into the cuffs. This was not a good time to remember you were slightly afraid of the dark. She looked up the stairs – yes, she had closed the door. OK. She closed her eyes and hit the light switch, then opened them. She stood completely still for a few minutes, hoping her eyes would adjust to the dark, but there was no light of any kind because there were no windows. She slowly started toward the bed, her hands in front of her as she advanced slowly, not wanting to break a toe or a leg or something. Oops – OK, here's the bed. She climbed up on it and felt her way to the top. She slowly turned on her back, putting the pillow between her shoulders to raise her up just a bit. OK, the was comfortable. Now, the cuffs. She was really shaking now. This was it. Did she trust him or not?

Not that it mattered, but she closed her eyes and reached for the first cuff. She put it around her wrist and slid the snap-lock so it closed. If she stopped right now, she could still get out of this. She could take that cuff off, get dressed, go back upstairs and tell Eric to go to hell… but she knew she was absolutely not going to do that, not because of the threat of punishment, but because she had to see where this ride would take her. Eric was right – she loved taking risks. She steeled herself, took the other cuff and put it on her other wrist. CLICK. She had to press the cuff down on the mattress to make it close because she couldn't quite reach with the other hand – meaning she couldn't get out of this now. She took a deep breath and stretched out, trying to surrender herself to the situation. She waited.

Eric was smiling like a Cheshire cat as he checked his email with his phone. He was monitoring the bond carefully, following the roller coaster that was Sookie right now. He knew better than to leave anyone tied up unattended. He just needed to give her enough time to get into position, if she would actually do it. He'd give 60/40 odds that she will. She tends to be awfully compliant, which he loves, though breaking down a little resistance can be fun, too. She wouldn't resist, though. She'd hear his voice in her head telling her to trust him and she'd work through it. Oh, the sensations she was sending into the bond were delicious. He had to give her credit, if she actually did it, because she was genuinely scared. It wasn't overwhelming yet, but there was definite fear.

Eric ambled over to where Felicia and Bjorn were talking.

"Bjorn- have a good night. I have some business to attend to and I might not see you again tonight."

"OK, thanks."

"I'll look out for him," Felicia said with a smug little smile. Yes, they were going to have a good night even after the bar closed. Eric went to the door and asked Pam to come back to his office. The walked into the office and talked about her impending vacation as Eric slammed the door to his office hard, and opened the door to the downstairs. Pam got a wicked look on her face and pointed downstairs and gave an inquiring look. Eric arched an eyebrow and gave her a look that was beyond smug. Pam rolled her eyes and they kept talking knowing Sookie could hear voices but not whose voice or what they were saying.

Sookie jumped when the door slammed and she heard the door to the upstairs open. She could hear voices and was hoping it was just Eric and Pam. She focused all her energy on trying to hear who it was and what they were saying. She heard boots in the hallway stomping the way Jason always did when he … JASON! He was meeting Pam here tonight. Oh, PLEASE don't let them decide to sneak down here for a quickle!

Shit. Jason would lose his mind if he found her this way. Either he would kill Eric or Eric would kill him. Of course it wouldn't matter because she would absolutely die of shame. She heard Pam giggle the way she did when Jason was around and heard Jason's "seductive" voice he used when he was hitting on a girl. She heard the office door open and close. She heard a chair scrape on the floor. She heard the door open, Eric say "Get the fuck out of my office" and the door slam then the light from upstairs went out as if the lamp had been knocked over. She held her breath. She heard the door at the top of the stairs. Nothing.

Please Goddess, let Eric be playing a joke. If it was Eric up there, he would come down the stairs any second. She waited. She listened. She heard something hit the floor and she was sure there was someone else in the room. She was afraid to say anything. What if it wasn't Eric? She heard a growl, like a vampire preparing to attack, but she couldn't tell if it was Eric. She couldn't see anything, but a vampire can see in the dark so she was completely visible to whoever that was. Say something, Eric!

Suddenly two hands gripped her ankles and forced her legs apart. It had to be Eric. Whoever it was was sniffing her leg, nipping them with fangs, growling. Nails raked down both inner thighs, then her legs were forced apart and he bit her femoral artery savagely. Sookie didn't make a sound. If it was Eric, there was nothing to worry about. If it wasn't she was beyond help now. She was concentrating, hoping to feel Eric's long hair brush her leg the way it did when he went down on her, but it never did. She was coming. The bite was making her come.

Please let that be Eric because if it's not he's going to think I like this. She heard a deep growl as the Fae blood kicked in and she heard his zipper open and pants being pushed down. Wouldn't Eric get undressed? He entered her holding her hips high and pounding her quickly and he came very fast, howling. It's Eric. Please, it has to be Eric. He bit her hipbone, ran his tongue up her stomach, took her nipple in his teeth with a short but hard bite and she cried out. Hands brushed down the underside of her arms, then gripping her breasts hard. He was between her legs nibbling her hard and then his mouth was on hers and she was shaking hard. He was almost literally smothering her with kisses and she finally couldn't take it and pleaded "Eric, please tell me that's you."

He laughed wickedly as he began to stroke between her legs. "It took you long enough, my lover."


	56. Chapter 56

**Chapter 56**

"Oh, thank Goddess."

"So was it good scary or bad scary." Eric laughed.

"Shut up."

"What did you say to me?" He was only half joking now. He wasn't going to tolerate any insolence.

"I'm sorry, I just…I just…"

"Shhh, Sookie it's alright. You knew it was me. I tried very hard to give you the illusion that it might not be, but you knew it was or you would have screamed."

"I would?"

"Of course you would, my lover. Did you know that the number one sexual fantasy for American women is to be raped?"

"That's horrible and sick."

"No, Sookie, it's a fantasy. They don't actually wish to be violated – that would be horrible, of course. The fantasy of it is exciting, though, especially to women who have been raised to feel guilty about sex. It removes their responsibility in it and allows them to surrender to the sensations. I just let you have your fantasy."

"I don't know if that was my fantasy, Eric."

"Sookie, if you had not known that was me, you would have been screaming, kicking, biting. You are not delicate when the situation merits self-defense. Even restrained you would have put up a fight. I have no doubt of this. If I ever thought you actually believed it wasn't me, I would have stopped immediately. You knew that you were safe so you went with the fantasy and I let you."

"How did you know I knew it was you then?"

"Through the bond, Sookie. You never sent for me. You never pleaded for my help. Remember when Felipe tried to molest you? You sent for me as hard as you could and I was there instantly. You didn't have to think about it – you did it instinctively. You were enjoying the mixture of fear and excitement just now. You had to feel my excitement and amusement. You would know immediately if anything ever happened to me – you know that."

"Yeah, that's right. I do. And I didn't call you because I did believe it was you. I remember saying to myself it has to be Eric but what if it's not."

"That was the fantasy, my angel."

"Holy shit."

He laughed. "Alright, now, my lover, you have three choices. We can go home now. I can give you another orgasm now, or we can play another game."

"Can we do the game another time?"

"Of course we can. We can play it any time you want."

"Would you consider another orgasm now and a few when we get home?" She asked and bit her lip, feeling a little naughty now that she had calmed down.

"Anything you want, my lover." He moved back down between her legs and was merciless in the very best way with his mouth and fingers and she reveled in being tied so he had control of her. She loved tugging at the bonds, writhing and crying out loudly as she came on his tongue, but he wasn't finished yet. He pushed her to another orgasm and another. By the third time she was frantic, sobbing and nearly at her breaking point when she came and he let her go. They were both laughing as he undid the cuffs. He stroked her face, wiped her eyes where tears were streaming, smoothing her hair back. "How was that, Sookie?"

"That was awesome," she said breathlessly. "Now take me home and fuck me until I fall asleep."

"You really enjoy that…?"

"I really, really do. Help me up."

He helped her stand and zipped his jeans. She was a little unsteady so he helped her pull her dress over her head, stuck her thong in his pocket and handed her the little sandals she wore. He handed her two RMs from the fridge, locked up, turned lights out and carried her out to the car. As he settled her into her seat, fixing her seatbelt, she grabbed his face with both hands and kissed him hard.

"Hold that thought, my angel, we will be home soon." He smiled softly at her. She finished the bloods then dozed a little as he drove her home and he smiled remembering their game earlier. She had a sort of catharsis from it and he doubted if she'd wake up when they got home. She was wrung out, but she had a smile on her face so ultimately, she enjoyed it.

He pulled up to the guard who waved to him and he stopped and let them look in the car. He could tell from the guard's face that he smelled sex on them, but Eric liked that. He loved that the guards were talking about how hot their sex life was even though Sookie was pregnant. Sookie was vain about her body, but Eric was vain about his sexual prowess and he wanted people to know that just because he was married didn't mean he wasn't still a stud. He knew the guards could hear them at night and he knew people had watched them in the pool. He wanted them to think he was virile and so far, they did. He liked that they were somewhat in awe of Sookie's skills, too. He wanted them to know there was a reason he could be satisfied by one woman, and that it was because that woman was a tigress in bed. He had pretty well solidified _that_ in the minds of his subjects, too.

He hoped it was a long, long time before Sookie found out they had an audience – and a rather enthusiastic one at that. He knew by morning tales of the King and Queen coming home reeking with lust and sex would abound. Where had they done it? In the car? At Fangtasia? In his throne on the stage? On the bar? He laughed to himself. He was going to do everything he could to foster the legend that was already growing. Pam was filling him in on all the gossip and he loved it. She said everyone was obsessed with finding out what Sookie did to make him scream. Pam asked him what it was and he told her, of course, and Pam was shocked that he was able to get Sookie to do that, let alone love it as he told her she did, but then he reminded Pam she had done something similar to her.

"Oh, ye-es, now that you mention it, the little minx did get a little invasive, didn't she?" Pam had remembered.

"Would you like a repeat performance some time, Pam?"

"Mmmm – what did you have in mind?"

"Some night when you're back from your trip and we are back from ours, come swim with us after work. I think a little threesome in the pool would be enjoyed by all concerned."

"Is that a promise?"

"Absolutely."

Pam laughed wickedly, obviously already making plans. Eric had no doubt that Sookie would balk at first and then be easily swayed to comply. Sookie wanted to be bad, she just needed a little encouragement and someone telling her it was OK to do what she naturally wanted to do.

Sookie was a sort of sexual savant. Her instincts told her to fuck and keep fucking. She was like Jason that way. He was amazed she managed to reach adulthood untouched. All that energy had been bottled up for all those years and Eric was going to bring it all up and out to the surface where he could savor every drop. Sookie was eager to submit to him, but he was limited in what he could do while she was with child. He planned to make frequent use of the basement at Fangtasia after the child was born, and to employ the services either of Bobbie or a nanny to allow them room to play, and he had some quiet games they could play once the child slept regular hours. It was going to take effort to juggle a baby and Sookie's training, but that would be part of the fun.

Eric took Sookie out of the car. A nice husband would take her and place her gently in bed and he really should just do that, but he's in a wicked mood tonight and he got an idea that he couldn't resist. Instead of going upstairs, he went through the den to the sliding door, opened it, took Sookie out and threw her in the pool.

She had started to wake up when the back door opened and was awake and aware when she hit the water so she saw it coming, but she couldn't believe he did it! She screamed like a little girl when he let her go and came up sputtering and cursing as Eric kicked off his boots, dropped his clothes and jumped in with her.

"ERIC! What are you doing?! AHHhhhhh!" She didn't care who heard her. She was laughing but she didn't know whether to be mad or was this actually funny? Eric knew what he thought it was because he was laughing so hard he couldn't speak. She attacked him playfully, smacking his arms as he held them up in mock defense.

"I can't believe you did that!" She was going on and on, and it just made him laugh harder. She was flipping out but it had exactly the result he hoped for which was a wicked adrenaline rush in Sookie that would make her completely uninhibited.

When he thought it was enough he grabbed the hem of her dress and pulled it over her head before she had a chance to react. They were both naked in the pool again, but the back porch light wasn't on. They could see because of a security light in the yard toward the back of the property that illuminated only part of the pool. The guards ran around when they heard Sookie scream though they were sure it was sex play. They couldn't really see them in the shadows, but they were cracking up at Sookie yelling and slapping at the King, who was also cracking up.

Sookie couldn't hear the guards, but Eric could and he decided to put on a show, so with no warning and in one smooth motion he grabbed Sookie's thighs, raised her up and impaled her on his cock. She shrieked, and kept crying out every time he rammed into her, not hard enough to hurt her, of course, but hard enough to keep her yelling out, at first in surprise and then in absolute rapture as the adrenaline high reached its peak. The guards could sort of see them, but not quite and they stood absolutely still and listened to Eric make her insane. Sookie was overcome with the adrenaline rush and completely out of her head in the best way, EVER.

Sookie being so turned on and him knowing they were being watched made Eric hard and wild, grunting and howling as he took her spectacularly. The guards couldn't believe how long it went on, and as it did, Eric moved them over into the light so Sookie was clearly visible and when it ended in "Oh, OH, OH MY Gooooooooooooooood, ERIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIC!" that built into a high-pitched scream they had a beautiful view of Sookie's extra-luscious breasts as she threw her head back and really let loose, as he bit her breast and sent her over yet another edge. That was one of the longest, best orgasms Sookie ever had, and she let it be known. She was too far gone to worry about who might hear her and she really let loose, seized up and jerked several times, then she went limp in Eric's arms. The guards were in awe of both of them – him for endurance and strength, her for that explosive and extended orgasm. They had never seen a woman come like that.

He walked to the side of the pool with her and laid her gently on the cement in the light so she was visible. She was exhausted and still not really aware of what was going on and she didn't move except to gasp for breath the whole time it took him to go in for a towel. He dried her off, then stood over her and dried himself, also in full view and turned at an angle from the guards so they could see his erection, which looked huge in the light. He threw the towel over his shoulder, bent and picked Sookie up, gave them a really good look at her, beautiful, naked and spent in his arms, then turned and took her into the house, laughing to himself, leaving their clothes laying on the cement around the pool.

He relished displaying Sookie that way. He was so proud of her beauty and her passionate nature, he wanted the whole world to know what he had, and to see how gloriously lusty and sensual she was. Fuck bourgeois standards of morality – he'd erect a nude statue of her in the front yard if she'd let him. He might still one day when he got her to shake off her artificial inhibitions and be the exhibitionist that was her true nature. He would do everything in his power to bring out her true, sacred, animal nature and he would enjoy every second of the process. A Goddess should fuck and be proud of it, and everyone should know of Her exploits. His wife was a Goddess and he wanted the world to know it and be in awe of her as he was.

He couldn't wait to see if news of their dip in the pool got back to Pam before morning. He knew if it did, she'd leave him a message. When they got upstairs, Eric laid her on the bed and started running a bath the way she said she wanted the other night. She was still in the same position when the bath was ready, so he thought he'd better check.

"Sookie, my angel, are you alright?"

"Uh-huh. What the hell was that?" she was awe-struck.

"That was us making the most of a wicked adrenaline rush. Shall we bathe? The water is ready."

"Yeah, you'll have to help me. I feel like all my bones are jelly."

He laughed with delight and picked her up, setting her gently in the tub and climbing in behind her. She settled back in between his legs but turned her head around to the side to kiss him, and kiss him again and again because she didn't want to stop. He was very pleased with himself and she was pleased with him, too. She turned sideways a little so she could rest her head on his chest and snuggle into him and he rested his cheek against her hair. She could have been very angry with him for both little games tonight but she wasn't and he was pleased that she ultimately enjoyed them. She was a good sport once she had a huge orgasm, he thought to himself smugly.

"That was wild," Sookie said, thunder-struck.

"Yes, it was. You are being a very good sport. I'm glad you are not angry with me."

"It's hard to be angry when you've had an orgasm that went on and on and on," she laughed. "You're so amazing," she yawned and closed her eyes.

"I think we'd better wash your hair, my angel, because when the last of the adrenaline burns off, you are going to sleep like a vampire," he laughed and began to wet her hair with the hand-held shower. She just melted into him as he gently washed and rinsed her hair. They both loved this. The intimacy of being in the warm water together, his gentle touch as he massaged her scalp and rinsed her hair, the way he washed her gently and thoroughly all over. She tried to reciprocate but she was exhausted, so he did his own hair as she leaned against the side of the tub and rested her cheek on her arm, watching him with complete adoration, occasionally reaching up to stroke his cheek or run her hands over the muscles in his chest or arms. When he started to soap himself she took the soap – this she could handle and she wanted to touch every inch of him the way he did her. He moved as he needed to for her to reach his back and bottom, and she kissed his chest and arms as she cleaned him. When she washed between his legs, she lingered, stroking lovingly as he purred. She liked that so she continued and sucked his nipples, biting them and pulling hard, bringing him quickly to another release as he moaned beneath her touch. When she finished washing him, he pulled her face to face with him, her legs spread and arched over his own, her center against his, and he bit his wrist, holding it to her. As she drew deeply, he bit her wrist, which appeared to complete some sort of circuit. It began in ecstasy as they both climaxed, then evolved into something more, something purple and swirling and sparkling that became a whirlwind and exploded in light and for a second the three were one – one consciousness, one spirit, one infinite spiral of love. When it was over, they held each other, their foreheads touching, in awe of each other and the power they generated.

Eventually, she yawned, so he combed out her hair and then his, drained the water and dried them off, gently rubbing a fine lotion all over her and giving her a light massage as he did. Soon he deposited a blissfully relaxed Sookie between the luxurious silk sheets of their bed. She prayed she would never forget this happiness. No matter what else happened in her life, she would always have this moment of perfect love and bliss. She closed her eyes and thanked Freya for bringing Eric to her.

Sookie was asleep before Eric could get in and turn the lights off, so he snuggled behind her and had his time communing with the baby, who had somehow slept through most of the pool party, though there was a bit of cheering from when Sookie hit the water through about half of the fun. Eric figured that meant he would sleep well later on if he could relax through that. He knew the baby took their sex play as fun, comfort and love, so he would feel all was right with the world when they were fucking wildly in the club or the pool. Eric knew he would be a great lover when he was grown because he loved sex between his parents so much. He believed he would be very physical and robust, loving to run and play.

He could tell from the strength of the kicks he could feel through Sookie's body that he was already strong. He admired that Sookie bore it so well, because he imagined it had to hurt her. Even when he did hurt her at the reception, she bit her lip rather than crying out. Eric had always admired the strength of women when it came to giving birth. He knew full well that most men couldn't take that kind of pain or discomfort, especially in modern times when life was so easy for most. Even a battle wound wouldn't equal the pain of passing a child. Men were best at short intense bursts of strength, but the endurance needed to bear a child, which could go on for a day or more, was where women's strength was most evident.

Most people would assume Eric would be a sexist pig but in truth, there was no greater admirer of the feminine gender than Eric Northman. Women spanned the extremes of human possibility, far more than men did. He thought men were lucky women would have anything to do with them at all, especially modern men who were so weak and dependent. So few men had honor or a sense of duty where their women were concerned now. They didn't understand that taking care of their women wasn't something you did because women were less than men – you did it because women were more important than men, and a smart man cares for his women. They're your wealth, more than anything else, that's why men would pay high prices for a good woman in his culture.

That's why he would never respect Sookie's brother – it was unconscionable to him that Jason let Sookie work in a cheesy bar when he was young and strong and more than capable of supporting her. As far as Eric was concerned, he had abandoned her when she needed him, and that was unforgivable. He also struck her once, and she was the only reason Jason wasn't alligator food at that moment for that. If he didn't know how much the loss of him would hurt her, he'd kill him for touching her in that manner. If he ever did it again, he would kill him anyway and damn the consequences.

He wondered what kind of influence Jason would be on his son. To a small boy, Uncle Jason might seem fun and lively, but Eric would make sure his son knew that his first responsibility was always to his mother, and later to his own wife. He also considered whether they would ever have another child, and his own son might have a sister to care for. Dr. Ludwig said it might be possible even without Niall's intervention. He wouldn't get his hopes up, but if it ever did happen, he would welcome it. If it happened 20 times, he would welcome it, though he laughed to himself that Sookie might have some objections at that point.

He prayed to Freya, as had become his habit at night, thanking Her for the blessings She had given him. He prayed that he would be a good and effective King, and a good father to his son. He prayed that he would be worthy of Her gifts, especially the gift of Sookie, because he never knew love like this was possible. He might be proud before the world but he was humble before Freya, so grateful that She loved him enough to create this life for him. He thanked Her for coming back to him, and prayed She could stay with him forever.

"I'll love you forever," Sookie said in her sleep.

Eric's eyes flew open. Freya had answered him through Sookie, he was sure of it. He raised his head and watched her intently.

"We'll always be with you now."

"Sookie, are you awake?" he said softly. No, no response, and her breathing indicated she was sleeping. Eric took her in his arms, and cried silently, so relieved and grateful not to be forgotten. When he composed himself, he sent love to his son, went to his office and began the night's work.

The first thing he did was check his messages, and the last one was from Pam.

"Hello, Master – I hear you didn't wait for me to join you in the pool. I hear Sookie looked lovely and her breasts are spectacular. I'm going to take you up on that invitation as soon as we're all in town again. I'm looking forward to seeing King Eric swing his now legendary broadsword." She was giggling wickedly as she hung up. Eric laughed out loud. That took all of about 2 ½ hours, and that reminded him that Sookie needed another blood. He checked in with Sandy and Bill, then went to feed Sookie.

He went into the bedroom and opened an RM, putting a straw in it and waking Sookie gently.

"Sookie, my lover, time to feed the baby."

"OK" she said, but she couldn't keep her eyes open. She managed to sip the blood through the straw, though, and emptied the bottle fairly quickly.

"More, please?"

"Alright, my angel, just a second." He prepared another and she drank it a little slower, but she finished most of it. He finished the little bit at the bottom of the bottle, pulled the sheet down and kissed the baby bump, which jumped in response, and he went into the nursery for a bit before he went to rest. He and the baby bounced love and pride between each other and at one point the baby sent FIGHT! which made Eric laugh out loud and send a flood of pride and amusement to him.

'I love you, my son. Eric Alexander, your father loves you very much,' he sent his thoughts and the baby sent Happy. Love. Warm. Fight! Eric went to his resting place, noticing he could still feel the baby as he lay down and became still. The bond from the baby was able to extend to almost the whole house now and Eric could still send and get a response from him. This was the farthest the bond had worked with him yet. He would have to remember to tell Sookie tomorrow, and he slept.


	57. Chapter 57

**Chapter 57**

"Mrs. Northman? Time to drink."

"Oh, thanks, Alicia, how are you today?" Even half-asleep, Sookie was polite, and that made Alicia proud of her.

"I'm fine today, dear. Have a good night last night?"

"It was amazing."

"I thought so." Alicia had found their clothing in the back yard and one of the guards snickered and shook his head when he saw her picking them up. She didn't have to ask. Eric knew when he left them that Alicia or Margaret would take care of them and put them back in their closet as good as new. They had been warned long ago that there would be signs of sex frequently, so they just cleaned it up and rarely acknowledged it. They had no idea how really wild and rough the sex was, of course, so they thought it was sweet that they were so in love. "I'll see you in two hours, dear."

The 9 and 11 feedings were uneventful, Sookie barely waking up, but at 1:00 Alicia brought breakfast because she was concerned Sookie was skipping the third meal of the night again. Their lifestyle made it hard for her to get fed, and she would be glad when Bobbie was here to keep after her. She also thought that they were supposed to be checking Sookie's blood pressure, but only Bobbie knew how to do that. She was very glad Bobbie would be back tomorrow and she was seriously thinking about asking Mr. Northman not to give her more than one day off at a time from this point forward. She had a feeling Eric didn't understand what blood pressure meant, or he would be more intent about that, and she was working on a way to gently mention to him that it was very important to prevent complications or even a stroke. He had the night off tonight so she was planning to make sure she talked to him before she left because he probably wouldn't be rushing out the door, but he would for the next week or so.

Sookie wolfed down the rare steak and fried potatoes, grape juice, Texas toast and strawberry jam, put on her suit, grabbed her iPod and headed for the pool. Bjorn was out back talking to one of the other guards as she came out and she gave him a big smile and a wave, grabbing her mattress from the rack and setting up her iPod. She was in the water when he came over and sat down, and Alicia brought him a glass of tea. They were already adapting to the routine, and Bjorn wouldn't admit it to anyone but he was looking forward to his talk with Sookie. He thought he was about to get control of the Sookie Syndrome he had been suffering from but when he got over to the pool, he smelled sex and that didn't help matters.

"So, Bjorn, did you and Felicia hit it off last night?"

"Yes, she's a great girl. She's got such pretty skin and her eyes are an unusual color. She's really nice and easy to talk to."

"What'd you all do last night after the bar closed."

"Uhh – we went to her place."

"That's nice. I hope you both had fun."

"Yeah, we had a good time – I'm going to see her again tonight after work."

"Oh, that's so cool. She's a nice girl. She's worked at Fangtasia almost a year now and she's one of Eric's favorites, though he'd never actually say that. He can always count on her to take an extra shift if he needs her and she's one of only three that he trusts to shut down the club, the other two being Vincent and Pam."

"Oh, I didn't know that. I was wondering why he introduced me to her, but I'm really glad he did. She's going to take me some places around town and she introduced me to several people around the club last night. I think I met your brother."

"Jason? He was supposed to be there with Pam because they were leaving for Hawaii from her house, but I never saw him."

"Yeah, he seemed nice enough, but he's always hitting on every female around, isn't he?"

"Yeah, he's a hound dog. Did he hit on Felicia in front of you?"

"Yeah, I don't think he knows how to talk to a girl without hitting on her."

"That's about right. Maybe that's why he hardly ever talks to me," she laughed.

"Eric doesn't like him?"

"No, he doesn't. He has some old fashioned ideas about how men should treat women and he thinks Jason should have supported me instead of letting me work in a bar."

"I agree with him."

"You do?!"

"Yes. You aren't tough enough to be handling rednecks in a bar. I know you had friends there but from what Pam and Jason said, you needed to be home with your Grandmother, not waiting tables."

"I did OK – Sam, the bar owner, always looked out for me."

"Jason said Sam was interested in you."

"Well, yeah, maybe, but he was nice to me. He helped me out a lot when I needed it with some Were stuff."

"The Pack war you got involved in? You're famous for that, too, you know."

"Too? What do you mean?"

"Everybody knows you. The Pyramid of Giza bombing, Pack wars, Witch wars, now you're Queen. You've been a busy lady," he teased her.

"Yeah, people say I'm a trouble magnet. I just end up in weird places, I guess. I don't go looking for it."

"I think it might be the men in your life."

"Maybe, but it all worked out for the best, so it was worth it."

"That's a good attitude to have. So you left really early?"

"No, we were there for a while, but we were in the Love Nest."

"The Love Nest? Is that the kink room in the basement I heard about?"

"Yeah, probably. It's awesome."

"Really? What's it like? I heard it mentioned but no one described it."

"It rocks. The walls are black, the ceiling is bright red. There's a huge round mattress on a wooden platform with all kinds of things attached to it, and there's a refrigerator, a microwave, a big chair for Eric at the end of the bed and a bathroom."

"What kinds of things are attached to the platform?"

"Like cuffs and stuff for tying people up. There's some other stuff but I don't know what it's for. I'm still learning. "

"Really? And Eric has a chair down there – why? - so he can watch?"

"Yep."

"And you know all about this and you're OK with it?"

"I wouldn't say I know all about it. I just know a little about it. I've only used it twice, but it was always fun. I'm sure I don't know half of what's gone on down there. I get Eric to tell me little bits, but I think he's telling me slowly so I don't freak out."

"Are you worried about the stuff he doesn't want to tell you?"

"No, because it's in the past, and we'll find out together what I like and what I don't. He knows what I like better than I do half the time, anyway. He's so smart about everything."

"He likes to show you off…"

"Yeah, I know."

"Doesn't that bother you?"

"It did at first, but I finally understand it. I used to think it was demeaning, or something like that, but he said it's because he can and no one else is allowed. They can look but only he can touch. He likes to show his dominance."

"Yes, that's the impression I got. Do you like to be submissive?"

"He says I do, and so far everything he tells me to do turns out really great, so I guess I do. He said I was dominant the other night, though."

"Really?" Bjorn was dying to ask and just praying she'd tell him what she did to him. Everybody was always pumping him for information about the King and Queen because they knew he'd been spending days out back talking to her. He didn't dare ask but he wasn't above seeing if he can get her to make one of her little slips. She was so unselfconscious that she would make those revealing little slips and then blush. As much as he was determined not to be attracted to her, he still loved to see her blush.

"Do you ever do that? Be dominant?"

"Always."

"You never let anybody else do it?"

"No, I'm always a top."

"What's a top? The dominant one?"

"Yes. The submissive is called a bottom."

"I guess that makes sense. I've got a lot to learn still."

"Are you sure? Maybe you know more than you think you do?"

"No, I'm pretty sure I'm still learning – like Bobbie told me how to do something the other day that never even occurred to me, but it's awesome because I can make Eric scream and squirm around – it's so cool."

"I must not know it either, because nobody ever made me scream."

"Aw – maybe Felicia knows it? Vamps seem to know so much more about sex than people do – not that I know anything about sex with regular people."

"You never had sex with anyone but a Supe?

"No, just two vamps and a were-tiger…. well, technically, 3 vamps now."

"The girl is number three?"

"Yeah, but I don't know if she counts as a whole other one, though because she's like part of Eric."

"You mean Pam?!"

"Shhh – don't tell anybody, OK, that's just between you and me."

"Oh, I won't tell a soul." No, he thought, I'll just be haunted the rest of my life with pictures of you fucking Pam… and Eric. What a lucky son of a bitch. All at once he flashed on an image of Sookie and Pam on the round bed and Eric sitting at the end of the bed in a big chair. Holy FUCK! And what he heard about last night…! "Wait a minute – does that mean Pam has been with you AND your brother?"

"It kinda turned out that way, yeah, but they got together after."

"After you and the King?"

"Yeah, but he wasn't the King then, of course."

You couldn't prove that by Bjorn – as far as he was concerned Eric was definitely the King of something. Holy shit.

"Would you ever.., never mind."

"What?"

"It's none of my business."

"Go ahead and ask me – we're friends. If I don't want to answer it, I just won't."

"Would you ever... be with Pam, again?"

"I'm pretty sure I will. I think she liked it."

"And you liked it?"

"Oh, yeah, it was fun – and it was my idea, Eric just went along with it for me. And Eric was really happy, you know, seeing his two girls getting along. He said that will make his life a lot easier if we like each other."

"I can imagine it would." 'Please, please don't let me need to stand up right now' he thought. If he ever had any doubts about Sookie being a Goddess, they were gone. She was every bit as lusty as Freya. Holy shit. And she was completely open about it, but then she still seems so innocent. She had to be Goddess-touched.

Alicia came out with a bottle of blood for Sookie, which she drank in no time and asked for another, which Alicia went back in for,

"Does your brother know?"

"You know, I don't know? He never said anything if he does, and I'm pretty sure he would say something."

"Most guys would, I think."

"Yeah, but Jason wouldn't let it stop him from getting laid, anyway."

'Must run in the family,' he thought. Alicia came back out then with another blood, and she left it with Sookie to sip on.

"So Eric and your brother never…"

"Oh, god, no – it's all I can do to keep Eric from killing Jason. If he ever hits me again, he said he will kill him no matter what I say – he said it to Jason, too."

"That guy _hit you_?" Eric might not be the only one her brother needed to worry about. Bjorn wasn't going to put up with anybody beating on Sookie, either, and not just because he was her bodyguard.

"He was really upset because my Grandmother was murdered and it was kind of my fault."

"How was it your fault?"

"This guy that we all thought was our friend turned out to be a serial killer and he killed girls who slept with vampires, starting with his own sister! He thought I would be alone in the house and broke in, but then Gran was home alone and he killed her. I should have been there instead," she said a little bit sadly, and it broke his heart.

"Sookie, if he ever hits you again, Eric won't be the only one he has to worry about. If anybody hurts you, I'll kill them and not because it's my job, but because you're a special person and you deserve better than that."

"Aw – you're sweet. See, we're friends now. You'll be part of the family in no time." She gave him a brilliant smile that made him sweat, and he smiled back at her. She jumped off the mattress then and did her thing where she lays across it and floats.

"Time to do your back?" he teased.

"Exactly. It's bad enough I have to have tan lines – I sure don't want half a tan!" she laughed and he laughed with her.

"Ow – Baby E is doing a happy dance!" she laughed.

"Did you wake him up?"

"I think it was the bloods. He loves it when I drink them."

"That's amazing how you know that. Is there anything he doesn't like?"

"He's not crazy about orange juice."

"He tells you that?"

"No, early on it made me nauseous, and now it just bugs him and I know it."

"I can't wrap my mind around the idea that Eric can feel him, too."

"He can, though, and Baby E loves Eric. I can't wait to see them together. 2 years ago, if you told me Eric Northman would be crazy about a baby, I'd have thought you meant he was having it for dinner," she laughed.

"He's a big scary dude."

"Yeah, but he's my big scary dude, and that's all I care about. I don't think he's scary, though, I think he's beautiful."

"I'm amazed he doesn't scare you with the stuff…" he stopped himself.

"What? Are we going to go through this again? Just say it and I'll tell you if I don't want to hear it."

"The stuff like tying you up or having sex out here where people can see."

"I love that stuff when he does it. I wouldn't let anyone else, of course, because I would never trust anybody else the way I trust Eric. If I'm with him, I always know I'll be OK. He will NEVER let anyone really hurt me and he'll push my limits for sure, but he won't ever really hurt me himself. He's helping me be more of who I really am."

"Who you really are or who he wants you to be?"

"I don't think there's a difference. I want to be what he wants. If I'm supposedly supposed to be sent to him by Freya, then who he wants must be who I really am, right?"

"I never thought of it that way."

"I think about it a lot. It confused me at first, but I get it now. I've got all these hang-ups from the culture I was raised in that I don't have to let limit me anymore. I don't have to be a "good girl" I just need to be Sookie and be happy, and I am really, really happy when Eric is happy with me."

"Oh, he's happy with you, and everybody knows it."

"That's good. I want people to know it so they'll leave us alone and let us be happy."

"And it doesn't bother you that he uses you to make himself look like a stud?" Bjorn was overstepping his bounds here and he knew it, but he had to say it.

"He doesn't "use" me to make himself look like anything – he IS a stud." She laughed, "he's_ fucking sex on wheels _and I couldn't be happier about that. I never knew you could feel some of the things he makes me feel. I never had any concept that people had orgasms that went on for days or made you feel like you're having a seizure. I never knew some things that seem kind of gross feel really, really good. I never knew the kind of excitement he makes me feel or the fear or just being swept away on a wave of sensation. I've talked enough with Bobbie to know that he doesn't just _think_ he's good, he really is _damned_ good. Women would kill to have what I have…"

Bjorn suddenly got a flash on Sabrina

"…and if it means I have to stretch a little or push myself to give him what he wants, then I'm happy to do it. I WANT to do it. He doesn't say "will you do this for me?" I say "tell me what I can do to make you happy." I'll do anything for him, even if it's hard for me, because I love him and I know how lucky I am."

"Do _you_ know how lucky _he_ is? Does he?"

"Absolutely. I'm made just for him. He said that all along and he was more right than even he knew."

"He's your dream and you're his dream?"

"Exactly. I always wanted a handsome Prince to swoop in and save me and he did, literally, more than once. He wanted a Southern Belle that wasn't like all the dark, hard women he knew. It's like he came to Louisiana looking just for me. He constantly tells me how lucky he feels and how much he loves me. He'd do anything for me, too. If I asked him to stop being King and walk away from everything he has, he would do it – he has offered to do it, but I won't ask that of him. You can't imagine the sacrifices he has already made for me. If he thinks I'm Freya come back to him, I'll do my damnedest to be that for him."

"He doesn't just think that, Sookie…"

"So he must be doing something right, don't you think?"

"I can't argue with that. If you're happy, Sookie, I'm happy. But if you ever decide you're not, I'm your friend and you can count on me, OK?"

"OK, that's a deal." She gave him the sweetest smile he had ever seen. Part of him was in awe of the Freya connection but another part of him just wanted to save her, not necessarily from Eric but from anything harsh or unpleasant in the world. He better never hear anyone refer to her with disrespect. He wouldn't tolerate that any more than Eric would.

Alicia came back out to talk about dinner and told Sookie she could have étouffé or huge fried shrimp, but Sookie asked for étouffé, of course, and Margaret was happy to make it, knowing Sookie could munch on it all night since she'd be home.

"So are you going with us to Las Vegas, Bjorn?" Sookie decided to change the subject after she was sure she had put his mind at ease. It was sweet that he was worried about her, but she had never felt safer in her life.

"Yes, I'm to be with you every day, any time you're awake."

"Gonna be my shadow, huh?" She was being girlish and cute now. Damn.

"You know it – I'll be right in front of you if anything happens."

"That's cool. I don't think Eric has any enemies there but I guess a King always has enemies whether he deserves them or not."

"Yes, ma'am, they do."

"You're calling me ma'am again," she sighed, "because we're talking about work."

"Yes, ma'am" He smiled at her affectionately and it made her feel a little flushed.

"Have you been to Vegas before?"

"A long time ago when I was a boy."

"Well, it can be really fun. Eric will let me play slot machines, I'm sure, and maybe he and Bill will play craps again if there's time – he'll get there later. Bobbie and I will shop and have lunch in the daytime – you'll go with us, right?"

"Right."

"Good, it will be more fun that way. The more, the merrier, right?"

"Something like that."

"You probably hate shopping, right?"

"Right," he laughed.

"I did last time, especially when Eric told me I had to spend so much before I came home."

"He what?"

"When we were there the last time, he told Bobbie to take me shopping and not to bring me home until I had spent at least $40,000!"

Bjorn was stunned. "He did?" He didn't know Eric was that rich before he was King.

"Yeah, he wants me to buy lots of clothes and jewelry. He says it makes him look good if I look nice, so I try to look really nice for him."

"I don't think you could look any other way, Sookie." He couldn't believe he said that.

"Thanks" Sookie said, blushing. She couldn't believe he said that.

Oh, man, she's blushing again. It was going to take some time for him to get her into perspective. No matter how much he respected the situation, she was still damned near irresistible. He absolutely meant what he said to Eric – he would respect their marriage, at least as long as Sookie was happy and right now she was freaking ecstatic – but he would need time to make himself immune to her charms, which were considerable – she was a Goddess, after all.

"Bjorn – why don't you stay and have some étouffé with us? You like it, don't you?"

"I've never had it."

"What?! How long have you been in Louisiana?"

"A year and a half."

"Oh, you have to try it. Margaret's is out of this world. Please stay and have some and you can tell Eric about your date with Felicia."

"There's not much to tell, but I guess I'd like to try the…."

"…étouffé. It's French for "smothered" because it's in a thick sauce. It's good – you like shrimp, right?"

"Yes, very much."

"Do you like spicy food?"

"Sometimes – depends on how spicy."

"You'll like it. Bobbie will be home tomorrow. Have you met her yet?"

"No, I don't think so."

"She's cool, she'll be out here with us in the pool now."

"That's nice." THANK YOU, FREYA! These intimate chats were dangerous, and he'd be glad to have a chaperone. "You'll be busy then, though, right?"

"We float some and we do my workout and then she gives me a massage. She has to start using a massage chair instead of a table now because I almost couldn't get on it last time." She was laughing at herself.

"I could lift you up on a table but that might not be a good idea."

"Yeah, probably best if Eric doesn't smell you on me. He has really acute senses because he's so old. If you get up against me, somebody better be shooting at us," she laughed but he knew she wasn't kidding. "Do you like to gamble?"

"Uh…" How much should he tell her? "Well, it depends. I really have to avoid poker, but I can play a slot machine or a little craps now and then."

"Why do you have to avoid poker? Do you have an addiction?"

"Some people might say so. I've had some trouble with it in the past."

"OK, well, we'll just keep you as far away from that as we can. I don't want you getting in trouble. Is it OK for you to go to Las Vegas?"

"Yes, ma'am, I'll be fine. I won't have time to get into trouble. I'll be trying to keep you out of trouble, and that sounds like a full time job," he was teasing her to get her off the subject. This was a sore point with him and he was kind of sorry he said anything about it. Not that she would use it against him, but just that it was a weakness and he didn't like people knowing his weaknesses.

"Do you like massages?"

"Depends on who's doing the massaging." He was still teasing her.

"I was thinking about Bobbie. She might give you a massage if you wanted. She's really good."

"Well, we'll see – not that I wouldn't like some body work, but she's here to work for you, so we'll see how that goes, OK?"

"OK. Have you been to New Orleans before? You're going there, too, right?"

"Yes, ma'am, you'll have to put up with me there, too."

"That's not a bit hard."

'Want to bet?' he thought to himself. 'It's plenty hard, sweetheart, and I need to get it soft before the King sees me.'

"Yes, the job I moved here for was in New Orleans. I only came up here when I heard about this job. I actually worked for Victor Madden for a bit after the other job fell through."

"You knew Victor? Were you loyal to him?"

"No, ma'am, and I left after only a few months. I didn't like the way he operated."

"He was a thief, you know?"

"No, I didn't know for sure, but there were rumors. Nobody liked the guy. He was full of himself, he thought he was smarter than everybody else and he used to say horrible things about de Castro. In my mind, you don't pledge fealty to someone then turn around and trash him. I'm not a vampire, but there's such a thing as a sense of honor or at least propriety. Madden was second in command – it was just wrong and I didn't want to be around the guy. He didn't pay that well, either. I knew Vincent and had been up to Sabrina' area a couple of times on under the table stuff Vincent clued me in to, then he told me he thought there was going to be a shake up in the vampire power structure and if I was smart I'd get myself to Shreveport because if it was the guy he thought it was, he paid well and was a good boss."

"Vincent knew about Eric?"

"Only a few days before hand, I think, but I didn't have any ties to New Orleans so I moved up here."

"You were able to move that quickly?"

"Yes, I was just living in a motel. I'm in a place up here is pretty much the same. I'll eventually find something more permanent, but I like not being tied to a lease."

"You're just living in a motel? Is it nice?"

"I wouldn't say it's nice – reasonably clean, though, and cheap, but it can be a little noisy at night. That ice machine is going 24/7," he laughed.

"Huh," Sookie said sort of to herself. She was thinking quickly. She didn't dare mention it until she talked to Eric, but it would be good if Bjorn moved in to the second floor. It would save him money, he'd be available more flexible hours, and Bobbie and Bill are already here most of the time – what's one more person?

"So Vincent wanted you to be my body guard?"

"Not exactly. Sabrina suggested I ask specifically for that."

"Oh, yeah, that's what you told Eric – she thought you'd get me in trouble?"

"Something like that. I think she was hoping we'd like each other too much."

"Well, at least she knows my type," Sookie laughed.

'She just told me I'm her type. Damn!' he thought.

"I think she figured it you went for one big Swede you might go for another."

"She's so mean. Eric says he hasn't been with her in ages and she's still a pain in his ass."

"Yeah, she's persistent. She's also vindictive and you don't want to take that too lightly. If she's ever around you and I'm not with you, make sure your guards are aware of it so they'll be extra careful, OK? She could be dangerous."

"I'll be careful. Besides, you'll be with me all the time, anyway."

"Just in case. I might have to miss part of one of the dances or something. Anything can happen and I want you to promise me that you won't be around her. If she shows up anywhere, any time, you get to Eric or one of your guards immediately and stay with him, OK?"

"OK. You don't think she'd be violent, do you?"

"Yes, Sookie, I'm afraid she might. She doesn't like people saying no to her and Eric said no in a big way. The fact that she wanted me here tells me she wanted to cause a problem. If she gets frustrated, she could lash out and she's an old, strong vampire. I don't want you getting hurt. You tend to be open and think the best of people, but I'm telling you, don't give her any benefit of the doubt or anything like that. I want you to consider her armed and dangerous. Eric is going to tell her to leave the Kingdom, but I've got a feeling she won't."

"Really? You think she'd just defy him like that?"

"She already did by sending me up for this job. She might be a physical danger to him, too, but I know she's a physical danger to you."

"OK, I promise, I'll be careful."

"Now that I'm thinking of it, I might suggest to Vincent that he hire a couple of female guards for you for day and night."

"Why?"

"So there's someone to go into the ladies' room with you."

"That's not necessary, is it?"

"I'll talk to Vincent and the King and see what they say. If it's left up to me, I don't want you unguarded, ever."

Sookie was taken aback that he thought there was real danger to her. Surely Sabrina wouldn't try to hurt her? Still, Bjorn knew her and he knew his job, so she'd better pay attention to what he says.

FIGHT! FIGHT! LOVE! HAPPY!

"Whoa – the baby is going crazy sending Fight. He usually only does that when Eric is around."

"Hello, Bjorn, Hello, my angel." Eric came out of the house barefoot in jeans and a Fangtasia t-shirt. He did that move where he sort of gracefully falls into a push up at the poolside and she paddled over to kiss him.

"No wonder the baby is yelling FIGHT – he must have felt you coming!"

"My son is very smart. I can feel him all the way from our bedroom to my resting place now."

"Wow – cool!" She finally reached him "Hi, Sweetie. Bjorn is having dinner with us, OK? He never had étouffee."

He reached down to rub her belly under the water. "As you wish, my lover. Margaret says it's nearly ready so you might want to dry off and put on some clothes." He smiled at her, not saying that he hated her being in that state of undress in front of a man when he wasn't around. He'd be glad when Bobbie got back. Letting people see them fuck from a distance at night was one thing, but this was "up close and personal" as they say and that was too much for Eric's comfort.

Sookie got out and was drying off when Alicia came out with a little turquoise terry tank dress she could slip over her suit. Eric was much happier with that and made a note to himself to give Alicia a bonus for thinking of that on her own. Sookie went in to comb her hair and Eric decided to play host, so he motioned for Bjorn to come in.

"So, Bjorn, did you have a good time at my club last night?" Eric was going to make an effort to be friendly because Bjorn had been forthcoming about Sabrina. He could easily have concealed that from him, but he did his duty and warned him. He had a sense of honor and Eric respected that.

"It was a good night. Felicia is very sweet and she introduced me to a lot of people. I met your brother-in-law and had a drink with him and Pam."

"Did he hit on Felicia in front of you?" Eric knew the answer already.

"The Queen asked me the same thing. I don't think he knows how to talk to a girl without hitting on her."

"That's an accurate observation. Was Pam there at the time?"

"Yes, but she just laughed at him. She's not the jealous type, I guess."

"I fail to understand why Pam finds him so entertaining. She deserves much better."

"I think he's just a good time to her. She made a comment about him being "uncomplicated." I got the impression he was just no-strings sex."

"Yes, well, I want her to enjoy herself but I want her to be safe as well. Stackhouse is a magnet for trouble and he's stupid. If he were to get Pam hurt, my wife would be an only child and she would be very sad about that. He'd already be dead if it were not for Sookie. He has never treated her as a brother should, and I would be well within my rights to kill him for things he has done to her, but she has no other family left and it would cause her grief. I warned her though that if he ever strikes her again or is any threat to my child, he's a dead man."

"That sounds reasonable to me. If he were to strike her again, he'd have two of us to worry about. I won't allow any harm to come to her from anyone."

Eric nodded. He liked that. Sookie came back in and handed Alicia her wet suit, not thinking that everyone was aware she was naked under the little terry dress.

"Are we ready to sit down?" Sookie was playing hostess now.

Eric pointed to the seat next to him on the back side of the table for Bjorn. He sat at the head of the table, and Sookie sat in her usual spot beside him with her back to the cooking area.

Margaret set utensils down for them all and brought Bjorn and Sookie a big bowl of rice.

"What would you like to drink, Bjorn?"

"Iced tea, I guess?" That was the only thing he knew they had.

"Alright then, I'll get that for you."

She came back and put a huge dutch oven full of the shrimp concoction and a big ladle in the middle of the table. She came back with tea for Bjorn, a cold RM for Sookie and a warm RM for Eric.

Sookie ladled some shrimp into Bjorn's bowl, then some over hers.

"What is this dish, my angel, it smells heavenly?"

"It smells good to you? It's Shrimp étouffee. Do you want to try a bite?"

"Yes, I do. Margaret, may I have a small bowl with just a bit of rice in it?" Eric was really curious because it smelled so good.

"Of course, Mr. Northman, here you go." She hustled over and gave him a small dish of rice and a fork. Sookie poured some étouffee on it, making sure he got a couple of nice shrimp. Bjorn was fascinated. Was he actually going to see a vampire eat food?

"This is a shrimp?" Eric asked

"Uh-huh, and it's got onions, peppers, celery but I guess no garlic, and spices and stuff in a sauce they call a "roux.""

Eric stabbed a shrimp and picked it up, sniffing it and shrugged, then ate it. They looked at him, and he scooped up some rice soaked with the vegetables and sauce.

"This is delicious," he said. "Very tasty."

"Margaret's cooking is so good even a vampire can eat it!" Sookie laughed and they laughed with her. "It really is wonderful, Margaret."

"Aw – thank you, Missus!"

"Bjorn, what do you think?"

"It's a little spicy, but it's really good. These shrimp are huge!"

"Yeah, you should have seen the ones she used the other day. They looked more like lobster tails. Margaret knows where to get the good seafood. Did you tell Eric you are seeing Felicia again tonight?"

Eric raised his eyebrows in interest. This was good news.

"Oh, no, but yeah, I'm going to pick her up when she gets off work tonight."

"That is good. She's an honorable person." Eric said. He rarely complimented anyone but Sookie so that was a big deal. "If you ask for her, remember that there are two Felicia's who tend bar at Fangtasia. There's a tall, light-skinned African-Asian woman, and there's your Felicia Rubens."

"Rubens is a good name for her – she sort of looks like one of his paintings."

"She might be one of his paintings. She spent a century or so roaming around the art scene in Europe."

"She's going to take me to some after-hours place that's for Supes only. I don't remember the name."

"The Asylum," Eric remembered.

"I didn't know there was one of those around here." Sookie said.

"Oh, yes, my angel, they opened it over a year ago."

"How come we've never been there?" Sookie asked.

"I did not know you would want to go. I thought we spent too much time at Fangtasia as it was."

"But we could go on a real date there, couldn't we?"

"A real date? Balls and formal events are not enough?"

"Those are work, Eric. We could go there and just be us, by ourselves, couldn't we?"

"Well, not quite – we are…" he looked to see Margaret was out of the room, "royals now. We would have an entourage with us."

"Oh, yeah. Oh, well – like you said, balls and formal events are like dates. We get to get dressed up and be out and dance."

"Yes, we do." He leaned toward her and looked her right in the eye. "We will be sure to dance together at the Sheriff's Ball. I'll make you fly, and let everyone see your beautiful blonde hair flow and glisten in the lights."

She beamed at him and said "Oh, now I can't wait. Even if it is work."

"Do not think of it as work, Sookie, think of it as a party you are throwing. You will be hostess and get to meet everyone. You always enjoy making sure people are comfortable and cared for. You already made changes to suit your taste, did you not?'

"Yes, I did. I even changed the color of the decorations to match my dress."

Bjorn laughed a little – that was such a cute, girl thing to do.

"You already have your dress, yes?" Eric asked.

"Yes, and I've got a couple I can wear in New Orleans, too."

"You and Bobbie will shop while we are at the Bellagio, too, I am sure. Bjorn, you help Bobbie make her spend money."

"Make her spend money? I never heard of a girl that didn't like to spend money."

"My Sookie feels that she doesn't deserve expensive things. We're all trying to get her to understand that she has all the money she could possibly spend, and that it is not a bad thing to spend money and enjoy it."

"I don't know if I'd say I don't deserve them… I just feel selfish spending money on me. It's one thing to spend it on the baby, but I don't need to spend thousands of dollars on clothes."

"But they look so beautiful on you, Sookie, and you know you feel beautiful when you are wearing something that is almost as pretty as you are."

"Why don't you like to shop? Most girls would kill to get to shop in designer stores and buy whatever they want." Bjorn was amazed.

"Sookie grew up very poor, and so she learned to be thrifty and sacrifice so she didn't burden her grandmother, who raised her and her brother. Then, it was a virtue for her to be modest and be content with lesser quality clothes and cars and other things, and she learned not to want because it would have seemed selfish or greedy when her grandmother was doing all she could for them. When we first dated, there was the additional problem of not wanting to seem like a "kept woman." Now, she is my wife, and she can easily have the very best of everything and lots of it, but she is stifled by her upbringing." He brushed her hair back from her face. "I want her to relax and enjoy all of the advantages she has, and build a beautiful life for herself. She deserves all good things, and I am able to provide them. I want to spoil and pamper her as she deserves to be spoiled and pampered." He smiled at her and stroked her cheek and she beamed at him.

"Wow – I never knew anybody that would have a problem with that. It's really sweet, but if it's not necessary anymore, relax and make the most of the gifts you have." Bjorn said. Why couldn't he meet a sweet girl like that? He could afford a girlfriend like that – he was able to buy a girl presents now and again, and a girl like Sookie would appreciate it a lot more than most of the women he had been with who always wanted more. It occurred to him that he would probably never meet that kind of girl hanging in Supe bars.

"Felicia is a girl like that, to an extent." Eric said.

"She is?" Bjorn didn't know this. Eric had his full attention.

"She is always very appreciative of any small kindness or gift. I make sure she gets some sort of small recognition regularly because it means so much to her. "

"Eric, you do?" This was news to Sookie.

"Yes, such a virtue should be rewarded. It would be very easy for her to be scheming and acquisitive like most other vampire women, but she has retained her human sweetness and gratitude. When she doesn't have a suitor to provide such remembrances, I see to it that she gets something special through her work now and then to keep her spirits up. She needs a man smart enough to know a good thing when he sees it. There aren't many of them walking around these days. Do not tell her that I do it, though, or it will lessen the benefit to her. The effect would be lessened if she came to expect it."

"I told you she was one of his favorites." Sookie teased.

Eric smiled and drank his RM. He didn't confirm or deny it, so Bjorn knew it was true. Eric thought a lot of Felicia and it was a compliment to him that he chose to introduce him to her. This was a big deal. He was glad he liked Felicia, because being with her could keep him on Eric's good side if he treated her well, and he would.

"Eric, did you know where Bjorn is living?"

"No, I assumed he has an apartment somewhere. Where do you live?" Eric asked him.

"I'm in a motel for now. I just came to Shreveport to check out a job and I don't have a permanent place yet."

"Do you make enough money to afford that?" Sookie asked. Eric already knew what she was driving at, but he was going to make her work for it a little.

"I make a good living, but it gets a little expensive if it goes on for too long. I don't like being tied into a lease, though."

Sookie was looking at Eric and he laughed.

"Bjorn, would you like to move into our second floor? There are extra rooms there, and it wouldn't cost you anything for rent or food – you'd eat with us. You'd be more available to Sookie if she needed you, or if we want you to drive us in the evening." Eric suggested. "I would adjust your salary upward to cover your additional availability."

"The best room for you is set up for the birth right now, but you could stay in the yellow room until after and then move into the one with the bathroom and the masculine theme." Sookie suggested.

"I would be putting you out, though…"

"Not really. Bobbie and Bill will be here most of the time anyway. You'd have Monday nights off because that's Eric's night off, at least for now. Everything is kind of in flux now and evolving as we adjust to the changes."

"Felicia lives nearby, and you might not be here much anyway in your off hours. Why pay for a hotel room you will never be in?" Eric added.

"You sure this is a good idea?"

"My wife thinks it is a good idea and you are _her_ bodyguard. I don't see any harm and it would be convenient to have you around if we need you. Our staffing needs are evolving as we adjust to the new positions and the baby. If you don't mind being in the house with a newborn, you're welcome to stay here. Check out of your motel in the morning and bring your things here. Do you need a moving van?"

"No, your majesty, I sort of live out of my car because I move around a lot. I've got two bags at the motel and that's it."

"Alright, then, when you come to work tomorrow, bring your things and move in. You'll be settled before Sookie even wakes up. I'll tell Vincent you are going to live in and we'll adjust your job description and salary. If you find it's not to your liking, you're under no obligation to stay."

"Thank you, your majesty."

"Oh, good. I love the idea! Oh, excuse me, I'll be back." Sookie popped up and ran into the den and they heard the bathroom door close.

"Margaret, I'll need to get you some more help and a raise – is that alright with you?"

"Oh, yes, Mr. Northman, I love having all these handsome young people to cook for. I was thinking maybe we'd just increase the hours for the two part-time girls?"

"That might be a good idea. Where is Alicia?"

"She has been in Mrs. Northman's new office for some time now. I'm not sure what's going on."

Sookie came back from the bathroom.

"Are you alright, Sookie?" Eric was pretty sure what happened, but he wanted to be sure. She stopped next to his chair and took his hand.

"It's one of those being pregnant things."

"Needing to urinate frequently?" Eric was sometimes clinical in describing bodily functions that he only read about, which could be a little embarrassing to a Southern girl.

"Yes, it's starting to get bad. I almost had to get out of the pool today."

"As I understand it, this will only get worse, will it not?"

"Yes, as the baby starts putting weight on my bladder it might get really bad. I'm starting to feel really conscious of it now, all the time. You know it might slow me down a little or affect what I can do…"

"Sookie, I told you, do not worry about things like that. We'll do what we have to do for you to be comfortable, and if it's not comfortable, we won't do it."

"OK – I just don't want to be a drag."

"You are not a drag, my angel, you are a miracle. Every minute I am with you is a miracle – I don't care what we are doing, as long as we are together."

She wrapped her arms around him and leaned against him as he sat.

"Sookie, I think you should check on what Alicia is doing in your office. She may have something that needs your attention."

"Oh, OK, I'll be back." She headed for her office and Eric turned back to Bjorn.

"She is very self-conscious about the effects of the pregnancy on her. I keep telling her she is the most beautiful thing I have ever seen and I mean that. I care more for her comfort than anything. We have a long life together, and this will only be a short time. I want her to embrace it and enjoy it rather than apologizing for it."

"It does make things slow down, though, plus the weight turns a lot of men off."

"I am not "a lot of men." I know the value of this process. I love the roundness and the ripeness of her now – the scent of her and the taste of her are intoxicating. Being in her presence means more to me than anything we do. Even if we could never have sex again, I would be with her."

"Isn't that a big part of your relationship, though?"

"We enjoy each other because we can, but if we could not, I would still love her. I have spent many centuries in darkness and alone. Sookie is the only light in my world. That means more to me than sex – I've had sex a million times with thousands of women. I have only known one Sookie."

"Eric – I've got a bunch of papers I need to go through about some upcoming events, so Alicia and I will have to work on it for a while – is that OK?" She walked up and put her hand on his shoulder, and he reached his hand up and covered it.

"Of course, my angel, you have your duties as Queen. I will check my messages and email and then see how you are progressing."

"Thanks. See you in a bit." She kissed him. "See you later, Bjorn! Have a good night."

"Good night, your majesty," he said, getting a brilliant smile from her. He turned to Eric. "She's a good Queen, isn't she?"

"Yes, she has risen to the challenge admirably. Considering all the changes she has had to adjust to, I think she is doing a remarkable job."

"She's already very popular. Everyone is talking about her."

"Yes, and that will grow every time she is presented in public. She is going to be a shining star," Eric laughed, knowing his subjects would love her almost as much as he did.

"She reflects well on you."

"Yes – she makes me very proud. And I know people think I must have some good in me if she loves me so much. Her light shines on everyone around her," he laughed.

"You should ask Vincent to hire at least one female guard for her for night and day. Someone who can go into the ladies' room with her."

"I never thought about that. Do you think that is necessary?"

"Yes, your majesty, I do."

"All right, then, I will mention it to Vincent." His cell phone rang, and he pulled it out. "It's Bill Compton. I should take this."

"I need to be on my way. I'll see you tomorrow, your majesty. Thank you for your offer. I'll move my things in tomorrow as you said."

"Good night, then. Hello, Bill – did you find out anything?"

Bill was excited "Yes, I think we have traced most of the missing funds to three accounts in the Cayman Islands. We have partials of two of the account numbers and we think the full numbers will be found in the house somewhere. Any ideas of where to look?"

"Yes. Did he have a desk?"

"Yes."

"Tell them to take the drawers out and turn them upside down."

"You're kidding?"

"No, I'm not kidding. Look written on the bottoms of the drawers, probably the bottom one, if it's made that way."

"It is. Let me call the residence and get back to you."

"Alright. Let me know what they find."

Even if they found the numbers, Eric was going to tear Victor's residence apart when he was there, because he knew Victor would have an escape fund secreted away somewhere and Bill hadn't found it yet. He also knew there would be at least one account in Switzerland that no one but Victor would have known about. These Cayman Island accounts were easier to trace but the Swiss account would be well hidden. If they could find most of this money, it would more than cover the reconstruction and turn New Orleans into a moneymaker again. At some point, he might enlist Amelia's aid at the residence to see if she could find anything, if he was not successful.

He went up to check his email – he had an application from a resident of Sabrina's area to move into Area 5. Normally he would forward that to Pam or Vincent but he had a feeling about this so he gave the man a call.

"Hello"

"Sebastian Taylor, please."

"This is he."

"This is Eric Northman."

"Hello, your majesty – what can I do for you?" He was obviously nervous at being called directly by the King. Eric liked that.

"I want you to tell me honestly and with complete candor why you wish to leave Area 3."

"Well, sire, I, uh…"

"Be honest and say it outright."

"I have a conflict with the Sheriff here."

"What did Sabrina do?"

"She's charging double the tribute for certain businesses. Everyone knows they weren't raised but she claims they were and I can't afford to pay double."

"Do you really want to move your business or would you be happier to stay where you are under a different Sheriff."

"I do like the location of my business now, your majesty. Is Sheriff Maxwell leaving?"

"Yes, she is, but she doesn't know it yet. Hang tight for a week or so and I think you'll find your situation improves."

"Thank you, your majesty."

Double tribute, eh, Sabrina? That's a trick he'd expect from someone like Madden. Then again, Sabrina is beginning to look as if she IS someone like Madden and he's not going to tolerate any scheming from his Sheriffs. Technically, she has already plotted against the Queen, and she's stealing from her subjects, if not from the Crown. The phone rang.

"Bill?"

"Yes, Eric, they found 2 numbers under one of the drawers. They seem to correspond to the partial numbers we have so we should be able to figure out what the whole number is."

"Bill, is there a forensic accountant in the employ of the New Orleans office?"

"Yes, I believe the financial manager is qualified for that. What do you need?"

"I want a complete audit of Area 3's books, immediately. If he can leave tonight, I'd prefer that. I don't want Sabrina to know about it until he arrives and I want him accompanied by armed guards."

"Are you expecting trouble?"

"I'm expecting we're going to find Sabrina skimming off tribute. I just found out she's been charging her some of her subjects double."

"She couldn't think she would get away with that?"

"Sabrina is crazy, Bill. Niall was right about her. She should never have been put in charge. She's too vindictive and she plays "favorites" in ways that sow dissension among the people she's supposed to be serving. Remember that before now, her bosses were Victor and Felipe. I have no doubt she was sleeping with both of them when it served her purposes and they let her get away with these little games."

"She absolutely had sex with de Castro when we were all in Las Vegas."

"I thought so. At any rate, I want her caught and then I'm going to banish her."

"Really?"

"Yes, she has also been scheming against Sookie, but the little trap she tried to set sold her out."

"Trap?"

"A big, blond Swedish bodyguard she sent our way. When he figured out what Sabrina was up to, he told me about it. I think he used to work for Madden, so she probably thought he'd go along if he figured it out."

"Did you retain him?"

"Yes, he'll continue as Sookie's bodyguard. He's got spectacular credentials and I believe he and I have reached an understanding. He's going to be living on the second floor starting tomorrow."

"Sookie's idea, I assume?"

"Exactly, though it is a logical solution to the problem of where he should live and it will make him more available when she needs him. I'll engage him to drive for us some evenings this way – it lets me focus more on Sookie's needs."

"You know Bobbie and I will be back tomorrow, unless you'd prefer I not be there?"

"No, no, feel free. I think it's good to have people around the house with Sookie. She thinks of everyone as family and she loves the company."

"You're being very generous, Eric."

"I'm very happy, Bill, so I can afford to be magnanimous," he laughed.

"Yes, I suppose you can. Is Pam on vacation now?"

"Yes, she left today."

"Who is running Fangtasia?"

"Vincent is training as Pam's second and I will be going in every night this week in case he needs anything. People who have requested audiences were directed to show up then. If you're available, I'd like you to be there, too. We can continue to look over your books and see what needs to be done."

"That's fine – I'll be glad to be able to bend your ear on some of these things. I have two pages of questions for you already."

"Well, good, maybe we'll get caught up before I have to leave for Las Vegas. How are the plans for the benefit on July 3rd going?"

"We're getting swamped with requests for tickets from literally all over the world. Everyone wants to see the new American Vampire King and Queen they've heard about."

"I'm sure you're exaggerating, Bill."

"No, Eric, I'm not. Even the other royals want to meet you and Sookie. I've never seen anything like it, certainly not among vampires. Hollywood executives and movie stars are offering huge donations if we'll squeeze them in. Russell and Carolina both dropped your name to get seated at your table."

"You did accommodate them, I hope?"

"Of course I did, Eric – I remember they were at the wedding and offered to back you then. It wasn't easy, though, because there are some serious players who insist on sitting with you, too. We don't dare say 'no' to the Pitt family."

"Pitt? As in Brad and Angelina?"

"Exactly. He's heavily into the reconstruction efforts and they own a house there now. He specifically demanded they be seated with you and Sookie."

"He has actually heard of us?"

"He knows all about you. He asked if you were really 6 and a half feet tall and looked like a young man, did you really have long blond hair, and he asked if Sookie was really that beautiful and whether it was true that she was telepathic. Eric, I'm telling you - he knew about Rhodes and what Sookie did there! I didn't know any humans knew about anything but the bombs."

"Why would they care about us?"

"Between you and me, I think they're queer for vampires. He played a vampire in that movie, remember, and she was famous for practicing blood rites with one of her husbands. There used to be that rumor that she WAS vampire. They'd be the first people I'd expect to show an interest in an attractive vampire King and Queen, especially since Sookie is pregnant, and you know how they love children."

"And humans know that there is a vampire power structure? Is this going to be a problem?"

"I think as long as we aren't in direct conflict with their authorities that they'll leave it to us to organize ourselves as we choose. If it becomes a problem, though, I thought of a possible solution…"

"And that would be…?"

"Claim it's a religion. If it's a religion, we could insist on functioning the way the Catholic Church does, handling our transgressors internally and determining our own hierarchy."

Eric laughed out loud. "You know, that might work. If it becomes a problem, I'll take that to the Council. I'll give you credit, of course."

"I don't know that I'd want it, but it's one way we can approach the whole thing if there's any backlash. You and Sookie need to be prepared for the receptions you'll receive here and in Las Vegas – the mayor of New Orleans is considering a parade in your honor."

"A parade? In the daytime?"

"No, midnight in the Quarter - to draw new vampires into the area. We're the only ones with money right now. It would be your own little Mardi Gras," he laughed wryly. Bill didn't know whether to be jealous, chagrined or amused by it all. "I hope you have enough security. I'll be assigning extra guards to you while you are there and you should make sure Sandy does the same thing."

"We're bringing 7 with us."

"I don't think that's enough."

"You're kidding?"

"No, Eric, I'm not. I think you need at least twice that many."

"Do you have guards at your house yet?"

"Yes, I have two on each shift. I called Vincent as you suggested because there were signs someone had been around the outside of the house."

"Good – I think we'd better err on the side of caution."

"That's even more true for you, Eric. You have a high profile right now. Everyone is watching you – don't let them see any weakness in your defenses. Someone will use it against you."

"Alright, then. Let me know if you manage to get hold of any of those missing funds. What are you going to do about contractors?"

"I went over the bids and made some notes. I think there are two companies we can get to do work at the same time. I want to get as much done as possible before the weather turns."

"Alright then, we'll talk more tomorrow night. Thank you, Bill."

"Good night."

Eric was glad they were making some progress there. The Nevadas and the Louisianas should be two of the most lucrative Kingdoms in the country, even with the reconstruction, if they'd just had a little good management. Well, Eric was going to get things in order as quickly as he could so they'd be making a profit soon. Profitable Kingdoms didn't have to kowtow to the Council as much as those that struggled, and Eric fully intended to set things up so he'd be as independent as possible. He needed to get in touch with the Council to find out if they were behind in their tribute and how much. Best not to wait until they came to him. He decided he couldn't put it off any longer and dialed the phone.

"Northman – nice to hear from you."

"Hello, Niall. I thought you might be able to give me some idea how far behind de Castro left me with the tribute to the Council."

"He was approximately $5,000,000 behind. We would, however, consider forgiving the debt completely if you would be willing to do a little favor for the Council."

Oh, shit – here it comes. Eric braced himself.

"And what might that be, Niall?"

"It's actually a pleasant little task. When your son is 6 weeks old, we'd like for your little family to pose for some official pictures."

"Pictures of my family? As in Sookie, the baby and I?"

"Precisely. You'll work with a world-renowned photographer and they'll be used for official purposes. Do this, and we'll zero out your tribute and you'll start completely fresh with the New Year."

"What's the catch, Niall?" Eric hated dealing with Fae more than anything. There was always an ulterior motive.

"No catch. Your little family will simply be the new face of the vampire community. We've decided that we need to create a more positive image now that you are out among humans and what could be more pleasant than a family of attractive blue-eyed blondes, a mixed vampire/human marriage, and a miracle baby to boot. One couldn't design a better situation for our purposes, now could they?"

"In other words, you want to use my family to de-fang our image and make us more palatable to humans?"

"I knew you'd have an immediate grasp of the concept. We need to lighten the vampire profile in preparation for the Weres' pending announcement."

"So when you say "official purposes," you mean publication?"

"Yes, exactly. There's a wave of excitement in the territories about your spectacular ascension and it seems to be spilling over into human society, so we might as well cash in on it."

"I'll have to speak to Sookie about this."

"Speak firmly and persuasively because we'll call you with the arrangements after the child is born."

"So we have no choice in the matter?"

"Give my love to Sookie. I'll expect a call when the child is born." CLICK.

'The son of a bitch hung up on me' Eric thought to himself, 'and now I have to explain to Sookie that we're about to be the poster family for inter-order marriages.'

OK, might as well call Sandy and see what's going on there.

"Yes, your majesty?"

"Good evening, Sandy, how are things?"

"Things are fine – we're making final preparations for the Sheriff's Ball. A lot of people are wanting to attend that wouldn't normally be interested or included and we aren't quite sure what to do about it."

"What sort of people?"

"Famous people, government officials, wealthy people. What should we do?"

"How many guests are normally allowed the regents?"

"20 over and above their entourage."

"Can we accommodate 30 per regent?"

"Yes, since the Queen changed the menu,"

"Alright, then, 30 more – outsiders must apply through the regent in their territories. I want this to remain a vampire-centric event. If they aren't connected enough to our world to get in through their regent, I don't want them there. Fax a list of those in my territories that wish to attend and I'll approve the 60 I want."

"Yes, your majesty. Did you receive the travel arrangements?"

"I haven't checked my mail yet."

"They should have arrived today. You'll be traveling at night for all legs of the trip so you can be with your wife as you travel – we heard there was a problem last time."

"Good. There will be people there who could care for her but I'll feel much better if I'm with her."

"Yes, your majesty – it's easier to keep you safe, as well."

"Yes, I suppose it would be. Anything else you need?"

"Not tonight, sire – I'll fax the offer on the bar we discussed and the financials for this week. If you decide to sell, you can sign the papers when you get here."

"Alright. Good night, Sandy."

'Travel arrangements – those might be in Sookie's office, and it's time to check on her anyway, so that's next' he told himself.

He walked silently to the door of Sookie's office to see if he could hear how she was doing before she saw him. She was discussing their calendar, and Sookie had clear ideas about how she wanted to handle events through the holidays. She was speaking with some authority and only occasionally asking questions of Alicia. She was learning the ropes quickly.

"Hello, ladies."

"Hi, sweetie!"

"Alicia, did I receive a package from Las Vegas today?"

"Yes, sir, it's right here." She reached for the inbox and handed him the envelope.

He tore into it and found their plane tickets and itinerary with a special card from Anubis welcoming the King and his entourage to their airlines and describing the security features they would provide. They would be traveling alone with their entourage because the airlines didn't want to risk putting extra passengers whose identities couldn't be verified in with them, so there was extra room on the plane if they needed to expand their party. Eric didn't think doubling the guard was necessary, since it was easier to do at the destinations, but he did decide to tell Vincent to add a guard to each shift, so there would be 2 more total. He also planned to talk to Vincent about whether they needed female guards for Sookie.

Sandy had written that Felipe's private chambers had been completely cleaned and set up for he and Sookie to use, and that the personal items had been sorted and boxed for their perusal. She had also arranged an armed guard to bring them from the airport to the residence, which seemed excessive to Eric, but Sandy insisted it was absolutely necessary. Eric couldn't remember that ever being done for Felipe, or even Sophie Ann, but he also felt Sandy might know something about the situation that he didn't.

"Eric?"

"Yes, my angel"

"You look concerned. Is everything OK?"

"Yes, I'm just mystified at the levels of security everyone is suggesting. Bill wanted me to double our guard for the trip and Sandy is arranging an armed escort from the airport. Bill even said they're considering a midnight parade for us in the Quarter when we arrive in New Orleans."

"You're kidding – why would they do all of that?"

"Bill and Sandy claim we are drawing a great deal of attention. The Council apparently agrees because they're demanding that we pose for an official photograph when the baby is 6 weeks old."

"An official photo? What does that mean?"

"They're planning to use our family to make the vampire image more attractive to humans. They feel that we are young and attractive, we are an inter-order marriage, we have a unique child – we're the face they want to put on the vampire community."

"Is that a good idea? To draw that much attention to us and the baby?"

"I'm not sure. On one hand, the more visible we are the harder it is for someone to attack us – on the other hand, the more attention we draw the more likely someone is to want to try. The point is moot, however, because the Council is insisting on it and they've offered to clear 5 million dollars tribute that Felipe was behind to them. The kingdom would start the New Year without debt to them. That would be a huge advantage for the entire kingdom."

"5 million? Felipe was that far behind?"

"Oh, yes – I expected it to be a lot, because I could tell from the books that there was no way he'd be making his payments, but that's far more than I had anticipated. Getting that debt cleared is a great benefit to everyone. It means that once our businesses in New Orleans are functioning again, the Louisianas would be solvent and making money again, and it would let me make the Nevadas even more profitable in a much shorter span of time. We could do in one year what might take 5 otherwise."

"That is big. Why would they be so generous?"

"Good question. I think it is because they know we'd prefer not to do it, and ultimately they want what is best for the subjects in the territories. They'll shoulder the loss if it lets us get the kingdoms functioning as they should again. I wonder if they'd have been so negative toward de Castro if he had been a better manager. His ambition led him to put not only his own territory in jeopardy, but Sophie Ann's as well, and that was too large an area for them to tolerate losses in. Felipe and Victor were putting the entire country in jeopardy with losses like these. It really was the best for everyone to get rid of them and get a competent regent in place."

"You're more than competent, Eric. You're honorable and smart. They saw a way to go from the worst to the best in a couple of easy steps."

"I don't know if Felipe and Victor would consider them easy, but they do seem to have been the best way to play the hand they were dealt. How are you progressing with your work, Sookie? When will you be done for the night?"

"Alicia, we're wrapping up, right?"

"Yes, Mrs. Northman. You just need to sign these two faxes and I'll send them off, then you're done."

"Alright, then, Sookie, when you are done, take the elevator up to the 4th floor. I want to show you some things."

"Ok, I'll meet you up there."

He kissed her and zipped up the stairs to the gym, where he looked over his selection of swords. He was going to give Sookie a very basic lesson in fighting, just so she'd know the feel of a sword in her hand and know how to swing one. He'd start with a katana and a tachi, but then have her try a long sword as well. He was wondering if she'd be strong enough to handle one, but he was thinking that with the quantity of his blood she had consumed and the adrenaline if they were ever under attack she should be able to do what she needed to do.

He looked at the many swords displayed on the wall of the gym. He had killed with every one of them and there were at least 30. He used the katanas most because they were easy to smuggle the way he did when he put the lead-lined false bottom in the travel boxes for air travel. His guards would certainly have swords and guns with them as they traveled this time and he knew Anubis expected that from vamps in general and vampire royalty in particular. Sookie would never be unguarded but things happen, and if it came down to it, he wanted her to at least know the feel of swinging a sword.

He took down a basic, but razor-sharp, katana, a custom made jian, the $18,000 tachi, a modern version of a "Vikingsverd" and a long-sword. He didn't want to wear her out, but he wanted her to do several swings with each one so she'd know what it was like. He laid them out on a table beneath the display, picking them up one at a time and swinging them around, feeling their balance, stretching his muscles a bit, trying to imagine how it would be for a small girl like Sookie to handle these weapons.

"Hey, Sweetie – what are we doing?"

"Sookie, I want to show you a bit about swords."

"Is this like my first lesson or something?"

"Something like that. I want you to spend a little time working with them. Now, these are all deadly sharp, so you handle them with care. Also, don't drop them or bang them around - you don't want to ruin the blades."

"Why so many different kinds?"

"I want you to try different sizes and I wanted to teach you a little bit about fighting."

She puffed her cheeks out and blew out the air.

"Don't worry, my angel, we won't work too long. This is just to get you familiar with the feel. Now hold this Katana."

She took the sword in both hands and held it out. "What makes it a katana and not just another sword?"

"Good question. Some people think that all Japanese swords are katanas, but they aren't. This is a katana because the blade is curved through the forging and folding process, it is single edged and light. See this wavy coloration in the blade? That's from the manufacture process where the metal is folded to give it strength. Cheap swords will have such a discoloration etched into the metal to make them look like this, but this one is properly forged."

"How do you know that?"

"I stood there and watched as it was created. It took weeks, but I watched the entire process, and the man who made it was a master,"

"OK – really valuable, huh?"

"Yes, my angel, these are all valuable, but knowing what to do with them is more so. Now, there are four basic parts of a sword – the blade, the guard here that protects your hand, the handle, which may be long for use with 2 hands as this one is, or short for singlehanded use. The bulbous part on the end is called the pommel."

"I thought a pommel was part of a saddle?"

"Same word, same source, different items. This pommel provides a bit of counterweight to add balance to the sword, and it can be used as a weapon, itself. The cover of a sword is called …"

",,, a scabbard, I know that one." She was proud of herself and he was pleased that she knew the word.

"Ok, good. Now, let's step back here so we have more room." He led her into the center of the room, facing the mirror. He stood behind her, squared off her shoulders and guided her arms and upper body slowly through two slicing movements as she held the handle in both hands."

"Good, Sookie. Keep the blade up and picture where you want the sword to go. If you are facing an enemy, you don't just want to strike at his neck – you want to aim through the neck to the other side. You are aiming for the other side, and using all your force to get there. Now, try this." He guided her into a full, flat, side to side swing. "Now do that slowly, 5 times."

She planted her feet and concentrated. He made little adjustments to her stance as she moved, but she essentially understood how to move the sword.

"That's actually better than I expected, Sookie. Now, do that quickly, keeping the blade up and flat."

She did it pretty well. He was impressed that she seemed to have a natural feel for this blade.

"Alright, Sookie, now do that quickly, 10 times."

She gripped the blade and swung. She started to drop the blade around the 4th move and he told her "up, Sookie" and she brought the blade up where it should be.

"I kind of like this," she said.

"You have a natural feel for it – I'm surprised at how well you can handle this blade, but it's a small sword. I think I'll use this one for your first training sessions. For this lesson, though, I want you to try several different types. You never know what you might have to fight with. This one is Chinese, and it's called a Jian. Look at the tip of the blade, how it's the same on both sides as it moves back toward the handle. This sword is double edged, so you can cut with either side, as well and stab with it. Now, let's try those moves again,"

He guided her through the moves and she did all right, but not as well as with the katana. Interesting. He picked up the Viking sword.

"That looks more like a machete."

"This is based on the swords Vikings used. It's meant to be used one handed, so you could have another weapon in the other hand. It was used for chopping moves, like this." He demonstrated a top to bottom chopping move. She took it from him.

"This is heavy to be so short."

"Yes, the use of it means it has a heavier blade. Of course, the art of making swords was relatively new to us then, so they were not as fine as the swords used in Asia. Try to move it up and down, without letting it fall – keep control of it."

He helped her make the moves and figured if she ever needed to she could chop away at someone with one, but it wasn't going to be a weapon of choice for her. Her arms didn't quite have the strength to control it on the downswing.

"Alright, let's try this one. It's a long sword, and you probably won't run into many of these, but I want to see if you can lift it at all."

She planted her feet and was able to raise the sword with some concentration. She tried the side to side move, but it was hard – her wrists weren't quite strong enough to keep the blade flat.

"Good try, Sookie. As I said, you aren't likely to encounter one, but at least I know you could swing it if you had to."

"I'm not swinging it very well, though."

"But you did swing it, so I know that if you had a rush of adrenaline, you could handle it well enough. We'll build your arms with the smaller swords and soon you will be wielding this like a knight of the realm," he teased her. "This is a very expensive sword. It's a Japanese blade, called a Tachi. It's a little longer than the katana and a little more curved. They were used mostly from horseback, but I want you to try it anyway."

She took the sword and went through the movements he had shown her, doing a really good job, moving slowly at first, then speeding up. Eric didn't have to tell her to keep the blade up and she handled it smoothly in spite of it's length.

"Very good, Sookie. See how if you were on horseback, it would be good for slicing downward?"

"Yeah, it kind of naturally wants to go that way, doesn't it."

"OK, now let's go back to the katana. Most of the fights you encounter these days will be with one of these."

"Yeah, I've seen them around – you defended Sophie Ann with one, right after you kissed me, remember?"

"Yes, of course I remember. Kissing a beautiful blonde and defending my Queen in a fight is a great day in my book," he laughed.

"A beautiful blonde, huh?"

"The most beautiful blonde I have ever seen. Now, show me your moves with the katana."

She went through the side to side moves he showed her quickly and gracefully ten times.

"Very good, Sookie. You may be quite a swordswoman with a little work. Try this" He guided her through a vertical slicing move, then moved into a side swing. Sookie copied him slowly at first, then faster.

"Do that 10 more times, my angel." Sookie continued and Eric went to get another katana. He stood facing the mirror farther down the floor and when she was done, he said "follow me" and started slowly moving the blade in very graceful movements and Sookie did her best to follow him. He was amazed – it went very smoothly, and she took it seriously and did a good job. She really had a feel for the katana – something about the curve of the blade suited the way she moved and worked well with the level of strength in her arms. Even pregnant, she moved gracefully and he was proud that she didn't complain.

Eric pushed a sort of gym mat over behind her and told her to step back on it. He stood behind her again and reached his arms around her, his hand over her right hand, his left hand on her waist and he took her through some new patterns which she picked up on immediately. She was concentrating on the blade, but suddenly she noticed something pressing into her back and Eric had put his sword on the table so it wasn't the handle – it was him, every bit as hard as that handle at the moment. She was repeating a new pattern when suddenly Eric's lips were on her neck and his hand was on her breast. He took the sword from her hand and whispered "Kneel down on the mat," and she lowered herself onto her knees as he did the same behind her, gently laying the sword over to the side on the mat.

Sookie knew exactly what was up. Eric was asserting his dominance by marking the 4th floor with their scent. She was surprised he had waited this long. She pulled her dress up a little and spread her knees wide apart. Eric pushed her dress up the rest of the way and snapped her thong into one flat piece as she leaned forward on her forearms, arching her back to put her backside up to him. She knew exactly what he wanted – he wanted her to "present" herself and let him take her as he looked in the mirror. She couldn't quite bring herself to watch, but she put her head down and raised her hips to him, holding on to the edge of the mat. At least she had that padding under her knees and elbows and honestly, watching him move around so gracefully with that sword had her in the mood, too.

He was staring at himself in the mirror intently, almost in a trance the one time she did look up, as he took her hard and quick. She was vocal because she knew he liked it and honestly, it felt so good it would have been hard not to be loud. She loved this as much as he did. She liked him when he was like this – it was primitive, and animalistic, and had absolutely nothing to do with anything or anyone she ever grew up with.

It was ancient, exotic, primal, and kneeling in front of him this way felt like the most natural thing in the world – like everything she is existed just for this moment, his hands holding her hips, his cock filling her over and over, crying out every time his hips slammed into her back side. He howled as he came, then bent his head to kiss her lower back, moving around placing gentle kisses and licking a little. It took him a few minutes to stop shaking, then he picked her up and carried her down to their bedroom. He left her panties laying on the floor and she hoped she'd get to them later before anyone else found them. She didn't want to make a habit of leaving a visible trail. It was bad enough Eric was making sure every vampire around knew whose nest this really was.

He put Sookie on the bed and went over to the side chairs where there was a large bag from a local department store.

"What's that?" Sookie asked as he pulled a large wedge-shaped piece of foam out of its package and put a cloth cover on it.

"It's something to make you more comfortable. Here, give me your hand." He pulled her so her upper body was off the bed and then put the wedge behind her and told her to relax. This was apparently a special pillow and it raised her up so she could lie back without being completely flat. She was full of questions as he was putting her into the position he wanted, with her hips on the edge of the side of the bed and leaning back on the wedge.

"How did you know that was here?"

"I told Alicia to buy one today, and she told me earlier it was here."

"You had Alicia buy a sex pillow?"

"It's not necessarily a "sex pillow" - it's for people who can't lie flat on their backs, like pregnant women such as you. It's a common purchase for the end of a pregnancy – though if I felt like having Alicia buy a sexual aid, I certainly wouldn't hesitate to do so."

"Like hell you wouldn't!"

Eric looked at her in surprise. "No, Sookie, I wouldn't"

"Eric, I'm telling you right now, if you want me to be able to look that woman in the face and work with her every day, you have to keep her shopping separate from our sex life. I stretch my ideas and values a lot to go along with you on some of the things we do, but you have to give me this one, please – just promise me you handle any sex-related purchases on line or at night, or something. Alicia is the closest thing I have to a mother."

He was about to scold her about worrying what a servant thought of her until she said the part about having a mother, then he instantly softened and reconsidered. He bent over her, kissed her and said "all right, my angel, I promise to keep Alicia out of our sex life as much as possible. I don't want you to feel embarrassed in front of her."

Sookie exhaled and relaxed visibly. "Thank you, Eric. I really appreciate that."

Whatever he had planned to do, he stopped and lay down on the bed next to her, propping up on his elbow so when she turned her head they were face to face. He didn't say anything. He reached up and stroked her cheek.

"Are you mad at me?" Sookie asked.

"No, my angel, I'm just thinking I need to pay more attention to how you are feeling about all of this change. You have risen to the challenge admirably, but I forget sometimes how much is being demanded of you that you were never prepared for. You fit so well with me that I forget how young you are."

"I'm doin' OK, aren't I?"

"You are doing magnificently, Sookie. I forget to tell you that. I just assume you know how proud of you I am."

"I know you're proud of me and I work hard to make sure you stay proud of me. It's just that Alicia…"

"Shhh – Sookie, I understand. You create the family you wish you had from the people available to you. I should have realized how you felt about Alicia – I fostered the relationship specifically to provide you with help a girl would normally have from a mother. It's perfectly logical that you would assign that role to her emotionally and have such a reaction to mixing her into your sex life in even the most peripheral way. If it makes you feel any better, the wedge was her idea, not mine. She suggested we get it because she noticed you aren't breathing well in your sleep when she comes in to put your clothes away. I just saw an additional benefit of using it." He wiggled his eyebrows in the way that makes her turn to jelly inside.

"Yes, and I have an idea I was really going to enjoy what you had in mind so stop being such a girl and get on with it," she laughed.

"Being a girl? I'll show you what a girl I am," he was instantly between her legs, his head between her thighs and she was alternately moaning and laughing as he licked and nipped at her, penetrating her with his fingers. When he was sure he had her undivided attention, he moved his thumb to replace his tongue and nuzzled her thigh to warn her, then bit hard and she screamed, coming in his hand as he fed from her with great pleasure, enjoying the Fae essence of her blood, feeling the intoxication wash over him in great waves as she writhed and screamed in ecstasy.

After her release, as she was catching her breath, he leaned over her, his eyes glowing from the fairy blood, and said, "now I am going to do to you what no girl ever can," and he penetrated her deeply, pulling back and taking deep, slow deliberate strokes to demonstrate the fact that he most definitely was not a girl. The muscles in his arms were shaking, because the blood made him want to go wild, but his will wanted him to be slow and deliberate in fucking her this time, in particular. He hadn't taken offense that she teased him for acting like a girl, but he was still going to leave her with no doubt as to who the man was in this deal. Sookie wrapped her arms tightly around his neck and wrapped her legs around his waist, hiding her face in the curve of his neck, pleading with him to hold her tight, and he knew she was fast approaching another orgasm.

He loved it when she'd get clingy this way just before she came – it was such a high to have such direct control of her, for her to be so desperate to feel his arms around her and his cock inside her. He would never tire of this – he loved the way she came, the noises she made, the strength of the contractions within her, the intensity of the convulsions that wracked her little body, especially now that she was feeding from him so much. She far surpassed any human female he had ever been with – if her skin were not so warm, he'd swear he was bedding a female vampire. He had the best of all worlds right now, the intensity of a vampiress and the heat of a human and all of it was mixed with Fae blood and pregnancy hormones. Praise Freyja, has anyone ever felt anything as sweet as this? Has such a woman ever walked the Earth before? Her release hit then and it was spectacular, dragging him straight over the edge and into the maelstrom with her. They were both hit with a white hot flash of bright light the left them shaken and stunned, lying next to each other, Sookie trying to breathe, Eric trying to sort out what happened and whether they had both just screamed like banshees or did he dream that? (Based on the reaction of the guards later, he was quite sure they had…)

"It happened again, Eric."

"What is that, Sookie."

"That exploding light thing that happens sometimes when we fuck. What is that?"

"It's some kind of … divine energy, I think."

"You aren't sure?" She turned on her side to look at him.

"I told you, Sookie, I'm a warrior, not a shaman or a Witch. I know it's Freya, I know it's you, and maybe the baby, but I don't know if it's me or if I'm just here when it happens, and I don't know what it's for or what to do with it or about it. You need to talk to Bobbie or Amelia and find out what it is and what we're supposed to do with it."

"Don't you know Witches? Why don't you ask people about it."

"Sookie, Norse men… do not do magick, it's considered… effeminate. It's a woman's realm."

"Magick is woman's work? You're kidding?"

"No, I'm not. When Odin learned women's magick from Freya, Loki ridiculed him before the other gods for dabbling with women's energies."

"Dr. Ludwig said the baby will be a natural Witch. Are you going to think he's a sissy if he studies magick?"

"A sissy? What is a sissy?"

"Girly, or gay or effeminate."

"Sookie, I will never call my son gay. I could walk in on him fucking a man and I will not call him gay."

"Yeah, that's a guy thing, I get it."

"It is not a guy thing, it's just I don't think that word has anything to do with who a person will actually fuck. It's about fashion and politics."

"OK, that's a whole 'nother conversation we'll have at some point because I have no idea what you mean, but will you hold it against our son if he studies magick? Will you hold it against me?"

"Of course I will not hold it against you, Sookie – you ARE magick – you are Freya. It is appropriate for you. If my son studies magick, I will… try to accept it. These are modern times, I realize, but if it were up to me, he would not. He will have natural abilities – that will be all he needs, I am sure of it."

"Uh-huh."

"What?"

"I just think you should be a little more enthusiastic about something that might affect our son or be really important in his life."

"I will support our son no matter what he does, Sookie, do not fear. His needs will always come before my preferences."

"OK…Ok, yeah, I think you mean that."

"If I did not mean it, I would not say it."

"Oh, please – you're not above lying to get what you want."

"That is true, but I will never lie to you about our son."

"Alright – that I believe."

"I expect the same from you, Sookie."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean I want you to promise me that you will never lie to me about our son. I don't want secrets between us. Even if you think he is something or has done something of which I will not approve, I expect you to be honest with me."

"I don't want secrets between us, either, Eric."

"Yes, but I can see you lying to me to protect our son if you thought I would be displeased with something. I will not tolerate that, ever. You must promise to always tell me the truth about our son."

"OK, I promise."

"I include lies of omission in that, Sookie."

"What's that?"

"I mean avoiding a subject is the same as lying about it. I want full disclosure."

"Now you sound like you're in a business negotiation."

"Stop avoiding what I am saying."

"All right, Eric, full disclosure. If I know, you know."

"Good. Now climb on top of me and fuck me as only you can." He purred at her and she did what he said, enthusiastically. They put their hands palm to palm and entwined fingers as she rode slowly him, and they locked eyes and maintained eye contact for a long time. At one point, Sookie took his hands and placed them on her belly, and he smiled and covered the bump with his big hands. The baby was asleep, but they could feel him and feel each other and for that moment, everything was right with the world.

Chapter 58

Eric was watching Sookie sleep. He laughed to himself that in human couples, the man falls asleep after he comes, but in his relationship, the woman falls asleep when she's had her fill. She was so lovely when she slept. She had still been sideways in the bed when she passed out and he had moved her to his side of the bed, turned her side down, put the wedge and her pillow in place, moved her back over to her side and she never even offered to wake up. Eric thought to himself that a human would have to have a very clear conscience to sleep so soundly, and Sookie was a living angel so there was no guilt to torment her sleep. She had had plenty of bad experiences, but they didn't mark her the way they might have. She managed to move forward and continue to see the good in everything and everyone.

What a little Goddess she was – especially now, with those plump breasts and that round tummy, and those hips that were growing wider and fuller. This was why ancient cultures made thousands of little Goddess figurines out of clay - to capture this miracle, this beauty that a growing baby in a fecund womb surrounded itself with. Even now, with all people knew about the birth process, it was glorious. In the old days, it was such a mystery and it struck awe into the men who witnessed it. If there had been no Goddess, men would have invented Her just because of this amazing process of life renewing itself. Of course, there was no need for invention because women were part of the Goddess in an intimate and special way that men could only look upon and envy or fall before and worship.

Eric was most definitely a Goddess worshipper – everything in the world that was worthy of worship was female. He watched over the centuries as the religions of indigenous peoples were destroyed and rewritten to put the dying god In place of all others and he never understood how humans could find inspiration in anything that didn't include sex and birth in the real, literal, non-virginal context. People had no concept of what they had lost when fanaticism swept from the Middle East through Europe and the Goddess was driven underground. In the last century there were signs all over that the Goddess was coming back and it couldn't happen soon enough to suit him. He missed the sense of joy women had when they were valued in society, and contrary to what people were taught these days, Vikings did value their women and enjoy them in ways modern Americans lacked the capacity to understand.

For lack of a better way to say it, Americans had small spirits and big egos. They were the result of wave after wave of religious oppression and though they made incredible use of technological advances, they were spiritually alienated from LIFE. Even an undead vampire like Eric was more connected to the energies of the Living Universe.

In a way, he was secretly glad Sookie had no family because they'd never understand the way that he loved her. He might have been forced to steal her or make her turn her back on them to have her and that would hurt her too much. He was so relieved when she finally agreed to be his because he had been at the end of his rope and he was determined to have her no matter what extremes he had to go to. He knew the minute he saw her that she belonged to him, though he had no idea how right he was. He was glad he had given her room to come to him of her own accord.

There were times in the past he'd simply have taken her and turned her the way he did Pam and a few others who came before her and died along the way. What they had now was so precious and so much better than what they'd have between them if he'd simply taken her willingly or not. He was glad his instincts made him be patient, and let the Universe work Her will. Now he had not only Sookie but a son as well and for that he was truly grateful. He needed to find a way to give some sort of offering to Freya, but he hadn't come up with just the right way to go about it yet. Maybe a burnt offering or something at the Wiccaning – he'd have to see if the Witches allowed that, though, because covens didn't do sacrifice, only offerings of food and wine. He'd come up with something, somehow – all he knew was that Sookie should be there when he did it. He wondered if that would scare her, but since she is Freya, it was only right she be there.


	58. Chapter 58

**Chapter 58**

Eric was watching Sookie sleep. . He was glad they'd stopped in the middle so she could drink two bloods because he'd hate to have to wake her now. He laughed to himself that in human couples, the man falls asleep after he comes, but in his relationship, the woman falls asleep when she's had her fill. She was so lovely when she slept. She had still been sideways in the bed when she passed out and he had moved her to his side of the bed, turned her side down, put the wedge and her pillow in place, moved her back over to her side and she never even offered to wake up. Eric thought to himself that a human would have to have a very clear conscience to sleep so soundly, and Sookie was a living angel so there was no guilt to torment her sleep. She had had plenty of bad experiences, but they didn't mark her the way they might have. She managed to move forward and continue to see the good in everything and everyone.

What a little Goddess she was – especially now, with those plump breasts and that round tummy, and those hips that were growing wider and fuller. This was why ancient cultures made thousands of little Goddess figurines out of clay - to capture this miracle, this beauty that a growing baby in a fecund womb surrounded itself with. Even now, with all people knew about the birth process, it was glorious. In the old days, it was such a mystery and it struck awe into the men who witnessed it. If there had been no Goddess, men would have invented Her just because of this amazing process of life renewing itself. Of course, there was no need for invention because women were part of the Goddess in an intimate and special way that men could only look upon and envy or fall before and worship. He knew better than anyone that the advent of patriarchy was about fear of women's connection to Nature and man's desire to control what he did not understand. He was there to see it happen, and it grieved him still.

Eric was most definitely a Goddess worshipper – everything in the world that was worthy of worship was female. He watched over the centuries as the religions of indigenous peoples were destroyed and rewritten to put the dying god In place of all others and he never understood how humans could find inspiration in anything that didn't include sex and birth in the real, literal, non-virginal context. People had no concept of what they had lost when fanaticism swept from the Middle East through Europe and the Goddess was driven underground. When the Inquisitions began, he had taken a job on a ship going to the Orient and stayed there studying swordcraft and working as a guard or mercenary for a succession of noblemen who knew of his secret and found it useful. By the time he returned to Europe, it had been thoroughly Christianized, and few signs of the Old Ways remained. In this last century there were signs all over that the Goddess was coming back and it couldn't happen soon enough to suit him. He missed the sense of joy women had when they were valued in society, and contrary to what people were taught these days, Vikings did value their women and enjoy them in ways modern Americans lacked the capacity to understand.

For lack of a better way to say it, Americans had small spirits and big egos. They were the result of wave after wave of religious oppression and though they made incredible use of technological advances, they were spiritually alienated from LIFE. Even an undead vampire like Eric was more connected to the energies of the Living Universe than an average American. There were pockets of Nature worshippers growing in the States and he hoped that in the next century they would spread and grow rapidly. Now that vampires were "out," Witches didn't seem quite so unusual and with modern communications, surely people would see the sense of living in harmony with Mother Nature - even if they lived in huge cities, they were hungry for Her. He knew that hunger too well, and it had only been relieved by finding and knowing Sookie. She was his Goddess now.

In a way, he was secretly glad Sookie had no family because they'd never understand the way that he loved her. He might have been forced to steal her or make her turn her back on them to have her and that would hurt her too much. He was so relieved when she finally agreed to be his because he had been at the end of his rope and he was determined to have her no matter what extremes he had to go to. He knew the minute he saw her that she belonged to him, though he had no idea how right he was. He was glad he had given her room to come to him of her own accord.

There were times in the past he'd simply have taken her and turned her the way he did Pam and a few others who came before her and died along the way. What they had now was so precious and so much better than what they'd have between them if he'd simply taken her willingly or not. He was glad his instincts made him be patient, and let the Universe work Her will. Now he had not only Sookie but a son as well and for that he was truly grateful. He needed to find a way to give some sort of offering to Freya, but he hadn't come up with just the right way to go about it yet. Maybe a burnt offering or something at the Wiccaning – he'd have to see if the Witches allowed that, though, because covens didn't do sacrifice, only offerings of food and wine. He'd come up with something, somehow – all he knew was that Sookie should be there when he did it. He wondered if that would scare her, but since she is Freya, it was only right she be there.

Eric could see movement in Sookie's round tummy and he put his hand over it, feeling little kicks right to the middle of his palm – not too hard, but enough to show that Eric Alexander knew he was there. What a brilliant child this would be, if he was so conscious already. Even if he learned to talk at normal rates, his understanding was advanced. He might have to consider teaching him sign language as he'd read some people do because the ability to form words comes later than the understanding of what the words mean. This was one of those nights when it would grieve Eric to go to his resting place. What he wouldn't give to be able to stay here with the two of them, to wake up next to Sookie and feel her warmth next to him.

He finally made himself get out of bed but he consoled himself by taking a few pictures. The wedge put Sookie into a lovely, relaxed pose that reminded him of a painting of an Odalisque he had seen once. After he pulled back the covers, she shifted just a little so she was to the side a bit and it gave a lovely line that flowed from her breasts down through her waist, over the curves of her hip, thigh, and calf leading gracefully down to her foot and he hoped that the light would let the image look on film the way it looked to him right now. He was getting pretty good with the aperture settings on the camera and he considered his pictures as fine as any you might see in an upscale magazine, and his subject was infinitely more pleasing because she was HIS.

She was flawless in his eyes and he would never trade her for ten of the most sought after fashion models in the world. He'd had most of the top models over the last 40 years or so and he'd take Sookie's curves over those bags of bones any day – they all reeked of cigarettes, coffee and crystal meth and that diet did nothing to improve their dispositions. He laughed at men wanting women who looked like them – what fools they were! If they didn't have such a woman they made their woman miserable because she couldn't be that, and if they did, by some quirk of fate, have a woman like that_, she_ made _them_ miserable. He had known a model here or there who was nice – there was a brunette named Cindy that wasn't bad, or overly skinny either – but for the most part, that profession ruined them psychologically as well as physically.

As he was putting his camera away, he considered the books stacked under it in the hidden drawers. Sookie knew where this was now and he hadn't discouraged her from going back in here. Did he want her to find the pictures, or did he need a new hiding place? If she found out and didn't care, no harm done, but If she found out and was upset, that's the end of his memory project. No, he'd better not risk it. He would take the books to his resting place where she was much less likely to go. He smiled to himself then because it occurred to him that an easy way to keep her out of the closet was to give her a steady diet of what was in it. Sookie liked **The Story of O** – maybe she'd enjoy some Victorian smut, so he pulled out a book and slipped it into the bottom drawer of her nightstand and took the other book away.

He wondered how long it would take her to find it. She hadn't mentioned the other book in a few days, but they'd been having a lot of sex, so it's possible she had continued to read and he was reaping the benefits. She had certainly been tireless and easy to please lately, which amazed him considering the pregnancy. Well, if the erotica was fueling her fire, he was going to keep it stoked until they simply couldn't have sex, which might not be too far away.

She had grown so in the last week that he wondered if she'd still be able to wear the dress she had planned to wear to the Sheriff's Ball. He needed to remind Alicia to have her try it on again, just to be sure. He didn't want her finding out at the last minute that she was unprepared. She would be under pressure during this trip, and under constant scrutiny, so he wanted to make things as easy and stress free for her as possible. He was also going to talk to Alicia about whether she'd like to travel with them. She was aware of the royalty situation now, maybe she wouldn't freak out too much and she would be invaluable to Sookie. Bobbie could do a lot of what Alicia did but now that Alicia was also doing secretarial work, too, he doubted Bobbie could do all that she did.

Eric left a message for Alicia mentioning the idea of going with them to Vegas and New Orleans, reminding her that Bobbie and Bill would be back tonight and that Bjorn would be moving in. He asked her to make sure Sookie's dresses still fit, and to check that again later in the week if they did. He answered some emails, including one to Bobby Burnham and his accountant about the new income. The American tax system didn't have a provision for a guy suddenly becoming royalty, and the paperwork necessary to hide what was happening was unreal. Eric was coming into ownership of all Felipe's personal property and the property of the Kingdom at large and the numbers of properties were mind-numbing because Felipe over-did everything. He couldn't wait to get to Nevada and get rid of some crap. At least that wasn't a problem in New Orleans. He'd rather rebuild something that was lost than have to dispose of what was foolishly acquired.

When he finished in his office, he went to spend his time in the nursery. He knew the baby would come sooner than expected, but he was so anxious for it – he couldn't remember the last time he anticipated something so much, unless it was what it would be like when Sookie finally yielded to his advances. That was sublime when it finally happened, even though he didn't know who he was, and he was grateful he had finally remembered it. This would be better. He pictured the infant fighting his way out to the world, covered in slime, red and angry and he knew it would be the proudest moment of his life. He pulled out the playpen to work with it. He had the high chair under control – he could set it up with one hand while holding the teddy bear in his arm as if it were a baby. Now he needed to find the trick to doing that with the playpen. Vampire speed was a definite advantage, but he had to keep in mind that the baby might have vampire speed, too. As he finished setting up the playpen, he felt FIGHT! and he knew that the baby was awake and aware of him. He sent him love and pride and went back into the bedroom, kneeling down next to Sookie and pulling back the covers, laying his head on her warm, round tummy and feeling the movement of the baby beneath his cheek. Sookie stirred a little and smiled at him, saying "hey" and stroking his hair before falling back to sleep. It was just long enough to send love all around them and Eric wiped away a bloody tear as he covered her back up and went to rest for the day.

"Sookie, can you wake up and drink?" Alicia had taken over for the day and was starting the bi-hourly feedings, since it was 7 AM. Sookie struggled to open her eyes, and managed to raise up and sip on the straw, emptying the bottle and falling right back to sleep. Alicia laughed to herself. That girl slept so soundly, she rarely even moved when Alicia came in to put her laundry away and put new clothing in her closet.

Sookie was getting quite a nice wardrobe at this point and Alicia had decided she was going to go to Las Vegas and New Orleans with them to make sure Sookie was OK and to do some shopping with her at some upscale stores. Sookie was good at picking out evening clothes, but her day-to-day stuff still needed work and the shops at the Bellagio would be just the ticket for filling in what she still needed. She knew she might see some weirdness, but that might be exciting, and she wouldn't have to attend any of the formal events, so she'd have time to do things on her own in the evenings, which sounded just great to her. Alicia loved to play slot machines and see shows and she was going to go online and see what was in town. She knew all she had to do to get tickets to anything in town was to tell Mr. Northman and he would see to it. He was a wonderful guy to work for – very grateful for what you did for him, very generous with pay, praise and bonuses.

She was a little hesitant when she first took the job – playing nursemaid to a vampire's mistress – but it had evolved into a wonderful position. She adored Sookie and couldn't wait for the baby to arrive. She loved the way Sookie and Eric were with each other and she had seen him change in the short time she had been there to become happier and more open as Sookie and the baby became his central focus. She barely saw him as a vampire anymore, and he was certainly easy on the eyes and very gallant. He reminded her of the men on the covers of romance novels and he behaved about like one, too. It was fun seeing how sweet he was to Sookie and Alicia couldn't wait to see that big man holding a tiny baby. The fact that it meant so much more to him than a normal man was thrilling.

The new duties with Sookie being a vampire queen were exciting and fun and it let her use skills that might otherwise get rusty. Clerical skills hadn't been why she was hired, but it turned out that her combination of skills were ideal for what this family needed from her. The fact that Eric was paying her a small fortune didn't hurt, either. She was making three or four times what any other "ladies' maid" would make even in New York or L.A. Taking care of Sookie's needs reminded her of raising her own kids and she was happy to do things for such a sweet young thing. Having a baby, even an unusual baby like this one, was going to be fun and there would be plenty of help with him so no one should get too worn out. It was an ideal situation for a young mother.

Alicia was doing a sort of inventory this morning, seeing what Sookie still needed for her trip and for the baby because she knew the plan was to shop online and spend gift certificates while Eric was at his nightclub. She'd leave the list with Sookie and Bobbie would help her with it in the evenings while she waited for Eric to get home. That would leave her days free for Queen responsibilities and time in the swimming pool and Alicia was very glad Sookie would be getting some exercise again. She really didn't like the fact that Bobbie had taken off right after being told by the doctor that Sookie needed exercise and massage, as well as her blood pressure monitored. She couldn't blame Bobbie for wanting to be with Bill – he was so handsome and considerate – but Sookie needed her right now. At least Sookie was sleeping on that wedge this morning and breathing better.

At 9 am Alicia took Sookie another blood and this time she asked for an extra one. That was good. It meant the baby was getting lots of nutrition, even if whatever was in this thing looked disgusting. It was what the baby needed, so that was fine with Alicia. She wasn't the one who had to drink it, and Sookie didn't seem to mind at all. When she went back in at 11 am, Sookie asked for breakfast, so Alicia went down to put together a tray of salmon and bagels, which she knew Sookie would love.

Sookie didn't feel like going back to sleep, but she didn't feel like getting up, either. She remembered the book in her nightstand, and turned over to open the drawer. What was this? The book she had been almost finished with was gone, and there was a book called **A Man with a Maid** by Anonymous and some other stories. Eric was the only one who knew about the other book, so he must have put this here for her. Was this a dirty book, too?

Holy smoke, was this a dirty book! It started straight off with a guy plotting to take the virginity of a woman who had refused to marry him. It was written in an old fashioned style, but it went into a lot of detail about this guy renting rooms that had what used to be a "quiet room" in a mental asylum included and his process of turning it into a sound-proof trap for the girl, filled with all kinds of special furniture that could be used to tie her up. It didn't take him long to get her in there, and he took great pleasure in violating her. "O" had been a willing participant in her harsh treatment, but this book was about completely non-consensual stuff. Sookie berated herself for not being so disgusted that she stopped reading, but once again, she couldn't put it down, and the heat and throbbing between her legs was out of control.

She was trying to figure out what to do about it when she heard Alicia on the stairs and she hid the book under the covers, just in case Alicia might know what it was. She couldn't imagine Alicia knowing about a book like this, but you never knew, and Sookie sure didn't want to be the one to introduce her to it if she didn't. She just hoped Alicia didn't notice the scent that was emanating from her. If Eric were awake, she bet he'd be able to smell it all the way in his resting place. She hoped she managed to get into the pool before she bumped into any of the Were guards, because they would definitely smell it.

Alicia set her up with her tray and didn't show any signs of noticing anything out of the ordinary. Sookie dug straight into the salmon, which tasted extra good today. Something about the mixture of heat, guilt, embarrassment and arousal was making her hungry as well as horny. Damn, she wished Eric were awake. She knew he would explain to her why this was so hot. She tried to imagine what he would say – women fantasized about rape, so this was a woman's fantasy as well as a man's? That the fact it was a forbidden subject made it more exciting? She started picturing herself as the girl, Alice, and Eric as the man, Jack, and that alone nearly sent her over the edge. She knew from her own few experiences that she loved being tied up. A shudder ran through her as she thought about how exciting it was to be completely under Eric's control.

She LIKED being at his mercy, even when he didn't show any… maybe _especially_ when he didn't show any. She loved it when he pushed her until she was almost crying. After the baby was born she was going to insist that he "train" her because that idea had been running through her mind and even the idea of no so mild punishment began to appeal to her. She knew she would never want to be whipped with a real whip, but spanking, even a hard spanking that hurt, had a certain appeal. She remembered seeing a riding crop – or riding whip as they called it in the book - in Eric's secret stash in the closet and wondered how much that would hurt. She guessed it would depend on how hard he hit her and she knew Eric would just make it uncomfortable but not torturous.

She tried to figure out how long it would be before they could do things like that – it was the middle of June now, the baby would probably be born in August then 6 weeks – maybe October? That was a long way away! She heard someone on the stairs, thinking it was Alicia she didn't jump to cover her breasts but it was Bjorn and Margaret – she was giving him a tour of the house since he was moving in. Margaret couldn't see her but Bjorn made eye contact with her briefly and his eyes fell to her bare breast and she could tell he smelled her, too. They didn't come in or acknowledge her, Margaret just pointed out the rooms and they continued to the 4th floor.

Shit. Sookie slid down and pulled the covers over her head. She just flashed Bjorn and he smelled her arousal. She'd be seeing him in less than an hour down in the pool and she'd know that he saw her and he'd know that he saw her and Oh. Shit. She saw the look on his face, too – the look of hunger, wanting – and it had caused an instant unconscious reaction that stabbed right down there to her center. She was absolutely not going to… not going to be _attracted_ to Bjorn. That could NOT happen. She loved Eric, she thought Eric was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen. It was normal to find Bjorn attractive, of course, but she couldn't be attracted _to_ him. Fuck! She hoped the water in the pool was on the cool side today. She wouldn't say anything about what just happened if he didn't, and the water would cool her down and wash away the scent. She might as well get up and head down there now – maybe she'd be in the water before he finished his tour and all.

Alicia had already put her suit out and her stuff in her tote bag, even the iPod, so she threw the suit on and headed down stairs. No Bjorn yet – good. She grabbed an air mattress and headed into the pool, ducking under the water to get the scent damp and gone. The water was cool and she was relieved that it cooled her down all over. Eric had started something he wasn't there to finish! Oh, but she was going to make him finish it tonight – but she had this whole long day to get through first. She took her sunglasses out of the tote that she had left on the concrete beside the pool and put them on, hoping that would help her deal with her embarrassment when Bjorn finally did come out.

"You're up early today!" It was Bjorn. OK, Sookie, hold it together and act as if nothing happened.

"Yeah, I felt like getting in the pool early today and getting some sun. I can sleep tonight while I'm waiting for Eric to get home. That will make the time go faster."

"You could go with him, couldn't you?"

"I'm supposed to rest up for our trips. They're afraid I'm over-doing it and I passed out the other day, though I was under crazy stress. Eric got upset because I was out for so long."

"How long were you out?"

"About 10 minutes, I guess. They're supposed to be checking my blood pressure several times a day, but Bobbie hasn't been here to do it."

"Do you have a blood pressure cuff here?"

"Yeah, but only Bobbie knows how to use it."

"I know how to use one. I have some emergency medical training. That's one of the reasons they assigned me to you."

Alicia came out with a glass of sweet tea for each of them.

"Alicia, did you know Bjorn knows how to take blood pressure?"

"No, I didn't – I wish I had known. If I bring you the cuff, Bjorn, will you check her blood pressure? It's been several days since it was done and we really should know what's going on with it. High blood pressure in a pregnant woman can be very dangerous."

"Sure, bring it out and I'll check her."

"Wonderful, I'll be right back."

"Sookie, you should come up here and relax a few minutes before I do it."

Alicia went into the den, which was where the cuff had been since it was used when Sookie fainted, and came back out with it. Sookie came out of the pool and wrapped a towel around her waist and sat in the chair opposite Bjorn.

"Just relax, Sookie, and try to breathe normally," he said to her softly, smiling. She took off her sunglasses and laid them on the table. She was blushing but he was trying to put her at ease and he was being very careful to keep his eyes everywhere but on her chest. She couldn't look him in the eye, though, and she could tell from the way he was smiling that he was suppressing a laugh because Alicia was there. After a few minutes, he put the cuff around her arm and listened with the stethoscope that was with it, then pumped up the cuff. He listened and watched as the air went out and he frowned.

"It's too high, isn't it?" Alicia asked

"Yes, it is – this is way too high for a girl your age. How do you feel right now?"

"I'm OK, I guess – a little headache-y, maybe."

"Who's your doctor?" he asked.

"Um… Dr. Ludwig…"

"Ah – yes, I know her. Do you have her number?"

"It's in my phone."

"Give me your phone and let me talk to her, OK? I know what to say to her."

"OK…" Alicia was bringing Sookie's tote bag over to her and she took her phone out of it. Sookie found the number, hit the button and handed her phone to Bjorn.

"Hello, Dr. Ludwig. This is Bjorn Anderson – do you remember me? Yes, ma'am, I'm Queen Sookie's personal body guard now, and we just checked her blood pressure and I thought you should know it's 160/120. Yes, there are. Uh-huh. Let me see… Sookie, are you taking your Soma?"

"No, I didn't like the way it made me feel. I adjusted to it but then I just stopped taking it."

"Did you hear that? Yes –well, Bobbie hasn't been here much since I've worked here. Uh, I think she's at Bill Compton's house, but she'll be back here tonight. No, she's down here by the pool. Uh-huh, hang on – Sookie she wants to talk to you."

"Uh-oh. OK… Hi, doctor. Yes, but…. Well, yeah, but…. Can't I just float in the pool for a while? What if I took a Soma and floated in the pool? That relaxes me a lot. Bjorn sits right here and watches me every minute – he'll know if I fall asleep. If I get that tired, I'll go into the den and lie down, OK? Yes – I will. OK, thank you, doctor. Yes, I'll have her call you tomorrow afternoon. Thank you. Oh – no, I didn't know that – that's great! I'll see you in Las Vegas, then. OK, bye."

"Well…?" Alicia was being very maternal right now and Sookie knew it.

"She said I can stay in the pool a maximum of two hours but she wants me back on the Soma this minute. Damn."

"I take it she wants to talk to Bobbie, too?" Alicia was feeling vindicated.

"Yeah, she's not happy that nobody has been checking my blood pressure and she said it is ridiculously, dangerously high right now."

"I'm going to go get you a Soma. Bjorn you'll need to keep an eye on her, because they knock her out. If she gets too sleepy, get her out of the pool and bring her into the den, OK?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"Eric is not going to be happy." Sookie was bummed. She thought she was going to get away with not taking her medicine.

"I'm not happy about this, either. I had no idea you had a blood pressure problem. I need to know something like that – I need to know everything about your physical being – allergies, weaknesses, if you don't feel well, if you need medicine, if you have a special diet."

"I thought you were just supposed to be here if someone attacks me."

"I'm supposed to make sure that you are alive and healthy. Like I said, part of why they picked me for this was because I have an emergency medical background. Knowing you're pregnant is one thing, but knowing you're pregnant and having complications is another thing entirely. I'm going to be checking your blood pressure every half hour for the rest of the day."

"That's a lot."

"That's probably too little. I should probably check it every 15 minutes, but I know you're going to fight me on this anyway. If it gets any higher we'll have to get a doctor here. She said you can't go to an emergency room."

"Yeah, I can't. Too many things they do might be toxic to the baby."

"So it's even more important that I know what's going on with you."

"I'm not really having complications…" Sookie was trying to downplay the problem.

"Yes, Sookie, you are – blood pressure that high is always a complication but for a pregnant woman it could be deadly."

"It could?"

"Yes, it could."

Alicia came back out with a Soma and a glass of water. She handed it to Sookie who took it but wasn't happy about it.

"Are you getting through to her, Bjorn?"

"Probably not, but we'll keep trying. I'm going to check her pressure every half hour for the rest of the day."

"Good. I've been worried that we weren't keeping on top of this."

"I feel fine, though, honest." Sookie was wading back into the pool.

"That's bullshit, Sookie. You have to be either light headed or have a headache with that blood pressure." Bjorn wasn't going to let her snow him the way she apparently did everyone else.

"Well, yeah, but I kind of always am since I'm pregnant."

"That's probably because of your blood pressure, instead of the pregnancy itself. I should have known something was up. The first week I worked here we barely saw you at all, then all of a sudden you're in the pool every day – that was when you stopped taking the Soma, wasn't it?"

"Yeah, I thought I could get by without them. They numb me out too much."

"Isn't that what she wants them to do?"

"Yeah, but I don't see how spending all my time in bed can be healthy. I'm not going to be able to do that when we're traveling."

"That's why she wants you well-rested before your trip. The next 6 days you are going to do nothing strenuous, you hear me? And I want to see you taking your Soma. How many are you supposed to take in a day?"

"3."

"OK, every 8 hours. I'll make sure you take morning and evening and Eric can make sure you take the one at night. It's twelve hundred hours right now. Your next one should be at 20, then the next one a O-four hundred."

"Huh?"

"8 pm and 4 am. I'll make sure you take the ones at noon and 8 and I'll tell Eric to make sure he sees you take your third one at 4 am – you two are almost always together at that time, right?"

"Right." She stuck her tongue out at him briefly and he caught her.

"Get as pissy as you want, missy – you and that baby are not going to have a problem on my watch. I can't believe I didn't know about you passing out and you having a blood pressure problem. We're lucky you haven't had a stroke with it that high."

"I'd feel a lot worse if I were that sick, wouldn't I?"

"Not necessarily – that's why high blood pressure is called "the silent killer."

"Oh – I didn't know that."

"Well, now you do. Is there anything else about your health you forgot to tell me?"

"Um – I'm not supposed to have anything with iron in it in case the baby is sensitive to it. They want me drinking a minimum of 1 RM every two hours. I think that's it."

"Alright. I'll be working with Bobbie and Alicia to see that those things are observed. I can't believe Eric hasn't been on you about this."

"I think maybe he doesn't really understand blood pressure. I know I don't."

"I never thought of that, but you are probably right. I'll explain to him how important this is. It's good Bobbie and I will be living in. If he suspects anything is wrong, one of us will be right here to check you out and call Dr. Ludwig. She's very good, you know, very respected in the Supe community."

"Yeah, so I've heard. She was the only one I knew to ask about having this baby and Eric liked the idea. I think she has something to do with it being possible, but I'm not sure. She had something to do with Eric's… promotion."

"If she was involved in that, then it came right from the top. She is normally neutral in all things. Only the Council's wishes would induce her to take a side in such a matter."

"So I gather, but she's been all around this from the beginning."

"That just confirms to me Freya's involvement. This baby will be very special."

"I know I'm probably biased, but he already is – he's very aware and he can tell people apart already."

"That's what I mean. He's going to be very smart."

"He's supposed to be a handful, too – they said it will take Eric to keep control of him."

"That makes sense, especially if he has powers of any kind. He'll be as strong as a young vampire would be my guess, but willful as a child. And when he's a teenager – you'll have to keep girls locked away from him, probably, if he takes after his father."

"Which he will. I can't imagine it was easy to raise Eric, even as a human. A vamp or Fae baby with his personality will be tough."

"That's why Eric is his father and I am here in the daytime. He will have a strong hand to watch over him all the time. OK, it's been half an hour. Come to the side of the pool and I'll check your pressure."

He checked her and it had gone down a bit, but it was still high. He suggested they wait and check it again in another half hour, so the medicine would be at full effect. Alicia brought Sookie two RMs which she drank straight down, then in another 20 minutes or so Bjorn noticed she was slowing down and nodding off a bit.

"Sookie, come out of the pool."

"Why?"

"You are falling asleep. If you don't come out now, you will fall asleep and I'll have to dive in with my clothes on to get you."

"Oh, alright."

He took one of the really large towels and wrapped it around her and took another one with them. He spread the second towel out on the couch in the den, and she lay down on it, and he put the TV on for her, though she was asleep by the time he got it to the channel she wanted. Bjorn checked her BP again and it had gone down even more, so he went out front to where the other guards were, but he came back every half hour and checked her blood pressure as she slept. Sookie was able to wake up enough to drink her RMs every two hours but she couldn't wake up enough to eat dinner when Eric tried to wake her but she did manage to drink one of the chocolate supplements and she took her 8 o'clock Soma.

Bjorn explained to Eric how important it was to watch her blood pressure and taught him how to use the cuff. Eric had just gotten Sookie settled into their bed when Bobbie and Bill arrived. Bobbie sat on the bed next to Sookie and put the TV up and on, while Bill and Eric headed to Fangtasia and Bjorn went over to Felicia's house. When Sookie woke up at midnight, Bobbie was sitting next to her.

"Hey, Sweetie – are you waking up a little?" Bobbie was smiling at her, smoothing her hair back from her face.

"Bobbie – what time is it? Last I remember, I was in the swimming pool."

"It's around midnight, hon. Eric brought you up here when you couldn't eat dinner and I've been here with you since Eric and Bill went to Fangtasia and Bjorn went to his girlfriend's house. Quite a hunk, that new body guard of yours," she laughed.

Sookie smiled. "Bjorn? Yeah, Freya wanted a Swedish warrior with me day and night."

"Very pragmatic of her. Nice of her to make sure they're both blonde and gorgeous, too." The two of them laughed together. "So do you think you could eat something? Eric has been calling every hour to ask if you've eaten."

"What is there to eat?"

"If you can sit up, there's a container of gumbo. If not, I've got a chicken salad sandwich you can eat. Either way, you've got to get some food into you, and I want you to drink one of these strawberry things."

"Have I had an RM lately?"

"About an hour ago. I was pretty sure you drank it in your sleep. I held the straw for you and you conked right back out when the bottle was empty."

Sookie struggled to sit up and Bobbie helped her, though she was almost upright to begin with because of the wedge. Bobbie got the container of gumbo and rice, which was still a little warm because it was in an insulated bag on the dresser, and a spoon and Sookie dug in. She wasn't really hungry but she knew she needed to eat for the baby. She suspected the pills were killing her appetite on top of knocking her out.

"So, did you have a good time at Bill's house?"

"Yes, we had a great time. It was very quiet, though, and I missed you."

"Sure you did…' Sookie teased her.

"I did during the day, at least. I almost drove over one afternoon because his place is a little dull when he's asleep. Instead I walked over to your old house to see if Amelia was home and she was so we spent an afternoon talking about you."

"About me? Why?"

"Freya, mostly, and what that means, and what we think you should do with it."

"Come to any conclusions? Because, I'm lost…"

"Maybe. Have you had any unusual energy occurrences?"

"Yeah, mostly during sex."

"Really? What kind?"

"Exploding light. Sometimes it's hot and white and sometimes it a purple whirlpool of sparkles."

"Does Eric experience it, too?"

"Oh, yeah, and sometimes it's like he, the baby and I are all one being for a second. It's pretty cool for that brief moment and then Eric and I are just blown away and exhausted."

"Has Eric ever experienced it before?"

"No, he's as mystified by it as I am. He keeps saying he's a warrior, not a shaman and this is something a Witch should handle and Norse men…"

"…don't do magick."

"Exactly. You know about that?"

"Yes. Norse men are afraid of women's power, which is basically what magick is. Even if a man performs magick, he's drawing on his connection to the Feminine Divine. That's why they're all a little wary of Odin – he learned about magick from Freya, and that seems a little…"

"…gay?"

"Exactly."

"Yeah, that's what he said. He's not thrilled with the idea of our son being a Witch."

"Well, there are male Witches, though not nearly as many as women, of course."

"Are they called warlocks?"

"No, that's mostly from people growing up watching Bewitched. The word "warlock" is from a Scots dialect and it means "trucebreaker." It's used to describe someone who uses magick unethically."

"So, technically, Hallow and her crew were warlocks, not Witches?"

"Exactly. Witches by definition follow the Wiccan Rede – 'An' it harm none, do what ye will." A real Witch won't do harm or use manipulative magick. They're safer to be around than a normal person."

"They are?"

"Yes, see, a normal person works magick all the time, but it's undisciplined. They constantly throw out chaotic impulses without regard to where their energy goes or what it does. Like when a woman walks by a pretty girl and thinks "bitch" or they wish bad things toward someone they don't like – all of that manifests somewhere on some level, if not for the other people they're focused on, for the people thinking the negativity. Witches are careful not to send negative energy around because they know it will come back to them. They do good works because that comes back to them, too. If everyone understood how the Universe works, and how energy flows, this world would be a much more pleasant place to be."

"Native peoples knew about this, though, didn't they?"

"Yes, and many still do."

"Then why did the world get to be the way it is?"

"Because a fanatical following of a minor Semitic war deity was willing to kill everyone who wouldn't do things their way. As they grew in power, some of them discovered that you could amass great wealth and power by keeping people in a constant state of war, so they defined their religion in such a way that everyone who wasn't with them was their enemy and it was their duty to slaughter them and take what they had. Denial, poverty and sexual repression create violent people, and the religious authority taught these violent people to think of everyone else as a demon that had to be destroyed before it destroyed them. Gradually, they were able to replace the idea of demons with abstracts like patriotism and honor, and you wound up with exploitative cultures full of people with no spiritual connection or awareness at all. A spiritually connected, indigenous culture would never have created the level of pollution, deforestation, poverty or sickness that our world has produced. They were set up to prevent it."

"So what do we do now that we're at this point?"

"We educate people. We get back to the Goddess and take as many people as we can with us. Everybody thinks humans are destroying the Earth, but Gaia is a self-healing organism. We'll either get back in harmony with Her body or Her immune system will slough us off like an illness. We aren't endangering Her, we're making Her dangerous to us because we're out of control."

"But people now aren't that religious, are they?"

"But the culture is. Some night when you're watching TV, count how many times you hear references to Biblical or Christian imagery. You're barraged with it constantly and popular media assumes you know all its buzzwords. Notice who supports the wars in the Middle East? It's always the active, practicing Christians, even though Jesus was anti-war. They support the Republican party, the party of rich people and greed and anti-welfare, when Jesus said to give everything you have to the poor. They use Jesus' name, but their beliefs are strictly Old Testament, Semitic war deity in origin. Jesus would be appalled at what has happened in his name."

"And all of this, over 2,000 years, has been about money?"

"More like 6,000. Violence on a massive scale was virtually unknown until about 4,000 B.C.E."

"What's "B.C.E.""

"Before the Common Era. People use that now instead of B.C. and A.D. because those are Christian terms. See, when they realized the potential to make money with war, they became very interested in making sure their money and their property stayed in their own family line, so it became necessary to strictly control women's sexuality in a way it never had been before. You can't have a patriarchy if you don't know who the daddies are, and there were no DNA tests in those days, so women became virtual prisoners, and women and children were considered property."

"Like what happens with the Taliban or some other theocracy takes over in the Middle East…"

"Right – it's still going on. The Middle East is more blatant about it, but the same dynamic can be found all through Western Culture. Americans don't make women wear burkas, but they consider women who enjoy sex to be whores, women are still beaten and raped with very little help or protection from authorities, women are routinely paid less than men for the same work, we've never had a female president even though women are 54% of the population. Did you know that since women have been given fair access to college education they are the majority in schools now and making the top grades? Whenever they're given a fair shot, they out do men in almost any field except the ones that favor brute strength. There's nothing inferior about women – that was always lies used to justify treating women as chattel. Look at any culture – who works the fields, prepares the food, cares for the children – the world is built on the backs of women."

"My Gran always said that a big job needed 3 good men or one woman."

"Exactly."

"If women are the majority, why don't we run things?"

"Good question. It's because we're taught to compete with each other rather than work together. If we ever get together, we'll take over, so anything that brings us together is denigrated. Feminism is just basic fairness, but if you use the word you start hearing slurs about dykes or man-hating or not shaving your legs – anything they think will scare a woman away from such things for fear of alienating their husbands or lovers or sons or brothers. They use the media to keep women obsessed with things that don't matter – weight, fashion, how you smell, how you look. You don't see them putting young boys in bathing suits and parading them around a stage grading them, do you?"

"I never thought about that. It's very rare to see a boy in a pageant, isn't it?"

"Right – it's hard to have a Sisterhood if you're constantly comparing yourself to the woman next to you."

"OK, so I'm a part of Freya…"

'Right."

"Does that give me special powers?"

"Maybe – it might be the source of your telepathy. You might be able to do amazing magick if you tried. Those energy blasts you and Eric generate probably ought to be given form and direction."

"Form and direction? Like telling it what to do?"

"Exactly. As it is, it probably just builds and dissipates, like a river ebbing and flowing. If you give it a purpose and send it out with intention, there's no telling what you could do with it."

"But isn't there a sort of blowback?"

"Well, what goes out comes back, so you want it to be positive and creative. You could create impenetrable protection around the three of you, to start with, and send the energy to do things you want done, like to rebuild New Orleans or something like that."

"Is it possible we've already used it and didn't know it?"

"It's possible – why?"

"The way Eric moved upward so quickly – I wonder if we didn't wish Madden out of the way quickly…"

"I don't think you've got any blowback coming from that, if that's what you're worried about. From what I know of it, that went down according to the Council's plan. That may have come straight from Freya."

"But if I'm Freya…"

"Don't take all of that on, Sookie. There are limits to your ability and limits to your responsibility. Try to see this as a positive thing – be grateful for it and ask for guidance in using it wisely and for the good of all."

"For the good of all. That was in that book you lent me."

"Right – according to Free Will and for the good of all. That's how you do magick that is not harmful or manipulative. Everyone has to consent to the outcome and no one must be harmed. That doesn't mean that people might not be harmed as the magick unfolds – rapists gets caught and punished, criminals go to jail, Karma comes back to bite people in the ass, but you didn't do it – they did it to themselves."

"Trust the Universe and She will provide?"

"Yes – She really will, Sookie. Look at all She has given you already."

"Yeah – so many things I thought I could never have – Eric's baby, Eric, wealth, protection. The only thing really wrong right now is that I have to stay knocked out this way."

'That's only for a week. I talked to Dr. Ludwig while you were sleeping. She's going to give you something much milder for the trip, and you can start taking it on Friday so you have a couple of days to see how it works for you."

"What about getting ready for the trip, though?"

"Alicia has that all under control – she's going with us, you know?"

"She is?!"

"Yep – Eric thought it best that she be there to help with all the things she does for you – your hair, makeup, clothes, clerical stuff you might need. I'm supposed to look after you physically – massages, exercise, monitoring your blood pressure, which Bjorn and I will both do. He taught Eric how to read your BP, too."

"He did?"

"Yes, he explained to Eric how important it was – he had no concept of what it meant which was why he hadn't been worried about it – then he taught him how to use the cuff so we can all keep an eye on you."

"Will Alicia be able to handle all the Supe stuff?"

"She won't be around that much, really. She'll have her evenings off to go to shows and such after she gets you out the door. She can't wait to take you shopping in the Bellagio."

"Are you OK with that?"

"Of course – why wouldn't I be?"

"I don't know – that was kind of 'our thing' wasn't it?"

"Yeah, but this will be cool, too. It'll just give me more time to look around while she fusses over you. She's got a great eye, Sookie and she knows better than anyone what you still need."

"That's true. It will be nice to have her with me to get ready for the Ball and the fundraiser."

"Yeah, Eric was worried that you might be under a lot of stress those nights, so he thought having her there might be calming for you."

"It will – he takes good care of me."

"Yes, he does."

Sookie let out a huge yawn as Bobbie took away the empty gumbo container, and she settled back, going back to sleep. When she woke next, Eric was smiling at her, and he kissed her.

"Hey," she said

"Hey – how are you feeling, my angel?"

"I'm fine. Have a good night at Fangtasia?"

"Bill and I got a lot done. I met some subjects who had requested audiences. It was quiet and I missed you terribly."

"I miss you, too."

"Are you up to a bath?"

"I think I can do that."

"You relax and I'll get us clean and comfortable."

He ran a bath and undressed as she smiled at him, then settled her gently into the tub, climbing in behind her. He was determined not to get her worked up so he kept the vibe very quiet and gentle, with candlelight and he put some soft music on in the background. She had never heard of the band before and he said they were called Tabitha's Secret? and their singer had gone on to be very popular in another band. Eric liked his voice and Sookie found she did, too. It was soft alternative music with catchy tunes and good lyrics, and she settled back into Eric's chest and just melted for a little bit and he hummed the tunes to her. He could actually carry a tune and she asked him if he'd ever done any singing and he laughed and said something about a band in the late 60s. She asked if there were pictures and he said he'd dig them out sometime for her.

"Wow – I didn't know I was living with a rock god…" she teased him as she turned to snuggle up under his chin.

"You knew about half of it – you just didn't know I could sing,"

"Oh, but I knew you were a god?"

"Nothing but the best for my little Goddess. Would you like a massage?"

"Yes, I'd like that a lot. One of these days I should massage you."

"Maybe sometime. I get as much pleasure massaging you as I'd get from that, though – maybe more. I love touching your soft skin." He picked up a bottle of rose scented lotion and spread it on his hand, smoothing a lot of it on her back as she turned more toward him. He was so good at this – he used just the right pressure – enough to really feel him working the muscles, but no pain or discomfort at all, just a gentle kneading that made her feel so loved she couldn't believe it. He whispered in her ear as he stroked her back. "You're so warm, especially right now. I can feel your soft flesh yield to my fingers and feel the rush of your blood through your veins. I feel your heart beat and hear the baby's heartbeat, too. I've never felt anything like it. Your pulse is as hypnotic to me as your scent and taste is sweet."

He began licking her neck as his hands worked their way down to her bottom cheeks. She felt like she couldn't get close enough to him and he felt the same way about her. She started to speak, but he shushed her.

"Relax, my angel. Everything soft and slow tonight, alright? Let me do all the work."

That was fine with Sookie – she was too tired to do much else, anyway. He lifted her onto his erection, moving toward the middle of the tub and letting her get her legs around him. She sighed with relief as he lowered her onto him and for some reason she felt like crying and she couldn't hold it in. She tried to hide her face in his hair so he wouldn't notice, but he put his hand on her cheek and made her look at him, and he kissed her cheeks and eyelids.

Very quietly, he asked "are you in pain, little one?"

"No – I don't know why I'm crying."

"Well, there must be a reason, so let it all out. I've got you and you're safe, so let it all go. You know you don't have to hide from me, don't you? I know you were trying not to let me see."

"Everything is so perfect right now that it hurts."

"I know what you mean."

"You do?"

"Yes, I do. It feels too good to be real. I keep expecting to wake from a dream and find myself alone again."

"Yeah, like that. I didn't know how lonely I used to be, but now that I've had this, I don't know if I could ever face going back to that."

"You'll never have to, Sookie, I promise. Freyja didn't bring us together just to tear us apart. We're going to be together forever."

She put her arms tight around his neck and they were both quiet except for soft moans as they moved a little faster and a little more deliberately and she reached a quiet but deep release. His followed soon after and he held her tight as she hugged his neck, tears streaming down her face. He knew that most of this was hormonal upheaval, and she was under a lot of pressure being Queen. She was so well suited for everything she was going through, but there was still a part of her that was a lonely little girl and it broke his heart. Gradually, he turned her with her back to his chest and bit his wrist. He pressed his bleeding arm to her lips and as she drew deeply and hard from his arm he sank his teeth into her neck, which wasn't really easy but it was amazing – the white hot light was with them as they both came like the snap of a string – Eric couldn't speak, but Sookie was saying "please Freyja, protect us. Let us be together always." As the last word left her lips there was a WHOOSH of wind that put the candles out, leaving them in the dark.

"Sookie, what did you do?"

"Bobbie said she and Amelia thought we should use that energy when we raise it. I was giving it direction. I think it worked."

"I'd say so. How do you feel?

"Happy, tired, - safe."

"Good. Would you like for me to wash your hair?"

"Don't we need light?"

"I can see fine. All you need to do is close your eyes and let me do the work."

"OK, that might be kind of cool. I'm looking forward to being in bed with you. I just want to be tucked in with your arms around me."

It wasn't long until she got just what she wanted. He helped her drink a couple of RMs and take a Soma, then crawled in next to her. They spooned and he whispered to her for a while as his hand rested over the baby and soon she drifted off to sleep. He lay in the dark with her until near dawn. He wasn't ready to let her go until he had to. Work could wait. Everything could wait. He was with his Sookie and that was all he cared about. He gave her another blood which she practically drank in her sleep. He kissed her softly on the forehead for a long time. He didn't want to leave them but the sun was coming up and he needed to be in his hiding place before the servants arrived. He went to rest with two pictures on his chest under his hand – the picture of the baby and a beautiful picture of Sookie sleeping. It was the closest thing he could get to what he really wanted.


	59. Chapter 59

**Chapter 59**

The next three days were a bit of a blur for Sookie. The Soma kept her too knocked out to get into the pool. She'd wake up enough to eat breakfast and then dinner, and she and Bobbie spent the nights shopping on line while the boys – Eric, Bill, and Bjorn, who was going to see Felicia -- were at Fangtasia. The days were only distinguished by the shopping.

**Wednesday** night, Bobbie introduced Sookie to Nordstrom's, telling her it was Oprah's favorite store, which impressed Sookie more than she expected. It was a Juicy Couture kind of night:

BabyBriefcase® Document Organizer | #188295 $29.95

Someday Inc. Clay Handprint & Personalized Photo Frame | #223013 $44.00

Juicy Couture Bib Set (3-Pack) (Infant) | #237021 $50.00

Juicy Couture Logo Bodysuits (3-Pack) (Infant) | #215933 $88.00

Juicy Couture Binkie Set (Infant) | #184776 $48.00

Menonove Maternity Spaghetti Strap Jersey Dress $39.90

Maternal America Maternity Stretch Tulle Dress | #221482 $146.00

Olian Maternity Knot Front Maxi Dress $148.00

Juicy Couture Maternity Chrysanthemum Dress $268.00

Maternal America Maternity Flutter Tankini | #208938 $98.00

Maternal America Maternity 'Jasmine' Swimsuit | #250712 $84.00

Ingrid & Isabel™ Maternity Lace Trim BellaBand™ | #116454 $30.00

Bravado Maternity Microfiber Nursing Bra | #212215 $47.00

Bravado Maternity Below the Belly Bikini $15.00

Olian Maternity Floral Halter Maxi Dress | #250281 $168.00

Olian Maternity Voile Peasant Dress | #250310 $118.00

Hanky Panky 'Mom to Be' Thong | #244372 $28.00

Olian Maternity 'Mary Alice' Silk Dress | #223679 $38.90

Merchandise:

**$1,488.75**

That's one $1,500.00 Gift Certificate down, several more to go. Sookie had these items delivered express so hopefully she could take some of them on her trip. She fell asleep at 1:30 and Eric didn't wake her up except to give her a couple of RMs and let her feed from his wrist. She was none too happy about that Thursday morning, and left him a note on the dresser to PLEASE wake her up! He laughed when he saw the note – she had never written one to him before. She had terrible penmanship! He never told her that he didn't wake her up because he had demoted Sabrina that night and given her until Sunday to get completely out of his territories and he was in a foul mood.

Bjorn and Bobbie put their heads together at breakfast and decided that every time Sookie got a 2-hour feeding, they would check her blood pressure and keep it on a chart for the doctor. Even when she was completely out, it stayed high enough for concern.

**Thursday night**, Sookie had a $500 gift certificate for Petit Tresor:

**Your Shopping Cart **

Product Description

PriceTotal

Mommy Bliss Nipple Cream - $14.99 $14.99

Belli Motherhood Body Firming Serum - $38.00 $38.00

Belli Motherhood Stretchmark Minimizing Cream - $60.00 $60.00

Belli Motherhood Pure Comfort Nursing Cream - $15.00 $15.00

Mommy Bliss Belly Butter - $19.99 $19.99

Belli Pregnancy Elasticity Belly Oil - $48.00 $48.00

Belli Pregnancy Pampered Pregnancy Body Wash - $21.00 $21.00

Belli Pregnancy Skin Smoothing Body Exfoliator - $28.00 $28.00

Belli Motherhood Moisturizing Hand Sanitizer - $10.00 $10.00

Belli Pregnancy Foot Relief Cream - $21.00 $21.00

Sleep Bra - Medium $24.00 $24.00

Underwire Seamless Breastfeeding Bra $49.99 $49.99

Twilight Sea Turtle $38.00 $38.00

Rustle the Dragon $28.00 $28.00

Dragon Castle $38.00 $38.00

Smushy Elephant in Blue - , Medium $18.00 $18.00

Chubby Bunny - $16.00 $16.00

Rockabye Baby Blue Rocker $159.00 $159.00

Baby Pad $29.00 $29.00

Supreme Snuggle Nest $60.00 $60.00

All Natural Organic Teethers - Apple $18.00 $18.00

All Natural Organic Pacifier - 0-3 months $12.00 $12.00

Cowboy Dusk Burp Cloth and Bib Set $37.00 $37.00

Super Seat $159.00 $159.00

Tender Care Lanolin $11.00 $11.00

Medela 100% Cotton Nursing Bra Pads - $12.00 $12.00

Medela Quick Clean Wipes $14.00 $14.00

Nursing Cover Yoko - $49.00 $49.00

Medela Glass Bottles - $19.95 $19.95

Bib for Baby Carrier - $21.00 $21.00

Bib Set Boy $44.00 $44.00

Onesie Boys Organic Gift Set - 0-3 Months $45.00 $45.00

Organic Gift Set Socks $25.00 $25.00

Prince Socks - $26.00 $26.00

Robeez Lil' Horses Brown - 0-6 months $32.00 $32.00

Loved Gift Set in a Suitcase - 0-3 mos $79.00 $79.00

**Subtotal: $1339.92 **

She wound up with pretty much one of everything. For some reason, she didn't feel a bit guilty about spending extra money, maybe because a lot of what she bought had to do with caring for her tummy and breasts. She really liked the stuff she bought there, too, like glass bottles which Dr. Ludwig had specified she preferred for storing breast milk and feeding the baby because they didn't know what chemicals he might be sensitive to in plastic ones. When she was done there, Sookie did a search on Olian, which was one of the designers she had liked at Nordstrom's, and she found Figure 8 which turned out to have a lot of nursing clothes. Knowing she may be nursing for the next 2 years or longer, she bought:

ITEM SIZE QTY PRICE EACH ITEM TOTAL

Olian 5 Piece Nursing PJ Set with Baby Outfit Pink Animal Print Item# 111361 M 1 $115.00

Angelina Maternity Gown Black Item# 111020 M 1 $149.00

Olian 4 piece Nursing PJ set with Baby Outfit Multi-Color Print Item# 109500 L 1 $93.00

Take Me Home Mom & Baby Nursing PJ Set Blue Item# 108970 M 1 $78.00

Vivian Nursing Top Fuschia Floral Print Item# 109260 M 1 $79.00

Olian Jasper Nursing Dress Blue Abstract Print Item# 111580 M 1 $125.00

Maternal America Blooming Maternity Dress Black Item# 111700 M 1 $145.00

Maternal America Blooming Maternity Dress Magenta Item# 111701 M 1 $145.00

Majamas Cozy Dress - Organic Black Item# 111940 M 1 $60.00

Majamas Cozier Dress Cocoa Item# 107850 M 1 $58.00

The Sleepy Dress - Organic Black Item# 107840 M 1 $60.00

The Sleepy Dress Merlot Item# 100084 M 1 $59.00

Glamourmom Nursing Bra Slip Dress Ruby Red Item# 107671 M 1 $44.00

Glamourmom Nursing Bra Slip Dress Black Item# 107670 M 1 $44.00

JessicaScott A Nightie to Remember - Organic Licorice Item# 105320 M 1 $95.00

Cupcake Maternity Tank Fuchsia Item# 108871 (Clearance) S 1 $23.00

Deloris Lace Evening Maternity Dress Black/Silver Item# 108780 (Clearance) M 1 $92.00

JR Aero Maternity Bermuda Indigo Item# 108800 (Clearance) M 1 $25.00

Skye Obi Nursing Tank Violet Item# 101924 (Clearance) S 1 $39.00

Yummie Tummie Nursing T Tank Black Item# 111840 M 1 $76.00

Bravado Essential Nursing Bra Tank Ruby Item# 103895 34D/E 1 $44.00

Bravado Essential Nursing Bra Tank Black Item# 103890 34 D/E 1 $44.00

Bravado Nursing Tank Shrug Black Item# 105890 S/M 1 $25.00

Bravado Nursing Tank Shrug White Item# 105891 S/M 1 $25.00

Glamourmom Nursing Bra Long Tank Strawberry Item# 105195 M 1 $39.00

Glamourmom Nursing Bra Long Tank Midnight Blue Item# 105192 M 1 $39.00

Glamourmom Lace Hem Nursing Bra Top Dusty Rose Item# 102710 M 1 $39.00

Bella Materna Anytime Nursing Cami Slate Blue Item# 108061 34E/F 1 $62.00

Bella Materna Anytime Nursing Cami Black Item# 108060 34C/D 1 $72.00

Esme Soft Modal Rib Cami Chemise Salmon/Mocha Item# 105912 M 1 $53.00

Lotus Nursing Baby Doll and Lounge Pant Set Black/Pearl Item# 111271 M 1 $105.00

Lotus Nursing Chemise Black/Pearl Item# 108770 M 1 $66.00

The Dakota Pant Black Item# 111490 L 1 $46.00

Wrap Nursing Top w/ Crop Pants Pink Item# 104900 M 1 $59.00

Wrap Nursing Top w/ Crop Pants Hot Pink Item# 104903 M 1 $59.00

La Leche League Wendy PJ Raspberry Item# 108320 M 1 $48.00

Motherlove More Milk Plus Capsules Item# 102840 (Final Sale) 60 Capsules 1 $24.00

Motherlove Lactation Pack Item# 102940 (Final Sale) One Size 1 $22.00

Total Merchandise: $2,475.00

"Holy shit, Sookie!"

"I know, Bobbie – how do people afford having a baby?"

"They aren't able to have everything you have. Your situation is ideal. If Eric wasn't loaded, you'd have to learn to do with less."

"That's the way I grew up. Maybe I'm overdoing it?"

"I say buy it now, and then when it comes in, you, Alicia and I will go through it and weed out anything you don't love. Some of this stuff is on clearance and might not be available later."

"Ok. I guess…"

She was asleep when Eric got home but he woke her and they had their bath together, though he insisted that they take it easy sexually. She wasn't happy with it but he did agree to do the gently-while-she-falls-asleep thing that she loved so that was made her happy.

**Friday **Alicia filled a new prescription for a different sedative that was much milder. Sookie still slept most of the day, but she was awake that night. Before Alicia left for the day, she had Sookie try on her dresses for the two formal events they had coming up. The dress for the Sheriff's Ball was now out of the question – she couldn't get it on, even though it was a size bigger than she normally took. She started to get nervous until she tried on her back-up dress and Bobbie and Alicia agreed it was a better dress anyway.

"Seriously, Sookie, the other dress was pretty, but you're going to look like a Greek Goddess in this one." Bobbie assured her.

"And, remember, it's roomy. You've still got a week to grow before the ball and we know for sure that this one will still fit." Alicia was good at getting to the point.

They were taking a backup for the New Orleans dress, too, but it looked great and the cut would be forgiving if Sookie's belly got bigger between now and then so they thought they were safe on that one. In a pinch, Sookie could wear the new red dress for Vegas in New Orleans, too, though that was a very last resort. She LOVED the pretty Goddess style pink dress for New Orleans so she'd keep her fingers crossed that it would work. Bobbie teased her because both the main dresses for this trip looked like something you'd see in a Greek or Roman sculpture.

"Well, at least I'll know Eric will like them:"

"Eric will be out of his mind and people will be blown away. You're going to be the living archetype of the Earth Mother Goddess in both of those dresses. He's going to be showing you off like crazy."

Since she didn't have to worry about her weight now, Sookie and Bobbie decided to be bad, so Bobbie made popcorn with lots of butter and parmesan cheese – Sookie had never heard of such a thing, but LOVED it – and they watched an old Western Sookie remembered watching with her dad called **Cat Ballou**, which featured a very young Jane Fonda. They laughed all the way through it, especially enjoying Jackson, the young Indian farm hand who acts as sidekick to Kid Shaleen. The movie channel host talked about Lee Marvin winning and Oscar for his role as the Kid and they were both impressed because he was really funny. Bobbie laughed so hard when he tried to pull his gun and ripped his pants that she nearly fell off the bed. After the movie they broke out the computer.

It was Friday night, so it was FAO Schwartz, where she had three gift certificates totaling $1750.00:

Thor Super Deformed Plush by Comic Images$5.99

Baby Animals Flip-a-Face Book by SAMi $8.95

Blue Hooded Towel by Elegant Baby $32

Fireboat Felix by WOW Toys $16

Elephant Soft Rocker by ALEX Jr $125

Classic ABC Block Cart by Melissa & Doug $15

Clifford ® BE BIG Sturdy Board Nesting Blocks$25

Soft Dinosaur Storage/Play Ball Pit by K's Kids $92

Hopscotch Giraffe Plush by Baby Gund $50

Sidney School Bus by WOW Toys $25

Safari Chunky Puzzle by Melissa & Doug $10

Farm Fuzzy Puzzle by Melissa & Doug $12

Shapes Sound Puzzle by Melissa & Doug $13

Bear Tales Growth Chart by Baby Gund $45

Chomp and Clack Gator Push Toy by Melissa & Doug $50

'Barefoot Singalong' - A Barefoot Books Gift Collection $100

Spelling Blocks Set by Elegant Baby $30

Rocking Horse Photo Album by Elegant Baby$27

Blue Baby Blanket by Elegant Baby $42

Deep Sea Diver Mobile by North American Bear $50

Baby's First Book - Gift Edition by Barefoot Books $19.99

'Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What Do You Hear?' Plush Character $18

Little Uglys Gift Set: Series 3 by Uglydoll $64

Comicon 'Hidden Poe' by Uglydoll $30

NY Central Flyer Train Set by Lionel $425

Kiana Soft Doll By Gund$18

Baby Talk Flip-a-Face Book by Sami $8.95

'Adventure Stories From Far and Wide'

Barefoot Books Gift Collection $140

'Faerie Magic' - A Barefoot Books Gift Set $32

'Tales from Celtic Lands' with Two Story CDs

from Barefoot Books $21.99

'The Barefoot Book of Classic Poems' from Barefoot Books $19.99

'The Prince's Bedtime' from Barefoot Books $16.99

Merchandise Total: $ 1,594.86

Estimated Standard Shipping: $ 158.89

**Estimated Order Total: $ 1,747.74**

"Wow – that was not easy."

"They didn't have as big of a selection as I expected," Bobbie agreed, "and you have to use your gift certificates before they expire."

"I got some stuff he would want eventually, though. What boy wouldn't love a train set?" Sookie laughed.

"I just have this picture of Eric pulling a Gomez Addams and blowing it up." Bobbie laughed and Sookie cracked up.

.

"Anybody awake?" Bjorn heard the girls laughing and wanted to see how Sookie was doing so he was standing on the stairs just below the landing. He didn't want to surprise Sookie if she wasn't dressed.

"Hey, Bjorn, come on up." Sookie said.

He bounded up the last few steps and was relieved to see Sookie in one of Eric's t-shirts, "Hey, ladies – what's so funny?"

"Did you ever watch the Addams Family, Bjorn?" Bobbie asked.

"With Uncle Fester – yeah."

"Sookie just ordered a train set for the baby and we had an image of Eric blowing it up the way Gomez used to."

Bjorn cracked up. "Yes, I can see that. Any son of Eric's will have to learn about explosives, you know." They all laughed. "Wait – you bought a train set for a baby?"

"I had a gift certificate I had to use and they didn't have a big selection."

"Oh, OK…"

"Why are you home so early? It's only 12:45." Bobbie said.

"Fangtasia was raided. They didn't find anything, but Eric said fuck it and sent everybody home. He and Bill will be here in a few minutes. They were still closing up when I took Felicia home. I thought for a minute he was going to get arrested but he scared the shit out of the cops and they let him go."

"What did he do?" Sookie was worried now.

"He told them to stop fucking harassing his customers. He said they'd pulled this shit 3 times this year and found nothing but a little sex in the bathrooms and he was getting tired of being hassled because they were bigoted against vamps."

"Oh, no…"

"He's OK – this one young cop started toward him and his fangs came out and the guy literally turned and ran. It was so stupid – they didn't even have any Weres with them. These regular sized human cops thought they were going to cuff Eric? The whole precinct couldn't take Eric down!" They all cracked up, knowing that was literally true.

"What's so funny?" Eric wasn't mad, but he wasn't pleased either.

"I was just telling them what happened." Bjorn said as Eric went around him into the bedroom.

"Eric, are you alright?" Sookie was still concerned.

"I'm fine but I may have to sue the police department for harassment." Bobbie got up and let Eric onto his side of the bed and he bent to kiss Sookie, then stroked her cheek with the backs of his fingers. His voice softened "How are you feeling, my angel?"

"I'm feeling fine and I'm actually awake. The new meds don't seem to be knocking me out the way the others did."

"Good – how is your blood pressure."

"Bobbie – it was OK, wasn't it?"

Bobbie was in the hallway kissing Bill but she turned to answer her. "It's still high but nothing like it was. We're going to go on up – have a good night, everybody."

"Good night, Bobbie! Thanks!"

"I'm going to get some sleep. Good night." Bjorn was down the stairs before Sookie could even get her "Good Night!" out. He didn't want to piss Eric off and he was already in a bad mood.

"I'm sorry you had a bad night, Sweetie." Sookie stroked Eric's cheek and he kissed the palm of her hand then stood up.

Eric was already getting undressed. "Fucking cops. They're selling drugs in every bar in Louisiana tonight but they raid my bar, where the strongest thing we serve is AB positive. Assholes." He looked at Sookie and saw how big her eyes were. "I'm sorry, dear one, I shouldn't bring this home to you. I need to focus on what is important. How are you and my son feeling tonight?"

"Your son has been pretty mellow until now. Ever since you got here he's been wanting to kick someone's ass. Ow!"

Eric closed his eyes and focused on he bond. FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT! He laughed and shook his head. "My boy the Viking warrior!" He smiled at Sookie then he closed his eyes again and said to himself, "my boy."

Sookie beamed at him. Sending back and forth with the baby immediately grounded Eric and calmed him down. When he was undressed, he crawled into bed with Sookie and rested his cheek on the baby bump. The baby wiggled and let Eric know he knew Daddy was there. Sookie stroked Eric's hair and let him commune with Eric Alexander. She couldn't wait until the three of them were here together, in this bed, Baby E out and able to play with them.

"I can't wait either, my angel."

"What?"

"I can't wait, either."

"Eric, did you just read my mind?"

"I don't know – did I?"

"I think you did. That's weird."

"You know, Sookie, I was thinking – we need to start writing these things down and keeping track of them. There may be a pattern or some other influence that we are missing."

"Good idea. It might help us sort all this energy stuff out." Sookie reached into her drawer and scribbled a little note on her steno pad.

"Alright, now snuggle with me."

Sookie laughed. "Snuggle with you?"

"Yes, I need to shake off the events of the day and the only place to do that is in your arms, listening to you breathe and the baby's heart beat."

"Aww – sweetie." She pulled the t-shirt she was wearing over her head and off. They both scooted down under the covers, Sookie moving down a little so she wasn't up on the wedge so high that she couldn't snuggle. He took her in his arms and rested his cheek against her hair, enjoying the warmth of her skin and the sweet scent of her hair and her neck as he nuzzled against them. She could feel him begin to let go and she sent as much love and comfort through the bond as she could. Baby E was sending comfort and pride to his Daddy, who was bouncing it right back to him.

"Better now?" Sookie whispered.

"Yes, my lover, everything is much better now that I am with the two of you. Being away from you both is becoming more painful. I was short-tempered all night, even before the police busted in. Bill and I went over the second set of books from Madden's territory and I wished the bastard were alive so I could kill him again," he laughed a little but she knew he meant it.

"It's all getting better, now, Eric. You and Bill are getting it sorted out and New Orleans will be better for it. That fundraiser we're going to hold will give it all a big boost and you can generate enough cash and energy to get everything on track, right?"

"Right. Bill is going to New Orleans on Monday to engage some new contractors and they should be on the job by the time we get there. Pam gets back tomorrow night, and that will be a relief."

"Is Bill still going to the Sheriff's Ball?"

"Yes, but he won't get to Vegas until Friday. He and Bobbie will get to attend the Ball together and then the four of us will go to New Orleans on the following Tuesday and the fundraiser is that Friday."

"That's weird how the two events are so close together."

"Well, that's because the two kingdoms were functioning separately. Now that I'm in charge of both, they'll be cooperating and our schedule will be adjusted to accommodate our family."

"We have a lot of events scheduled for the late Fall and Winter. The baby will be born then – are we going to take him to things like that?"

"Possibly. It will depend on when he sleeps and whether there is benefit to his being there. We'll take it one event at a time and do what is most convenient. Be aware, though, Sookie, that once they use us as the new face of the vampire community, people will insist on seeing him. There has never been a vampire prince so far as anyone seems to know. He's going to be the first of his kind in more ways than one."

"Yeah, I guess. I just feel weird about it – the idea of taking a baby to a Ball or something like that."

"Picture this, my angel: a band is playing a soft romantic song, and there we are dancing, you and me and our child held between us. You must admit, that's a picture that would melt the iciest heart. The media will eat it up. If I were on the Council, I'd want to make the most of that potential good will."

"You think you ever will be? On the Council, I mean?"

"It's a strong possibility that you or I could move up to the Council when our son is old enough to be King."

"Me? Why me?"

"Niall's seat will stay in your family, lover. If he were to pass before our son is old enough to take his seat, it would go to you or to me until he was old enough to serve."

"It would go to you, you mean…"

"No, it would probably go to you. If you refused it, I might serve in your stead, but it would by rights be yours. My only eligibility would be as your consort."

"My consort?"

"Yes – your mate. The seat must stay in your family line, so I would merely be a placeholder if you chose not to serve."

"What does it mean to serve?"

"No one but a member of the Council could tell you that. Their rituals are completely secret. They control a lot of wealth and have their hands in politics at all levels but the functions of it are very mysterious. You know, my angel, it is possible you could be elevated to the Pantheon if Freya so chooses."

"That… I… you mean…?"

"Yes, Sookie, I mean you might actually become a Goddess in your own right and not just a manifestation of a pre-existing ancient Goddess. It happens very rarely but it does happen and at the rate things are aligning, who knows?"

"Would I have a choice?"

"If there were a choice to be made, you made it before you were born into that body. If life were a roller coaster, you gave the man your ticket and you're strapped into the car. The only thing to do at this point is to live through it.

"That's a lot to think about."

"Then don't. Whether it will be or not already is and it wouldn't happen for many years, anyway. Make up your mind to enjoy the ride no matter where it takes us. I can see you enjoying all of the attention you would get at a royal function as you walked around with the Prince in your arms, saying hello to all the other regents and guests. Our lives might not be easy, but they could be a lot of fun if we approach it with a positive attitude. I know I will enjoy holding my son in my arms and introducing him to other elite Supes. I'll be the envy of every undead Vampire. Our son will be adored by everyone who sees him. They will sell plates with pictures of the three of us on them," he laughed.

"I'm glad you think it's funny."

"Sookie, if anyone starts selling Prince Eric Alexander t-shirts, that's money in his pocket. We'll make sure he gets a piece of the action." Eric was really laughing now.

"Eric – you went from being pissed off to being almost giddy. What's going on with you?"

"I don't know, Sookie. I am… overwhelmed, I suppose. All of this change is a lot, even for me. I admire you for handling it all so well. I'm so busy trying to peel away the layers and figure out who is pulling which string that some nights I look up and realize that my life is as good as it could possibly be and I should be overjoyed instead of apprehensive. I think I made a decision a few minutes ago to enjoy our life and not worry. There is always something to worry about – we will do our best, love each other and our son and deal with problems when they arise. In the end, that's all anyone can do."

"You just decided that?"

"Yes, apparently I did."

"Just now?"

"Yes."

"In this bed?"

"Yes, my lover, just now, in this bed, in your arms, listening to the miraculous sound of my son's heart beating inside you."

Sookie reached up and stroked his cheek and his chin. She rose up a little and pulled her hair to the side, tilting her head away and exposing her neck to him. He took in a deep whiff of her scent and drove his fangs into her neck, his hand cradling her head, his other hand squeezing her bottom, then slipping between her legs in time to enjoy the contractions of the orgasm that began as soon as he bit her. He rolled onto his back so he could reach his pants on the floor and pulled a knife out of his pocket. She latched onto his nipple and sucked until she realized he had the knife and her eyes grew wide and shone brightly.

'She looks like a vampire,' he thought as he cut the artery in his neck and she pounced on the wound. She was sucking hard as he pulled her astraddle him, raising her bottom and impaling her on his cock. She whimpered as the wound in his throat drew closed. She moved her mouth downward to tease his nipple with her teeth but soon she had her hands braced against his cool marble shoulders concentrating all of her effort into the movement of her center as it devoured him over and over.

She dug her fingernails into his shoulder as he growled and smacked her bottom hard. She cried out in pain and surprise but it only made her wilder. He smiled to himself – she liked it. He smacked her bottom hard again in the same spot, and she yelped but she kept pounding onto him frantically, SMACK, SMACK, SMACK, three more hard hits and her nervous system couldn't tell the pain from the pleasure anymore as she began to come. He flipped her on her back and drove into her, pinning her wrists over her head and she let out a strangled sound that was somewhere between a scream and a howl and ended sobbing and gasping for breath as he slowed and enjoyed the final contractions from her orgasm.

He moved as if he was going to get up but she said "no!" and wrapped her arms around his neck and legs around his waist. "Stay inside me. Don't leave me, please."

"Shh, Sookie, I'm not going anywhere. I'm right here. I've got you, little one, It's all right."

He held her tight and began to take slow strokes in and out of her. He was noticing a pattern. She liked to be pushed, even hurt a little, and then she wanted to be comforted as she clung to him tightly. That was a perfect reaction as far as he was concerned. Punishment should always be quickly followed with love and acceptance. Her natural sexual instincts were to be submissive. She couldn't be more perfect for him. She liked pain as long as it was followed with assurances that she was loved.

He looked at her, watching her face as she began to relax a little and she finally realized that he was watching her.

"What? Did I do something wrong?"

"No, my angel, that was very, very good. Do you still want to be trained?"

"Yes, please."

"You have to do what I say, then, in every context. I may make you do things you think are silly or pointless, but your job is to do exactly as you're told or else."

"Or else what?"

"Or else you'll be punished. Small physical punishments at first, but they'll get more severe after the baby is born. Are you sure it's what you want?"

"Yes."

"Alright, here are some rules we'll start with. You are NEVER to have an orgasm when not with me, is that clear?"

"Yes."

"If you slip and disobey me, or you have a dream that makes you come, or anything happens that causes you to come when I am not with you, you must confess to me immediately when you see me next and be punished."

"OK."

"I mean it, Sookie – even minor reactions must be reported to me. If see or hear or smell or taste or touch anything that causes your pussy to throb, you have to tell me."

"I will. I promise."

"Even if it's a thought of me, you have to tell me."

"Oh, OK… So if my mind… wanders…"

"I want a full accounting of every time your little pink center throbs over anything or anyone when you are not in my presence. Understand?"

"Yeah."

"When you answer me, you will use my name. Understand?"

"Yes, Eric."

"Good girl." He kissed her and started really pumping in and out of her. When he could tell she was starting to come, he asked "Who do you belong to."

"You, Eric, I belong to you forever." She must have loved saying that because she came again immediately. Her eyes were closed as she was catching her breath.

"Sookie, do you want to sleep or do you want to take a bath."

"Bath," YAWN. "then sleep."

He laughed and went to fill the tub. He used a new perfumed bubble bath Pam bought for them and then he lit candles and turned off the lights. He came back out and dimmed the lights in the bedroom with the switch in the headboard, and scooped Sookie up as she threw her arms around his neck. He levitated them so that they floated gently down into the tub together because he didn't feel like letting her go.

"Mmmm – it smells good in here. Is this a new bubble bath?"

"Yes, Pam bought it for us. She said it would remind us of Marilyn Monroe."

"Really? Is it Chanel No. 5?"

"Yes – you know of it?"

"Yes, someone asked her what she wore to bed one time and she said "Chanel No. 5.""

"Implying she slept naked with only perfume on her skin?"

"Yep."

"I knew I liked that woman," he laughed.

"Do you like the scent? I bought a big bottle of the perfume when we were in Las Vegas, I just haven't used it."

"Mmmm – I don't know if it's possible for you to smell any better, but wear a little to bed tonight and let's see how we like it. I love perfume and this bath smells very fine."

"Fine?"

"Yes, fine – expensive, good quality, pretty, feminine – all the good things one associates with refinement."

"OK, good to know." She was nuzzling his neck. "Sometimes I feel like I can't get close enough to you. I wish I could crawl inside you."

"I know the feeling. That's why I crawl inside you every chance I get." He wiggled his eyebrows and she laughed, nipping at his neck. "I've already had you many times tonight and I feel like I could have you many more, too. Maybe some day we will go to a country where it stays dark for months at a time and find out how many times we can fuck without stopping for daylight."

Sookie laughed. "If only I didn't need to sleep now and then. At some point, I guess I'd get sore – but you know, it seems like I would now, as much as we have sex but I don't."

"My emission keeps you from getting sore."

"Emission? Oh, you mean… It does?"

"Yes, it's very nearly blood and so it has the same healing properties as my blood. You could never have this much sex with a human, even if he were able, which of course no human could be. It's not that you have never been injured when we have sex, it's that those injuries heal almost immediately."

"Another advantage of fucking vampires, huh?"

"Yes, of course. It's why human politicians hate us so much. They're afraid when their women find out how much better we are in bed, your race will die out." He was laughing, but Sookie had a feeling he wasn't entirely kidding.

"You wouldn't want the human race to die out, though…?"

"Of course not – from whom would we feed?"

"Well, that's something I guess. I'm just thinking though – I can remember a few times I was sure something hurt more than it probably should have but I didn't have any problems later…"

"You've been hurt at times. You've had small tears, abrasions, bleeding but it doesn't last more than a few minutes. With our relative sizes injuries are almost a given, but you don't suffer from them or have lasting effects."

"Yeah, the only bad after effects is that I occasionally have some sore muscles, but that's from rolling around with a guy as big as you."

"If I were not vampire you would have many more bad after affects from being with someone as big as me. You are a small girl. I'm larger than most men – much larger in some respects."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah…"

"Do you doubt that?"

"No, I know it's true – I've talked to other women about it."

"About "it"? Sookie, have you talked to other women about my penis?"

"Yes, and we all agree it's huge."

Eric laughed long and hard … as it were.

"Sookie, exactly whom have you told that my cock is huge?" He was enjoying this entirely too much.

"Just a few women…"

"Bobbie?"

"Yes."

"Amelia?"

"Yes."

"Your co-worker?"

"I'm not sure she knew I was talking about you, but she probably did because she said something once about my big, big, vampire boyfriend when you came in."

"Anyone else?"

"Pam – but she already knew, of course, we just…"

"Yes…?"

"We were sort of…"

"Yes?"

"Bragging on it… on you, I mean."

Everyone in and outside of the house could hear Eric's laughter. He was still chuckling to himself as he washed her hair and then she washed his. He clipped her hair up as the water drained and he picked up a bottle of lotion with the same scent as the bubble bath. He gently massaged her all over, rubbing the lotion slowly into her damp skin until it was all absorbed and she was soft and scented with Chanel No. 5 right down to her little toes. He took such a long time massaging her with the lotion that she began to fall asleep. He just loved touching her soft hot skin. He finally, gently patted her with a towel and tucked her into their bed. She was asleep before her head hit the pillow.

Eric went to his office. His first call was to Marcel DuPont in Area 3.

"Yes, your majesty?"

"Marcel, are you situated in Sabrina's office now?"

"Yes, sire and we will be sure that she is out of the territories by the weekend."

"Alright, now I'm authorizing you to seize her assets and try to get back the tribute she was skimming off her subjects. I expect them to have full restitution plus 20%. If her holdings won't cover what they're owed we will petition her new regent wherever she settles and demand that she pay it off. Call any time if you need help."

"Yes, your majesty, I will see that it is done."

"Thank you."

The next call was to Sandy.

"Yes, your majesty?"

"Good evening, Sandy. First, I want you to notify your sheriffs that Sabrina Maxwell has been banished from my territories."

"You're kidding? Why?"

"She was stealing from her subjects, charging double tribute to some of them. I've given her until Sunday to get out of my territories. Tell all your people to be on the look out for her and make sure the Palace staff knows that she's to have no admittance there. I expect her to try and trade on her previous relationships wih Felipe and Victor. I'll be exceedingly displeased if she finds quarter anywhere in my Kingdom."

"Yes, your majesty. I'll see that all the guards, Sheriffs and household staff are aware of her change in status."

"Alright, then. Anything you need my help with?"

"I'm having the papers drawn up to sell that bar we had an offer on – it's a fair offer and will relieve a major headache for this office."

"Ok , then, we'll take care of that first thing Tuesday night."

"Thank you, your majesty."

"Good night, Sandy."

Eric zipped down to the kitchen on the first floor where Bill was waiting for him. It had become their habit to check in with each other here at the kitchen table just before sunrise.

"Marcel DuPont is in Sabrina's office and I authorized him to seize her assets and try to get restitution plus 20% for her subjects. Sandy is putting her people on notice. Have you talked to the New Orleans office yet?"

"Yes, I called them earlier tonight and notified them of her new status. There's an official release going out tomorrow to all the sheriffs in the Louisiana Territories. Did she give you any idea where she is going to go?"

"No, but she'll probably have to apply to the Council to get any other regent to accept her. She's ruined her career for the next century or two."

"I can't imagine that she thought she'd get away with it."

"She thought she had Victor and Felipe wrapped around her finger. It never occurred to her that they were on their way out, or that I was about to move up – she made several serious miscalculations."

"Well, if you don't need me anymore tonight, I'm going to go to rest for the day."

"Alright, Bill, rest well."

Eric went to his resting place. He didn't get his time in he nursery this night but he and the baby bounced love back and forth to each other and Baby E fell asleep just before his Daddy did.


	60. Chapter 60

[A/N – _The winners of my big story in the Support Stacie auction, a collective of Dionysian revelers, wanted a story about Octavia and they said I could incorporate it into Late, so __**Chapter 60**__ is also called __**Octavia's Chapter**__ and I wrote it for them._

_Also, in MY Sookie-verse, the entire Bob the cat episode never happened. Witches don't do transformative magick for no good reason and frankly, the whole story line was an insult, as was the fact that CH called Hallow's group Witches instead of warlocks, which is what they were. So, the Amelia and Octavia in this story never turned a guy named Bob into a cat, nor did they need to turn him back. Enjoy!]_

Sookie was dreaming. There was a collie running on the shore that was washed away in the waves. Sookie started to run out to help the dog, but Freya appeared and held her back.

"What are you doing? Help him!" Sookie struggled in Her arms.

"You help him, Sookie, but do it from here."

"I can't."

"Yes, you can. Picture the dog on the shore, stretch out your hands and say 'come to me.'"

Sookie looked at the poor dog drowning, and she closed her eyes, stretched out her hands and said "COME TO ME!"

Instantly, the dog was sitting at her feet, wet but not even out of breath.

"He wanted to be saved, Sookie. You were able to save him because he wanted to be saved. You may offer your gifts, but others may refuse. Remember, and trust yourself to know what to do."

BZZZZZZ

_I believe the world is burning to the ground_

_Oh well I guess we're gonna find out_

_Let's see how far we've come_

_Let's see how far we've come_

_Well I believe it all is coming to an end_

_Oh well, I guess, we're gonna pretend,_

_Let's see how far we've come_

_Let's see how far we've come_

Sookie's phone was buzzing its way across her nightstand, her Matchbox 20 ringtone singing in her face. Ugh. She picked up the phone and saw her Bon Temps number on the display – it must be Amelia.

"Amelia?"

"Hey, Sookie, do you have plans today?"

"Not really. What's up?"

"Octavia is coming for a visit and she's going to have lunch with me at Merlotte's. I think you and Bobbie should join us and you can pick Octavia's brain about what's going on around you. She knows more about Wicce than anybody in Louisiana."

"About what?"

"Just grab Bobbie and come meet us a 1:00, and bring a notebook or a journal or something – Bobbie, too, because 'Vi might consider reading cards for us."

"Uh – Bjorn will probably have to come with me. Is that OK?"

"Who's Bjorn – a new body guard?"

"Yes – he's sort of the daytime Eric."

"This I've gotta see. Bring whoever you want, but you and Bobbie be there."

"OK, let me round them all up."

It was 10 am – a little early for Sookie but at least she was awake and didn't feel groggy. She might actually be able to function on this new medication. Cool. She threw on her pink robe and went downstairs. She saw Alicia and Margaret first in the kitchen and they were shocked to see her up.

"Mrs. Northman!" Margaret hadn't seen her in days.

"Well, early bird!" Alicia thought she looked well rested for a change.

"Hi, Margaret, hi, Alicia – are Bobbie and Bjorn around?"

"Yes, they're having breakfast by the pool."

"Can I get some breakfast and join them?"

"Of course you can, Missus – would you like a steak or salmon?"

"Salmon, please!"

"Alright, go on out and I'll have it for you in just a few minutes."

"Thanks." Sookie headed for the back door and saw Bjorn and Bobbie sitting at the picnic table talking and drinking coffee. "Hey, guys!"

"Sookie! What are you doing up?!" Bobbie was excited to see her out of bed, even if it wasn't strictly what the doctor ordered.

"Amelia called me. Did she ever mention her teacher, Octavia, to you?"

"Yeah, she's supposed to be the freaking uber-Witch, isn't she?"

"Exactly. She's coming to have lunch at Merlotte's with Amelia today and they want us to join them so she can talk to me about the Freya stuff and she might even read cards for us!"

Margaret put a huge plate of salmon, cream cheese and bagels in front of Sookie and she dug in.

"Sookie, you're supposed to be in bed." Bjorn reminded her.

"Bjorn, I have to get out of this house. I'm going stir crazy, even if I am asleep most of the time. All we're going to do is eat lunch and talk."

"Then I'm going to take your blood pressure every hour while we're there."

"We're?" Bobbie didn't know Bjorn would go.

"We're. She goes nowhere without me, and since you're going I'll take another guard with us, too."

"You do know you're going to be sitting with 4 Witches, right?" Bobbie told him.

"I wouldn't say I'm a Witch…" Sookie started.

"I would" – Bobbie and Bjorn spoke together. Bobbie continued, "that's the least of what you are, darlin' – deal with it. What time do we need to be there?"

"1 o'clock. I need to shower after I eat."

"OK, I want to change clothes." Bobbie was trying to decide what to wear.

"And I need to get coverage from another guard. Everybody be in the kitchen ready to go at Noon."

"OK, cool. Thanks, Bjorn."

Bobbie laughed. "Queen Sookie and her Coven go to Merlotte's. That's going to be so funny. You know, I went there one night with Bill?"

"No – you did?"

"Yeah and everybody wanted to know if you were really pregnant with Eric's baby and how it happened and what were you going to do and how was your wedding…"

"Oh, man – I'm sorry they bugged you."

"Oh, it was no problem. Bill was a little put off by some of the questions, especially from the neon red-head…."

"Arlene. She's FOTS and she's a bitch now. She used to be my friend but she turned on me because of my vampires."

"Right, and the owner was not happy to hear that you were so happy. He had a thing for you, I guess? Anyway, he had convinced himself that the rumors about the baby couldn't be true. When Bill and I confirmed that you were pregnant and that it really was Eric's baby, he locked himself in his office."

"Oh. I hope Sam isn't angry with me. I know he's disappointed. Maybe this is not a good idea…"

"Listen, Sookie, it's a public bar and he's a big boy. You'll have so many people around you he won't be able to give you a hard time. "

"I just don't want him to be hurt. He was a good friend to me."

"Sookie, the guy had a thing for you. He's going to be disappointed. That's not your responsibility."

"Yeah, I guess. Anyway – what are you wearing today?"

"Just a sundress, and I'll take a sweater in case the air conditioning is too much."

"That's not likely in Merlotte's. Go for comfort. I guess I'll wear one of my new sundresses. I wonder if Alicia would do my makeup?"

"To go to a road house? Sookie…"

"I'd just like to look nice. None of them has seen me pregnant and I want to look healthy."

"You wouldn't want to make sure that your boss still misses you?"

"No… NO, Bobbie. I just don't want to give Arlene anything to gossip to the FOTS about."

"That's unavoidable, Sweetheart, especially after you spend the afternoon with a bunch of Witches and surrounded by body guards."

"Great…"

"Sookie, those people don't mean anything to your life now. You have moved so far beyond them it's not even funny. Going there today is going to be "slumming it" for you. Let them be petty – you're married, pregnant, happy, wealthy and a Queen."

"I guess…"

"Seriously, Sookie, fuck 'em."

"Bobbie!"

"Stop thinking of yourself as "Crazy Sookie, poor little barmaid" – you are Queen Sookie Northman, Goddess and mother of an immortal." Bobbie laughed and Sookie laughed with her. "Seriously, Sookie, you're above it."

"OK, OK. You're right – I get it. I'm getting ready to host the Sheriff's Ball in Las Vegas wearing Marie Antoinette's ring and they're still going to be in Bon Temps serving pitchers of cheap beer."

"Exactly."

"Yeah… want a bagel?"

"Where are you getting bagels in Louisiana?"

"I have no idea but I love this stuff. I guess the salmon is a Swedish thing and Eric says fish is brain food, and blah blah…"

"He's trying to turn you into a Swede?"

"Something like that. He wants the baby to know about Swedish culture and stuff."

"Is he going to raise the baby to speak Swedish?"

"I don't know? I wish he'd teach me a little."

"Why?"

"He tends to speak Swedish when he's… uh…"

"Ah – gotcha. Why don't you learn a little and surprise him?"

"You think I could?"

"Just learn a few phrases. Fuck me, you stallion, or something like that." Both of them cracked up."

"So if I wanted to do that, how would I go about it?"

"That's what the laptop is for, sweetie – we'll do a little research and give His Majesty a big surprise."

Sookie laughed and nodded as she finished up her salmon. She and Bobbie headed up to change and shower, and Sookie saw that Alicia had already put out the red Juicy Couture maternity dress with the big white flowers and some red sandals and matching bag. There was also a Diamonds by the Yard bracelet, earrings and necklace laying with them. Sookie was going to go back into Merlotte's wearing more in diamonds than she used to make in a year and that didn't count her humongous engagement ring. She knew she could choose not to wear them, but she decided they did look good with the outfit and why the hell not?

Alicia was in the room when she came out of the shower. "I heard you want help with your makeup?" She had the big makeup case – Sookie thought to herself that she really needed to find out where she kept it and what was in it.

"Yeah, Alicia, if you don't mind. I really want to look good today. Casual, but good."

"We can do that. Have a seat and I'll get the hair dryer. Did you hear the door bell a few minutes ago?"

"No – who was it?"

"UPS Saturday delivery. The living room is full of boxes – some of the things you've been ordering, I think."

"Did Kerik check through them? Is he here today?"

"Yes, and he opened them all, but we didn't unpack them. He wanted to make sure about the contents. It's mostly clothes and toys, looks like. I'll go through it all while you're at your lunch and we can decide what to do with it when you get home. I assume you're going to want to take some of the clothes on your trip?"

"Yeah, I ordered stuff from Nordstrom's express shipping so I'd have some nice casual stuff. I think you'll like what I got."

"That's great – you're all set for your formal evenings but things were a little sparse when I was trying to find stuff for you to wear during the days. You have nice things but they're all getting too tight."

"I know, right? I can't believe how fast my tummy is growing. I hope some of the stuff I got for my belly arrives soon."

"Stuff for your belly? Like to prevent stretch marks?'

"Yeah, I ordered a bunch of things like that because I'm worried that he's growing so fast."

"I thought you had been using that massage oil in the bathroom for that?"

"What massage oil?"

"The almond scented massage oil by the bath – that would be great for keeping your belly in shape. It's a very good quality natural product."

No way Sookie was going to tell Alicia what they WERE using it for! "Maybe when my makeup is done I should rub some on my tummy?"

"I think that would be a good idea. Right now is when those stretch marks you're worried about could form. If you really want to prevent them you should probably use something three or four times a day from this point forward. Just be careful to let it soak in so you don't get oil on your pretty dress."

"OK, I will." Alicia finished Sookie's makeup and Sookie checked it in the mirror. Very nice, as usual. She was a little pale, but Alicia kind of played that up and made her look kind of like a porcelain doll with the delicate pinks she used on her.

By the time Sookie came back down stairs, everyone was ready to go so they headed for Sookie's car. The other guard, Lewis, whistled when he saw the BMW. Bjorn laughed and said "you have no idea – it's a tank. The whole thing is bullet-proof!"

"Wow"

"Yeah, help the ladies with their doors."

Bjorn opened the door for Sookie and Lewis held the door for Bobbie, then the men got in front and Bjorn reminded the girls to buckle up. As they were pulling out Sookie noticed Lewis take a gun out of his coat and lay it between him and Bjorn.

"You guys are carrying guns?"

"Yes, your majesty," Bjorn answered her, looking at her in the rearview mirror.

"Is that a normal thing?"

"For the Queen's personal bodyguard, yes ma'am."

"I guess I better get used to that, huh?"

"Yes, ma'am."

Bobbie reached over and squeezed Sookie's hand, nodding and mouthing "it's OK." Sookie nodded and sighed. 'It's part of being Queen,' Sookie told herself, 'and if you want to be with Eric, you have to accept it. He's worth it – he's worth all of it.'

Bjorn was watching Sookie as much as he was watching the road. He knew the guns made her nervous and he knew his more professional demeanor in front of the other guard didn't help her feel any more comfortable. He could tell she was a little nervous about going to this place, Merlotte's, too. Maybe he could distract her?

"Your majesty?"

"Yes, Bjorn?" She sounded hopeful, like she wanted him to make it better.

"This bar we're going to – how do you know it?"

"I used to work there."

"You did? This is the place where you waited tables?"

Lewis looked at him surprised to find out the Queen was a barmaid and Bjorn gave him a look that said he better fucking keep his thoughts to himself.

"Yeah."

"And the owner had a thing for you?"

"Yeah, I guess."

"How long since you've been there?"

"I don't know – over a month I guess but it feels like forever. I didn't know I was pregnant last time I was there and I haven't been back since Eric quit for me."

"Eric quit for you?"

"Yeah, I didn't know what to say to Sam so Eric called him and told him my doctor said I couldn't work there anymore. He never liked me working there in the first place."

"I can imagine."

"Yeah, I know – you think I should have been home with Gran."

'Not just that – you're his Bonded. It makes him look cheap. I'll bet he jumped at the chance to make you quit."

"Yeah, he did. I didn't understand what the bond meant at the beginning and I sort of made him look bad until he explained things. I was trying to be all independent and I didn't realize that what I did reflected on him."

"Well, it all worked out, right? Things are great now. You'll get to see some old friends and you get out of the house a bit – though by the time we roll into New Orleans, I'll bet you're dying to get back to your own bed."

Sookie laughed. "Yeah, you're probably right. 2 weeks is a long time to be away from home."

Bobbie chimed in with a joke about shopping in Vegas and they all started chatting. Sookie forgot about the guns and how nervous she was going back. The time passed so quickly that she was shocked when Bjorn put the signal on to turn into Merlotte's parking lot. They were a little early, but they went on in, Bjorn in front and Lewis in back of Sookie and Bobbie.

"Hey, girls!" Amelia already had a table staked out in a corner. Lewis and Bjorn looked around the bar, made note of the exits and scoped out the other patrons. Lewis took a station by the entrance and Bjorn sat in a booth behind Sookie, sideways so he could watch the room, tucking the black case he was carrying behind him in the booth.

Sookie looked back over her shoulder. "My shadow, huh?"

"Yes, ma'am" Bjorn nudged her a little and she laughed. That was really the only thing to do – laugh about it and have fun. Sookie hadn't even noticed that Bobbie and Amelia were chatting away. She was very aware of Lewis and Bjorn and that Arlene and the new waitress were whispering about her. She also knew that the rednecks on the other side of the bar had to be FOTS because Arlene went over to them and then she saw them checking her out.

"Bjorn… in the corner."

"I see them. Lewis sees them, too. You relax and have fun. I've got your back, hon."

"Thank you."

"WHAT? WHERE?" Sookie heard Sam's voice and he came rushing out to the front of the bar and looked around. He smiled when he saw her and she smiled back.

"Hey, Sam!"

"Sookie! It's so good to see you!" Sam was all smiles as he headed toward her. She stood up to give him a hug and he saw her baby bump and stopped cold. His eyes were huge.

"Oh my god."

She realized he was staring at her stomach. "Oh, yeah, it's growing pretty fast."

"Well, how are you, darlin'," he leaned forward and hugged her as she patted his back.

"I'm good. OW!" Baby E kicked her HARD.

"Sookie, are you OK?" Sam was scared to death and had his hand on her shoulder.

"Oh, yeah, he just – OW!" He kicked her again, just as hard.

"He's just a little agitated, I guess. He's really smart, though and sweet." She knew she was lying. The little Viking wanted to kick Sam's ass for touching his Mommy. Only Daddy was allowed to do that.

Bjorn was watching Sookie very intently, and so were Bobbie and Amelia. They had an idea what was going on, but they wanted to let Sookie deal with it if she could.

"Well, you look really good…" Sam said, and he meant it. Sookie had never looked better. She must be really happy. Damn. "So you're married now?"

"Yeah," she absent-mindedly pointed to her ring and Sam's eyes bugged out.

"That's some ring…"

"Oh, thanks…"

"Is Eric that rich?"

"Um, yeah, he is…"

"Is he treating you well, Sookie?"

"He treats me like a Queen." It was out of her mouth before she realized what she was saying.

Sam got a pained look on his face. "Well, you deserve it, Sookie. You look like you're doing really well."

"I am, thanks."

"These big guys are your guards, I guess?"

"Um, yeah … I have to…"

"It's OK, darlin', I know." He turned to Bjorn "You might want to keep an eye on the guys in the corner."

"We saw them. Thanks." Bjorn replied.

"Well, I'll let you get back to your friends, Sookie."

"OK, Sam, thanks. It's really nice to see you."

He nodded and went back behind the bar and straight to his office.

Sookie sat back in the booth.

"Are you OK, hon?" Bobbie was really worried.

"Yeah, the little Viking just had a fit because somebody who wasn't Daddy touched Mommy."

Bjorn laughed. Sookie looked back at him. "You think that's funny, huh?"

"He's a Swedish warrior, alright. Nobody touches his women!" Bjorn laughed.

Sookie was going to make a smart remark but just then Octavia walked through the door.

"Octavia!" Amelia jumped up and went to hug her. Bobbie was practically jumping in her seat because she couldn't wait to meet her. Sookie smiled and waved as she approached them.

"Octavia, you remember Sookie…"

"Yes, I do – how are you, girl?"

"I'm fine, thanks."

"You're better than fine from what I hear, Queenie." The older lady winked at her and seemed to be genuinely happy for her. Just then it hit Sookie who Octavia had always reminded her of – The Oracle in the Matrix! The older African American lady who baked cookies and gave Neo the prophecy.

"Octavia, this is Bobbie James. She's Sookie's masseuse but she's a Practitioner, too."

"Hello, Bobbie. You work with herbs?"

"I do aromatherapy, mostly and mix my own oils."

"Who's this big blond fellow – the Queen's guard?"

"Yes, ma'am, I'm Bjorn"

"Well, Bjorn, I know you've got a job to do, but so have I. We're going to be talking about some stuff that stays in this group, alright? You don't go talking about what you hear between us, agreed?"

'Yes, ma'am, agreed."

"OK, good." Octavia slid into the booth and Amelia sat on the outside so she could jump up when she wanted too. Amelia was way too bouncy for an inside seat.

Octavia had a big shoulder bag with her and she pulled out a journal and a pen and slid it over to Sookie.

"What's this?" Sookie was confused.

"You forgot to bring one, didn't you? A journal to write things down in?"

"Oh – yeah, I guess I did."

"I brought one – is it OK if I take notes?" Bobbie asked.

"Sure you can."

"Octavia, how did you know I forgot to bring something?" Sookie was amazed.

"I've been studying on you, and you got a stubborn streak in you that don't want to know. You think you can make it go away if you just ignore it. It ain't goin' away so you better learn not to hurt anyone with it, yourself included. Somebody's gotta teach that baby as he grows."

Sookie looked at the book. It was a really nice one, with a leather-like cover and a ribbon to mark your place in it. She opened the pen.

"Start with the date and time – always date what you write down. You may need to go back and do astrology or look for moon phases or patterns and you got to have date and time to do it."

"OK, thanks…" Sookie wrote the date and Bjorn told her it was 1:13 pm so she added that.

"Now, we're gonna talk about energy. Too many new Witches want to worry about spells and correspondences and herbs and incense. There's a time and place for that stuff, but it ain't every time and place. You gotta know how to work energy, or the rest of it is just props. If you work energy well enough, you don't need help from anything else."

"You mean spells don't work?"

"Oh, they work, but they're usually unnecessary. The more you understand magick, the less you're going to want to do it. Most of the time, the Universe knows what She's doing better than you do. You let Her work Her will, and most times things will be fine. Problem is, other people want to dabble, and sometimes you gotta send some shit back to them. The Universe will find a way to let you know when you need to work and you'll have a good idea what to do. Now, who is your Goddess?"

"Freya"

"She's from the Norse pantheon? I don't know Her personally, but some things about the Goddess are universal. When did you see her last?"

Sookie looked puzzled for a minute. "I think I dreamt about Her this morning!"

"What did She do?"

"There was a collie… " Sookie suddenly thought about Sam…

"Yeah?"

"He got caught in the waves and I started to go get him, but She held me back and She said I could help him but I had to do it from where I was. She said to stretch out my arms and say "come to me" and picture the dog on the shore. He was drowning so I did it and suddenly he was at my feet. She said I saved him because he let me. Sometimes I would offer my gifts but people would refuse them, and I should trust myself to know what to do."

"Did you write that down?"

"Uh, no…"

"Write it in that book right now. We'll wait."

Sookie hesitated but Octavia had an expectant look on her face, so Sookie started writing about her dream.

"Ok, I'm done."

"Alright now," Octavia picked up a peppershaker and put it in front of her. "Put your hands on the table."

Sookie put her hands face down and Octavia arranged them so the thumbs were touching and fingers to the side so there was an open space in between the two "L' shapes of thumb and forefinger.

"Now, you relax and picture this pepper shaker sitting between your hands in that little basket formed by your fingers. I want you to really see it in your mind, picture it as if it were real."

Sookie stared at her hands and nodded that she had the picture.

"Call it."

"Come to me" The peppershaker moved toward her about 3 inches and everybody except Octavia jumped. Octavia pulled it back and said "do it again."

"Come to me." it moved about an inch.

"Pay attention to what you're doing. Stop wondering if you can do it. A Goddess told you that you could do it. She's not going to go out of Her way to lie to you. If She says you can, you can. Now picture this thing between your hands and get on with it – act like you mean it."

"Come to me." The peppershaker was between Sookie's hands instantly and there was a little yelp from behind the bar. Fuck – Arlene saw that.

"Never mind that nosey bitch." Octavia told her. "World is full of them. You do what you're here to do and don't worry about the sheeple." Octavia was pulling no punches.

"Sheeple?"

"People who want to be led around like sheep and told what to do. You know how they end up? Mutton. Flocks get fleeced and sheep get led to slaughter. You are a completely different animal. Feel sorry for them if you want, but don't try to be like them, don't pay attention to what they think of you, don't live by their rules and don't let them keep you from doing your work."

"What is my work?"

"Being mother to that special baby, for one thing, ruling with your King, being a wife to a vampire King, learning to use your gifts for the good and teaching that little one to do the same – you got plenty of work. Nothing in your job description says you are supposed to try to be normal. Nothing normal about you, kid, and that's by divine design. You've been given everything you need – every talent, every concept, every feeling, every connection, every resource – you need to lead your very special life. You go trying to be normal and things will go to hell pretty fast. The energy running through you is strong. You gotta give it a proper channel or it will go haywire and any damned thing could happen."

"So I really am a Witch?"

"Yes, you are and maybe more. You might actually be a Goddess manifest. Start by accepting the Witch in you, though. That's more than a lot of people could handle."

"Is my baby a Witch?"

"You know he is – don't waste my time asking what you already know."

"I'm sorry… Eric is a little wary of that part of it."

"Look, his Daddy will appreciate his gifts when he sees what they are. He's not going to be a sissy in any way – that's a big strappin' boy you're about to give birth to. He's smart, he's tough and he's willful. It's going to take a big tough vampire to handle him. From what I've seen, that kid couldn't have been fathered by anyone else. It's going to take the daddy he's got – old, tough and smart – to reign him in."

"From what you've seen?"

"Yes, when Amelia told me about your situation, I threw the cards about it to see what we're working with. Huge, Universal forces are at work around you. Don't fight them and don't ignore them. Learn to make the most of what you've got. You've been touched by the Goddess – that's a special gift and a special responsibility. Being that baby's mama is a privilege. He needs you for that just as much as he needs his particular daddy. You were both chosen."

"Was I… I mean…"

"Don't be shy, hon, just spit it out."

"Was I born just for Eric, to be with him?"

"Yes and you know it. You knew it the first time you saw him."

"So do I have free will?"

"Everyone does. You had to agree to take the role for you to have it. Somewhere, somehow, you chose him, too. You could walk away from it right now if you want, but you won't be happy with the result."

"Eric said it might be dangerous to question a gift like the baby…"

"He's what? A thousand years old? I'd learn to listen to him, if I were you. You don't get to be that old if you don't know how the world works."

"Is he right about everything, though, all the time?"

"Not all the time, but most of it. He knows what you need to do to stay alive so you don't give him a hard time when he tries to protect you. He's got nothing but love for you and this baby. When he tells you to do something in a life or death situation, you do it without thinking."

"OK, so I'm…a Witch. What does that mean?"

"It means you are intimately connected to Nature and the Living Goddess. The religion of Witches is called Wicce, capital w-i-c-c-e. If you see someone spelling it with an 'a' be cautious because a lot of them are dualists. Their rites are heavily influenced by patriarchal contamination and they divide energy in artificial ways. They turn everything into a polarity, and that creates conflict and division instead of reintegrating our energies to the Prime Source that is Goddess. They think that the Universe is equally male and female, and this is a fundamental misunderstanding of the nature of Goddess. Wicce is a women's religion and focuses on the one Living Goddess of which we are all a part. She has many facets and functions and names and faces, but you need to always keep the whole in mind no matter which part you are dealing with. Modern people have lost their connection to the Whole, so they're only partially alive."

"What is it that they…'fundamentally misunderstand?'"

"That life is Female. That the female is always the larger part in Nature, and always evolves first. That female existed before male developed and maleness is a variation of the female. That simple misunderstanding, thinking that things are 50-50, or should be, has people all over this planet thinking women are less than they are, keeping women enslaved for the profit of a few men in power. Science backs this up, but it gets buried, denigrated, shouted down. Ask your Viking about his view of the Goddess some time. My guess is you'll find a much more positive view than you'd expect. He's got to have a healthy relationship with the Goddess for any of this to happen."

"He kind of thinks magick is 'women's work.'"

"It is – it's a women's religion. Men can try, but they'll never be as connected to it as directly as women are. The changes that make them men instead of women make their connections less efficient, their perceptions are altered because the brain works differently, they're an extra step away from the Whole. They're still a part of the whole, but a weaker part with a more unreliable connection. It's like a first cousin and a first cousin once removed. Men are removed from Her an extra step by the process that makes them men."

"That's so backwards from everything I was ever taught."

"Yep, and that's no accident. Part of controlling women is keeping them out of touch with their own power and with each other. Western culture was specifically manipulated to keep women out of power, under control of husbands, churches, and governments. We call the Greeks and Romans ancient and we're taught that Christianity, or at least Judaism, was the beginning of civilization, when it was really the end of it. Amelia will give you a list of books to read, but write these few down now: **The First Sex**, by Elizabeth Gould Davis; **When God was a Woman** by Merlin Stone; **The Women's Encyclopedia of Myths and Secrets** by Barbara G. Walker. Get those books and read them first. That first book is out of print – a lot of our books are, that's another way to keep us down – and there's a different book with the same name but a different author so make sure you get the right one. These books are about the history of women and the violent rise of patriarchy – some call it Herstory, and that word is in the dictionary now. That's a lot of reading but just those three books have a lot of valuable information in them."

"OK, see that red head over there by the pool table? She told me Wicca was only 50 years old…"

"That's bullshit. A man published a book using the word about 50 years ago and started a modern movement, but it was full of mistakes mixed in with ancient truths and it was heavily influenced by the ceremonial magick that was popularized by Aleister Crowley and a few others. That stuff is Hebrew at it's source, and so is patriarchy. Wicce is older than people, if you understand what it is. Don't get the religion confused with the fashion. Goddess has always been here, but we weren't all smart enough to see Her or work with Her. The Oppressors did a good job of cutting us off from our Source. Indigenous people held onto the old ways in some pockets, and each culture has a different word for it. Some groups like African slaves managed to put together a bastardized form of magick using the symbols and materials available to them, but if you could go back far enough, no matter where you are, you get back to the Great Mother Goddess. 6,000 years of propaganda by a radical patriarchal death cult has created the mess we're in, and the only solution left for us is Goddess. Your vampire was there to see the shift away from Goddess toward the war god. Have you ever talked to him about what he saw? What was lost? How things changed?"

"No, I never have. He doesn't talk much about the past, though I remember him saying something about wanting to tell stories of his long life to our son."

"Ask him to tell you the stories, too. He probably wants to tell you but if you've never shown an interest he doesn't want to bore you. He's awfully focused on making you happy."

"Sorry to interrupt, ladies, but have any of you noticed no one has taken your order yet." Bjorn finally found a place to interrupt. He had been watching Arlene riling up the FOTS in the corner and noticed she was keeping the other girl from covering them, too.

"Hey – that's right! We've been talking a long time and no waitress has been over to us." Sookie looked around and saw Sam at the cooler. "Hey, Sam?"

Sam nodded at her and walked over to the table. "What can I do for you ladies?'

"You know, nobody took our order yet."

"What? You've been here all this time and no one waited on you?"

"Uh-uh."

"Well, this is Arlene's table, so I guess that's not surprising. Let me tell Sheila to get over here and take your orders. I'm really sorry about this, ladies."

"Sheila – you want to wait on these people, please? Arlene, I'd like to see you in my office."

Sheila looked scared, but she got her order pad out and put a fake smile on her face.

"Hi, what can I get you all?" Octavia had a cheeseburger, Amelia a big chef salad, Bobbie the shrimp basket and Sookie ordered two fish sandwiches without the bun and they got a pitcher of tea for the table. Bjorn ordered an iced tea, too.

"Brain food, Sookie?" Amelia smiled at her.

"Yeah, the menu doesn't have much on it that I'm supposed to eat but I figure a couple of fish fillets were the closest thing I could get. Eric wants me to eat a lot of fish."

"Your vampire knows about nutrition?" Octavia asked. "That's unusual."

"He's been doing research on the Internet about babies and pregnancy. He has me eating a lot of salmon and the doctor wants me eating red meat but not ground beef."

Bjorn's watch buzzed. "Sorry your majesty, it's time for a drink and a BP check."

"Oh, OK, I guess." Bjorn opened his black case and handed Sookie an RM which she drank as he unwound the blood pressure cuff. He was pumping it up when Sheila came back with the pitcher of sweet tea and five glasses.

"You feeling ok, Miss?" Sheila asked. She didn't know Sookie and Arlene had only said bad things about her, but she seemed really sweet and she just couldn't believe she was as depraved as Arlene made her out to be.

"I'm having some blood pressure issues since I'm pregnant, and I have to have special nutritional supplements. That's what this is," she pointed to the bottle of RM.

"Oh, yeah, my cousin had blood pressure problems when she was pregnant. Her mother died from that."

That got Sookie's attention. "Died? From high blood pressure?"

"Yeah, her and the baby both. It was really sad. Pre-eclampsia they called it."

"Bjorn, have you heard of that?" Maybe they finally had Sookie's attention.

"Yes, ma'am, I have. That's why we're all giving you such a hard time about this."

"Sookie, you didn't tell me you were having problems," Amelia said, surprised.

"It's been really high and they're trying to get her to stay in bed until her trip and giving her sedatives but she's fighting the doctor on it." Bobbie explained.

"You supposed to be in bed, girl?" Octavia was not happy about this.

"Well, yeah, but I needed to get out of the house."

"She's going on a tip to Las Vegas and New Orleans for over 2 weeks where she's hosting 2 major events and the doctor wants her to rest up, but she won't listen." Bjorn told on her. Ratfink!

"Now you listen to me, girl. Things can still go wrong." Octavia wasn't going to hear any nonsense about needing to get out of the house. "You need to be smart about things. You know who's working for you, but you don't know who might be working against you. You owe it to that baby to give him he best care you possibly can and if that means staying in bed, then that's what you do."

"I have an idea about that for when we travel." Bobbie started very cautiously because she knew Sookie wouldn't like the idea she was about to propose. "I think that when Sookie is not at one of the formal events, she should use a wheel chair to keep her off her feet."

"I agree." Bjorn said. What a surprise, Sookie thought.

"I'm not an invalid. I'm taking my medication. Other than getting from place to place and the two formal events. I don't have that much I have to do."

"Aren't we planning to go through that whole palace and decide what to keep and what to sell?" Bobbie reminded her.

"Well, yeah…"

"That sounds like a lot of work to me, girl. A wheelchair so you spend most of the time off your feet is a good idea." Octavia agreed with Bobbie and Bjorn.

"It seems extreme to me…" Sookie began.

"Why don't we ask Dr. Ludwig about it? If it's too much, she'll say so, if it's not, we'll roll with it." Bjorn liked the wheelchair idea and he was pretty confidant Ludwig would agree with him. "Sookie, let me use your phone and I'll call her."

"Well…" Sookie was trying to come up with a way out of this, but the others encouraged her to give Bjorn her phone so she did.

Bjorn found Ludwig's number and called her. Sheila came with their order while he was on the phone. He had to concentrate on what Ludwig was saying, but he and Lewis were also very aware of the rednecks in the corner, who were milling around the pool table but not actually playing. The two of them did pick up pool cues, though.

Ludwig agreed with the wheel chair idea and told them to use one while they traveled, too, so she'd stay off her feet. Bjorn thanked her and handed Sookie her phone, then stood beside her and crossed his arms. Lewis crossed his arms, too, the two of them sending a not so subtle message that if anyone even looks the wrong way at Sookie they're going to fuck them up royally. Arlene was over whispering to the men, and Bjorn looked at Sam, got his attention and nodded toward Arlene and the rednecks. Bjorn had picked up that Sam was a shifter and he knew Sam probably knew he and Lewis were Weres because human guards wouldn't be strong enough to defend a vampire Queen adequately even against human attackers.

"Arlene – can I see you in back for a minute?" Sam did not want to see his bar get busted up and he certainly wouldn't tolerate any threat to Sookie.

"I was just seeing if they wanted anything else…"

"Arlene…"

She made a motion for them to cool it and she went behind the bar. Sam took her in the back and made his position crystal clear: "If there's any trouble for Sookie or anyone with her on these premises, you're fired. If you want to keep your job here, you'd better send your friends on their way. I guarantee they'll be dead if they try to take on those guards she has with her. They won't just bust your guys up, they'll kill them. Sookie's new husband is a powerful man and people who cross him die."

Unfortunately, while Sam was talking to Arlene, her friends made the mistake of confronting Bjorn. Distinguishable only by the color of their flannel shirts, two men in John Deere hats walked over to Bjorn with pool cues in their hands.

"You with these ladies?"

"Yes." Bjorn wasn't going to bait them, but he was definitely going to enjoy kicking their asses when they crossed the line.

"Are you sure they're ladies? Somebody said that little blonde is some vampire's whore and that baby she's carrying ain't human."

"Neither Mrs. Northman nor her baby are of any concern to you, but you might want to remember her husband's name. Eric Northman is not a man to take threats lightly and he'll kill anyone who threatens his family."

Bobbie was holding Sookie's hand, Sookie was praying to Freya and Amelia and Octavia reached across the table and put their hands on top of Sookie's. They were only asking to be left in peace so they could finish their lunch and their talk. The fifth member of their little circle/circuit had different ideas.

"Are you Eric Northman?"

"No, I just work for him. If he were here, you would already be dead for approaching his new wife." Lewis was slowly moving into place behind the men.

"Why ain't he here? Is he afraid of the sunlight?" The two idiots laughed as if that was the funniest thing they'd ever said.

Sam came back out. "Hey, boys, now we don't want no trouble in here." Sookie looked at Sam and shook her head – she didn't want him to get hurt. Sam called the police because he knew this was going to be bad.

"He's not afraid of anything, and neither am I." Bjorn smiled at them.

"Is that little bitch married to a vampire or not?"

"You will NOT refer to her in that manner – do you understand me?"

Redneck number two started to swing his cue stick, but he used the little end of the stick so it broke against Bjorn's arm and he was off balance when Bjorn's fist broke his sternum. The first redneck reached for Sookie as his buddy went down but before Lewis or Bjorn could touch him he was blasted across the room and landed on the pool table, breaking one of the supports so that it dumped him on the floor.

"AAHHHH – wings! Help Ahhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!" Number one was screaming about wings, and Sookie knew what that meant. She looked Octavia and nodded – they all knew the baby and/or Freya caused this. The second man was still where he fell, struggling for breath. Arlene went back to help the guy who broke the pool table. Apparently he was the one she was sweet on this week.

Lewis walked over to Bjorn. "What the hell hit that guy?"

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you."

"Is the Queen a Witch?"

"Maybe, but that wasn't her – it was her baby."

"Her baby did that? You're shittin' me?"

"No, he's special – he's touched by a Goddess."

"That's why a vamp was able to have a baby…." He looked at Sookie with wide eyes. He knew there had to be a strange story behind all of this but he didn't expect it to include a divine child.

"Right." They both looked up as they heard sirens getting close.

Andy Bellefleur came through the door with his gun drawn. "What in hell is going on in here?"

Sam stepped forward, "these two morons were harassing my customers and one of them swung a cue stick at this man and he defended himself."

'What's wrong with the one back there?"

"He fell and broke the pool table – seems to be having some kind of fit. I already called an ambulance for both of them." Sam was good at lying about bar fights – he'd had lots of practice.

"They were bothering these ladies?" Andy was slow to catch on, as usual.

"Yes, you know Amelia and Sookie, and this is Octavia – I don't know the other lady."

"I'm Bobbie James, I'm Sookie's doula."

"Her what?"

"I'm sort of a Mother's helper."

"Mother? Sookie?!" Sookie stood up and he saw for the first time that she was pregnant. "What did you do?"

"I got married and I'm having a baby, Andy."

"She's having some kind of demon! You bitch!" Arlene came out of the corner like a bat out of hell headed straight for Sookie, but Bjorn caught her around the waist and held her back.

"Arlene! Calm down, now! What's the matter with you?" Andy really didn't need this today.

"She's married to a big old vampire and having some kind of devil baby!"

"Did you marry Vampire Bill, Sookie?"

"Oh, no, he's seeing Bobbie. I married Eric Northman."

"Northman – owns a club in Shreveport?"

"Among other things, yeah."

"These guys didn't hurt you, did they, Sookie?" Andy was more worried about Sookie than about these two yahoos.

"They would have, but…"

"I stepped in between them when they approached the table. One of them swung a pool cue at me without provocation, and I defended myself." Arlene was kicking and cussing, trying to get away from him and at Sookie.

"You devil bitch! You'll burn in hell!"

"You pathetic bigot!" Sookie was getting sick of Arlene. "If I weren't pregnant I'd send you to hell right now!" Sookie started to get up but Bobbie stopped her.

"Arlene, shut up! And who are you?" Andy wasn't going to have a cat fight on top of everything else!

"I'm Mrs. Northman's driver and body guard."

"Body guard? Why would Sookie need a body guard?"

"Her husband is a wealthy and powerful vampire. He has many rivals and enemies. He wants to be sure that his wife and his son are safe from people like this." Bjorn pointed to the guy on the floor.

"How do I know you and your friend here didn't beat these guys half to death?"

"Andy, we all saw what happened. These guys were listening to Arlene's nonsense about Sookie's new husband and they tried to start trouble. You can't blame a guy for defending himself. All he did was stand there – they walked up to him and started insulting Sookie, then that one there swung a pool cue at him. " At this point, Sam just wanted them all to leave.

"Somebody call an ambulance?" An EMT was at the door.

"Over here," Andy called them, "There are two of them"

The EMT called behind him, "this is the place. We got 2 down."

"So everybody here agrees that they approached Sookie and they swung first?" Sounded good to Andy – no paperwork that way.

"Yes." everyone nodded in unison.

"Sookie, you want to file charges against them for a hate crime? Vampires are protected now by law, and so are their families."

"No, Andy, I think they learned their lesson. As long as they can't bother us again, I'm fine."

The guy with the cracked sternum was taken out on a stretcher, then they helped the other guy, who was still babbling about wings, walk out to the ambulance.

"Arlene, you can go with your friends if you want – I'm sending you home and docking your pay for today anyway."

"Fine!" Arlene huffed into Sam's office and came out with her orange purse and her pink sunglasses. She didn't speak to anyone as she was on her way out.

Sam was picking up some chairs that were knocked over then he went over to look at the damage to the pool table.

"Sam?" Sookie walked up behind him, "do you want me to buy you a new pool table?"

"Oh, no, darlin', my insurance will cover that. If I make anybody pay for it, it will be Arlene and her friends. None of this was your fault. I don't want you to feel like you can't come in here and relax whenever you want. I'm so sorry about what Arlene did – there's no excuse for her behavior."

"Sam," Amelia came over, too, "do you want me to finish up Arlene's shift. I hate to leave Sheila covering the whole bar by herself."

"I don't want to ruin your visit with your friends, Amelia."

"It won't ruin anything. It's quiet today and I can visit in between tables. I don't mind a bit. Octavia and Sookie will still be able to visit and that was the main objective today."

"Well, then, go ahead and clock in and you can finish up for Arlene. Thanks, Amelia."

"No problem, Sam. Sookie, you and Octavia finish your visit. I think she'll have a few more things to say given what just happened."

"Yeah, you're probably right." Sookie turned and went back to the booth while Amelia went to the back with Sam to lock up her wallet and put her on the schedule. Sam was seriously considering if he wanted Arlene to work there anymore. She was a fair waitress but she was bigoted against Supes and she had started drawing in these FOTS terrorists – and that's exactly what they were.

Sookie sat back in the booth and Bjorn broke out the blood pressure cuff again. It was high – higher than it was earlier. Bjorn made her go ahead and take her sedative now. When Sookie, Bobbie and Octavia were all settled again, and Bjorn and Lewis were back at their posts, Octavia got serious.

"So how long you known that baby had that kind of power, girl?"

"Well, he did something like that in Las Vegas to Felipe de Castro when he touched me and I was bleeding. Freya told me then it was the baby working blood magick and I could, too. I'm not bleeding this time, though."

"Then he's getting stronger. Any idea what the deal was with that guy seeing wings?"

"Felipe said the same thing – it drove him insane. Freya is known for having a cape of feathers that turns Her into a falcon – a bird of prey. The baby seems to be able to sic some kind of falcon on people who try to harm me, or him, or something."

"Well, we won't know for sure what's up until you give birth – some of this magick might be coming from you, some from him, some from the Goddess, or it might all be that baby. For right now, you and the baby constitute a clear and direct channel for Freya's power. Anybody that messes with you is in serious trouble. That's good, as long as the baby knows what's trouble and what ain't. How does he react when you have sex – sometimes babies think mommy is being hurt…'

"Oh, he practically cheers Eric on. He loves it when we tickle each other or have wild sex. He thought it was funny when Eric threw me in the pool the other night. Eric is his hero."

"He can tell Eric from other people?"

"Oh, yeah – if Eric is around he starts sending Fight! Fight! He sends other stuff like Love and Proud – Eric spends time every night sending Love and Pride to him – but mostly, Daddy equals kicking ass to him. When he killed Victor Madden, Baby E practically kicked my insides to hamburger. I bit my lip until it bled trying to keep from screaming because so much was going on and I didn't want to distract Eric."

"Can he recognize anybody else?"

"Bobbie – he associates her with Comfort because she gives us massages." Bobbie smiled at that. She considered it an honor that the baby knew her already.

"OK, so we got a baby, ain't even born yet, that can call down the wrath of the Goddess, knows his Daddy and his masseuse, and let's mommy know it when he thinks somebody is touching her inappropriately?"

"Right, and he tells me when he needs to eat and what he likes for me to eat."

"Tell me more about that."

"Well, he can send WANT when he wants me to drink a True Blood, or now an RM. He likes it when I eat Salmon and Steak Tartare. He doesn't like orange juice and I think he gets a little seasick when I float in the pool."

"I can't wait to see this boy. He's going to start talking early, I bet and he's going to be walking and running in no time. We're going to have to test you two separately after he's born. That telekinesis you did earlier might be your gift or might be his, or you might both have it. What is Eric's special vampire gift?"

"Well, he can fly…"

"What are you going to do with a baby that can fly?"

"You don't really think the baby will be able to do that, do you? At least not until he's older?"

"I don't know, and neither do you. I've done some research and I can't find any record anywhere of a vampire baby or a vampire/fairy hybrid. There must have been one at some point, but there's nothing written anywhere. You're seeing Dr. Ludwig, though? She's good. What does she say about him?"

"That he'll be a handful, have some qualities from Eric and some from me, but they don't know much else.

"Does she say if he's going to be vampire or Fae?"

"She's not sure. Eric is convinced he'll be a vampire. My great grandfather thinks he'll be a Fae with a taste for blood. Of course, they all say it's possible he'll be human with no powers at all."

"You can cross that last one off your list, sweetheart. That baby's got powers. We just need to know which ones. My money says Daddy knows that baby pretty well already – I'll be surprised if he's not a vamp. Did they warn you to avoid iron?"

"Yes, they even make sure the supplements I drink don't have iron in them, just in case."

"You said Eric sends to the baby – do you?"

"Oh, yeah, we're in pretty much constant contact when he's awake now. He's asleep right now. He was pretty excited when the fight went down but then he got really tired."

"All of us are going to be tired. He took energy from the four of us – you, me, Bobbie and Amelia – and he threw that man across the room. That was big magick for a little fellow like him. I wonder what he could do if we hadn't been holding hands, though. You said last time you were bleeding? Between your legs?"

"Yeah,"

"And Felipe touched your blood?"

"Right and it threw him across the room, but not as far. The falcon attack went on until he di…" Sookie caught herself, but Octavia caught it.

"Don't worry, girl, I already got a good idea what happened to Felipe and the Council must, too, since they were so quick to pronounce him dead. They couldn't wait to get your vampire into place – they moved their schedule on that way up once they found out you actually got pregnant."

"You know about the Council's involvement?''

"We keep abreast of these things. Witches rarely participate actively, though there is occasionally a High Priestess who will mediate informally for Covens and Solitaries. Pagans don't really organize, but we will occasionally cooperate for the greater good."

"Why don't you… I guess I mean 'we'… organize?"

"It's just not who we are. We don't like being told what to do, and as long as you ain't stepping on our toes, we don't care how the Cowans live their lives."

"Cowans?"

"Non-Pagans, Christians, patriarchists – non-practitioners of any kind. We're Craft. They're Cowans."

"Don't I have to be initiated?"

"Only if you want to. Initiations last through multiple lifetimes. You been a Witch before, so you don't need a ceremony unless you want one."

"Like with the bond? Eric said the bond was more than being married, but we got married because I wanted to for the baby."

"Right."

"So all Witches are Pagans?"

"There are as many kinds of Witch as there are Witches. Sociology departments in human Universities have tried to study us but it's impossible. There's not a single precept that all Pagans will agree on. The only thing they can say for sure is that Pagans tend to read more than most people, which makes sense, because that's been almost the only way to find the Craft over the years. You allowed to drink red wine, girl?"

"Yes, she is…" Bobbie chimed in. She was hanging on Octavia's every word.

"Amelia?" Octavia called her.

"What can I get you, hon?"

"Bring the four of us women a glass of red wine."

"Yes, ma'am"

"So as I was saying, there are all kinds of Witches, all kinds of Pagans, I've heard people claim to be Christian Witches which is an oxymoron – you might be a follower of Jesus and be Pagan, but you can't be what passes for Christian and be Pagan. It just don't work that way. There are Druids and Wizards, and Wiccans and Asatru and Heathens… so many ways but they all lead back to the Goddess. Even Judaism, Christianity and Islam got Goddesses at their root but they try to deny it. If you're human, at some point, you go back to Goddess, no matter what you call Her, how you define Her, or even if you get Her gender wrong. She knows a good person from their works, and we are a part of Her so She knows what's in our hearts because they're Her hearts, too."

"Pagans don't believe in hell, or sin, right?" Sookie was trying to piece everything she'd heard about this all together, but it wasn't easy when there were no absolutes.

"Right. Nowadays they use the word Karma, but it's really the Three-fold Law of Return. You get back what you send out. It might not always be obvious that that's what is happening because it can play out through multiple lifetimes. A lot of initiations include a specific request that the Witch be able to see the results of her magick, though, so you know if you're on track or if your energy is doing what you've directed it to. That creates what I call "instant Karma" and it affects everyone around the Witch, too."

"What do you mean?" Sookie was lost now.

"You know that what goes around comes around – the Three-fold Law, right? Well, when a Witch is involved and she has asked for her magick to be visible to her, any energy sent toward her gets accelerated and amplified, so that energy comes around harder and faster. Witches can sometimes tell who's working against them just by seeing what happens to them. Witches have strong connections to the basic energies of life and they do work that makes that energy flow freely. Witches are only dangerous if you are dangerous to them. Endanger a Witch, endanger yourself. The Witch didn't do it – you just made the mistake of getting up against her energy with intent to harm."

"Does it work the other way? Like if you have good intentions toward a Witch, that good comes back to you, too?"

"Yeah, of course. Energy just is – works the same way no matter how you decide to define it."

Amelia came over with four glasses of wine and sat next to Octavia. "Here you go, girls."

"Now, you all repeat after me: Merry Met"

"Merry Met"

"Now Merry Part,"

"Now Merry Part,"

"'til Merry Meet Again."

""til Merry Meet Again."

"OK, that's the end of this meeting. I don't know if we want to be a Coven exactly, but the four of us are going to do work together around this baby. Drink up!"

They all clinked glasses and drank the wine down. Sookie's phone rang.

"Holy shit – it's Eric! What time is it?"

"Almost 7 – we've been here for hours, hon." Bobbie hadn't noticed the time, either.

Sookie opened her phone. "HI, sweetie."

"Sookie, where are you? Why are you not in bed?"

"Amelia called and invited me and Bobbie to have lunch with her and Octavia and talk about Witch stuff."

"Where ARE you, Sookie?"

"We're at Merlotte's."

"And why does a Detective Bellefleur want you to know that you can still press charges about a hate crime for the next 48 hours."

SHIT!

"Well, there was a little dust up with some FOTS guys…"

"Is Anderson there?"

"Bjorn? Yeah."

"Put him on, please."

"He wants to talk to you, Bjorn." She mouthed SORRY as she handed him the phone.

"Yes, your majesty?"

"My wife was attacked?"

"Not exactly, your highness. One of the waitresses had two friends here who were apparently FOTS. They tried to approach the Queen, but I stepped in. One of them swung a pool cue at me, and I'm pretty sure I broke his sternum. The other tried to grab her, but the baby shocked him across the room."

"The baby threw an FOTS across the room?"

"Apparently. The four Witch-… I mean, women… were holding hands and asking for peace and we think that your son used their combined energy on the man when he touched the Queen."

"Were there not two guards there?"

"Yes, sire, Lewis Cantor was with me."

"Yet a member of the FOTS was able to touch my wife?"

"Yes, sire."

"I'll need to speak to Vincent about this. He should have been in place before they got that close to her."

"Yes, your majesty, I agree."

"Has she concluded her visit?"

"They're just wrapping up, sire."

"I want her home immediately. I'm not going to leave for Fangtasia until I see her."

"Yes, sire, we are on our way."

CLICK. Eric hung up. Bjorn closed the phone and handed it back to Sookie.

"He didn't want to say goodbye?"

"He wants you home a.s.a.p."

"He's not mad at me, is he?"

"I think he's concerned. That detective called the house and scared the shit out of him and he wants to see for himself that you are unharmed."

"OK…"

"Amelia and I will be coming for a visit when you get back from your trip, girl. Read those books and learn about energy. You'll need to know how to work it since the little one already can." Octavia stood up and hugged Sookie, "You take care of that baby now – the world must need him bad to go to all this trouble to get him here."

"I will. Thank you."

Amelia hugged Sookie and Bobbie told Octavia it was nice to meet her. Amelia and Bobbie hugged and Sookie waved goodbye to Sam and Sheila, thanking them for everything. Sookie paid for everyone's lunch, leaving Sheila a huge tip and Bjorn and Lewis put Sookie and Bobbie in the car and headed out.

"Bjorn, you're driving faster than you did earlier." Sookie was a little nervous that he was driving too fast.

"Yes, ma'am. Not so fast as to be dangerous, of course, but the King won't leave for Fangtasia until he sees you."

"I don't know why he didn't just go and I'd be home when he got there."

"I think he had reason to be upset, your highness. You were supposed to be safe in bed and instead you're out, he doesn't know where and the police call him about a hate crime against you. We're lucky he didn't fly here and kick all our asses."

"Well, I guess if you put it that way…" Sookie laughed, and so did Bobbie. Bjorn couldn't really laugh about it because he was pretty sure Lewis would get fired for letting those guys get too close to Sookie, but he did smile. He was sure Eric had been frantic – he would have been – and he knew if it were his pregnant wife he'd need to see her for himself before he could even consider getting on with his night. Sookie and Bobbie talked about the books Octavia recommended, and Bobbie knew she had at least one of them so she would find it and let Sookie get started on it.

Eric was trying not to freak out in front of Margaret and Alicia, but they knew he was tense because there had been some sort of incident while Sookie was out – Alicia had answered the phone when Detective Bellefleur called – and they saw genuine panic in Eric's face for the first time. They could tell by his tone when he was speaking to Bjorn that he was not happy with what had happened. He paced back and forth by the pool for a while, then he wondered if Sookie had eaten, so he called her.

"Eric?"

"Sookie, I forgot to ask if you have eaten dinner yet?"

"Uh, no, we had a little lunch a couple of hours ago but I should have something when I get home, I guess."

"What would you like? Margaret is still here – I'm sure she'll make whatever you want."

"I could really get into a rare steak and a baked potato and a salad. Bobbie what do you want to eat?"

"That sounds good to me."

"Bjorn?"

"Sounds good to me, too."

"OK, Eric, I guess all three of us would like that. Eric?"

"Yes, lover?"

"Are you mad at me?"

"No, my angel, I am not mad at you, but I will feel better when I know you are safely home and you can tell me yourself what happened."

"OK, well, we should be there pretty soon."

"Yes, I'll have Margaret start on your dinner. I think Alicia is waiting for you to go through some packages in the living room, too."

"Oh, I totally forgot about that! OK, yeah, when I get there… can I eat first or does Alicia need to go home?"

Eric spoke to Alicia then came back "She needs to make preparations for our trip, so she will go through the packages with you in the morning if that is alright?"

"Oh, OK – tell her I'm sorry and I'll see her tomorrow then."

"Alright, my angel, we will be waiting for you."

"Bye, Sweetie." Sookie turned her attention to Bobbie, "He's trying not to sound angry, but he's freaking out, I can tell."

"Well, honey, we did kind of dodge a bullet today. What if those guys had been armed with something other than pool cues? Or there had been more of them? That would have gotten much uglier if Baby E hadn't shocked that guy's ass across the room." Bobbie laughed but she was serious, too.

"That's true, I guess. This will just reinforce it to Eric that I shouldn't be out alone."

"I hope it reinforces that to you, Sookie," Bjorn spoke up. "What if you and Bobbie had been alone? If they were brave enough to walk up to me knowing you had two guards there, I hate to think what they'd have done if it was just you and Bobbie. I think we're going to double your guard for this trip. Too much can go wrong while you're pregnant. I know how Eric feels – I'd be losing my mind if my pregnant wife had been threatened by a couple of hate-mongering rednecks and I didn't even know she was out of the house. He's got every right to be mad at me, too. I should have insisted you be home before he got up, especially after what happened."

"He's probably going to fire me." Lewis added.

"Why would he do that? I'm OK?" Sookie still didn't get it.

"They actually got close enough to touch you, Sookie. That should never have happened." Bjorn wasn't too impressed with Lewis either. He needed to make damned sure they had better help on this trip.

"Yeah, but it worked out OK."

"This time – what if the baby had been asleep? We don't know if he could have done that if the 4 of you weren't holding hands, either. I should have run those guys out of there when I saw that redhead riling them up. What the fuck was up her ass, anyway?"

"She used to be my friend but she decided vampires were scary and unnatural and against god and then she got hooked up with the FOTS. I should know better, too, because I've had other run-ins with the FOTS and nearly got killed more than once."

"That's right – I knew that, damn it! No wonder Eric is out of his mind."

Eric went back into the kitchen. "Margaret, could you fix dinner for Sookie, Bjorn and Bobbie? Sookie asked for steak, baked potato and salad."

"Of course, Mr. Northman, I'll be happy to. The Mrs. is alright, isn't she?"

"Yes, she's fine, she just had a little scare. It's good that Bjorn was with her."

"Was there really trouble?" Alicia had to ask – it was making her crazy.

"Some men from the FOTS apparently tried to start trouble but they were stopped. I believe they are both in the hospital."

"Oh my!" "Oh, no!" Margaret and Alicia reacted together.

"Sookie was not hurt, fortunately, but one of the guards didn't do his job and one of them was actually able to grab at her. That simply cannot happen, especially while she is pregnant."

"No, of course not."

"And, this time they were not armed. I need to have confidence that the guards can handle these situations when Sookie is out in New Orleans or Las Vegas. This was just a couple of local rednecks who happened to be in the same place at the same time. People know that Sookie and I will be in Vegas and New Orleans and that could bring better trained and more determined threats."

"Threats to what?" Bill was finally up and dressed.

"To Sookie and my child. She and Bobbie met Amelia and her teacher at Merlotte's today and were accosted by two FOTS members."

Now Bill was panicked. "Was anyone hurt?"

"The two FOTS members are hospitalized, but one of them got close enough to Sookie to actually touch her."

"That's absolutely unacceptable." Bill wasn't happy about this either, both for Sookie and Bobbie's sake.

"Yes, it is. These men were only armed with pool cues. What if…"

"Eric, are you sure you don't want to double your guard for this trip?"

"I was just thinking about that. I think until we see what we're dealing with in terms of crowds, we should err on the side of caution. They're home." Eric could hear the car pulling into the driveway and he and Bill were out front immediately. Bjorn stopped in front of the garage and let the girls get out before he pulled into the garage.

Eric had Sookie in his arms immediately. Bill was holding Bobbie soon after.

"Eric, I'm OK, really."

He didn't say anything, he just held onto her hard. She could feel through the bond that he was terrified and relieved.

FIGHT! FIGHT!

Sookie laughed and Eric leaned back enough to put his hand on her belly. "At least someone was looking out for his Mother. Good job, my boy, Daddy is very proud of you." Feeling the baby kick under his hand grounded him immediately. His mood was lightening a little now that they were home. His family was safe now and he could relax.

"Your dinner is probably ready, my angel, let's go inside."

Eric and Sookie led the way back into the house, Bobbie, Bill and Bjorn right behind them. Lewis thought he'd make himself scarce. If he was going to get fired, they could do it over the phone. He wasn't going to face that big fucking vampire if he didn't have to.

Margaret was serving up dinner when they all got into the kitchen. "Nice to see you all home, Missus!"

"Thanks, Margaret. This all looks yummy!"

"You just get comfortable and I'll bring some salad dressing and butter. Do you want steak sauce?"

"No, just steak for me – I don't know about Bobbie or Bjorn."

"I like steak sauce if it's not too much trouble," Bjorn said.

Bobbie was so focused on Bill she didn't hear the question, but the sauce was on the table if she wanted it.

Sookie was cutting into her steak as Margaret served Bill and Eric their bloods. Alicia came in to say good night.

"Mrs. Northman, do you need me to stay for anything tonight?"

"Oh, no, Alicia, I'm sorry you had to stay so late. Thanks for opening those boxes for me."

"That's no trouble. It's all out in the living room so you can see what you got and tomorrow we'll get you packed for our trip. I'll see you at 7 am."

"OK, thanks."

Eric's phone rang. "I should take this. I'll be right back."

Eric walked into the den. "Pam? Why are you home so soon?"

"Ugh – I got a little bored with Sookie's big brother so we came home a day early."

"You didn't enjoy your trip?"

"Oh, we had a fine time, but it was just enough at one point. I wanted to be back here. I don't know why, I just did."

"Alright. What are your plans tonight?"

"Jason and I are going to Fangtasia, and he'll go home from there. Are you still coming in?"

"I'd like to come in just for a bit to see you, but I'd rather not stay long. Sookie had a little problem today and I don't want to be away from her too long."

"What happened?"

"I'll tell you all about it when I get there. See you in an hour. I am glad you are back, Pam."

"Yes, Master. Me, too."

Eric came back into the kitchen where everyone was eating and talking. Margaret was getting ready to leave and Bobbie promised to put the dishes in the dishwasher.

"Good night, Margaret – thank you for everything."

"My pleasure, sir – and don't let them forget that there's German Chocolate Cake for dessert."

"Ooohhh! There is!?" Sookie was happy to hear that. "Thanks, Margaret."

Once Margaret was gone, Eric got serious. "Now, I want a detailed account of what happened today before anyone does anything else."

Sookie barely took a breath as she recounted the day's events: "OK, Amelia called me this morning and said that Octavia was coming for a visit and Bobbie and I should meet them for lunch at Merlotte's. Bjorn drove and Lewis rode with us – they had guns, by the way – and we got to Merlotte's about one o'clock. We started talking and it was about 2 o'clock when Bjorn pointed out that no one had waited on us because Arlene wouldn't and she was scaring the other waitress, too. There were two rednecks in the corner who I figured were FOTS because Arlene kept going over and talking to them about us.

We got waited on, we were eating, and the guys started hanging around the pool table looking at us. Sam called Arlene back to yell at her about riling up her idiot friends but while they were gone, the guys came over carrying pool cues. Bjorn stood in front of me. They asked if he was with these ladies and he said yes. They said are you sure they're ladies because they heard that bitch, meaning me, was married to a vampire and her/my baby wasn't human. Bjorn said it was none of their business. One of them asked if I was married to a vampire or not and then the other one took a swing at Bjorn, but the pool cue broke on his arm and his fist hit the guy in the chest and there was an awful cracking sound.

As he went down, the other one reached for me, but Bobbie, Octavia, Amelia and I were holding hands asking Freya to let us get out of there in peace and when he touched me apparently the baby used all our energies and shocked the guy up into the air, across the room and he landed on Sam's pool table and broke it and was screaming about "wings" just like Felipe. Andy Bellefleur decided that it was self-defense and the guys went to the hospital and Arlene went with them and I said I didn't want to press charges and then we talked about what the baby did, and we were done and had a glass of wine and then you called."

Bill shook his head, Bjorn was trying not to laugh and Eric tried not to yell at them when he continued. "So, both went to the hospital?"

"Yeah," she told him, "one guy had a broken…" she looked at Bjorn

"…sternum" he said

"Yeah, sternum, and Sam told them the other guy had a fit or a seizure or something."

"But he was talking about wings?"

"Yeah, just like Felipe. The little Viking likes to sic that falcon on people, I guess."

"How did they get close enough to you to touch you?"

She looked at Bjorn.

"Lewis was behind them, and when I punched the one guy, the other one grabbed at her before Lewis could get to him."

"You know that's bullshit, right? That this absolutely can not happen again where my wife and child are concerned?"

"Yes, your majesty."

"No guns were drawn?"

"No and no one there seemed to know we were armed."

"What should you have done differently?" Eric knew what he thought, but he wanted to see what Bjorn thought.

"I should have run them out of the bar when I saw the redhead egging them on."

"That would have helped. What else could you have done?"

"We could have brandished our weapons and scared the piss out of them."

"Yes. Anything else?"

"Lewis should have been shoulder to shoulder with me in front of them."

"Good. We got lucky this time. No one gets that close to her again."

"Yes, sire, no one."

"Alright. Sookie did they know your name?"

"Yes, and yours."

"Alright, then. Pam is back from vacation and I need to see her. Bjorn, I want you to go to Fangtasia with me to relay this story to Vincent and we'll see what we have to do to be ready to travel Monday night."

"Yes, your majesty."

"Bill, I would feel better if you stayed with the girls tonight, but not if you and Bobbie are going to be in her room."

"We can all watch a movie and have the guard on alert."

"Good. I'll try to be home by 12:30, and I'll call if I'm going to be later."

Bjorn finished his steak. "I'm ready when you are, your majesty."

"You may have dessert if you want."

"I don't eat a lot of sugar."

"Alright then, we will go." He smiled softly at Sookie, "I love you. Get some rest and I will be home as early as I can, alright?"

"Alright! I love you, too."

He kissed her and he and Bjorn went out to the car. Eric wanted to do what he had to do and get back to Sookie. When she heard the car leave the garage, Sookie looked at Bill and Bobbie.

"I'm sorry you guys have to babysit me."

"Don't be silly, Sookie, we love being with you." Bobbie said.

"And frankly, I feel better staying here with you girls tonight considering the day's events. You never know if those idiots have friends that might follow you home.

"So, we're watching a movie?" Bobbie liked the idea, actually. "What does Eric have?"

"I don't know – a couple of hundred movies he's never watched. They're all in alphabetical order if you want to look for something in particular."

Bobbie was loading the dishwasher. "How about something Witchy?"

"Like what? I don't know any Witchy movies."

"Aw, come on, Sookie – **Bell, Book and Candle**,** Practical Magic,** **The Craft**?"

"I'll see what I can find." Bill volunteered and went into the den.

"Never seen any of them. I told you, I always avoided everything like that because I was weird enough and the last thing I wanted was people thinking I was a Witch in addition to being crazy."

"Sweetie, I hate that you grew up in an environment that didn't teach you to appreciate your gifts. At least now you are in a situation where you can be anybody you want to be."

"I can?"

"Sure, you can. Eric loves you so much that you could do just about anything and he'd support you in it."

"I never thought of that – I mean, he sort of told me that, but I didn't really think of it as being true."

"Think about it, Sweetie. Let your imagination run wild and see where it takes you."

"I'm kind of stuck being Queen, though."

"A Queen can run a business or get a degree or learn to paint or start a magazine or build an amazing house or library, or do charity work or help the poor or make a movie or write a book, or…"

"Yeah, OK, I get it. I just never…"

"Never thought you had any options?"

"Yeah. I always thought I'd live with Gran and work at Merlotte's or some place like it. Going to school was a nightmare for me."

"I can imagine, hearing all those crazy kids' fantasies…"

"Yeah, there was no way for me to concentrate on anything. Gran basically taught me how to read and that was how I got by – just reading everything I could."

Bobbie finished with the dishes and the girls grabbed sodas and went into the den.

"What'd you find, Sweetie?" Bobbie wondered when she saw Bill putting a DVD in the player.

"Bell, Book and Candle. It's an old one – I've seen it several times – but it's one of the best to my way of thinking."

"Well, it's definitely got the best wardrobe in it – wait 'til you see some of the clothes Kim Novak wears in this, Sookie! They're amazing!"

"Is it realistic at all?"

"No, it's not – there aren't any really accurate ones, though Practical Magic did a fair job of specifying that there was no devil in the Craft and showing them being more into herbs and such, though they always have to cross the line to make it entertaining."

"How come nobody does realistic movies about Witches?"

"Real Witches aren't scary and real magick is subtle, so it's not what they consider entertaining. I've always wished they'd do a show about a Witch who solved mysteries or handled weirdness like Kolchak did."

"Kolchak: The Night Stalker?! I LOVED that show – my dad and I used to watch the reruns of it all the time. They still show them sometimes."

"Yeah, and you know how they have all these reality shows about hunting ghosts or monsters? Why is there never a Witch in the crew? And what really pisses me off are the political shows where they'll claim to have a diversity of religions represented and they're all patriarchal – they'll have two kinds of Christians and a Jew, or maybe on a rare occasion a Muslim or a Hindu, but they never include Goddess worshippers."

"Really, Bobbie, there aren't that many of you at this point…" Bill wasn't completely comfortable with the Witch thing yet.

"There would be a lot more if people knew about it and they won't know about it if the news doesn't tell them. One article every Hallowe'en is pretty pitiful for the fastest growing religion in America – there are more people turning to some form of Paganism every year than any of the monotheistic groups."

"Wait – monotheistic is "one god" right? If it's all one Goddess…"

"Feminists and Matriarchists use the spelling m-o-n-o-t-h-e-A-s-t-i-c, with an 'a' to mean believing in one Goddess. It also differentiates us because we believe in one Goddess but many Goddesses and gods…"

"All gods are Goddesses and all Goddesses are one Goddess?"

"Right – it's monotheistic and polytheistic at the same time. We don't have to nail things down to an absolute extreme the way the either-good-or-evil-crowd does. Life is too complex to just try to split it into two categories, but no matter how many categories you have, they're all part of one Whole."

"OK, why is she barefoot?" Sookie was talking about the movie now – Kim Novak was running around in black crop pants, a black sweater and no shoes."

"That's supposed to tell you that she's Bohemian… a non-conformist." Bill explained.

"And that cat is her familiar?"

"Supposedly, yes."

"Freya favors cats," Sookie mused.

"She does?"

"Yeah, I read that on the internet. I'd like to have a cat, but it's not a good idea with a baby."

"How does Eric feel about cats?"

"I don't know – Bill?"

"I have never seen Eric around an animal other than a Were or a Shifter. You'll have to ask him."

"If he doesn't mind them, he might let you get one when the baby is older. Cats are good pets for kids when they're a little older."

"Yeah, maybe. I miss my cat. I always had one growing up. So, is she actually supposed to be attracted to James Stewart?"

"Yeah, if only because she hates his bitchy girlfriend. Oh, they're headed for the Zodiac club. Watch this cape she's wearing…"

"Wow – that red lining is gorgeous!"

"When she gets into the club, she's wearing a red backless dress and red shoes. Just gorgeous. Actually, you could wear about everything she wears in this film – you could pull off all of these outfits."

"I could? I don't know…"

"You could, Sookie," Bill agreed, "I know you think of yourself as a little girl but you tend to rise to your level of dress. When you've got on a gorgeous gown, you carry it well."

"Oh, thanks…" When Gillian's brother, Nicki, as played by Jack Lemmon, started playing the bongos, Sookie objected. "Ew – that music sucks."

"In that time period, though, that would have been the equivalent of rock and roll today." Bill always had a comment about music.

'Really? I like our music now better."

"Watch what she does here, Sookie…" Bobbie wanted her to pay attention because Gillian made the lights above them go off like lightening while the jazz musicians played a frenetic version of "Stormy Weather" and the evil girlfriend, who had a fear of thunderstorms and had gotten Gillian in trouble in college for going barefoot, freaked out and ran out of the club.

Sookie laughed. "I wish I could do something like that to Arlene."

"You could, Sookie. You scared the crap out of her today with that little bit of telekinesis you did."

"She did what?" Bill hadn't heard about this.

"I had a dream that Freya told me I could move things by imagining them and saying "come to me" and Octavia made me try it today."

"And she DID IT."

"Really? Did you tell Eric about this?" Bill knew Eric needed to know this.

"Um… no. I forgot."

Bill took his phone out and dialed Eric, but it went to voice mail. "That's strange?"

"What?" Bobbie asked though she and Sookie were more interested in the movie.

"Eric isn't answering his phone."

"He isn't? That's weird…" Sookie thought for a minute. "You're sure it's the right number?"

"Yes, Sookie, I got his voicemail."

Sookie frowned. "Something's wrong."

"Don't get upset, Sookie, it's probably nothing." Bobbie didn't want her to freak out over nothing.

"No, I know it – I can feel it in the bond. Something is wrong."

The house phone rang and Bill picked it up. "Sookie – it's Amelia for you."

"Hi, Amelia."

"Sookie, somebody just blasted your front door with a shot gun."

"Oh my god – are you alright?"

"Octavia and I are OK, but you need to have your door fixed. We're a little freaked out."

"Well, you can't stay there. Pack up your stuff and come here to my house."

"What happened?" Bill knew this had to be bad. "Is anyone hurt?"

"No, but somebody shot my front door with a shot gun."

"Let me talk to her." Bill took the phone. "Amelia, did you call the police?"

"Yeah, Andy Bellefleur is on his way here."

"As soon as he gets there and you're done with his report, get in the car and come here to Eric's house. Do you know the way here?"

"Yeah, we can find it with no trouble."

"OK, call us before you leave so we can let the guard know to watch for you.

"OK, Bill, thanks." Amelia hung up and went to wait for Andy.

"Do you think this has something to do with Eric not answering his phone?"

"That's exactly what I think. Sookie, get your phone and keep trying to call Eric. I'm going to tell the guards to be aware that there might be a problem. Bobbie, make sure that back door is locked. "

Sookie was trying to get a hold of Eric, and she left him a message in case he checked his messages. Bill told the guards out front there might be a problem and one of them got a call from Vincent as he was talking to them. They told Bill to turn on the news to Channel 3.

Bill went back into the den and stopped the movie, turning the TV to channel 3. There was a breaking story about a nightclub being bombed – it was Fangtasia!

"Oh, my god, ERIC!"

"Sookie is he hurt? You would feel that." Bill needed to keep her calm.

"No, but he's angry – really, really angry."

The news was showing the club which had some smoke and a few flames on one side of it but they said it was mostly under control and there had only been minor damages, but there were a couple of injuries and it appeared there had been an altercation at the door and some explosives had gone off in the skirmish.

"Ow! Calm down, Baby E!"

"Sookie, are you OK?" Bobbie didn't like the sound of that.

"The baby is going crazy sending FIGHT! FIGHT! and he's kicking me like crazy."

"Here, honey, lie down and send comfort and calm to him." Bobbie put Sookie in the recliner and tried to get her comfortable. She could see the movement in Sookie's belly – he was really kicking up a storm.

"Do you think he's reacting to something here?" Bill asked.

"No, but wherever Eric is, there's going to be blood. I can feel it – rage, bloodlust, revenge. Ow!"

Mother Fuckers. Eric was not going to let these bastards get away this time. He knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that this was retaliation for the damage Bjorn and the baby did at Merlotte's that day. Two men had tried to come through the front door with explosives on their persons and the doorman had smelled it. One makeshift bomb went off in the scuffle that ensued, and one went off in the Ladies' Room shortly after. One bomb was retrieved by the Security guards and they told Eric they saw three men running east from the club that they were sure were connected to it. Once help was on the scene and he was sure Pam was OK and Vincent was doing triage, Eric took a sword from his office, threw on his long black coat to conceal it and took to the sky.

He made large circles like a huge bird of prey, scanning the streets below him for the runners. He saw some strange movement in an alley and saw three men, two running scared, one trying to get a car started. Failing to start the car, the third man then got out and the three were fighting about what to do now. One of them had been caught. Eric knew it was them. He landed lightly and silently on the roof of the building they were parked behind and listened.

"Get the fucking car started, George!"

"It's dead. Shit, we've got to get the fuck out of here. They're talking about it on the radio already!"

"They caught Ed, you know and I think the bomb went off in Lowell's coat! Connie got that one into the ladies' room but I didn't see her get out."

"You mean she's not right behind you?"

"We completely lost her."

"We ain't goin' anywhere without her, John."

"We have to get out of here, George, those fucking bloodsuckers will be after us."

"We gotta find Connie! I mean it, Harold – JOHN – we ain't leavin' without her. "

"Shit – fine, I'll go over to the side street and see if I can see her. Hold on." Harold ran to the end of the alley and went around the corner. The other two men raised the hood on the car and tried to figure out why it wouldn't start.

"Hell, George, you fuckin' flooded it. Now what do we do?"

Thunk! They heard something hit the roof of the car. They put the hood down – it was Harold's head!

"Fuck, what the fuck is that?!" George turned and ran down the alley but suddenly a tall dark figure dropped in front of him, and moving faster than the human eye could see, he cut the man in half. 2 down, John to go… Eric walked toward the man slowly swinging his sword in a circle, as he tried to get the car started. The streetlight made Eric look huge and wild, and he was obviously covered in blood. John got out of the car and raised a silver cross at Eric. Eric's fangs were down and he hissed and growled at the man, who was spouting bible verses and trying to exorcise him like he was a demon. Eric started to back up, pretending that the man's words were sending him away. Just as the man began to believe it was working, Eric leapt over the car and cut him in half.

Eric took their keys and put his sword in their trunk. Nuts like this might have any kind of weapon with them and this had their DNA on it so he wouldn't take it with him. Well, well – more explosives in the trunk. That was handy. Moving fast, he gathered the pieces of the men and arranged them in the car, gorging on their blood as he put them in place. He flew back up to the top of the building and got the bomb he had brought with him from Fangtasia. He put it in the front seat of the car and added a detonator to it. He flew back up to the building top, and pressed the button in his pocket. The car went up like fireworks. When the police found it, they assumed that the men had accidentally blown themselves up and there was no evidence of the clean slices from the sword among the mess that was left.

Eric went back to Fangtasia. The fire was completely out now, with just a little smoldering. Vincent was dealing with the fire chief, so Eric kicked around inside until he found his phone, which looked fine but wouldn't work. He was on his way back out when he saw Pam in the crowd watching from the sidewalk surrounding the club.

"Are you going to be able to handle the repairs while I'm gone?"

"Of course, Master, we'll have it looking good as new by the time you get back."

Eric whispered to her, "There's one more in the crowd somewhere – a woman named Connie. The others are dead."

They split up and Pam wandered through the crowd. Eric stood out too much to do this particular job, but Pam, a girl in black, blended right in and was able to sniff out the one woman that smelled of explosives.

"Connie, honey, is that you?"

"Huh? I – uh, well…"

"You don't remember me? Pam? We went to high school together."

"Oh, yeah, how've you been?"

"Oh, I'm fine. Were you inside?"

"I was just there to meet a friend. I can't seem to find him now."

There were some men around back in the parking lot – maybe your friend is around there?"

"Yeah, maybe. Thanks – I'll check it out."

"I'll walk with you. If you can't find him, I can always give you a ride."

Connie was never heard from again, and the police theorized that she had died in the car with the men, but couldn't be identified based on finding her singed wallet near by. They were sure she had been the one to smuggle in the bomb that went off in the Ladies' Room because the doorman identified her from a photo line-up.

Eric found Bjorn, who had held the terrorist named Ed for the police, coming back to the entrance of the club.

"Are you hurt?"

"No, sire, I'm fine. They took the terrorist to the police station. Vincent said to tell you he sent extra guards to your house."

"Since he's got it under control, let's go home. I'll feel better knowing Sookie is safe and that we're all there in case of trouble. My phone isn't working."

"Do you want to use mine?"

"I doubt they know what is happening. They were supposed to be watching a movie. I doubt they'd be watching the TV even if they were covering this."

Extra guards were arriving at the house. Bill confirmed that the captain of the guard knew the people who were arriving – he didn't want any unknowns on the property tonight – and he was giving orders that the entire property was to be sealed and the only people in or out would be Eric, Bjorn, Amelia and Octavia.

"Sookie, did you get hold of Eric yet?" Bill was getting worried.

"No, his phone is still going straight to voicemail, but I think he's OK – I can feel in the bond that he's relieved and I think he's on his way home. I feel him getting closer."

"That's amazing." Bobbie was in awe of the bond concept. "That must be so comforting." Bobbie didn't look at Bill, but he turned and left the room anyway. He cared about Bobbie, but he wasn't ready for that yet, nor did he know if he ever would be.

"Yeah, I'd be freaking out if I weren't sure he was almost here. He's about half way here now."

Eric closed his eyes as Bjorn took the turn off to go to the house. "Sookie must know about the club – she is feeling relief, and the baby has been kicking her but he's calm now."

"You can tell all that through the bond?"

"Yes. She can feel us coming home. She's sending me comfort." He smiled.

Lights flashed outside the house, and Bill went out front. It was Amelia and Octavia. Bill waved them on in. One of the guards took their bags in the house and another took their car around to the garage in back.

"Sookie, you lie still – we'll get them in and settled. Try to stay calm so the baby will relax."

Bobbie want to the living room as Amelia and Octavia came in and she ran over to hug them both. "Thank Goddess you are alright! Was there much damage to the house?"

"Just the door. The police put up some boards and police tape. I'll get someone to come out and fix it tomorrow."

"I think we should let Jason do that, and you stay here a couple of days," Bill didn't like the idea of them being there alone, and he was getting ready to leave for New Orleans. "Eric might want to put a guard on your house, too. He's already got two around the clock at my place."

"You think that's necessary?"

"We'll see what Eric and his head of security say, but I think we need to let this die down a little before you try staying there alone again."

"Oh, no, I forgot it's a mess in here." Sookie saw everything in the living room covered with stuff. "I'm so sorry, you guys!"

"Don't you worry about us, sweetie." Amelia was always upbeat. "Bjorn is in he yellow room, right? So Octavia can have the pink room and I'll mess up your birthing room for a few days, but we'll keep it so it will be ready if you need it.

"Sookie are you sure you shouldn't be lying down?" Bobbie wasn't sure she should be up.

"Are you sick, Sookie?" Amelia didn't want to intrude if Sookie was sick, though they didn't really have many options.

"Baby E just got a little rambunctious – Fangtasia was bombed and Eric… well, I don't know what Eric did, but Baby E wanted to get in on the fight, too."

"Oh, my god!" Amelia was shocked.

"He's gonna be a pistol" Octavia smiled at her proudly. That baby was going to be something else and she had already decided she was going to make sure she was around to see him raised right. Not that Sookie and Eric couldn't do it on their own, but she wanted to see this little critter grow up.

"Why don't I make us some coffee? There's some sweet tea in the fridge, too, I think?" Bobbie would take over so Sookie could sit and relax."

"Good idea – let's sit in the kitchen," Bill agreed.

"Ow! Eric is almost here – the baby feels him, too. You all go in and sit down – I want to meet Eric outside."

"Sookie, you really should stay indoors. He'll come in through the kitchen door." Bill knew better than to let her go outside – Eric would be furious under these circumstances.

"Oh, OK, I guess…"

Bill steered Sookie back toward the kitchen where Bobbie and Amelia were getting drinks and snacks together. Octavia was sitting at the table and Bill joined her, introducing himself. Octavia thought he looked like a movie star, but she just smiled and said she was glad to meet him. Sookie took her usual place at the table and Octavia noticed she was running her hand over the spot where Eric would sit – she was anxious to see him. They heard the garage door, and then heard the car doors and Eric came through the door. Sookie was up and in his arms in a heartbeat and Eric took her upstairs without a word to anyone.

"Damn." Octavia laughed.

"He must have been in some kind of fight." Bill knew exactly what that was about and figured they'd be back when they were done. "They'll be back down in a bit, I'd say."

Amelia came back in from the den. "They just said on TV they think the guys who bombed the club blew themselves up in their car. They said the trunk had to be full of explosives and they found a sword in the wreckage, too."

"A sword? That explains Eric's… mood." Bill laughed to himself.

"What do you mean?" Bobbie didn't quite get it yet.

"He means that Eric killed them then put their bodies in their car and blew it up with his sword in it. He couldn't keep it because of the DNA. Nobody would think it was strange that a bunch of religious zealots who make bombs would have a sword with them, especially if they were after vampires." Octavia had this figured out as quickly as Bill did.

"How many were killed?" Bobbie had trouble picturing Eric doing that, but she knew his reputation and Bill assured her later that it would be nothing for Eric to kill those people and laugh about it.

"They said there were three in the car, and one woman may be missing. One was killed when the bomb went off trying to get into the club and one guy is in custody."

"I caught him and held him until the cops got there." Bjorn said as he came in.

"Coffee or tea, Bjorn?" Bobbie was still playing hostess.

"Coffee, please."

"How many hurt at Fangtasia?"

"4 went to the hospital. No one was in the Ladies' Room when the bomb went off and two Were bouncers and some guy from out of town were hurt at the front door."

"Was Sookie's brother there with Pam?" Bobbie remembered Jason was going there with Pam and leaving from there.

"Jason left about 45 minutes before the bombs – I shook his hand as he was leaving and I saw him get into his truck so I know he got out fine. Sookie should call him and let him know we're all OK."

"Pam alright?" Bill had a love/hate thing with Pam but he certainly wouldn't want her hurt.

"She's fine and she and Vincent had things under control so Eric wanted to get back to Sookie in case something happened here."

"Sure, he did." Amelia said and they all laughed.

"This is a shitty time for all of this to happen." Amelia said as she came back in from the living room with a small calendar in her hand. "You guys are leaving for Vegas Monday night, right?"

"All except me – I'm going to New Orleans and I'll be in Vegas on Friday." Bill said. He didn't like the idea of being away from Bobbie right now, though she would have lots of guards around her.

"Sookie needs to spend tomorrow in bed – she's had way too much excitement today." Bobbie insisted and the rest of them agreed. "That baby really let her have it tonight. I wonder if she can handle carrying him much longer."

"How much longer do you think it will be?" Bjorn asked.

"It was supposed to be mid-August, the we adjusted it to early August, but I don't see her making it through July now without giving birth. He's too advanced and she's growing like crazy. That's why I want her to use a wheel chair during this trip. It's just too much for her at this stage in the pregnancy."

"She doesn't have the option of not attending these two events, but nothing says she can't stay in bed the rest of the time." Bill suggested. "Who suggested a wheel chair?"

"I did,' Bobbie said, "then Bjorn agreed with me and called Dr. Ludwig and she agreed. She'd have a fit about this trip if she saw Sookie right now."

"Why?" Bill didn't see anything wrong.

"She's about 20 pounds under-weight and the baby is getting big enough to give her problems in getting around. I'm really worried about him kicking her."

"He can't really hurt her, can he?"

"I've heard of babies breaking their mother's ribs and things like that. I almost think she needs to be on the Soma to keep _him_ calm."

"Nothin' is going to keep that baby calm when there's a fight around him. He's too much like his Daddy." Octavia said. "You need to keep the two of them out of trouble until she delivers that boy."

Eric flew them up the stairs so fast Sookie lost her breath and was already panting by the time he tore her thong off and he was in her before it hit the floor. He was wild with bloodlust and fucked her hard, growling loudly. Sookie was yelling out with every stroke, and she kept her palms flat against his chest in case he forgot about not putting pressure on the baby. It didn't take long before he came with a howl and suddenly he was on his knees beside the bed between her legs, licking her aggressively as she moaned then without warning he bit her thigh, not to feed but to make her come, and she came hard. Wow – it was fast, it was intense and it was over. Sookie never remembered having a "quickie" with Eric but if this is what it's like, bring it on!

Eric crawled up on the bed beside her and kissed her all over her face. Sookie was still trying to catch her breath.

"Wow – that was something!"

"I didn't hurt you, did I?"

"No, I knew what was coming. I could feel it in the bond. I wanted to meet you outside but Bill wouldn't let me."

"I would have killed him if he let you outdoors tonight and he knows it. So, we have company?"

"Somebody blasted the front door of my house with a shotgun so we told Amelia and Octavia to come here tonight."

"Shit. Fucking religious zealots – every age has some fucked up wave of religious zealotry that feels entitled to go around killing people they don't like. Humans are so predictable it's pathetic."

"You've seen it all before, huh?"

"Exactly. I should go down and talk to Bill." He smoothed her hair away from her face. "Can you come down or do you want to wait for me here."

"I'll come with you, but you have to carry me because I'm tired and your son kicked the crap out of me again when you went on whatever rampage you went on."

"Are you hurt?" Now he was focused only on Sookie. "Did I make it worse?"

"I'm a little tender, but not from you. It's inside where he is. I'm used to a good hard vampire fuck but I'm not used to having a little Viking dance on my uterus."

"Shall we go?"

"I should wash up first."

"Lie still, I'll take care of it."

He got a warm washcloth and wiped her face and arms first, then her legs and up to her center, paying particular attention where she'd want him to. "How is that, my angel?"

"Much better – very refreshing. Now let's go talk to our war council," she laughed.

He scooped her up and they flew gently down the steps, then went back into the kitchen.

"Hi, kids!" Amelia though it was funny as hell that they had to fuck before they could do anything else.

"Hello, everyone. You are Octavia, I presume?"

"Yes, and you're the famous Viking I keep hearing about. You're a mountain of a man, aren't you?"

Everyone laughed.

"So, Bill where are we."

"Well, tomorrow is Sunday and you are leaving Monday night for Las Vegas and I am leaving for New Orleans. I don't think it's safe for Amelia and Octavia to go back to Sookie's house for a few days and I think they need a guard such as I have at my house thereafter. Please tell me that you doubled your guard for this trip?"

"Yes, Bjorn, Vincent and I worked that out tonight. We'll have a small army with us, especially now."

"I think Octavia and Amelia should stay here until Vincent gets them a full time guard set up."

"I agree."

"They've all talked to Dr. Ludwig and everyone seems to agree that Sookie needs to use a wheel chair on this trip and stay in bed whenever possible."

"The doctor agrees? Who talked to her?"

"I did." Bjorn said, "Bobbie mentioned it today and we called her. I think it's a good idea. They said he worked her over pretty good earlier."

"So I hear."

"By the way, Eric, you do know you're covered in blood?" Bill pointed out.

"Well, as long as the police don't show up, I'm fine. I'll bathe when we all know what we are doing."

"Amelia will stay in the birthing room, Octavia in the pink room and they'll be here with Margaret until their security is in place, and the rest of us do as we had originally planned, but with twice as many guards." Bill had worked it all out while he was waiting for Eric.

"Alright, then, I'll leave a message for Alicia that there will be extra for breakfast tomorrow.

"I think Bobbie, Amelia, Sookie and I should get our heads together and throw up some protection around all of us."

"That's a good idea," Eric agreed. "Do you want to do it tonight or tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow. Sookie's already exhausted. You need to get her in bed and spend some time with her. She tried to pretend she wasn't upset earlier but she was wound pretty tight when we got here. The family has to come first - tonight and every night. Now, Amelia, show me to my room so I can plan what we need to do." Octavia was tired and needed time to think.

"Bobbie and I will stay up a while in case anything happens. You take Sookie upstairs and get her settled," Bill suggested.

"Alright. Bjorn – get some sleep. You'll need to stick close to Sookie tomorrow, just in case. Even if she stays in bed, I want you up there sitting with her."

"Yes, your majesty."

"Can we take our bath now, please?" Sookie wanted Eric all to herself now that everybody knew the plan.

"Yes, my angel, we can. Good night, Bill, Bobbie."

Good nights were exchanged all around and Eric carried Sookie back upstairs, more slowly this time. He sat her down and went to run the bath while she stripped off her dress.

"Eric, look!" She was standing in the doorway naked, pointing to her tummy – the baby's movement was clearly visible.

"That is the most amazing thing I have ever seen." He took her face in his hands and kissed her tenderly, then knelt down to kiss the bump. It jiggled in response and they both laughed.

Eric took his bloody clothes off while Sookie got into the bath.

"Where's the almond massage oil," she said, searching around.

"It's in the shower. Are you up to that tonight?"

"Not really. I'm sorry. Alicia said that was good to rub on my belly to prevent stretch marks."

"Well," he said as he got in behind her, "that's a pleasant prospect, too. After I bathe you, I'll rub it in for you."

"You don't mind?"

"Sookie, as long as you are with me I don't care what we do."

"You weren't saying that a little while ago…"

"That was bloodlust, Sookie, you can't hold that against me…"

"I know, I'm teasing you." She turned around to face him. "You've got blood in your hair, sweetie. Let me wash it for you."

"You do not find it… upsetting?"

She was up on her knees wetting his hair with the hand-held shower.

"I figure it belongs to somebody who tried to kill you tonight so, no, it doesn't upset me, it makes me damned glad I'm married to a bad ass vampire who doesn't take shit from anybody."

"Not quite the reaction I expected, my angel," he laughed.

"I'm married to a warrior. If I'm going to love you, I have to love this about you, too, and I do. I know you did what you did because they tried to hurt us and would have tried again if you hadn't stopped them. I wanted you to stop them. I wish you'd been at Merlotte's today – though I must admit, your son did a damned good job in your place," she laughed.

"I wish I had been there, too. People like that are cowards. They'll threaten a pregnant woman but they won't stand up to me face to face. Instead they sneak explosives into my bar around innocent people."

"Hmmm – I never thought of the crowd at Fangtasia as "innocent" before," she laughed.

"I love you, Sookie. If anything had happened to you…"

"Nothing did. Bjorn was with me and that was because you were taking care of me. I just thank Goddess you weren't hurt tonight and the damage at Fangtasia wasn't any worse than it was."

"Yes, the only deaths tonight were those who brought the bombs in the first place."

"One of them was arrested – is that going to be a big mess when he goes to trial?"

"He will never live to stand trial, Sookie. He may not make it out of the jail alive tonight."

"Do I want to know how you know that?"

"You do not."

"Right, well, good." She was ready to change gears, so she switched to a little baby talk, "Will you rub my shoulders, please."

"Of course, my angel. Touching you is…"

"Is what?"

"Never mind."

"What?"

"I … no, can't say that. Too corny."

"Corny? YOU, Eric Northman, were about to be CORNY? Well, now you HAVE to tell me – I can't live without knowing what you almost said."

"I started to say…"

"Yes…?

"That touching you…"

"Uh=huh?"

He sighed, knowing she wouldn't let this go. "…is like praying for me."

She was speechless.

"Pretty bad, huh?" He said.

"That's the sweetest thing anyone ever said to me."

"I'm not just saying it, Sookie, I mean it. It's true."

She kissed him long and hard. He softened the kisses, drew them out so they became long, languid caresses that made her nearly weak all over.

"Mmmmm – you keep kissing me like that, I'm going to melt and you'll rinse me down the drain."

He laughed and kissed her on the nose. "Let's wash your hair, and get washed off, then I will rub you very gently and very slowly with oil, and before you know it, we will be in our bed spooning while I whisper in your ear."

"Mmm- but the oil is in the shower," She reminded him as she leaned back against him.

"I can get out and get it…"

"No, wait" She held her hands up in front of her, pictured the bottle of oil and said "Come to me" and the oil was in her hand as a breeze swept through the room with a Whoosh! "Here you go."

Eric was stunned. "Sookie, what did you do?"

"Freya told me in a dream I could do that, and Octavia had me practice it today and it turns out, I really can."

"Freya told you how to do this, and you can do it? And Amelia, Octavia, Bobbie, Bjorn… they all know you can do this?"

"Yeah, and bitchy Arlene saw me move a peppershaker."

"No wonder they were afraid of you. Sookie, this is remarkable!"

"Yeah, it's pretty cool. I need to practice and see how far it works and stuff."

"I need to think about this. In the mean time, don't do it in front of anyone that doesn't know."

"OK."

"Now, you are going to relax and I am going to finish your bath, you magickal little Goddess, you." He laughed.

She closed her eyes, as he kissed her forehead, and she stopped talking and just let him do everything he promised. She even fell asleep a bit while he massaged her moist skin with the oil, dried her and tucked her in bed.

When they were spooned together in bed, he began to whisper to her, and she asked him, "Eric?"

"Yes, my angel?"

"How come you never tell me stories about your life?"

"What do you mean?"

"You always say you look forward to telling our son stories about your life, but you don't tell them to me."

"I did not want to bore you."

"Nothing about you is boring, Eric. I'd love to know more about the places you've been and the changes you've seen."

"Alright, my angel, I will tell you about my long life… until you get sick of hearing about it, and then you will tell me and I'll stop."

"That will never happen."

"We'll see."

"Not for years and years, anyway."

"Ah, so where shall we begin?"

"What's the most exotic place you've ever been?"

"This bed."

"Bull shit!"

"Sookie!"

"Come on – you must have been in an opium den in the Orient or been on a safari or sailed around the world…"

"Your blood does more for me than opium would, and nothing compares to the softness of your skin or the luxury of these sheets. However, if you want to know about tales of the Far East, I have a few I can tell you. When I was a young vampire, several hundred years old, I hopped on a ship leaving Scotland…"

…and he whispered to her until she fell asleep. He spent his time sending to the baby. He spent his time in the nursery, he went downstairs to meet with Bill. When he went to his rest for the day, he smiled to himself. He never expected Sookie to care about his long history. He fell asleep smiling, thinking of all the things he wanted to share with her – he would think about her new ability tomorrow.


	61. Chapter 61

[A/N: this was written before book 9 came out, and I didn't want to change it because it has been so long. Late takes place after book 8, and as far as I'm concerned, book 9 never happened.

I've been really busy – sorry it has been so long. Also, I spaced on the fact that lemons are poison to fairies – I'll go back and change Sookie's lemonade to a sweet tea.]

**Chapter 61**

"Mrs. Northman? Mrs. Northman? Sookie, can you wake up, dear?"

"Hm?"

"Sookie, you need to drink, sweetheart."

She struggled to open her eyes. "Oh, hi, Alicia. I'm…"

"Sookie?"

"I'm having trouble waking up."

"Mr. Northman said he gave you a Soma last night so you would sleep late. As soon as you drink this you can conk out again," Alicia laughed and smiled. She was glad Eric had given her a stronger sedative based on what she had heard about last night. She was very worried when she heard the news this morning that Eric or Sookie or their friends might have been injured. She was glad they were all OK and agreed that it was so much excitement that it warranted having her take it easy.

Sookie managed to turn a little with Alicia's help and drank down the RM.

"Here, sweetheart, let's put a gown on you since you'll have a guard up here today." She managed to get a little knit gown with spaghetti straps on her that would at least cover her breasts, and she pulled it down under her as best she could, Sookie trying to help but not doing so very effectively. Alicia got her to roll to the side enough to pull the gown down over her hips so if she kicked her covers off nothing would be visible that shouldn't be. She was to sleep instantly when she rolled back. Alicia was going to get her packing and Eric's done as completely as possible today so all Sookie needed to do was to add a few items here or there as she liked. She had already made arrangements for Sookie to have a wheel chair and she had gotten some gorgeous new Louis Vuitton luggage for Sookie and Eric's wardrobe

Around 10 o'clock the gang began to gather in the kitchen, the smell of coffee and bacon frying drawing them down the stairs. Bobbie was the first one up, and she was quickly followed by Amelia. Bjorn waited and came down the stairs with Octavia in case she needed help on the stairs. He already liked the old lady and he thought she probably had a better idea about what Sookie needed to learn than anybody around her. He had been raised to respect his elders, and in Octavia's case she had impressed him with the things she had said to Sookie. His grandmother had been a bit of a Witch herself, though she'd never say that straight out, and he knew that older women were formidable beings when they knew their own powers. He offered her his arm and let her lean on him as they came down to the first floor and into the kitchen.

"Good morning, Octavia! This is Margaret – she keeps us all from starving." Amelia wanted to try to put Octavia at ease since she wasn't used to having servants around.

"Nice to meet you, Margaret."

"Very pleased to meet you, ma'am. How do you like your eggs?"

"Over easy, if it's not too much trouble."

"No trouble at all."

Octavia joined Bobbie and Amelia at the table and they exchanged pleasantries and engaged in small talk.

"Margaret," Bjorn asked apologetically, "would it be alright if I took a plate upstairs with me? Eric wanted me to stay close to Sookie today no matter what."

"Of course, Bjorn, I'll fix you a tray now and then we'll send your lunch up when we send Mrs. Northman's breakfast. There's a table and chairs in their room where you can eat and you'll be right next to her."

Alicia came in smiling, "Good morning, everyone!"

Hi, Alicia! – Hey! – good morning! All flowed from the table at once.

"Bjorn, are you heading upstairs now?"

"Yes, ma'am"

"I was just fixing him a breakfast tray to take with him."

"Alright, good. Bjorn if you want, there's a television in the chest at the foot of the Northmans' bed. The control is on Mr. Northman's nightstand. Feel free to raise it up and watch – Sookie sleeps so soundly that you won't disturb her. She's on Soma so she'll be out of it until later anyway."

"Ok, thanks, Alicia." Bjorn smiled at her and thanked Margaret for the tray she handed him full of eggs, toast, orange juice, coffee and a pork chop, taking it back up stairs with him. Sookie didn't stir as he entered her bedroom and put his tray on the side table. He decided to eat before he messed with the TV but the way Sookie looked lying there, he knew he'd need a distraction.

Damn! She was pregnant, had no makeup on, and she was still one of the hottest women he had ever seen. It had to be the Goddess in her, and he had no doubts about that since he saw what happened at Merlotte's the day before. Between the kid kicking Sookie because that other man touched her, Sookie moving salt shakers and the baby shocking that religious nut's ass across the room, there was obviously big magick around that little girl. As hard it might be for him to be in the room with her all day, he thought Eric was smart to keep him there with her, just in case. He owed it to her and to Freya to take every precaution he could around his wife and baby and that meant having someone right in the room should trouble break out.

Bjorn heard a sound behind him and turned to see that the door of the little refrigerator was open and a Real Meal was moving through the air toward Sookie. He was stunned – what should he do? Take it out of the air? See where it was going? It landed on Sookie's "lap" where she was half-sitting on the wedge pillow and her tummy jumped and she moaned – he was kicking her, wanting her to wake up and drink the bottle of blood. "Ow!" He had kicked her again. Bjorn figured the best thing to do was to have her drink it so he opened the bottle and tried to wake Sookie up to drink.

"Sookie! Sookie!" He tried to shake her a little and she tried to open her eyes.

"What's wrong, Bjorn?"

"The baby wants you to drink a blood. Can you drink this?" He sat on the side of the bed next to her.

"I need a straw."

He looked around and saw them on top of the fridge in the little wicker basket He put a straw in it and helped her turn sideways a little and drink, trying not to notice the cleavage she was showing as she turned on her side. Her chest had really grown since he'd been working here and "voluptuous" didn't even begin to describe them. He was utterly fascinated by the line where her tan ended and the un-tanned portion of them swelled out of the top of the little gown. While she was drinking Bobbie and Amelia came up to see if Bjorn was OK up there alone with her.

"Hey, Bjorn – was she thirsty?" Bobbie started.

"You girls won't believe what just happened." He was actually a little shaken.

"What? Is something wrong?"

"No, but I was sitting there eating and the door of the little fridge opened all by itself and this bottle went floating toward her and landed on her lap, then the baby was kicking her trying to wake her up."

"Oh my Goddess!" Bobbie was shocked.

"You're kidding?" Amelia was delighted. "Bobbie, you stay here with him, I've got to tell Octavia." She went running back down to where Octavia was still drinking coffee and having a donut.

"Bjorn – you think it was the baby or Sookie?" Bobbie was excited but not quite wrapping her mind around it yet.

"It had to be the baby – Sookie was sound asleep."

"What are you guys talking about?" Sookie was about to reach the bottom of the bottle. "Can I have another one, Bjorn?"

"Yes, of course, hold on." Bobbie was already around the bed and opened one then handed it to him. Sookie began to drink again.

"Sookie, are you in pain, honey?" Bobbie was worried the baby might have hurt her.

"I don't know – I don't think so. Why are you guys so freaked out?"

"Because the baby got his own blood out of the fridge and was kicking you to try to wake you up to drink it." Bjorn explained.

"The baby? How…?"

"We think maybe the baby has your new ability too, sweetie. He wanted a blood and made it float over to you. He probably would have woken you up if you weren't sedated."

"He was kicking you pretty hard. I could see the blankets jump and you were crying out." Bjorn was still freaked out. "Are you sure you aren't hurt?"

"Well, yeah I guess I'm a little sore. He kicked me pretty hard last night, though."

"He kicked you hard just now." Bjorn repeated.

"You need to try to explain to him that he could hurt you, Sookie."

"How do I do that?"

"Try to turn it into a feeling and see if you can project it."

"Or have Eric do it," Bjorn suggested. "The baby is more likely to listen to Eric. When Eric wakes up, have him tell the boy very sternly that he must not hurt his mother."

"You think that might work?" Sookie asked.

"It's more likely to work than anything else. He beats up on you pretty good – his father needs to teach him to treat you better. From what I've seen, Eric is the one he'll listen to."

"Maybe this is why they said it will take Eric to control him." Bobbie suggested.

"He does look up to Eric a lot." Sookie lay back, exhausted.

"Try to go back to sleep, Sookie."

"Are you guys staying here?"

"Yes – Eric told me to stay with you, even in your room." Bjorn reminded her.

"You don't think that's a bit much?" Sookie hated the idea of them just having to sit there.

"No, given the events of yesterday, I think you are not going to be out of my sight until Eric is awake and can take over."

"Won't you be bored?"

"I'm doing my job, Sookie, nobody said it was supposed to be fun. Besides, if I hadn't been here, no one would have seen the bottle move and no one would have known the baby was hungry."

"He's got a point, Sookie. You need somebody around you to watch the baby, too."

"Alright, I guess I'm outnumbered. At least put the TV on and Bobbie you hang out with Bjorn so he doesn't get lonely."

Bjorn laughed and Bobbie looked at her like she was crazy. "I think your medicine is making you a little loopy, Sook. Go to sleep. I'll keep him company."

Bjorn got off the bed and sat back in the chair, while Bobbie went to Eric's nightstand and put the TV up. They settled on watching Erin Brockovich and Sookie told Bobbie there was a deck of cards in Eric's top drawer. She got them out and settled back at the table and she and Bjorn played gin and talked quietly for the next hour and a half. At just after 2 o'clock Alicia and one of Margaret's helpers brought up two trays of food. One had large, really nice looking turkey sandwiches for Bobbie and Bjorn and the other was Sookie's breakfast of Salmon and bagels.

The younger woman took the old tray back down to the kitchen with her and Alicia woke Sookie, set her up with breakfast and started taking clothes out of her closet, consulting with Sookie and Bobbie about what Sookie would need on the trip as Bjorn and Bobbie ate their huge sandwiches. She packed the formal dresses first since everything else was of less importance. This trip was mostly maternity sun dresses, the Indian cotton dresses Sookie got on her last trip to Vegas, plus some nicer things for nights out including at least one dinner out with the mayor and his wife that Eric had already arranged. She also put in a pair of shorts and a nursing top, plus a nursing dress, just in case Eric Alexander decided to make a surprise appearance.

"Bobbie," Alicia just thought, "I won't be in tomorrow until 2 pm since we're leaving at 8. Can you take care of Sookie's feedings from 7 am on?"

"Sure, I can."

"Actually, Margaret might get the 7 am since she's usually up and you could take the 9, 11, and 1 feedings then I'll be here by 2 so I can bring her breakfast and get her ready to travel. Will you need help getting ready?"

"No, they did my laundry yesterday and I've got almost everything packed. Bill will be heading home tonight and leave from his house so his stuff is there."

"It's a shame he can't come with us."

"Yeah, but he'll be there for the ball so that's the main thing. I'll get to dance with him – you should see him dance, Alicia."

"Pretty good, huh?"

"Like a dream!"

Bjorn just smiled and shook his head. He thought it was funny how gaga Bobbie was over Bill. He thought Bill was a little… delicate, even for a vampire. He knew he was probably strong, but he was more brain than brawn. He couldn't believe how women swooned over him. He was so short!

"Bjorn, do you need any help?"

"No, ma'am, my laundry was done, too and I had my tuxedo cleaned and made sure it fit, so I'm all set."

"Alicia, make sure you pack Eric's silver grey suit and the pink silk shirt and tie. I love that on him."

"Yes, I've got that and his tuxedo, he wanted 2 pairs of blue jeans, two of black, his red silk shirt that he thinks is your favorite, 3 pairs of dress pants, several Fantasia t-shirts because he says they're free advertising, especially when they're on him…"

Everybody laughed at that, and Sookie almost choked on a bagel full of fish but it was no big deal.

"…. His black suit, his navy pinstripe, and several other silk and cotton shirts, lots of silk boxers…"

"Yay!" Sookie loved those, and Bjorn thought it was funny that she got excited about boxer shorts. Women got excited about the weirdest things. Silk underwear? Whatever.

"What are you snickering at, Bjorn?" Bobbie busted him.

"Me? Nothing."

"Why, what did he do?" Sookie had her back to him so she didn't see it.

"I think he's got a problem with silk boxers." Bobbie teased him.

"Don't knock them 'til you've tried them, Bjorn, they're crazy sexy."

Well, he was busted anyway… "You don't think they seem a little gay?"

Every woman in the room said NO all at once.

"Tell you what, Bjorn, why don't you ask Eric if he thinks they're gay?" Sookie suggested.

"Uh, no, I don't think I'll be doing that." Bjorn laughed.

"Ask him what happens when he wears them." Sookie challenged him.

"I doubt anything that wouldn't happen if he didn't. He doesn't exactly need any help where you're concerned, Sookie." Bjorn cracked up and so did Bobbie. Alicia turned toward the closet and tried not to laugh.

"Hey!" Sookie objected.

"Aw, come on, Sookie, you guys are like rabbits and you know it." Bobbie laughed.

"I can't help it – it's the pregnancy hormones…" she said, somewhat chagrined

Everybody laughed.

"… and besides, Eric is big, blonde and gorgeous – who wouldn't want to have sex with him every chance they could?" Sookie said.

Alicia and Bobbie pretty much agreed and Bjorn just shook his head.

"I wish I didn't work for him so I could ask him what his secret is."

"1000 years of practice – he's really, really good at EVERYTHING…" Sookie said proudly. "… including things most people never dream of. Want me to have him give you some pointers, Bjorn?"

"Only if you have a sister – no one else would be able to keep up with me."

The women groaned and laughed.

"Bjorn, you're dating Felicia – I'm pretty sure a female vampire can take anything you can dish out." Sookie reminded him.

"Yeah, she's… agreeable."

Women all laughed again.

"Just agreeable? You spend an awful lot of time over there for just "agreeable." Bobbie teased him.

"Yeah, but she's like… a romantic type. It kind of takes a lot of work to get her going. She's not always primed and ready like some little blondes I know."

"I told you, it's the pregnancy hormones." Now Sookie was getting indignant.

"So you think you're going to calm down after you have the baby?" Bobbie asked.

"No, actually, the doctor said it would probably last until the baby is weaned, so like, 2 more years at least because I have to breast feed him."

"Wow." Bjorn was in awe. Eric was one lucky bastard. Everything worked out for that guy like magick - even his kid is lucky, getting to suck on those… oh, man! Freya must really favor him, he thought. How do you get in with a Goddess like that? "That is going to be one happy vampire." Bjorn declared. Everybody laughed at that.

Sookie stuck her tongue out at him. 'Jealous?"

"Any man would be jealous of what he has."

"Aw – thank you!" Sookie was actually touched and Bobbie and Alicia were cracking up. Bjorn winked at Sookie and she felt a little throb. Shit. She promised to tell Eric if that happened. But they were just kidding around – there wasn't any real flirting or sex going on. Bjorn didn't mean anything. Shit. She promised him. She begged him to train her and the first thing he tells her to do, she's not sure she can do. She doesn't want him to get mad at Bjorn, or at her, or to think there's anything going on. What if he….

"Sookie, you OK?" Bobbie noticed she had gotten quiet all of a sudden.

"Huh? Oh, yeah I just got distracted. Hey, let's go down to the pool."

Everyone in the room objected.

"Sookie, Eric wants you to stay in bed." Bjorn was being stern now. "You overdid it yesterday and with all the excitement, you need to rest. With those fanatics after you, being outside is not a good idea. You can swim Tuesday at the residence. There will be major security there and the perimeter of the property is a long way from the pool. It's just too easy to get to you here."

"I'm going to go bat shit in this room. How about we go down to the den and then we can at least visit with Amelia and Octavia?"

"Bobbie, you're the doula – what do you think?" Bjorn was willing to consider that.

"Well, if you carry her down, and put her in the recliner and she actually stays put, that probably wouldn't be too much for her."

"I can walk down the stairs myself."

"No, Sookie, I think he should carry you. The number one thing Dr. Ludwig has been telling you is that you have to have to stay off your feet. And I'm still not convinced the baby hasn't injured you with his kicking. I'm really worried about that, Sookie. "

"OK, then you make sure you explain to Eric why I have Bjorn's scent on me, Bobbie."

Alicia, who was filling Sookie's jewelry case from the cache behind the mirror, turned around. "Has the kicking been that severe?"

'Yes." Bobbie and Bjorn spoke in unison. Bobbie continued, "he kicked her like crazy last night and then a little bit ago he was kicking her so hard Bjorn could see it through the covers."

Alicia looked at Bjorn and he nodded. "Yes, you should have seen it. She was crying out in her sleep but she didn't wake up, probably from the Soma."

"You know, they tend to kick more at night when you are lying down. Movement usually settles them. Take her down to the recliner and let her rock for a little while. That might calm him down."

"OK, let me go to the bathroom and put some panties on…" Sookie said as she got up but she fell and Bjorn caught her as Bobbie jumped up toward her. "I'm sorry – I guess I'm a little dizzy."

"Here, sweetie, let me help you," Bobbie took her arm and helped her toward the bathroom but about half way there Sookie cried "Ow!" and almost doubled over. Bobbie helped her on into the bathroom and came back for a pair of panties Alicia got out of the drawer for her. Alicia reached into another drawer and got a little knit robe with snaps up the front that matched the little gown Sookie was wearing in a slightly darker shade of pink. She and Bobbie helped Sookie into it and Bjorn carried Sookie down to the den.

"Hey, stranger!" Amelia was glad to see Sookie up and about, even if she didn't stay up long. Bjorn got her settled in the recliner and Alicia brought her a glass of milk and one of the weaker sedatives. Alicia got one of the smaller quilts out of the closet to put over Sookie - even though it was warm outside, she didn't want her to get a chill from the air conditioning and it needed to stay on with this many people in the house. She took two folding chairs out of the closet for Bobbie and Bjorn since Amelia and Octavia were on the couch, and went back to finish Sookie's packing.

As everyone was getting settled, Margaret brought in some snacks and she and another girl came back with sweet tea for everybody, plus an RM for Sookie since it was almost 5:00.

"Ooh." Sookie let out a little cry.

Octavia walked over and put her hand on Sookie's tummy where the baby was kicking. "That baby's all riled up today. Trying to protect his mama."

"He's the one I need protection from at the moment."

"What are you gonna do about it?"

"Bjorn thinks Eric should talk to him."

Octavia looked at Bjorn and nodded. "Yep – time for Daddy to lay down the law. He's just a baby – he only knows what you teach him. Daddy has to tell him not to hurt his wife. You won't be able to be much of a disciplinarian, I don't think. He'll need lots of affection, though, and you can handle that better than anybody."

"Thanks, Octavia. At least I'll be good for something," she said weakly.

Bobbie got up and let Octavia move the folding chair next to Sookie's recliner. She held her hand and looked straight in her eyes.

"You're gonna be good for more than "something," child. My guess is that baby needs nourishment he can only get from you. You make sure you keep drinking those bottles of blood for as long as he feeds from you. Between him and Daddy, you could run a little low without some extra help."

"Yeah, plus we're going to try giving him some directly."

"That's an alternative, but I'll bet he won't want it, at least not at first. He's gonna want Mama because of that special taste you have that the vamps love so much."

"You think he's going to be a vampire, then?"

"Yes, but I think he'll be a vampire plus… something. He'll have some sort of ability a vampire wouldn't have. I'd bet he can go out in the sun, but he won't like to."

"Dr. Ludwig said something about that, too."

"If it turns out to be true, you might not want to let that be known. It will be a huge advantage to him if it's true. People will naturally assume he's a vampire and all that entails. A vampire that can walk in the sun will be powerful in any world."

Sookie looked to see if any of the maids were around, and saw that they weren't, but spoke softly just in case: "Did Amelia tell you what happened earlier?"

"Oh, yes. I told you that baby had powers."

"It never occurred to me he could do something like that from the womb. Is he that advanced?"

"Well, all he really had to do was want it and expect it. He has no concept of what a person is and isn't supposed to be able to do. He won't have to unlearn his human inhibitions the way you will to do magick. All he knows is he wants it and to get it, it's got to come to Mama, so he made it come to Mama. Then he did the best he could to tell Mama to drink it. He doesn't understand that it hurts you when he kicks. He's just reacting to what's going on, what he feels. He knows Mama but he doesn't really know he's inside Mama. Mama's just there to him – always been there and as far as he knows, always will be. Being born is a shock to the system for any baby. That's why they tend to come out crying. All at once everything they they've ever known is taken away from them. That's why it's good to put 'em straight to the breast, so they know Mama's still there. The way they do in hospitals, where they take the baby away and put them in a different room – that's not good for the little ones or the mamas, either. He needs to be where you can talk to him and soothe him. Don't go sticking him in another room, at least not right off. Ease him into the world."

"I got a co-sleeper – do you know what that is?"

"No, never heard of it."

"It's like a little crib that attaches to the side of the bed so he's right next to me and it's easy to breast feed him. It's like keeping him in bed with me but he can't get crushed or suffocated."

"Huh – that's a good idea. Does Daddy know the baby will be in the bedroom for a while?"

"Oh, yeah, Eric is from a culture where families all lived in one room together, so he has no problems with it. He wants me to be able to do that feed on demand thing."

"Feeding him when he's hungry, instead of by the clock?"

"Yeah."

"Good. Babies need what they need when they need it."

Sookie laughed. "Yeah, I guess they do."

"Excuse me, Mrs. Northman, I just wanted to make sure shrimp is alright for everyone for dinner?" Margaret was standing in the kitchen doorway.

"Can you eat shrimp, Octavia? Do you like it?"

"Sure, I'll eat shrimp about any way I can get it."

"Amelia?"

"Sure, that's fine."

"What are we having, Margaret?"

"Shrimp etouffee – it's been a little while and I thought you'd like some good cooking your last night home for a while."

"Oh, thank you! I'd love that! Etouffee good with everybody?"

Everyone agreed enthusiastically.

"Been a while since I had good etouffee!" Octavia said.

"She makes it really well – you'll like it. You might need to spice if up if you like really spicy, though. She makes it sort of medium spicy for me."

"Medium will be fine with me. I'm gettin' on in years to be eatin' all that hot stuff."

"Oops – Baby E is doing the happy dance. He loves shrimp." Sookie laughed and Octavia put her hand where she could feel him kicking. "He's not kicking hard this time."

"He's an active little thing. He'll be up and running before you know it."

"Yeah, I think you're right."

Alicia came in with some forms for Sookie to sign and a package she said had been cleared by he guards. Bjorn took the package to open it.

"Bjorn, the guards outside checked it."

"Yes, but I'm here so it's better if I do it. It's awfully strange you'd get a package on Sunday, don't you think?"

"Yeah, now that you mention it, it is."

Bjorn cut the package open and checked through it. It was a couple of maternity dresses and a maternity bathing suit Sookie had ordered.

"Alicia?" Sookie thought she was still in the kitchen.

"Yes, Miss?"

"How did we get a package on Sunday?"

"There's a new UPS guy and he got behind in his deliveries yesterday, so he brought it today and he apologized for any delay while he gets used to his new route."

"OK, thanks. Can you add these to my luggage, please?" She handed the box to Alicia and looked at Bjorn. "Happy now?"

"Happy now. Get used to it, your majesty, you're about to enter an intensely secure zone as we travel."

"Yeah, so I hear.

"Be ready to just relax and let us do our jobs."

"Alright." She was half joking and half resigned to the fact that it was necessary.

Everyone was milling around, washing up and getting ready for dinner. By the time they were all settled into the kitchen, Margaret was getting ready to serve them.

"Ow!"

FIGHT! FIGHT!

"Eric must be up. He's going nuts."

"Who is going nuts?" Eric asked as he walked into the room.

"Your son, that's who. He's kicking like crazy because you are here."

Eric walked to Sookie and kissed her, then knelt down beside her, kissing her tummy. "I love you, Eric Alexander," he said.

"You might want to talk to him about that," Octavia spoke up.

"About what?" Eric asked.

"About kicking his mama so hard. He doesn't know any better so he needs to be taught."

"Taught?"

"Think, your majesty," Bjorn chimed in, "he's your son – who else would he listen to?"

"You have a point." He put his hand on Sookie's belly. "Eric Alexander, you must be careful not to hurt your mother. Women are to be protected, my son. You must protect Mommy, and do not kick too hard. Treat her gently and soon you can kick all you want."

The baby kicked a little and sent LOVE and COMFORT to Sookie. She and Eric smiled at each other. "That's my good boy. Daddy is proud of you."

Alicia came in and said good night, reminding everyone she wouldn't be in until 2 pm the next day since they were leaving that night. She told Eric she had put paperwork addressed to him and to Bill on his desk and that there were phone messages for him. She asked that Eric and Sookie make one last check to be sure everything they wanted was packed and went home for the evening. Margaret showed everyone where the cake she had made for dessert was and headed home just as Bill came down the stairs. Bobbie agreed to serve dessert and fill the dishwasher as she kissed Bill hello.

"I'll get you and Eric an RM."

"Thank you, darlin'." Bill said sweetly as Bobbie beamed at him.

"So," Sookie said, "now that all the innocent humans are gone, guess what your son did today, Eric?"

"Aside from kicking too hard?"

"Bjorn –you saw it – tell him."

"I was watching Sookie while she slept, as you ordered, when I heard a sound that turned out to be the mini-fridge opening itself, and saw a bottle of RM float through the air and land in her lap, then your son kicked her like hell trying to wake her up."

"Sookie was able to get an RM in her sleep?" Eric wasn't getting it yet.

"No, Eric, the BABY was able to get an RM while I was asleep and then tried to wake me to drink it."

"You are telling me…"

"…that your son has telekinetic powers," Octavia finished his sentence.

"Are you sure it was not Sookie?" Eric was incredulous.

"We're sure," Amelia agreed. "it's the baby."

"Sookie's new ability…"

"…is similar, and they may be connected in some way, but for now, you need to watch the baby even when she's asleep." Octavia said.

Bjorn continued. "If I had not been sitting there, there is no telling what he would have done to wake her. She was zoned out on the Soma you gave her and could not awake. He might have injured her."

Eric was stunned. " So he is not vampire?" He was disappointed.

"I'm pretty sure he's vampire," Octavia assured him, "but an improved vampire with extra abilities. He'll be powerful, even among older vampires."

Eric swelled with pride and Sookie laughed and shook her head.

"Eric, how are you going to keep that quiet?" Bill asked him.

"Good question. I do think we should try to keep this among us if at all possible."

"Octavia thinks he'll be able to walk in sunlight, too," Sookie told him.

"That must absolutely be secret if it's true, Eric."

"Yes, it must. I had not even thought of him having powers we might need to conceal. I had thought his powers would develop as he grew."

"Oh, they'll get stronger," Octavia assured him," but you're looking at some unique needs with this child. What are you gonna do with a toddler that can call things to him? Putting things on high shelves won't work, he'll need close watching so he doesn't hurt himself or someone else."

"We haven't talked about it since, but Dr. Ludwig mentioned a daemon nanny that was able to appear human as necessary. Maybe we should consider her. She never called but I didn't follow up. What do you think, Sookie?"

"If you don't mind, sweetie, I'd like to keep that as a last resort. Let me see how it goes with just us, OK? I'll have you, and Bobbie, to help me and there will be security guards all around and Alicia and Margaret…"

"Sookie, how are you going to explain telekinesis in an infant to Alicia, let alone Margaret?" Bobbie pointed out.

Sookie looked at Eric with big eyes. There was no way to hide this from them if the baby was awake while they were there. Eric took her hand and looked her straight in the eye. "We take it one day at a time, and we deal with problems as they occur. Look around this table Sookie – there are five people here along with you and me who can run interference for us. We will all watch him, and we will conceal as much as we are able. You are not alone in this."

"Right…"

"Sookie, Alicia knows you're Queen now, right?" Amelia asked.

"Yeah, she's been a lot of help."

"If she adapted to that, I'll bet she could adapt to being around a baby with powers. She already knows there are odd things around the pregnancy, right?"

"Yeah, she doesn't know exactly what, but she knows it's an unusual case."

"I think she'd take it in stride the same way she did when she found out about Eric's ascension. And honestly, Hon, from what I've seen, Margaret just lets the weirdness wash over her. She's got a good job, she likes you and Eric and she just doesn't absorb the weirdness."

"That's a good point, Amelia. She does just sort of ignore it."

"That's a Southern thing," Sookie said, "we always turn a blind eye to anything unseemly or unexpected and pretend it's not there," she laughed.

"Well, in this case, that's useful. I don't think you need to worry about either one of them, and the helpers aren't here that much any way." Amelia assured her. "Eric is right, Sookie, we've all got your back. Nobody is going to let anything bad happen around that baby, and that includes Alicia and Margaret, I guarantee," Amelia insisted.

Bobbie cleared everyone's dishes and served up the cake, bringing a carton of milk and glasses for the humans.

"Mmm – I never had strawberry cake before!" Sookie took a huge piece of cake and started wolfing it down while Eric watched her adoringly.

"Margaret told me it's Roslyn Carter's recipe. She's had it since Jimmy was in office." Bobbie said as she was filling glasses.

"Oh, cool!" Sookie said, " I love the Carters, especially Mrs. Carter because she's so soft spoken and classy. She's a real Southern Lady."

"So are you," Eric said as he bent over to kiss her and Sookie beamed at him.

"Awww." Amelia and Bobbie said in unison as Bjorn and Bill just shook their heads.

Bobbie was loading the dishwasher as Amelia cleaned the table and the others wandered into the living room, which was no longer piled up with packages and looked really nice.

Bill and Eric were standing toward the front of the room talking about having work up on Eric's desk and Octavia was sitting as Sookie walked over to Eric. He pulled her in front of him, holding her from the back as he talked to Bill about the travel itineraries he had in his hand when the window cracked and a bullet hit Eric in the shoulder. Sookie screamed as Eric pulled her down and Octavia and Bill hit the floor as Bill yelled for Bobbie and Amelia to get down and the guards out front went crazy. Lights were turned on all around the property as three more quick shots tore into the living room.

Eric was writhing in agony and steam and the smell of burnt flesh was coming from the wound in his upper arm.

"Eric! What is it?' Sookie knew something was terribly wrong.

"I don't know, ahhh!" Eric screamed from the searing pain.

"Amelia, get me a sharp knife now!" Octavia yelled as she crawled over on her knees to rip Eric's shirt and expose the wound.

"What is it, what's happening?" Sookie was scared to death and the baby was kicking like crazy. Eric was howling and actually looked like he would faint. Bill was running out front with the guards and Bjorn was securing the house.

"Silver bullet. It's burning him inside and weakening him. We gotta get it out of him before it gets into his blood."

"Aw, shit!" Bjorn reacted and went out to warn the guards that their sniper was armed with silver bullets.

Amelia came in ducking down and handed Octavia the sharpest knife she could find. Bobbie crawled out of he kitchen behind her

"Hold on, now, vampire, this is going to hurt." Octavia cut into his arm and blood spurted everywhere. Eric was growling and his fangs were down, so Octavia was scared, but she dug in and managed to pull the bullet out. Eric fell back and even seemed to be out of breath though vampires don't breath. He was shaking all over as he lay on the floor looking sick and even more pale than usual. Sookie was smoothing his long hair and talking to him as Octavia tore part of his shirt off and made a tourniquet, tying it above the bullet hole in his upper arm, The stench of his burnt flesh hung heavily in the room.

Bobbie handed Sookie a pillow and she put it under Eric's head. He was beginning to calm down now, and the arm, which had turned a bit green, was returning to its normal color and the wound finally beginning to heal.

Bill came back in. "It was silver?"

"Yes, and I'll be you aren't going to find much sign of that shooter, unless it's something to make you think it's the FOTS trying again."

"You don't think it was?" Bill asked.

"No, I don't think it was. I think what we got here is a vampire assassin that will try to blame this one the FOTS."

"Why would they do that?"

"To throw you off their trail. No bunch of red necks around here is going to lay hands on silver bullets in just 48 hours, which is what they'd have to do to pull this off. Besides, that shooter wasn't really aiming at Eric or that bullet would have hit him in the head. That shot was aimed at Sookie's head and just happened to hit Eric by mistake. You're looking for someone with a grudge against your Queen."

"Sabrina." Eric said, his voice a little shaky though he was clearly regaining strength.

Bobbie and Amelia were madly trying to get Eric's blood out of the rug as Sookie held onto him, afraid to let him go. This was way too close.

"She's supposed to be out of your territories now," Bill reminded him.

"Sabrina never did a damned thing she was supposed to do, and she's the only vampire I know that would go after Sookie instead of me."

Bill thought about it for a minute and nodded. "We'd better notify the guards at all the properties to be on the lookout for her. If it was she, this won't be the only attempt. She's relentless when she wants something."

"Yes, she is." Eric said as he tried to sit up with Sookie's help. He kissed her forehead then let his forehead rest against hers. "I'm alright, lover, the crisis has passed."

"I want to rest with you today."

"What?"

"I want to stay with you in your resting spot today."

"That is not necessary, my angel. No one but you knows where it is."

"If anything happened to you, I'd die." Sookie said, completely serious.

"You wouldn't, but if I lost you… it would be the end of me if anything happened to you or the baby."

"You two don't get maudlin. You had a close call but the three of you are fine." Octavia said. "You need to get Sookie to bed. Your little Viking was kicking her pretty good for a few minutes.

"Thank you for your help, Octavia." Eric was very sincere.

"That's OK, I'm glad I was here. I don't know how long it would have taken the others to figure out what was going on with you. I don't know if it would have killed you, but you'd have been one sick vampire at the very least."

Sookie helped Eric stand and Bjorn consulted with the guards outside.

"I'll take care of this down here, Eric. Take Sookie to bed and both of you rest a while. You don't want to move around too much until your system fights off the silver." Bill said.

"Alright, Bill, thank you."

Eric had Sookie get a hold around his neck and he picked her up with his right arm. They headed upstairs, a little slower than usual but Eric was getting stronger every minute.


	62. Chapter 62

**Chapter 62**

Eric set Sookie down when they got to their room and he kissed her.

"How is your arm, sweetie?"

"It's getting better. I'll take the tourniquet off in a few minutes and it should be fine."

"You'd better lie down until you're sure the silver isn't in your system. Let me help you out of what's left of your shirt." She smiled up at him and unbuttoned his blue shirt. The sleeve was destroyed, so she threw it in the wastebasket when she got it off of him.

She started to undo his jeans and he purred at her "Mmmm. Now that makes me feel better." He wiggled his eyebrows at her and she laughed while she pulled his pants down. He was standing naked, looking absolutely magnificent even with the gash on his arm that was healing more slowly than normal, but still pretty fast. "You are over dressed, my angel." He slipped her robe off her shoulders and reached for the hem of her nightgown, pulling it straight up and off of her. He grabbed her shoulders and kissed her hard.

"Wow – what was that for?"

"Did you not notice that I nearly lost you just now?"

"Yeah – I was trying not to think about that. I was trying to just focus on you being hurt. That's another bullet you took that was meant for me."

"I'd take a thousand bullets to keep you safe, Sookie."

"Let's not think about that now. Come on." She took his hand and pulled him along onto the bed, though he had to catch her as she lost her balance on the bed. "I'm getting so clumsy. I fell this morning, too and Bjorn had to catch me."

"Is that why you smell of him?"

"I told Bobbie she should tell you it's because she insisted that he carry me downstairs. I could have walked." She settled back on her side of the bed.

"Better that he carried you. I don't want you falling on the stairs and you are having trouble adjusting to your new… center of gravity."

She laughed. "Oh is that the problem? My center of gravity? It's not having a little Viking dancing on my uterus?"

He laughed and lay down beside her. "Untie that for me." He indicated the tourniquet on his arm. She untied it as gently as she could, and threw it in the wastebasket on top of the rest of his ruined shirt. She turned back to him and kissed his arm where it was hurt.

"You had a crowd in here today, Sookie. I smell Alicia, of course, and Bobbie and Bjorn."

"Yeah, you told him to watch me, remember? And Bobbie kept him company while I slept."

"Does it bother you to have a man in our room who isn't me?"

"Well… I don't know. I guess it's a little weird."

"Do you find him attractive?"

"I don't want him, if that's what you mean."

"But you find him attractive?"

"Anyone would, Eric. The only things I find attractive about him are the things that remind me of you."

"Oh, really? And what things would those be?"

"You're both blond and built and you both have that hint of a Swedish accent and … I don't know you're just similar – but I like you better. Especially your hair."

"You like my hair more?"

"I like your everything more, but yeah, I love your long hair." She reached over and ran her fingers through it as he smiled at her.

"Do you remember what I told you to do for your training?"

"Uh….yeah."

"And in the two days since you have felt no sexual stirring at all when you are not with me?"

"Uh…well..."

"What did Bjorn do to make your loins stir, my angel?"

"I never said it was Bjorn."

"You have not said it wasn't."

"It was no big deal."

"You tell me what happened and I will decide if it is a big deal or not. You are my wife and I will be the judge of what is a big deal where you are concerned."

"They were all teasing me and we were laughing and he just…"

"Yes?"

"… he sort of…"

"I'm listening."

"He kind of winked and I felt … it… "

"…throb?"

"It was no big deal, Eric, that happens all the time…"

"Bjorn causes this reaction in you all the time?"

"NO! No, I mean IT throbs all the time and you can't hold that against me."

"All the time?"

"Yeah, a lot, it just does, like if I think of you or smell your pillow or…"

"Make eye contact with Bjorn?" He didn't sound angry at all – he might almost have been joking, but not quite.

"Don't be jealous and don't take it out on him. It's not his fault I'm conditioned to throb when I'm around blond Swedish warriors with big guns."

"Big guns?"

"Yeah, you know, arms – muscles – GUNS." She patted his big arm.

"Ah – you like his arms…"

"No… I mean… I like your arms more but he's got nice arms, too."

"Well, well… what should I do about this, Sookie?"

"Do? Why do you have to do anything – it's just something that happened."

"If it had happened while I was near I could have punished you but this happened early in the day, yes?"

"Yes…"

"So punishment would have little effect at this point. Besides you are pregnant so there's not a lot I can do."

"What would you do if I wasn't pregnant."

"Well, this was just one throb, yes?"

"Yes."

"I'd give you a choice – either 10 swats of my open hand or one stripe from a riding crop on you bare bottom."

"guh" she inhaled sharply at the thought.

"Throbbing again are we, Sookie?"

"Uh…"

He slipped his hand between her legs and found she was wet. "Hmm - very warm and wet, dear one. Is that for me" he slipped two fingers into her then pulled them out "or for Bjorn" in and out of her again, "or for the riding crop?" He continued sliding his fingers in and out of her.

She closed her eyes as he continued to slip his fingers in and out of her. She felt dizzy.

"Answer me, Sookie." His voice was sterner now.

"It's for you, Eric."

"For me or for me punishing you?"

"I… there's no difference."

"Have you ever fantasized about having two men, Sookie?"

"Well, yeah, I mean.. I…" His hand was relentless and it was hard for her to think.

"You are stammering. Look me in the eye and tell me what two men you have fantasized about taking you at the same time."

She tried to look him in the eye but she kept looking back down.

"You will answer me when I ask you a question, do you understand?"

"Yes, Eric. Ah, ah."

"Which two men?"

"A long time ago, I thought about you and B...Bill."

"And more recently?"

"You and … Bjorn, I guess."

"Convenient that both of your fantasy men are under this very roof, my angel."

"It's no big deal… everybody does it. OH!" He added a third finger.

"Everybody is not my wife, nor am I every man. Maybe I should offer you to them and satisfy your cravings."

"What?!"

"It would have to be both of us, of course, at the same time, one in each entrance…"

"ERIC!"

"I'd enter you first in the back and then …."

"Eric, stop!"

"You know, that's something you rarely say to me, Sookie. I can't remember the last time you told me to stop."

She was moaning and he added the last finger. He stretched her and curled his fingers under and she cried out as he opened her wide. She loved this when he stretched her this way, even when it hurt some because it hurt in a really good way. He was doing it, whatever it was, more and deeper than he had ever done before. Sookie was writhing on his fist and moaning and he shifted his weight toward her and without warning bit her breast hard.

Sookie shrieked and came hard, Eric pushing her as far as he could, to the point of tears, only stopping when she was sobbing and shaking all over. He put his arm under her head and pulled her to him, letting her curl up into his body. He kissed her hair and stroked her back and her bottom, whispering to her.

"Shh, Sookie, give yourself over to it."

"Hold me."

"I'm holding you."

"Tighter. Hold me tight."

He tightened his grip on her. "It's ok, Sookie, I've got you. You're safe, my angel."

He loved it when she got vulnerable and clingy after an intense orgasm. Suddenly she reached up for him and he leaned into her so she could get her arms around his neck.

She whispered in his ear, "You have to punish me."

"What? Sookie I told you I can't while you are pregnant and it should have been right when it happened anyway."

"You're a vampire – you can't be there in the day. You have to wait to punish me at night."

"Sookie –"

"I asked you to train me. You have to punish me, Eric, that's what I want. There has to be something you can do besides hitting me that you can do until I have the baby."

"There is but it will hurt."

"I want you to."

He smoothed her hair away from her face. "Alright, catch your breath and relax and we'll take care of your punishment." He was trying to stay calm because he was afraid she'd know from the bond that he really wanted this and was going to enjoy it immensely. He had to keep her pliable and that was less likely to happen if she realized he would enjoy causing her pain. It would be better if she saw it as him molding her to be what he wants, which it was, of course, but he did have an atavistic streak of sadism that liked the feeling of control he had over her.

In a human, that would be reason to stay away from a Dom and Eric was well aware of that, but he was not human. It was his very nature to enjoy playing with his meal and even torturing it, like a cat toying with a mouse it had caught. He flashed back in his mind on a few times in his much earlier, darker days when he had amused himself with a voluptuous meal or two for days or even weeks before he finished with them. Vampires were possessive and domineering and primal. The animal in him would enjoy this – the same part of him that would feel ecstasy in draining her would be inflamed by her suffering, however mild it might be. He would know that she endured it for him – that she submitted to his will – and that would be thrilling in a way most humans would never understand. This was the part of him she should be afraid of, but he hoped it was a long time before she realized it even existed.

Sookie wiped her eyes and face and said "OK, what do you want me to do?"

"Kneel beside the bed, facing it." He helped her up and helped her get into position. "Sit up straight and wait here. No talking, no moving."

He went to his closet. He had been getting prepared for this for a while and had some equipment he brought from the love nest in Fangtasia. He knelt behind her, taking her left wrist and pulling it behind her back he fastened a leather cuff around it. Attached to it by a couple of links was an identical cuff into which he fastened her right wrist. This already forced her to sit up straighter. He ran his fingers under her hair then ran them down the backs of her arms and felt goose pimples rise on her flesh. He slipped a long, wide, soft leather strap between the cuffs and began to wind it up her arms, forcing them together, crisscrossing and wrapping them up above her elbows. Her back was forced to arch and this thrust her breasts forward. She was trying not to whimper but failing. Eric licked her shoulders a few times and ran his hands around to grip her breasts and squeezed them hard. She gasped in spite of trying to make no sound and cried out when he pinched her nipples briefly but fiercely.

"I said be quiet," he whispered in her ear. He got up and moved in front of her, sitting on the bed with his legs spread, inches from her. He lifted her chin and made her look in his eyes. "Does it hurt, Sookie?"

"Yes, Eric." Her breathing was already rough.

"Good. It's supposed to hurt. Now, I'm going to give you a safe word. If it hurts so much that you can't stand anymore, you say "alligator" and I'll untie you. I expect you to only use the safe word if you are really in extreme pain and can't take anymore. Only that word will make me stop before I choose to. Tears won't stop it, because you'll be crying in another minute or two but you can take more than that. Do you trust me to know how much you can take?"

"Yes, Eric."

"That's my girl." He stood for a minute and pressed on her skin between the straps. It went yellow, but then the color returned quickly so he knew her circulation wasn't compromised.

Sookie was trying not to cry – she wanted Eric to be proud of her – but she was beginning to lose that battle. Her breath was almost sobs and her eyes were beginning to release an occasional tear. Eric had never seen anything more beautiful.

Sookie sat back on her heels. Eric gave her a minute to rest there, then asked her "Did I give you permission to sit back, Sookie?"'

"No, Eric."

"Back up on your knees, little one."

Sookie tried to push herself back up and Eric helped her back up into position. He wasn't going to stretch it out too much longer, but he wanted her to struggle with herself a bit more.

She had her eyes closed and her head down, sobbing as quietly as she could.

"Look at me, lover," he ordered and he lifted her chin again, making her raise her head by stroking her under her chin. The look on her face was indescribably sweet to him. She was losing the fight not to cry and he reached for a tissue from her nightstand, wiping her nose. He stared into her eyes and she began to sob uncontrollably, not from the pain but from knowing she had disobeyed him, no matter how unconscious the reaction might have been. He quickly untied the strap, and began to massage her arms, then he unhooked the cuffs and swept her up onto the bed.

He pulled her to him, kissing her face all over. "I love you so much, Sookie. I could never have imagined loving anything as much as I love you."

"Hold me tight," she sniffled. "Did I do ok?"

"You were magnificent. Very brave, my angel, and very strong." Eric sent comfort through the bond and the baby, who had apparently been asleep, joined in sending her love and comfort, too.

"I'm sorry..."

"Shhh, little one, all is forgiven and forgotten. You're my good girl, and I love you."

"Ok, good." She was baby talking now and smiling as her tears cleared away. "Wow!" she suddenly noticed the incredible hard on Eric had and took it in her hand. He shifted her on her back on the wedge as she continued to stroke him. He was beginning to growl softly and his fangs were down as he moved between her legs, lifting her knees. She grabbed his face with both hands and pulled him toward her, looking him in the eye, "Fuck me, bite me and rub yourself all over me." He was in her before the words were out of her mouth.

He fucked her hard, holding her hips up as he was up on his knees slamming into her. She was loving it and was loud about it, reaching over her head to grab the head board. He was wild, shifting to vampire speed and she was out of her head. In the back of her mind she was aware that the baby was cheering Eric on like it was a fight or something but that was just a flash of realization as she began to come and Eric, moving faster than she could see, bit her inner thigh hard, making her come and he was up and back in her, howling as he came with her, both of them loud enough for the whole house and the guards outside to hear clearly. As they both peaked there was an explosion of sparkling pink lights not only around them but, they would find out later, in and around the whole house. Eric had collapsed on his side of the bed and Sookie was starting to peel her fingers from their iron grip on the headboard. They were both stunned.

"Eric?"

"Yes, my angel?"

"Do you think anybody heard that?"

"Sookie," he laughed a little, "I think everyone probably heard that, my darling."

"That was intense." She was gasping for breath.

"That is an understatement. I think we might have hit a personal best with that one," he laughed.

"Holy smoke!" Sookie looked at her belly, which was moving like something in a horror movie. "Eric, look!"

He put his hand on her stomach which was moving vigorously. "What is he doing? Does it hurt?"

"No, I think… I think he's rolling over!" she laughed and Eric did, too. He pulled himself up and straddled Sookie's legs, placing both hands gently over the tumult in her tummy. He was fascinated that he could feel the baby inside her.

"I think this must be his shoulder…" Eric observed, "and this movement here must be his feet kicking. Is he kicking hard?"

"No, not bad, really, I can just really feel him moving and I feel like I really need to go to the bathroom."

Eric quickly got up and scooped her up, depositing her on the toilet as she giggled. "Glad you move so fast, this giggling would have made me ruin the sheets," she laughed and he did, too.

"Do not worry about ruining sheets, dear one. They can be washed or replaced – anything can. The only things I care about are you and the baby. The rest is only convenience. Alicia even has a new bedspread and pillows in the linen closet in case ours get ruined, and she had protective covers put on our mattresses the last time they changed our sheets. We are all set for our blessed event," he laughed.

"I'm glad you and Alicia think ahead like that. It takes a lot of pressure off of me," she said as she finished up and they headed back for bed.

"Yes, it is good having women in the house who have given birth. They have the experience to know what your needs are. I almost…"

"What are you thinking?" she asked as she settled onto her side of the bed with his help.

"I almost think they should live in now that there are so many of us in the house. How would you feel about that, dear one?" He said as he walked to his side of the bed and sat down. He scooted back so he was sitting next to her.

"Well, a lot of weirdness goes on at night here. This place isn't really big enough to insulate them from it."

"What would you think about a larger place, Sookie?"

"You mean a new house?" She turned a little more toward him with his help so they could talk face to face.

"I mean a compound of houses on a large, well-situated estate that would be big enough to house all of our servants and friends."

"Are you really thinking of moving?"

"Only if it would please you, Sookie. It's just an idea, but there would be room for Amelia and Octavia to live with us if you wished, plus Bjorn, Bobbie, Bill, maids, gardeners, maybe a daemon nanny…"

"We could afford that, right?"

"Easily, especially now that I have the King's income as well as my own, and I was thinking it might be good if it were in New Orleans."

"You want to take all of us to New Orleans? To live?"

"I know we said we would stay in this house, Sookie, but our needs are going to be more than we expected with this child. He needs to be able to play outside without worry about snipers getting so close. You like having everyone close and you need the support of them being here. Honestly, I think you and I both would enjoy being more involved in the reconstruction efforts in New Orleans."

"What about Fangtasia?"

"Pam and Vincent can run Fangtasia without me. Pam is Sheriff of this area now, and it would be more convenient for me to be in New Orleans where the bulk of our business interests are."

"It would be safer, wouldn't it, if we had more room between us and the road?"

"Yes, it would. And we could have servants around the clock. It would have been nice last night to have a maid to serve everyone, would it not?"

"Yeah – Bobbie and Amelia kind of took over that role for me, but it would have been great to have someone who could have made food and stuff."

"And when the baby is older, if the place is large enough, he might want to learn to ride a horse. That's a good skill of a warrior to have, even one who can fly."

"Have you thought about this a lot?"

"Not at any great length, but since your friends have been here and I see how much it would mean to you to have your Witches near, and we need Bobbie and Bjorn, plus Bill would stay with Bobbie, and I think we are going to have to face the fact that you will need help if this baby can fly and call things to him…"

"That would be quite an unusual nest, your majesty," she teased him.

"Yes, well, if that's what I need to do to support my family, that's what I will do."

"How long do I have to think about it?"

"As long as you want, Sookie – we would only do this if you want it. My only goal is the safety and happiness of you and the baby. This is just an idea to think about. You might want to keep it in mind as we travel, and we could start exploring whether the others would be interested in such an arrangement. Amelia has a home in New Orleans, but I gather Octavia has none at all. I think having her to guide you would be invaluable. I'd be happy if they would go on this trip with us."

"Really? I know it's short notice, but if I asked them and they wanted to, could they come with us?"

"Yes, the arrangements with the airline are fluid because of our shifting security needs and they will not deny me anything I request along those lines. They've told me repeatedly that they'll make any accommodations necessary. Mention it to them in the morning. If they want to go, we will send them with guards in your car and retrieve their luggage in time to leave with us, or they may come later in the week if they prefer. I will have arrangements made for whatever they need."

"Aww – you're sweet. You like Octavia, don't you?"

"I think there is much you can learn from her. She's very wise – she knew what do about the bullet and she knew instantly what sort of sniper we were looking for. In fact…" He jumped up and threw Sookie her gown. "put that on – they are awake."

Sookie put her gown on, then grabbed an RM out of the fridge and Eric put his jeans on then carried her to the second floor where Octavia and Amelia were drinking cocoa in the little kitchen. Bjorn came out of his room just as Eric and Sookie came downstairs.

"Well, here comes Sparky, now!" Octavia laughed

"Sparky?" Sookie asked

"Those pink sparkles all over the place a little bit ago that just happened to correspond with the jungle noises coming from your room," Octavia laughed and everyone else joined in.

Sookie turned three shades of pink and Eric cracked up as he opened the RM for Sookie.

"You all saw that, huh?" She laughed as she tried to drink the blood without spitting.

"Saw it, heard it, damn near had a front row seat." Amelia said and everyone laughed again.

"What's so funny?" Bill asked as he and Bobbie came down the stairs. "I heard everyone down here and thought you might need us."

"Actually, I wanted to ask Amelia and Octavia if they'd like to travel with us these two weeks."

"Us? You want us to go?" Amelia said, surprised.

"Yes, I thought you would be good company for Sookie. There's safety in numbers and I think she has much to learn from her Witch sisters. I know it is short notice but I thought I would ask in case you were willing."

"Well, that sounds mighty nice but I don't have a lot of money…" Octavia started.

"You would be my guests – I will cover all your expenses. All you would need is to show up. If you are interested I can notify our security tonight that you will be with us. We can send you in the morning with two guards in Sookie's car to retrieve your luggage and you'll go with us at 8 o'clock, or if you prefer to join us later in the week, I will arrange that."

"That's very generous, Eric." Amelia said as she looked at Octavia and shrugged. "I'll have to tell Sam I can't make my shifts, but I'm always up for Vegas or New Orleans."

"I've got no reason not to go – I'm on my own schedule." Octavia said. "If Amelia is going, I'll go. I'd like a chance to stay close to Sookie and that baby."

"I'd like that, too." Sookie smiled at her and gave her a little hug around her shoulders.

"I'd like it very much as well. I think you probably have a closer idea of what his capabilities are than anyone," Eric said, "I'd consider it a great favor if you would stick close to them."

"Oh, that's so cool!" Bobbie said. "It's going to be so much fun with all of us together!"

"It's a good idea. I like it." Bjorn added. He agreed that Octavia should be around to deal with the baby. They'd all breathe a little easier, he thought, having someone who was well versed in magick in the entourage.

"Eric, do you want me to make the arrangements? It's still early enough to contact them at the airlines."

"Yes, Bill, I'd appreciate that. Let Sandy know they'll need rooms at the residence and we'll deal with the Bellagio once we're there. You can use my office – we have paperwork to go over, anyway."

"Alright, " Bill kissed Bobbie on the cheek, "I'll see you in a bit, darlin'."

"OK." She smiled, as he headed up the stairs to Eric's office.

"Sookie, I should join Bill so we can make final preparations to travel." Eric said, squeezing her shoulders.

"Alright, Sweetie, just stop back and kiss me before you go to rest."

"Always, my angel." He kissed her forehead and went up the stairs as well.

"Sookie, we never did your massage today, do you want me to rub your back and help you sleep?"

"Is that a lot to ask? I'd really like it but…"

"Don't be silly. Come on, and I'll help you get settled, and you can tell me how to make it rain pink sparkles."

Everyone cracked up. Amelia and Octavia were going to finish their cocoa and Amelia got Bjorn a cup of sugar-free cocoa.

Eric came back very quickly and carried Sookie up the stairs as Bobbie followed them up.

"Thank you, Bobbie." Eric smiled as she followed them into the room.

"My pleasure," Bobbie replied, thinking of how much money she was making for doing little things like this – she'd do this all day and night for that kind of money!

"Bobbie, do you mind if I just take my gown off?" Sookie asked

"That's probably the best thing to do anyway."

"Good, I'm getting to where I hate sleeping in clothes, though I know I'm going to have to once the baby is born." Sookie threw the gown on the floor and lay facing Eric's side of the bed as Bobbie moved a chair right next to the bed so she could reach her.

"Not unless you want to, sweetie. It will probably just be you, Eric, me, Alicia and maybe a nanny around at night – you wouldn't need to wear clothes for any of us. Alicia sees you naked all the time, doesn't she?' Bobbie went into Sookie's bathroom and got the bottle of massage oil and a towel.

"Yeah, I guess, and you pretty much do, too. You think I'm going to need a nanny?"

"Well, sweetie, it might help you in certain situations." Bobbie spread the towel behind Sookie and pressed the edge of it underneath her. "For example, there will be times like this Sheriff's Ball, for example, when people will probably want to see him. A nanny would be an extra pair of hands if you need to do something or pay attention to someone else for any reason. The main thing, though, is if he has powers you don't have, it might be necessary to have someone with you who can keep up with him, especially in the daytime when Eric is asleep. If he flies up on the roof, somebody has to be able to fly up and get him."

"Good Goddess – do you think that's a possibility?"

"It might be. There's never been a vampire baby that anyone knows of. I don't know when he might start to fly, if that's one of his abilities. He can already shock people across the room and get his own blood out of the refrigerator…" the both of them laughed at that. "… who knows what the little scamp can do once he's out here running around."

"Running is right – I'll bet he does start walking and running early because he's so active."

"There's a lot we don't know. Actually, you should be writing these occurrences in your journal Octavia gave you. Like the thing today with the RM – you should write the date and time and that Bjorn saw it, and then whenever he does something weird you have a record of it. You might want to write a book some day."

"Me, write a book? That's silly."

"No, it's not, Sookie. You're going to be the only mother in the world to raise a vampire from a whelp. That's got to be a best seller! Think how much better women will feel about their own babies." Bobbie laughed and Sookie did, too.

"Mmmm – that feels so good!" Sookie sighed.

Comfort!

"Bobbie, the baby knows you're here."

"He does?" She was excited that he knew her. "How can you tell?"

"He's sending "Comfort" but it's more of a description than a feeling and he's happy about it. Like he's saying "Yeah, that's the one that rubs us!"

"Aw, that's sweet."

"He turned over earlier and Eric got to put his hands on my tummy and feel it as it happened. He was like 'there, that's a shoulder, and this must be his foot…' it was so sweet. He's fascinated by it."

"Anybody would be, but I imagine it's so much more so to him. Imagine going for so long with no hope of ever having a child and then after a thousand years, finding out you're going to be a father. It gives me chills to think of it."

"Yeah, it's pretty amazing. You want to know what's funny? I was thinking about Octavia telling me to ask him about his life, and last night I asked him what was the most exotic place he'd ever been was, and he said this bed."

"Really? He said that?"

"I said bullshit, that he had to have been in an opium den in the Orient or on safari or something and he said that my blood did more for him than opium ever would and that nothing matched the softness of my skin or the luxury of these sheets."

"And did you melt all over yourself?"

"Well, yeah, who wouldn't?"

"He's like something from a romance novel."

"I know – sometimes I can't believe he really wants me as much as he does, but he does…" Sookie's voice was soft and Bobbie could tell she really didn't understand why he wanted her but that she was grateful that he did.

Bobbie blotted her back with a towel. "You want me to rub your tummy with some oil, hon? If I do it very gently it won't hurt the baby."

"Yeah, he loves that." Sookie reached her arm back so Bobbie could help her roll onto her back with the wedge propping her up. Bobbie sat on the bed beside her and warmed the oil between her hands and gently spread it over the baby who kicked a little and sent Comfort again and Sookie laughed and said he liked it.

"You just wait, little guy, after you're born I'll give you a massage every day and teach your mommy how to massage you, too." Bobbie spoke to him and felt him kick gently.

"Aw, he says "LOVE!"" Sookie told her. "You already know your Aunt Bobbie, don't you, sweetheart?" The baby kicked and both women laughed.

"Who's having all this fun in here?" Eric said as he quickly swooped down and grabbed Sookie's robe and spread it over her since Bill was right behind him.

"We're just talking to your son," Sookie said as he kissed her. "He says he can't wait 'til Aunt Bobbie can give him a massage all on his own."

"Oh, he said that?" Eric asked

"Pretty much," the girls laughed.

"I know exactly how he feels," Bill said from the doorway.

"Go on, Bobbie, have a good night," Sookie said. "Thanks for letting me borrow her, Bill."

"I was just going to say the same thing to you, Sookie. Good night, you two… or, I should say, you three."

"Thank you, Bill." Eric said, paying more attention to Sookie's belly than anything else.

"Thanks, Bill, g'nite, you guys."

Eric zipped over and shut the door then zipped right back to Sookie.

"We can do without this now," he said as he threw her robe aside. He kissed her belly almost reverently and rested his forehead on it.

"Whatcha thinkin'?" Sookie asked him playfully.

"I can't wait, Sookie. It is so hard to wait – he's becoming so real to me. I feel that I know him already and I cannot wait to hold him in my arms."

"Awww," she stroked his hair, "that's sweet. He can't wait to meet you, either, you know?"

"Yes, actually, I do know that." He laughed and kissed her belly again then sat up beside her. He put his arm around her and just held her.

"Are you alright, Eric?"

"I am… overjoyed, I think. I feel such overwhelming happiness, I don't know what to do with it. It feels impossible."

She laughed a little and reached up to lick his neck.

"Are you trying to seduce me, Sookie?"

"No, I just wanted a taste. I love how you taste."

"I wish I could taste even a tenth as good to you as you taste to me, my angel. If I could bottle your essence I'd have every vampire's allegiance instantly and they'd all be so addicted they'd hand over all their fortunes to me, just for a little taste." he laughed. Speaking of taste, I have tasted you tonight, but you have not tasted me."

"Mmm- let's have it," she purred.

He bit his wrist and held it to her and she drank as deeply as she could, bringing them both to a quick orgasm.

"Wow, that doesn't take any time at all now, does it?" She said, trying to catch her breath.

He was trembling a bit, "no, that is becoming almost automatic when either of us feeds from the other."

"Have you ever known of anyone that came that quickly just from feeding?"

"No, my angel, our circumstance is unique as far as I know. I've never known anyone who shared blood as often as we do."

"Bobbie thinks I should be writing all the unique stuff about us and the baby in my journal and write a book some day."

"That might not be a bad idea, Sookie. It would help to have a record if this ever happens again. It must have happened at some point before, but there are no records of it that anyone can find. An historic event should be recorded."

"An historic event, huh?"

"Yes, of course. Very historic. I think Bobbie's idea is a good one. I don't know why I did not think of it before. Of course you should be writing this down. Make sure you note the date of his first evidence of telekinesis. Do you need a journal? I'll order one for you if you don't have one."

"Actually, Octavia…." She let out a big yawn, "….gave me a really nice one yesterday."

"Where is it?"

"Um – I don't know. Let me see." She opened her nightstand to find her journal and a pen. "Alicia put it away for me. She even put a pen with it."

"Good. Make some notes quickly before you fall asleep. It's almost time for you to have another RM, and one of the milder sedatives. I'll get those while you do that."

Sookie wrote down the date and estimated the time that Bjorn had seen the baby call the blood out of the mini fridge. She noted that the baby had responded to both Eric and Bobbie that day and night, and noted that he sent Fight, Fight! whenever Eric was near.

"Sweetie, do you remember the date the Falcon attacked Felipe?"

"The day before our wedding, dear one – May 23."

"Oh, yeah, that's right. And then there was the falcon attack yesterday. Boy, nobody better mess with this kid at school!"

Eric laughed loudly at that and she giggled, too. After she finished her notes, she drank 2 RM's and took her medicine and Eric spooned with her while she fell asleep, whispering to her about a monastery in China and gently rubbing the baby bump. Once her breathing slowed and deepened, he spent his time with Eric Alexander bouncing love and pride back and forth and the baby seemed to be amused about something. That was the first time Eric noticed that so he made a note in Sookie's Journal, which was still laying on her nightstand, before he went to rest.

"Mrs. Northman? Wake up, Missus! Mrs. Northman?"

Sookie finally opened her eyes. "Good morning, Margaret."

"Good morning, dear, here's that supplement you're supposed to drink." She held the bottle with the straw so Sookie could drink it down.

"Ah – that was good. Thanks.''

"My pleasure, Missus. You go on back to sleep now and Bobbie or I will be back in 2 hours."

Sookie gave her a sleepy but warm smile. "Thanks for taking care of me."

"My pleasure, dear. Sleep tight."

Sookie didn't know another thing until Amelia woke her with her 9 o'clock bottle, and told her they were going to get their luggage and if they weren't back in 2 hours that Margaret would be in with the next one. Sookie said good morning to Bjorn, who was sitting next to her, then conked back out and two of the guards took Sookie's bullet proof car and took Octavia and Amelia to her house in Bon Temps to pack their luggage. Amelia called Sam, apologizing profusely but saying Sookie really needed her, knowing that would soften him a little to her being away for so long.

By the time they got back, it was almost 1 o'clock. Margaret had given Sookie the 11 o'clock, so Amelia took her 1 o'clock feeding up and held it for her while she drank.

"Are you guys all packed?"

"Yep, we're set to go. Alicia will be here in a bit to feed you breakfast and you'll finish your packing and at 8 o'clock tonight, Las Vegas, here we come!"

Bobbie got up around 1:30 and was sitting in the kitchen with Amelia when Alicia arrived at 2. Margaret had a tray of home fries, eggs, texas toast and a small rare steak ready for Sookie, plus another one of the same for Bjorn, and Bobbie helped Alicia get them upstairs while Amelia sat with Octavia, who had just gotten up and dressed, because she slept late knowing it would be a long night of travel. Margaret had her breakfast ready, too and Amelia ate with her.

"Sookie, can you wake up, dear?" Alicia tapped her shoulder gently as Bobbie got Bjorn set with his tray and sat in the opposite chair.

Sookie opened her eyes, "Hey, Alicia," looking to the side, "hey, guys."

"Good morning, Sunshine!" Bobbie beamed at her.

"Good morning, sleepy head," Bjorn teased her.

Alicia was getting Sookie settled with her tray. "Bjorn why don't you have the TV on? You have to be bored sitting there watching me sleep."

"I was reading a book, actually, so I'm fine. You'll be up and about soon, anyway."

"Yeah, I guess I will. Alicia, after I eat, I want to soak in the tub a bit, OK? Bobbie can you help me get in and out of the tub?"

"Sure, sweetie."

"Thanks. I usually have Eric for that," she laughed, "but I better not wait until he gets up to take my bath. I should have things ready for him when he gets up. The transport will be here at 8 o'clock, Alicia?"

Alicia was getting a couple of things from Sookie's drawer. "Yes, dear, we'll be all set by then. Which of these night gowns do you want to take with you?"

"I like that gauzy pink one, and that one with the little blue flowers. Is that gown and robe I wore yesterday dirty?"

"It's in the laundry – did you want to take it?"

"Is it too much trouble? I really like it."

"No trouble at all. I'll see to that after I take your tray down. It's going to be warm tonight, so how about this little green and yellow sundress to travel, with your Birkies and your large tote bag? And I think you might want to wear some of these new maternity panties for comfort."

"Yeah, I guess I should."

"I'll take this little black sweater for you in case it gets cold on you, too. It will look nice with this dress and match your shoes and bag."

"Ok, thanks, Alicia."

"There are some things in your office you might want to take with you, and I bought you this nice computer bag so you can take your laptop. I'm sure you'll want it at some point over the next two weeks."

"Wow, you thought of everything as usual," Sookie laughed.

Bobbie and Alicia gathered up the cords for the laptop and packed the new pink computer bag with it.

"Hey, I need to keep this journal with me – should I put it in the tote bag or the laptop bag?"

"You'll want to get to it quickly at times, Sookie." Bobbie suggested.

"Let's put it in your tote, then so you'll have it on the plane with you." Alicia smiled and packed the journal and pen in the black leather tote.

"Are you looking forward to our trip, Alicia?" Sookie asked.

"Actually, yes, I'm very excited. I can't wait to see this fabulous "residence" everyone keeps talking about."

"Wait 'til you see it," Bobbie said, "it's HUGE. It's like a castle."

"Yeah, it's big – too big." Sookie said.

"You don't like it?" Alicia asked her.

"There's nothing not to like, but it's just … pretentious, I guess. Felipe, the king who bought it, over did everything. It's way too expensive. We're going to sell it and see about having our headquarters in the Bellagio. Eric says they have little villas available there and commercial suites that would be more convenient for us and won't put such a financial strain on the kingdom."

"Is the kingdom in trouble?" Alicia asked.

"Well, there was a lot of extravagance and some stealing going on. That's why they were so anxious to get Eric in there to clean it up. He'll have them making a profit again by the first of the year, if not sooner. He's a really good business man."

"He really is, isn't he?" Bobbie asked.

"Yeah, he's smart and he's honest," Sookie said, "and unlike his predecessors, he cares about the people under him. As far as I've heard, the powers that be are pretty happy with him."

"Oh, that's good!" Alicia said as she did some final additions to Sookie's train case.

"Have any of you all ever thought about living in or near New Orleans?" Sookie asked.

"I did for a while – not too bad there." Bjorn said.

"I'd love to be able to live there, even now," Bobbie said.

"I always dreamed of living there some day, but it's probably not in the cards, as they say." Alicia said.

"What if it were?" Sookie asked, "I mean, we're just talking at this point, of course, but Eric and I were talking last night and he had the idea that maybe we'd all be better off on a big compound of houses around New Orleans. A place where Alicia, you and Margaret could live in if you wanted and some other help and there'd be room for Bjorn and Bobbie and Bill and Amelia and Octavia and a nanny and whoever else we needed. It's just an idea, there's nothing set, of course, but what would you all think about that?"

"I'll go wherever you guys go. I can't make this kind of money anywhere else and I like this job." Bjorn said.

"Same with me, Sookie. I'm with you all." Bobbie said. "I think that would be fun being near all the action."

"Well, I would actually be closer to my children there, but it just never seemed to be the right time to move. I'm not particularly attached to the apartment complex I live in now – it's nice enough, but I would certainly consider living in if there were room for me."

"A larger compound would be safer for everyone, too." Bjorn added, "Something further away from the road, with an iron fence all around it would be good."

"That's what Eric said. He said the baby will need to be able to play outside and when he gets older he might want to learn to ride horses,"

Oh! Ooh! Yeah! Everyone reacted at once.

"Horses would be wonderful!" Alicia said.

"So none of you would have a problem with it if we moved you all down there? For real?"

"No, it would be better for me." Alicia said, "I was saving money to be able to move near my kids anyway. Living in would save me a lot of money, too, and I'd be there whenever you needed me."

"I'm ready to go any time!" Bobbie laughed.

"And I'm your shadow so you know I'm going to follow you," Bjorn laughed.

"Well, cool, I'll tell Eric that you guys would be OK with it. Alicia, do you think Margaret would consider it?"

"I'll talk to her about it, but my guess is that she'll want to stay with Mr. Northman. She's very fond of him and she's looking so forward to the baby that I think she'll be happy to make the change to see him grow up."

"Wow – this is great. I thought people would complain or want to quit," Sookie laughed. "Eric thinks he and I would like being more involved with the reconstruction efforts, too. I'm not sure if he sees it as a business opportunity or part of his job as King, or what, but he thought it would interest me, too."

"There are probably a lots of functions people would like you to be able to attend, Sookie." Bobbie said.

"That would be my guess, too. You could be a good daytime representative of vampire culture. I imagine a lot of the society ladies would love to have you at their teas and luncheons." Alicia said.

"You're kidding, right?"

"No, I'm not. The tabloids are buzzing about you two already."

"The tabloids?"

"Oh, yeah, Sookie – you didn't think having the first vampire baby in history was going to be a secret did you," Bobbie laughed.

"You mean people know?"

"Yes, they do. It's just rumors right now because you and Eric have only made that one appearance when he… what did he do?" Alicia asked

"His ascension…" Bobbie helped out.

"Right, but your appearances at these two upcoming events are highly anticipated." Alicia said.

"Even among humans? They know about us?"

"Yes, they do." Alicia assured her.

"Why don't I know about all this?" Sookie asked.

"You're fairly insulated here, Sookie. You rarely go out other than to go to Fangtasia, and you haven't been in a grocery store in ages. You don't watch much TV. We don't bring it in, because we don't think you need to deal with the nonsense." Alicia explained. "We figure you have enough on your mind." She leaned past Bjorn to hand Sookie an RM.

"Oh… yeah, I guess you're right. I am kind of isolated and I would probably freak out if I knew everyone was talking about us."

"So don't worry about it, sweetie. Just be prepared for the crowds tonight." Bobbie said.

"Crowds? What crowds?"

"There will probably be crowds at least at the airports, Sookie, wanting to see you and Eric."

"Nuh-uh!"

"She's right, Sookie," Bjorn chimed in, "that's why we added so much security. There will be … what would you call them?" He looked at Bobbie and Alicia for help.

"Fans," Bobbie said, "Admirers."

"I'll believe it when I see it." Sookie was skeptical though she didn't think they'd deliberately lie to her.

"Are you finished, hon?" Alicia motioned to Sookie's tray.

"Oh, yeah – I guess I should get in the tub now."

Bobbie went in and started running a bath for Sookie.

"Yes, it's almost three-thirty. By the time you soak a bit and get dressed, and get hair and makeup done, then do the final check on your luggage, it will be dinner time and then time to leave. Mr. Northman will be up before you know it." Alicia had her day all planned out.

"Hair and makeup today?" Sookie asked.

"Definitely. And we'll touch it up again before you leave and before arriving at each airport if necessary. I'll have your sweater and a touch up kit in my tote." Alicia intended for Sookie to look good in case there were photographers.

"OK, Bobbie can you help me in the tub?"

"Sure, sweetie and I'll stay in case you need help."

"I'll be out here, don't forget." Bjorn said. He was trying not to think about Sookie naked in the tub, or Sookie in nothing but a towel.

"OK, well, I'll get undressed in there and then I can wear a towel or a robe while Alicia works on me."

Alicia took Sookie's tray downstairs and Bobbie threw her a towel to wrap around her as Bjorn stood and looked toward the window so he wouldn't see her get out of bed naked. She tiptoed quickly into the bathroom and Bobbie closed the door behind them. Sookie dropped her towel and Bobbie helped her step into the big tub and sit down, then got her razor and soap out of the shower.

"You want help shaving your legs, sweetie?"

"That would be asking too much, wouldn't it?" Sookie was unsure about asking, but she was sure she wasn't going to be able to shave her legs.

"You're pregnant, Sookie, it's normal to need help with things like this. I'll be glad to help you."

"Thanks. Eric offered to help me before but I was afraid to let him."

"You don't trust him to do a good job?"

"I do, I guess – I don't know, it seems weird doing that in front of a guy, let alone having him do it."

"Lots of men help their wives with that, especially when they're pregnant."

"Really? Huh. Well, there's also the fact that he wants to… uh…"

"…shave somewhere else, too?"

"Yeah." Sookie turned side ways in the tub so Bobbie could reach her legs.

"You can let him do one without letting him do the other." Bobbie sat on the edge of the tub and soaped Sookie's legs up to a good lather.

"It's not really a big deal to him, though. He lived so many years when women didn't shave at all that is still feels weird to him. I think that's why he thinks my skin is so soft."

"That might be part of it, but you do have exceptionally soft skin. I think drinking his blood so often has a lot to do with it, too." Bobbie was gliding the razor along her leg very smoothly and carefully.

"My skin is a lot better since the pregnancy so you're probably right."

"Yeah, a lot of women get blotchy or break out, but yours is like porcelain."

"You think I'm too pale?"

"Not at all, though I know you like to be tan. We'll hang at the pool at the residence and get you some sun so you show your dress off well."

"Yeah, I am looking forward to that. I hope they'll fix dinner for us poolside like they did when we were there for the wedding."

"Yeah, that was nice." She switched to Sookie's other leg. "They'll make whatever you want, you know – you should have them do grilled lobster and clams one night. They can get them really fresh from California and it would be lots of fun."

"Ooh, good idea. I'll tell Alicia and she'll arrange it, I'm sure. We could do that here, too, we just don't very often."

"It's because you're in bed most of the time now. Once the baby is born you'll be up and about and we'll party a lot more." Bobbie laughed and Sookie did, too.

"I wonder if he'll be able to eat?"

"That will be interesting to find out. There are so many things about him we still don't know."

"Tell me about it. When I first found out I was pregnant, I had a couple of nightmares I never told Eric about where I was having some kind of Damien devil baby."

"I don't think he'll be that bad." Bobbie laughed.

"No, but it really freaked me out when Arlene was yelling that at Merlotte's because it's a fear of mine."

"Did you know that a lot of pregnant mothers feel that way even when they know their babies are perfectly human?"

"They do?"

"Yeah, it's a common thing for women to be apprehensive about their babies – perfectly normal."

"That makes me feel better. Whew, I swear, Bobbie, I'm so glad you and Alicia are here for me. I'd be losing my mind if I didn't have some women around me telling me what's normal and what isn't."

"Well, you do have us, and more, and we've all got your back, kid so you relax. This is an adventure you're on and you've got all of us along for the ride."

"Cool."

"Ok, you're all done, nice and smooth!" Bobbie ran her hand over Sookie's leg to demonstrated and she laughed. Sookie took the razor to do her underarms.

'Thank you so much, Bobbie. Hey, did I ever tell you about what Eric said when you taught me that little trick to do… to a guy, you know…?"

"No, what did he say?"

"He said he needed to give you a bonus, he was so grateful. You should hear how I can make him yell," Sookie laughed.

"Is that what you did to him around the night of Eric's ascension?"

"Uh… yeah, I think I did, now that you mention it, why?"

"You're famous for doing something to him one night that had him screaming your name."

"Yeah, he was," she laughed," wait… what do you mean, 'famous'?"

"The guards heard it and it's legendary that you did something to him that caused it, though they don't know exactly what."

"The guards talk about it?" Sookie was aghast.

"Yeah, it's part of the Eric the Untouchable and Queen Sookie myth."

"I'm gonna die."

"Oh, ease up, Sookie, if you hadn't given them something to gossip about they'd be making things up. At least this is complimentary to you."

"People thinking I'm a sex maniac is a compliment?"

"Yeah – look at your husband, Sookie."

"He is kind of 'sex on legs,' isn't he?" Sookie laughed.

"Right – you wouldn't want women thinking all that's wasted on you – they'd be too anxious to take it away from you. If they think you give as good as you get, they're less likely to think they can do better."

"OK, guess that makes sense. Eric would like that reputation, for sure. I'm not sure, but I think one night he got me to have sex in the pool where the guards could see. I was having a crazy good time so I didn't complain, but I kind of felt like he was…"

"… showing you off?"

"Yeah,"

"He was, honey, and everybody loved it. You apparently have the most magnificent breasts in two Kingdoms." Bobbie cracked up.

"Ack!" Sookie shrieked and cracked up, too.

"Ok, you want me to scrub your back or wash your hair?"

"I know I'm being a baby but I'm used to having Eric do that for me,"

"OK, come here." Bobbie took a bath brush and a bar of soap and moved Sookie's hair to the side so she could scrub her back. She rinsed her back with the hand-held shower and wet her hair down good, then shampooed her hair and conditioned it, rinse and combed it.

"Ok, you want a washcloth, sweetie?"

"Yeah, just to finish up with."

Bobbie handed Sookie a cloth that she used to scrub and wash her face then her arms, legs and between them and back, then Bobbie pulled the plug on the drain and helped Sookie go sideways onto her knees then stand carefully. She put a towel on the floor and helped Sookie step out, then wrapped another towel around her and patted her down, then dried her legs, arms and back. She grabbed one of the larger towels and wrapped Sookie in it and folded the edge under in front so it made a little gown she could wear for her hair and makeup.

They went back out to the bedroom, where Alicia had things set up to work on Sookie's hair and Bobbie helped her lower herself into the chair.

"Have a nice bath, dear?"

"Yeah, Bobbie did some of the stuff Eric usually helps me with," Sookie laughed.

"I figured you were talking about Eric and/or about sex." Bjorn said

"Oh, really?" Sookie said indignantly but kidding, "And how, pray tell, did you know that?"

"I heard that dirty laugh of yours."

Bobbie and Alicia cracked up as Sookie's mouth dropped open. "What 'dirty laugh?''

"You have a very particular laugh you use whenever you talk about Eric or about sex. It's really sexy and dirty." Bjorn teased her. Bobbie sat on the bed, which had been made up, and laughed along. Alicia tried not to laugh at all but failed.

"He's right, Sookie, you do. Ask Eric sometime. I know he knows the sound of it." Bobbie stuck up for Bjorn.

"You guys are just picking on me."

"True, but you do have a dirty laugh." Bjorn said.

"Alright…." she said, laughing along.

"Did I just hear the doorbell?" Alicia asked

"I think so – let me check." Bobbie walked to the top of the stairs and heard Margaret at the door. "Sounds like UPS. Margaret got it."

"Good. This is going to be loud for a few minutes." Alicia turned the hair dryer on and got Sookie's hair nicely straight. As she was working on that, Amelia came up with some envelopes and an open box.

"Hey, kids! Sookie got some important looking mail and some pregnant mommy stuff so I thought I'd bring it up."

"Hey, Amelia, if we all moved to a big compound of houses on an estate in or near New Orleans would you and Octavia live with us?" Bobbie asked.

"Wow – are you all moving?" Amelia sat on the far side of the bed.

"Eric and I were just talking about some possibilities, and he was thinking it would be good to have room for everybody, you and Octavia included." Sookie said.

"Are you serious? He'd really want us to live with you guys?"

"Yeah, he calls you "my Witches" and he thinks it would be good for all of us to stick together for the baby."

"I might be a part-timer in a deal like that but it would solve a big problem for Octavia." Amelia speculated.

"That's what we were thinking. Eric likes her, which is really rare, and he likes the idea of her being around the baby because of his powers. He was thinking that a bigger place would allow for more servants, a nanny, and it would be a lot safer for everyone."

"Wow – I would definitely consider it and I'm pretty sure Octavia will jump at the chance to be near the baby. I'll talk to her about it. Any idea when he'd want to do this?"

"No, it would probably depend on finding the right property. If he knows everybody is interested, though, he and Bill can start looking for properties when we're there next week."

"Wow – he's being really generous." Amelia said.

"He usually is, believe it or not. He told me he considered it a way to keep his family safe and happy. I think he's worried about the security here."

"That bullet last night got his attention, didn't it?" Bobbie asked.

"Yeah, I think it did, and then the fact that only Octavia knew what to do for him got him thinking, too. Then with the other thing with the baby, he's pretty sure we're going to need a special nanny. Plus he thinks it's good support for me to have everyone around because I want everybody to live with us." Sookie laughed.

"You're creating the family you wish you had," Alicia said as she slipped a black plastic headband on Sookie.

"Yeah, I guess I am." Sookie said a bit absently.

"Sookie, how would you feel about being so far from Jason? Or your house?" Amelia wondered.

"I don't know – Jason and I aren't really that close and I'm here all the time anyway so I guess I could close the house up for a while if no one is using it." Alicia started putting a primer on Sookie's face, followed by a light powder base.

"Will Eric be OK being so far from Pam?" Amelia asked.

"Yeah, they've lived apart before. He thinks she and Vincent can handle Fangtasia alright by themselves. They did a great job night before last under such bad circumstances. And I'm sure they'll visit often. We didn't talk about it, but I'm pretty sure we'd keep this house because Eric has business interests in Shreveport. I think Eric has other houses in the area, too, but I'm not sure."

"He has other houses you don't know about?" Bjorn asked.

"He's got a lot of stuff I don't know about, even though I've got a folder full of information on most of his stuff. It all goes over my head. He has all kinds of businesses and properties. I'm sure he knows everything he's got, but probably no one else does, even his accountant. He's even got accounts and things in other countries. He gave me access to all of it, but the only thing I've ever touched is one of the credit cards he gave me."

Alicia swept a little blush on Sookie's cheekbones, then penciled her brows lightly and handed her the eyelash curler and mirror.

Bjorn whistled, then laughed and shook his head.

"What's that about, Bjorn?" Sookie challenged him as she curled her lashes.

"I'm sure he gave you access to everything because he knew you wouldn't touch it, which is sweet, but I want to know where to find a girl that is so not into money that she can be trusted that way. I don't know that I've ever dated a girl that didn't take money out of my wallet when I slept," he laughed.

"You're just dating the wrong kind of girl," Sookie said as Alicia put mascara on her lashes.

"I think you might be in a class by yourself, Sookie," he laughed and everyone agreed.

"I spend his money all the time now. I've spent a ton of money on the baby already."

Alicia put a little eye shadow on her lids and in the crease of her eyes.

"Yeah, but that's nesting. Even you aren't immune to woman things like that. I don't see you buying clothes and jewelry all the time," Bjorn said.

"He has to make her do that. When we were in Vegas for their wedding he told her to go shopping and not come home until she spent forty thousand dollars." Bobbie laughed.

"Come on, now I spent a fortune on maternity and nursing clothes." Alicia lined her lips with a soft pink pencil.

"You did spend some money on that, you're right," Bobbie agreed.

"And remember when they brought dresses for me to try on for these events, I bought several I won't be able to wear until long after the baby."

"Ok, you did buy some really pretty little dresses."

"And we're going shopping in Las Vegas and New Orleans, aren't we, Alicia?"

"That's the plan." Alicia said as she put a very pretty, pure pink lipstick on Sookie.

"See, I spend money. Oh, that reminds me, Alicia, you know that cobalt blue chandelier somebody gave us for our reception?"

"Uh-huh, it's very nice…"

"I want that put up in the baby's room."

"You want to put a chandelier in the baby's room? Alicia asked as she sprayed Sookie's face with Model in a Bottle.

"Yeah, it's blue and that's the only room in the house it would work in and it's too pretty not to use and I do need lighting in there."

"Yes, you do need lighting in there. Do you want me to have the men put it up while we're gone? Margaret can supervise."

"Yeah, that'd be good."

Everybody laughed. Alicia shook her head a little as she put a sealer over Sookie's lipstick.

"What? I think it will look cool. It doesn't have to be some typical nursery – It's not a typical baby."

Everybody agreed with that.

"I left poor Octavia downstairs alone," Amelia said, getting up, "I'm gonna go see what's for dinner."

"Good question." Bjorn said.

"Are you hungry, Bjorn? You haven't done much." Sookie teased him.

"I can definitely eat something pretty soon. All this laughing is hard work.'

All the women teased him with "oh's" and "aw's" about that and he cracked up.

"OK, Sookie you're ready to put your dress on." Alicia said.

"Bjorn, would you stand outside the door for a minute, please?" Sookie asked apologetically.

"Yes, ma'am," he said as he got up and went out to the hall, closing the door behind him.

"OK, now, let's see if we can get this dress on her without ruining her hair or makeup." Alicia said to Bobbie. Sookie stood with her arms up and Bobbie and Alicia, both a little taller than she, held the dress over her and lowered it down slowly, keeping it from messing up her hair or touching her face. Bobbie helped Sookie keep her balance as she stepped into the maternity bikini panties as Alicia helped her into them. She slipped into her Birkenstock sandals and then they looked in the box Amelia brought up.

"Oh, cool, it's the stuff for my tummy and all."

"Oh, yes, this is good stuff. Some of it you won't need quite yet, but I'll put this and this in your train case," Alicia said.

"I'll head downstairs and tell Bjorn he can come back in." Bobbie said.

Sookie looked in Eric's closet. "Did you have anything out for Eric to wear as we travel, Alicia?"

"He didn't give me any specifics, so I was waiting to see if you wanted him in jeans or something dressier."

"I think something a little dressy slash casual, you know?"

"How about these black slacks and one of his silk shirts."

"There's one that looks like an impressionist painting, with shades of blue… here it is. I'd like him to wear this. So he'll need boxers, dark socks, dress boots and a black belt. He should have a black blazer with him, too."

She and Alicia pulled his outfit together and laid it out on the bed for him as Bjorn stood in the doorway and watched.

"I know you're laughing at me, Bjorn, but it's my job to make sure he looks good."

"I'm not laughing. He likes it when you do wife things for him. I wish I had somebody to lay out my underwear and tell me which boots to wear," he laughed.

"Whatever – let's go downstairs and I'll come back to close up our luggage after Eric gives it a final check."

Bjorn picked Sookie up and carried her downstairs while Alicia made some final preparations. He carried her into the kitchen where Amelia, Bobbie and Octavia were sitting and talking with Margaret as dinner was being prepared and he kicked her chair out from the table and put her down in it.

"Well, look who got outta bed finally," Octavia teased her.

"I know, right? I'm a bum!" Sookie laughed.

"That's OK, Sookie, we all want you and that baby to get all the rest you can." Amelia told her. "I was just telling the girls about the New Orleans deal."

"What did you all think? I know it's a big change…"

"I think it's a good idea for me to stay close to that baby." Octavia said as Amelia smiled to say "I told you so."

"Cool! Margaret, what do you think?"

"Well, I'd like to stay with Mr. Northman, of course, and I'd hate missing the baby so if you're willing to have me, I'd love to go along."

"Really?! This is so great!"

"I'll have to get out of my lease somehow is my only problem." Margaret said.

"Yes, I'd have to work that out, took," Alicia said.

"Oh, don't worry about that, Eric or his lawyers or somebody will take care of those things," Sookie reassured them. "He wants us all to stay together if possible, and bring in some more help, and be in a safer situation. Eric will be so pleased!"

"Why will I be pleased?" Eric asked as he entered the kitchen.

"Hey, Sweetie!" Sookie reached up and he bent to kiss her.

"How are you today, my angel?" he asked as he sat down at the head of the table.

"I'm great. I was telling them what we talked about last night and everybody says it's cool with them."

"About the compound in New Orleans?" He was surprised she had even mentioned it yet.

"I told everybody it's just something we're talking about but they all said they'll go with us if we do." She grabbed his hand enthusiastically and he brought her hand to his lips and kissed it.

"So you could keep your little family together if we decide we need more space? That is very good to know, dear one, because the more I think about it, the more I think we may have no choice. Our needs are expanding more rapidly than this small house can accommodate. If we stayed here I would have to restore the old servants quarters and probably add at least another small house. We would still have the security issue, though, with the house being too hard to protect."

"You're speaking of this house, I gather?" Bill came in the door and straight over to kiss Bobbie.

"Yes, Bill, we were talking about the idea you and I discussed in my office last night."

"A secure compound in New Orleans?"

"Yes, Sookie tells me everyone is amenable to the idea."

"Really? I think everyone would be much more comfortable and it would certainly be a great deal safer and easier to defend. I know you don't want to worry about gunfire with a baby in the house and he'll need to be able to play outside."

"Bill, this would include you, right, honey?" Bobbie asked.

"Yes, I thought we'd hire a security firm to keep an eye on Sookie's and my properties and I'd spend time between the compound and Victor's residence in New Orleans which Eric and Sookie could use as well if they wanted to spend the night in town. Eric and I agree that there are business opportunities that would benefit us personally as well as the kingdom in general that would require our presence more often than living here would afford us. Between New Orleans and Las Vegas, Eric's time in Shreveport is wasted as far as his office is concerned, as is my time in Bon Temps when so much needs to be done in the Quarter."

"And Octavia, Amelia, you would be willing to join us?" Eric asked.

"I certainly will. Amelia has a property in town, though." Octavia said.

"I thought I'd do like Bill and split my time between them." Amelia said.

Eric nodded as Alicia came in the kitchen. "Margaret and Alicia, you would be willing to relocate with us if I paid your expenses and provided room and board for you both?"

"Yes, I'd love that." Alicia said.

"I can't imagine not watching your little one grow up, Mr. Northman, of course I'll be happy to go. I don't have anything to keep me here, really."

"Bobbie, you are agreed?"

"Yes."

"And Bjorn?"

"Absolutely. I go where you go."

"Alright then, Compton, when you reach New Orleans you begin the search for a suitable property and we'll proceed from there. We'll need room for everyone here, a nanny, gardeners, maybe security. It should be fenced off, well away from the road, guard stations, excellent security, garages, a swimming pool and if possible a small stable for a few horses and grooms to care for them but that's negotiable. The swimming pool is not, right, Sookie?"

"Right, it's not. I'm too spoiled now to live without one," she laughed.

Margaret served up fried chicken for everyone with real whipped potatoes, green beans and cornbread while Alicia got RMs for Bill, Eric and Sookie, giving Sookie a sedative to take with her meal.

"Alicia, aren't you eating?" Sookie asked.

"I was going to take my meal in back," Alicia said.

"Don't be silly, pull up a chair and sit down. You're going to have to eat with us on this trip anyway, might as well start now."

"Alright, dear, if you insist."

"Margaret, this is the most amazing dinner! Baby E is doing a happy dance. I think he likes fried chicken."

Everybody laughed and there was conversation all around the table as the humans ate. Sookie was watching everyone get along so well and beaming at her family, unaware that Eric was watching her. He knew this was what she wanted and he was happy to give it to her, this little family of Witches, Weres, vampires and fairies. This was the family she always dreamed of when she was a little girl, or as close to it as he could create. She was happy and that was all that mattered. The personal sun in his universe was shining and that was worth any price.

"OK, everyone it's almost seven thirty, we have half an hour to pull ourselves together," Alicia pointed out as the meal was dying down. Eric zipped upstairs to take his shower and Sookie and Alicia took the elevator up to the third floor. Guards went up to take bags downstairs for everyone on the second floor and Bill brought Bobbie's and his own bags downstairs. He was going to see them off then head for his house, and leave for New Orleans the next night.

Eric came out of the bathroom with a towel around his waist and looked over the luggage that Sookie and Alicia were ready to close up. He was too busy looking at the clothes to notice that Sookie and Alicia were both flushed at the sight of his magnificent form in nothing but a towel. He approved the contents and complimented Sookie on the outfit she chose for him to travel in, dressed and he carried all the luggage downstairs to the living room. He came back for Sookie and Alicia followed them downstairs carrying Sookie's computer bag, tote and sweater as well as Eric's black jacket.

Alicia checked to see that her luggage was included in the stuff being loaded on the vans, and made one last check to be sure all of Sookie's and Eric's luggage was accounted for.

"Holy smoke!' Sookie said when they stepped outside. There were 9 vehicles parked in the street, all of them part of their entourage. In addition to a courtesy car that would lead the entourage, there were 2 cars of guards, the luggage car, another car of guards, the huge fancy bus that would have the "royal entourage" in it, and 3 vans of guards behind them. "Eric, this can't be real?"

"Yes, my angel, it is real. This is the number we were advised to take with us."

"It's quite necessary, Sookie, I assure you," Bill said.

"You two shouldn't stand around out here," Bjorn said and he ushered them onto the luxurious bus. He was in full security mode now, and he wasn't going to listen to any arguments. His job was to get them from point A to point B in one piece and he had every intention of doing just that. He insisted that Eric and Sookie sit about half way back in the bus, one on each side of the aisle so neither was near a window. He got the rest of the party – Bobbie, Alicia, Amelia and Octavia – onto the bus and brought 2 guards in to man the rear of the bus while another two sat in front. All were armed. Bjorn sat in the seat immediately behind Sookie.

Sookie looked back. "My shadow, huh?"

"Yes, ma'am, every minute of the day for the next two weeks."

Sookie looked at Eric, who smiled and nodded. He was taking no chances with her and the baby, and he had already told Bjorn not to compromise with her when it came to her safety. "Remember, Sookie, that your security is my job, and I have engaged Bjorn to see to you when I cannot. I want you to do what he says in matters of security, just as you would do as I say if I were with you. He will not compromise with you in these matters, by my order, so do not give the man a hard time."

"Yes, Eric." She looked at him with a little smile knowing it would remind him of their little games and he smiled and leaned back, holding her hand across the aisle.

Bjorn tapped the button on his Bluetooth headpiece. "Svenska 1 and 2 green."

Sookie figured that must be she and Eric and green must mean they were secured and ready to roll, because all of the vehicles started up.

The trip to the Shreveport Regional airport wasn't long, and Sookie heard Bjorn's earpiece beep as they took the turn off to the airport.

"How many? Alright."

Eric turned to him. "About 300, your majesty. We're going to take you around to the private entrance."

"Alright."

"300 what?" Sookie asked.

"Fans." Bjorn said.

"What? You're telling me that there are 300 people at the airport waiting for us?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"Sookie, sweetheart, as we go in, you get between me and Bjorn and you stay between us and keep your head down." Eric was absolutely serious and it scared Sookie a little bit. "Everyone, listen to me. There are about 300 people gathered. We're going to try to avoid them, but just in case, get in the center of the guards as they surround us and stay together."

"Anderson." Bjorn answered his head piece. "Yes. Yes, that would be best. Alright. Your majesty, they're going to take us straight onto the tarmac and we'll get your party on the plane before we take the luggage or load the guards"

"Good. I'd rather we keep Sookie away from the crowds altogether."

"They're moving what they call a tunnel to obscure sight of the stairs to the plane so we won't be out in the open."

"OK, good."

The guard vehicles lead the way around and underneath a parking area and a locked gate was opened to let them onto the airfield. The bus the royal party was in pulled right up to the tunnel, which shielded them from sight as they went up the stairs of the plane. Eric picked Sookie up at the bottom of the stairs and carried her onto the plane as Bjorn boarded first, making sure everything on the plane was clear.

The stewardess stepped forward once Bjorn nodded, and Eric came up the steps and set Sookie down. "Welcome aboard, your majesty. Thank you for flying Anubis Airlines! If you'll follow me," she led the way to the front of the plane, Eric taking the lead and Sookie following him. They were seated in a group of very large, roomy seats and their party was seated with them. Sookie assumed the closer, smaller seats they walked past were for the guards traveling with them, and that turned out to be correct.

"Your majesty?"

A tall man in a uniform offered Eric his hand and Eric shook it. "You are King Eric Northman? I'm Captain Perkins. I'll be your pilot today. I just wanted to welcome you and your lovely queen," he nodded to Sookie and she smiled at him, "and let you know it's a fine clear night and we don't anticipate any problems."

"Alright, thank you, Captain." Eric was being a bit formal but Sookie figured that was called for under the circumstances. Eric sat down, and pointed to the window, "Sookie, look out there."

She looked and there were hundreds of people up against a fence screaming and waving, trying to get on the tarmac, some of them with signs that said Eric or Sookie or other things.

"No way!" She said, her mouth falling open.

"There will be more in Las Vegas at the airport and at the residence, your majesty." Bjorn added from his seat right behind Sookie.

"What's wrong with those people?" Sookie asked no one in particular and Eric and Bjorn, Amelia, Alicia and Bobbie, the ones who heard her, cracked up. Octavia was already leaning back in her seat relaxing. The luggage was loaded so the back of the plane was filling up with security guards.

Alicia leaned forward with an RM and a tranquilizer for Sookie. "It might be best if you lean back a while, dear, and rest."

"She's right, Sookie, you should," Bobbie agreed.

"We haven't taken her blood pressure today – think I should check it before we take off?" Bjorn asked Bobbie and Alicia.

"No, you should not." Sookie said, "You can take it when we get to the residence. We'll be there in less than three hours. I'll be fine until then."

Everyone laughed at Sookie being so adamant, and Eric put his arm around her and kissed her on the head. Once they were in the air, she did lean back and was asleep in no time.

"Sookie, dear one, wake up." Eric had his arm around her and was speaking to her softly.

"Hm?"

"Wake up, my angel, we are in Las Vegas."

"Already?"

"Yes, my angel, you slept through the entire trip."

"Oh, OK. How long till we're at the residence?"

"About 45 minutes."

"Are we staying in the same rooms?"

"No, Sookie, we own it now, remember? We will stay in the Master Suite. Wake up, lover, we need to go to the cars now."

"No more Creepy Felipe."

"Sookie? Sookie?" He shook her but she wasn't waking up. "Alicia, what did you give her earlier?"

"One of the milder sedatives."

"I can't seem to wake her. I don't know if she's just tired or if something is wrong." Eric said. "Are you sure it was not a Soma?"

"Absolutely sure."

"Bjorn, check her blood pressure," Bobbie suggested.

Bjorn got the blood pressure cuff out of his bag and put it on her. "It's low - low enough to make her feel faint. It's only 90/60." He bent down and looked at her legs, "Her legs are swollen. She's pooling blood in her legs and probably dehydrated."

"What do we do?" Eric was really worried now.

"Well, first, know that this is not as dangerous as high blood pressure, and it's not likely to give her serious complications as long as we get her blood moving."

"Alright, then what?"

"I think Bobbie should come in the limo with us and rub her legs while we drive the 45 minutes. That may help with the swelling and get her blood pumping. We need to get her to drink some water and if we can't we might have to call Dr. Ludwig when we get to the residence so she can give her an IV."

"Alright, water." Eric looked at the stewardess who came to see if there was a problem. She returned with it quickly, opening it and putting a straw in it. Eric took it and shook Sookie again. "Sookie, listen to me. I want you to drink some water."

"Um-hm."

He held the straw to her lips and she managed to drink some through the straw. She put her head on his shoulder and he gently shook her again, "Sookie, drink more for me, sweetheart." He put the straw to her lips and she drank more this time and began to sit up a little straighter. "That's my good girl, try to drink more, Sookie." She managed to drain the bottle that time, and said "More."

The stewardess quickly got another bottle and while she was drinking that she got a cup of ice and a wet washcloth. "Rub a little ice on her wrists and try a cool cloth on her face. I think she'll come around then. Does she have a doctor she can see when you get to your destination?" Bjorn took the ice and rubbed Sookie's wrists

"Yes, thank you, we'll talk to her doctor when we get her home tonight." Eric patted her face lightly with the washcloth and she was opening her eyes.

"What's going on?" Sookie asked.

"We've been trying to wake you, Sookie, but you wouldn't open your eyes. How are you feeling?"

"I'm OK – tired, maybe."

"Alright, try to finish this bottle of water." Eric kissed her head and rested his cheek against it as he held the water bottle for her.

"Your majesty? We're about to land," The stewardess said.

"Alright then, thank you for your help. Bjorn you can sit down and we'll have Bobbie work on her legs in the car."

"Yes, your majesty."

They landed easily and the Vegas airport was larger than the one in Shreveport so there was a walkway that attached to the door of the plane. They were led into the airport by a representative, surrounded by their guards, who led them all to a VIP lounge where they waited as their cars were brought to an entrance away from the front of the building. Eric, Sookie, Bjorn and Bobbie got into a huge limousine, while Amelia, Octavia and Alicia got into another right behind it. The other guards were piled into a series of town cars that were arranged on all sides of the limos, plus there were additional guards from the Las Vegas kingdom assigned to the caravan. As they started to pull away from the building the largest limo was mobbed by fans who apparently figured out what was going on.

"Eric, what's happening?" Sookie was scared, hearing people knock on the windows and scream her name as well as Eric's.

"They found us. Driver, keep these vehicles moving."

"Yes, your majesty."

The car moved slowly at first, but it moved and eventually some of the guards in the back cars were able to clear the mob so the limo could move. Amelia, Octavia and Alicia were amazed at the frenzy.

"Your majesty?" The driver spoke to Eric.

"Yes?"

"They just sent word that there are around a thousand people outside the gates of the residence, so be prepared for that. There are guards on site and more on the way, and some of the guards with us are going to pull ahead and try to get them under control so we can get through the gates."

"Alright, thank you."

"Wow," Bobbie laughed, sitting opposite the back seat as she rubbed Sookie's legs. Bjorn was beside her, scanning traffic all around them.

"Bjorn," Eric asked, "do you think our security is adequate?"

"Probably, but that's all it is. I'm glad we decided to double it. We couldn't have handled that mob at the airport with fewer than we have now. We may need to have extra for New Orleans, considering how they are about vampires.

"I can't believe that all of that was for Eric?" Sookie was amazed.

"For both of you, your majesty. You are the most popular royal couple in vampire history." Bjorn said. "Everybody wants to see the two of you and they're wild about the prospect of a vampire prince.

"Those weren't all vampires, though?" Sookie couldn't wrap her mind around this.

"No, actually very few of them were. Most of them were human. Vampires are as interested as anyone, but they won't show it the way a human will. Plus, most of the vampires will see you at the Sheriff's Ball Saturday night. They say that's the hottest ticket in town right now. Celebrities, politicians, even some human royals are scrambling to find tickets. Someone had a pair on eBay for forty thousand dollars." Bjorn explained. "I hope the Las Vegas office was able to find at least one female guard for you for Saturday night. New Orleans is trying to find a couple, too, for that event. Otherwise, I'll be throwing ladies out of the ladies' rooms whenever you need to go," he laughed, "And before you argue, Sookie, yes, it is absolutely necessary. Even the well-wishers can be dangerous to you in your condition if they get over-excited. We can't take any chances."

She looked helplessly at Eric.

"That is the price you pay for being such a beautiful and gracious Queen, my angel." He kissed her, "Everyone wants to meet you. I expect you to get a lot of sleep this week so you are up to handling Saturday night. Many will want to pledge fealty as they did at our reception. There may be presents as well, so that's something to look forward to."

"There's an explosives expert out of Reno that is going to be there to check the packages. They've already been screening the ones sent in advance and they expect many more the night of the event," Bjorn added.

"Wow, Sookie, more presents. I'll bet you get tons of stuff for the baby," Bobbie laughed.

"Great, more presents."

"Oh, come on, Sookie, you had a blast seeing what you got the last time."

"Yeah, that's true. I hope the baby gets some stuffed animals. He's only got a few so far and I want him to have a whole plushy jungle," Sookie laughed.

"Plushy?" Eric was amused at that word.

"Yeah, you know, plush – they're really soft and cuddly. Babies love them."

"Sounds like mommy likes them, too, little one."

"Yeah, I do. I didn't have a lot of them when I was little and I always swore to myself that my kids would have a room full of soft animals to roll around in."

Bjorn laughed and shook his head.

"What's so funny, Bjorn?" Sookie teased him.

"It's hard to think of you as somebody's mother when you're such a little girl yourself. I know you can be a badass when you need to, but no one would ever guess that from your demeanor."

Eric laughed at that and Sookie looked at him with an exaggerated expression of exasperation. "My little angel," Eric said, "badass Queen Sookie." He laughed and everyone else did, too. He put his arm around her and kissed her sweetly. "We are almost home, my dear," he told her as he smoothed her hair back.

"Home?" She said.

"Technically, yes, this is our home now. You own it, and everyone here works at your pleasure so you don't be intimidated by any of them, and you tell them to do whatever you want, the way you want it done, when you want it done, alright?"

"I guess."

"I mean that, Sookie. If you want furniture moved or something purchased, or any little thing that suits you, then you have it done, alright? You don't need to wait for my permission. I want you to promise me though that you won't get out of bed tomorrow except to go to the bathroom. Everything else can wait a day while you rest. I'm afraid this trip has been too much for you and you must rest."

"I can't hang around the pool?"

"Not tomorrow, my sweet. You can play in the pool Wednesday after you've had a day in bed."

"Remember what we talked about, Sookie? Have them do that Wednesday as a treat, then you'll have something to look forward to." Bobbie suggested.

"Yeah, let's do that. And Eric, I want Bjorn to be allowed to play in the pool with us."

Eric laughed. "Bjorn, on Wednesday you can wear your swim trunks and play in the swimming pool with the girls as long as you keep your eyes open. Alright, Sookie?"

"Alright, thank you. You did bring some swimming trunks, right, Bjorn?"

"Yes, your majesty, I did. What exactly do you two have cooked up for Wednesday?"

"A cook-out by the pool – grilled lobsters and clams, corn on the cob, and all that." Sookie was almost baby talking because she was excited about it. "You like lobster, right?"

"Yes, ma'am, I do," Bjorn smiled at her.

"Cool, and I want them swimming in butter. When we were here for the wedding, they cooked outside for us a couple of times when we spent all day in the pool. It was really fun. It's a gorgeous pool. They had big tubs of drinks for us and tables with umbrellas."

"Don't you have all that at home?" he asked.

"Yeah, but I've been in bed all the time and we haven't had as much fun as I wanted. I want to have fun this week since we won't have the residence long. It's like having a huge hotel all to ourselves."

"I'm sorry you feel you aren't having enough fun, Sookie," Eric said, "but there will be plenty of summer left after the baby is born and then you will be out in the pool all you want, alright?"

"Alright. I know it's all for the good of the baby. I just hate missing so much of the summer. I barely even have a tan this year."

"You'll make up for that this week, I'm sure - as long as you use the wheel chair to get around the residence."

"You won't need to worry about that, Eric." Bobbie assured him, "Between me, Alicia, Bjorn and especially Octavia, she won't get away with much. Octavia won't take any bullshit when it comes to the health of that baby."

"One of the reasons I like having her around," Eric agreed. "I think she has a better idea of what he needs than any of us."

"I think you're probably right about that. You can tell she knows a lot about everything." Bjorn laughed. "You'd never know it to look at her – she looks like someone's grandmother, but she's a grandmother that could kick all our asses if she felt like it."

Everyone laughed and pretty much agreed.

"Here we are, your majesty." The driver said. The gates to the residence had rope lines and lines of guards holding crowds of people back from the roads. There was a paddy wagon and there were four LVPD cars with lights spinning and a TV crew talking to people in the crowd.

Sookie helped Eric slip into the black blazer Alicia had brought for him, but she wasn't sure why he'd put it on now.

"Holy shit! There's a news crew out there! And Las Vegas PD!" Bobbie told them. Bjorn wanted Eric and Sookie to stay in the middle of the seat as far away from the windows as possible. The crowd started screaming as the limousine came into view and people were jumping up and down, waving signs, screaming for Eric and Sookie.

"I want to watch the news tomorrow to see if they say anything about this." Sookie said.

"I'll find the Vegas news on your laptop. That says KVBC News 3. We'll look for them when we get inside." Bobbie told her.

"I can't believe there are so many people out there at this time of night!" Sookie said.

"It looks like Fangtasia threw up – almost all of them are wearing black, in the middle of the desert!" Bobbie laughed.

Bjorn was very tense, watching everything around them as the limo pulled through the gates. Once all the vehicles were through, the crowd broke through the lines and crowded up against the closed gates, hoping to get a glimpse of Eric and Sookie. The front door was open and Eric zipped out, pulling Sookie out of the car and carrying her inside at vampire speed as Bjorn followed watching all around them as he backed into the front entrance. Bobbie got out once Bjorn was in the door, then that limo drove away and guards helped Amelia, Octavia and Alicia out of their car and into the house. Sandy and the night staff were waiting in the huge entry hall, all lined up and ready for inspection, or something like that, Sookie thought.

"Your majesty" Sandy nodded.

"Hello, Sandy. This is the night crew, I take it?" Eric was being formal again, and Sookie realized he put the jacket on to look more business-like when he was introduced to the staff. There were about 50 of them in various uniforms and a dozen in business attire.

"Yes, sire. I wanted them all to see you and the Queen so they would know you on sight."

"Good, good. I would speak to them?"

"Of course, your majesty."

The staff all stood up very straight, in awe of this huge, powerful and handsome vampire. They would speak later amongst themselves of how commanding and beautiful he was and how quiet and sweet his queen.

"Hello, everyone, I am Eric Northman, your new master. I'm pleased to meet you all. I'd like to introduce my wife to you," he put his arm around Sookie and she gave them a little wave. "This is Sookie Northman, your new Queen. No doubt some of you remember her from our wedding in May. She's a little shy, so she may hesitate to ask for what she wants, so you make sure you try to anticipate her needs and go the extra mile for her since she won't want to ask too much of you. When I am at rest, her word is law. When I am awake only I may overrule anything she says, and I trust her implicitly. When you speak to her, you are speaking to me. When you serve her, you are serving me.

These are her friends, Amelia and Octavia. They are to be treated as members of the royal family. This is Sookie's maid Alicia, and you are to cooperate with her completely since her sole responsibility is Sookie's care. This is the Queen's doula, Bobbie and the Queen's Personal Body Guard, Bjorn. They will be with her most of the time and they are to have your full cooperation as well. I'll be evaluating all your salaries and positions while I am here. I will tell you now – I pay very well and expect excellent service. Fail to meet my expectations and I will pay someone else very well to do what you would not. Any questions?"

No one dared speak to him, and Sandy was proud that they were making a good show for him. Northman was doing a fantastic job establishing his authority. She knew they would speak of this for weeks. Having his support would only enhance her own influence with them.

"Very well, then. You are dismissed, all except those of you needed to get us settled into our rooms. I'd like a light meal made available as soon as possible for our guests and staff, and my wife will need a nourishing supper so begin this immediately. Thank you."

The staff bowed and curtsied in unison then scampered away to do whatever they were supposed to do. The kitchen staff already had a light meal ready at Sandy's instruction and the captain of the guard was seeing to their feeding and lodging. Luggage was rapidly being taken in via the utility elevator. Eric carried Sookie up the large stairs as the rest of his group followed him, Bjorn staying right at his side. Sandy led them to the left this time, since they were staying in the Master Suite. She opened a set of double doors, and two of Eric's guards stationed themselves outside of them. They were in a huge living area upholstered in rich red velvet and black leather upholstery. There were 2 big screen TVs couches and chairs, a huge fireplace and a formal dining room off to the side. Sandy led them down a hallway. There was a large suite on the left first that Octavia and Amelia were directed to. It was actually a large suite of rooms with its own living area, dining area, kitchenette and three separate bedrooms. Octavia and Amelia each had a private bedroom and a luxurious private bath within it.

Further down the hallway were four servant's rooms. Once was assigned to Bobbie and the two closest, which faced each other, were assigned to Bjorn and Alicia. Even the servant's rooms were large and extravagant, every room having a full private bath, sitting and sleeping areas, and a mini kitchen in one wall with a table and chairs for four people.

At the end of the hall was the master suite, which Sookie calculated was bigger than her house in Bon Temps. There was a large living room here, a full dining room and kitchen, a huge bedroom with a king-sized or bigger canopy bed and two luxurious coffins on marble stands behind red velvet curtains. The bathroom was the size of a living room and the tub would easily hold 8 people. Eric wiggled his eyebrows at Sookie when he saw the tub and made her giggle.

"You can put me down any time now, Eric," she teased him.

"But I like the feel of you in my arms," he purred as she kissed him and laughed.

Sandy pointed out the intercom on the night stands and in the bathroom and explained that there were buttons for Bjorn, Alicia, Bobbie, Sandy's office and the kitchen, all labeled for them and operable and she assured them that someone would be in the office and the kitchen any time of the day or night and they shouldn't hesitate to call for anything they wanted.

"Thank you, Sandy. I think we'll try to get settled now."

"Yes, your majesty," Sandy bowed and left the room.

Eric put Sookie gently down on the bed and kissed her. "Wow, this bed seems bigger than ours."

"Maybe it is? I thought mine was the largest made, but I almost think we could bring a few friends into this one." He wiggled his eyebrows again and Sookie laughed.

"I should go see if everyone is happy with their rooms," Sookie said, wanting to play hostess.

"No, you should stay in this bed. I'm going to have your dinner brought in on a tray.

There was a knock at the door. "Come in!" Sookie called.

"Excuse me, Mrs. Northman, would you like us to put your wardrobe in place?" Alicia asked, standing there with two of the housemaids.

Sookie looked at Eric and he nodded, "Yes, Alicia, go ahead and get her things settled. Sookie is to stay in this bed, though, until I get back. I'm going to go check on the others so she won't feel she needs to."

"Yes, sir," she smiled at him, loving the way he cared for Sookie so thoughtfully.

Eric went out to the hallway and checked in on Bjorn first, "All is well?"

"Yes, your majesty, very nice accommodations."

"Did they warn you about the intercom?"

"Yes, your majesty, you tell the Queen not to hesitate to call me anytime she needs me."

"Alright, thank you. They should be bringing food for you all soon. I still want you to stay close to Sookie tomorrow."

"Yes, sir."

He knocked on Bobbie's door.

"Come in!" Bobbie called.

"Hello, Bobbie?" Eric replied opening the door.

"Oh, hi – I didn't expect you!"

"Sookie wanted to check on everyone but I wouldn't let her so I'm making sure you are all satisfied with your accommodations. Are you satisfied?"

"Very – there's even a massage chair in here I can use for Sookie. This is a very nice room."

"Alright, remember there will be food for you soon. Good night,"

"Thanks, Eric."

Eric went down to the guest suite and looked into the living area. No one was there so he walked in and called "Hello?"

Amelia looked out the door first. "Hey, Eric. What's up?"

"Sookie wanted to make sure everyone is satisfied with their rooms. Are you?" he laughed.

"I'm great. This suite is amazing. It's like a house, within a house, within a house."

"Alright, I'm glad to know you are pleased. Remember there will be food soon."

"Well, hello, Mr.!" Octavia was surprised to see Eric. He bowed to her.

"Octavia – is everything to your satisfaction?"

"Yes, this is a beautiful room. Thank you so much!"

"Alright, now if you need anything, don't hesitate to ask. I told them to treat you and Amelia as family and that's exactly what I expect from them, so please feel at home and be comfortable. There will be servants nearby most of the time and you feel free to use them, alright?"

"Alright, I will."

"Good. There will be food you all soon, and if I don't see you until tomorrow night, have a pleasant day tomorrow, ladies!"

"Thank you, Eric!" Amelia called

"Yes, thank you so much!" Octavia couldn't believe she was staying in a room like this, let alone a house like this. This was some good company she was keeping these days, even if he was a vampire.

Eric found his way back to Sookie, who was already in her nightgown, finishing her dinner and drinking an RM while Alicia and the maids finished with her clothing, jewels, makeup, toiletries and accessories. Eric's things had been unpacked and put away as well.

"Excellent! I thought you would insist on eating with your friends."

"I could put on a robe…?" she said pleadingly.

"Nice try. No. You are exactly where you will be for the next 24 hours. The only reason you get off that bed is to use the bathroom and then right back you go." Eric said as he took off his jacket and Alicia hung it up for him. "Tomorrow night we'll try out that gigantic bathtub and you'll go to sleep early, then you can have your little cook out Wednesday and we'll see how that goes. Did you tell Alicia what you wanted for Wednesday?"

"No, I forgot."

"What do you need, dear?"

"She would like a cook-out by the pool Wednesday with grilled lobsters, clams, corn on the cob and other summery treats and the lobsters should be swimming in butter. Is that it, Sookie?"

"OH, watermelon!"

"And watermelon. She will be playing in the pool all day and you are welcome to join her, if you'd like, Alicia – you can let the household staff handle this for you. Wednesday will be a break for you if you want."

"Oh, well, that might be fun."

"Oh, yay! I hope Octavia will swim, too." Sookie was overjoyed at the idea of Alicia swimming with them.

"Well, I have an extra suit if she needs one and we'll see if we can get her to join us, OK?" Alicia loved the idea of loafing for a day by the pool. She was hoping Eric would give her some time off during the week.

"Sookie will need you to dress her on Thursday night and Saturday night, but other than that, you can take your evenings off, Alicia. You feel free to have one of the cars take you into town if there's anything you want to do. We'll all probably move to the Bellagio on Friday and be there for the ball."

"Oh, that sounds nice. If you don't mind, I might try to go to a show Wednesday and Friday."

"Alright, if you need tickets, tell the office here and I'll make sure you have lots of money to spend and gamble with." Eric winked at her and smiled.

"Oh, thank you!"

"Hey, I thought we were having dinner with the Mayor tomorrow night?" Sookie asked.

"We changed that to Thursday because it was too close to travel. I wanted you to have this time to spend in bed. We'll take it easy Wednesday night, go out Thursday, move to the Bellagio Friday since you'll be up early that day, and have dinner there, then the Ball is Saturday, you'll have Sunday off and Monday to shop and then Tuesday we go to New Orleans."

Alicia was listening carefully so she'd know what the plan was, though she did have a printed itinerary.

"Where are we staying in New Orleans?" Sookie asked.

"Victor's residence. I offered it to Bill, but he thinks for this trip it's the best place for us to stay. It's not nearly as luxurious as this, of course, but there's room for all of us and it's near the Quarter. By the way, Sookie, there's a vampire parade in our honor Wednesday night in the Quarter."

"Oohh!" Alicia loved the idea of that.

"You're kidding! For us?!"

"For us. Imagine all those people outside the gate lining the streets in the Quarter waiting to see us. We'll be riding a float and Bill said they're making a special gown for you."

"Yes, we'll have to check it first thing Tuesday night in case it needs altering." Alicia said.

"You knew about this, Alicia?"

"Yes, dear, I had to give Bill your measurements for the dress. He said you'll look like a beautiful mermaid, covered in sequins."

"Oh my Goddess."

"Exactly, Sookie," Eric laughed.

"What time is on Wednesday?"

"Midnight."

"People have to work though so it won't be big, right?"

"It won't be as big as Mardi Gras, but Star Magazine did a story about it so it will be pretty big. All the news stations are covering it."

"I'm so glad I brought that new camera you bought me," Alicia said to Eric.

"You bought Alicia a camera?"

"Yes, the same time I bought yours, but yours is on backorder so I didn't tell you about it yet," he laughed.

"Whoops!" Alicia said.

"No big deal." Eric assured her. "I told her a while ago I'd get her one before the baby comes."

"Oh, good, I thought I spoiled the surprise."

"Not at all."

"And we agreed to be in this parade why?" Sookie said

"Because it will generate interest in the fundraiser for the reconstruction. We'll have security everywhere, sweetheart, and the New Orleans PD will be working with us."

"Somebody just took a shot at us, Eric."

"True, but we'll have snipers on the rooftops and air cover from vampire guards. It's going to be a positive thing, Sookie – it's turning into a sort of vampire Pride parade. The community is buzzing about it. I know it will be a little effort for you getting up so early on those two Fridays, but…"

"Whoa, wait – why am I getting up early on these two Fridays,"

"For Good Morning Las Vegas and then Good Morning New Orleans" he said as if it were the most natural thing in the world. Alicia turned her back trying not to laugh.

"I'm doing what?" Sookie was aghast.

"You are going on their Good Morning programs to talk about the events. The Sheriff's Ball here and then the fundraiser in New Orleans."

"You want me to go on TV, BY MYSELF, without you? To talk about Vampire events?"

"Yes, my angel, you are the hostess of both events, so who better to talk about them?" He was being careful not to laugh. He knew he was springing this on her sort of last minute but not so last minute that she wouldn't have time to prepare.

"Eric Northman!"

"Yes, my angel"

"If you…. If I …. You could not possibly have done this to me!?"

"No one has done anything to you, sweetheart, you simply have a couple of early appointments to keep in your office as Queen." It was taking everything in him not to laugh at her indignance. He knew very well that she would pitch a small fit and then she'd come to terms with it and then she would rise to the occasion and charm the hell out of everyone. He had no doubt of this.

"What if I say something stupid? Or I let some vampire secret slip out? Or they ask me something I don't know?"

"You will be sweet and charming as you always are. Ms. Stevens will work with you this week in helping you prepare. By the time you go on TV you will know more about these events than any other living soul. She'll begin working with you tomorrow while you are in bed with nothing to do, and Alicia will help you, won't you. Alicia?"

"Oh, of course I will."

"What the hell am I going to wear?"

"Language, Sookie, language. Alicia will take a car into town tomorrow and find something charming and regal and feminine. You can bring several outfits Alicia and let her try them on and we'll have the staff here return the ones she doesn't like, She'll need at least two, but you might want to have an extra in case she gets a daytime invitation in New Orleans. Bill seems to think some of the ladies' clubs might be interested in having her attend a tea or card party, whatever those are."

"They're things Southern society ladies do. I'll have to teach Sookie about debutants and cotillions so she'll understand what they're talking about. We'll need to go over a little etiquette, too."

"Better go ahead and do that, just in case."

"Ok, big shot," Sookie started and Eric raised an eyebrow at her tone. "What if they ask me how a vampire managed to knock me up?"

Eric was not at all pleased now. "Alicia, that will be all for tonight. You have a lot to do tomorrow."

"Yes, sir, goodnight." Alicia got the hell out because she knew Eric was angry.

Eric's voice was soft, but very stern as he sat on her side of the bed and looked her right in the eye. "Is this the way a good wife speaks to her husband in front of the help? Is this how a Queen speaks to her King?"

Sookie swallowed hard. She crossed the line and she knew it. "No, Eric, I'm sorry."

"I thought you wanted me to be proud of you?" He wasn't blinking at all.

"I do, Eric, I just…"

"You just think cursing and sassing me in front of your servant is going to make me proud?"

"No, I'm just freaked out."

"I understand that, and I understand that I am expecting you to do something you have never done before. If I did not think you could handle it, I would never have agreed. You are perfectly capable of doing this and doing it very well. I have shown faith in you to do what your position as Queen requires, and you have answered me with disrespect. Is that what you intended?"

"No, Eric."

"Shall I punish you for the second night in a row?"

She was crying silently but she didn't say anything.

"Answer me."

"No, Eric, I won't do it again."

"I'm not convinced. Lie down and go to sleep. I have work to do. I'll see you at 4:00 and tell you if and how you are to be punished." He turned the light off and walked out of the room without another word.


	63. Chapter 63

**[A/N: This chapter contains corporal punishment. Don't try this at home, and if you are sensitive to such content, PLEASE don't read this chapter. Chapter 64 will be light and fun, so just hang on for that one.**

**Sookie's got plenty of backbone, so you're wasting your time with those comments. Eric is going to be Eric, in all his complex and contradictory drives, and it's intended to be disturbing as well as hot because he's a VAMPIRE. Trust me, Sookie is a happy girl. No fairies were harmed in the performance of this chapter.**

**Relax and enjoy the fantasy. Believe me, Baby E will be hell on wheels and he'll be here after they get back home but there's lots to do before then. He can't wait to meet you, either! **

**Thanks!]**

**Chapter 63**

Sookie lay there looking at the clock. 1:17 am. Eric said he would be back at 4 o'clock. Did he really think she would sleep knowing he might come back and punish her? She knew she should never have spoken to him that way, especially in front of Alicia. Did that really deserve a physical punishment, though? Considering what she was punished for the night before, she guessed he would certainly think so. She might as well make up her mind that he was going to punish her, it was going to hurt, but then it would be over. She was dreading Friday now, not at all sure she could handle a TV interview, but she knew she had no choice and she was pretty sure Eric would have refused the interviews if he had any doubt she could handle it. What was she thinking speaking to him that way in front of Alicia? And on his first night in Las Vegas as King!

She wished she could go after him and apologize, but she knew he'd be furious if she got out of bed after he told her to stay put for 24 hours. She really was too tired to be roaming around this big castle anyway. She hated to admit it, but he was right – she was tired and the travel was a lot for her. She was tense, too. She thought about calling Bobbie on the intercom and asking her to rub her back, but she didn't know if that was disobeying him or not since he told her to sleep. She figured he was down in the offices. She could buzz down and ask him. He was pretty angry, though. Her back really hurt though and this was health related. Bobbie might not even be awake.

Oh, hell, he's going to be pissed off anyway, might as well ask for what she wants. She turned the light on and buzzed the offices.

Eric left Sookie in the dark and headed for the offices where he would call Bill to check in and see how the preparations for the Ball were coming along in case he needed to leave notes for Sookie. He would leave instructions for Janet Stevens to help Sookie prepare for her interview and for her to go over all the details in case something got missed. He was still a little angry, but he knew this was a lot for her. He might not even punish her. Lying in the dark for almost 3 hours wondering if she would be punished might be punishment enough. He was pretty sure she wouldn't backtalk him again any time soon. She did ask to be trained, though, and in that context this was a serious infraction.

He'd have to improvise if he did decide to punish her – he didn't have anything with him specifically for that. He couldn't think of much to do, other than a few swats with a belt. That wouldn't hurt her a lot, but it would get her attention. He'd have to find a place to do it privately, though, if he didn't want the others to know about it.

He'd have to keep in mind that if he marked her, others might see it. He also needed to careful not to let punishment be confused with abuse. If he did this, it was intended to correct her behavior, not to assuage his anger.

The offices were a long way from his rooms, but with his long legs he covered the distance quickly. As he entered the outer offices everyone, 3 clerks and a supervisor, knelt before him. He liked that.

"You may rise and continue your work. Where is Sandy?"

"In your office, sire."

"Through here?"

"Yes, your majesty."

He opened the door and found Sandy sitting behind the desk – his desk, technically – but she jumped up instantly as he entered.

"Good evening, your majesty."

"Good evening, Sandy. I thought I'd see if there was anything I needed to take care of."

"Yes, there are several items. I was going to wait until tomorrow to bother you with them."

"No bother at all." He said as he moved back to sit in the chair behind the desk. Sandy sat in one of the large black leather chairs in front of the desk.

"That green folder there has contracts that need your signature, sire. One is for the closing of that small bar we are selling, one concerns a construction project the Mayor referred to you. There are three new purchasing agreements for the administration of the residence that need to be transferred to your name, and contracts for services for the grounds, the pool and security."

"Alright, let's go through these one at a time," he opened the folder. "Now the bar will be completely—"

BZZZZ the intercom lit up. Sandy hit the button from her seat and answered, "Yes, Sheila?"

"The Queen calling for the King on line one, Miss."

"Thank you, Sheila." Sandy showed Eric how to open line one.

Eric spoke into the receiver, "Sookie?"

"Hi, sweetie," she sounded very unsure of herself. "My back hurts and I can't sleep. Can I ask Bobbie to rub my back if she's still awake?"

"Yes, of course, Sookie – and wake her up if you need to."

"OK, thanks, I'll see you later?"

"Of course, sweetheart, I'll be back at 4."

Sandy smiled, "she's very sweet."

"Yes, I never need to worry about her putting a strain on the servants. She's still very unsure and asks permission for many things she doesn't need to. She's fairly unspoiled and I intend to keep her that way. Now, the bar – are we almost rid of it?"

Sookie was relieved that Eric didn't seem angry now. She buzzed Bobbie's room.

"Hey, Sookie?"

"Hey, are you still awake?"

"Yep, sure am. What do you need, hon?"

"Would you consider rubbing my back? I'm really tense tonight."

"Sure, sweetie, I'll be right in."

Sookie was so glad to hear that. She would have someone to talk to and she would feel more relaxed, plus it would kill some time between now and 4. Bobbie knew a little bit about Dominance, too, so maybe she could tell her what to expect.

"Hey, honey!" Bobbie said as she came through the door carrying a bottle of oil and a towel. "Having a rough night?"

"Yeah, in more ways than one. I really appreciate this."

"Not a problem. What's going on?" She helped Sookie lean forward so they could get her gown over her head.

"I really fucked up."

"What happened?" She helped Sookie turn on her side, wondering to herself if they brought this wedge pillow with them or if they just had it here for her.

"See, it turns out I'm supposed to go on Good Morning Las Vegas on Friday and then Good Morning New Orleans next Friday to talk about the balls."

"Wow – OK – you're worried about doing a good job?" Bobbie put the towel under her side and warmed some oil between her hands.

"Well, yeah, but that's not the biggest problem. The biggest problem is I got really sassy with Eric in front of Alicia and he's really angry with me."

"Oh – what does his majesty do when he's angry?"

"See, I insisted that he… train me…"

"as a Submissive?"

"Yeah, so…"

"He's going to punish you?"

"Probably. He said he'd let me know at 4 am whether he would and how he would."

"So he was going to let you stew in your own juices until 4 thinking about what he might do to you?"

"Yeah."

"He's good at the psychological part of this. Does he know you called me?"

"Yeah, I buzzed him in the office and asked first."

Bobbie laughed. "Well, at least you didn't do it without him knowing. That might have made him even angrier."

"And that's the last thing I want. He was really pissed off that I spoke to him that way in front of Alicia."

"I'll bet. He's trying to establish himself as king, and if he can't control his own wife…"

"Exactly. What do I do now?"

"You let him know that you're really sorry, and you'll never do it again, and if he decides to punish you, you take it like a woman because that's how you show respect for him."

"What do you think he'll do to me?"

"Has he ever punished you before?"

"Last night was the first time."

"OK, what did he do last night?"

"He tied my arms way up behind my back so I cried."

"Tied them how?"

"He wrapped something all the way up them to force them together."

"OK, elbow binding. How long did he leave you?"

"It felt like forever but I'm pretty sure it was less than 10 minutes."

"Well, you don't seem to have any problems with your arms today so he must have known what he was doing. I hope he knows how to check your circulation, but I'll bet he does."

"He said that was about all he could do since I was pregnant."

"Yeah, that does present a challenge. Did he say what he'd do if you weren't pregnant?"

"He said he'd give me a choice – 10 swats on my bare bottom with his open hand or one stripe with a riding crop."

"That's pretty light punishment. You must have done something minor."

"Yeah, it was a small thing, but I insisted that he punish me."

"Well, then, you can probably count on him doing something tonight."

"Am I being silly to be scared?"

"No, you're supposed to be scared, that's the whole point. It's supposed to teach you not to do it again. Whatever he does, he'll make sure you cry so you take it seriously, so don't fight the tears."

"Yeah, I guess so. I know I wanted this…"

"…but it's different when you're looking at an actual punishment. A little domination to spice up sex is one thing but actual punishment is something else again."

"Yeah."

"You can always tell him you changed your mind. Ultimately, the Submissive is in control of the relationship."

"But I didn't – I mean, I haven't, I just… I don't know."

"Sookie, you're feeling guilty because you disappointed him. That's the whole point of training – to teach you to please him. The punishment is corrective – it helps mold you into what he wants. It won't be done out of anger. That's why he's waiting until he's calm. If you guys are going to have that kind of relationship dynamic, this comes with the package. It's your choice whether you do it or not, so make your choice and be definite about it in your own mind. Either call it off completely, or submit to your punishment to show your respect for him. Once you make the decision, the pain is easier to take. Every stripe shows your love for him."

"You've done this before, huh?"

"Yes, I've been in a couple of relationships that involved D/s, mostly when I was younger. It's hard to find a good Dominant. I don't know your whole story, of course, but from what I've seen, that's just basically who Eric is, especially now that he's King. He's most comfortable when people are serving him and he's in charge. His instincts just naturally make him "Master" in any relationship he's in. People who are into D/s would kill to find a Dom like him. It's very rare to find someone that masterful and that beautiful. He probably has people crawling on their hands and knees to serve him."

"Yeah, he does. The first time I ever laid eyes on him, that's what was happening. This man crawled up to him and touched his knee and Eric kicked him across the room."

"Damn – see, that makes him even more desirable to a sub, because then if he accepts you, you're "chosen." You're the most "chosen" of them all, Sookie, because he actually married you and bonded with you. From a D/s standpoint, he really honors you."

"Yeah, he does. And I need to honor him and make up for showing disrespect earlier. Thanks for talking to me about this, Bobbie. I don't think most people would understand."

"Most wouldn't. You have to have a certain yearning for D/s to understand it. Average people confuse it with abuse, but it isn't. It's just a structured expression of a very special kind of love."

"I like that description. I need to remember that – that it's about showing my love for him. He does so much to make me happy – I should be happy to do this for him."

"Right. You want to roll on your back and I'll rub your tummy a while?"

"Yeah, thanks." Bobbie pulled her arm to help her shift her weight and they both laughed because it was a bit of a struggle for Sookie.

"Is it just me, or am I big as a house?" Sookie laughed.

"Well, I wouldn't say that just yet, but Baby E is definitely making his presence known," Bobbie tried to minimize it for her.

"What time is it?"

"Ten to three,"

"Ugh, one more hour."

"I'll stay with you until about a quarter to 4. I'd better not be here when he gets back. I'll rub your arms well, too, just in case."

Eric had signed all the forms and contracts Sandy had for him and she went out to get some plans for the downtown project, so he had a minute to lean back and look around his new office. Horses. Felipe seemed to be obsessed with horses. There were paintings, statues, a saddle, riding gear. Riding gear? Hmmm. Eric got up and looked around. Riding boots sitting beside the door, a saddle… come on, Felipe, I know there's a whip or a crop in this office somewhere, Eric thought to himself. He went over to what looked like a cabinet but was actually a shuttered shelf displaying all kinds of guns, hand weapons, a sword and crops. Bingo.

'Nice selection,' he thought to himself. There were thin straight crops that were obviously not intended for horses, plus a traditional crop, a flogger, even a bull whip.

"Oh, I see you discovered Felipe's toys – well, your toys, now." Sandy laughed as she came back in.

"Felipe was into horses?"

"Well, there is a very large horse farm in your holdings, but mostly he was into equestrian… games… of a certain kind."

"Really?" Eric laughed out loud. That was hysterical!

"Oh, yes, he had quite a collection of little "ponies" who got paid very well to tolerate his… proclivities."

"Interesting!"

"I even remember him putting a certain Sheriff through her paces a few times."

"NO – Sabrina?!"

"Um-hmm. He liked to flog vampiresses because they heal so quickly and you can torture them for hours. She paid dearly for the favor he showed her."

"She stood still for that?"

"No, he had some cuffs and chains made that were coated with silver he used just for her. They were padded so the silver didn't touch her skin, but when she was secured with them, she was nearly as weak as a human. She made him angry once and he surprised her with those and kept her for a week against her will. He only stopped long enough to let her vocal chords heal so she could keep screaming. I almost felt sorry for the bitch."

Eric laughed again. "Do these chains still exist?"

"No, your majesty, I had them destroyed."

"OK, good. Ponies, eh?"

"Is that something that you would be interested in? We can always…"

"No, no, I'm not into ponies – not in that context. I do have need of a couple of these little implements, though. I'll take a couple with me tonight, if you don't mind."

Sandy was a little shocked and a little impressed. Maybe the little Queen was tougher than she looked? "They're yours now, your majesty, do with them as you will."

"Good, good, Ve-ery good." He said, almost to himself. He was suddenly looking forward to 4 o'clock. One hour to go. "Well, let's take a look at these plans."

Bobbie rubbed Sookie's left arm first.

"Oh, that feels so good! Maybe I was a little sore and didn't know it?"

"That's possible. He must not have tied you too tightly since there's no bruising."

"I never saw what he used, but it was wide straps of some kind. Bobbie, have you ever been hit with a riding crop? I mean, he doesn't have one with him, but that was one of the things he said he would do if he could. I guess it hurts more than a spanking?"

"Well, it depends on where you get hit and how hard, but generally, a spanking just stings and reddens your bottom. A crop can leave a stripe of red, or blue, or it can even draw blood depending on how it's used."

"That sounds horrible."

"It can be, but it's not so much you can't take it. I've been whipped with one for fun and for punishment."

"For fun?!"

"Yes, Sookie, some of us like pain – it's a turn on. There's a point where the pain clears your mind of all the chaos and you get this kind of focus that is amazing. Plus, your body releases endorphins after a while that make it pleasurable. That's when it's used with sort of a light to medium stroke. Punishment with one hurts like hell. You definitely think twice before doing anything to bring that on, believe me."

"Does it scar?"

"Not usually, and you can be pretty sure Eric will never do anything that will scar you. He likes your skin too much."

"Yeah, he said that one time. Before we were together, he needed something and considered torturing me but he said he didn't want to ruin my skin because one day he would see all of it."

"Wow – that's intense."

"Yeah – the whole thing seemed to turn him on but it didn't do a thing for me. I was scared to death of him then. That's before I ever saw the real him. At that point he was just the big scary vampire Sheriff that kept telling me he wanted to fuck me and trying to get me to leave Bill for him."

"What changed your perception of him?"

"He was cursed and I found him running on the road in the cold in nothing but a pair of dirty jeans. I stopped for him but he didn't know who I was. He was scared enough to trust me and I took him home and wound up taking care of him for a few days while we waged war with some warlocks."

"Oh, yeah, I remember hearing about that."

"When he didn't know who he was, he was sweet and romantic and he talked to me like nobody ever had before and I fell in love with him and he fell in love with me. When he got his memory back he didn't remember his time with me and it hurt so much, but then he remembered it all. I was still afraid of the vampire Sheriff thing, though, so it took a while but we eventually worked it out and he got comfortable being himself with me without the façade."

"He has no problem being romantic now," Bobbie said, "he's amazingly sweet to you." Bobbie got her an RM out of a small fridge Alicia had arranged for Sookie and gave her a sedative.

"Yeah, he is. A lot of it is because of the baby, but I like to think some of it is for me."

"It is, Sookie. Nobody who knows you two would be able to doubt that he loves you." She switched to rubbing Sookie's other arm.

Eric looked at the clock. 3:20. He gave Sandy his final instructions and had already called Bill so he decided he was done for the night. Sandy said good night to him and went to leave orders for the day staff. Eric went to the cabinet. He took down one of the long thin whips, the flogger and the riding crop and headed back up stairs, considering exactly how he would use these when he got there. Since he had the tools and since he had punished her the night before for a much less serious infraction, he decided to correct the situation definitively.

No matter what he did, he could not have her showing disrespect to him in front of the help. She's lucky, he reasoned, that he didn't punish her in front of the help. That's what he would have done to Pam if she had been so insolent to him in front of others. In fact, he HAD done that to Pam a few times early in their relationship, and much more severely than anything he would do to Sookie. Pam always thought he was too easy on Sookie, and in truth he was. He preferred to ply her with words and gifts, but he knew that in this case, physical punishment was more than warranted. Even in front of a servant as close as Alicia, Eric could not afford to let his authority be questioned without consequences, particularly not by his wife. Above anyone in the world, he needed to be seen as having control of her without question.

Bobbie was gently rubbing Sookie's belly, and they decided the baby must be asleep because he was neither moving nor communicating. They were chatting and giggling when the door opened and Eric came in with the whips in his hand. He was perfectly calm as he said "Bobbie, are you almost finished?"

"Yes, we were just finishing up." She scrambled to get the oil and towel and get out of there, saying a quick "good night" to Eric as she rushed past him and noticing what he was carrying. She hoped he wasn't planning to use them all. He sat on the bed next to her and looked her right in the eye.

"Your back is better?"

"Yes. Thank you for letting me call her."

"Does she know what is going on between us?"

"Yes… I'm sorry, I just…"

"Quiet."

Sookie stopped talking and watched him with huge eyes. Her breathing was becoming ragged. She didn't know exactly what those things he had in his hand were, but she was pretty sure they were bad news for her.

He stood up and looked around the room, tapping his leg with the things in his hand. Sookie couldn't take her eyes off of them. She knew from the way he was looking around that he was deciding where and how to do this. He stepped into he little alcove that housed the two coffins, noticing very faint remaining scents from Felipe and Sabrina of all people. He realized that the alcove was solid stone and there was a sliding door. When closed, it would be fireproof. It would also, conveniently, be sound proof. There were switches on both sides of the wall and a manual lock for emergencies. He stepped inside the alcove and flipped the switch. The wall closed securely. There was plenty of room to walk around the marble platform, room to swing a crop and the platform was plenty wide enough to stand on and then some. He struck the top of one of the coffins and the sound fell dead. Perfect.

He flipped the switch and the alcove opened up. Sookie hadn't moved. She was afraid to. He walked to the bed and spread the whips out in front of her, sitting down behind them.

"Do you know what these are?" He asked her quietly and that stern, commanding voice of his.

"Not exactly, Eric."

"These are whips. This one is longer and thinner than would be useful for a horse, so it is intended for much softer flesh."

She swallowed hard and she felt dizzy.

"This one, with the 5 flails, is called a flogger. It strikes 5 spots at once."

Now she was shaking, but she was determined that she was going to do this and get through it.

"This one is a riding crop that is used to whip the tough hide of a horse and make him run or obey."

She took a deep shaky breath.

"Now, Sookie, you will choose. You can take 10 lashes with the small whip. You can take 5 lashes with the flogger. You can take 3 stripes from the riding crop. Consider carefully."

Her head was spinning. She was relieved he didn't plan to use them all, but how could she possibly choose a whip to be used on herself?

"I..."

"Shhhh, Sookie. No words necessary. Pick one up, take a pillow and carry them into the alcove."

She knew she'd better not hesitate and she figured 3 was better than 5 or 10 so she grabbed the riding crop and stood up, taking her pillow, and she walked into the alcove. Eric was impressed. It took a brave soul to choose the crop over the other two less painful alternatives. He didn't plan to use the crop on her very hard, but even soft use of it would make an impression, which was his intention. He got up and slowly walked in behind her, flipping the switch. Now the wall was closed, the wall sconces lit and she was in there alone with him.

"No one will hear you scream while we are in here. This room is fireproof and therefore, soundproof. I don't particularly want to hear your moans, though, so you're going to use the pillow to muffle your cries. Hand me the crop."

She handed it to him, afraid to look at him.

"Step up on the marble, Sookie, facing the box."

She stepped up, her hand on the top of the box to keep her balance.

"Spread your legs and get firm footing so you don't fall. Put your pillow on the top of the box, bend at the waist, and put your face into the pillow."

She did as he said, and she realized this raised her ass up to the perfect striking position for him.

"Now, you will keep your legs straight, but you won't lock your knees. You will not fall, and you will not let your abdomen touch the box. You keep your emotions under control so you don't wake the baby. Do you understand me?"

"Yes, Eric."

"Do you know why I am doing this?"

"Yes, Eric."

"Tell me why I must whip you, Sookie."

"Because I challenged your authority in front of a servant and you can't allow me to seem as if you can't control your own wife or it will make you look weak and put us all in danger."

"Very good, Sookie. And why are you going to stand there and allow yourself to be whipped?"

"Because I love you, and submitting to the punishment honors you the way you honored me by choosing me."

"Excellent, Sookie. Bobbie helped you with that, did she not?"

"Yes, Eric."

"I could tell from the way she looked at the whips. She had that combination of fear and longing in her eyes that a well-trained sub displays. She'd probably give anything to be standing where you are right now, would she not?"

"Yes, I think she would, Eric."

"Would you rather she be here than you, Sookie?"

"No, Eric, I'm here because I asked you to train me. I could say no at any time if I wanted to but I choose to su- submit."

"Alright, Sookie this is your last chance. Once I begin, you will receive 3 stripes no matter how you scream or plead because you WILL scream and plead, though I expect you to do it into the pillow so I don't have to listen to it. Shall I proceed?"

"Yes, Eric."

"Brace yourself,"

The whistling sound it made was deafening before the world exploded into blinding white fire. Sookie screamed into the pillow and reflexively pulled her legs together.

"Back into position, Sookie."

She struggled to catch her breath and spread her legs. It took everything she had to stand there waiting for the second stripe, but she didn't have to wait long. The second one fell perfectly parallel to the first, just about an inch lower.

"Breathe slowly and deeply, Sookie. There's only one more to go."

Sookie was having trouble getting herself to bend down so Eric pushed her head down and held his hand in between her shoulders.

"Straighten your legs, Sookie. Spread them further so you don't fall. That's it."

The third was the worst of all. It landed a little sideways because he was holding her down and crossed the other two so they flared in reaction as well as the unmarked skin. She screamed and cried into the pillow for a few minutes, her hand reaching out for him and he took her hand and stroked her back gently. She was pulling him toward her and he knew she wanted to be held, so he helped her stand enough to move toward him, and wrapped his arms around her. She clung to him like her life depended on it, hugging him hard and trying to say she was sorry in between sobs.

"Alright, Sookie, it's all over now. It's all forgotten. You're my good girl now and I love you more than anything. I know it won't happen again, now will it?"

"No, I promise, I'm so-sorry. I want you to be pro-proud of me."

"I am proud of you sweetheart. That was very brave and strong and now it's over."

'Come to bed wi- with me and hold me."

"Of course I will, lover, it's alright now." She was calming down so he opened the sliding wall and picked her up as gently as he could. He tried to put her on her side on the bed and he went around to his side and pulled her into his arms. He flooded the bond with all the love and comfort he could and she was absorbing it like a sponge, she wanted it so badly. He never felt anything like it before. He never felt such need from another and it took his breath away even though he didn't breathe. He could tell she wasn't angry or resentful – if anything she was afraid - afraid of being alone.

"Shhh, Sookie, I love you. It's OK, now, sweetheart. It's all over."

"Do you still lo-love me?"

"Yes, Sookie, I will always love you, my angel. I will always love you. Remember I promised that we will always be together and I will always love you, no matter what." He was still flooding the bond with love and he could tell that she was feeling it now. "I will always love you, my angel and we will be together forever."

"You still promise to turn me when the baby is old enough?"

"Yes, sweetheart, whenever you want."

"I want to rest with you today-ay."

"Sookie, you don't want to spend the day in the box with me, you wouldn't be able to breathe."

"I can't stand to be away from you. Stay in bed with me. There's no light in here, there aren't any windows. Stay in bed with me today. I'll lock the door and tell everybody to stay away, but stay with me."

Eric considered this. He had been known to sleep in a bed in vampire hotels. This was technically his home. Bjorn would be there to watch the door and he could tell she was desperate for him to say yes. "Alright, Sookie, I'll stay here in bed with you."

She leaned back and looked at his face. "You will? Really?"

"Really. I'll stay here. I'll call the office and tell them to send the information about the ball up and let you study it alone. We'll put Bjorn at the door and only let Bobbie, Alicia, Amelia or Octavia in and we'll be together all day. Will that make you happy?"

"Yes. Thank you!" She kissed him over and over.

"You know I'll just be lying here like a cold lump, right, sweetheart?"

"Yes, but I'll be able to touch you and snuggle up to you and I'll know you love me."

"Alright, if someone comes in just throw the blankets over me, ok?"

"Call the office now and tell them. I promise I'll memorize it all and then she can help me Thursday, OK?"

"Alright, angel, hold on." He rolled back to his side of the bed and buzzed the intercom.

"Yes, your majesty?"

"Is Sandy still there?"

"Yes, master, just a moment."

"Your majesty?"

"Sandy, I've changed my mind about having Stevens school Sookie on the details of the Sheriff's ball. She'd like to be alone, so please have the information prepared in writing and send it up to her maid, Alicia. Stevens can go over it with her on Thursday."

"Alright, your majesty, as you wish."

"Thank you, Sandy, Good night."

Sandy smiled to herself. She was pretty sure Sookie wanted to be alone because Eric had tanned her pretty hide over something or other. She didn't know he had that kind of control over her. Everyone thought she was running the show, but that apparently was not the case. He was very much in charge if he used any of those whips on her, even a little bit. Good to know. She had been afraid that he was too apt to bend to her considering what she had heard about the tiger episode, but Quinn was still missing and no one expected to see him again. The conventional wisdom said Northman killed him and disposed of the body but there was not a shred of proof anywhere which only made her more sure that it was Northman. He was the only vamp that old, strong, and clever who had reason to want Quinn dead. When she first heard the story of the little love triangle, and knew that it was Eric Northman he was opposing, she had made a bet that Quinn would meet an untimely end. Quinn's disappearance made her a thousand dollars.

She knew he killed Felipe, too – she knew that would happen the second she heard about de Castro molesting Sookie. She knew Northman would kill anyone that messed with his little pet and she had warned the staff that they'd better be good to her because he meant what he said – make her unhappy and you make him unhappy. If you planned to go on living you'd better make damned sure you stay on the new King's good side. If anyone doubted it, she just told them the story of Eric's ascension, and how he turned Victor Madden to dust in front of a club full of vampires and didn't care who saw it. That was already legendary - when anyone doubted it could be true, all she had to do was confirm that she had been there and had seen him do it.

Most vampires had trouble picturing such a public coup against one as powerful as Victor, and the presence of the Ancient Pythoness added to the mythic quality of the story, but talking to an eyewitness quickly got their attention. She was proud that she had started that Eric the Untouchable meme. She was just out to make it less likely that anyone would mess with him, but it caught fire and grew not just into a legend but seeped into the popular culture, too. She saw great things coming to the vampire community as the popularity of the awe-inspiring new King and his lovely Queen grew. They were ideal representatives of the community where humans were concerned – young, attractive, sexy and amiable. And that baby! She prayed the baby would get mummy and daddy's good looks because he would be a moneymaker if he was even a little bit cute. People were absolutely giddy at the prospect of the first vampire Prince in recorded history. That little family was a vampire publicist's dream. Everything the Council had wanted was falling into place so easily, Sandy was beginning to believe the rumor that there was a Goddess behind it all. Sandy didn't usually go for men, but if she were a Goddess with a taste for males, Northman was certainly fit for a divine offering.

Eric was stroking Sookie's hair and talking quietly to her. She was calm now but still clinging to him. He was going to have to think about this. Why did she react so intensely and become so clingy? He loved it when she did, but he was thinking he was missing something in her personality that he should know about. Something he should take into account if he ever punishes her again, though it would have to be something really serious for him to do that again. He knew she'd need to be held but the desperation he was feeling from her about him staying with her this day was completely unexpected. He couldn't say no to her while she was feeling that. It would have been too cruel. There was more going on here than a little pain and a little remorse. What had he missed?

Sookie shifted a little in his arms and moaned. She would be in pain the next day and there were three gorgeous stripes across her perfect backside. He only had a little spy camera with him but if she went to sleep he hoped to get pictures of them while she slept because it was one of the sexiest things he had ever seen. He got up and took his clothes off and got back into bed so he could hold her.

"'s five o'clock," she whispered.

"You ready for an RM?"

"Two, if possible. I'm really thirsty."

"Alright, lover, hold on." He grabbed a few of bottles of RM and a straw and brought them back to bed.

"I only asked for two," she laughed.

"One is for me."

"Aren't you going to feed from me tonight?"

"I didn't want to weaken you. I still need to give you my blood, though."

He gave her a bottle with a straw and opened a second, beginning to drink.

"No, Eric, me!"

"Sookie, I told you, I don't want to weaken you."

"I'm going to be really pissed if you drink that instead of drinking me."

"Sookie, what…?"

"Drink!" She pulled her hair to the side and bared her neck for him.

His fangs snapped down in spite of himself. The animal in him was going to win this struggle – the sight of her offering herself to him, naked and wearing his stripes, was too delicious and he was already aroused from the whipping. He struck hard and sucked hard. Oh, she was so sweet. He was fighting with himself now – in the front of his mind he knew she was in pain and he needed to be gentle, but the Fae blood was overwhelming him. He couldn't remember the last time he had to struggle this way. His mind flashed back to the night in his office, when he told her she should be afraid of him and then he wasn't thinking at all he was just fucking and flying on a fairy high. He could hear muffled crying and he was coming so hard – someone was drinking his blood. He felt like there was electricity running through his whole body, and it was so good but that noise wouldn't stop. What was that… whimpering? He shook his head trying to clear it, trying to get that noise to stop. It sounded like… Sookie.

Sookie! His eyes flew open and he realized he was in her, and his wrist was across her mouth. She was digging her nails into his arms, making him bleed. He backed off of her and pulled his wrist away, horrified.

"Sookie, did I hurt you?"

"Whew," she was struggling for breath, "that was weird." There were tears streaming down her face.

"Why, what did I do? I didn't hurt you, did I?"

"I don't know what to call that. You bit me and we both started to come, then there was like this electrical current and I was trying not to cry because my butt hurts so much but I couldn't help it but then you bit your wrist and almost smothered me with it and we were both STILL coming and I never felt so much pain and orgasm all at the same time. It was all extreme and intense!"

"The baby, Sookie, did I hurt the baby?"

"No, he slept through the whole thing. You bent my legs back but you didn't put any pressure on him – I don't know how you managed that. You know what, he slept all day today. There was all kinds of stuff going on and he slept through it."

"Do you think he's alright?"

"Let's both concentrate and see if we feel anything." They held hands and closed their eyes. The baby was almost visible in their minds. He was sleeping, sucking his thumb, his little heart fluttering like baby hearts do.

"He seems fine, don't you think?" Sookie asked him.

"Yes, he seems very content. Maybe the traveling made him tired? Your blood pressure was very low on the plane – maybe that would make him quiet? I don't know what the effect of that would be."

"I'll ask Bobbie when I wake up. If she doesn't know, she'll know how to look it up on the internet AAAHHHHH –hhhhhh!" Sookie ended the sentence with a huge yawn.

"Alright, little one, time for good girls to go to bed." He smoothed her hair back and smiled sweetly at her.

"Help me roll over so you can spoon me."

"Spooning might be uncomfortable with a sore bottom, my angel."

"Try, just don't get real close down there. I like falling asleep with your hand on my belly."

"Well, I think we can manage that." He helped her turn over which wasn't easy with her sore bottom. He held his hand over the stripes and could feel the heat pouring off of them. She'd be pretty tender tomorrow, but tomorrow night he'd rub his blood on them to make them go away if they were still there so she could enjoy her cook out Wednesday. For tonight, though, she needed to feel the pain, and a day dealing with a sore bum would build character as well as insure there would be no repeat performance of tonight's insolence.

He turned the light off and sent love and comfort to her, and she was sound asleep in no time. He focused his attention on the baby for a while and got the distinct impression that the baby was dreaming. He was a little sad about not being able to spend his nightly time in the nursery. He didn't know why, but being in that room comforted him in a way nothing else did. Seeing all the little baby clothes and the toys and the many fine things Sookie was accumulating for Eric Alexander all had such an air of love and care about them. There was something… eternal, and good… about a mother gathering her nest. She would be an ideal mother, like she was an ideal lover and an ideal Queen, and only becoming more so as he trained her to please him in every way. She was a jewel and he was so proud of her strength and beauty.

When Sookie was dreaming, Eric slipped into the bathroom to leave his nightly message for Alicia. He told her not to be alarmed that he was in the bed with Sookie when she came in to feed her. He asked her to post Bjorn at the door as soon as he was up and to limit entrance to the room to members of their immediate party only. He repeated that Sookie was to stay in bed except for using the bathroom and that meant in the bed – not in the living room, not in the pool, in bed. He told her about the information for the ball.

He pulled the little spy camera out of his brief case, and pulled the blankets back to expose Sookie's stripes. Beautiful! He took dozens of pictures, praying that they'd show up clearly in them. When he was done, he put the little camera away, and gently covered her back up. He remembered there would be people in the room this day, so he put some silk boxers on and hid the whips in one of the coffins.

As he returned to bed, he knew the light was approaching and he began to slow down, so he put himself in position next to her, covered himself with the blankets, and let himself go to rest.

"Sookie? Sookie, wake up!" Alicia was there with her 7 am feeding.

Sookie opened her eyes but she grimaced and cried out as she tried to move.

"Are you alright, dear?"

"Um, yeah, is there any ibuprofen? I'd like to have a couple along with my sedative."

"Of course, dear. You aren't having cramps, are you?"

"No, I'm just a little sore from last night."

"Oh, alright, then, I'll be right back." Alicia just assumed Sookie meant they'd had strenuous sex, which was nothing unusual, so she got the medicine for her and didn't think any more about it. Sookie drank 2 RMs and went right back to sleep once she settled in and stopped trying to move.

At 9 o'clock Bjorn brought a chair inside the door and took a post at a respectable distance from the bed. Bobbie gave Sookie her RM and asked her if she was in pain.

Sookie said "Like nothing I've ever felt before." So Bobbie got a soothing spray from her room that would ease the pain a little.

When she pulled up the covers to spray it on she said "Yikes!"

"You have no idea," Sookie said weakly.

"Yeah, honey, I do, but the good news is, there are only three of them." Bobbie took the wedge pillow away and helped Sookie get situated on her side facing Eric. Sookie kept her arms tightly around the closest of his arms as she went back to sleep.

Bjorn was trying to figure out exactly what they were talking about, especially when Bobbie uncovered Sookie and sprayed something on her back or lower body. Bjorn was trying to reason it all out – the logical assumption would be that her bottom was sore from sex, but that wouldn't require an anesthetizing spray.

"I'm going to get some ice – I'll be back in a few minutes." Bobbie told her.

Why would Sookie need ice and why was Eric not in a coffin? What the hell went on in here last night? He knew they had some wild sex but this didn't seem like a sex injury. He looked around the room, but he didn't see anything that looked out of place. He looked around the room very slowly. There were a few clothes on the chair that Alicia probably put there because they were folded and neither Eric nor Sookie hesitated to throw their clothes on the floor. Their luggage was beside the dresser and under the bed. Why wasn't Eric in one of those coffins over there?

Bjorn couldn't take the curiosity so he went into the alcove to see if there was something wrong with them. He used his Were sense of smell to examine this little room and he knew that Eric and Sookie had been in it. He opened one of the boxes and found that it was empty. That was a relief. He opened the other one, and found the whips lying in there. He felt a cold chill. Did he use these whips on that sweet little girl? Eric loved her so much, but Bjorn also knew they were into kinky stuff. The more he thought about it, the more it made sense. That's why Sookie's backside was sore. That's why the spray and the ice to come. He whipped her.

Bobbie had said there were only three of them. Three welts, maybe? Bjorn was pure turmoil for a few minutes. On one hand, he was very protective of Sookie. On the other hand, he had used a belt or a riding crop on a girl more than a few times – hell, he had whipped Felicia more than a _few_ times - and knew the attraction of it for both parties. Eric was his boss, and Sookie was HIS in every way possible – he understood that now. If he whipped Sookie, he was sure it was because she agreed to it. Eric never forced her to do anything – he didn't have to. She'd gladly bend over his knee and say "please, sir, may I have another?" if she thought it would make him happy.

The curiosity was killing him. He tried to tell himself he wanted to peek out of concern for her, but if he were honest he'd admit that he was dying to see if she had any stripes or marks. If Eric was going to apply a whip to a girl's ass, Bjorn was quite sure he'd make sure he left his mark. Bobbie would be back in a few minutes. Fuck it, he was her bodyguard, and he needed to know what was going on with her. He walked quietly over to the bed and gently pulled the covers back.

Holy shit! Three beautiful red lines on the most perfect heart-shaped white ass, ever, framed perfectly by her tan lines. Well, there was no evidence of the thinner whip or of the flogger, so it looks like she got off with three strikes of the riding crop. If you were doing that for fun, you'd more than likely use the thinner whip and make lots of lighter strokes. These were pretty serious stripes so Bjorn wondered if this wasn't punishment for something. He's glad he knew them as well as he did now because otherwise he'd be thinking about staking the son of a bitch where he lay. Knowing them, though, he knew there was a story behind this. He couldn't take his eyes off those perfect marks.

"Bjorn!"

Shit.

"What are you doing?" Bobbie asked him.

"So was this a recreational whipping or instructional?"

"It was punishment, and she agreed to it so don't you say anything to anybody about this. You'd better not let Eric know you were looking at her ass, either."

"Yeah, probably not, but I'm glad I did. That's a fucking work of art." He admired a good set of stripes as much as any Dom.

"I'm sure she'd appreciate that." Bobbie sat down a bucket of ice and went into the bathroom for a large towel, which she wet in the sink and squeezed out, then she grabbed 2 dry ones as well.

"What did she do?"

"She cursed and talked back to him in front of Alicia."

"So she disrespected him? Here?"

"Last night."

"Yeah, he can't have that. Alicia wouldn't mind but if anyone else gets the idea he can't control her, that could compromise his authority."

"Exactly. People can't get the idea that he's got any weaknesses or that puts us all in danger."

Bjorn went back to his seat and watched Bobbie fill the towel with ice and fold it into an envelope to hold it. She put another towel slightly under Sookie to catch any draining moisture, and Sookie moaned a little as she pressed the mattress down to get the edge of it under her. She gently lifted the covers and laid the envelope of ice on her as best she could since she was on her side, then she wrapped the other dry towel around it to hold it in place. Sookie flinched a little when she felt the cold towel, but she settled right back down and Bobbie was able to cover the marks pretty well.

"You've done this before," Bjorn said with a sly smile.

"Yes, and you seemed to have a pretty good idea how it works, too." She gave him a wicked smile.

"Maybe we've got more in common than I thought?" OK, so he was flirting a little. He knew Bobbie was crazy about Bill but he wasn't sure how committed Bill was to her. Bobbie was a little older than he normally hooked up with, but she was pretty and had a cool vibe about her. Might as well keep his options open. Should the opportunity present itself, he'd definitely "hit that." Plus, she did bodywork and he would love to have those soft hands all over him. His favorite part of the day was watching her massage Sookie because that evoked all kinds of lesbian and three-way fantasies.

He knew Sookie had done that before with Eric and Pam – one of his favorite scenarios from his "spank bank" – so it didn't take much to imagine Sookie with Bobbie with him directing the action. The thought of Eric sitting in that big chair at the end of that round bed at Fantasia, watching Sookie and Pam, sent chills through him. He wanted to be that guy for one night. If Bjorn had heroes, Eric would probably be at the top of the list. He was definitely "the Master" in more ways than one. He wondered if it was true that male vamps didn't have any "down time" between orgasms. If it were true that Eric was able to keep going and going all he wanted – well, it wouldn't be hard to understand why a girl as sexual as Sookie would worship a guy like that. 'She's completely spoiled for humans,' he thought. 'Even a Were might not impress her at this point.'

Bobbie came back in with Sookie's 11 o'clock RM and a straw.

"Where's Alicia?" Bjorn asked since he hadn't seen her in several hours.

"She went shopping for Sookie. She's got to have clothes for two TV appearances this Friday and next."

"She's going to be on TV?"

"Yes, she's going on the Good Morning shows to talk about the ball and the fund raiser."

"So they're going to introduce her as Queen of the vampires?" he laughed.

"Something like that."

"Does she know this?"

"She found out last night which is why she got cheeky with Eric."

"Oh, man. I wonder how long he knew about it before he told her?"

"I don't know but you'll notice he told her just early enough for her to prepare for it. He probably knew she'd have a fit, then she'd calm down, learn her lines and blow everybody away. I gather that's her usual M.O."

"If she does a good job, she'll make the vamps look awfully good."

"That's the idea, apparently. I'm not sure who the driving force is, but the plan seems to be to use them and the baby as the new face of the vampire community because they're so pretty and charming."

"O0-hh, OK – a couple of gorgeous, blue-eyed blondes with a miracle baby? Hollywood couldn't come up with a better casting than that. Somebody's really thinking."

Bing-bing-bong!

"That must be the door bell? I'll get it," Bobbie said, setting the blood down before she woke Sookie and hurrying to the front of the suite.

Bjorn stood and listened at the door, just in case, but it he could hear it was just Bobbie and another female voice. Bobbie came back carrying a clipboard full of papers. "Sookie's briefing on what to say on TV."

"I'm surprised somebody isn't quizzing her on that."

"She said that her supervisor would review it with her on Thursday."

"OW!"

"Sookie, honey, you alright?" Bobbie rushed over to her.

"Yeah, I've just got a little Viking dancing on my bladder. I need to get to the bathroom."

"OK, Sweetie, I'll help you. Is this your gown over here?"

"Probably – it's pink."

"OK, uh – Bjorn, would you turn around for a minute?"

"Sure." He stood and faced the wall, but noticed he could see Sookie in the mirror to the right. Oh, man. He berated himself for looking but she was just gorgeous as she backed slowly out of the bed and Bobbie helped her stand and slip the gown over her head. How could a chick that pregnant look so hot? Look at the curve of those hips and those full breasts! He loved curvy girls, and those curves were smokin'!

Bobbie helped Sookie as she walked gingerly to the bathroom and closed the door behind them. Sookie needed help with everything this morning and she apologized profusely to Bobbie, but she assured her she didn't mind at all. When they came back out Sookie noticed Bjorn for the first time.

"Hey, Bjorn."

"Good morning, your majesty. Anything I can do to help you?"

"No, it's just going to be a rough day, I guess. Just make sure nobody but family comes in here since Eric is vulnerable."

"If you don't mind my asking, why isn't he in one of the coffins?"

"I begged him to stay in the bed with me. I was feeling kind of insecure and I couldn't stand the thought of being away from him. I'm so grateful he said yes. I was afraid he wouldn't but he did because he loves me."

Bjorn realized she was still half asleep and not quite aware of what she was saying. So he whipped her and she clung to him to the point he couldn't go to rest safely? Wow. He'd never seen that reaction in a girl. He watched as she climbed carefully into the bed with Bobbie's help, and pretended he wasn't watching as Bobbie sprayed her backside again and put more ice in the towel and tucked it all in around her.

"Bobbie – can I get some ibuprofen?"

"Sure, sweetie, they're right here."

"Can I have some water? I'm really thirsty and I want water."

"OK, honey, just a second."

"I'll get it, if you want." Bjorn offered.

"That would be cool. I think there's more ice in the kitchen. Thanks, hon." Bobbie said

"Sure."

He quickly went to the kitchen and found a glass. The refrigerator had ice and water in the door, so he was all set and back in the room in just a minute.

"Thanks, Bjorn," Sookie said to him. "Bobbie, does he know?" She gulped the water straight down.

"Yes, sweetie, I'm sorry - he figured it out."

"You gonna give me a hard time?" Sookie asked him.

"Did you agree to it of your own free will?"

"Yes."

"Then that's your choice. If he had forced you, that would be a different story."

"Thanks. Please don't tell Alicia. She wouldn't understand."

"OK, we'll try to run interference so she doesn't find out." Bobbie assured her.

Sookie struggled to raise Eric's big arm, but Bobbie helped her and she managed to get it across her pillow so she could lay her head on it, and she snuggled up as close to him as she could. Once she was settled, Bobbie adjusted the ice pack, and before long, Sookie was asleep again with her arm across Eric's chest.

Bobbie took one of the bedside chairs and sat next to Bjorn.

"I can't believe that doesn't creep her out." Bjorn said.

"If she were easily creeped out, she wouldn't have married him."

"True. She really loves that guy, doesn't she?"

"Yes, she does, very much."

"I hope he deserves it."

"Oh, I think she's a pretty good judge of character. She knows his flaws and accepts them. She's perfectly suited to be his wife in most ways. I think she feels lucky to have him. Most women would."

"Women do seem to fawn over him. Even Alicia and Margaret look at him with stars in their eyes."

"He's very generous – you know that. Plus, he's big, beautiful and very romantic toward her. He'd make any woman swoon."

"I guess. I've never heard a woman say anything about him that wasn't positive. I swear the guy could get away with anything."

"That guy HAS gotten away with almost everything at one point from what Bill tells me. Vampires fear him as much as women love him."

"Yeah, I've heard a few stories. The gossip is that he killed Sookie's ex, and he killed de Castro, too."

Bobbie didn't dare tell Bjorn she was in the hotel suite when Felipe met the edge of Eric's sword and helped clean up the evidence. "Is there any proof of that?"

"Not a trace of anything. They just vanished within a month or so of each other. The only thing they had in common was that they challenged Eric's claim on Sookie."

"I'm sure there were other connections, but it's good that people know better than to mess with him. Bill said Eric would kill someone like Quinn and laugh about it with absolutely no remorse if he felt like he was entitled to, and messing with Sookie would certainly make him feel entitled. I can't imagine it, but he assures me he's capable of it."

"You know about him killing Victor Madden, right?"

"Yeah, I was there."

"You were?!"

"It was their wedding reception. I was there with Bill. They were expecting trouble that night because Eric showed us some security exits and stuff in case we needed to escape. I was in Eric's booth up front watching the whole thing. One second Victor had a head and the next one he didn't. Eric moved so fast it was nearly invisible, and he didn't blink afterward. Fighting broke out in the street, and Eric went out and gave this blood-curdling war cry and everyone froze and he told them to swear fealty or die, and they did or they did."

"There were Weres working for him that night, weren't there?"

"Yes, it had something to do with the Council and Sookie is considered a Friend of the Pack by the Shreveport Weres so they were honor-bound to help, I think. They took out all of Victor's men, as far as I know, except 2 that were killed by other vampires."

"I didn't know Sookie was protected."

"Oh, yeah, she's connected in the Supe community. Eric had a lot of rivals for her – he might still, for all I know, but I'm pretty sure their marriage quelled a lot of that. Between the wedding and the baby, plus the backing of the Council, I don't think anybody is going to try to take her any time soon."

"They want her because of the telepathy?"

"That's part of it. Being in such a pretty package is the other part. The combination of looks and ability makes her a feather in anyone's cap. Bill told me that marrying Eric was the smartest thing she could have done in terms of being protected. Bill would have tried to protect her, but he's young. Eric was old and powerful and people were already afraid of him. Of the available options, Eric was the best choice. Sophie Ann's consort tried to enslave her and Eric stepped in and stopped it. That's how they became bonded. He offered himself to keep her from being bound to Andre, and Andre was forced to accept it. That would have happened over and over if not for Eric."

"Wow. I guess it's lucky they love each other so much. It sounds like they're stuck with each other."

"Yeah, especially now that they're having the baby."

"What about the baby?" Sookie was awake.

"We were just saying you guys are stuck with each other."

"Yep, and I wouldn't have it any other way. Ouch." Sookie laughed.

"So you're awake and in a good mood now?"

"Yes, but my ass is still on fire."

"It'll heal pretty quick since you're drinking Eric's blood."

"I think it's not working as well as it used to. Like when I first drank from Bill, it caused this miraculous healing, but now, I think I've had so much of Eric that I'm immune to its effects a little bit. Either that or it all goes to the baby. I think if Eric rubbed his blood on the welts they would go away, but I don't know if he'll consider that. If he's in a good mood tonight, I'll ask him but I think having to suffer is part of the punishment."

"Did it work? Are you going to do it again?" Bjorn asked her.

"Uh, NO, I am never going to get smart with him again in front of a servant. I could have said anything in the world to him if we had been alone, but I shouldn't have mouthed off to him in front of anyone else and I knew that but I forgot."

"You aren't likely to forget again, are you?" Bjorn laughed.

"NO, I won't forget EVER." She reached over and kissed Eric's cold cheek and stroked his broad chest lovingly.

"So you talked him into staying out in the open like that? Isn't that dangerous?" Bjorn asked.

"Yeah, but I wanted him with me and he said we'd have you at the door and we'd just tell you not to let anyone but family in. He won't make a habit of it, of course, but I just really needed him with me today. I miss him so much when he's not around." She was stroking his chest and his arm like he was the most precious thing in the world, and Bjorn figured maybe he was to her.

"Are you getting hungry, sweetheart?" Bobbie asked her.

"Yeah, I could definitely eat. What time is it?"

"12:20." Bjorn said.

"They won't bring your breakfast until 2 unless you call them, Sookie."

"There's a buzzer on Eric's nightstand that goes to the kitchen – Bobbie would you buzz them and ask them to bring my breakfast?"

"Sure, I will" Bobbie went over to the nightstand and saw that the buttons on the intercom were clearly labeled so she pressed the one for the Kitchen.

"Yes, your majesty?"

"The Queen asks that her breakfast tray be brought up now, please and two lunch trays for her doula and body guard. Thank you."

"Right away."

"Hey, where are Octavia and Amelia? I just thought about them!" Sookie felt like a terrible hostess.

"They went shopping with Alicia. The three of them were going to get lunch and get you something to wear on TV," Bobbie told her.

"How'd they get into town?"

"Eric has cars available for all of us if we want to go anywhere. He even gave us all gift cards this morning with money to spend and gamble with," Bobbie was laughing because she barely believed it herself.

"Gift cards?" Sookie hadn't heard about this.

"Yeah, American Express cards with money already on them. Every one of us got $5,000 dollars to spend."

"Everyone? Like Amelia, Octavia, Alicia, and you two?" She counted on her fingers, "So he just handed out $25,000 dollars this morning? Wow, that's good, even for him."

"Yeah, they had our names on them and everything. I don't know when he ordered them, but Ms. Stevens gave them out early this morning and said they were compliments of the King. We're going to get 3,000 more when we get to New Orleans."

"He also said he'll make sure that each one of us gets at least one afternoon and one night off to do what we want." Bjorn said.

"OK, well, I don't want anybody getting in trouble, OK?"

"Trouble?" Bobbie said.

"Nothing to worry about, Sookie. We'll behave." Bjorn assured her, knowing she was talking about him. He was pretty sure she hadn't told anyone about his problem with poker, and he fully intended to stay far away from all cards on this trip.

Bobbie had no idea what they were talking about but she just let it pass without notice. The doorbell rang so they all got busy getting their lunch and breakfast trays, which were rolled in on a serving cart that Bjorn and Bobbie used as a table while the cook who brought them put Sookie's tray on the dresser as she asked. When she was gone, Bobbie helped Sookie get settled with her tray, which wasn't easy because Sookie had to sit up for that and Bjorn had to help her move up on her sore bottom which hurt so badly her eyes watered, or so she said when she insisted that she was NOT crying.

"Mmmm- I got steak and fried potatoes. What did you guys get?" Sookie was really hungry.

"We got huge roast beef subs." Bobbie said. Bjorn was busy digging in and tearing open the bag of chips. They had a tray with all kinds of fixings for their sandwiches – red and white onions, sweet peppers, hot peppers, green peppers, mayo, oil, lettuce – and Bjorn was loading his up as Bobbie and Sookie exchanged amused looks. They had diet Cokes, too, but Sookie had grape juice and caffeine-free iced tea, plus a bowl of strawberries and whipped cream.

"How come I never get a diet Coke?" Sookie wondered.

"Because Eric said you are to have no artificial sweeteners or colors. Your drinks have to be caffeine-free, chemical-free, and sweetened only with small amounts of sugar. He doesn't even want you having stuff sweetened with corn syrup because he read that was making children fat." Bobbie told her.

"I need to hide his computer," Sookie laughed.

"or find a filter that will keep him off certain sites," Bobbie laughed.

"I'm on Eric's side in this." Bjorn said.

"Oh, really?" Sookie teased

"Absolutely. He's trying to raise a warrior. His son needs good food - protein, quality carbohydrates, good fats – to grow tall and strong. He doesn't want a little fat, lazy American son. He wants a tall, lean muscular Swedish boy that can fight and run. If he eats food, Eric won't let you spoil him with candy, he told me so on the way to Fangtasia the other night. When I told him I didn't want cake, he asked me about nutrition and what a boy needed to be muscular like me and I told him. I wrote down the names of books he could read about bodybuilding, and I explained that he must have foods without chemicals and hormones. He's going to arrange for organic foods for us all."

"Wow – that's great," Bobbie said.

"Is that really expensive?" Sookie asked just out of curiosity.

"Worth every penny. We can have it shipped in. It will be better for all of us." Bjorn said. "He said the cost is nothing if it helps his wife and son be healthy and he will be happy to have us all eat healthy foods so we do our jobs well. He told me to use the gym on the fourth floor any time I want and wants me to teach the boy to take care of his body as he grows."

"How come I didn't know any of this?" Sookie said.

"We just talked about it, and there's been a lot going on so he probably just hasn't had time to tell you. Or he might think it's something between men. I don't know. He's going to teach me to use a sword – you and Bobbie, too."

"Yeah, I had my first lesson a week or two ago. He said I was good with the Japanese one."

"The katana – he told me. He was very pleased that you seemed to have a natural feel for it. He said he's seen people work for months to reach where you are. As soon as he can build up your forearms and the baby is born he will get very serious in teaching you to fight."

"And he's planning to teach me, too?" Bobbie asked.

"Absolutely. You are working for a vampire King and you are dating his second in command. You might find yourself in a situation where you have to defend yourself. Swords are the most commonly used weapon in a Supe war. I have some experience with one, but nothing like Eric. He's in a class by himself. He showed me some moves with a sword in his office – amazing that a guy his size is so graceful and quick. He's an army all by himself. He can strike a human being in half with one blow."

"I've seen him do it. It's unbelievable. He does it as easily as a hot knife through butter." Sookie said.

"You've seen that?"

"We were at a ball and a fight broke out where Sophie Ann, the old Queen, was under attack. He put me in a safe spot, kissed me hard, then he let out this war cry and knocked a guy down with a vampire's head and went to protect her. He just split this one guy in half – swoosh!" She made a cutting motion.

"He's so strong. I asked him how strong he was and he picked up Sookie's car over his head. I never saw anything like it and I'm a Were," Bjorn said.

"That's nothing – did he fly up in the air with it?" Sookie said. He'd see it eventually, anyway.

"What?" Bjorn said.

"He can fly with a car in his hands. He's dumped plenty of cars in swamps to get rid of them."

"You're telling me Eric can fly?!" Bjorn was stunned.

"Oh, yeah – it would be nothing for him to take a car the size of mine or bigger and fly for miles with it." Sookie bragged.

"Bobbie, did you know this?" Bjorn asked.

"Yeah, I've seen him fly. I saw him fly off a balcony in Las Vegas, go out to the desert and come back."

"Holy shit – he's like Super Man." Bjorn laughed.

"Only taller, blonder, hotter, and better in bed," Sookie laughed and Bobbie just cracked up.

"Jesus! Is there anything that guy can't do?"

"Haven't found anything yet. He even managed to father a baby with just a little help." Sookie laughed.

"Damn, no wonder you let him whip your ass. Small price to pay for being married to Super Vamp." Bjorn laughed and the girls joined, Sookie sticking her tongue out at him.

"Speaking of my ass, I could use some more ibuprofen." Sookie said.

"OK, honey." Bobbie jumped up and got her some from the bottle on her nightstand. Sookie took the pills with the last of her juice. "You done with your tray, sweetie?"

"Yeah, thanks."

Bobbie and Bjorn stacked the dirty dishes and put everything on the cart, then Bobbie took it out to the hall way where the maid told her they would pick it up. She went back in and sat next to Bjorn and they were talking about it being almost 2:00 when they heard noises in the front room. Bobbie went to see what was up, and Bjorn stood at the door again listening. It was Alicia, Octavia and Amelia coming home.

"Hey, girls!" Bobbie went out to welcome them. "You're home early!"

"We had some good luck shopping, and after lunch we wanted to come back so we thought we'd come back before Sookie wakes up." Alicia said.

"She's been up and had breakfast already." Bobbie told her. "I hope you didn't hurry back for that."

"They hurried back for me," Octavia said, "the old lady needs a nap."

"We were more than ready to come home. The driver will bring up the packages and you can see what we bought." Amelia said.

"I even got me a couple of dresses," Octavia said, "but I'm not going to wait for them. I'm going to take my nap and I'll get my packages from you all later."

"OK, Octavia, rest well," Amelia said

"Sweet dreams" came from Alicia and Bobbie told her "sleep tight," as Octavia headed back out to her room. Amelia went to make sure she found her way, then came running back to talk to the girls. Alicia put her purse in her room then came back out to the living area for Eric and Sookie's suite to wait for their packages and Bobbie stayed to get the dish on their trip.

"Well, we got a good look at this place in the daylight," Alicia said. "It's even bigger than I realized."

"Seriously, it even seems bigger to me this time than it did for the wedding," Amelia said. "And there are still "fans" or whatever waiting outside the gate hoping to get a glimpse of Eric or Sookie."

"Still? Damn, that's persistent." Bobbie laughed.

The driver and another guard came up with the ladies' packages and Amelia and Alicia spread things out on one of the couches to sort it all out.

"We had the best time, Bobbie, I wish you could have gone with us," Amelia said.

"Yeah, but Sookie needed me so I was glad to stay."

"Has she had any more ibuprofen?" Alicia asked

"Yeah, about half an hour ago, I think."

"Is she having cramps?" Alicia asked.

"No, just a little back pain. She'll be fine." Bobbie wanted her to drop this line of questioning so she tried to deflect her attention. "Did you buy anything for yourself, Alicia?"

"Yes, I bought a couple of things. Amelia and Octavia found some nice things, too. The most important thing, though, is I found some very pretty dresses for Sookie to wear that should work even with the baby."

"Great – she'll love that. She probably won't be up to trying them on until tomorrow, though. She's pretty wiped out." Bobbie said.

Amelia knew something was up, but she didn't say anything yet. Whatever it was, Bobbie was running interference for Sookie with Alicia. "At least she's doing what Eric told her and staying in bed." Amelia said.

"Yeah, she's pretty tired. She woke up early and she was hungry, but I wouldn't be surprised if she went right back to sleep."

"I'm just going to look in on her and say hi before she goes back to sleep, ok?" Amelia said.

"Sure – she'll be glad to see you. She was asking where you all were." Bobbie smiled.

Amelia slipped into the room. "Hey, Bjorn."

"Hey."

"Amelia! Did you have fun shopping?"

"Yeah, we found some great stuff." She sat on the bed next to Sookie and saw her grimace. "Alicia got some nice dresses for you but Bobbie told Alicia you'd wait until tomorrow to try them on. What's up – and don't try to bullshit me."

"It's personal."

"Bullshit."

"Alright, my bottom is sore but don't you dare tell Alicia or Octavia."

"Sore from anal sex?"

"No, sore from a whipping. I got smart with Eric last night in front of Alicia and he tanned my hide, OK? I let him do I, it was my choice, so please don't give me a hard time about it."

"Are you guys into bondage or domination?"

"Domination, yes."

"So was this was a punishment you agreed to?"

"Yes."

"There's no force or coercion involved?"

"None. It's my choice, I swear."

"OK, kiddo, it's not my thing but you're a big girl and Eric is kind of a natural Dom from the ground up so I respect your choice. I'll help Bobbie run interference for you. Bjorn is in on this, too, I guess?"

"Yes, I have to know about her physical well-being."

"Why is loverboy in bed and not in a coffin?"

"I begged him to stay with me and I made it impossible for him to say no to me. I know I was being selfish, but I really wanted to be with him today."

"Interesting."

"He'll be awake in 4 hours so it's not much longer and Bjorn is guarding us, so he's almost as safe as he'd be over there." She pointed at the coffins.

"Sookie, you know that's not true. You know I care more about your well-being than his, but this puts him in danger, honey. You want to do what's best for him, right?"

"Yeah, of course, I just couldn't stand the thought of being away from him today."

"Sookie, you're being a little bit selfish. My guess is he felt a little guilty and let you talk him into this, but he really does need to be in a secure place, so don't put him in the position of having to do this to make you happy, OK?"

"I didn't mean to be selfish, I just really miss him in the day time."

"It might be one thing doing it at home, but this place isn't really secure yet. How would you feel if someone hurt him because he was easy to get to?"

"Of course I'd feel terrible. I'd die if I lost him."

"Then you make sure he's as safe as he can be every day at dawn. That's what he needs to do to take care of you and the baby. If you love him, you make sure he's safe when he's asleep, ok?''

"Yeah – I know you're right. I don't know what got into me. I just… I don't know. I needed him."

"What's going on with you, Sookie?"

"I don't know – too much going on maybe? Too much to absorb?"

"Maybe you and Eric need some time alone tonight? We could all go out and get out of your way if you want, or just stay out of this suite."

"You guys do whatever you want to do. We should probably find out what Eric wants, although I think he wanted me to stay put and we'd go to bed early. Well, actually, I'd go to bed early and then he'll work after I'm asleep."

"When was the last time you and Eric were completely alone for an entire evening?"

"2 or 3 weeks, I think."

"Right. You've been really busy. How about we all take care of ourselves tonight and you two just stay alone and talk? You'll be in the pool all day tomorrow and around people then you have dinner out, then we're moving, then the ball…"

"Yeah, don't forget my television debut Friday morning."

"What?"

"I have to go on Good Morning Las Vegas Friday morning, then next Friday I'm on Good Morning New Orleans to talk about the Fundraiser."

"When did you find this out?"

"Last night, which is why I got mouthy with Eric in front of Alicia. That's what the dresses are for."

"Wow, well, like I said, you're going to be busy so take this night for just the two of you."

"I'll see if he'll do that. I would like it."

"Maybe you guys could just sit around and watch TV. How long since you've done that?"

"Feels like months."

"Knock, knock! Mrs. Northman – may I come in?"

"Sure, Alicia, how was your shopping trip?"

"Very productive. I got you a couple of very pretty dresses and a simple short sleeved suit with some white gloves and I got shoes for all of it. Would you like to see them?"

"Yeah, sure."

OK, this was chick time, so Bjorn took his chair out in the hallway, in case anyone needed to get naked, and closed the door behind him.

Alicia hung the garment bag from the store on a hook on the back of the bedroom door and untied the bottom. First she took out a yellow floral dress with a low-cut bodice, and empire waist and lace trim.

"I thought you might like this one for Friday. It's very feminine and it will draw attention to your bust while it accommodates your baby bump."

"Nice," Amelia said.

Bobbie came in the door, "Oh, are we looking at clothes?"

"Yes, we are," Alicia said, "What do you think about this for Friday morning?"

"Pretty – it's sort of Jane Austen with cleavage. Does she have the right bra for that?" Bobbie asked.

"Yes, I bought her a push up a little larger than she normally wears to allow for the current growth. I think it will be very pretty on her, and it will look lovely with her complexion. Do you like it, Sookie?"

"Yes, it's pretty. It's probably about the best I can do while I'm pregnant."

"You'll look gorgeous in that, Sookie! How are you going to wear your hair?" Bobbie asked. She knew the dress was a little bit conservative for Sookie's tastes, but it was lovely for a bright young Queen.

"Good question. Any ideas, Alicia?" Sookie was a little lost in all of this.

"Well, you can go sweet and simple, where we just blow it out and put a white headband in your hair, which I think is very pretty with your face, or we can curl it, brush it out and tease it and do that sort of Ursula Andress look we did for your reception."

"You looked amazing that night, Sookie." Bobbie confirmed

"I've seen those pictures, Sookie – you really did look lovely," Amelia agreed.

"Speaking of Friday, did they ever send up the information I'm supposed to learn?"

"Yes, it's over here," Bobbie picked up the clipboard on her dresser.

"Let me have it so I can start working on it when we're done here, please."

Bobbie handed her the clipboard. "So what else do you have, Alicia?

"Well, I have this little shift dress in blue." She took a boxy little dress out of the bag.

"It's cute but not… It's not really me, is it? There's no shape to it."

"Ok, let's try his one." She pulled out a long, sleeveless, cotton dress in a beautiful lavender floral print with a loose drop waist, full skirt, scoop neck and gathered elasticized back that would make the bodice form fitting.

"Oh, I love that!" Sookie said.

"Would you rather wear it this Friday, dear? You would probably want the more conservative and feminine of the two to wear in New Orleans. This one is a little more modern."

"OK, let's do that. Now I feel better, knowing what I'll be wearing."

"Alright, the same push up bra should work with this. You did want to play up your cleavage, yes?"

"Yes. If I've got it, I might as well flaunt it. I might be pregnant but I can still be sexy, damn it." Sookie laughed and everyone joined her.

"Alright, then," Alicia hung that dress back up in the bag and brought down another hanger. "This is the little suit. This would be for something like a tea party or some daytime function. There are white gloves and shoes to go with it, and if you do accept such an invitation, I thought we'd buy you the hat in New Orleans."

"A hat?"

"For a tea party, yes dear."

"I'll think about that later. So let me see it up close."

Alicia carried it over to her. It had a drop waist dress with a very full skirt in black with yellow flowers and a short-sleeved yellow jacket that would make it look like a top and skirt if she buttoned it.

"Ok, that's for some kind of uptown, society thing, right? I could live with that. What kind of shoes did you get me?"

"I got you a pair of low-heeled lavender pumps to go with the lavender dress and yellow ones to match the other two outfits. There's a pair of blue ones for the shift dress but if you don't like it, I'll have the staff here return it and the shoes."

"Yeah, if you don't mind, because after I drop this kid, I'm never going to wear anything shapeless again." Sookie laughed. "I'm sorry, Alicia."

"Don't apologize, dear, I'm glad you liked the other ones."

"I really appreciate you shopping for me. I know it was short notice. Now I just hope I don't embarrass myself or Eric or the entire vampire community."

"Sookie, if Eric thought that were a possibility, he would never have agreed to let you do it." Bobbie reminded her.

"All you have to do is know the basic information about the events and be yourself, Sookie," Amelia added, "Just look nice, smile pretty, speak clearly and charm their pants off, and you could do that in your sleep."

"She's right, Sookie. You ooze that sweet Southern Belle vibe. The hosts on those morning shows will eat it up."

"I agree with them, Sookie. All you have to do is be just who you are and they'll adore you." Alicia said.

"I'm glad you all have so much faith in me because I sure don't. I'm afraid I'll give away some kind of vampire secret or slip and say something about W… uh… something I shouldn't say." She caught herself just as she was about to say Weres. She forgot Alicia didn't know. She couldn't mess up like that Friday. "I hate to be a drag you guys, but do you think I could have some time to just read through this stuff and then you all can quiz me after while?"

"That's a good idea," Alicia said, leaning over to open the mini-fridge. "Drink this RM and we'll get out of here so you can study a while, then you buzz the living room if you want us to come back. Otherwise I'll bring your dinner around 5 o'clock, alright?"

"We'll be in the living room if you need us, sweetie." Amelia said.

"Right, and you buzz if you need anything at all or need help in the bathroom, OK?"

"OK, thanks, Bobbie. Thanks, Amelia."

"Oh, wait – Sookie, can I use your laptop?"

"Sure – if you can find it." She laughed.

"It's right here, Bobbie" Alicia reached into an armoire and pulled out the pink computer bag.

"Great, thanks. See you in a bit, Sookie."

"OK, thanks."

Whew! Thank heaven they were gone! Sookie needed to get off her bum and it was going to hurt to move so she needed Alicia out of there. She reached over to Eric's arm and used it to pull herself on her side. Ow, ow, ow!

FUNNY.

Great. Baby E was awake and laughing at her sore bottom. She knew he was going to be a miniature version of Eric just from his attitude. Mommy was just a constant source of amusement for this kid. She bet he liked her breasts as much as his daddy did, too, because Eric had already told her he would demand to be breast fed often. She'd be lucky if she ever managed to wean this little rascal.

LOVE!

"Mommy loves you, too, Eric Alexander." She smiled. She could already tell she would never be able to stay mad at him – also just like his daddy.

LOVE! FIGHT!

He could tell that Eric was near. Sookie laid the clipboard on Eric's stomach and scooted down in the bed a little. She just wanted to close her eyes for a few minutes and commune with the baby because he had slept all day yesterday.

"Sookie? Can you wake up, dear?"

"Huh?"

"It's dinner time, dear. Can you sit up and eat?"

"Did I fall asleep?"

"Yes, I guess you did. Are you ready for dinner?"

Sookie knew she'd need help sitting up.

"Um – my back hurts. Could Bobbie or Bjorn come help me, please?"

"Of course they can. I'll go send Bobbie in." Alicia sat the tray on the dresser and went to ask Bobbie to help Alicia. Bjorn slipped in to help her sit up while Alicia was gone in case she came back with Bobbie. He slipped his arms under her legs and back and gently brought her upright. She grimaced as she settled on her bottom but had herself together by the time Alicia came back with Bobbie.

"Thank you so much, Bjorn." She looked up at him with those soft blue eyes that made him feel warm and protective.

"Any time, your majesty," he said softly, giving her a warm smile. Man, she smelled good. She had that sex/food smell that he had only ever smelled from her. He loved getting to pick her up – she was so soft and round, and she weighed almost nothing at all. She sort of laid her head on his shoulder as he settled her, too and he could smell the perfume in her hair. Eric Northman was the luckiest son of a bitch on earth, alive or dead. At least, Bjorn reasoned, he seemed to know that. It would be worse if he had her and didn't appreciate her. He was definitely making the most of her, Bjorn thought, not a little jealous that those weren't his stripes on her bottom.

"Alicia, do you have any idea how long I usually sleep from taking a Soma?"

"They knock you out for a good 8 to 10 hours. Are you thinking about taking one?"

"I'll see what Eric has planned first but if he has to work and I have to stay in bed, I might want to sleep just to get through the night and then I'd be able to get up for the cook out tomorrow. Did you ask the kitchen about that?"

"Yes, I did and I went down earlier to check on it and they're all set. The live seafood is to be delivered in the morning and they've already got watermelons and strawberry shortcakes in the fridge."

"Ohh – that sounds good," Bobbie said.

"Did you ask Octavia about swimming with us?"

"She said she might get in the water with us, but she'll definitely spend time with us all. She said she's more likely to lie in the shade, nap and read a book."

"Well, whatever she wants to do is cool. And you're swimming, right?"

"Right."

"And Bjorn?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"Oooh, we get to see Bjorn in swim trunks?" Bobbie teased him.

"Yes and he'll be the only boy so he'll get all the girls' attention, won't you, Bjorn?"

"I'll make sure I do my sit-ups tonight so you ladies get a good show," he laughed, "and I'll use the weight room in the morning so my arms are pumped."

"Yummy," Sookie said,

"Yes, indeed," Bobbie gave him a sly grin.

"You know, we're all talking about going into town tonight to give you and Eric some privacy," Bobbie said.

"I don't want you guys to feel you have to do that…" Sookie started.

"It's no big deal, hon, we're talking about going to play slot machines and see a little show," Bobbie explained.

"That sounds like fun..." Sookie said.

"Maybe we'll get to do that at some point this week," Alicia said, "Tomorrow night might be a good chance for you to do that, or Sunday or Monday nights. You have dinner plans Thursday night, and Saturday will be completely devoted to the ball, but we should be able to get you into a casino a couple of times this week. You know, you and the mayor's wife might be able to get the men to let you play in the casino while they talk business."

"That's not a bad idea – it might keep her from talking my ear off!" Sookie laughed. "She's a trip, and she just adores me for some reason. She likes Eric, too."

"Naturally," Bjorn laughed.

The women all reacted with Oh's and Aw's.

"Jealous, Bjorn?" Bobbie teased him.

"Not jealous, but if she's female, it kind of goes without saying. All you women fawn over him."

"We fawn over you too, Bjorn" Bobbie said.

"Only when he's not around. He's taller, blonder, richer. I don't have a prayer next to that guy."

"Yeah, wait until you walk into the ball in your tuxedo – there will be plenty of women checking you out." Sookie said.

"Yes, but they'll be bowing and scraping and swooning over Eric. That is the luckiest man on the face of this earth."

The women all laughed and agreed with him.

"Did they tell you about the plan for the ball, Sookie?" Alicia asked.

"What plan?"

"Normally there would be a sort of reception line where you would greet people, but because you're pregnant and they don't want you on your feet, they'll formally introduce you and Eric, then put two large chairs…"

"Thrones," Bobbie interjected.

"…In one area of the room and have a path for people to approach you. There will be some matching divans if you want to invite someone to sit with you for a bit. Eric will walk around the party a bit and mingle, but you'll be able to stay put."

"And I'll be right next to you all night." Bjorn added.

"I thought you weren't necessarily going to the balls, Bjorn?" Sookie asked. "Or at least not for the whole time?"

"Change of plans. They couldn't come up with adequate female guards for you and I don't know anyone in our guard with the qualifications I want for you, so I'll stay with you myself. It's too big of an event and you're going to be the center of attention, so I want lots of good security around you at all times. I just wouldn't feel right not being there if anything happened."

"You don't have to do that…" Sookie said.

"Yes, I think I do. My job title is the Queen's Personal Bodyguard. More than anyone except Eric, I have responsibility for your safety. Eric would have given me the night off, but after seeing the crowds at the gate and that shot that was fired at the house the other night, I told him you aren't leaving my sight during the ball unless it's in the ladies' room and I've already cleared it first. He agreed with my assessment, so we're all set."

"You are going to get some time off during the week, though, right?"

"Yes, but it will be a day when you are staying in and I'll have 3 guys on the doors. Anytime you move outside of this suite, I'll be with you."

"Wow." Sookie said.

"And my job is to make sure you get all the best hors d' oeuvres and your RMs on time." Bobbie said.

"I'll be going to see a magic show that night." Alicia said.

"And Octavia and Amelia?"

"They're going to the ball. Octavia might spend a lot of the night sitting with you, and she might leave early." Bobbie explained. "They bought clothes for it today."

"Oh, that's cool. You guys got a lot of shopping done!"

"We found one place that had most of what we all wanted. We lucked out." Alicia laughed.

"Mmm" Eric made a noise and began to stir.

"Quick, take my tray and leave us alone for a bit." Sookie said, and Bobbie grabbed it and ushered Alicia out of the room. Bjorn followed and shut the door.

"FEED!" Eric's eyes popped open and his fangs dropped down.

"Eric, sweetie, wake up. It's Sookie."

Whoosh! The covers were on the floor, the canopy half pulled off the bed and Sookie had been jerked down the mattress and her leg forced back. Eric was feeding from the artery in her groin in a total frenzy. Sookie pulled a pillow over her face to muffle her screams. She knew when he had his fill he would fuck her just as hard as he had bitten her because he would be high on her blood. She might as well brace herself. Her butt really hurt and when he started to take her it would only get worse. She had completely forgotten that smelling her as he awoke would do this to him. She needed to try to get his attention to make sure he didn't hurt the baby but she couldn't risk letting the others hear her crying or they might come in. She couldn't believe it but she had a spectacular orgasm. She was tapping him on the head, trying to get his attention, but before she knew it she was on her knees and he was behind her. At least he was in the preferred "place" and she hoped he stayed there until he calmed down. She was gritting her teeth as he slapped up against her sore bottom time and time again, tears streaming down her face. She couldn't believe that she was coming again, but fortunately so was he, and she knew he'd calm down a bit once he reached his release. He growled loudly and jerked a few times then slowed way down.

"Sookie? What is going on?" He was back. Thank Goddess, he was back. She had her face buried in her pillow and she felt him gently run his fingers over the welts on her bottom. Moving quickly he pulled her arm toward him so she faced him and he held her by both arms. "Sookie," he whispered in her ear, nipping at her earlobe and taking little nips all the way down her throat and onto her shoulders. He was still a little high but he was being gentle now and that was fine. This would have been fun under other circumstances, but the sore bum made it less than pleasant, though she needed to figure out how the hell she had two really strong orgasms with all that pain, it was almost like a part of her liked it.

He still held her arms so she was facing him and he held her up on her knees while he sat back on his and bent his head to her breast. He teased her nipple with his teeth, sucking on one and then the other, the rested his cheek on the top of her belly.

"Eric? Eric, I need you." She said to him, finally getting his attention.

"Did I hurt you, lover?" He wiped tears from her face and was just beginning to understand what happened.

"Well, not really, but my ass is really sore and you didn't do that any good."

"Did it hurt you today?"

"Yes, like crazy."

"I just fucked you?" He was still in the thrall of the blood because he was running his hands over her and looking at her like he had never seen her before and her body was the most fascinating thing he had ever seen.

"Yes."

"Did you come?"

"Twice – once when you fed from my groin and once when you fucked me," her voice was shaky.

"In spite of the pain or because of it?" He was still holding her up on her knees with one hand, but the other slipped between her legs and began to gently stroke and penetrate her.

"I don't even understand what that means, Eric."

"How strong were they? Your orgasms?"

She raised her loose arm up to brace herself on his shoulder and she found herself moving her knees apart so he could pet her more easily. He rose up on his knees, slipping his arm around her back as his fingers stroked in and out of her. Her eyes were closed and her head fell back as he held her and probed her.

"Did I ever teach you about your g-spot?"

"Uh, no, I thought that was a myth?"

He laughed the way he laughs when he's in control and he likes it.

"It's not a myth, my angel. Yours should be right about here." He slipped his fingers deep into her and curled them forward and stroked a sort of rough spot she never knew was there. Her eyes rolled back in her head and she was coming again, his arm being the only thing that kept her from collapsing. His thumb was stroking her clit and he was working her with his hand in a way she never remembered him doing before.

She had an orgasm and he literally controlled it with his hand, showing her that he was the one in charge. He'd make it intense, he'd back off, then he'd change the pressure or the angle and it would change again. Her whole body seized up and he stretched it out, and out and out until she finally went limp. He gently let her down on the mattress on her side. She felt like he had reached right into her soul and… what? What the hell was that? He played her like some sort of instrument and let her know in no uncertain terms that he was the one making her feel that pleasure. If she never felt owned by him before, she certainly did now. She was shaking as he kissed her face gently all over.

"I love you, Sookie."

"I…I love you, too."

"You are not angry?"

"No, of course not. Why would I be angry?"

"Those are very pretty stripes on your bottom."

"That doesn't make them hurt any less," she laughed weakly.

"What would you give to make the pain stop?"

"A lot."

"You'll have to be more specific than that, my lover."

"I don't have anything to bargain with, Eric. There's nothing I can offer you that you don't already have."

"Actually, there is one thing I would like to have that would require your cooperation."

"What is that?"

"A picture."

"What?"

"A picture. If you will pose for a few photographs of your lovely stripes, I will make them go away."

"Are you blackmailing me?" She teased him.

"Of course not. You accepted the punishment willingly, did you not?"

"Yeah, I did."

"And part of that punishment would be to bear the pain until they healed, yes?"

"Yes."

"But if you would allow me to photograph them so that I can remember how lovely they looked on you, I might be persuaded to make them fade more quickly. That is not coercion, Sookie, it is generosity."

"What kind of pictures?"

"Very simple ones – you facing the wall in the bathroom, where it is well-lit, showing your bottom with those lovely stripes. It will make things much more pleasant for you later tonight."

"Why, what's later?"

"We're going to try out that big lovely bathtub, remember? Those are going to be awfully sensitive to hot water."

"What do you want the pictures for? What would you do with them?

"I would keep them just for myself. No one would ever see them. They would simply be a record of the love you showed me by accepting them."

"And if I do that, you'll make them go away for the bath?"

"Yes."

"Is the bath something you'd let me skip?"

"No, you agreed we would use the bath and have an early night. You aren't going back on your word, I hope?"

"No, I… uh…. Well, do you even have a camera?"

"I have a small digital camera I could use if you would consent to pose for me. You don't have to do it, Sookie. It's completely up to you. It would mean a lot to me, though, if I could have a little memento."

"Nobody would ever see them?"

"No one. I promise."

"And after you're done taking them, you make them go away?"

"Of course, Sookie, that is what I offered."

"OK, get your freakin' camera and let's do this."

"I think that's a wise decision, Sookie. It will make your cookout tomorrow much more pleasurable and you'll sleep much better tonight."

"Help me up."

He picked her up gently and sat her on her feet. He got the little spy camera from his brief case, and led her into the bathroom.

"I need to go, first."

"Go right ahead." He was fiddling with the tiny camera.

"I didn't know you had one of those."

"I sometimes find them useful in business. Come here."

He put her in front of the mirror and began to brush her hair. "I thought this was going to be a picture of my ass?"

"It will, but it will show your whole body from behind. I want your hair to look silky and pretty. There. Very nice, Come here." He indicated a large blank space in the wall of the bathroom. "Face the wall and put your hands on it up above your head." He showed her how he wanted her to pose, hands above her as if they were tied or something, back curved outward, ass prominently displayed. There were track lights along the ceiling in the bathroom and he adjusted them so the stripes on her bottom were well lit and clearly displayed. "Alright, my angel, hold still and this will be over before you know it."

She heard the shutter clicking. She was praying he never showed these to anyone. She didn't understand the attraction to being reminded of how they looked, but she figured it was a guy thing or an Eric thing or something. He changed her pose so she was bending over a little with her hands on the wall and her ass sticking out. More clicks of the shutter.

"Just one more pose, alright, sweetheart?"

"OK." All she cared about was getting this done. He went out to his luggage and got a long black silk scarf. "I've never seen that before."

"I've never used it on you before. Face the wall, lover."

She turned to the wall and he wrapped the scarf around one of her wrists. He reached for the other and she started to object but he said "Shhh, Sookie, you agreed" and she let him tie her hands together behind her back.

"Rest your forehead on the wall, Sookie and hold your hands up so the stripes are visible.

Click, click, click.

"Alright, Sookie, stay put." He started the water running in the bath and went back out to the bedroom, leaving her there with her head resting on the wall and her hands tied. She heard him use the intercom to buzz someone, but she couldn't tell what he was saying.

He came back in with her train case and locked the bathroom door. He lit the candles that were all around the room and she heard him set a few items around the tub. Sookie thought about asking him what was up but she knew he'd tell her to be quiet so she just waited. He turned off the lights and came back to her. He moved her hair to the side and kissed her neck, his hands running around to squeeze her breasts. She laid her head back on his chest and he pressed his lips to the top of her head as he teased and played with her nipples. Eric moved faster than her eyes or her mind could process – one second they were standing by the wall, the next millisecond she was on her knees in the tub and Eric was settling down behind her. The water was hot and almost 2/3 of the way up her thighs.

"Eric, you said you'd make the stripes go away."

"I will, just as I promised."

"So do it, please."

"First sit back on your heels, then I will."

"Eric – that'll hurt like crazy and you know it."

"Yes, I know it, but you don't. You think you know it. I want you to know exactly what it feels like, and as soon as you do, I'll make them go away. Now, you either sit back on your heels and count to 10, out loud, or you can stay up there and the water will eventually reach you anyway."

"Eric, come on. Aren't you going to untie me?"

"I wasn't planning to, no - at least not for while. I want to have some fun first."

"Eric, you promised me."

"Yes, and I have every intention of doing as I promised – after I know that you know what I am sparing you. Now sit back, count to 10, and they'll be gone almost instantly. And, by the way, the only sound I want to hear is you counting to 10. I don't want any screaming. There's a terrible echo in here." He settled back and watched her. She seemed frozen. "That water is rising awfully slowly because the tub is so big. It would take quite a while for the water level to rise from the lowest stripe to the top stripe, and that's how long you'll wait before I make them go away if you don't sit back. You'll have to sit there until they're completely submerged."

"Eric, please!"

"Sookie, it's completely up to you. They can be gone in 30 seconds. 30 seconds and no more pain."

"Why are you doing this?"

"So you'll remember."

"You think I'm going to forget this pain?"

"It's possible. People forget much worse. If I were you, I'd sit back and count to 10, or you're going to be in pain for – oh, about 10 minutes, I'd say."

She looked back at him. Absolute stone face.

"Are you really going to put yourself through ten minutes, Sookie? By the way, I think you should face me. I wanted to see the stripes, but now I think I'd rather see your face. Turn around."

She did as he said because she was hoping if she was cooperative he would cut her a break.

"Mmmm – you are so beautiful, Sookie. Do you know what one of my fantasies is?"

"What?!"

"One of my fantasies – it's not even technically sexual. Know what it is?"

"No, Eric. Come on, Eric, ple…?"

"Shhhh, Sookie, take a guess. It's a fantasy inspired by your beauty."

"Eric, I can't think. Let me out of this, please!"

"Once that water hits the first stripe, your 10 second option is over, you know. Then it goes to 10 minutes. I'd sit back if I were you, and get it over with."

The water was getting to the point where he would start his ten minute clock so Sookie sat back.

"One, two, th-three, fourrr, five, si-ix, sev'n, eightnineten!" She popped up like a cork and Eric instantly had her in his arms spreading his blood on the stripes, which were already fading. Eric was gently stroking her bottom, which was already back to its usual flawless condition. He gathered her up in his arms and sat back, smoothing her hair and licking her tears. She was trembling, nuzzling his neck, and he turned the cold water faucet on to lower the temperature of the water. He was talking to her softly, stroking her breasts, teasing her nipples. "My pretty, pretty girl," he whispered, "so soft and sweet. You're the most beautiful thing I've ever seen, Sookie. I love you more than I've ever loved anyone or anything in this world."

"You like me this way, don't you – with my hands behind my back?" She asked softly, completely giving herself over to him in her mind as she had her body.

"Yes, I do. We've never done this before, but I find I like it very much. It's like you're more mine this way." He raised her up in his arms so she stretched out more and he could reach her nipples with his teeth. She moaned and writhed in his arms as he nipped hard enough to make her gasp. "Sounds like you like it, too, Sookie," he purred at her. His hand explored her, beginning with his big hand spread over her throat, taking broad strokes down over her, "Mmmm – I don't know what I want to do to you first, my lover. I feel as if everything is new this way. Promise me you'll let me bind you this way often so I can know you all over again."

"I promise. You know I'll do anything you want." She was completely focused on the feel of his hand on her.

"First I'm going to wash your hair and bathe you, then I'm going to have more fun with you." He wrapped his hand around the back of her neck and nibbled at her ear, whispering "who do you belong to, Sookie?"

"You, Eric, I belong to you."

"My lover, my beautiful lover," he whispered, He used the handheld shower to wet her hair and he washed it slowly and lovingly, massaging her scalp gently and thoroughly, then rinsed it very well. He put the Pantene conditioner she liked on her hair and combed it through, then rinsed it out, combed her hair again and twisted it up, holding it with a clip that he obviously got from her train case. He took the soap and slowly slid it over one part of her, then washed and stroked every little fold and every little bit of skin thoroughly, repeating the process until he covered every part of her body in minute detail. Sookie noted that he had never done such a thorough job before, nor did she think he had ever enjoyed it as much as he enjoyed this particular bath. He pulled her so she straddled his legs, and was back up on her knees. He held her body against his and suddenly they both laughed because the two of them could feel the baby kick.

"He's asleep – he must be dreaming " she said.

"Did you send or receive anything from him today?"

"Yes, and he laughed at me for having a sore butt. He is just like you, I swear."

Eric laughed loudly, thrilled to hear her say that. "Speaking of the baby," he said, "he will be here soon and I have not prepared your nipples adequately for breast feeding as I had planned to. I'll need to concentrate on them more from this point forward."

"Uh-huh, and you're going to do that for the baby, not for you?"

"For you, really, Sookie. Breast-feeding a child can be very painful under any circumstance – what if he is born with fangs? The doctor expects him to take blood as well as milk – how else could he do that but with fangs."

"Well, you bite my breasts every so often so it probably won't be any worse than that."

"Yes, but I might do that 3 or 4 times in a month – the baby will be doing it 12 times a day. You need to be prepared." He squeezed her now smooth and healed lower cheeks.

"I know this is just an excuse for you to rough up my nipples, you know."

"The baby will be here before you know it, Sookie. You just passed your three and a half month mark and everyone expects you to go early. He is already so large and active that you need help moving around and I had to tell him not to kick you so vigorously."

"So you're going to do me a favor by torturing my nipples…?" She laughed, teasing him.

"Exactly. I'm going to begin now. You be a good girl and show me how much you can take without crying out – you don't want to scare the baby." He latched onto one of her nipples and sucked so hard it took her breath away. He scraped his teeth against it, nipped at it several times, then sucked hard again. He stopped and she thought he would let her rest, but he quickly latched onto the other and followed the same pattern – hard sucking, scraping, nipping, sucking – then we went back to the first and repeated the pattern, for a total of five times each. It hurt but it was exciting, too and she couldn't keep from flexing her pelvis back and forth.

Before long it was making contact with his erection and after the fifth round he stopped just long enough to lift her onto it, then he grabbed both breasts in his hand and squeezed them rhythmically several times. He took her nipples between the thumb and forefingers of both hands and pinched them hard, pulled them, pinched them, pulled them, for what seemed like an eternity, but every pinch and every pull reached all the way down to her clit and she felt her internal muscles squeezing at nearly the same rhythm.

She was grinding wildly and part of her wanted him to stop but another part of her wanted to take it as far as it could go. He was stretching and pulling them hard and far and the more it hurt the more aroused she became. He was helping her move up and down, alternately biting and sucking on one nipple then the next, really pulling them out like he was trying to pull them off. Sookie was trying not to cry out but her moans got louder as she approached a climax that made her shudder all over so her knees gave out.

Eric had to hold her up to keep her from falling, wrapping one arm around her and using the other hand to rub her clit and squeeze a few more tremors out of her. He put her head on his shoulder and she lay there panting and shaking as he untied her hands, but he wasn't done yet. He pulled them in front and re-tied them and for the first time she noticed a hook on a chain high above them. Eric turned what looked like a dimmer switch and the hook came down dead center over the tub. He turned the switch the other way and it went upward, taking her bound hands with it. He let it go up until she was pulled up on her knees again with her arms fully extended and taut. This time he took a towel and put it in the water, folding it and arranging it under her knees to give them some protection.

She couldn't get over the fact that Felipe had something so kinky in his bathroom, or that Eric knew exactly what it was for. Eric turned the water on to warm it up a little since it was starting to get chilly. As the tub warmed, he took a jar of cocoa butter – she had no idea where he got it, but later found out it was in the cabinet and hadn't been opened but there was a another nearly empty jar that had been – and spreading a small amount between his hands he reached around her and massaged it into her breasts. He continued with more of the butter, working all the way up her arms, kneading and massaging.

He worked back down her arms to her back, deeply rubbing the muscles and spreading the butter down her sides, down her legs, all the way to and including her feet. He worked back up the insides of her thighs, rubbing a generous amount between her legs, and an almost excessive amount up the back. The King was about to reassert his sovereignty over her body and every part of her was awake and aware and hungry for it. He held her hips and pushed into her slowly, her entire body trembling as she felt she was being split in half. He rubbed her clit, forcing her back onto him as he began to move slowly in and out of her as she trembled violently and moaned, her flesh breaking out in goose pimples from the mixture of sensations running through her.

"Do you like it, Sookie?" He whispered.

"Yes, Eric."

"If you ever make me stripe you again, I'll do this to you while they're fresh, so remember that, my sweet girl."

He moved faster in and out of her and she felt like she was losing her mind – there were so many sensations! From being bound and stretched to opened and pumped and the relaxation she still felt from the massage and the oil, it was like nothing in the world existed except the cock inside her, the hands on her body, the voice whispering dark promises of pain and pleasure in her ear. And just when she thought it was all she could take, she started to come.

It was like someone plugged her into an outlet – electricity ran through her in a soft warm current that made every part of her tingle. The next thing she knew, Eric had drained the tub and was cleaning them up carefully, then rubbing her with a soft towel to absorb the excess cocoa butter and leave her skin velvety smooth. He scooped her up and floated them up out of the tub, carrying her into the bedroom and putting her on the bed.

"It's almost midnight," she said to no one in particular.

"Yes, that was quite a nice bath, was it not?" He was pulling out a pair of jeans and a t-shirt to wear later.

"I've got that feeling like I don't have any bones again. How do you do that? Nobody else ever did that to me except you."

"Well, you don't have a very large sample for comparison, lover, thank Goddess."

"Why thank Goddess?" she asked as he lay on the bed beside her.

"I wouldn't want all those men to have to hunt down and kill."

"You would, wouldn't you?"

'You know I would, Sookie, but don't dwell on it."

"Not like you have a problem hunting people down…"

He took her face in his hand and made her look at him "…but I'd rather spend my time fucking you. The time I spend doing anything else is wasted as far as I'm concerned. The only part of the day I care about is the part when my cock is in some part of you."

Sookie giggled. It was silly and obsessive and crazy and in all probability absolutely true.

"Do you think I am lying?"

"No, I don't at all. I think you're probably dead serious."

"I am," he said as he ran his hand over her, studying her as if he had never seen her before.

"You're going to fuck me again tonight, aren't you?" she asked though she already knew the answer.

"Oh, yes, I'm sure I will. Unless you would prefer I let you sleep instead?"

"No, I just figured it's only midnight and you aren't likely to go five hours without fucking me again."

"At 2 o'clock they are supposed to bring you something to eat – unless you'd rather eat now?

"I think I'd better and I'd better have an RM. If I have another orgasm, I'm pretty sure I'll fall asleep."

He called the kitchen and told them to bring her meal now rather than later. He sat her up on the wedge pillow and brought her an RM. He pulled the covers up over her, then put on a pair of silk boxers. She had finished the bottle, so he set it on her bedside table and he came back to lie next to her.

"Is that all you're wearing when they bring my meal?"

"Yes. Why – do you object?"

"I'm not crazy about the idea of the help ogling my husband."

"Say that again."

"What? That I don't want the help ogling you?"

"No, the last two words."

"My husband?"

"Yes. I never heard words more thrilling than those unless it was when I found out I was to be a father."

Sookie laughed. "I'll have to call you that more often, my husband."

"Mmmm - yes!" He said as he kissed her lips, then he got up and went to the armoire for a robe.

"Thank you, Eric."

"Not at all. I must honor our bond. If you do not want me to be seen by the servants then I have to honor your wishes."

"OK, good. They already look at you like you're the most beautiful thing they've ever seen. If they see how buff you are they'll be plotting to get rid of me," she laughed.

"Buff? What does that mean?"

"Muscular and sexy."

"Buff – so Bjorn would also be buff, yes?"

"Yes, very. I hear you were asking him about what he eats so you can plan our son's diet," she laughed.

"Yes, he's the only person I know with such developed muscles. I wanted to know how to make sure Eric Alexander can grow so big and strong."

"He said you're going to start having organic food shipped in?"

"Yes, I am. He assures me it is much healthier for you all. He's going to help me put together a state of the art gym for when the child is older."

"Are you going to make him work out?"

"No, Sookie, he will want to."

"You're sure about that?"

"Positive. Look how eager he is to Fight! Fight!" Eric laughed, "He will certainly want to work hard to be a great warrior."

"Good point. He can't wait to kick ass with Daddy."

FIGHT! FIGHT!

They both laughed. "The little warrior is awake, Daddy. He knows you were talking about fighting."

"My son is very intelligent and every bit a warrior already. I am anxious for his birth – more anxious than I have ever been about anything. To be able to hold him will be a dream I never dared hope for. Our sex life will improve greatly after you deliver as well."

"It's going to get better than it is now?"

"Yes, of course, Sookie. We have to take it easy now because of your condition."

"So you've been taking it easy?"

"Yes, of course. We will be much wilder when the baby is safe in his crib."

'Holy shit!" Sookie cracked up.


	64. Chapter 64

**[A/N: OK, this chapter ends on a lighter note but it begins by talking about Sookie's Uncle Bartlett so if you're sensitive to that, skip ahead. Sorry this chapter is short – I'm really busy right now. I thought it was better to post a short chapter than make you all wait another week. **

**Big Props to **MariaTerese for her help with the Swedish in this chapter.

Next update will take a while – I have an important book review I have to write and I'm on a deadline. You might want to check out my friend Jeri Studebaker's new book **Switching to Goddess**. My deadline is June 1st and after that, We'll be rocking again, I promise.]

**Chapter 64**

"ENTER!" Eric called to the knock at he door as he leaned on his elbow talking to Sookie. He quickly covered her up as she moved into her place on the wedge pillow.

"Excuse us, your majesty, we have the Queen's supper." The maid was a young Native American woman and a vampire. Eric was somewhat surprised to see a vampire servant here. She was accompanied by two boys in their late teens whom he assumed were part-time help.

"You may serve her here in bed." Eric indicated Sookie and she brought Sookie's tray to settle it over her lap. The boys had several RMs for them and one of them restocked the little fridge while the other hung up Eric's and Sookie's travel clothes which had been cleaned and pressed.

"Thank you!" Sookie thanked the girl and smiled sweetly, "This looks really good. Tell the chef I said thanks, OK?"

"Yes, your majesty. If you'd like dessert, there's a beautiful chocolate cake and and the cook said she could make you homemade ice cream very easily since she's practicing for your cook out tomorrow."

"Oh, that sounds yummy! I'd love some cake and ice cream, it it's not too much trouble."

"Not at all, your majesty, we'll be back with it in about 30 minutes." The girl curtsied and shooed the boys, who were in awe of how big Eric was and how beautiful and sweet Sookie was, out of the room. They would talk for days about the fact that the Queen was naked under the covers and the King had obviously just enjoyed her.

"You don't mind if I have some cake, do you, sweetie?"

"Of course not, Sookie. I know you need to put on some weight and I discovered that cake contains eggs and milk that are good for the baby. And, it turns out that chocolate is actually very good for you as long as there is a lot of cocoa and not too much fat."

"Huh? I didn't know chocolate was good for you. I just knew it makes your brain release the same chemicals it does when you're in love or you have an orgasm or something like that."

"That I did not know – now I understand why women love it so much. Most women in this culture are starved for orgasms. Americans think of themselves as progressive but they're really very puritanical."

"I never really thought about it – I was raised kind of strict I guess and Bon Temps is pretty conservative."

Eric was watching her closely as he pursued the subject of her childhood. He had a feeling there was something about Sookie's past that he needed to know that would explain her clinginess the night before. "You know, lover, all I know of your childhood is that your parents died when you were young and your grandmother raised you."

"There's not really much to tell. I spent a lot of time alone because of my disability. People were a little bit afraid of me. School was a nightmare - all those chaotic voices in my head. It was impossible to concentrate. Gran taught me how to read and I sort of educated myself."

"Sookie, did anything… traumatic… ever happen when you were a little girl?"

Sookie bit her lip and looked down at her tray. He could see in her face something was there, and whatever it was, it was big. Her whole demeanor changed almost the instant the question left his lips – it was almost like she was closing in on herself.

"Sookie, you know you can tell me anything, don't you?" He spoke softly and stroked her cheek.

"Yeah, it's just… it's hard to talk about." She was staring at her glass of milk, tipping it back and forth, avoiding his gaze.

"How old were you when this thing happened, dear one?"

"It started when I was 5."

"You were very small. It started then – so this happened more than once?"

"Yeah, several times over a couple of years." She was sort of stabbing at her chicken as she looked down.

He reached over and took her hand. "Sookie, whatever it is, it's alright now. It's never going to happen again. Please tell me what happened so I can share it with you. You don't have to carry it alone anymore, lover. I need to know about something this important."

She was chewing on her lower lip and it was obvious she wasn't going to eat anymore, so he set the tray on the floor beside the bed and pulled her into his arms. "Sookie, did I do anything that reminded you of what happened to you then?"

"No, I don't think so." She snuggled her cheek against his chest.

He kissed her forehead and squeezed her tight. "Tell me what happened, my angel," he whispered very softly to her.

"My Gran's brother, Uncle Bartlett… he…molested me. He told me if I ever told anyone what he was doing that my parents would die. When I was seven, I told my Gran and she ran him off and then right around that time, my parents died in a flash flood."

"And because you were small, you thought that you made it happen?"

"Sort of… I mean, I know better now, but…"

"But you associate punishment with abandonment and loss."

"I don't know," she looked up at him, "do I?"

"I think that may be what happened. That may be why you were afraid for me to leave you yesterday. I couldn't understand it at the time, but I knew you were in a complete panic when you were asking me to stay. It wasn't rational and I didn't know of any emotional trauma to account for it - but I do now, and I'm sorry I triggered that for you, sweetheart. I would never have done that if I had known."

"I'm sorry I never told you. I just… I want to forget it, but it never really goes away."

"What happened to this Uncle? Is he alive?"

"No, I told Bill about this when we… had sex the first time, and he killed him."

"If Bill had not done so, I would have." He smoothed her hair back from her face and stroked her cheek. "No one will ever harm you again, my angel."

"I never intended for Bill to do that. I just… when my brother invited Uncle Bartlett to my Gran's funeral, it stirred everything up and I had to talk about it. I was so relieved I was even able to have sex – I always thought I wouldn't be able to stand it. I haven't spoken about it at all since he died. I just try not to think about it."

"Your brother invited him to the funeral? Did he know what he had done to you?"

"I thought he did, but he either didn't believe it or he forgot."

"Your brother is not an evil person, Sookie, but he has never been a proper brother to you. He should be the first person to protect you from a person like that, not the one who brings him back into your life."

"It caused a lot of hard feelings between us as far as I was concerned. I didn't think I'd ever forgive him."

There was as knock at the door. "Enter"

"The Queen's dessert, your majesty."

"Yes, thank you!" He knew she would love this.

"Oh, it looks so good! Thank you so much!" Sookie was like a little girl sometimes when it came to food and he loved to watch her indulge herself. It was on a full size dinner plate, and in addition to a giant piece of dark chocolate cake and fresh ice cream, there were whipped cream, nuts and a cherry on top. Eric sat up next to her, looking at the dessert with great interest. He pointed to the cake.

"That is the chocolate?"

"Yes, it's chocolate cake. Want to try a bite? You haven't tried eating anything for a while."

"Yes, I think I would like a taste."

Sookie scooped up a huge bite of cake and swirled it in the ice cream and whipped cream. She fed it to him and his eyes got big. "Mmm- this is wonderful. It's almost as sweet as you are, Sookie!" and he was completely serious."

"And you don't feel sick?"

"Not at all. May I have another bite?"

"Sure," she fed him another big bite and he lay back, savoring it. "Mmm, I can see why women like this. It has a richness to it and it is very creamy. Children like such things, too, yes?"

"Yeah, that's every kid's dream to get a big plate of cake and ice cream."

"If our son eats food, I only want him to have such things occasionally. I don't want him to be fat."

"Well, neither one of us is fat, so he probably won't be. And if he's as active as everyone thinks he will be, he'll be able to eat a lot and stay thin. I know you talked to Bjorn about nutrition and all, and that's fine up to a point, but I want him to have fun, too. He'll be a better warrior if he gets to be a kid sometimes."

"Yes, of course, Sookie. We don't need to be extreme. Even Bjorn said there should be some moderation so he is well-rounded and has a variety of abilities and experiences."

"OK, good. As long as he gets to have some fun."

"Sookie, think of the little boys you have known. How many of them would have given anything to be able to fight with swords?"

"OK, good point, but remember there's a reason people don't let little boys play with swords."

"Of course, Sookie. I don't want him to get hurt, either."

"OK, 'cause the Goddess picked us BOTH to be his parents so he needs some of my influence, too."

"I wouldn't have it any other way, my angel. He will most definitely need all the love and adoration you have for him and a boy should know that his mother loves him above all else and will spoil him rotten," he assured her.

"OK, just so we're clear on that. He might be YOUR SON but he's always going to be MY BABY."

Eric laughed and kissed her shoulder. "The lioness defending her cub. I love it when you put your foot down, my beautiful Goddess."

"You love me when I'm strong, you love me when I'm submissive… what don't you love?" She teased him.

"I love every aspect of you, Sookie. You have great strength and goodness in you. Sex play is meant to be exotic and extreme as well as fun and romantic. I like to think our relationship is bigger than most – we reach farther in every direction than most people do. We are big personalities, both of us, and we live a big life. I would never want you to be just one way or another and if you were honest with yourself, you would not want me to be less than I am, either. You like the extremes of my personality – the cruel and intense as well as the romantic and playful." He said as he nuzzled her ear.

"Yes, I admit it, I do. You're never boring." She laughed as she took another huge bite of cake. "I like it when you push my boundaries, even if it hurts or it's embarrassing for a little while. Honestly, I know I was supposed to grow up and be a good girl and marry a guy who would go to church with me on Sundays and raise some kids but that was never going to be me. Even if guys like that had liked me, I'd have been bored in no time. I'd hear the other waitresses at Merlotte's talking about their husbands or boyfriends cheating on them or just lying on the couch swilling beer, and the lousy sex and I didn't feel like I was missing out on a damned thing."

Eric laughed at that.

"Let's face it – it's true," she said. "I was made for you and you were made for me. We belong together. Nobody else would be able to keep up with either one of us." She laughed and he dipped a finger in the whipped cream and touched it to her nose.

"Exactly. Three normal women could not satisfy me as you do and you would never be satisfied with a human man or even a much younger vampire or a Were."

Sookie handed him the plate and he put it over on the dresser then came back, dropped his robe and lay down on his side of the bed. As soon as he was settled, Sookie straddled him and ran her hands over his chest. "I love the feel of your skin, and your muscles, and your arms," she was going slowly, touching and teasing him and he was loving it. "And I love your abs and your hipbones och din kuk är så stor, och jag älskar den."

"Sookie!"

"What?"

"What did you just say?"

"I said your cock is so big and I love it."

"Yes, but you said it in Swedish."

"What?!"

"You spoke perfect Swedish!"

"Eric, I don't speak a word of Swedish. I wish I could since you always speak it during sex. Bobbie and I were going to look some stuff up on the Internet but we never did it."

"Sookie, I know what I heard. You spoke Swedish."

"Yeah, right. Now come on and knulla mig, din hingst."

"You did it again!"

"I did not speak Swedish, Eric I said "knulla mig, din hingst.""

Eric had the strangest look on his face and Sookie thought he was teasing her. "Eric, are you making fun of me?"

"Sookie, is this a joke? Did you and Bobbie plan a practical joke?"

"No, Eric I told you we never got around to it."

"Sookie, what does 'knulla mig, din hingst' mean?"

"Eric – 'fuck me, you stallion' means 'fuck me, you stallion' – so why aren't you?!"

"Say it to me one more time, lover. Say it as if you mean it." He wiggled his eyebrows but he was testing her.

"Knulla mig, din hingst," she purred at him, exactly as he thought she would. He rolled her on her back and began kissing her, knowing that she had no idea she was occasionally lapsing into Svenska. This was Freya within her, but he wasn't sure why she wasn't conscious of the difference in words. He knew he needed to write this down in Sookie's journal. Maybe this would serve some function in the near future, though he couldn't see what… unless Sookie could understand him when he spoke Swedish? Maybe they would be in a situation where he would need to communicate something no one else could understand?

He nibbled on her neck and whispered in her ear.

"Min vackra Gudinna."

"That's twice in the last few minutes you've called me your beautiful Goddess," she giggled, "not that I'm complaining."

"Du är så vacker."

"Yes, you said I was beautiful three times now… Are you alright?"

"Jag älskar dig, min Sookie."

"Jag älskar dig, min make," Sookie said softly, thinking she had said "I love you, my husband."

Eric would think about this later. He wanted to take her once more so she would sleep well, then he would work the rest of the night. He was slow and gentle this time, and she followed his lead. By the time he pressed his bleeding wrist to her lips, she was dozing in the afterglow, and the release they both reached was soothing and quiet. He held her until her breathing slowed, watching her and thinking of how long he had known her without realizing she was carrying such pain from her childhood.

He couldn't believe he never put it together before - her masochistic leanings, her eagerness to please, her tendency to run away from intense situations and feelings. It was more than simple immaturity or insecurity, it was a reaction to pain and betrayal. And then she had to meet Bill and Quinn who both betrayed her. Well, Eric had no intention of betraying her. He wanted to give her everything she ever wanted and more. He meant his vows to her, and he fully intended to be with her forever. This would change the way he handled her sexually and romantically. It would soften him a bit – but not too much. He would always keep in the back of his mind that there were certain boundaries that were better left untested, but there were others that were wide open. He kissed her forehead gently, then dressed and turned off the lights as he went to work.

As he went into the outer rooms of the suite, he found that the rest of the "family" was getting in from the casinos.

"Eric – surprised to see you tonight!" Amelia laughed.

"Sookie is asleep, so I thought I'd get some work done. How are you all this evening? Did you enjoy your show tonight?"

"It was amazing. We saw Celine Dion – what a voice!" Bobbie was floating.

"It was fancy, boy," Ocatavia said, "not exactly my taste, but it was something to see! And I hit a $50. Jackpot on one of the nickel slot machines!"

"Wonderful!" Eric was pleased Octavia enjoyed herself, most of all. "Alicia did you enjoy yourself?"

"Oh, it was wonderful! Thanks so much for the tickets. It was fabulous, and we used our gift cards to buy some souvenirs and to play slots, plus we had a late dinner. It was very nice."

"Is Bjorn with you ladies?"

"He stayed behind to gamble a bit – the driver went back to wait for him. He said he'd be back before sun up."

"Yes, I would imagine a young man might find other amusements on the strip more suited to his tastes than Celine." Eric wiggled his eyebrows and they all laughed. "Would you ladies like me to call the kitchen and have something brought up for you?"

"Oh, that's sweet, but we ate right before we came back." Amelia said.

"Well, if you change your minds, don't hesitate to call down there. I'll be down in the offices for a bit. Bobbie, I would like to speak to you before you retire."

"Oh, sure, Eric, let's step back into the living area."

"Alright – the rest of you ladies enjoy the rest of your night."

"Good night," "Thanks" "See you tomorrow"

Bobbie and Eric stepped back into the living area of the main suite.

"I wanted to tell you that Sookie's back is all healed up, so you needn't worry about that. She's fine now. I think she's asleep, but I'd appreciate it if you'd check in on her and rub her back if she wants."

"Sure, Eric, I'd be glad to. I'm glad you healed her up."

"So am I. That was a… miscalculation on my part. I won't make that mistake again. We had a good talk tonight and I learned some things about her I didn't know but should have."

"What do you mean?"

"She confided in me – something I should have picked up on but missed. I have a much clearer picture of who she is now and her more unusual attitudes and quirks make sense to me, finally. I thought I knew everything about her but it seems I didn't know much at all. I thought I had studied her carefully the years I have known her. She's much stronger than I ever realized, and much more vulnerable, too. I find myself questioning every interaction I've ever had with her and am chagrinned that I might have failed her…"

"Eric, you're being too hard on yourself. I don't know what you're talking about, of course, but I know Sookie would never think you failed her in any way. You saved her life in more ways than one. You're a dream come true for her and she feels very lucky to have you. Nothing is more important to her than you and that baby. She wants very much for you to be proud of her."

"And I am – even more so now that my eyes are open. I need to let her know it more. I want to do something special for her – something romantic."

"Eric – her whole life is romantic. She's living a dream life with you."

"There must be something I can do – did she like the spa when you two went to the one at the Bellagio?"

"Sure – she loved it. Any woman would."

"Do you think she would enjoy a day at the spa with all of her girlfriends? You, Amelia, Octavia, Alicia – what if I arranged for you all to have a full day of anything you want there?"

"Well, I know I would love that – who wouldn't? It might be fun for her to get to play hostess for a girl's day at the spa."

"The available days for that would be Friday, Sunday or Monday. Will you call them tomorrow, please, and make arrangements for one of those days for you all? Friday would be preferable so you can all get ready for the ball, but it is short notice. See what you can work out – money is no object. I want this to be a very special treat for her. Use this card to make the arrangements." He handed her a black American Express card. "If they can't do Friday, at least make arrangements for manicures and pedicures for you all so you'll be ready for Saturday night."

"Will do. I'll have Alicia put this back in your wallet when I'm done."

"Wonderful. Check on her now, and then have a nice evening. I will see you tomorrow night if you aren't up later."

Eric had another idea for a surprise for Sookie that he would arrange through Sandy for the move to the Bellagio on Friday. He was looking forward to seeing the Villa they were going to tour while they were there. They'd be in the Presidential Suite this time around, Bjorn, Alicia and Pam would stay in the servants rooms on the same floor with additional Amelia and Octavia would have private tower rooms and Bobbie and Bill would have the other bed in the Presidential Suite.

Eric opened the door to the offices and everyone in the room was on their knees before him instantly. He liked that.

"Good evening, everyone. You may rise. Where is Sandy?"

"She's in your office, your majesty."

"Very well, return to your work."

He opened the door to find Sandy sitting in front of the desk, his chair empty and waiting for him.

"Good evening, Sandy."

"Good evening, your majesty. I have the records of all of the Nevada business holdings. No doubt you'll want to see them before you look at the rest of the territories."

"Very good. I hope you included their net profits for last year?"

"Yes, your majesty."

"Alright. We're going to be expanding our holdings on the strip and I want to eliminate some of his junk. Felipe liked to own things just to own them, I think."

"Yes, your majesty. He loved to buy properties and businesses but he hated the administration of them. I tried to keep things from falling into disrepair, but there was too much."

"Well, we're going to streamline our holdings so they can be administered properly with the staff you already have. For example, I see no need for us to own a chain of grocery stores. I want those holdings put up for sale immediately. I want every nightclub and strip club that nets less than a million dollars a year sold. Now, you mentioned that there were movie theatres available that could fit in with the chain we already own? As long as they are in the black, buy them, and then we're going to consolidate and rename the chain, and expand it to cover major cities in every state in my territories. I want to double our R&D investments in cloned blood and make sure their patent applications are current. Get that British research team on that project now – give the head man whatever he wants. We need to be first to get that to market. Sell that damned baseball team. Sell all our restaurant franchises in other cities outside our territories and expand them within our territories so that we have one in each of the 3 biggest cities in each state. Between the restaurants and the theatres that should be enough to let us move our money around as we need to. I want us completely out prostitution everywhere except for our vampire only clubs in Vegas, New Orleans, L.A. Chicago, New York and Miami. I want those clubs to be state of the art, and 5 star luxury from the décor to the hostesses – they should be the first and only clubs preferred by vampire elites. We need to make sure we have plenty of old vamp money circulating through our coffers."

Sandy was writing as quickly as she could, trying to keep up with Eric's mind, which was quick and remembered details better than anyone she had known. Apparently, perfect recall was one of Eric's vampire gifts. He was good at seeing the big picture.

This was a lot of work, but the sales of all the smaller properties would bring in some much needed cash and the expansions were something that should have been started a year ago if Felipe had been paying attention to the market. Neither he nor Victor either one ever set up adequate resources for laundering vampire money that was generated under human radar. That would be important if the human government became aware of the vampire power structure, and that revelation seemed immanent now that the new King and Queen were all the rage in the tabloids.

Bobbie went in to check on Sookie, who seemed to be asleep, but as she turned go leave the room Sookie called her back.

"Bobbie?"

"Hey, Sweetie – I hope I didn't wake you. Eric wanted me to check in on you."

"You wouldn't consider rubbing my back, would you?"

"Of course I will, darlin'! Let me go grab some lotion and I'll be right back."

Bobbie was back with a new lotion and towels very quickly and she helped Sookie turn on her side toward Eric's side of the bed.

"I'm glad you came in, Bobbie. My back is getting tender, even though I've been in bed. Though I have to admit, Eric and I have been very active IN bed – not to mention that huge bathtub," she laughed.

"That's good – it keeps your blood circulating. He said you two had a pretty deep talk tonight." Bobbie pushed the towel under Sookie's side to protect the sheets.

"Yeah, I guess we did. I hope he doesn't change toward me now."

"I think he felt like he might have let you down because he didn't figure whatever it was out sooner." She didn't have to tell Bobbie that it was some form of sexual abuse. That was so common among women that Bobbie usually assumed her clients had been abused whether they told her so or not. 2 out of 3 women experience some form of it at some point in their lives so Bobbie took that into account.

"Well, that's just silly. There was no way for him to know without me telling him. I just hope he doesn't start looking at me as damaged, because I'm not."

"He doesn't think you're damaged, Sookie. He's amazed at your strength. He's just afraid he might have done something wrong."

"He didn't. I know I got a little nutty and clingy last night, but that wasn't his fault. He's not psychic. He knew through the bond that what I was feeling was serious and he did what I needed him to do at the time. It won't happen again. I don't want him to start treating me with kid gloves. I want my Viking to be the Viking, if you know what I mean."

"Yeah – let Eric be Eric."

"Right. I want all of him, not some Eric-lite version of him. He won't dish out anything I can't handle. If he starts treating me like "poor little Sookie," I'm going tp be seriously pissed off."

"I don't think you need to worry about Eric suddenly being less than he is. He's not the type to hold back. He just thought he had you all figured out and found out he didn't. That's not necessarily a bad thing."

"You think?"

"Yeah, I think it's good for him to realize that there are more layers to you that he hasn't uncovered yet. He hasn't known you long enough to think he's got you all figured out. Keep him guessing for the next couple of decades – it'll be good for him," Bobbie laughed and Sookie laughed too.

"See, though, it was always like he knew me better than I knew myself, and I loved that. I loved that he was so confident about me and would push me. I wouldn't go back and change one minute of anything we've done since we worked things out between us. I don't want him to think yesterday was wrong in any way – it wasn't. I liked it. I liked the pain. I want him to be strict with me. I like it when he makes me do things I think I can't do. It shows me how strong I am and it shows me how much he loves me."

"He won't change, Sookie. He'll always be Master – it's just who he is. And he'll always be obsessed with you. That's who he is, too. He couldn't give up his sex life with you any more than he could give up drinking blood."

"He always says he'd be with me even if we couldn't have sex."

"And I'm sure he's serious about that. Sookie, I've never seen anyone so in love. He's not just in love with you, he's fascinated by you. He wants to make you happy. You should see how he lights up when he manages to please you with something."

"OK, good. I know he's obsessed with me and I'm obsessed with him, too. I never thought I'd care about another person as much as I care about him. This is going to sound weird, but I think I wouldn't be as crazy about this baby as I am if it weren't Eric's baby. The idea of having a part of Eric growing inside me, and being able to give him a son – it's the biggest high in the world. When I see him hold his son, I'll always know that I was able to do that for him."

"He's not going to forget that, either. I've never seen a father so tapped into a pregnancy. I guess that's from your bond. He's just so invested in every aspect of it. Most men are proud of their babies, of course, but it's like he can feel it so much more intensely."

"He can. He can feel everything the baby feels and everything I feel and we can feel him. That's how the little Viking knows when Eric is in a fight."

"Like the other night when he went nuts. I can't picture Eric doing what they said he did, but everybody else seemed to take it in stride."

"What did they say he did?"

"He killed 4 or 5 of the terrorists with a sword, put the sword in their car with the bodies and blew it up."

"Yeah, that sounds about right. That's why he had blood all over him – he probably cut them in half or decapitated them. Blood sprays like you wouldn't believe."

Bobbie couldn't believe how calm Sookie was about it – she was almost blasé at the idea of Eric killing 5 people. "How… doesn't that bother you?"

"No. They tried to kill us first. That's a blood offense. Any Supe would have done the same thing, though most of them would need help to handle that many people. Eric is an army all by himself. You have to stop thinking like a human to be around vampires, Bobbie. Thinking like a human will keep you wracked with guilt."

"So you've just learned to let it go?"

"Not completely, but mostly. It's about survival. If Eric didn't kill them, they would have tried again. In the Supe world, you don't leave an enemy alive to come back and get you once they've tried to kill you. If they tried once, they'll try again, so you take them out before they take you out. It's kill or be killed. If I want Eric to stay alive, I have to accept that he'll have to kill to do it, and I might, too."

"Wow. See, I'm good at appreciating the sexual freedom from Western morality that vampires have but I've never understood the violence of their world."

"Most of them have to kill to live, at least in the beginning. Young Weres have to change and hunt. Young vamps tend to kill until they develop some control. It becomes second nature to them. Then when they get involved in the politics of it, there's always someone scheming or trying to muscle in on someone. They all want to be the best, have the best, whatever, and they do what it takes to get that and keep that."

"They could exist nowadays without killing though, right?"

"Probably not a young one, unless there was an older one there to control him. Like Bill, for example – he's able not to kill in most circumstances, but he's very driven by his instincts. There were times when the bloodlust over came him and he left me unprotected. Eric was always there, though, looking out for me, whether I wanted him to or not."

"Bill left you unprotected? When?"

"We were in a house once that was attacked by the FOTS. Bill ran off trying to get revenge, but Eric stayed with me. That was the time he tricked me into ingesting some of his blood."

"Why would he trick you?"

"Well, aside from the fact that he always wanted to fuck me and said so in exactly those words, he wanted to be able to track me. I was kidnapped once and Bill wasn't able to zero in on me. After Eric was in me, I was kidnapped and he came right to me."

"How many times have you been kidnapped, Sookie?"

"Well, just twice but there have been other incidents where Bill ran off and Eric was there, like when Sophie Ann was attacked and Bill went to fight but Eric made sure I was safe first. Or when Bill attacked me at my house and Eric had to knock him out – that's why he has to get those shots from Dr. Ludwig."

"He never told me exactly what happened with that."

"Because he doesn't remember it. He smelled the baby and his instincts told him to kill it, but he'd have to kill me to do it, so he attacked me. Eric was there, fortunately, and he fought him off and managed to knock him out and put him back in his house, then he flew back and got me as far away as fast as he could. If it were anyone but Bill, Eric would have staked him."

"Why didn't he?"

"He knew I'd be upset."

"So he only reason Bill is alive…?"

"… is Eric wants him that way. By vampire standards, Eric is within his rights to kill Bill at any time, but he won't because of me."

"Why could he kill him?"

"Other than attacking me, Bill was sent to Bon Temps to seduce me and get me to work for Sophie Ann. He took my virginity under false pretenses, so my great grandfather Niall or Eric either one would be entitled to kill him."

"That's what Niall was talking about at the wedding?"

"Yep, that's the code Supes live by."

"So Bill pretty much has to do whatever Eric says?"

"Not really – Eric would let him choose not to work for him. Bill is doing it for Sophie Ann. She favored him and he loved her, so he feels like taking care of her territory is a way to honor her memory."

"He never talks about his past."

"Yeah, he's got some painful memories. He was turned against his will and he still has a lot of anger about it."

"What happened to the one who turned him?"

"I staked her."

"What?!"

"She was keeping him prisoner and torturing him and she attacked me when I tried to free him so I staked the bitch. I had asked Eric to do it if I couldn't, but it turned out I got to anyway."

"You were going to have Eric kill her?"

"Yes. We weren't together then, but Bill was in his area so it was Eric's responsibility to help him. He asked for my help even though Lorena was going to make Bill leave me. But anyway, she betrayed him and tortured him and I saved his ass even though I had been staked the night before."

"Oh my Goddess!"

"Oh, yeah, we've had some wild times, me and my vampires. It's never boring around Supes. There's always a coup or a conspiracy or a conflict of some kind."

"Wow – I'm amazed you'd have anything to do with them."

"They treat me like I'm worth something. They aren't afraid of me. A few of them even care about me. It's where I belong, especially now that I'm having the baby."

"Yeah, you're all the way in now." Bobbie laughed.

SOOTHING!

"Oops, Bobbie – your little buddy is awake. He's sending Soothing."

"He likes it when I rub you guys at night, doesn't he?"

"Yeah, I think it makes him feel good. He loves it when he knows you're around rubbing," Sookie laughed.

"Are you ready to roll on your back and I'll rub him a little?"

"Yes, if you'll help me." Sookie offered her arm and Bobbie helped her pull back and then get into position on the wedge. "Whew – that gets harder and harder. I wonder how much of this big belly is baby?"

"A lot of it, because I can feel him. His head is in the wrong spot at the moment – we might have to move him around if he doesn't flip himself."

"Is that hard to do?"

"It takes a while with an average baby, but with him, I think he'd know what we wanted and do it anyway."

"Is it dangerous the way he is now?"

"Not unless you go into labor. Ideally, he'll have his head down at your cervix before that happens. Have you ever felt him turn over?"

"Oh, yeah, Eric watched him the other night, remember?"

"Yeah, that's right, so he may flip several times between now and delivery. Maybe he'll be a gymnast."

"He's probably going to be able to fly," Sookie laughed.

"That's right – they don't have vampires in the Olympics yet, do they?"

"Not yet, but I've seen a few fairies."

"Have you really?"

"Look very closely at some of the little girls who compete in gymnastics sometime. Some of them are a lot older than they look." Sookie had figured this out ages ago, before she really knew what a fairy was – she could look at the girls and know some of them were "different." Some of them seemed to defy gravity as if they could fly – because they could.

"Wow – if they ever come out, that will really mess up the record books," Bobbie laughed.

"Yeah, but they never will. They usually keep to themselves and that's probably for the best."

"Are they all as proud of themselves as my friend Claude?"

"Yeah, they think they're better than people. He's my cousin, but I know he's totally full of himself."

"Oops!" Sookie and Bobbie both laughed as Eric Alexander kicked under her hands to say 'hi' to Bobbie. "He says "hi, Bobbie!""

"Hey, Baby E! I can't wait to meet you!"

More kicks. SOOTHING! LOVE!

"Aw – he's sending you love, Bobbie. I don't think he knows you can't feel what he's sending."

"I wish I could, but it's nice to know he's sending it. He's gonna be a sweetie."

"Yeah, but everybody keeps warning me that he's going to be a handful. They think only Eric will be able to manage him."

"Don't worry about that, Sookie. You're his mommy. He'll listen to you. He might have some extra powers or be stronger or more energetic than a normal baby, but he's still gonna love his mommy more than anything."

"I hope so…" Sookie let out a huge yawn. "Sorry about that!"

"That's exactly what I want you to do, Sookie – relax and go to sleep."

"Yeah, I think I'm getting there."

"Ok, let's drink an RM real quick and then you can doze off." Bobbie brought her a bottle and a straw and Sookie drank it straight down.

"Ok, honey, you go to sleep then and I'll see you in the morning. We'll be having a cook out when you get up!"

"Yeah!" Sookie laughed and closed her eyes. Bobbie turned out the lights and went to her own room where she did some yoga, called Bill then went to sleep herself.

"Sookie, my lover, wake up and drink." Eric was stroking her cheek and she opened her eyes sleepily and smiled at him. "There's my beautiful Goddess," he smiled softly at her. He was holding the straw for her and she drank it straight down.

"Can I have another one?"

"Of course, dear one – I'll get it."

Sookie watched him bend over to the little fridge.

"I know you're looking at my back side, lover."

"I can't help it – it's so pretty."

"Pretty?" He laughed as he straightened up.

"Yeah, it's nice and round and tight."

"I need to work harder to get you to appreciate another part of me."

"I appreciate that Gracious Plenty a lot, believe me, but I love butts and yours is awesome." She laughed as he held the drink for her. "You have to go to rest soon, huh?"

"Yes, my lover, I have to. You will be so busy today, though, that you will hardly miss me. Save me a piece of watermelon and I will join you as soon as it is dark."

"Oh, I'll miss you, but I am going to have fun. I'm going to eat a ton of clams and lobsters and corn on the cob and all that stuff."

"Yes, and they will be swimming in butter. Maybe that will fatten you up a bit."

"Do you think I'm too thin?" She laughed.

"Honestly, Sookie, we are getting worried that you aren't gaining weight, so I want you to indulge yourself. Eat as much protein as you can and then have lots of cake and ice cream, alright? You and Eric Alexander can – what is that expression? "Chow down." He laughed and she laughed with him.

"Oh, we will."

He placed his hand on her tummy and Baby E kicked a little letting him know he was aware of his touch. Eric smiled and sent love and pride to him.

"Bobbie says he's in the wrong position, but it won't be a problem unless I go into labor. She says he should turn over himself, but if he doesn't we might have to get him to."

"What would happen if he stayed as he is?"

"I think that's what they call a breach birth - it's very dangerous to both of us."

"But she thinks he will move on his own?"

"She says they usually do. We just need to be aware of where he is as we get closer to his due date."

"Well, he turned the other night, so let's hope he has another flip in him." Eric didn't want her to know he was worried about this, but he would speak to Bobbie about it the next night."

"As active as he is, he'll probably flip a few times before then. Guess what he did?"

"What is that?"

"He sent LOVE to Bobbie and kicked her hands to say hi to her. I don't think he knows she can't feel him."

"Interesting. Maybe he can feel her? You believe he is telepathic, yes?"

"Yes – I never thought of that. Maybe he does know what she's thinking and he was responding to that?"

"I think that's likely." Eric bent and kissed her tummy, resting his cheek there for a minute. He kissed her lips, and said good night as she went to sleep and he closed himself in the room with the coffins.

"Sookie, wake up, dear!" Alicia was there with the 7 am bottle. Sookie drank and passed back out. The 9 o'clock feeding was more of the same, but at 11 Sookie asked what time it was and wanted to get up. Alicia helped her into the bathroom, then helped her into an orange maternity tankini swim suit that looked very cute on her and would let her get sun on her shoulders for her strapless ball gown and had sheer panels that would let her move them to the side and get sun on her belly. Alicia already had a tote bag packed for her with her ipod, suntan lotion, a small towel, Dior sunglasses Sookie didn't even know she had, one of the books Sookie brought with her and a comb, though they put her hair in a pony tail.

"I can't wait to see what they've got for us," Sookie was really looking forward to getting out of that room and into that gorgeous pool.

"I went down earlier. You won't believe how many lobsters and clams there are, and all the other stuff. It's fabulous."

"Oh, yum, I can't wait. Where is everybody?"

Hanging out in the living area, they were hoping you might get up this time around."

"Oh, goodie! You're wearing your suit under that dress, right?"

"Right and we even got Octavia into a bathing suit. Amelia and Bobbie and Bjorn are all set, and between you and me, I think Amelia and Bobbie can't wait for Bjorn to take his t-shirt off," Alicia was in a good mood "but then, neither can I."

Sookie laughed at that. "I'm looking forward to that myself. Are we ready?"

"We're ready."

They headed down the hallway to where the others were gathered.

"Hey, sleepy head!" Amelia saw her first.

"Sookie, that's the cutest swim suit!" Bobbie had never seen this one before.

"Thanks – it's one of the new ones I got from Nordstrom's, so technically, it's a wedding present," she laughed.

"Somebody is in a good mood today!" Bjorn laughed.

"That's right, so let's head for the pool, people!" Sookie was almost bouncy she was so eager to go.

"Right this way," Bjorn pointed her to the wheel chair.

"Do I have to?" Sookie forgot about that condition.

"It's just to get there and back. You'll be in the pool the rest of the time."

"Well, OK, I guess." She settled into the wheel chair and Bjorn pushed her toward the door as everyone else fell in behind them.

There was an elevator so they were down on the first floor very quickly and had only to head back toward the kitchen. Amelia and Bobbie directed them since they had been there before. Sookie didn't remember much because she'd had so much on her mind when they were there for the wedding. The huge kitchen was buzzing with activity and there was a huge tank full of lobsters and bushels of clams waiting to be grilled.

"Good morning, your majesty, I'm Consuela." An older, smiling Latina stepped forward. "I'm in charge of the kitchen so I'll be making sure everything is to your liking. We thought we should probably start he first batches at 12 o'clock and then you'd be ready to eat around 1 o'clock, then we'll cook more through the day as you and your friends want them."

"Oh, that sounds wonderful! Thank you so much!" Sookie gave her a brilliant smile that caught Consuela by surprise. She had never known anyone associated with vampire royalty who was nice or appreciative. Maybe the Princess Diana rumors were true?

Bjorn maneuvered Sookie's chair over the outside door threshold and into the pool area.

"Wow – it's gorgeous out here!" Sookie was thrilled it was a nearly cloudless day, bright, sunny and warm but not oppressively hot. There were lots of tables with umbrellas and chairs, and he big tubs of soft drinks and a few beers, but not as many as when Jason was with them. The Pool sparkled pale blue and it had obviously been cleaned and everything scrubbed down so it looked perfect. Alicia helped Sookie get her stuff situated at one of the large wooden lounge chairs with a little side table, and Alicia covered it with a beach towel while Sookie headed for the pool.

"Everybody get anything you want to drink. Bjorn, you can have a beer if you want," Sookie said, "I'm getting in the pool and you all join me whenever you want to."

Sookie grabbed an air mattress and waded into the clear, cool water and tried to balance herself on the mattress. She was having a little trouble, so Bjorn pulled off his t- shirt and went in to help her as the other women all fell silent at the sight of Bjorn's perfect 6-pack. They all exchanged bug-eyed looks and began to fight off giggling.

"Let me help you, your majesty." He said and Sookie turned and noticed him for the first time, suddenly face to face with his massive chest. Damn!

"Hey, Bjorn – my center of gravity ain't what it used to be," she laughed, trying not to stare at him and praying he didn't notice her face was burning red. Bobbie and Amelia waded in, and Bobbie went to hold the mattress so Bjorn could help Sookie up and they both helped her lean back and find her balance. "Thanks, guys," Sookie said as she floated off on her own.

Alicia waded in with Sookie's sunglasses and took them to her, and Octavia followed her into the pool, too, with a mattress of her own that she used to float around on sideways the way Sookie liked to do. Bobbie and Amelia decided to float a while, too, so they accepted mattresses offered by one of the pool attendants that were there to see to their comfort. Once Sookie was set, Bjorn went to the diving board and impressed all the women with a beautiful dive, then did laps back and forth a few times, before he grabbed a mattress, too. He used his hands to paddle over beside Sookie.

"Remember, if you need anything, to let me know. Don't hesitate to ask because I'm out here. I'm still working and still watching out for you."

"Thanks, Bjorn. I'm so glad you're going to float a while though. You work so hard for me and you have to do so much boring stuff."

"That's what I get paid to do. I love my job, Sookie, so don't worry about me."

"Ok – hey what did you do in town last night?"

"Uh, I had a… date."

"A date? You don't mean…!"

"Yeah, Sookie, a guy's gotta do what a guy's gotta do, sometimes. I didn't pay her, I just picked her up in one of the hotel bars. She was a dancer in one of the shows. She even gave me her phone number."

"Are you going to see her again?"

"Probably not, but I don't know. I might call her on my afternoon off over the weekend. She was a nice girl and really built. Her legs were so long – they were amazing."

"Oh, yeah, I guess guys like tall girls with long legs." Sookie was always a little self-conscious around women like that and the idea of Bjorn with a girl like that was intimidating for some reason.

"You've got long legs in comparison to the rest of your body even though you're petite. That's the first thing I noticed about you."

"My legs?"

"Yeah, they're gorgeous. I even mentioned it to someone else."

"You did?"

"Yeah, like before I knew you and Eric and how you are with each other. I told one of the other guards he should check out your legs. That's one of the reasons I decided to keep the job after I met you – I figured I'd have something nice to look at while I worked.

Sookie blushed and giggled. She couldn't believe he just said that to her but she was glad he did. It made her feel good. She didn't know why the picture of Bjorn with some showgirl bothered her, but it did. It really, really did.

"Hey, Sookie – look up there!" Bobbie pointed to the huge grill, where the kitchen staff was chopping lobsters in half, brushing them with butter and laying them on the grill, cut side down. A kind of flat square basket was put on the other side of the grill and a bag of what had to be at least a hundred clams were dropped into it and spread around. One of the cooks stayed next to the grill.

"How long does it take for them to cook?" Sookie asked Bobbie.

"Not long – the clams mostly just have to get hot. As soon as they're open, she'll pull them out so they don't get rubbery. It won't take long before they're serving them up."

"Oh, I can't wait. Eric told me to eat a lot because I'm not gaining enough weight and I plan to do exactly that," Sookie laughed.

"Me, too!" Bjorn said as he rolled off his mattress with a splash and made everyone laugh. He came up shaking his head, slinging water on everyone and kidding around. They'd never seen Bjorn cut up like that and it was so nice to see that amazing smile. He grabbed the edge of Bobbie's air mattress, "Jump in, Bobbie."

"Uh, no," she laughed.

"You can jump in the water willingly, or I can dump you in. Your choice." Bjorn arched his eyebrow and gave her a wicked grin.

"NO, you won't!" Bobbie was objecting, but she was laughing, too and everyone was laughing along. Bjorn pulled her around and tipped her just enough to make her scream and flail. He laughed like crazy but he let her get settled a bit then did it again. "Bjorn! Stop it!" She was laughing like crazy. She didn't particularly want to get dumped, but she was enjoying the attention from Bjorn, who she swore got hotter every day. She couldn't stop looking at his muscles.

"Last chance, Bobbie. Do it or there goes the hair style." He was really teasing her. She stuck her tongue out at him and he jumped up on the side of her mattress so she fell between it and him. He brought her up in his arms, laughing like crazy as she flailed and yelled at him. All the other women were cracking up. She was playing at fighting with him, though she loved being in his arms that way. Bjorn was enjoying it, too. Bobbie was round but firm and he pretended to drop her again so he could cop a feel of her breast without anyone noticing. Bobbie noticed, of course, but she didn't mind being groped a bit – Bjorn could do a whole lot more than that if he wanted to.

Consuela was helping set the table and there was a platter of lobster and a huge bowl of clams going on the table. "Excuse me, your majesty – You can eat any time you want now."

"Thanks so much, Consuela!" Sookie started paddling toward the shallow end of the pool. Bjorn had put Bobbie down, both of them still laughing, and Bjorn turned to help Sookie get off of her mattress. He helped her stand and as she started to walk on her own he absent-mindedly patted her bottom, which gave her a little thrill. That wasn't exactly a throb. She would tell Eric about it just to be honest with him, but she was sure it wasn't anything she'd be punished for. She would just say it was from him helping her off the mattress – he didn't need to know about the pat, because it was no big deal and she knew Bjorn didn't mean anything by it.

Everyone made their way eventually up to the table, some of them stopping to dry off or put on a cover up. Sookie was the first one to sit down and the attendants, Rosa and Caroline, both probably in their early twenties, buzzed around her. They were attentive to everyone, but it was obvious that Sookie was their main priority. Caroline, the one with the short blonde hair, would smile and nearly jump up and down when Sookie would smile and thank her for something she did. She had worked at the residence for two summers in a row and no one had ever thanked her for anything she did. Rosa had reddish brown shoulder length hair and was wearing a traditional maid's uniform. She was a little shy, but she beamed whenever Sookie thanked her. She was in awe of Sookie, and she was sure there was something special about her baby since the other servants said it was some sort of miracle that Eric had fathered a child, but everyone was convinced it was definitely his child.

Sookie finished her fifth half of a lobster and had a huge bowl of empty clam shells when she decided to return to the pool. Everyone else continued eating for a bit, so she floated around alone holding her air mattress sideways. Octavia was the first one to join her and she did the same with another air mattress.

"Did you eat all you want, Octavia?" Sookie wanted her to really dig in.

"Yes, ma'am – I ate about 3 lobsters altogether! Don't you worry, I'll be going back for more in a bit."

"Oh, good – I'm glad you're having a good time."

"Yeah, I just wanted to spend some more time in the water. It helps me stay clear on how energy works."

"What do you mean?"

"Imagine the water in this pool is the energy of the whole Universe. Everything in it is connected by the water, so when something moves on one end of the pool, eventually a ripple reaches everything else in it. You can give the water a direction and it will follow your movements, at least for a while, but your movements create other movement you don't control – they're just the natural response of the water to what you did, but you don't control them and you couldn't have accurately predicted them all because it's too complex for your mind as it is to comprehend.

You can't splash anybody else without getting wet yourself. You can't help but be affected at least a little bit by what anybody else in the pool does. The water is the same as the 90 percent of you that is water. Some things in the water are more porous and take the water into them, while some things bounce around inside it or on top of it, but only take a drop or two with them if you take them out.

The water has definable properties – you know, for example, that anything that displaces more water than its own weight floats. Some things will dissolve in he water. Some things absorb the water, some will repel it. If you drain this pool, the water will run down the pipe clockwise. If you drained a pool just like it in Australia or South America, it would drain counterclockwise, and that's always true, unless some thing dramatic happens to it. The water naturally moves with the sun. When the moon is closer to the Earth, the tides are higher, your body retains more water but gravity has slightly less effect on it and this pool would be just a little bit fuller than it would be on a night when the moon is further away from the Earth. The day of the full moon, three days before it and three days after, people have more water in their brains and they act more emotionally or irrationally. Water can be a solid when it's frozen, or a liquid, or a vapor. A single drop of water might not do much but a million drops of water on the same spot will wear a hole in solid stone. It can nourish a plant when it falls gently from the sky and it can wipe away entire cities when it comes in a hurricane. That's power. That's energy."


	65. Chapter 65

**[A/N: I'm writing as fast as I can, everybody, but we're getting ready for Season 2 so it may go slowly for a bit. Be patient – I'm doing as much as I can. Nobody wants the baby to get here more than I do! (except maybe Sookie.)]**

**Chapter 65**

Sookie sat astraddle the mattress so that the pillow bulged up in front of her and she could lean on it. The others were still eating and talking up at the tables so she had a few minutes to float around and think about what Octavia had said about water and energy. She watched the patterns of light in the bottom of the pool. She paddled around a bit and watched the circular waves ripple out away from where she put her hands in the water. Could it be true that everything that exists is connected by a field of energy?

"Octavia?"

"Yes, darlin'?"

"So you're saying that we're sort of swimming in a sea of energy, but it flows through us, too, right? We're part of it?"

"Yep, that's how it works."

"So I'm connected to that table up there?"

"Yep, and that mattress there and to me and to those lobsters and to the air and the sun that's shining on you. None of it is separate. If you had the right perspective, it would all just look like patterns of molecules vibrating in space."

"That's physics, right? I don't know much about science."

"That's OK, the scientists are still trying to figure it out, too. They keep thinking that their calculations say something is possible, but their reason tells them it can't be, then they do an experiment and find out the calculations are right after all."

"What kind of things?"

"Particles on opposite sides of the universe communicating with each other instantaneously. A series of a million calculations happening all at once instead of in a sequence. Particles affecting each other backwards in time. A computer answering a question without even being turned on."

"That all sounds like…"

"Magick. It is. And when you understand magick, all that other stuff makes perfect sense, but they'll never admit that. You ever see a model of an atom?"

"Yeah, like with sticks and circles and protons and neutrons…"

"Right, well, what's the biggest single thing in every atom?"

"The middle of it? The nucleus?"

"There's something in it bigger than that."

"I don't know, then."

"Space. Most of an atom is nothing but empty space with a center particle and some little particles swirling around it in a kind of orbit, but mostly it's space. Now, ask yourself – why are things solid if they're made up mostly of space?"

"I don't know."

"Neither do the scientists, because they don't know about the energy – the water."

"So this energy field is… Goddess?"

"Yep. Some cultures call Her the Dragon, and dragons and snakes are almost always Goddess symbols, though they got reinterpreted after patriarchy like most other symbols did."

"Why are knights always slaying dragons, then?"

"Christian knights killing off the Goddess so they can take the maidens from Her. If they kill the dragon, they can kidnap the girl and carry her off for a forced marriage. Women didn't leave the Goddess willingly – they were burned, tortured, beaten and raped into giving Her up, but some never really did. When people get married and the groom carries the bride across the threshold, that harkens back to the patriarchal invasions when women were stolen and sold and forced to marry – it's about rape, not love."

"Ew. I'm glad Eric and I didn't do that, then."

"Eric is a Goddess worshipper, isn't he?"

"Yeah, he is, I think. I know he's close to Freya, or he was…"

"How well did he know Her?"

"This sounds crazy…"

"Try me."

"He said they were lovers."

"No wonder he's having a Goddess-touched baby. That explains a lot about you, too."

"Yeah – I'm trying to adjust to the idea."

"You'll process it all when the baby is here. You're going to be a good mama. That's a more natural role for you, though your sex life will always be kind of wild. You'll be driven a lot by your instincts. Don't worry about what you don't know. When you need to know something, you will."

"I hope that's true."

"Remember, girl, you got a Goddess on your side. She's not going to let you mess up where that baby is concerned. Trust the Goddess and She will provide."

"Right… OK. I will."

"Sookie!" Alicia called from the table, "would you like a piece of watermelon, dear?"

"Yes, please!" She and Octavia laughed and Octavia went out of the pool but Alicia brought Sookie some melon on a plate and set it on the ground beside the pool so she could float and eat at the same time. She was munching on it when Bjorn went down to the diving board and gave the ladies another thrill with a beautiful dive into the pool. Even the maids and attendants applauded as he came up out of the water. He laughed and shook his head, slinging water around. "Hey! You're splashing me!" Sookie yelled at him, laughing as she floated next to her plate of watermelon, taking another big bite.

Bjorn swam over to her. "Maybe I should dunk you like I did Bobbie."

"Don't you dare!" she giggled, "want a bite of watermelon?" She held a wedge up toward him and he let her feed him a bite.

"Mmm – good watermelon. Nice and sweet," he laughed. "You know, I never saw anyone use an air mattress as a horse, before," he teased her, pulling on the mattress a little so she couldn't quite reach the side of the pool.

"It's a seahorse," she laughed and he did, too. "I can't help it – I know I'm such a big kid, but I like to float around in all kinds of positions and stuff. I can stay in the pool longer that way."

"Did you have a pool growing up?"

"Oh, no, but we used to go to a community pool when I was younger and I'd stay in just as long as I could. Gran would sit beside the pool talking to the other mothers and knitting or working her crossword puzzles and she'd let me and Jason stay until the pool closed at 6 pm, then she'd wrap us up in beach towels and take us home. She'd stop on the way and get lunch meat to make turkey or roast beef sandwiches, or stuff for a big salad, and she'd get a watermelon about every other day. She made us eat it in the yard because we'd get it all over us, then she'd hose us off and we'd go in and take a bath and put on our pajamas. We didn't even have a shower in those days – she had our bathroom updated when I was 15, and by then I didn't go to the pool much because people were afraid of me."

"So you didn't swim?" He was still pulling her away from the wall, then letting her go back, then pulling her back again.

"No, not much. I'd just sunbathe in the back yard. I got a sprinkler I'd run through now and then to cool off," she laughed.

"Did people give you a hard time in school?"

"Not too much directly, because my brother Jason wouldn't let them, but they all thought I was crazy and I let them. I was happier by myself most of the time, anyway."

"You were a lonely kid, then?"

"Yeah, I guess."

"That's why you like having everyone around now."

"Yeah, maybe. I always wanted a big family and right now I sort of do have a big one, in a way."

"Yeah, you do."

Alicia and Octavia were sitting at a table under an umbrella as Bobbie and Amelia waded back into the water. Bjorn let go of Sookie's mattress and dived under the water, swimming around and showing off a bit as the other girls made their way to the middle of the pool.

"Did you guys get enough to eat?" Sookie asked them as she finished up her watermelon.

"Yeah, I'm stuffed," Amelia laughed, "but I'll be going back for more in a little bit."

"Me, too!" Bobbie said. "By the way, Sookie, we need to get back in the swing of doing your afternoon massages so they're going to bring the chair down before dinner and we'll get a good massage in for you. You float another hour or so and then we'll do a work-out, OK?"

"Yeah, that sounds good – oops! The little Viking thinks it's a good idea, too, I guess,"

Sookie laughed, "and I think he wants more watermelon. Alicia?"

"Yes, dear?"

"Can I get some more watermelon?"

"Of course you can!" Alicia started to get up but one of the attendants was eager to serve the young Queen so she didn't have to. Caroline quickly brought Sookie a new plate full of watermelon and Sookie beamed at her and thanked her. She made a note to herself to tell Eric how nice everyone was to her today so he could let them know he was pleased. She dug in again – you'd never know she had just had a huge lunch and a big plate of melon – and Bobbie and Amelia were throwing a Nerf-type football around with Bjorn playing "hot potato." They would all crack up when one of them dropped the ball and the other two would splash them like crazy. Sookie was eating and laughing at them.

"Sookie, come play with us!" Amelia said.

"I can't, I'm too full!"

"But you're still eating?" Amelia laughed.

"Yep. I don't think I'm up to jumping around."

"Ok, then."

"Actually, I think I might lie down for a bit. I think I could sleep a little." Sookie looked around and saw a comfy-looking chaise lounge with big soft pillows under an awning. She tried to get off her air mattress and Bjorn came over to help her.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt your game," Sookie apologized.

"I'm here to help you, Sookie, that's my priority." Bjorn said as he walked out of the water with her. Alicia handed him her towel and walked over to the chaise under the awning with her, spreading the towel on it and helping her get settled.

"Thank you, Bjorn. I don't want you guys being quiet on my account now, I want you all to play and eat and have fun."

"Not to worry, your majesty, we'll keep the party going. Don't you hesitate to call me if you need anything."

"I'll be fine."

"We'll be right here, too, your majesty." Caroline chimed in. She had decided she had a definite "girl crush" on the new Queen, who was every bit as sweet and pretty as people said she was.

"Thank you, Caroline. Would you consider getting me an iced tea?"

"Of course! I'll be right back." Caroline hustled to get Sookie a tall glass full of ice, a straw and a can of sweet tea, opening it and pouring part of it into the glass. She sat the glass on the table next to the chaise and Sookie gave her a dazzling smile as she picked it up and took a big drink before she settled back. She was asleep before her head hit the towel over the pillows.

Bjorn jumped back into the pool near the girls and made sure he splashed them. He looked back at Sookie, and smiled, motioning to the girls "she's already asleep."

"Good! This is more activity than she's used to right now. I'll let her sleep until about 5, then we'll do her massage. We might have to skip the work out, though, or do it after dinner."

"I think sleep is more important for her right now," Bjorn agreed, "she looks very, very pregnant today."

"Yes, she does," Amelia agreed with that. "I hope she makes it back home before she delivers."

"Me, too," Bobbie said. "I mean, we could handle it if she did, but the longer she goes, the better. I'm sure she's not going to make it to August, though."

Bjorn retrieved the little football and got the game going again. Alicia, Octavia and Sookie were all enjoying their siestas and the attendants were clearing dishes and getting set up for the next round. Corn on the cob, still in the shucks, that had been soaking in buckets, was put on the grill. It would take a while for the corn to cook and when it was done, it would be almost dinnertime. Sookie seemed to be breathing a little hard so Caroline brought out a standing fan and pointed it at her so it oscillated back and forth, keeping her in a cool breeze that seemed to help her rest more.

Sookie heard a familiar voice call her name and opened her eyes. "Niall! What are you doing here?"

"I wanted to see how you are feeling, my dear. How's my little boy doing?"

"He's wonderful – very active and smart. I can't wait until he's born."

"You won't have to wait long, my dear. He's growing faster than anyone expected."

"He won't be too big will he – big enough to be dangerous for him or me?"

"Oh, no, he'll be healthy but not huge. Don't worry about that."

Sookie was very relieved to hear that. "Bobbie said he's in the wrong position right now."

"Not to worry, dear, he has plenty of time to move and Dr. Ludwig is quite capable of handling the situation if he doesn't – human women should be so lucky as to have Ludwig attend their births. She has skills you can't imagine that will make it much easier on you."

"Oh, that's so good to know! I feel much better knowing that!"

"Good, good. I'm actually here to deliver a message to your vampire, my dear. Tell him to watch out for the silverware."

"The silverware?"

"You'll know it when it is time. And you'll have more time to spend with him now that he'll be waking earlier and going to ground later."

"He will?"

"As long as he's not in direct sunlight, he'll be fine. The diffuse light at dawn and dark won't hurt him now, and cloudy, rainy days he can stay up all day if he wants."

"How is that possible?"

"It's an effect of his drinking your blood every day. Don't neglect the mutual feedings, my dear, even after the baby is born. We think it's going to give you both some advantages where the child is concerned."

"OK, we won't stop."

"Good, good. Now you go back to sleep, dear one, and take care of yourself. I know you'll make me proud in your television debut."

"Sookie?" Bobbie tapped her arm.

"Bobbie – where did Niall go?"

"Who?"

"My great grandfather. I was just talking to him – didn't you see him? "

"No, honey, you've been lying here asleep for a couple of hours. I wanted to do your massage before dinner if you're up to it."

"Oh, yeah, that would be nice. My back kind of hurts."

"That's going to become more of a problem, I'm afraid, until the baby is born."

"Yeah, but Niall said it won't be too long and he said not to worry about the position of the baby – even if he doesn't move, Dr. Ludwig can handle it."

"That's good to know! Really good. Can I help you up? The massage chair is set up for you over here."

Bobbie took Sookie's arm and helped her sit up on the side of the lounge chair. Bjorn came over and wrapped his arm around her, taking her right hand in his right hand and guiding her to the massage chair. The chair was set so she could see them preparing dinner for the grill, which was covered at the moment with charred ears of corn.

"Oh, goodie – I'm starting to get hungry. I can't wait to tear into a cob of corn," Sookie laughed.

"I'm getting hungry, too," Bjorn said, "I hope they've got plenty of lobsters."

Sookie laughed and Bjorn and Bobbie helped her straddle the chair and get into position. Bobbie only used a little oil on her shoulders and under the sheer netting of the swim suit that covered her lower back, and Sookie dozed again as Bobbie worked on her muscles. The tension just melted away and it wasn't long before she was dreaming. She thought she was at an elegant dinner, sitting with several people, holding Eric's hand when suddenly, out of nowhere, someone tried to stab Eric. Sookie screamed and suddenly felt Eric shake her.

"Sookie! Wake up! Are you alright?" Eric was so intent on Sookie's distress he didn't realize everyone was staring at him. It was still light out, though it was the edge of dusk but he wasn't suffering any ill effects.

"Eric – oh my Goddess!" Bobbie was the first to speak.

Eric looked up and realized he was out in the light just as Sookie realized what was happening. Eric had a look of fear and confusion on his face as he stood up, his hands still on Sookie's shoulders.

"No, Eric, it's OK," Sookie told him, "I saw Niall and he said you could go out in indirect sunlight now – you can even stay up all day on rainy, cloudy days."

"You saw Niall?" Eric was still looking around and everyone else was holding their breath, waiting to see if he would burst into flames.

"When I was asleep, but it was real. He told me that drinking so much of my blood is making you able to be in indirect light. He told us to continue the mutual feedings even after the baby is born because it's giving us strengths we'll need for the baby. And he said not to worry if the baby is in the wrong position because Dr. Ludwig can handle that. And he had a message for you –"

"A message for me? Wait, whisper it to me." He bent down so she could whisper in his ear.

"He said, "tell him to watch out for the silverware" – hey! I just realized – that's what I was dreaming about just now."

"About what?"

"About being at a dinner or something and someone trying to stab you with silverware."

"That's a good warning. We're going out to dinner tomorrow night. We need to make sure we are in a place that does not provide real silver utensils. I might not have thought of that since I don't eat."

"You might decide to eat while we're out and forget."

"True. Good to know."

The rest of the party was gathering around the tables and lobsters were being put on the grills.

"Bobbie, are you done with Sookie's treatment?"

"For now, but her legs look a little puffy so I want to rub her legs some time before she goes to sleep tonight. Swelling is likely to become more of a problem as she gets closer to delivery so we need to watch out for any changes in her legs and feet."

"Can that be dangerous?"

"It could be, but not if we stay on top of it. If we let her blood pool she could get a blood clot and that can be very dangerous, but we're a long way from worrying about that. I'll make sure we don't let her get to that point."

"Hey, somebody help me up, I'm hungry!" Sookie was a little tired of them consulting about her right in front of her. It wasn't a logical reaction and she knew it so she didn't let herself fly off the handle about it, but still – it was enough.

Eric gripped both her elbows and helped her raise up so she could move one leg then the other back around the seat of the massage chair and stand up. He picked her up and carried her to the table even though it was fairly close, sitting her on a bench and sitting right next to her.

Everyone was in place as Bobbie sat down and the attendants began to serve them cobs of corn, grilled halves of lobsters basted with butter and clams. Sookie had a big bowl of melted butter set in front of her so she could dip her lobster and clams. The others had bowls, too, but Sookie's was as big as a cereal bowl and made of crystal.

Eric beamed at her as she dug in. "Have you enjoyed your cook out today, my beautiful Queen?"

She laughed and gave him a brilliant smile "Yes! We ate lobsters and I floated in the pool and I took a nap on one of the chaise lounges. Except that you weren't here, it was a great day."

Everyone was digging in, engaging in chitchat and gnawing on cobs of corn or slurping butter drenched bits of sea creatures. Sookie looked around with a satisfied air and Eric knew she was feeling like she had a family for the first time since she was a child.

"You are happy, my angel."

She leaned her head on his shoulder. "I am very happy. Thank you for letting us do this."

"Anything to make my Sookie happy," he said as he wrapped his arm around her and kissed her head. "I haven't felt this from you before, this… comfort. I like it. It makes me feel like a good provider."

"Eric, you're the best "provider" ever. This is just the icing on a spectacular cake." She stretched her neck upward to kiss him and everyone at the table teased them with "ooh's" and "awwww's." The attendants, who had not seen Eric before, were in awe of him – his size, his beauty, the long blonde hair and blue eyes, his ability to wake and walk in the light and the way he obviously doted on Sookie. The two of them together almost glowed with love and they were both so fair and pretty – even the King was pretty, not handsome, but still very masculine – and they were both very kind to the help though they knew Eric's reputation. It was hard to reconcile the deadly, merciless vampire with the loving husband they saw before them, but you could just tell from his size and strength that he was not someone you wanted to anger.

"Hey – I just realized – what are you wearing?" Sookie asked him.

"Swim trunks and a shirt."

"Yeah, I recognize the muscle shirt but I've never seen you in swim trunks before."

"Alicia bought them in case I wanted to join the party."

"You're going to swim with us?" She was very excited at that.

"Yes, of course. But first, I want to try a bite of everything you are eating."

"OK, cool. Here…" she offered him a big piece of lobster tail dripping in butter.

"Mmm – that's good. I see why you wanted this. The meat has a sweet mild flavor. Very good indeed."

He tried a clam which he thought was just OK and then he took a bite from a cob of corn, which he loved. "You know, corn had not been discovered when I was human. This is the first time I have ever tasted it. It's good. They sometimes serve it cut off of this…"

"…cob."

"… cob? Alright. It's very sweet. It is a fruit?"

"No, it's a vegetable but it has so much sugar that they make corn syrup out of it – don't they, Bobbie?"

"Corn? Yes, and they use corn syrup in almost every processed food available these days. It's one of the reasons Americans are getting so fat."

"Corn creates fat?" Eric asked.

"No, just the syrup being added to everything. The concentrated sugar is the problem."

"Corn will affect the blood sugar," Bjorn added, "but it's generally good for you. It has lots of fiber in it that's really good for the system. You just have to be aware not to have a lot of sugary foods all at once. You don't want your blood sugar too high or too low."

"Blood sugar?"

"Yes, too much can give you diabetes. Too little can make you faint. You want to keep it constant by eating small meals through the day."

"Is that what you do?" Eric asked.

"Not as much as I should, but mostly. I use protein bars and shakes through the day to keep it level and keep my energy up."

Eric was obviously processing the information and Sookie knew he was thinking about the baby.

"You wouldn't worry about that too much with a baby or small child though, would you?" Sookie was hoping to get this into perspective.

"Not too much, no." Bjorn said. "A child shouldn't lift weights until their late teens when they're mostly grown. Children should run, ride bicycles, play sports, do martial arts."

"Martial arts?" Eric perked up at hearing that.

"Yes – Tai kwan do, karate, jujitsu – even sword fighting, if you start them with a wooden sword that they can't cut themselves with."

Eric nodded and raised his eyebrows and gave Sookie a satisfied smile.

"Alright, as long as he can't get cut." She acquiesced.

"Do you know any of the Asian martial arts, Bjorn?" Eric continued.

"Yes, several. I'm trained in a five types of martial practices. When he is old enough, I will help your son learn to fight if you want."

"Good, I would want that. He needs to be able to protect himself even when he is small."

"Martial arts are good," Octavia said, "they teach discipline. You just want to make sure that he's well rounded and remember that he'll have other ways to protect himself as well."

"Yes, that's true." Eric agreed. "How old before he can begin to learn martial arts?'

"I'd say 5 years old." Octavia said.

"Maybe earlier if he's very advanced as he may be." Bjorn said.

"Yes – he already wants to fight." Eric said proudly.

"Yeah, that nut didn't fall far from that big old tree," Octavia cracked and they all laughed. "He knows who he is already. I can't wait to see that boy."

"Neither can I." Eric said wistfully.

"How you feel about this, Vampire? You being a daddy after all this time?" Octavia asked.

"It was a shock at first but when I understood he was really MY son, it was like a dream I never dared have. The more I learn about him, the more excited I am. It's so unusual and it's something no other vampire has. And the fact that it is a gift from Freya – I don't have words to say how special it is to me."

"You were close to Her?" Octavia continued.

"Very. I thought She had forgotten me," he said with a sense of awe, "but She did not. She found a way for us to be together forever, just as She said She would."

Everyone at the table and all the attendants listened spellbound, realizing that Eric had been chosen by the Goddess Freya, and so had Sookie. It was true – the baby was Goddess–touched. They were all privileged to be in their presence. The rumors were true!

Caroline in particular couldn't keep her eyes off of Sookie and Eric noticed it.

"The young blonde there has a crush on you, my angel," he whispered to her.

"What?!"

"She can't keep her eyes off you. Not that I blame her – you look very beautiful in that… bathing suit?"

"Yes, it's a maternity bathing suit – I'm too fat for the regular ones now …" Sookie stopped and smiled as Caroline replenished her butter bowl and put another half lobster on her plate. "Thank you" she said with a dazzling smile and Caroline flushed and almost dropped the pitcher of butter. She rushed back into the kitchen and Eric cracked up.

"You're being silly."

"Perhaps, but she flushed when you smiled at her and nearly dropped her butter. There was no doubt of her arousal when she looked at you – I could smell it," he teased Sookie and wiggled his eyebrows at her. Sookie stuck her tongue out at him and he whispered in her ear, "Do that to her and see what she does." He was still laughing.

Sookie looked at him with shock and amusement, her eyes wide and her mouth hanging open – she couldn't believe he said that. "Eric, what are you doing?!"

"I'm merely observing that she would like to know you better. Invite her to our room if you want." Sookie was incredulous as he whispered to her again, "you can have her as long as I can watch." He wiggled his brows again and had that smug smile that made her want to slap him and fuck his brains out.

Caroline came back over with a tray of lobster halves and was giving them out to the ones that wanted them. Bjorn took numbers five and six for the meal, 11 and 12 for the day. She stood behind Sookie and Eric and was very nervous about speaking but she managed, her voice cracking, to say "excuse me, your majesty, would you like another?"

Eric answered for her, "Yes, she would. My wife was wondering what your name is, girl?"

"I'm Caroline, Sire." The girl smiled nervously at Sookie, "I was the one that put the fan on you when you slept so you didn't get overheated."

"Oh, thank you for doing that! It felt so good! I'm sure I slept better because of it." Sookie was genuinely grateful and it did feel marvelous when she woke up.

"How long have you worked here at the residence, Caroline?" Eric asked. Sookie knew he was busting on her hard but she wasn't going to do anything to embarrass the poor young girl.

"This is my second summer here, Sire, I started right after school let out."

"What school is that?"

"UNLV, Sire"

"And what do you study there?"

"Psychology, Sire, I want to specialize in treatment for Vampires and their significant others."

"Interesting. I didn't realize there was a field of psychology that addressed vampires yet?"

"It's very new. There are three concentrations – depression, adjustment and relationships."

"And yours is relationships? That is fascinating. And what led you to apply for a job here?"

"It's the best place to encounter out vampires in the area that isn't a bar. The former king would let me talk to guests when he entertained. He liked to be interviewed, too."

"And was he helpful to your studies?"

"Not really. He was more of an anti-social personality. His relationships tended to be transitory or non-romantic. I'm interested in studying romance between vampires and humans."

"Really? Have you had a chance to talk to Sookie about that?"

"No, Sire, but I thought maybe when school starts back in the Fall I would ask if I could interview one or both of you for a paper. You'd be perfect subjects."

"Yes, of course, we'd be happy to help you, wouldn't we, my angel?"

"Of course we would. You keep in touch with my liaison in the office here and when you're back in school, and we're in town, you and I can have lunch and talk about whatever you need." Sookie figured what the hell – it would help the girl in school and the idea would get Eric's motor running – not that it wasn't already. She could feel the bond humming and his energy piqued when Sookie spoke just now.

"That would be wonderful, your Highness. Thank you so much!"

Eric was very pleased with himself. He knew Sookie would get him back for that but he enjoyed it immensely and the idea of Sookie and that girl "getting to know each other" was a pleasant little fantasy. The promise of a future meeting would really keep it going.

The girl went back to replenish the bowl of clams and Sookie looked at Eric with narrow eyes, half mad and half amused, at him pulling that on her. "Alright Northman."

"What?" He played innocent.

"You enjoyed that didn't you?"

"Oh, yes, I did. I will enjoy it even more when I'm watching the two of you…"

"SHHH – Eric, stop. That is not going to happen."

"Not this trip perhaps, but after the baby, I'll bet it does." He whispered and nuzzled her neck, making her giggle.

"I know what you're thinking, Eric – watermelon first, then we'll go upstairs." Sookie didn't actually hear his thoughts, but in this case, he wasn't that hard to read.

Eric laughed and turned his attention to the rest of the table. Everyone was finishing up and the attendants were slicing watermelons. "So everyone, what is on the agenda tomorrow?"

Alicia spoke first. "I would suggest that Sookie sleep very late and then I help her memorize the information she'll need on TV Friday morning. Then I'll help her get dressed for your evening out and I'll go into town to see a show."

"Alright, that makes sense. Bobbie?"

"I was wondering if tomorrow could be my day off and I'll go sight seeing with Amelia and Octavia?"

"Alright, and did you make the plans for Friday?"

"Yes, I did."

"Have you told anyone yet?"

"No, I thought you might want to."

"Alright then – Ladies, I have an announcement. Friday afternoon…" He looked at Bobbie who nodded, "you are all going to be Sookie's guests at the Spa at the Bellagio. Bobbie has all the details, but basically, you'll be pampered and massaged and whatever else you ladies do at such places. I mean all of you – Bobbie and Alicia as well as Octavia and Amelia. You can all get your hair and nails ready for the Ball while you're at it – is that correct, Bobbie?"

"Yes, it's going to be amazing. It's a custom Pamper Party. We all get facials, massages, waxing if you want, special full body baths or exfoliation, pedicures, manicures, hair styling and it's all going to be in a private room with just us. You'll all be able to adjust your treatments to your tastes or preferences and I described each of us so they have an idea what each of us might want or can make recommendations. You can even get spray tans if you want – Sookie I thought you might like that for the ball. They're also going to provide lunch and champagne, and they're going to send hair and makeup people to our suites to get us all ready for the ball Saturday including a special shave, manicure and pedicure for Eric so he can dazzle all the Sheriffs and Queens and Kings and his subjects Saturday night."

"I want you all to get exactly what you want and do not worry about the prices. This is a special party for Sookie and I want everyone to have a wonderful time." Eric added.

Octavia was excited but a little worried because she hadn't done much in the way of salon or spa visits. Amelia assured her it would be fine and they'd make sure she was comfortable. Alicia was tickled to death and Sookie was in shock.

"Eric, when did you plan all of this?" Sookie asked.

"I wanted to do something very special for you, my angel and I thought you might enjoy having a party with your friends where you all get pampered and prettied up."

"All of us? That's really considerate… I don't know what to say." Sookie didn't know how to react. There was a time when she'd be angry that he sprung this on her but she knew her girls would all love this, and to be honest with herself, she would, too. She certainly didn't want to seem ungrateful but it was so much money…!

'OK, Sookie, he did this to make you happy so you pull it together and show him he did,' she told herself. She couldn't think of anything to say so she turned to Eric, took his face in her hands and kissed him hard and long in front of everybody. "Thank you so much, Eric. This was a really thoughtful gift."

He beamed at her and kissed her again, then he spoke to the group. "You will all have to be packed up to leave when you get up Friday morning. Bjorn will be supervising the move to the suites at the Bellagio while you girls are at the Spa. He'll go with you all to the TV station, then you'll have an armed guard that will stay outside the Spa while you are there and Bjorn will return to supervise the movement of our luggage and my travel box, which will be delivered tomorrow. By the time you are all done at the spa, Bjorn will come get you and take you to your suites upstairs. Saturday will most likely revolve around getting ready for the ball, and then Sunday everyone - Bjorn, Alicia and Bobbie – has a day off. Monday, I'd like Alicia to take Sookie shopping and of course any of you other ladies may go as well."

"I can't believe we get to stay at the Bellagio!" Amelia said.

"Fancy?" Octavia asked.

"The fanciest. Wait until you see it. It's going to be great. It has it's own art gallery, shopping, restaurants, a spa."

"Have I got clothes for this place?" Octavia asked.

"Anything is fine, really, but we can go shopping tomorrow if you want some new stuff," Amelia offered.

"If any of you need additional funds added to your cards, let me know and I'll have the office take care of it. I want you to be able to shop and eat, gamble, do whatever you want. I can comp you for our casino on the strip, too." Eric added.

"Which casino is yours?" Alicia asked.

"The Regency. I can get comp cards for you all to gamble and eat there. It's very pretty."

"Hey, it never occurred to me – why didn't they hold the Sheriff's ball there?" Sookie asked.

"The ballroom there is too small for such a large event and the Bellagio is much more prestigious – at least for now. When our new construction begins, we'll be giving the Bellagio some competition."

"Wow…" Amelia said.

"Yes, indeed. The plans and the prospectus were quite ambitious. It's going to be spectacular," Eric said with great pride.

"Even in this economy?" Sookie asked.

"Our sources of money are untouched by the economic crunch. By the time our construction is complete, the economy is going to be humming again and the money flowing."

"You sound very sure of that." Alicia said.

"I am. Humans tend to look at short spans of time – vampires have a different perspective. We see trends that play out over hundreds of years rather than a few decades. This is a minor bump in a long road. The market will rebound in no time at all, really."

People were finishing their meals and when Sookie was sure she was done, Eric pulled his shirt off and scooped her up, wading into the pool with her. The women at the table as well as the attendants flushed a bit when they saw Eric's pale but muscular chest. Looks were exchanged all around as they watched his muscles ripple as he picked Sookie up and carried her off.

"Wow – we've never been in the water when we couldn't have sex," Sookie said as he lowered her in the water. He kissed her on the forehead as he set her down and then he dived into the water and did a couple of laps back and forth. Bjorn whistled as he came to stand beside the pool and watched Eric slip through the water like a dolphin.

Eric came up, smoothing his hair back with his hands. "Want to race, Bjorn?"

"I'm pretty sure you'd beat me, but it wouldn't hurt me to do a couple of laps."

"Come in, then, and let's go – once up and back – butterfly stroke."

Bjorn threw his shirt off and dived in, and the others all gathered around the pool as Eric and Bjorn moved into position, side by side. Sookie stood to the side facing them, ready to yell 'go,' as all of the ladies were swooning over the two gorgeous hunks side by side. They were god-like – Eric taller and slimmer but with the muscled arms and chest of a warrior used to wielding a heavy Viking sword in one hand and a mace in the other, Bjorn a little shorter but with more deliberately defined and developed musculature – the body of a modern warrior. They stood at the ready.

"On your mark!" Sookie yelled and the guys leaned forward.

"Get set…. GO!"

They were off in a shot, water splashing like crazy. Everyone knew Eric could easily beat Bjorn if he kicked into vampire speed, but he didn't to make it a little more even. He was still well ahead of Bjorn but everyone cheered and pretended it was a contest anyway. Eric even waited a bit at the end of the pool to give Bjorn a chance to close the gap before he headed back. When they both reached the end of the race, they came up laughing and shook hands and everyone cheered.

"Can you do the back stroke?" Eric asked?

"Yeah, but I don't know how fast."

"No race, then, let's just go up and back."

"Ok, let's go." Both men started moving backwards through the water at a more leisurely pace, just enjoying the activity and a bit of male bonding. Next they did two laps with Sookie holding onto Eric's back and Bobbie holding onto Bjorn, both girls giggling like crazy as the guys gave them piggy back rides. Sookie really cracked up about half way through when she felt the baby send "Fight! Fight!" – the little whippersnapper apparently recognizing that this was sort of a contest or game.

The party wound down as everyone wandered off for the evening. Alicia, Amelia and Octavia went to the Regency since Eric had offered. He offered to take Sookie, too or let her go with her friends but she was very tired and said she'd go on another trip, knowing they would be coming to Las Vegas a lot now. He could tell she was very tired and she was beginning to get really uncomfortable from the pregnancy so he decided they'd spend a quiet evening at home watching a movie. He would try to skip sex tonight if she'd let him because she seemed so tired. She enjoyed her cook out and he was glad she had it, but it really was probably too much for her.

Bobbie and Bjorn decided to go to see the new Star Trek movie and get a drink somewhere, and Bobbie promised to check in on Sookie when she got home later. Bobbie didn't expect anything romantic with Bjorn, of course, but she liked being around him and having his attention. Bjorn liked hanging out with her, and they had some interests in common like health, diet, and exercise. He was hoping he could at least get some massage out of her at some point, though what he'd really like was a "friends with benefits" deal for when Bill wasn't around. He knew Bobbie seemed crazy about Bill, but Bill only seemed fond of her, not in love with her. Not that Bjorn had specific designs on her or anything – he just believed in keeping his options open and Bobbie seemed like a viable option in their current situation.

Eric carried Sookie back up to the royal suite and into their bedroom. He sat her on the bed, and retrieved a little lavender nightgown for her, and helped her out of her suit.

"Aren't we going to take a bath?" Sookie asked.

"Are you up to it?"

"Actually, no, but I should at least shower off."

"That we can do." Eric took her into the shower and washed her off, washing and conditioning her hair as she became so relaxed he had to hold her up. He finished his hair quickly and carried her into the bedroom wrapped in a huge fluffy towel. He put her little gown on her, and they went back out into the living room to watch the huge TV and snuggle on the huge red velvet couch. About an hour into **National Treasure: Book of Secrets**, Sookie fell asleep and didn't remember anything, even being awakened for her RMs, until Alicia woke her up to eat at 2 pm. After she ate breakfast and Alicia reviewed the information for the TV appearance the next day, she went back to sleep until after 6 when Eric woke her. The two of them showered and Alicia helped Sookie get ready to go out while Eric checked his messages and returned some phone calls.

Alicia curled Sookie's hair and did it in a sophisticated modern version of a 60s style falling around her shoulders. She helped Sookie into the slightly retro yellow and black evening dress she had chosen for the night and when she was done primping, Sookie joined Eric and Bjorn in the living room. Eric was on the phone when she walked in, but his eyes bugged out and his mouth dropped open when he saw her. He actually forgot what he was saying on the phone. Bjorn did a double take, too. Sookie looked radiant.

Eric ended his call. "Sookie, you look lovely!"

"It's not too much? Or too old fashioned?"

"It's beautiful," he assured her.

She looked at Bjorn who smiled and nodded his approval. " You look great, your majesty. All eyes will be on you."

"Alright, well, the Mayor and his wife are waiting for us in the parlor down front so we should all get moving." Eric said.

"I'm ready," Sookie said as Alicia handed her a beautiful black burnout silk shawl with long gorgeous fringe on it, and a small black and yellow handbag. Finally she fastened the Tiffany art deco diamond bracelet on Sookie's wrist and put two lovely diamond chandelier earrings in her earlobes.

"Are you sure you'll be alright in those shoes, dear?" Alicia was worried because Sookie had chosen a pair of Jimmy Choo stilettos that she was afraid would hurt her feet.

"I don't think I'll be on my feet that much. Eric can carry me if it's too bad."

"Alright then. Just in case, here's a little tote with a pair of more comfortable shoes you can change into if you need to. Just have the driver keep it in the car for you."

"OK, thanks! You're going out tonight, right?"

"Yep, the car is waiting for me now. If you're done I'll go on down."

"I'm fine, thanks. Don't they look handsome?" Sookie pointed to Eric and Bjorn.

"Gorgeous, " Alicia agreed. Eric was wearing an expensive navy suit with a pale blue silk shirt and tie combo. Bjorn Had on a nice grey suit, crisp white shirt and red tie.

Everyone headed downstairs where Mayor Norris and his wife were waiting.

"Mayor! So nice to see you!" Eric was in full bullshitting mode already. "Mrs. Norris, you look lovely!"

"Oh, please, call me Irma. Sookie, my dear, you look wonderful – even though you look like you're about to pop!"

"I feel like I'm about to pop, too." Sookie laughed.

"This is Bjorn Andersen – he's Sookie's new body guard. I hope you don't mind that he'll be going with us. I need him to stay close to Sookie."

"That's quite alright, Eric," the Mayor replied, "I understand you have to be more cautious now that you've moved up in the hierarchy."

"Isn't that exciting?! Sookie, dear do they actually call you "your majesty" now?" The mayor's wife asked.

"Yes, actually, they do – it's a little hard to get used to."

"I've been reading all about you in the tabloids – they say you're the new Princess Diana. I've been telling everyone I know that it's absolutely true, that you're just as sweet and wonderful as she was. You can't believe how excited everyone is for you to have that baby!" Mrs. Norris had a hold of Sookie's arm and didn't let go all night. Sookie plastered a smile on her face and held on for dear life as they piled into the mayor's limousine and headed for the restaurant.

"Where are we going tonight?" Sookie asked, wanting to contribute something to the conversation.

"Fleur De Lys restaurant in the Mandalay Bay hotel. It's a spectacular French restaurant. Do you like French food, my dear?"

"Yes, some of it. I usually end up having some form of duck, or onion soup."

"Oh my dear, you'll just love the chocolate soufflé with mocha ice cream. We'll order that at the beginning of the meal so we don't have to wait later on. " Irma then went off for the rest of the ride to the restaurant talking about every meal they had had there which were many.

Eric and the Mayor were in deep discussion about business and their plans and Sookie did her best to keep smiling. She answered questions by the dozens – her Olian dress was from Nordstrom's, her shoes were Jimmy Choo, the baby was a boy, they lived in Shreveport but were thinking about relocating to New Orleans, they were going to move to the Bellagio tomorrow, and on and on and then Sookie made the tactical error of mentioning she was going to be on TV the next morning. Irma Norris latched onto that like an alligator on a poodle.

The best part of the night was the Prime Steak Tartare, the Pan-Seared Duck Breast and the famous chocolate soufflé, all of which Sookie enjoyed immensely. The evening went off without incident and they even took a brief break in one of the casinos where the ladies played slot machines. Sookie was getting used to Irma at this point and she was learning to steer her into interesting topics like magick and astrology that Sookie figured she should know about any way. If you got her on the right subject, Irma could be really interesting. She seemed to know a lot about a lot of different topics. Sookie also gathered that their children were grown and away from home and it was kind of a relief for Irma to have someone to talk to. She belonged to several committees and charity boards, of course, but she was still a lonely person because she didn't feel as if she really fit in with the shallow society ladies she had to deal with. Sookie could relate to that and she was actually starting to like Irma.

Sookie actually dozed off in the car on the way home and Irma wouldn't let anyone wake her. Eric said their good nights and carried her upstairs, tucking her in around midnight and then going to work. She didn't know another thing until Alicia woke her up at 5 am to get ready for the TV appearance.

Sookie was a little tired and nervous, but Alicia had them bring her an RM and a bottle of sweet tea to perk her up a little, plus an English muffin with some blueberry jam to stave off hunger. Alicia had her wear a demure white voile peasant maternity dress from Sookie's Nordstrom's spree. Her jewelry was the Elsa Peretti Diamonds by the Yard pieces that added just a little sparkle but made her look polished.

Alicia and Bjorn went in the first limo with Sookie and Octavia, Amelia and Bobbie took the second. A third van of security guards followed behind. Fans jumped up and down and waved as they left the residence, and it seemed as if the royal entourage was also being followed by a caravan. Alicia quizzed Sookie on the information about the Ball and the Fundraiser as they traveled.

There was a crowd of about 300 people outside the TV station being held back by a police line. There were actually paparazzi there, too, with cameras flashing all over the place.

"What in the world is going on?" Sookie said, incredulous.

"They're hear for you, your majesty," Bjorn said. The car pulled up to the side entrance where the crowd was gathered. Police and guards from the third vehicle gathered in front of the door. Bjorn exited first, pulling Sookie out behind him and wrapping his arm around her as the other guards and police formed a gauntlet for them to pass through. People screamed and went crazy when they saw the blonde hair and realized it was Queen Sookie. Once Sookie and Bjorn were safely inside the building, Alicia, Bobbie, Octavia and Amelia were escorted in by the Were guards.

The group was led to a small "green room" where there were donuts and coffee and they all managed to catch their breath.

"Damn, Sookie – you have actual paparazzi out there!" Amelia laughed.

"I can't imagine why – it's not that big a deal," Sookie said.

"It is to them," Octavia said, "and you need to remember that. That kind of fame brings responsibility with it. You want to be kind when you can but you need to remember to be cautious. Learn to use the energy they send you or it can drain you. They all want something you most likely can't give them. Take the good and let the bad wash by you."

"But why me?"

"Freya, honey, and that special baby you're carrying. That big blonde hunk of a husband of yours, your own sweetness and power. There are many reasons for people to be drawn to you – the combination of all of them is irresistible to many people."

As Sookie and Octavia spoke, Alicia brushed Sookie's hair, then pulled a small jeweled crown out of her bag and set it on Sookie's head, sliding the little combs at the side into her hair where they wouldn't be seen but would hold it in place.

Sookie looked at her. "You're kidding, right?"

"I'm afraid not, dear. His majesty chose it from the Royal jewels – it's the smallest one in the collection – and he said to insist because this is an official appearance in your capacity as Queen. It's very small and it will look lovely with this pretty dress. Very fitting for a young royal."

"Hello! Hello!" A tall blonde in a fancy red suit came bouncing in. "I'm Toni Terry, I'll be doing your interview this morning. You're the Vampire Queen, I hope?"

"Yes, I'm Sookie Northman. I'm not a vampire, though, my husband is, and he's the King of these territories."

"How fascinating. You know we already have stations all over the country begging for permission to use the footage we shoot today. Everybody wants to see the Princess Diana of the Undead."

"Great…." Sookie's head was spinning. She reigned herself in, though, knowing that Eric and a lot of others were counting on her to be a good representative for the Kingdoms. 'Alright, Sookie, this is part of being Eric's wife and Eric Alexander's mother, so you get serious and do a good job,' she told herself.

"Fantastic – you're going to look great on camera. Come on with me now and we'll get your mic on you."

The tall woman led her onto a small set with a couple of nice upholstered chairs and a sound engineer attached the battery pack to the back of Sookie's dress and placed the earpiece in her ear. The producer of the segment was a heavy young woman who seemed very stressed out, but she was obviously in awe of Sookie.

"Hello, your majesty, I'm Janet Walsh – I was the one who set up this interview. It's an honor to meet you."

"Oh, hi, thanks. Call me Sookie."

The woman flushed. "Oh, thank you. Toni is just going to ask you some questions that should be fairly easy to answer. We'll try to do just one take unless something goes horribly wrong, so just relax and keep going forward with the interview." She turned to the camera operator, "J.D. – how's she looking?"

"Gorgeous. Her hair needs a bit of a tweak where they put the earpiece in for her."

Alicia immediately moved up and fixed Sookie's hair, and she touched her nose and forehead with a little powder to knock out the little bit of shine. She stepped back and the camera operator asked her if she'd like to see how Sookie looked on camera. She said yes and he led her over to the monitor. Sookie looked very sweet and feminine. Alicia motioned to her to sit up straight and Sookie did, taking on a more regal air as she did and steeling herself to do what she had to. The tall blonde sat next to her and they put her mic in place, then the producer said "OK, we're going to go in 5…4…3…2…and "

"Good morning, Las Vegas! I'm Toni Terry, your host this morning and we have a very special guest with us today. Sitting next to me is Queen Sookie Northman. You've all read about her in the tabloids, now we're going to speak to her in her first ever televised appearance." She turned to Sookie. "Welcome to Las Vegas, your majesty."

"Oh, thank you, but please, call me Sookie," Sookie gave a dazzling smile and used her best Southern accent and manners.

"Now you became Queen when you married a vampire?"

"Actually, we were married first and when he was promoted to King I automatically became Queen."

"Did your husband kill Felipe de Castro?"

BITCH! She blindsided Sookie! "Of course not. He was simply installed in his old office when Felipe disappeared."

"Why did The Council choose your husband?"

"He was the best qualified person at his level. They knew he would do a good job."

"OK, most of us know a fang banger or two – what possessed you to actually marry a vampire?"

"We fell in love and we are having a baby so marriage was the logical thing to do."

"I've read that vampires can't have children – are you sure it's his baby?"

"Yes, I'm quite sure. It's a very rare occurrence, but there is no doubt in anyone's mind that this is Eric's son."

"So you already know it's going to be a boy?"

"Yes."

"Have you chosen a name yet?"

"Yes, he'll be named Eric Alexander Northman."

"When is the blessed event?"

"Well, officially it's early August but everyone seems to think it will be before that."

"Well, you certainly look like you're ready to pop," the woman laughed. Sookie was growing to hate this bitch. "Now, you're in town for a special event. Can you tell us a bit about the Sheriff's Ball."

"Yes, well, it's held in a different territory every year. This year is Nevada's turn and we'll be welcoming all the Sheriffs and most of the regents in the North American territories, though some will come from over seas as well."

"And Sheriff is a vampire title?"

"Yes, they over see one area in about 5 or 6 in each territory. They answer to the King or his representatives."

"Are there vampire Queens who are actually vampires?"

"Oh, yes, of course. They have female Sheriffs, too. They're pretty gender neutral in their offices. A vampire's age determines their strength rather than their size or gender so they all have an equal shot at similar levels of seniority."

"Now, this Sheriff's Ball is very exclusive, isn't it? I know someone sold tickets to it for $50,000 on eBay recently."

"They try to keep it a vampire-centric event, but lots of humans want to attend as well. They limit the attendance because they want it to stay focused on rewarding the sheriffs for their hard work."

"And you have another event coming up in New Orleans, yes?"

"Yes, we have a fundraiser at the Ritz-Carlton Grand Ballroomin New Orleans on Friday, July 3rd beginning at 9 pm to raise money for the rebuilding efforts."

"Is it true Brangelina might attend?"

"I really don't know, but of course we'd love it if they did. They've been very dedicated to the reconstruction. A lot of people are still in need and it's very important to get New Orleans back on its feet again. She's such an important part of our culture and history – we should do everything we can to bring the city back to its full potential."

"OK, now for some girl talk – what are you wearing to the ball?"

"A strapless red dress, one of two pairs of red Jimmy Choo's but I can't decide which one yet, and a ring that used to belong to Marie Antoinette."

"Wow – where did you get that?!"

"It was a wedding present."

"Is this it?" She pointed to Sookie's left hand and the camera zoomed in.

"Oh, no, that's my engagement and wedding rings."

"This is very rude, but can I ask the size of that diamond?"

"4 carats. The rubies are 1 carat each."

"They're shaped like…"

"Drops of blood, to represent my blood bond with Eric."

The host choked a little, then recovered herself. "So, what's it like having sex with a vampire."

Everyone watching on the monitors in the green room said "Oh, shit."

"Better than you can possibly imagine." Sookie said with a brilliant smile. If the bitch was going to be ignorant, Sookie would give her shit right back. "My husband is 6'5" of solid muscle. He's big and beautiful with long blonde hair and blue eyes and he never gets tired, won't age and won't die. Frankly, I'm completely spoiled for other men."

"How did he get the name Eric the Untouchable?"

"I'm not sure – I guess because he's not afraid of anything."

"Why is that?"

"He's a Vampire King – he's the most feared creature on this earth. Everyone and everything else is afraid of _him… and should be_." Sookie looked the woman straight in the eye and let her know that she was fucking with the wrong girl, and she backed right down.

"Oh, uh, well, Thank you so much, Queen Sookie, I hope both events are very successful. OK, Chuck, back to you!"

Sookie just glared at the woman while they removed her mic, then got up and walked out without a word.

"You OK, kid?" Amelia asked.

"How bad was it?" Sookie asked.

"She came off like an asshole, you handled yourself fine."

"Is Eric going to be embarrassed?"

"Eric is going to be thrilled," Bjorn said and everyone cracked up.

"Alright then, I want to talk to some of the people outside and let them take some pictures.

"Sookie, I don't think that's a good idea." Bjorn said.

"I know, but I want to. All of you will be with me. They went to the trouble of showing up for me, the least I can do is say 'hi.'"

Octavia nodded her approval. Bjorn wasn't happy about it, but he told the guards outside what they were going to do. They stayed right with Sookie as she posed for pictures, signed autographs and even kissed a baby or two. Everyone got a smile and a picture if they wanted one.

"Sookie, there are FOTS protesters across the street. I'd really recommend we get out of here." Bjorn whispered to her. Sookie nodded and they moved her to the car where the others in the party were waiting.

The FOTS crowd got more agitated as they saw Sookie moved into the car. The louder they got, the more the police moved toward them. As Sookie's limo pulled out, one of them threw what turned out to be a bottle of blood and almost hit the car with it.

What they didn't see was the melee that took place after the limos left. The FOTS started harassing the fans as they dispersed and three separate fights broke out between the vamp fans and the extremists.

The third car called Bjorn on his headphone and told him about the fights so he refused to let Sookie say hi to the people outside the residence. Once inside the gate, Bjorn gave instructions to the guards in the last car to stay close to the women and to call him if anything out of the ordinary happened. He was going to haul ass and get Eric and the luggage moved to the hotel so he could get back to Sookie because he was afraid word would leak out as to where she was.

He stuck his head back in the car. "Sookie, listen to me – you don't let anybody get near you no matter how harmless they seem. Once you check into the spa, don't tell anyone who you are or who your husband is. I'm going to get this move done as quickly as I can so I can get down there with you. There will be guards at the spa with you, but I'm going to haul ass so I can get there myself ASAP. Alicia – nobody leaves Sookie alone at any point. There is always someone with her no matter what, OK?"

"We'll keep an eye on her," Alicia assured him.

The women headed to the spa and Bjorn started barking orders to get the move going. He double-checked every room to make sure all of their things were loaded and that there was nothing left behind. They checked in through the Executive Suite Lounge and Bjorn confirmed that the flower arrangements Eric had ordered for Sookie were to be in place by 5 o'clock so they'd be there when she came up from the spa. Once all the bags were in the right rooms and everything set up, plus 4 guards outside Eric's door, Bjorn high-tailed it down to the Spa.

The girls were all in a meditation room being pampered so one of the technicians checked to see if they were decent before Bjorn could come in. They said he could so he stuck his head in. "Having fun, ladies?"

"Yes!" most of them said in unison.

"I just wanted to let you know that I'm back. I'll be right out here if you need me. I'll make a trip or two upstairs to check on Eric, but in the mean time, Sookie, put this around your neck." He handed her a small plastic thing with a button on it on a long chain.

"What's this?"

"A panic button. I'll have the receiver. If anything even looks suspicious, you press that button and I'll get to you as fast as I can."

"OK."

Bjorn hesitated. "No argument?"

"No, it wouldn't do any good anyway and besides, that bottle of blood his morning freaked me out."

"OK, well, I'll be here." He was amazed – something finally got her attention.

The pampering included drinks and lunch and went on for hours. Octavia was really pleased with her treatments, since she hadn't had a real manicure or pedicure in years. She had her feet and hands exfoliated, and massaged and it made her feel like a hundred bucks. She even had her hair styled and dyed and she had an anti-aging facial. Alicia did pretty much the same, plus a stone massage. Bobbie and Amelia went all out – eyebrow and lip waxing, full body exfoliation, massages, mani-pedis, hair conditioning and trims. Sookie had the exfoliation and spray on tan, stone massages for body and face, a vitamin c facial, mani-pedi, hair trimmed and conditioned. She felt a little cheesy getting the spray on tan but she was wearing a strapless gown for the Ball and she didn't want tan lines or white spots so she let them give her the works and came out looking perfectly "brown as a biscuit" as Gran would say.

It was nearly 6 o'clock when the girls headed up to see their suites. Bjorn took Sookie to the Presidential suite and they found Eric standing at the door talking to the guards.

"There's my girl!" He said with a big smile. "You look radiant, my angel."

"I should – I've been exfoliated and massaged and conditioned and a whole bunch of other things that all felt wonderful. I feel melted," she laughed and wrapped her arms around his waist.

"Good, now, close your eyes."

"Why?"

"Just do, please."

"OK," she closed her eyes and Eric gently guided her into the suite. "Hey, I smell roses!"

"Open your eyes, Sookie."

Sookie was stunned. The entire suite was filled with pink flowers. There were vases and wreaths and all kinds of arrangements of pink flowers everywhere and they stretched right into the bedroom, too. "Eric what is all this?"

"It's every pink flower in Las Vegas, plus what I could have shipped in. I wanted to surprise you."

"Eric…. It's amazing! You didn't need to do all this, though. The spa party was plenty."

"That was for all of you – this is just for you. As is this." He handed her a small blue jewelry box.

"Uh oh."

"Open it, sweetheart."

"Oh. My. Goddess!" Sookie was holding the most gorgeous pair of ruby and diamond earrings imaginable. "Eric, you shouldn't have!"

"I wanted you to have something spectacular to wear with your red ball gown."

"They're stunning!"

"You might want this, too."

It was another, much larger jewelry box. "Eric…"

"Just open it."

HOLY. SHIT. A matching diamond and ruby necklace of heart shaped stones.

"But…"

"Listen to me before you go off. I knew you wouldn't wear the large crowns in the royal jewels, now, will you?"

"No, I'd rather not…"

"So with these earrings, and this necklace, the smaller diamond crown with the heart shape will be plenty. The larger ones would be too much with all of this. You have your hair put in an updo, wear the small tiara and then this jewelry and you'll knock them dead… as it were… tomorrow night."

Sookie started to speak and stopped. She started again and stopped. She tried one more time, then gave up and kissed Eric long and hard. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," he smiled. No fit at all – she was growing up, he thought to himself.

"I don't suppose you just borrowed these…?"

"Sookie, you know better than that."

"Yeah, I do. I'm just trying to process it all – the spa party, the flowers, the jewels, the TV thing this morning…"

"How did that go, by the way? Well, I suppose?"

"Uh… I'm not sure."

"You're not sure?"

"No, I'm not sure. The interviewer was a bitch…"

"Sookie!"

"Well, she was. I mean this chick was right up here with Sabrina in the Bitch Hall of Fame. She asked me if you killed Felipe!"

"And you said?"

"Of course not, that you were simply put in his place after he disappeared."

"Anything else?"

"Yeah, but I don't remember it all – it happened so fast. Ask Bjorn. He thought you'd be happy."

Eric looked at her a second then went to the hallway where Bjorn was talking to the other guards and waiting to see if Eric had orders for him.

"Bjorn, come in for a minute, please?"

"Yes, your majesty."

Eric closed the door behind him as Bjorn walked into the room and stood near Sookie.

"How did Sookie do on TV this morning?"

Bjorn cracked up. "What did she tell you?"

"Just tell me your version of it."

"OK, the interviewer was a royal bitch – no pun intended. She hit Sookie with a couple of nasty questions, which Sookie handled perfectly well then to wrap up the interview she asked Sookie what it was like to have sex with a vampire."

"The hostess on the morning show asked this?"

"Yes" Bjorn and Sookie said in unison.

"In those words?"

"Yes," Bjorn continued, "and Sookie had had enough of her shit at that point, so she made you sound like the sexiest, baddest mother fucker on two legs." Bjorn laughed.

Eric smiled and laughed "She did?

"She did, I mean, it was great. The interviewer almost swallowed her tongue."

"It wasn't that bad…" Sookie said. "Anyway, I'm sorry if I embarrassed the kingdom or anything like that but she was so rude, she was lucky I didn't tell her to kiss my royal ass."

"Sookie!" Eric was shocked and Bjorn nearly fell over laughing.

"Seriously, your majesty, you came off sounding like the sexiest, scariest guy alive. She helped your reputation more than anything else possibly could have."

"Is there a tape?"

"Yeah, I think Alicia has it in her tote bag. Want me to go get it?"

"Please. I have to see this."

"I'll be right back."

Bill Compton was in a distinctly unsatisfied mood. He had been working hard in the New Orleans office and he had a lot on his mind. He was also lonely and being away from Bobbie for so long had been difficult. Bobbie wasn't the love of his life- there would only be one of those and she was married to his King – but she was good company, comfort and most importantly, sex. Bill had considered stepping out while he was in New Orleans, but resisted. He was just really glad he would be in Las Vegas in a few hours and he could finally satisfy his hungers with something other than True Blood and fantasies.

As he entered the small plane, he realized that there was only one other passenger and she looked interesting from the back as he approached the seat next to her.

"Bill – what a surprise."

"Pam? What are you doing here?"

"Going to Las Vegas for the Sheriff's Ball just like you are."

"Yes, I suppose you are a Sheriff now, aren't you." Bill sat in the seat across the aisle from Pam.

"Yes, I am." Pam looked especially good today. Bill was used to seeing her at Fangtasia wearing black clothes and too much makeup. Today she looked really lovely in a demure pink sheath dress and natural looking makeup that made her look like a doll. She was wearing a delicate floral perfume that reminded Bill of the floral waters women used in his human era. As Bill was fastening his seat belt he picked up the scent – Pam was most likely nude under that dress. Great. She was that available, looking as pretty as she did, within easy reach with no one else on the plane. He knew he wouldn't be able to think of anything else the entire flight, and worst of all, it was entirely possible Pam could already smell his arousal.

Bill had kind of a love/hate fascination with Pam. He resented the way she fawned over Eric, even though she was his child and that kind of comes with the territory. On the other hand, Pam was truly beautiful and feminine and any man would find her attractive. If she weren't as jaded as she was and as enthusiastic about being a vampire – both qualities he blamed on Eric - Bill could easily see himself in a relationship with Pam. He'd be loathe to admit how often he'd pictured himself with her in a sexual or romantic context.

The Stewardess offered them True Bloods, which they both accepted, and Pam told her they'd like some privacy. What?! Bill watched in horror as the Stewardess went into the cockpit area and locked the door, leaving him alone with Pam. Pam unbuckled her seat belt and gave Bill a predatory look. Before he knew what was happening, his seatbelt was open and Pam was straddling his lap, kissing him. To his shock and shame, Bill was kissing her back.

It wasn't Bill's fault. He was a vampire and driven by his instincts. He was entirely too horny to resist the advances of a beautiful vampiress – her scent enveloping him, her soft, full lips on him just the way he'd pictured so many times – and before he knew it his hands were in her hair and she was opening his pants as she nibbled his neck. The luxuriously wide seats on Anubis Airlines had probably been designed specifically for this purpose, knowing that vampires were driven irresistibly by instinct and, in cases such as this, sex was going to happen.

As she lowered herself onto him, Pam whispered in his ear, "let's just consider this a kind of détente. Nobody has to know. No strings attached." Bill moaned but couldn't speak. The circumstance was like something out of that magazine Vampire Confidential, the adult magazine that had nude pictures of female vamps and featured a Penthouse style letters section –"Dear VC, I never thought this would happen to me…" – but Bill had played scenarios like this in his mind a thousand times and it was sweet, indeed. To be honest, a large part of his resentment toward Eric was the control he held over Pam. If not for Eric, Bill would have courted Pam in earnest long ago.

When they had both reached their first release, Bill let the seat back flat and turned them so that Pam was on her back on the seat and he could really make the most of the situation. He pushed her dress up under her arms so he could see her whole body nude beneath him and she was more beautiful than he'd ever imagined. He rammed into her with great relish. Pam was purring, growling and laughing as Bill pounded away at her.

Nothing Bill would dish out was going to even approach what Eric was like in bed, so there was no danger of him hurting her and Pam knew it so she did everything to spur him on. Bill knew he would be racked with guilt later but for now, he stopped thinking and just went with Pam's agenda. It felt so good to just let go and take what he wanted. Even by vampire standards, Pam was a good lay, and Bill knew that men rarely got to taste Pam's charms. He reached his second release before she did, and he marked it by biting her breast viciously, making Pam howl and come like nothing Bill had ever seen. Even Sophie Ann, let alone Diane, couldn't compare to Pam in this department. It flashed through Bill's mind that this was an effect of Eric's training but he shook it off and began to take her again more slowly, kissing her deeply and savoring what might be the only chance he'd ever have to feel Pam under him this way.

Pam was actually impressed with Bill's skill and his natural tendency to be gentle, even when he was letting go. It had also occurred to her that since she would be answering to Bill as Eric's representative, having a sexual connection to him could help her curry favor. If she were completely honest, Pam liked Bill's Southern manners and she had always wanted to have some fun with him. She usually sneered at him but that was mainly to keep from swooning for him openly in front of Eric. Eric was still a little jealous of Pam's male sex partners and it was possible he would be harsh with Bill if he knew Pam was attracted to him, especially once Sookie came into the picture.

"This is your captain speaking: we are now making our approach to the terminal in Las Vegas, Nevada. We hope you have enjoyed your flight with us today. Please return your seats to their upright positions and fasten your seatbelts. Thank you for flying Anubis Airlines."

Pam and Bill both laughed when the captain hoped they'd enjoyed their flight.

"Thanks, Bill – it was fun flying with you."

"Thank you, Pam. Any time."

"Mmmm – I might have to take you up on that."

Eric checked to make sure there was a video cassette player, which turned out to be in the huge living room in the suite. Bjorn came in with the tape.

"Sookie, are you coming?" Eric called to her in the bedroom where she was changing clothes.

"Do I have to?"

"No, but I thought you'd want to explain it to me."

"It's pretty self-explanatory. I'd rather not watch myself on TV."

"You won't need an interpreter," Bjorn laughed as he put the tape in the VCR for the flat screen on the wall and handed Eric the remote control.

Eric pressed the button and the tape began to play:

_["Good morning, Las Vegas! I'm Toni Terry, your host this morning and we have a very special guest with us today. Sitting next to me is Queen Sookie Northman. You've all read about her in the tabloids, now we're going to speak to her in her first ever televised appearance. Welcome to Las Vegas, your majesty."_

"_Oh, thank you, but please, call me Sookie."]_

"She looks lovely," Eric said.

"Yes, she did – the white dress and the crown made her look very regal," Bjorn agreed.

_["Now you became Queen when you married a vampire?"_

"_Actually, we were married first and when he was promoted to King I automatically became Queen."_

"_Did your husband kill Felipe de Castro?" _

"_Of course not. He was simply installed in his old office when Felipe disappeared."]_

"She didn't miss a beat," Bjorn noted.

"I can't believe that bitch asked her that – on a morning show!" Eric was not pleased at all.

_["Why did The Council choose your husband?"_

"_He was the best qualified person at his level. They knew he would do a good job."]_

"Good answer," Eric nodded. "But how does she know about The Council?"

_["OK, most of us know a fang banger or two – what possessed you to actually marry a vampire?"_

"_We fell in love and we are having a baby so marriage was the logical thing to do."_

"_I've read that vampires can't have children – are you sure it's his baby?"_

"_Yes, I'm quite sure. It's a very rare occurrence, but there is no doubt in anyone's mind that this is Eric's son."]_

"She questioned the paternity of my child?!" Eric was beyond angry now.

"Yes, and I thought Sookie handled it really well."

"That she did, but she should never have had to."

_["So you already know it's going to be a boy?"_

"_Yes."_

"_Have you chosen a name yet?"_

"_Yes, he'll be named Eric Alexander Northman."_

"_When is the blessed event?"_

"_Well, officially it's early August but everyone seems to think it will be before that."_

"_Well, you certainly look like you're ready to pop! Now, you're in town for a special event. Can you tell us a bit about the Sheriffs' Ball?"_

"_Yes, well, it's held in a different territory every year. This year is Nevada's turn and we'll be welcoming all the Sheriffs and most of the Regents in the North American territories, though some will come from over seas as well."_

"_And Sheriff is a vampire title?"_

"_Yes, they oversee one area in about 5 or 6 in each territory. They answer to the King or his representatives."_

"_Are there vampire Queens who are actually vampires?"_

"_Oh, yes, of course. They have female Sheriffs, too. They're pretty gender neutral in their offices. A vampire's age determines their strength rather than their size or gender so they all have an equal shot at similar levels of seniority."]_

"That's an excellent explanation," Eric said, impressed with the way Sookie handled it.

_["Now, this Sheriffs' Ball is very exclusive, isn't it? I know someone sold tickets to it for $50,000 on eBay recently."_

"_They try to keep it a vampire-centric event, but lots of humans want to attend as well. They limit the attendance because they want it to stay focused on rewarding the Sheriffs for their hard work."_

"_And you have another event coming up in New Orleans, yes?"_

"_Yes, we have a fundraiser at the Ritz-Carlton Grand Ballroom in New Orleans on Friday, July 3__rd__ beginning at 9 pm to raise money for the rebuilding efforts."_

"_Is it true Brangelina might attend?"_

"_I really don't know, but of course we'd love it if they did. They've been very dedicated to the reconstruction. A lot of people are still in need and it's very important to get New Orleans back on its feet again. She's such an important part of our culture and history – we should do everything we can to bring the city back to its full potential."_

"_OK, now for some girl talk – what are you wearing to the ball?"_

"_A strapless red dress, one of two pairs of red Jimmy Choo's but I can't decide which one yet, and a ring that used to belong to Marie Antoinette."_

"_Wow – where did you get that?!"_

"_It was a wedding present."_

"_Is this it?" She pointed to Sookie's left hand and the camera zoomed in._

"_Oh, no, that's my engagement and wedding rings."_

"_This is very rude, but can I ask the size of that diamond?"_

"_4 carats. The rubies are 1 carat each."_

"_They're shaped like…"_

"_Drops of blood, to represent my blood bond with Eric."_

"_guh - So, what's it like having sex with a vampire."]_

Eric stopped the tape. "I can't believe she asked Sookie a question like that."

"Wait 'til you hear the answer!" Bjorn laughed.

Eric hit the Play button.

_["Better than you can possibly imagine. My husband is 6'5" of solid muscle. He's big and beautiful with long blonde hair and blue eyes and he never gets tired, won't age and won't die. Frankly, I'm completely spoiled for other men."]_

Eric laughed out loud and so did Bjorn. "The look on the hostess' face is priceless. That's my girl, Sookie." Eric was very proud of her. He rewound the tape so he could hear the next question.

_["How did he get the name Eric the Untouchable?"_

"_I'm not sure – I guess because he's not afraid of anything."_

"_Why is that?"_

"_He's a Vampire King – he's the most feared creature on this earth. Everyone and everything else is afraid of __**him… and should be.**__"_

"_Oh, uh, well, Thank you so much, Queen Sookie, I hope both events are very successful. OK, Chuck, back to you!"]_

Eric and Bjorn both cracked up.

"She scared the piss out of that bitchy interviewer," Eric was pleased with that.

"See what I mean – she made you sound badass. I think she handled it very well."

"Yes, she did. SOOKIE! Come in here, please!"

Sookie stood in the doorway sheepishly, expecting Eric to be angry, but he motioned for her to come over to him.

"Well done, Lover, well done." He kissed her and hugged her.

"You're not angry?"

"Why would I be angry?"

"Well, the whole point is to make vamps seem less scary, right? And I made you sound like a monster."

"A hot, sexy monster, though," Bjorn laughed.

"Exactly. You added to the vampire mystique, my angel, and mine especially. Yes, I'm very pleased with your performance. You looked beautiful, you were soft spoken and sweet, you answered quickly with assurance, and you made me sound…" He looked at Bjorn.

"Badass…" Bjorn laughed.

"Yes. "Eric the Untouchable." Very good. Very, very good."

"Not to change the subject, but are there any plans for dinner?" Bjorn asked.

"Good question. Round up the troops and see if they want to strike out on their own, go out or have dinner brought to us all up here. "

Bjorn went to find out what they all wanted to do. Amelia and Octavia wanted to stay in their rooms and order room service because Octavia had never done that before. Alicia was getting ready to go shopping downstairs and Bobbie, who had been in her room unpacking and lying down, wanted to order dinner in. Bjorn decided he wanted to order in, too, so it would be Eric, Sookie Bobbie and Bjorn for dinner. The butler for the suite would handle the arrangements so the girls migrated to the entertainment center in the living room.

"Let's see what's in the bar, Bjorn," Eric motioned to the bar in the room. Eric walked around behind it and opened the refrigerator, finding some True Bloods and RMs as well as some very fine beers. Bjorn pulled up a stool as Eric asked him "Regular beer or dark?"

"Dark, please."

Eric handed him an expensive German beer and Bjorn twisted the lid off as Eric got his RM from the microwave.

"Anything else I need to know about today? Some of the guards mentioned fights or something at the TV station."

"There was a small group of FOTS protesters that the police held off the property. There were no problems until we began to leave, when they threw a bottle of blood at the limo – they missed and made a mess in the street. As the fans that had gathered to see Sookie began to disperse there were three altercations between fans and FOTS."

"We had plenty of security there?"

"It was adequate with the number of police. We kept Sookie surrounded as she posed for pictures and signed autographs."

"She what?"

"She insisted. It was a friendly crowd and I didn't let people touch her. It was a little risk, but it went well. They loved her – you should have heard them calling her name, 'Queen Sookie! Queen Sookie,'" he laughed. "She even kissed a couple of babies."

"I'm not crazy about the idea of people getting that close to her."

"Neither am I and if I had had any bad vibes I'd have stopped it. As a matter of fact, I did stop it when I saw the FOTS getting agitated. I think she really enjoyed it, though and people adored her – you could just tell."

"She's adorable, there's no doubt about that. I just don't want her getting hurt. I'm trusting you to keep her safe."

"I won't let her get hurt. Don't worry about that. I know when there's trouble around."

"Alright, good. Sandy will be here at 2 am for a meeting with Bill and me. An hotel representative will gives us all a tour of the villas available on the grounds here. Since you're in charge of the security detail, you might want to attend the tour. We'll hold a meeting in the conference room after. I want you to feel free to use the conference room to address your guards if you need to. Make sure everyone is on the same page, especially tomorrow night."

The butler directed the room service carts into the dining area of the suite. Sookie was starving – she practically inhaled the steak tartare appetizer and ate an entire half a duck and pommes frites. Bobbie had squid ink ravioli and Bjorn had a big steak and a plain baked potato and salad. Eric had another RM and sat with them. The meal stretched into the night, everyone chatting and enjoying each other's company. They had no idea how late it had gotten until the door opened and Bill entered, with Pam close behind.

"Hey, Sweetie!" Bobbie jumped up and hugged and kissed Bill. Eric smiled at first, saying hello to Pam but then he caught the scent and glared at Bill.

"Master, the desk said that my key was here?" She just looked at Eric like it was no big deal. Eric had known, of course, that she was having sex on the plane, but it had never occurred to him that she was having sex with Bill.

"I have your key cards," Bjorn said. "I had them move you from the smaller room into a tower suite. I didn't think servants' quarters were appropriate for a Sheriff. I hope you don't mind, Eric?"

"No, of course not – Pam should have the best accommodations. Thank you for doing that."

Bjorn stood and took the cards from his wallet and handed them to Pam. "I checked it out for you and it looks great. You're next to Amelia and Octavia. Do you want me to show you up there?"

Pam's eyes twinkled. "Yes, I think I'd like that," she purred.

"Don't forget our meeting at 2 am, Bjorn." Eric fully expected Pam to jump Bjorn when she got him to her room.

"Yes, your majesty, I'll be back by then." Bjorn wasn't thinking in those terms at the moment and he didn't know Eric knew what Pam was thinking, so he was surprised that Eric thought he wouldn't be back. As it was, he barely made it.

Sookie had fallen asleep while Bobbie was rubbing her lower back, which was feeling the strain of the pregnancy, so Eric tucked her in with a kiss and went to work. He knew she needed to be well rested for the Ball tomorrow night because she was going to have to be gracious all night as hostess of the event.

He had originally planned to ask her to go tour the Villas with them, but he knew she needed the rest and it would ultimately be his decision anyway. Eric was very pleased with the privacy of the 3 bedroom, 7 bathroom villa. There were even a private workout room, hair salon and barber salon and it had 24-hour butler service, a pool and courtyard. Bjorn thought it would be a convenient location to defend if necessary and it would be easy to keep its location secret. Eric made sure they knew about the baby and they were fine with one child as long as they provided a nanny or other caretaker. He was confident Sookie would be happy here when they had to be in Las Vegas and the Hotel offered them a great deal on exclusive use of one villa and one office suite in exchange for being able to refer to His Majesty in their vampire-oriented advertising. He made arrangements for them to give Sookie and Alicia a tour the next day so they'd know what the facilities were, and they reached an agreement for continual use beginning in September.

Sookie hadn't seen anything of particular interest in the residence except that she liked the red velvet furniture and the extra large bed and matching bedroom suite from their room, so it was determined that most of the contents of the house would be sold at auction if the new owner didn't want to include them in the purchase. Once the new residence was established in New Orleans, the red furniture and the few things Sookie had tagged would be moved there.

The meeting went quickly – Sandy, Bill and Eric all agreed to put the residence up for sale immediately. Bill had three properties for Eric to consider, though one was probably the clear winner for the New Orleans compound and it wouldn't need a lot of construction to fit the growing family. Bill had made arrangements for them all to tour all three properties with the real estate agent on Thursday before the fundraiser. Bjorn left and Eric signed papers for an hour – sales of property, construction contracts for New Orleans, more purchasing agreements.

Sandy presented him with the plans for consolidating some of their businesses but Eric didn't like them. Niall was right – she had little imagination. Eric told Sandy to leave them with him and he'd get back to her, then when she left he handed the project to Bill and asked him to take a look at it and make recommendations. Bill came up with 3 recommendations right off the bat that were far more to Eric's liking. Eric realized that he needed to combine the kingdoms so that Bill had authority in both offices and Sandy simply administered the day-to-day operations in Las Vegas. Sandy was loyal to a point and could be relied upon to execute Eric's orders to the letter, but for anything that looked forward, Bill would need to be involved.

Eric and Bill talked about the concept of combining the territories. With Eric located in New Orleans and Sandy running the Las Vegas office, Bill would be able to oversee Sandy along with Eric and it would eventually benefit them all.

Eric took out his iPhone and called Niall.

"Vampire?"

"Niall – yes, this is Eric Northman."

"Is everything alright with Sookie and the baby?"

"Yes, they're doing well. This is an official call, Regent to Council member."

"Ah, well, what can I do for you?"

"I'm finding that it would be in everyone's best interest for me to combine the two territories under one administrative system. Do I need to consult The Council to do this? Or do I need to keep them separate in case they want to bring in another regent at some point?"

"We actually discussed this recently. We've been keeping an eye on your progress and are quite pleased with the direction you seem to be taking. We all agreed that it was wasted effort for you to keep two sets of books, as it were, so we agreed that if you asked to combine the territories that we would give you carte blanche to set your accounts and hierarchy up any way you like. There's some expectation that you might come up with an innovation or two that we might want to employ in other territories. Yours can be a sort of test case."

"Can you give me authority?"

"It is done. Would you like it in writing from the Ancient Pythoness?"

"Yes, actually, I would."

"Very well, you shall have it before the Sheriff's Ball begins. I'll see you tomorrow night."

"Tomorrow night?"

"Yes, I'll be in attendance along with a couple of council members who wish to meet your little family. See you then." CLICK.

"Well?" Bill asked.

"The son of a bitch hung up on me. He's coming to the Ball with, quote "a couple of Council members who want to meet my little family.""

"Wonderful," Bill said, dripping with sarcasm.

"You can imagine how much I am looking forward to this. Tomorrow will be a very long night."

"It will be a long day for Sookie, too. Remember Sandy said they needed her to approve some final arrangements from Noon to 4."

"That's right – I need to tell Alicia and Sookie and I need to make sure Sookie uses a wheel chair."

"There's a wheel chair in our room – I assume that's for Sookie's use?"

"Yes. I'll not wake Sookie up tonight other than to give her blood. I'll leave her a note and let her rest."

"That's probably best. I'll make sure to tell Bobbie to keep an eye on her and not let her overdo it tomorrow. She looks as if she might deliver any time now."

"Yes, she does. I swear she's grown a good 10 per cent since we got here."

"It's even more obvious since I haven't seen her. We should all watch her very closely tomorrow night. Let people see her early in case she needs to retire early. People will understand. All they have to do is see her and they'll be sympathetic, even if they are vampires. Everyone is very excited about the prospect of the first vampire prince – they won't want her to take any chances."

"Do you want to see the tape of Sookie's TV debut this morning?"

"Yes, very much."

When the tape was done playing, Bill laughed and shook his head. "Well, considering the crudeness of the woman's questions, I think Sookie did remarkably well."

"Yes, I agree."

"She made you sound utterly irresistible."

"Yes, she did."

"That's nice for you."

"Very. You do know that I know about your… flight… do you not?"

"Yes, I thought you might."

"And that Bjorn will know, too, since he was with her and would have smelled you on her."

"Why would I care about that?"

"Did Bobbie tell you that she went out with Bjorn for a movie and drinks?"

"No, but there really hasn't been time. What are you saying?"

"I'm saying you might not want to take Bobbie for granted. You could lose her if you neglect her."

"I don't think Bjorn would have any serious interest in her, do you?"

"Probably not, but they have a lot in common and spend a lot of time together. It's something you need to keep in mind."

"So this is out of concern for me and not jealousy about Pam?"

"I'm a married man – I have no need to be jealous of anyone."

"Really? I would think I might not be the only one who needs to be aware of how attractive the Queen's body guard can be."

"I am aware of more than you might think."

"Let's hope. Now if you'll excuse me, I'd like to spend some time with my…" Bill was at a loss as to what to call Bobbie. Girlfriend? Lover?

"I'd pick a label if I were you, before someone else picks one for you."

"Such as?"

"Ex. Good night, Bill." Eric went to his room and closed the door.


	66. Chapter 66

**[A/N: Like the rest of you, I can't wait until Sunday night and I can't think of much else so I'm writing more than I really should because Eric has taken over my mind. Therefore, here's a new chapter. I cut it short so I could get it out to you all. Have a good time at the Ball. MS]**

**Chapter 66**

"Sookie? Sookie? Time for you to get up, dear." Sookie had barely stirred for her earlier RMs and she was used to sleeping late, but Eric had left instructions that they were to tour the villas a 11 am and Sookie needed to be down at the Grand Ballroom in the convention center by noon to approve the set up, so Alicia was there with breakfast at 9:30.

Sookie finally stirred a bit, stretching like a cat – a very pregnant cat, but a cat nonetheless. "'Morning, Alicia. What time is it?"

"It's 9:30, dear. We have a tour of the private villa the King engaged at 11 and you're due down at the ballroom at noon."

"I am?"

"Yes, Mr. Northman said you were asleep last night so he didn't have a chance to tell you but they need you down there from noon until possibly about 4 o'clock."

"What will I be doing?"

"Making sure things are to your liking – the décor, the seating, all of that."

"I guess I have to because it's technically my party, right?"

"Right. Mr. Northman left you a note," Alicia handed her a folded piece of paper, "See if you can eat these gorgeous Belgian waffles they brought you - look at the size of those strawberry slices."

"Oh, wow, they're huge. Yeah, I think I can definitely get into this," Sookie laughed. She cut herself a big bite and then opened Eric's note.

_My Beautiful Queen Sookie,_

_I'm sorry you have to wake so early but you have important things to do today. First, I engaged a private villa as we had discussed beginning in September and they are going to give you and Alicia a tour of it at 11 am so you'll know what to expect when we move there._

_Janet Stevens needs you for final approval on details for the ballroom at noon until about 4. I saw the convention center on our tour last night and it's very large – please make sure you use the wheel chair today. Don't give Bobbie, Bjorn or Alicia a hard time about it – it would be a lot of walking for anyone, and in your condition walking is simply out of the question. _

_I know this will be a long and busy day for you. Rest when you can, be sure to eat well and I will see you this evening. I know you will be the prettiest girl at the Ball. _

_I love you,_

_Your badass husband,_

_King Eric_

Sookie cracked up and almost choked on a waffle but recovered quickly.

"What's so funny?" Alicia asked.

"Eric left me a silly note, but some serious orders. I'm supposed to use the wheel chair today and not give you all a hard time about it. He says the convention center is huge and me walking is out of the question."

"You know he's right, don't you?"

"Yes, I suppose I do. I just hate feeling helpless."

"You aren't helpless dear, you're pregnant – very pregnant – and this is for your own good as well as the baby's. You don't want to go into labor too early, you know."

"What do you mean?"

"Every day the baby spends in the womb is valuable. It's another day he has to use your bodily resources to grow and thrive. Over-exertion right now could bring on early labor and his lungs might not be ready for that yet. You don't want him to end up on a respirator, do you?"

"No, of course not!"

"OK, then, you be protective of him and take it as easy as you can. We have a long day today. Every little bit of rest you can get is important."

"OK, so what am I wearing today?"

"I thought just your little green sun dress, sandals and a pony tail would suffice since you'll want to shower before they do your hair for tonight. "

"OK, sounds good. Do you know who we're meeting this morning?"

"I have the information written down. We'll head downstairs at 10:30. Bjorn will be coming with us, I think, but I think Bobbie is taking the afternoon off since you and I will be working together. She said she'll do your massage late this afternoon."

"OK, let me finish this up.

At 10:30 sharp, Alicia locked the suite door behind them as Bjorn rolled Sookie down the hall to the elevator. They were in the office to meet the manager guiding their tour by 11:00 and they all proceeded to the Villas, which were very far back on the property. They took a limousine back to theirs so they could see the private entrance.

The villa was stunning. It was its own little estate, with a pool in a private back yard, limo service and the aforementioned private entrance – they'd never have to see the hotel proper if they didn't want to. It was very luxurious – lush upholstery, a living room, entertainment center, a bar, a dining room, 3 bedrooms, 7 bathrooms, and private salons for beauty and barber services. The woman leading their tour, Kate Michaels, was a medium-tall, slim brunette who was a little bit tense. She was young to have such an important position and she tried to make up for it by being very serious. She took pride in her job, though, and she had been told that she was dealing with vampire royalty and she knew the company policy was to bring in old vamp money, so she was going out of her way to impress Sookie.

Sookie was overwhelmed as she looked at the list of services and facilities included with the villa:

* 24-hour butler service

* Bellagio- themed art décor

* Spacious welcome marble foyer with glass chandelier

* Residential living room with fire place, 40-inch plasma and home theatre

entertainment system with Surround Sound

* Full service bar with water features

* Formal dining room for eight separated by a private entrance

* Lavish his and hers marble bathrooms with whirlpool therapeutic bath,

rainforest Swiss steam showers, terry warmer, cedar closets and 15-inch LCD

* Private salon, barber and massage room

* Personal workout room with entertainment

* Dry and steam sauna

* Private courtyard with fireplace, pool, spa and manicured gardens

* Private work station with high-speed Wireless Internet access, fax, multi-line

telephone and speaker

* Automatic drapery and sheer controls

She understood completely why Eric had gone ahead and made the arrangements. There was absolutely nothing not to like. It would cost a lot of money, but nothing compared to the current residence and it was private but still in the heart of everything. There was room to live, to entertain, to conduct business – it was perfect for their needs and they wouldn't have to worry about upkeep, cleaning or furnishings. It was fabulous.

Sookie thanked Kate profusely and Kate gave her business cards and all the information Sookie might need about living there. Kate was amazed at how young and sweet Sookie was but she knew Sookie's husband was old, wealthy and powerful. The main office had investigated them and found them to their liking – they were very picky about who used the villas and this young vampire family was just the sort they wanted – very wealthy, attractive, bright and on their way up. Meeting Eric had only cemented their opinion and Sookie was so sweet that any reservations they might have had were easily overlooked.

Kate had the limousine take them all around to the convention center and they went in the entrance most of the guests for the ball would use. Kate walked back with them and introduced Sookie to the events coordinator and they found Janet Stevens over-seeing the set up of Sookie's little receiving area. They had brought some of the red velvet furniture from the mansion and were setting up a little parlor for her in one corner opposite the stage. There were even red velvet ropes that people would have to navigate to get to her. Bjorn talked to the head of security about Sookie's defense through the night and they coordinated whose guards would be stationed where. Bjorn insisted that the guards traveling with them stay closest to Sookie since Bjorn had checked all their backgrounds.

Sookie couldn't believe the size of the Grand Ballroom. Janet Stevens showed her the floor plan she had seen before that showed that it could be split into 9 separate event rooms but for the ball they would use the whole 45,000 plus square feet of it and the Grand Patio would be open so people could step out for fresh air or a sip of their escorts' blood. There would be an army of vampire and Were guards in addition to the guests so this would be Supe Central for the country that night. 3 plots by the FOTS had already been foiled and they were pretty sure their numbers had been well warned off interfering with the event. Ms. Stevens said they were expecting at least 3,000 people.

Sookie was overwhelmed pretty quickly, so Alicia asked Janet to let her sit a few minutes and drink a blood. Bjorn held her arm to help her out of the wheelchair so she could sit on the velvet sofa and be more comfortable for a few minutes. Alicia pulled an RM out of her tote and let Sookie drink and relax. When Sookie had rested a bit, she got back into the chair and had Bjorn take her over to see the buffet that would be across one wall. There were hundreds of round tables around the room that would seat four to six people and the dance floor in front of the stage was to be left open. The orchestra that would accompany Harry Connick Jr. and play the rest of the time was setting up for a rehearsal. The room was decorated in ivory and gold colors with red accents that had been added in the vampires' honor. The familiar RM/blood fountain was being set up and the caterers were bringing in boxes of food – huge tins of caviar, meats, cheeses, smoked salmon, and some beautiful American wines that Janet Stevens pointed out to Sookie proudly. Janet even gave Sookie a compliment, saying that it was a wonderful gesture that she chose to highlight American products

Janet showed Sookie a few more details and introduced her to a Were representative from Special Events who was apparently Quinn's replacement. Sookie tried not to think about that. He showed Sookie that they were setting up a bank of chairs on the same side of the room as her receiving area that would be used by willing donors or anyone who just wanted to sit and talk.

By 2 o'clock Sookie had pretty much done everything Janet wanted so she took her suggestion that she go on back to the suite and relax before her hairstylist arrived. She gave Sookie a program for tonight and a script for her parts of the evening. Sookie was more than happy with the idea of taking a nap before she had to get dressed. She, Alicia and Bjorn took the most direct route back to the room and Sookie found herself grateful that Eric had insisted on the chair for this trip. Sookie knew there was no way she could have done it without stopping to rest several times.

Sookie was hungry, so they all stopped for lunch at the buffet. Bjorn couldn't believe how much food Sookie put away – fried chicken, baked potato, lo mein, crab legs, a huge salad full of shrimp and broccoli soup. She ate more than he did. Alicia enjoyed the buffet, but she was the type that would take one little scoop of everything so you couldn't really say she ate any one thing – she ate nearly everything. Bjorn went for grilled meat and black coffee but he did allow himself one indulgence – mashed potatoes.

"No butter on your potatoes, Bjorn?"

"In a place like this, I know these potatoes are full of fat. I shouldn't eat them at all, but I'm treating myself. Besides, while you take a nap, I'm going to hit the gym."

"You are?"

"Yes, I want to be pumped tonight."

"It won't make you tired?"

"No, it will give me energy."

"Exercise never did that for me."

"You never did it seriously with a good plan. If it makes you tired, you are doing it wrong."

"I never knew that," Alicia said.

"Yes, once you have your machine in shape, it works better when you exercise it. Most people are so out of shape it takes them forever to get in shape and the vast majority just give up before that happens. When you're firing on all cylinders, exercise keeps you moving."

"Wow. Well, do you want to go now? You don't have to wait for me and Alicia."

"Yes, your majesty, I do. I'll go once you're safe in your suite with guards I know at the door. Until then, I'm your shadow."

"You're gonna be sick of me by the end of tonight."

"It will never happen. I like my job. And besides, you'll need someone to talk to while the King is being King."

"Yeah, nobody works a room like Eric."

"Really?" Alicia was amazed.

"Oh, yeah – you've never seen him in full bullshit mode, have you? He's impressive. He loves playing host, being lord of the manor – this is his kind of gig. He gets to be the center of attention, to make people happy, to impress the shit out of men and women alike. He's going to have a great time tonight."

"Are you?" Bjorn asked.

"Not as much as if I weren't pregnant, but, yeah, I like getting dressed up and hopefully I'll get a dance or two out of Eric. I love dancing with him. He swings me around so my hair flies out and I feel like I'm flying."

"Oh, that's so romantic – but then, he's good at the romantic stuff."

"Yeah, he is." Sookie flushed and beamed a little thinking about _how_ good Eric was at the "romantic stuff."

"He's too good at it. He makes the rest of us look like bums," Bjorn laughed.

"Present company excepted, of course, but most men ARE bums. They lie, they cheat, they take women for granted or treat them badly…"

"Eric is loaded – it's easy for him…"

"It's not about money. If Eric never spent another dime on me, I wouldn't care. He cares about me, he talks to me, he listens to me, he tells me I'm beautiful and he loves me, he tells me he's lucky to have me. None of that costs money. He gives me his attention and his loyalty and his time. That's what makes him good at romantic stuff. He genuinely likes women in general and me in particular."

"So he's never been a hound dog?"

"Sure he has, but that was more about giving people what they expect of him. When he decided he wanted me, he was relentless. He listened to me and he did things for me that mattered. I needed a new drive way. Did Bill buy it for me? No. Eric complained about it one time and I told him I couldn't afford to get it fixed because vamps were always making me take off work and Eric had a contractor out there before I woke up the next day."

"That takes money…"

"Bill had plenty of money – it's not the money. It's the fact that he listened. He looked at me and saw me, not just "a girl," he saw ME and what I needed and he gave it to me. He still does. I don't have to ask Eric for anything because he knows what I need before I do. It's his attention that makes the difference."

"So it's not his looks or his size or his money…."

"Look, that stuff is all great but if he had all that and didn't pay attention to me, I'd still be single."

"Are you buying this, Alicia?"

"Yep, I am."

"You ARE?!"

"Yes – he does pay attention to her. That's why he hired me. He knew she needed certain things and he thought about how to make that happen and decided to hire me. Most men would have let Sookie flounder around and try to adjust to a new lifestyle and new roles and she'd struggle and occasionally be embarrassed or stressed by not knowing what to do or having what she needed. Sookie is always prepared because Eric anticipated her needs and met them. My whole job is helping her do what she needs to do as well as it needs to be done and she would never have hired me herself."

"No, as a matter of fact, I was mad when he hired you because I thought it was a waste, or elitist or something, but you've saved my ass many times, Alicia, and I'm so glad he knew what I needed better than I did. Our lives are much richer for it."

"Attention, huh?"

"Attention." Sookie and Alicia spoke in unison and in complete agreement.

"OK, I'm done – are we ready to go upstairs?" Sookie was getting tired.

As soon as they got back to the suite, Sookie went to bed and Alicia began to gather her wardrobe for the evening, then Eric's. She made arrangements for Sookie's dinner to arrive at 6:30, which would give her several hours sleep and she'd be fed and awake by the time the stylists arrived. She'd also be able to have dinner with Eric that way, which she loved to do.

Alicia had the option of going to the Ball but she thought that many vampires might be a lot to take. She did want to be available if Sookie needed her, though, so she planned to have room service in her room, which was very nice, and relax for a change. She had been going non-stop for a while now and it would be nice to just put her feet up and read a book. Sunday she would go sight seeing and Monday she needed to take Sookie shopping and she had things being held in several stores for her to try on. She also wanted to take Sookie to Fred Leighton to look at jewelry.

Bobbie came wandering in at almost 5 pm carrying two big bags of clothes and accessories she had bought wandering around downstairs. "What time is Sookie getting up?"

"Well, her dinner will be here at 6:30 but she could wake up at 6 PM if you need her." Alicia didn't want to wake her sooner than necessary.

"I want to massage her legs since she'll be sitting down so much tonight."

"Does she need to be awake for that?"

"Not really…"

"Then do it now. I doubt she'll wake up."

"OK, I'll put this stuff away and get started."

Sookie didn't even wake up as Bobbie worked on her – she barely reacted. Bobbie and Alicia were both worried that tonight would be too much for her, but they knew she could leave early if she needed to. At almost 6 o'clock, Bobbie heard Eric opening the locks on his travel box so she left the room and closed the door.

"I think Eric is up, Alicia."

"We'd better close the curtains just in case – there might be enough light in that sunset to hurt him." Alicia and Bobbie made sure all the windows were closed completely so no light came through the curtains.

Consciously Eric was fighting the urge to drink from Sookie and fuck her, but he was losing. She looked too lovely lying there asleep – she smelled too good – and she was so ripe and vulnerable. He quietly moved to the bed, moving like an animal stalking its prey, and he spread her legs wide. He pushed the skirt of her sundress up and snapped the panties she was wearing, then began to lick her all over where they had been. He nuzzled her leg, licking it a couple of times, then bit hard, making her gasp and she began to buck as he sucked hard. When he had had his fill he got up on his knees and held her hips up so he could enter her and he did so with very little preparation. Sookie's eyes popped open as he thrust into her so hard she would swear she could feel it in her throat. He was trying to hold back but failing in the thrall of Fae blood and Sookie grabbed the headboard above her to brace herself.

She could see Eric was struggling so she decided to use a tried and true method for making them both come. She reached for his head, pulled him toward her, stretched her neck and said "mark me." Eric drove his fangs into her throat before the words were out of her mouth. He was coming, and he ripped his wrist open and pressed it to Sookie's lips. In no time at all their orgasms synchronized as they moved together as if they were one body. For a few minutes they were both out of their bodies and felt as if there was no separation between them at all. As the peak of the mutual orgasm subsided, they were aware of being three beings in one – Eric Alexander was there with them but there weren't three of them, there was only one, and a brilliant golden light exploded. Neither of them knew another thing until they heard a soft knock on the door.

"Mrs. Northman, your dinner is getting cold." Alicia thought that whatever had been going on was done by now since it had gone quiet for quite a while.

"Thanks, Alicia, I'll be right there."

Eric had collapsed next to her and she stroked his face, smoothing back his hair and they kissed softly. "I can't go out there yet. You go eat, angel, and I'll be out soon."

She kissed him again and stood up, smoothing her dress down, slipping into the bathroom to clean up with a tissue before she went out.

"I'm so sorry if I interrupted you…"

'No, no, Alicia, this is fine – I need to eat and start getting ready for our big entrance." Sookie dug straight into the rare steak and baked potato, knowing she might not make it to he buffet that night. There was an entire pitcher of sweet tea and a bowl of lemons. "Will you throw these lemons away, please? I can't eat them because of the baby."

"Lemons? Really? Is that why you never want them at home?"

"Yes, it's sort of a family trait. He might be deathly allergic to them."

"Oh, I certainly hope not – no lemonade, ever?"

"I'm afraid not. We can't take the risk to even try." Sookie finished her meal just as Alicia pointed out that it was almost 7 o'clock and the stylists would be there at 7:30. Eric was already in the shower so Sookie walked in with him instead of going to her own shower. They didn't have time for sex but they made out a little as they washed each other off.

Eric was nearly dressed, except for his pants and jacket, by the time Sookie finished shaving her legs and they could both hear the stylists arriving out front. Sookie put on her bra and panties then wrapped herself in her little pink robe and went out to the dining room where they could have lots of room to work on her. Alicia already had them setting up their tools and Sookie took a seat as the butler walked through to the bedroom with Eric's perfectly pressed tux.

The barber and his assistant arrived to give Eric his shave and massage, tucking a towel in around his collar to protect his shirt. As he shaved Eric's face, the assistant trimmed and buffed Eric's nails. After the shave, the barber, who had been told he didn't dare go near Eric's long blond locks with a pair of scissors, used a brush and a blow dryer to make it full and perfectly shiny. It flowed over his shoulders like spun gold, and Eric smiled when he saw it, knowing Sookie would love it.

The butler helped Eric finish dressing and was attentive to every detail. He tied Eric's blood red bow tie as perfectly as he had ever seen it done. He made sure the fingerprints were buffed off of Eric's expensive Italian shoes. He helped Eric with his pants, the blood red cummerbund and finally his jacket. He folded the red pocket square for his jacket and put it perfectly into place.

Bill already in his tux and was watching the news in the living area when Eric came out looking perfect. "You may want to see this, Eric. They just said something about the video of the interview with the vampire Queen."

"On the news? From a morning show?"

"That's what they said. " Both men stood waiting in front of the television as Sookie's hair was being rolled and curled with a curling iron.

["Good Morning, Las Vegas scored the number one spot on YouTube today with its video of Toni Terry interviewing beautiful vampire Queen Sookie. The shortened clip of the last 35 seconds has already received 3 million hits on the popular video-sharing site. Here's what all the fuss is about:

"_So, what's it like having sex with a vampire?"_

"_Better than you can possibly imagine. My husband is 6'5" of solid muscle. He's big and beautiful with long blonde hair and blue eyes and he never gets tired, won't age and won't die. Frankly, I'm completely spoiled for other men."_

"_How did he get the name Eric the Untouchable?"_

"_I'm not sure – I guess because he's not afraid of anything."_

"_Why is that?"_

"_He's a Vampire King – he's the most feared creature on this earth. Everyone and everything else is afraid of __**him… and should be.**__"_

The video, titled **Hot Vampire Sex,** crashed YouTube's servers this afternoon and is estimated to be embedded on thousands of websites already. The vampire in question, King Eric Northman, and his wife, Sookie – that's her speaking in the video - are hosting the Sheriff's Ball tonight at the Bellagio's Grand Ballroom and the paparazzi are already warming up to see who will be the first to photograph the elusive and sexy six foot five inch undead royal.]

"Good lord!" Bill exclaimed.

"Unbelievable." Eric said and he meant it.

There was a knock at the door and Bjorn came in just after. "Eric, did you see…"

"The news? Yes, we did."

"It's going to be a madhouse tonight. The head of security just called me – LVPD will be out there, FOTS protesters are across the street, and the press is pulling every string they can find to try and get in. There's a one million dollar bounty on the first photograph of you."

"What…?" Eric started, but was interrupted.

"Excuse me, Andersen?" A guard looked in the door,

Bjorn looked at Eric who said "go," and Bjorn stepped outside for a minute, then came back. "Your majesty, there are some very important visitors waiting for you in the conference room. I believe one of them is a relative of the Queen."

Sookie looked up as they pinned her curls up on her head and added her tiara, but Eric, Bill and Bjorn were through the door to the conference room instantly. They all stopped short when they saw who was waiting there. Niall was there as expected, along with the Ancient Pythoness herself. Loup-Garou, the oldest living Were, was with them as was Penelope, one of the original Vestal Virgins and the beautiful Tonantzin, the powerful Aztec Mother Goddess still worshipped as the Virgin of Guadalupe. Bjorn was the first to kneel, then Bill, and Eric bowed low.

"You may stand." The Ancient Pythoness said formally.

"We are most honored by your visit, members of the Council and the Living Pantheon." Eric began.

"Yes, you are. I gather Sookie is still being coiffed?" Niall asked.

"Yes, would you like me to interrupt her?"

"Not necessary, my son," Niall continued. Eric thought to himself that Niall must be pleased about something if he was claiming him as family in front of a group as illustrious as this. "Though my companions will wait to meet Sookie before we leave. We wanted to commend her performance on television this morning."

"Yes, she was most satisfactory," said the Ancient Pythoness, "she struck a perfect note between making us seem open and friendly and yet she added to the vampire mystique – we want to both fascinate humans and lull them into a sense of acceptance. You will be sure that you allow photographs of your family dressed in your finery tonight so they may be published in the human gossip papers."

"Of course, my Lady." Eric didn't dare say 'no' to this group. "We will be happy to oblige."

"Humans are very impressed by fashion – such an attractive couple will certainly gain their good favor." Penelope spoke in a voice that was nearly song. "Your bride was lovely in her white dress and diamond crown."

"Honored Lady Penelope, I thank you for your compliment and for your confidence in us." Eric said as he bowed his head. "Bill, would you see if Sookie is ready for an audience?"

"Of course," he turned to the visitors "excuse me," and he bowed and backed out the door.

"Sookie, how long until you can see visitors?" Bill asked

"We're almost done with her makeup." The stylist said,

"Bobbie, get Sookie's dress and shoes ready. Sookie, do you have your underwear under that robe?"

"Yes, I just need to step into the dress and shoes. Who's in there, Bill?"

Bill nodded to the stylists and shook his head. Sookie knew this was major Supe business so she didn't push. Bobbie came out with the dress and shoes. Sookie stepped into the red stiletto shoes with the random cut out circles and she turned her back to Bill, who also turned around, so she could take off her robe. Bobbie and the stylists helped Sookie step into the strapless dress and pulled it up into place. The elastic top clung to her just above her ample bust and the skirt was full and flowing, leaving ample room for the baby without making her look too big. The hairstylist put Sookie's ruby and diamond necklace on her and the makeup artist put in her earrings. Bobbie added the Marie Antoinette ring to Sookie's right hand. They had already decided to forego any bracelets so Sookie was done.

She stood back and turned as Bobbie said "Wow."

Bill turned around to see her. "Lovely. Sookie you look absolutely lovely. Come with me."

Bobbie took care of paying and tipping the stylists and Bill ushered Sookie into the conference room, knocking softly first. Bjorn opened the door and Sookie stepped in.

"Que Linda!" Tonantzin said when she saw Sookie.

Eric gently led Sookie up next to him and addressed the group, "Allow me to introduce my wife, Queen Sookie Northman. Sookie, this is the Goddess Tonantzin, Penelope, Priestess of Vesta, Loup-Garou, the oldest living Were, and of course you know Our Lady, the Ancient Pythoness and Niall."

Niall stepped around the conference table to kiss Sookie on the cheek. "Hello, my dear. We are all very proud of your performance today. You look very pretty tonight."

"Oh, thank you, Niall," Sookie gave him a big smile. "I'm very pleased to meet you all." Sookie tried to use her best manners to make Eric and Niall proud."

"Sookie," Tonantzin spoke with a strange accent, "May I read the baby?" She stepped around the table and held out her hand and let the Goddess touch her belly. "He is Freya's, yes?"

Sookie looked at Eric, who said, "Yes, Lady, he is."

"He is very happy, your little warrior." Tonantzin said to Eric, then to Sookie, "Such a pretty mama he has – he will be a happy boy." She stroked Sookie's cheek softly and a sense of wellbeing Sookie had never experienced before washed over her.

"I brought you a gift, Sookie," The Roman Priestess said, as she stepped forward and produced two twigs of laurel leaves, which she gently arranged on each side of Sookie's tiara. "When he is born, put these in the little one's bed to help him grow strong and have good luck. When he is older, sew them into his pillow. Bay Laurel is his friend."

"Oh, thank you so much!" Sookie gushed.

Loup-Garou, the old French Werewolf, stepped forward. "He will have special powers in the light of the moon, but only in its direct light. In the light of the moon he can see the future as clearly as if he were there. Teach him to talk to the moon and She will help him know what to do next. The most dangerous night of the month for him is the dark of the moon. Bjorn Andersen?"

Bjorn looked up, stunned. "Yes, Elder?"

"You are charged with a great task to keep this woman and her pup safe. Many lives depend upon his growing strong and true. Never forget why you are here – nothing must interfere with the child's best interests."

"I will remember, Elder." Bjorn bowed deeply.

"Well, we don't want to make you late for your own party," Niall said as he stood. He handed Eric a scroll with a seal. "Northman, you received an offer from a local Coven to hold a Wiccaning for the child, did you not?"

"I did."

"Freya says Lughnasadh looks favorable for the event. When you return home, you'll want to let them know the date so they can prepare."

"Will the child be born before then - the due date was after August 1st?" Eric was confused.

"Oh, he'll be more than ready by the Sabbat. You'll need to start marking the sabbats you know, with a Witch child. His first will be Lammas Night." And with that, they were gone.

Eric, Sookie, Bjorn and Bill were all stunned. Bill pulled out a chair and sat at the table. Sookie wrapped her arms around Eric and Bjorn joined Bill at that table.

"Eric were they really…"

"A Goddess, a Priestess and Elder – oh my." Eric made a wry joke, opening the scroll.

"Such important people…"

"Not people, my angel, immortals. Penelope goes back to Ancient Rome. The Ancient Pythoness is older still. Tonantzin – probably to the beginning of time. She is so powerful she even managed to survive the shift to Christianity as the Virgin of Guadalupe."

"You mean she was THE…"

"Yes, the Indian depiction of Mary is actually Tonantzin and She still appears to Her people."

"Why was She here?"

"The event tonight is for North America – She's an American Goddess." Bill explained, coming out of his shock. "There are huge, huge forces at work here."

"Yes there are." Eric agreed, handing the scroll to Bill, "The territories have been redrawn. I am now King of the single largest territory on the continent."

"Should I be scared?" Sookie asked.

"No, my Queen, you should be honored." He squeezed her shoulders. "And we should be going. They want us to enter at 9:30."

"The little shuttle is waiting for you down stairs." Bjorn added.

Bobbie was all ready when they went back out and they all prepared to leave. "Wow, everyone looks gorgeous!" she said when she saw them all together and she reached up absent mindedly and adjusted Bjorn's bow tie. "You look like James Bond." She laughed.

Bill frowned and offered her his arm. Sookie took Eric's arm and Bjorn stayed right behind her as they went to the elevator, the other guards falling in behind.

"Where is Pam? And Amelia and Octavia?" Eric asked.

"They're already at the Ball. They didn't want to wait because you two will be making your grand entrance."

"Ah, yes, well… are you ready, Sookie?"

"No, but I will be by the time we get there."

They reached the bottom floor where the shuttle cart was waiting. Two of the guards already had the wheel chair on the cart so they could keep it handy in case Sookie needed it. There was room for 7 people including the driver. The rest of the Were and vampire guards followed behind. The driver was in front of Bobbie and Bill, Eric and Sookie behind them and Bjorn behind Sookie. It took them a while to get to the Ball Room so it was nearly 10 by the time Eric lifted Sookie down off the cart. Bill and Bobbie went on into the Party.

Sandy was standing outside the door they were to enter wearing a headphone and carrying a walkie-talkie. There were a couple of attendants who fussed around Eric and Sookie making sure they looked as perfect as possible and Sandy sounded a cue that had the sound of heraldic trumpets begin playing. Eric and Sookie began to walk forward as the announcement sounded, "Please stand for your hosts, His Royal Majesty Eric Northman and his beautiful wife, Queen Sookie!"

Sookie plastered on the emergency smile and stood as straight as she could as Eric escorted her out onto the dance floor, cameras flashing everywhere. There were easily over 3000 people there and most of them were watching Eric and Sookie. The orchestra started playing "I Could Have Danced All Night" and cameras were still going off furiously as Eric twirled Sookie on the dance floor then picked her up and twirled around with her the way she loved and everyone applauded. Her long dress flowed outward as he did and she felt like she was flying, smiling brilliantly and laughing, focused on nothing other than her beautiful Eric and his arms around her. Others gradually moved onto the dance floor with them and when the song ended Eric held Sookie's hand aloft and bowed to her and she curtsied to him just out of instinct.

The crowd parted as Eric led Sookie to the back of the room where her little receiving area was set up. Since she had been there they had added two large red velvet… well, "thrones" was the only way to describe them. Eric sat in the larger one and Sookie in the smaller one, Bjorn moving into place directly behind Sookie.

"I think we looked very good on the dance floor, my angel, what do you think?"

"I don't know how we looked but it was fun, even if I am a little queasy," Sookie joked and Eric cracked up. A line formed almost immediately to say hello to them, and Eric motioned to the first person to approach. Sookie was just as sweet as ever even though the line was so long she couldn't see the end of it. Russell Eddington and Carolina from the New York Territories came up and Eric invited them to sit on one of the velvet couches. They chatted in between saying hello to other attendees, who continued to move through slowly.

"How are you feeling, my dear?" the elegant Carolina asked her.

"Oh, I'm doing well. I'm looking forward to the birth, though." Sookie laughed.

"I can imagine you are – you must be uncomfortable to be so big, but you positively glow with health. We're all so anxious to see little Eric Alexander. He's going to be one of a kind in many ways."

"Yes, he already seems that way to me. I swear I already know his personality through the bond."

"The bond?" Carolina was curious and Russell's ears perked up, too.

"Yes, the blood bond between Eric and me – the baby is a part of it."

"Really? That's fascinating – this is probably the first baby ever born to anyone with a blood bond

"I have Sookie writing things down now because there are so many unique aspects of the pregnancy and the baby. No one can find any record of it happening before. "

"That's a wonderful idea. Everyone is trying desperately to make it happen for them, you know?" Carolina said

"Oh, I didn't know that…" Sookie looked at Eric.

"Well, we wish them luck. It has been such a blessing to us that I cannot imagine how I lived my life before the child. It has changed everything in the very best ways." Eric smiled and kissed Sookie's hand.

"Well, I think we should go dance, Russell, and let them continue with their reception line. Best of luck to you both." Carolina and Russell excused themselves.

Sabrina was nervous about being able to get into the door. She had a fake ID made with the long blonde wig she was wearing, but she had been a Sheriff and it wouldn't be out of the question for someone at the Ball to recognize her. She didn't have a specific plan, but she had a few tricks up her sleeve, especially if the rumors about Sookie being Fae were true. One way or another, Queen Sookie was going to be out of Eric's life for good tonight.

Sookie was getting tired, but she kept smiling and graciously accepting the gifts, flowers and invitations that were accumulating on the table next to her. Eric could feel through the bond that she was getting tired and hungry, so he called an attendant to bring her a plate of salmon and caviar with trimmings plus a glass of sweet tea or champagne. When people saw the queen was being served food, they dispersed for a bit so she could eat in peace. Eric kissed her and went to mingle, while Sookie had a snack and relaxed for a minute. She chatted with Bjorn a little as he straightened up the stack of gifts and invitations and she savored the caviar which was quickly becoming one of her favorite things. Baby E seemed to agree because he was doing his happy dance. Bobbie, Amelia and Octavia came and sat with Sookie for a few minutes and told her how gorgeous everything was and telling her little bits of gossip they had picked up and what people were saying about her and Eric.

Eric was bopping around the room schmoozing all the other regents and a random Council member here or there, plus saying hello to all of his own sheriffs. He chatted with Bill for a minute and then he had the strangest feeling something was wrong. He asked Bill if he had noticed any problems of any sort but Bill assured him everything seemed to be fine. Eric continued chatting, but there was a nagging feeling he was missing something – that he had seen something but it didn't register at the time. Something was wrong.

Russell Eddington was taking the stage to thank all of his Sheriffs by name when Sookie said she needed to go to the bathroom. Octavia and Amelia were going to wait at the couches, but Bobbie went with Sookie so she wouldn't be alone in the ladies' room. Bjorn escorted them, having Bobbie go in to see how many women were in there. Two women were on their way out, but otherwise the bathroom was empty so Sookie was allowed to enter and Bjorn stationed himself at the door. People were still roaming around the halls, arriving and going out to the patio or wandering down to the shops at the hotel so there was plenty of traffic. Bjorn thought he smelled a familiar perfume but he couldn't place it and he didn't see any women that he knew.

When they returned to the couches, Octavia and Amelia were both dancing with distinguished-looking Were gentlemen, but Bobbie sat down because Bill was schmoozing with the sheriffs from the Nevadas, Eric telling them all about the redrawing of the territories. There were cameras on Eric everywhere he went all night, but the million dollars was earned within three minutes of his first entrance with Sookie.

Sookie was pleased to see that her snack had been replenished, and took a big drink of sweet tea which she immediately spit back out, alarming Bjorn and Bobbie.

"Sookie what happened?" Bjorn asked.

"It's full of lemon."

"Oh my Goddess – the baby! There are no lemons on the buffet, Sookie, everyone was commenting on it." Bobbie said,

"That's because I can't have them so Eric gave an order that no lemon was to be used or served tonight."

"Bobbie, are you sure there are no lemons here anywhere?" Bjorn needed her to be sure.

"Yes, I even asked someone about it – they said it was by order of the King."

Bjorn called Sandy on his earpiece and she came to the receiving area. Having confirmed that there were no lemons on the buffet or anywhere in the kitchens or pantries, Bjorn motioned to Eric who came back immediately.

"What's going on?"

"Someone filled Sookie's drink with lemon."

"What?! Lemons were strictly forbidden here."

"Exactly."

"You think this was…"

"An assassination attempt. Somebody just tried to kill your baby."

Sookie's eyes grew big, "You think someone was deliberately trying to kill the baby? Who would do something like that?"

"Good question." Eric said, "I've had a feeling for the last half hour that something was wrong – like I saw something I didn't catch."

"I swore I smelled something familiar out in the hallway but I couldn't place it. It's bugging me, too."

"Where did you pick up that scent?"

"Outside the ladies room – out the door down to the corner."

Eric went out the door to the area Bjorn indicated and came back in a rush. "Sabrina – you smelled Sabrina. I'll bet anything I saw her and it didn't register – that's what's wrong, she's here."

"Sabrina?" Sookie asked, "You think she tried to kill me?"

"She tried to kill my son." Eric said, furious. He had had all of Sabrina's shit he intended to take. Being jealous of Sookie was one thing. Trying to kill his son was reason to die.

Bjorn summoned all of his troops to meet him in the corridor and Eric went with them. He told Sookie to act as if nothing was wrong, so she had Bobbie throw the food away and get her a fresh plate while Sandy stayed with her.

"How are things going, Sandy?"

"It's a great success. Everyone is talking about how pretty and sweet you are, and how handsome Eric is. Everyone is in love with you both. You wouldn't believe the calls we've had from the press. Everyone wants him to be on their shows."

"Is he going to do TV, then?"

"No, he's not. He said it's better to let them wonder. He wants you to do appearances because you are so sweet, but he thinks being elusive will add to his mystique."

"Oh, brother," Sookie rolled her eyes and Sandy laughed, then Sookie realized she shouldn't have done that.

"Don't worry, your majesty, I won't tell on you." Sandy said when she saw the look of fear on Sookie's face. "It will be our secret."

Eric came back and sat down, thanking Sandy and dismissing her so she could return to work. "I'll be staying with you until Bjorn comes back."

"Where is he?"

"He's looking at security tapes to see if he can see Sabrina coming in. It shouldn't take him long."

As the fourth regent took the stage to acknowledge his Sheriffs, the line formed again and Eric and Sookie greeted people for a bit, while Octavia came back and sat with Sookie. Sookie smiled at Octavia, and Octavia picked up that she was worried.

"Trouble?"

"I think so."

"They got it under control?"

"Not yet."

"You listen to your instincts, Sookie, and you'll be OK."

"I hope you're right. I hope that's true when somebody is actively out to get you."

"Give me your hand, girl, and concentrate. Picture the person that's after you being exposed – being found out. Everyone can see him..."

"Her."

"Ok, everyone can see her – she stands out. You see her before she can hurt you. See it in your mind. Feel it in your bones."

Sookie concentrated even as she smiled and said hello to person after person. At one point, Sookie felt as if the walls of her mind fell away and she could see Bjorn, looking at a TV screen, saying "got her."

"He's got her." Eric and Octavia looked at her. "Bjorn – he saw her on the tape."

Octavia nodded, proud of Sookie for zeroing in so quickly.

In less than a minute, Bjorn came back in, "Eric, she's wearing a long blonde wig and a straight black gown."

"Everybody is wearing a black gown, but blonde hair should be easy to spot." Eric said.

"I need air." Sookie said.

"What?" Eric was taken aback.

"I need air, Eric, I can't breathe. I feel sick."

"Bjorn, you and Octavia take her out to the Grand Patio. I'll tell Bill and Bobbie what to look for and then I'll join you. You did tell your guards what to look for?"

"Yes, of course,"

"Ok, go on out and I'll be there."

Sabrina was in the hallway directly out from where Bjorn was talking to Eric and she saw Sookie and the others moving toward the door to go out of the room on the other wall. She slipped around the corner and saw them take Sookie to the patio, where a few people were sitting at tables and talking.

"It's gorgeous out here!" Sookie said, instantly feeling better, getting a surge of energy that made her tingle. Octavia took a seat and Bjorn kept watch on the people moving in and out.

Octavia had her back to the inside of the building and Sookie was leaning back on a banister that looked out over an area below filled with shrubs and plants. The other people on the patio wandered back into the corridor and into the Ball as Harry Connick Jr. took the stage. Bjorn got a call on his headphone and turned his back for a second to get a better signal. Out of nowhere a dark streak flew at Sookie but a flash of light exploded in front of her and stopped it dead in the air just before it hit her. Sabrina landed on the ground, dazed from the force that came from Sookie or the baby or both. Eric felt Sookie panic and flew back to the patio where a fight too fast for the human eye broke out. Sookie was bumped in the tussle between two streaks of black and she nearly fell backwards, but Bjorn caught her arm and steadied her as streak one, Sabrina, was getting the hell beaten out of her by streak two, Eric, who squeezed her neck so hard it broke and then he flew over the banister with her before she could move. Eric Alexander was kicking like crazy sending Fight! Fight!, causing Sookie to double over for a minute. Sookie, Bjorn and Octavia heard a shriek that no one inside could hear because of the music, and in a minute Eric flew back up on the patio. Bjorn and Octavia were a little shocked at seeing Eric fly, but it passed quickly as Sookie threw her arms around him and hugged him tight.

Bjorn looked at Eric, "She's dead?"

"Yes, I staked her with a branch. There's nothing but ash, a black dress and a wig down there. Call off the alert and get rid of what's left." Eric brushed off his sleeve as Sookie straightened his tie, "I'm going to dance with my wife. Walk in with us, Octavia." Eric offered each woman an arm and was sending a clear signal that they were all to act as if nothing had happened, so that's what they did. Bjorn took a garbage bag out of a trash can in the men's room and used it to scoop up the clothes and wig – there was nothing left of Sabrina to pick up and he figured the sprinklers would just wash her into the ground so he kicked the clumps around a little so there were no big ones anywhere, all the time trying not to think about this being what was left of a woman he'd bedded many times. He wondered what would have happened if Eric hadn't been there. Could he have handled Sabrina, as strong as she was? Would he have been able to bring himself to kill her?

By the time Bjorn got into the Ball, Eric was twirling Sookie around the floor again and everyone was watching them. Women were absolutely swooning over Eric and everyone was talking about how sweet Sookie had been to them and how happy she looked with him. There were whispers about what Sookie had said about sex with vampires, which ALL the vampires took as a compliment and the male vamps were swooning over Sookie even though… or maybe especially because…. she was pregnant. More than one vamp had noticed Sookie's extra sweet scent, too, and that fueled the flames of the Fae rumor.

Harry dedicated a song called "We Make a Lot of Love" to hosts Eric and Sookie and everyone cheered. After, he thanked them for the upcoming fundraiser in New Orleans and gave it a great plug, reminding people it was only 6 days away and saying he already had his tickets. He also said he'd ask "pretty Queen Sookie" to dance, but he was afraid of King Eric and everyone laughed and cheered.

Eric and Sookie took the stage next, Eric holding awards to give each of his twelve Sheriff. Sookie called their names and Eric shook hands with them as they came forward. He started with the Nevada territories and when it came to the Louisiana territories he saved Pam for last. When Sookie reached Pam's name, she read "King Eric's special childe, Sheriff Pamela Ravenscroft of Shreveport," which got huge applause and Eric gave Pam a kiss on each cheek instead of shaking her hand. Finally, Eric called Bill Compton, his "second in command" to the stage and Sandy, giving her special recognition for creating "this marvelous event." He thanked everyone for attending and then introduced the next regent, Carolina, to give her Sheriffs' awards.

As Eric and Sookie left the stage, he saw some of the European regents standing together and took Sookie over to introduce her to them.

"Northman! Very nice presentation!" The attractive man with light brown hair and blue eyes was wearing gold medals and a blue sash and was obviously important.

"Thank you, King Stefan! May I introduce my lovely wife, Sookie? Stefan is the King of Germany, sweetheart."

"Lovely – she is lovely!" Stefan kissed Sookie's hand. "Allow me to introduce Antoine, King of France and Giselle, Queen of Austria."

Giselle shook Sookie's hand lightly and Antoine, not to be outdone by a German, kissed her hand enthusiastically.

"I'm very pleased to meet you all." Sookie wanted to make a good impression because these were three of the classiest people she had ever met. Everything about them was polished and groomed and cultured in a way that she had only seen in old black and white movies.

"Ven ees the bebe due?" Giselle, a petite woman with raven hair and alabaster skin, asked.

"Sometime before August 1st." Sookie answered.

"You vweel bring the leetle Prince to veesit us, yah? Ven he ees big enough to vwalk. I haf not had a bebe in my home in 500 years." Giselle stroked Sookie's tummy lovingly, but it creeped Sookie out just a little. She kept smiling, though, like a good Queen. She knew she had to be as gracious as possible to other regents in general but these people were obviously the crème de la crème of vamp society.

"Oh, that's very kind of you…" Sookie looked at Eric.

"We would be honored, of course, Giselle, when he's old enough to travel."

"You're the envy of the vampire world, you know, Northman. Everyone wants to know your secret," Stefan said.

"There was magick involved, but I am not at liberty to give details." Eric explained.

"The Fae did it for the girl, yes?" Antoine asked. "I would pay 10 million Euros to have a child. If your magician is interested, send him to me."

"I will pass the message along, but I doubt it would be possible. I'll certainly ask, though, Antoine." Eric assured him. "One never knows what a magician is willing to do."

"Yes, and Fae are fond of treasure, which I can provide in abundance," Antoine laughed and everyone laughed with him. "I might be persuaded to sign over a chateau in the Loire Valley as well."

"That's very generous. The Chateau region is beautiful." Eric said.

"Have you been to the Loire Valley, my dear?" Antoine asked Sookie.

"Oh, no, I haven't…"

"Sookie and I haven't had a chance to travel since we got together, but I plan to take her on an extensive trip through Scandinavia and Europe when the child is old enough."

"Be sure to call me when you do. I'll make a chateau available for you - how would you like to wake up in a castle, my dear?"

"Oh, that would be amazing! I'd love that," she assured him.

"The gardens alone are worth the trip. It is beautiful country."

"Yes, it is," Stefan agreed. "You must bring your lovely Queen to Germany as well, Northman. The people would adore her. She is such a beauty!"

"Thank you, Stefan. I agree with you. She is the most beautiful girl in the world to me."

"Vwery Sveet, he is, eh, my dear?" Giselle was actually making a bit of girl talk with Sookie, who couldn't believe his woman would even speak to a girl like her unless she planned to make a meal out of her – and she knew that wasn't necessarily out of the question in this case. "So handsome. The two of you vwere stunning on the dance floor."

"Oh, thank you. Have you danced tonight? That's always my favorite part of the evening."

"Yes, Stefan und I danced und I entertained a vwilling donor. Vwery young und sveet."

"Oh, good. We want you to have a good time."

"Sweetheart, Sandy is summoning us – we need to receive more guests. It was lovely seeing you all – I hope you will forgive us…"

"Not at all, Northman, we all have our duties, do we not! We'll talk soon," Stefan handed Eric his card and while Eric pulled some of his from his pocket, Antoine and Giselle produced their own.

"Thank you so much, all of you," Eric said.

"It was lovely meeting you all." Sookie said as she took Eric's arm and went with him back to the receiving area. The line formed immediately when people saw Eric and Sookie going in that direction and the process of greeting, introducing, thanking, hundreds of people started all over again, Bjorn at his station by her shoulder.

Eric noticed a grimace or two from Sookie when she thought no one was looking, and realized she was having cramps or twinges or something. "What is wrong, my angel?"

"I think the… excitement… earlier has me cramping a bit. I'm getting these deep, hard twinges."

"Bjorn – find Bobbie, please, Sookie may be unwell." Eric ordered softly. Sookie kept smiling as much as she could, but she was squirming a little as the cramps moved into her back.

Bjorn and Bobbie headed back toward Sookie and Octavia left the buffet table to follow them, knowing something was wrong. Amelia was dancing with Pam, so she didn't bother her, since they seemed to be having fun.

Bobbie knelt next to Sookie's throne. "What's going on, sweetie?"

"I'm having cramps in my lower back and my lower abdomen."

"How often?"

"I get little ones often, but I get a really bad one about every ten minutes."

"Any idea what it is, Bobbie?" Eric was very concerned.

"Well, it would be best to ask her doctor, but my guess would be Braxton-Hicks contractions – false labor. The thing is, it could also be real labor, but I hope not because it is way too early."

"Alright, I want you and Bjorn to take Sookie up to our room and call Dr. Ludwig. I'll follow as quickly as I can, but it might be a while. I have my cell if you need to call me."

When people realized that Sookie would be leaving, they slowly walked up in front of her and left their gifts at her feet. Sookie smiled and thanked them all as Bjorn helped her stand, and they applauded softly. Everybody wanted Sookie to take care of herself and the baby, so no one would begrudge her needing to leave early. Vampires didn't know a lot about pregnancies, but you only had to look at Sookie to know that her little body was going through a lot. As Sookie began to leave they called "We love you, Sookie!" "Feel better, Sookie," and things of that sort and she smiled and waved as Bjorn and Bobbie ushered her out the door to the waiting shuttle cart.

Bill came over to Eric, who was accepting well wishes for Sookie and the baby.

"Is there a problem, Eric?"

"Sookie is having cramps. Probably false labor pains, but they're going to call Dr. Ludwig just to be safe. Bobbie went upstairs with her and Bjorn."

"Alright, well, I assume you'd like me to stay and keep representing the Kingdom?"

"Yes, for a while, especially if I have to leave. I'm planning to stay a while and work the room, but if they call my cell, of course, I'll go to Sookie."

Pam came over to sit on one of the couches. "Problem, boys?"

"Sookie's having cramps," Eric explained

"Someone going to call the doctor?"

"Yes, they will."

"Good. Want to dance, Bill?" Pam purred at him.

Eric raised an eyebrow, but Bill said 'yes' and he and Pam went to the dance floor. Eric figured Bill was just being defiant, or maybe he was trying to act as if he didn't care that Bobbie and Bjorn were together at the moment. He didn't think about it long because he was more concerned about Sookie. He finished with the receiving line that was there now and when it thinned out, he went to look for Sandy.

"Sandy…"

"I heard, your majesty, if you need to go, feel free. Things will be winding down soon and we can handle it from here. All of your official duties are done."

"Alright, then, I'll go – I really should be with Sookie, anyway."

"Yes – the prince must come first. He needs to be everyone's priority now."

"I agree. I will talk to you later." Eric left at great speed wanting to catch up to Sookie. When he finally got up to the room they were still getting her settled into bed. "Have you called Ludwig yet?"

"She's going to be here in half an hour," Bjorn told him. "She thinks it's false labor, too, but she'll know more when she gets here. She said she might give Sookie something to stop the contractions, just in case. She really wants to delay the birth another couple of weeks if she can. "

"What if she can't?"

"Then his lungs might be unable to handle it and he'd need to be on a respirator. The longer he's in the womb, the better."

"A respirator. So he will need to breathe?"

"Probably, but we won't know for sure until he's born. There are so many unknowns in this case, it's hard to say."

Eric went into the bedroom. "How are you feeling, Sookie?"

"I'm still having cramps, but they're not coming any faster and they seem to be not as intense." Sookie had her nightgown on and Bobbie was rubbing her back.

"OK, good. The doctor is coming."

"Yeah, Bjorn told us. I'm so sorry I had to leave early. You can go back if you want to…"

"Don't be silly, Sookie. Everything that is important to me is here in this room. The rest of it is nothing compared to you and Eric Alexander." He sat on the bed next to her and took her hand in his, kissing it and holding it.

The doctor appeared then, carrying her giant carpet bag and obviously in a hurry. "Well, little girl, we're having cramps are we?"

"Yes, doctor."

"They were coming at steady intervals for a while, so we were concerned it might be labor or Braxton-Hicks."

"Well, let's see here." The little doctor put her hand on Sookie's tummy and pressed around a little. "The good news is I think this is just false labor. I'm going to give you a shot to stop the contractions and you are going to stay in bed until you absolutely have to get out of it. Northman, do you have an itinerary?"

"Yes, doctor, I do."

"Well, let's see it."

Eric went to his suitcase and pulled out the itinerary for the trip and handed it to her.

"You know I don't like this traveling this late…"

"Yes, doctor." Sookie said.

"All right, you travel Tuesday the 30th, have your fundraiser the 3rd and travel home on the 5th? Fine. When you travel, you're in a wheel chair. The rest of the time you are in bed. If you absolutely must go out you are in the wheel chair. It's time to start taking it easy with the sex, too. You can still have it gently, orgasms are still good, but nothing wild until after the baby comes. It won't be that long, neither one of you will explode."

"Yes, doctor." Sookie was not pleased with that news.

The little doctor took a bottle and syringe out of her bag and gave Sookie an injection, then asked to speak to Eric privately so they went to the conference room.

"Alright, Northman, now pay attention. She's going to need more and more attention from you as the due date approaches. I hope we can hold the birth off until you get back home, but it's looking iffy. He's anxious to get out but we don't know the state of his lungs and won't until he's born. You pay her lots of attention – her instincts are going to start telling her to cling to you and to stay close to home. She may become very homesick. She's not to be alone at any time. I want another adult with a cell phone with her every minute. I don't want her in very hot or very cold water. If she gets cramps again give her ibuprofen and if that doesn't help in 30 minutes, you call me. She's going to fight about staying in bed so make her use the wheel chair and make her rest as much as you can. Rare or raw meat as long as it's not ground meat – steak tartare is great if she can eat it. No caffeine, nothing that stimulates. Lots of RM. Lots of massage. Lots of organic milk – she's not drinking enough of it. Send someone to the store and keep it here in the room. Chocolate milk is fine, and so it dark chocolate candy – it will help her heart and give her a feeling of wellbeing. If she craves salt or seafood, let her have it. Alright – call if you need me," and she was gone.

Eric came out of the conference room to find Bjorn talking to another guard. "Bjorn, come on in when you're done." He walked into the bedroom. "Bobbie, call the kitchen and see if they have organic milk. If so, have them send up a good amount, and order Sookie some steak tartare and check our supply of RMs, please. Thanks."

"Be right back." Bobbie went to call the kitchen, squeezing past Bjorn as he came through the door, deliberately rubbing up against him, of which Bjorn and Eric both took note.

"I'll wait until Bobbie gets back to go over it all with you both at the same time," Eric said.

Bjorn nodded, "Where's Bill?" he asked, trying to sound casual about it.

"He's still at the Ball representing the kingdom supposedly, but he was dancing with Pam when I left."

"Is there a history with them?" It was out of Bjorn's mouth before he realized it.

"Bill and Pam? I thought before now that they hated each other. Apparently there was some underlying attraction to all the sniping they used to do at each other."

"Wait," Sookie said, "Bill and Pam do hate each other. Why would you think anything else?"

Bjorn and Eric looked at each other. What should they tell Sookie?

"They were on the plane together last night."

"That was just a coincidence though, right?"

"As far as I know."

"Well, what's the big deal? It's not like they had sex on the… NO, HE DIDN'T!?" Sookie knew he did, though, and it didn't surprise her a bit. As much as she wanted to think of Bill as a great guy, the truth was that he was as much a slave to his impulses as any man she had ever known. Pam didn't think in terms of loyalty where sex was concerned – she was all about sensation. If it felt good – or even if it hurt – Pam would do it. That was a major part of Sookie's attraction to Pam. It was actually possible to have no strings sex with her, and that's not really possible with most people no matter what they say. "Don't say anything," Sookie whispered.

"You don't think she should know?" Eric asked.

"I don't know – let me think about it a while. Maybe he'll tell her himself."

Eric and Bjorn both laughed, knowing that would never happen.

"Yeah, you're right, he won't." Sookie resigned herself to the fact that Bill wouldn't come clean of his own volition.

"Maybe there's nothing to tell – it is Pam…" Eric said.

"Eric – she's your childe! Don't make her sound like a public utility."

"I'm not saying she's a whore, Sookie, but she doesn't attach feelings to sex as most people do. It won't have meant anything to her. She judges relationships by the quality of the orgasm, not the person she's with."

"And whose fault is that?" Sookie already knew the answer.

"It's no one's fault but it is partially an effect of my training."

"Really?" Bjorn asked. He didn't know Pam's history with Eric.

"Yes, I made her because I wanted a sex partner and I chose her and trained her to be just what I wanted at the time. I did a spectacular job of teaching her about all aspects of sex. She was an enthusiastic and creative student. She's quite exceptional in bed."

"Yes, she is…" Sookie and Bjorn spoke in unison and looked at each other, hesitated, then laughed.

"You created a monster, Eric." Sookie laughed.

"She thinks the same thing about you, Sookie."

"Yeah, she does." Sookie laughed.

"Damn…." Bjorn said, laughing. "Eric, can I be you for a while?"

"It's not completely out of the question…"

Bobbie came back in. "They're on their way up with steak tartare, organic milk and RMs."

"Alright – you can get Sookie some dark chocolate tomorrow, the doctor said it will make her feel better. If she has anymore contractions, give her ibuprofen and if it doesn't help in 30 minutes, call Dr. Ludwig. Sookie is to be accompanied by, and I quote, "an adult with a cell phone" every minute. If she moves out of this bed she's to use the wheel chair. She's not to be in extremely hot or cold water. Lots of organic milk, lots of rare or raw meat, RMs, lots of massage and only gentle sex. If she craves salt or seafood, let her have it. Ludwig really wants to put the birth off until we get home if at all possible so the baby's lungs have time to mature."

"She really thinks it's immanent then…" Bobbie said.

"Yes, she does."

"But every minute?" Sookie said.

"Every minute. I will be with you at night, and Bjorn, Bobbie and Alicia will take turns with you in the daytime, and Amelia and Octavia may help, too. I want a woman in the bathroom with you if you shower or bathe, Sookie, and let them help you so you don't fall."

"Alright…" Sookie was annoyed.

"Sookie, it's really best – a fall right now could send you into labor," Bobbie said.

"We should check her blood pressure, too, while we're in here," Bjorn said. "I'll get the cuff."

"Are we sure we don't just want to go ahead and birth this baby already?" Sookie was annoyed now.

"Sookie, yesterday was only 3 ½ months." Eric reminded her.

"What? It feels like it's been years…"

"Yesterday marked 3 ½ months, my angel, I'm tracking it in my calendar."

"Oh my Goddess!" Bobbie said, "And she's this big?"

"They were expecting 5 ½ months but it's looking as if she'll be lucky to make it to 4 months." Eric explained

"Sookie, we really need to stretch this out as long as we can then." Bobbie was adamant now. "I know he's advanced but his lungs and heart might not be as advanced as his brain."

"OK, question – everybody has tomorrow off. Who's going to stay with me?"

"I'll ask Amelia and Octavia and if they can't, I'll stay with you, honey." Bobbie said. "We won't leave you alone." Bobbie patted her hand.

"Thanks. I hate that you all have to babysit me."

"That's OK, Sookie. Soon we all get to babysit the baby! That's going to be fun."

"Yeah, I can't wait." Sookie's mood brightened immediately.

"But please do." Eric quipped and the girls cracked up.

Bjorn came back with the blood pressure cuff and it was actually pretty good, so they all relaxed a bit. Bobbie and Bjorn left Sookie and Eric alone once Sookie had her steak and her milk, and went out to the living room where they sat and chatted for two hours until Bill finally came upstairs. When Bill came in, he was surprised to see Bobbie and Bjorn sitting in the living room having what appeared to be an intimate chat.

"How is Sookie doing?" He remembered himself and tried to focus on something else.

"She's on complete bed rest. The doctor is afraid she's going to go into labor too early."

"Was it labor earlier tonight?"

"Probably false labor but she gave her something to stop the contractions anyway. She's only 3 ½ months, you know."

"Good lord! Is that all?"

"I know, it seems longer but that's all. They knew it would be short because it's a Fae baby and vamp blood and all that but this is still way too soon."

"Nothing must happen to that child. The entire community is counting on having a young prince. People are beside themselves with it. There are already Prince Eric Alexander t-shirts being sold in the parking lot tonight." Bill pulled a shirt out of his jacket pocket and threw it to Bobbie. She and Bjorn cracked up.

"Hey, what's going on out there?!" Sookie yelled, as Eric fed her toast points with bits of tartare on them.

Bobbie knocked and came in when Sookie called, and she held up the Prince Eric Alexander shirt. Eric was confused, but Sookie's mouth fell open. Finally, Sookie managed a "NO!" and Bobbie replied, "Yes, they were selling them in the parking lot."

"They're selling t-shirts with our baby's name on them? Are we getting a cut of these? BILL!" Eric called.

Bill came in. "Yes, Eric."

"They are selling these?"

"Yes."

"Are we getting a cut?"

"They're bootlegged. We confiscated two cases of them."

"Good. We'll sell them at Fangtasia."

Sookie cracked up.

"He is our son, Sookie. If someone is going to wear a shirt with his name on it, we are going to get paid."

"You want to market our baby?"

"Not at all, but if a profit is to be made, should it not go to him, in a trust fund?"

"Well, if you put it that way, yeah, I guess it should."

"We think they sold 4 cases worth tonight. All anyone could talk about was Sookie leaving early. They're all so invested in this child's birth – I've never seen anything like it. It's a kind of Prince Eric Alexander Mania."

Eric cracked up at that. He loved the idea that people were so fascinated with his son – he was, so it seemed perfectly logical to him that others would be, too. "Not even born yet and he's already a star," Eric laughed.

"He has a fan club." Bill said.

"What?!" Sookie said, and Eric laughed even louder.

"Yes, he has a fan club. They're trying to use astrology to predict when he will be born, and there's a website."

Eric howled with laughter.

**SUNDAY 9 PM HBO TRUE BLOOD RETURNS!**

**All Hail the Golden Viking God!**


	67. Chapter 67

**Chapter 67**

"Eric, I can't believe you think this is funny – everybody is going to know our baby. Won't that make him a target?"

"That will make him hard to hurt. If everyone knows and loves him, anyone who tries to harm him will have to worry about all of his fans as well as us. These are vampires – they would not hesitate to kill anyone who threatens the little Prince."

"I agree with him, Sookie – it makes him safer if they all know and love him. People are already afraid of Eric, which is a huge deterrent. Add to that the fact that everyone will recognize him and want him to be safe, there will be thousands of vampires looking out for him. It's a great advantage."

"OK, if you all say so. It just seems dangerous to me to have everybody so focused on him. What about stalkers?"

"Vampires are stalkers of a type, anyway, but affection for him will make them less likely to view him as food if he doesn't taste like vampire. I'm hoping he has a vampire taste so they won't see him that way at all."

"Remember, he might be Fae. That scared me to death when Giselle invited us to her home – what if he tastes like fairy?"

"We don't have to take him to visit her, then. We can get out of it. I don't think she'd hurt him, though, Sookie, she had many children and probably misses them. She's always excessively kind to young vampires – she's known for it. Her people call her mama."

"Yes, Sookie, she's very kind for a vampire Queen. She's one of the last vampires you'd need to worry about," Bill assured her.

There was a knock on the Suite door, and Bjorn answered it. He spoke briefly to one of his guards, and motioned for Bobbie to follow him into the bedroom with Sookie, Eric and Bill. He knocked on the door and opened it, letting Bobbie go in first."

"Your majesty, I thought you would want to know about the rumors from tonight. They will only solidify your position but you should still know what people are saying."

"And what would that be?"

"The rumor is that there was an attempt on the Queen's and the baby's lives and that you killed the perpetrator, but no one knows who it was. They know there was a search for a woman that was called off. They believe it was called off because you killed her."

"It was and I did."

"True, and there is no evidence, so you should be in the clear unless she has a maker to come looking for you."

"No, Sabrina's maker is long dead. I suspect she killed him herself shortly after he turned her."

"Is that possible?" Sookie was shocked.

"It's very rare, but as you know…"

"Sabrina was crazy." Bjorn finished.

"Do you mourn for her, Bjorn?" Eric asked.

"No, your majesty, I am glad she can't cause problems for me. I didn't hold her in any particular regard."

"Did you date her, Bjorn?" Sookie couldn't figure out why Bjorn would care about Sabrina."

"We… uh..."

"They had a lot of sex, Sookie." Eric explained.

"You did? She was so mean!"

"Sometimes that's a good thing if you are not emotionally attached," Bjorn shrugged.

"Like that dancer? Are you going to call her while you're off tomorrow?"

"Uh, no, I have other plans."

"Dancer?" Eric asked.

"Someone I met in a casino bar the other night. She dances in one of the shows on the strip."

"Mmmm." Eric purred and Sookie punched his arm, which made him laugh. "Not to worry, dear one, my only interest is in you and your happiness. I was merely appreciating the opportunity for a young single man."

"OK. I'll buy that." She kissed Eric.

Bjorn laughed and Bill shook his head while Bobbie, standing between said "awww."

"Can I change the subject for a minute?" Sookie asked sheepishly as she leaned on Eric's shoulder.

"Of course you can, Sookie, what did you want to say?" He looked down and brushed her hair back away from her face.

"I want to go home. I know we have to be in New Orleans next Friday but if it were up to me, I'd rather go home now and drive down the day before. I know you have work to do there, but…"

"Bill, how would that affect your plans for the New Orleans office?"

"It wouldn't create any real problems, it just wouldn't be as convenient for some of the things we had planned. And you'd have to drive down Wednesday to look at the properties we're considering on Thursday."

"Bobbie or Bjorn, any comments or suggestions?" Eric asked.

"I'm good either way, but Sookie would feel better at home, I think." Bjorn said.

"Honestly, I think the idea of flying next week is out of the question so it would be better for us to get her home and then drive down in a caravan. You'll only lose a couple of days in the office there and I think Sookie needs to be home now." Bobbie added.

"Will Amelia and Octavia be disappointed?" Sookie asked.

"I'll ask them, but I think they'll be happy to do whatever is best for you, Sookie,'' Bobbie offered.

"What about Alicia?"

"I don't think she'll be disappointed, Sweetie," Bobbie assured her.

"Make sure first, but if everybody is OK with it, I need to go home. I need to be in my own bed, even if it's only for a couple of nights. I'm just too uncomfortable."

Eric stroked Sookie's cheek. "If you want to go home, then we will go. We'll think about New Orleans on Tuesday and see where we are then."

"Shall I go try to get you all a flight to Shreveport?" Bill asked. "We might be able to get something tomorrow night or Monday daytime. I'd prefer to go on to New Orleans so I can help with the final preparations for the fundraiser."

"Bobbie, will you make sure it's OK with Alicia and Amelia and Octavia first and if they're all OK we can go? Please, Eric." Her eyes were tearing a little as she looked up at him and he knew that she wouldn't ask if it weren't important to her.

The doctor had told him that she would be clingy and want to stay close to home. He also knew that he needed to listen to Sookie's instincts right now – mothers knew what they needed most of the time. If she wanted to be home, he considered it his responsibility to get her there. He could feel through the bond that she wanted to be in their own bed where she felt safe. He also had a feeling that she was afraid she was going to go into labor away from home. If worse came to worse, they would skip the fundraiser. Sookie and the baby had to come first for him.

"Bobbie, check with the ladies to be sure, but Bill, go ahead and see what flights are available. I think Sookie needs to be in her own bed."

"Thank you!" She kissed him and hugged his arm. He shifted and put his arm around her so she could snuggle close. He could clearly see what was going on with her. Something in her knew the baby was coming and wanted her to find a safe place to have it. Even if they had to fly in smaller groups, he decided he would get her home as soon as he could.

Bill and Bobbie went to do their respective parts, and Bjorn decided to tell the guards to stand-by since they might be going home early.

"Come to bed," Sookie asked Eric, "take your clothes off and get in bed so you can hold me, OK?"

"OK, my angel, I will." He got up to take off his tuxedo, throwing it over the arm of a side chair. He decided to leave his silk boxers on because Sookie liked them and the others might be in and out of the room for a bit. She pulled back the covers for him, she was so anxious to be next to him. He smiled as he scooted in next to her and pulled her close, kissing her forehead. "I like this pink gown you've been wearing. It's very feminine. Much nicer than a t-shirt and sweatpants."

"I usually just sleep in a t-shirt and underwear if I don't wear a gown – of course, since I've been with you, I mostly don't wear anything at all."

"That's best of all." Eric laughed.

"I'm sorry to be so much trouble. I don't mean to be a drag…"

"You are not a drag and you are not trouble, Sookie. You are a mother and you want your nest. This is perfectly natural and healthy. I want you to be in a safe place so you can care for the baby as you need to. To be honest, I was thinking of this already myself."

"You were?"

"Yes – since you had to leave the Ball, I've been berating myself for bringing you away from home when you are so close to your due date. I should have known you were not up to all of this. I am not going to let being king make me be a bad father or husband. As important as it is, it will always come second to you and the baby."

"But I wanted to come to the Ball – and I want to go to the fundraiser. I just… I can't explain it, but something in me just knows I have to get home right now. It's not rational at all, but I just need to be home."

"Well…" Eric was interrupted by a knock at the door. "Come in."

"You can all fly out tomorrow night at 8 o'clock for a small charge to change the reservation. Is that acceptable?" Bill was still on the phone with the airline.

"Yes, go ahead and confirm it and let's move in that direction."

"Hello? Yes, we'll take that. Alright, it's 4 3…" Bill left the room. There was another knock and Bobbie came in, followed by Bjorn.

"Everybody is fine with leaving early." Bobbie said.

"My men are on stand-by." Bjorn said.

"Good, because Bill is confirming our flights for 8 PM tomorrow night."

"Eric," Bill came back in, "they just reminded me of the Parade in the Quarter on Wednesday night – you'd have to leave at 6PM on Wednesday to make it there for that."

"Alright, well, we'll see how it goes. Maybe it will get rained out."

"Alright – everything is set. They'll pick you all up at 7 o'clock tomorrow night. I'll be moving to a different room and leave on Monday."

"Have you checked with Pam? Is she going with us?"

"She decided to stay with her original plans if you don't mind. She has plans she doesn't want to change."

"Alright. Everybody get ready to leave at 7 tomorrow. Bobbie please bring Sookie a blood and then you and Bjorn spread the word and have a good night. I won't be working anymore the rest of the night, Bill, so you do whatever you want. You might want to spend some time with Bobbie since you're splitting up for another few days."

"Yes, I would. I will see you tomorrow night."

"Good night, Bill." Sookie said. When everyone was gone Sookie kissed Eric hard and he responded, but he was worried about inducing labor if they had sex. He didn't know if that could happen or not but he didn't think they should take a chance. "OK, what's wrong?"

"What do you mean?" Eric asked, not realizing she had picked up on his hesitance.

"I mean, why are you afraid to have sex with me?"

"Because I'm afraid it will cause you to go into labor. Even the doctor said it was time to be gentle."

"OK, so be gentle, but don't even think about not doing it at all because I'll explode."

Eric laughed. "I don't think you'll explode…"

"I won't be happy, then, whatever, but I need to have sex, damn it! If I have the baby I don't know how long it will be before I can have sex again. You won't cheat on me, will you?"

"No, Sookie, you know I would never do that."

"Yeah, well, I'm not feeling very attractive right now, and after…"

He pulled her close and held her chin so she looked him in the eye. "Sookie, you have never been more beautiful to me. You were every inch a Queen tonight and I was so proud to know that you were MY Queen that I felt as if I would burst. Every man wanted to be me. Every woman wanted to be you. They would all give anything to have what we have. A little inconvenience for the gifts we have been given is such a small price to pay for such happiness. I can't tell you how panicked I felt when I realized that Sabrina had tried to poison you and the baby. It's why I finally killed her. I knew she would never stop trying and I won't tolerate any threat to either of you. You are my life, Sookie – please don't think that anything mundane or inconvenient will ever change that. I am not Bill. I will never hurt you. You can trust me with anything. You are my bonded, I am yours."

"I'm sorry – now I'm making you repeat yourself," she laughed. "I don't know why I am so insecure."

"You are scared, Sookie. Giving birth is a huge thing and yours is immanent. You are away from home. Someone tried to kill you and your child tonight. You nearly went into labor. You found out someone who hurt you may hurt someone else close to you. Honestly, Sookie, I don't know any woman who could handle it all with the grace that you do. Any other woman would be having a nervous breakdown. You are only a little insecure – and I think I can distract you enough to make you forget about that."

"That's going to have to be some distraction…."

He wiggled his eyebrows at her as he said, "it's a gracious plenty."

She instantly laughed and relaxed. He had her roll on her side facing away from him and he did away with her panties and his silk boxers. He spooned up behind her, taking her slowly and gently, over and over until dawn. She moaned softly as he filled her, running his hand over her body under her gown, kissing her neck and shoulder. When he felt the time was right he tore his wrist with his teeth and held it to her warm lips. As she drew deeply from his arm he bit her shoulder and fed, the two of them enveloped in a warmth that flowed around and through them, lulling Sookie into a deep sleep that was peaceful and lucid and she saw herself nursing the baby. As she held him, he looked directly into her eyes with eyes as blue as Eric's and she knew it was alright. She consciously knew he was coming very soon, and that she was ready for him. She would never be afraid again for as long as she was pregnant. It was all in perfect time.

Eric went to rest smiling, feeling the contentment and love Sookie was sending into the bond. He flooded it with love and pride to Sookie and the baby both, and before he left the bed he had put his hand on her tummy and the baby kicked to let him know he was aware. Eric actually dreamed, seeing himself in his bed with Sookie, the baby lying between them in nothing but a diaper, smiling and laughing. Eric was not afraid again during the pregnancy either. There was a part of Eric and Sookie and the baby each that were connected in a new way, and always would be from this point forward.

Sunday was a quiet day in spite of the travel. Sookie woke up ravenous and ate two breakfasts and drank 3 bottles of blood. She felt pretty good until they got on the plane when her back began to cramp and both Eric and Bobbie rubbed it the entire way back to Shreveport. Sookie felt a sort of seismic shift in her belly which Eric and Bobbie were able to watch and monitor. Bobbie was pretty sure the baby had moved to a head down position where he should be. She didn't say it in front of Sookie but she told Eric and Alicia it was a good thing they were headed home. She didn't say it out loud but Bobbie's main fear now was whether they'd make it to the house before Sookie went into labor.

She fell asleep on the short ride home and Eric carried her up to their bedroom, where Bobbie and Alicia helped get her out of her dress and into her gown, and Alicia even got a washcloth and cleaned off her make up so her skin wouldn't break out from sleeping in it. Eric talked to Sandy briefly, and to Bill, then he went to bed with Sookie and lay there with her in the dark, his hand on the baby bump, listening to Sookie breathe. He was as intent and aware as he had ever been in his long life. He never wanted to forget this feeling, this moment that he would never have again.

"Sookie, dear, can you wake up and drink your drink?" Alicia tried to wake Sookie, but she was pretty out of it. When she did wake, she asked for something for cramps and fell asleep right after taking it.

When Alicia brought Sookie's breakfast at 2pm she refused to get up and eat it. All she wanted to do was sleep and she asked for Bobbie to rub her back which was cramping very badly now. Her stomach felt queasy and the thought of food made her sick so Alicia took the food away. All Sookie could get down was an RM. She drank several in an hour and around 4:30 she had a hard, long cramp that took her breath away. Bobbie and Alicia were really worried now. About ten minutes later another cramp hit and Sookie yelled, "Oh, my Goddess!" and threw back the covers to show that her gown and the sheets were soaked with blood– her water had broken. The house went mad at that moment. Bobbie called Bjorn to take Sookie down to the birthing room. Margaret kicked into high gear to clean up Eric's bed, which had blood all over his new purple silk sheets.

Bjorn settled Sookie onto the bed in the birthing room, getting blood on his white t-shirt, then called Dr. Ludwig, warning her there were humans present. Ludwig told him they shouldn't panic and she'd be there in time to deliver the child, but that wouldn't be for hours yet. Bobbie and Alicia got Sookie out of her gown and Alicia put it in cold water to soak after she and Bobbie covered Sookie with a soft cotton hospital gown made to tie in the back but they left it open and just slipped her arms into it. Sookie had a hard cramp about every ten minutes for the next hour and a half, Bobbie rubbing her back when she could and Alicia bringing Sookie ice ships when she ran out. Bjorn took her blood pressure every ten minutes, in between contractions. It was higher than it should be, but not dangerously high and it stayed pretty even for the next few hours.

Sookie wasn't scared but she was in a lot of pain. Everything hurt, and the contractions were stunning in force. Bobbie felt around Sookie's abdomen and was pretty sure the baby had moved into the right position, so that was one thing they didn't need to worry about. Just before 6 o'clock, Sookie had a contraction so hard she screamed, and Eric was instantly at the door, having just awakened.

"Eric! Eric!" Sookie was so relieved to see him, "aHHHHHH – he's coming…."

"I see that, my angel. Here, squeeze my hand and hold on."

The room smelled of blood so Eric immediately sent Alicia for some RMs he could drink during the birth, downing one immediately and setting the rest on a table in the room. Alicia had the scissors and pans that would be used to bathe the baby or anything else that would touch him or Sookie in the bathroom soaking in alcohol.

"Where is Dr. Ludwig?" Eric asked.

"She said, mmmmhhaaaaaaaagghhhh, that she'd be here before the baby comes but it could be hours before that."

"Sookie try to breathe like this, honey." Bobbie showed her how to take a deep breathe and slowly let it out. She didn't want her to hyperventilate.

"How long has she been in labor?" Eric asked Bobbie and Alicia who were fussing around Sookie.

"Her water broke just after 4:30," Alicia told him, "and we've been pretty much where we are now ever since."

Another cramp hit Sookie and Bobbie tried to get her to breathe as she was bearing down. Bobbie was kicking herself from not training Eric and Sookie in Lamaze – she had planned to do it when they got back from New Orleans. She never dreamed the baby would come this soon. She was praying silently that he was big enough to breath on his own. She was pretty sure he would be a good size, but the question was how mature were his lungs?

Bobbie checked the clock. "That was just under 8 minutes between those contractions. They're speeding up."

Alicia handed Eric a cup of ice chips, very glad that she had stocked two bags of ice in the freezer before they left, just in case. Eric fed Sookie a bite and smoothed her hair back from her face.

"Would somebody brush my hair and put it in a pony tail, please?" Sookie was desperate for anything to make her feel better.

"Sure, Sweetie, you'll feel better if we get it up off your neck. Are you hot in here?" Bobbie asked as Alicia came back with Sookie's hairbrush and an elastic ponytail holder.

"I'm burning up. Why is it so hot today?"

"Let's take her temperature," Alicia suggested, going to the bathroom for the thermometer. It was the kind that you put in the ear, so it could be set to use on either Sookie or the baby. Sookie's temp was slightly elevated, but Bobbie and Alicia agreed it was warm in the room so they sent Bjorn down to Margaret to get a fan. By the time Bjorn got back, Sookie was in the middle of another long contraction. She was squeezing Bobbie's hand too hard, so Bjorn took Bobbie's place at her side opposite Eric. Eric nodded that he approved of Bjorn being there – Sookie needed someone to hang onto on both sides when she bore down and Eric was glad to have Bjorn there. Sookie was very strong since she had been drinking from Eric regularly, and they didn't want her to damage Bobbie's hands.

Bobbie stationed herself at Sookie's legs, rubbing them with lotion that seemed to comfort Sookie a bit in between contractions. Alicia had the fan set up on a chair she brought in from the little dining table in the kitchenette and Sookie relaxed a lot when the cool breeze hit her.

"Oh, that feels so much better. Thanks, you guys." Sookie lay back on the pillows piled behind her, never letting go of Eric's hand. She held onto him as if her life depended on it and it even flashed through her mind that maybe it did.

"Hey, should somebody call Jason?" Sookie asked.

"Would he be of any help here, Sookie?" Bobbie asked doubtfully.

"Probably not – I'd like it if he knew I was in labor though, and then we'd call him back when the baby was born."

"That would probably be OK…." Bobbie looked at Eric and he nodded. Eric pulled his cell out of his pocket and handed it to Bobbie, who pulled up Jason's number and pressed "Call."

"Hello?"

"Is this Jason Stackhouse?"

"Yeah, who's this?"

"I'm Bobbie James – Sookie's masseuse."

"Oh, yeah, how are you doin'? Sookie OK?"

"She's in labor and she wanted me to call and let you know."

"Any idea how long before she has the baby?"

"Probably within the next few hours."

"Is she OK? Should I come over there? Or should I come over tomorrow?"

"Hang on," She covered the hole on the phone, "Sookie, do you want Jason to come over tonight or tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow would be good, when the baby and I have had time to resttt aaahhhhhHHHH!" another contraction hit hard.

"Jason?"

"Wow – is that her screaming?"

"Yeah, she's in active labor. She said it would be best if you came over tomorrow when she and the baby have had some rest."

"OK, then, will you call me back once he's out so I know they're both OK?"

"Yes, of course, we'll call you first thing. It shouldn't be all that long."

"Cool – I can't wait to be Uncle Jason for real!"

"OK, we'll talk to you in a bit."

"'K, bye!"

"How is he? Is he mad?" Sookie asked as she panted, trying to catch her breath.

"No, honey, he said he can't wait to be Uncle Jason for real."

"Oh, OK, good. He's no good in an emergency so having him here would probably just make it hard on all of us. Did anyone call Amelia and Octavia?"

"I'll do that now if you want me to, unless you need something?"

"I need my back rubbed, but Eric can do that, can't you, Sweetie?"

"Of course. Go ahead and call them, Bobbie, and tell them to come to visit tomorrow, too," Eric said as he and Bjorn helped Sookie turn on her side toward Bjorn so Eric could rub her back.

Sookie held onto Bjorn tightly while Eric rubbed her lower back, and he smiled at her when she looked up at him. "You're doing great, Sookie. Just hang on and we'll get you through this, right, Eric?"

"Yes, she's going to be fine. Many women without half of Sookie's strength have babies all the time. You're doing very well, my angel. I am very proud of you."

"We're all proud of you, Sookie," Alicia added.

"Thanks ah- ahahhhahhHHHHH." That one was really hard and Alicia pulled back the sheet and raised Sookie's gown to check her progress. "She'll be crowning soon – where is that doctor?"

"Somebody call me? I'm Dr. Ludwig." There was a very average-looking woman at the door of the room. Bjorn was surprised, but Eric knew Ludwig was using a kind of glamour to give a different appearance in front of the humans.

"Yes, Dr., she's pretty far along now." Alicia said.

"Well, let's take a look." She moved to the center of the bed, "How are we feeling, little girl?"

"It hurts a lot…"

"That's to make you appreciate the baby and take good care of him so you don't need to have another too soon." She said as she pushed Sookie's robe up, paying no attention to who was in the room.

Bjorn tried not to look, but Sookie had another huge contraction and the focus was on her holding onto Eric and Bjorn so she could bear down. The contraction went on and on, Sookie digging into Eric and Bjorn with her fingernails without realizing it. When it was over, Sookie just collapsed backwards, and the doctor got a good look at the situation.

"Yes, he's nearly at the crowning point. The good news is that it won't be a lot longer. The bad news is that the shoulders are harder to pass than the head, so you're going to have to work hard for a while longer, Sookie."

"Oh, Goddess!" Sookie was already exhausted and it was going to get worse before it got better. "Freya, help me get through this! Let us both be safe, please!" Sookie was sending all kinds of energy into that prayer, because magickal energy was all she had left. She was physically exhausted. When the next cramp hit, she was limp as Eric and Bjorn had to hold her up as she screamed, and screamed and suddenly the pain stopped. Sookie looked down, confused as Alicia screamed "oh my god!"

The doctor looked up, saying "he's gone."

"WHAT?!" Sookie said, nearly hysterical. "My baby! My Baby!"

Like lightening Eric was out of the room as Bjorn held Sookie and tried to get her not to scream. Eric was back quickly with a squirming, bloody, crying baby in his arms, laughing as the doctor took him to tie off his dripping umbilical cord. Eric's mouth and shirt was smeared with blood, both from carrying and kissing the baby.

"What happened?" Sookie was still in shock.

"He was in our bed, Sookie. You always say that's the safest place in the world to you. You prayed for him to be safe, so he went to the safest place," Eric laughed.

The doctor was using the bulbous rubber syringe to clean his little airways and looked him over. "He's a fine specimen, Northman. Strong and apparently full term. Listen to those lungs! He wants his mama!"

The doctor motioned for Eric to pull down the top of Sookie's gown and put the baby right to the breast. He latched on like a vise, and Sookie instantly felt better, wrapping her arms around the little thing that seemed so strange and wonderful to her, everything suddenly right in the world. Bobbie and Alicia were getting soapy water ready to bathe the baby, as Eric kissed Sookie and the baby both with bloody tears streaming down his face. Bjorn was helping the doctor, who got a huge needle and syringe out of her carpetbag and when over to Eric with an elastic strap.

"Here you go, Northman, two more things we need to take care of. First, I need blood from you."

"For what?"

"To heal up your wife. I'm going to put it up in there to heal where the baby came out. Then you're going to feed her and she'll be good as new in a couple of days, as long as you feed her every day."

"Really?!" Sookie asked, "How long until we can have sex?"

"I'd wait at least until tomorrow, child. Do what's comfortable. If it hurts, stop. Use good sense but for the most part, you should be fine for normal sex this week."

"Yes!" Sookie said, too happy about everything to say much else.

The doctor tied the elastic around Eric's arm and drew blood from it with a needle, then she took the needle off the full syringe and clipped a long sort of straight, slightly flexible tubing to it. Bjorn helped her get the access she needed to Sookie's womb, still trying not to look, and it was only a little uncomfortable as she slid the long soft but firm tube into her as far as she could. There was some pain when it pushed through the cervix, in spite of it being stretched a bit, but once it was in and she bathed Sookie's insides with the blood, Sookie's pain quickly subsided.

Eric then tore his wrist and fed Sookie from it. She was embarrassed that she couldn't suppress the orgasm from drinking from him and neither could he, but that made the doctor smile and say, "good, good – that's the reaction we want from a bonded couple in the exchange. Now, let these good women give the little one a bath, then put him to the other breast. Feed him every 2 hours, keep him against mama's skin as much as possible and daddy, talk to him and pet him so he gets used to you quickly. I'll send you the birth certificate and my bill tomorrow. Good luck – you're going to need it!" and with that, she was gone.

Sookie reluctantly let Alicia take the baby into the bathroom where they had the little baby bath set up in the tub. She and Bobbie got him washed off and wrapped a soft towel, then weighed him and dressed him in a tiny diaper and t-shirt. His eyes were amazingly blue and he had a little shock of wheat blonde hair on his head. They were ooh-ing and ahh-ing over him and after about 20 minutes, Sookie yelled "hey, where's my baby!?" and they brought him back to her. Alicia got another pan of soapy water and cleaned Sookie up, starting with her face and working down as the baby suckled happily. Eric stood back so the women could work on Sookie, but he couldn't take his eyes off of her and the baby. He had a son. Eric Alexander Northman, born 6/29/09 at 6:29 PM, 8 pounds, 10 ounces.

"I'll go tell the rest of the staff. Margaret will be busting to know."

"Margaret will need to change our bedspread – the baby was on it when he teleported and it's got blood all over it."

"I'll tell her. Congratulations, your majesty. He's a fine boy." Bjorn slapped Eric on the back and shook his hand, then went down to the kitchen where Margaret, her helpers, the guards and even the gardeners all stayed late to hear about the baby. Sookie could hear them cheering all the way upstairs. One of the gardener's boys came back upstairs with Margaret to attach the little co-sleeper to the side of Sookie's bed so the baby would be within reach all night.

Once they had Sookie settled with the baby for a little while, Bobbie called Jason, Amelia, and Octavia and Bill while Eric called Pam, Sandy and Bill, then Niall. Niall, who sounded happier than Eric had ever heard him, said he would visit the next night at 8 pm and bring the child a gift from the council. Eric thought to himself that he hoped it was something that they or the baby would actually want.

When he finished with his calls, Eric sat on the bed next to Sookie, putting his arm around her and stroking the baby's back as he suckled. She was cooing and talking to the baby with the most beautiful smile on her face - it was the most fascinating thing Eric had ever seen. He kissed her head and squeezed her tight, running his fingers over the baby's back and legs, listening to him purr as he fed. He smiled as the baby rubbed his face with his tiny hand. Eric touched his hand and it was almost as if the baby tried to grip it.

"When can we move upstairs?" Sookie asked him.

"Whenever you feel ready. Margaret has fresh linens on the bed and the gardener's assistant put the tiny crib on your side of the bed for Eric Alexander."

"How did you know where he went when he disappeared?"

"I heard him crying and smelled him. It made sense he would go where you felt safest. He doesn't know this room – he knows Mommy's bed."

"So, did I send him there, or did he go there or did Freya send him…?"

"You will have to ask one of your Witches about that, but my guess would be the baby went there."

"Uh-oh. You think…"

"Yes, I do. We'll have to watch him closely. He'll be fine for a while because his instinct will be to stay close to you. Later on… well, we'll take it one day at a time."

"Yeah, I'm not going to think about it right now. He's here with us now and we're all together and nothing else matters. I want to go upstairs now so we can all be in our bed for a while like it's supposed to be."

"Alright, hold the baby tightly like this," Eric positioned the baby so she had a good hold on him and would neither drop or crush him, then he picked her up and carried them upstairs. The bed was freshly made but turned down, the little crib right next to Sookie's place, so Eric put her in from his side of the bed, setting them down as gently as he could. He pulled his bloody shirt off as he went into the bathroom and he washed the blood off his face and arms. He was back quickly in just his jeans, ready to snuggle with his brand new family. "I can't believe he is here, Sookie. He's so small – look at his tiny hands and toes."

"Pretty amazing, huh? I'm so glad we came home, Eric, thank you for bringing us back."

"I knew you had an instinct telling you to get back to your nest. I would have been a fool not to listen. I'm glad we did not wait to travel today – I don't know what might have happened."

"Yeah, he was pretty determined to get here, weren't you, Eric Alexander? Yes, you were! Yes, you were!" Sookie lapsed into baby talk and Eric was simply bursting with pride and love. "Look, there's Daddy! There's your Daddy!" It was almost as if the baby looked at Eric and threw up his hand and made a noise. "Eric, I think he's trying to say something to you."

"Eric Alexander – are you speaking to your father?" Eric tickled him under the chin as Sookie held him up a little

The baby's arm flew up again and he clearly sent FIGHT! as he cried out. Eric and Sookie laughed. The baby was trying to say Fight! but he was too small to manage anything but a sound. It was clear what his intent was, though, if you were tapped into the bond. They both laughed and Eric sat up straight so he could take the baby from Sookie for a few minutes. She showed him how to put one hand under his head and support his body with the other one.

Eric looked at him with a big smile. "Hello, my son! How are you, my little warrior!?" The arm flew up and the little cry accompanied it. "That's my good boy – ready to fight! There is no fight tonight, my son, but there is your mother's lovely breast to feed you – no warrior could ask for more." Eric kissed him and after Sookie sat up he passed her the baby who was more than ready to eat again.

He latched on and Sookie cried out "Ow!" in surprise.

"What happened?" Eric asked her.

"Your little warrior apparently just learned to extend his fangs."

"He has fangs?! This is wonderful news!"

"For you, maybe, but it's a little intense from my perspective. These things feel like little needles. I wonder if baby vamps lose their teeth as they grow? Will they fall out and come back big like yours when he's older?"

"I do not know. It will be interesting to see. When he is done eating, I want to see his fangs."

"You can try, but I wonder if he can control them or not yet? I kind of think he just discovered them. Do you think he'll take blood every time he feeds? I'll be a pin cushion if he does."

"I think we should be writing these questions in your journal. I'm sure there will be many, many more, and they won't be things we can look up anywhere."

"Knock, knock!" Bobbie called from the hallway. Bjorn was right behind her.

"Come in," Sookie called to her.

"How's our little family doing?" Bobbie was smiling from ear to ear.

"We're doing great except that baby just figured out how to extend his fangs."

"Ouch!"

"You have no idea. I can handle it, though. Isn't he beautiful?"

"Yes, he is. Look at all that blond hair! And his eyes – have you looked at how blue his eyes are? They're amazing."

"They're just like Eric's, just like I hoped they would be."

"How are you doing Daddy?" Bjorn asked him.

"I feel as if I might burst."

"I'll bet. What did Bill say when you told him?" Bjorn said before he realized Bobbie was Bill's girl. He had almost stopped thinking of her that way.

"He tried to be gracious."

"What's the little crib for? I never saw anything like that." Bjorn said.

"It's called a co-sleeper. It's so I can keep the baby close, but he won't get crushed or suffocated because I can't roll over on him there."

"Oh, OK. So the baby will sleep in here?"

"For a while, yes. Until he's sleeping through the night or we know how he sleeps."

"Are you OK with that, Eric?" Bjorn asked him.

"Of course. Families all lived in one room where I grew up. No one had a private room as they do now. He can stay with us as long as Sookie wants him to.

"Excuse me…?" Alicia had a tray of food for Sookie.

"OH, THANK YOU, Alicia, I'm starving and the little one seems to be done for now."

"I thought you might be – you didn't eat at all earlier today. You know breastfeeding burns a lot of calories so you'll still be eating a lot."

"What did you bring me?" Sookie handed the baby over to Eric who was more than happy to take him.

"Salmon and bagels and cream cheese. Lots of it."

"Oh, yes, thanks." Alicia settled the tray across Sookie's lap and she was digging in before she let it go. "Have you guys had dinner yet?"

"Yeah, Margaret cooked for us after we came downstairs. She's going to come up and see the baby before she leaves if that's OK." Bjorn said.

"Of course we want her to see the baby." Sookie said as she noticed that Eric was holding the baby and just looking at him as he slept in his hands.

"So I guess we're not going to New Orleans…?" Bjorn said.

"Sure, we are!" Sookie said. "He's born now – he's going to sleep most of the time and he needs to stay with me, but there's no reason I can't just strap him to me and do what I need to do. I'm nearly completely healed already."

"Sookie, are you sure? You don't have to if you don't want to." Eric said, never taking his eyes off the baby.

"Eric, people are going to lose their minds when they find out he's been born. He's not as fragile as a normal baby, either, so I say we go to New Orleans. We've got all of the equipment we need to travel with him, so let's do. We'll take him to the fundraiser and leave early. People will be wild to see the first vampire Prince in history and they'll make a lot of money for the reconstruction. Hey, Alicia –will that little bracelet Niall got him fit? That would be cute for him to wear and we have that little white baby tuxedo he can wear."

"Good ideas, both." Alicia agreed. She'd prefer Sookie didn't travel, but it was her decision and she knew it was important for Eric's position so she didn't say anything. She went to Sookie's jewelry cache and brought the baby's bracelet. It fit his little wrist but stayed in place as Alicia checked the fit on him while Eric still held him.

"Oh, that's so sweet!" Sookie said between bites.

"Is that real gold?" Bobbie asked.

"Yeah, like 22 or 24 karat or something like that. Niall gave it to him. Speaking of Niall, I want to make sure Alex is wearing this when he visits tomorrow."

"Is this your great grandfather you're talking about, Sookie?" Alicia asked.

"Yes, you remember when he sent the bracelet, right Alicia?"

"Yes, but weren't you very nervous the last time he visited?"

"Yes, but this is different. I want to make sure the baby and I are looking good and we'll be feeling good and he'll be in love with him. My brother Jason is coming to see him tomorrow, too and Amelia and Octavia. Then when we get back from New Orleans I want to take him to Merlotte's…"

"NO!" Bobbie and Bjorn said in unison.

"Sookie! Why would you take our baby to that dump?" Eric was appalled.

"So Sam can see him."

"The shifter can see him somewhere else. I don't want you taking my child into that shit bar while that psycho red head and her FOTS cronies are in the area."

"Oh yeah, I forgot."

"Do not forget again, Sookie. I do not want my child near those people. You must promise me."

"I promise, I just wasn't thinking. I'm sorry - don't worry, we won't go there."

"If you don't mind, I'd like to go home for the evening – but if you need me, I'll stay." Alicia said.

"Oh, no, you go home and have a good evening. Thank you so much for your help today, Alicia!"

"My pleasure," she bent over to the baby as Eric held him. "Good night little Prince. I'll see you tomorrow." She tapped his little chest as she spoke and the baby seemed to respond a little.

Alicia left and Bobbie moved closer to watch the baby as he rubbed his little face and sucked his thumb.

"Want to hold him, Bobbie?" Sookie asked.

"Yes, if it's alright with Eric," she said hopefully. Eric let her take the baby and she snuggled him close. "He's so beautiful, Sookie. He looks just like you and Eric."

"He looks just like Eric is more like it. Look at those eyes and that chin. He doesn't look a bit like me."

"Yes, he does, Sookie, but yeah, he favors Eric for sure."

"Hey, Eric, when is Pam getting home?" Sookie asked.

"Tonight. She said if she gets in early enough she would like to come by and see him if you don't mind, Sookie. She needs to get straight to Fangtasia tomorrow night. She'll call when she gets in. I am anxious to see how she perceives him."

"You mean…"

"Yes, whether he feels like vamp or fairy to her."

"How does he feel to you?"

"Like my son. There's no word for it, he just feels like he is mine. I cannot read Fae or vampire or human in him. He's just my boy," he said, looking lovingly at him as Bobbie held him.

"Here, Bjorn, you'd better get to know him." Bobbie offered Bjorn the child and he looked at Eric and Sookie to make sure it was alright. He wasn't completely comfortable holding him but he did for a few minutes. "He's so small," Bjorn said. "How can something so small grow to be a such a big person?" Bjorn was really amazed at the whole thing, and he got to be there when he was born, so he was particularly fond of the little Prince. "Welcome to the family, little Prince. Eric, I think you should take him now," Bjorn said.

Eric gently took him from Bjorn, and slowly brought him up to lie against his big shoulder. Sookie and Bobbie were nearly puddles on the floor watching Eric hold the baby close that way and Bjorn watched them, laughing. "You're melting the women, Eric."

"What do you mean?"

"Sookie and Bobbie are melting watching you cuddle your son. You know how women are with men and babies."

"No, how are they?"

"We love men who love babies." Sookie told him.

"You do?"

"Yes," Bobbie said, "a lot. Seeing a guy be sweet with a baby is a complete romantic turn on."

"I did not know that. How could any man not be sweet to his own child. It is such a miraculous feeling." Eric said, his eyes closed, his hands holding the baby to his chest, his cheek against the baby's head.

"Most men are more detached than you are, Eric. I don't know if it's because of your blood bond or your age, but you're a lot more invested in him than an average man would be."

"Average men are fools, for the most part. They don't appreciate their women, they don't appreciate their children, they stumble through their mediocre lives with mediocre tastes and expectations and their mediocre lives still disappoint them. This – holding my son – this is sublime. Trust me, Bjorn, do not buy into the lie that men should be aloof and uncaring. Do not treat women as a burden or children as an obligation. Men who cut themselves off from the finer aspects of romance and sex are pitiful. They are empty and cruel or simply dull and lifeless. They sleep walk through their lives and they wonder why they are unhappy. They're unhappy because they are half alive."

"You've never been aloof, Eric?"

"I can play the tough guy as well as any man, but it's a lonely existence. I was as cold and cruel in my younger days as any creature that ever walked, but in my long life I've learned that the better parts of life involve women. They're the parts that stay with you over hundreds of years. I've been in wars, on adventures, to nearly every corner of the world – when I'm alone and I remember, I remember the women I loved, and how I treated them, and what they meant to me. Nothing will ever mean more to me than this child in my arms. The rest will fall away and what I will have left are these moments with Sookie and Eric Alexander.


	68. Chapter 68

**[A/N: Sorry it's a short one, but people were clamoring. I'll try to update again soon, but be patient. There's a lot going on and I'm not feeling great these days.]**

**Chapter 68**

"Sookie, the baby is asking for you…"

"Oh, really? What's he saying?" Sookie had an idea of what Eric was going to say.

"Mommy, I need a new diaper." Eric laughed. Bjorn and Bobby laughed, too, as Sookie just shook her head at him.

"I thought you were going to do some of that, Daddy?"

"I will if you are asleep and he needs me, but you are wide awake."

"I just gave birth to him, Eric, I'm kind of tired, you know…"

"Give him to me, I'll take him – we've got the diaper changing station all set up," Bobbie said. Eric let her take the baby and she went into the nursery with him.

"Wow – that was fast – he was just born!" Bjorn said.

"Yes, but he's been feeding. He'll go a lot while he's being breast fed, but it won't be too bad at first. Later on, when he starts eating solid food is when it will be really bad," Sookie explained.

"When will that be?" Eric asked.

"When he's got teeth. Right now he's just gums and fangs, but he couldn't manage solids even if he had teeth. You know what I wonder?"

"What is that?" Eric asked.

"Well, he grew really fast in the womb – like 3 times as fast as he normally would have. Do you think he'll grow faster now that he's born?"

"Good question. I have no idea. It may be slower now that he is not bathed in our blood."

"Good point."

"I'll bet he grows faster than normal, though," Bjorn said. "Like not freakishly, but I had human classmates who were 6'3" when they were 13 or 14. I'll bet he's fast like that."

"These were normal human boys?" Eric asked.

"Yes, completely normal. They just matured early and got really big. I'll bet he's like that."

"That would make sense. I just don't want him to grow out of his baby stage too quickly. I want to be a mommy as long as I can." Sookie said wistfully.

"You may change your mind about that after you've had a few months of diapers," Bjorn teased her.

"No, I don't think so. I want him to be a baby for as long as he's supposed to be. Especially when he's a toddler – they're so much fun at that age," Sookie said.

They could hear the baby start crying as Bobbie brought him back in. "I think he wants his mommy."

"He couldn't be hungry again already, could he?" Sookie said.

"It' about 9 o'clock – that's time for you to have an RM normally. See if he takes the breast – he won't if he's not hungry."

"Wait, give him to me." Eric said, "I want to see his fangs." Bobbie handed him the baby and he looked into the infant's mouth as he cried. "Nothing yet."

Sookie took the baby from him and held him so Eric could see and she stuck her finger in his mouth as it was open. Two little fangs shot down and stabbed her finger and Eric was beside himself with pride and excitement. Sookie managed to extract her finger without hurting him and put him to her breast, where he instantly went from crying to purring.

"I told you my son would insist on being breastfed often, Sookie."

"Yeah, you did."

"He will feed aggressively, too."

"You're telling me? I'm the one he's attached to." She laughed.

"Doesn't it hurt a lot, Sookie?" Bobbie asked, concerned for her.

"It's weird – it's like it hurts in a way, but it feels good in a way, too. I feel really close to him, like he's still a part of me."

"That's good – I've heard other mothers say things like that." Bobbie was relieved to hear it wasn't unpleasant.

Eric reached for Sookie's hand and inspected her finger. "My son has very sharp fangs," he said with pride.

"Yes, and he sucks hard like a vampire, too." Sookie added.

"That's my boy, Eric Alexander. Eat hearty – these are the finest meals of your life, my son."

"I guess we should leave you guys alone for a while and let you enjoy the baby."

"You don't have to go, Bobbie – why don't you sit down?" Sookie said.

"Yes, Bjorn, have a seat if you want." Eric said.

"No, I think you guys need to bond a while. I was going to help Bobbie with something upstairs, if you don't need me."

"That's fine, then – we'll talk to you later." Eric said, barely looking away from the baby.

"Oh, Bobbie, will you throw me the hot pink gown in that top drawer there?"

"This one?"

"Yeah, with the spaghetti straps. I want to wear something I can pull down easily."

Bobbie threw Sookie the gown and closed the door behind them as Bjorn followed her upstairs where he had promised to spot her during a workout. They were going to exchange specialties – he'd help her train with free weights so she could tone up and she'd massage him. Bobbie had mentioned wanting to get in shape and Bjorn jumped at the chance to get to get more physical with her. He was really starting to like Bobbie, as well as being attracted to her. That didn't happen often for him. He usually found himself attracted to women that weren't all that likable.

Eric turned on his side facing Sookie, propping himself up on his elbow so he was right next to the baby. He rested his big hand on the baby's small back then stroked him gently and tickled his little feet, watching him curl his toes. Sookie watched him and smiled. "Well, Daddy, what do you think of him now that he's here?"

"I think he is the most perfect thing I have ever seen. I am fascinated with every part of him – look at these tiny hands with their little nails! His tiny little feet and his skin is so soft – even softer than yours! He smells so good, I want to lick him."

Sookie laughed. "Baby smell has a strong effect on women, you know. Fertile women being around a baby can actually make them ovulate. Right now, my brain is making a chemical that responds to his scent and makes me attached to him. It's not just an emotional thing, it's a physical connection."

"Yes, he will always be "your baby."" Eric laughed, then repeated softly "My son, your baby." He kissed the baby's head then kissed Sookie, "I can't stop doing that," and as they laughed they heard the doorbell. Eric zipped to the top of the stairs and heard Margaret answer the door – it was Pam.

"Pam – we will be right down. Wait in the living room, please."

"Yes, master." Turning to Margaret she said, "thank you, dear, I'll just wait here for them." And she went in and sat on the couch. Margaret excused herself and went back into the kitchen – Pam always made her a little nervous. She wasn't as nice as Mr. Northman always was.

Eric took the baby and Sookie insisted on walking and gradually the little family made their way down the stairs. Eric walked proudly into the living room and Pam stood up as he entered. "Well, I see I have a little brother." Pam smiled.

"Yes, Pam, how does he seem to you?" He held the baby so Pam could get a whiff of him and she licked his little head.

"Like baby vampire – but a particularly sweet vampire – he'll stand out with that scent, but it is definitely a vampire scent."

"That is a relief. I could not tell."

"Hey, Pam!"

"Sookie! You are well?"

"Yes, I'm fine. Eric's blood has me on the mend."

"Lovely – he's very sweet, this little blood sucker. Speaking of which, when will he begin to take blood?"

"He already is," Eric said proudly, "he has sharp, tiny little fangs." He held the baby so Pam could see and stuck his finger in as Sookie had and Pam could see two needle-like fangs pop down. "You see?"

"Yes – so he's feeding on Sookie? Like father, like son," she laughed. "Well, I'm going to head on home. I wanted to see the little creature before I did anything else. Everyone in Vegas was buzzing about him. Are you still going to New Orleans?"

"Yes, we're going to drive down Wednesday."

"I might decide to tag along, if you don't mind."

"Alright – you'd need to shelter here Wednesday so we can leave as soon as we awake."

"I'll come by after Fangtasia closes Wednesday if you don't mind me joining you in your little room downstairs."

"That will be fine – we'll see you then."

Pam actually stopped and kissed the baby, winked at Sookie and left. Sookie and Eric both looked at each other and said, in unison, "Margaret!"

They headed into the kitchen with the baby. Margaret was making some food for Sookie to eat later on and getting ready to close down the kitchen. "Margaret – you have not met Eric Alexander!" Eric carried him proudly over so she could get a good look at him.

"Oh, what a little angel!"

"Yeah, just don't stick your finger in his mouth." Sookie said, "He's got fangs."

"You're kidding?!" Margaret was shocked. "Already?"

"Yes, no other teeth, just fangs. They're really kind of cute." Sookie assured her.

"Well, he's a beauty, even so. Look at all that blonde hair and those blue eyes. He looks just like you both."

"You can be honest, Margaret, he looks just like Eric." Sookie laughed.

"Well, yes, but that's only right that a boy should look like his father. He's got those blue eyes and that strong chin and hair just like his daddy. He's just gorgeous, Missus. It's going to be so nice to see him grow up."

"It smells good in here – what have you been cooking?"

"I fried chicken for the gardeners and guards so I made extra for you. There are mashed potatoes and gravy as well and a strawberry pecan cake I baked to celebrate."

"Ooh – that sounds delicious!"

"Would you like me to make you a plate, missus?"

"Yes, if you don't mind. I know you were just cleaning up, but…"

"You have a seat at the table and I'll get you a plate straight away. I'll get you one of those RMs you like, Mr. Northman. I even sterilized a bottle in case you wanted to give a bit to the baby."

"Oh – good idea! Yeah, let's try that - next time he wants to feed I'll see if he likes it."

"Should you do that so early?" Eric asked as he sat down in his chair, still holding the now sleeping baby.

"Well, it won't be an 'all the time' thing, it's just to see if he likes it at all. There might be a time when you'd want to have him with you without me there to feed him and this way you'd know you could give him RM."

"It will take a day or two before her milk really comes in, Mr. Northman and it's good to give him a little formula until then."

"Milk comes in? Isn't it there already?" Sookie asked

"No, not yet. They'll fill up like you won't believe in the next day or two."

"Fill up? As in, get bigger?"

"Oh, yes, Missus, they'll be quite a bit bigger while you breast feed. You'll see."

Eric smiled to himself but he knew better than to say anything.

"Did you know about this?" Sookie asked Eric.

"I read something to that effect on the Internet."

"But they're already huge – surely they can't get much bigger?"

"You'll know for sure in a day or two." Eric said, trying not to laugh.

"You're pretty pleased about this, aren't you, Northman?"

"Oh, yes, I'm looking forward to it even more than Eric Alexander is."

"They're going to get bigger than this?" Sookie said to herself, hands weighing her breasts. "They're already huge!"

Margaret set a plate of fried chicken and all the fixin's in front of Sookie and she quickly forgot about her chest. She dug in and Eric continued to hold the baby as he slept curled up in his big arm, playing with his little hands that were still trying to grip his fingers, even in his sleep.

"You know what we forgot to do, Eric?" Sookie said between bites.

"Forgot? No, what?"

"We need to make prints of his feet, in case we need them for identification."

"Is that the usual procedure?"

"Yeah, it's good to have it in case, Goddess forbid, he were to be lost or kidnapped – it's a sure way to identify him."

"What do we need for that? Ink and paper, I assume?"

"Yeah, do you have an ink pad in your office?"

"Yes, I do"

"We should make prints of his feet, take a couple of pictures and keep them in the safe, just in case."

Eric nodded. "Yes, that's a good idea. Best to take every precaution. We'll do that when you are done eating."

"Is there anything else I can get you, Missus?"

"Oh, no, Margaret – thank you so much for staying so late and feeding everybody."

"Oh, my pleasure. I wasn't about to go home without seeing little Alex. He's just beautiful – the most beautiful boy I've ever seen."

"Thank you, Margaret!" Eric was still about to burst with pride as Margaret cooed to the little baby, who was awake in Eric's arms now and looking at everything with big eyes.

Margaret excused herself for the evening and Sookie finished her dinner and put the dishes in the dishwasher then Eric carried the baby and her upstairs, one in each strong arm. Sookie took the baby into the nursery while Eric when to get the stamp pad and some paper, plus his little spy camera. Sookie dug through one of the storage cubbies and found the baby book she had for Alex, and she took it over to the changing table with her. Laying it down then putting the baby down gently, she kept one hand on him as she found a place to put his footprints.

"Sookie, should we use black or red?"

"Black is best, probably."

"What book is that?"

"It's a baby book to keep track of little milestones in Alex's life – his first words, a lock of his hair, things like that. I thought it would be nice to put foot prints in there, too."

"Alright, I also brought paper for the ones for the safe and my little camera so we can print a couple of pictures of him to put in there. Before we mess up his feet, I want to take your picture with him."

"OK, good idea. Here, I'll hold him up." Sookie picked him up and held him facing Eric and the camera, a huge smile on her face. Eric took a couple of pictures and then Sookie said, "Now let me take one of you with him, Daddy!"

Eric was more than happy to oblige, holding the baby up and giving the camera a dazzling smile. Sookie nearly melted as she was looking through the camera viewfinder. "You two look so sweet. I want one of these framed."

Eric took the camera back and motioned for Sookie to sit on his lap opposite the arm he held the baby in. He held the camera out and took a couple of shots of the three of them snuggled together.

"Alright, now let's do those prints." Eric said after he snapped the last couple of shots.

"Great. Let's try the ones on paper first in case we mess up." Sookie pressed the baby's little feet on the inkpad, then they pressed them each to paper backed by the baby book.

"That looks pretty good," Sookie said and Eric agreed. "Let's make one more set, then put them in the book and then we'll clean his little feet off –cos he's got messy feet! Messy feet! Messy feet!" She teased the baby.

"He likes that, Sookie, he is laughing." Eric laughed

"I'm pretty sure that had to be gas," Sookie said.

"Didn't he laugh at you once while he was in the womb?"

"Yeah, more than once, actually."

"He is laughing. Are you laughing, my son?"

The baby threw his arm up and made the sound he made when he saw Eric. Eric and Sookie both felt "FIGHT!" and cracked up.

"OK, I give up – he's laughing. He's pretty advanced. Once he learns how to control his limbs and such he'll be something. That will probably take a while, though."

They made the next two sets of prints on paper, then a set in the book, and when they were satisfied Sookie suggested, "Let's take him to the bathroom and wash his feet off – I'll bet that ink stains but I'm glad we did the prints."

"Yes, I am, too. I'll put the date and his name on these and we'll put one in the safe and one in the fireproof box on this floor. I'll send this third one to our lawyer for safekeeping, too. Then you keep the baby book in here and that should cover us. I'll print these pictures out and keep at least one with every copy of the prints."

"Make me one for the book and print two more out so I can have one in the bedroom and you can have one in your hidey-hole."

"Good idea. I'll print these and you wash his feet, then I'll meet you in bed." He kissed her forehead and the baby's, then went to his office to print the pictures.

Sookie took the baby back into their bathroom and turned the water on, making sure it wasn't too warm for the baby. She washed his feet with soap, talking to him the whole time, but the ink stained pretty badly. She tried lathering him up several times, but she realized the worst of it was going to have to wear off. "You're still going to have messy feet, Alex. Messy feet! Messy feet!" The baby smiled and gurgled again and she decided Eric was right - he was laughing. She carried him back into the bedroom, crawling into the bed from Eric's side and finally settling into a cross-legged position with the baby in her lap. She smiled and talked to him, singing a little and telling him his daddy would be right back. She could hear the printer in Eric's office and she knew he'd be back the minute the pictures were done.

"See this, Alex? This is your little bed for a while, so you'll be right here next to mommy and I can reach you as soon as you need me. Even when I'm asleep there will be lots of people watching you and they'll make sure you get fed right when you want it."

The baby let out a huge yawn and rubbed his little face with his fist.

"Are you sleepy, darlin' boy? I'll bet you're tired, aren't you? Mommy's tired, too. We've had a big day, haven't we? Let's lie down while we wait for daddy." She put Alex in his little co-sleeper and lay down next to him, her hand on his tummy and her face right next to his.

When Eric came back in, Mommy and baby were both sound asleep. He got his camera out of his hiding place and took pictures of the two of them together. He took shot after shot after shot, from every conceivable angle. When he was done, he lay down behind Sookie, spooning tightly up against her and his hand on the baby, too. He lay perfectly still, watching Sookie and the baby sleep, amazed at the beauty of that tiny little creature. After about an hour and a half, the baby woke up fussing, and Eric woke Sookie, helping her get propped up into a safe position to feed him. She was dozing as he fed, so Eric watched closely to make sure the baby was ok. He smiled as the baby purred happily, drinking milk for a long while. At one point Sookie grimaced and Eric knew his son was taking blood. He was so proud that his little vampire was feeding properly already – and he WAS vampire, every bit of him as far as Eric was concerned. He knew the child would have Fae magick but that would only enhance his vampire powers.

Eric wondered how long he would age. He was pretty sure he would age normally for a while and begin to slow down as he reached puberty. He hoped he'd be fully-grown but not old when he stopped aging. He also hoped he'd be truly immortal, and not just long-lived as the Fae were. He would have to talk to Dr. Ludwig about what might be necessary to make sure that was the case. He might need to be drained, filled and spend the night in the ground like a new vampire at some point in the future. There was plenty of time to figure it all out, though. For right now, he would enjoy these days when he was a little Fae, a little human, yet still all vampire as far as his Daddy was concerned.

The baby released Sookie's breast and yawned, so Eric picked him up to hold him for a while. He knew he would be spending a lot of time doing this for he next year or so – it was so amazing to hold the little thing in his arms. "So, my son, have you had fed enough for a while? You should sleep now, then when you wake you can you're your mama's breast again, you lucky little fucker," Eric smiled and winked at the baby, who smiled and gurgled and Eric was convinced he was laughing again. Eric put the baby up to his shoulder, putting a towel on his shoulder as he'd seen Sookie do earlier, and he held him close until his breathing told him he was asleep. Moving slowly and carefully, Eric took the sleeping baby and laid him on his back in the little co-sleeper, then he took Sookie's hand and put it on the baby's tummy. Eric started to go to his office, but he found himself leaning against the door facing looking back at the bed. He couldn't take his eyes off of them. He didn't want to leave them, even for a few minutes. He hoped this was a temporary reaction to an emotional day and not the way things would be from this moment forward. If he stayed this attached to them it could make it hard for him to function in any capacity. He assured himself it was a reaction to the birth and that it would fade.

Eric went to his office and made some phone calls. First he called Sandy.

"Yes, your majesty?"

"Sandy – you have made the announcement?"

"Yes, sire, everyone in these territories knows of the birth. He is healthy, I hope?"

"Yes, very. He has tiny little fangs and is already taking blood."

"That's wonderful! No one is really sure how a vampire baby will grow, you know."

"This is a learning process for us all. At the moment, we know that he has fangs, he takes blood and we will learn the rest as he grows."

"Yes, I suppose we will. You should expect a flood of gifts for him from all of your subjects."

"Sookie will be overwhelmed, she barely made it through the last pile." Eric laughed.

"You'll have to buy her a bigger house, sire."

"Yes, well, we'll be looking into that in New Orleans. I'll let you know what we think of the properties we see. If there's nothing else, I'll say good night."

"Good night, Your majesty, and our congratulations once again."

Eric ended the call and dialed Bill's number.

"Eric?"

"Yes, Bill. Sookie and the baby are asleep and I thought I'd check in and see how things are in New Orleans."

"It's a madhouse getting ready for the fundraiser. I have literally hundreds of requests for tickets to go through, and it's already pretty much at capacity. I'm just going to go through and see if there's anyone we don't dare say 'no' to."

"People are still sending requests at this late date?"

"Everyone has seen Sookie's interview on the evening news or YouTube, and there has already been a leak to the press about the birth of the baby. TMZ and E! both had stories saying they had unconfirmed rumors that the world's first vampire prince was born today. I'm surprised you don't have paparazzi around your house already."

"The guards know better than to let anyone get that close to the house. Vincent added extra when he was notified of the birth. Anyone who tries to approach the property without an invitation could be in a world of hurt. There will be double the guards on duty tomorrow since Sookie is expecting company and I don't want her or the baby disturbed."

"How is she feeling? Was it a difficult birth?"

"She's fine. Ludwig sort of flushed her insides with my blood to heal her up quickly. It was a relatively short birth and she avoided the worst part when he disappeared."

"He what?!"

"When the baby began to crown Sookie prayed to Freya that they would both be safe and the baby teleported to our bed, where Sookie feels safest. Fortunately, I heard him and had him back in the birthing room before everyone had a chance to lose their minds," Eric laughed.

"Sounds exciting. He can teleport?"

"Yes, at the very least. I hope he doesn't begin to do it often until he's older. My guess is he'll do what he can to stay near Sookie for the first few months."

"How in the world is Sookie going to keep up with a baby that can teleport?"

"We'll work something out. It will only be a problem when I'm asleep – I'm hoping he sleeps in the daytime as I do."

"Is that likely?"

"There's no way to know yet. We'll have to see how it goes."

"What's your itinerary for this week?"

"Pam will stay here Wednesday and all of us will drive down as soon as we wake Wednesday night. We should be there in time for the parade, but I want us to head to the residence right after – the baby is too small to keep him out so late and Sookie still needs her rest. Thursday I want Sookie and Alicia and whoever else to look at the properties in the day light, then we'll return to the ones Sookie likes that evening so I can look at them. Friday will be devoted to the fundraiser and Saturday you and I are going to go over Victor's house with a fine-toothed comb. I know the son-of-a-bitch had more cash hidden in the house and elsewhere, and I fully intend to find it."

"Alright, I'm having part of our guard here drive up Wednesday morning so we can double your force. I considered hiring limousines, but honestly, the safest possible vehicle is Sookie's car. Have Bjorn drive so he's with the two…. I mean three… of you, plus another guard. I'm sending a secure car for Pam, Bobbie and Alicia and a driver bodyguard for them. Do you have a baby seat for Sookie's car yet?"

"I have no idea – Sookie was in charge of baby equipment."

"You'll have to have one, so if I were you, I'd ask Sookie and if not she can ask Alicia to have one sent to the house tomorrow. She and Alicia will be putting together travel items for the baby, anyway, but it's best to remind them. What are you going to do about a crib?"

"That I do know - we have a small baby carrier that can be used for sleeping. We also have baby carriers that strap onto the body and I'll be using one of them for the parade to keep the baby close to me where he's safest."

"That's good – the closer to you, the better. They're expecting some protesters, too, you know?"

"Naturally – anything we celebrate will upset the FOTS but I'll be damned if I'll let them drive us underground. The Council is planning that campaign to make us seem more human-friendly and we've already had to agree to pose for photos for it, so they'll know us in a few months anyway."

"Why did you agree to that?"

"Because they offered to cancel the tribute left owing by Felipe if we did, and besides, it's a logical step for them to take. A vampire prince is so rare that he will draw interest from every corner of the worlds. Who knows – it may be the reason he was created in the first place. Niall claims he did it for Sookie, but I suspect there was a lot more to it than that. I know Freya was a large part of it, but I don't believe it was for me, either. There's a larger purpose I haven't figured out yet. Anyway, it will make the kingdom solvent by the end of the year and we'll be making money again in the first quarter of next year. And they wouldn't have taken 'no' for an answer, and I don't want to think about what they'd have done to convince us to agree if we'd objected. My number one priority from this point forward is the safety of my wife and child. The safest thing for me to do is to give the Council what they want."

"That's very pragmatic. Also, probably quite correct. You seem to be favored by someone on the Council or in the Living Pantheon – do everything you can to preserve that."

"I intend to. If there's nothing else, I'll let you go and talk to you tomorrow night."

"Yes, good night, then."

"Good night."

Eric went to the nursery to look for an infant car seat and found one in the closet. He had seen these pieces but hadn't really worked with them since he didn't really expect to need a car seat much. There were several pieces – a base, the car seat itself which was very nice and had ivory leather trim, and a stroller the base could be secured to so you could move the baby without having to wake him up. Eric took the pieces down to the garage and began to install the base in the backseat of the car. One of the guards came in to investigate the light on in the garage and Eric was pleased to see that they were paying attention.

"Who's in there?" The guard called into the garage.

"It's me – Northman."

The guard stepped into the door. "Hello, your majesty – is everything alright?"

"Yes, I just realized that we'd need a car seat for the trip to New Orleans and came down to make sure it would fit. I decided to go ahead and install it in case Sookie needs to take the car out tomorrow."

"Would you like one of us to do that for you, your majesty?"

"No, that's alright. I like to familiarize myself with the baby equipment so I'll know how to use it when the baby needs it. "

"Alright, then, your majesty, I'll go back to my post if you're sure you don't want help."

"Thank you."

"Congratulations, sire – everyone is ecstatic about the birth."

"Thank you – I'm very proud and excited myself."

"Good night, your majesty."

Eric had to decide whether to put the seat to one side or put it in the middle of the back seat. He decided the middle was safest, though it would put the seat between him and Sookie. They'd have to forego cuddling, but they'd both like being able to touch the baby and he knew they'd both snuggle up to him and to each other as they rode in the car.

When Eric came back inside he heard the baby start fussing and he zipped up the stairs at vampire speed. He was pleased when he saw Sookie already putting the baby in place for his feeding when he got there.

"Hey, Daddy!" She said, happy but sleepy. "What have you been doing?"

"I was installing Eric Alexander's car seat in the back of your BMW. I wanted it in place in case you decide to go somewhere tomorrow, since I knew we'd need it Wednesday evening, anyway."

"We're taking my car?"

"Yes, it's the safest vehicle available. The three of us should fit in the back and then we'll have Bjorn and another armed guard in the front. The baby will be between us, so he'll have protection on either side of him."

"Won't we be crowded with the three of us in the back seat?"

"It won't be uncomfortable. The three of us will huddle together. You and I would hover over him anyway."

"Yeah, we would." She laughed, tired and ready to go back to sleep. Eric sat next to her while the baby fed so she could go back to sleep. When the baby was done, Eric put him back in the little sleeper and kissed him good night. He tucked them both in and went to his office.

Eric wrote a note to Sookie that as soon as she had the birth certificate she should call Bobby Burnham and so he could contact the lawyer and the accountant about the baby's birth. He reminded her that Niall would be there to see the infant at 8 PM and that Amelia and Octavia would be there during the day. He also reminded her that Jason might show up at any point in the day. He told her to ask Octavia what she needed to make a charm for the baby out of both of their hair. He reminded her that he had put the car seat in the car and the stroller attachment in the trunk.

As he was preparing to put the note on the dresser for Sookie, he gave in to an impulse to squirt it with a little of his cologne. He knew she loved it and he wanted her to think of him during the day. He would miss them both so much when he went to rest. How was he going to be able to stand this – leaving them every day? It made him ache. He couldn't help giving them both just one more kiss before he headed downstairs with the picture of Sookie and the baby he printed earlier. He settled into his cache, keeping his jeans and tank on but throwing his boots to the bottom of the upholstered space. He lay back, pulling the lid down, then lay in the dark clutching the picture of Sookie and Eric Alexander.


	69. Chapter 69

**Chapter 69**

Bjorn woke up first, taking a minute to realize he was in Bobbie's bed, she cuddled up next to him. He smiled to himself – this was a good night. He figured Eric would know what had gone on because vamps heard everything, but he thought it best not to tell Sookie or anyone else in their little circle. He didn't want to piss Bill off, and he wasn't sure this was anything but sex… though, he was surprised to realize, he wouldn't mind if it were more. He looked down at Bobbie, who looked very young and sweet as she slept, and he took a deep breath, enjoying her scent. He rolled her gently on her back, nuzzling her neck, and she stirred a little as he kissed her lips and stroked her hip and upper thigh.

She was awake enough to kiss back now, and sleepily stretched, opening her legs beneath him as he moved over her, between her legs, entering her slowly and gently, enjoying the soft moan she let out as she enveloped him. He took her much more slowly than he had a few hours ago, but he did it with relish. He didn't have to work to get Bobbie "in the mood" – she started out that way, and he already knew she liked for him to take charge and take what he wanted. He also took pleasure in knowing this was something Bill couldn't do - he couldn't be there for her in the morning after a night of hot sex, ready for one more go before they had to get up and get on with their day.

He was also surprised that he didn't rush this process to its conclusion as he would most mornings. He wasn't anxious to "get off and go home." If they both didn't have to work today, he wouldn't get out of bed at all, and that was a rare impulse in him. He was unusually content this morning, taking long, slow, luxurious strokes in and out of her, taking great care to bring her along with him. Bobby didn't look athletic, but she was physically oriented – she worked out intently when he was training her, she was good at sex, came easily and she was very sensual. He found that she had a firm build under those apparently soft curves and he was loving the feel of her, soft and warm beneath him.

Bobbie's hands stroked Bjorn's muscular back as he moved slowly but intensely on top of her. Now _this_ was the way to wake up in the morning! She reached down and grabbed two hands full of those muscular bottom cheeks of his and moved to meet his every stroke. She was surprised how long he lasted – most guys would have grabbed a morning quickie at most and then been out the door. Bjorn seemed to like being where he was and he was stretching it out in the most delicious way. After a long while Bobbie nipped at the muscles in his neck and he responded enthusiastically, speeding up as she began to come and he seemed to follow her almost on cue. She thought about that later – he had done it twice in the night. Was Bjorn able to come on cue? She had known one very young guy who could do that, but that was ages ago. She'd certainly never met a guy Bjorn's age with that kind of control. He was very disciplined in other ways, though, so maybe he could? DAMN!

Bjorn and Bobbie both laughed quietly as they lay there recovering.

"Oh – h, I wish we didn't have to work today." Bjorn was half-joking, half-serious.

"Yeah, me too, but it's kind of hard to call in sick when your boss is asleep downstairs," Bobbie laughed.

"You're right." Bjorn kissed her. "We can do this again, right? Soon?"

Bobbie couldn't believe he said that – she expected him to act weird and pretend nothing had happened. "Yeah, of course. I'd like that."

"Me, too." He gave her another kiss, then jumped up and pulled on his pants and t-shirt, quietly slipping out the door and heading for the stairs, carrying his shoes, socks and underwear. He stopped at the top of the stairs to make sure no one was stirring below, then quietly sneaked down to the second floor so he could shower and get to work guarding Sookie and the baby. He would be tired, but it was going to be a good day.

Bobbie knew she could sleep longer if she wanted to. Even if she was going to do massage or exercise with Sookie, it would probably be later in the day, since Sookie would sleep late. She figured Bjorn would be in the shower, so she decided she would wait until he had a chance to shower, dress and go downstairs before she got up.

Sookie had had a long morning. Eric went to rest at about 5:30, and the baby cried every half hour since then. He didn't always feed when she picked him up and those times he kept crying no matter what she or Alicia did. They'd finally get him settled, he'd sleep for 5 or 10 minutes and then off he would go again. Sookie wondered to herself if he was crying because the sun was out. Their bedroom was darkened with special panels at the window, but just knowing the sun was out might affect a vampire baby. Then again, he might be missing Eric. He might have gas. Or he might just be a baby. He wasn't sending Sookie any readable emotions, either. He was simply not happy, but she couldn't tell why. Bjorn showed up around 9 am and Sookie was walking back and forth with little Alex, obviously in need of sleep.

"He's fussy, huh?" Bjorn observed.

"Yes, and I can't tell why. He's got a fresh diaper on, I've tried to feed him, but that isn't what he wants. I can't figure out why he's squirming this way." The baby stretched and twisted his back, his arms flailing.

"It's like he's reaching for something." Bjorn said.

"Huh – yeah, could be, but I don't know what."

"Good morning, Bjorn," Alicia came in, "Here, try this" Alicia showed a pacifier in her hand.

"OK, it's worth a shot. Lookie, Alex! Alicia brought you a binky! Here, sweetie, take the binky…" The baby resisted a little, then accepted the pacifier and seemed alright for the moment.

"Here, Sookie, let me take him, and you try to sleep. You need more than a couple of hours and you're having company later today and tonight."

"I am?"

"Yes, Octavia and Amelia will be here around 3 PM, Niall Brigant is coming at 8 and your brother is supposed to show up at some point."

"Great. OK, yeah, I guess I better try to sleep some more. I hope the binky keeps him happy for a while." Sookie got back in bed and closed her eyes. Alicia took the baby into the next room and Bjorn was sitting at the side table, watching Sookie try to sleep when it happened.

"Not again!" Bjorn said.

Sookie opened her eyes and saw a bottle of RM floating through the air. Sookie snatched it out of the air and called out, "Alicia?"

"Yes, dear?"

"Could you put a little RM in a baby bottle for me and I'll see if that's what he wants?"

"I think Margaret actually made up a couple of bottles down stairs. I'll go get one if you think it will help."

"Yeah, I think we'd better try that. Let me have him." Alicia gave Sookie the baby and went to get a bottle from the kitchen. "Now listen, Alex, Mommy is going to give you some RM and you're going to stop making things float in the air, OK? You don't want to freak Alicia and Margaret out, do you?"

The baby stretched and sent Funny. She knew he was laughing at her. "Eric Alexander, I know you think Mommy is funny but I'm being serious…"

"Sookie, are you losing it? You're talking like he can understand you." Bjorn laughed.

"He understands enough to be laughing at me for worrying that the maids will figure out what he can do."

"How do you know that?"

"He sort of sends the emotions to me. He gets amused when he gives me a hard time, and apparently that's how he sees this situation. He…"

WAHH! Eric Alexander spit out the binky and wailed, stretching and reaching again and the door of the mini-fridge flew open. Bjorn slammed it shut just before Alicia came back with a bottle of RM. "Sorry it took so long, we warmed it a little the way Mr. Northman drinks it."

"Good thinking. Let's see." Sookie laid the baby in her lap so she could check the temperature of the blood on her wrist. It was only a little warm so she picked Alex back up and gave him the bottle. He purred, sucking hard. He was doing fine then he sputtered a little and Sookie realized he had pierced the nipple with his fangs and was choking a bit. Alicia handed her a cloth diaper and Sookie held him up with it under his chin so he could dribble. "Well, that's what he wants, but we're going to be spending a lot of money on nipples for a while."

"My, those little fangs are sharp if they cut through that thick rubber." Alicia wasn't sure if she was scared or impressed.

"Yep, they're sharp, alright. We'll have to remember to hold him sort of upright like this when we give him a bottle so it doesn't pour into his mouth if he pierces it this way."

"He does seem to have calmed down now, doesn't he? I thought you hadn't tried giving him any yet?"

"Well, he didn't want to feed from me and it's time for me to drink one of these if I was still pregnant, so he knew he wanted whatever it was time for, I guess?" Sookie was talking fast and knew she'd have to get used to it because raising a child with these special powers was going to take some fast talking where humans were concerned. As cool as Alicia was with things so far, it was a little soon for her to know how "interactive" the baby was, let alone that he had telekinesis. She was still getting used to the idea of baby fangs.

Alicia looked at the cloth Sookie was holding. "They really make that RM stuff look like the real thing, don't they?" She grimaced a bit, and it took Sookie a minute to remember that Alicia didn't know it was real blood.

"Oh, yeah, well, that's why it's so expensive – it's as close as they can buy to the real thing."

The little bottle was almost empty when the baby released it and rubbed his little face as he yawned. Sookie and Alicia both "Aww'ed" over him and it was obvious he was ready to sleep now. Sookie settled him into the co-sleeper and he was asleep before she had the tiny blue blanket over him. Sookie lay down next to him and put her hand on his little tummy, and before long, she was asleep, too. Alicia went back to getting Sookie's wardrobe sorted out, her laundry put away and her packing done while Bjorn sat there thinking about last night with Bobbie once he was sure Sookie was asleep and wouldn't be listening in on him.

After about 20 minutes, Bobbie came up from having breakfast and they played cards while Sookie slept, exchanging an occasional heated look, but not talking about what they were both thinking. The baby let Sookie get three solid hours sleep before he woke up crying at almost 1:30. Bobbie helped Sookie get him into position to feed and kept an eye on them both as Sookie dozed a little while the baby fed.

"Sookie, do you want me to call Amelia and Octavia and tell them you aren't up to company today?" Bobbie offered.

"No, I'll be OK. What time is it?"

"About 1:30. They'll be here at 3 if I don't call them."

"Well, I guess…" she was interrupted by the ring of Bobbie's phone. It was Amelia calling to see if Sookie was really up to company or if they should try it another time. Bobbie suggested they come at 4:30 and then Sookie could sleep a little more, so they all agreed that would be best and Sookie went back to sleep until about 3:30, when little Alex woke her up again. After she fed him this time she got up and took a shower, Bobbie keeping an ear open to make sure she was OK in there on her own. She came out in her pink robe and Bobbie moved to the bed so she could sit in her side chair and Alicia could do her hair and a little make-up. Niall would be coming later so Sookie decided she might as well dress up a little and try to look healthy and happy – not that she wasn't, but she was more tired than she wanted anyone to know. She was glad she had Alicia to do her hair because she knew she was too tired to handle blowing it dry.

"Am I always going to be this tired?" Sookie wondered out loud.

"Not always," Alicia assured her. "You'll adjust and the baby will eventually sleep regular hours. We're all going to try to run interference for you so you can get some sleep. Later in the week when your milk is flowing well, you can express some so we can give him a bottle now and then instead of waking you up."

"Eric won't be crazy about that. I know he wants me to breastfeed as much as possible."

"You should let Eric spend a few nights taking care of him alone and he'll be more cooperative," Bobbie laughed.

"Yeah, that won't happen. I know he said he would but I really don't expect him to. He'll spend time with the baby but when it comes to feeding or diapers, he's going to hand him off to me."

"I'll bet he doesn't," Bjorn said.

"What?!" Sookie said incredulously as Bobbie and Alicia laughed.

"I'll bet he doesn't hand him off to you. I mean, if there's a woman around, yeah, he's not going to change a diaper, but if you're asleep, Sookie, I'll bet he won't wake you up – he'll deal with it on his own. He'd consider it a point of pride."

"What's a "point of pride?" Sookie asked.

"Something a man has to do because he's a man. Eric would consider it his duty to care for his son – he won't let him go without what he needs, not on his watch. Eric has done much worse things in his life than handle a dirty diaper or feed a baby. He would consider it a weakness not to be able to do something any woman he knows could handle. When the baby needs him, even for small things, Eric will be there."

"Are you telling me that if I told Eric that, say, I'm really tired and because we're going to New Orleans, I need a full night's sleep, that Eric would take care of the baby all night without waking me?"

"Yes, that's what I'm telling you. If you don't believe me, do it." Bjorn challenged her.

"You really could use the sleep, Sookie. Even with Eric's blood, you're tired and this trip is a lot for you so soon after giving birth." Bobbie said. "I say go for it. Let Daddy be daddy."

"I couldn't do that…"

"I don't see why not," Alicia chimed in. "I think it's a great idea. If he wakes you, you've lost nothing, if he doesn't, you've got a good night's sleep. You know he's not going to neglect the baby, right?"

"Right…" Sookie said cautiously.

"So you get some sleep, and let him take care of the baby. You'll have to trust him to do it sooner or later." Alicia was going to push this idea because she thought Sookie was overdoing it with this trip.

"Should l let him do it so soon? Will the baby be able to bond to me if I let other people take care of him so soon?"

"Don't worry about that, Sookie," Alicia assured her, "You're his Mommy and always will be. He's always going to want you first. A lot of men don't bond with their babies, you know. The more Eric handles him early on, the closer they'll be later. If it were up to me, we wouldn't be going to New Orleans at all, but since we are going, you should get all the rest you can. I think as soon as Mr. Brigant leaves tonight, you should go to bed and let Big Eric care for Baby Eric."

"Don't I need to pack for the trip?"

"No, dear, I'll have that done before I go home tonight. All you'll have to do tomorrow is get up and get dressed. I'll have all the baby equipment and such in the living room tonight so we don't forget anything. Margaret is making up bottles as we speak, since the baby will drink those RM things, and we'll have those in a cooler. I'm going through your new things and putting some nursing clothes together for the trip so you can feed the baby easily when you want – which reminds me, I want you to try on a pair of jeans I've laid out and see if you want to take them with you. I've got you some cute pajamas, some of your little knit gowns. Do you want to take a pair of sweat pants?"

"No sweatpants. I don't know about jeans, either. Eric likes me in dresses. If I have anything that fits, I'd prefer that."

"You've got several very cute little nursing dresses – I just thought you might want to take it easy while you travel."

"Not that easy. Dresses will be fine, especially if any of them are kind of young and sexy."

"That's all you bought, Sookie." Bobbie reminded her, laughing,

"Good. I am NOT going to get frumpy. I intend to be the hottest mama in Louisiana and then some."

"Good girl, Sookie." Bjorn approved. "Eric will appreciate that."

"Yeah, he says he won't care if I don't lose my baby weight, but I don't intend to find out if he means it or not. Bobbie, I want to start working out as soon as you say it's time."

"I'd like to see you rest a couple of days, and then we'll start back. You'll be able to work out pretty intensely if you want right from the start. You'll have your shape back in no time. You barely gained any weight – it was all fluid and baby."

"Good. I'm going to be back in my bikini by the end of the summer, mark my words."

"Oh, that reminds me – I'd better pack a least one swim suit for you in case there's a pool where we are staying."

"I'll bet there's a pool. Victor didn't do anything small."

"Who is Victor?" Alicia asked.

Sookie froze – whoops. Maybe she shouldn't have mentioned him? "Um, he was in charge of the New Orleans office before Bill, before Eric was promoted. He passed away and we're going to be staying in his old place. It's supposed to be pretty spectacular, though it won't be anything like the Las Vegas residence. It will be just a super nice house."

"That sounds interesting. Is it furnished and everything?"

"Yes, it's ready to live in. Bill has been staying there, but he wants us to all use it this trip."

"And we're looking at properties on Thursday?" Alicia wanted to make sure she had that right.

"Yeah, Eric wants us to look at them in the day time, then we'll go back to the ones I like with him at night."

"He puts a lot of trust in you, then." Alicia observed.

"You think?" Sookie never thought of it that way.

"Yes, if he's going to let you reject things he hasn't seen. It means he has no intention of over-ruling you – he'll probably pick your favorite."

"I just hope we find something we like. He and Bill are looking forward to concentrating on the rebuilding effort. They have some kind of idea about combining the New Orleans and Las Vegas operations."

"Ooh, that sounds exciting," Alicia said as she worked on Sookie's makeup.

"Yeah, I don't know a lot about it, but they think it's a great idea. I dread the idea of moving, though."

"You won't do any of it, Sookie – Eric will hire Safe Passage to do that." Bjorn told her.

"What's Safe Passage?" Sookie had never heard of … it? Them?

"It's an exclusive moving service that caters to the vampire elite. They'll move this house room by room, you won't even have to carry your purse if you don't want to." Bjorn explained, "You won't carry anything but a baby or a diaper bag."

"I'll have to do some of it, though, won't I?"

"Probably not, Sookie. Once they've got stuff packed and moved to the new place, I'll do most of the putting away." Alicia told her. "Royals rarely pack their own dishes."

"Royals. Yeah, I forgot for a minute," Sookie said and everybody laughed. "Hey, Alicia, I guess I should wear a nursing dress today, huh?"

"It will make things more convenient, if you want, but a lot of the little knit things you wear are easy to pull down anyway."

"Yeah, but with company, I think I'll wear something made for this. There's a dark pink tank dress, right? I'd like to wear that one if it's OK."

"That's a good choice. It'll be comfortable and still look polished. What kind of jewelry do you want to wear? I know Mr. Brigant looks at that sort of thing…"

"I think just some nice diamond earrings. I don't want anything that might scratch the baby as I handle him. I'm used to my ring being there, of course, but no bracelet or anything extra. Niall will just have to understand that the baby has to come first this time around."

"I'm sure he'll be so concerned with the Prince that he won't pay any attention to your jewelry, Sookie. He's going to be beside himself with pride." Bjorn predicted. "He already knows Eric has plenty of money and spends it on you. His main thing tonight will be to see his royal progeny."

"Royal progeny – that sounds like a disease or something," Sookie laughed.

"Niall went to a lot of trouble to get you and Eric where you are – he's definitely going to be most concerned with the baby." Bobbie agreed as she picked the baby up out of the co-sleeper and took him into his room for a fresh diaper.

"Yeah, this is a big deal for him – which reminds me, Alicia…"

"The bracelet?"

"Yep, he has to be wearing that. I'm not going to dress him up, otherwise – a little t-shirt and a diaper is more than enough in this heat and humidity. I mean, it's comfortable in here, but I don't see any point in confining him in clothes just yet. We'll wait until the Ball to dress him up."

"What does a baby Prince wear to a ball?" Bjorn asked jokingly.

"He has a white satin baby tuxedo – we should make sure it will fit him, Alicia…"

"I did – it will be fine, I'm sure, but I packed a Christening gown in case you change your mind about it. I think it will be adorable, though."

"Yeah, he'll be looking pretty sweet. I'm just glad he smells like a vampire so they won't all be wanting a taste of him," Sookie said.

"Who told you that?" Bjorn asked.

"Pam – she said he smells sweet and he'll stand out because of it, but it's definitely a vampire smell."

"Yeah, I agree with the sweet part – he smells almost like fruit to me sometimes – like cantaloupe." Bjorn said.

"Does he smell like food to you?" Sookie asked.

"Sometimes – you do, too, sometimes."

"I do?! When?"

"I don't know– it comes and goes but I haven't noticed a pattern. I just know sometimes you smell like sex… I mean, like a woman… and sometimes you smell like food. I've never met anyone else like that."

"If you didn't know him, would you get "vampire" from his scent?" Sookie was a little worried now.

"Probably – he does have a sort of vamp essence, but it's not the main thing – the sweetness stands out most. I don't think it endangers him in any way, though. To a vamp he'll smell like a vamp. They might just write the sweetness off to the fact that he's a baby and they've never seen one before. "

Alicia didn't say anything but she had been getting the idea for a while that Bjorn wasn't strictly human and now she was sure of it, though she had no idea what there might be besides humans and vampires. It had already occurred to her that if vampires were real, other things might be, too. She had noticed the guards around the house had a tendency to sniff the air, or sniff packages Sookie received so apparently there were a lot of them in the security force, whatever they were, and they had very acute senses. At some point, she'd ask Bobbie or Sookie when the time was right exactly what they were, but she'd wait until the right time. Whatever they were, she knew they were the best available if Mr. Northman had them watching his wife and child, so she took comfort in that. A little super human protection was just fine with her.

Bobbie came back with the baby and a baby sling while Sookie was in the bathroom putting on her dress. "Alicia, will this match what she's wearing today?"

"Yes, that should be fine. It's one of the 0-2 months sizes, right?"

"Right. She's got a bunch of them in all kinds of fabrics. I can't wait to see Eric use one of his," Bobbie laughed.

"I think he's planning on using one for the Parade tomorrow night so he'll have control of the baby for safety," Bjorn told her.

"He is?" Alicia was surprised.

"Yes, the baby will be safest in Eric's hands," Bjorn explained, "so he will hold him during the Parade. He wants to show Sookie off, too, so he doesn't want her covered up with a sling. They had a special dress made for her to wear that will make her look kind of like a mermaid from what Bill said. Some Mardi Gras kind of thing."

"Does Sookie know about this?" Bobbie couldn't picture Sookie going along with the mermaid idea.

"I think she does, but she's not necessarily happy about it. I don't think they're giving her a choice. I'm sure it will look good – if it doesn't, Eric won't let her wear it – he said so." Bjorn assured them.

Alicia and Bobbie put the bracelet Niall had sent on the baby's little wrist. "I hope that stays put. There's room to grow in it, so it's possible it could slip off at this stage." Alicia worried.

"We'll have to keep an eye on it – I know he has to be wearing it when Niall sees him." Bobbie said.

When Sookie was dressed, Alicia and Bobbie headed downstairs and Bjorn carried the baby down as Sookie followed him. At the bottom of the stairs he handed the baby to Sookie, who put him into the baby sling that wrapped around her body and held the baby to her but left her free to use her hands if necessary.

They all congregated in the kitchen. "Bobbie, I don't remember buying this sling – do you?"

"I think I bought that particular one," Alicia said, "I thought you'd like that pink color in spite of the octagon design on it."

"Yeah, I do – it matches this dress pretty well. I tried to get a variety so they could be matched most of the time."

Bjorn rolled his eyes as he got a cup of coffee from the pot on the counter. Margaret smiled at him and handed him the skim milk he liked in his coffee.

"How is our little angel this morning," Margaret said as Sookie moved so she could see his face. "What a little lamb he is!"

"He's doing pretty well. We had a rough morning but he's calmed down a lot now. He was wanting an RM…"

"So I hear! I made up some bottles for the next couple of days. When you go back up tonight, we'll put a couple of little bottles into your mini-fridge so you can get them for him."

"Thank you so much, Margaret – I'm so glad I have you here to do things like that for me."

"So am I, dear." Margaret winked at her and patted her arm. The doorbell rang then and Margaret rushed to get it. Sookie could hear that it was Amelia and Octavia and went into the living room toward the door as they came in.

"Hey, you made it!"

"Yep, we did – let's see that amazing little Viking you've got there!" Amelia was really excited. "Look at all that blonde hair!"

"Yep, just like his daddy," Octavia said, "Look at those clear blue eyes. Nobody's gonna doubt that's Eric's baby. He looks just like him."

"Yeah, people keep saying he looks like both of us, but he's all Eric from what I see," Sookie said as she took the baby out of the sling and passed him to Octavia.

"Yes siree – look at that chin! That's your Viking through and through. You gonna be a big bad ass like your daddy?"

The baby threw his arm up and made his "Eric" sound.

"I think that's a 'yes,'" Sookie laughed, "He makes that gesture and that sound when he sees Eric. I think it's baby-speak for "FIGHT!"" Sookie motioned to the living room couch and Amelia and Octavia sat down while she took the large rose side chair.

"He can already recognize Eric?" Amelia was amazed.

"Oh, yeah, and he almost got his own RM this morning. Bjorn was watching me in my room and the baby had a bottle floating through the air toward me."

"Have you tried giving that to him yet?" Octavia was curious to see if he'd take blood other than Sookie's.

"Yeah, we gave him one of the small bottles earlier. He liked it, but he pierced the nipple with his fangs and almost choked. We have to remember to hold him up when he feeds so that doesn't happen."

"So he breathes?" Amelia was surprised at that.

"I'm not sure if he does or not. I do know he coughed when he got too much RM too fast, though."

"It's going to be interesting watching him grow, seeing how his body matures. I suspect he'll become more vampire as he ages. He'll probably go through a dramatic change when he reaches puberty and gets his full growth." Octavia told them.

"Is that just a guess…?" Sookie asked.

"I've been doing some research about vampires, fairies and Fae magick. Fae don't come into their full power until they reach adulthood. I'd say his full power means being all vampire. He'll probably already have enough powers to be a challenge – he's probably going to be able to move at accelerated speeds, and he might be hard to handle when he starts teething and wanting to bite everything and everybody. You say he's already got fangs?"

"Yeah, if you don't mind getting your finger stabbed, you can see them if you put your finger in his mouth and touch his upper gums."

Octavia held the baby so Amelia could see and rubbed his little gums with a finger, causing his two sharp little fangs to shoot downward as the baby instinctively bit down.

"Holy Goddess!" Amelia nearly shrieked.

Octavia laughed. "Ooh-ee, this little fellow does take after his daddy! Sharp little things, aren't they? You havin' any trouble breast feeding him?"

"No, I thought I would, but so far so good."

Almost as if he knew what they were talking about, the baby started fussing. "Speaking of feeding, Mama, I think somebody is hungry!"

"Yeah, it's been a little while since he ate. Come here, sweetheart." Sookie took him back, settling him into the sling and opening the dress so he could reach her breast and feed. He purred happily, taking both blood and milk this time.

"You do that like an old pro already, Sookie," Amelia told her.

"He's less than a day old, but he has fed quite a few times. This is the first time I've used a sling, though. They call this "baby wearing."

"I never heard it called that, but that's the way women have been carrying babies since the beginning of civilization, all over the world. It's good to keep him close to Mama's body – makes them feel secure." Octavia said.

"I can't wait to see Eric use one with him," Sookie laughed.

"That will be funny – that huge man with a little baby strapped to him," Amelia agreed.

"He says he's going to carry him that way in the Parade tomorrow night. Are you guys going to New Orleans with us?"

"We were talking about that – do you think we would be in the way?" Amelia asked.

"Not at all – You should come with us and see the parade. I'm sure there's room at Victor's house for you and you can still go shopping. It would be great to have you with me on Friday when I do the morning show, too."

"Well, then, I guess we'll go. What time are we leaving tomorrow night?"

"6 PM – maybe you all could get here at around 4 PM to give us time to pack your stuff up and all. I think the cars will be here by then. We'll be traveling in a caravan. Pam is going, too, and Alicia, of course. Bjorn will be driving Eric and me and we'll have a second guard with us. Every car will have guards, of course, and drivers."

"Vamps don't do anything small." Octavia shook her head and laughed.

"Are you ready for all the paparazzi? You know the tabloids that had your pictures from the Ball set records for sales." Amelia told her.

"Huh?" Sookie had no clue about this.

"Remember at the Sheriff's Ball when you and Eric made your entrance and he twirled and swung you around the dance floor? It was an iconic moment – a perfect romantic image. There were pictures of it in the tabloids and they sold out – every 13 year-old girl in the country has it on her bedroom wall. They all want to grow up to be a vampire queen like Queen Sookie and meet a handsome vampire like King Eric. You two looked fabulous. There's a bounty out for the first pictures of Prince Eric, too, so they'll be everywhere tomorrow night. People are mad for the romance of the whole thing." Amelia told her almost breathlessly, loving the whole thing herself. She was a big Princess Di fan back in the day, too.

"You didn't know you were famous?" Octavia laughed.

"Uh – no… is it really that bad?"

"Yes, it's really that good." Amelia assured her.

"I hope we're able to function in New Orleans."

"Oh, don't worry about that. Once they get their pictures of the Prince, it will ease up. " Amelia assured her. "Brangelina don't have any problems living in New Orleans. People just let them do their thing. They'll be that way with you once they get to see Eric Alexander. What are you calling him, by the way?"

"Alex, mostly, so we don't have Big Eric/little Eric confusion – though I notice Eric usually calls him by his full name or "my son,"" she said in a deep voice imitating Eric.

"I'll bet he can't get his head through the door," Octavia laughed. "I want to see those two together."

"So do I – I'm busting to see the mighty warrior going gooey over a little bitty baby," Amelia thought the image was just too funny.

"You know, it's funny – Eric doesn't seem gooey, really. He talks to the baby like a person. He doesn't baby talk, or at least, he hasn't yet. Of course, I do enough of that for both of us," Sookie laughed. "You know, though, he's so proud of him, and I noticed he can't take his eyes off of him. Maybe just because it's so new, but last night, it was almost like Eric was trying to remember every little detail about him. He was talking about his tiny hands and nails and how soft his skin was. He said he was the most perfect thing he had ever seen."

"Awww. That's so sweet. You sure he doesn't get gooey?" Amelia teased her.

"Yeah, I guess that is a little gooey, isn't it?" Sookie laughed.

"Excuse me, Missus," Margaret came into the living room, "will your guests be staying for dinner?"

"Ooh, that's a good idea – you guys want to stay and have family dinner?"

"Well, we don't want to intrude…" Amelia said.

"No way! What are we having, Margaret?"

"Fried shrimp, onion rings, and coleslaw – things you couldn't eat while you were pregnant - plus, strawberry shortcake. "

"YUM! They're staying, Margaret, thanks!" Turning back to her guests, "Oh, good, this way you can see Eric. He likes you two and I know he'll be glad that you're going with us. He'll want to know what you think of the baby, Octavia. He values your opinion."

"Not much to tell except that he's a fine looking boy. We won't know much about his powers until he's a couple of months old, though I think he's going to start everything really early. You know, I knew somebody once who started talking at 3 months old? The way he's throwin' that arm up and yellin' out when somebody mentions his daddy, I'll bet he's like that."

"Three months old? Really?"

"Her mama told me it was scary to see a baby that small talking. She couldn't sit up, but she'd push herself up on her arms and yell "Mama" at her mother to try to wake her up. Her grandfather was the first to see her do it and they thought he was drunk when he told them about it. The mother was so freaked out, she wrote in the baby book that she started talking at 7 months so people wouldn't know she was a freak, but she confirmed several times that she started at three months."

"And this was a normal baby?"

"No, she was gifted – really smart, tested really high in school when they gave them those IQ tests and such – and she was a natural born Witch…"

"Alex is supposed to be a born Witch…" Sookie said, almost to herself.

"Right, but she had emotional problems your baby isn't likely to have. He's already got some physical advantages she didn't have. If he's as smart as I think he is, though, he'll be talking in no time."

"I didn't think that was possible…"

"It just depends on which part of the brain develops first. Some kids learn to read at 3 or 4, some aren't neurologically ready to read until 9. Some babies learn sign language – they know the meanings of the words, but the part of their brains that enables them to form words hasn't caught up enough to let them speak – it forms late in a lot of normal kids. Einstein didn't speak until he was 3 or 5 or somethin' like that. The girl I knew, she was gifted in languages – really good in English and liked learning foreign languages, so that part of her brain just developed early and well. Your boy there already knows people, and already knows things – he knows the RMs are in the 'fridge, right? So he could at least learn sign language real early. I think he'll start speaking, though, because of the noise he makes for Daddy. That's him tryin' to talk now. The more he tries, the more likely that part of the brain is to develop."

"Octavia – sometimes you sound like you've studied psychology," Sookie observed.

"Yeah, I took some classes, and I got a degree, eventually. I did well in school, but it's like anything else – you get out of it what you put into it. I spent time in a classroom but I educated myself. Having access to the college library did more for me than sitting in a room listening to a grad student regurgitate crap his professors had regurgitated for him. You don't need to go to school to be smart – you need to read and you need to remember what you read and apply it in your life."

"I sort of do that…"

"Read a lot?"

"Yeah, all kinds of things, and I'm pretty good at remembering things later when I need them."

"There's a word for that – autodidact. That's a person who educates themselves with or without help from a school. One autodidact is worth a dozen educated fools, as far as I'm concerned. Some schools give out degrees to people that can barely read, or they graduate people who can write a paper to please a teacher but who can't think a problem through for themselves. I think education is a fine thing, but ultimately, the individual makes the difference, not the teachers. A good teacher is worth their weight in gold, though, I'm not knockin' the good ones. And a bad one can get in the way of learnin', especially early on. You keep readin' everything you can, and teach that youngster to love reading, too."

"Oh, I hope he does – I'm going to read to him a lot. I was telling Eric we have to read lots of Dr. Seuss and stuff like that to him."

"You think he'll read to him?" Amelia asked.

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure he will. Anything I tell him is good for the baby, he's likely to do, and he's been doing all kinds of research on the internet about babies and child rearing and things. He wants him to have every advantage among humans as well as Supes…"

Suddenly laughter broke out in the kitchen and all three women looked that way.

"Hey, y'all, what's going on in there?" Sookie called, jokingly.

"We're just being silly. Bjorn is entertaining us," Bobbie answered.

"You all want to go in there? Supper will probably be ready soon – it's smelling good in there!" Sookie invited them and they all went into the kitchen.

"We're gonna join this party since you all are having such a good time. We won't be in your way, will we, Margaret? We can wait if you want…" Sookie offered.

"You come right in and sit down, Missus. I've got all of this under control."

"Sure does smell good in here," Octavia told Margaret.

"Why, thank you – I remember you like shrimp, right? When they told me you were coming to see the baby today I made sure that we had it for dinner."

"That's mighty nice – we appreciate it."

"Yes, we do," Amelia agreed, "your cooking is the best."

"Anything we can do to help?" Octavia offered.

"Oh, no ma'am, you just have a seat."

"Can I get everyone something to drink?" Alicia came in to help Margaret.

Everybody told her what they wanted and Bobbie got up to help Alicia with the drinks as Margaret passed out plates and put a big bowl of fresh purple coleslaw on the table. Margaret's helper, a young African-American woman named Carrie, passed out small bowls for the coleslaw and gave everyone silverware, and Margaret came back with a huge platter of onion rings. The helper brought a huge plate of fried shrimp that she had been working on.

"You get started on this, and we'll keep frying. Eat all you want – I already sent dinner out to the guards and gardeners."

"Wow, you feed all those people?" Amelia asked.

"Yes, Mr. Northman likes to make sure his employees are eating well, and it's another form of compensation, you know."

"Everybody dig in," Sookie said.

"Should we wait for Eric?" Amelia asked.

"No, go ahead and eat while it's warm. Margaret, do you have enough help feeding all these new people?" Sookie was concerned, since the guards more than doubled her workload.

"Oh, yes, Mr. Northman let me increase the hours for my helpers and we're going to have a new woman come in just for laundry now that the baby is here. You won't have to deal with dirty diapers because she'll wash every day."

"Wow – I didn't know that. I thought we'd just use disposables."

"Mr. Northman did some research and decided he wants the baby to wear cotton diapers when possible – disposables are only for travel, like tomorrow evening."

"I'll be washing diapers while we're in New Orleans. Mr. Compton assured me there are adequate facilities in the house," Alicia added.

"I'm sorry you have to do that…" Sookie said apologetically.

"Not at all, dear – it's part of taking care of a baby. We knew what we were getting into, didn't we, Margaret?"

"Absolutely, Missus, don't you worry about that. We're happy to help."

Sookie was suddenly distracted by the baby wiggle in and making a noise, so she covered her breast and raised him up. He threw is arm up and made his Daddy sound. "Eric must be here…"

"Did I hear my name?" Eric said as he came into the kitchen.

The baby wiggled and squealed, then threw his arm up and made the noise again.

"Somebody's calling you, Daddy," Sookie said as she pulled the baby out of the sling so Eric could take him.

Eric raised the baby to his lips and kissed him, then held him so he could see his face. "Hello, Eric Alexander. How are you, my son?"

The baby threw his arm up and made the noise and everyone laughed.

"That's my little warrior. No fight, tonight, though, we have guests to entertain. Hello, Octavia. Amelia." Eric bowed his head slightly, "I assume you have met my son?"

"Yes, we have. That's some boy you've got there. He's the spit and image of you." Octavia said.

"Yes, I think he does look like me." Eric said proudly, beaming at the baby.

"Nobody will doubt that you are his daddy. That's good – that's really good." Octavia assured him.

"Yes, it is." He kissed the baby's forehead then brought him up to his shoulder. Alicia handed him a cloth diaper to put over his shoulder for dribble, and he handled it as if he had been doing it forever. Sookie pulled his chair out for him and Eric sat at the head of the table, the baby's head on his shoulder, stroking his little back.

"When are you going to tell him, Sookie?" Bjorn asked.

"Tell me? What did you have to tell me, Sookie?"

"Oh, well, we were just thinking… um…"

"Sookie needs sleep – the baby kept her up today." Alicia interjected. "We were thinking that as soon as Mr. Brigant leaves tonight, she should go to bed and you should watch the baby tonight. He drank RM today so you could give him a bottle if he got hungry, and she could get some uninterrupted sleep tonight."

"We?"

"All of us – me, Bobbie, Alicia, Sookie. This trip is a lot for a woman who just gave birth, even with the vamp blood," Bjorn helped out, "so we all thought that Sookie needs a good night's sleep to make this trip."

Eric smiled. "That makes sense. You do seem tired, my angel, but I didn't want to say anything. Of course I will take care of my son. We will be fine together, will we not, Eric Alexander?"

The baby rubbed his little face and yawned.

"He'll probably sleep most of the time, anyway," Sookie said, "but if you have things you need to do…"

"Nonsense, Sookie. I'll put him in a baby carrier and keep him with me as I work tonight. You have one of those," he indicated the sling, " that will fit me?"

"Yes, there are several in your size." Alicia assured him.

Eric was gazing at the baby snuggled up to his big shoulder, playing with his little hand, which seemed to be trying to squeeze his finger again. "Very good – he will get used to the way it feels so he will not be afraid of it tomorrow night at the parade. He will learn to trust that he is safe with Daddy as well as Mommy. I like this idea very much."

Margaret set a bottle of RM in front of Eric and the baby wailed as he took a drink. "Margaret, can you put some of this in a bottle for my son?"

"There's one already made up. Just let me warm it." She popped a bottle into the bottle warmer for a minute and then shook it up.

"Do you know how to test it, sweetie?" Sookie asked him.

"I shake it on my wrist, I think? Show me…"

"Like this" Sookie shook a little on the inside of his wrist. "You want to make sure it isn't hot so he doesn't get burned. How does it feel?"

"Barely warm," he shook the bottle a little to make sure there were no "hot spots" in it and tested it again. "It should be fine."

Sookie put a little on her own wrist and agreed and Eric cradled the baby in his arm to feed him. Before he put the bottle in the baby's mouth Sookie stopped him. "I almost forgot – when you give him a bottle, sort of hold him upright."

"Alright – why is that?" he asked as he shifted he baby upward a bit.

"He pierced the nipple with his fangs earlier and almost choked because it poured into his mouth. If you hold him upright, he won't get choked if he bites a hole in it again."

Eric laughed and looked very proud. "Already doing damage with those fangs, eh, my boy? Good for you. Eat hearty." He offered the bottle and the baby took it eagerly.

"Look at him go – he breast fed for almost an hour while we talked in the living room! How can he be that hungry?" Sookie exclaimed.

"Of course, he has a big appetite, Sookie." Eric reminded her. "And your blood compared to this… bottle… has a very different taste to it. He had one, but now he wants the other." (He almost slipped and said 'this blood' but he remembered just in time that the others didn't know it was real blood.)

"He's a day old, and he's already picky about his food?" Sookie couldn't believe it, but she knew he was right.

"He's very advanced. He will be a very discriminating vampire." Eric laughed and everyone at the table joined him. Sookie just shook her head, but eventually she laughed, too.

The dinner conversation continued about the trip and various things, but Sookie was watching Eric with the baby. Octavia was watching them, too, and liked what she saw. Eric was very comfortable with the baby – maybe more so than Sookie – and the baby was comfortable with him. They had similar energy already, and Octavia could tell the baby was going to be a lot for Sookie to handle, but she knew Sookie would be a good mother – just a mother that has to stay on her toes. Eric would understand the baby so well, he would almost be able to read his mind. Sookie would always have to be on guard, especially when the baby could get around on his own. Octavia was wondering what they were going to do when he was a toddler. Sookie, Bobbie, Alicia and Bjorn might be outmatched by a vampire toddler, so Octavia was going to think on this and do some research as to who might be available that could help rear such a child.

Sookie was melting watching Eric with the baby. It was so… _intense_ watching them together! It had to be because it was new, right? It was the first day. Eventually, she would be able to watch them together without wanting to melt at Eric's feet, right?

As the meal proceeded Alicia came back down with the sling for Eric and she and Sookie helped him learn how to put the baby in it and showed him a few positions in which the baby could be held. It was twenty minutes to eight when Margaret asked if anyone wanted dessert and Eric suggested they wait for Niall and have it with coffee and such in the living room. Margaret put a rolling tray together with servings of strawberry shortcake as the others adjourned to the living room and Carrie got coffee ready to move out for them, too.

Eric was standing beside the fireplace, still feeding Alex, while Sookie settled into the rose velvet chair. Bjorn and Bobbie each took one of the rose floral chairs and Amelia and Octavia took their places back on the couch. They were barely settled and Margaret was serving shortcake and coffee as the doorbell rang. Alicia answered the door, and directed Niall into the room. Sookie jumped up and went to him, kissing him on the cheek.

"Hi, Grandpa Niall."

"Hello, dear one, you are looking very well."

"Thanks. Well, there he is…" She pointed to Eric and the baby.

Eric held the baby forward a little and pulled the bottle away so Niall could get a good look at him. "Well, well, hello, little Viking. He certainly does favor you, Vampire. Are you pleased with him?"

"Yes, very much. I think he is perfect." Eric said without missing a beat.

"No one will doubt that he is your son – that's exactly as we had hoped. Are you still making notes of his progress?"

"Yes, I am…"

"You are?" Sookie was surprised.

"Yes, my angel, I know you have not been keeping notes, but I have continued to make comments in your journal so we can remember these details."

"Oh…. Cool."

"That bottle has an unusual look to it – has he started taking RM already?"

"Yes, he demands it, alternately with the breast, of course. He has very sharp little fangs." Eric was beaming again.

"Fangs? Already?"

"Yes, would you like to see?" Eric offered.

"Yes, I would. Very much."

Eric set the bottle on the mantle and held the baby up facing Niall, then put his finger into his mouth causing him to bite. Niall's eyes grew large. "My word – he does have fangs already. We had not anticipated that! Sookie – you are able to feed him adequately?"

"Well, it's only been a day, but so far so good."

"No excess pain? We had thought you would have a few months to adjust to breastfeeding before fangs came into play."

"No, it hurts a little but not in a bad way… I mean, it's kind of pleasurable in a weird, intense way."

"Hmm – you have apparently adapted to being bitten. I suppose I have you to thank for that, Vampire." Niall said with a little disgust, which Eric chose to ignore, but Sookie clearly picked up on. "And you, Sookie, are you pleased with him?"

"Of course I am! He's perfect!"

"He came very early," Niall continued, "that was a surprise, too. We had thought he might come late in July at the earliest. He developed very quickly." Niall caressed the baby's little hand, taking note that he was wearing the bracelet with the royal seal on it.

"Will that continue?" Sookie asked, "I hope he's going to be a baby as long as he's supposed to be…"

"Have no fear, my dear, he will age relatively normally until adulthood." Niall never took his eyes off the baby. He seemed fascinated with him, too. "He will tend to do things earlier than most of his contemporaries, but not freakishly so. We are very anxious to see how his abilities develop. I'll be coming for a visit in about 3 months with Dr. Ludwig and we'll test him and see what his strengths and weaknesses are. We should get an idea of what he's starting out with that way. He will develop more as he grows, of course, and will develop rather spectacularly at puberty, but by 3 months many of his traits will be set. Be sure to keep him out of the sun between now and then, just in case, and of course, avoid silver and iron. And lemons!"

"Yes, we know about the lemons. We had an… incident with lemons recently, but managed to avoid a problem." Eric told him.

"Yes, I heard news of this incident of which you speak. I trust that little problem was resolved."

"With finality." Eric assured him.

"Good, good. Very good. We've come too far to tolerate any opposition. I expect finality in all such cases."

"Nothing less where my son is concerned."

"Very good. Your subordinate, Compton, will be presenting an offer to you later tonight regarding the first picture of our little Prince. I think you'll find it will save you a lot of trouble tomorrow night. Take no short cuts with security. My sources tell me there will be radical anti-vampire groups of humans there. No harm must come to this child."

"None will – I will have him secured to me with this device or one like it, and I will be more vigilant than I have been in the whole of my long life. No threat to my son will be tolerated."

"Good – you will have help from my end as well."

"In what form?"

"Don't worry about it – you won't see it unless you need it, and let's hope you don't need it. It's my gift to the baby. Just know that there is someone watching out for him." Niall turned to Octavia, "You are a practitioner?"

"Yes, I am."

"They will need a charm of protection to keep over the child's bed, made of both parents' hair. You know of such a charm?"

"I do."

"If you would please create that at your earliest convenience, we will all be most grateful."

"Of course, it will be my pleasure."

Sookie let out a huge yawn. Embarrassed, she said "excuse me!" and blushed.

"Sookie my dear, you are exhausted. Are you sure you want to make this trip to New Orleans?" Niall asked.

"Everybody is counting on the baby making his big debut, so, yeah, I'm sure. We have a system worked out."

"System? Of what sort."

"As soon as you conclude your visit, Niall, Sookie will go to bed and I will tend the baby for the night. She'll be well-rested for tomorrow evening." Eric explained.

Niall gave a sly smile. "Doing your best to be a good daddy, eh, Vampire. I'm very glad to hear it. My visit is drawing to a close even now." He turned to Sookie. "You take care of yourself, my dear. You have all these good people to help you, and many more watching out for you. This child needs two healthy parents, so do not neglect your rest. You go to bed now, and I'll call you soon and see how you are doing." He kissed Sookie's forehead, bowed to the group, walked out the door and disappeared.

"OK, we're out of here, too," Amelia said, standing up.

"I'll just need a lock of hair from each of you and I'll work your charm tonight. That way you'll have it for the trip." Octavia said. Alicia brought scissors out of Eric's office and handed them to Octavia, then helped Margaret and Carrie finish gathering up dishes and serving the last of the coffee. Octavia took a small lock from the underside of Eric's hair, then Sookie's, putting them each into a pair of zip lock bags Margaret brought from the kitchen, and she and Amelia said their good nights. Bjorn shocked everyone by finishing up the last of the shortcake, and Bobbie went up with Sookie to rub her back and help her sleep. Margaret and Carrie finished up in the kitchen and went home, while Alicia showed Eric how to change a diaper and what to do with the used ones, then showed him where the bottle warmer was upstairs and a few other things she thought he should know.

Sookie and Bobbie could hear Alicia directing Eric in the next room and were trying to suppress their giggles, but Eric busted them. "I can hear you, ladies."

"Sorry, sweetie, it's just really cute."

"Uh-huh," he said as he continued his lesson. "Laugh all you want, but I can do this. By the way, has he had a bath today?"

"No, he hasn't yet – why?"

"I was thinking I would bathe him before I start working. He could use a little wash, I think."

"OK, sweetie, just be careful the water is not too warm…"

"Trust me, Sookie, I will not hurt my son." He thanked Alicia and said good night to her. He took the baby into their bathroom, turning on the shower at a low rain-like setting. When it was at the right temperature, he removed the baby's diaper and his own clothes, and they took a shower, Eric gently washing the baby with special soap he had brought from the nursery. He managed to wash his own hair with one hand, and then gently washed the baby's hair with very gentle shampoo. Sookie and Bobbie were listening intently, Bobbie absent-mindedly rubbing Sookie's back so she didn't do much good.

Eric came out of the bathroom with a towel around his waist and one wrapped around the baby, causing Sookie and Bobbie to nearly swallow their tongues as he took the baby into the nursery for a new nappy. He rubbed baby lotion on him and sprinkled him with baby powder, then fastened the diaper the way Alicia had shown him. He came back with a freshly diapered baby, pleased with himself and preening a little because he knew the women were drooling over him.

"Alright, my boy, talk to mommy for a minute while daddy gets dressed." He said as he laid the baby next to Sookie and went back into the bathroom. He dropped his towel before the door closed, giving both women a glimpse of his butt. He came back in nothing but jeans, still aware that the women were melting and drooling. He pulled a black tank on and then the baby sling, which soon had the baby safely nestled inside. He held the baby up a little and waved his little hand at Sookie, "Say 'good night, Mommy!'" Then he turned and walked out of the room, pleased with himself for being a good daddy and a hot one, too.

Once the floor show was over, Sookie fell asleep quickly and Bobbie went upstairs to call Bill, leaning into Eric's office first to tell him to call her if he needed help. He thanked her but assured her that he and his son would manage, and he told her to have a good night. He could hear Sookie breathing slowly and knew she was asleep, so he slipped out to the hallway and closed the bedroom door so the lights wouldn't disturb her. He settled back into his chair at his computer, one arm around the baby in the sling and one hand on the mouse. He worked on his email for over an hour, then turned to some financial work that took about an hour and 45 minutes. The baby slept most of that time, soothed by the bath and the movement of Eric rocking him a little as he worked. When the financial stuff was done and Eric was ready to call Bill, the baby woke up fussing a little. Eric silently got a bottle from the mini-fridge without waking Sookie and warmed it in the warmer in the nursery, He checked the temp and gave it to the baby, who didn't seem to want it at first, but finally agreed to it and relaxed.

"I know it is not Mommy, my son, but try to enjoy it. You will have Mommy in the morning. Tonight you and I will make due with RM, alright?" He sat in the chair in the nursery and gently rocked the baby while he drank the bottle. Eric never felt such contentment. The baby wasn't warm as a human would be, but he had that sweet smell that reminded Eric so much of Sookie, he'd have to concentrate to tell them apart. Only the undercurrent of vampire in the scent would distinguish them, but he was grateful for that undercurrent because it was strong enough for a vampire to recognize him as one of their own. The baby finished and yawned, then fell asleep almost immediately as Eric rocked him and talked to him softly. When he was clearly sleeping soundly, Eric took him back into the office and called Bill.

"Eric?"

"Yes, Bill. How are things in the Big Easy?"

"Busy – we're swamped fielding requests about this fundraiser. Have you been contacted by any of the press?"

"No, but none of my numbers is listed anywhere."

"Well. Somehow people have this number and they're using it. One made a proposal I thought you should know about."

Eric knew instantly this was what Niall had been talking about. "What might that be?"

"One of the tabloids offered you $50,000 for the first picture of the baby. I thought you might consider it for this reason – if it's known before the Parade that the first picture has hit the wire services, there will be less incentive for the paparazzi to bother you at the parade."

"Good point. How do they propose doing this?"

"They will wire the money tomorrow. They meet you at Fangtasia tomorrow at 6 PM before you head out. You, Sookie and the Baby pose for one good shot, and we're done. They send it via Internet to all their venues, and it's all over the globe before the Parade starts - before you even leave Shreveport. All the reporters will get updates on their BlackBerries and iPhones before the parade starts that the bounty has been earned. Then they won't be so crazed to get pictures of their own."

"That sounds like a plan. You have this all set up?"

"Yes, I was quite sure you would agree. Security will be difficult enough tomorrow night without the added stress of paparazzi losing their minds."

"Why do you think it will be difficult?"

"There are rumblings that some radical Christian groups – FOTS and a few others – are going to mount a huge counter protest to the parade."

"How huge?"

"We think they may have several hundred protestors – enough to get out of hand and embolden them to do something stupid and aggressive."

"What kind of security have you set up?"

"I've tripled the guard and I hired a lot of specialty soldiers who fly so they can watch from the roof tops and swoop down if we need them."

"We risk letting the breathers know that some of us can fly that way."

"Yes, but I think we have to risk it. You have no idea what that child means to our community, Eric. He may be the beginning of a whole new era for us. Nothing must happen to him. How is he, by the way?"

"Safely asleep in my arms at the moment and doing very well. Niall was here to see him tonight."

"What did he think of his handy work?"

"He was quite impressed, I think. He was shocked that he already has fangs…"

"He has?!"

"Yes, lovely little sharp ones. I'm wondering if Niall didn't put more vampire into his magick than he intended. I told them all along that this baby was vampire. They're finding out I was right." He was being smug and laying it on a little thick for Bill's benefit.

"Do you have any other indications that he's vampire?"

"Yes, his scent. It's very sweet, like Sookie's, but it has a definite undercurrent of vampire. Pam says it's unmistakable. They might want to lick him but they won't want to drink from him."

"That's good. I know Sookie was worried about that."

"Yes, I was afraid he'd be distinctly Fae and that would have been a disaster – I'd never be able to have him around vampires. I'm quite relieved that he's one of us."

"Does he have any Fae tendencies?"

"Not tendencies so much as talents. He can teleport, he has telekinesis, he can read at least some minds the way Sookie can, I suspect he's going to have vampire speed and strength at some point soon and he's supposedly going to be able to do magick when he's older. Plus, we think he's already trying to talk."

"You're kidding?"

"No, he does this thing when I'm around or someone mentions me – he throws up his arm and makes this noise at the same time he sends "FIGHT!" Sookie is convinced he's trying to say 'fight.' It's really quite… precious."

"I can imagine." Bill said wryly. Naturally, or unnaturally, he told himself, Eric couldn't just have a normal baby. Eric couldn't just have the first vampire baby in recorded history. Eric had to have the most magickal, talented baby, ever. It was almost enough to make one stay up and meet the sun. "That's a lot of information you've gleaned in just one day. Are you sure some of it isn't just wishful thinking?"

"Time will tell, I suppose, but he does seem to already be establishing certain patterns of behavior. The way he sleeps and wakes, it's as if he has many short little days within one."

"Sookie is well?"

"Yes, she's asleep right now. Her maid is concerned that she's not up to this trip so we're giving her a night to catch up on her sleep."

"So are you alone with the infant?"

"Yes – I can always call Bobbie if I really need to, but so far, we are fine, he and I."

"How long has Sookie been asleep?"

"Maybe 3 ½ hours."

"We'll see how you feel about this at 5:30 – he could still give you a very hard time."

"Yes, but I don't think he will. I think he's going to be fine. We've had a shower and he's had a fresh diaper and a bottle. I'm so glad Sookie went to sleep so she didn't have time to notice who didn't show up today."

"What do you mean?"

"Sookie's worthless brother was supposed to come see his nephew today, but as far as I know, he didn't even call to check on them."

"She expected him and he didn't even call?"

"Yes, she did and no, he didn't. If I could keep him out of her life completely, I would do it. He has never been a proper brother to her."

"I have to agree with you there. I never liked the way he treated her. When he struck her…"

"I don't know why you didn't kill him then. I told him when we told him about the baby that if he ever did it again, Sookie would be an only child and I meant it. If he ever threatens either of them in any way at all, I'll do away with him and I've told him and Sookie that in no uncertain terms."

"I'm sure neither of them believes you would actually do it."

"They'd better not test me on it – I'm quite serious. He's not going to hurt her again. He's treading thin ice even now. If he upsets her I might pay him a visit."

"You wouldn't kill him just for hurting her feelings…"

"No, but a beating to teach him some manners is not out of the question. I tell you, Bill, I hesitate to allow him to be around the child. Goddess forbid that the child take a liking to him and be hurt by his thoughtlessness or endangered by his stupidity. Sookie has visions of him playing Uncle to him but I really doubt that is going to happen."

"Well, it's natural that you don't want to see them hurt. You might as well prepare for it, though, because I'm afraid with Stackhouse the question is not whether he will hurt one of them, but when."

"Yes, I'm afraid you are right. I need to think about this seriously. At any rate, we will see you tomorrow night. Thank you for your help with the fundraiser, Bill and the deal with the photographer."

"My pleasure. Travel safely."

Eric hung up the phone and watched the baby for a few minutes. He decided he was sleeping deeply enough to try a call to Sandy now.

"Yes, your majesty?"

"Hello, Sandy, how are things in Las Vegas?"

"Well, we are swamped with requests for pictures of the Prince, but other than that, things are going smoothly. We closed on the sale of two properties, the consolidation of the chain of theatres is on schedule and I'm putting together information about the elite clubs you wanted to create."

"Good – I'll look forward to seeing that. I'd like to have some movement in that direction this fall."

"So soon, your majesty?"

"Yes, of course. I'll be coming back to Las Vegas at the end of August and I hope we'll be accepting bids from contractors by then."

"I didn't realize you wanted to move so quickly. I'll move this up to the top of my list."

"Very good. We'll have an extended teleconference with Bill Compton soon to do some serious planning. I just have to get us past this fundraiser and then I'll be able to focus on these projects more effectively. Even if we move, I'll be able to concentrate more now that the baby is born and we can get into a routine with him."

"How is the Prince, your majesty?"

"Sleeping soundly in my arms right now, and doing quite well so far. We'll bring him for a visit as soon as he is old enough to travel."

"That would be most welcome, your majesty. Everyone here is dying to see him. No one has ever seen a baby vampire."

"Yes, he's very special. You'll see him before the end of summer, I am sure." The baby stretched and began to cry. "And now he is awake. If there's nothing further, I'll say good night."

"Yes, your majesty, good night."

Eric pulled the baby up and put him on his shoulder, heading to the nursery with him where half a bottle still awaited them, though he was pretty sure the baby wasn't hungry. When he got into the baby's room he got the diaper for his shoulder and put it under Alex's chin. The baby was sending something Eric perceived as discomfort but it wasn't specific enough for him to tell what it meant. He was becoming more insistent, though, and beginning to really fuss, so Eric put him on the changing table and checked his diaper. Yes, he needed to be changed. Eric talked softly to him as he changed the diaper, the baby watching him with big eyes in between whimpers, chewing on his fingers as he was wiped and sprinkled and diapered. He calmed down briefly, then started to wail a bit so Eric put him on his shoulder again and walked back and forth with him, patting his back gently and telling him a story about his first raid on a settlement when he sailed on his first dragon ship. The baby would calm for a minute, then cry again. Eric held the baby so he could look in his eyes.

"Try to tell me what is hurting you, my son. It is not your diaper. I do not think you feel hungry. Is it your stomach?" He rubbed the baby's tummy and he cried louder. Eric was sure it was gas, so back on the shoulder he went and Eric walked and patted his back gently but firmly. Eric was glad he put the diaper back on his shoulder because it was soon dripping with RM. At least the baby stopped crying after he spit up.

Eric put the soaked diaper in the diaper pail and got a fresh one for his shoulder, wiping the baby's mouth and still talking to him softly. "Is your stomach better now, my son?" he whispered to him, "Are you feeling better?" The baby yawned and drooled on his shoulder. Eric smiled and walked back and forth with him a while longer, then sat in the chair and moved gently back and forth for and hour or so while the baby slept. The next time he woke up, he was hungry and Eric felt that clearly, so he warmed the bottle gently and gave it to him. It wasn't what the baby wanted and he fought the nipple. The baby whimpered, then took the nipple for a minute but then wouldn't take any more and started crying. Eric knew he wanted Sookie – he could clearly feel WANT and he felt that sense of comfort the baby felt when he was with Sookie. Eric tried one more time with the bottle, but it just wasn't what the baby wanted.

He hated to admit defeat, but Eric wasn't going to let his son go hungry. He took the baby quietly into the bedroom and rolled Sookie gently on her back so she was propped up on the wedge pillow she was still using. He pulled her nightgown down and put the baby in position. Sookie grimaced but didn't really even wake up. Her hands went instinctively to the baby's back and head, and Eric lay down next to them and watched the baby feed. He went into down time for a bit, and then moved the baby to the other breast. When the baby withdrew Eric was surprised to see that it had been almost 45 minutes before the baby was done feeding. Eric picked him back up and took him to the nursery to sit with him a while.

The baby slept a few minutes, then woke for about ten minutes and was awake and looking at Eric who was playing with his hands as they tried to wrap around his big fingers. He fell back to sleep a few minutes later and slept until Alicia arrived at 5:30. Eric and Alex met Alicia on the second floor, and Eric described the baby's night to her, mentioning that he spit up. She assured Eric that was not uncommon. Eric took the baby back up to the co-sleeper next to Sookie and tucked him in, setting the baby monitor on Sookie's nightstand so Alicia could hear the baby if he cried. He went to rest for the day feeling fairly successful after his first night with his son.


	70. Chapter 70

**Chapter 70**

Alex slept for about an hour before he woke up fussy, but Alicia never heard him cry because the second he made a sound, Sookie reached for him and put him to her breast. Alicia came in with laundry and found Sookie feeding him.

"Well, good morning! I thought you were asleep."

"I slept really well – I don't remember anything except maybe Eric bringing the baby in at some point?"

"Yes, he said he knew he was hungry and he didn't want RM."

"OK, that's cool. Eric must have stayed with us because I barely remember it."

"He did. He also said the baby was a little sick at one point last night, but he handled it."

"Anything serious?"

"No, just a little spit up. Mr. Northman seemed to take it in stride. I think he enjoyed having so much time alone with him. He said it was very peaceful, even when he fussed a little. I gather he was able to work and make phone calls, then he spent quite a bit of time rocking and walking with him. They were very sweet together when he brought him downstairs earlier. The baby was looking at him with those big blue eyes and he was just beaming at his little boy."

"OK, cool, then I don't need to worry about leaving them alone together if I'm tired. I swear, I felt like I had run a marathon yesterday."

"Giving birth is hard on a body, dear, even if you've had some sort of healing done and breastfeeding burns a lot of energy. You'll be a little tired for a bit."

"Yeah, I guess – ahhhh-hhhh." Sookie let out a huge yawn.

"You're still sleepy, so when he finishes up you try to go back to sleep and I'll check on you both. If he fusses I'll try giving him a bottle next time so you can sleep longer. It's going to be a long day today, so sleep as long as you can. I have to change your outfit for today since you're having your picture made on your way to New Orleans."

"I am?"

"All of you are. Apparently when we leave the house we're going by Fangtasia first so you, Mr. Northman and the baby can be photographed, then we'll continue from there."

"I didn't know anything about this…"

"It was just decided last night. I gather there's a bounty out for the first picture of the baby, so Mr. Northman is being paid by one publication who'll get the first picture and then it will be on the wire services before we get to New Orleans and the paparazzi won't be so crazed to get to you. It's actually a clever solution – I think it was Mr. Compton's idea."

"Oh – OK. Is Pam here?"

"No, Mr. Northman said she'll meet us at Fangtasia."

"Huh… OK, well, I guess all I'm supposed to do is show up with my baby and look good?"

"Basically. Just sleep and I'll make sure you're up by 3 pm so you'll have plenty of time to get dressed."

"Ahhhh –hhhhh… Amelia and Octavia will be here at 4. OK, back to sleep." Sookie tried to sleep but couldn't quite get comfortable with the baby when she moved him to the other breast so Alicia brought the pink nursing pillow in and set Sookie up that way. She fell asleep while the baby was feeding, so Alicia kept an eye on them to make sure he wasn't being smothered. When he pulled away and yawned Alicia took him to the nursery to put a little t-shirt on him. She laughed to herself that Eric hadn't put a shirt on him, but then she realized that in his culture babies would be diapered and swaddled. A Viking might not know about little t-shirts that snap on the shoulder. She knew that Eric hadn't really been around children in a millennium, and in spite of his Internet research, there were bound to be little details that he missed. Once she had the t-shirt on him, she checked his diaper and it was time for a new one, so she took care of that. He watched her with big eyes the whole time as she talked to him, and she had the strangest feeling that he was trying to figure out who she was.

The baby yawned again as Alicia took him back into the room and tucked him into the co-sleeper. He gurgled happily when she put him down and if she didn't know he was too young for it to be possible, she would have sworn he was happy to be back in his own bed. She tucked the little blue blanket around him though his legs were in the air and he was kicking a little and she noticed he was looking to the side and reaching out with one arm, but she told herself he couldn't possibly be watching Sookie sleep or reaching for her. Alicia finished her work with Sookie's clothes and gathered the laundry from the bathroom, and saw that he had gone back to sleep. She double checked the monitor and then took the laundry downstairs. By the time she and Margaret had gone over the schedule, had a cup of coffee and finished the laundry needed to finish Sookie's and Eric's packing, it had been about 2 and a half hours, so Alicia went up to check on the baby.

Alicia was surprised to find the baby on Sookie's chest, but not in position to feed. It didn't look as if Sookie had moved, but she knew she must have started to feed him and fallen asleep before he was in place. Alicia moved the baby into position and pulled Sookie's gown down so he could reach her breast. She was concerned that Sookie was too tired for this trip if she fell asleep before she could even get the baby in place to feed and then she barely moved when Alicia pulled her arms under the baby and he latched on to her nipple. She sat at the side table for a few minutes and thought about this.

They were expected at a photo shoot, a parade, they were going to look at properties and there was a TV appearance and a fundraiser. Sookie had to be there for all of it. Alicia really hoped the baby would drink RM most of the time so she could get some uninterrupted sleep. After about 15 minutes, she moved the baby to Sookie's other breast and decided to see if there was a small pillow and blanket they could take in the car – maybe Sookie could sleep a little on the way, though it would be crowded back there with Big E and Little E.

Alicia smiled to herself as she went into the nursery and threw the red curtains open – she loved those names for them. Sookie only used them occasionally, but Alicia always thought of them by those nicknames in her own mind. She thought they really lived up to them when Eric brought the baby downstairs that morning – two peas in a pod already, both completely content with each other. It was only their first night together, but they just seemed perfectly natural. She always had to remind herself that Big E – and now Little E, too – was a vampire. She laughed at herself because if you had told her a year ago she'd be helping care for a baby vampire and his mother she'd have thought you were insane. And Big E was so gorgeous that all you thought of were his looks – the hair, the eyes, the smile, the huge shoulders – and not the fact that he wasn't human. Sookie was a lucky young woman, but this lifestyle was a lot for anyone to handle. At least she wasn't pregnant now – all of this would be easier to do having just given birth than if Sookie were still in the final stages of a pregnancy. This way, someone else can carry the baby or feed it when need be.

Alicia had a blanket and pillow and a well-stocked diaper bag all ready to go and went back to check on the baby. She was surprised to see him back in the little co-sleeper, but Sookie was not only in the same position, her arms were still curled as if they were wrapped around him and her gown was still down. She walked over to the tiny crib – the baby looked up at her, chewing on his little fingers, and she put the little blanket over him. She covered Sookie up, too, and felt like she was being silly – it had to be Sookie that was moving him – there was no way for the baby to get back and forth by himself. He couldn't even roll over yet!

Alicia had Leroy carry the bags she had packed downstairs and laid out the travel outfits for Eric and Sookie. The baby had been asleep for about an hour and a half when she heard him on the monitor and she went back up with a bottle of RM. He looked at her with those big eyes as she picked him up and took him into the nursery. She settled into the glider and gave him the bottle, which he took eagerly. She hummed and talked to him a bit and she had that odd feeling again that he knew what she was saying. Those ice blue eyes had such presence to them – they were almost "wise" if you could say that about a baby. He was also already doing that thing babies do with their fingers when they discover them, sort of drumming them in the air over and over just because he could. It was way too soon for that, wasn't it?

He yawned as she pulled the empty bottle away and she rocked him until he went to sleep. She quietly took him back to Sookie's room and settled him in and three hours passed before he woke Sookie up crying.

"Shh, Alex, it's OK, Mommy's here." Sookie said as she brought him over to her breast. She looked at the clock. "Wow – Mommy's been asleep a long time! I hope they've been feeding you, Sweetie. Have they been feeding you? Huh?" She was just cooing at him now and he watched her intently as he fed. She kept talking to him, looking him right in the eye and smiling at him. She was so happy she could finally do this!

Alicia came in a minute later. "Oh, good, you're up this time. I was afraid you might fall asleep before you got him in place again."

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"Earlier, you managed to get him over on your chest, but you didn't get him into place before you fell back to sleep."

"You were in here with me the last time I fed him, remember? I've been asleep for hours since then."

"You probably just don't remember. I came in the time after that and he was on your chest, but not in the right position, so I put him right, and then later when I came back he was back in the little crib next to you. Then the next time he woke up, I fed him a bottle and rocked him, then put him back here."

"So he fed twice while I was asleep? That's good. I wouldn't want him to go without."

"Oh, we won't let that happen. I've been keeping a close eye on both of you. I've got your packing all done and your bags downstairs, and your clothes are ready for you any time you want to get dressed, but you can sleep a little longer if you want to."

"No, that's OK, I think I'll get up. Anything for breakfast, today?"

"I've got some home fries cooked and I can throw you a couple of eggs on toast real quick if you'd like."

"That sounds good – and some orange juice, please, since I haven't had much in a while."

Alicia went to get Sookie's breakfast and she continued to feed the baby. She wondered to herself if she could have tried to feed him and fallen asleep the way Alicia said, but she had a feeling that wasn't what happened. Alicia was forgetting that this baby could teleport. She really hoped it wasn't true, but she had a feeling he had put himself on her chest when he got hungry and went back to his crib when he was done. That sounded absolutely insane, and she knew it, but she looked into those blue eyes and knew he was capable of doing it. "Alex, have you been popping in and out of your crib?"

FUNNY!

"No, Alex, it's not funny. You could get hurt! And you could scare the heck out of Alicia. You stay put when you're supposed to and let us move you when you need to be moved."

FUNNY!

Not only was he still laughing, Sookie could swear she saw a mischievous twinkle in his little eyes. "Please, Alex, or Mommy will be worried about you and won't be able to sleep!"

COMFORT

"OK, that's more like it. We're going on a trip today, and I need to be sure you stay close to Mommy, OK? You need to stay with me and Daddy when you can, except when somebody else like Bobbie or Alicia needs to feed you, OK?"

SOOTHING

"Right, Bobbie – speaking of Bobbie, I wonder where she is this morning? And where is Bjorn? He should have been here hours ago, though I don't really think it's necessary for him to watch us sleep. Have you seen either one of them today, Sweetie?"

Nothing. Well, Sookie figured, he really didn't know who Bjorn was yet. Bobbie, on the other hand, could give Mommy and baby both a massage if she'd show up about now. Suddenly, Sookie wrinkled her nose.

"Uh-oh, Alex – I've got a feeling you need a new diaper. Let's go to the nursery, OK?"

She managed to get out of bed with some difficulty since she had to exit on Eric's side, but she did it without having to disturb the baby too much. She took him into the changing table and was shocked to see that the curtains in the nursery were open. Light hit the baby full on and he didn't do anything but blink. Was he able to be in sunlight? She was watching him carefully as she changed his diaper, half afraid that he would start to burn, but he didn't, even when he stretched his little leg directly into a beam of light. Sookie was getting hopeful – it would make life a lot easier if he could go out in the light. When she finished with his diaper, she took a little blanket just in case and took the baby downstairs, not even thinking to put on a robe. As she passed the second floor she called "Hey, Alicia, I want to eat downstairs today, OK?"

"Alright, dear, I'll be right there with it."

Sookie walked into the kitchen to find Bjorn eating breakfast. "Hey, Bjorn – did you oversleep?"

"Uh, yes, your majesty, I'm afraid I did. I'm very sorry."

"No problem, I don't see the point in you sitting there watching us sleep anyway. Here, say hi to the baby. See Alex, this is Bjorn. He takes care of us, so be nice to him, OK? He's big and strong and he stays with us when Daddy has to rest."

FIGHT! Up went the arm and the baby made that noise and Sookie laughed. "Yes, Sweetie, he likes to fight just like Daddy, and he's from Sweden just like Daddy, too. He makes sure you and me are safe."

"Good morning, Alex." Bjorn said with a laugh, tickling the baby's chin. He was rewarded with a big smile and gurgle, and a little drool.

Bjorn started to pull out a chair for Sookie but she told him to hang on, she'd be right back. Sookie went through the kitchen into the den and toward the back door. When she got there, she put the blanket over the baby and walked out side. He didn't whimper or act uncomfortable. She uncovered his little foot. Nothing. This was risky and she knew it but she also knew it would be OK – she took the blanket completely off of him and he was fine. All he did was gurgle and yawn. Apparently, this little vampire was immune to the sun's rays. Sookie was over the moon, though she knew Eric would be a little disappointed about it.

Sookie took the baby back inside and sat where Bjorn had pulled out her chair.

"You took him outside?"

"Yep, and no harm at all – he's apparently immune to the sun."

"You took a big risk, Sookie – I'm not sure Eric would approve."

"I walked into his nursery not knowing the curtains were open and he got hit full on with sun before I knew what was happening. I checked him up there before I came down, so I was pretty sure that he'd be fine."

"How is Eric going to feel about this?"

"He might be a little disappointed, but it's going to make life a lot easier for all of us. We won't have to keep him shrouded all the time if we go out in the daylight. He'll be able to play outside like normal little kids. This is a good thing!"

"Yes, it will make him blend in more. And the fewer sensitivities he has the better. You don't want him to have any weak spots at all if possible."

"Exactly. I mean, we know for sure he's a vamp with the fangs and the drinking blood and he's cold and pale, so he's just sort of a better kind of vamp, aren't you, sweetie?"

Margaret came in from the den with one of the many baby carriers scattered around the house. "Good morning, Missus. I thought you might want to put the little one in his little rocker and give your arms a break while you eat."

"Good idea," Sookie said as she let Margaret take the baby. The baby looked strangely at Margaret and watched her every move as she set him into the little red carrier/rocker and put him on the table so he was next to Sookie and looking toward Bjorn. Once he was settled, Sookie tickled his foot so he looked at her. "Hey, Sweetie. You gonna talk to me and Bjorn? Huh? You gonna talk to us?"

He gave her a smile and stuck his one thumb in his mouth as his other hand played with his toes. Alicia was setting Sookie's breakfast in front of her when Bobbie came down stairs in a wild, blue and purple gypsy print dress.

"Oh, lookie who's up!" Bobbie said when she saw the baby. She went right over to the table. "You up for a massage today, Alex?" she asked him and he looked at her as if he was really checking her out.

"Alex, this is Bobbie. You know Bobbie, don't you sweetheart?" The baby gurgled and sent COMFORT. "Oh, good, he knows you, Bobbie."

"Sure he knows me. I'm Aunt Bobbie. We're going to be good buddies, aren't we, Alex?" and she tickled his chin which made him laugh silently and kick his feet, his little arms waving about, not knowing what to grab next with his busy fingers. Bobbie tickled the palm of his hand and he tried to grip her finger but didn't quite manage it.

Bobbie got herself a cup of coffee and Sookie tried to pretend she couldn't hear a few X-rated thoughts flying back and forth between Bobbie and Bjorn. 'Oh, hell,' Sookie thought, 'they're grown people and Bill hasn't exactly been faithful so let them have fun.'

"Sookie," Alicia came into the room, "when you get done you'll probably want to get in the shower so you'll be dressed by the time Amelia and Octavia get here."

"Um, wow, yeah, look at the time. Uh…" She looked at the baby, not sure what to do.

"We'll watch him, Sookie, go ahead. You'll be OK with us, won't you, Alex?" Bobbie tickled his foot and he gurgled.

"Actually, I should go up and stay near Sookie," Bjorn started to stand, but Sookie interrupted him. "No, Bjorn, I want you to stay near the baby. I can take care of myself. He should be your first priority."

Sookie headed upstairs and Alicia told Bjorn, "I"ll keep an eye on Sookie and make sure she doesn't fall," and followed Sookie upstairs.

"Actually, Sweet… I mean, Bjorn, I think we should take the baby upstairs and I'll give him a massage on Sookie's bed. He'll be most comfortable there."

"OK, let's do that."

Bobbie took the baby out of the little seat and carried him upstairs with Bjorn in tow. Alicia was setting up to do Sookie's hair and makeup, and was surprised to see them all.

"We decided to follow you, Alicia," Bobbie laughed. Bjorn sat in his usual seat and Bobbie went into the bathroom for a towel. "Hey, Sookie, I'm just grabbing a towel for the baby."

"OK," Sookie responded then poked her head out, "hey, Bobbie, maybe I should take him in here and bathe him while I'm here? Eric did it."

"Are you steady on your feet? And able to hold onto him?"

"Yeah, he won't wiggle much. I'll just wash him quick and you can diaper him, OK?

"OK, just a minute." Bobbie laid the baby on the vanity counter and removed his t-shirt and diaper, then carried him over to the shower, "ready for him, Hon?"

"Yep," Sookie slid the door open and took the baby, talking to him the whole time. She managed to wash him off pretty quickly, covering head to toe with a little baby shampoo and paying attention to his diaper area with a bar of special baby soap Eric left in the shower. "Ready, Bobbie?"

"Yep, " Sookie opened the door and Bobbie collected him in a towel, Sookie kissing his little head and saying, "See you in a few minutes, Sweetie."

Bobbie dried the baby, took him to the nursery for a new diaper and had him lying on the towel on Sookie's bed giving him his first massage when Sookie came our of the bathroom in a towel. "Oh, he's a happy boy! Yes, he is! He loves that, Bobbie."

"Yeah, he's been waiting a long time to get his own massage, haven't you, sweet boy?" Bobbie laughed. "I'll have to teach you and Eric to do this, too, Sookie, because it can really help them sleep and calm them when they get tense."

"That'd be great. I know Eric will want to learn, too, though he's pretty good at massage as it is."

"Yeah, but there are some specifics he should know about massaging a baby – Eric's used to massaging women."

"True," Sookie laughed and the baby threw his arm up and made his Daddy sound. "I wonder what he's trying to say when he does that?" Sookie said.

"What does he send when he does it?" Bobbie asked.

"FIGHT!" Sookie laughed.

"He's trying to say "_víg_"" Bjorn said.

"What?" Alicia asked as she combed out Sookie's hair.

""Víg" – Swedish word for "fight."" Bjorn said.

"How would he know a Swedish word?" Sookie asked.

"Eric knows it." Bjorn said.

"You think…" Sookie stopped. She knew what Bjorn was suggesting and if it was true she didn't want to say it out loud. If this baby could read vampire minds… that was too terrifying to think about. "Whatever… we'll find out eventually. Alicia did I get any mail of any importance today?"

"You got some things you need to respond to from both Las Vegas and New Orleans, but I put it in your bag and we'll go over it tomorrow. There was nothing that won't wait a day. Mr. Compton said you'll have access to an office in the New Orleans residence plus you'll be going into the New Orleans Headquarters."

"Oh, OK. This is going to be a busy week…."

"Yes, it is. I hope you manage to get some rest in between all these activities."

"I'm a little tired, but I can handle it. I've got all of you to help with the baby and that's the main thing. I can nap when there's nothing going on. Lots of women have to keep working when they have a baby."

"That's true," Alicia agreed, "and you do have lots of reliable help."

The doorbell rang then and Bobbie said, "I'll bet that's Amelia and Octavia. Want me to go down and entertain them until you're dressed, Sookie?"

"That's a good idea. Maybe get them a cup of coffee or something? Thanks. Bobbie."

"See you in a bit, Sweetie." Bobbie said to the baby with a little tickle that made him laugh, and she left him in the middle of the bed on the towel.

Sookie was amazed that the baby fell asleep while Alicia was drying her hair, and they did only a little makeup, though she went a little heavy on the mascara and would take a touch up kit for the photos.

While Sookie dressed in the bathroom, Bjorn went down to find the ladies in the kitchen drinking coffee and eating a pecan coffee cake Margaret had baked. "Hello, Ladies," he greeted them, "Sookie will be down with the baby soon. She's putting her clothes on now."

"That little one been up to any high-jinx yet?" Octavia asked.

"Not since he tried to get his own RM, I don't think." Bjorn laughed, "but you should ask Sookie. Oh, and he can go out in the sun!"

"HE CAN?!" Octavia and Amelia spoke together, obviously shocked.

Sookie came in with the baby strapped to her with a baby sling, "He who? Can what?"

"I told them the baby can go in the sun." Bjorn explained.

"Oh, yeah, we just found out! I walked into the nursery and the windows were open and he got hit full on with sun and no effect, so then I brought him down here and took him outside. It doesn't affect him at all! Isn't that great!?"

"Yes, and unexpected for a fanger." Octavia said with admiration. "He been up to anything else?"

Sookie looked around – Margaret was in the laundry room and Alicia was still up stairs - "Maybe…"

"Such as…?" Octavia didn't feel like beating around the bush.

Sookie said softly "Alicia came into the room and he was on my chest but not in position to feed, then later he was back in his co-sleeper. She assumed I moved him, but I think he did it. I think he moved onto me, then Alicia found him and helped him feed, and when he was done he popped back to his little bed."

"Uh-oh. That could be trouble…" Octavia said.

"You're telling me! I talked to him and told him I want him to stay put when he's supposed to. He thought it was funny, but you're gonna stay put now, aren't you, Alex?" The baby looked at her as if he was listening, tugging on his little ear.

"You think he understands you?" Amelia asked.

"Yeah, I think he understands a lot. Speaking of which…" she held the baby up so he could see them and walked to the table, "Alex, this is Octavia – she's going to be sort of a teacher for you, and so is Amelia. OK? Octavia…. Amelia. I want you to know them because they'll be around a lot and might help take care of you, OK?"

The baby kicked and gurgled and Sookie knew that was a 'yes.' He then surprised everyone by reaching his hand toward Octavia, which she shook a little and said "Hey, there, little vampire," and the baby laughed the cutest little baby laugh. Octavia was tickled pink that he had a positive reaction to her. "Yes, sir, that is going to be some special boy there."

"Yeah, he's advanced, huh? He's doing things an older baby would do, right?"

"Yes, he is. He's more like a 3 month old than a 2 day old, and even at that, he has a very advanced understanding." Octavia was being serious now. "You talk to him a lot and always tell him what's going on and what you need him to do. He's gonna be talkin' back pretty soon, but you talk to him now and help him learn."

"I talk to him most of the time I'm awake. He looks me right in the eye and pays attention – even that's advanced at this age, isn't it?''

"Yes, it sure is. He knows we're talking about him, too – look at those icy blue eyes, all wide and just taking everything in. He's smart, alright, just like his daddy."

The baby threw his arm up and made the "hee" sound he always made for Eric.

"See," Bjorn said, "I told you, he's trying to say "víg."" Octavia looked at him and he explained, "It's the Swedish word for "fight" – I'm sure that's what he tries to say when anyone mentions Eric. It's baby talk, but I can hear it."

The baby gurgled and kicked at the mention of Eric's name.

"Yeah, you get excited when somebody mentions your daddy, don't you, boy?" Octavia asked him. He waved his arms around and giggled again.

"I told you – he's Eric's biggest fan." Sookie laughed. The baby started wiggling and shifting and Sookie realized he was trying to turn towards her. "I think he's hungry, excuse me." She shifted him in her arms and opened the dress so he could reach her and he latched on enthusiastically.

"He's a fan of Mama, too, child, and don't you forget that. You're always gonna be the center of his world, even if he does make over Daddy." Octavia assured her and Sookie smiled at the baby who was looking up at her the way he did when she fed him.

"Yeah, I told Eric he might be HIS SON but he was ALWAYS going to be MY BABY." Sookie laughed and everyone laughed with her. Octavia reached into her pocket and took out a little red leather bag.

"This is to protect him. It's got your hair and Eric's braided together, along with some roots and herbs. You keep it near him or where he sleeps. Tuck it in there with him now and keep it on him tonight."

"Alright, Octavia, I will."

The doorbell rang and Margaret headed for the front door. The cars had arrived and it was time to begin loading everyone's luggage. Bjorn directed the men in what went with which vehicle and he was informed by one of the guards that one of the vans had 4 vampire guards who would be out as soon as the sun went down. The vehicles were lined up along the road in front of the house and Bjorn backed Sookie's car out of the garage and put it into the middle of the procession. He confirmed that the other drivers knew they would be stopping at Fangtasia first and he went back in the house just as the sun began to set.

"Hello, everyone!" Eric came into the kitchen where everyone was talking. He had already showered and dressed so his hair was wet.

"HI, Sweetie!" Sookie gave him a dazzling smile and he gave her a long, deep kiss.

He pressed his forehead to Sookie's, "Hello, my lovely wife. Have you had a good day today?"

"I slept late and just got dressed, so yeah, I guess I have," she laughed. The baby started wiggling and fussing,"Oops, somebody else wants to say "hi," Daddy!" She pulled the baby up out of the sling and let Eric take him, as she held the charm in her hand. "This is the charm Octavia made for him."

"Thank you for doing that, Octavia." Eric gave Octavia a big smile. He held the baby high and looked him right in the eye, smiling. "Hello, my son! Have you been a good boy for your mother today?"

"We'll need to talk about that…" Sookie said.

"What did he do?" Eric could tell there was something up as he brought him to his chest and snuggled and kissed him.

She whispered to Eric, "I think he teleported twice today."

"You think? You are not sure?"

"Alicia found him on my chest when I was asleep. She helped him get into position to feed and then later when she came back to check on him he was back in his little crib. She thought I moved him in my sleep but I'm pretty sure it was him."

"We'll have to watch him very carefully." Eric said, knowing he was stating the obvious.

"I told him he needed to stay put and that we were going on a trip and he needed to be sure he stayed right next to me or Daddy."

"That is right, Eric Alexander, you must stick close to me and to Mommy to be safe, alright? If Mommy puts you to bed, you must stay there until she or Alicia or Bobbie comes for you."

"Sookie, you are forgetting something…" Bjorn interjected.

"Oh, yeah, he's immune to sunlight."

"What?!" Eric was shocked – shocked that he was immune but also shocked that she knew this already. He looked from the baby, to her, then back to the baby, staring at him.

"I found out by accident, but then I took him outside and it's true – sunlight has no effect on him."

"That's… That's…" Eric didn't know what he wanted to say. Was he happy or not?

"He's still a vampire, Eric, he still has fangs and drinks blood, he just has one less weakness than most vamps do." Bjorn put it into perspective for him.

Eric considered this and then nodded, "yes, that's true. A vampire without that weakness is a very good thing. He can move about in the sun. I don't want this widely known, though – keep this among our group as much as possible. People will know him as a vampire and assume he cannot be in the light. That could give him an advantage at some point."

"Well, he'll be out with me tomorrow…"

"Just don't advertise it. Keep him in your sling and shield him a little as if it concerns you, alright?"

"Alright."

"We should all load into the vehicles and be on our way. We're on a tight schedule." Bjorn ushered them all outside and settled them into their vehicles. Alicia helped Sookie get into the car and gave her the diaper bag, showing her where the bottles and all were located in case she needed them. She gave Eric his sling to use with the baby later on and showed them how the latch on the car seat worked.

Once they were all in their vehicles, Bjorn got into the driver's seat of Sookie's car and another guard got in on the passenger side. Sookie recognized him as the bomb screener.

"You're Jerry, right?"

"Yes, your majesty, Jerry Kerik."

"Well, it's nice to see you. You'll be going with us, too? That's great. I like having people I know around us."

"Yes, ma'am it's good to have people you can depend on." He smiled back at her. He really liked this Queen. She was such a doll.

"I thought you just did bombs?" Sookie continued.

"I can handle all aspects of protection, but explosives are my specialty. They wanted me to stick close and make sure there are no problems this trip."

"Kerik is a good man," Bjorn looked at Eric in the rearview mirror, "He'll check the float out before take your family near it and he's already been over this car."

"Good planning." Eric nodded, he was pleased that they were thinking ahead this way. "I understand there's some concern about FOTS interference. Those cowards like to blow things up." Eric was remembering the night at Fangtasia when he killed all those terrorists.

"That's because they don't dare take you on directly, your majesty, they know they would lose." Bjorn agreed with him. "Nobody gets near your family while we're on the job, right, Jerry?" He turned on the car and the procession started slowly down the street.

"That's right. We've got you all covered."

Sookie settled in, her hand on the baby, her shoulder against Eric's as they both leaned in over the baby in his seat between them. He sucked his thumb and watched them with big eyes.

"He's so gorgeous – do all mothers think their babies are this gorgeous?" Sookie wondered aloud.

"Probably, but in our case, it happens to be true. He is an exceptionally beautiful baby." Eric laughed and Sookie joined him. The baby wiggled and laughed when they did, and Sookie cleaned some drool off his cute little chin, just beaming at him. Eric looked at her as she watched the baby. They both fascinated him. Nothing had captured his imagination in all his long life the way Sookie had, and now she had given him this miraculous son, this beautiful little creature with his sharp little fangs and big blue eyes. Eric thought that he needed to make an offering of thanks to Freya for creating this life for him. She had given him things he would have never dared dream of and he needed to express his appreciation.

Sookie felt the wave of love and gratitude in the bond, and looked up at Eric. She smiled at him and stretched her face up so he could kiss her, and he did, for a long, long time. The baby kicked and giggled, and Sookie and Eric laughed and Eric turned toward the window so Sookie wouldn't see bloody tears in his eyes, but she knew what he was feeling. He knew what she was feeling, too – huge, warm, unconditional love for him as well as for the baby and that only made him want to cry even more.

He decided to change the topic so he called the New Orleans office to confirm that payment for the photographs had been received.

"How much did they pay for this?" Sookie asked.

"$500,000. That will go into Eric Alexander's trust fund."

"OK, cool. Hear that, baby boy? You're already rich!' Sookie laughed.

In no time at all the caravan pulled into the back lot at Fangtasia, and Pam met them all at the back door. There was one car in the lot that Sookie figured must belong to the photographer.

"Hey, Pam!" Sookie said, Eric following her with the baby in his sling. Alicia followed him so she could touch up Sookie's makeup.

"Hello, Sookie. Master – you have strapped him to yourself?"

"This is a baby carrier. It keeps them close and helps them feel loved."

"I thought maybe you were afraid you would forget it." She said in an absolute dead-pan and Sookie wasn't sure if she was kidding or not.

Alicia's eyes got big when she saw Pam. "Alicia, this is my business partner, Pam. Pam, this is Sookie's maid." Eric said, silently enjoying the idea of a human walking into this part of his world for the first time.

"Hello." Pam purred at her. Alicia managed to respond but she was a bit overwhelmed by the ambiance of this place – the red walls, the macabre decorations. They all went into the main room of the club where Pam had the photographer set up to photograph them in Eric's chair. The lights were already in place and the photographer was glad to see some other humans. Pam introduced the man as Alan Smith. He and Alicia exchanged a "what the hell" sort of look of sympathy with each other and Alicia touched up Sookie's makeup after she saw how the light reflected her look. She decided to darken her lipstick a lot and add a little eyeliner and she did that while Eric used Sookie's brush on his hair and laid the baby carrier on one of the tables. Pam held the baby rather uneasily as Eric brushed his hair and was relieved when he took him back.

Once Eric and Sookie were coiffed and painted, Eric sat in his throne-like chair and Sookie sat on his lap, the two of them holding the baby in front of them. They looked the perfect little vampire family – Sookie in a dark red dress and red lipstick, Eric in a blood red silk shirt, the baby in a little red onesie Alicia had chosen for him to match Eric and Sookie's clothes. The photographer took at least a dozen shots with minor adjustments in between and he showed them to Eric on his laptop. Eric had final approval on which shot to use, and the photographer agreed with him on which shot was the best.

"I don't know how to ask you this, sir… I mean, your majesty… but… does the baby have… fangs?" The man was obviously scared to death of Eric.

"Yes, he has tiny little ones – very sharp. Would you like to see them?" Eric relished every chance to show them off.

"Could I… would you consider letting me photograph them?"

Eric was delighted at the idea. "Yes – splendid idea! I'd love to have a picture of them!"

"I was thinking maybe one close-up and then one of you and he together – like father, like son, both showing your fangs…"

Eric laughed loudly and patted the man on the back. He loved this idea. He took the baby from Sookie and headed back to his chair. The photographer moved in close and Eric held the baby up and stuck his finger in the baby's mouth and the little fangs popped down. Then he tickled his chin to make him laugh and Smith quickly snapped the shot. Then Eric popped his fangs and held the baby up close to his face. Almost on cue the baby bared his fangs and the photographer got an outstanding shot of the two of them.

Eric was beside himself when he saw them and took the man's business card. They reached an agreement on a few prints for Eric's own collection and the photographer was invited back to Fangtasia for a free drink some night and Eric gave him a couple of free passes so he could bring a date. Before they were even out in the car, the photos were electronically transmitted to the magazine and subsequently to the wire services. By the time they arrived in New Orleans, all of the press would know that the coveted shots had already been taken.

As they pulled out of the parking lot, Sookie asked Eric, "Sweetie, were the fang shots a good idea? I thought we were supposed to represent a new face for the vampire community?"

"That face is still going to have fangs in it, my dear. Did you not like the photos?"

"I loved them – they were really cute, but some people will find them scary. I don't want you in any trouble with the Council…"

"We'll be fine, my angel. How could anyone expect a vampire father not to take pride in his son's fangs?!"

Sookie cracked up. "Good point – no pun intended," and she kept laughing.

Eric didn't really see what was so funny, but he didn't think much about it because Sookie's laughing got the baby started laughing and that enthralled both of them. They were beside themselves watching him giggle and play with his feet and chew on his fist. Sookie let out a big yawn and Eric remembered Alicia saying she should sleep if she could so Eric insisted that she sit back with the little pillow under her head and cover up with the blanket. She was asleep in no time, and the men in the car talked softly so as not to disturb her.

It was after 11 when they rolled into New Orleans and they went straight to the address Bill had given them in the Quarter. The cars were taken around the corner for parking and Bjorn and Kerik accompanied Sookie and Eric, who had the baby back in the Baby Bjorn carrier, into a small trailer where Sookie would change for the parade. Eric told Bjorn that they needed Alicia because she had Sookie's crown and Alicia was escorted into the trailer where Eric had to sit on the couch because he couldn't stand up in the tiny vehicle.

"Oh. My. Goddess." Eric heard Sookie say in the back where Alicia was helping her dress. He also heard Alicia laughing. "This has got to be a joke?" Sookie yelled.

There was a knock at the door and Bill came in. "Good evening, Eric. Is Sookie almost ready?"

"I don't know. Sookie! Are you almost ready, my angel? Bill is here."

"Bill, is this a joke?"

"Is what a joke?"

"This dress – you really want me to wear this in public?"

"What's wrong with it? You should look like a mermaid."

Sookie came out of the back and Eric let out a loud wolf whistle. The dress was tighter than anything she had ever worn and her breasts were spilling over the pink sequined push up cups of it. The rest of it was in various patterns of blue, green and aqua sequins and it was split up to her hip. It was nearly backless except for two pink chiffon straps that crossed in the back and tied in a large bow over her backside.

"I look like a saloon girl in Hell's version of a Wild West bar."

"Yes, exactly, Sookie – it's supposed to be over the top sexy – it's a Mardi Gras costume." Bill didn't understand her objections.

"It's not Mardi Gras, Bill. I look like a… like a tart."

Eric was trying not to laugh out loud.

"You actually look very sexy, dear…" Alicia tried to make her feel better.

"What the hell do mermaids have to do with vampires, anyway?" Sookie whined, "Isn't this a vampire parade?"

"It's sort of a vampire pride event, yes, but it's still New Orleans – mermaids are sexy." Bill was still not getting it.

"Eric – do you really want people to see your wife this way?" Sookie asked incredulously.

"I not only want people to see you that way, I want you to take it home so you can wear it for me privately." Eric wiggled his eyebrows and laughed.

"You won't be the only one in costume, Sookie – there's a whole parade of people in over the top costumes." Bill still wasn't getting it, and he handed a dry cleaning bag with a hanger in it to Eric.

"What is this, Bill?" Eric asked.

"Well, they thought you would want to wear a matching shirt."

"Please, Goddess, let it be covered in sequins…" Sookie said wryly.

Eric pulled out the shirt – a gorgeous aqua silk shirt that would look amazing on him. It matched some of the sequins in Sookie's dress perfectly, but it was very nice and would make Eric look amazing.

"Oh, great. I'm gonna look like a tramp and you're going to look like dessert."

"Now, Sookie, it's really not that bad. Let Alicia put your crown in your hair and let's get going. You'll smile beautifully, wave at the people, and we'll be home in bed before you know it. At least it's not very hot tonight so you won't be sweaty."

"That's good because this thing weighs about a hundred pounds."

"Sookie, really…" Bill started, but Alicia spoke up.

"It is a VERY heavy dress. Does she at least get to sit down?"

"Yes, you'll be sitting in a clam shell and Eric will be standing beside you with the baby.

"That's assuming I CAN sit down in this thing – didn't they know I was pregnant, Bill?"

"Yes, but they took it in because you had the baby and made it sexier."

"Well, I'm glad I had the baby because pregnant I'd look like a whale in all these sequins."

"That was one of the reasons they put so much emphasis on your breasts – they they'd distract people with your abundance of cleavage."

Sookie just glared at Bill but she let Alicia put her crown on and then relented to letting her add some false eyelashes and fresh lipstick.

Bill was listening to the headset he was wearing. "Alright the parade has begun. They say Bourbon Street is teeming with humans and vampires and shifters. We need to get you in place soon so your float can go in turn."

Bjorn knocked on the door then and looked in "We've been over the float – it's clean. Kerik is watching it until I get you there."

"What are you going to do in the parade, Bjorn?" Sookie asked from behind Alicia.

"I'm wearing all black so I won't show up and I'll be sort of under it but where I can get to you if I need to. I'll be right there with you guys."

"Oh, good. I hate the idea of being out there with no protection."

"There's protection everywhere, Sookie. We have flyers on half a dozen rooftops and snipers on two. There's vampire security moving through the crowd and none of these vamps is going to let anybody mess with their new royal family. Anyone who causes trouble tonight is already dead, they just don't know it." Bjorn assured her.

"Is there any FOTS presence?" Eric asked as he changed his shirt and put the baby back into place.

"Yes, there's a small demonstration along the parade route and they're all being watched closely. It's not likely they'll try anything but if they do, we're ready."

"Alright, I'm ready – let's get this parade over with." Sookie said.

"My angel, you look stunning."

"Don't try to make me feel better about this, Eric."

"I'm not…"

"DAMN!" Bjorn saw Sookie for the first time as she stood up.

"See that, Sookie? Bjorn's jaw is on the floor. I'm not humoring you, you look amazing." Eric assured her.

"Really? I don't look stupid, Bjorn?"

"No ma'am, you don't look stupid at all." Bjorn said, trying to regain his composure. He was glad he and Eric had reached an understanding because if they hadn't, he was sure Eric would have torn his throat out just then. What the fuck was wrong with him, reacting that way? She's a MOTHER for Freya's sake! He was going to be seeing those huge – and they were huge now – breasts in his dreams for days now, not to mention that perfect leg that was bare up to her hip.

Bill and Bjorn led the way to the float and Bobbie, Amelia, Octavia and Pam were waiting there for them. Alicia joined the group as they all bragged on how sexy Sookie looked.

"What are you all going to do?" Sookie asked.

"We're going to take a couple of guards with us and get a spot on the parade route to watch, then we'll meet you back here after the parade."

"Pam, you have the address for the residence in case anything goes wrong?" Eric wanted to be sure.

"Yes, Master, I'll be sure they're safe and if anything goes wrong, I'll get them there safely."

"I knew I could count on you," Eric smiled and winked at her.

The float was a drag queen's wet dream, covered with flowers both real and fake glued to every inch of it. The seashell Sookie would be sitting in was made almost entirely of pink roses and she had a little swing that she managed to sit on after she hiked the dress up a little, exposing her entire leg. Eric whistled again and wiggled his eyebrows at her and she just laughed, because there was nothing else she could do. This was part of her job as Queen and she made a commitment to do what he needed her to do.

"What's up with the swing?" She asked Eric as Bjorn took his place in front of and below them.

"Girls on swings are sexy," Eric explained.

"They are?" She looked at him and he nodded. She looked to Bjorn and he nodded deeply and slowly to show his emphatic agreement.

"This is a dick thing, isn't it?" She said to them.

Bjorn cracked up, but Eric said, half-joking "Sookie, I asked you never to use that phrase again, but yes, my love, it is."

"OK, just checking. Men are like a completely different species sometimes, ya know?"

"We feel the same way about women," Bjorn said and Eric laughed and agreed.

"What do we do if the baby gets hungry?" Sookie asked.

"I've got the diaper bag right here," Bjorn said, "Eric can give him a bottle."

"Cool. I mean, I don't have a lot of hang-ups about breast feeding but I'd rather not haul them out in front of the entire French Quarter. I'm going to be taking enough chances waving in this dress – I'll be lucky if I don't end up flashing you, Bjorn."

Bjorn closed his eyes and shook his head and made himself promise not to think about the idea of Sookie popping out of her dress. Eric knew what Bjorn was thinking and was amused by it. He liked knowing that his wife had that effect on other men, as long as he was in control of who touched her and when. Anyone who challenged his ownership, of course, was a dead man. This went without saying. The float started moving and they began to hear the music and the cheering of the crowd. The baby got a little fussy but Eric talked to him and he calmed down, staring up at him with complete trust.

It was about 10 minutes before they turned onto Bourbon Street for the long drive down. They had been told it would take about 30 minutes and there was a huge carnival atmosphere going on all around them. Sookie kind of enjoyed waving at people and seeing the marching bands and the clowns and acrobats that were dancing around the float in the street. People were screaming their names: "Queen Sookie, over here!" Girls were screaming "King Eric!" and there were people chanting "Hail to the Prince!" It was thrilling

About 15 minutes into the drive, in the epicenter of the parade, Eric spoke.

"My angel?"

"Yes, my husband?" She was being sassy – Eric loved that.

"You are enjoying this."

"Yeah, I have to admit, it's kind of fun."

They were still laughing when all hell broke loose.

The first Molotov cocktail hit a float about 50 yards in front of them and the second one hit right behind where Bjorn was kneeling. At almost the same moment, three arrows hit the float where Eric had been standing with the baby, but he had grabbed Sookie on his way down to his back on the floor, keeping Sookie and the Baby above him until they hit, then Bjorn grabbed Sookie and the float stopped as the four of them abandoned ship. Guards surrounded them as they ran back toward the area they came from, but then took them down a side street to a strategically placed van.

There was bedlam in the streets – vampires were swooping down on would-be assassins on tops of buildings and in the street, there was shooting, people were running and screaming, the fire department was desperately trying to get to the floats before they exploded. Only the presence of so many vampires in the crowd kept people from being trampled. Enough of them moved quickly enough to keep people from falling underneath the crowds.

Alicia and Octavia both yelled "OH, NO!" when the bomb hit the float in front of Sookie and they couldn't tell if they got off the float or not. The security assigned to them surrounded them and tried to move them down a side street, though they all wanted to go back to see if Sookie and the baby made it off the float. One of the guards yelled "Short cut!" and they understood that he was taking them back to the beginning but not the obvious way. As they reached an alley, the women saw the van the guards had traveled in parked with a driver already in place and the motor running. They helped the women into the van, two of them got into the front of the van and the other 5 ran back to join in the fight if there was one.

"You all know what to do?" Pam asked.

"Yes, Sheriff, we have a contingency plan." The van peeled out and down a side street.

"Good. Everybody relax. Eric is alright and if he's alright, that means Sookie and the baby are alright." Pam assured them.

Amelia nodded to Bobbie, Alicia and Octavia that Pam would know whether Eric was OK or not, just as the driver spoke up. "The royal family is secure, ladies, so breathe easily."

'Thank god!" Alicia said. "They're sure of that?"

"Yes, ma'am, that's our number one priority – they're already a mile away from here. We're going to meet them at a spot away from the residence, then our team will scout the residence to be sure it's safe. We have people watching there anyway, but it's just to make sure there aren't more teams."

"Teams?" Amelia asked.

"Yes, ma'am, attack teams of terrorists. We've counted 5 teams so far, so they'll make sure there aren't back-ups at the residence before we take any of you there."

"Five teams?! How could they get so many?"

"FOTS probably brought people in from all over the country. This was a well-publicized event, so we were prepared for trouble. There was a ton of security out there. We brought people in from all over the country, too." He said and the other guards laughed and confirmed that they did.

After driving a few minutes, the van pulled into a parking lot and around behind a bar called CrawDaddy's Swamp according to the neon sign but there was a large CLOSED FOR BUSINESS sign on the front door. There were other vehicles they recognized, including Sookie's car. Everyone piled into the back of the bar, except for two guards who took sentry duty out back.

Bobbie was first in line as they filed through the back hallway of the bar and when they entered the main room she suddenly heard her name in stereo and realized that Bjorn and Bill both called her name and started toward her at the same time. She panicked and said "Where's the ladies' room?" and Sookie, who was sitting on the bar feeding the baby in her sequined dress, pointed the way, knowing Bobbie just needed not to deal with the two men in her life right now. Bill and Bjorn looked at each other but neither said anything, the tension between them palpable.

Eric knew exactly what was going on and shrugged as Bill looked at him, biting his tongue to keep from saying "I told you so" to Bill. Eric heard every detail of the activity in Bobbie's room the past couple of nights and he figured Bill had created that mess himself. Eric had learned centuries ago that stringing a woman along for your own convenience didn't last long – they'd always find someone who'd give them the attention they deserved if you didn't. If you cared about them at all, you'd better make damned sure they knew it. If you didn't care about them, it didn't matter, of course, but if you did, you'd better figure it out early enough to make sure they didn't find someone more attentive. You were much better off starting out with a woman who can't stand you but is attracted to you, as he did with Sookie, than a woman who started out in love with you and then found you unwilling to commit when she felt it was time. Love could turn to contempt pretty quickly if a woman felt unappreciated and Eric didn't consider Bill appreciative enough of what he had with Bobbie. He had known she was in love with him and took her for granted – a classic mistake a vamp, even one as young as Bill, should know better than to make, especially when Eric warned him what was happening. Eric liked Bobbie and she was important to Sookie, so whatever made Bobbie happy was going to be important to Eric. He liked working with Bill, but Bobbie was becoming family to Sookie, and so was Bjorn. Sookie's happiness was Eric's number one priority, even with the baby in the picture.

"I'm so relieved to see you're all alright!" Alicia said to Eric, who actually gave her a brief hug then let her make a beeline to Sookie and the baby. Alicia's protective instincts were in full force and she wanted to see for herself that Sookie and the baby were unharmed.

"Come in, everyone, sit down." Eric said, "Have a drink, on the house. I own this establishment, which is why it is closed tonight. We had thought we might need it for just this purpose."

Bjorn headed around the bar and got a beer, and asked the others what they wanted. He had been a bar back/bouncer just long enough to know his way around a bar. Another van of soldiers arrived – these were more than guards, Sookie realized when they were whisking them away from the parade – and their leader approached Eric to show him the 3 arrows they had retrieved from the float.

Eric motioned to Bjorn and he followed them into the office of the bar.

"I don't want Sookie to know too much of this," Eric began, "She'll worry herself sick over it. What do you have to report?"

"I thought you would want to see these arrows your majesty."

"Why?"

"They're tipped with silver. They weren't sure wood would be enough to kill a vampire/human hybrid baby."

"They were trying to kill my son?"

"Both of you, actually. Did you see the signs some of them had?"

"I saw many signs."

"The ones that said "Spawn of Satan?"

"Yes?"

"Well, they're not really exaggerating, at least not in their minds. They've decided that there's something sinister that has allowed you to reproduce and they're on a mission to make sure he doesn't grow up and you don't produce another."

"You got this from one of the attackers?"

"Three of them by different sets of our teams. Along the route, there were three teams of two with crossbows, they were all killed by our flyers. Our snipers got the two bombers and the seconds of those teams were apprehended trying to escape."

"So five teams of two?"

"That's all we have so far, but we have our teams following their trails back to hotels and such to see what else we can find out."

"They're all dead?"

"Of course, your majesty, once we were sure we had all the information we could get from them. They don't last long under real torture, these humans."

"No, they don't. When will we be cleared to go to the residence?"

"I'd suggest we wait here for at least two hours in case we're being followed. By that time, trails will have been followed and our entire force can concentrate on protecting the residence once we get you there."

"Alright – any collateral damage?"

"A few injuries from the stampede, minor burns, and the crowd turned on that group of FOTS carrying signs."

"Turned on them?"

"Yes, but there's no evidence of it to be found. They'll never be heard from again, but there's no physical evidence anyone can find to connect it to vampires. We destroyed all the surveillance tapes that were operational along the route from the point that the bombs hit forward. There's evidence of what they did, but none of what we did. We made sure of it."

"What about the police?"

"They won't find anything and if they did, it would disappear. Our men on the inside will see to that. The news has already announced this as an anti-vampire terrorist attack by radical FOTS members. It won't make them any friends in this city. They need vampire money here too much for the city to let them get away with this kind of stuff. They'll be lucky if FOTS isn't run completely out of Louisiana."

"I'm getting fed up with these radicals." Eric said with a kind of resolve.

"Yes, your majesty."

"We might have to consider more pro-active measures in the future." He continued.

"Yes, your majesty."

"I'll expect a plan by next week as to what you suggest our next step should be."

"Yes, your majesty. I'll go check on my men and see if there's any further progress."

"Very good."

The officer left Eric and Bjorn in the office. "Eric, are you saying what I think you're saying?"

"I'm saying we aren't going to wait for them to come to us any more. We're going to stop them in the planning stages. There won't be any more picketers at our events. They'll be dealt with much more directly."

"Beginning when?"

"The fundraiser Friday night. No picketers of any kind. They disappear as soon as they show up. They can all be glamoured. Our vampire soldiers will move amongst them and take them out one by one."

"You're declaring war?"

"Not war – think of it as more of a CIA-style program targeted to take out key players. They show up, they never make it back home. A leader steps forward, like a Steve Newlin, we take him out immediately in a way that can't be traced back to us. We've been too tolerant too long. Now we take the fight to them. Someone stands up and identifies themselves as an enemy of vampires, that's exactly how we treat them."

"Are you going to tell Sookie about this new policy?"

"No, of course not. Hopefully it will never touch her. I've said from the beginning I won't tolerate any threat to my family. FOTS has become a significant threat. We've let humans live as if our rules don't matter or even exist. Well, they exist. If a supe tried to kill me or my son, I'd kill them. Now the same applies to humans. No second chances."

"The ones who tried to kill you are dead."

"They had to have help."

"Eric, think about this for a while before you move forward. I have experience with this kind of thing. You shouldn't go into it right after an assassination attempt. Get some distance and let's talk about it in a week or so."

"There will be NO protesters Friday night."

"Alright, that's doable, but consider carefully before going after Newlin."

"Alright. Let's get through this week end, then we'll revisit the idea."

"Good. I'm not saying I disagree with it, I'm just saying there needs to be some distance before you act on this."

"Alright. I need to get back to my wife and my baby."

When they went back out to the bar, Sookie was putting the top of her dress back in place as Alicia held the baby. Eric lifted Sookie down off the bar where he had put her earlier and then he took the baby from Alicia, hugging him to his chest and kissing his head. Sookie didn't have to ask – she could feel what Eric was feeling in the bond and she knew it meant that the terrorists had been aiming at the baby. She wouldn't question Eric about it because she knew he wouldn't want to worry her. There was no point in putting him in a position where he might have to lie to her. She knew enough about vampires to know that if Eric knew the baby had been a target, this wasn't over – not by a long shot. She was surprised that the prospect didn't bother her at all. If someone wanted to harm her child, she wanted them dead. She didn't put it together, but she had had enough of Eric's blood to make her maternal instinct her strongest drive. Her human training would take a back seat to her instinct to protect her child at all costs. Just as Eric was taking on some of her human traits, she was taking on some vampire traits. She wasn't being turned, just intensified. Eric's blood was turning up the volume on Sookie's primal nature and that would be a distinct advantage in years to come.

Sookie, Amelia, Bobbie, Alicia and Octavia sat around chatting while the guards moved in and out and Eric, Bill. Pam and Bjorn consulted with them. A cook was on duty so the humans and shifters were served hot wings and fries and a few other things while they waited for the clearance to go to the residence. Bobbie reminded Bjorn that he should eat while he could, too, which was good because he wouldn't have thought about it.

Once they were given the all clear, they piled back into the vehicles and were taken to the residence in the Garden District of the city. Bill had the cars stop in front of the house so Sookie and her friends could go in the front door and get the full effect. All the lights were on so they could see inside and outside.

The front door was modest except for the two Greek columns on either side and a lovely front porch, but when they stepped through the front door, Sookie couldn't believe her eyes. The front room was huge – there was a seating area to the left and farther back a fancy, full-sized pool table. To the right was a huge formal dining area with the longest table Sookie had ever seen, surrounded by cream-colored upholstered chairs that would look good in a sitting room. Sookie had never seen such chairs at a dining table. There was a huge curving staircase that went up to the back, and the landing on the stairs had real stained glass in the window.

"Holy smoke!" was all Sookie managed to say.

"It's an historical landmark," Bill explained, "and it used to be a Catholic church. Victor acquired it from an authoress who made her money writing vampire novels back before the Great Revelation. Come through the kitchen and look out back." Bill led the ladies through a huge, state of the art kitchen and out onto the porches that stretched around back of the house. "There's a formal, French garden here and if you come down here, there's the swimming pool. The garage is out back there."

Sookie couldn't believe how beautiful it was back there. There were even tea lights floating in the pool so she could see better. She had never seen anything like this. The pool was a long rectangular one that fit into the L shape of the house.

"Are there balconies upstairs, too?" she asked.

"Yes, every bedroom has a balcony and there's a sitting area upstairs that leads to a balcony out front." Bill explained, "There are 6 bedrooms, a parlor with a fireplace and piano, and the third floor is its own little apartment with two bedrooms. There's an elevator up to the second floor or you can access these bedrooms from these steps here from the outside. Bobbie, that far room on the top is our room. Bjorn is in the room above and to the right. I thought Alicia would take the downstairs bedroom and Octavia and Amelia, you'll be in the little apartment upstairs and there's a place for Pam there as well. I'll have one of the guards show you the way up there. It's fully stocked and you'll each have your own room."

"We're going to turn in – you say there's food up there?" Octavia asked.

"Yes, you should have everything you need." Bill motioned to a guard to show them to the third floor.

"We'll see you tomorrow, Sookie!" Amelia called.

"'K, good night! This is not a house, it's a mansion! I can't wait to see it in daylight!" Sookie ran up the outside stairs to the balconies and cut through so she could see the upstairs. Eric was hanging back, holding the baby in his carrier and thinking intently about Sookie's reaction to the house. He had never seen her so excited. Bill followed her up to the second floor and showed her the bedroom she and Eric would be in with the fancy closet and huge bathroom. She ran down the winding staircase and went back through the house to find the parlor, which was done in shades of burgundy and pink with beautiful over-stuffed leather furnishings. Bill could hardly keep up with her. He showed her the spa on the first floor with its huge tub surrounded by Greek columns and she was blown away.

Eric was thinking intently about this. He hadn't anticipated such a positive reaction in Sookie. He was sitting at the dining table, talking to the baby and thinking when Bill came back down.

"What do you think, Eric?" Bill pulled out a chair next to him at the dining table.

"About what, Bill?"

"Well, I know you offered this property to me, but the reason I never agreed to take it is I wanted Sookie to see it first. Bobbie and I both felt that this would be a place Sookie would enjoy, much more than I ever would. Security would be a bit difficult, but I thought even if you buy an estate outside of New Orleans, you might want to keep this place for staying in town. It's a Southern girl's dream. You see how excited she is. She'll only be more so when she sees it in the day light and gets the full effect of the gardens, the fountain and especially that swimming pool."

"It is impressive. And I have never seen her react this way to anything material. She's like a little girl," he said, almost to himself, looking directly into the baby's eyes.

"Don't you want to see the rest of the house?"

"I've seen everything I need to see. I saw it in her face when we came up the steps into the front door. She obviously belongs in this house."

"You're still going to look at other properties, though?"

"Yes, I am, but I have a feeling that even if we buy something outside of town, she'll want to be here. I won't even consider selling it out from under her. I finally have a way to give her something that she always wanted."

"I thought you might feel that way. I'm glad we agree. This house is Sookie all over."

Sookie ran back into the kitchen and looked in the freezer and refrigerator and found it stocked with RMs, so she took three back out to Eric and Bill.

"Hey, Sweetie, look what I found. Let's all have one!" She kissed Eric and kissed the baby on the head.

"You're still drinking these, Sookie?" Bill was surprised.

"Yep, to keep up with what Eric and the baby take."

Eric pulled a chair out so Sookie could sit by him. "Don't you want to see the upstairs, Eric?"

"I'll see it when we go up, my angel. Bill and I have been talking about the disposition of this property."

"Disposition? Are you going to sell it?" She tried not to look disappointed.

"No, Sweetheart, Bill and I were just saying this should be your house. Would you like to live here, my angel?"

"REALLY?! I mean, is it big enough? It's really gorgeous. But… but…"

"But what?"

"It's not going to be easy to defend, is it?"

"We were just discussing that. We're still going to look at other properties, and see if we can find one outside of town that will meet all of our needs, but this can still be our house and we can stay here whenever we want. We'll be traveling a lot to manage our territories. This can easily be one of our homes. We already own it." He stroked her cheek. "I don't think I could bear to sell it after seeing your face when you walked through the door. Bill and I both agree that this is your house, my angel."

"Oh, thank you!" She kissed him hard then kissed him all over his face half a dozen times. The baby laughed and wiggled. "You like it here, too, don't you, Alex?"

The baby gurgled and chewed on his fingers.

"I'll take that as a yes." Sookie laughed.

"Sookie, I think the baby needs you…"

"Fresh diaper?" She laughed. She knew it was about that time.

"Yes, take him, please?" Eric pulled him up out of the harness and Sookie went to find the diaper bag.

"Have you changed a diaper yet, Eric?" Bill asked, knowing the answer.

"It's only been a couple of days but so far I have managed to avoid it. Between Sookie, Bobbie and Alicia, they've had him covered. I'm sure he'll catch me alone with him soon, if we spend many nights together."

"Did you really spend the whole night with him already?"

"Yes, and we got along quite well. He let me call you and Sandy, I got some work done, we spent some time talking and rocking…"

"You actually sat in a chair and rocked him?" Bill couldn't imagine Eric rocking a baby.

"Yes, when I gave him a baby bottle full of RM and when he fussed a little. He's not hard to care for at this stage. He sleeps a lot and he doesn't cry as much as I've always heard they do."

"Wait until his teeth start coming in… that's when they wail all night. Mine were nearly inconsolable at that stage."

"Yours? You had children, Bill?"

"Yes, I did. I loved being a father, though by today's standards I wasn't much of a husband. Things were different in those days. I worked the farm and my wife tended the children and did all the house work, and that's back when it was real work."

"I was always away on a raiding party or fighting. I had children but I barely knew them. None of them was ever old enough to fight and none of the girls were old enough to marry so I had no interest in them before I was turned," Eric remembered, "so it's almost as if I never had them at all. That's the way life was in those days. I like this way much better. I will know my son and he will know me. I will be here to watch him grow. I will be able to focus on him in a way that wasn't possible when I was human. I can't tell you what a relief it is, after a thousand years, to have something different and wonderful to look forward to…"

"Hey, Daddy, we're all fresh now!" Sookie brought the baby back to Eric. "What are you looking forward to?"

"To watching this son of mine grow up and learn to be a vampire. Bill, you never really met Eric Alexander earlier, did you?"

"Uh… no… I…" Bill had been trying to avoid being anywhere near the baby.

Eric turned the baby toward Bill and pointed to Bill. "Eric Alexander, this is Bill. He works with Daddy and he is a vampire as we are. Here, show Bill your fangs, son." Eric stuck a finger in to tickle his upper gums and the little fangs shot down and pierced his finger, which he then displayed proudly.

"That's remarkable!" Bill said. "I can't believe he already has fangs."

"No one expected it, but it makes sense because he needs both blood and milk." Eric explained as his finger healed up.

"Excuse me, Sookie?" Alicia was coming from the kitchen with a glass of milk and a plate. "I'm going to be turning in soon, but I thought you should have something else to eat. I put the baby's things up in your room and the little baby bed is all set up next to your side of the bed. There are two bottles of RM up there and the bottle warmer is on the dresser. Your clothes are in the closet and your things are in the bathroom for the morning."

"Oh, wow – thank you for doing all that, Alicia."

"My pleasure dear. I'm going to get some sleep now so I can be up to help with the baby in a few hours."

"I know this is really late for you – sleep in if you need to. I'll take care of feeding the baby. I can handle it."

"I'll see you in the morning, dear. Good night, Baby E. Good night, everyone!"

"Thank you for your help, Alicia." Eric said very sincerely. Alicia was worth every penny of her considerable salary as far as Eric was concerned. He didn't want to think of how Sookie would manage without her. Not that he doubted her ability to do it, but she would be under considerably more stress and that wouldn't be good for any of them.

"I should go check on Bobbie – if you don't mind, I'll say good night, now." Bill excused himself and headed up the stairs as Bjorn came in through the kitchen. Eric could smell Bobbie on him, but didn't say anything.

"Eric, all the guards are in place and the new shift will be on at 5:30. I'm going to turn in, if you don't mind, since I have to drive Sookie and Alicia around tomorrow."

"Bill gave you the information on the properties they're going to look at?"

"Yes, I've got the list and the name of the real estate agent, and Kerik will be here to go with us."

"Very good. Thank you for your help tonight, Bjorn. Good night."

"Good night, Bjorn – thanks for everything!" Sookie said, looking up from her turkey sandwich, chips and milk. "We need to turn in pretty soon, Eric – this stuff is going to make me sleepy."

"My angel, as soon as you are done, I plan to whisk you upstairs, tuck the baby into his little bed and make love to you as I have never done before."

"With the baby in the room?! Eric…"

"He will be asleep and we will be very quiet – or at least we'll try. We don't have a lot of time before I have to go to rest."

"Well, I'm done, so let's go to bed. I need some skin-to-skin time with you, too. It's been days since we even cuddled."

"You've been busy giving birth," Eric laughed.

"Yeah, well, you know what else we haven't done in a few days?"

"No, what?"

"Blood exchange – we need to make sure we do that. Let me put this in the sink."

"Leave it and let's go up. Alicia will get it in the morning."

The three of them made their way up the winding staircase, Eric and Sookie holding hands. Sookie felt like she was in a movie going up those grand stairs with this beautiful man. She showed Eric into the room which had a huge bed and a really fancy coffin big enough for two off to the side. Eric was glad to see a heavy door and thick walls, so sound wouldn't travel to well if they got a little loud, though he didn't intend to do a lot tonight – tomorrow night, however, was a different story. He pulled the baby out of the carrier and gave him a snuggle and a kiss then passed him to Sookie who kissed him and cooed at him a little and tucked him into the portable crib. Eric was stripped and in bed waiting for her before she had the baby in the bed, and she laughed at him.

"In a hurry, are we?"

"Yes, we are – dawn approaches. I'm surprised you aren't in a bigger hurry to get out of that dress."

"I had considered doing a little strip tease, but if you're in a hurry…"

"No, no, that's alright – tease away, my angel."

Sookie laughed and started singing a tune and doing a little bump and grind on her way around to his side of the bed, flashing a little cleavage one minute, and her entire leg the next. When she reached him, she turned her back, flipped her hair and thrust her backside out to him, and right on cue he untied the pink straps of the dress. She kept singing and wiggling as he slowly pulled down the zipper at the back of the dress, then she turned and did a little tease about dropping the top of the dress, finally dropping her top and wiggling the dress down off her body, taking her panties with it so it was one smooth movement from dressed to bare. Eric let out a low growl of pleasure as she pulled the covers back off of him and before she knew what was happening he had grabbed her by the waist, swung her over him to her side of the bed, then he was on top of her in the blink of an eye, kissing her so hard and so long she gasped for breath when he pulled back to let her breathe.

He was using all 1,000 years of skill on these kisses tonight and his hands were everywhere. A question flashed through her mind – can hands be hungry? Because if they can, his were starving as they stroked and explored every inch of her. His fingers found her center as he continued to take her breath with his kisses. She was writhing beneath him as he began to nip at her shoulders and breasts, fucking her with his fingers, stretching her wide and circling her clit with is thumb. She was shaking all over.

"Are you cold, my lover?"

"No," she managed to say breathlessly,

"Mmmmm – then you are aroused," he purred into her ear and then ran his tongue around her ear. She couldn't keep from moaning now and he quickly but smoothly replaced his fingers with another, much larger part of himself and she gasped as he filled her, then slowly stroked in and out, giving her the full measure of him with each stroke, hooking his hand behind one of her knees and pulling her leg up so he could take her more deeply. She was trying so hard not to make any noise, but she just couldn't help it. It was too deep, and too good and she felt as if she could feel him in her throat. He began to take her very aggressively and Sookie didn't know how she would keep from screaming. It was building, and building and she was just trying not to cry out every time he hit home. She reached up and grabbed the headboard shaking her head wildly back and forth. She didn't want to scream so she started talking: "Eric, oh, god, I love you, oh, ERIC!" And then her words just melted into "Ah, Ah, Ah, Ah" as he was spurred on by what she had said. When he could tell she was RIGHT THERE he bit her breast savagely and she had an orgasm that was like an explosion in her brain. She wondered if you could die from an orgasm, though who would care, this was totally worth the risk. Waves of it rolled through her and she was so limp that she flopped like a rag doll when he flipped her over and entered her from behind, then tore his wrist and held it to her lips, pressing her back into him. His blood almost instantly started another orgasm in her and he was obviously about to reach his release but he managed to hold it off until she was in the throws so they came together in a shimmer of cool blue light, then collapsed together, unable to speak for a good ten minutes. As she was starting to come around she realized that he was very gently kissing her along her shoulders. He smoothed the hair away from her ear and whispered "I love you, my beautiful wife"

and she smiled but found she couldn't lift her head.

"I love you, too, Eric. The baby…?"

"Slept through the whole thing, my angel." He had shifted off of her and was gently stroking her back. "I think it soothes him when we are together. Remember he always slept when he was inside you and we made love? It calms him."

"He's tied into our bond – he probably gets as blissed out as we do," she laughed softly. Eric gently pulled the covers up over her and turned the light off. "You have to go to rest now?"

"Soon, but you will be asleep before I go. I'll lie with you until the sun comes up. You drift off now, lover, and I will see you at sundown."

"Ok" was all she managed to say before sleep took her. Eric lay with her listening to her breathe as long as he could, then went to rest in the large box in the room.


	71. Chapter 71

[ Author's Note: Sorry this one took so long, but it was the chapter that just wouldn't

end. It got longer and longer and I was sweating blood trying to

finish it. Now be kind, and be patient, because I need a day off

before I start the next one. Enjoy! Morgaine]

**Chapter 71**

WAAAHHHHH – HHHHHHH!!!

Sookie's eyes flew open as Eric Alexander woke up in a mood. It took her a second to realize where she was but she knew she had to feed her baby, so she scooped him up out of the portable crib and put him to her breast. She looked around the room – New Orleans, the gorgeous house, Eric's in that huge box over there – and she started to get her bearings. The baby was whimpering and tears flowing out of his eyes even as he fed.

"What's the matter, Sweetie? Don't you feel good? Huh? Can you tell Mommy what's wrong?"

COMFORT!

"That's your Mommy feeling – did you just miss Mommy?"

She was shocked as the baby reached up with his little hand and touched her face. She took his hand and kissed his palm then held it against her cheek and she could tell she was right – he wanted his Mommy.

"Did you wake up in a strange bed and not know where Mommy was? I'm right here, darlin', Mommy's always close. I won't leave you alone, Alex, you go where Mommy goes, OK? We're a team, me, you and Daddy. It's daytime now, so it's me and you." She adjusted the pillows so she could sit up comfortably and she kept talking to him. "This is the New Orleans house. We'll be staying here sometimes. I really like it. I hope you do, too. We'll have to see about getting you a crib here. Maybe I'll get one just like you have at home and leave it here so you'll have a familiar place to stay? Maybe that's what I should have done. I didn't know you would know the difference already! You're so smart!"

She stroked his cheek and kissed his little hand over and over, looking him right in the eye and she could tell he was feeling safe. "Let's see now – it's about 8:30 so you slept a whole three hours! That's good. Me and you will both sleep some more when you get done eating. I'll have to put some clothes on because people will be coming in to keep an eye on us. I'm pretty sure you need a new diaper, too, before we go back to bed. We won't get to sleep very late today because we're going to look at properties to see where we want to live around here. Honestly, I'd just stick with this place but we really probably need something bigger – though this is pretty big! We just need to make sure we have room for Bobbie and Bjorn and Alicia and Margaret. I don't know what we'll do about gardeners, but there must already be some because the place looked immaculate, at least in the dark."

Sookie yawned and then had to laugh because the baby yawned, too. "Ooh, we're sleepy! Sleepy! Sleepy!" she teased him and his eyes twinkled at her.

There was a knock at the door. "Excuse me?" Alicia looked in. "Are you up?"

"We're up, Alicia! I'm not dressed but come on in!"

"You want a gown, hon?" Alicia offered as she turned on the overhead light.

"Yes, that would be good. I haven't done anything but feed my little buddy here so I didn't get around to getting one yet. I don't think he knew where he was when he woke up."

"It's awfully early for him to know where he is, isn't it?" Alicia got her yellow gown with the blue flowers from the closet and gave it to her.

"Well, maybe it was just that he couldn't see me…"

"That I can believe. He's used to you being right there when he wakes up. Come to think of it, he also does seem to know when he's in that little crib – he likes it there."

"I was thinking I might get one for here, too, so it would seem more familiar to him."

"We should have brought that one with us. I didn't think he would know the difference yet."

"Neither did I. He does, though, I'm sure of it. You think it would be safe to let him stay here in bed with me?"

"Honestly, it's a big bed – we could put a pillow over here to make sure he doesn't roll, though he's too young to do that yet, and then you'd have room to sleep comfortably and still have him where he could see you. I don't see any harm in that. I'll be checking on you regularly, so I'm sure it will be fine."

"Good," she shifted the baby to the other side, "because he was really upset when he woke up. I want him to know he's safe."

"Are you going to try to sleep some more? You don't need to get up until about 10:30."

"Yeah, we'll lie down a while more. He needs a new diaper."

"When he finishes up there, I'll take care of that."

"What do you think of this place, Alicia?"

"It's gorgeous! The stained glass is really something."

"I really like it here. Do you think it's big enough for us to live in?"

"I'm sure we could fit everybody in here – we did last night."

"Yeah, we need room for Margaret, too, though."

"Well, there might be room – I heard Amelia say that if you decided to stay here, she and Octavia might just live at her house. They'd be within walking distance and they'd come to visit often or you could go there. That would leave that little apartment upstairs open - Margaret and I could stay there and that would leave you a guest room here in the house, or room for a nursery."

"That would be cool. I noticed a little sitting area that would make a nice little office."

"I saw that, too – good idea. There's an armoire in the parlor that has office equipment in it but it won't be sufficient for Mr. Northman's needs, I'm sure. He'll need a proper desk in there and a full-sized computer."

"Yeah. There are little tweaks we'd need to make. I think my buddy here is done."

"Alrighty then," Alicia took the baby, "let's get you a fresh diaper, OK, Baby E? Yeah, let's get a fresh nappy."

She took him into the bathroom and changed him on the vanity while Sookie put on her gown and stretched out. Alicia brought him back in no time. "Thanks so much, Alicia!"

"No problem. Let's put this pillow here, and Baby E goes right here," she was teasing the baby who was smiling," and then he's right next to Mommy!"

Sookie turned on her side and shook his little hand and spoke to him "Alex! Look at Mommy. You sleep there and I'll sleep here and everything will be OK – right?' The baby gurgled and played with his toes, happy as a clam.

"I'll see you two at 10:30 or so," Alicia said quietly and turned off the overhead light.

Light was coming in around the closed windows so Sookie was able to see the baby and he looked at her and yawned. "Go to sleep, little darlin' and I'll see you when you wake up." She put her hand on his little tummy and the two of them were asleep in no time.

Alicia turned the lamp on Eric's side of the bed on low and spoke softly to Sookie, "Time to get up, dear. Sookie? Wake up, Sookie."

Sookie blinked and rubbed her eyes, "that time already, huh?"

"Yes, I'm afraid so. You just have time to get ready to go and eat a little breakfast. Do you want to eat with the others or shall I bring it upstairs for you?"

"I'll come down there. Can you keep an eye on him while I wash my face?"

"Sure, I can." Alicia said as she pulled out a simple black nursing dress and a chic pair of sunglasses for Sookie to wear that day.

"What should we do with my hair?"

"Let's just pull it back in a barrette and do just a touch of make-up. You want to look natural but well put together for looking at houses. We do want some nice jewelry "

"OK, that sounds good."

Sookie was on her way downstairs in about 10 minutes, Baby E in a sling, looking the proper young society wife of a very rich man, which is what the real estate agent would want to see.

Bjorn, Bobbie and Kerik were sitting at the table having breakfast. "'Morning, everybody!"

"Hey, Sookie." Bobbie, who was facing her, said. The two men stood and said good morning as Sookie sat down.

"Are you going with us today, Bobbie?"

"No, I'm going to go shopping with Amelia and Octavia. We've still got those cards Eric gave us and we're going to put a dent in them today."

"Oh, that'll be fun!" Sookie said as Bobbie put together a plate of bacon, eggs and hash browns for her.

"You'll have a blast seeing all these fancy houses you're going to look at. What's it like knowing you can buy anything you see?"

"Weird. Honestly, if it would handle us, I'd be happy with this house."

"Didn't Eric tell you last night that this was your house no matter what?"

"Yeah, he did, but I still have to look at these other places."

"You sound like you're being forced, Sookie," Bobbie teased her.

"Yeah, well… I don't know. I like this place."

"Eric knows that, Sookie, he just wants to see if there's something bigger and easier to defend that you like. You'll still keep this place and stay here as much as you want." Bjorn told her.

"Yeah, I know… I guess I'm a little nervous about this. What if I see the place we need and I pass it up? What if the real estate agent thinks I'm an idiot?"

"You'll know what works and what doesn't and she won't think you're an idiot – she'll be kissing your ass, sweetie – Bill told me she was told you have no budget limitations, you just have to choose what you want." Bobbie told her.

"Yeah, I guess. And then we're going back to whatever tonight with Eric. I want him to be proud of me."

"He will be, Sookie – he always is." Bjorn assured her.

"Hey, Jerry – did you stay here last night?" Sookie asked as she dug into her breakfast.

"No, ma'am, I was quartered nearby with the other soldiers."

"They are soldiers, aren't they, not just guards?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"That's a little bit scary…"

"Nothing to be scared of ma'am, not while we're on the job."

"Yeah, but it means there's going to be trouble."

"It also means we're ready for whatever trouble finds us. Focus on the idea that we're ready." Bjorn advised her. "Nobody in New Orleans is as safe as you and that baby."

"Yeah…. Yeah." She said quietly to herself. She didn't have time to think much about it because the baby woke up then. "Hey, sweet boy, are you awake now? Huh? Are you hungry? No. OK, here." She raised him up and put him on her shoulder. "Look, Alex, there's Bobbie!"

"Hi, cutie." Bobbie tickled the baby and he loved it.

"And there's Bjorn, and Jerry – Jerry have you met Alex?"

"Not officially ma'am"

"OK, then, Alex, this is Jerry, he keeps us safe like Bjorn. Jerry, this is Eric Alexander."

"Nice to meet you, Prince Alex."

"Ooh – nobody ever called him that before! Did you know you're a Prince, Alex? You are – you're a vampire Prince! The first one, ever! That anybody knows of, anyway."

Everybody laughed at that and the baby laughed, too.

"He loves it when people laugh." Sookie said proudly. "You just like to laugh, don't you, Alex? You don't even know your Daddy is a King!"

HEE! The baby yelled and threw up his arm.

"That's right, Alex – VÌG!"

"EEB!"

"VÌG!"

"VBEE!"

"He's getting it – he'll be able to say it soon, you mark my words." Bjorn insisted as the rest of them laughed.

"Bjorn's gonna have you speaking Swedish, Alex, just like he and Daddy." The baby laughed and waved his arms.

"He goes crazy when you say D-A-D-D-Y." Bobbie laughed.

"Yeah, he does. It's so sweet," Sookie agreed.

Alicia came downstairs with the diaper bag, Sookie's purse, a little jacket in case Sookie needed it and she took it over to the dining table where her own purse was waiting. "OK, we're waiting for Sookie to finish eating and…?"

"That's it," Bjorn said. "We can roll any time now."

"OK, just let me finish my plate and we'll go," Sookie said, still nervous. "OK, I'm done – let's get this over with…"

"Sookie's a little nervous," Bjorn told Alicia as they went out to the car.

"Why are you nervous, dear?"

"I'm afraid I'll make a mistake and not pick the right one. And I really like this house."

"It's not an either/or situation, Sookie. You can have this house and a bigger one, too," Bjorn reminded her.

"Yeah, I guess."

"Just try to be positive, dear, and let's see what's out there," Alicia told her as they settled the baby into his car seat.

They got to the real estate agent's office at 11:30 sharp and the agent, a perky but intense, overly polished woman named Mary Jo Dupree was waiting for them.

"I'll bet money she's an ex-beauty queen." Sookie said when she saw her and everybody laughed.

"Hello, there! Mrs. Northman? I'm Mary Jo."

"Yes, I'm Sookie Northman." Sookie put on her emergency smile. She was glad she had the baby to hold – he made her feel grounded and more secure. "This is Alicia, my assistant, and Bjorn and Jerry are security, and this is little Alex."

"Oh, I know who you all are – I have all the tabloids in my office – all the girls have been absolutely beside themselves that I was going to take the royal family house hunting. I understand your husband, the King, will be joining us this evening?"

"Yes, ma'am, he wants me to pick the ones I like and then we'll take him back to them tonight."

"That's just fine. I've got some gorgeous places picked out for us today. You all just follow me, and we'll get started."

"Alright, we will."

The first property Mary Jo took them to was in the French Quarter.

"Now, don't let the location fool you – the Jolie-Pitt family lives in this neighborhood so it has some very nice homes. This house was originally built in the 1830's and has private parking for two cars – that's a rarity in the Quarter. It's recently renovated and has gorgeous chandeliers, crown moldings, fireplaces, custom cabinetry, architectural details, an absolutely grand spiral staircase, and an elevator. There's a gourmet kitchen with top of the line appliances. There's a large courtyard and a separate two-story guest house." The woman barely took a breath as they walked through the house and out into the courtyard.

"Is there a swimming pool?" Sookie asked.

"Is that a requirement? I wasn't aware…"

"Yes, I really want a nice swimming pool now that I'm used to having one."

"OK, then, let's head for the next property."

The next house was on Oriole St. and was the least expensive property they looked at all day in that it was less than a million dollars. It had a large pool and seven bedrooms, but Sookie didn't like the inside of the house at all. "It feels a little – cramped."

"You like larger rooms, then?"

"My husband is 6'5" tall – we need high ceilings."

"Alright, let's go to another."

The next one was really nice, and had 8 bedrooms, a gas heated pool and hot tub, a rec room, two kitchens and nice grounds but it really didn't do much for Sookie. "This one is definitely big enough, but I'm not crazy about being in a gated community. We were thinking more in terms of a private compound that wouldn't have other people so close."

"It's a very exclusive neighborhood, most people would just love to get in there." Mary Jo explained.

"We need more privacy, and a lot of security."

"Yes, I suppose you would, what with the FOTS and all… that was just awful what they did the other night."

"Exactly."

The next place was in Lafayette, so they had to drive a while. It was situated on 36 acres of land that stretched from the main road to the river. The estate included an 11,000-plus square foot home, a guest house, a pool, lighted tennis courts, a gazebo, and artist's studio.

"So it's 6 bedrooms, plus the guest house? OK, let's put this on the list to show Eric."

"Wonderful! Now, let's go on to the next one. Here, you can read about it on the way out to Folsom."

Sookie didn't put the baby back in the car seat this time because she was tired of messing with it and he was a little hungry anyway so she fed him on the way. "OK, Alicia, listen to this: 7061 luxurious square feet in the main home boasts 6 bedrooms, 6 baths w/wood, marble & tile floors, library, gym, office, movie theatre, pool, outdoor kitchen & bath. Other buildings on property include guest house & garage, boathouse & dock, golf course, basketball court, dance studio, bowling alley, workshop, RV garage, 3 car garage, tennis court, luscious landscaping, gazebos, sauna, pond, all on 47 fenced acres!"

"Sounds impressive! 6 bedrooms and a guest house is about the right size."

"It has a lot of stuff we don't need, though, and it's one of the more expensive properties." When they got to the property, Sookie wouldn't even get out of the car. "No, this is not what I want at all." She was more concerned with the fact that the baby needed a new nappy.

They headed back into New Orleans and the agent took them to a large house she said was done in "Greek Revival" style. "This one is actually a licensed hotel, but I want you to see it anyway. It has 13 bedrooms, each with a private bath, and large central halls that have been used for weddings and such. It was built in 1857 and has 18 foot ceilings in the main hall."

"It's really nice, but it's just not what we want."

"Will you all still be in town on Sunday? Maybe I can find some more properties in the surrounding area that will meet your needs, now that I have a clearer picture of what you want."

"OK, that would be good. I think Eric would agree to that. Are we going to take him back to the one property tonight or do you think we should wait?"

"Why don't I do some more research, and we'll get together on Sunday. He can see it then, and maybe we'll have some other places to show him then, too. I hate to bother him if we only have one to show him."

"OK, that's great. I really appreciate all of your help today- I'm sorry if I was difficult."

"Oh, not at all, dear. You're going to be spending a lot of money and you want to find a place that suits your needs. I'm going to check some of the little towns in the surrounding area and see if I can't find a place with more room and a little more history."

"That's great. Here's my card with my cell number. Let me know Saturday what time you want to get together on Sunday. I'm sure I'll be home recuperating from the fundraiser."

"Oh, yes – the social event of the season! Everyone is so excited to see your little family there!"

"Well, thanks, that's nice. So I'll talk to you Saturday." And with that, Sookie was done looking at properties for the day.

"OK, Bjorn, get me home before Eric wakes up if you can."

"We're almost home now, hon. I'm sure he'll be waiting for you when you get there."

"Yeah, I can't wait to see him. I guess they don't make a lot of homes with more than 6 bedrooms."

"No, and they don't go on sale very often. You'll work out what you want though, dear," Alicia told her. "And there's always the option you prefer anyway – just working with what you already have."

"Was I a pain today? Was I too picky?"

"Not at all, Sweetie. You're talking about spending millions of dollars – you should be over the moon about a place before you even consider it."

"Yeah, that's how I feel, too."

They were already home and Eric was waiting for them as they came in through the kitchen.

"Hi, Sweetie!" Sookie bounced over to him with the baby and gave him a long kiss. "Your son is asleep, but he was talking about you today, sort of."

"Really?"

"Yeah, doing that noise he makes when he talks to you or someone mentions you."

"He's almost able to say it – mark my words," Bjorn laughed.

"Say what?" Eric asked.

"VÌG!" He's trying – he'll get there." Bjorn laughed.

"Can I hold the baby, Sookie?" Eric asked, as if she'd say 'no' to him.

"Of course, Sweetie, here," She extricated him from the sling and he yawned and rubbed his nose as his Daddy held him up and looked at him. He gave him a kiss on his forehead and hugged him to his chest.

"So, my angel, are we looking at properties tonight?"

"I only saw one I'd even consider so she wants to take me out again Sunday and maybe we'll look at them Sunday night."

"Alright. How many did you look at today?"

"5 or 6, I think. There aren't many that have as many bedrooms as we need, and when they do they're crazy big."

"What's the best house you saw today?"

"This one," she said and cringed, afraid he'd be unhappy with her answer.

"Well, then, if the house you already have is your favorite of the day, I'd say you're doing pretty well." He kissed her forehead and hugged her to him with his free arm. He knew she had been worried about looking at properties and didn't really expect her to go through with it. He was proud of her for going at all. "You know, Sookie, I'm very proud of you for doing that today."

"You are?"

"Yes, I am. That's a lot of responsibility, looking at real estate. I knew you could handle it, but I thought you might not go. I'm very happy that you did."

"I didn't think I had a choice."

"You always have a choice, Sookie, you know that."

"Yeah, I guess I do." She wrapped her arms around his waist and hugged him tight. He planted three kisses on the top of her head and squeezed her tight.

"Since we are not going out, let's get you some dinner and get comfortable. We'll just hang out tonight."

"Hang out? Does Eric Northman just hang out?" she was teasing him now.

"He does with his wife and baby – what could possibly be more fun than snuggling on the couch or in bed with the two most wonderful people in the world?"

"Not exactly the basement at Fangtasia…"

"The basement at Fangtasia could never compare to an evening spent with you, my dear… unless, of course, I spent the evening with you IN the basement at Fangtasia…" He laughed.

"We haven't done that in a while."

"Now that you are no longer with child, we will be spending some quality time on that big round bed, my angel, have no doubt of that."

"Oh, really?"

"Oh, yes, my dear Mrs. Northman, I have plans for you." He wiggled his eyebrows and gave her a wicked grin.

"Ooh – I like the sound of that!" She reached up and kissed him and Alicia came back into the kitchen. "Hey, Alicia!"

"Hey – do you want me to make dinner for all of you or do you want to order in?"

"Are you up to cooking?"

"Sure, that's no problem. I'll see what's in the fridge. "

"Can I help you?" Sookie offered.

"No, you can't – what you can do is go into the living room and spend time with your husband and baby while I pull dinner together. Now, scat!" Alicia shooed them all out of the kitchen and started pulling things out of the refrigerator. Bobbie came back and helped her by putting together a salad and getting drinks for everyone, which was basically Alicia, Bobbie, Bjorn, Jerry and Sookie. Everybody congregated at the dining room table. Eric was leaning back, his long legs stretched out under the table, the baby snuggled under his chin, Sookie next to him with her head on his shoulder as he talked to Bjorn and Jerry. Bobbie brought the salad out and sat next to Bjorn.

"Bobbie did you find the note from Bill?" Eric asked her.

"Yes, I did. I guess I should be happy he bothered to tell me at all."

"What happened?" Sookie asked.

"He decided he just had to go to Bon Temps tonight, so he left as soon as he got up and just left me a note." Bobbie said.

"Did you see him at all?" Sookie couldn't believe it… but then, yes, she could.

"Only by accident. Amelia, Octavia and I got back just as he was leaving. He'll be back for the fundraiser tomorrow night."

"How is he going to manage that?" Sookie couldn't picture a vamp being able to do it.

"He's driving there and back tonight. He'll be back just in time to hide in his box."

"Did he ask you to go with him?" This still wasn't making sense to Sookie.

"No, he didn't, and I didn't offer. I can find better things to do with my time than sit in a car for the next 12 hours."

'Yeah,' Sookie thought, 'like Bjorn.' She happened to know that Bjorn and Bobbie were both thinking the same thing so she didn't berate herself for being catty. It's not catty if it's accurate, she decided.

"Are Amelia and Octavia coming down for dinner?"

"Octavia is wiped out so Amelia is going to stay up there with her and get her settled for the evening. Truth be told, I think Amelia is more wiped out than she wants to admit." Bobbie laughed. "We did some serious, power-shopping today."

"Did you find anything good?"

"Tons of stuff. I had all I could carry. I found a great dress for tomorrow night!"

"I didn't know you didn't have a dress for the fundraiser?"

"I did, but I found one I like better – something a little slinkier."

"Ooh – nice!"

"Yeah, I can't wait to wear it and get all dressed up. Anyway, we'll all be together tomorrow – we're all going with you to the morning show and then we're going to find an expensive place for brunch before we come back to get ready for the ball."

Alicia came out with a big pot. "I hope everybody likes chicken and dumplings?"

"Yum! I haven't had dumplings in ages!" Sookie said.

"Well, everybody eat up, because there's a ton of it," Alicia laughed.

"Alicia, did you change your mind about going to the fundraiser?" Eric asked.

"If you don't mind, I think it's a good idea if I go to help with the baby. Bobbie might be busy at some point and I think the more help Sookie has with him, the better."

"You're going to go, Alicia? That's great – you'll have a good time!"

"Yes, and so will you. Somebody has to hold the baby while you and Mr. Northman twirl around the dance floor. Everyone is dying to see you two dance together. We can't disappoint your public." She laughed.

"Aren't you going to eat, Alicia?" Sookie noticed she was short one bowl as she passed them out.

"I'll eat in the kitchen, dear."

"NO, you won't. You sit with the rest of us." Sookie insisted and Eric just smiled and nodded, knowing Alicia would argue if he didn't tell her it was alright. Sookie still didn't understand the line between employer and employee, but it wasn't important enough to hold up dinner to try to explain it to her. He knew that as far as Sookie was concerned, they were all family. If she needed to feel that way to be happy, he was more than happy to go along with it.

Alicia came back with a bowl for herself and they all dug into the creamy dumplings while Eric drank an RM and talked to the baby in his arms. Everyone was talking and having a good time, and it was a very pleasant meal. At one point, the baby reached for Sookie and whined a little.

"What's the matter, Sweetie?" she asked him, kissing his hand. "Are you getting hungry?"

WANT.

Eric laughed. "That's a yes, Mommy. Are you ready to take him?"

"Sure I am. I knew he'd be getting hungry soon – it's been a while since he ate. He was a very good boy today. He didn't cause me a bit of trouble, did you, darlin'?" She was cooing at him as she took him and put him to her breast.

The dinner conversation continued and Sookie didn't miss a beat, talking a little to the baby, then to the others. Eric was blissfully watching her with the baby. Was there anything more beautiful than the sight of his wife feeding his son? She was so natural with it, and the two of them were so in sync with each other already. He had read that some women have difficulty learning to breast feed and some babies take time to learn, too, but Sookie and Eric Alexander just fit together naturally right from the start. Eric especially loved the way they looked into each other's eyes as he suckled, and the soft, adoring way she spoke to the baby, and played with his fingers as they tried to grip her thumb.

"Your Majesty," Kerik spoke, "if you don't need me anymore tonight, I think I'll head back to headquarters. I'll be working tomorrow night, of course…"

"That's fine, Jerry, go and have a good evening. Thank you for going with Sookie today."

"My pleasure, sire. I'll see you tomorrow."

"What's everybody else going to do tonight?" Sookie asked.

"I'm going to clean the kitchen and turn in early. I'm in the middle of a very good book I want to finish." Alicia said, clearing the table.

"I was thinking about going to see the new Johnny Depp movie. Want to go to a movie, Bjorn?"

"That's not a bad idea. Do you need me tonight, your majesty?"

"Not at all – we're going to have a quiet evening in, so you and Bobbie go and have fun. Unless you want to go to the movies, Sookie?"

"Oh, no, an evening where I don't have to do anything sounds good to me. Tomorrow is going to be crazy busy and I have to get up really early."

"As you wish, my angel."

"OK, well, let me grab my purse?" Bobbie said to Bjorn.

"Good, I'll finish up and we'll go." Bjorn said.

"Do you know where the theatre is, Bjorn?" Sookie asked.

"Yeah, I think I remember the neighborhood. We'll roam around until we find it," he laughed. "We might stop and have a drink somewhere along the way. Worse comes to worse, there's a theatre on this street a few blocks away showing Harry Potter and King Kong," he laughed.

"Will you guys be safe wandering around?"

"We'll be fine – I'll keep my eyes open."

"OK, well, then, I guess that leaves me and my two Vikings," Sookie laughed. Eric wiggled his eyebrows at her.

"What do you want to do, my angel?"

"Is snuggling with you and the baby and watching TV too boring?"

"Being with you is never boring, Sookie. Do we watch down here, in the den or in the bedroom?"

"You choose."

"Bedroom it is," he laughed and Sookie laughed with him. "Bjorn, do you have a key?"

"Yes, your majesty, Mr. Compton gave me one."

"Alright – on your way out, tell the guards that we are retiring upstairs and lock the door, please."

"Will do – enjoy your evening in."

"Oh, I will." Eric laughed.

Bjorn knew it was very unlikely they were actually going to see any TV. Sookie had been indisposed for a while and she was feeling a lot better right now. He figured Eric would tire her out, then let her sleep while he worked, since she had to get up early and stay up late the next day.

Eric and Sookie met Bobbie on the stairs and told her good night and to have fun, then they went into the bedroom. This room had a chest with a TV in it similar to the one they had at home, so Eric put it up and found an old movie on TV he thought Sookie would like while she put her nightgown on and washed off her makeup.

"We could soak in the tub, you know…" Sookie said to him as she came out of the bathroom.

"We could, but you are too tired for that. I can feel what you feel, Sookie, and you are exhausted. Today was very stressful for you, I'm afraid," he said as he held the baby with one arm and turned the bed down.

"Yeah, it was. I was so glad to get back here and see you! I always feel so much better when I'm with you." She crawled into bed from his side of the bed and he handed her the baby so he could undress.

"I don't like being away from you, either. If you had been much later getting home, I'd have been pacing the floor. I feel much more secure when you and the baby are in my presence."

"I guess that's the blood bond, huh?"

"Part of it, but I also think we're right to be apprehensive. We just had an attempt against us, so it's natural for us to be nervous and protective. And everything with the baby is so new, I confess I want to keep you both to myself as much as possible." He got into bed wearing just his silk boxers. They propped up pillows behind them and snuggled together, cuddling the baby between the two of them. The baby gurgled happily, playing with his feet, and making little baby noises.

"So what are we watching?"

"Steel Magnolias."

"Oh – that's about Southern women, you know?"

"I wondered about that – I thought I had heard of it. We can watch something else if you want. I just stopped on the first thing I thought might interest you."

"This is fine. What we watch isn't really important."

"I know, what is important is this," and he kissed her very softly for a long time.

"Exactly." She said softly, resting her head on his chest as he kissed her hair. "We just like to snuggle, don't we, Alex?"

"ba-ba-ba-ba-ba."

"I think that's a yes," Sookie laughed. "Is that a yes, Pookie? Huh? Is that a yes?" She tickled his feet and the baby kicked and gurgled, wiggling his fingers in the air like he wanted to grab something. Eric stroked a finger inside his little palm and Alex grabbed it and held on. "Uh-oh, Daddy – he's got you – he's got a hold of you! Alex – have you got a hold of Daddy?"

"VBEE!" the baby said and threw his other arm up.

"Always ready to fight, my son!" Eric shook the baby's hand a little and he held on tight. "That's Daddy's good boy!"

Sookie picked the baby up and turned him around, raising her knees so he was lying against her upper thighs facing Sookie and Eric. "Hey, buddy! Hey, Alex!" The baby laughed and pulled his fists up to his chin. He reached toward Eric and Eric let him grab onto his finger again. He looked at Eric with big eyes. His head was shaking a little but he was looking Eric up and down. "Are you looking at Daddy? Alex, are you looking at Daddy?"

The baby laughed and threw his arm toward Eric and said "VBEE!" and kicked his feet and laughed.

"It really does sound like he's trying to say something, doesn't it?" Sookie laughed.

"I think Bjorn is right – he's trying to say "vìg.""

"EEEAaAHH!" the baby squealed and kicked.

Sookie laughed, "You might be right – he loved it when you said that."

"Vìg, Alex, vìg!" Eric said enthusiastically, looking the baby right in the eye.

"VBEE!" the baby cracked up, waving his arms like crazy.

"It must be a Viking thing," Sookie laughed. "Hey, that's the first time I ever heard you call him 'Alex.'"

"It's probably from hearing you say it so many times tonight as you play with him. To me, he is usually Eric Alexander."

"I noticed Alicia always calls him 'Baby E.'" Sookie said.

"And to the guards he is 'Prince Alex.'"

"Think we're going to confuse him?"

"No, he's smart – he knows who we mean, don't you, Alex?"

"ba-ba-ba!" the baby said as he stuck his fingers in his mouth.

"You know he's really advanced – Octavia said he's more like a 3 month old than a new born."

"That is not too surprising, is it?"

"No, but she also told me she knew a human girl who started talking at 3 months old."

"Are you sure she was human? A normal one?"

"Well, she said she was a natural born Witch and she was gifted, you know, with a really high IQ."

"And so is Alex."

"Right, so he might really be trying to talk, even as small as he is."

"Might? Sookie, he is obviously trying to talk and has specific words and actions for certain things. He already communicates with us through emotions. He watches everything around him very closely."

"Yeah, he can recognize people, too. I'm pretty sure he knows Bobbie when he sees her now, because she massaged him and talked to him while she did it. He's starting to know Alicia and I kind of think he knows Bjorn."

"None of this surprises me. It's good that he'll know who should handle him and who is a stranger. Should someone unauthorized try to touch him, he can send to us and alert us."

"True. We'll know if anything is wrong with him." Sookie gave a huge yawn and the baby did, too. "Alex is sleepy, too! Yeah, you're sleepy, too!"

"Why don't you just lie down and sleep, Sookie. You don't need to fight to stay awake, Sweetheart."

"But I want to spend time with you and I thought maybe we'd … you know… after Alex is asleep."

"You are too tired to have sex, Sookie and tomorrow will be a very long day for you."

"Do you not want to…?"

"It's not about wanting, Sookie. I always want you. I'm not going to push you to the point of exhaustion, and you are nearly there as it is. Here, give me the baby." He took the baby from her, "lie down, and Alex will lie here between us, and I'll lie here and talk to you both until you fall asleep." He put the baby on his back next to Sookie, then scooted down in the bed and rested his head on his hand, leaning on his elbow.

"I don't want to be boring."

"You are not boring, you are tired. This is to be expected. You have many activities that require your time and you need to be sharp for them. You want to be well-rested for your TV appearance tomorrow, do you not?"

"Yeah…"

"You want to look beautiful for the fundraiser and be able to dance and enjoy it, do you not?"

"Of course."

"Then sleep a while. If you wake up later, maybe we will have sex, but it is not the first priority."

"OK, I'll sleep a while if you promise to wake me up no later than 4 so we can do it before you go to rest."

"Alright, that's fine, I will wake you at 4."

"Promise?"

"I promise to try, but if you do not wake easily, I will not persist." He smoothed her hair away from her face gently.

"Alright, I guess. If you can't wake me up, before you go to rest, put Alex on your side of the bed and put a pillow at the edge of the bed so he doesn't roll off, OK?"

"You want him in the bed with you?"

"He slept there this morning for a bit. He was really upset when he woke up in the portable crib because he couldn't see me, so Alicia put the pillow there and left him with me and we were fine. You know I don't move around a lot when I sleep."

"True – you are the soundest sleeper I have ever known. I think it is because your conscience is clear."

"I don't know about that… I've got stuff to feel guilty about."

"Not really – not by vampire standards, certainly. You've never killed anyone you did not have to."

"That's some standard," Sookie laughed, "but I know what you mean."

"All right, I like the idea of him sleeping next to you."

"What would you think about me buying a second co-sleeper to keep here?"

"That would keep us from having to carry one around with us, and it would feel familiar to him. If you have time tomorrow, go ahead and order one."

"You don't mind? Even though it will only be a few months?"

"Do not hesitate to make a purchase such as this if it will add to his comfort or your convenience. The goal is to make things as easy as possible – cost is not a factor. In fact, order 2 and we will keep one in Las Vegas, too."

"He'll be too big for them pretty quickly…"

"Then we will donate them to charity and other mothers will benefit from their use."

"Oh – I didn't think about that! I wouldn't feel so bad about buying them if I knew someone else would get some use out of them after we do. I didn't know that was an option."

"You shouldn't feel "bad" in any case, but of course you may share things with others as they become obsolete. Is it not common for mothers to pass baby equipment on to mothers with younger children?"

"Yeah, very much. They give them to family or neighbors or to the Salvation Army or sell them in garage sales…"

"The Salvation Army does much good for poor families, yes? They would certainly see that your things find good use after Alex no longer needs them."

"Wow – why didn't I think of that before now? I feel much better buying stuff if that's the plan. Thank you!" She planted a big kiss on his lips as the baby gurgled happily.

"Good – then you buy what you need, and as many as you need and when you don't need them anymore we will see that they go to others who do not have our advantages."

"I hope I don't seem ungrateful. I know I gave you a hard time about things when we first got together – I do appreciate everything you've given me and the baby."

"I know you do, Sookie. You do not seem ungrateful. You seem unnecessarily apologetic. Some part of you feels guilty about having money and even guiltier about enjoying it."

"I guess that's from growing up poor. We were taught to be proud and we were taught not to want things we couldn't have. More than anything we were taught not to take too much of what others offered. Southern people tend to be very hospitable and they'll offer more than they can really spare, so you're supposed to just take what you need when somebody shares something, or just take a little even if you need or want more. It never occurred to me that someday I'd have all the money I could ever want. You know how people grow up imagining what it would be like to be something they're not? Well, I never imagined being rich. I didn't even dare dream about it because that would have reflected badly on Gran, and she did the best she could for us."

"I wish I had known your grandmother."

"So do I. She would have loved you right from the start. I didn't realize it when she was alive, but my Gran loved the exotic. She liked good-looking men and she liked anything that was out of the ordinary. She loved Bill, so I know she would have been impressed by you."

"Why did she like Bill so much?"

"Well, the Comptons were an old Bon Temps family so that counted in his favor. He was handsome and he was very polite, but mostly I think she liked that he was a vampire. She always knew I wasn't going to find a human husband. I didn't realize that was because she knew I wasn't strictly human myself. I wish she had told me – maybe she would have at some point as I got more involved with vampires. She told me that I should consider myself lucky to know Bill because he was different and knew a lot of things. She thought I needed someone worldly, I think, and you are definitely worldly." She laughed softly. "She would have asked you a million questions and listened to all of your stories. She'd have wanted to know every place you've been and everything you've done, probably even the bad stuff. She was so accepting of new people and new ideas – not at all like the other women at her church or the Descendants of the Glorious Dead…"

"The what?"

"The Descendants of the Glorious Dead. It's a club she belonged to, of a bunch of people who had ancestors in the Civil War. That was another thing she liked about Bill – he was actually in the Civil War and he came to her church and spoke to her group about his experiences."

"I did not know about that. So he talked to them of war?"

"Yes, and they were fascinated. And the mayor brought an old, old photograph he found that turned out to be a picture of Bill and his human family. He cried when he looked at it. I nearly melted when I saw that," she laughed. "I was mad at him at the time and that just wiped it all away, when I thought of everything he had lost."

"You are a romantic," he brushed her hair back, "I love that about you."

"You do?"

"Yes, I do. Romance is underrated in this culture. Modern people find it cheesy or saccharine, but they are cheating themselves when they do. It takes a certain amount of innocence and hope to be romantic."

"I think you're a romantic and I wouldn't really call you "innocent,"" she laughed.

"I am not afraid of being emotionally vulnerable because I know I am strong in mind and body. I've weathered great sadness and survived, and I've known great love and lost it. I am the opposite of innocent – I am experienced – but I have hope. I know the true value of things. The only thing I cannot get for myself by myself is romance. I have money for anything I could want. I can get sex any number of places, and I have no shortage of places to feed. My ambitions have all been met, many times over. But the feeling I have lying here, talking to you; as our son sleeps between us – this I can only get from you, my angel. No one else would mean as much to me, even if we did the very same things."

"Have I ever told you how glad I am that you were cursed that time? As awful as I know it was for you, if it hadn't been for that time together, we wouldn't be here now."

"I'm so relieved that I still knew enough to love you then…"

"I don't think you loved me before that…"

"Yes, I did, but I would never have admitted it because I knew you didn't feel the same way. When I remembered – when I walked into your room and the smell of you made it come flooding back – and I knew that you had loved me, too, I knew then that I could get you back. I knew it was in you and I would bring it out again eventually, no matter what I had to do. The feelings I was getting from you made sense – loss, resentment, sadness, wanting. I knew you were grieving for what we meant to each other.

A tear slipped out of Sookie's eye and ran across her nose, dripping onto the sheet.

"Don't cry, Sookie – you know I can't take it when you cry." He placed his open palm against the side of her face and she turned her head a little to kiss it. Sookie sat up and picked the sleeping baby up, then turned to put him in the portable crib. She then scooted right up against Eric, and told him, "Just don't forget to put him in bed with me before you go to rest."

"I thought you were going to sleep."

"I"ll sleep after. I really, really need you inside me right now."

Eric squeezed her tight and turned off the light on his nightstand. Tonight wasn't a rock-the-house sort of night. This was a quiet, almost reverential night for two people who loved each other more than either ever thought possible. After their second release and a mutual feeding, about 2 hours later, Eric knew Sookie needed to let go and go to sleep, but also knew she wouldn't do it willingly, so he peeled the covers back from her and kissed his way down her stomach, which was already flattening nicely, and settled into his favorite spot – between her legs. He ate her slowly, luxuriously, but gently, knowing that one more orgasm would put her to sleep, if it didn't happen before. He continued his attentions even after her soft, deep breathing told him she was asleep now. He loved it too much to stop even if she wasn't participating. He laughed to himself knowing she thought he did this for her, but truth be told, he loved it more than she did. He had literally never tasted anything sweeter. He also laughed to himself that some men acted as if this was a chore. A man that stupid was wasted on a woman, as far as Eric was concerned. If she had been awake, he would have bitten, but he would leave that for another night, very soon.

After a good long while, the baby fussed a little, so Eric quickly scooped him up and got a bottle of RM out of the diaper bag by the closet door. He put a fresh diaper on the baby, then slipped his underwear on and took the baby out to the sitting room at the front of the house. He was sitting back quietly rocking the baby when Bobbie and Bjorn snuck up the stairs and into his room. Eric didn't let them know he was there. After all, there was no point. They knew he would hear them, and they didn't care. He wondered briefly if Bobbie would make it back to her room before Bill came back and went to rest, but he had a feeling she wouldn't bother. Bobbie was getting pretty brazen about preferring Bjorn, and it was all Bill's fault. Eric normally felt a little sorry for Bill because he was so young and so controlled by his impulses, but this situation with Bobbie had lowered Eric's respect for Bill considerably. Bobbie was a good woman – she was smart, she was pretty, she was physically attractive and active and had a strong libido. She would also be turned in a heartbeat if it were offered, and considering her age, the sooner the better.

What did Bill think he was going to find out there? He was never getting Sookie back, and a woman like Sookie only comes along every two or three human life spans. Bill wasn't going to appeal to a hardcore fang banger because of his young age. He wouldn't turn anyone of his own accord. He was only moderately wealthy and had no status within the vampire power structure that was not conferred upon him by Eric. From what Eric knew of Bill's conquests other than Sookie, they were rather plain and uninteresting. He hadn't even managed to make Sookie jealous when he brought them into Merlotte's, he had only managed to irritate her. Pam said he was enjoyable but not as strong or masterful as most vamps who dated vampiresses usually were. Lady vamps tended to go for older, established males or females who could move them up within the hierarchy. Eric didn't know any females that would want a sentimental young vampire like Bill, especially with his unfortunate empathy for humans, which most would view as a weakness.

Bobbie and Bjorn, on the other hand, seemed emotionally well suited for each other. Both had a certain detachment about sex, both were physically oriented, and Bobbie's hippie/gypsy style softened Bjorn's rough edges when they were together. Eric knew for a fact that they clicked better sexually than Bobbie and Bill did. Bill was a little conservative for Bobbie, especially in bed. Bjorn, on the other hand, was energetic and controlling and Bobbie loved it. He also knew that Bjorn liked Bobbie a lot more than he would admit to anyone, probably including himself at this stage of the game. Bjorn's heart always beat faster when Bobbie was near him – noticeably faster. Eric had actually known Bobbie was coming into the room once not from sound or smell but from the way Bjorn's heart sped up. When a tough guy like Bjorn has a physical response that intense, there are real feelings involved.

Eric was still sitting with the baby around 4:30 when Bjorn came out to use the bathroom.

"Eric – hi." Bjorn was surprised to see him as he came back out.

"Hello. Good movie?"

"What?"

"The movie you took Bobbie to – was it good?"

"Uh…. We never actually made it to the movies. We spent the evening at a bar in the Quarter."

"Really? Did you dance?"

"No, it wasn't really a dancing kind of place. It was more of a hide in the corner booth and talk kind of place."

"That's a long time to talk."

"It didn't seem like long…"

"That's a good sign. It's good to have someone you can talk to."

"Yeah, it is kind of nice for a change. I'm not usually much of a talker."

"I know what you mean. Some women seem to make a man want to talk about things he normally wouldn't even mention out loud."

"Or things you didn't even know you wanted to talk about."

"Right. I find myself saying things to Sookie I wasn't even aware of myself. She makes me want to explain myself." Eric smiled at him, still rocking the baby.

"Does she ever… feel a little… down on herself? Like, insecure or something?"

"Oh, yes – that's a given with 21st century American women. Everything around them tells them they are not good enough – not thin enough, not tall enough, not smart enough, not blonde enough."

"What do you do about it?" Bjorn sat on the love seat across from Eric and the baby.

"You make sure she never has to wonder how you feel about her. You make sure you know yourself, and then you tell her, and you keep telling her. Follow every impulse to say something nice to her, to compliment her. More than anything, she wants your attention, and your good opinion. She wants to know that she's good enough for you, just the way she is. If she isn't, don't waste her time. If she is, let her know it."

"Yeah, but they know, right, they're intuitive?"

"Not about themselves. They can tell you everything about you, and about the people around them, but they all have a blind spot about themselves and how you feel about them. Your job is to let them see their reflection through your eyes. Most of the things they worry about don't matter to us at all, but they don't know that unless you tell them. Never assume that they know what you feel. Say it plainly and keep saying it."

"That's hard for most guys to do…"

"Is she worth the effort?"

"Yeah… yeah, definitely."

"Then make the effort. I recently warned a colleague of mine that he was taking his woman for granted and she was about to find someone more attentive. He didn't listen to me, and he's going to be sleeping alone for a while."

"You don't seem like the type to give advice about romance." Bjorn wondered if Eric had actually told Bill what was going on?

"You'd be surprised what I'll do to keep my wife happy – to keep her self-made family around her, so she feels loved and supported. I care about Sookie's happiness above everything else, and sometimes that extends to the happiness of those around her. And in my colleague's case, I don't think much of a man who has a good woman and doesn't appreciate her. The good ones are few and far between. When you find one, you fight for her."

"Weren't you kind of a hound dog before?"

"I was a vampire – I had to feed, I had to have sex, I didn't know any women of quality and I wasn't in an environment likely to produce any. I got lucky one night, when Bill Compton walked through the door with a sassy little blonde in a red floral dress. I knew she would be mine the minute I saw her – it just took a little time for her to agree – but I let her know the minute I saw her that I wanted her and I still let her know it every chance I get. She will never have to wonder if I love her. I won't leave any room for doubt."

"What about playing hard to get?"

"That's how a woman attracts a man, not how a man keeps a woman worth keeping. In my long life, I've known 4 women, including Sookie, worth keeping. Every one of them stayed with me to the end of her life. Once I was old enough to figure out what really matters, I made sure they knew they were valued."

"Is Pam one of them?"

"Pam is my Childe – I was speaking of human women, blood bonds. Pam has always been a companion, and we love each other, but it isn't a great romantic love as the others were. Pam was grateful I saved her from a life of boredom in Victorian England, but she wasn't a romantic person – she was adventurous and wicked – she still is…"

"Yeah, she is. You never turned any of those women?"

"One. It ended badly. She didn't live long after."

"Are you going to turn Sookie?"

"We've talked about it. At first she was against it, but once she knew her child would be vampire, she began to be open to the idea. She told me she wants to be with me forever. She can't be turned while he's breast feeding, of course, so we've decided to revisit the subject when that is no longer necessary."

"She'd make a good vamp."

"Yes, she would." Eric smiled. "She'd be magnificent. She already is."

"She's special." Bjorn agreed. "Bobbie's special, in a similar way."

"Yes, she's very strong and smart. She's open-minded and sexy and very physical. A man would be lucky to grow old with her. She deserves a man smart enough to appreciate her."

"Yeah, she does. So you're not against it – me and her?"

"Not if it keeps you both happy. I want happy people around my wife and child, and Sookie cares a great deal about both of you. I'm sure she already knows about you two and she hasn't expressed any objections."

"You think she knows?"

"I'm sure she does. She's smart and observant in addition to being telepathic. She probably knew before you did." Eric smiled at him.

"Aren't you close to Bill, though?"

"I work with Bill, but he's only alive because of Sookie. I have cause to want him dead, but it would make her unhappy. He and Bobbie were a good idea as long as it made Bobbie happy, but he took her for granted, in spite of being told he would lose her. He created this situation himself. This was a logical result of his lack of commitment. He'll have to live with the consequences."

"Yeah, I guess so. She said she's not going back. She's going to move into my room, if that's OK."

"I expected that. I think Bill expected it, too, which is why he decided to spend the night driving to Bon Temps and back so he wouldn't have to face it. He's not hurt, mind you, just not wanting to deal with it. He knows I think he's a fool for neglecting her, and he knows I care whether she's happy or not. My guess is he'll act as if nothing has happened. He'll continue as if nothing is wrong. He's not confrontational and he's not willing to make the kind of commitment it would take to change her mind. His best bet at this point is to try to maintain his new connection to Pam. That could be politically beneficial for them both. Time will tell if he's smart enough to make the most of it."

"Yeah, well, I guess I should get back to her…"

"Yes, you should. Remember my advice – leave no room for doubt."

"I won't. Good night."

"Good night, Bjorn."

By the time they were done talking, dawn was immanent. Eric sat rocking the baby as long as he could, then he took him back into the bedroom as he heard Bill slip quietly into his empty room. Sookie was sleeping soundly as Eric moved his pillow to the side of the bed and put the sleeping baby next to her. He kissed Sookie, then kissed the baby and went to rest for the day with a sense of contentment.

The baby woke Sookie at quarter after 6, and she was still feeding him when Alicia came in to wake her.

"Good morning," Alicia said softly, smiling at how sweet they looked together.

"Good morning. Time to get up, huh?"

"Yes, you have about an hour to shower and get your makeup done before we head to the TV station."

"OK, I think he's done eating."

"You hop in the shower and I'll give him a fresh nappy. Do you want to take him into the shower with you for a minute?"

"Yeah, we liked that, didn't we, Sweetie? Can you hand him to me once I get started?"

"Sure I can. I'll just clean him up a little first, then hand him to you for a wash. His baby soap and shampoo are in the shower with yours."

"Great!" Sookie was pleased to see that this shower had that rain-like setting the one at home had, so the water fell gently without making a lot of noise. When she was sure she had the temperature right, She took the baby from Alicia and washed him off well, the baby occasionally closing his eyes and smiling. Sookie could tell he liked the feel of the water washing over him. She thought of how much fun it would be when she could take him in the pool with her. When she was done, Alicia was waiting for him with a soft, fluffy towel and she diapered him while Sookie finished her own shower. Alicia had everything set up and did Sookie's hair and makeup quickly while the baby lay on the bed and played with his toes, making the little noises he made almost constantly when he was awake now.

"He's trying to talk," Alicia said as she dried Sookie's hair.

"Yeah, I think he is – Eric and Bjorn both have him trying to say a Swedish word and he can almost do it."

"Oh, really? What word?"

"Víg – it's Swedish for 'fight.' You know that noise he makes when he throws his arm up when anybody mentions Eric or he walks into the room? Bjorn is convinced that's what he's trying to say."

"That's a little far fetched but the idea of those two big men trying to coach a little baby is precious." Alicia laughed.

"Oh, you'll see it – they're both convinced. It's too funny. Yesterday Bjorn was saying it to him and every time he said it, the baby responded. Then Eric was doing it last night and the baby seemed to really be trying to respond. Wait until you see it."

"If you don't mind my asking, is he going to age normally?" Alicia started putting some powder foundation on Sookie since she was going to be on TV.

"Well, sort of, but he's going to do everything really early. He'll walk and talk very early."

"As in, very soon?"

"Probably, yeah. He's going to be very bright."

"He already recognizes people, doesn't he?"

"Yes, he does."

"I could tell. At first he looked at me very strangely, but now when I handle him, he seems to know that I'm supposed to be caring for him. He seems as if he knows me now." She put a little blush on Sookie's cheeks.

"He does, I'm sure. Octavia said he's more like a 3 month old than a baby who's only a few days old."

"That makes sense. I notice he's doing those things they do when they discover their fingers and toes. Is Octavia some kind of specialist?"

"In a way, yes. She'll be important in helping us teach him as he grows."

"So she's not a doctor, she's a …?"

"Witch. Yes, a real one. So is Amelia, and so will Alex be when he grows up. I might be, too."

"Oh, my! Alright, I'm just going to ask – Bjorn and several of the guards are not vampires but they're something other than human…" Alicia was putting eyeshadow on Sookie and penciling her brows.

"Why do you say that?"

"They sniff things in a strange way, and they seem freakishly strong. They all seem to take the same couple of nights off every month and vampire guards work those nights. I'm sure they're the best available, but I know they're something other than human."

"Are you sure you want to know?"

"Yes, I do – don't worry, I'm not going to freak out. I'm here and I like Bjorn enough to know he's a good guy, whatever he is. I just think I should know in case of an emergency." Now she put some mascara on Sookie's long lashes.

"They take off the nights of the full moon. They're Weres – what people call werewolves."

"You mean Bjorn…"

"Turns into a huge wolf when the moon is full or he needs or wants to. They have to turn on the full moon, but they can also turn at will any other time. Within the Supe world, they're the tough guys – a lot of them work as security guards, bouncers, any kind of muscle job. They're bad-asses. If there's trouble, you want them on your side."

"So werewolves are real and Bjorn is one?"

"Right."

"OK – I guess that's no weirder than vampires. It certainly explains the keen sense of smell. Do they ever turn into other animals or just wolves?"

"There are others called Shifters who can turn into other animals. Some turn into specific animals like werepanthers or weretigers, but a few can become any animal they want. My old boss was one of those. He usually takes the form of a collie, but I saw him turn into a lion once – it was amazing. He saved my life in the middle of a pack war."

"And all of these creatures have managed to avoid detection?"

"Not completely. It's just that most people think reports of them are superstition or fantasy and they've been part of the campaign to ridicule anyone who tried to expose them. Most of the mythical creatures people have read about or whispered about have some basis in fact. They've managed to stay out of the limelight for centuries, but new technology is forcing them into the open. There's talk of the Weres coming out of the closet the way the vampires did. It may happen some time this year. They're discussing it in their packs and voting on it."

"OK and you said something about some kind of world?" she asked as she lined Sookie's lips.

"The Supe world. Supe is short for Supernatural. It's the way they refer to themselves to distinguish them from humans."

"So they all know about each other?" She added hot pink lipstick.

"Oh, yeah, and they've helped each other stay hidden. Now that the vamps have been out and had a relatively peaceful transition, the Weres and Shifters are thinking about following suit. There are some types of Supe that will never come forward, of course, but Weres are very well integrated into society. A lot of them are cops or soldiers and being able to turn would enhance their ability to serve."

"Bjorn was a soldier, yes?" She handed Sookie a pair of panties to wear.

"Yeah – a Navy Seal, and some kind of spy or something – all he says is that he did some "intelligence work." Weres are drawn to those types of work because of their physical strength and endurance. Bjorn is one of the smartest Weres I've ever met, too. With his size and his strength, and him being Swedish, he's the closest thing to Eric available in the daylight. That's why he was hired – so the baby and I'd have a big Swedish warrior guarding us day and night."

"He and Mr. Northman didn't like each other when he first started working here." She helped Sookie into a nursing dress.

"No, they didn't, but I got them to work together, and there were some circumstances that made them reach an understanding. Once Eric knew he could trust him around me, he realized that he was the best available man for the job. If he couldn't protect us himself during the day, he had someone almost like him who could."

"That makes sense. What do you want the baby to wear today?"

"Just a diaper and t-shirt. He's too small to make him wear real clothes, and it's too hot and sticky besides. Plus, he has to wear clothes tonight, so let him be comfy today."

Alicia got a little t-shirt while Sookie stepped into her shoes. She gave the shirt to Sookie who put it on the baby, talking to him the whole time, while Alicia got her purse and a touch-up kit for her makeup ready.

"Hey, sweet boy! Let's put a little shirt on you, OK?"

Alex gurgled and giggled as she tickled him and put the shirt on him, then picked him up and snuggled him under her chin.

Alicia went across the hallway and knocked on Bjorn's door. He answered and said he was almost ready and he'd be right down. Sookie had the baby in a sling and she and Alicia went downstairs. Bobbie came down just before Bjorn with a big smile on her face and Alicia had orange juice and BLT's to make a quick breakfast. Everyone ate quickly as Amelia and Octavia came down to join them.

It took a caravan of four cars to get them to the TV station – Bjorn, Jerry, Sookie and the baby in her car; a car with two guards plus Bobbie and Alicia; two more guards with Amelia and Octavia, plus a van with 6 guards. There was a crowd outside the TV station, including a group of about 30 FOTS protestors across the street. New Orleans PD was keeping them away from the station itself, but there were still fans, for lack of a better word, behind ropes on both sides of the only available entrance to the station.

Bjorn and Kerik were on either side of Sookie and the baby, and they were surrounded by 6 other guards as they moved Sookie from the car to the interior of the building. The 6 guards went back out and helped move the other four women from cars into the station as the producer of the morning show introduced herself to Sookie and then led all of them into a small waiting room where they could watch Sookie on TV. Bjorn, Jerry, and two guards would accompany Sookie to the set, staying off camera of course, and Sookie would keep the baby with her, taking him out of the sling for the show so her pink appliqué dress would be visible. Alicia put Sookie's smaller crown in place and held the baby while they fixed Sookie's mic, then blotted Sookie's face with a little powder.

The hostess was a tall brunette with too many, too white teeth named Carolann Carmichael.

"Good morning, your majesty!" Carolann was very excited about this interview.

"Hi, you can call me Sookie. Is it alright if I keep Alex with me?"

"Oh, please! Everyone is dying to see the little vampire prince! Is it true he's the first one in recorded history?"

"As far as we know, yes. It's a very rare occurrence."

"Vampires normally can't reproduce, can they?"

"No, these were very special circumstances."

"I guess it must have been. So I'm going to introduce you, and you'll just tell us that you're in town for the fundraiser tonight and talk a bit about it. Is it true you might be living here?"

"At least part time. We'll probably be spending half of our time here and half in Las Vegas."

"I saw pictures from the… Sheriff's Ball, I think? Of you dancing with your husband the king. He's very tall!"

"Yes, he's 6'5"."

"He's just gorgeous, too. You're a lucky girl!"

"Oh, thank you. I think he's beautiful, too."

The producer said it was time to begin and began to count down the time as Sookie sat up straight and held the baby up straight. He was awake and very aware, looking all around him, squinting a little now and then into the bright lights.

"3…2…1…."

"Good Morning, New Orleans! I'm Carolann Carmichael and I'm here with a very special guest, vampire Queen Sookie Northman! Welcome, your majesty."

"Oh, thank you, but call me Sookie, please."

"And who is this little darling?"

"This is Prince Eric Alexander and this is his first time on TV, isn't it Alex."

The baby made an "om-ba" sound as if in response.

"Well, he's just a doll! Look at all that blonde hair! And those big blue eyes! I did see a picture in some of the tabloids though – he has fangs, doesn't he?"

"Yes, he does have little fangs. They're very cute and very sharp."

"Is there any chance we could get a peek?"

"Well, we can try." Sookie held the baby up facing the camera and tickled his gums with her finger. They got a perfect shot of his fangs shooting downward.

"Oh, my!"

"His Daddy's very proud of them. He loves to show them off."

"That could be hard on Mommy, though. You aren't breastfeeding, I hope!"

"Oh, of course I am. It's not as bad as you might think. No worse than most breastfeeding babies, I imagine. He doesn't use them all the time, either."

"This is kind of personal, I guess, but you've probably been bitten a few times?"

"His father and I have to exchange blood almost daily so that my body can support him."

"Forgive me for asking but how was he conceived? Was there any in vitro fertilization or anything like that?"

"No, we did it the old fashioned way," Sookie laughed. "It was just a really rare occurrence. You might say all the stars aligned and there he was."

"There's a rumor that some sort of magick was involved. That's not possible is it?"

"Being with Eric – the King – is always magickal, so maybe that's where the rumor comes from."

"There's also a theory that he's so old that he's fertile again."

"That one gets his vote – he's happy to take all the credit," Sookie laughed.

"So you're hosting a fundraiser tonight here in the city?"

"Yes, it's at the Ritz-Carlton Grand Ballroom at 9 pm and we're raising money for the reconstruction efforts."

"I hear it's going to be a star-studded event!"

"That's what they tell me. I just hope we raise a lot of money – there are so many people still in need! I just know that New Orleans is going to come back stronger than ever."

"So the King is involved in some of the reconstruction projects?"

"Yes, he's going to be. His predecessor didn't do much at all, but Eric is very interested in getting involved and getting the city back on her feet. We'll be spending a lot of time here so he can see to it personally that the work is getting done to his satisfaction. He's going to do everything in his power to help."

"He sounds very generous."

"He is generous and he's smart, too. He knows that it's in everyone's best interest to have New Orleans humming again. He's a great boss to work for – he pays really well and gives all kinds of perks as long as people do their jobs well."

"Did you work for him before you got together?"

"Not officially, though I did help with a couple of special jobs he had for me."

"Is he romantic?"

"Oh, very! We were in Las Vegas last week and he paid for a big spa party for me and my friends, then when I came back to the hotel room, he had filled it with every pink flower in Nevada!"

"Wow!"

"He's always doing things like that. He's very thoughtful and he makes sure I have everything I could possibly want or need."

"How does he like being a father after all these years?"

"He's over the moon! You should see them together. The baby looks just like him and I think they're going to have similar personalities. Eric spends a lot of time holding him and rocking him, and he's good about taking care of him at night so I can get some sleep. I've never seen a father more involved with an infant. He's so proud of him he's about to bust!"

"Well, I can see why – he's so sweet. He's being very well-behaved, too."

"He doesn't fuss a lot, at least not so far. He pays attention to everything – see, he's checking you out, wondering who you are," Sookie laughed.

"Those big blue eyes do seem to take everything in, don't they?"

"Oh, yes, and he's very bright, if I do say so myself," Sookie laughed again.

"You seem pretty over the moon about him yourself," the hostess laughed.

"Oh, I am. I'm thrilled to be his mommy. My life is like a dream right now."

"There were some problems at the parade in the Quarter the other night, though."

"Yes, we do have to watch out for religious fanatics using their faith as an excuse for their bigotry. Some people automatically fear anything they don't understand. It's such a shame they can't open their minds and their hearts. Vampires are little bits of living history walking among us. They have experiences and insights most people can't even imagine. They have a lot to share with us and to teach us. Everyone can benefit if we all just get along and treat each other with respect."

"Yes, we can. Thank you so much for taking the time to visit with us, Queen Sookie, and you, too, little Prince!" She tickled the baby and he laughed. "And now, back to Matt in New York!"

"And we're out…" the producer said as the red light went off the camera.

"Thank you so much, Sookie, this was just wonderful. I can't tell you what an honor it was to have you both on my show."

"Oh, well, thank you. We're happy to help, aren't we, Alex?"

"Ba-ba-ba-ba-ba" the baby said as he chewed on a finger and smiled.

"He almost sounds as if he's trying to talk," Carolann laughed.

"Oh, he is, he just can't manage it yet, but he'll start early, I'm sure."

"Good luck with the fundraiser tonight. I might actually be there, if everything goes according to plan – they're trying to get me in so I can cover it."

"Oh, that would be nice! If there's anything I can do to help, just let me know. I can leave word at the office if you'd like."

"Could you? We haven't been able to get a press pass yet."

"Here, hang on – Alicia, do you have my iPhone?"

"Yes, it's right here,"

Sookie took the phone and called the New Orleans office.

"Yes, Your Majesty?"

"Hi, Emily? Carolann at the Morning Show needs a press pass to cover the fundraiser tonight. Is anybody working on that?"

"Just a minute, let me check. Uh, we have the request, but we haven't responded yet."

"OK, well, she was very nice to me this morning so I want you to approve her request now so she can join us tonight, alright?"

"Yes, your majesty, I'll do that right now."

"Oh, good, thank you." She hung up, "OK, Carolann, you should be hearing from them any minute now. I told them to approve you, so you should be all set. I'll see you tonight!"

"Thank you so much, your majesty."

"No problem at all. Say 'bye-bye,' Alex!" She waved the baby's hand and he said "ba-ba," and everyone laughed.

Bjorn wouldn't allow Sookie to talk to anyone outside the station so she was swept straight into the car with Alicia.

"That was just a coincidence, right?" Sookie said as she put the baby to her breast to feed.

"What was, dear?"

"Alex saying "ba-ba" when I told him to say 'bye-bye?'"

"Oh, it had to be. Doesn't he make that ba-ba-ba sound all the time?"

"Yeah, that's right, he does. It had to be a coincidence." Sookie had her doubts, though. How was she going to explain a tiny baby that could talk? People were calling him "spawn of Satan" as it was. He wasn't even a week old yet and he's already trying to talk? She couldn't lie about his age – everyone knew when he was born. How far would being a vampire go toward explaining his advanced abilities?

"Where are we going now?" Sookie asked.

"We talked about having brunch at one of the restaurants at the Ritz-Carlton so we could check it out in the day light – unless you aren't up to it?" Alicia asked.

"No, brunch sounds fine – I hope they don't mind me bringing a baby with me."

"He'll be fine, you just keep him in your sling and he'll probably sleep the whole time. He'll doze off as soon as he finishes eating."

The restaurant, on the third floor lobby level, was called Mélange and it was beautiful. They had a Summer Brunch Menu and Sookie insisted that the guards all be seated and eat as well. Sookie was tickled to see that they had Smoked Salmon Flatbread served with crème fraiche and Choupique caviar on the menu and that one of their special entrees was Fried Chicken and Waffles, which she and Octavia were both excited about. Sookie's entourage took up quite a bit of the restaurant, but they were all treated very well and the service was flawless. The baby slept the whole time.

"This place is gorgeous," Sookie said as they left the restaurant, "do you suppose they'd let me see the ballroom?" she asked Alicia and Bjorn. The group stopped on the second floor and Bjorn inquired inside the ballroom, which was being set up for the evening's activities. He explained that the vampire Queen hosting the event was outside and would like to see the room. An hotel representative, a petite, flirty woman with auburn hair, came to meet Sookie and took her and her entourage into the ballroom.

"Mrs. Northman? I'm Evelyn Reed, I'll be happy to show you the rooms. We had to expand quite a bit with the extra requests for tickets. We're using the entire Grand Ballroom, which can be divided into 4 smaller Salons on other occasions, as well as the Lafayette ballroom and several smaller rooms on this floor. There will be large video screens in the extra rooms so everyone can see the speakers and the main room will have a video screen showing the dance floor. The music will be piped into all of the rooms. Please come in and look around." She directed Sookie into the Grand Ballroom and Sookie tried not to act like a hick when she saw it because it was stunning. Evelyn continued, "In our brochures, we say that "in the Grand Ballroom, all that glitters is gold." We feature these fine French draperies, Czech crystal chandeliers and this wonderful carpeting is less than two years old. We'll be adding some red accents to our normal cream and gold color scheme in honor of the vampires, but what you're seeing right now is the standard decoration. The staff will have it all set up by 8 o'clock."

"It's just beautiful – Is there some sort of program planned for tonight?"

"Yes, dinner will be served at 11, and there will be a few speeches, appeals by celebrities, mostly and there's an MC. As I understand it, you'll be introduced at the beginning of the evening, 10 o'clock, I think, but they didn't plan much for you to do because of the baby. They were afraid you might need to leave early, so you and your husband, the King, really only need to show up and have dinner. Of course, everyone is wild to see the Prince."

"Well, this will be his first public appearance, unless you count the parade, so I hope it goes well. Is there going to be adequate security tonight?"

"Yes, ma'am, your offices have been working with us and NOPD. There won't be any protestors allowed outside tonight and there will be public and private security throughout the hotel. Every precaution is being taken to assure a safe and successful event."

"That's great – and where is the dance floor?"

"The Lafayette Ballroom will be used for dancing and an orchestra will play throughout the evening. We're hoping you and the King will dance tonight."

"I'm hoping that, too. I'm sure we will – Eric loves to swing me around the dance floor. It's always my favorite part of the night."

"Wonderful! You'll be seated at this bank of tables over here where the VIPs will be concentrated. You'll be sitting with the Jolie-Pitts and the mayor and his wife."

"Oh, I had no idea…" Sookie was stoked now. How cool was that!?

"Do you need us to provide a high chair for the Prince… Is that he, may I ask?"

"Oh, yes, this is Eric Alexander," Sookie held the baby up in the sling so she could see him. "He's asleep right now." The baby's hand rubbed his little nose.

"Oh, he's a doll – look at all that blond hair!"

"Wait until you see his blue eyes," Sookie bragged. "Thanks, but I don't think we'll need a high chair. My husband will probably hold onto him all night, for safety. He likes to keep him close."

"Oh, that's fine. The rest of your party will be seated at this table right beside you, except I understand that two of them will be right at the table with you – a body guard, I believe, and someone to help with the baby?"

"Yes, that's the plan. Bjorn here is my shadow," she laughed.

"Oh, nice shadow," Evelyn smiled and gave Bjorn a little bat of her eyelashes, which Bobbie didn't appreciate at all. Bjorn enjoyed the reactions of both women, of course, because he liked that Evelyn thought he was cute and Bobbie thought he was hers. He was starting to feel possessive about Bobbie, too, and he was very happy it was reciprocated. "Would you like to see the dance floor? The orchestra is probably setting up now."

"Oh, sure! That'd be great!"

Evelyn took them through the opposite side of the Ballroom to a hallway and pointed out 4 smaller rooms that would have between 30 and 50 tables in each, then took her down the long hallway to the Lafayette ballroom, which would have it's own bar, about 50 tables where people can sit and chat and lots of room to dance, plus the orchestra, which was getting ready to rehearse and check out their sound equipment.

"Oh, I hope a lot of people come in here to enjoy the music and dance," Sookie said.

"Well, we have a little surprise that will draw them back at a couple of points in the night."

"Really?"

"Please don't tell anyone, but Harry Connick Jr. is going to do a couple of numbers and some local musicians will play throughout the evening. We're hoping that will encourage people to come in here throughout the night."

"Well, that's wonderful. Mr. Connick played at the Sheriff's Ball in Las Vegas last week and everyone just loved him. He seems very vampire-friendly."

"Yes, he is, most of New Orleans is, you know, and he's a local favorite. Everyone will love it, I'm sure."

"Well, you've probably got lots of work to do before tonight. Thank you so much for taking the time to show us around. I'm sure it's going to be wonderful!" Sookie really wanted the lady to know she was pleased with the arrangements.

"Thank you so much for stopping by, your majesty. If there's anything at all my office can do to make your evening more enjoyable, just give me a call," she handed Sookie her card, "we're very excited for your family to attend tonight."

"Oh, thank you - you'll be here tonight?'

"Yes, your majesty, I'll be seeing that everything runs smoothly."

"Well, great! We'll see you then!" Sookie shook the lady's hand and turned to Bjorn, who directed her back to the way out as he answered his phone.

"Sookie, they need me at the territory headquarters to confirm some arrangements for tonight. I'm going to get you home then go there and I may have to come back here, but I'll be home in time to get ready to go with you tonight," Bjorn explained.

"That's fine, Bjorn – we're going to nap when we get home, so there's no point in you sitting there watching us sleep – there are guards all around the house."

"Well, we won't make a habit of this, but considering the level of security we need for tonight, it's necessary."

It was almost 3 pm by the time they all got back to Sookie's new house, and the baby was awake and fussy, so Sookie headed to the bedroom with him with Alicia close behind. Alicia took him to give him a clean nappy and he seemed to settle a bit, as if he knew what was going on and liked it. She talked to him the whole time, of course, and he gave her some giggles and big smiles. By the time he was changed, Sookie had put her nightgown on and was in bed ready to feed him and then take a nap before she needed to get ready for the fundraiser.

"What time do you think I need to get in the shower, Alicia?" Sookie asked as she brought the baby back to her, then helped her get situated with her pink nursing pillow.

"Well, we'll probably leave here at 9 since that's when the fundraiser starts and you want to get there about a half hour later. I'd say you should sleep until Mr. Northman wakes up, then have family dinner, take your bath together from 7 to 8 and I'll help you get dressed after. I'll get ready a little early so that once your hair and makeup is done, we'll be ready to go."

"OK, so looks like we're going to take a nap, Alex. Are you ready for a nap? Huh?" She smiled, looking into those big eyes that just sparkled when he was happy as he was now. He reached up and patted her cheek, and she kissed his palm three times.

Alicia put Eric's pillow to the side so Sookie could put the baby next to her for their nap. They knew he wouldn't want to be in the portable crib where he couldn't see Sookie. Alicia was going to look through Sookie's laptop and see where she ordered her co-sleeper. If she could find it, she'd go ahead and have one sent to this address.

"What are you going to do this afternoon, Alicia?"

"I'm going to plan dinner, soak in the tub, get myself ready to go and make sure your dress is steamed and Mr. Northman's tux is pressed, then make dinner..."

"I hate for you to do all that, Alicia – why don't you just order pizza for us and spend that extra time in the tub? We're eating again tonight so we don't need anything complicated for dinner. Make it easy on yourself."

"Are you sure you want to do that?"

"Actually, yeah – I haven't had pizza in ages. Just order enough for us all and be done with it. I like all the vegetables but no meat on mine, and ask Bobbie and Bjorn what they like, and Amelia and Octavia. Now that I think of it, this is a great idea – I'm so used to being in Bon Temps where they don't have anything like a Papa John's that I never think of it. It'll be a treat for everybody, right, Alex?"

The baby made a cute little noise like he was trying to respond, but of course it was muffled by Sookie's breast. Alicia got Sookie's dress, a pink chiffon gown that looked like something a Greek Goddess would wear, out of the closet and Eric's tux and took them downstairs with her while Sookie finished up with the baby and laid him down beside her.

"OK, baby boy, we're going to sleep now. Sweet dreams to you." She talked to him as she put him on his back and lay down on her side with her hand on his tummy. She closed her eyes and straightened her arm, taking it off of the baby, and a few minutes later she suddenly felt something against her. The baby rolled over into her, reaching out and trying to raise his little head. "Alex – did you just roll over by yourself?" Sookie knew it was way too soon for that, but here he was, on his tummy gurgling and laughing, and she knew she didn't make any movement that would cause him to roll that way. "You aren't supposed to be able to do that yet, Pookie."

She put him over to the side again, on his back and before she got settled he flipped himself over and cracked up. "Oh, you're pleased with yourself, now, huh?"

"Mm-ba!" he said and then laughed and laid his cheek on top of his hand, looking at Sookie with that mischievous twinkle in his eye that Sookie had a feeling she was going to be seeing a lot of in the next few years.

"I can't risk rolling over on you, Alex. If you won't stay put, I'll have to put you over here in the crib."

"Ba-ba!"

She put him on his back once more, but he only stayed 5 minutes before he was over against her, so she put him in the portable crib. "Now, listen, Alex. Mommy is right here, OK? I'll be right here if you need me, so don't get upset. You sleep for a bit and then when we wake up, Daddy will be awake, OK?"

"Da! VBEE!" He threw his arm up and then giggled again.

"Yeah, I know, VIG! OK, baby, please, go to sleep now." Sookie lay back down and was asleep very quickly and slept peacefully for about an hour and a half.

"OW!" Sookie's eyes flew open to find the baby on her chest, biting her breast through her gown, but not near her nipple. "Alex – you're supposed to stay put when I put you in bed, remember? Here… Ow!" She was trying to pull him away without pulling his little fangs, which were caught in her nightgown. She finally got him untangled and managed to get the gown down and he latched onto her nipple with a vengeance. "OW! Alex! I just fed you!"

"Sookie?" Bobbie looked in the door. "I heard you yell "ouch" – are you OK?"

"The little Viking attacked me!" She said, half kidding, half serious.

"What?!" Bobbie was sort of laughing, but trying not to.

"I tried to put him down for a nap, but he kept rolling over next to me, so I put him in the crib and I woke up and he was biting me."

"Wait – you're saying he can turn over on his own already?"

"Yes, and he teleported out of the crib on top of me. Look!" Sookie showed her the spot on top of her breast where she was bleeding from two little puncture marks.

"He bit you there?"

"Yeah, apparently he knows the general area where he gets fed but he hasn't figured it out completely."

"You usually feed him through a feeding dress or in a gown, right? Maybe you need to feed him a few times with bare breasts so he learns to look for nipples?"

"Well, if he's able to come looking on his own, I guess I'll have to teach him what to look for. This is unreal… are we going to have to watch him every minute?"

"We may have to – maybe I should watch him while you sleep?"

"I don't know – I want to teach him to stay put if I can. I can't have him popping in and out of his crib like that."

"Any idea how to do that?"

"None whatsoever. Maybe we can all put our heads together at dinner? Surely between you, me, Octavia, Amelia, Eric, and Bjorn, we can come up with something? He can't be smarter than all of us, can he?"

"At this point, Sweetie, I believe just about anything. I can't wrap my mind around him rolling over."

"Here, he's taking a break, so let's see if he'll do it." Sookie put the baby next to her on the bed on his back and called him. "Alex – come to Mommy!"

Without missing a beat, the baby reached for her with his far hand and flipped onto his tummy, laughing and drooling on the sheet a little, his hand on Sookie's arm.

"Oh, my Goddess!" Bobbie couldn't believe it.

"I know, right?" Sookie picked him up and cuddled him against her chest. "He's months ahead of where he should be. And did you hear him this morning when I waved his hand at Carolann and told him to say bye-bye?"

"Ba-ba!"

"He's been making that ba-ba-ba sound, though Sookie – that's got to be a coincidence."

"Try him."

"Alex – bye-bye," Bobbie smiled and waved at him.

The baby waved his arm toward her and said "ba-ba!"

"Coincidence, huh?" Sookie said, "That's some coincidence."

"Wow – yeah… well, I originally came up here to find out if you and your buddy wanted a massage before dinner?"

"I know I would. Do you have a table here?"

"Yes, the office had one purchased for your use while you're here. It's in my room – should I bring it in here?"

"Yes, I'd really appreciate it. I'm a little tense. I hope everything goes OK tonight. I'm worried about taking Alex out around people."

"Don't worry about that, Sookie – he was a doll this morning on TV, and Eric will be there to control him. He'll listen to Eric, right?"

"Probably. Watch him for a minute while I go to the bathroom?" Sookie got out of bed and left the baby lying on Eric's side of the bed.

"Sure, go ahead. We'll wait here, won't we, Alex?" Bobbie sat on the bed next to him and tickled his feet, which made him kick and squeal with delight, scrunching his little fists under his chin. "So, little vampire, you're learning fast, huh? Are you learning fast, Alex? Huh? You're ticklish, I know that," and she tickled him again and he laughed.

"Wow, Bobbie, you've got him cracking up. What are you doing to him?" Sookie said as she came back out of the bathroom.

"Your little buddy here is ticklish, aren't you, Alex?"

"Om-ba!" he said as he laughed.

"He's been making that sound a lot, Sookie – do you suppose it means something?"

"I have no idea – but I did notice that he usually means "yes" when he says it. I also noticed he always tries to respond when we speak to him, don't you, Alex?"

"Om-ba!" he said followed by giggles and squeals. Sookie and Bobbie laughed along with him.

"I'll get my table and be right back, hon."

"ba-ba-ba-ba-ba!" The baby was repeating the sound over and over but he was changing his voice from a normal tone then going up to almost a squeal.

"You learnin' how to talk, Pookie?" Sookie smiled and tickled him.

"Om-ba!" and off with the giggles again as he played with his toes.

"At least you're a happy baby! You are! You are the happiest baby I ever saw!"

He smiled and looked at her with those blue eyes, chewing on his finger and kicking his feet. Sookie blew raspberries on his tummy and he howled with laughter as she moved him to the middle of the bed and put a pillow on each side of him to keep him from rolling off.

Bobbie set up her table and spread it with sheets and Sookie just got naked since they were in her bedroom and she got on the table. Sookie was beginning to relax into Bobbie's skillful hands, watching the baby watch her on the table. She actually dozed off after a few minutes and Bobbie let her sleep right up until she heard Eric opening the lock on the coffin in the corner, when she pulled the sheet up over her bottom and left the room, closing the door behind her.

Eric knew Sookie was in the room before he even lifted the lid. The wonderful sweetness of her filled the box and he came out hungry for her. He was instantly up beside her, licking her back, caressing her soft skin, trying to decide how to take her when he heard "ba-ba-ba-ba-ba!" At first he was startled and the animal in him reacted as if there was another predator stalking his prey, but when he looked at the baby lying there Eric sort of snapped back into himself. He stood frozen for a minute. He wanted to taste Sookie in every way, but he knew not to do it in front of the baby. The Daddy in him was at war with the animal. The ancient part of him, the part that usually wins, wanted to fuck her and feed from her and wanted it right now… she smelled so good and was so vulnerable… but the baby was vulnerable, too. As he fought with himself he forgot that he had his hands on Sookie's arms and didn't realize he was squeezing.

"Ow – Eric!"

"Sookie?"

"Eric, what are you doing?"

"I… I…" He was confused but he let her go.

"Eric, help me up." She reached for him and he helped her sit up on the table, the sheet falling away and leaving her naked. Suddenly he was kissing her hard, running his hands over her, taking her breath away.

"Ba-ba-ba-ba…"

Sookie tried to push him away but wouldn't let her so she bit his lip, which caused him to growl and force her head to the side. He struck hard and the blood spurted from her neck as he sucked harder than he ever had before. Sookie and Eric were nearly lost in their feeding frenzy when Eric heard hissing – the baby was on his stomach, fangs down, hissing at the sight of the blood. At vampire speed, Eric pulled his bloody lips away and picked up the baby, letting him lap at the blood streaming down Sookie's neck. Sookie was less aware at this point than Eric was, but then she turned her head toward where Eric had been and yelled "NO!" when she realized the baby was feeding, too. Eric was startled and pulled the baby away, but then held him up laughing and kissed the baby's bloody lips.

"Da!"

"That's my boy, Eric Alexander – that's Daddy's little vampire." Eric laughed

"Eric –what were you thinking?!"

"I wasn't thinking – I was feeding. Why are you so upset?" Eric licked Sookie's neck to help the wound close as he held the baby to the side.

"Eric, you know the effect that has on us – you can't bring the baby into that!"

"He's a part of the blood bond, Sookie – how will we keep him out of it?"

"I don't know… but that has to stay between us. I can't be having o-r-g-a-s-m-s in front of him and neither can you!"

"Why are you spelling? He doesn't understand…"

"He understands PLENTY, Eric, you haven't been with him all day. At this rate he'll be talking by next week and he already bit me once today after teleporting out of his crib, and on top of that, he can roll over already!"

"He can? But that's wonderful!"

"I can't believe you let him feed from my neck that way!"

"He feeds from you many times a day, Sookie – what difference does it make?"

"Breastfeeding a baby is normal, a baby licking an open wound is…."

"Yes?" Eric was interested in what she would say – he was nearly offended.

"It's… sexual."

"Sexual?"

"Yes, it's something we do when we have s-e-x."

"So he will never be allowed to feed until he is… how old will he be before he can have s-e-x?" Eric was amused now, knowing Sookie hadn't thought this through. She was having an emotional response, not a rational one, and he was going to have to talk her through it.

"He doesn't need to feed or hunt – he can drink RMs until he's… he's…"

"You do realize there will be no other teen vampires, do you not? If he has s-e-x, it will be with a human girl his age or a much older vampiress. How old is old enough?"

"How old were you when you first had sex?"

"13."

"What?!"

"I was 13. I married at 16. I went to war at 17."

"Our son is NOT going to have sex at 13, Eric."

"How do you know? You are his mother – you won't be involved in that part of his life."

"Oh, but you will?"

"Of course – it is not unheard of for sons and fathers to share such things, but a boy will not tell his mother that he fucked…"

"ERIC!"

"What?!"

"No F words in front of the b-a-b-y, please."

"Sookie – he is not a human child. His needs will be different than a human boy – they will be much more intense and feeding will always be attached to fucking once he reaches puberty. Even before that, I'm not sure we can teach him not to hunt. He will need willing donors regularly."

"Starting when?"

"Probably when he is weaned."

"So at 2 or 3 you're going to start getting him human donors?"

"Do you see any way around it? He must feed, Sookie. Even if he eats food you know he will need blood. You know his instincts will tell him to bite, even if RM is available. We will be lucky if we manage to teach him not to attack our servants."

"Great… I never even thought about that."

"I have thought of these things, my angel. We can handle this, but some of your preconceived ideas about raising a child will not apply here. Certain moral or social expectations you might have for him will not be practical or realistic."

"I just worry about people thinking he's a devil baby."

"Some will think that no matter what we do. You cannot let fear of small minds affect the way we parent our child.

There was a knock at the door, "Sookie?"

"Yes, Bobbie?"

"The pizzas are here – are you all coming downstairs for family dinner?"

"Yes, we'll be right there. Thanks!" She realized for the first time she was naked. "I have to put some clothes on. I can't believe I've been standing here like this!"

"What's wrong with that? No one here but family."

"I really shouldn't be naked in front of the baby." She pulled her dress from earlier in the day on.

"That's ridiculous, Sookie – why would it matter? He's a Supe, so nudity will never matter to him, and he is an infant. I'm sure he will bathe and shower with both of us at times and probably sleep in our bed when he's big enough not to get hurt. There's no harm in it, especially when he is small."

"See, Eric, I know you are making perfect sense, but my conservative Christian upbringing is hard to get past. I'm afraid I'll always react certain ways and he'll see that and it will create some kind of conflict in him."

"May I make an observation?"

"Please…"

"You are feeling overwhelmed. I take it he gave you a hard time today?"

"Not a hard time, but he raised a lot of questions about whether I'm really able to handle him and yes, I am feeling overwhelmed."

He hugged her with his free arm and kissed her forehead. "Do not fear, Sookie. We will talk this all through, as often as necessary, and we will work it all out one step at a time. Let's go down to dinner now. It's getting late and we have much to do tonight."

They reached the dining room as Alicia was passing out plates and cutting pieces of pizza for everybody.

"Good evening, everyone," Eric greeted the "family" and held a seat out for Sookie with his free hand, the baby leaning on his other shoulder sucking his thumb and watching everything that moved.

"Eric – I see you have the new TV star with you," Bjorn laughed.

"TV star? You mean Sookie?"

"No, I mean Prince Alex. He made his TV debut this morning."

"He did? Sookie, you took him on TV with you?"

"Yeah, I just felt like keeping him with me. He was really well behaved and showed off his fangs and laughed when the interviewer tickled him. He was adorable, if I do say so myself." Her mood was brightening now.

"They've been showing clips of him popping his fangs and giggling all day on local and national news. It's even airing overseas." Bjorn told him.

"How is he being received?" Eric asked hopefully.

"99% positive, but the FOTS types are losing their minds," Bjorn said.

"Oh, great," Sookie said, "like we need more trouble with them."

"Remember what I said, Sookie – don't let small minds keep you from doing what is right for your family," Eric reminded her.

"Everybody thinks he's just precious," Alicia assured Sookie. "The women on the news were all bragging on his hair and his eyes and saying how much like Mr. Northman he looks. They even put their pictures up side by side to show how much they look alike."

"Good – no one will question whether he is my son."

"Yes, and they're talking about doing all kinds of commemorative things for him, like a Prince Alex collector's doll and things like that," Bobbie added.

"Anyone that uses his image had better be sure they license it through us. I'm not going to tolerate bootlegging." Eric said definitively. "That's money that will go to secure his future."

"We'll have people watching out for that tonight as they patrol." Bjorn said proudly. "The security is going to be tight as a drum. We already have people stationed on the hotel grounds sending away protestors. NOPD is going to arrest anyone that steps on the hotel property with a sign or anything like that. They're still pissed about the attack at the parade the other night. One of their sergeants told me confidentially that they've been told to take no crap against vamps tonight. The word came from the top that New Orleans is going to be the most vamp-friendly city in America and nothing and nobody is going to compromise that."

"They need our money. That's good. They know it is in their best interest to keep us safe and happy. I'll feel much better about living in this area knowing that," Eric said as he snuggled the baby under his chin, petting his back and kissing his head. The baby tried to lean back and Eric put his hand behind the head and let him move out so he could look him in the eye. "Are you having a good day, my son?"

"Om-ba!" Alex giggled.

"I think that means 'yes,'" Sookie laughed and everyone joined her.

"Are you kidding or does he actually seem to be answering?" Octavia asked her.

"I actually think that's him trying to say 'yes' – he says it whenever you would expect him to say yes. He can say 'bye-bye,' too."

"Ba-ba!" Alex said and waved his arm, to Eric's delight.

"Alex – who's got you?" Sookie asked him. She pointed at Eric, "who is that, Alex?"

"Da! Vbee!" and up went the arm. The baby giggled like crazy.

"Did he just try to say "daddy?" Amelia was amazed.

"Yeah, I think he did," Sookie said. " Watch – Alex – who is that?"

"Da!"

"Is that Daddy?"

"DA-da!" he giggled as he reached forward and touched Eric's face. Eric was beside himself.

"Is that possible? That he could be speaking so early?" Even Eric knew this was out of the ordinary, though he was thrilled beyond belief.

"It's more than possible," Octavia said, "it appears to be a fact. I hear he can roll over on his own already, too?"

"Yep, he can, and he bit me today and not in the right spot, see?" She pulled the top of her dress down a little and showed the little punctures on top of her right breast. "I don't think he quite understands the feeding thing yet – he just knows the general area where the food comes from."

"You'll need to teach him, then. As smart as he is, he'll pick it up pretty quick. Just feed him topless a few times and show him where to latch on." Octavia advised.

"That's what I said – she needs to show him how to find the nipple."

"Don't fret if it doesn't work – he's a vampire. All flesh invites biting." Eric said.

"Yeah, but we need to teach him when to bite and where, and when not to, or he'll be on everybody."

"You might need to hire a wet nurse or two to give him blood if he insists on feeding on something other than Sookie or a bottle." Octavia said.

"What would a wet nurse do?" Sookie asked.

"Traditionally, they breast fed a child, but in his case, you might need someone who'll let him feed from their wrist so he doesn't start hunting on his own."

"I'll let him feed from my wrist," Bobbie said.

"So will I," Amelia offered. "No reason not to, he won't take that much."

Alicia didn't say anything, but she was considering it.

"I'd offer, but I don't think he'd want mine…" Bjorn laughed.

"Yes, he's not likely to want to feed on a…" Eric stopped himself and looked at Alicia.

"It's OK – I know about the Weres and Shifters now." Alicia laughed.

Bjorn was taken aback and Eric was shocked. "You do?" Eric asked.

"Yes, I asked Sookie and she told me. I knew some of the guards were something other than human or vampire, so I asked. I figured if vampires were real, there might be other beings that were real, too."

"Thank you for understanding, Alicia. I appreciate your open-mindedness." Eric said sincerely.

"It's mostly Bjorn you have to thank for that. I might have been a little freaked out if I didn't know him before I figured it out. I know he's a good guy so by the time I figured out there was something else going on, I was predisposed to be open to it. I also knew that they must be the best available if you had them guarding your family, and I trusted that meant we were as safe as possible."

"They're the very best available, and a lot of them have an obligation to protect Sookie even if she were not my wife. That's a commitment they take seriously." Eric explained.

"I told her that Weres were the badasses of the Supe world," Sookie said.

Bjorn laughed loudly at that. "Good description. We do tend to do a lot of the security work that gets done. A lot of us are cops or soldiers, too."

"Like I said," Sookie agreed, "if there's a fight, you want them on your side."

"Then I'm glad we have them. They kept the parade from being a lot worse than it might have been, didn't they?"

"Oh, yeah, we were ready for the FOTS. We'll be ready if they try anything tonight, but they're going to have a hard time even getting near the place. From what I hear, the police chief's job depends on making sure this goes off without a hitch. The Mayor said there damned well better be no disturbance tonight."

"He's sitting at our table tonight." Sookie said.

"He is?" Eric asked.

"Yeah and supposedly Brad and Angelina, too. You think they'll actually show up?"

"From what I hear, they will. They went to a lot of trouble to secure their seats at our table, according to Bill. Speaking of Bill, where is he?"

"Already at the hotel," Bjorn said. "He took off as soon as he awoke to make sure everything is set up. He wants to do a good job since this is the first event the New Orleans office is hosting since you put him in charge."

"Good. I have no doubt they can handle it, but I like seeing him take an active role." Eric said.

"Not to rush anybody, but it's almost 7 o'clock. I thought you and Sookie would want to bathe from 7 to 8 and then I'll help her with her hair and makeup." Alicia said.

"That sounds good to me – what do you say, my angel?"

"Just let me finish this last piece of pizza – this is really good, Alicia, make sure you keep their number so we can order from them again."

"May I have a bite?" Eric asked.

"Sure, Sweetie, here," she held up the slice and he tried it. ''What do you think?"

"It's good. These are different, though, yes? There's a strong smell from that pizza that this slice does not have."

"This is a vegetarian pizza – those have meat on them."

"Hmm – interesting. I like this one, but the other doesn't smell good at all."

"You probably smell the goat in the pepperoni," Bjorn explained.

"Goat?!" Sookie was horrified.

"Yes – pepperoni is made from goat meat." Bjorn confirmed.

"It is?" Sookie looked around the table.

"Yep," Bobbie laughed, "that's why I'm eating the vegetarian one."

"Which pizza are you eating, Bjorn?"

"The tomato pie, remember. No cheese on mine, and no fatty meat or sausage. Just carbs and vegetables."

"Cheese is bad?" Eric asked Bjorn.

"Not completely – it has a lot of calcium and protein but I need to watch the amount of fat I eat this week. It's actually good for Sookie right now, because she's breastfeeding and needs the extra calories as well as the protein. As long as she stuck with the vegetables, this was a good choice for her."

"Interesting. Alright, then what time do we all leave for the hotel?" Eric asked as he stood up with the baby, who was holding onto his finger as tight as he could as Eric teased him.

"We should leave here at 9 o'clock," Bjorn said, "So everybody has two hours to get cleaned up.

"Alicia will you have time to get ready?" Sookie asked.

"Yes, I will, hon – I'm already bathed and my hair is done – all I have to do is change out of this house dress and into my fancy dress – I'll do that before I work on you."

"OK, cool. I guess we'll go up now and see you all in two hours." She took Eric's hand and he pulled her up, and they headed upstairs as Bobbie and Alicia cleared the dishes, and Amelia and Octavia took the elevator up to get dressed.

As they walked into their room, Sookie took the baby and said, "I'll bet he needs a new diaper."

"Bring him in the tub with us," Eric said as he ran the water and checked the temperature so it wasn't too warm.

"What if he goes in the water?"

"Then we drain the tub, clean it out, and finish in the shower. It's not a big deal, Sookie." Eric pulled off his shirt and dropped his jeans.

"OK, I guess not. I'll just leave him naked until we're done." She carried him over to Eric who held him with one arm and helped Sookie into the tub with the other. Once she was settled, he handed her the baby and got in behind her. "This tub isn't as big as the one we have at home."

"We can have a bigger one installed if we want to."

"This one is big enough for us, but just barely. I'm so used to having all that room at home, I'm spoiled," she laughed and the baby laughed too. "Oh you think that's funny, huh? That Mommy is spoiled."

"Mmmm" Alex said.

"That's a new one. Mmmm" Sookie said to him.

"Mmmmm," he repeated.

"Eric Alexander," Eric spoke to him and the baby looked at him with huge eyes. "Is Mommy holding you? Is this your Mommy?"

"Mmmmm."

"He's trying to say it, Sookie." Eric said softly, knowing she was dying for him to say "mommy."

"Yeah, I think he is."

"Alex, say "Mommy," Eric tickled his chin so he looked him in the eyes, "MOM – MY!"

"Mmmmaa!" the baby giggled.

"Good Boy, Alex, MOM-MY" Eric encouraged him.

"Mmmmma! Mmmma!"

"Alex, where is Mommy?"

The baby reached forward and patted Sookie's cheek.

"He knows me!" Sookie was so happy she was near tears.

"Of course he knows his Mommy, my angel." Eric kissed her hair.

"Mmmma!" the baby patted her cheek again and giggled.

"I've never seen a baby that laughs this much." Sookie said with wonder.

"He has much to be happy about. He will never want for anything. He has the most beautiful mother in the world, and the fiercest father. He is a Prince, he is rich and he is more beloved than any child has ever been. He has every right to giggle, have you not, Alex?"

"OM-ba!"

Sookie and Eric cracked up and so did the baby.

'We only have an hour so I guess we better get on with it," Sookie said. "What's first?"

"First I will wash your hair, then soap you up and you hold onto him. Then, I will hold him as you wash my hair, then we will wash him and shampoo his blond hair so it sparkles in the lights tonight."

"Yep – he'll want to be beautiful tonight for his first public appearance, won't you Alex?"

"Om-ba, ba-ba-ba-ba," he sang as he splashed in the water. Eric used the hand held to wet Sookie's hair and wash it with baby shampoo, being careful not to splash the baby as he splashed and giggled in the water. The baby reached back wanting Sookie, so she turned him to face her and hugged and kissed him as Eric combed conditioner through her hair. He rinsed her hair carefully and clipped it up as he soaped and washed her off with baby soap, then he took the baby and she got behind him, up on her knees so she could wash his hair.

Eric held the baby out in front of him so he didn't get splashed with shampoo, and Sookie soaped and rinsed his broad, muscular back and his chest as Eric looked the baby in the eye and talked to him, making him chatter and giggle. The baby watched everything Sookie did to Eric's hair and shoulders with big eyes. Sookie combed out Eric's hair and he turned to face her in the tub so she could use the handheld, on a very low setting, to wet the baby's hair and she washed it as Eric held him, then she soaped him thoroughly. They drained the tub and Eric turned the hand held to a setting that made a broad, gentle spray, almost like rain, and he held it up to fall over all of them. The baby giggled and closed his eyes, loving the water as it rinsed them all off. Sookie held the baby again as Chanel No. 5 lotion, a surprise from Eric, was gently rubbed all over her damp skin.

Eric took the baby and floated up out of the tub, then helped Sookie step out of the bath. He wrapped the baby in a towel, held him down so Sookie could kiss him again, then took him to the vanity to give him a fresh diaper while Sookie put on her thong panties and threw two little things shaped like flower petals on the bed.

"What are those, Sookie?"

"I can't wear a bra with this dress, so I'm wearing those to keep my nipples from showing through. It will also keep them from leaking on my dress," She explained as she wiggled into a flesh colored garterbelt.

"Mmm – garters!" Eric wiggled his eyebrows at her.

She laughed and the baby in Eric's arms said "Mmmma!"

"Yes, that's what I say when I think of Mommy – mmmmm!" Eric said to Alex as Sookie laughed

"Mmmma!"

"Speaking of mmmm - When does the baby feed next?" Eric asked as he laid the baby in the middle of the bed.

"Any time now. As soon as I get these stockings on, I'll try to feed him while Alicia does my makeup."

Eric pulled his silk boxers on as Alicia knocked on the door. "Are you ready for me, yet?"

"Yes, Alicia, come on in. I'm going to try to feed the baby while you work on me, OK?"

"That's a good idea. We have bottles of RM in the diaper bag, but if he'll eat now, it will make your life a lot easier." Alicia handed Eric his freshly pressed tux, and hung Sookie's dress, freshly steamed, on the back of the door."

Sookie bent over the baby on the bed. "Hey, Pookie! Are you hungry? You want to eat? Here, come eat." She picked him up and held him to her breast and he latched right on, humming happily as he suckled. Sookie sat in the side chair and Alicia dried and curled her hair with hot rollers, then worked on her makeup. Eric took his time getting into his tux, watching Sookie feed the baby.

"You look very lovely, my angel."

"With my hair in curlers, in my underwear, with a hungry baby hanging off of me?" she laughed.

"Yes, my dear wife, you have never been more beautiful to me."

"Hu-ush!" she said to him, blushing and smiling. She loved it when he talked that way, even if it was a little embarrassing. He could feel what she was feeling and he bounced love back to her and to the baby. The baby was sending HAPPY! HAPPY!

Alicia finished Sookie's makeup and took her hair down, teasing it at the crown to give it some height and using two pins to hold the sides back, flipping the ends up and pinning her small, heart-shaped diamond crown in place.

Eric whistled as Sookie stepped into a pair of pink Marc Jacobs pumps with silver stiletto heels.

"Oh, you like these, huh?" she teased him.

"I like those very much, indeed. I think I have plans for you and those shoes later tonight…"

Alicia helped her step into her dress and pull it up, then worked on fastening the back of the skirt at the waist. Eric didn't see her get into her dress because he was putting on his shoes and playing with the baby who was back on the bed. Alicia went to get the steamer to freshen up Eric Alexander's little tuxedo. Once the petals, the dress straps that left her back exposed, and everything were in place, Sookie turned to Eric and asked "What do you think?" a little nervously.

Eric looked up and was speechless. He hadn't felt the presence of Freya so intensely since the night of their wedding reception at Fangtasia, when he had been afraid to take Sookie out of the house.

"Is it OK?"

"No, my angel, it is stunning. You've done it again."

"Done what again?"

"Reminded me that the Goddess is real and standing in my bedroom." He gave her a brilliant smile.

"Really?"

"You will be the most beautiful woman there."

"Uh – don't forget, Angelina is supposed to be there…"

"Our table will look like the Living Pantheon tonight," he laughed, "but rest assured, min Vackra Gudinna, I will only have eyes for you."

"Vackra Gudinna… that's "Beautiful Goddess?"'

"Exactly."

"Hey, I know a little Swedish!" She was impressed with herself, and Eric was delighted to feel the wave of pride she felt.

Alicia came back with the steamer and touched up Eric Alexander's little white satin tuxedo, then Sookie dressed him in it.

"Oh, that's so precious!" Alicia said as she helped Sookie with his little shoes.

"Look how handsome we are, Daddy!" Sookie said as she showed him to Eric.

"Da!" The baby pointed at Eric.

"Yes, indeed, that is my very handsome boy!" Eric took the baby from her. "Well, Eric Alexander, are you ready to meet your public tonight?"

"Om-ba!"

"You all look just marvelous!" Alicia gushed over them. She was very proud of the way they looked, and couldn't wait to see how the other guests at the benefit reacted to them.

There was a knock at the door.

"Eric?"

"Come in, Bjorn,"

He walked through the door but was stunned for a minute when he saw Sookie, but quickly recovered himself, "the cars are downstairs so we can go whenever you're ready."

Eric loved the expression on Bjorn's face when he saw Sookie. He was going to revel in watching men drool over his wife tonight, and knew he would be bursting with pride as men and women alike admired her.

"Are we ready, ladies?"

"We are," Sookie said, "Do you have your Baby Bjorn carrier?"

"I put it in the diaper bag. He can use it later but I want him to get to the event relatively unwrinkled," Alicia laughed. Sookie agreed that was a good idea. This way, he and the baby would be more visible when they made their entrance.

They all gathered in the living room, and were assigned their security forces by Bjorn. Sookie admired everyone's dresses – Alicia in long, pretty navy gown, Octavia in a simple black gown with a shawl and a huge crystal brooch, Amelia in a summery yellow floral dress and Bobbie in a gorgeous, slinky satin 60s style print gown that hugged her curves perfectly. Pam was wearing a gorgeous aqua dress with a satin bodice, empire waist and a chiffon skirt that hit just above her knee, showing off her gorgeous legs.

"Everyone looks so nice!" Sookie said.

"Yes, we will all stand out tonight." Eric began, "I want everyone to relax and have a good time, but stick close to your security. I may be busy at various points tonight, and I want you all to be sure that Sookie is never alone, especially if Bjorn is occupied. I'm planning to keep the baby with me as much as I can, but if Sookie, Alicia or Bobbie has him at any point I want three guards around them at all times. Any questions?"

The Ritz-Carlton was lit up like a chandelier and buzzing with activity. Eric's party was swept into the Grand Ballroom and situated at their tables very quickly, the only problem being that Pam and Bobbie decided to trade tables so Bobbie could sit with Bjorn and Pam could sit with Bill. Eric didn't say anything, since they had apparently worked this out themselves.

The Mayor of New Orleans and his wife, Mrs. Beaulieu were already seated and Eric greeted the Mayor with a firm handshake and a perfect line of bullshit. Brad and Angelina arrived looking as if they'd stepped out of a magazine, he in a flawless tux and she in the most perfect black halter gown with a slit up the side, and the men at the table all stood up as Angelina was seated, and Brad shook hands with the Mayor, Eric, and Bjorn.

"Allow me to make the introductions," Eric began as they were all seated. "I am Eric Northman, and this is my wife, Sookie, and our son, Eric Alexander. This is Bobbie James and Bjorn Anderson. Mayor and Mrs. Beaulieu, Ms. Jolie and Mr. Pitt."

"Please, your majesty, I'm Brad and this is Angie."

"And you will call me Eric, please. No need to stand on a lot of ceremony."

"Sookie, I've really been looking forward to meeting you," Angie spoke up as she asked Bjorn to let her borrow his seat next to Sookie for a few minutes, "I'm dying to hear all about your pregnancy and the baby."

"Oh, well, there's not a lot to tell, but I'm happy to talk about him, of course."

"I saw the clip of you on TV this morning, and I'm just dying to see his little fangs! Do you think I could hold him for just a minute?"

Sookie looked at Eric, who brought the baby over to Angie and let her take him in her arms. She sat him on her lap, supporting his back, and tickled his little gums with her finger. Alex bit down and she laughed, letting him lap at the blood coming from her finger.

"Oh, I'm so sorry!" Sookie started to take him, but Angie insisted he was fine for a few minutes. Bill and Eric exchanged looks across the aisle and Eric remembered that Bill had said he thought the couple were attracted to vampires. She was certainly not squeamish about letting the baby lap at her blood.

"He's just gorgeous," she bragged on him, "Look at all that blond hair! You both have blue eyes, I guess – his eyes are such a pretty shade of blue. How old is he now?"

"Um, he's 4 days old now," Sookie began.

"Really? He seems much older!"

"Yes, he's very advanced for his age – probably an effect of Eric's blood."

"You exchange blood regularly?

"Yes, we do, for the baby."

"So you and the King are blood-bonded?"

"Yes, we are, and the baby is included in that."

"Really? So you know how he's feeling, too?"

"Yes, it's very nice. He seems to like you, by the way."

"Oh, I just love babies. If you ever want to arrange a play date with our kids, I'd love to have them get together."

"Oh, thank you, that would be nice…"

"I'll give you my number before we leave tonight. I'd just love my kids to get to know such a unique child. I want them to have very diverse experiences and be tolerant of all kinds of people."

There was movement at a lectern that made it look as if they were going to start with the speeches.

"Oops – looks like they're getting ready to start. Thanks so much for letting me hold him. Bye-bye, little Prince!"

"Ba-ba!" the baby waved his arm at her and everyone at the tables except Sookie, Eric, Alicia and Bobbie were shocked.

"He's good at imitating sounds." Sookie was talking fast again.

"So I see," Angie laughed, "that's fabulous!" She gave Sookie a brilliant smile and went back to her seat.

"Here, Sweetie, go back to Daddy..." she said as she kissed him and handed the baby to Eric and the baby said "DA!"

Bjorn was feeling a little wicked so he said, "Hey Alex! Víg!"

"VBEE!" he yelled and threw his arm up and everyone laughed.

"What's he trying to say?" Brad asked, fascinated.

"Víg – the Swedish word for fight or battle. He wants to be a warrior like Daddy, don't you, my son?

"Om-ba! DA-da! Ba-ba-ba-ba-ba" the baby giggled and chattered as he patted Eric's face and Eric kissed his hand and beamed at him. He snuggled the baby under his chin, letting him squeeze his finger as he leaned back to listen to the speeches. The Mayor excused himself and went up to welcome everyone to this event and thank them all for their generosity for the city. He talked for about 5 minutes before he began to introduce Eric and Sookie.

"As you all know, this fundraiser was a project of the New Orleans vampire community, and we are privileged tonight to have the new King and Queen of the Lousiana territories with us. Please give a warm welcome to His Royal Highness Eric Northman and his lovely wife Sookie," everyone applauded as the lights dimmed and highlighted the family, "and of course you all recognize the first vampire prince in recorded history, Prince Eric Alexander Northman!" Every one applauded and ooh'd and aah'd that the baby was there. The mayor then pulled a fast one, "This isn't in the program, but I thought if we all asked nicely, King Eric would come up here and say a few words?"

The audience went wild, so Eric kissed Sookie, and stood up, taking the baby with him, and walked across the room to the lectern as a hush fell over the room. People were stunned at how tall and beautiful the King was, and he actually had the Prince with him!

"Good evening, everyone. Eric Alexander, my lovely wife, Sookie, and I would like to thank you all for your attendance at this marvelous event and for your continuing generosity for the restoration of this great city. New Orleans is the shining jewel of the Gulf Coast and has been an integral part of the history of this nation. My predecessor, I'm sorry to say, was slow in reacting to the needs of this city after Katrina had Her way with the Gulf, but that situation is being rectified as we speak, and I promise you that restoring New Orleans to her former glory and beyond will be the number one priority of my organization here. Mayor, if there's anything I, or my offices, can do to assist you in the restoration, you have only to ask. We are honored to serve." Eric nodded and whispered to the baby "Say "bye-bye"" and the baby waved his arm at the room and said "Ba-ba" as Eric held him toward the microphone. Everyone was completely enthralled and applauded.

Eric walked proudly back to the table and the mayor called Brad up to thank him for his work with his organization, Brad squeezing Eric's arm and patting him on the back as they walked past each other.

"Sweetie, that was great! Did you know they were going to ask you to speak?" Sookie asked as Eric and Alex returned to the table.

"No, I didn't, but it wasn't too hard to just say thank you and tell them my plans."

"That was just wonderful, your majesty," the mayor's wife said.

"Yes, it was. You looked fabulous up there and the baby was adorable the way he was watching you talk." Angie said.

"Thank you, ladies. I was very proud of my son up there."

"He answered right on cue," Bjorn laughed, "like he'd been rehearsing his whole life."

"He practically has," Bobbie laughed. "He's a ham!"

"Yes, he does love the attention, does he not?" Eric said proudly.

Brad returned to the table and handed Eric his card. "I'd really like to talk with you about some ideas I had for the Quarter. We might get more done if we worked together."

Eric handed his card back, "Certainly, I'd love to hear your ideas. Have you met Bill Compton? My second in command? Come, let me introduce you."

Eric and Brad stepped to the next table, and the men stood and talked for a few minutes while the servers were moving through the room serving dinner. The vampires received gold goblets at their places and the humans received chicken for the most part. Bobbie and Pam had to trade dinners, but no one said anything about it. There was a lot of schmoozing going on in the whole room, since the crème of vampire and human society in the area was in attendance. People were chatting, drinking, talking, moving around and some were going into the other rooms to say hello or to dance. Lots of people walked past Eric and Sookie's table to get a look at the baby, nodding and saying hello, and commenting on how precious he was.

Angie took Eric's seat next to Sookie while the men were talking, "I saw the clip of your appearance in Las Vegas, too. Brad asked me if what you said was true and I told him absolutely, based on my own experience. Your husband is really big, and gorgeous, though, so that must make it even better."

"You… dated a vampire?"

"More than one, but that was before the Great Revelation, when I was in school. I always just knew, you know, and I was always drawn to them. If there had been anything like Fangtasia in those days, I'd have begged them for a room in the back," she laughed. "Does Eric have any vampire children?"

"Oh, yes, you see the girl in the aqua dress?"

"The vamp with the great legs? She's his? Lucky girl. I can see why he made her. She doesn't like girls, does she?"

"Actually, she prefers them."

"Really? That's interesting." She was really studying Pam now. "Is she from New Orleans?"

"No, she's the Sheriff of Area 5 now that Eric is King. She's running Fangtasia for him while he's away."

"Looks and power – my, my. Brad's probably talking his ear off – he says Eric is exactly what he always dreamed a vamp would be, right down to the long blond hair and the mysterious past. He said something about being a warrior – is it true about him being an actual Viking?"

"Yes, it is. You should see him fight with a sword." Sookie was joking a bit but the idea sent a visible shiver through the other woman.

"Is it true what they say about the basement at Fangtasia?"

"How do you know about that?" Sookie was amazed.

"From somebody who worked on a film I was in – she had been in the basement."

"Well, then, it's probably true, or it least it was back when. Eric only uses it with me now."

"Only with you, or only when you're there, too?"

"Uh…"

"Sookie, the baby is beginning to fuss," Eric knelt next to the women who were talking head to head. "Do you want to try giving him a bottle?"

"Yes, let me take him, Sweetie. Alicia?"

Alicia was already on her way with a bottle of RM. Sookie settled pretty quickly with the baby and he was happy to take the bottle.

"That's not True Blood is it? It looks like RM." Angie said

"Yes, he needs it now and then in between breastfeeding."

"Breastfeeding? Does he take milk and blood both?"

"Yes, he does."

"You know, some Fae are like that…"

"Sookie, my angel, you are not eating?" Eric noticed she hadn't touched her dinner.

"No, we've been chatting…"

Eric stroked her cheek. "We can dance as soon as you get done. I want everyone to see your lovely gown and those amazing shoes." He winked at her and she laughed.

"Dancing is always my favorite part of the night. Are you all going to dance tonight?"

"Well, we usually don't, but we'll probably migrate in there with you if you don't mind?"

"Oh, no, of course not! Just let me eat a little chicken," Sookie laughed.

"I'll do the same so we'll all be ready to go."

The men and Angie returned to their seats and everyone turned some attention to their meals. Sookie felt bad about not having more time to spend with Octavia and Amelia, but she could hear them laughing and having a good time at the other table, so she hoped they'd understand. Eric took the baby and finished giving him the bottle as he drank from his goblet.

"Sookie, you should make sure you eat the chicken and the broccoli – you haven't had any protein tonight to amount to anything," Bobbie pointed out from her seat on the other side of Bjorn.

"Yeah, you're probably right. We ate so early today, and then I only had a couple of pieces of pizza – I want more when I go home, if there's any left."

"There was plenty. You and me were the only ones eating the veggie stuff and I ordered three," Bobbie laughed.

"Cool – I love cold pizza. Are you having a good time, Bobbie?"

"Not as good as you. You know, of course, I want every juicy detail."

"I don't know how juicy they'll be but, yeah, of course!"

Bjorn was just laughing to himself, enjoying the view from several directions. He was getting lots of material for the old spank bank, picturing Sookie and Angie putting their, ahem, heads together. He also saw Angie checking out Pam, and that was going to be fuel for the old fire, as it were, too.

Dessert was a gorgeous chocolate éclair that Sookie inhaled, then she and Bobbie split Bjorn's as he laughed at girls and their chocolate. Eric leaned over and licked a bit of cream filling off of Sookie's lip and kissed her.

"Ooh, what was that for?"

"That was for the fact that you are wearing those shoes and that garter belt to bed tonight."

Sookie laughed and noticed Bobbie and Bjorn laughed right after.

"What?"

"That was your dirty laugh." Bjorn said.

"AH! Eric, do I have a dirty laugh?"

"Oh, yes, my angel, and I love to hear it because it usually means I will be having a very good time." He put his forehead against hers and wiggled the eyebrows and she let loose with the dirty laugh again.

"Excuse me," Bill came over, "Eric, Sookie, I wanted to warn you that a few people might take the opportunity to pledge fealty tonight. We have a table for you in the Lafayette Ballroom that you can use in between dances."

"Oh, wow, I didn't expect that." Sookie felt a little weird about that in front of humans.

"We haven't had a vampire only event in the Louisiana Territories since Eric's ascension, so this is the first chance they've had other than the Sheriff's Ball or your wedding reception and that only included Area 5."

"OK, I guess…" she looked at Eric. "Won't that weird out the humans?"

"They all know we're King and Queen, some of them might enjoy the idea of it."

"Right…. OK."

Carolann from the morning show came by to thank Sookie for helping her get into the fundraiser, but Sookie knew she was really just wanting to see Eric up close, because she couldn't take her eyes off of him. When she left, Eric decided to move the evening forward.

"Are you ready to dance, my angel?"

"I'm ready when everybody else is."

Eric spoke to the others at the table. "I'd like to dance with my wife. Anyone care to join us?"

Everybody, even Mayor Beaulieu and his wife, who just got back after working the room, got ready to go down to the Lafayette Ballroom. Guards got in front of them, the Eric, Sookie and the baby walked out, followed by Bjorn and Bobbie, Alicia, Pam, Bill, Amelia, Octavia, Brad, Angie, Mr. & Mrs. Mayor, more guards, and half the room followed Eric's party into the Ballroom in a wave.

"Eric, everybody is following us."

"Stand tall and smile, Sweetheart, they want to see how pretty you are on the dance floor."

They entered the Ballroom as one song ended and made it to the middle of the dance floor as a new one began. Eric handed the baby to Alicia, who was instantly surrounded by guards, and he led Sookie, her pink Goddess gown flowing over her curves, to an empty spot on the dance floor. As the music picked up, Eric instantly had Sookie twirling and laughing, swinging her around as everyone stopped to watch. When the song was over, Eric bowed and Sookie curtsied as they always did and people applauded, then a slow song started up and Eric pulled Sookie close. He stretched out their arms between them and then spun Sookie slowly with one hand over her head and brought her back to him. Brad and Angie danced up beside them and Brad said, "Want to swap?" And Sookie's eyes grew big as Eric laughed, bowed to Angie and danced off with her, leaving Sookie there in Brad's arms. Sookie was flushed as she looked up at the handsome face. He was not nearly so sure on the dance floor as Eric, but it was nice and he asked her questions about how she liked New Orleans and whether she liked being Queen. She didn't have to make conversation, really, she just answered all the questions that he was trying to squeeze in while he had her to himself.

"So, you still have a home in Shreveport?"

"Yes, we do, but we'll be spending a lot more time here now and in Las Vegas."

"Sometime when everybody is around, we'd love to visit Shreveport. Angie is dying to check out Fangtasia, but she wants to make sure you and Eric are there. She thinks the four of us would have a really good time. She knows somebody that used to know Eric and said she had a pretty wild time there."

Sookie was shocked. Was he asking what she thought he was asking? "Yeah, Fangtasia can be a lot of fun, if you know the Master," she was trying to be funny but it came out sort of suggestively and Brad tightened his grip on her and gave her a huge smile.

The song ended and Angie grabbed Sookie's hand and said, "let's go to the ladies' room and fix our lipstick." Sookie looked around and Bjorn nodded, leaving Bobbie on the dance floor and bringing two other guards along. Eric took the baby from Alicia and she handed Sookie a small evening purse she didn't even know she had, and off the two of them went, arm in arm, followed by a cadre of bodyguards. Bjorn emptied the room so only Sookie and Angie were in there. Sookie figured she'd take the opportunity to use to facilities and she did, and so did Angie, but more quickly than Sookie so she was sitting at the vanity mirror when Sookie came out and washed her hands. Sookie sat down and looked in the mirror, deciding she could use some lipstick, so she looked in the small bag and there it was. Angelina was blotting her face with a powder puff, watching Sookie put her lipstick on. Sookie realized she was watching her and looked at her.

"What?" Sookie smiled, unsure of what was going on.

"I love that lipstick. Can I try it?"

Before Sookie had a chance to respond, there were soft lips against hers and a soft, warm tongue in her mouth and to her own surprise, Sookie kissed her back as soft hands caressed her bare shoulders. Sookie was speechless as Angie stood up with a Cheshire cat smile on her face, taking Sookie's hand and puling her up and out of the ladies' room, without another word.

Harry Connick Jr. took the stage as they got back to the ballroom, and Angie took a card out of her bag and slipped it into Sookie's evening bag before she gave it to Alicia. Eric was sitting at a table with a red cloth embroidered with gold on it – the only one in the room that had anything other than white – talking to the baby and to Brad, who was cooing to the baby in Eric's arms. It was obvious people were beginning to line up and were waiting for Sookie to sit down. Bobbie, Alicia and Octavia were at the next table, Amelia was dancing, Bill was dancing with Pam, and Bjorn stood directly behind Sookie as other guards took strategic positions around the room. Eric kissed Sookie as she returned to his side, motioning for her to sit next to him.

Eric smiled and continued his conversation, but motioned for the first person to approach. Brad watched several pledges of fealty with complete fascination, then he and Angie said their good nights as the pledges and the presents accumulated, extracting a promise from Eric to keep in touch. Eric and Sookie were able to concentrate then on their subjects, all of whom said something nice about the little Prince. The baby looked everyone over as they approached, and didn't chatter while they were speaking to Eric and Sookie. He giggled and gave big smiles when people spoke directly to him and people were completely charmed by him. The line wasn't very long so after about 45 minutes, Eric and Sookie said goodbye to the Mayor and his wife, plus a few key vampires from the area, and their party left. Eric offered to make arrangements for any of the others, including Bobbie and Bjorn, who wanted to stay but everyone was happy to go home after an elegant and enjoyable evening, though Pam decided to stay with Bill, who had to close the event down.

Once in the house, everyone gathered around the dining room table to talk and eat pizza. Amelia, Bobbie, Octavia and Alicia were talking about how many stars, musicians and politicians were there and Bobbie tried to pump Sookie for information about everything Angie had said to her but Sookie sort of gave her a silly look that let her know they'd save the details for when it was just the two girls and they could dish. Bobbie knew there was something juicy so she was fine with waiting.

Alicia was handing out plates and everybody dug into the pizzas as she brought them in.

"So Eric, you've got a new boyfriend, eh?" Bjorn said.

"Excuse me?" Eric said, surprised, holding the sleeping baby against his shoulder.

"Your movie star has a boy-crush on you, you know." Bjorn laughed.

"Yes, he was very… attentive. She was very attentive to you, too, was she not, Sookie."

"Very, very." Sookie said in a voice that said there was something more there.

"Come on, Sookie, spill. What went down in the ladies' room?" Bobbie teased her.

"I fixed my lipstick, she asked if she could try it and before I could say yes she kissed me."

"WHAT?!" nearly everyone at the table said in unison.

"Kissed you how? Where?" Eric wanted to know immediately.

"Kissed me on the mouth."

Bjorn was cracking up, the other women were scandalized, and Eric didn't know whether to be jealous or turned on.

"Sookie," Bjorn said, "please tell me she slipped you tongue."

"Yep, she did."

"Sookie, are you telling me that woman kissed you, on the mouth, with tongue, and you said nothing to me until now?"

"I couldn't say anything when we came back – he was right there. Did he ask you about Fangtasia?"

"He said something about it – why?"

"She worked on a movie with somebody who had apparently spent time in the basement, with you, and they'd like to visit Shreveport sometime when we're there."

"Holy shit!" Bobbie exclaimed.

"Damn, Sookie – why didn't you bring them home tonight?" Amelia teased her.

"I was in shock."

"Sookie – did you kiss her back?" Bjorn was loving this.

"Yeah, of course, who wouldn't?"

"Sookie!" Eric couldn't believe his wife kissed another woman – and that woman in particular – and he wasn't there to see it.

"I didn't know what else to do, Eric, it just happened."

"Is she a good kisser, Sookie?" Bjorn wanted to know every detail.

"Oh, yeah, those lips are amazing."

Everybody cracked up and Eric just shook his head.

Amelia and Octavia said goodnight and headed upstairs, Amelia knowing Octavia was really tired and wouldn't go up without her. Bjorn finished one of his tomato pies and Sookie and Bobbie finished one veggie pizza and made a big dent in another. Bobbie helped Alicia clean up as Bjorn spoke to the guards outside and locked up.

The baby woke up hungry, so Eric and Sookie took him upstairs, Eric undressing the baby and talking to him while Sookie got out of her dress so she could feed him. Per Eric's request, Sookie kept the garter belt, stockings and shoes on, but her panties didn't last long as Eric shredded them after she took the baby from him.

"Eric, hang on – wait until he's fed and asleep!"

"Take all the time you need, my angel, but you can look sexy while you do it," he laughed as he helped her get settled with the baby in the side chair.

"You're out of hand," she laughed as the baby fed enthusiastically, but she crossed her legs to give Eric a good view of them, anyway. Eric lay upside down on the bed, hugging a pillow under his chest, so he could watch her as they chatted about the evening.

"I was very proud of both of you tonight," he said softly, smiling at them. Sookie smiled back at him, said "we were proud of you, too." then stroked the baby's face as he looked up at her and patted her face with his hand. Sookie kissed his little hand and Eric just enjoyed the sight of them communing with each other as the baby looked into Sookie's eyes.

"I can't tell you how many compliments I heard about you. I heard people call you a Goddess, a princess, a true Queen, a beauty, an angel, a shining star. I heard them talk about your dazzling smile, your glorious blonde hair, your beautiful face, your kindness, your sweet manner, and how beautiful your dress was. It created quite a little stir when you and your new friend walked out of the room arm in arm," he laughed. "I heard several people say they didn't know which one was prettier, though, of course, there was no doubt in my mind that you were the prettiest."

"That's sweet, but you don't have to say that."

"I am only stating the truth, my angel. I love nights like this, when I can show you off and hear everyone envy me. I think even the movie star envied me a bit."

"I don't know about that, but I know he told her that you were exactly what he always imagined a vampire would be, right up to your blond hair and mysterious past. She knew you were a Viking."

"She knew about the Fae, too, and I interrupted so you wouldn't have to stumble around the subject. I think the lady knows a lot about the Supe world – she has experience with us, apparently."

"I was wondering if you caught that. She also knew I was feeding the baby RM. Did you see her let him drink blood from her finger?"

"Yes, I did. What a story that will make for him when he grows up - his first conquest was a movie star," Eric laughed.

"I didn't know what to do – should I have stopped it? I started to take him from her but she insisted he was fine. She said she really likes babies…"

"I think she does, and she really likes vampires, too, so Alex was doubly interesting to her."

"She offered to have him over for a play date with their kids."

"That might be a good idea. He won't have many opportunities to be around other children, and at least they are sympathetic to vampires."

"I guess so. He won't have many friends growing up, I guess?"

"We will find some children he can interact with when he is older. He would probably be fine around Were or Shifter children – they won't have any aversion to him, I don't think, and he won't be tempted to feed on them."

"He might smell like food to them – Bjorn said he and I both sometimes smell like food."

"I think that is unlikely to be a problem, but we will supervise closely in those cases."

"Yeah – Alex really liked her, by the way."

"Yes, I felt that from him when she held him. Of course, he was tasting her so that would predispose him to like her."

"Did you like them?"

"They were very attractive and personable. There was nothing to dislike as far as I could tell."

"When they talked about Fangtasia… were they asking what I think they were asking?"

"Yes, they were."

"Would you ever do something like that?"

"Would you ever do something like that, Sookie?"

"I want to know if you would."

"My point is, that I would do it only if you would do it. Would you?"

"What if I said 'no' and what if I said 'yes?'"

"If you said 'no,' that would be the end of it. We are bonded – we do it together or not at all."

"But would you be mad at me?"

"Of course not, Sookie. I want you to be happy. I don't ever want you to feel obligated to do anything you don't want to do."

"What if I said 'yes?'"

"Then we would get to know them better and revisit the idea at a later date."

"So we could get to know them before I say for sure?"

"Of course we would. I also think you and I need to spend some more time there before we bring anyone else into it. "

"OK, that's cool. Would you ever do it with anybody else?"

"Whom did you have in mind?"

"I don't know…. I was just thinking…"

"About Bjorn and Bobbie? Or Bill and Pam? Or maybe just Bjorn by himself?"

"I don't know. Let's talk about it later. My buddy here is done – you want to talk to him while he falls asleep? It won't take long – he's sleepy, sleepy," she beamed at the baby yawning.

Eric took the baby and sat in the other side chair, cradling him and speaking softly to him.

Sookie went to the bathroom. She laughed at herself when she realized she still had the crown on her head, and finally took it off. She brushed through her hair to soften it since the spray was a little stiff. She also posed a little for herself in the full-length mirror, deciding that she looked pretty damned good for someone who gave birth less than a week ago and she had to agree with Eric – the stockings and shoes were HOT. When she finished up, she came back out into the bedroom, which was now lit only by a few candles around the room that smelled heavenly. Eric was out of his tux, lounging on the bed, waiting for her.

"I guess he's asleep?" she said as she walked quietly to the side of the bed.

"Yes, and he had a busy day so I expect him to sleep very soundly." Before Sookie knew what was happening he had her face down across his lap, her bottom and heels high in the air.

"Eric!" she said in a loud whisper, "you'll wake the baby!"

"Then you had better be very quiet, Sookie. Yell into your pillow if you must." Before she had a chance to respond there was a loud crack on her bottom. He stroked the warm spot on her cheek with his large cool hand, then CRACK! Right on the same spot! Sookie knew this was sex play, not punishment, so she went with it, squealing a little into her pillow, but giggling, too.

"Oh, you think that's funny, dear one?" CRACK!

She knew it wouldn't last long because the ever-ready Gracious Plenty was against her and the wiggling she was doing had it hard as steel. There was a flurry of smacks she couldn't even count that left her bottom stinging and warm to the touch, then suddenly she was on the bed on her knees and Eric was behind her and in her fast and rough, slamming her at something more than human speed, but not quite full on vampire speed. She was panting, trying not to make any noise, knowing that she was going to be flat on her face if he let go of her hips. He slammed her hard a few times more slowly, reaching his first release in almost no time at all.

Suddenly, Sookie was on her back, Eric's arms hooked behind each knee, folded in half as moved slowly and deliberately, letting her feel every inch moving in and out of her. Sookie pulled her pillow over her face because she could feel that sensation of being wound tight like a spring and she knew it wouldn't be long. Eric knew it, too and as she was reaching her peak he moved quickly down to bite her inner thigh, and she lost it, yelling into the pillow as she squirmed in his iron grip. He didn't let her get away from him as he fed from her, and the orgasm would "grip" every time

he sucked on the wound, and it went on for what seemed like forever. When he finished feeding, he moved her up straight in the bed, and collapsed beside her, both of them trembling, Sookie completely out of breath.

Eric rolled over on his side facing her, running his fingers down over her stocking-clad legs, planting kisses randomly all over her.

"Eric?"

"Yes?"

"Did you bring that dagger with you?"

"The one from my nightstand?"

"Yes. Get it if you have it with you."

Eric growled his approval and went to his garment bag, bringing the dagger back as Sookie tried to sit up. He offered his hand and helped her get up on her knees and she patted a spot between where their pillows would rest and said, "sit here." He did so with great enthusiasm, wanting to see where she was going, though he had a pretty good idea. Sookie straddled his lap and reached down, stroking him firmly, bringing him back to fully hard and ready. She lowered herself onto him, wrapping her arms around his neck, kissing him deeply and repeatedly.

She nibbled at his neck and shoulders as she moved up and down with his help, She threw her head back, shaking her hair, leaning back and running her hands all over his face, his broad shoulders, the muscles in his arms and chest, then braced her hands on his shoulders and pressed her forehead against his, continuing to move until just the right moment. When she could feel him tensing up, she said, "Now, Eric, feed me," and he cut his neck and she lapped up the warm, sweet nectar as both of them reached a deep, intense release, shimmering red and warm. They clung tightly to each other feeling waves of it wash through them, almost afraid to move because they didn't want it to end. Eric held her tight against him as she wrapped her arms tight around his neck, tears streaming from both their eyes. Sookie's breathing hard, she was nearly sobbing, stoking his hair over and over.

"I love you so much, Eric. I never knew it was possible to love somebody this much. I never even dreamed of feeling this way."

"I didn't know either, Sookie. When I saw you in that little red dress that first night, if I had understood what you would mean to me, I would never have let you leave. I would do anything to keep this, Sookie. I will do anything that will let me continue to love you, min Vackra Gudinna."

Eventually, Sookie leaned back and wiped Eric's bloody tears from his face and then he licked hers away. Slowly, gradually, they moved apart and settled down into their places next to one another, Sookie falling asleep in Eric's arms. The baby woke up about 5 o'clock, and Eric took him and a bottle RM out to the little sitting area. Bill and Pam heard him in their room, and went out to tell him about the results of the night.

"Eric? Are you busy?" Bill came out of the room.

"Just rocking the baby. Come sit down."

"Hello, Master."

"Pam – are you staying down here, today?"

"No, actually, if you don't need me, I was going to head up my box on the third floor."

"Have a good rest, Pam."

"Good night, Pamela," Bill said as she kissed him on the cheek before she headed upstairs.

"Pamela. It's been a long time since anyone called her that." Eric said as Bill sat down across from him and the baby."

"It's a very pretty name – it suits her, I think, better than Pam does."

"To each his own, I suppose. How did we do tonight at the fundraiser?"

"3.2 million plus pledges for almost 4 more."

"Excellent. That was a well-heeled crowd, then."

"Very much so, and many of them made large gifts just to get in there, in spite of being put in those little side rooms."

"So we're going to be working with that actor's organization?"

"On a few locations, yes. I think he's right – we'll get more done working together.

"They spent a good deal of time talking to you and Sookie."

"Yes, they were very attentive."

"Star-struck is more like it."

"Well, whatever the motivation, it will enable us to get some very important work done. I want our properties in the Quarter up to 100% by Mardi Gras."

"That's awfully ambitious."

"Do you think it's not possible?"

"It's possible, but it will take a lot of time, attention, and a minimum of two contractors – no single contractor in the area can handle everything we need done all at once."

"We'll go lot by lot if we need to, and hire several that can each handle a small part. It's worth paying a little extra to get us to the front of the line, too. I want those properties earning money as soon as possible. I have no intention of falling behind in our tribute, and we aren't even covering that right now. Our investments should more than cover that without even tapping the individual tribute we get from subjects and businesses in our territories."

"Have you spoken to Sandy tonight?"

"No, why?"

"There's been some interest in the residence."

"Excellent. That would be a huge boon to our entire organization to get rid of that expense."

"When will the villa at the Bellagio be available?"

"September. We may make one more trip before then, but I'm not sure. We need to visit several sites in both territories and allow more subjects to pledge fealty now that the Prince is here."

"He was a smashing success tonight. Humans and vampires both adored him. How did you get him to say "bye-bye" and wave?"

"Sookie taught it to him, apparently. She's a little dismayed that he seems to be picking up speech already, but the sooner he can communicate, the better."

"I agree. For his own safety, he needs to be able to talk."

"He's very bright, and he seems to understand what the words mean, so I have no doubt he will be able to very soon."

"Good. What's on the agenda for tomorrow night?"

"Tomorrow night, you, Bjorn, and I are going to go over this place with a fine tooth comb and find whatever money and information Victor had hidden here. I know there's got to be more."

"What are the girls going to do?"

"I don't know – Sookie will be looking at properties on Sunday, I believe, but there's no set plan for tomorrow night."

"Have you considered asking the Witches to help us?"

"I thought of it – I don't know what they can do, but I'll certainly ask Octavia tomorrow evening if they have anything in their repertoire. I'll leave a note for Sookie to tell her what we're doing and ask if there's anything she can do."

"Alright, well, I'm going to rest now. Good day."

"Good day, Bill." Eric looked at the baby, who was finished with his bottle and yawning, and raised him to his lips for a kiss. "Daddy loves you, Eric Alexander."

He rocked him until he fell asleep, tucked him into the bed next to Sookie, and went to rest for the day.


	72. Chapter 72

[Author's Note: A couple of warnings.

_First, people are starting to say that things are getting repetitious, so I don't know how long I'm going to continue after the baby's Wiccaning. I might jump forward from there to later in his life, but there's a small possibility I might stop altogether. I could get into some really wild stuff with the baby, but I don't know how people would feel about reading a lot of baby talk._

_The show has sort of spoiled some of my ideas that I've had from the very beginning because they've ventured into overlapping territory in some very ugly ways. I'm afraid people will be predisposed to see some of the stuff coming up in a negative light when that is not what I want at all. Also, to keep it fresh, the sex would have to get pretty wild and I don't know that people can handle it based on some of the reviews I'm getting. I have no interest in writing a conventional love story – anybody can do that. Now that he's married and a father, the Viking is going to be ALL Viking because he knows Sookie isn't going anywhere. If I continue, things are going to get intense._

_I'm also getting past the introductory Goddess/magick topics, and I don't know if anyone is into the idea of me going deeper into it. That would require a lot of work, which I wouldn't mind doing if people are into it, but I don't want to bore people with arcane stuff they don't care about. I've been writing as if this is not a story but a soap opera, which would include some repetitive stuff, but as I said, I don't want to bore people. So, what do you all think? Can you take some repetition, some deeper exploration, or is it time to move on or call it a day? If I continue, it's going to get weird and deep. Are you all up for it?_

_Finally, a warning about the ESN at the end. Eric says some pretty extreme stuff to Sookie because it's a huge turn-on for her – that doesn't mean he'd actually do what he says he will, he just wants to get her imagination churning. It's just words… for now. _

_Enjoy!_

_Morg]_

Chapter 72

"MMMAAAA! MMMMMAA! MMA MMA!

Sookie had the baby in her arms before she was really even awake since he was lying right next to her.

"Hey, Pookie – how are you this morning?"

"MMA!" he patted her face and she smiled and kissed him on the lips, then she could tell he was wanting to feed because he was trying to wiggle down and opening his mouth.

"Ok, buddy, hold on…" she helped him get into position and he suckled happily, humming as he did. Sookie tried to sit up, half-asleep, but it was a struggle while she was holding the baby. She realized she didn't have any clothes on so this would be a good time to show the baby where to bite and where not to. She sat cross-legged, her back against the black leather covered headboard and pulled the blankets across her lap then disengaged the baby and held him back while she reached over and turned the light on Eric's nightstand on to be sure he could see, since she wasn't sure he had vampire vision yet. The clock said 8:44 AM.

She held him up facing her as he squirmed and tried to get back to her.

"Alex, look – see? Look at Mommy." He reached for her and she guided his hand, "See, nothing up here? See this? That's the nipple. That's where you eat, OK?" She wasn't sure if he really got it but once she showed him the right spot he latched on hard, fangs and all. She did notice though that as he was feeding from one, he was looking at the other and patting it with his hand, like he was trying to figure it out. He tried to grip the other nipple, and she said, "Nipple, Alex. That's where you eat, OK?" He pulled back then leaned to the other side, clearly aiming for the nipple. "Yeah, that's it. Good." She noticed now he was looking at the other one and then he reached for that nipple. Sookie could practically see the wheels turning in his head as he was figuring out that there were two places the milk came from.

"Knock-knock! Sookie are you up?" Bobbie peeked in the door.

"Hey, Bobbie – what's up?"

"I was checking on you and your little buddy. Eric gave Alicia the day off, so I'm your backup. I assume he's going to need a clean diaper soon?"

"Yeah, as soon as he's done. I've been trying to show him how they work. I think he's got it figured out now, so maybe he won't bite me in the wrong spot anymore."

"Let's hope. How are you feeling today?"

"Pretty good. Tired. I'm going to sleep a while longer."

"You might as well – you don't have any plans and you'll be driving around with the real estate agent tomorrow. I guess the guys are going to turn this place upside down tonight – did you read your note from Eric?"

"No, did he leave me one?"

Bobbie walked over to the table between the side chairs and brought the note that was propped up there back to Sookie. It was in a pretty pink envelope with Eric's lovely script on the front.

"_My beautiful wife, Sookie,_

_Bill, Bjorn and I are going to be going through this house tonight to search for things Victor might have had hidden here. Would you please talk to Octavia and Amelia and find out if there's anything they can do to facilitate our search? I'll take all the help I can get – a lot of people are depending on this. _

_Rest well, eat well, and have fun with the baby._

_I love you,_

_Your husband, Eric_

"Huh – so he told you about this?"

"Bjorn did when I asked him what we were going to do tonight. Apparently Bjorn has some experience finding things no one wants found, and of course, I guess Eric is some kind of expert at it, too. Bill told me one time that if there was a trail to be found for anything, no matter how faint, Eric could find it."

"Yeah, his senses are very keen and he's really intuitive which helps, too. If Eric doesn't find it, it's not here."

"That good, huh?"

"Yep – the CIA should have such capabilities."

"Bjorn said something like that – that he wished he had known Eric back when he was in Intel, because Eric could have saved a lot of grief and a lot of lives."

"Eric has lived as long as he has because he stays out of things like that when he can. I know he's had to do some things because of vampire politics, but he's a survivor, first and foremost."

"I guess dealing with vampires prepares you for almost anything."

"Yep. OK, I think my buddy is done here."

"OK, come on, Prince Alex, let's get you a fresh nappy." Bobbie took him into the bathroom and changed his diaper, chatting with him and tickling him, giving him a big kiss on his cheek as she brought him back to Sookie.

"Did Bobbie give you a new nappy? Huh?" Sookie teased him as she propped him up on Eric's pillow.

"BA-ba!"

"Did he just…?" Bobbie couldn't believe it.

"Yeah, I think he did – Alex – who is that?" Sookie pointed at Bobbie.

"BA-ba!" Alex pointed at Bobbie.

Sookie and Bobbie cracked up!

"He so smart!" Bobbie was thrilled.

"Ba-ba-ba-ba!" Alex sang into his fingers splayed against his lips, varying the tone up and down.

"Alex – who am I?" Sookie asked.

"Mma-ma!"

"And who is that?"

"BA-ba!"

"Wow – I wonder what he'd call Alicia?" Bobbie laughed.

"EESH!"

"Eesh? Is that Alicia?" Sookie said.

"Eesh!"

"You'll have to surprise her tonight, Sookie, she'll fall over." Bobbie laughed.

"Yeah, she will. Bye-bye, Mama, Daddy, Bobbie and Alicia plus "om-ba" which seem to mean 'yes' - that's quite a little repertoire for somebody less than a week old." Sookie laughed.

"All that and he can turn over, too. I wonder what's next?"

"I'm afraid to even think about it. I hope I can handle him, Bobbie. I'm really worried."

"It'll be fine, Sookie – you've got all of us to help you. We won't let him get hurt and Eric will keep him in line. Just relax and love him. You should be overjoyed at all the stuff he can do already."

"I'm just worried about people thinking he's a devil baby."

"Don't let those narrow-minded bigots get to you, Sookie. The sooner he learns to talk, the better, you know – for his own safety. He needs to be able to tell you if something is wrong."

"I just hope he doesn't grow up too fast. I want him to be a baby while he can."

"He's still a baby, just a really smart baby."

"Bee-bee." Alex repeated.

"Yeah, Punkin', we're talking about you!" Bobbie teased the baby and he giggled and played with his toes.

"BA-ba, ba-ba-ba-ba, bee-bee, bee-bee, BA-bee. BA-bee!"

"Hey, Pookie, can you say Bobbie now?" Sookie was amazed watching him work out the sounds.

"BA-bee!"

"Alex – where's Bobbie?"

"BA-bee!" He pointed at Bobbie and cracked up.

"He reminds me so much of Eric when he does that."

"DA-da! VBEE!" Up went the little arm

Both women cracked up.

"When he does what?"

"Laughs at himself that way – Eric does that. He loves his own jokes."

"He does seem to be amusing himself."

Just then Sookie let out a big yawn and the baby did, too.

"You guys need to sleep some more. Try to doze off, and when you get up, I'll make you breakfast."

"OK, Bobbie, thanks."

"Bye-bye, Alex!" She waved at the baby.

"Ba-ba, BA-Bee!" The baby waved at her and giggled.

"Oh, you think you're cute, huh?"

"Om-ba!" He laughed and reached for Sookie, rolling over toward her. "Mma-ma!"

"OK, Pookie, here's what we're going to do," she said as she settled down and pulled the baby toward her and put him on his back, "we're going to put Daddy's pillow there so you don't roll off the bed, and you're going to snuggle up right here by Mommy's head and we're going to get some more sleep, OK?"

"Om-ba, Mma-ma! Ba-ba-ba-ba-bee-bee." He chattered as he rolled on his side facing her and patted her face.

She smiled at him softly, "I love you , Baby E."

"BAH! Bababaa" he was singing up and down, still patting her face. She closed her eyes and soon they were both asleep, facing each other.

It was almost Noon when Sookie felt a soft pat on her face and opened her eyes to see big blue eyes looking back at her. "Ma-ma!"

"Hey, Pookie," she raised her head and kissed him on his forehead. "Are you hungry? You want to eat?" she said as she noticed he was reaching down.

"EE!"

"OK, eat – here you go," and she slid him down so he could latch on and he hummed happily as he fed. Sookie gently caressed his head and his back as she dozed lazily, looking at the clock and deciding to get up and get on with the day. She waited until the baby finished, then put a fresh diaper on him and threw on a little tank style nursing dress then headed downstairs barefoot with Alex in a brightly colored sling.

"Hey, sleepy head!" Bobbie greeted her. Jerry, Bobbie, Bjorn and Octavia were sitting around the table, drinking iced tea, eating peanut butter cookies Bobbie had baked and talking. "Want me to get you some breakfast?"

"Hey, y'all! Actually, a glass of tea and a cookie sounds pretty good."

"You can start with that, but I'm going to get you a proper breakfast. Alicia would kick my ass if I let you skip a meal on my watch!" Bobbie was obviously in a good mood. Bjorn and Jerry stood as Sookie took her seat then sat back down. Bobbie came back with a glass and poured Sookie a glass of tea from the large pitcher, then took it back to refill it.

"So how you and the little one doin' today?" Octavia asked her.

"Oh, we're doing great. He's dozing a little right now – he just ate and had a fresh diaper, so it's naptime. I can't believe he let me sleep so late!"

"Anything new come up since last night?"

"He can say more words today than he could yesterday."

"He's learning that fast?"

"Yep, you can practically watch the wheels in his head turning as he learns to make different sounds. It's a little bit… freaky."

"You don't sound too happy about it."

"I'm afraid of people thinking he's a devil baby."

"Screw 'em. You got a very special baby there and you need to embrace everything about him that is unique and special. The sooner he can communicate, the better. That's as much a part of his natural defenses as his strength and speed will be."

"Excuse us – we're going to go check in with the other guards. I'll see you a bit, Sookie," Bjorn said.

"OK, thanks, guys." She waited for the men to leave. "Octavia, can I ask you something kind of personal?"

"Sure you can. What's up?"

"Eric said that a lot of my preconceived ideas about raising a kid aren't going to apply here."

"And you know that's true, don't you?"

"Yes, but some things… like yesterday, Eric was feeding on me, and the baby was in the room, and before I knew what was happening, Eric held the baby up to my neck and let him drink…"

"And that worries you because you think of it as sex play?"

"Right."

"Well, there's no harm in it. It's a matter of personal taste. The main thing is not to make a big deal of it either way."

"See, that's what worries me. I'm afraid I'm going to react, you know, like I was raised to react, and give him some kind of… complex."

"It's something to think about. It's good that you're aware of that tendency, but I think it will be less of a problem than you expect. He caught you by surprise that time and you hadn't had a chance to establish any ground rules. You think about it a while and decide what you can live with and what you can't, then you talk to Daddy about it and reach an agreement. He'll do what you're comfortable with unless there's a good reason not to."

"See, though, Eric is…"

"A Pagan?"

"Yeah, and I don't know, maybe I am, too, but that's not the way I was raised. Eric was saying he might start… having sex... when he's like 13. That can't be healthy can it?"

"That's a reasonable question. For a human boy, in this culture, that would probably be too early. Am I to assume Eric started at 13?"

"Yes."

"Different time and different place. When he was alive, that would not have been unusual."

"Right, but now…"

"Well, there are several things you gotta consider. This is not a human boy. He's a vampire, and vampires rarely separate blood and sex. Once he reaches puberty, this will probably be out of your control. You'll have to let Eric handle that aspect of his life – it might be necessary to procure donors for him at that point that can provide both."

"You mean like… prostitutes?"

"Maybe or adult volunteers. I've got a feeling women will line up for him when he gets bigger. We won't know until he gets there. But if that's what he needs, you gotta accept it without making him feel bad or self-conscious about it. He's not going to be on the football team and he's not going to go to a senior prom. He'll be stronger and faster than any other boy he ever knows. He might be able to glamour girls from a young age and then you'll have to make sure he's never alone with someone he could abuse. That might be a problem in the day time, but I have a feeling that as he ages he'll start sleeping more and more in the daytime and then Eric can handle him at night. He'll be able to walk in the light, but I don't think he'll like to."

"I was told that in the light of the moon he'd be able to see the future clearly, and that the most dangerous nights for him are nights of the dark moon."

"Interesting. That's a Fae thing – I was wondering when he'd show some fairy traits. Who told you this?"

"I think his name was Loup-Garou or something like that."

"The oldest living Were? You met him?"

"Yeah and some others, when we were in Las Vegas."

"What others?" Octavia wanted to know everything she could about who was behind the birth of this baby.

"One was a Goddess but people call her the Virgin of Guadalupe…"

"Tonantzin?"

"Yes, and a beautiful Priestess named Penelope."

"One of the Vestals. That's some pretty impressive company. There should have been a fourth…"

"My Grandpa Niall."

"The Fairy Prince – that's Air…"

"Air? Like in the elements?"

"Right – the Goddess is Water, Vesta is Fire, the Wolf is Earth and Niall was Air."

"So there are four of them, right, like the four directions?"

"There are actually five – the fifth element is Spirit – that's the five points of a pentagram."

"Was there supposed to be a fifth, then?"

"There was – the baby was the fifth – or you were. Hard to know yet which. You two are still one in many ways."

"Tonantzin asked if he was Freya's and Eric said 'yes.'"

"And that bothered you?"

"I wanted to say he was MINE, but I looked at him instead."

"The problem with you, child, is that you still think there's a difference. You're jealous of yourself."

"OK, let me ask you this – if I'm Freya, does that mean I could never meet Freya?"

"You could stand before Her and see Her and talk to Her – but you'd be seeing and talking to yourself."

"I'd still like to do it. I need to see Her face to face and ask Her some questions. If She tells me I am, I'll believe Her, but I need to hear it from Her."

"Have you had any dreams about Her recently?"

"No – I don't remember any dreams lately – I think because I'm so focused on the baby."

"Well, that's good – he should be your focus right now. She'll be there when you need Her."

"Yeah…"

"Mma-ma!" A little arm reached up for Sookie's face.

"Hey, Pookie! Are you awake?" She lifted him up in the sling so he could see Octavia. "Look – there's Octavia. Say 'hi, Octavia!'"

"Ah, Ay-vbe!"

The women both cracked up.

"He's trying," Sookie said.

"Yes, he is. He knows what talking is and he seems to know what you're saying to him. He just needs to learn to make the sounds."

"Bee-bee-bee-bee-bee" he sang as he reached for Sookie's glass of tea.

"Oops- no, no, Sweetie, that's not for babies!"

"Nah-nah, bee-bee."

"Are you thirsty, Sweetie?"

"Om-ba!" He nodded then leaned into Sookie with his arm around her neck.

"Awww- are you giving me a hug?"

"Om-ba, MAMA!"

She hugged him back and kissed his cheek. He looked at her, patting one cheek and leaning in to press his mouth on the other cheek.

"He's trying to kiss you back," Octavia said proudly.

"Yeah, he is!" Sookie was beside herself. "Are you giving Mommy some sugar?"

"Omba!" The baby sort of nodded with his whole body.

Bobbie came into the room with a plate for Sookie and a pitcher of iced tea, and the baby got excited. "Ah, Ba-bee!"

"Hi, Prince Alex! How about you come sit with me while Mommy eats?" She reached for him and he reached back, going to her happily. "Eee, Mama!" he pointed at Sookie.

"OK, Pookie, I will." Sookie laughed as she cut into her pork chop, which was accompanied by home fries and 2 eggs over easy.

Octavia was amazed at how well he could already communicate. She had expected him to be advanced but he was doing in days what most children would take months to learn. "He's already communicating with you, too, huh?"

"Yeah, we're buddies, aren't we, Alex?" Bobbie tickled him and he cracked up. "You know, he'll be ready for a high chair really soon. He can already hold himself up."

"Yeah, I guess he will. It never occurred to me to bring the traveling one with us."

"There was no way to know he'd get this strong this fast, or this advanced. We're going to be here two more days – if you want, we can go buy one and leave it here. It wouldn't hurt to get a playpen to leave down here, too. At this rate, he could be crawling by sundown."

"True. This is Saturday, right?"

"Yep. We don't have any plans today. There are some really fancy baby stores in town. I heard of one that Brangelina went to one called Pippen Lane…"

"You know where I'd really like to go?"

"Where?"

"Is there a Target store around here?"

"A Target? I don't know – there's a phone book in the kitchen – I'll go get it."

"Can you get him a bottle of RM, too. He said he was thirsty."

"OK, let's go get you a bottle, ok, buddy?"

"OM-BA!"

Bobbie carried the baby into the kitchen with her and got a bottle that Alicia had already prepared for him and popped it into the warmer she had set up on the counter. When it was done she shook it up and tested the temperature on her arm.

"EE, Bah-bee! EE!"

"Ok, Darlin', here we go." She held the bottle up for him and latched on. She looked around the kitchen and found the phone book that Alicia had used earlier to decide where she needed to go. She was trying to figure out how to feed the baby and carry the phone book at the same time, when he surprised her and wrapped his hands around the bottle. "Can you hold onto that, Buddy?"

"Om-ba" he said and then continued sucking happily on the rubber nipple.

Bobbie took the phone book back into the dining room with her and the baby held onto the small bottle the whole way. "Hey, ladies, check this out!" Bobbie said as they walked back into the room, "he can already hold the bottle on his own!"

Octavia and Sookie were both shocked, but there he was, holding the bottle in his little hands, having a fine time sucking down the warm red liquid. Bobbie sat the phone book on the table and settled into her chair. She shuffled around the pages a few minutes. "Looks like there's one in Harvey, which I think is not far from here. Want me to have Bjorn get directions?"

"Yeah, let's do – I don't want to sit around the house all afternoon doing nothing. I'd feel better knowing I had some baby stuff here – it'll make it feel more like home. Here, I'm done – I can take him now."

"OK, I'll tell him." Bobbie said as she handed the baby back to Sookie.

"Hey, Pookie, come to Mommy."

"Mah-mee," he giggled as he pulled the bottle away, then stuck it back in his mouth with a great flourish, showing off and amusing himself.

"Oh, you figured that one out, too, huh?" She laughed and he laughed even though he never let go of the nipple of the bottle.

"He's got a sense of humor!" Octavia laughed at him. "Don'tcha boy?"

"Om-ba!" He giggled as he pulled the bottle away again and then stuck it back in his mouth.

"I've never heard a baby laugh so much – have you?" Sookie asked.

"Not this early, for sure, but nothin' wrong with him bein' happy. At least he doesn't cry all the time like a lot of babies. Of course, that might change when his teeth start coming in."

"When will that happen?"

"Usually after 7 months or so, but who knows with this one. His development is already all over the chart."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, his language is way ahead, but he's only a little ahead physically. He's put on some weight already, and he can roll over which is about 3 months early. He can just about hold himself up already. Sitting up by themselves is about a 6 month old thing. Has he tried that yet?"

"No, but he's always in bed or in somebody's arms."

"You need some toys to test him and see what he can do. You need to be reading to him. You're going to the store today?"

"Yeah – I was going to ask you if you want to go with us – where's Amelia?"

"She's taking care of some stuff at her house, seeing when we might be able to live there in case you decide to stay here. I could go with you if you want."

"We could get some toys there along with the high chair and stuff. You'd get to spend some time with him in the car."

"You don't mind if I go along?"

"Of course I don't mind – I'd love it! You know a lot more about his development than I do. And you could shop for you, too, if you want…"

"I don't need anything at the moment, but I do want to spend some time with you and the boy. I'll go if you don't think I'll slow you down."

"We're not in a hurry, we're just going to get some baby stuff. We don't even have to have it, it just seems like a good idea. Do you need to do anything to get ready?"

"Not really. My purse is in the living room because I thought I might take a walk."

"Oh, good. Let's see – I need some shoes and my purse. Will you hold him while I run upstairs?"

Octavia was tickled that Sookie would let her watch the baby, even for a few minutes. "Yeah, of course I will."

"Here, Alex, stay with Octavia for a minute, OK? Mommy will be right back." Sookie handed her the baby and ran up the stairs.

"Well, little vampire, are you looking forward to going shopping?"

"Om-ba. Ba-ba-ba-ba-ba." The baby chattered and giggled as Octavia talked to him. Alex smiled and studied her face as she spoke to him, and even gave her a hug at one point.

Bobbie came back in and said she was going to get her purse as she ran upstairs, and Bjorn came in to the table.

"You're going with us, Octavia?"

"If it's alright – I don't want to be a bother."

"No bother at all. I'll drive Sookie's car with you, Bobbie and her and I'll have a car of guards follow us. I'm just making sure I've got men I trust here with Eric and Bill and then we'll go."

"I didn't think about that – you think it will be safe to leave the King?"

"Yes, I'm going to put Kerik here in the house and I know him well. Everybody else will be guarding the perimeter and I'm going to set an alarm and a lock on Sookie's door. I'm also bringing extra men from the New Orleans office. The ones that go with us will be some of ours and some of theirs. I'm going to make damned sure we're back before Eric wakes, too, so he doesn't worry about Sookie and the baby."

"Are we going to have room for what she buys? I've got a feeling there will be a load," Octavia laughed.

"Yeah, I've been shopping with Sookie before," Bjorn laughed. "The other guards are traveling in a big van that will have plenty of room for whatever she buys."

"Are you all talking about me?" Sookie came bouncing back down the stairs with a tote bag and a diaper bag.

"We're just talking logistics, ma'am."

"Don't you start with that ma'am stuff, Bjorn – I'm Sookie when we're around family. Thank you, Octavia." She took the baby from her and hugged him, kissing him three times quick on the cheek.

"Ma-ma" he giggled and patted her face then laid his head on her shoulder with his arm around her neck.

"Alright, Sookie. Where's Bobbie?"

"She said she'd be right down – she wanted to change clothes real quick.

Kerik came in with the special lock/alarm for the bedroom door and he and Bjorn went up to install it, then Kerik got a chair and took a post outside the room. Bobbie came out of her and Bjorn's room and said she'd meet him downstairs.

"Hey, Sookie, should we call Alicia and ask her if we need anything? Just in case?"

"Maybe, yeah – I'm used to having her with me when I shop."

"OK, I'll ring her." Bobbie called Alicia and she suggested buying more cloth diapers, and some small glass baby bottles if they had them there.

Bjorn finally came down and got everyone herded into the car and the van of soldiers was already waiting for them. They led the way since they had a local driver and Bjorn followed them. Bobbie sat in the front of the car with Bjorn and Octavia sat in the back with Sookie and the baby.

"Are you going to be comfortable back here, Octavia?" Sookie didn't want her to be cramped or anything.

"I'll be fine. I get to sit with the little Prince this way."

Sookie was fastening the straps on Alex's car seat. "Alex – who is that?" She pointed to Octavia.

"Ay-vbe!"

"He's trying," Sookie laughed.

"Oh, he's doin' fine. I can't believe he can get that close to it or remember that much."

"Yeah, I can't believe it, either. Just a few days ago he was inside me," Sookie was stroking his cheek as he chattered away, looking at him with such love in her eyes and he was looking back at her with those eyes that looked just like Eric's, smiling and singing and then he got hold of her finger and held on until the movement of the car lulled him to sleep.

While the baby slept, Sookie explained what Eric needed and Octavia pulled a deck of Tarot cards out of her purse.

"Oh, those are pretty…"

"They make our work a lot easier. I'll be getting you a pack soon and teach you how to read. You can do everything without them that you can do with them, but they make the work easier. They're like training wheels or a life vest – you don't have to expend so much of your own energy to do something. They do part of the work for you. What I want you to do right now is lean back and close your eyes, and picture Eric looking through the house. Put your hand over the baby's tummy, and just get a clear picture in your mind while I see what I can see."

Sookie did as Octavia asked, and managed not to fall asleep while she did. She was seeing Eric very clearly in the spa room on the lower floor of the house, and told Octavia so. Octavia shuffled and flipped cards, shuffled again and flipped a few more, then a few more. She didn't tell Sookie what she saw because they arrived at the store so she wrapped them back in their protective scarf and put them in her bag.

The baby was sleeping so soundly that he didn't wake up when Sookie took him out of the seat and snuggled him into the sling she brought with her. Two of the guards stayed with the van to watch for potential problems and two followed Sookie's party at a distance. Bobbie got a shopping cart and Bjorn stayed right next to Sookie and the baby.

"Fourth of July sale? What day is this?" Sookie asked.

"It's the fourth of July, Sookie." Bjorn told her.

"You're kidding me?! Why did I have no idea?"

"You've been really busy," Bobbie told her.

"Wow – this summer is just disappearing!"

Sookie was thrilled with some of the stuff they had there. She found a pretty blue high chair that would convert to a play table later on that she liked much more than others she had looked at. Octavia picked out a Baby Einstein Animal Exploration Tunnel that was a play mat, a little contained area and had some brightly colored toys and teethers that hung from it. She particularly wanted to see if they could get the baby to crawl through the tunnel, because she had a feeling he was very close to being mobile.

They bought a little shape sorter made like a house that had holes in the roof for triangles, circles and such because Octavia wanted to see how long it was before he could distinguish shapes. They got some stacking blocks that had letters and numbers on them that they could use for colors and numbers and later on for reading. They also chose a thing called a "Bounce Bounce Activity Zone" which was a little toy the baby could actually sit or stand in and turn around to different toys on the periphery of it. Octavia thought it would not only be stimulating, but it would be a great way to get the baby to stay put when he started crawling around. He could stay in there and bounce around as he played and it would be something for him to do that would keep Sookie from needing to run after him every minute. Octavia had a feeling this baby was going to be hard for Sookie to keep up with, so anything that would keep him in a contained area would help if they could get him not to teleport in and out of it. Sookie picked a purple elephant that had some brightly colored toys attached to it, and she fell in love with a little stuffed giraffe that had pink polka dots on it, though Bjorn smiled to himself when she picked it because he knew that was more for Sookie than for the baby. She got him a blue teddy bear that played womb sounds, music and bird songs and two toys that attached to the side of the crib for bedtime, and some little teethers and water toys.

Sookie rounded up her trip in the baby clothes and she was tickled by some little creepers that had cool sayings on them. One said "chicks dig me," one said "hey dude, your wife is checking me out," another one "too cute for words" and "future rock star" plus one that said "party in my crib, 10 pm, BYOB." Her very favorite, though, had a skull and wings on it and said "my dad rocks," and she put it on the baby before they left the parking lot as she changed his diaper in case Eric was already up when they got home. She knew it was probably more for someone who played in the band, but Alex's daddy rocked other ways and she thought he'd get a kick out of it. She bought some other little gowns and socks and little jumpers and a cute outfit for when he was a little older that had pants and a top and a hoodie and had a big yellow armadillo on it and one more onesie that had Horton Hears a Who on it.

Sookie's phone rang while she was in the baby clothes section and it was the real estate agent who wanted to get together at 1 pm the next day. They agreed on the time and Sookie finished filling her basket with baby clothes.

Bjorn tried not to laugh as they rung it all up:

Jack and Lily shoes, black skull / black - 0-6 mo $29.99

Me in Mind Boys' Infant Slip On Shoes - Skulls - 3-6 Months $25.99

LA BABY Chicks Dig Me - Small (0-6 Months) 14.99

LA BABY Too Cute for Words - Medium (6-12 Months) 14.99

LA BABY Future Rock Star - Small (0-6 Months) $14.99

LA BABY Party My Crib- Small (0-6 Months) $14.99

LA BABY Hey Dude - Medium (6-12 Months) $14.99

GENUINE KIDS Blue NBB Denim Short - 3M $5.59

Kissu Kissu Blue Dad Rocks Fleur De Lys - 0-3 Months $15.99

Gerber 2pk Infant Gowns in Blue - 0 - 6 Months $9.99

Gerber Bib and Socks 6 Piece Boy Set- Blue $10.99

Newborn Boys' Circo® Ride Stripe Tank Romper - Green 3M $5.99

SlickSugar Navy Rock Bodysuit - 6m $12.99

Bumkins Horton Hears a Who Bodysuit- Turq - 3M $17.99

Circo Blue New Born Boys' Solid Tank Romper - 3M $4.18

DWELL STUDIO TEE PANT SET DWSTUDIO HENLEBOY - 3-6M $13.99

DWELL STUDIO HOODIE DWSTUDIO BOY - 3-6M $8.99

DWELL STUDIO WEARABLE BLANKET BOY 0-3M - 0-3 $9.99

Small Roar white Mom Tattoo S/S Bodysuit - 3/6M $14.99

Infantino Discovery Elephant- Infantino; $14.99

Baby Ride and Read Toy- Edushape; $19.99

Elmo Rattles, Teethers and Link Set $23.99

K's Kids Deluxe Patrick Shape Sorting House $29.99

Nesting Stacking Blocks- The Original Toy Company; $23.99

Deluxe Alphabet Nesting and Stacking Blocks- Lights, Camera, Interaction!; $11.99

Baby Einstein Lights and Melodies Mirror $29.99

Tiddliwinks Pink Dot Plush Giraffe $8.99

Summer Mommies Melodies Bear - Blue $19.99

Baby Einstein Sea Dreams Lullaby Soother $39.99

Elmo Rattles and Teethers Set $23.99

Bright Starts Bounce Bounce Baby Activity Zone- Kids II; $44.59

Baby Einstein Tunnel- Kids II; $39.99

Munchkin Tower of Squirters Bath Toys $9.99

Badger Basket Baby High Chair with Playtable Conversion $149.99

Fisher-Price Precious Planet Portable High Chair Cover, Blue $9.99

**765.04 before tax.**

The guards loaded it all up and they got home about an hour before sundown so when Eric got up the living room was full of boxes and Bjorn had assembled the high chair and was working on the Baby Einstein Tunnel. Sookie, Bobbie and Octavia were sitting around the table, Baby E in his new high chair, though not quite upright, and they were looking at toys and talking about what they could do with them.

"Hello, ladies." Eric bent to kiss Sookie then turned to the baby. "Well, my son, you have new chair I see."

"OM-ba, Dada!" he nodded and giggled, then up went the arm "VBEE!"

"Eric, look at his shirt." Sookie had been jumping in her seat just waiting for him to see it.

Eric turned the baby's chair to face him and pulled the little onesie so that he could read it. "My dad rocks?" He smiled from ear to ear.

"Dada!" Alex reached up and patted his cheek and Sookie could see a little tear of blood in the corner of Eric's eye. Eric lifted him out of the seat and snuggled him to his chest, kissing his forehead and whispering in his ear, "I love you, Eric Alexander,"

"Eric – do you want an RM?" Bobbie asked, "We've got dinner in the oven, but if you don't want to wait…"

"I'll wait until everyone is served, thank you," he said as he sat next to Sookie, still holding the baby. "So I take it you went shopping today, my lovely wife?"

"Yeah, we got to thinking that he was almost ready for a high chair so we bought one we'll leave here and some toys Octavia wants to use to get an idea of what he can do. He's learning really fast."

"Octavia, do you think he is advanced for his age?" Eric really cared about her opinion.

"Oh, he's advanced, alright. You heard the way he strung those two words together? "Om-ba, Dada" and earlier today he told Sookie "ee, Mama" – that he can speak at all is amazing, but stringing words together that way is extremely advanced. An average one year old would be lucky to manage as much."

"What did he tell Sookie?"

""Ee, Mama" – Bobbie took him so I could eat," Sookie explained, "and he pointed to me and told me to eat."

"Really? Is he advanced in other ways?" Eric wanted to know everything possible.

"That's what we're going to find out. We know his speech capabilities are advanced, but we don't know much about his physical abilities yet. Playing with these toys we can see if he can recognize colors or shapes, if he can crawl or sit up, if he can hold objects, move them from one hand to another, throw them, or if he has any sense of object permanence yet. All we know so far is that he can roll over – which is early – and he can hold his own bottle, which is also advanced."

The baby wiggled in Eric's arms and was obviously trying to turn around. Eric helped him turn to face him, and the baby leaned forward and pressed his mouth to Eric's cheek and hugged his thick neck his little arm. Eric was shocked.

"Aww – he's giving Daddy sugar!" Sookie said.

"What?" Eric couldn't believe what just happened.

"He gave you a kiss and hugged you. He started doing that today, too." Sookie explained.

Before Eric could react Alicia came in the front door with packages.

"EESH!" The baby was excited and almost jumping in Eric's arms.

"Hello, everyone!"

"Hey, Alicia – your buddy here must have missed you." Sookie laughed.

"What do you mean?"

"Watch – Alex – who is that?"

"Eesh!" He bounced and pointed at her.

"That's him saying 'Alicia.' We found out he could say it today."

"Well, hello, Prince Alex!" Alicia just beamed at the baby and he squealed and giggled and hid his face in Eric's neck, being silly. "Is Bobbie getting dinner? I'll drop my packages in my room and help her." She was still beaming when she left the room.

"He's a charmer, that one is," Octavia laughed. "People better lock up their daughters when they see him comin'."

Octavia and Sookie were both watching Eric play with the baby, who was face to face with him and had a hand on each side of his face, really looking at him and chattering, occasionally leaning his forehead against Eric's and giggling. Neither of them could believe how patient this big old vampire was being with a baby, even if it was his baby. Eric seemed perfectly content to let the baby do whatever he wanted as he held him, rubbing his little back.

The baby leaned forward and Eric kissed his lips, the baby patting his right cheek and saying "Da-da." Sookie was sure she was going to be a puddle on the floor if this went on much longer. Daddy and baby were obviously just crazy about each other, and it was the sexiest thing Sookie ever saw. She was beginning to feel it between her legs when Eric looked at her briefly, knowing what she was feeling and his gaze practically melted her. Sookie began to hope that it wasn't going to take him all night to go through the house, because she wanted some quality time with Eric once the baby was asleep.

Almost as if he could read her mind, Eric spoke to Octavia, "Did Sookie ask you about our project tonight? Is there anything you can do to help?"

"Yes, as I understand it, you need to find some things hidden in the house. What I thought I would do is after dinner, Sookie, Bobbie, the baby and I, plus Amelia if she gets home in time, will sit at this table and sort of amplify the energy of anything hidden. It will make the trail more obvious to you – enhance any scents, make secret compartments visible, even enhance your natural intuition so you know where to look. It shouldn't take that long – I'm pretty sure you're only looking for three things."

"Why three?"

"I've been studying on it and looked at some cards. I saw three hiding places and two of them are below ground – that means this floor or under the house. The third one is going to be a problem because I saw a woman finding it."

"A woman?"

"Yes, I'm pretty sure and it won't happen tonight. It will be an accident, and it will happen when you least expect it, in perfect time. Also, based on what your wife told me today, she thinks you need to start in the spa room on this floor."

"Is this true, Sookie?"

"Yeah, I guess – she had me picturing you searching while she was reading and I kept seeing you very clearly in that room. It's as good a place as any to start, right?"

Eric nodded, processing what Octavia had told him. Three hiding places. One would be found by a woman, by accident, and not tonight. He'd still look for three but he was sure Octavia would be right about this. He also liked that the two places they would find were below ground. That meant there was a good chance of his catching a scent or seeing something. The closer to ground the better as far as Eric's senses were concerned. Dirt and mold had a way of telling on people if you had a keen sense of smell.

Alicia and Bobbie came back with chicken baked in some sort of sauce, noodles and broccoli. Bobbie handed out plates and then she and Alicia got drinks for everyone. Kerik and Bjorn came to join them at the table and Amelia got home about 10 minutes into the meal. Octavia filled her in as Alicia got her a plate.

Eric drank an RM and the baby reached for it "Eee, Dada!" and before he could say anything Alicia was up getting the baby a small bottle of RM. She came back with it and Eric said "Thank you, Alicia," and the baby giggled "Eesh!" as he grabbed the little bottle with both hands. Octavia took note of the fact that the baby was closely watching Eric tip his bottle up to drink and mimicking his motions with his own little bottle. Yes sir-ee, that was one smart little monkey to be able to do that already.

Bill came down the stairs toward the end of the meal. "Bill, you are well?" Eric asked, though he had a feeling Bill was avoiding Bjorn and Bobbie.

"Yes, I had some paperwork and some reading I wanted to get done before I came down. When do we start our search?"

"As soon as the dishes are cleared. Our little family Coven is going to assist us in some way so they'll be gathered here while you, Bjorn and I do our search. Octavia believes there are three hiding places and two of them are below ground. The third she believes will be found at a different time. We're still going to look thoroughly, of course, but we'll concentrate our efforts down here. I believe they want us to start in the spa room."

"The spa room? That's the worst possible place to hide anything – the dampness could ruin any paper or money there."

"Which is exactly why Madden would choose it."

"True."

Bobbie and Alicia cleared the table and Bobbie helped Alicia get started with the dishes. The women gathered at the end of the table, setting the baby's high chair at the head of the table with two women on either side. Sookie sat next to him and Amelia next to her. Across the table, Bobbie sat next to the baby and Octavia next to her so that she was opposite Amelia. "All right, ladies and Prince, join hands and picture these men finding things." Sookie and Bobbie each took one of the baby's hands as Sookie and Amelia, Octavia and Bobbie joined hands and Amelia and Octavia reached across the table to join hands. The baby was very aware and intent on what was happening and Sookie noticed he was sort of sitting up and leaning forward. She could feel from him that he liked this a lot – this was his kind of project, though how he knew what they were doing she didn't understand. When their hands were joined, Octavia said, "OK, vampire – you do your thing, and we'll do ours."

Eric, Bjorn and Bill started back to the spa room and Octavia led the ladies to maintain a continuous hum, and even the baby participated since he could make an "mmmmmm" sound and seemed to instinctively know what to do. Everything in the room seemed to vibrate with the sounds that they made, the hum never dying though each of them took breaths as they needed to then continued the hum. Bjorn, Eric and Bill looked the room over carefully, looking at the columns, the huge tub, the tiles and stone in the room. They inspected every place a seam might be found or a hidden compartment might lie. Bill and Bjorn were crawling around when they noticed Eric standing staring at the tub, or rather the stones around the tub. Eric produced a knife from his pocket and popped a thin layer of marble off the edge of the tub to expose what looked like black stone. Eric ran his finger over it, then scratched it with the knife.

"Gold."

"What?" Bill and Bjorn both replied.

"Gold. This marble is a façade. This block has been painted with a heavy oil based paint to look like it's just stone, but if you scratch it off, it's gold. We have to check under all of the marble in this room. He didn't have to worry about moisture because the money is in the form of gold blocks."

"Wow – that's really… paranoid." Bjorn laughed.

"Hard to move, too. What if he had to flee?" Bill said.

"This will only be part of it and he could always come back for it. No one was going to tear up this marble and if they did, they'd think this was just black stone. No one would look at it twice, even if they remodeled this room. This block is small – 6 inches by 6 inches, and it's only about 2 inches thick. It's heavy but not so much so that you couldn't smuggle a few out of here with no one noticing. We'll need knives and chisels."

"There are some boxes of tools in the garage – I'll see what I can find." Bjorn said and went out the door.

"Where would he get gold blocks?" Bill asked.

"I'd say he poured them himself. It's not hard to buy bits of gold, melt it down and pour it into a mold. I'll bet we'll find the molds around here somewhere. He was probably converting a part of what he embezzled into gold, melting it down and hiding it in here a block at a time. This house is a sort of landmark – no one would suspect the structure was being altered. Done on a small enough scale, not even the servants would know anything was being changed."

"Knock, knock," Sookie was at the door.

"Yes, my angel?"

"Octavia sent me back to ask what you found – she knows you found something."

"Yes, we did. Gold blocks painted and hidden under the marble."

"Are you going to have to destroy this room?" Sookie hated to see her beautiful house destroyed.

"We won't destroy it. We'll just look for these thin marble facings. We should be able to put it back without too much trouble, shouldn't we, Bill?"

"Yes, I'd say so. We can always hire a stonemason to fix it if you aren't happy with it, but I suspect there won't be many of these. Madden didn't live here that long."

"Good point." Eric said as Bjorn came back in which a wooden box. Sookie could see some chisels, awls, a hammer and a couple of knives.

"OK, I'm going back out there and I'm not going to think about what you're going to do to my spa that I haven't even had a chance to try yet."

"Don't worry, Sookie, it will still be fit to use – You and I can try it out tomorrow night, alright?"

"Promise?"

"Yes, I promise." He smiled at her softly.

"OK, we're going to focus on helping you find these… what are you looking for?"

"Gold blocks."

"Gold blocks without destroying my spa."

"You do that and we'll let you know when we're done in here."

The men worked in the room for another hour. All the blocks turned out to be in one section by the tub and they found an even dozen of them. They were able to slip the marble back into place, though it needed something under it to lie flat again.

"Alright, Sookie, we are out of your spa now." Eric laughed as he, Bill and Bjorn piled the gold blocks on the dining room table.

"Is it horrible?"

"No, it's not, and I'll have it fixed better than new. We're going to go over the kitchen then this room then the living room. It shouldn't take long. Can you keep up your work or do you need a break?"

"You won't find anything in the kitchen, I guarantee that – too many servants in and out of there. Your energy is best spent around the base of the house on the outside." Octavia said.

"You're sure about that?" Eric wasn't sure about this.

"Very. Go around the edge of the house and use your nose. Just try for half an hour and if I'm wrong, come back in and continue."

"Alright, Bill and Bjorn, get some flashlights and join me out there. I'm going to hover around the base of the house and see if I find anything."

The women and baby continued their humming and Eric flew around the base of the house, keeping low to the ground, and picked up a scent toward the back near the garage. He went into the garage, hitting the lights, and hovered over the floor, picking up the distinct scent of money – the grime from people's fingers, the hint of leather, the acrid aura of cocaine most bills had on them these days. He followed the scent to a workbench at the back of the garage. He ran his hand under the workbench and felt a seam in the floor. He was moving heavy items off of it when Bjorn and Bill found him.

"Need help, Eric?" Bjorn asked.

"Yes, there's money hidden here."

"How do you know?" Bjorn couldn't see how he could know that.

"I smell it. There's a crack in the cement under this bench. We need to pull this out of here to get to it."

It took them half an hour to get things arranged so that they could pull the bench away from the wall. They didn't have a lot of room to work, but they were able to see a block of stone cut on four sides in the floor about the size of a small footlocker. Eric flew up and over behind the bench, as Bjorn watched in amazement. He had been told Eric could fly, but you really don't believe a thing like that until you see it.

"Shit," Eric said, "this block is almost completely flush with the rest of the floor. That paranoid motherfucker had to make this _this_ hard? I'm glad I cut his fucking head off," Eric laughed.

"Here, Eric, try this crowbar – the edge is pretty thin. Maybe you can get it to budge a little." Bjorn handed the iron bar across the bench,

"OK, this is working a little bit. I can lift it out of here if I can get a little bit of edge to grab onto. Hang on…" Eric was able to lift the block, which Bjorn figured had to weigh at least a hundred pounds, like it was nothing once he got a hold of it. He set it to the side and pulled out two garbage bags. "Don't worry – it's not bodies." Eric laughed. Each bag had a duffle bag that a man might take as carryon luggage on a plane. Eric shined a flashlight around the hole and once he was satisfied there was nothing else to find, he put the slab back in place and moved the bench back to its original position.

Once they got the bags into the house and counted the money, each one contained $200,000 in cash – 100 bundles of twenty $100.00 bills. "That hardly seems worth all that trouble." Eric said. "I know there's more."

"There's more, but you ain't gonna find it tonight." Octavia said. "Go ahead and comb the upstairs, though, so you can rest."

Eric, Bjorn and Bill went through the den and all the bedrooms, but found nothing else hidden, though there was a false bottom to the closet in Bill's room but nothing was in there.

While the search continued, the women moved into the living room. Alicia served coffee to Bobbie, Octavia, Amelia and herself and they sat on the couches and chairs talking while Sookie changed the baby's diaper then played on the floor with him. Sookie put the baby on the colorful mat of the Baby Einstein Animal Exploration Tunnel and lay on the floor next to it, showing him the little toys hanging from it. He was especially fond of the yellow and orange sun that had a rattle in it. He liked the noise that it made and kept reaching for it so Octavia told her to put him on his tummy and see if he could raise his head to follow the noise. He not only raised his head, he pushed up on his hands to see where it went when she moved it out of his range.

"That's a big deal, right there." Octavia said.

"That he pushed up like that?"

"That, too, but I meant that he looked for that toy when he didn't see it or hear it. The concept of object permanence develops much later in most babies."

"Object permanence?" Sookie had never heard the phrase.

"The idea that something exists when he's not looking at it. Babies under 8 months old are usually "out of sight, out of mind" – if they don't see or hear a thing or a person, they don't know it exists. Here, lay that little sun in front of him and cover it with this blanket," Octavia threw her a little blue blanket that was laying on top of the diaper bag beside the couch.

Sookie laid the little rattle in front of the baby and he reached for it, but then she put the blanket over it and waited to see what he would do.

"Nah-nah, Mama," the baby said and grabbed the blanket pulling it toward him until he uncovered the toy, "OM-BA! Mama," he grabbed the toy and showed it to Sookie. Alicia, Bobbie and Amelia applauded and the baby loved it, laughing big as he put his head down on his hand for a minute, then he pushed up on all fours for the first time.

"Did you find it? Huh? Did you find that rattle?" She was cooing to him and he was trying to balance on his hands and knees and laughing when Eric came down stairs.

"Look, Sweetie!" Sookie called to Eric, "He's up on all fours! He's learning to crawl."

"Sookie, turn the baby facing into the tunnel." Octavia suggested. "Vampire – kneel at the other end there and let's see if he can creep or crawl yet."

Eric knelt at the other end of the tunnel as Sookie picked the baby up and put him back down facing into the tunnel.

"Call him," Octavia urged.

Eric sprawled out a bit on the floor and looked into the tunnel. "Eric Alexander – come to Daddy."

The baby looked up, hesitated a few seconds then was instantly at the end of the tunnel near Eric, saying "Da-da!" and reaching up to pat his face.

"That's Daddy's good boy!" Eric was thrilled. "Did you see that speed, ladies? My little vampire can move when he wants to." Eric picked the baby up and rolled on his back, holding the baby up over his head. "That's Daddy's little vampire. I'll bet you can fly before we know it!" He laughed and moved the baby through the air as if he were flying, making "whooshing" flying noises. The baby squealed and laughed, drooling a little but Eric didn't care. He "flew" him around a little more, both of them laughing, then brought him back down to his face and kissed him, sitting up and putting the baby back at the entrance of the tunnel. "Eric Alexander – go to Mommy."

ZIP! He was instantly back at the other end with Sookie, who was half amazed and half scared. "That's baby vampire speed, right? He's already got vampire speed?"

Bill and Bjorn had both just come downstairs when the baby zipped back over to Sookie.

"Holy hell!" Bjorn laughed, "did you see that kid move?!"

"I've said all along, my boy is every bit a vampire." Eric was bursting.

The baby patted Sookie's hand because she had the rattle. "You want this, Pookie?"

The baby reached his hand up and grabbed the plastic chain link that was used to hang it from the wall of the tunnel, then he crawled completely out of the tunnel, turned around and crawled at normal baby speed back to Eric as everyone watched in amazement. "Dada!" he called and swung the rattle toward Eric and tried to shake his hand back and forth to make the rattle sound.

"He's so smart!" Amelia was amazed he figured the tunnel out that quickly.

"He's showing you his new toy, Daddy." Sookie told Eric, "It's a rattle."

"A rattle?"

"Shake it – he likes the noise it makes."

Eric took the rattle from the baby and shook it in front of him and the baby squealed and laughed. "OMBA, dada!" the baby patted his hand wanting him to shake it again. Eric shook the rattle again and the baby squealed again. He patted Eric's hand again and squealed when Eric shook the toy. The baby fell to the side a little from his crawling position and tried to sit up. Eric helped him find his balance and he was sitting facing Eric, then patted his hand again and Eric entertained him that way for a few minutes. Sookie unattached a little soft red bird from the tunnel and threw it to Eric.

"Squeeze its tummy and it will sing," Sookie explained.

Eric held the little bird up to the baby and pressed its tummy and the bird played a chirping sound.

"Ahhhh!:" the baby made a sound of obvious pleasure and Eric stroked his little cheek with the soft toy and he closed his eyes to concentrate on the sensation. Sookie couldn't believe what patience Eric had with him. The picture of that huge vampire playing with a tiny baby was just adorable. Alicia apparently thought so, too, because she snapped a picture of them with her phone. Sookie felt like she had an actual fire in her panties.

At one point, Bill's phone rang and he announced that he was needed in the King's offices and would be back before dawn. He took a guard/driver with him and headed out as Bjorn joined the women sitting in the living room watching the Eric and Eric Alexander show.

"Vampire – teach him to stand up." Octavia said, "Take his hands and say stand up, then pull him upright for a few seconds then let him sit back down. See if he's strong enough to pull himself up."

Eric sat up cross-legged opposite the baby and took a little hand in each one of his. "OK, my son, let's stand up," and he pulled him up by his little arms and held him up a few seconds, then let him gently back down on his bottom. Eric held his hands up and let the baby get hold of a finger on each hand and said, "Stand up, Alex," and Eric could feel the baby pulling to raise himself up, only needing a little help from him. "Very good, my boy! He can almost do it!" he said to the others, letting him sit, then helping him stand again.

"Now see if he can pull himself up without help from you – just let him hold onto your fingers and see if he can pull up on his own." Octavia suggested.

"Stand up, Alex," Eric said and just held his hands in place so the baby could brace on them. It took him a little effort, but he made it up with a big smile. "Omba, Dada!" then fell on his butt as everyone applauded. The baby laughed and smacked his hands together, imitating the others. Eric was delighted. "Very good, my son. That's my very good boy!" Eric leaned forward and picked the baby up, pulling him into a hug and saying, "Daddy is very proud of you, Alex," and kissing him on the cheek. The baby put his arms around Eric's neck and hugged him as Eric patted his back.

"Sookie, if you don't need me anymore tonight, I think I'll turn in." Alicia said.

"That's fine, Alicia, thanks for everything!"

"Ba-ba, Eesh!" The baby waved at her.

"Bye-bye, Alex!" Alicia said to him as the others called good night to her.

"Actually, I could use some sleep myself. Watching that boy work wore me out," Octavia laughed as she gathered up her purse. "We can do some more with him tomorrow."

"I'll go up with you, Octavia." Amelia said. "Good night, everybody!"

Bobbie and Bjorn were on the couch together drinking coffee as Eric kept the baby in his arms and lay on his back with the baby lying on his big chest. He lifted the baby up over him again and flew him around, evoking more squeals and laughter.

"I know he's having a good time, Sweetie, but I hope you aren't giving him any ideas." Sookie was only about half kidding.

"Of course, I'm giving him ideas! I'm hoping he can fly just like Daddy. If he can, I can take him out at night and teach him to hunt the way we did in the old days."

"Not until he's old enough to know right from wrong, I hope."

"Of course not, Sookie, but he needs to learn old ways as well as new ones, don't you my boy?" He brought the baby down quickly, almost like dropping him, and kissed him, put him back up in the air, brought him down and kissed him again, then back in the air. He did it several times and the baby loved it, especially the falling part.

"He's going to throw up on you, Eric." Bjorn laughed.

"It will wash off if he does, but he doesn't seem green – he's having fun. I can feel what he feels."

"Yeah," Sookie agreed, "he's loving that."

Eric lifted the baby back up and then floated them both up off the floor. The baby let out a high-pitched "Haaaaahhh!" sound, loving the sensation of being in the air. Eric brought him back to his chest, then turned over in the air so he was facing down. He turned the baby's back to him so the baby was looking down and then Eric stretched out his arms, holding the baby from above so he could really feel like flying. He moved the baby around, letting him really feel the air under him.

"Sookie, lie on your back so he can fly over you." Eric said.

Sookie started to object, but then she said, "oh, alright," and stretched out on her back. Eric flew over her with the baby. "Alex, say "hi, Mommy!"

"Ah, Ma-mee!" The baby giggled and he waved because Sookie waved at him.

"Hi, Sweetie. Are you flying with Daddy?"

"Omba, Da-dee!" He giggled and waved his arms and legs about. "Ee, Ma-mee, ee!"

"Eric, I think he wants to be fed."

"Yes, I think you're right. Stay there." Eric slowly floated them down so Sookie could take him to her breast and he suckled eagerly as she opened the top of her dress for him.

"That's what I always like to do after a long flight, too."

"Feed?" Bjorn said.

"No, but it does involve a pair of warm breasts," Eric laughed as he floated up to land on his feet.

Bjorn and Bobbie both laughed and Sookie said "Daddy's being naughty, Alex!" as she sat up with him. Eric offered her his hand and helped her stand up so she could take the baby over to a chair.

"What's all this other stuff, Sookie?" Eric motioned to the pile of toys and clothes covering the pool table.

"Other stuff for him. Look at that blue teddy bear. It plays sounds like a baby hears in the womb. It's supposed to help him sleep."

"Alright – and the little purple… elephant?"

"Those are teething toys attached to it. When his teeth start coming in, which won't be long, he's going to want to chew on anything he can get his hands on. There are some other little teething toys and things there, too, and there's one attached to the tunnel."

"At the risk of sounding non-Progressive, why did you buy my son a giraffe covered with pink polka dots?"

"I think she bought that for her," Bjorn laughed.

"Ah!" Sookie was indignant, "it was just so cute - it won't hurt him to have a toy with some pink in it. It's so sweet and soft…"

"Like I said, I think the giraffe is for Sookie," Bjorn cracked up and so did Bobbie and Eric.

Sookie pretended that she was upset. "Why are you all picking on me?"

"We're just teasing you, my angel. I don't mind if you bought it for him- I don't mind if you bought it for you, either. After all, you'll be playing with the toys with him, so you might as well love them, too."

Sookie let out a huge yawn. "Excuse me!" she said, surprised at herself.

Eric knelt next to Sookie's chair and stroked her cheek. "We should go to bed, dear one. You have a long day tomorrow and I'd like to have you to myself for a while before you sleep."

"Sounds good to me." Sookie agreed.

"Eric, Bobbie and I were talking about going out for a while if you don't need me here. It should be pretty wild in the Quarter tonight."

"Oh, yes – the holiday – enjoy yourself. Just make sure you get enough sleep to drive my family around safely tomorrow."

"I will, don't worry."

"Alright then, we're going up. Lock the door as you go out and don't forget your key. You can tell the guard we're in for the night." Eric pulled Sookie to her feet, and the three of them headed for the bedroom.

Sookie jumped on the bed with the baby still in her arms, bouncing up and down on the edge of it. "Yay!"

Eric laughed as he pulled his shirt off. "Happy, angel?"

"Yes – this is my favorite part of the day. Just me and my two boys," she laughed.

"We like this part of the day, too, don't we, Alex?" Eric smiled at the two of them.

The baby hummed a little as if in agreement, but he didn't stop eating. Eric walked over in front of Sookie and bent down over her, raising her chin to him so he could kiss her lips softly, his hands cradling her head, fingers entwined in her hair from underneath, massaging her scalp gently as his lips and tongue gently caressed hers.

"What would you like to do, my angel? We can soak in the tub or we can go straight to bed – whichever you prefer." He kicked off his boots and dropped his jeans.

"I just want to get naked and get in bed. My motor's been running ever since I was watching you play with the baby at the dinner table."

"Yes, I know that – and it only got worse when I was playing with him on the living room floor. I half expected you to jump me right there," he teased her.

"I plan to do exactly that as soon as my little buddy here goes to sleep."

"He'll fall asleep soon, I'm sure – he's got to be tired after all that playing."

"It was so cool watching you with him. That's the first time you were able to do that. He's already getting to the fun part where we get to watch him learn to talk and walk and all those things. You even got to fly, didn't you, Pookie."

The baby kept eating, but his eyes twinkled.

Eric sat next to Sookie, wrapping his arm around her and stroking the baby's back and head as he suckled. "I had fun with him. I was so proud, seeing what he could do. I knew all along he would be exceptional, but to see him grow and talk and laugh – I never dreamed of such happiness."

"Aw – Sweetie!" Sookie said and looked up at him then kissed him. The baby hummed and reached for their faces as they kissed. Eric took his little hand and kissed it then held it to Sookie's lips and she kissed it, too. The baby let go of Sookie to chatter at Eric and she said "Here, take him for a minute so I can get out of this dress.

"With pleasure – I'm always happy to help you get out of your clothes, my lover." He wiggled his eyebrows at her as he took the baby, and held him up for a kiss. The baby tried to imitate Eric by putting a little hand on each of his cheeks and pressing his mouth to Eric's.

"Aw – are you giving Daddy sugar, Alex?" Sookie teased him as she wiggled out of the dress and her panties, then climbed on the bottom of the bed up to her side, getting a little swat of appreciation on her bottom as she passed Eric, who was pulling down the covers with one hand and holding the baby with the other. Sookie squealed a little when Eric's hand smacked her bottom and the baby cracked up.

"Oh, you think that's funny, huh, Pookie?!" Sookie laughed and Eric handed her the baby as he slid into bed next to her. Eric settled on his side, his head propped up from his elbow. Sookie put the baby on his back between them and turned on her side toward Eric. "Here, Alex, let's get you out of this little suit," Sookie said as she unsnapped his little "my daddy rocks" creeper and threw it over where her dress was piled up. Sookie blew raspberries on the baby's belly and he squealed with laughter. Eric couldn't remember seeing anyone do that before and he was fascinated by the baby's reaction.

"He loves that, Sookie."

"Yes, he does! Yes, he does!" She was teasing the baby. "I'm being a bad mommy – I should be trying to get him to calm down and go to sleep, but he's just too much fun! Aren't you, Pookie?"

The baby was giggling, kicking and reaching for Sookie's face and she blew on his tummy again. The baby squealed and giggled, but then let out a big yawn.

"Oops! OK, that's Mommy's signal to settle down," Sookie said.

"Ee, Ma-mee."

"OK, eat a little more and then it's night-night." Sookie helped him get into position and got comfortable, she and Eric lying face to face as the baby suckled. Eric stroked her face gently and ran his hand down her arm.

"I think you'll be asleep before the baby, my angel."

"No way. He's going to go to sleep and then you are mine."

"I'm always yours, Sookie, no matter what we are doing."

"I know but I need time with you like this, like right now, and… you know…"

"I know. I need time with you, too, sweetheart. Are you feeling neglected?"

"Not neglected but… I don't know what the word is. Busy, maybe, or overwhelmed? Just not enough quiet time with you. We used to be alone together a lot, and then everything changed in so many ways – and they're wonderful – but I miss our time together. Everything with the baby is happening so fast – even his development is accelerated. Then you were supposed to do something that would take 10 years and it barely took 10 days..."

Eric laughed at that.

"…and all of a sudden there are fancy dress balls and coups and movie stars and my baby can already crawl at vampire speed, and I love this house and our other house and our whole big new family but I'm… tired."

"Hence, your need for sleep."

"No, I don't need sleep, I need you. I can't explain it any better than that. You know I didn't even realize today was Independence Day? There's so much going on and I feel like I never see you alone. You're only available at night and I want more of it for me…. and for the baby, but mostly for me. I sound selfish, don't I…?" Sookie sounded defeated and it made Eric a little sad.

"No, Sookie, you don't sound selfish. You do sound overwhelmed and that happens a lot lately, but it's understandable. You've been through a lot of changes and we've been very busy. I was looking at our calendar last night. If you had two weeks to do anything you wanted – literally anything – what would you do?"

"I just told you – I'd spend it with you and the baby. I want to be boring. I'd stay home, I'd play in the pool, I'd play with the baby, we'd stay home and watch some movies and we'd go to Fangtasia a few times for some really kinky sex."

Eric cracked up. "You had me worried until that last part."

"I'm not kidding, Eric."

"I know you're not, Sookie. As I was saying, I was looking at our schedule. I'm going to postpone going back to Las Vegas. We don't really have anything we have to do until the baby's Wiccaning on August 1st. Once the end of September gets here, we'll have a lot of social obligations right up through the holidays. This month, though, we have about 3 ½ weeks where we could do anything we want. If you want to stay here, I'll have our personal things moved here. I have projects here and in Las Vegas, but Sandy and Bill will handle most of that and I can work at night when you sleep. I might need to attend some property settlements but I can arrange that for the fall or we can just spend the night wherever and come right back if you want. Or I can travel alone…"

"Absolutely not – we're a unit. The baby and I go where you go – that's not negotiable."

"Good, I was hoping you would feel that way. We should be together no matter what. You're both much safer with me."

"Safe or not – we want to be with you. That comes before anything else."

Eric kissed her deeply and looked down at the baby at her breast. He whispered "he's asleep," and picked him up gently, taking him around the bed and settling him in his little crib. As he came back to bed he said, "don't worry – I'll put him in bed with you before I rest."

"Good. Now, let's talk about this 3 ½ weeks. Won't we need to move in that time?"

"Well, we can, but only if you want to. If you want to go home and do nothing for two weeks, we'll do that. If you find a property here you want to move into, or if you'd like me to send a moving van for our things and bring them here, then we will."

"You know I haven't even been in the pool here. I don't know if I'd like it, but it's gorgeous out there so I bet I would. I should have done that today."

"Do you want to cancel the real estate lady for tomorrow and play in the pool? I won't mind at all if you do."

"There are a dozen really important reasons why we need a different place but if I'm going be in New Orleans I want to be here."

"Then I'll have Alicia call and cancel your appointment tomorrow and you can sleep late, and play in the pool, and enjoy your new house." He kissed her forehead gently and she snuggled up tightly against him. "Do you still want to go home Tuesday or should we have things brought here?"

"Good question. I think I want to go home, I want Alicia and Margaret to get ready to move here with us, and then we come back here after the baby's…. what is it again?"

"A Wiccaning. You should ask your Witches what that entails. It's like a blessing or a Christening, but it's done by Witches. Every Supe in the area will probably be invited."

"Really? It's that big of a deal?"

"Oh, yes, my angel. I don't know all the details but Bill was told to expect several members of the Council and the Living Pantheon, local Covens and Solitaries, Vampires, your Were packs and Niall notified Bill that there will be a huge Fae presence that night as well. Fae apparently take these things very seriously."

"Will Freya be there!?" Sookie was really excited about that prospect.

"It's very likely, since he's Hers and that is well known. She may want to bless him personally and that would be a very big deal, indeed."

"I'd really like to talk to Her. I have questions only She can answer."

"And I need to make an offering to Her – I need to figure out what to give Her."

"Is that something that's expected?"

"There's no specific obligation, but I want to thank Her for all of Her blessings to our family. I just haven't figured out what to give Her yet. Modern Witches are anti-animal sacrifice so I have to figure out what She might want."

"Did they used to be pro-animal sacrifice?"

"Not Witches, but many Pagan cultures would sacrifice animals to the gods that were later served at a feast in their honor. Modern African-Native American groups like Vodun, Candomble and Santeria still do things like that which scares most white people even though those groups use a lot of Catholic imagery in their rites. There's nothing sinister about it but Wiccans tend to err toward the PC when they can, maybe even to their own detriment."

"What do you mean?"

"Have you ever heard the term "fluffy bunny?""

"Maybe – what's that?"

"That's what some people call Wiccans who are way too PC and New Age-y. Most real Witches can't stand them, but they're the ones that are most obvious about who they are so they tend to get the most attention."

"Why don't real Witches like them?"

"They're like hippies, or starry-eyed little girls, emo kids. They're harmless in most cases, but they feed the dominant culture's desire to dismiss magick as nonsense. Real Witches are like Octavia – no-nonsense, smart, pragmatic. They don't play at it – they know real power and they know how to wield it. The Goddess is very real to them and they don't take shit off of people. They aren't afraid to express an opinion and they scare the New Age types because they embrace darkness – they aren't all sweetness and light. The Matriarchists really scare people because they want society to go back to being more egalitarian. They'd completely topple the patriarchy if they could – and might still. They're coming back in a big way."

"Matriarchists? I think that's what Octavia is."

"My guess would be that she is. Has she ever talked about patriarchy?"

"Yeah, and so have Bobbie and Amelia. I'll have to ask them more about it."

"You should – there is much for you to learn."

"Are you a Matriarchist?"

"My culture was often blamed for the spread of patriarchy but yes, I'd say I'm a matriarchist. I think society was better off when we were organized around the mother's line."

"Supes are patriarchal though, right?"

"Yes, extremely so. Some people confuse sexual domination with matriarchy, too, but they are opposite things."

"OK, when we do those games, is that patriarchal?"

"It's neither – it's not political at all, it's sexual. Some people have a taste for dominating, some for being dominated, but that behavior is for private sexuality, not for trying to conduct a civilization. Civilization works best when it begins with the mothers and treats people as equals."

"Why do you say that?"

"I've seen what the shift to patriarchy did to the world – violence, greed, exploitation, slavery, war. Even though I am a warrior, I know it should be a last resort. In patriarchy it is usually the goal."

"Patriarchy wants war all the time?"

"Yes – a few people amass great wealth and power by keeping war going constantly. It doesn't even matter in most cases who wins the war, just that war continues."

"I don't understand that…"

"Let's say a defense contractor builds helicopters. They are probably used by both sides of a conflict – if one gets shot down, they sell another helicopter. It doesn't matter who shot it down and probably doesn't matter which side it belongs to. A sale is a sale. The same companies that made money in Vietnam are making money in Iraq, and they make their money whether they do the work or not. Soldiers are electrocuted by shoddy wiring and the company who did it gets a bonus from the government. You've heard the term "military-industrial complex?"

"Yeah, but I never really understood what it meant."

"It means that there are people who make money from war and have a financial interest in keeping war going in spite of the human costs, and their tentacles reach into the military and the government."

"That's horrible."

"Some form of that machine has been moving through the world for 6,000 years. I keep hoping some day people become educated enough to change things, but change is slow in coming. People today know many more things than they did when I was human, but they know very little fact. Most of what is taught in American schools is not true."

"You mean that most of what I learned in school was a lie?"

"The history and politics, yes. It's all propaganda that has almost nothing to do with what actually happened in the past or what is happening now."

"Things are getting better though, right?"

"Better is a relative term, my angel. Things are changing, and technology advances, but most people still live sad and difficult lives and most people are not happy. Even during times of famine, I have seen people in ancient cultures be happier than they are today. Times change but people do not if the same bad ideas get passed down from generation to generation. When those bad ideas are spread by violence, and the ones who oppose them are killed, eventually, no one remembers that a different way is possible. The bad ideas become the only ideas."

"So you remember the world when there were other ways?"

"Yes, and there are still cultures that remember. The American Indians still have functioning matriarchies – Octavia probably knows about them. They lived in relative peace until the genocide of the European settlers. My people visited what is now called Canada, but we never tried to colonize these lands to any extent. When the Spanish and the Italians discovered the gold some of the Indians had, they began to establish colonies and then the English came in and destroyed nearly everything they found."

"Were you here then?"

"I traveled here a few times on ships in various capacities. Travel was hard in those days, but it was possible. I didn't come here to stay until the 1900s."

"What made you come here?"

"I needed to get Pam out of England – she was spotted in London by a relative and we had to flee before they found us. Her family had buried her. If they had ever confirmed that it was she that they saw, and not just a girl who looked like her – it would have been disastrous."

"Did Pam want to be a vampire?"

"Yes, she did – though she wouldn't have known what a vampire was."

"And you killed her?"

"I transformed her – but I followed her, I seduced her, and at last I gave her a choice before I turned her."

"Did she understand what she was agreeing to?"

"Not completely, but she was happy once it was done. She embraced it and never looked back."

"Lucky you picked the right girl."

"I searched for the right girl for months – maybe years – before I found her."

"She was what you were looking for? At the time, I mean?"

"You must understand that I was a very old vampire and I had no expectation of ever having love in my life. I wanted a companion who didn't want to be constrained by Victorian society, but I wanted a very pretty, European girl. I wanted an eager sex partner and I wanted someone who would embrace living on the fringes of society. I had money, I was handsome, I could offer her anything she wanted. If not for me, she'd have been forced into a loveless marriage and an unhappy, oppressive life. I was a dream come true for Pam in many ways."

"Did she always like girls?"

"From the very beginning. The first meal I arranged for her was a very pretty whore from a nearby brothel and she liked her very much, indeed. We had an arrangement that I would share girls with her if I was her only male lover and she was quite content with that arrangement. She was very eager to learn and I trained her to be my ideal lover. We were very happy with each other and still are in many ways."

"How did she feel about me when she realized you were interested in me?"

"She didn't take it seriously at first until she saw me taking stupid risks where you were concerned and indulging you in ways I would not normally. When she realized how serious I was about you, she agreed that she found you attractive but felt I was not strict enough with you."

"She thinks you spoil me, doesn't she?"

"Yes, and she's right. I do indulge you in ways I would not indulge anyone else and we have both suffered because of it – but we are past that now."

"Like with Quinn, you mean? What should you have done?"

"I should have killed him and whipped you severely so that you never dared consider defying me again."

Sookie swallowed hard at that. "Is that what you would have done to someone else?"

"If she were my human, let alone my bonded, yes, I would have."

"Have you ever done that with Pam?"

"Yes, a few times when I felt it was necessary. The first one was the worst, of course and she quickly learned not to push me that far again. Plus, she's a vampire, so her beatings are far more severe than a human could survive."

"I can't imagine you hurting Pam…"

"I didn't hurt her, I improved her. I am her master – it's my duty to train her."

"Like, sexually or as a vampire or what?"

"As a vampire, certainly, and in any other way I choose. She's mine to do with as I please."

"Would that be true of me if you turned me?"

"It's true of you now, Sookie."

Those words shocked Sookie. On some level she knew they were true, but she never thought about it in those terms before. She knew she had a question somewhere but she couldn't find words for it.

"Sookie – you are very quiet."

"I don't know what to say…"

"Surely you are not surprised by a simple statement of fact?"

"Is it a fact or a choice or…? I don't know how to ask this…"

"It's a fact, Sookie. You are my bonded. You are my wife, too, but that is secondary to our bond. It is my responsibility to love you, to support you, to keep you safe, and to do whatever else I believe will create a better life for you."

"Like training me?"

"Sookie, if you recall, you asked me to train you."

"Yes, but that's sex, right – that's not about anything else?"

"It's about survival, too. It's unlikely I'd ever need to really punish you, but if you'll recall, I should have punished you our first time in Vegas, I did punish you once and if you ever do something to endanger us, I'll do it again."

"So, if I ever…"

"Yes?"

"I don't know what I want to ask, but I know I want to ask something."

"You want to know what it would take for me to whip you."

"Yeah – I guess that's what I want to know."

"If you ever put us in danger, or break your vows to me, then yes, I will punish you. You are very unlikely ever to do anything to make that necessary, are you not?"

"Yeah, I'm just trying to get a clear picture. If I ever… cheated on you…"

"I'd kill him and whip you so you never did it again. Why is this a surprise to you?"

"If I got mad and left you…"

"You won't."

"Why not?"

"Because you love me and you took a vow to be faithful. You are the mother of my child. You have made your choices – now you must live with them."

"What if you stop loving me?"

"That cannot happen."

"What if I stop loving you?"

"Our bond would probably keep that from happening, but if it did, it would not matter. We are forever. You know that."

"Would you ever kill me?"

"No, but when you are ready, I will turn you."

"What if I'm never ready?"

"You will be."

"But if I'm not."

"I won't force it on you, if that's what you mean, but I won't have to. You'll want to come over so you can be with our son and so you can be with me forever. You know that, too."

"Yeah, I guess I do…"

"I can feel that you are confused, Sookie. What is troubling you about what I said?"

"I guess I just thought I had more choices…"

"I give you many choices because I want you to be happy."

"What if you didn't care if I was happy?"

"I would still support you and be honest with you and keep you safe."

"So – do you spend money on me because I'm your bonded or because you want to?"

"Because I want to."

"So being bonded entitles me to…"

"Support and protection, but not luxury or wealth. Those I give to you because I love you and want you to be happy."

"Legally I'm entitled to half of everything…."

"Yes, but that means nothing to us. If I die, you will have everything that is mine. If I live, you will have everything that is mine. Your future is assured and so is our son's."

"But…"

"Sookie – you are looking for a reason to be upset because I said I should have whipped you. I should have, but I didn't. Doesn't the fact that I didn't tell you something?"

"According to you it means that I'm spoiled."

"You are. I take great pleasure in spoiling you."

"I don't want to be spoiled, I want to be loved."

"I do love you, Sookie, more than I have ever loved anyone or anything. I can't tell if you are upset because I didn't whip you or if you're upset by the idea that I should have."

"Neither can I," she said softly.

Eric tried very hard not to laugh because he didn't know how she would take it but inside, he was cracking up – she was mad and didn't know why.

"Sookie, my love, are you happy with me?"

"I'm ecstatic with you."

"Is there anything I can do to make you happier?"

"No – no, there's nothing I want that I don't have. I know I can have or do anything I could think of. My life is perfect. Busy, but perfect."

"Alright, now, what are you really upset about?"

"Part of me is scared of being whipped and another part of me wants to know what it feels like."

"Have you forgotten those three stripes you had recently."

"No, but those were with a big whip. What does a smaller one feel like?"

"I think I'm beginning to understand now – when I said I should have killed Quinn and whipped you, that turned you on, didn't it?"

"Uh…" she didn't know what to say.

"Not the Quinn part, of course, but the idea of me whipping you – the idea of me controlling you with force – that turned you on."

Sookie didn't say anything because she was trying to decide if it was true or not. Eric turned off the light on his nightstand, then turned back to Sookie and without a word slipped his hand between her legs, causing her to gasp.

"Very wet, Sookie," Eric said softly as he put his arm under her head and moved over her, "a part of you wants to be dominated very severely but another part of you is afraid of that. What would you do about that if you were me?" His fingers were probing her now. Why did she feel dizzy? Why couldn't she answer him?

"I think it's good that we'll be home in a few days, Sookie. I think you need to spend some time in the basement at Fangtasia. You've only had a small taste of what the basement has to offer. I think we need to expand your horizons." As he said "expand" he pushed all four fingers into her and kissed her as she cried out and he continued to push her by curling his fingers under and making her pant to keep from crying out as his big hand stretched her. She was feeling something akin to the panic she always felt when he pushed into her other entrance and she tried to relax and open herself wide to his fist. He was really pushing her, the word "merciless" flashing through her mind as she writhed and he began to whisper in her ear:

"I'm going to strip you and hang you from the rafters in the basement, Sookie, and I'm going to kiss you, and bite you and pinch you," punctuating each item with a thrust of his fist, "and I'm going to whip you, Sookie, with a thin little whip that will hurt so much you won't believe it, but won't leave a mark unless I want it to. I can keep you there for hours, Sookie, doing whatever I want to you and you won't be able to get away from me. You can scream or cry and no one will hear you. I'll own you, Sookie, every little bit of you and you won't be able to say no. Once I get you down there, you're mine and I'll do anything to you that I damned well please."

Sookie was moving very rhythmically now and Eric could tell from the sounds that she was trying not to make that she was close to coming. "Is that what you want, Sookie? Do you want to be my toy? My bad little girl that I have to punish? You want to see how far I can push you? You want me to make you come until you cry?"

Sookie was wild now, riding his hand and he sucked her nipple into his mouth, tasting her sweet milk and biting her nipple hard in away that was like nothing she ever felt before. Her whole body convulsed and she arched her back, Eric pushing her, and pushing her, even after she came, and she was shaking her head, not to try to get him to stop, but just to try to take it without screaming. At just the right moment, Eric let her rest and she lay there shaking.

"Did you like that, Sookie?" he laughed softly.

'Y-YES!"

"Mmm- my little masochist. You want a little more or a lot more?"

"A lot more."

"That's my girl, Sookie, You want to show me how much you can take without waking up the baby?"

"Yes – anything."

Eric raised an eyebrow. "Anything? What if you don't like it? What if it hurts?"

"Do anything you want – just promise me you'll give me your blood during."

"That is a promise, my pretty girl. This is your last chance to say no. You can go to sleep or you can get face down on your stomach and say nothing until I allow you to speak."

Sookie rolled over onto her stomach.

Eric went to his suitcase and opened a little bag that had four stockings in it. He pulled Sookie down to the center of the bed by her ankles. Sookie felt something being wrapped around her ankle and it was pulled to the side and, she surmised, tied to the bed frame. Her other leg was pulled in the other direction and tied. Sookie tested the bonds – there was no way for her to close her legs. Why did she love this so much?

Eric pulled Sookie's arm back so her wrist was at the small of her back, then pulled the other to meet it and tied them together. He looped the fourth stocking around her wrists and pulled them toward her shoulders, then pulled the stocking under each arm and pulled the ends back to the middle to tie so that her wrists were pulled up to her waist and pretty much immobile. Eric pulled her pillow down under her body and under her hips. Sookie was pretty sure she knew what was coming, but she didn't know it was coming slowly and without lube.

Eric moved so slowly Sookie thought she would scream. She panted and tried to relax as he pushed into her, millimeter by excruciating millimeter, her legs trying desperately to move. She realized that this was all about making her feel the stretching as intensely as possible. It would have been much easier to take if he'd just done it quickly, but that wasn't the point and she knew it. This was about her enduring it for him no matter how much it hurt, and it did hurt – she realized that he wanted it to hurt and she was surprised that she did, too. She loved this – loved not being able to pull her legs together though she was involuntarily trying hard to, loved being under him, under his complete control, his huge body covering and controlling her completely. She loved the way he grabbed a handful of her hair to turn her head so he could whisper into her ear, and she loved those familiar words "who do you belong to, Sookie?"

"You, Eric, I'm completely yours. Do whatever you want to me."

"I'm going to remind you that you said that when I get you to Fangtasia. We're a little bit limited in what I can do here tonight, but there won't be any limitations there. I'm going to push you hard and we'll find out how much you can take. Is that what you want, Sookie?"

"Yes."

"Does it hurt, Sookie?"

"Yes,"

"You haven't asked me to stop."

"I don't – I don't want you to stop." Sookie was beginning to shake all over and she was sweating.

Eric clamped his hand over her mouth, pulled almost all the way out of her and plunged back in hard and to the hilt, inducing what would have been a scream if it hadn't been muffled by his huge hand. Sookie was grateful for his hand over her mouth for what seemed like hours as he rode her as hard as he ever had. Tears were running down her face and over his fingers. She felt as if her body was being split in half right down to the depths of her soul and she was more than happy to give herself over to his will, even if there was nothing left when he finished with her.

The hand stayed tight over her mouth as the other hand slipped under her body and squeezed her breast hard. Before she could even react to that he drove his fangs viciously into her shoulder and she was coming so hard she felt as if she left her body, the sensations crashing down on her too fast to process. Before she knew it, the hand left her breast and he ripped the wrist open, quickly replacing the hand over her mouth with his bleeding wrist as he returned to sucking on the wound on her shoulder. "Orgasm" didn't begin to describe what happened to Sookie next – even her fingernails throbbed and for a good long while she simply melted into the infinite and when she came back down, every cell in her body was vibrating. She tingled all over, struggling to breathe, completely limp as Eric untied her. She heard him laughing to himself as he cleaned himself up, then cleaned her. He threw the cloth into the bathroom and came back, moving her limp body back up to her side of the bed.

Eric was smiling in that wicked way that made her hot and cold at the same time, exploring her with his hand and his eyes, whispering to her.

"Mmmm, Sookie, you liked that as much as I did. I knew the bondage would enhance your orgasm but I wasn't sure if the pain would. I think I could train you to come just from pain if I wanted to."

"You said one time you get no pleasure from pain…"

"Unless YOU get pleasure from it. If I know you are enjoying it, I get a great deal of pleasure from it."

"Hold me."

He pulled her close and pulled the covers up over them.

"If I asked you a question, would you tell me an honest answer?"

"Of course, Sookie, you know you can ask me anything." He stroked her hair and her shoulders.

"Have you ever enjoyed hurting a woman who didn't enjoy the pain?"

"Yes, several hundred years ago, I went through a phase when I would keep a meal for a week or two and enjoy her as I pleased."

"You'd hurt them on purpose?"

"Let's be very honest about it, Sookie. I'd torture them for my own enjoyment. I could be very cruel in those days."

"Why did you stop?"

"My sense of honor got in the way and there were practical considerations. It got harder and harder to make a girl disappear without being missed, and it took a pretty secure lair to keep a girl that way for any length of time. And once I made Pam, I was able to enjoy her in all those ways and not have to worry about getting rid of her after. Pam enjoys pain a great deal, and very extreme pain, too. The more I'd hurt her the more she'd cling to me. She's an ideal sex slave."

"There are some wild stories about things at Fangtasia…"

"We've done some very extreme things at Fangtasia, but everyone was a willing participant."

"How extreme?"

"More Extreme than I'd ever do with you, if that's what you're worried about. I won't do anything that might scar you. I like your skin too much."

"Other people were scarred?"

"Scarred, tattooed, branded, pierced or otherwise modified."

"That's scary."

"Are you afraid of me, Sookie?"

"No, I'm not. I don't know why, but I'm not."

"You don't know why?"

"Well, I mean, I know you love me and I don't think you'd really, really hurt me."

"I'll take you to your limit and a little bit beyond it. I'm going to push you because you want that from me. I want every bit of you, Sookie, everything you are able to give."

"Good – I want you to push me. This is what I was wanting earlier."

"What do you mean?"

"When I said I wanted more of you but I didn't know how to say it – this is what I wanted. I wanted you to talk to me and tell me things."

"About sex?"

"About everything. I like hearing about how you used to be."

"The things I told you scared you, Sookie."

"Yeah, but it was true and I want to know the truth. I want all of you, too. I learn from you and I need this when we talk and fuck and then talk some more. I mean, I always feel like you love me, but these times when we're alone and we talk and you push me sexually – that's the most real to me. The sharing, the sex, the blood exchanges…"

"Remember earlier when you asked what would happen if you got mad and left me?"

"Yeah…"

"And I said you wouldn't. I'm going to be honest with you. At this point, you are probably unable to leave me. You are addicted to my blood – you'd suffer without me."

"But you are to me, too, right?"

"Yes – I was the minute we were blood-bonded."

"But now it goes both ways, right?"

"Right."

"That's fair, then. As long as it goes both ways, I don't mind. I like the idea of it. I really am yours and you really are mine."

"Forever."

"Yeah… one more question, OK?"

"Of course."

"If you turn me, will I still have free will where you are concerned?"

"You will feel a compulsion to do as I command. You could still resist the compulsion, but it would be difficult – more difficult than it would be for you to disobey me now."

"So I'd lose a little bit of freedom, and I'd lose being able to be in the sun, but I'd live forever and never get old and I'd be here forever for you and the baby?"

"Yes."

"Would I still be telepathic?"

"I don't know. I don't know of any telepath who has ever been turned."

"Wow." She thought hard about that for a minute, "wow – I never considered that I might not be anymore. I always wished it were possible to get rid of it but the idea that it might actually be gone… that's a lot to think about. Would I still be as valuable without it?"

"You would to me. To the kingdom, it would be a loss of your skill. You would still be my Queen, however, and still my bonded and my wife."

"I have a lot to think about."

"You have years to do it, my angel, so there is no pressure on you. By the time you need to make a decision, you will be sure that the time is right."

Sookie let out a big yawn. "Hold me until I go to sleep?"

"Of course I will, Sweetheart.

Eric held her and stroked her hair and her back as she let herself relax into him and closed her eyes. It took no time at all for her to fall asleep, but Eric was so comfortable holding her that he lay there for over an hour, just enjoying the warmth of her in his arms and the scent of her that enveloped him.

"Ma-ma!"

The baby was awake so Eric quickly, silently, moved to the crib and picked him up. His diaper was wet so he gave him a fresh one, and laid him on the bed while he pulled his jeans on, the baby watching his every move with a big smile. Eric got a bottle of RM out of the diaper bag and took him out to the sitting area for their nightly time together.

"Alright, my son, now we can have our talk while Mommy sleeps."

"Ma-mee," the baby giggled.

"Yes, Mommy is very tired, so you and I will rock a while, and talk. You were a very good boy today, Eric Alexander. You are learning very quickly and Daddy is very proud of you."

"Da-da!" the baby patted Eric's face and leaned forward to press his mouth to his cheek. Eric kissed his cheek and hugged him close, the baby chattering and playing with the necklace Eric always wore. Alex noticed the bottle in Eric's hand and said "ee, Da-dee!" so Eric let him get snuggled against his bare chest and held the bottle for him while he drank. The baby would drink a little then chatter a little, patting Eric's face and chest, and there were times when he'd reach up so he could wrap his little arms around Eric's neck. Eric would stroke his little back and could tell that the skin-to-skin contact was very soothing to the baby. He was surprised at how soothing it was to him, too, holding his son close and whispering to him.

After about 20 minutes, Bill came quietly up the stairs.

"Welcome back, Bill," Eric said softly.

"Eric, time for his pre-dawn bottle, I see."

"Yes, we like our quiet time before dawn, don't we, Alex?"

"Omba, dadee."

"I can't believe he's speaking already."

"I know – he's quite advanced according to Octavia. Alex, who is that?" He pointed at Bill. The baby looked at Bill then at Eric. "That's Bill. Say "hi, Bill!"

"Ah, Bee!" Alex waved at him.

"Hello, Prince Alex. Are you having a good night with your Daddy?"

'OM-BA!" He nodded with his whole body then patted Eric's cheek. "Da-dee!"

"One of the girls in the office sent this to him. I'm not familiar with the author but she assured me this was something children love."

"One Fish, Two Fish, Three, Four, Five Fish by Dr. Seuss, based on and inspired by Dr. Seuss's One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish." Eric read aloud. "Sookie mentioned this author to me. She said his stories rhyme and use repetitive words to help children learn to speak. She was sure I'd have them memorized at some point because he'd want me to read them so much. I guess these plastic fish on top are for counting?"

"Apparently – I looked through it - very simple, repetitive, interesting illustrations. It should be useful when he's old enough to understand counting."

"Alright – we'll try it out and see if he likes it. I haven't had a chance to read to him yet. Leave a note with the girl's name on it and I'll have Sookie send her a Thank You card. Anything going on at the office I need to know about?"

"I'll need you to look at the contracts for three contractors to get started on our properties. I know you're looking at properties tomorrow night, but it would be useful if you could go into the office for a bit."

"That's no problem. Sookie isn't going out with the real estate agent. I'm going to have Alicia cancel the appointment." Eric was holding the little yellow board book so the baby could play with the plastic fish on the blue bar at the top of it.

"Is she ill?"

"She's overwhelmed. Something had to give, and that was the only place I could take some pressure off of her. She's not at all confident in her ability to deal with the baby. She wants to go back to Shreveport Tuesday and have Alicia and Margaret get ready to move here with us."

"She likes it here that much?"

"Yes – I'm sure we'll still visit the Shreveport house to get away from things, but I know I need to devote more time to our projects here. I'm going to try to make sure she has a few weeks where she doesn't have to do anything except enjoy the baby and the summer, then after the Wiccaning ceremony we'll move our base of operations here for a while."

"Are you sure you want to do that? Your Shreveport house is more well-suited to your lifestyle. You can make changes here, of course, but I almost think you should stay there, extend your fence line, and just come here for a week every month and to Las Vegas only when you need to."

"Have you given up on the idea of a compound in this area?"

"I've given up on Sookie agreeing to it. It would be an ideal solution but honestly, I don't see her actually moving out of the Shreveport house. I know she loves this house but I'll bet she changes her mind when she gets back to your bed in Shreveport. She's attached to that room and to the baby's room. You should build a guest house for Alicia and Margaret to live in, or let them move into the second floor and build a house for Amelia and Octavia to use, or me, if I needed to."

"Did Sookie see any properties at all that she would consider?"

"She liked the one that I thought sounded nearly ideal, in Lafayette: 36 acres of land, an 11,000 square foot home, 6 bedrooms, a guest house, a pool, lighted tennis courts, a gazebo, and artist's studio. I thought the artists' studio would make an ideal office for you to administer both kingdoms. The land goes from the road to the river. I really think you should look at it."

"Let's do this – I'll have Alicia tell the lady that Sookie is not available in the afternoon, but that all of us want to see that property tomorrow night. Then we all go check it out. Sookie must have liked it – she wanted me to go back with her."

"Alright, let's do that, and then you and I can go in to the offices after. At least you'll know what is available before you make your decision."

"OK, good. I'll leave her a note and tell her to enjoy the afternoon but to be ready to go see the property after dinner. We'll see if she can show it to us at 8 pm."

"I think that's best. I'm going to rest now."

"Good day, Bill."

"Ba-ba, Bee!"

Bill laughed and waved to the baby then went to his room.

"Well, what do you think, Alex? Do you want to read about fish?"

"Pish!"

Eric laughed and opened the little book, beginning to read:

"One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish." Eric pointed at each picture as he read the words.

"Pish!"

"Black fish, Blue Fish, Old Fish, New Fish." Again he read the word and pointed at the picture, the baby paying close attention to Eric and then to the book.

"Three Fish, Four Fish, Here come more fish!"

"Mo pish."

"One Fish, two fish, three, four, five, This one has a car to drive! And that's the end of it, my son."

"Nah-nah, Da-dee, pish!" He patted on the book.

"You want more fish?"

"Mo pish!"

Eric laughed and opened the book again, but instead of just reading it, he talked to the baby about every picture. On the next to the last page where the story went from one through five fish, he pointed and counted each fish for him " One fish – see, Alex, one. Two fish – one, two. Three fish, one, two, three. Four fish – one, two, three, four. Five fish, one, two, three, four, five."

"Fee, fo, fie."

Eric looked at him, then pointed to the one at the top of the page. "What is that, Alex?"

"Pish."

"How many fish?"

"Wo pish, Da-dee," then he pointed to the bottom of the page where a line of five fish was shown. "Fee-fo-fie pish.

Eric tried not to get too excited. The baby was good at imitating sounds, right? He couldn't possibly understand counting even a little bit, could he? He decided to try something else. Moving the plastic fish along the bar, he said "yellow fish, blue fish, red fish, green fish, pink fish."

"Nah-nah, fee-fo-fie pish," the baby insisted, pointing to the red, green, and pink fish which were 3,4, and 5 in the line on top of the book.

"Alex, show me one fish."

The baby pointed to the first fish in line, "wo pish."

"Show me two fish."

"Nah-nah."

That was strange. "OK, Alex, show me five fish."

He pointed at the yellow fish, skipped the blue one, then pointed at the red, green and pink ones, saying "fee, fo, fie pish" when he pointed at the red, green and pink.

"One fish?"

The baby pointed at the yellow "wo pish."

"Three fish?"

The baby pointed at the red fish, "fee pish."

"Five fish?"

"Fee, fo, fie pish" and he pointed at the red, green and pink ones again – 3,4 and 5.

"Alex – show me one, two, three fish?"

"fee pish" he pointed at the red fish.

"One fish." He pointed at the yellow one.

"Three fish?" He pointed at the red one.

"Two fish?"

"Nah-nah, Da-dee," the baby said and put his hand over Eric's lips. Eric was dumbfounded – why did the baby have such an aversion to saying "two?" It seemed impossible for him to know what it means, let alone have a dislike for it. Unfortunately dawn was coming and Eric just had time to put the baby back in bed next to Sookie, give them both a kiss and write her a note for the day.

He went to bed puzzling over the fact that the baby seemed to understand a little bit about counting, but refused to say or acknowledge the number 2.


	73. Chapter 73

**[Author's Note: **

**Thanks so much to everyone who left reviews, posts and PMs for me. It means a lot to fic writers to know that people enjoy our work. If I wasn't able to write back to you personally, please know that your message was read and your feedback greatly appreciated. I can't please all the people all the time, but you all let me know that I'm pleasing an awful lot of you, and I'm not going to let my faithful readers down.**

**As the majority of you requested, the story will continue. I'm going to stick with my original vision and see where it takes us. I thought about ending it and picking it up where it ends in a second story, but then I decided I'm too superstitious. I'm afraid changing the name will change the energy, and I like the energy the way it is. At this point, I'm still having fun and that's the reason I'm writing it. I'm going to keep going as long as I have fun.**

**I enjoy the baby stuff, and I need it to set up things later in the story, so that will have to continue for a bit. I may skip ahead at some point, but not yet. It's still going to be very detailed because writing the progress of the day is the time I spend in Sookie's world and that's the fun part for me as is the extensive research I do. Feel free to skip over anything you aren't interested in, because the process I'm using right now is working for me. My writing style isn't going to change and I'm not going to hesitate to take it where I want it to go, even if it gets deep and weird, and the ESN will progress, too, so fasten your seatbelts. I have no idea where we'll end up, but I hope it will be fun getting there.**

**Bright blessings to you all! **

**Enjoy~**

**Morgaine**

**P.S. The Connolly Tarot deck, designed by Tarot expert Eileen Connolly and her son, artist Peter Paul Connolly, is getting hard to find, but it's the only one I let my Tarot students use when they work with me. I don't agree with her methods, but the cards are some of the most readable designs ever published. An image can be seen here: ****/ndb9wj**

**The image described in Sookie's dream at the beginning of the chapter is based on the traditional 2 of Swords image found in the Rider-Waite and many other Tarot packs.]**

**Chapter 73**

The Goddess, tall and lithe, blonde hair flowing in gentle winds, stood on the shore with a sword in each hand, each pointing out to the ground at her sides to form a triangular shape. She raised one hand so the sword crossed her body and pointed to the opposite shoulder, then she raised the other hand in the same way so the swords crossed in front of her forming an "X" shape. Suddenly, it was Sookie standing there, blindfolded, holding the swords. The sword in her left hand pointing to the right shimmered and disappeared and Sookie said, "Where did it go?"

"It was never really here, and it's not your fault. Take off your blinders, make the most of what you've got."

Sookie woke up when the baby extended his fangs. It took her a minute to realize where she was, but she knew the baby had found his way to her nipple, which was an improvement over biting the wrong spot. She looked at the clock – almost 8:30. She looked down and saw blue eyes sparkling at her.

"Good morning, Pookie. Did you have a good night?"

He purred at her but didn't stop eating. Sookie dozed while the baby fed and after about half an hour there was a knock on the door.

"Sookie, are you awake?"

"Hey, Alicia, we're up."

"Are we having our breakfast?" Alicia asked as she gathered the laundry.

"One of us is," Sookie laughed. "Is there a note from Eric today?"

"Ah, let's see – yes, there's one right here." Alicia retrieved the note from the side table and handed it to Sookie, then turned on the light on Eric's nightstand. "I called the real estate agent and she said 8 pm tonight would be fine."

"8 pm?"

"Yes, apparently Mr. Northman wanted to see the one property that you and Mr. Compton both liked so we're all going to take a ride out there after dinner. He wanted you to have time for the pool today, though, so I'm going to do hamburgers on the grill when you get up, if that's alright. If you'd prefer eggs or something…"

"No, I'd love a burger when I get up. I don't suppose there's any watermelon?" Sookie asked apologetically.

"Actually, Bobbie and Amelia are out looking for watermelon and hamburger buns as we speak. They're going to buy some potato salad and things like that, too, and we'll have a little Fourth of July picnic a day late," Alicia laughed. "Is your buddy ready for his fresh nappy yet?"

"Yeah, he's taking a break."

"Good morning, Baby E." Alicia gave him a big smile and a tickle as she bent to pick him up.

"Ah, Eesh!" The baby gave her a big toothless grin as she carried him into the bathroom.

Sookie considered putting on a gown while he was gone but she decided she'd rather be naked. She remembered the conversation she'd had with Eric two days ago when he had let the baby feed from her. Eric said the baby would never think nudity was a big deal because he was a Supe. Was there a difference where his parents were concerned? Eric said it was no big deal because they were family. The baby was already aware of a lot around him and Eric and Sookie were both nude around him a lot. She loved it when he showered or bathed with them, though, and didn't plan to give that up any time soon. Eric always said Americans were Puritanical, and she guessed he was right. Her main concern was whether she could keep from having a knee-jerk reaction to things, and Octavia told her to think things through and figure out what she could live with.

It was really up to her. Eric would never hesitate to be naked around their child – she was sure of that, and she knew her opinion wouldn't change that. Eric had told her once that it is easier to gain an inhibition than to lose one, but she was sure she wasn't going to get Eric to pick up any new inhibitions no matter what she did. The question was whether she could lose hers. Can a good Christian girl – or at least a girl that was raised that way – raise a healthy Pagan baby? She was damned well going to try. She closed her eyes and put all her energy into a prayer: 'OK, Freya, if I'm supposed to be you, send me the wisdom I need to give this baby what he needs.'

She was lost in her thoughts when Alicia brought the baby back and put him in bed next to her. "Are you alright, dear? You seem awfully intent on something."

"I'm just thinking about how I was raised and how I need to raise my baby."

"I see – your background and Mr. Northman's are about as different as two people's could be. He's very natural with everything. You were raised by your grandmother, yes? In Bon Temps?"

"Right."

"So you probably have a few inhibitions he doesn't understand?"

"Yeah, exactly."

"Alright, here's something you should keep in mind – as long as you love your baby, you aren't going to screw him up."

Sookie laughed. "That's nowhere near what I expected you to say!"

Alicia sat on the bed just below the baby. "Look, Sweetie, don't worry about things like nudity around an infant or even sex while he's this small. The more relaxed and natural you and Mr. Northman are around him, the better. He's going to have some very unusual needs from what I hear and for him, what he needs is what is natural and healthy. It might not be normal for another child, but for this child, it is. You're a good mother, with good instincts and lots of support. Just relax and love him."

"Thanks, Alicia. I don't know why I'm so insecure about this."

"Because you want to do what's best for him. Every Mommy worries about her first baby that way, and yours is special so you have some special concerns. This child is surrounded by people who love him, and you most of all. Any child would be lucky to have a mommy like you. This child is especially lucky, because you have the temperament and the resources to give him anything he could possibly need. Not everyone could handle a baby with such special needs, but from what I see, you and Mr. Northman are perfect parents for this particular baby. If I ever had any reservations about any of that, they were completely wiped away when I saw his daddy rolling around the living room floor with him. This child will never lack for any love and that's what matters most. The rest of it is just details and culture and personal taste. You be happy and he'll be happy."

"Ap-pee!" Alex said as he played with his toes.

Alicia and Sookie laughed out loud.

"Are you happy, Pookie?" Sookie tickled his tummy.

"Omba, Mamee!" he giggled.

"Alright then, I'll lay out your bathing suit for when you wake up later. Try to sleep some more, both of you."

"OK, thanks, Alicia!"

"Nite-nite, you two."

"Na-na, Eesh!"

"Hey, you!" Sookie tickled him and he rolled on his side facing her. "Let's go to sleep, OK?"

"Seep, Mamee." He patted her face and let his little hand stay resting on her cheek. Sookie fell asleep just before he did, and they both slept like logs until almost noon.

Sookie woke up because there was a little finger in her ear.

"What are you doing?" She said with a big smile on her face. The baby was sitting up next to her head, sticking his finger in her ear.

"Nah-nah, Mamee."

"Come here, you," Sookie pulled his little ankle so he slid down on his back and she blew raspberries on his belly. He squealed and laughed and she scooped him up for a fresh nappy, noticing the note from Eric that she forgot to read laying on top of the blankets. Once she and the baby were done in the bathroom, she came back to the bed, laying the baby on his back and bouncing face down on her stomach to open the note.

_My Beautiful Wife Sookie –_

_Last night was amazing – you are truly the most perfect woman I have ever known. _

_Slight change in plans for this evening – we're all going to go out to the one property you liked with the real estate agent, hopefully at 8 pm. You can confirm the final plan with Alicia._

_Enjoy the pool today, but at some point I want you to read this Fish book to the baby and see if you can get him to say "two" – for some reason, he wouldn't say it and didn't want me saying it, either. If he still won't, ask Octavia if she has any idea what is going on. It might be something I'll have to ask Niall about. I'm very curious about it, so do please go through the book with him at some point._

_Play in the pool, have fun, but be dressed so we can go after dinner. We'll soak in the tub tonight when I get back from the offices – Bill and I will need to go in for a bit after we see the property. _

_I love you very much. _

_Your very happy husband Eric_

Sookie laughed at the "very happy" part – 'yeah, he better be happy because my butt hurts, but it was totally worth it,' she thought to herself.

Fish book? Sookie looked around the room and saw a little yellow book on the table where the note had originally been. Sookie laughed and got up to get the book. She sat back on the bed next to the baby, who had managed to sit up, and looked it over.

"One fish, Two Fish, huh?"

"Pish!"

"Alex, did Daddy read this Fish book to you?"

"Omba, Dadee pish." The baby pointed at the plastic fish on the book. Sookie handed him the book to hold while she threw on her bathing suit and a cover up then picked up her buddy and his book headed to the balcony that wrapped around the back of the house. She bounced down the stairs with him on one hip and the book in her hand, already able to smell the charcoal grill.

Alicia had the grill going and Bobbie was setting up her massage table for later. Bjorn was sitting at one of the iron tables with Amelia and Octavia, who were reading sections of a newspaper.

"Hey, everybody!" It was really hot today, but glorious. Sookie lived for days like this.

"Hey, sleepy heads!" Bobbie saw and greeted them first and the rest all said their good mornings.

"Are you going to take him in the pool for a bit?" Alicia asked. "I brought a pair of plastic pants to put over his diaper if you want to let him get wet for a few minutes. I figured he'd spend most of his time in the shade with me. We set his little Bouncer up over there." She pointed to the shady porch outside the kitchen, where the little yellow bouncer with the toys on it stood all ready for him next to a table with Alicia's glasses and latest novel plus a diaper bag and a spray bottle.

"What's the spray bottle for?"

"That's water so Baby E and I can mist ourselves and stay cool. He'll love it."

"Yeah, I'll bet he will! That's a great idea. I think I do want to take him in the pool for a few minutes."

"The plastic pants are in the top of the diaper bag over there. Here, let me have him and I'll put them on him." Alicia took the baby and went over to her little table.

"Hey, where'd we get the pool toys?" Sookie was glad to see some air mattresses.

"Amelia and I got lucky this morning – they were on sale, too." Bobbie explained as she and Sookie headed for the table where the others were sitting.

"Wow – long table!" Sookie said as they sat down.

"I pushed three tables together so there'd be room for us all." Bjorn said, pouring himself another glass of sweet tea.

"Is that a book, Sookie?" Amelia asked.

"Yeah – I have no idea where it came from, but apparently Eric was reading it to the baby and he won't say the number 'two.'"

"Will he say other numbers?" Octavia perked up.

"I assume so – Eric wanted me to read it to him and see if he'd say it." Sookie said as Alicia handed the baby back to her.

"Pish!" The baby pointed to the plastic fish with his little finger, pushing it along the little ledge at the top of the book.

"You want to read about fish, Pookie?"

"Omba, Mamee, pish!"

"OK, then, here we go. One Fish, Two Fish…"

Sookie went slowly straight through the book once and was surprised on the next to last page where, before she could read it, Alex pointed to the top fish and said "wo pish" then to the five fish at the bottom of the page and said "fee, fo, fie pish."

"Well, I'll be…" Octavia said

"Alex, show me 5 fish?"

The baby pointed to the red, green, and pink fish saying "fee, fo, fie pish."

"Show me one fish?"

He pointed at the yellow fish "wo pish."

"Show me three fish?

He pointed at the red plastic toy, "fee pish."

"Four fish?"

Green was "fo pish."

"Show me two fish."

"Nah-nah, Mamee."

Everyone around the table looked at each other. As weird as it was that this tiny baby could count, it was even weirder that he refused to say one of the numbers.

"Alex, which fish is this?" She pointed to the blue fish, but the baby grabbed her finger and pulled it away. "You don't like the blue fish?"

The baby put his hand over her mouth and said "nah-nah, Mamee."

"Where's 5 fish?"

Again, red, green, pink "fee, fo, fie pish."

"I keep thinking he's going to say "fee-fo-fie-fum." Bobbie laughed.

"Nah-nah, Ba-bee, fee-fo-fie PISH!" the baby said emphatically and everyone laughed.

Octavia scooted her chair around closer to the baby. "Hey, little vampire – show me four fish?"

"Fo pish!" he pointed to the green one with one hand and patted Octavia's arm with the other.

"Show me one two three fish."

"Fee pish" he pointed to the red one, keeping his hand on Octavia's arm.

"Where's one fish?"

"Wo pish." He pointed to the yellow one as she patted his little hand that was holding on to her.

"Where's two fish?"

The baby drew his hands in and wouldn't say anything.

"Alex, show Mommy two fish," Sookie said.

"Nah-nah, Ma-mee."

"Octavia?" Sookie was at a complete loss.

"I never saw anything like it." Octavia then had an idea. "Where are those counting blocks you bought the other day?"

"They're in the living room," Bjorn said, "they haven't been opened yet. Want me to get them?"

"Yeah, do that and let's see if this is a problem with them." Octavia requested.

"There are two sets…" Bobbie reminded him.

"Right – bring the simple ones that have big numbers on them." Octavia was sure he'd know which one to bring, but told him just in case.

Bjorn was back pretty quickly with the hollow wooden blocks that nested within one another. The blocks went from small to big, 1-6 so Octavia set the big 6 block off to the side on the ground. She figured 5 was enough for right now. As she was unstacking the blocks with the numbers facing him the baby reached for the green 3 block and she nodded to Sookie to hold him up so he could reach them. The baby pulled the green 3, yellow 4 and orange 5 into order and said "fee-fo-fie" as he touched each block.

"I can't believe he can recognize those!" Amelia said. "He's beyond bright – he's a genius!"

"I know," Bobbie agreed, "it's amazing!"

Octavia pulled the other two blocks into line and asked Alex to show her the 1, which he did, then he got hold of the 2 and pushed it off the table.

"Alex! Why did you do that?" Sookie asked him in surprise.

"Nah-nah, Ma-mee."

Bjorn picked up the block and put it back on the table. Alex picked it up with both hands, threw it on the ground, looking at Bjorn and saying emphatically "Nah!"

"Just leave it for now and let me try something else," Octavia said as she bent down for the 6 block, putting it at the end of the line. "Alex, what's that?"

The baby just looked at her and blinked. She pointed to the last four blocks in order and called them out "three, four, five, six."

Alex copied what she did exactly, "fee, fo, fie, sis."

"What is this one?" Octavia pointed to the 4

"Fo."

"And what is this one?" She pointed to the six.

"Sis."

"Well, he learned that pretty quick. Bjorn, put that 2 up there."

Bjorn set it up on the table and the baby immediately reached for it but Sookie said "no-no." and he pulled his hands back.

Octavia went randomly up and down the line of blocks, and each time she touched one, Alex replied with the number: "wo, fo, fee, sis, fee, fie, wo, fee," and so on until she pointed to the two and he yelled "NAH-NAH!" and swatted at it, sending it off the edge of the table between Bobbie and Amelia, the corner of it catching Bobbie's upper arm and leaving a scratch.

"Alex! No! You'll hurt somebody!" Sookie, nor any of the others, had ever seen him behave this way.

"OK, that's enough for today. I'm going to have to study on this. There's no rational reason for him to be having that reaction to a number, so the answer must be non-rational – my guess is it's instinctive…"

Before she could finish, the baby zipped across the table, blocks flying everywhere, and latched onto the bleeding scratch on Bobbie's arm. Sookie was horrified – "Alex, no!"

"Relax, Sookie, it's OK. He's not hurting me." Bobbie wanted her to be calm so she didn't scare the baby. "He's just licking and it's already closing from his saliva." Bobbie picked the baby up off the table and gave him a kiss. "Hi, Alex."

"Not his fault, Mama," Octavia told her, "he's a vamp. There's no way to teach him not to lunge at blood when he sees it."

"Ah, Ba-Bee! Ee!" He pointed at her arm and giggled.

"Alex – come to Mommy and eat." Sookie was still shocked and embarrassed. She just couldn't have him attacking people that way!

"Babee ee!"

Alicia came out quickly with a warm bottle of RM, which the baby took eagerly, still in Bobbie's arms. The minute Alicia had seen the scratch on Bobbie's arm she had run into the kitchen, just in case, knowing he might get excited if she bled.

"Thank you, Alicia! That was quick thinking!" Sookie was still upset, "Bobbie, I'm so sorry…"

"Sookie, it's fine. He's a baby vamp. He's going to react when he sees blood. He can't help that. There's no harm done, is there, Punkin'?" The baby hummed and shook his head but didn't let go of the nipple of the bottle.

"Come on, Sookie, let's go swim for a bit," Amelia went over to Sookie and pulled her out of her seat.

"But…" Sookie tried to object but Amelia was pulling her cover up off her shoulders.

"I've got him, Sookie, he's fine. Go cool off and we'll be in when he finishes his bottle, won't we, buddy?" The baby bobbed up and down in that full-body nod he did, but kept drinking.

"Go on, Sookie – I'll throw your toys in for you." Bjorn urged her toward the pool as he stood then bent to pick up the air mattresses he and Amelia had already blown up. He threw them into the middle of the water, and Sookie and Amelia were in the water heading for them, Sookie still feeling a bit odd about everything.

Alicia came back out of the kitchen with the big bottle of sweet tea she had taken in to refill. Bjorn refilled his glass while Alicia sat where Amelia had been.

"Everything calmed down now?" Alicia asked softly.

"Yeah, he just caught Sookie off guard." Bobbie said. "When he finishes his bottle we'll go in the water for a bit."

"You're sure he didn't hurt you, Bobbie?" Bjorn asked softly so Sookie wouldn't hear.

"Yeah, not at all – it really wasn't a big deal." Bobbie helped the baby tip the bottom of the bottle up to get the last of the blood from it. "OK, all gone! You wanna go in the pool with Mommy?"

"Omba, Mamee!"

Bobbie managed to get out of her cover up with the baby still in her lap, then picked him up and headed for the pool. Sookie was floating sideways on one of the air mattresses when Bobbie and Alex waded slowly into the pool, and Sookie headed for them.

"Hey, Pookie! Are you coming to swim?" Sookie cooed at him, feeling much calmer in the cool water.

"OMba!" Alex said enthusiastically as he reached for Sookie. Amelia was floating on her back on an air mattress, and Sookie and Bobbie sat on the steps that went down into the pool so the baby could play in the water. "Haaaa!" The baby made the high-pitched sound he did when he really liked something. Sookie had him sitting sideways on her thigh facing Bobbie, his little bum was just barely in the water, and he was enjoying trying to stand as he splashed the water with his hands.

Bobbie was getting a kick out of watching him. "Are you splashing me, Punkin'?"

"OMBA! 'Pashing, Babee!" He giggled wildly, having a great time slapping at the water. Sookie actually let herself laugh about it and enjoy how much fun he was having. At one point, she got a palm full of water and poured it down the baby's back and both women cracked up as his eyes got big and he made his "Haaaa!" sound again. Sookie did that a few times and he giggled and scrunched his little shoulders when she did. After a few minutes, Sookie picked him up and waded a little deeper into the pool, then bent her knees to take him down into the water up to his chest.

"Whoo!" Sookie said as she dunked him. His eyes got wide and his mouth dropped open in sheer delight.

"oohooo!" Alex tried to copy the sound she made as she dunked him again.

"Do you like that, Pookie?"

"OMBA MAMEE!" He was cracking up as she dunked him again. When they came up this time, the baby threw his arms around her neck and kissed her cheek.

"Awww- what a doll baby!" Amelia said

"He's loving that, Sookie." Bobbie laughed.

The baby was still giggling when he let out a huge yawn. "Uh-oh. Somebody's getting sleepy!" Sookie said.

"Nah-nah" the baby said, but then he yawned again.

"Oh, I think so…"

"Sookie – I'm going to start the burgers now, alright?" Alicia called to her.

"OK, sounds good! We're going to get out in a few minutes anyway. My buddy here is getting sleepy."

"Nah-nah, Mamee."

Sookie pressed her forehead to the baby's. "Listen, Pookie, I know a sleepy baby when I see one, and you are sleepy."

"Nah seepy." he giggled, being deliberately ornery and amusing himself greatly.

"I don't know, Sookie, I think you might lose that argument." Amelia teased her.

"Oh, no, I won't because this stubborn little monkey will fall asleep as soon as I dry him off and cuddle him a few minutes." She laughed as she waded out of the pool. Bjorn threw her a towel and she wrapped the baby up in it and went to sit at the table with him as she dripped all over the cement. As soon as she sat down he pointed at the yellow book.

"Pish!"

"We'll read about fish after while, OK? Just sit quietly with Mommy a few minutes – shhhhh!" she whispered and shushed him gently.

"Shhhh!" he said with a little lisp that was so cute Sookie thought she would bust.

It wasn't long before he yawned again, and this time he laid his head on Sookie's shoulder as she rocked in her seat just a little to soothe him. She slipped the little plastic diaper cover off of him and found his diaper was wet, so she slowly stood and took him to the other table where Alicia had the diaper bag and put a dry one on him, telling him "shhh!" very quietly and smiling when he tried to say it just like she did. He was asleep before she could get the diaper pins closed. Alicia tapped her on the shoulder and pointed inside the kitchen door, where Sookie could see someone had set up the portable crib. Sookie gently took him in and tucked him into the little bed, putting a light cover over him because he was in air conditioning.

"Thanks, Alicia."

"Thank Bjorn- I had him bring it down. You just hang with your friends and have fun in the pool. I'll stay close to him and I'll be right here if he wakes up."

"How long until lunch?"

"How done do you want your burgers?"

"Did you grind them yourself?"

"Yes, I did, so they're safe."

"OK, really rare then."

"Less than 5 minutes so just have a seat."

"Cool – thanks!" Sookie walked back over to where Octavia and Bjorn were sitting.  
"Aren't you going to go in the pool today, Octavia?"

"I'm not really up to it today. I'm going to eat lunch, take a nap, then use Amelia's computer to do a little research on your buddy there."

"About the 2 thing?'

"Yep – like I said, it's not rational so it has to be instinct. I suspect it's a Fae thing, but then again, it might be unique to him."

"Do you know anything about the number 2 that would make you think it's just him?"

"Well, the thing I find interesting is the fact that the number 2 is ruled by the moon. And weren't you told that the dark moons were dangerous to him?"

"Yes, and he can see the future in direct moon light."

"Um-hmm – a Moon Child. I'm going to do some research on my own, and I want you to wait until I'm done, then I'm going to have you call your grandpa."

"Niall? You think it's connected to him?"

"My guess is it's related to the magick that brought him here in the first place. You do realize that he was born in the sign of Cancer, right?"

"What does that mean?"

"Cancers are also called moonchildren."

"Wow – I didn't know that. Octavia can I ask you something kind of personal?"

"Sure you can."

"I'm going to check with the guards out front – I'll be back in a few." Bjorn said, winking at Sookie. She gave him a big smile, knowing he was just giving her space.

"OK, you know how I'm supposed to be a Witch or a manifestation of Freya or whatever?"

"Yes, I know you to be both of those things. What about it?"

"Well – I don't know much about magickal stuff. I mean, you know that 2 is ruled by the moon and Cancers are moonchildren and things like that that I just don't know, so how can I be…"

"Hang on, honey, nobody knows everything. I have to do research all the time. Witches are always learning from everything and everybody. What makes you a Witch is your strong connection to the Goddess."

"Isn't everyone a part of the Goddess?"

"Yes, they are, but some people have a stronger connection than others. Some people go their whole lives never tapping into the Universal force. In your case, the Universal Force never let you go. Anyone can learn to feel the connection, but you don't need to learn, because you never lost it. All you need to do is give yourself permission to work it."

"Don't I have a lot to learn, though?"

"You just need to read some books and know some basics that anybody can learn. The main part of your training is going to be working that natural connection you've got. How long since you practiced your telekinesis?"

"I haven't done it since that one day."

"OK, now's as good a time as any. You got any books here with you?"

"Yeah, I've got a book on Wicce that Bobbie lent me but I haven't had a chance to look at it lately."

"Where is it?"

"Up in my room in a tote bag."

"What's it called?"

"**Ariadne's Thread**."

"Shekhinah Mountainwater's book. Call it down."

"What?"

"Call it down. Picture it clearly, look at your hands and say your spell."

"But it's all the way in the house, upstairs."

"So?"

"Doesn't it need to be closer?"

"I don't know, and neither do you. You won't know you can do it until you do it. Now get on with it before Alicia calls everyone to the table."

Sookie looked at her hands, pictured the book and said "come to me" – and she was holding the book in her hands.

"That wasn't too hard, now, was it?"

"No, but…"

"But what?"

"How do I know I can do something like that until I do it?"

"You don't. That's why you do what you need to do, and you have faith that when you need it most, the power will be there."

"Did I need to do this?"

"Yes, because I'm going to go through some things with you."

"OK… You know this book?"

"Of course I do. There aren't that many good ones. That's a good one. Here, look at page 17."

Alicia was bringing burgers to the table now and Bjorn was on his way back. Amelia and Bobbie were called out of the pool.

"Read those two verses." Octavia pointed to two stanzas of verse. "Out loud."

"_Dear Sisters_

_As you read these pages_

_I ask of you to read them well._

_And greet all words as special sages_

_In meaning come with you to dwell…_

_Skim not upon the speedy surface_

_That slidy surface tales will tell,_

_But dive, my sisters, down to Her face_

_For deep within She spins Her spell,_

_Take time to dream, reflect and ponder_

_Reading twice or thrice… or more,_

_Meditate, be filled with wonder_

_Be washed on Her symbolic shore…" _

"OK, what did you learn from that?"

"That there are layers of meaning that will come to me if I think about things and keep going back?"

"Good. What else?"

"That there's more of Her inside me than in a book."

"Good. Anything else?"

"Well, I notice that last line about "being washed on Her symbolic shore.""

Bobbie and Amelia came over wrapped in beach towels and sat opposite Sookie, passing plates around.

"What about it?"

"That's where I always see Freya – on the shore."

"A lot of Goddesses are associated with the ocean and the element of Water. Isis and the Virgin Mary are both called Stella Maris, which means Star of the Sea. Freya is called Shining on the Sea or the Shining One – the sun on the water, or the moon. What time of day is it when you see Her?"

"It's not. It's outside of time – though I have no idea how I know that. I can see into the distance, but it's not really daytime. It's dawn or dusk or something like that."

Alicia put Sookie's rare burgers in front of her, and passed a plate of medium well burgers to the rest of the group. Bjorn was the first to dig in.

"If you had to pick one, what would you say – dawn or dusk?" Octavia continued.

"Dawn. Definitely." Sookie said as she shook the bottle of Miracle Whip so she could dress her burgers. "But I think it was night that time She told me about Baby E's dream…."

"You didn't tell me about that – what happened then?" Octavia continued. Bobbie and Amelia were hanging on every word because they wanted to know about Sookie's Goddess dreams, too.

"I was in a dark place one time and I realized I was in Alex's dream – it's before he was born, of course, and I told him I loved him and She told me that he couldn't answer me yet but he knew what I was saying. That was the time Alicia woke me and I was singing the lullaby about "shining angels.""

"What lullaby is that?" Bobbie asked.

"You know, that one that goes "lullaby, and goodnight, lala la la la la la…" Sookie sang the tune to Brahms' Lullaby for them. "When Alicia woke me she told me the words. I was apparently singing to the baby in his dream but I was singing in my sleep for real…"

"And it was dark in the dream?"

"Yeah, like in the womb, until Freya chimed in, then She was a light shining around us on the edges."

"Sookie, I want you to close your eyes for a minute, and say the words Charge of the Goddess – it's a poem I have in my room that I want you to read. I want you to say the name of it and call it." Octavia instructed.

Sookie looked over at the grill and saw Alicia go into the kitchen.

"Charge of the Goddess – come to me" and a piece of parchment appeared in her hands. "This is what you wanted?"

"That's a present for you. I want you to study it, and know it. As you read your books, you'll see different versions of it by different Witches. This is the most famous version, and it will teach you a lot about the Goddess. I want you to keep it with you a while and read it at least once every day. Write down any thoughts about it that come to you in your journal – you still got your book, right?" Octavia was pretty sure Sookie carried it with her.

"Yeah, but Eric writes in it more than I do."

"You write in it, too, especially about this. This is the good stuff, isn't it, girls?"

"Yes," Amelia agreed. "It's a great place to start."

"Absolutely," Bobbie said, "The Charge is beautiful. It's about freedom and love and beauty. If I could make everybody in the world read just one thing, that would be it. We'd all get along much better if we'd start from there. It's what religion was meant to be – the way it was before the war gods got into the business."

Sookie took a minute to read it while the others put their burgers together.

The Charge of the Goddess

by **Doreen Valiente**

Listen to the words of the Great Mother;  
she who of old was also called among men  
Artemis, Astarte, Athene, Dione, Melusine,  
Aphrodite, Cerridwen, Cybele, Arianrhod,  
Isis, Dana, Bride  
and by many other names:

Whenever ye have need of anything,  
Once in the month, and better it be when the moon is full,  
then shall ye assemble in some secret place  
and adore the spirit of me,  
who am Queen of all the witches.

There shall ye assemble,  
ye who are fain to learn all sorcery,  
yet have not won its deepest secrets;  
to these will I teach things that are yet unknown.  
And ye shall be free from slavery;  
and as a sign that ye be really free,  
ye shall be naked in your rites;  
and ye shall dance, sing, feast,  
make music and love,  
all in my praise.  
For mine is the ecstasy of the spirit,  
and mine also is joy on earth;  
for my law is love unto all beings.  
Keep pure your highest ideal;  
strive ever towards it;  
let naught stop you or turn you aside.  
For mine is the secret door  
which opens upon the Land of Youth,  
and mine is the cup of the wine of life,  
and the Cauldron of Cerridwen,  
which is the Holy Grail of immortality.

I am the Gracious Goddess,  
who gives the gift of joy unto the heart of man.  
Upon earth, I give the knowledge of the spirit eternal;  
and beyond death, I give peace and freedom  
and reunion with those who have gone before.  
Nor do I demand aught in sacrifice;  
for behold,  
I am the Mother of all living,  
and my love is poured out upon the earth.

**Hear ye the words of the Star Goddess;  
she in the dust of whose feet are the hosts of heaven,  
and whose body encircles the Universe:**

_  
I who am the beauty of the green earth,  
and the white Moon among the stars,  
and the mystery of the waters,  
and the desire of the heart of man,  
call unto thy soul.  
Arise, and come unto me.  
For I am the soul of nature, who gives life to the universe.  
From me all things proceed,  
and unto me all things must return;  
and before my face, beloved of Gods and of men,  
let thine innermost divine self be enfolded in the rapture of the infinite.  
Let my worship be within the heart that rejoiceth;  
for behold,  
all acts of love and pleasure are my rituals.  
And therefore let there be beauty and strength,  
power and compassion, honour and humility,  
mirth and reverence within you._

And thou who thinkest to seek for me,  
know thy seeking and yearning shall avail thee not  
unless thou knowest the mystery;  
that if that which thou seekest  
thee findest not within thee,  
thou wilt never find it without thee.  
For behold,  
I have been with thee from the beginning;  
and I am that which is attained  
at the end of desire.

"This makes the Goddess sound like an orgasm…" Sookie observed.

"Exactly," Octavia said.

"All acts of love and pleasure are my rituals…" Sookie read aloud. "Is that anything like Tantric sex? I read about that somewhere…"

"Sex is called The Great Rite, and some people do include ritual sex, or Eastern Kundalini and Tantric yoga in their practice, but it's more than that. It's not just sex – it's everything. Like when you were playing with the baby in the pool, or rocking him to sleep – those are Her rituals, too. Love and Pleasure are why we're in these bodies. People used to know that, and live that way, and they can know it again and get back to it."

"So why don't they?" Sookie asked.

"They don't know. There's been 6,000 years of propaganda telling them that they're naturally sinful, that sex is bad, that women are the source of evil and people are naturally violent and greedy and only a single male war god can save them from eternal suffering. Goddess temples were destroyed and churches built in their dust. Her sacred sites were co-opted, Her stories and legends rewritten to take away Her power and make Her subordinate to the male gods they invented."

"Eric said most of what I learned in school was a lie…"

"He's right. History is written by the winners. You think the American Indians think Manifest Destiny was a glorious thing? Is anybody you know aware of the fact that people lived in peace for tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of years before they began waging war on their neighbors? War, rape, pedophilia – these are all symptoms of a disease and the disease is patriarchy. Here's a good example – we live in a democracy, supposedly. Whose ideas did they tell you the Founders based our democracy on?"

"It's like Greek or Roman, right? Our senate is supposed to be sort of like the Roman Senate?"

"That's what they tell you, but the Iroquois Confederation had a lot more to do with our democracy than anything any Greek or Roman philosopher or statesman ever did. The best parts of American democracy were stolen from the Indians just like everything else in this country was."

"OK, so what should we do about it now?"

"We need to get back to being an actual democracy. We've got a system right now where the guy with the most money wins the election. We've got corporations that have no public responsibilities influencing elections. We've got people basing environmental policy on the Christian idea that we have dominion over the Earth and it can't end until Yahweh says it does. I don't expect people to worship the Earth the way we do, but even science is coming around to the idea that She's a living organism. They don't have to believe She's got consciousness or a soul to treat Her like She's the only home we've got and we'd better live in harmony with Her or Her immune system will get rid of us just like any other virus that throws the system out of it's natural state of harmony."

Alicia came back to the table. "Which would you girls rather have for dinner – steak or chicken?" She sat down and began to fix herself a burger.

Sookie waited to see what the others would say, but everyone looked at her. "What do you all want?"

"You're the boss lady, Sookie," Amelia joked, "you decide the menu."

"I don't want to disappoint anybody. Should we have both? You're using the grill, right, Alicia?"

"Right – it's just as easy to do both, if that's what everyone wants. I'll just do some of each and use the left-overs for lunch tomorrow."

"I'm in the mood for chicken." Bjorn offered, knowing Sookie wouldn't make a decision.

"Chicken's good with me, too" Amelia said, and Octavia and Bobbie agreed.

"OK, then, chicken – OK, Alicia?"

"That's fine. I'll make some with barbecue sauce and some without."

"Oh, that sounds good!" Sookie said, "did you all find any watermelons this morning?"

"Yep, we did – do you want to have one now?"

"No, we'll have them after dinner. I want Eric to be able to have some if he feels like it. Unless you all want some now…"

"We can wait, darlin'. In the mean time, I'm going back in the pool!" Bobbie said as she finished her burger and headed for the water.

"Me, too." Amelia said, close on Bobbie's trail.

"Hey, wait for me, y'all!" Sookie said as she finished her second burger and ran over to the side of the pool, jumping in. Alicia and Bjorn just laughed at them all.

"And I'm going to take a nap. Thanks for lunch, Alicia – you make a mean burger."

"Oh, thank you, Octavia. Rest well. Would you like another burger, Bjorn?"

"You got any that aren't in a bun yet?"

"Three right here." Alicia passed him the plate.

"You want one?"

"Nope – finish 'em up if you want."

"I believe I will…" Bjorn laughed. "I need to load up on some protein right now, and these were lean cuts of beef, yes?"

"Yes, very lean, good quality, organic beef."

"Perfect. Where'd they get it?"

"The girls found a Whole Foods market."

"Good to know. Eric wants us all to go to eating organic as much as we can."

"Margaret will love shopping here. She loves farmer's markets and health food stores."

"She does? I never would have thought that…"

"Margaret's a lot deeper than most people realize. She and her late husband used to sell vitamins in one of those stores where they sell body building products and health food supplements." Alicia laughed. "Everybody thinks she's sort of an old grandma type but she's really more "zen" when you get to know her."

Bjorn cracked up. "Margaret?"

"Yes – who else would work for a vampire as closely and as long as she has Eric? She's got an interesting history once you sit down and talk to her. Those still waters run plenty deep. She's every bit the sweetheart you think she is, but maybe not as uptight as you might think. She doesn't bat an eyelash at dealing with the sex stuff she has to clean up." Alicia laughed, then whispered "she's in awe of the Northmans."

"Who isn't? I want to be Eric some time – you wouldn't believe what that guy gets away with!"

"She keeps right up with him though, doesn't she?"

"Oh, yeah – she even instigates some stuff I can't believe she'd even do. She's like the perfect woman," Bjorn laughed. "She drinks so much of his blood for the baby that it's making her stronger and like… better, in every way. He said 3 active human women couldn't match her – and he's had many multiples of women in many situations. "

"And women would kill to have a man like him – though honestly, most women couldn't keep up with him. He's rather… advanced, for lack of a better word, I think."

"Oh, yeah, if that guy hasn't done it, it's not worth doing. If I had any actual heroes, he'd be at the top of my list. My favorite nights are when I drive him to Fangtasia – he tells some stories when no women are around that are out of this world and I know every word of them is true. When he was a mercenary in Asia there were times he literally got paid in beautiful women – dozens of them! I mean, you just wouldn't believe where he's been and what he's done."

Alicia just shook her head and laughed as she cleared the table and then went to check on the baby.

Sookie was floating around the pool sideways again while Amelia and Bobbie were floating the normal way. Amelia had been telling Bobbie about the first time she met Octavia when Bobbie noticed Sookie hadn't spoken in a long time.

"Hey, Sookie – are you alright? You're very quiet."

"Yeah, I was just thinking about what Octavia told me about energy and water. Did she ever tell you about that, Amelia?"

"About the sea of energy? Yeah, I always think of it as The Force from Star Wars. Everybody says that movie has Zen Buddhism in it but honestly, if you made it female, The Force is Goddess. The only thing about those movies that didn't fit perfectly was the fact that Luke was better earlier with his Force than Leia was – no way a guy would have a clearer channel than his sister. They put that in as an afterthought."

"Yeah, I didn't like that either!" Sookie said. "And they had him lusting after his sister, and he's all tapped into The Force and doesn't know there's something wrong with that? That was a little creepy."

"Yeah, it got too far into the male fantasy area – I mean, come on, a girl in chains and a gold bikini?" Bobbie said and Sookie and Amelia cracked up.

"I always wondered - were they actually implying that Jabba and Leia – ewww, I can't even think about it!" Sookie creeped herself out.

"Yes, they were implying that, which is why it was so cool when she strangled him with the chain." Amelia laughed.

"How come they never make Goddess movies?" Sookie asked.

"There are documentaries about the Goddess, but if you mean regular movies for entertainment, it's mostly because men make the movies and they don't know of or understand Goddess, or they're afraid of Her." Amelia said, "They have a tendency to use female characters as the bad guy – Disney was the worst! Evil stepmothers and wicked queens and poisoned apples – one of her most sacred fruits – it's always some innocent princess who needs to be saved from the evil woman in power."

"Maybe we should be glad the queens were even in the Disney movies. Look at Shakespeare – a girl hardly ever had a mother in his plays, and girls didn't fare too well there, either." Bobbie said. "Not many happy endings from old Will."

"I know nothing about Shakespeare…" Sookie said "I tried to watch a couple of movies at different times, but I don't get it."

"Well, unless you're going to be an English Major, it's not really relevant for you, hon. I mean, I love some of it, but woman-wise, it leaves a lot to be desired." Bobbie said. "Your best bet is to stick with Goddess books and let us fill in the blanks, don't you think, Amelia?"

"Yeah, between us, Octavia and Eric, we can get you up to speed in a year or two. Plus, I'm sure Freya will be popping in now and then. By the time the baby gets ready to learn about magick, you'll be all ready to teach him."

"Did you all notice him last night when we were humming up energy for Eric's search?" Sookie asked.

"Yeah, he fit right in, didn't he? It was so cool!" Amelia said.

"How could he know what to do? It wasn't my imagination, right? He was paying attention, humming along with us, holding our hands, no complaints or anything."

"He's special, Sookie – he gets more special every day. I almost think that kid will be able to perform miracles someday- maybe before he's even grown." Bobbie said.

"You know, Sookie, a lot of powerful entities have come together to bring that baby into the world. There has to be a reason. He's got a purpose, and I believe that everything special about him will tie into it." Amelia said.

"Yeah. It scares me, but I guess it's exciting, too. He'll have a very special life. Did you hear Octavia say she thinks the 2 thing is instinct?'

"I can't wait to hear what she finds out about that," Amelia said "It was so intense and he was so definite about it!"

"He knows his own mind about certain things. He did right from the beginning when he was inside me." Sookie said.

"It will be interesting when he learns to talk to find out if Freya visits him." Bobbie said.

"I never thought about it that way, but I'll bet he knows Her, just like Eric does." Amelia speculated.

"She knows him, that's a given. I'll be very surprised if he doesn't talk about Her soon." Sookie said. "I know She's all around him. I haven't told anybody this yet but sometimes, when I'm feeding him, I can feel Her around us. It's so weird – how can I be Her and still feel Her?"

"You're trying to apply linear logic to a non-linear situation, Sookie," Bobbie told her. "You have to be able to accept the existence of apparently contradictory realities."

"Ok, I know what linear logic is, but I don't know what a contradictory reality is."

"Have you ever heard of Schrodinger's Cat?"

"Yeah – something about a cat in a box being alive and dead at the same time?"

"Right – it was a paradox Schrodinger created to try to show the problem with Quantum Mechanics – the problem is, it IS possible. The cat CAN be both alive and dead and a particle can have both a positive and negative charge and a computer can answer a question you never asked according to Quantum Mechanics."

"OK…"

"Just know that a thing can be two different things at once. You can be Freya and see Freya. You can be She and She can be you and there is no conflict except in your linear, logical mind set. You only think it isn't possible because you've been trained to think that way. The way you interpret it is not the way it actually IS."

"So it doesn't have to make sense?"

"Not what most people call sense – in a Quantum context, there is no either/or, there is only AND until someone's intent chooses a path." Amelia was trying to make this easier, but it's not an easy concept.

"OK, but don't I only experience one or the other most of the time?"

"Yes, but that's not all there is. Your physical body works best in the either/or. You can use your will and your connection to the Goddess to know both and to affect all realities. Gods and Goddesses live in the AND place and just visit either/or space now and then."

"So what we would call real life is either/or space and magick works because of the AND space?"

"Yeah, that's basically it," Bobbie laughed. "In the AND space, either/or can both be true at the same time in all possible variations and combinations."

"Some day, Sookie, they'll be able to build a quantum computer that can perform millions of calculations instantaneously, all at once instead of in linear order. The one millionth calculation will happen the same instant that the first does." Amelia explained, "particles in different corners of the Universe can be entangled so that one affects the other instantaneously no matter how far apart. Particles can be entangled backwards in time. Those are all examples of real science being discovered and explored right now. It's driving the scientists buggy," she laughed. "See, male brains are much more regimented than women's brains – they're a lot more stuck in the either/or thinking. There's a membrane that connects your right brain to your left brain, and it's a lot more active in women. It's one of the reasons we're better at magick – not just the conceptual parts, but the physical parts of it, too."

"See – shouldn't I already know stuff like that? I was just telling Octavia that I don't know enough to be a Witch."

"You know plenty, sweetheart." Bobbie insisted, "you just have a specialty."

"Which is?" Sookie really wanted to hear this.

"Vampire-human relations." Bobbie said. "Or, really, Supe and human relations."

"I wouldn't say I'm a specialist."

"I would. There might be a few specialty hookers that know more about vamp sex than you do – and there might not be – but there are few people that know how vamps, Weres of all kinds, Fae, Witches, Goddesses…"

"And don't forget the Maenad," Amelia added.

"…and Maenads interact. You are also, may I add, the world's premiere specialist in raising baby vampires."

"True, Sookie, you've got that market cornered," Amelia cracked up.

"…and I'm doing such a great job!" Sookie said sarcastically.

"You're doing fine, Sook – he's still alive and I've never seen a happier baby. He adores you and he worships his "Da-dee." I just melt when he says that," Amelia laughed, "and I love it when Eric thinks nobody is looking and he gets all misty over the baby - but don't tell him I said that. He's still plenty scary at other times."

"What's it going to take to build your confidence up, Sookie?" Bobbie asked, "I know you're overwhelmed and there's a lot of pressure on you, but you are much smarter and tougher than you think you are. You have not only lived through all your crazy Supe experiences, you're thriving. Eric – the dream man of women and men alike – worships you. That's got to tell you you're doing something right?!"

"You know, when I was growing up, people put me down all the time and I'd stand up for myself and refuse to believe them. Eric tells me constantly how wonderful I am and I don't believe him, either. Maybe I'm just… contrary. My Gran used to say that now and then, but she saw it as a good thing because I didn't let people put me down. Do I not know how to let someone build me up?"

"You don't know how to take a compliment. There's something in you that doesn't feel you deserve it." Amelia observed. "That's directly from growing up with the idea that you were disabled. You have everything you never dreamed you would have and you don't trust it because you're afraid you'll wake up and it'll be gone."

"There's a saying Sookie – Witches are those who DARE." Bobbie continued, "They dare to honor their Goddess, they dare to fly in the face of conventional wisdom, they dare to be who they are in the face of oppression and violence, they dare to work their will upon the Universe, they dare to walk among the gods and Goddesses, they dare to reclaim the power in the word Witch. You need to DARE to be you just like you dared to choose your vampires when people around you tried to hurt you for it."

""Daring" to be with my vampires got my Gran killed."

"Honey, that wasn't your fault. You can't let some sociopath's reality become yours. Crazy just happens." Amelia said emphatically.

"You know something weird? I always wished I could get rid of my telepathy, and since I'm drinking so much from Eric I almost never have to listen if I don't want to, but we were talking about what might happen if he turned me and the idea of losing it actually scared me. I think I've depended on it more than I realized as I was growing up, even though I hated it."

"Why do you think you would lose it?" Bobbie asked.

"It's just a possibility. Eric said he's never known a telepath who was turned so he doesn't know if I'd lose it or not."

"It's something to think about. Who knows how being turned would affect you? You could lose it, or you could stay the same or you could even start to hear vamps, too." Amelia speculated. "You might want to talk to Dr. Ludwig about it. If there's ever been a telepath who was turned, she'd know."

"Vamps could never know if I was able to read them – they'd be out to kill me for sure!"

"The baby is showing signs of telepathy, yes?" Bobbie asked.

"Yes."

"Can he hear vamps?" Amelia asked.

Sookie looked around to see who might be in hearing distance, "maybe."

"Have you ever?"

"Only one, only occasionally, and he doesn't know."

"Eric?!"

"Shhhh!" Sookie nodded.

"You have to tell him, Sookie!" Bobbie was emphatic now. She knew Eric would be furious if he found out Sookie was hiding something that important from him.

"We've never talked about it, but I think sometimes he can hear me, too."

"Has he said that?"

"No, but I've noticed I'll be thinking something and he'll say or do something that has to be from hearing me. Like, more than he could possibly know from the bond and more than could be dismissed as a coincidence."

"More than his natural intuition could account for, too, huh?" Amelia asked.

"Right. I don't know if he doesn't want to inhibit me, or if he uses it…"

"You mean like, against you?" Amelia didn't think that was probable at all.

"Not against me but in dealing with me."

"Well, I wouldn't put it past Eric to use something like that to give him an edge – he likes to be in control." Bobbie said.

"I like him being in control, so I'm not complaining. I decided the next time it happens, or I think it's happening with him, I'm going to talk to him about it. I realize him knowing something like that's part of us being safe. I shouldn't have waited so long, but I know what he expects now so he'd be angry if I didn't tell him." She also knew he'd tan her hide if he found out she was keeping something like that from him so she'd better come clean soon.

"Sookie, dear, it's 5 o'clock!" Alicia called.

"Let's do your massage, kid, then you can get in the shower real quick before dinner. We're all going to look at a house tonight, right?"

"Yeah – you guys will probably love it. If I remember right, it's huge, with like, 6 bedrooms and it's got tons of land and it's on the river and there's a dock and all that. It has a pool and lighted tennis courts." Sookie headed for the steps out of the pool as Bobbie rolled off her mattress.

"Oooh – tennis would be nice. That's a great way to stay in shape!" Bobbie said.

"Yeah, the house would need a lot of decorating though – I thought it was kind of plain. I didn't look at the guest house, either."

"Guest house?!" Bobbie and Amelia spoke in unison.

"Yeah, and a gazebo and an "artists' studio" whatever the hell that means." Sookie picked a towel up off the stack on one of the tables and started to dry off with it.

"How much land, Sookie?" Amelia asked.

"Uh… 30-some acres, I think. It's outside of town."

"That's a nice cushion between us and the rest of the world." Bobbie said. "Lots of room for guards and servants…"

"Yeah, on paper, it sounds ideal," Sookie said, wrapping the towel around her and taking the pieces of her suit off from underneath it.

"So why aren't you more jazzed about it, Sweetie?" Amelia knew something was up.

"Well, I like this house and I like our house in Shreveport. If we get that house, we'll never be at either one of these because it's a better fit."

"You don't want to give up the Shreveport house, is what you're really saying, right?" Bobbie thought that would be a problem, so she was determined to talk Sookie through this.

"Well, yeah, the Shreveport house has some things about it no place else will…"

"Such as?" Amelia asked.

"It's close to Fangtasia…" Sookie started.

"Don't you mean it's close to the sex room at Fangtasia?" Bobbie laughed.

"Well, yeah, and I've only been there a few times and… you know…" Sookie was blushing and the other two were cracking up.

"So ask Eric to build you a sex room at the new place, Sookie," Amelia suggested.

"I thought of that, but it's not the same – Fangtasia has a history, you know?"

"I know what you mean – you know all kinds of kinky stuff has already happened there and the idea of that is really hot." Bobbie understood, but she knew they needed a workable, secure compound to be safe. She was thinking fast as she spread the sheets on the massage table. "He's not going to sell Fangtasia or the Shreveport house is he?"

"No, but we'll never be there…" Sookie was almost whining as she dropped her towel and got on the table. At least she could lie on her stomach now!

"Is that something you'd do very often, Sookie? It seems like it would be more fun if you couldn't do it all the time – it makes it more of a treat," Amelia said.

"Yeah, I guess – I mean, I wouldn't go there every week or anything…"

"You've got two kingdoms to run and a baby to raise, Sookie – you wouldn't even be there every month." Amelia was trying to get Sookie to be reasonable, knowing full well Sookie didn't want to be reasonable about this. "That's going to be a birthday and anniversary thing at best. Think about it – If you and Eric are in the basement at Fangtasia, where is Alex? Are you… let alone Eric… going to leave that baby in someone else's care, even for a few hours?"

"Well…" Sookie started to reply, but it occurred to her that she hadn't really thought this through. She was pouting as she rested her head on her hands, and Bobbie was spreading a wonderful new musk scented oil on her back.

"Think Sookie. Bjorn and Bobbie, whom you love and trust, are home alone with Alex and you and Eric are getting your freak on at Fangtasia and someone shoots through the living room window again. How is anyone going to get a hold of you? What kind of hell would you and Eric be in trying to get home to your baby? What if, Goddess forbid, he were hurt and you couldn't get to him?"

Sookie didn't say a word. She literally never thought about the fact that she'd have to leave the baby alone to make use of Fangtasia the way they talked about.

Amelia came out of the pool, grabbing a towel. "I'm going to go in and take a shower while you get your massage, Sookie. Just take the time to think about how much you'd really be there before you make a decision that affects everyone based on something that's not really what you want to be doing, OK?"

"OK, Amelia – thanks."

Bobbie just worked on Sookie and didn't say anything while she worked it out in her mind. Where would the baby be while they were in the basement? Upstairs? Not without her or Eric. In the bomb shelter, maybe, if the door was soundproofed and they used a baby monitor? Was that too weird – having a crib in the bomb shelter so they could get freaky in the other room? She and Eric needed to talk about this. They could wait until he was older – but how much? Was three years old enough? 12? 18? She'd explode if she had to wait that long to get some quality time with Master Eric. Ooh, thinking of him that way gave her chllls.

"I'll bet I know who you're thinking of right now…" Bobbie teased her.

"Am I that obvious?"

"Your temperature went up, your heart beat faster and you had a shiver that left goose bumps. That says "Master" in my book," Bobbie laughed.

"Am I sick and twisted?"

"NO, you are not…. You're in love and adventurous and fun. You're exploring things you've never done or even dreamed of before. That's the good stuff in life, Sweetie."

"I'm a Mommy, though – I should have other things on my mind…"

"Honey, having him on your mind is how you got to be a mommy in the first place. Being a mother makes you more of a woman, not less of one. Didn't Dr. Ludwig tell you to have lots of sex?"

"Yeah, but honestly, I'd bet money Eric paid her to say that," Sookie laughed.

"No way, Hon, she has a reputation to protect. She only gives you sound medical advice, count on it. It's a very big deal that she's your doctor, you know?"

"I figured she was just the only one who knew what was going on."

"Uh-uh, Sookie, she's elite, even in the Supe world. Bill told me he'd bet she was in on this from the very beginning, helping them figure out how to make it happen. He said there was a good chance they had to get her to sign off on the whole thing."

"If she's so elite, how come she helped me when the Maenad attacked me?"

"Eric called her because he wanted you healed. Bill was crazy jealous that Eric had gone to all that expense, but he couldn't say anything because you were in such dire straits. There were other healers he could have called. Bill didn't want you to know what a big deal it was."

"He knew it was a big deal and didn't tell me?"

"There's a lot he didn't tell you in those days, especially where Eric was concerned. He knew the minute Eric called you up front that first night at Fangtasia that he had made a huge mistake taking you near him. He took you there to get back in your good graces, and to show off a little to the other vamps, but when Eric saw you, he knew it was just a matter of time before he'd take you from him. Then when Eric started making up reasons to see you…"

"Making up reasons?"

"You think Eric couldn't figure out who was stealing from him? He could easily have narrowed it down to 2 or 3 people and then tortured them until he got what he wanted, but he wanted to see you, and see what you could do. When Long Shadow jumped on you, it just gave him the excuse he needed to kill him – he was going to, anyway, but that way, he got to save you from him and all it cost him was a small fine to Long Shadow's maker. Eric saw that as a sound investment."

"You mean I didn't have to be there?"

"No, you were there because Eric wanted you there and that was the best excuse he could come up with at the time."

"It never occurred to him to just call me and ask to see me?"

"Think, Sookie – he couldn't do that if he thought you were Bill's. He had to come up with an excuse that would fly if the higher ups that were watching Bill questioned his interest in you. Even if you can imagine Eric calling a girl up and asking her for a date, and I can't, would you have said yes to him?"

"Good point – I was scared to death of him. He was so big and didn't seem to have much interest in humans except as food."

"He didn't until you walked in. You changed his whole world, Sookie," Bobbie laughed.

"Bobbie, did Bill ever really care for me at all?"

"Sure he did, Sookie, and he still does. He tried to protect you as much as he could, but he was too young and too beholden to other vamps to help you much – you know that."

"Yeah, I do. I want him to be happy, you know?"

"I don't know that he'll let himself be happy, Sookie, not because of you, but just because he has never accepted who he is. He's a vampire that doesn't really like vamps."

"Yeah, that's a shame. Vamps tend to be a little more intense than average people, but when you get down to it, they're people, too."

"I guess it's the same with Weres, too, huh?"

"Pretty much. They have their individual quirks, too. Some of the pack behavior is too much for me, but yeah, they're just people, too."

"Bjorn won't talk about his pack."

"Really? That's unusual. They're usually pretty clannish."

"Not him – he won't answer any questions at all about his family and he made it pretty clear I'm not to ask him about them again. He wasn't nasty about it or anything, but he was very definite."

"Huh - it never occurred to me, but the only thing I know about the people around him is that he dated Sabrina and worked for Victor Madden. He's never mentioned a brother or sister or even a buddy from the service."

"Nope, and he's not going to. He said as far as he's concerned, right now is all that matters."

"Wow – I guess that's kind of the way Eric looks at things. The past is over and we have to deal with the here and now."

"I guess you can't hold onto the past when there's a thousand years of it to hold onto."

"Bjorn's not that old, is he?"

"He's going to be 34."

"So he's only a couple of year younger than you?"

"Almost 10 years."

"What?! You can't be that old…"

"Yeah, I am, I just don't look it, I hope," she laughed.

"You definitely don't. If I didn't know anything about you, I'd think you were barely 35."

"Thanks – I hope I stay looking younger than I am. I almost wish…" she stopped herself.

"… that someone would turn you?"

"Yeah, I wish they would, before I get much older."

"There's nothing wrong with getting older, Bobbie."

"No offense. Sweetie, but you're not even 30 yet. It's just a vague concept to you right now. When it starts showing on your face, it starts to matter a lot more."

"Becoming a Were would slow that down, wouldn't it?"

"Becoming a Were? I thought you had to be born that way?"

"You have to be born that way to make a full transformation. You can become one, but you only transform part of the way. My brother is a were-panther, but he only becomes part cat with a human shape to him because he was made, not born."

"How was he "made?""

"A jealous were-panther kidnapped him and bit him until it took. We didn't find him in time to keep him from being turned."

"Poor guy – how is he dealing with it?"

"He doesn't quite fit in with the others, of course, because he wasn't raised with them, but he's got lots of land around his house so he can roam and hunt on the full moons without anybody bothering him. He married a girl were-panther – the reason the guy was jealous in the first place – but he doesn't see her anymore, thank Goddess. She was bad news."

"He's got to be part Fae, too, right?"

"Yeah, but the only effect it had on him was making him irresistible to women."

"Poor baby!" Bobbie laughed. "He is a good looking rascal…"

"Yeah, my brother's a rounder," Sookie laughed. "He definitely makes the most of his Fae gifts."

"OK, kid, your massage is done – let's hit the showers and we'll be all ready to have dinner when the boys get up."

"Sounds good to me. I'm going to steal this sheet rather than get dressed just to go up the back steps."

"Go for it – Alicia will get it with the laundry."

Sookie picked up the pieces of her bathing suit and her cover up and went up the stairs behind the house and in the door to the upstairs. She took a quick shower and found Alicia had laid out a really nice black nursing dress with a square neckline that would look good no matter where they ended up. She slapped on a little make up then headed for the back steps, the smell of barbecued chicken wafting through the air. Alicia was putting dinner together at the grill while Bobbie and Amelia set the table and helped her with the side dishes.

The baby was in his little yellow Bright Starts Bounce Bounce Baby Activity Zone having a blast. He was bouncing up and down in the seat, chewing on one of the teething toys, pressing a button that played music and squealing every time a new tune would start.

"Hey, Pookie! Are you having fun?!" Sookie was thrilled to see how tickled he was by the little toys on the seat.

"Mamee!" he giggled, jumping like crazy, reaching for her with one hand and pointing to the piano buttons with the other.

"What did you find? Huh? Does it play music?" Sookie knelt down next to his spot on the patio under the porch light to see what was included in the play seat. "Wow – look at this! This turtle has a mirror on it – lookie, Alex – see the baby in there?"

"Oooohh!" The baby was fascinated once she pointed out the mirror.

"What is that? Who's in there? Is that Alex? See Baby Alex?"

"Beebee Awek?" Sookie could see the wheels turning in his head.

"Yeah, that's you, Alex!"

"Awek."

"Yeah, that's you, Alex. Your name is Alex." She tapped his little chest "Alex" then she tapped the mirror "Alex." She repeated that twice then asked him "Where's Alex?"

The baby tapped his own chest and said "Awek" then showed Sookie the mirror "Awek," though he was obviously too young to know that she would see herself when she looked in it.

"Right! Whatcha got there, Pookie?" She pointed to the star-shaped teether he was chewing on. "Is that a star?"

The baby took the star out of his mouth, looked at it, then offered it to Sookie.

"Thanks, but I think you better hang onto that. That's yours, OK?"

"O-day." He stuck it back in his mouth, slobbering all over it. Sookie laughed and wiped his mouth with a washcloth from the table next to the play seat, after asking Alicia if it was clean.

"He has been having a blast in his little seat." Alicia said proudly.

"So I see – that's a really happy baby!"

"Ap-pee beebee." Alex jumped and giggled as he spoke. He pressed one of the piano buttons again and squealed when it played music.

"He loves anything that makes noise, doesn't he?" Sookie said, just in awe of this wonderful little creature that was all hers.

"Yes, he does. Remember how he was with that little rattle the other night? And now this? He's going to be a music lover, I'll bet." Alicia didn't know how right she was.

The baby pressed the button again and squealed.

"Who's that I hear?" Eric called from the back steps

The baby went wild, "Da-dee! VBEE! Dadee!"

Eric zipped down the stairs at vampire speed, kneeling by the baby. "What have you got here, my son?"

The baby jumped up and down and patted the rim of the seat then touched Eric's face and pointed to the piano buttons with his other hand. When he was sure Eric was watching, he pressed the button, the music causing him to jump and squeal again. Eric cracked up. "Can you play music, my son?"

"Omba, Dadee! Moodik!"

"Sweetie, watch this," Sookie told Eric after he gave her a big kiss, "Where's Alex?" The baby pointed to his chest and said "Awek" then showed Eric the mirror and said "Awek" then pulled it back and looked at himself in it.

"He's showing you he can see himself in the mirror."

"Ah, I see. I've never seen anything like this machine he is in – what is it?"

"It's officially called an "activity zone" but I call it a play seat. It's a place to put him where he has things to occupy him and he can't roam around and get hurt. It's got all these different toys he can play with that are supposed to stimulate learning different skills and see the bottom is so he can jump up and down and move around. He's a little bit small for it, but he's so advanced we thought he might as well try it out, and he's loving it."

"It's adjustable," Alicia said, "so it's on the smallest position it offers. He's almost big enough for it. At least his feet touch," she laughed. "He's been playing music for me, haven't you, Alex?"

"Omba, Eesh! Moodik!" he giggled and pushed the button again. "Mamee!" He reached for Sookie, "ee, Mamee!

"Uh-oh – Alex is hungry!" Sookie teased him.

"Omba!" He reached his little arms up and opened and closed his hands.

"Huh – I've never seen him do that before… but then, he's doing a lot of things for the first time. He sort of attacked Bobbie today." She said as she picked him up and put him to her breast.

"He did what?" Eric was sure he misunderstood.

"Well, we were having a little disagreement about the number 2…"

"Nah! Mamee!" the baby yelled belligerently then went back to feeding. Eric was shocked at seeing the baby speak to Sookie with such attitude.

"Eric Alexander, you will not speak to your mother that way."

"It's all right, Eric, he just…"

"It is not "all right" – I know he is small, but he is learning fast and I won't have him being disrespectful to his mother or his queen. I don't want you letting insolence go without comment, Sookie. You will have a natural tendency to let him get away with being rude to you because you are tender hearted, but I won't have it. If you teach him from the beginning it will save you grief later on, I promise you."

"OK, let's go sit down at the table – this is hurting my back." Sookie was hoping to distract him. Damn, strict daddy! She didn't know if he got Alex's attention but he sure scared the crap out of her. Half of her was turned on and half of her was straight up scared of him when he was like that.

They walked to the table where Bobbie and Octavia were sitting. Amelia had gone back into the house for something and Bjorn was out front talking to Jerry, who was going to join them for dinner. Eric held Sookie's chair out for her as she settled with the baby and took his seat at the head of the table and to Sookie's left, the baby's high chair sort of between them.

"Good evening, Octavia, Bobbie. Bobbie, did the baby hurt you today?"

"Oh, no – it was no big deal. I got a scratch on my arm that bled and he licked it was all."

"Yes, but you got the scratch because he threw that wooden block off the table and then he sent the rest of them flying to get at your arm." Sookie elaborated.

"Not his fault, like I said – he's a vamp." Octavia said. "If somebody bleeds around him, he's going to react."

Eric wanted to make sure he understood what had happened. "He threw a block at you?"

"No, he was just throwing it off the table. He had done it a couple of times because it had a 2 on it. It just caught me with the corner. He wasn't trying to hurt anybody. And he didn't bite, he just licked what was there, giggled and said "Babee ee!" It was adorable," Bobbie laughed.

"He was very pleased with himself – it was cute as a button," Octavia agreed.

Bjorn and Jerry came back and took seats at the table. Sookie knew from little snippets she picked up from Jerry that while he was supposedly around so much to check for explosives, he was eating with them so often to be near Amelia. She caught a few stray thoughts about him from Amelia, too, so Sookie figured that might be an interesting development. Jerry was the kind of guy Amelia went for – a polite, working class guy, conscientious and a hard worker. She didn't know him well, but she knew when she did listen in on him that there was never anything improper about her – unlike Bjorn, who was still quite focused on Sookie's legs and other attributes much to Sookie's delight (though she'd never admit it) - so she considered Jerry a good guy. She also knew Bjorn was in on Jerry's plan, if you could call it that. It's not like they were scheming or anything, but Bjorn was helping him come up with reasons to be around because he thought they'd be cool together. She also knew that Bjorn respected Jerry and there were very few people you could say that about where Bjorn was concerned. You had to earn Bjorn's respect over time – he had no positive expectations of people at all, which made Sookie a little sad.

Amelia finally came to the table and was subtly steered to the seat at the end of the table next to Jerry. Octavia gave Sookie a look that told her she knew what was up, too. Alicia came over with two big platters of chicken to go with the potato salad, corn on the cob and 7 Layer Salad that were already on the table, then sat between Octavia and Sookie. Everybody started filling plates and digging in.

Bill came out of the kitchen carrying the RMs Alicia had warmed for him and Eric, and a baby bottle in case Alex wanted one. "Good evening, everyone!" Bill greeted the group as he settled at the end of the table opposite Eric. "Are we house hunting tonight?"

"Alicia – you have the particulars?" Eric asked.

"Yes, the real estate agent will be here at 8 pm and we'll caravan to the house. She's very excited to show it to you. I got the impression you could get them to come down on the price if you made a reasonable offer. There aren't many people looking for a place that size, and she kept telling me all these little details about it. I think she wanted me to put a bug in Sookie's ear."

"Well I had a finger in there today, so I guess a bug had to be next."

"What?!" Eric laughed.

"When I woke up this morning, the baby was sticking his finger in my ear."

Everybody laughed and ooh'd and awww'd and the baby laughed with them though he didn't realize they were laughing at him. The baby was done feeding so Sookie put him in the high chair so she could eat. Eric reached over and said "hello, my son" and made the baby giggle. Alex noticed the baby bottle by Eric's RM and said "ee, Dadee" so Eric set the bottle on the high chair tray for him and he grabbed it eagerly.

"Huh – he just got done eating." Sookie said.

"This is different, Sookie – very different." Eric explained, "He had some of one, now he wants the other. That's not that unusual."

"It's not?"

"Vampires are very attuned to subtle differences in flavor and instinctively crave variety. It is part of his nature to want as many types as are available to him." Eric said.

"How do you know that? I always wonder how everybody knows stuff about this baby when there's never been a baby like him before…" Sookie was a bit exasperated.

"Educated guesses, girl," Octavia said. "and some careful divination and planning. Most of what you've been told has been true, hasn't it?"

"So far, I guess… except that he was supposed to be Fae but he's a vamp."

"I told you he would be vampire…" Eric immediately pointed out, proud to have proven Niall wrong.

"He's Fae, too, but he's more vampire – I think they put more of his daddy into him than they intended to." Octavia said. "I believe that 2 thing is distinctly Fae. King Eric, I want you to call Niall and ask him if he has any information about it. My guess is he won't want to tell you what it means, but he'll know. What he does after will tell us more than anything he'll say over the phone. I'd do it before we leave the house tonight."

"And ask him if there's a way to keep him from teleporting out of his crib," Sookie added.

"No time like the present then – you all continue your meal and I'll step inside and call him."

Eric had been dying to call Niall and ask him what was going on anyway since he read the story for the baby, and once Octavia said to do it, he wasn't going to wait any longer. He couldn't wait to brag about how advanced he was either, or how he loved blood. Eric was feeling beyond vindicated about the baby's vampirism - he was cocky about it because the idea that his son would be Fae had absolutely eaten at him. He was so relieved when the child had fangs and a taste for blood that he was afraid it would be obvious and Sookie might be offended. A part of him would never have been at peace with his son being overtly Fae, but he didn't want Sookie to know that. Now that problem appeared to have been averted.

"Hello, Vampire? What can I do for you this evening?"

"Hello, Niall. I wanted to talk about my son."

"He's not yet a week old – what could there be to say?"

"Well, he can already speak and possibly count a little…."

"What?!"

"Yes and something strange has come up. He refuses to say or acknowledge the number 2. He's quite adamant about it. Any idea why that might be?"

If you had told Eric that he would ever see Niall Brigant speechless, he'd have bet big money you were wrong. There was silence at the other end of the phone for a long spell, and Eric looked at the phone thinking it had dropped the connection.

"Niall?"

"Yes, my boy, I'm here…"

Did Niall just call him "his boy?" WTF?!

"I think perhaps Dr. Ludwig and I should move our visit up. It would seem to be time to check the little one's strengths and weaknesses."

"I think you'll be surprised at his abilities. Sookie wants to know if there's a way to keep him from teleporting out of his crib."

"When will you be returning to Shreveport?"

"Tuesday."

"Very well, then. Dr. Ludwig and I will come for dinner Wednesday evening at 8 o'clock. Tell my granddaughter that I will bring something to help her keep him in his bed. In the mean time, if the child seems averse to anything, don't force the issue with him. Just make a note of it and let us know immediately. Tell Sookie to call if anything else comes up – she doesn't need to wait until dark. Dr. Ludwig and I can be reached at any time of the night or day. We don't want you two feeling overwhelmed when there's support available. Is there anything else I should relay to the doctor?"

"He can roll over, sit up, and crawl at both regular and vampire speed."

"Oh, my, well, we'll look forward to seeing you Wednesday. Give Sookie my love. Good night."

It did not escape Eric's notice that Niall was in a big hurry to get off the phone and get a hold of Dr Ludwig. Eric didn't know what that old fucking fairy was up to, but he knew something was afoot that he needed to know about as soon as possible. He returned to the party with intent.

"Octavia, you practice divination, do you not?"

"Several forms, but I prefer cards."

"Wonderful. Would you please ride with Sookie, Alex and me as we travel to the house? I have some questions and I'd rather not wait until later to ask them."

"Of course."

"Very good. Bjorn, you will drive and I will take the passenger seat. Sookie, Octavia and the baby should be comfortable in the back. Bill, I thought you might ride with the real estate agent in case she can be charmed, and Alicia, Amelia, and Bobbie will have guards with them. Is that amenable to everyone?"

Everyone agreed as they finished up their meals and the dishes were quickly cleared away and cleaned. The watermelons would wait until tomorrow night. It was nearly 8 when they began to assemble in the living room.

"Eric," Bill approached him, "I take it I'm to charm the real estate agent to get us a more favorable price?"

"If we like it, yes. You don't need to resort to glamour, I don't think, but she'll certainly work harder for us if she's given incentive."

"How far do you expect me to take it?"

"I'm not pimping you out, Bill, I'm just asking you to turn on the Southern charm and remind her she's a lady – you excel at this. I've seen you do it many times."

Mary Jo Dupree was right on time, pulling up to the Prytania St. house in a dark blue Saab convertible at 8. Jerry Kerik opened her door for her and walked her to the door and announcing her: "Ms. Dupree is here, your majesty."

"Hi, Mary Jo, how are you tonight!" Sookie was the first to greet her, baby in arms.

"Hello, Mrs. Northman. It's so nice to see you again."

"Allow me to introduce my husband, Eric Northman. Honey, this is Mary Jo."

Mary Jo offered her hand to Eric and he shook it, giving her a dazzling smile. "Ms. Dupree, I am very pleased to meet you. Thank you for adjusting to our schedule this way."

"Oh, my pleasure, your majesty. Anything I can do to help you get settled in New Orleans is no problem at all."

"We'll certainly appreciate any help you can give us. We'll be taking a small caravan – I was wondering if you would lead the way in your car, and my second in command would ride with you? Bill Compton heads the New Orleans office in my absence."

"Yes, I believe we've spoken on the phone, Ms. Dupree." Bill flashed her a sweet smile that nearly curled her toes.

"Please, Mr. Compton, call me Mary Jo. I'd be very pleased to have a chance to talk to you about the property."

"Wonderful. I think we're all ready to go, yes?" he looked at Eric.

"Bjorn – are we all assembled?" Eric asked

"Yes, your majesty, we are. Let's all load up and head out." Bjorn took charge of moving them all from point a to point b.

Once they were in the cars and on their way, Octavia took her Tarot pack out of her purse and unwrapped the scarf, black and dark green with red roses, that encased it. She shuffled a few times and told Eric, "Whenever you are ready, your majesty."

"Octavia, please call me Eric when we're with family," Eric said warmly. "How do we begin."

"The easiest way is you ask questions and I answer them with short readings. I use a special deck, called the Connolly Tarot, so some of the images might be different than you've seen before."

"Alright, when I told Niall about the "number 2" issue he was literally speechless for a long while. Why?"

Octavia flipped three cards – The Empress, The Moon, the two of swords. "He was trying to decide how much to tell you. There are cosmic forces at work here, but he's only telling you half the story. There's illusion or deception around this matter of a dual nature – the two is both literal and symbolic. Niall's magick had unintended consequences you don't know about, and might not for a long time. There won't be a quick resolution of this situation. You're barely at the beginning."

"Did he know the baby would be this advanced?"

"Absolutely not. I got the 10 of swords reversed, the two of pentacles reversed and Transition reversed. In other decks, Transition is the Death card. Something about Niall's magick didn't work – half of it is right, half of it is wrong. Something wasn't able to cross over – that's the language I'm getting, but as of now, I have no idea what it means."

"When will we know what it means?"

"10 of pentacles, 5 of swords, Justice. The good news is that eventually, it will all work out, but it will be a long time before it happens and it won't be the solution that was intended. There will be imperfect beginnings, misunderstandings, and you must always know that Niall will never tell you the whole truth until he has no other choice. Ages 5, 10, 15 and 21 will be critical ages for this child. He'll face a dual crisis at each of those stages – one from within and one from without. Two is going to be a big number with this – the Justice card shows a Goddess holding the scales of Justice. A Goddess put all this in motion and it's going to take a Goddess to sort it out, but She'll be working on Goddess time, not human time, so this is won't be resolved quickly."

"Alright, Niall was uncharacteristically friendly to me, and he was adamant that if anything else came up, Sookie should call him or Ludwig immediately and not wait until dark. He said not to force this issue or any other with the baby – just make a note of it and let them know. He also moved up their visit to test the baby's abilities – they're coming to the Shreveport house at 8 pm Wednesday. Why the rush?"

"Oohh-eee! The High Priestess, The Magician reversed and The King of Pentacles. He's scared to death – something about his magick is going to come back on him and maybe others. The High Priestess is a badass woman – Freya and/or Sookie – and the King of Pentacles is you, Eric. He's afraid you're going to give him the Victor Madden treatment, but at this stage, it won't help anything. Your best bet is to play Niall's guilt. He'll be much more pliable to keep all hell from breaking loose over this and I do mean HELL. He knows all about the Freya/Sookie connection, by the way. He's known for a long, long time."

"How long?" Sookie asked.

Octavia flipped one card: The World.

"Since before you were born, Sweetheart. He agreed to it before you were conceived."

She pulled another card:

"Materialism – in traditional decks, that's The Devil card. Niall arranged it, probably because he owed a debt to the Goddess. You're the repayment of a debt."

"Great…"

"You're chosen by the Goddess, Sookie. That's nothing to regret or resent. That's something to rejoice about. You are favored in ways you haven't even begun to comprehend. The fact that Niall was involved in your genesis doesn't negate or lessen that in any way." Octavia really wanted to drive this point home.

Eric was very pleased to hear Octavia say that to Sookie. He knew exactly what it meant to be favored by Freya, and he wanted more than anything for Sookie to embrace her position and revel in it. Helping her understand it was the reason he kept Bobbie, Amelia and especially Octavia around. Once he had fully understood Freya's role in Sookie's life, he had wanted nothing more than for her to appreciate the gifts they had both been given. Now that the baby was here, it was more important than ever for Sookie to embrace her power.

"Dadee!" Alex called to Eric from the back seat.

"Yes, my son?"

"Omba, Dadee."

"He's agreeing with you, Vampire." Octavia knew she was stating the obvious, but she wanted him to know that she knew.

"I haven't said anything."

"Apparently you don't need to. It would be best if no one outside this car knew that." Octavia understood the implications far too well.

"Yes, I agree." Eric was very serious.

"Well, Bobbie and Amelia might know." Sookie 'fessed up, knowing she'd have to tell on herself soon, too.

"Really? Good to know. Let's keep it in the family, Sookie. I don't mind you sharing with your Witches, but don't let it get out of our circle. You must promise me." The tone of Eric's voice made it clear that this was not a request.

"I promise."

"Looks like we're here," Bjorn warned them, "She's got her turn signal on."

The cars all pulled into a drive that curved gently in front of a very stately 3 story house with 7 columns across the front and a balcony that ran the full width of it. A garage stretched toward the right of the house and there was a pretty little gazebo off to the far right of the lot.

"This is very nice." Eric observed as they pulled to a stop.

"Yeah, the inside is a little plain." Sookie was trying to lower his expectations.

Everyone got out of the cars, ooh-ing and aah-ing over the place before they were even inside it. Eric took the baby from Sookie and carried him so Sookie could look into closets and bathrooms. The baby was very observant as they went through the house, those big eyes taking in everything. He even occasionally pointed to an object that caught his eye and Eric was beaming at him. He seemed to like chandeliers a lot because he would point and make his "haaaah!" sound when they went into a room with one.

Inside the house was plenty to like – a master suite and master bath, 5 other bedrooms plus 5 other full baths and 2 half baths, a huge formal dining room, a kitchen with a breakfast bar. The agent explained that the full property was 36 acres but they could buy just the 6 acres that actually included the buildings but Bill quickly said they'd want the whole 36. He also asked whether they'd be able to surround the grounds with a fence if they chose to and Mary Jo knew of no reason they couldn't.

The guesthouse turned out to have 3 bedrooms, a fireplace, 2 baths and wood floors. Sookie noted to herself that the guesthouse was bigger than her own house in Bon Temps. The little artists studio was cute and Bill and Eric considered whether it would be big enough to use as an office or whether to make it a guardhouse the soldiers could use. The pool was in front of the guesthouse and it was gorgeous.

You could see the pool from the 2nd floor balcony that ran the entire width of the back of the house. There was a den and a formal living room in the house so the den could always be used as an office. There were lighted tennis courts but they didn't belong to the house – they were community courts right beside the property – but that was no big deal. They'd be able to use them if they wanted and they weren't close enough to the house to cause a problem.

Eric's main concern was that there were neighbors far too close. A fence would help with privacy, but if the compound were ever under attack, many people would be affected and he didn't like that. Their house in Shreveport was at the end of a dead end road and the neighbors were further away than they'd be here. He was also not sure he liked the distance from the New Orleans offices. The Prytania Street house was in an historic neighborhood and he honestly felt that would be a better deterrent than a fence would out here. There were also eyes closer by there – close enough to do some good, unlike out here where they're only close enough to get hurt. The pool and garden in town were nicely concealed and enclosed. Maybe Sookie was right – that was their best option.

Eric thanked the woman profusely and they said their goodbyes. She promised to keep Bill informed if she saw any other properties that might fit their needs and went off on her own since she lived out this way. Bill rode back into town in the van with the guards.

Sookie was miserable when they got back into the car and they barely got out of the driveway before she asked, "Eric, are you going to buy that house?"

"No, Sweetheart, I think the house we've already got is a better fit. I didn't like the way the neighbors were situated out there. It wasn't a good defensive position and I know you weren't thrilled with it. I won't force you to live where you won't be happy, Sookie. You know your happiness is my first priority after our safety."

"I thought that place was so much of what we needed…?"

"It had some good things about it. The size of the house and the guesthouse would certainly make our lives easier, but as I said, I didn't like the surroundings. That river entrance would be very hard to defend. It's too far from our offices. The inside of the house was very…"

"Plain. I didn't like the inside at all." Sookie said.

"Well, then, we have more information to work from. We'll look at some more properties but the more I see, the more I like the house we have. Victor Madden obviously found it a safe haven or he wouldn't have lived there. He had no shortage of enemies himself. Do keep in mind though, that if we find a suitable property, I can hire the decorator who did our Shreveport house to decorate it for you – she's based in New Orleans."

"Oh – I never thought of that…"

"You can also hire her to work on the current house if the décor is not to your liking, Just because it's already done, it doesn't mean you have to keep it that way. It is your house, Dear One, and I want you to be happy with it."

"Even if we won't be there much?"

"Even if, though I think we'll be there a great deal of the time. You love it too much to stay away long and it is very convenient to my offices. I'll need to be here a lot between now and the first of the year to oversee reconstruction. Bill and I both will have to stay very involved to get our properties ready for Mardi Gras."

"So if I wanted our bedroom totally revamped…"

"I'll leave her business card and have Alicia contact her for you. You have everything tailored to your tastes. I'll like whatever you like. You don't need to wait for my approval and don't worry about the cost."

Octavia was smiling to herself, knowing that Sookie would never have suggested redecorating on her own. She also wondered if Eric could read her mind, or if he just knew her so well that he could anticipate her desires. She was beginning to think all three of them could read each other's minds and she and Eric hadn't told each other about it. If Sookie could read vampire minds, she'd be a formidable foe and a powerful advantage for Eric.

"May I say something extremely confidential in front of Bjorn?" Octavia asked.

"Yes, Octavia, Bjorn needs to know everything about Sookie's circumstances to protect her."

"Alright then, I think you and Sookie need to admit to each other that you can hear each other's thoughts. The baby's not the only one that can listen in on you two."

Eric was silent for a minute. "Sookie, can you hear my thoughts?"

"Sometimes – not very often, just when things are really intense."

"Can you hear other vampires?"

"Not quite."

"Explain."

"I can hear… something, but not clear thoughts. It's almost like what I hear from Weres, but the volume is really low. The weird thing is, I know it won't stay that way. I know – I don't know how – that soon I'll be able to hear all Supes."

Eric turned in his seat so he could see Sookie's face. "Sookie – do not put that in writing anywhere. Should you decide to write in your journal, you must never put on paper that you can do this. Do you understand?"

"Yes. So, can you hear me?"

"Sometimes. More often lately, when you are under stress."

"You never told me?"

"You never told me – we have both been… unwise. From now on, Sookie, you are to tell me when you hear me or any other vampire. No more secrets between us, yes?"

"Yes."

"Thank you, Octavia. That was a very important revelation. Sookie and I need to communicate more effectively, it seems."

"You two communicate fine – you're both just used to keeping things to yourself from being alone so long. You'll grow out of it in time. Your relationship is just getting started. Cut each other some slack. Just remember that you're never alone anymore – there are always three of you, no matter where you are."

"That's what I'm afraid of…" Sookie said.

"Worried about the baby knowing you're having sex?" Octavia wasn't going to mince words.

"Yes…"

"Unavoidable. Just don't feel guilty about it. This child will have a very different attitude toward sex than most kids. How does he react now when you do?"

"He cheers Eric on if he's awake…"

Eric laughed out loud at that and Bjorn just shook his head and smiled.

"… but he usually sleeps. It's like it soothes him. I think he gets as "blissed" out as we do."

"No reason for that to change. You aren't disturbing him. You're showing him his Mommy and Daddy love each other. That's a good thing."

"I guess…"

"You worried about the kinky stuff?" Nope, not mincing words.

"Yeah…"

"He can feel the difference in play and anger. Seems he takes his cues from Eric. If there's no harmful intent on Eric's part, there shouldn't be a problem."

"I can be somewhat sadistic." Eric stated matter-of-factly.

"You're a vampire – that comes with the territory. That won't warp him. Just be who you are – he needs to learn how to be all of what you are, not just the nice parts. He'll be in the basement at Fangtasia with his own girls sooner than you think."

Sookie was shocked. "How did you know…?"

"Everybody knows Eric's reputation, girl, and they know you must keep right up with him or he wouldn't be so happy. The sex room at Fangtasia is legendary. I don't need to be psychic to know you've been there and liked it."

Sookie blushed furiously at the idea of Octavia knowing so much about her sex life. She was trying to think of a way to ask Octavia about what to do with the baby when they were there when Eric spoke.

"Octavia – there's a relatively sound-proofed room in the basement that is removed from the main room. Sookie would like to know if there would be any harm in putting the baby in the side room with a baby monitor. He wouldn't hear us, but we'd be able to hear him if he needed us."

"Holy shit!"

"Sookie!" Eric was shocked at her language. Bjorn was biting his tongue to keep from laughing.

"Can you read my mind that clearly?" Sookie was shocked and embarrassed. How long had he been hearing her and what had she been thinking around him? She was now less worried he'd be mad at her for not telling him she could hear him and more aggravated that he hadn't told her what he could do. What a sneak!

"When you're that intent on a thought, yes. You were trying furiously to figure out how to ask your question."

"To answer your question – that's what baby monitors are for. Plan your games for when he would be asleep, put a crib in the other room, tuck him in, set up a monitor and get as wild as you want. Sookie, I know your background is giving you some conflict about the sexual aspects of being a wife and a mother – don't beat yourself up for having urges and don't hesitate to satisfy them. All that Puritanical stuff is bullshit. You're a Pagan now – sexuality is the Goddess' greatest gift. Worry less and have more fun. It's good for all three of you."

"OK, I'll try…"

"Don't try, do it." Octavia said. "You don't earn points for feeling guilty. Guilt is patriarchal tool to control you and keep you from being free and healthy. Nobody is going to let you screw up that baby. You've got all of us helping you – we'll let you know if you get off track. Be the Goddess that you are – that's the greatest gift you could give that child."

""Do or do not, there is no 'try'?"" Sookie wasn't trying to be a smartass, and Octavia knew it.

"Yoda had a point there. Be decisive and live life like you mean it. It's not immodest to know your own power. You can be a badass when you need to be and still be lovable. You can enjoy wild sex and still be a good mommy."

"I don't know why I'm so insecure all of a sudden. I used to be tougher than this, and I need to get it back." Sookie said, almost to herself.

"Being a mommy has stirred up a lot of issues from your childhood – you're thinking about your own Mamma, your Gran, how you felt growing up. You need to be at peace with them. You didn't do anything wrong to make them go away. You don't need their approval in how you live your life. And, I'm just going to say it plain, Eric is not Bill Compton or John Quinn – he's not going to betray you. That's not in your cards, and those situations were not your fault. Now the next time you're alone, you get quiet and call down Freya, and ask Her to make you strong and certain about your path."

"You know, She said one time She wouldn't let me hurt the innocent."

"Exactly. She won't let you abuse your power and being happy won't jinx it and make everything go away. Enjoy your life."

"I think I had another dream about Her…"

"Let's hear it."

"First it was Her standing on the shore with two swords, pointing sort of out and down like sides of a triangle. Then it was me wearing a blindfold and I crossed the two swords in front of me like an X. Then one of them shimmered and disappeared. She said it was never really there and it wasn't my fault, and to take off my blinders and make the most of what I've got."

"When we get home, girl, I want you to get your computer out. I need to show you something. That's an important dream."

Sookie was quiet the rest of the way home, letting her mind process everything all her friends had told her that day. Some of it conflicted a little, but she figured Alicia and Octavia were the oldest and both of them said she wasn't going to screw up her baby if she had wild sex. She was going to try very hard to let that fear go. She knew that would make Eric happy, and when she thought that she noticed him turn his head a little – he was hearing her, so she sent him something worth hearing. She got as clear a picture as she could of herself tied down to the bed at Fangtasia and him going down on her.

Eric cleared his throat and shifted in his seat, "Sookie, don't forget Bill and I must go in to the office tonight."

"I haven't forgotten." She smiled to herself, knowing she was getting to him. "You won't be very late getting home though, right?"

"Not a minute later than I have to be, my angel, rest assured." Eric sent back and x-rated thought of his own – Sookie bent over his knee being spanked - and Sookie heard it loud and clear. Damn, now her motor was running…

"VBEE!" The baby heard it too – oh well. 'Get used to it, Sookie,' she told herself, 'this bond goes three ways and he'll always know, but he'll know it's healthy and natural and you are NOT going to give this child a Christian guilt trip because it has nothing to do with the life he's meant to live.'

"Omba, Mamee." Everyone in the car laughed.

"Listen, you little Punkin', you learn to stay out of Mommy's head, OK?" Sookie said to the baby, laughing. The baby, who had been holding her finger all the way home, giggled and grabbed her hand with his other hand, too. She tickled him and felt a weight lift from her shoulders.

They arrived at the house and unloaded, Bill and Eric getting ready to go to the offices as Sookie got the baby out of the car.

"Sookie," Bill said, "Ms. Dupree gave me some background on this house. It was also owned by an actor who played a vampire in a comedic movie and it is known at Our Mother of Perpetual Help Chapel. She also said it may be haunted." Bill laughed.

"No "maybe" about it," Octavia said, "I thought you all knew it was haunted?"

"It is? For real?" Sookie said, handing the baby to Eric so he could kiss him goodbye.

"Oh, yeah, but they're friendly. They like that you have a baby." Octavia certainly didn't think it was a big deal.

"Wow – I had no idea." Sookie looked at the house with new eyes.

"That doesn't bother you, does it, Sookie?" Eric asked.

"No, it's actually kind of cool. We always thought my Bon Temps house is haunted by my great-great grandfather. That just makes me feel more at home."

"It might actually explain why you're so attached to this house already. It has that familiar feel to it, you just didn't know what created the feeling."

"Huh – you mean, I can sense ghosts and didn't know it?"

"Yep – not that unusual, really. You're just so used to it, from growing up around it, that it feels normal to you. Places that aren't haunted probably feel a bit strange to you."

"Yeah, they do – I always say there's no life to them. I guess it's just the opposite, huh?"

"There's no awareness to them. You're used to having someone look over your shoulder and it feels odd when they aren't there. Very interesting.

Eric finished his little talk with the baby, gave him a kiss on the lips and said, "be a good boy for Mommy and Daddy will be home to give you your last bottle, alright, Eric Alexander?"

"Omba. Ba-ba, Dadee."

"You won't be that late, will you?" Sookie asked as she took Alex back from him.

"No, not at all. Bill says we'll probably be home by 1 am."

"Cool. Be careful, and I'll see you later," she tipped her face up to let him give her a long, sweet kiss. He gave the baby a final peck on the forehead and he, Bill and Jerry went to the territorial offices.

As the women and Bjorn moved back up the marble steps and into the front door, Alicia asked if anyone would like a snack.

"What have you got, Alicia?" Bobbie wasn't going to be shy about it – she could definitely eat something.

"I found several cheesecakes in the extra freezer the other night we haven't used yet. They're frozen but in this heat, they'll thaw by the time I get them cut and dished up."

"Oh, yeah," Sookie said, "I'm always up for cheesecake!"

"Alright then, just let me stow my coat and they'll be right up."

Sookie left the baby with Bobbie while she ran upstairs to get her laptop for Octavia.

When she got back to the dining room, she took the baby so Bobbie could help Alicia, then she fired up the laptop and slid it across the table to Octavia.

Bjorn came in from talking to the guards on duty and everyone gathered at the huge dining room table as Bobbie and Alicia got the cakes, forks and plates. Bjorn brought the baby's highchair in from the kitchen where it was stowed after dinner outside. Sookie got the baby settled next to her chair and Bjorn even helped Alicia slice and serve the cakes while Bobbie went through the baby's toys to find something to keep him occupied.

"Wow, Bjorn, you're going to eat cheesecake?" Sookie was surprised.

"Yeah, I shouldn't, but I've been really good this week so what the hell. I'll work it off in the gym when we get home to Shreveport."

"Hey, I never thought about the fact that there's no gym here. Is that going to be a problem?" Sookie asked.

"I actually had an idea about that, Sookie." Alicia said. "You know technically the room I'm in is the Master Bedroom Suite – that's why the spa is down here. Either you and Mr. Northman could move down there, or you could turn that bedroom into a workout room, then the spa is right there for after."

"Better to turn it into a workout room. A first floor bedroom is not a good defensive position – I'm sure that's why Madden didn't use it," Bjorn explained, "and you need to have the nursery right next to your bedroom, plus my bedroom should be near Sookie's and Bobbie's should be near the baby in case we're needed at night. The second floor is best, though we need to rearrange some things for maximum safety, especially when the baby gets old enough to stay in a room by himself."

"Eric's going to let me call a decorator to work on this house – what should we do? This would be the time to tell me." Sookie said, shaking one of the Elmo rattles for the baby to his sheer delight.

"I told Eric about what we need to do to the security system already. As far as rooms go, there's a small apartment down the hall from where we are now – I think Bobbie and I should take that room, and the rooms across from you should be used for the baby. Margaret and Alicia are going to take the apartment on the third floor, and any vampire company you're likely to have could stay either there or in the gym. The den needs to be your offices – you and Eric could both have desks and computers in there. From what I hear, you're going to be getting really busy this Fall and Winter. You should have things done while we're in Shreveport. I think Eric wanted to upgrade your bathroom a great deal, too."

"Yeah, we need a bigger tub, and I want a bigger, better bed. I want a much bigger rug over in the living room with a pink border and flowers and maybe some cozier couches. I'm not too sure about the pool table, either, and we need a TV in here since this is where we seem to hang out. I want to make this house as comfortable as possible so Eric won't keep looking for another place…"

"Why you so attached to this place already?" Octavia asked. This was beyond anything Octavia could account for, even with the haunted energy.

"I don't know – I just felt like I belonged here the minute I stepped into it. It was like coming home. I don't remember ever being so excited about a house before. I never really paid much attention to them."

"You don't say…" Octavia said, almost to herself. She was going to study on this later, when it was just she and her Tarot cards.

"Amelia is your house going to be usable or do we need to have rooms here for you?" Sookie asked. "The baby won't really have to have a nursery for a long time."

"My house is almost done, and Eric agreed to pay for the rental unit for Octavia because he wants her to stay nearby. He'd make room for us here, but we really think it's better to give you all a little more space."

"Well, it's up to you all. Do whatever makes you happiest, OK?" Sookie dug into the cheesecake then and the baby gnawed on the teether, slobbering profusely. Sookie wiped him with a damp washcloth Alicia handed her. "Why is he slobbering so much?"

"I'd say his teeth are starting to come in," Alicia guessed.

"Yep, that's what happens. He'll start putting everything he can get his hands on in his mouth." Octavia agreed.

"Isn't it too early for his teeth to come in?" Sookie knew the answer but she asked anyway.

"He's doing everything else early, Sookie, he'll probably be ahead with that, too," Bobbie said.

"Can I still breast feed him if he has teeth?"

"Oh, yeah, you just teach him not to bite. People breast feed babies up to 5 years old sometimes, and you know they've got full sets of teeth," Alicia reassured her.

"Do me a favor and don't tell Eric that some people breast feed until age 5, OK? Two years is my limit – maybe three, but I doubt it.' Sookie wasn't sure if she was kidding or not.

Octavia found what she was looking for and slid the laptop back to Sookie. "Does this look familiar to you?"

"Oh my Goddess – that's exactly like I was in my dream!"

"That's the traditional image for the Two of Swords in the Rider-Waite Tarot, among others. And you say one of them disappeared?"

"Yeah, and she told me it was never here and it wasn't my fault, so take off my blinders and make the most of what I've got."

An Elmo rattle suddenly flew into the center of the table, making Sookie say "Uh-oh!" and retrieve it. She put it back on the baby's highchair tray and turned back to her conversation and her cheesecake.

"Uh-oh!" Alex said as he threw the rattle back on the table.

"Looks like your little buddy knows how to throw things, Sookie," Bobbie laughed.

"Yeah, no kidding. Alex, no throwing, OK?"

"Nah" he said, sort of shaking his head and his whole upper body as she put the rattle back on the tray. He chewed on the toy for a few minutes then "Uh-oh!"

"Alex, no."

He just looked at Sookie and blinked then pointed to her cheesecake and said "ee, Mamee!"

"He wants a bite of cheesecake," Bjorn laughed.

"That's grown-up food, Sweetie. Not for babies." Sookie told him.

"Ee, Mamee!"

"Maybe he's just hungry," Sookie said as she took him out of the high chair and tried to put him to her breast, but he wasn't having it. While she was trying to get him to feed, he stuck his fingers in Sookie's slice of cake and stuck his fingers in his mouth before she could react.

"Wow, that kid is fast when he wants to be," Bjorn said with admiration.

"Mmmm" Alex said, reaching for more, but Sookie pushed her plate out of the way and he let out a piercing shriek.

"Alex! What's wrong with you?!" Sookie was aghast.

"He's not used to you saying 'no' to him, Sookie," Bobbie pointed out, trying not to laugh.

"You know, as long as you don't give him any of the graham cracker crust, a little bit won't hurt him. Want me to get you a spoon?" Alicia suggested.

Before Sookie could say 'yes' the baby demanded "ee, Mamee!" and Alicia headed for the kitchen. "EE!" he yelled and pounded the table with his hand and was adamant that he was going to have cheesecake.

"Alright, hold on, you little Viking. Alicia's bringing you a spoon."

"EESH!" he yelled toward the kitchen.

"I'm coming, Alex, hang on," Alicia hurried back in with a spoon and handed it to Sookie, who scooped up a little cheesecake and slipped the spoon in his mouth. The baby smacked his mouth open and shut a few times as everyone laughed about his little tantrum and his subsequent enjoyment of the cheesecake. It was obvious he loved the stuff, so Sookie gave him another bite and he hummed while he gummed it into submission. Two more bites and he became more interested in the toys on his high chair than the cheesecake so Sookie put him back in the chair and finished her cake.

"That was intense," Sookie said, sounding a little shell-shocked. "What's he going to be like when he gets older?!"

"That's why you've got Eric. He'll be able to handle him, Sookie, don't worry." Bobbie said softly, "He's just too small to understand when you say 'no' right now. As he gets older he'll learn to take 'no' for an answer. No infant reacts well to being refused something he wants."

"That's right. Sweetie. He's doing fine and so are you," Alicia assured her.

Sookie's phone rang then. "It's Eric. Hi, honey, what's up?"

"What is wrong with the baby? I heard him shrieking in my mind."

"Oh, he's OK, he just had a little tantrum because he wanted a bite of my cheesecake."

"That rage that I felt was over cheesecake?"

"Yep. We gave him a little and he's fine now."

"He was able to eat it? Without getting sick?"

"So far, so good. He's back to chewing on his toys now."

"Is that good for him?"

"It's unavoidable – that's what they do when their teeth start to come in. They stick everything they can get their hands on in their mouths and drool all over it."

"Good to know. I'll see you in a bit, my angel."

"OK, Sweetie, bye-bye."

"Ba-ba," the baby repeated, though his attention was focused on the toy he was looking at then chewing on. Octavia's mind was trying to sort out that message to Sookie and she was watching the baby intently – what was missing that should have been there?

"Anybody want more?" Alicia asked. Everyone said no, and thanks, so Alicia and Bobbie gathered up the dishes as Sookie and Alex, Amelia and Octavia went into the living room. The Exploration tunnel was still in the floor so Sookie put the baby down there and let him play with the toys.

Before long Alex was trying to pull a toy off the top and bending the tunnel and Sookie asked him, "What are you doing, Pookie?"

"Pish, Mamee."

"Fish?" She looked in and he was pulling on a fish-shaped teether. "Wow – I guess that is a fish, isn't it? Here you go, baby boy…" she unhooked the little toy and it went straight into his mouth.

Octavia motioned for Sookie to come sit on the couch and leave the baby so they could see what he would do. There was a little conversation, but everyone was waiting to see what Alex would do when left to his own devices for a while. At first, he just chewed on the teether and looked at the insides of the tunnel. Then he rolled over onto his belly and went into a crawl, going slowly along the length of the tunnel, stopping to pull at some leaf shapes on the bottom of it. He came out the far end and managed to sit up, playing with the circular rattle on that end of the tunnel. Alicia and Bobbie had come into the living room and the women became engrossed in talking about possibilities for decorating the house. Suddenly, there was a wail from across the room – Alex was sitting there crying. Sookie rushed across the room to see if he was hurt, but saw nothing wrong.

"What's the matter, Pookie?"

"DAAAAAHHHH-DEEEEEE!" he wailed.

"Daddy? Are you missing your daddy?"

The next sound that came out of him wasn't like anything a human baby would make and it was positively heartrending. Sookie scooped him up and kissed him, trying to bounce him a little and calm him down, but he was inconsolable and Sookie's phone was ringing.

"Hi, Sweetie," she said into the phone as the baby wailed like a banshee.

"What is wrong with the baby now?" Eric was beside himself.

"As near as I can tell, he misses you." Sookie told him.

"He misses me? How do you know that?"

"Shhhh, Alex, don't cry. He was playing in the tunnel from the other night and he crawled down to where you were that night and sat there and just started wailing out of the blue…"

"DAAAAAHHHH-DEEEEEE!" Alex wailed again.

"… did you hear that? He wants you, Eric."

"Hold the phone to his ear, Sookie."

Sookie held the phone so the baby could hear and said "OK!"

"Eric Alexander?"

The baby stopped for a minute, blinking tears from his eyes and trying to understand where the voice was coming from.

"Alex, can you hear me, my son?"

"Omba, Da-ah-dee," he whimpered.

"Do not cry, my son – Daddy is coming home right now, OK?"

"Oday" he snuffled.

"Eric? What did you say to him?"

"I told him I'm coming home. I'm leaving right now. We'll be there in 15 minutes, so try to distract him until I get there."

"Alright, Sweetie, I will. OK, Alex, Daddy is coming home."

Alex pointed at the phone, "Dadee."

"Yeah, that was Daddy," She was cooing at him trying to cheer him up "and he's going to be home in just a few minutes, alright? You know what – you need a new diaper. Let's get a clean nappy so you'll be all fresh for Daddy, OK?"

"Oday," he mumbled, wiping his eyes.

"Do you want me to take him, Sookie?" Alicia offered.

"No, that's OK, I'll change him. We'll be back in a minute. Sorry everybody…"

"Don't apologize, Sookie – babies cry. You've been lucky up until now with this one," Octavia told her, "he's just a little upset, but it's all going to be fine." Octavia only half believed that, but she didn't want Sookie to know she was worried about that dream.

Sookie wanted to believe what Octavia said but she was shaking a little. She knew Octavia was right – babies cry – but she couldn't help feeling like this was out of the ordinary somehow. This baby didn't do this… or he hadn't until now. She never felt such overwhelming sadness before as was pouring out of this child as she carried him up to their room.

"OK, Pookie, let's cheer up for Daddy, OK? We'll get all fresh and powdered and smell nice and sweet when he gets here. What are you going to say to Daddy when he gets home, huh? I'll bet you say "víg" right?"

The baby didn't say anything but he rubbed his little eyes and was obviously calming down as he let out a big sigh. Sookie kept cooing at him as she cleaned him up, then she walked around the bedroom with him a little bit, rubbing his back and sending him all the love and security she could. Eric was flooding the bond with all the love and comfort he could, too, but underneath it she knew he wanted to get to his son as badly as his son wanted him there. When he was a lot calmer, they went back downstairs where everyone was drinking coffee and talking about what they needed to do to get ready to go back to Shreveport.

"How are we doing now?" Alicia asked as Sookie brought him back.

"We're a lot calmer now, and we can feel Daddy on his way here, so that's helping a lot."

"You know, it occurred to us that this is the first time Eric has been away from him at night." Bobbie said.

"Huh – I never thought of that, but I think you're right. He hasn't gone to the office this way since we've been here. I hope this doesn't create a problem for him. I know he had things to do tonight. I hope he's not mad that I couldn't handle him."

"Sookie, he won't be mad – he called you and he was the one that said he was coming home. My guess is he's as anxious to see the baby as the baby is him," Amelia told her.

"That's true, Sookie," Bobbie agreed, "you never had a chance to handle him. He started wailing and the phone rang. Eric might have to strap him into that Baby Bjorn Carrier and take him along when he wants to go into the office, at least for a while."

"Don't start questioning yourself, Sookie. He's a baby. He wants what he wants when he wants it. He'll grow out of it as he gets older." Octavia knew Sookie was blaming herself and it had nothing to do with her. The Goddess told her it wasn't her fault – and she was beginning to think that she knew what "it" was but it was too soon to say anything.

"He's always been demanding, Sookie," Bobbie pointed out, "even in the womb, remember?"

"Yeah, that's true. Eric is here!"

Eric was out of the car before it came to a complete stop and instantly through the front door calling "Alex!"

"DADEE!" The baby couldn't get into Eric's arms fast enough.

Eric kissed him and hugged him tightly to him. "That's my good boy. Daddy missed you, too, Eric Alexander."

"I'm sorry, Eric, I…"

"There's nothing to be sorry about, my angel," he said as he kissed her hello, "he and I just aren't used to being apart yet and we wanted to see each other, didn't we, my son?"

"Omba, Dadee," The baby put his hand on one of Eric's cheeks and kissed the other.

It was all Eric could do to keep from crying. "I'm sorry to be a bad host, everyone, but we're going to go to bed. Sookie, are you coming up?"

"Yeah, of course! Good night, everybody!"

Eric turned immediately and headed up the stairs, Sookie right behind him and the baby. At the top of the stairs Eric kicked it into vampire speed so by the time Sookie got to the room he was sitting on the bed, still holding the baby tight, the baby with his little arms around his neck. Sookie was trying to sort out what she was feeling in the bond, but couldn't so she just asked, "Eric, are you OK?"

"Yes, Sookie, I'm fine, I just… I never felt anything like that before."

"Like what?"

"Like when the baby was missing me. The sadness was so deep…"

"I know, I felt it, too. Is that… normal?"

"I don't know but I'm not putting either one of us through it again. Until he is older, when I am awake, he is with me. He goes where I go. I've worked at my home office with him in a sling, I can do that wherever else I need to." He stood up, saying "let's get our clothes off and go to bed. We need family time for us all to feel sound again."

Sookie pulled her dress off and threw it over a chair, then pulled off her thong. Eric put the baby on the bed just long enough to shuck his clothes and was in bed with the baby next to him in seconds. Sookie climbed in from the bottom to her side and Eric helped her get under the covers, Alex tucked in safely between them.

"Wow – it's barely midnight. This is early for us to be in bed." Sookie said as she noticed the clock."

"Yes, but this is where we all feel safest – in bed together. I'm kicking myself for going into the office without taking him with me."

"Eric, there was no way to know he'd have such a reaction. He was fine until he got to the end of the tunnel where you were the other night and I guess he just suddenly realized you weren't there and he lost it."

"He wasn't fine earlier – I called twice, remember?"

"Yeah, he was a little intense earlier. He kept throwing a rattle in the middle of the table, then he pitched a fit over the cheesecake."

"I can't believe he was so angry about food."

"Well, he stuck his fingers in it before I knew what was happening and then I pushed it away when he went back for more and he flipped out on me. Alicia ran to get me a spoon and he was actually yelling for her to hurry up. I guess he really liked it."

"What does it taste like?"

"Well, it's cream cheese so it's like tangy, sweet, milky tasting. It's like ice cream but thicker and with a sour edge to it."

"I don't know what ice cream tastes like, and neither does he. We'll have to try some sometime. I'm tempted to try this cheesecake. Is there any left?"

"Yeah, Alicia put some back in the fridge. Want me to go get some and we can all have a taste?"

"Omba, Mamee."

Eric and Sookie cracked up.

"How does he know what I'm saying?"

"I don't know – he always seems to, though. So you are getting cheesecake?"

"Yep, I am," She gave them both a big kiss and scurried out of bed, throwing on her pink robe and heading swiftly downstairs.

"Hey, y'all!"

"Well – we didn't expect to see you again tonight," Alicia laughed.

"Yeah, we got to talking about cheesecake and Eric wants to try it and the baby wants more and, truth be told, I could eat some more, too…" Sookie said, being a little silly, just relieved that all was right with her world now. Everyone laughed and Alicia headed to the kitchen to get them a dish of cheesecake and some spoons.

When Sookie came back into the room, Eric was sitting up in bed, snuggling the baby under his chin with his eyes closed, lightly stroking the baby's bare back as he purred in his arms.

"You two look so sweet," Sookie said softly. She sat the dish and spoons on the end of the bed and took her robe off, then picked it up and walked on her knees up to her side of the bed.

"We're glad you are back, my angel," Eric said as he leaned over and kissed her, the baby taking the opportunity to stick his fingers in the cake again, taking a good handful.

"Ack – you little monkey! Hang on a minute," Sookie laughed as the baby giggled and sucked his fingers, getting cheesecake all over his face and dropping bits on 'Dadee's' bare chest.

"Is it that good, my boy?" Eric laughed with him.

"Omba, Dadee!" He was absolutely delighted with himself as he gnawed at the mess in his hand.

Sookie scooped up a spoonful and fed it to Eric. "Mmm – creamy and sweet but tart at the same time. It's quite good. Not worth screaming about though," he laughed and teased the baby.

"Mmmm" the baby hummed as he gummed and licked the creamy goo from his hands and face – sort of.

"Well, he thought it was. I'll have to get a washcloth to clean him up but I might as well wait until we've finished it.

"What are you eating, Alex?" Eric asked him.

The baby blinked at him and held his hand out to show him what he had. Eric laughed and said "Do you know what it is called?"

"Nah." He shook his upper body instead of just his head.

"Cheesecake."

"Deeday!" he repeated, though it was muffled because his mouth and hand were still full.

Sookie just melted and said "Aww," at the same time Eric laughed and said "I guess that's close enough."

Sookie ate a couple of bites. "Want another bite, Sweetie?" She offered Eric a spoonful and he ate it as the baby said "Bi!" and watched intently.

"Tell Mommy you want another bite, Alex." Eric urged him.

"OMba – BI, Mamee!" he looked at Sookie expectantly and she gave him a spoonful of just the creamy part.

Sookie had noticed some bits of cheesecake on Eric's chest and she was trying to be good, but then she just couldn't take it and she licked them off of him. The baby cracked up.

Eric laughed and teased the baby, "what's so funny?"

"Mamee ee Dadee!" the baby laughed, reaching for more cheesecake, but Sookie pulled the plate away and gave him a spoonful instead. Alex yawned, his mouth full of cake and Sookie laughed.

"You need to swallow that, sweetie, so you can go to bed!" Sookie said, finishing the last bite of cake.

"Nah, Mamee, ee."

"No more – see?" She showed him the empty plate, "It's all gone."

"Nah, MAMEE ee!" the baby pointed to Sookie's breast.

"Oh, you want milk now? OK, hang on." Sookie climbed out of the bed and put the empty pie plate on the side table and went to the bathroom for a washcloth, then came back and washed the cheesecake off Alex's little hand and face as Eric held him for her. She dropped the cloth back in the bathroom, then got back into bed and opened her arms to him as she said, "OK, eat!"

The baby went right to her, and she held him to her breast as Eric scooted down and turned on his side to watch them. This was bliss – watching Sookie smile and look in the baby's eyes with such love. There was warmth and love flowing around the whole bed like a gentle whirlwind.

"What are you smiling at, "Dadee?"" Sookie teased him.

"I'm smiling at everything – you, the baby, being here with you both. I'm glad he called me home."

"He called you home?"

"In his own way, absolutely. Was he not calling for me?"

"Yeah, he was, I guess – I just thought of it as you deciding to come home rather than him calling you…"

"Between what I was feeling in the bond, then when I heard him cry for me over the phone, there was no way for me not to come back. I was frantic to get here – Kerik hadn't really even stopped the car when I got out. I would have flown but there were too many people about in the Quarter. Kerik had to go back for Bill because there was work that had to be done."

"I'm sorry – I know there are things you had to do. I should have handled him better."

He stroked her cheek. "Don't be silly, Sookie. You can't "handle" an infant – they feel what they feel. He's too young to understand that I had work to do." He caressed the baby's head, "He only knew he wanted me and I wasn't there. I can't tell you what that meant to me, Sookie, to be so loved and needed. I never expected… I never felt anything so intense. He feels _everything_ so intensely, even more than an adult vampire does. He's so tiny but his feelings are all-encompassing. It's overwhelming sometimes."

"I wonder sometimes…" Sookie started but stopped.

"What is it, Sookie?"

"I wonder if all babies feel so intensely. Sometimes it feels like it's… I don't know, like, bigger than he is, like it's too much for one baby. Something about it feels more than it ought to be."

"He is a vampire, Sookie, so he's bound to be more intense than a human baby."

"Yeah, I guess. Maybe it's just new mommy anxiety, but sometimes something doesn't feel right."

"Do you think there's something wrong with him?"

"Not with him – he's perfect in most ways - but, like, around him. I can't explain it, but something's just not right. I don't know. Maybe that dream just bothered me."

"Did you have this feeling before you had the dream?"

"On the edges, yeah, if that makes any sense. Did you know there's a Tarot card that looks just like I was in my dream? Octavia showed it to me on the computer. Isn't that weird?"

"Not weird, but possibly important. Those images represent powerful archetypes. Is it possible you've seen that picture before?"

"I don't think so. I know of a few people who read cards but I never looked at them or anything. I always avoided stuff like that."

"Sookie, try to be clear about this. Was it a dream or a vision of Freya like the others?"

"A vision, I guess. Freya was definitely there at the beginning and then she spoke to me."

"Did Octavia give you any insight to the dream?"

"No, but I know there's something she's not telling me."

"Why do you think that?"

"Something about the way she got quiet after she showed me the Tarot card, like she was trying to figure something out. I even tried to listen in on her. I only heard her trying to figure out if something was missing, but later she had an idea I missed and she was careful not to think it again. Her thoughts are a lot more disciplined than most people's."

"Do you think she would lie to you?"

"Oh, no, I'm sure she wouldn't, I just think there's something she's not telling me, because she's not sure yet."

"You think she's protecting you?"

"Yeah, at least until she's sure what's going on. She doesn't want me to worry any more than I already am."

"She must think that's best for you right now." Eric had complete confidence in Octavia to do what was best for Sookie.

"Probably, and she might be right, but I'd rather know what's going on."

"She's probably not sure…"

"Eric, I want you to make me a promise."

"What is that?"

"If you find out what's going on, you promise to tell me. I don't want you hiding anything from me. Whatever it is, I can handle it, but I won't be able to handle it if you don't tell me."

"Sookie, you are my bonded. There will be no secrets between us."

"Like being able to hear my thoughts?"

"I was afraid you'd be intimidated or inhibited if you knew – and may I remind you, you did not tell me what you could do. I should punish you for keeping something like that from me."

"Like hell you should! Not when you did the same damned thing!"

"First, don't take that tone with me and don't curse in front of the baby. Second, my not telling you was to give you a sense of privacy. Your not telling me could have put us in danger."

"I don't want you trying to protect me that way. I want to know what's going on. Look, it's three of us against the world, right? The three of us need to know what is going on between us. Not telling me things is not protecting me. Now promise me that you'll tell me everything that's going on from now on."

"Does that include my work as King?"

"Only if it directly impacts us. You don't have to share the grisly details of the vamp politics and war because I know that might get ugly. I'm talking about stuff around us and with the baby. I want to know everything that's going on with our baby."

"Whatever I know, you will know, and I assume the same is true of you?"

"Absolutely. We're a team."

"Why are you so afraid I would keep something from you?"

"It's not about you hearing me and not telling me, I…. I just don't like the feeling that people aren't telling me the whole story."

"By people you mean Niall? Octavia told us he would never tell me the whole story until he had no choice, Sookie."

"Yeah, exactly. When she said that, I had a flash in my mind that whatever it is, he thinks it's for my own good that he's not telling us, but it's not – it's for_ his_ own good. I'm sure of that." She looked down at the baby and whispered, "He's falling asleep."

The baby yawned and stopped feeding and Eric got up and tucked him into the portable crib. He slid back into the bed and took Sookie in his arms, hugging her tightly and kissing her hair. "Whatever is going on, Sookie, we will handle it. We have our son, and he is healthy and strong. That's all that matters. The rest of it is politics and Fae magick and probably won't touch us."

"They didn't know he would be this advanced, Eric. Doesn't that seem strange?"

Eric was smoothing her hair and stroking her face and shoulders. "Yes, but I'm guessing that has to do with our blood exchanges and the bond between us. No one could have guessed how that would work. Even now, we are growing stronger in the bond and we are assuming each other's abilities, and it has only been a few months. Our exchanges may continue for years."

"Humans can be turned by accident, can't they?" Sookie asked as Eric rolled her on her back and moved over her, kissing her neck and upper chest as she ran her nails gently up and down his back.

"It has been known to happen when a relationship lasts for many years and involves blood exchanges over time." He was nipping at her neck hard enough to make her gasp each time he bit.

"You may not even have to turn me – it might happen anyway, th-then." It was getting a little hard to keep her train of thought and she was already spreading her legs.

"It's possible, but I hope not." He looked her directly in the eyes, "I want to turn you."

"You do? Why?" He bit her shoulder, not hard enough to feed, but enough to hurt and possibly leave a hickey. She tried not to cry out and she was writhing now.

"It will be the most erotic experience of our lives." He emphasized the word "erotic" by slipping his fingers into her.

"More erotic than the things we do now?"

"Yes, even more than that. More than you can imagine, my angel. It will be more transcendent and intense than anything you can imagine." He was watching her face closely to see how she responded to his fingers inside her – she was so beautiful as she closed her eyes and threw her head back.

"Was it like that when you turned P-Pam?" He had a hand on each side of her shoulders now, and was nudging her legs up and to the side with his knees, really opening her up.

"Yes, to a degree, but I didn't love Pam the way I love you. That will make it even sweeter. It will be the single greatest moment of my long life." He entered her with force as he said "life" and Sookie cried out softly as he began to take her energetically, not letting her catch her breath. He reached his first release very quickly, then continued to pump at a slightly slower pace. In the back of her mind, Sookie knew he was wild because he was thinking about turning her. She couldn't wrap her mind around why that was such a turn on, but it obviously was because he was fierce in his attentions for a good hour until Sookie started to come really hard and he pushed her even after until he came again.

She was still out of breath when he flipped her over and pulled her hips up in the air, taking her so fast and hard that she tried to hold onto the edge of the mattress, but the sheet slipped off and she started to slide back, so she grabbed the black leather headboard and it broke! Or did it fall open? She wasn't sure but she and Eric were both getting close to another release so she reached back and helped herself along, rubbing her clit as she braced herself on one elbow. They finished almost simultaneously, Eric collapsing on the bed beside her, laughing his ass off that they broke the headboard. Sookie was face down, also laughing, trying to get up on her knees to see if she could fix the headboard. She tried to balance herself by leaning on it but it fell forward and hit Eric in the head, which made both of them laugh harder.

She finally managed to get up and look at it, but was shocked to see something inside it. "Holy shit!"

"Sookie!" Eric laughed, "such language!"

"Eric, look at all this money! And there's a book here, too."

"What?" He pushed up on his knees and looked inside and saw that the inside of the bed was lined with money in plastic bags and there was a ledger taped onto the inside of the back of it with duct tape. "Sookie, this is fantastic!" He pulled all the packets and the book off the backboard and looked briefly to see how this headboard locked shut.

"Wouldn't you have smelled the money, though, Sweetie?"

He had left his pocketknife on the nightstand so he used it to split one of the packets open. "Not when it's in two airtight layers of plastic, and these are brand new bills. These were heat sealed, washed and heat sealed again, probably so Sabrina couldn't smell it if she spent the night with him. I think I hear Bill downstairs. I'm going to go down," he jumped up and put his jeans on, "You can stay in bed if you want, or come with me, either way."

"Uh…" she was trying to think about whether to leave the baby or take him or what, when Eric said, "bring him with us," and threw her a little night gown, then her pink robe.

"We smell like sex, you know…" she reminded him.

"They've smelled it before. This is important." He pulled a Fangtasia t-shirt on. "This is what we were looking for. This ledger has account numbers in it. It's still early enough that Bill and I might be able to track some of this down tonight." He grabbed a big leather tote bag that had Sookie's journal and magazines in it, "I'm using this," and dumped the contents on the bed so he could fill it with the money.

"OK, then – go ahead and we'll be right behind you." She knew he was dying to run downstairs, so she let him go while she took a minute to use the bathroom and clean herself and the room up a little before she put the baby in a sling and went downstairs, too.

By the time she and the sleeping baby got there, he and Bill had the money spread around the dining room table, and everybody who was still up – Bobbie, Bjorn, Jerry and Amelia- was counting the money. Bill was using Sookie's laptop, which she'd left down there earlier, and Eric was on the phone with the offices trying to track down their accountant.

"OK, this one has 50 in it, too." Amelia said.

"Mine, too," said Bobbie.

"Ok, then, that's 30 bundles of fifty $100.00 bills," Bjorn said. "That's $5,000 per bundle, totaling $150,000."

"An escape fund, no doubt," Bill said. "There are four accounts at each of 4 different banks here in New Orleans, which are about $25,000 each. The real money is most likely in these accounts in Switzerland, the Cayman Islands and/or Venezuela."

"Why Venezuela?" Sookie asked.

"The United States has no extradition from Venezuela. It's a good place to stash emergency money." Eric explained, since he was on "hold." "We have funds there, should we ever need them, my angel."

"We do?"

"Yes – I nearly took you there when I was about to become king."

"I'm glad we stayed here," Sookie said.

"So am I, my angel," he winked at her, then someone finally picked up the phone.

"Yes, is Reginald Bartholomew available please? This is Eric Northman. It's a matter of some importance." He talked to the person on the other end and managed to get the man on the phone. He couldn't give account numbers out on the phone, but the man was able to tell him which accounts were likely located where. They made an appointment to meet at the offices at 8 pm the next evening, and a special vampire courier would arrive tonight to pick up the account numbers so he could spend the day tracking down the accounts.

"OK, so what does all this mean?" Sookie asked, "You'll get the funds for the reconstruction back, right?"

"It's possible. We should find a significant chunk of it at least," Bill said.

"When is the courier getting here, Eric?" Bjorn asked, "I'd better let the guards outside know.

"He should be here by 3. It's that service through Anubis Airlines and they know it's for the Kingdom."

"I'll let them know."

"It's 20 after 2 now, Bobbie said, "Should I make some coffee or I think there's sweet tea already made in the kitchen."

"I could use an RM." Bill said.

"So could I, and you might want to be sure there's a bottle ready for Alex – he'll be awake and hungry in a while," Eric added as he dialed the local office.

"I'll help you, Bobbie," Amelia said, "Jerry, you wanted tea, right?"

"Right, thanks. I have to be up early tomorrow."

"What do you have to do tomorrow, Jerry?" Sookie asked, just trying to make conversation since there was nothing else to do.

"Alicia thinks there might be a package arriving tomorrow – something about a crib for the baby. I'll need to go over it if it does."

"Oh, yeah, the co-sleeper. I forgot about that. We're going to leave one here so he's got a familiar place at both houses. What if it doesn't come tomorrow, though? We'll be leaving Tuesday, right?"

"Right. There's staff that cares for the house and such that will watch out for it and it will be here when you come back, your majesty."

"What time are we leaving Tuesday?"

"As soon as the King is up and ready to travel. We're supposed to have everything ready by the time he rises."

Bobbie and Amelia came back with bloods and tea for everyone.

"So, now Sookie, how exactly did you find this stuff? Eric said you found it in the bedroom, but he didn't tell us exactly what happened." Bobbie was teasing her.

"He didn't tell you?"

"No, but judging from the smile on his face, we're pretty sure sex was involved." Amelia laughed.

"I just sort of grabbed the headboard for something to hold onto and it came open."

"Grabbed the headboard, huh?" Bobbie repeated as she and Amelia were laughing and Bjorn and Jerry were trying not to.

"Yeah, we thought we broke it, but it turned out it was made that way."

"Leave it to Sookie to be having sex with a Norse god and find a fortune in the bed while she's doing it," Amelia laughed.

Bill was less than thrilled about that description but he said nothing. You'd think by now he'd be used to women fawning over Eric.

"It was pretty funny. We both cracked up, especially when I tried to get up to fix it and I hit Eric in the head."

"You hit him in the head?" Bobbie asked.

"I was trying to balance on it to get up to it and see if I could fix it and it fell open and hit him in the head – not hard or anything. We laughed about it."

"I don't know, Sookie, you might be a danger to the king…" Bjorn teased her.

"You won't hear him complaining…" Sookie said with attitude.

"No, indeed," Eric said as he finished his call, "this King has no complaints of any kind about his lovely Queen." He bent and kissed her on the forehead then sat next to her. "I tell you gentleman, that was the most profitable lay of my long life," he laughed. "The whole kingdom might benefit from Sookie's… exuberance."

"Your exuberance is more like it – I was just trying to hang on!" She laughed and everyone else laughed with her. Eric was loving the jealousy rolling off of the men - and the women- in the room, though they all tried to hide it. This was another one of those nights when it was very, very good to be Eric Northman.

The courier came and got the account numbers to deliver to the accountant and everyone began to disperse for the night, Jerry going upstairs with Amelia. By the time they were settled back in their room, Sookie was falling asleep and the baby woke up hungry. Eric took him out to the sitting area and gave him the bottle of RM that he had brought upstairs with him.

Bill came up about an hour later and joined Eric as he rocked the baby.

"Find anything else, Bill?"

"Yes, I did. I was able to identify at least one off shore bank and I found out that there are accounts with our primary bank that are getting automatic deposits from the main account. That skunk actually set up an account that skimmed 20 percent off the top of everything that came in, and made regular withdrawals from it."

"How could he set something like that up? Don't these banks have rules against things like that?" He put the baby up to his shoulder and the baby watched the conversation between the two men quietly, playing with Eric's necklace.

"He got hold of the authorization codes, somehow. Only Felipe should have been able to set that up," Bill was sure of that.

"I guarantee Felipe didn't know about it. That's traceable – if he were going to steal from the Council that way, he'd hide it, especially since they were behind in their tribute. I wonder if Madden set that up to make Felipe look guilty?"

"It would have been in Madden's favor to have the Council get rid of Felipe. That's much neater than pulling off a coup."

"True." Eric laughed, "It would be ironic if he set Felipe up only to get swept away along with him. It probably never occurred to the egomaniac that nobody would want him as regent."

"Nobody is right, from what I'm hearing. People in the office are beginning to loosen up around me and you wouldn't believe the stories I'm hearing about Madden. As bad as Felipe was, he was much preferable to Victor. They told me people here were living in dread of Madden ousting Felipe. I've been going over the reports from the sheriffs in these territories, too, and I think Sabrina picked up that double tribute idea from Madden. He was charging the Sheriffs double."

"He never charged me double…"

"He knew you would either kill him or turn him in. The others were all afraid of him. Yours was the only area that didn't have their tribute doubled and I'm convinced it was because he was afraid of you looking further into his finances."

"Oh, yes, I'd have gone straight to Felipe to question a change like that and that might have triggered an audit of the entire Kingdom."

"I think Madden was planning to get rid of you just before he took Felipe out, but you beat him to it and there were larger forces that chose you over him."

"Let's just hope those larger forces stay happy with me. I'm hoping Sookie and the baby go along way toward keeping me on their good side."

"Speaking of Sookie, I think you should have her go into the office with you tomorrow night. The girls have all been asking to meet the new Queen, and I'm pretty sure some of them have gifts for the baby."

"I'll have to take the baby with me anyway, so I might as well. I'm not leaving him again while he's this small. I'll leave Sookie a note and have her get ready to go with me. I should have taken her in before now, but there has been too much going on."

"They'll probably have a few things for her to sign and approve as well. When you come back, she'll need to go in regularly, a couple of times a week at least."

"Alright, that's fine. I've been giving her space to adjust to the baby, but they seem to be finding their rhythm with each other. She's a little overwhelmed but it could be much worse," he laughed.

"I hear he acted up a little tonight, but he's generally very well-behaved. Any time you have had him out in public he has been very charming." Even Bill had to admit that Alex was a sweet baby, and he was too cute to dislike.

"Yes, he makes me very proud. Even tonight, he cried because I wasn't there. He's a very good boy, aren't you, Alex?"

"Omba, Dadee," he agreed.

"And on that note, I'll say good day."

"Good day to you, too, Bill. Say "bye-bye" Alex."

"Ba-ba, Bee." Alex waved at Bill who laughed and went to bed. There was just no way not to love that child, even if he was Eric's.

Eric rocked the baby a bit longer and he became sleepy as dawn approached. He tucked him into the bed next to Sookie with a pillow at the side of the bed and he kissed them both good night. He went to rest thinking about the fact that his son had cried for him when he was gone, and the love he felt was stunning. He thanked Freya for her blessings to his family as he dozed off, and this time he felt the kiss on his cheek as he slipped away.


	74. Chapter 74

**[ A/N: Hey, Y'all – some of the stuff on Weres in this chapter might not strictly adhere to canon but it's the way it's going to be for our purposes here. I'm writing as fast as I can, but I'm not well – thanks for your patience."**

**Chapter 74**

"Uh-oh!"

CRASH.

Sookie's eyes flew open just knowing the baby did something outrageous. She caught him just as he was headed off the side of the bed.

"Alex, what are you doing?" she cried out as she pulled him to her. She took a minute but her eyes didn't adjust to the darkness, and when she reached for the lamp on Eric's side of the bed nothing was there. The entire top of the nightstand was empty.

Sookie heard someone running up the steps and then Alicia was at the door, knocking. "Sookie - are you alright, dear?"

"Hey, Alicia, can you hit the lights so I can see what's going on?"

Alicia opened the door and hit the switch for the overhead light, which made Sookie cringe, but now they could see the mess on the floor. The lamp, along with the alarm clock and everything Eric had left on the nightstand, was in pieces on the floor with Eric's pillow on top of them.

"What the…" Sookie couldn't make sense of it all.

"It looks like the pillow knocked everything over. The lamp is broken, so you stay in bed until I get it cleaned up – I don't want you getting cut. Is the baby alright?"

Sookie looked him over quickly as he sat with his back against her belly. "He seems fine, but I caught him heading for the edge of the bed. Alex, did you knock that stuff over?"

He pointed and said, "Uh oh!"

"I'll take that as a yes." Sookie said as she plopped back on her back. "You say the lamp is broken? Any other damage?"

"I don't think so – Mr. Northman's wallet is here, and there's a knife that doesn't seem any worse for wear and there are some papers and the clock seems fine – looks like the lamp is the only casualty," Alicia laughed.

"I guess we need to start thinking about baby-proofing?" Sookie wasn't really awake enough to deal with this yet, but she knew that this was part of being a mommy – at least she didn't have to sweep up the pieces. "Do they make lamps out of rubber?" Sookie was only half kidding.

"With a baby this precocious, it might be time to start thinking strategically." Alicia agreed. "Today is Monday, so we can go shopping for a new lamp if you want, or we can just move one from one of the other rooms and deal with it later."

"Let's just take one from one of the other rooms. I'm going to have this room re-done anyway, so there's no sense in spending money on something I'll just replace in a month."

"Speaking of redecorating, I talked to Ms. Antoine-de Broux and she said she could see you today or tomorrow if you wanted her to get started on some ideas. She said you can do a lot of your communications over the Internet and she can upload sketches then messenger any swatches that need your approval. I got the impression she was very anxious to work for Mr. Northman again. Did you want to work on that today?"

"We're leaving tomorrow night, right? Did Eric leave me a note?"

"I think so – let me see." Alicia straightened up and threw some pieces of lamp into the wastebasket beside the bed, and walked around to retrieve the note on the side table, handing it to Sookie.

"Want me to open the curtains so you can see?"

"No, thanks, the overhead light is enough," she said as she snuggled the baby and tore the note open.

_My lovely wife, Sookie~_

_You look very sweet lying there as I write this. Alex and I are very lucky to have you in our lives. _

_I'd like you and the baby to be ready to go in to the offices with Bill and me after dinner tonight. Some of the girls have been asking to meet you and they probably have some paperwork for you to do. You'll want Alicia to come, too, so she can meet your liaison and help you with any gifts they might have for the baby. When we come back to stay a while, you'll be going in regularly, so you can pick out your little office there and see if there are other changes you'd like. _

_Alicia has the decorator's number and she'll see when she is available to you. Have fun today and enjoy the baby. I love you both more than you can imagine._

_Your loving husband, _

_Eric_

"My only instructions are to be ready to go in to the office after dinner and he wants you and the baby there, too. I think he expects me to remodel an office there, or something. We'll meet my liaison and see what's going on, I guess. So, you said the decorator is available today? Did she give you a time?"

"I told her I'd ask you if one o'clock was convenient."

"OK, let's do that, then and if we get done early enough I can spend some time in the pool. Hey, did you happen to bring those catalogs of furniture and artwork for the Las Vegas residence?"

"Yes, I did – I have all your business papers in a suitcase downstairs."

"Awesome – I want to bring some of the furniture from there to this house. I was thinking the red velvet furniture might be nice in the living room. It might be a little bordello, but I kind of like that," Sookie laughed. "It is New Orleans, after all. There was a really big bed there in the master suite I thought about using here, too, and I thought I'd let her look through it and see if she has any ideas for any of the rest of the art and stuff."

"That's a wonderful idea! There's a lot to choose from and a decorator will go wild to see all those amazing art pieces."

"Cool. I love the way she did the downstairs in the Shreveport house. I'd be very happy to have this place full of dark cherry furniture and velvet," she laughed.

"She did do a marvelous job there – did you give her any input on that?"

"No – according to Margaret, Eric hired her when we started dating and he told her that he met his Scarlett O'Hara and wanted the house to be a Southern girl's dream."

"Oh, that's so sweet."

"Yeah, and she ran with that and did a perfect job. I can't wait to see what she thinks of this place."

"Alright, I'm going to change the baby's diaper, call her to confirm the one o'clock meeting then get the sweeper to make sure I've got all the glass up. You can sleep a bit longer if you want, and I'll wake you at 11 so you'll have time to shower and eat before she gets here. Come here, Baby E, let's get you a fresh nappy."

While Alicia had the baby in the bathroom, Sookie looked around. If she put him in the crib he was likely to teleport into the bed anyway. How was she going to keep him from falling off the bed?

"Here we are, he's all fresh now." Alicia brought him back and headed downstairs for the sweeper.

Sookie scooped the baby up and sat him on her tummy as she lay on her back. She was using his little arms to sort of have him do the Twist as she sang "let's Twist again, like we did last summer, let's Twist again, like we did last year", and he was cracking up. She pulled him forward so she could give him a kiss and a little tickle.

"Happy birthday, Pookie! Did you know you're one week old today? Yes, you are!" She snuggled him and tickled him again."So what are we going to do with you, Sweetie Pie? I can't let you fall off the bed and you won't stay put if I put you in the crib."

"Ee, Mamee," he giggled.

"OK, eat." She pulled the covers down so he could reach her and he hummed happily as he gorged on milk and blood. Sookie ran her nails gently up and down his little back, making him giggle as he tried to feed.

Alicia came back and looked in the door. "Are you under the covers, dear?"

"Yep, why?" She asked as she continued to scratch the baby's back gently and tease him a little.

"Bjorn's coming in with a surprise for you."

"He is?"

Bjorn came in carrying the little co-sleeper that had been delivered about an hour ago and which he had assembled for her. "Good morning, your majesty – you've been waiting for this?" He gave her a dazzling smile, so pleased with himself for putting it together for her.

"Oh, that's so cool! Thanks, you all!"

"I just ordered it," Alicia said, "Bjorn gets the credit for putting it together. We thought it might keep your little buddy from throwing any more pillows and trying to dive off the side of the bed."

"That's exactly what we need!" She was tickled to death as Bjorn came around to her side of the bed and moved the portable crib so he could attach the new co-sleeper and adjust its height. "Lookie, Alex, what Bjorn's got – a little bed for you just like the one at home! Mommy won't have to worry about you there! You won't be able to get hurt and you'll be right here with me! Isn't that cool?!"

"doo!' Alex said, then went back to suckling.

"Did he just try to say "cool?"" Alicia asked, laughing.

"Yeah, I think he did," Sookie laughed.

"Hey, Alex – don't talk with your mouth full!" Bjorn teased him. The baby didn't understand him, but he giggled anyway because Bjorn made a funny face at him.

Alicia started the sweeper and it startled Alex, who shot forward and shrieked, throwing his arms around Sookie's neck then hissing at the sweeper, his fangs down.

"Shh, Alex, it's OK, that's just the sweeper! It's OK – see, look, Alicia's just pushing it back and forth. It just cleans the floor. It won't hurt you. Mommy's got you, darlin', it's OK." She was petting him and talking to him, not really aware that she was flashing Bjorn because the baby kicked the covers back almost to her waist. Bjorn was trying furiously to finish with the co-sleeper and not to look up, no matter how full and luscious those breasts were, and man, were they. The baby started to calm down and Sookie realized she was exposed, quickly pulling the sheet up and blushing right down to her toenails. She was afraid to look to the side at Bjorn and Bjorn was afraid to look up or move, though he was sure she had covered herself. Alicia was oblivious to everything but the sweeper.

"Ah, Bohrd" The baby waved at Bjorn and he looked up, then he and Sookie both laughed.

"Are you saying 'hi' to Bjorn, Pookie?"

"Omba, Mamee, Bohrd." He pointed at him.

"Hi, Alex." Bjorn said as he stood up and he tickled Alex's ear, which sent the baby into a fit of giggles, so he did it again. Alex reached toward Bjorn and opened and closed his little hand.

"I think that means "come here"" Sookie told him as she helped the baby sit up and he reached for Bjorn with both arms, making the same gesture with his hands.

Bjorn reached back and the baby leaned toward him, obviously wanting to be picked up, so he picked him up and brought him up to his chest. "Hey, Alex!"

"Ay, Bohrd!" Alex leaned forward and hugged him.

"Aww, isn't that sweet!" Alicia said as she finished with the sweeper.

"He likes you, Bjorn." Sookie was delighted.

The baby leaned back and looked at Bjorn, then threw his arm up and said "VBEE!"

"Víg, Alex!"

"VBEE!" the baby yelled back and giggled like crazy.

"You going to be a warrior like your Daddy, Alex?" Bjorn teased him.

"Dadee seep," Alex said and pointed to the coffin in the corner.

"Yeah, Daddy's asleep. You should go back to sleep for a while."

"Nah." He shook his whole upper body.

"Yeah, you and Mommy should sleep a bit longer. You can try out your little bed! Let's see…" he took him over to the portable crib and took the blanket out of it. "Here's your blanket, and we'll tuck you in right next to Mommy, see?" He put him in the little bed next to Sookie and he made his "Haaaa!" sound.

"You like your new bed, Pookie?" Sookie shook his little hand to get his attention.

"Omba, Mamee!" He giggled and turned on his side toward Sookie as Bjorn tucked the little blanket in around him.

"Thank you, Bjorn," Sookie was pleased the way he was being sweet with the baby.

"Day-oo, Borhd!" The baby tried to repeat what Sookie said and Bjorn cracked up as he folded up the portable crib and took a seat at the side table. The baby was already asleep by the time Bjorn sat down.

"You gonna watch us sleep, Bjorn? It's really not necessary…" Sookie tried but Bjorn wasn't having it.

"Eric asked me if I've been watching you two in the daytime and I had to tell him I haven't been while you're up here. He said he wants me in here with you two, especially since the baby is becoming more mobile."

"I'm sorry," she whispered

"Nothing to be sorry about," he said softly. "Roll over and sleep a while. Bobbie will come keep me company when she gets up."

"OK, cool. I don't feel so bad if I know you've got good company." Sookie settled down and rested her hand on the baby's side, falling asleep almost immediately.

Bjorn smiled to himself – Sookie and the baby were just alike in that respect. Either one of them could fall asleep instantly and sleep through almost anything. He almost wondered if that was one of the things the baby inherited from Sookie. He got Eric's taste for blood, of course, but he had Sookie's ability to sleep when he wanted and go out in the sun, plus he had her telepathy. He also knew that there were some powers that might be coming from Sookie or the baby or both, and it would be interesting to see who could do what as the baby grew up. Sookie, too, he laughed to himself.

He always thought of Sookie as a little girl, Goddess or not. She was so sweet and innocent, in spite of her extreme sexuality, that he just couldn't see her as "Mommy" in his mind – not that he had any real experience with what a real Mommy is like. He'd hardly call the people he grew up with "parental." There was certainly no affection in the home.

He'd never admit it out loud but he enjoyed watching Sookie and the baby sleep, because the second he woke up she had him in her arms, kissing him, feeding him, looking at him that way she did, like he was the most precious thing in the world. Maybe that is what a real Mommy is like? Somebody who would do anything for you – feed you, keep you safe, worry about you, play with you and make you giggle?

Bjorn couldn't remember ever laughing as a child. As a teenager, yes, but not when he was small. There just wasn't anything fun or funny in his world then. Alex would never know what that was like – he giggled all the time, and who could blame him? Sookie was beautiful and sweet and even when she was feeling overwhelmed or unsure of herself, she was never unsure of her love for that baby. Bjorn often admitted to being jealous of Eric but he was even more jealous of Alex.

If he could have himself made an infant again and have THAT Mommy raise him – he'd do anything for a chance at that. He had already made up his mind that he would make sure that Alex never took Sookie for granted. He wanted him to grow up knowing how lucky he was to have the parents that he had. He knew Eric would be strict with the boy for his own good, but he would still dote on him and Sookie was never going to be anything for that child but a source of pure, unconditional love. Bjorn wondered what it would feel like to be that small and have waves of Sookie's love just wash over you that way. To have that smile be the first thing you see in the morning and the last thing at night, and to know that it was always going to be there for you, no matter what. Sookie was even considering being turned so she could be there for the baby after he was grown.

Bjorn would also never admit that if he'd met Sookie first, he'd actually have considered having kids of his own. He never wanted that before, but watching Eric and Sookie with Alex made him wonder if he'd be a good father. He always thought the answer was a resounding 'no' but Alex liked him and that was definitely unexpected. He always thought babies knew whether a person was good or not. That baby in particular should know if you're a good person or not, and he definitely liked Bjorn.

If Bjorn wanted to have kids, he'd have to do it soon if he was going to stay with Bobbie, and he had no plans of going anywhere else. He was quite content with Bobbie in every way, and that was a surprise, too. He couldn't believe Bill let her go without a fight. Bjorn would definitely have fought for her. He honestly never felt this way about a woman before and that was not an easy thing for him to admit. Until Bobbie, women were just sex to Bjorn. He didn't care what they thought and he didn't tolerate anything that even remotely resembled a relationship. He might see a girl every night for a month, but that was just 30 one-night stands strung together. He didn't make commitments and he didn't allow anyone to put their expectations on him.

The irony was that he wouldn't mind if Bobbie pushed for a commitment, but she wasn't really the type to do that. She still didn't get that Bjorn had actual feelings for her. She expected him to get tired of her any day now and start blowing her off but he wasn't going to do that. He was in this job for the long haul and so was she, and that suited him fine. It was even his idea that they should share a room here and elsewhere and that had shocked Bobbie. He wanted to tell Bobbie how he felt, but he had never opened up to anyone that way before and to be honest, it was terrifying. Eric had told him to leave no doubt, but Bobbie sort of came with the doubt built into her own mind and he didn't know how to get through her defenses to let her know he really did care. He wondered what she'd do if he showed up with an engagement ring…?

"Engagement ring?!" Sookie was awake. Damn.

"What did you hear?" Bjorn was scared to death that Sookie had been listening to his entire train of thought.

"Are you really thinking about that – with Bobbie?!"

"I'm just thinking, Sookie, don't say anything to anyone. I was just thinking that might be a way to convince her that I'm not going anywhere."

"Wow – she'd be floored!"

"Would she be upset, though, or would she trust it?"

Sookie looked toward the hallway. "Make sure the door is shut then bring your chair closer to the bed."

Bjorn closed the door then brought the side chair right next to Alex's crib.

Sookie pulled the sheet tightly up to her chest and leaned toward Bjorn so she could speak softly. "OK, now listen. She'd love it, but she might be afraid to admit it. She doesn't expect a commitment from a guy so she sort of keeps them at a distance in the first place. She's as scared of being rejected as you are. Neither one of you ever completely opened up to another person, so just keep that in mind and give her the same kind of room you need yourself."

"She never has, either?"

"Not since she was really young and she got hurt really badly. She would have opened up to Bill, but he just sort of reinforced her lack of self-esteem, which is a shame because none of that had to do with her – it was all him."

"I'm not good at this stuff – the emotional stuff. I never cared about anyone before."

"Never?"

"Never."

"Not anyone?"

"Not anyone. The closest I've ever been to anyone would be in combat, you develop war buddies, but as far as girls go, I never really had feelings for a girl before, and I didn't let girls get attached to me."

"Not even in high school?"

"I was emancipated at 16 and joined the Navy at 17 and that's where I got my GED and took some college courses. I never had to work at getting a girl, and when I did I had no problem cutting them off."

"Wow – how come all of a sudden you're open to it?"

"I don't know – part of it might be meeting you and Eric, seeing what it can be like when two people love each other, and a big part of it is Bobbie. She's soft and sexy and fun. I never had fun with anyone the way I have fun with her."

"That's what Eric says about me."

"Yeah, I know. I've been talking to him a lot about stuff I never talked to anyone about before. He knows so much about everything, and I value his opinion. He's a great warrior but he's a great lover, too. I never thought a person could be both."

"Eric is definitely good at opening up new horizons for people," she laughed. "I never even dreamed of some of the stuff I've learned from him, and I'm not just talking about sex. I learn all kinds of things from him."

"He's a smart man, and I don't say that about many people. He's been everywhere and done everything. Some of the stories he tells are amazing."

"Yeah, I know exactly what you mean. If I were you, I'd keep talking to him. Tell him what you just told me, and get his perspective on it. He'll help you figure out what to do. He's gone through some huge changes over the years. He used to be very different than he is now – so different that I can't even imagine it, but I know he's telling me the truth. He used to be a lot "darker" than he is now, is the way he describes it. Maybe that's what's going on with you – you just aren't as dark or detached as you used to be."

Bjorn considered this and nodded. "Yeah, maybe. I'm not getting soft, though…"

"No, you're just growing, you know? Like, extending who you are to include this, too."

"Yeah, that makes sense. I don't have to be one way or the other, I can be both."

"Right."

"Knock, knock?" Bobbie looked in the door.

"Hey, Bobbie," Sookie gave her a big smile.

"Hey, Sookie. Alicia said you might want to consider getting up now so you have time to shower and eat."

"Yeah, it is about that time, isn't it? Can you throw me my robe?"

Bobbie picked up the pink robe Sookie pointed at and threw it to her. "You want to take the baby in the shower with you?"

"Yeah, I probably should." She looked at the baby, who was awake, sucking his thumb and watching Sookie with big eyes. "You want to take a shower with Mommy, Pookie?"

"Omba!" he giggled and then stuck his thumb back in his mouth. Sookie handed him over to Bobbie and then slipped her robe on while Bjorn turned his back.

"Ah, Babee!"

"Hi, Alex!" Bobbie hugged him and gave him a big kiss on the cheek. "Happy one week birthday! Are you having a good morning?"

"Omba!" Alex giggled as Bobbie hugged and tickled him.

Sookie was in the shower quickly and washed her hair while Bobbie got the baby out of his diaper.

"You going to take a shower with Mommy, Alex?"

"Sthowa?" He was trying to say the word but he didn't know what it meant yet.

"Yep, shower. He's ready when you are, Sookie."

"OK, here – c'mon, Alex, let's take a shower!"

Alex went to Sookie eagerly and giggled when she took him under the water. She washed him off quickly and washed his hair gently. Alex was smiling and closing his eyes, and at one point made his "haaaa!" noise.

"He must be loving that – I heard his happy noise," Bobbie laughed.

"Yeah, he loves the water. Don't you love the water, Pookie? Huh?

"Wada."

"Yep, water – Alex loves the water. Pookie likes to take a shower. Pookie likes the shower." Sookie was saying it a little differently each time in a sing-song way and the baby was trying to say "water" and "shower" in the cutest ways, holding his hands up to feel it run through his fingers and closing his eyes when she'd pass him under the gentle spray.

"Awek uf a wada!"

"Yeah, Alex loves the water! Are you ready for him, Bobbie?"

"Yep, got his fluffy towel all ready for him!"

Sookie handed Bobbie the baby and she wrapped him in a towel then handed one back to Sookie. Both women were cooing and kidding around with the baby and he was loving the attention. Bobbie rubbed baby lotion all over him and he made his happy sound again when when she used a huge powder puff to fluff powder all over him.

"Wow – big puff!" Sookie said.

"Yeah, I got one for myself the other day when I went shopping and it occurred to me that Alex might get a kick out of being fluffed. I figured you might want to use one occasionally, too," Bobbie laughed, "so I bought three of them."

"Oh, that was sweet! Thank you!"

"Day-oo!" the baby repeated, making both of them laugh.

"That seems to be his new word for the day – he said it to Bjorn earlier, too," Sookie told her as she combed out her wet hair.

Bobbie took the freshly diapered baby out and laid him on his back on the bed, which Alicia had already made, and took Sookie's pink sleeveless nursing dress dress and undies for the day back into the bathroom for her. As soon as she laid him down, Alex flipped over on his tummy and pushed up on all fours facing Bjorn.

"Ah, Borhd!"

Bjorn cracked up and leaned forward in his chair, looking the baby right in the eyes. "Hi, Alex. Did you have a nice shower?"

"Omba, sthowa!" He giggled and reached for Bjorn with one hand, opening and closing his fist in his "come here" motion.

Bjorn picked him up and sat back down with him, holding him up so they could talk face to face. "Mommy must have given you a good shower – you smell a lot better." Bjorn teased him. The baby didn't understand him, of course, but he heard the reference to Sookie so he pointed to the bathroom and said "Mamee wada."

"Yeah, Mommy was in the water and now she's getting dressed then we'll all go downstairs and have lunch," Bjorn explained to him. The baby was hanging on his every word, watching him with big eyes.

Bobbie and Sookie came out of the bathroom, and Sookie slapped on a little makeup while Bobbie packed up the diaper bag to take downstairs with them.

"Are we ready to go down, ladies?" Bjorn said, standing with the baby still his arms, the baby with his little arm around his shoulder.

"Yep, we are," Sookie said, tickling the baby as Bjorn held him. "Are you ready, Pookie?"

"Omba!" He nodded with his whole body.

Everyone laughed as they headed downstairs. Alicia made BLT's for lunch and had the table all set. Bjorn was getting the baby settled into his high chair and sat beside him, with Sookie on the other side of the baby. Bobbie went over to the pool table to get some of the little teethers for the baby to play with on the highchair tray.

"Hmm – I don't know if my skin can take bacon right now…" Bobbie said.

"This is a new kind of natural bacon – no sodium nitrite," Alicia explained.

"Oh – cool, I can eat that then!"

"Bacon is bad for your skin?" Sookie asked.

"Any kind of cured meat that contains sodium nitrite – bacon, hotdogs, lunchmeat of most kinds – it can cause cystic acne in a lot of people. One of the reasons some kids have so much trouble with their complexions is that foods they eat tend to have it in them. Pizza can be the worst if it has pepperoni on it."

"Why do they put it in the meat then?"

"It's a preservative, and in some cases the government requires it, but it's horrible if you've got bad skin, plus it's a carcinogen."

"A what?"

"A carcinogen – it causes cancer."

"Ugh!"

"Exactly."

"I never heard about that and skin though – I always heard chocolate was bad, but I never heard anything about meat products."

"Even most doctors don't know the connection. It can take up to two weeks for it to affect your skin and most people never figure it out. Not to mention the fact that a lot of doctors, pharmaceutical, and cosmetic companies make millions of dollars selling people cures for acne. All that profit goes away if people learn how to eat. "

"Damn – you know, sometimes it feels as if everything is a conspiracy."

"A lot of things in our culture are – there are overlapping agendas, some ancient, some new, that are used to control people and direct money upward in the social strata. When you get down to it, it's all about money."

"Even the religious, patriarchal stuff?"

"Especially that. Do you know how much money the Catholic Church rakes in every year? And some of these televangelists?"

"Yeah – a friend of mine went to Mexico once and she told me she went into a church there one time where the walls were literally painted with gold, but there were women outside pinching their babies to make them cry so people would give them money."

"Right. Jesus is called "the Prince of Peace," right? So why do so many avid Christians support the wars in the Middle East? Or oppose abortion while they support war or the death penalty? Why do they oppose welfare and universal health care and other social programs when Jesus said give everything you have to the poor, yet they have no problem increasing our already bloated defense budget, where money literally disappears in the billions and no one is accountable?"

"OK, you're losing me, and I want to understand this. Isn't there a lot of waste and fraud in social programs?"

"OK, picture a hundred pennies on the table here. They represent one tax dollar, right? Now, take 96 of those pennies and put them to the side – that's our defense budget. We spend more on defense than all the other countries combined. Now, take one penny, and say I have some cutters that can cut it into slivers, so I cut out a sliver that is less than one tenth of that penny. That sliver represents all the money we spend on any kind of social program – health care, Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, you name it."

"So little?"

"So little – and they are constantly wanting to reduce that spending. Now, back to the 96 cents – they tried to do an audit of the Pentagon's budget and there were literally BILLIONS unaccounted for that just disappeared into some black hole somewhere."

"And they're not spending it on the soldiers, either," Bjorn said. "They send men into war without proper armor or equipment, they pay them shit and make them do tour after tour, they avoid paying to care for the wounded ones, then they turn around and pay mercenaries ten times what a soldier makes, and those guys have no limits on them."

"Mercenaries are paid soldiers, right?"

"But they work for private contractors who get big no-bid contracts from the government and they aren't responsible to any civilian or military law in any country. The biggest one is run by a guy who is running his own modern version of the Crusades – he thinks it's his mission to rid the world of the Islamic religion."

"You could make a lot of money working for a company like that, couldn't you, Bjorn?"

"I could, but I want nothing to do with them. I'd rather work for a vampire king than some religious zealot. There's always a weird undercurrent of sexual perversion and homoerotic sadism in those far-right groups. There's a line where sex stops being twisted and intense and starts being just plain sick. They're firmly into the sick territory."

"Well, what's sick, exactly?" Sookie was dying to ask a ton of sex questions but she didn't know how far she should take it.

"This idea that they're holier than everyone else, but they're swapping wives and paying underage prostitutes a dollar a blow-job. I'm into a good orgy every now and then but not with repressed Jesus freaks who think they can do anything they want because they're "chosen.""

"But like, multiple partners…"

"Nothing wrong with consenting adults doing whatever they want in whatever configuration they want, but that's just sex. It's the war crimes and the child prostitutes and stuff like that that gets so sick and I don't want to be around it."

Bobbie and Sookie looked at each other and Bobbie thought right at her, sending a picture of the big round bed in the basement at Fangtasia and Sookie cracked up. Bjorn looked at the two of them. "OK, you two, what was that about?" He was pretty sure he knew but he was going to bust on them anyway.

"We just both had a picture of that big round bed at Fangtasia…" Bobbie said as matter-of-factly as she could, but then she giggled and Sookie hadn't stopped.

"You know about that?" Bjorn asked Bobbie.

"Oh, yeah, I've seen it."

"You have? Have you…."

"No, haven't had the pleasure yet, but I'd love to. Sookie likes it, right, Sookie?"

"The few times I've been there, yeah. I think I still have a lot to learn, though."

Bjorn just closed his eyes and shook his head. He was SO trying not to picture Bobbie and Sookie on a big round bed. He was glad Eric was asleep right now because he'd know in a flash Bjorn was turned on. He was praying again that he wouldn't need to stand up, but Alicia came out with the BLT's and a pitcher of sweet tea and that provided a change of subject.

Everybody took sandwiches from the tray, which were cut in half and held together with toothpicks topped with bright colored ruffles of cellophane.

"These look great, Alicia!"

"Thanks – you've only got about 40 minutes before the decorator will be here, so eat up."

"Ee, Mamee."

Sookie hesitated, not knowing what to do, when Alicia suggested, "I'll get him a bottle of RM."

"OK, that's good. Alicia's going to get a bottle for you, OK, sweetie?"

"Ee!" he pointed at the sandwiches.

"You can't eat this, sweetie, you don't have any teeth. Just hang on and Alicia will be right back, OK?"

"Oday."

"Alex, what is this?" Bjorn held up the fish-shaped teether.

"Pish!" he giggled and reached for it, putting it right in his mouth. Bjorn teased him with it, pulling it out of his mouth and he'd put it right back in, giggling like crazy. He played with him several minutes, letting Sookie eat her sandwich, knowing he could always eat in the kitchen if the decorator got there before he finished eating. Sookie knew he was distracting the baby for her so she dug into the sandwich, watching the two of them play. They were so sweet together. She noticed Bobbie watching them, too and could see Bobbie being a little misty about it.

"Hey, where are Amelia and Octavia today?" Sookie asked.

"They had things to do at Amelia's house apparently," Bobbie told her.

"Oh, OK."

Sookie actually ate a sandwich and a half, Bjorn assuring her he would eat the other half as well as the sandwich he already had and probably another one, too, as he stood and took the platter and his plate into the kitchen. Alicia had the dining room table completely clear and was going through the catalog of furnishings from Las Vegas with Bobbie and Sookie when Kerik brought the decorator in.

She was a tall, elegant woman who reminded Sookie of Jackie Kennedy or a young Roslyn Carter, with a short dark bob with bangs and pale porcelain skin. "Mrs. Northman? I'm so pleased to meet you. I'm Giselle Antoine-de Broux."

"I'm so pleased to meet you! Please, call me Sookie, and this is my assistant, Alicia, and my doula, Bobbie and this is little Alex."

Everyone said hello and Giselle asked about the catalog. "What's this?"

"First, I just want to say that I love what you did in our Shreveport house. It's really perfect. I wanted you to look through this catalog because there's a lot of furniture and art work that we already own that might be usable in this house. I really like these red velvet couches and chairs, for example. We don't have to use this stuff, but we're going to sell the large residence that it's in, so what we don't use, we'll probably sell."

"Oh, my – well, there are some marvelous pieces here! I've been doing a few sketches since I spoke to Alicia this morning, and I can see several pieces here that go with the ideas I was working on just perfectly."

"You were doing sketches without seeing the house?"

"Oh, no, honey, I know this house well. It's a landmark, you know, and there are photos available online even if I hadn't been in it before. I was beside myself when I heard that Mr. Northman owns it now. He's such a kind, generous man, and working for him was just wonderful. It's nice to meet his "Scarlett O'Hara" in person!"

"Oh, thank you. I couldn't believe he told you that!"

"Oh, I could. I almost knew what you'd look like, he described you so well. He said you were a petite blonde with lots of spirit and that you had good taste, but weren't used to having money, so he wanted me to give you the finest of everything."

"Well, I guess that's pretty accurate. I mean, I know what I like and what I don't, but I don't really know a lot about what is available or possible. I don't want to change the character of the house too much – I like the traditional stuff as opposed to anything too modern – but I want it to feel more like it's mine, you know?"

"I know exactly what you mean. If you haven't changed it yet, some of the rooms look a little like they belong in a museum instead of a home."

"Right. And, we'll need to use some of the rooms a little differently. I'd like to use this main room more for hanging out and turn the den into offices for Eric and myself. And I want you to completely re-do our bedroom. It's kind of blah, right now. I want a much bigger bed – there's one in here that might work – and I want it to be cozier. The bathroom needs to be state of the art, too, with a bigger tub and the closet needs serious work to make room for our clothes."

"Are you using the master bedroom down here?"

"No, Eric doesn't feel it's secure enough and we also want to be on the same floor as the nursery."

"That makes sense. What kind of colors do you like?"

"I like strong colors – jewel tones, like purple and deep blue, bright blues or especially pink like you used in our other house. I'm not crazy about earth tones or greens. I know the red velvet furniture might be a little bordello, but I just love it – it's so soft and I know the pieces have to be well made or the previous owner of the house wouldn't have had them. I want things to be comfortable AND pretty."

"We can handle that. Did Mr. Northman give you a budget?"

"No, he said just get exactly what I want and don't worry about the cost. He wants me to love it here – though I already do!"

"Which room do you want me to do first?"

"The bedroom – it just doesn't feel right. I want it to be a really special place where Eric and I can escape, you know?"

"Yes, I do – I remember Mr. Northman being very tall and very… uh…"

"Gorgeous is how I describe him," Sookie laughed.

"Exactly," she laughed.

"Right, well, my favorite time of day is when Eric, the baby and I go up to our room – just me and my two boys. I want it to feel cozy. There also has to be a sitting area, though, for getting my makeup done and for my body guard to use in the mornings when he watches us."

"Are you going to keep the baby in your room or did you want a formal nursery."

"Both, actually. I'll keep him with us until he's older, but we want to have a nursery set up that has everything he needs in it. We'll probably be spending a lot of time in this house so I'll have most of his toys here. Most of the furniture in his room in the other house came from Pottery Barn."

"Oh, they have some nice children's things. Did you want to recreate that here?"

"Unless you have a better idea. The stuff I got for him there was espresso colored wood and the crib was called a sleigh style but it looked like a little Viking dragon ship. I had a storage unit with some cubbies, a glider and ottoman, red curtains and some Dr. Seuss bedding. The walls were a really pretty robin's egg blue."

"That sounds sweet."

"If you want to go that way, Mrs. Northman, I can have duplicates of what you bought shipped here while we're gone," Alicia offered.

"That would be helpful, then I'd just set the nursery up for you and it would be ready when you come back," Giselle agreed.

"That would be great. For my bedroom, would it look too strange to have it in black and pink?"

"Not if that's what you want, as long as Mr. Northman won't mind."

"No, he said he'll like whatever I like."

"That's fine then. Black and pink can look very expensive together if you use it correctly. Those colors would look really nice with a sort of art deco theme – do you mind if the bedroom is a different style than the rest of the house?"

"Not at all. Our bedroom can be completely different. Now, there will be a little apartment that Bjorn and Bobbie will use, and Alicia and our maid, Margaret will live on the third floor – I want their rooms done according to their tastes. The master bedroom down here will be used as a work out room, but I want it to look really nice, and I want the spa in there done in pink, too. We might need a couple of travel boxes there for vampire guests. My husband works out with swords, so that room has to be mostly empty, but there can be some equipment in it and maybe a really good treadmill for me."

"Swords! Oh, my – how romantic!"

"Yeah, it's pretty cool. You should see him. He's going to teach me, too – I already had a lesson and he said I did really well."

"That's so exciting! I know that it's marvelous for the arms and legs, too. Why don't we walk through the house, I'll make some notes, then we'll go through your catalog here and I'll show you my sketches. You wanted this done while you're in Shreveport, yes?"

"As much as possible, yes – at least our bedroom, though, that's the main thing. I need it to feel like home. Is it going to be hard to get people to do the work?"

"Not at all. I have sources that are reliable and they're available for the right price. We can get a lot done while you're away. Just make sure you check your email a few times a day in case I need to send pictures or something, and Alicia and I will be in touch frequently, I assume?"

"Yes, that's right," Alicia said, "I'll keep track of it all for her."

"OK, well, let's do a tour," Sookie said. The elegant woman set her cream leather case on the table and took out an expensive fountain pen, a folding yardstick, a tape measure, a steno pad, and a small digital camera. They went through each room of the house, Sookie explaining what was needed in each room, except for the tiny apartment, which Bobbie gave her preferences for, and the third floor rooms, where Alicia stated some preferences she and Margaret had agreed on by phone.

"I didn't know you had spoken to Margaret, Alicia?" Sookie was surprised.

"Oh, yes, dear, I check in with her every morning. We've been trying to decide what kind of help we'll need to maintain the Shreveport house while we're away."

"Oh, OK – good thinking."

Giselle took meticulous notes in her lovely handwriting, and listed everything from window treatments to closet needs to the size of television everyone wanted in their rooms. She already knew the dimensions of all the rooms and she had suggestions for each one, including that she had already located a tub comparable to the one in Eric's room at the Shreveport house that she could get at wholesale. Once she had spoken to Alicia that morning, Giselle had worked for almost 5 hours on this already.

She really wanted to impress Eric and Sookie, not just because she knew he paid exceptionally well, but also because if it were known that she had been the decorator for that house, owned by the vampire King and Queen, she'd have the upper classes of New Orleans beating a path to her door. This could take her career to a whole new level, especially if she got Sookie to allow a photo shoot for the magazine in town that catered to the New Orleans elite.

"Oh, I almost forgot – I may need you to re-decorate an office in town for me. I haven't seen it yet, but if it's up to me, I'll want it pink with lots of dark cherry furnishings like home, too," Sookie said as they returned to the dining room table.

"That's no problem at all. You want me to start with the house first though, yes?"

"Yes."

Giselle started going slowly through the huge catalog with Sookie, asking how she felt about each piece of furniture and art.

"Mrs. Northman?"

"Please, call me Sookie."

"Alright, Sookie, may I make a suggestion? Some of this art is priceless and I'd hate to see you break up this collection. Have you considered loaning some of it to NOMA?"

"What's NOMA?"

"The New Orleans Museum of Art. I know the curator there, and I know she'd be wild to have some of these on display here. There's enough here that they might actually be able to show it as The Northman Collection and make its own exhibit. It's very prestigious and it would be a lovely gesture to the community to share this with everyone."

Sookie looked at Alicia who raised both eyebrows and gave her a nod. "Well, that sounds like a good solution. I'll have to speak to Eric about it, of course, but …"

"What will you speak to me about, my angel?"

"Eric!" Sookie jumped up and kissed him. "I had no idea it was so late!"

"Hello, my darling wife. Ms. Antoine-de Broux, how lovely to see you again!" Eric was in bullshit mode now.

"Oh, Mr. Northman, I was so thrilled when Alicia called and told me you were living here! I've had a lovely time going through the house with your beautiful new wife. She has some fantastic ideas."

"I'm pleased you were available to help Sookie out. I want her to have everything to her liking, and don't be afraid to suggest things she might not know about. I'm confident she'll make good choices and that the two of you will make this place even more spectacular."

"We were just going through this catalog of furniture and artwork from your other residence. I was suggesting that you consider lending the art that we don't use here to NOMA – I think it would be a wonderful gift to the community to share it with everyone."

"Interesting – you think there is enough here to bother with?"

"Oh, yes – the Impressionist works alone would nearly double their collection. And the Chinese pottery and artifacts, then the South American indigenous art…"

"Alright, well, you and Sookie choose what you want for the house, then I'll leave it to you to see if NOMA is interested in housing part or all of what is left. I'll need to have a secure place for it when we sell the residence."

"I was wondering, is this the only copy of this catalog you have?"

"Alicia?" Eric turned to her.

"No, sir, there is an identical book in your papers as well."

"Would it be possible for me to take one with me? I can come up with some suggestions as to what to use and I'll be having lunch with the curator next week. She can look at the pieces and we can go from there."

"Sookie, is that alright with you?" Eric asked her.

"Yeah, of course – that way we can refer each other to the books if we need to talk about a specific piece or something."

"I assume it will be secure in your hands," Eric asked the woman, "I don't want everyone knowing what we own to that extent…"

"Oh, don't worry, Mr. Northman, she'll be the only other soul that knows I have it."

"Alright. There will be at least two security guards here at all times, and I'll let them know you are making changes. I'll trust you with a key, but I need your assurance that you won't make copies for anyone else – no contractors, or anything like that."

"No problem – they won't leave my hands and I won't make copies. When work has to be done, I'll be here to let them in and to lock up myself. "

"Good. I want Sookie to be comfortable when we come back for a while."

"We'll have your bedroom and the nursery complete by then, at the very least. We'll need to make arrangements to have some furniture shipped here from the other residence."

"Speaking of nurseries, where is the baby?" Eric looked at Sookie.

"He's in the kitchen hanging out with Bjorn," Sookie told him.

"Do infants "hang out?"

"Ours does."

Eric laughed out loud at that. "Alright, when you know which pieces you need, we'll send a truck with guards from this office to that residence to bring whatever is necessary."

Bjorn came through the kitchen door with the baby.

"Dadee!" Alex was reaching out with both arms, opening and closing his hands.

"He heard you laughing," Bjorn explained

"There's my boy!" Eric lifted the baby up in the air and shook him a little, making an animal noise that thrilled the baby, then brought him down for a kiss.

"Ah, Dadee!"

"What have you been doing, my son?"

"Eh, Borhd!" the baby said brightly.

"What?" He looked at Sookie.

"He says he was with Bjorn – that's how he says Bjorn. Watch – Alex – who is that?" She pointed to Bjorn.

"Borhd."

"Who am I?" Eric asked.

"Dadee," the baby giggled and hugged him.

"I'm sorry, Giselle, everything stops when Dadee and son get together," Sookie explained.

"Oh, that's alright – they're so sweet together."

"Yeah, they are," Sookie laughed and agreed.

"Actually, I think I've got everything I need to get started. Now you're leaving tomorrow night?"

"Yes, as soon as Eric gets up."

"Would you be available around 3 o'clock tomorrow? I'll have more to show you then and I'll have some arrangements already in place."

"Sure – that would be great!"

"Alright, I'll say good night and get to work, then."

"Well, thank you so much! I can't wait to see what you come up with."

"Good night, Giselle – thanks for your help." Eric said to her, then went right back to playing with the baby, walking through the living room holding him out as if he was flying. The baby was giggling like crazy.

"Alex, did you tell Daddy that you're one week old today?" Sookie teased him.

"He is?" Eric was thrilled.

Bjorn escorted Giselle to her car, carrying the huge catalog for her and seeing she was safely on her way before he went back in.

When he came back in, Eric was playing peek-a-boo with the baby, who was inside the tunnel on the floor, laughing and zipping back and forth. Bill came downstairs and asked if everyone was ready to go. Sookie said she needed 5 minutes then ran upstairs to brush her hair and check her makeup while Alicia got the diaper bag ready with some bottles of RM. Eric was already dressed so they were ready to head out. Bobbie decided to stay home and relax, so Alicia sat in the back with Sookie and the baby and Eric sat in the passenger seat next to Bjorn, who was driving. Bill and Kerik took another car and they all headed out before 7:30.

Sookie was a little bit nervous about going into the office but she didn't say anything and tried not to think about it.

"Sookie, my angel, remember that these people work for you. You needn't be afraid of them or their opinions." Eric was obviously paying attention to the feelings she was silently wrestling with in the back seat.

"OK," she said unconvincingly.

"They're going to love you, Sookie," Bjorn was sure this was true.

"I hope so."

"I hope so, too, Sookie," Eric said, "but if they do not, it should not upset you. You are in charge. Everyone in that office answers to you – you answer to no one but me. They have all been told that whether I am there or not, your word is law. I will not contradict you in front of them – I'll show you the same respect you would show me because we are partners – you are their Queen, so you stand up straight, be confident, and take charge, alright?"

"Alright," she was a little more definite this time.

"Omba, Mamee!"

Sookie cracked up. "OK, OK, I'm outnumbered by all these Swedish men."

Alicia laughed at that, and the guys all followed.

"Admit it, Sookie – you wouldn't have it any other way. You like having Swedish men taking care of you," Eric teased her.

"Yes, I must admit, I do like being surrounded by Viking warriors," Sookie said proudly as she tickled Alex. Eric could already tell that when they arrived she would rise to the occasion, just as she always did, and charm everyone there with her innate sweetness. He was not disappointed.

When they reached the office, which was in the second floor of a converted apartment building, Bill led the way and made the introductions. Both of Sookie's liaisons were there – Emily Jacobs, a sort-of pretty, brunette human about 25, had stayed late to meet her and Jasmine Raj, a pleasantly plump were-something with short, shiny, jet black hair, was on duty normally. They were jumpy and excited to meet Sookie and Eric, though Jasmine had seen him briefly the night before. They were standing by the elevator with gifts when Eric's party stepped off the car on the right next to the wall.

"Hello, girls," Bill began, "Sookie, these are your liaisons – you know Emily and Jasmine, believe?"

The girls curtsied and said, "Hello, your majesty," to Sookie nearly in unison.

"Hello, Emily and Jasmine?' Sookie turned to each in turn and shook her hand. "I'm Sookie and I suppose you have both spoken to Alicia?"

"Yes, I have," Emily replied, "nice to meet you, Alicia."

"Hello, Alicia. Your majesty, we have gifts for you and the Prince."

"Oh, thank you – that's so thoughtful!"

"Sookie, why don't we all go into the lounge and you can open the presents and see what the girls gave you?" Bill suggested.

"Oh, that sounds nice…"

"Right this way, your majesty." The girls led the group on into the office and into a very nice lounge with a table and chairs, a couple of nice couches and chairs in a pretty navy print with a floral pattern that were arranged around a nice walnut coffee table and a small kitchenette with coffee and other amenities. Bill got a Beer for Bjorn and a True Blood for himself and Eric.

Sookie sat in one of the chairs and the girls put the gifts on the coffee table in front of her and stood back to watch.

"Oh, please sit down!" Sookie motioned to one of the couches for the girls. Eric and Bill stood back talking, Eric holding the baby and watching Sookie proudly as she dealt with the star-struck girls. Bjorn took his spot behind Sookie's chair, Alicia stood by to help Sookie with wrapping and boxes and Eric handed her his pocketknife to help Sookie with tape. As Sookie ooh'd and ahh'd over the pretty packages, some other office workers came in with gifts and Bill nodded that they should join the group on the couches and chairs. Sookie greeted each one with a handshake and repeated his or her name, giving them a brilliant smile and an enthusiastic thank you as they placed the gifts in front of her.

Jasmine gave Sookie a shawl made of delicate sari material in a gorgeous pink, embroidered on the edge with gold thread. "Oh, this is so beautiful!"

"I hope you like it, your majesty. I've seen pictures of you in pink dresses and you look so beautiful in them."

"Oh, thank you! I can't wait to wear this!" Sookie wrapped it around her shoulders, "Eric look at this!"

"That is very becoming, Sookie and it's your favorite color. You'll have to wear that to the next ball we attend."

"Definitely! I'll be trying to find outfits I can wear it with all the time. This is really very sweet." Sookie leaned forward and squeezed the girls arm to emphasize her appreciation.

Jasmine was about to burst with pride. She was sure Sookie wouldn't act so enthusiastic about it if she didn't like it, and it did look wonderful on her. The color suited her perfectly.

"This one is for the Prince." Emily said as she pushed a large rectangular gift wrapped with paper showing vintage toys and dangling ribbons.

"Ooh, Alex, lookie! You got a present!" She held it up to him and Eric brought the baby over where Sookie was and knelt down next to her. She took Alex on her lap, still wearing the pretty pink shawl, and said, "this is for you, Sweetie."

The baby was fascinated with the ribbons so she let him play a little then she tore a little corner and said "here, baby, pull this" and he did, making a big tear in the paper and taking sheer delight in doing it.

"HHhaaaaa!" he squealed, his eyes big and his other arm waving

"Yeah, that's for you! Here," she got rid of the paper, "let's see what it is. First 100 Words – Bright Baby! It's book, Alex. Daddy can read this to you later tonight! Oh, look at all the cool pictures!"

"Doo!"

"Yeah, cool. And it's a board book so you can't hurt it." Sookie happened to open it to the next to the last page. "Lookie, Alex – what's that?"

"Pish!"

"Yeah, that's a fish! I'll bet Daddy will have you saying all the words in no time, won't you, Daddy?"

"Oh, yes, we'll be learning names for all these things!"

"Omba!"

"Hey," Sookie said, "I just realized why he says "omba!""

"Why is that?" Eric asked.

"He's trying to say "Oh, yes" the way you do! Alex – what does Daddy say?"

"Om-ba!"

Eric cracked up. It had never occurred to him that the baby was trying to imitate him that way. He had to cough to keep from crying and wiped his eye. He couldn't get misty over the baby right now, but he was bursting at the thought that the baby was trying to imitate his speech.

"Emily, this is just wonderful! I know Alex is going to have a blast learning all these things, won't you, darlin'?

"Omba!"

Everyone one in the room cracked up. They talked for weeks afterward of how proud the king was of his baby and how smart the little one was. They marveled over how sweet and warm Sookie was to them all and how the king knelt down next to her and the baby and looked at them with such love in his eyes. They knew Eric to be a fierce warrior, but he was obviously very much in love with his little family and they had never seen that in a vampire regent before. They felt very lucky to serve him, especially after having worked under Victor. Bill was much preferable with his kind manner, and they felt as if they were working for the best king ever, and that was before Eric told them they were getting a 15% raise. He told them he was sorry Victor had paid them so poorly and gave them all a little bonus to make up for it, in addition to the new salary.

Sookie opened the rest of the presents with equal enthusiasm. One of the boys from the mail room, only in his late teens, Sookie thought, gave the baby a little purple dragon with shiny wings and the baby went wild for it. He squealed when he unwrapped it and pulled it out of the box, hugging the plush critter to him.

"You like that, Pookie?"

"Omba!" He squeezed it and pressed his mouth to its head, then reached to where Eric was kneeling to get his attention.

"What is that, Alex?"

He didn't say anything but he held it forward for Eric to see, then looked back and said "Borhd!" and held it up.

"Wow, Alex, nice toy!" Bjorn smiled at him.

"DO-EE!" Alex repeated and hugged it back to him.

"Aw – that's sweet – I've never seen him that excited about a stuffed animal! Thank you so much!" Sookie beamed at the boy and then kissed the baby on the head as he snuggled his dragon. "Ooh, it's really soft, too!"

"Eesh!" Alex held the dragon to the other side so Alicia could see it, and she cracked up.

"That's very nice! You going to take that home with you?" Alicia teased him.

"Omba!" and he hugged it again.

That was the last of the presents, so Alicia gathered them up into a pile but Alex wasn't about to let go of his dragon, so when Eric took him from Sookie, the dragon went with him. Eric didn't say anything but he took great pride in the fact that Alex was so attached to a dragon specifically, because his people had used dragon ships and the symbol was important in his culture. He held the baby up and kissed him and whispered in his ear, "I love my little Viking."

Sookie was watching Eric with the baby again, melting into her shoes. At this point, she didn't think this was ever going to wear off. She'd just have to get used to having the urge to fall at Eric's feet when she saw him cuddle his son.

Bill showed them to Eric's office, which was organized and maintained for him, and pointed Sookie and Alicia to two smaller rooms that could be used as Sookie's offices if she wanted. Emily and Jasmine went with them, since they'd spend the most time in the room or rooms Sookie chose. The accountant had arrived by this time and he, Bill and Eric, baby in tow, sequestered themselves in Eric's office.

Bjorn took a post at the door as the four women discussed the possibilities and decided that since the rooms were small and connected by a door way, they would use both. One would house the files and other things that would need to be stored, and the other would be used for two desks – one for Sookie and one which would be used by Jasmine and Emily on their alternating shifts. Sookie described what she wanted for furniture and explained that she had a decorator, so Emily would work with Ms. Antoine - de Broux since that would take place in the daytime. Emily and Jasmine both loved the idea of dark cherry furnishings and pink walls, and even offered to paint the file cabinets to match on their own time, which Sookie thought was an awesome idea.

After they knew what they were doing, they had some items that needed Sookie's attention, so Alicia pulled out her calendar and they synchronized the activities for the upcoming holiday season. There was a sort of vampire convention in Chicago on the Autumnal Equinox, then there was a ball they had to host in New Orleans on Hallowe'en, which Sookie learned was called Samhain and pronounced "SOW-en" and this would be a very big deal since it would be the first costume ball since Eric had taken the throne. There was a formal dance and dinner for Regents only in New York City, hosted by Carolina, over the Thanksgiving weekend. There was a holiday ball in Las Vegas on Dec 21st and a huge New Years bash in New Orleans.

"Wow, that's a lot," Sookie said.

"Actually, that's not all of it," Jasmine explained, "it's just the major vampire events. You'll get lots of invitations for dinners and lunches and gallery openings and things like that after the first of September. The King wouldn't allow us to book anything social for you sooner than that because he wanted you to have time to adjust to having the baby."

"Lunches and gallery openings?"

"Yes, the society ladies in New Orleans will want you to attend different parties. We have many invitations, but we haven't accepted any yet. His Majesty said you'll deal with it all after September 1st."

"Are there any in September? I shouldn't wait until the last minute."

"Well, yes, there are these: a NOMA fundraiser on September 12 at 9 pm, a charity luncheon for the Children's Hospital on September 16 at 11 am, a tea party fundraiser at the Audubon Tea Room at the zoo at 1 pm on the 29th , and then a cocktail party at the Audubon Aquarium of the Americas on the 18th."

"I got that many invitations?"

"No, ma'am, you got many more than that – these are just the important ones we thought you might want to attend," Emily said apologetically."

"OK, NOMA on the 12th – confirm that; I can't say 'no' to the children's hospital so confirm that. The cocktail party on the 18th – I always wanted to go to a party at an aquarium, so that's a yes," Sookie laughed at herself, "and what's the date for the Tea Room at the zoo?"

"The 29th, your majesty," Jasmine repeated.

"Alright, confirm that one. If you get anymore that you think are important, let Alicia know immediately. Anything that benefits kids, cancer or victims of crime is a priority for me. Reconstruction is a priority for both Eric and me. Any invitations that come in for after October first, we'll look at in September. Do remind all these people that it's not just me by myself – I have a royal… what's the word for it?" she looked at Alicia.

"Retinue or entourage."

"Yeah, so when they invite me, they're inviting a lot of people, my baby included. Be sure they know that."

"Yes, your majesty – most of the invitations expressly include the Prince. He gets many invitations to children's birthday parties, too."

"OK, those are VIP's only – if it's a politician's or a movie star's kids, after January we might consider it, but again, he'll have a lot of people with him. I don't want to surprise or inconvenience anyone, so this is very important. I don't want to show up and be embarrassed or put anyone on the spot."

"Oh, no, your majesty, we would never let that happen!" Jasmine assured her.

"OK, good. Now you had forms to sign?"

"Contracts, your majesty, for administration of your houses – groceries and such."

"OK, Alicia you'll want to look at those. Should Eric sign them?"

"Normally the lady of the house or her maid would do this, so I'll make recommendations and you'll sign them. Your signature carries the same weight as Mr. Northman's." Alicia explained.

"It does?"

"Yes, ma'am" Alicia assured her. She thought it was sweet how Sookie still didn't comprehend her position, but she still managed to handle it all smoothly with just a little help.

"Alright, you know what we need in terms of food and supplies, yes?"

"Yes, I do."

"Great. One of these is for gardeners. Let me check with them on this – Bjorn?"

"Yes, your majesty?"

"There's a contract here for gardeners – that's a security issue, too, right?"

"Yes, ma'am, it is. They need to be bonded and background checks done before we let them on the grounds."

"OK, you want to take this?"

"Yes, ma'am, I'll talk to Bill about it."

"Thanks, Sweetie."

"Yes, ma'am." Bjorn was loving listening to Sookie give orders. He wished she knew how good a Queen she really was when it came to things like this. 

There was a knock on the office door just as Bjorn went out and Eric looked in. "How are we getting along, ladies?"

"Really well, but boy, are we going to be busy!"

"Yes, my lover, we are. Is there a bottle in that diaper bag? The little Prince is getting restless."

"You want me to take him, honey?"

"No, I'll feed him. You keep doing what you're doing," he winked at Sookie as Alicia handed him a bottle. 

"Can I put this in the microwave?"

"Only for about 20 seconds and only if you take the top off." Alicia told him.

"Be careful to shake it up, Sweetie, and be sure it's not too hot. The glass might be hot too, so don't let him get burned."

"I'll be very careful, Mommy." Eric beamed at her and then left them alone.

"OK, this contract is for organic produce to be delivered to the house."

"How much and when?"

"We'll be setting up a purchasing agreement which allows them to get paid and then I'll call them with the specifics of what we want when we're in town."

"OK, so it's a contract but not for a specific amount?"

"Right. There's one here for organic meats, too, through Whole Foods, and there's one with a local seafood supplier."

"OK, then, I'll sign them." Sookie skimmed through the contracts, which weren't too complicated, they just set up an account and a way to pay when they ordered anything."

"Sookie, may I come in?"

"Yeah, Bill, what's up?"

"Let me show you what we've got on the contract for the gardeners."

Bill took a few minutes showing Sookie the contract and explaining a few items she might need to know about. There was a provision that gave them responsibility to use only bonded personnel that had passed a background check to be conducted by Bjorn or Vincent in advance of their showing up at the house. They would report to the captain of the guard and answer directly to Sookie or to her representative, which would be Alicia, and all work was guaranteed to meet Sookie's satisfaction or there would be a penalty regarding payment. After answering a few questions, Bill assured her the contract was fair and reasonable and Sookie signed it.

The girls were just finishing up and chatting a bit when they heard Eric and Bill cheering in Eric's office. 

"Was that Bill and Eric?" Sookie was amazed.

Bjorn looked in the door, "they located the missing funds. The accountant was able to crack Victor's code and they got access to the big accounts."

"Oh, that's fantastic!" Sookie was very happy for Eric – she knew he had been a bit worried about this and that this was a major accomplishment for him. The Council would be thrilled and this would let them kick the construction into high gear.

"Hello, my angel." Eric was standing at the door, baby with plushy dragon in arms, grinning like a Cheshire cat.

"Eric – you found it?"

"Yes, we did. It's all being put back where it belongs as we speak. We found more than we ever expected, too. There's no telling how long or from whom Victor was stealing, but all that money will be going to my kingdom now and we'll get things up to speed."

"That's great! You'll have to call…" she caught herself before she said Niall in front of the others.

"Yes, I will, as soon as we get home. Some very important people are going to be very happy about this. We'll be able to help a lot of people who really need it. How much longer will you be?"

"Me? I'm done for the night, am I not?" Sookie looked to the other women and everyone said she was. 

"Excellent. Did you talk to the decorator about your offices here?"

"I mentioned it today. The house is the first priority of course, but she'll work on this, too. Emily and Alicia will be coordinating it and they all know what I want."

"Good. And you signed contracts?"

"Purchasing agreements," she looked at Alicia for confirmation, and she nodded, "for the house for organic produce and meats, and for fresh seafood, and there was a contract for the gardeners at the Prytania Street house."

"And you set up your calendar for the rest of the year?"

"The major vampire events, yes, and social engagements for September. I'll handle October and beyond when we get back."

"Good. We'll need to synchronize our calendars tonight. I may have a couple of dates you don't have yet and I'm sure you'll have things I don't."

"Are you going to put my tea parties and things like that on your calendar?"

"Yes, but in a different colored ink. I need to know what you do during the day so I know when you are under stress or have obligations, but I'll be able to tell that they don't require my attendance."

"Oh – that's smart."

He laughed. "Emily and Jasmine, are you going to be able to work with Sookie and Alicia effectively in these rooms?"

"Yes, your majesty, it won't be any problem at all." Jasmine assured him. 

"Alright now, remember, if a problem arises, the sooner Sookie knows about it, the better. Don't let things fester and then tell her last minute that something is amiss. She's a very kind mistress and she can handle almost anything if you give her fair warning. I expect excellent work for her as well as for myself, though, so don't abuse her kindness."

"Oh, no, your majesty, we won't let the Queen down." Emily said.

"I'm glad to hear it." Bill called Eric's attention then and said he could go if he wanted to, that he would finish up and be home later.

"It appears I am done for the evening. Shall we go home?"

"We shall!" Sookie popped up out of the chair behind the old desk and headed around it as Alicia pulled her calendar and the diaper bag together so they could go. 

"Emily and Jasmine, thank you so much for your help. I'm looking forward to working with you." Sookie gave each girl a little hug.

"Oh, it's our pleasure, your majesty!" Emily said, amazed that the Queen would hug them. 

"Have a wonderful and safe trip home, your majesty!" Jasmine said with complete sincerity.

"Oh, thank you. You girls have a good night!" Sookie beamed at them as she grabbed Eric's arm and gave him a big kiss, then gave the baby a big kiss, too and a little tickle to make him laugh."

"Don't forget your gifts in the lounge, your majesty." Alicia reminded her.

"Oh, yeah, I'll get those since you've got your hands full." Sookie said as she bounced down to the lounge to retrieve her goodies. She came back with her things, showing Alex the book. "Lookie, Alex – I've got your book!"

"Bood?"

"Yeah, your book – Daddy can read to you later."

"Bood, Dadee." The baby said to Eric, his little hand on his cheek.

"Yes, book. When Mommy goes to sleep and you and I have our quiet time, I will read to you and we'll learn some new words, OK?"

"Oday," he said and hugged his dragon with both hands.

"Has he been holding that all night?" Sookie asked Eric.

"Yes, he has. I'm surprised that he likes it so much."

"Most babies wouldn't have that kind of focus, would they?" Sookie looked at Alicia.

"No, most babies would give an initial reaction then forget about it until someone brought it to their attention again. I wonder what it is that he likes about it so much?"

"What do you mean?' Sookie asked as Bjorn led the way to the elevators and pressed the button.

"Well, it could be that he loves the color purple, or that it feels soft, or he likes the shiny wings. I don't think he could like that it's a dragon, since he can't know what a dragon is yet."

"I wonder?" Sookie said as they all entered the elevator.

Eric didn't say anything, but he knew it WAS that is was a dragon, and he considered that a very good sign. It meant that the baby had some sort of race memory or instinct that made him a Viking already. He had thought this before when the baby came out of the womb trying to say "víg" but now he was sure of it. His son already had a clear sense of who he was, and what would be required of him. Eric found great comfort in this. He wouldn't have to teach Alex to be a warrior – he already had the heart of a warrior. The rest was just training and technique. 

When they got down to the car, Eric handed the baby to Sookie so she could put him in the car seat, but when she took the dragon from him he let out a piercing shriek that nearly knocked Sookie out it was so loud in the car. Before she could react, Eric yelled, "Alex – NO!" 

The baby was so shocked he froze long enough for Sookie to get his belt fastened then she gave him back the toy dragon. Sookie was afraid to say anything, either.

"Sookie – has he behaved this way before?" Eric wasn't going to let it go.

"That's what he did when I moved the cheesecake out of his reach."

"He let out a shriek like that because you said 'no" to him?"

"Yeah, he's just a baby…"

"He's an exceptional baby and that behavior is not going to take root. If he does that again, you tell him no, be firm with him and stand your ground. We've been warned that he will be willful. There may be times when doing what we tell him to do will be a matter of life or death. He needs to learn immediately that we will not tolerate tantrums."

"That wasn't really a tantrum…"

"That's as close to a tantrum as he'd better ever get. Am I making myself clear?"

"Yes. I'll teach him not to scream like that."

"Good. That would be completely unacceptable if he did that in front of others."

"He's always been perfect in front of strangers…" Sookie reminded him.

"Yes, he has," Eric's mood lightened, "he was very charming at the office tonight. Even the accountant was taken with him."

Bjorn laughed to himself. 

"What's that, Bjorn?" Eric asked.

"Yeah, I heard that guy doing baby talk to him. Did he say he had grandkids or something?"

"Yes, he did. He likes babies a lot." Eric laughed, too. "And people even came up from the offices downstairs to see him. The women were fawning all over him."

"Just like his daddy," Sookie laughed. "Hey, Alicia, I know it's late, but is there any chance I could get something to eat when we get home?"

"Of course, dear – you didn't have dinner, you know. Bjorn, you must be hungry, too?"

"Yeah, I could definitely eat."

"I'll fix us a late supper, unless you're in a hurry to go to bed…?"

"Sookie should eat," Eric agreed. "I don't want her missing meals. She's still recuperating from the birth and she's breast-feeding. It wouldn't be good for either one of them if she went to bed hungry."

"Do I still seem like I'm "recuperating?"

"Yes" Alicia, Bjorn and Eric said in unison.

"I do?"

"You aren't quite your normal self yet, lover. You're still tired and not quite as bouncy as you normally are."

"How come I don't know this?"

"You're too busy to notice how tired you are," Alicia told her, "but we're all aware of it. It's good you're going to have a couple of weeks to do nothing."

"I guess if everybody knows it but me, it's good that I'll get some rest. Are we really going to take two weeks off, Eric?"

"You are. I'll need to work a bit, but I'll do that when you sleep. I've put things in place so I can work via webcam should the need arise. You're going to do nothing but play in the pool and play with the baby for two weeks."

"For real? I thought you were kidding -- or that something would come up --"

"Two weeks, my angel. No appointments, nothing but playing in the pool, enjoying the baby, and maybe we'll make a trip or two to Fangtasia once you've rested up a bit. I was looking at the calendar and it occurred to me that you've had hardly any rest that didn't involve taking a sedative for months now, and that's not really relaxation. I think it will be good for you to sleep late, float in the pool and play with Alex. The two of you have hardly had any time to just play."

"You know, that's kind of true. It would be cool to just throw a blanket on the floor in the den and spend some time with him instead of worrying about what time I have to be somewhere."

"Exactly, and once Niall and Ludwig leave tomorrow night, no company other than Amelia and Octavia because you don't need to dress up for them."

"Or Jason, right? He hasn't seen the baby yet."

"Yes, of course, my angel – no need to dress up for him, either. Invite him over for a cook-out at the end of the two weeks if you want, when you've had time to relax and unwind. You need to spend some time in some shorts or sweatpants and just be Sookie for a few days. You can go back to being Queen Sookie on August 1st."

"OK, cool. That's the Wiccaning thing, right?"

"Right. Your Witches have filled you in on that, yes?"

"Not yet, but I'll go through that with them between now and then. Maybe I'll actually get to read a book on my vacation! I've got the books Bobbie lent me that I've hardly looked at."

"You may have some rainy days to do just that – there will be a few thunderstorms through the week, according to the weather reports. That's a good time to relax," Alicia suggested.

"Cool. Hey, we're home already!"

"Yes, this house is very convenient to the offices. I could get from one to the other very quickly if I had to for any reason. That's a very large advantage to it," Eric agreed. 

Once inside, Alicia immediately set about making supper for everyone, who agreed that they'd like to have tacos once Alicia confirmed that all of the ingredients were already in the kitchen. Bobbie took the baby to the downstairs bathroom for a fresh diaper, then Bjorn actually set the table while Eric and Sookie spent some time with the baby in the little tunnel. Bobbie was in the kitchen shredding lettuce while Alicia fried hamburger.

Eric knelt at one end of the tunnel and Sookie was lying at the other end. 

"Here Alex," Eric said to the baby as he was right in front of him, "take this kiss to Mommy," and he kissed him on the cheek. The baby turned and crawled at normal speed to Sookie and gave her a kiss on the cheek as best he could. Sookie laughed, delighted that Alex was so sweet and smart. She was getting over her worries about him being so advanced. He was too much fun and too lovable to regret anything about him. 

"OK, Pookie, take this kiss to Daddy," she said and planted a kiss with a loud smacking noise on his cheek and he zipped back to Eric and tried to imitate the sound Sookie had made, pressing his mouth to Eric's cheek and making a "MA!" sound that had both of them cracking up.

"That's Daddy's smart boy!" Eric said as he rolled on his back and put the baby up in the air. "Time to fly, Alex!"

"Haa!" The baby squealed with delight as Eric helped him feel as if he was flying, making "swoosh" noises as the baby giggled and squealed. He did the thing where he dropped him, catching him just as he reached his chest and kissing him, then pushing him right back up in the air several times. "When we get to Shreveport, my son, I'm going to take you on your first real flight so you can see the stars. You want to fly with Daddy?"

"Fy, Dadee!"

"Fly!" Eric said as he held the baby up and quickly levitated them high up in the room. "Wave at Mommy!"

"Ah, Mamee!" He waved his little arm as he giggled.

"Hi, Alex! Are you flying with Daddy?"

"Fy-id Dadee!" 

Sookie loved seeing Eric and the baby having so much fun together. It was obvious that the baby loved this as much as Eric loved showing it to him. She was laughing up at them as Eric sort of rolled over in the air, holding the baby at arm's length so he made a huge circle and ended back up in the air over him. The baby's eyes were HUGE and his mouth flew open. What was that?! He was beside himself. Sookie and Eric would never know it, but this was what Alex wanted when he cried for Eric. It wasn't just that he missed Dadee – it was that Dadee wasn't there to help him fly. It was obvious to Eric and Sookie both, though, that he was having a fantastic time.

Amelia and Octavia arrived just in time for the air show, both of them laughing out loud at the baby's reaction as Eric turned over giving him another big circle around.

"Ah, Ay-vbee!" Alex waved at Octavia, then looked at Amelia – he didn't know her name yet, but he waved and said "ah! AH!" and she realized what he was doing so she said "hey, Alex! I'm Amelia!"

"Ah, Ameea!"

Bjorn came in and said, "Alicia's going to bring dinner in now."

"OK," Eric told him, "one more circle and we're done, Alex. Ready? Fly!" Eric took him around the big circle one more time and then landed standing up and hugged him close, kissing him a bunch of times. The bond between the three of them was positively singing as Eric reached down to Sookie and helped her stand up. 

"You ladies are just in time for dinner!" Eric said to Octavia and Amelia. 

"We didn't mean to break up a party!" Octavia joked. 

"Oh, no – that was about all he was up for anyway – we don't want to over-do it, do we, Alex?"

Alex pointed up and said "Fy, Dadee!"

"We were flying but now it's time to stop. We will fly again soon, alright?"

"FY!"

"Alex – not now. Now is dinnertime. Time to eat." Eric spoke firmly and looked the baby right in the eye.

"Mamee ee?" Alex pointed to Sookie as she was taking her seat by his high chair

"Yes, Mommy has to eat now."

"Excuse me, Eric? It's an hour until midnight. Kerik and I will be leaving for tonight, so I'll see you all tomorrow." Bjorn had some tacos wrapped in aluminum foil for the car ride.

"Full moon already?" Eric had lost track, he'd been so busy. He was putting the baby into his high chair as they spoke.

"Yes, but there are good vampire guards on duty tonight."

"Alright, then, be safe."

"Be careful, Bjorn, both of you!" Sookie said as Kerik and Bjorn left.

Alicia and Bobbie came in with the dishes of garnish for the tacos and Bjorn kissed Bobbie on the cheek then headed out. Kerik waved at Amelia and followed him.

"Where do they go around here?" Alicia asked.

"It's a closely guarded secret, but it's supposed to be a lot of fun and relatively safe. I think it masquerades as a game preserve or something," Amelia said. "Some rich Were who's a big deal on the City Council runs it or donated it or something like that."

"He owns it but it gets government funding as a game preserve," Octavia explained, "Wouldn't the Feds have a fit if they knew it was a place for wolves to run?" She laughed at that.

"Is it… dangerous, when they go out?" Alicia asked as she put taco shells full of meat, lettuce and cheese on everyone's plates.

"It can be," Sookie said, "because things have been known to get out of hand when they're changed, and there can be conflicts and pack wars. Hopefully that won't be a problem since Bjorn and Kerik aren't local. I think some of the other guards are locals, though, so they'll vouch for them."

"And they have to be there by midnight?" Alicia was fascinated by it all. 

"Pretty much. At some point around midnight, they're turning whether they want to or not, so they'll make sure to be there before it happens." Sookie explained as she loaded up her tacos with sour cream and chopped tomatoes. 

"What is it like when they change?"

Everybody looked at Sookie, who had the most experience with this.

"There's a feeling – like they're shimmering with energy- then suddenly they just are. You can see the transformation take place if you really watch but it happens quickly. I have seen people get injured while partially transformed, though."

"Are they immortal like vampires?"

"No, but they live a really long time and they're hard to kill. They're much stronger and more energetic than humans. Their endurance is incredible."

"Hard to kill?"

"Yeah, if you aren't packing silver bullets, you're going to have a hard time taking one down. They can kill each other but you could empty a whole gun into one and it might not necessarily stop him if you didn't hit a major organ. They heal fast – not as fast as vampires, but faster than humans. You can't injure them with a punch but a car can stop them pretty effectively. I saw one poor girl get hit by a car once and it wasn't pretty. She changed back when she got hurt and I had to drive her to the hospital and tell them I found her beside the road with no clothes on."

"Oh, my god!" Alicia had no idea about all of Sookie's misadventures with Supes.

"Yeah – she's alright now, as far as I know. She healed up and was back home, last I heard. Hey, what's this little saucer with the cheese cubes?"

"Oh, I thought maybe you'd want to let the baby try it if he started wanting what you're eating."

"OK, here, Alex, this is cheese. You don't have to eat it if you don't like it."

"Dees?"

"Yeah, cheese, see?" Sookie picked up a little square and popped it into her mouth.  
"Mmmm. Cheese."

The baby picked up a little cube and held it in his mouth with his fingers, half licking, half sucking on it and them, then he took it out and looked at it like he was really concentrating on it. He put it in his other hand and popped it in his mouth the way he had seen Sookie do, then he put his face down to the high chair tray and let it drop out of his mouth, drooling along with it. He picked it up and started to put it in his mouth again but Eric stopped him, "No, that's enough cheese. We'll try this when you are older, my son," he laughed. 

Before he could remove the plate, the baby grabbed a chunk of cheese and threw it on the table, "Uh-oh!"

"Alex!" Eric was trying not to laugh. He didn't want to reinforce that behavior, but he got a kick out of Alex when he got mischievous. 

Alicia didn't say anything but she got up and went into the bathroom around the corner.

"What'd he do?" Sookie asked, starting her third taco.

Eric took a napkin and wiped the baby's hands and mouth. "He obviously doesn't like it much – he's playing with it instead of eating it. It's one thing to give him food if he likes it, but why risk him choking on something he can do without?" 

Alicia came back with a wet washcloth and gave it to Eric, who thanked her and repeated his cleaning efforts with the baby.

"He's making you sick, isn't he?" Sookie was trying not to laugh.

"It's a bit much, yes – that cheese smells disgusting, and he's got saliva stringing all over his hands and this tray. I know I've handled much more disgusting things in my life, but this is my son, and I'd prefer not to see him wallowing in filth this way."

"OK," she said, "he really didn't seem to like it all that much. It's like he couldn't decide if it was food or a toy." Sookie finished up her tacos, because she had a feeling she knew what was coming next.

"Ee, Mamee!"

She was right. "You're getting hungry, aren't you, Pookie?" She started to get up, but Eric took the baby out of the high chair and handed him to her, then wiped down the tray. She snuggled him up to her breast and he fed eagerly. "It's nice to know I'm not obsolete, yet," she joked.

"He needs you plenty, little girl," Octavia told her. 

"Yeah, I know he does. He's my buddy – even if he does break up the furniture," she laughed.

"He what?" Eric said.

"He broke the lamp on your nightstand this morning, but don't worry, I think we've solved the problem."

"How did he do it?"

"He threw your big pillow off the bed and it took the lamp, clock and all the rest of it with it." She made a sweeping motion with her arm and laughed. "The first thing I heard this morning was "uh-oh!""

"Do you think he did it on purpose?" Eric was trying to picture that little baby doing that kind of damage.

"I don't think he meant to break anything, but he wanted that pillow out of his way so he could get off the bed. I barely caught him. Don't worry, though, the co-sleeper came today so he won't need to be in bed with me."

"Alright. Is there a light up there?"

"I took one of the pair in Mr. Compton's room and put it in there," Alicia said as she began to gather up dishes.

"Good thinking," Eric laughed. "And thank you, Alicia – I assume you were the one to clean up his mess?"

"Yes, I didn't want Mrs. Northman to get out of bed until I had the glass cleaned up.

"Which reminds me, the vacuum cleaner scares the bejeesus out of him. He grabbed onto me, popped fangs and hissed at it."

"That's not unreasonable – he didn't know what it was. He might have been trying to protect you."

"I never thought of that. I just assumed he wanted me to protect him, but now that you mention it, he could have been protecting me, the way he was hissing at it. I told him it was OK, though and he relaxed."

"Well, this old lady needs to hit the sack. Thanks for dinner, folks. We still leavin' tomorrow night?" Octavia said as she picked up her sweater and purse from the end of the table. 

"As soon as I awake. I think Bill might be planning to stay here. Sookie, that reminds me – make sure they pack that little tunnel up to take with us. Alex seems to love it, and I enjoy playing with him in it."

"Will it be hard to pack up?" Sookie wasn't sure how it worked.

"Not at all," Bobbie said as she came back from the kitchen for more dishes, "there are a couple of little supports in it that slip out then it folds up like a slinky. I'll make sure we don't forget it. Do you want to take any other toys?"

"Let's take the blue teddy bear, and his dragon – speaking of which, where is it? - and his two books. We'll leave the blocks here, and the things that attach to the crib. I guess we have to leave his bouncy seat here?"

"I could take it apart, but you've got lots of toys at the Shreveport house he hasn't even seen yet," Bobbie reminded her.

"True… Good night, Octavia!" Octavia patted Sookie on the back as she went by.

"I'm going up, too," Amelia said. "Jerry might come up when he and Bjorn get back so I hope he doesn't disturb anyone?"

"I'll probably be up then, so I'll know to expect him," Eric said, smiling. "Have a good night, ladies."

"I think I'm going up, too," Bobbie said, "so I can wake up when Bjorn gets home. He should be in a good mood then," she wiggled her eyebrows and Sookie laughed, knowing exactly what she meant - nothing like a little bloodlust to jazz things up in the bedroom.

"Yeah, this house will be rocking for the full moon," Sookie laughed.

"Speaking of rocking the house, my beautiful wife…"

"Yeah, I'm ready to go up, too. Let me see if Alicia needs any help…"

"No, Sookie, we're going upstairs."

Sookie started to object but Eric gave her that look that says don't even think about contradicting me so she yelled, "Good night, Alicia – thanks for dinner."

"Good night, dear. See you in the morning."

"Would you like me to carry the baby, my angel?"

"No, he's really eating hard so I'll hang on to him. Let's go up."

Eric put his arm around her and kissed her on the head as they headed for the stairs. Sookie yawned as they started up the stairs, so Eric swept her, baby and all, up into his arms and carried them the rest of the way.

"Ooh, big strong Daddy, huh, Alex? Someday you'll be big and strong like him won't you? Yes, you will! You'll be a big, strong warrior just like your daddy," she teased him as Eric put them down on the bed with a little bounce. The baby was humming as he ate, his eyes twinkling as Sookie looked into them.

"What do you want to do, my angel – bath or directly to bed?"

"Bath, so we can all snuggle," she said as she sat up on the side of the bed.

"You don't think he'll be asleep soon?" He was kicking his boots off.

"Hmmm – good point. We already had a shower today, too, so he's clean until tomorrow."

"Did you get to take a shower with your beautiful Mommy, my son?"

He pulled away from Sookie's breast long enough to say "sthowa" then went right back to eating. 

"That's some lucky little boy you've got there, Mrs. Northman." He went into the bathroom and came out with a bottle of… something. Sookie didn't recognize it.

"The luckiest," she joked. "Look at his Daddy. I'll bet other people get sick of us being so sweet to each other all the time," Sookie laughed. 

"We do tend to drift into the saccharine now and again, but who cares? We are in love, so why not celebrate that? People in love owe it to those who are lonely to make the most of what they have."

"Huh?"

"Think about it. There are many lonely people in the world, yes?" He was pulling off his shirt as he spoke.

"Yeah, there are."

"If you were lonely, and you knew people who were in love, would you feel better if they took that for granted or would you feel better knowing that they knew how lucky they were and made the most of it?"

"I never thought of it that way, but now that you mention it, I used to hate girls in high school who had cute boyfriends and treated them like crap. I always wished I had a chance to treat them like they deserved to be treated."

"Exactly – we should be happy while we can. Life can change in an instant, so we should never take for granted all the gifts we have." He was down to nothing but his jeans now and Sookie couldn't believe how gorgeous he was as he knelt down in front of her, slipped her shoes off her feet, and began massaging one of them, smiling up at her with a look that nearly melted her panties.

"That feels really good…"

"Consider this an amuse-bouche , my dear – or should I say an 'amuse-pied?'"

Sookie cracked up. "So what you're getting at here is that there's more to come, and this is just the beginning?"

"Yes, indeed, little one, I'm going to massage every inch of you until you are melting in my hands and then… I'm going to do something you probably can't pronounce until you pass out."

"Just don't forget that we need to exchange blood before we sleep."

"I would never forget to taste anything so sweet, my angel." He kissed the top of her foot and kept rubbing it in that deep, soft way he had that made her bones feel like they were just jelly. She lay back on the bed, baby still suckling, only her feet hanging off the edge of the bed. Eric opened the bottle and squeezed some thick lotion onto his hand, warmed it between his palms, which was hard for a vampire since they have no body heat, then went back to rubbing her foot very thoroughly, then worked his way up her leg to just below her knee. He took her other foot and rubbed it slowly, just as thoroughly, also up to her knee. Eric looked up and knew the baby was asleep, and Sookie nearly asleep as well, so he gently took the baby from her breast and took him around to the little co-sleeper. 

He came back and reached under Sookie's skirt, pulling down her panties. She let him move her, staying completely still with her eyes closed, knowing all she had to do was let him take over and she'd be a happy, happy girl. He slipped the bottom of her skirt up beneath her, and she let him slip it up, under and over her head, then he picked her up, turned down the bed and laid her lengthwise in the middle of it, gently urging her over on her tummy, her hands folded under her head. 

He dropped his jeans and straddled her legs, putting no pressure on her at all, covering her back with lotion in long, luxurious strokes. It felt so good, to just let go of everything, feeling his strong hands on her body, fingers pressing tenderly into her flesh, into her muscles, all her stress just melting away. 

Sookie completely lost track of time. She had no idea how long he'd been massaging her – it felt as if it could have been hours, and she may have fallen asleep – it just felt wonderful and endless. His hands worked their way down her arms and gradually back to her neck. He used long, deep strokes to move down her back to her lower cheeks, stroking them lovingly, thumbs pressing into the center of each to help the muscles relax. 

He moved down and rubbed the backs of her legs deeply, completely, then he stroked his way back up her body and whispered in her ear, "roll over, sweetheart." He helped her gently turn over, then began to rub her arms, her shoulders, then breasts, ribs, stomach and back up. He avoided her nipples deliberately, but they were standing at attention anyway. He moved down the front of her legs, taking his time, eventually exerting a gentle pressure so she opened her knees and let him spread them apart. 

She was melted butter by the time he began to lick her center, his talented tongue, lips and teeth bringing that area to life even as the rest of her was feeling like she was floating. Her mind was wandering when he began to use his fingers, and it flashed through her mind that she wondered if you could have sex on a waterbed, which made her laugh out loud and she almost thought she felt Eric laugh a little, too, though he kept eating her enthusiastically.

Now she couldn't be still, though he was trying to hold her legs in place, and she reached above her to grab the bottom of the headboard. Once she got a good hold on it she was able to brace herself and she was really writhing, but Eric kept up with her and before long she was coming hard on his tongue and fingers, trying not to yell out as he drew it out for a long, long time. She finally collapsed into a mass of jelly, out of breath and floating again as he rose up on his knees and raised her hips to him, entering her with a slow, deep stroke and continuing with a very deliberate pace, then gradually taking her harder and faster. 

She was holding the bottom of the headboard again. She loved this when all she could do was hold on and wait for the wave to come crashing over her again, and she was thinking about waterbeds again. Eric laughed out loud and leaned forward over her, kissing her hard, moving more slowly, but really hitting the right spot now, eliciting an "uh, uh, uh" from her every time he hit home. 

"I love you, Sookie – you are so funny," he said as he nuzzled her neck, "I'm trying so hard to drive you wild and you're thinking about waterbeds. I swear, when we get to Shreveport, I'm going to buy one and put it in the basement there so we can try it, ah, ah, ahhhhhh!" He reached an intense release, and the slamming and growling he did at the end pushed Sookie into another as well. 

He collapsed on top of her, both of them laughing, Eric smoothing her hair back and kissing her face and neck. After a minute he laid his head on her shoulder and she ran her nails gently up and down his back. She could feel through the bond that he was content and happy, so she didn't say anything, she just scratched his back and kissed his head. When they were both leveling out a little, she whispered, "Eric, roll over on your back," and he did. She stroked him firmly to bring him back, then straddled him and lowered herself onto his erection. She took control of the movement, the two of them joining hands, entwining fingers, Sookie bracing herself that way and really bearing down. 

Eric smiled to himself as she threw her head back and ground away on him. He couldn't believe how strong her internal muscles were now. He had known vampiresses that couldn't produce that kind of "grip." He wondered what sex would be like once he turned her – would she be even stronger then, or was she near vampire strength now? He didn't have much time to dwell on it because she began to moan and growled "feed me" as she gave him a look he had never seen on her before – she looked positively predatory as she leaned forward and braced her hands on his chest as he bit his wrist. He held it to her mouth, then bit the wrist she offered him and let himself feel the full brunt of the fairy blood, which was not as strong as before, but strong enough to make him feel high and intensify the orgasm he had as they "completed the circuit" and were surrounded by a swirl of purple energy. 

Sookie went wild as she came, slamming herself downward with such force Eric was afraid she would injure herself, so Eric broke the circuit by pulling his wrist from her, releasing hers and sweeping her down and under him as they finished.

When they were calmer, Eric actually checked her with his fingers to make sure she wasn't bleeding. 

"Eric, what are you doing?"

"I was afraid you might have injured yourself. Are you in any pain?"

"No, I feel fantastic."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah – why are you so worried?"

"You have never been that wild before, Sweetheart. I just want to be sure you didn't over do it."

"No way – it was awesome," she laughed and then yawned.

"Time for you to sleep, my angel."

"Yeah, I think you're right. Hold me a while?"

"Of course I will." He moved to the side and pulled her close. "I'm going to check you again before I sleep to make sure you aren't hurt."

"OK, but I'll probably sleep through it," she yawned again and snuggled up to him. 

He held her close for almost an hour, his arm stretched across her so he could rest his hand on the baby's belly. This was heaven, listening to Sookie and the baby breathe, feeling the subtle but very real cloud of energy that surrounded them when they were together this way. 

"Dadee!"

Eric reached across Sookie and pulled the baby into his arms, giving him a kiss and saying, "hello, my son. Time for our quiet time."

He got the bottle he brought upstairs with them and popped it into the warmer on the dresser and grabbed the baby's new book off the side table while they waited. The baby had his little head resting on Eric's shoulder and Eric spoke to him softly as he got the bottle from the warmer, then the baby made his "come here" motion toward the side table and Eric realized he had spotted the purple dragon, so he retrieved it for him. He quietly closed the door behind them so that the light wouldn't disturb Sookie, and they headed to the little sitting area upstairs. 

Eric settled them into the chair he used every night and turned on the reading lamp. 

"Which would you prefer first, Alex – read the book or eat?"

"bood, Dadee."

"Alright, we will read first. I suppose the bottle will stay warm a while. I might have to have Alicia put a warmer out here for us to use until your nursery is set up. So, let's see now – My First 100 Words, Bright Baby. Hmm – this is not a story, my son, it is a book of pictures and their names, so you have to see the pages." 

Eric adjusted the baby and his dragon in his arms so he had a good view of the book, and he opened it to the first pages, which were "Colors" and "Things that Go." Eric thought those were too advanced, but the third page had "Bathtime" and "Bedtime" and he thought the baby might know some of those words. Before he even began to point at pictures and say the words, the baby pointed to the top middle of the third page and said, "pish!"

"Very good, Alex! That is a fish!"

"Bood!" He pointed to the outer top corner of the fourth page, which showed a little boy reading a book.

"Yes, that's a book! Now, what is this?" Eric pointed to a picture of a lamp to the left of the Book picture.

"Uh-oh!"

"Yes, that's a lamp like the one you broke this morning. Can you say lamp?"

"Wamb."

"Pretty close," Eric laughed.

"Seep." He pointed to the middle square, which showed a boy with his head on a pillow.

"Yes, that boy is sleeping – it's bedtime."

"Seepeen'"

"Sleeping, that's right."

"Mamee seepeen."

"Yes, Mommy is sleeping."

Alex pointed to the bottom of the other page, to a picture of a little boy in a bathtub with suds on his head. "Sthowa!"

"That's very close to a shower. He's taking a bath. Can you say 'bath?'"

"Baff…" he pointed to the baby in the center picture who had his hands on his head like he was washing his hair, "wada," and patted his own head.

"Yes, he's washing his hair in the water."

"Borhd, Dadee."

"Bjorn?"

"Omba!" the baby pointed toward the front door and Eric heard the key in the door and Bjorn came up the stairs while Jerry went back to the elevator. 

"Hello, Bjorn! Have a good run?" Eric smiled, looking very content with his son in his arms.

"Very – reading his new book?"

"In a manner of speaking. It's just pictures and words, but it's surprising how many he already knows."

The baby motioned to Bjorn then pointed at the book, "sthowa."

"Shower? Yeah, you took a shower with your Mommy this morning, didn't you?" Bjorn laughed.

"Omba! Wada!"

"Yeah, you like the water! Maybe Mommy will take you in the pool again tomorrow – you liked that the other day, didn't you?"

"Poo?"

"Yeah, remember you were in the pool splashing Bobbie?"

"'Pashin' Bobbie," he giggled. "Oo-hoo!" he tried to make the "whoo" sound Sookie had made, raising his eyebrows and making the cutest face.

"Yeah, that's the noise Mommy made when she dunked you."

"When did all of this happen?"

"Yesterday when you told Sookie to play in the pool all day."

"She took him in the pool?"

"Yeah, he loved it. You should have seen his face when she'd bend her knees and dunk him in the water. His eyes were huge, like he couldn't believe how good it felt."

"I had no idea…"

"Ee, Dadee."

"OK, time to eat." Eric put the book down, picked up the bottle and shifted the baby so he could take the bottle. "I feel as if I am missing out on things," Eric said a little sadly. 

"You know, Bobbie and I were talking – maybe you should get a video camera? Between me, Bobbie, Amelia, Octavia, even Kerik, we could video some of this stuff for you."

"I considered that early on, but the baby came so early I never got to it. I think you're right. I'll get a good camera and you can all work together to make sure I don't miss all these things. I feel as if he learns so much just while I sleep."

"He's so smart – he picks up on things really fast."

"Yes, he is very smart," Eric looked at the baby affectionately.

"Well, I think I'm going to turn in…"

"Yes, I think Bobbie went to bed early so you could wake her when you got home."

"Awesome. Good night – nite-nite, Alex!"

"Na-na, Borhd!" The baby waved at him and then went back to his bottle.

Eric looked at the baby carefully as he fed, and he kissed his little hand when he reached up to pat Eric's cheek. He did want to remember this and the baby was changing so rapidly, he knew he'd better get on with it. There was no way he could have anticipated that the baby would advance so rapidly in only a week, but now that he knew this to be the case, he would act decisively. He would leave a message for Alicia and ask her to purchase a very good video camera as soon as possible, and to buy Sookie a digital camera while she was at it, because the one he had ordered for Sookie still hadn't arrived. 

The baby finished his bottle and Eric snuggled him up with his head on his shoulder, rubbing his little back as he yawned and buried his face in Eric's neck, playing with his long hair as Eric rocked him gently. When the baby was sleeping soundly, Eric took him back in the room and tucked him into the co-sleeper with his little dragon next to him, then he wrote Sookie a note, called Alicia's service, checked in with Sandy, and said goodnight to Bill as he came in from the office. He checked to make sure Sookie wasn't bleeding or in pain, kissed her lips, then went to rest for the day thinking about the things he wanted to do when they got home to Shreveport.


	75. Chapter 75

**[A/N: Sorry it's a short one but people were bugging me, so I'm posting what I've got. I wanted to cover two days so there would be more action, but we'll get to it in the next chapter. Enjoy!]**

**Chapter 75**

"Mamee!"

Sookie felt a pudgy little finger on her eyelid, like it was trying to open her eye. She managed to grab Alex's little hand before he really poked her and laughed as she opened her eyes to see big blue eyes and a toothless grin right next to her face, whispering, "Mamee!"

"Good morning, Pookie."

"Ah, Mamee," he giggled.

Sookie pulled him into her arms and kissed him all over his face, making loud smacking noises, as he giggled. "Are you ready to eat, Sweet Boy?"

"Omba, Mamee, ee," he giggled as she helped him get situated at her nipple.

"Ahem." Bjorn cleared his throat to let Sookie know he was in the room.

"Hey, Bjorn! You're here early!"

"Actually, you're just up late. Amelia came in and gave him a bottle about an hour and a half ago."

"You mean Alicia?"

"No, Amelia. She changed his diaper, too."

"She did? Why?"

"We all decided you need more sleep, and Alicia had an errand to run, and Bobbie wasn't up yet so Amelia took over."

"She didn't need to do that! I'm going to do nothing but sleep when we get back to Shreveport, I thought?"

"Yeah, but you're frayed around the edges, so they wanted to give you a little extra now. That's why he was whispering – she told him "shhh- don't wake Mommy" and he whispered to her as she put him down. When he woke up this time, I just let him wake you but he remembered to be quiet. He's a smart little monkey."

"Yeah, he is. Does it bother you when I feed him? You want me to throw a blanket over so you can't see?"

"No, don't be silly – you're in your own bed. Just relax and feed your baby. You can't offend me doing what Nature intended."

"I didn't think it bothered you, but I wanted to offer. I know some people can't handle it."

"I don't mind it –. I think the way you feed him in the mornings is why he's such a happy baby."

"Why? I just do what any mommy does, right?"

"You always give him a big smile and you have him in your arms the minute he wakes up, and then you look in his eyes like he's the most precious thing on earth and play with his little fingers and talk to him. Maybe all mommies do that, I don't know, I just know he's a lucky baby and you're the reason he's as happy as he is."

"Oh, thank you, Bjorn – that's so sweet of you to say!"

"It's not a compliment, it's just a fact. You've never been cross with him. You might get a little overwhelmed, but you always look at him with love in your eyes. That's the luckiest kid in the world as far as I'm concerned. Between you and Eric, he's got a perfect life."

The baby pulled away from Sookie's breast just long enough to say "Omba, Borhd!" and then went right back to feeding enthusiastically.

"See, Sookie? He agrees with me," Bjorn laughed. "He knows he's got it good."

"Aww – you're both sweet. Alex is my sweet boy!" Sookie teased him, then let out a huge yawn. "So what time is it?"

"A little after 10. You've got lots of time to sleep. You don't need to get up until one o'clock – the only reason for you to move at all is to feed Alex."

"OK, well, he's taking a break, but when he's done, we'll try to sleep a while longer… but first, "let's twist again, like we did last summer, let's twist again, like we did last year"…." She started to sing and tickle the baby, bringing him up to sit on her ribcage as she helped him dance. Alex was cracking up, and she even said "whoosh" a few times and flew him through the air.

"Fyid, Mamee!"

'Yeah, flying! I can't do much of that, though – I don't have strong arms that never get tired like Daddy." She was hugging, tickling, kissing the baby as she played with him.

"Dadee Fy!"

"Yeah, Daddy can fly! Daddy is like Super Man! He's big and strong and fast and he can fly!"

"Dadee seepeen," the baby pointed to the box.

"Yeah, Daddy has to sleep in the daytime. I miss him SO MUCH, but at least I've got you to keep me company. Yeah, I've got my Sweet Alex – my Sweet Alex- Mommy's baby!"

"Mamee beebee!" he giggled, trying to imitate Sookie.

"Yeah, you're Mommy's baby! Mommy's baby Alex! I love my little Alex!" She wrestled him over to Eric's side of the bed and blew raspberries on his tummy, which sent him into a huge giggling fit. He couldn't tell her that that was his favorite thing that she did to him, but she could tell he loved it.

"So much for trying to sleep," Bjorn laughed.

"We'll sleep but first we're having some fun. I feel like I waited so long to be able to play with him and cuddle him and I'm so glad he's here now-ow-Oh-my-goodness!" She yawned again.

"Sookie – go to sleep." Bjorn was half joking, but half serious, too.

"OK, we'll try, won't we, Pookie?"

The baby giggled as she snuggled him close and he hugged her back, his little hand in her hair. Sookie softly said "shhhh" and stroked his cheek, then kissed his forehead. He was still giggling a little, but he got quiet quickly and once the two of them settled a bit, they fell asleep within a minute of each other. Bjorn was keeping a close eye on the baby since Sookie hadn't put him back in his co-sleeper, but he wasn't near the edge of the bed.

Bobbie came in at a quarter 'til eleven and she and Bjorn played cards until Alicia came in and told them she had big sandwiches for everyone downstairs once they got Sookie up and ready for her day. It was nearly one and Sookie woke up as they talked quietly about the plans for the rest of the afternoon.

"Hey – what are you all whispering about?" Sookie asked with a yawn and a stretch.

"We were talking about what we needed to do to get ready to head back to Shreveport. If you're awake now, you should jump in the shower," Alicia suggested, "then I've got big sandwiches for everyone downstairs and by the time you finish that, the decorator should be here."

"OK – how much packing do I still have to do?"

"I have most of it done – once you take your shower, I can close up your train case and you'll be set. I left out one of your nursing dresses and some panties, your Birkies and some jewelry, and other than that, it's all packed. I figured by the time you get done with the decorator, Mr. Northman will be up and we'll be heading out."

"Wow - thanks for doing all of that. Did you get your errands done this morning?"

"Yes, I did. I found a Best Buy and I think Mr. Northman will be pleased with what I got for him."

"You bought something for Eric?"

"Yes, he didn't want to wait until we got back or until something could be shipped, so I got him a very nice video camera and a tripod. He felt he was missing out on time with the baby during the daytime. I got a digital camera for you, too."

"Oh, cool! He said he ordered one for me but I guess it never came?"

"Yes, and he wants you to be able to take pictures now since the baby is growing so quickly."

"That's a good idea – he learns so fast, it's like he changes every day. I do want Eric to get to see what happens when he has to sleep."

"You want me to help you with the baby in the shower, Sookie?" Bobbie asked as she brought Sookie her robe.

"Yeah, Pookie's awake – you want to take a shower, Pookie?"

"Shtowa! OM-ba!"

Everybody laughed at that and Bobbie helped Sookie into her robe, then carried the baby behind her as she went into the bathroom.

Sookie got started and Bobbie got Alex out of his diaper. The baby pointed to the shower and said "Mamee wada!"

"Yeah, Mommy's in the water. You want to go in the water with Mommy?"

"Omba!"

"Sookie are you ready for him?"

"Almost – give me one minute… OK, I can take him now! Come on, Pookie!"

Bobby handed the baby to her and he made his "haaa!" sound as she brought him under the gentle spray. He held his hands up, closing his eyes and smiling. "Wada!"

"Yeah, water feels good, doesn't it? Here, let's wash your pretty hair." She lathered up his hair and rinsed it, the baby just closing his eyes and letting Sookie gently rub and rinse and then he pointed to some suds on his arm and ran his fingers through it. "Suds, Pookie – that's soap suds." She dabbed a little bit of suds on his nose and he giggled. "You like bubbles?"

"Ba-ba?"

"Yeah, bubbles – I'll have to get a bottle of bubbles for you to play with. Hey, Bobbie – remind me to get some bubbles for the baby."

"Good idea – he'd love that!"

Sookie scooped up some more suds and blew them gently toward Alex and he made his happy sound again. Sookie laughed and kissed him, then picked up his baby soap and cleaned the rest of him well. She rocked him in and out of the shower spray a few times, making him laugh. "Got a towel, Bobbie?"

"Yep, all ready for him,"

"Here you go," Sookie opened the door and Bobbie took the baby into the big towel, drying and snuggling him, making him laugh. She powdered and diapered the baby as Sookie wrapped a towel around herself and combed out her hair. The baby reached for the powder puff and said "Mamee!"

"Whatcha want, Pookie?" Sookie bent over and looked him in the eye and Bobbie, helped the baby pat Sookie on the nose with the puff. Sookie laughed and said "A-Choo!" and the baby giggled like crazy.

"Tchoo!" Alex tried to imitate Sookie, making the girls crack up. Bobbie put the baby on the bed and took Sookie's dress and undies back in to her. The minute she put the baby down, he flipped on his tummy and got up on his knees, looking at Bjorn.

"Ah, Borhd!"

"Hi, Alex – are you all clean now?" Bjorn laughed and picked him up.

"Omba! Shthowa!"

"Here, Bjorn, you want to put this on him?" Alicia handed him a little tank/shorts style onesie with bright orange, white, and green stripes on it.

"Uh – how does it work? I don't know anything about baby clothes."

"You just put his feet in here, make sure there's a leg in each leg hole and pull it up."

"OK…" Bjorn held the baby on one knee and pulled the little suit up over his feet. The baby was giggling and kicking a little, but Bjorn managed to get his feet in the holes and pull it up to his waist over the bulky diaper. It took a little work but he got the straps up over his arms then turned him around and held him up to look at him. "I think I got it – this looks like something you'd wear in jail," he laughed.

"It's supposed to be summery, I think," Alicia laughed as she was gathering up Sookie's things.

"If you say so. What do you think, Alex? You like this outfit?"

"Nah."

Bjorn laughed. "You think it makes you look like a jailbird, too, don't you?"

"Omba!" he giggled.

Sookie and Bobbie came out of the bathroom laughing.

"Hey, Pookie! What are you wearing? You look so cute!"

"Alex and I aren't sure we like this thing he's wearing." Bjorn said. "It makes him look like a jailbird."

All the women laughed, which made the baby laugh.

"Yeah, I can see that, but it's a cute little thing he can move easily in but still be dressed enough for company or traveling. Think of it as an old-fashioned men's bathing suit."

"OK, but I want to be there when Eric sees him in it." Bjorn laughed.

"Oh – it's not that bad. I think it's cute, don't you, Pookie?"

"Nah-nah, Mamee," Alex giggled.

Sookie cracked up, "Yes. you do!"

"Nah!" Alex giggled, sort-of standing on Bjorn's leg as he held him up facing Sookie.

"Yes," She tickled him.

"Nah!" Alex was very pleased with himself giving Mommy a hard time.

"Yes!"

"Nah!" He squealed with laughter.

"Daddy will like it…"

"Nah-nah, Mamee!"

"I'm with him, Mamee. Daddy won't like it," Bjorn teased her.

"If Eric hates it, we'll put a t-shirt on him to travel, but for now, he's fine."

"Nah!" He giggled

Sookie was still laughing at him - "Listen you, Mommy says you look cute and I'm the boss!"

Alex stuck his tongue out and made a raspberry sound at her.

"Hey – when did you learn to do that?" Sookie was surprised he knew how to do that already and that he seemed to know what it meant.

Alex made the sound again, drooling on Bjorn's hand in the process. Bjorn was cracking up as he wiped his hand with the diaper Bobbie threw to him.

"OK, be ornery if you insist, but you better not make that sound at Daddy." Sookie was kidding, but she'd never tell Eric he did that, just in case. "Alicia, did you pack the little red pouch and the little manila envelope that were in Alex's crib?"

"Yes, they're in the diaper bag – I remember you saying they were important."

"OK, cool. Let's go down and eat, y'all, I'm hungry!"

Bjorn stood up and the baby looked at him, saying "doh-ee, Borhd."

"Do-hee?" Bjorn asked

"Nah, nah, DOH-EE" and he pointed to his little crib, where the purple dragon was half-covered by his blanket.

"OH, TOY – is that what you want?" Bjorn picked it up and the baby said "OMBA!" as he hugged the dragon to him, making everyone laugh.

Everybody headed downstairs and Alicia already had a platter with some wrapped po' boys on it and plates for them all to use. Amelia and Octavia were serving them up, asking what kind everyone wanted. Jerry came in to join them, and they all dug in. Sookie wanted a piece of shrimp po' boy and a piece of an oyster one.

"I got them "dressed," so if you don't want lettuce and tomato, you'll have to take it off yourself." Alicia told them. "They've all got mayo – I hope that's alright."

"This is fine with me!" Sookie said.

"Me, too!" Bobbie agreed.

"I'm glad we'll be in Shreveport tonight and I can use the gym!" Bjorn laughed as he put the baby into his high chair. Alicia brought the baby a bottle of RM and a small box of Cheerios, which she opened and sprinkled about 10 on his little tray. Alex looked at the bottle but was fascinated with the bits of cereal.

"Cheerios?" Sookie asked as she watched Alex try to pick one up.

"Yes, it's used for teething babies. They can pick it up with their little fingers and it will just melt in his mouth if he doesn't swallow it. We'll keep a close eye on him and see how he does, unless you want to wait?"

"No, I want to see how he does with them. I know he's way ahead of most babies anyway. I can't believe how well he can talk already." Alex was putting one in his mouth and gnawing on it with his gums.

"It's amazing, but I guess that's Mr. Northman's contribution?"

"Yeah, it must be – babies in my family were just normal as far as I know. I don't remember Gran ever saying anything about us being different, except for my dis…" Sookie caught herself, realizing Alicia didn't know about her telepathy. Everybody who did know froze for a second.

"Your what, dear?"

"My dislike for bananas. I hated them from birth – if you fed them to me when I was a baby, I'd spit them on you." Sookie was telling the truth, so she hoped Alicia wouldn't realize she had started to say something else.

"I know that was on your list of things not to buy – I didn't realize it went that far back."

"Oh, yeah – the smell of them makes me nauseous. I hope Alex doesn't like them because I can't handle it."

"Good to know! Anyone want more sweet tea? I'm going to make another pitcher when we finish this up."

Bjorn and Octavia let Aiicia fill their glasses with what was left so she could take the pitcher back into the kitchen.

"Nice save, kid," Amelia told Sookie and laughed. "Are you ever going to tell her?"

"Eventually, but there's so much other weirdness happening around this baby that I think I should put it off to a time when things are calmer. I don't want to overwhelm her."

"Ee, Mamee." Alex was holding a Cheerio out to Sookie.

"Are you eating Cheerios, Pookie?"

He looked at the Cheerio then showed it to Sookie again.

"That's a Cheerio. Do you like Cheerios, Alex?"

"Omba, Dee-wos," he said as he put that one in his mouth and gnawed on it as he bounced his leg up and down and played with the ones left on his tray with both hands.

Sookie laughed then turned her attention back to her sandwich and her friends. "Octavia, are you all packed or do you need help or anything?"

"Nope, I'm all set. Alicia helped me earlier."

"Oh, good. Are you going to miss New Orleans?"

"Nah –we won't be gone that long. I was wondering though, would you mind if I stayed at your house while Amelia goes to Bon Temps this week?"

"Of course, we'd love it if you stay, Octavia! Consider it your home, too, and don't hesitate to let us know if you need anything."

"Well, good, I like being around the little vampire."

"Omba, Ayvbee!" Alex laughed as he gummed another Cheerio.

Everybody laughed.

"I think he's saying he likes you to be around, too, Octavia," Sookie laughed.

"That's a smart little boy there. You say Niall and Dr. Ludwig are coming to dinner tomorrow night?"

"Yeah, that's what Eric said. I guess they want to see how he's progressing."

"They're going to be dumbfounded," Amelia laughed.

"I'm looking forward to seeing what his reaction is to Niall," Bobbie said.

"Why?" Sookie didn't anticipate any problems, but she hadn't really thought about it.

"It's just a feeling I have. It has something to do with the number 2 – I think it's a Fae thing that Niall will be involved with or aware of or something."

"They did move this up awfully fast." Octavia agreed.

"You all will be there, right? Octavia?" Sookie didn't want to be alone with Niall and Ludwig, though she knew Eric would be there no matter what.

"If you want me there," Octavia was asking permission, but knew the answer before Sookie spoke.

"Yeah, of course. Bobbie, Bjorn?"

"If you want us there, sure," Bobbie assured her.

"Amelia?"

"I might have to work, Sweetie. Sam has been pretty cool about letting me take time off when you need me, so I probably shouldn't push him any further in case something else comes up. He's probably going to have to replace me anyway, but in the mean time, I like working there."

"OK – if you don't have to work, though?"

"I'll be there."

"OK, I'll feel a lot better if you all are there. You might think of something that I don't know enough to ask. Jerry, what about you?"

"No, ma'am, starting tomorrow I'll be back on my regular day schedule."

"Oh, OK… You'll still eat dinner with us, though, right?"

Jerry smiled, "sometimes, if you want."

Alicia came back with a full pitcher of tea. "It's after 2:30 – Ms. Antoine-de Broux will be here at 3."

"Oh, OK – I want to eat one more piece of sandwich. Is there any of the shrimp left?"

"Sure, there is." Alicia smiled and opened another sandwich and poured Sookie more tea. Bjorn accepted another glass and so did Bobbie and Octavia, but Amelia said she had had enough for a while. Bjorn was happy to take half of Sookie's shrimp sandwich, too.

"Are you excited to see what she came up with, Sookie?" Bobbie was more excited than Sookie was.

"The decorator? Yeah, I am. I mean, I love this place as it is, but it's going to rock when if feels more like it's really mine."

"Well, I'm ready for a nap – it's going to be a late night tonight," Octavia said as she got up from the table.

"And I've got packing to do." Amelia said.

"Do you need help, Miss Amelia?" Alicia asked her.

"No, thanks – you did my laundry yesterday so all I have to do is put my stuff in the suitcase. Thanks for your help, though."

"I need to talk to the guys outside about the travel plans tonight. Thanks for lunch!" Jerry excused himself and went out front.

"I'm going to stay with the baby while you women work with the decorator." Bjorn said.

"You are?" Sookie was surprised.

"Yeah, you women all have something she's working on for you, but Alex won't have the patience to sit that long and look at swatches. I thought we'd go out back and he can play in that little yellow thing with all the toys on it."

"Are you sure, Sweetie? I'll sit with him if you have things to do," Bobbie offered.

"I'm sure – you want to see what she's going to do with the little apartment upstairs, Alicia wants to see about the apartment on the third floor, so this will free you up to do that and Alex and I will have some guy time, right, Alex? Víg!"

"VBEE ! " Alex threw his arm up and cracked up, "Omba, Borhd!"

"If I didn't know better, I'd say you just want to play with the baby," Sookie teased him.

"I just don't want him around all that girly stuff at such an impressionable age. Eric would agree with me." Bjorn laughed because he was kidding. He really did mostly just want to play with the baby, but he wouldn't admit that to the girls. And, truth be told, he knew Eric would prefer that to looking at swatches, too.

"Uh-huh," Sookie wasn't buying it. "Alright, you two he-men have fun."

Bjorn took the baby out of the high chair, dragon and all, and held him down toward Sookie. "Give Mommy a kiss, Alex."

Sookie looked up and kissed the baby on the lips. "Have fun, Pookie. You be a good boy for Bjorn, OK?"

"Oday."

Bjorn picked up the yellow bouncy seat with his free hand and headed out back to the iron tables with Alex. Once they got out there, he put the little seat down next to the chair he would sit in, and put the baby in it. Alex made his happy sound, and Bjorn set the dragon on a chair right where he could see it. Alex found the piano buttons immediately and squealed with delight. He was jumping up and down, having a fine time when Alicia came out and gave Bjorn the bottle of RM in case he needed it.

"You boys don't stay in the sun too long – move into the shade in a little bit."

"Ok, Alicia, thanks," Bjorn laughed.

"Oday, Eesh!" Alex giggled and pressed another button, squealing and jumping when it played music.

Alicia came back into the dining room. "Those two are just alike. It must be a Swedish men thing," she laughed.

"It has to be," Sookie agreed. "Eric will like that he's spending time with Bjorn. He's counting on Bjorn helping him grow up to be a fighter."

"All he needs to do is grow," Bobbie laughed, "he's completely ready to fight right now. What did Octavia say? "That nut didn't fall far from that big old tree?"

Sookie and Alicia cracked up and the three of them were still laughing when Jerry led Ms. Antoine-de Broux into the room. The table had already been cleared, so he set the big Las Vegas inventory catalog in front of Sookie and excused himself.

"Hi, Giselle! How are you today? Can we get you something to drink?" Sookie put her best manners on.

"No, thank you, Mrs. Northman, I'm fine."

"Please, call me Sookie."

"Alright, well, I know you're getting ready to leave so I just wanted to show you some sketches and give you the list of what I think you should bring here."

"OK, great! I can't wait to see what you've got!"

Giselle opened the cream leather case and took out a large sketchbook and a zippered pouch of fabric and carpet samples. She was a really good artist, and Sookie was amazed at how accurate the drawings of the rooms and the furniture were.

"I hope you don't mind, but I stopped by the offices earlier, too, and Emily showed me the two office rooms you'd chosen. If you don't mind, I'd like to get the painters in there this week, and order the furnishings and window treatments. Here's what I had for that."

The office sketches for each room were awesome – pink walls, dark cherry desks, computer armoire, file cabinets, barrister's shelves and chairs with dark wine colored leather upholstery. The window treatments would be a deep rose color and the lights for the office were slightly old-fashioned in a good way. Sookie approved those, then they got down to the house.

The sketch for Sookie's bedroom showed a HUGE bed.

"How big is that?"

"12 x 15."

"They make beds that big?" Sookie had never heard of anything bigger than a California king until she stayed at the residence.

"Yes, they do." Giselle assured her. "The box spring comes in two pieces so you can get it in the house. It's a special order item, of course and the sheets and blankets are expensive, but they're top quality. Given Mr. Northman's size and the idea that you wanted an "oasis" and the fact that the baby sometimes sleeps with you, I thought you might want to consider something extreme. It wouldn't be for everyone, of course, but you have a unique situation."

"I love it – I'll want to check with Eric, of course, but I think it would be cool having a bed that size."

"Wonderful. I was planning to have two spreads custom made – a satin one for summer and a velvet one for winter, both in black with the pink trim that will match the walls. I found this beautiful floral print for the windows and accent pillows." She showed Sookie a large swatch of fabric with large pink roses on a black background.

"I love that – what is that material?"

"It's a kind of rayon, silk blend. Now I have two possibilities for your furniture. One, we could use the dark cherry in the bedroom, but honestly, I think you'd like black lacquer in the bedroom. There are some lovely chests I can get like these," she pulled out a picture of some Asian style nightstands and dressers, "that would go much better with the wooden base for the bed than the dark cherry."

"I like those better, too. Are we doing carpet in that room?"

"I would in the bedroom. I thought you might like this." She produced a luxurious carpet sample in a gorgeous rose color.

"I love that." Sookie was really pleased with what she was seeing.

Time flew as the women looked at all the sketches. Alicia was pleased with the cool blue and cream palette she had chosen for the apartment she was to share with Margaret, and Bobbie loved the black leather/purple velvets for the small apartment she and Bjorn would share. The spread would be done in clean, tailored lines and the couch would be a conservative style to offset the exotic fabrics and keep Bjorn from feeling like he was in a gypsy camp. They would spend most of their time in the rest of the house, so their room just had to be comfortable and cozy and have enough splash to keep Bobbie from feeling it was too institutional. Giselle even had dinette sets and dishes to recommend for the little apartments that would set them apart from the main house. Alicia approved the designs for her rooms, then excused herself to direct the men in bringing the luggage out of the rooms. Once Bobbie was done, she went upstairs to check on their luggage.

Giselle and Sookie were going through the list of things Giselle would like to have brought from the Las Vegas residence when Eric came in.

"Good evening, ladies!"

"Hey, Sweetie!" Sookie popped up and gave him a hug and a kiss.

"Are we having fun, my angel?"

"Yes, we were just looking at what Giselle would like to use here from the Vegas residence. Can we use all this stuff?"

"Use all you want. What's left we will sell, unless you want to store it for future use if we find a suitable compound. It's up to you, lover."

"Good. Also, how would you feel about having a giant bed?"

"A giant bed? How big?"

"12 x 15" Giselle told him.

"Wouldn't that be cool?! Show him the sketch, please?"

"Interesting. Where is my box going to go?"

"Well, there are two options, both of which are included. First, you can simply stay in the bed since the house is always surrounded by guards, or you can stay in a box that I've designed into the closet." Giselle pulled out a sketch for the closet renovation, showing how the box would be hidden among the drawers. "I was under the impression that it was a good idea to have something hard to find?"

"Yes, that's a very good idea. We can have the inside of that upholstered, I assume?"

"Yes, of course, and I'll have the work done in pieces by different contractors so only we know how the individual pieces are intended to work together."

"Excellent. Yes, I'm very pleased with this. And the bed is fine, if that's what Sookie wants."

"OH, I forgot to ask – can we get pink sheets for it?"

"Yes, ma'am, we can. I'll arrange for matching towels for the bathroom as well and I already ordered the larger tub. They can put it in next week, and then I'll have the painting and tile started right after."

"Fantastic!" Sookie was stoked!

"Alright, now you are coordinating everything with Alicia, yes?"

"Yes,"

"She has all of the financial information to order anything you need. Don't cut corners or skimp on quality. I want Sookie to have the very best."

"Wonderful! My meeting with the curator isn't until Wednesday, but I listed all of the better artwork in the things to be brought here, then I'll have it set up for the museum to take what we don't use here or have suitable storage arranged."

"Excellent. Alicia?" He called into the living room.

"Yes, Mr. Northman?"

"Did you have the keys copied for Giselle?"

"Yes, sir, I did. Here you go, Miss." Alicia handed her the keys as Bjorn came through the kitchen with Alex asleep in his arms.

"Thank you. I promise you won't be disappointed."

"Alright. Our tentative plan is to return August 10, but that is subject to change. Can you work around that?" Eric took the baby from Bjorn, kissing him and snuggling him up under his chin, still asleep.

"Yes, Mr. Northman, no problem at all."

"Wonderful. Sookie, do you need me anymore?"

"No, thanks, honey, I just wanted to be sure about the bed."

Eric kissed her sweetly, "alright, you ladies will excuse me?"

"Of course. So nice to see you again." Giselle said a little breathlessly. What a beautiful man!

"You, too." Eric nodded and went to the living room where Bjorn was standing. Bill came down then and quickly wished them all a safe trip, wanting to get straight to the office because he had a meeting with one of the contractors for the work in the Quarter. He waved at Sookie as he headed out the front door and she waved back.

"Alright, is there anything else we need to go over?" Sookie asked.

"No, I think that's everything. I'll do my very best to have this looking like Sookie Northman lives here by the time you get back."

"Thank you so much for your help. I really appreciate it."

"Oh, it's my pleasure. I'll see you in August then."

"Great. Drive safely going home."

"You travel safely, too. Night driving is a little tricky."

"Oh, our driver is really good at seeing in the dark."

"May I show you to your car, Miss?" Bjorn offered, taking the large catalog for her.

They went out the front door and Sookie went in to Eric and the baby.

"How are my two boys doing?" She asked, snuggling up to both of them. Eric put his free arm around her, purple dragon in hand, kissing her head and holding her and the baby close and quiet for a few minutes as the guards were moving luggage out to the vehicles. Octavia and Amelia came from the elevator as Alicia came down the stairs from taking one last look around to be sure they didn't forget anything.

"How are we doing?" Eric asked Alicia.

"I think we're all ready."

Bjorn came in. "Almost ready, your majesty, I just want to grab the little yellow seat for Alex."

"We're taking that with us?" Sookie asked.

"Yeah, I know we were going to leave it here, but he LOVES that thing. He had a blast out there today," Bjorn laughed.

"Good – if he likes it, he should have it," Eric said, kissing Alex on the forehead.

Bobbie came down the stairs with a big box in her hands and her bag over her shoulder.

"What's that?" Sookie asked her.

"Eric's new video camera. I'm going to learn how to use it as we travel so we can start documenting Pookie's days tomorrow."

"Oh, cool!"

"Yeah, you want to make sure you get video of him in that yellow bouncy seat. He goes crazy in that," Bjorn said.

"When was this?" Eric asked.

"I took him out by the pool while the girls were looking at swatches. I didn't think he'd enjoy all that girly stuff."

"Good thinking. And why is he wearing prison garb?"

Bjorn cracked up, then caught himself because he didn't want to wake the baby. "I told Sookie it made him look like a jailbird. He agreed with me, too."

"Oh, come on, you guys, it's cute!"

"Nah nah, Mamee," Alex giggled, now awake.

"Go back to sleep, you!" Sookie teased him, giving him a kiss as Eric held him.

"Ah, Dadee," Alex hugged Eric and pressed his lips to his cheek.

"Hello, my son," Eric kissed his lips. "Did you have fun with Bjorn?"

"Omba, mudik."

"You played music for him?" Eric remembered him using that word before.

"Omba."

"And you were in the sun? You look a bit tanned."

"VBEE!" Alex threw up his arm and yelled because he didn't really understand what Eric said to him.

"Víg!" Eric and Bjorn both responded and cracked up as Bjorn started back through the kitchen. Alex squealed and hugged Eric, then laid his head on his shoulder because he was still tired. "Are you sleepy, Alex?" Eric asked him.

"Nah seepy."

"I think maybe you are, my son. Well, that's alright. You'll sleep in the car as we go back to Shreveport." Eric spoke softly to him and rubbed his little back.

"Yeah, the car usually puts him right to sleep," Sookie agreed as she stroked the back of Alex's head, her arm around Eric's waist and her head on his free shoulder. She and Alex were in the same mood – the mood to just crawl inside Eric and hide there.

Eric could feel that from both of them and it was gratifying to know they both missed him so much during the day and that being with him again was such a relief.

Bjorn came back through the house with the yellow seat and as he walked toward the front door, Alex pointed and said, "mudik, Dadee!"

"Yes, that's where you play music. When we get home or maybe sometime tomorrow evening, you can play music for me, OK?"

"Oday."

Jerry came in and escorted Alicia, Octavia, Amelia and Bobbie out to their cars, and after a few minutes, Bjorn came back in from putting the yellow seat in the van with their luggage.

"We're all set, your majesty." Bjorn told him.

"Alright, then, my beautiful family, let's load up."

Bjorn locked the house up and then and Jerry got the three of them situated in the back of Sookie's car and then took their seats, Bjorn driving and Jerry almost literally riding shotgun. Bjorn and Jerry were both wearing headsets so they could communicate with the other guards.

Once they were on the road, Alex didn't want to stay in his little seat. "Dadee!" He was making his "come here" gesture with his hands and wouldn't stop. Sookie and Eric both talked to him, trying to get him to stay put, but when he started to cry, Eric gave in and took him out of it so he could hold him.

"Are you happy now, my son?" Eric whispered to him as he snuggled him and the baby snuffled and said, "omba, Dadee."

"Bjorn, will we be stopping anywhere?"

"I was thinking we might stop and get gas somewhere along the way. Why?"

"I think we should dispense with this car seat for this trip back. We can put it back in when we get to Shreveport in case Sookie wants to take the baby out, but I don't see the point in having it back here – he'd rather be held and I'd rather hold him."

"Do you know how to take it out?"

"Yes, I installed it – it's easily unlatched. Can we throw it in the van with the luggage?"

"I don't see why not. There's a shopping center before we get out of town – why don't I pull the caravan in there and we'll get rid of it so you'll all be more comfortable."

"Is it safe to do that?" Sookie asked.

"It should be fine. Eric is all the protection he really needs," Bjorn assured her.

"OK, as long as he's safe. What if the police stop us?"

"If the police stop us… they won't get far enough to notice a baby not in a car seat," Bjorn and Jerry laughed.

"He'll be fine, Sookie. I wouldn't do anything to endanger him," Eric marveled that sometimes Sookie still didn't understand the difference in humans and vampires, or even Weres. The baby was much safer in Eric's arms than in that silly plastic seat.

The shopping center was only 10 minutes away and on the way to the highway, so Bjorn told the other guards what they were going to do, and in almost no time at all, the seat was stowed in the van and Eric and Sookie were able to snuggle with each other and the baby, who was tickled to get so much time with Mommy's and Daddy's undivided attention.

"Do-ee, Dadee." Alex was sitting on Eric's knee looking up at him.

"Do-ee?"

"He's saying 'toy' – he means that purple dragon." Bjorn told him.

"Oh, here, I stuck it in top of the diaper bag when we were wrestling with the car seat," Sookie said, pulling it out and handing it to Eric.

Alex made his happy sound when he was able to hug it to him, making Eric laugh. Alex held the dragon up, showing it to Eric, pulling up one of the shiny wings for him to see.

"That is a very nice dragon, my son. Does he have a name?"

"Do-ee."

"His name is toy?"

"That's the only word he knows for it. What if we give him a name, too, Alex?" Sookie suggested.

"Nah – do-ee."

"OK, we'll just call him 'toy,'" she laughed. "He's a toy dragon, though – can you say dragon, Alex?"

"dwadon?"

"Yeah, he's a dragon, and he's got big shiny wings. See, shiny wings?"

"Weensth?"

"Yeah, see, this is a wing he can use for flying."

"Fyid!"

"Yeah, dragons can fly – though maybe this one is too little to fly yet."

"Dadee fy!" Alex looked up at Eric with those big blue eyes, and showed him the wings.

"Yes, you and I will go flying soon, won't we, Alex?"

"Omba, fyid!"

Sookie reached over and petted the dragon and said, "ooh, he's soft! See, Alex?" She brushed his cheek gently with the dragon, "soft."

"sthop?"

"Yeah, soft. You're gonna have lots of soft toys if I have anything to say about it," Sookie laughed and Eric did, too. Bjorn snickered a little, as well and shook his head. "You've got lots of toys to explore in Shreveport, too! Wait 'til you get to look around your room! Yeah, wait 'til you see your room!" She was teasing the baby and he was loving it. She took the dragon and said "my toy!"

"Nah nah, Mamee." He reached for the dragon.

"Yeah, this is my toy…" she said as she pulled it back.

"Nah, Mamee, mmmy do-ee," he said as he pulled it away from her and blew raspberries at her.

Eric tried not to laugh. He didn't want to encourage bad behavior, but it was funny to see him giving such attitude. He was torn between wanting Alex to show respect for Sookie and just loving his spirit. He decided not to make an issue of it right now, since they were only playing and he was so small.

Alex started to stick the dragon's wing in his mouth but Sookie said, "No, no, Sweetie! Here, chew on this." She pulled the fish teether out of the diaper bag.

"Pish!" Alex said and grabbed the teether with both hands, putting it straight into his mouth because he knew he could chew on this toy. He was starting to drool, so Sookie took out a clean cloth and wiped his mouth and the toy. His dragon was still on his lap, but he leaned back against Eric and just chewed on the fish and it was obvious to Eric and Sookie both that he was beginning to fall asleep. Sookie pulled a small blue blanket out of the diaper bag and Eric wrapped it around the baby as Sookie took the teether, which Alex had dropped, and wiped it off. The baby's hand was stroking the dragon in his sleep, so Eric tucked it under the blanket with him.

"Do you think he is comfortable?" Eric asked Sookie.

"I think he's in heaven, snuggled up with his Dadee and his do-ee," she laughed.

They were on Route 49 approaching Alexandria when Bjorn asked Jerry "Do you see them?''

"Yeah, I count two of them. They've been with us for quite a while."

Bjorn tapped his headset. "Affirmative. Everybody be alert."

"Problems?" Eric asked.

"Yes, your majesty, we are being followed by at least two vehicles. They haven't tried anything or even gotten very close, but they're definitely shadowing us."

"Alright, keep me informed. Sookie, Sweetheart, sit up and buckle your seat belt. "

"Yes, your majesty. Our man inside the state patrol is running their license plates now to see if they can identify them."

"Sookie, did you like the plans the decorator showed you today?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah, they're great. She's going to use that red velvet furniture I loved from the Vegas residence in the living room and she's going to sell the pool table and that area will be a conversation pit and home theatre, plus there will be space for the baby to play. She's going to get a special kind of rug that won't have nasty chemicals he might be exposed to as he crawls around."

"And we're going to have a giant bed?" Eric was trying to distract her so she wouldn't be scared. His intuition was telling him this was some form of reconnaissance, but he didn't want to prejudice the guards so he didn't say anything.

"Yeah – the bedroom will be black and pink – is that OK?"

"Yes, of course, if that's what you want."

"Yeah, and she's going to recreate Alex's nursery across the hall from our room. They already ordered the same furniture for it that he has at home. She's going to turn the den into an office for both of us, with his and hers desks and computers," Sookie laughed.

"That's a pleasant idea that you and I can be together when we have work to do."

"Yeah, it is. She's got some cool ideas for the apartments for Bobbie and Bjorn and then Alicia and Margaret. Everybody will have their own special retreat. It should be pretty cool. You'll have a pleasant place to rock the baby every night and read to him. He loves that."

"Yes, he likes reading. We need to get some more books for him."

"Yeah, I'm going to go ahead and get more Dr. Seuss and some other things. We've been so busy, I haven't done little things like that – there were too many big things to do," Sookie laughed.

"Now that he is here, you have a clearer picture of what he likes and needs. You two will have fun together, playing in the pool and reading books and collecting plushy toys," he teased her

"I've even got some gift certificates for a big book seller on line – Amazon or something like that."

"Buy a few for yourself, too. You love to read." Eric smiled at her.

"Yeah, I'm going to get some Goddess books that Octavia and Bobbie told me about."

"That's a good idea, if it interests you."

"It still scares me a little, but I figure it won't hurt to learn about it. They're so positive about it all that I think I should keep an open mind and check it out before I shut myself off to it."

"Good idea."

"Are you making fun of me?"

"What? No, of course not – I think it's very important for you to learn about your connection to the Goddess, my angel, I would never make fun of that."

"Even though Norse men don't do magick?"

"Norse women do, though, and you need to learn so you can guide Alex as he grows."

"Yeah, it's for Alex…"

"It's for you, too, Sookie. You are growing, too, and study of the Goddess will help you embrace your powers and be proud of them. It will help you master your skills. You might even discover new ones."

"Do I want any new ones, though?"

"Of course, Sookie, you want all the advantages Nature has given you. Bjorn, any new information?"

"The cars are registered in Texas to a corporation of some sort. They're running down info on it now – it appears to be a front for something or someone else."

"Are they still following us?" Eric was pretty sure they were.

"Yes, but we think they know they've been spotted because they're hanging back," Bjorn explained.

"How far are we from Shreveport?"

"About an hour and a half. If they follow us off the highway, Vincent will have two cars pick up their trail and keep an eye on them. I don't think they're an immediate threat. If they were going to attack, they'd have done it by now. The closer we get to Shreveport, the less likely, I'd say."

"Vincent has been alerted?"

"Yes, and the guards on duty at your house. There will be extra tonight and tomorrow, just in case."

"Why would somebody just follow us?" Sookie didn't want to interrupt but she had to ask – it didn't make any sense to her.

"Reconnaissance," Eric told her, "they're trying to scope us out – see how we operate, how many we are, how much force we can muster. They aren't likely to be trouble tonight, but they could be very real trouble at some point in the future. That's why we're trying to figure out who they are."

Bjorn tapped his headset. "Alright, I'll tell him. They're recommending we have a security meeting tonight once you're all safely in the house, your majesty."

"So they know who this is?" Eric knew the answer would be 'yes.'

"Apparently, but they don't want to say over the 'com since they could be listening."

"Alright. I still want everyone to stay alert. They might decide to do something illogical or high risk."

"We will."

Everyone was quiet for a while, then the baby stretched and yawned.

"Are you awake, Alex?" Eric asked him softly.

"Eh, Mamee?" He wiped his eyes sleepily.

"What?" Sookie had been staring out the window, "did he ask for me?"

"Yes, he did. See, Alex – there's Mommy."

"Ee, Mamee," he reached for her.

"OK, Sweetie, eat. Here you go," she put him to her breast, opening the top of her dress. He was sleepy, but very hungry, taking blood and milk both. "He's completely off schedule now, I hope he can still spend his time with you tonight, Eric."

"I hope so, too. I'm sure we'll find some time together before the night is over." Eric reached over and kissed her, "And so will we, my angel. Everything will be alright."

"Sit closer – why are you so far away?"

Eric didn't say anything.

"He doesn't want to endanger you, your majesty." Bjorn thought she should know what was up. "If someone were to aim at him and you were too close together, you could be hurt."

"Oh… I didn't think about that." Sookie was a little sad, but knowing what was up was much better than thinking Eric didn't want to sit next to her.

"You know better than that, Sookie," Eric whispered.

She looked at him, realizing he was responding to what she was thinking. She decided to try a test.

'Can you hear me that clearly, Eric?' she thought.

'Yes. If you can hear me, squeeze my hand.'

She reached to the side and squeezed his hand, and they looked at each other.

'How long?' Sookie asked him in her mind.

'You knew I could hear you occasionally, but now it's been continuously for a week or so. You've been hearing me, too, you just didn't realize it. I can picture what I want you to do and you do it.'

'Can you hear Alex?'

'Yes, but it's pictures, not words.'

'Same with me. Why can I hear you now, but not a minute ago?'

'I didn't want you to hear me then.'

'You can control it that well?"

'Yes. Don't tell anyone. Let those who know continue to think it's sporadic. Only the three of us should know the extent of our communication."

'Alright.'

"Your majesty?" Bjorn broke the silence.

"Yes, Bjorn?"

"They're gone. We'll keep an eye out and Vincent's men will still pick up our trail at the exit, but they seem to have begged off for the night."

"Good. It will give us time to figure out who they are. I don't think we've encountered this group before."

"You don't think it was FOTS? Or another Vampire kingdom?"

"No. It's someone else – someone who knows what they're doing, but they have human limitations."

"That would be my guess, too," Bjorn agreed.

"Somebody with a military background, but not vampires or Weres," Jerry agreed.

"When we get home, I want these vehicles and the house gone over with a fine toothed comb. There have to be listening devices somewhere, or else we've got a mole."

"I'd bet on electronic surveillance. I'm pretty confident in all the people we've got working with us," Bjorn assured them.

"The guards, yes, but who knows what a maid or a decorator or someone like that might have let slip. They obviously knew when we were traveling." Eric reminded him.

"That's true – we didn't tell anyone not to disclose our travel plans, did we?" Bjorn asked.

"No, we didn't, but we will in the future." Eric had thought the guard was enough to make that unnecessary, but if there was an unknown group actively watching them, they'd have to have tighter control of who knew what and when.

Finally, they reached the exit to Shreveport. Sookie was very relieved to see the Welcome sign at the city limits and even more relieved when Bjorn said, "Vincent's men are with us now."

The baby must have sensed something was up because he finished feeding and reached for "Dadee!" Eric took him in his arms, keeping his head below the window so he couldn't be seen, and talked to him while Sookie packed up the diaper bag.

"Do-ee, Mamee," the baby objected when he saw Sookie put the dragon in the bag, making Eric and Sookie both laugh.

"OK, Sweetie, hang on to it so you don't lose it, OK?"

"Oday." He hugged the little dragon to him and planted a kiss, sort of, on its head.

"You think he really knew what I meant?" Sookie laughed.

"Yes, I do. I haven't figured out how yet, but he knows things he can't have learned yet." Eric laughed. "He's more than smart – it's much more than that, but I don't know the word for it."

"Does that seem weird to you that he knows some things but he doesn't know others? Like he knew to say víg, or whatever, from birth but he has to learn to talk, and some letters he can say and some he can't."

"Well, part of that is that he has no teeth yet." Eric laughed, "That's a big part of speaking. He does pretty well if you take that into account. As for the rest of it, it has something to do with the magick and something to do with the actual growth of his physical body."

"Yeah, nobody seems to know how that's going to work," Sookie laughed.

"But it is working, so that's the main thing, right, Alex?" Eric laughed and tickled him.

"Omba!"

"He is getting bigger, isn't he? Not a lot, but I mean, he's put on a couple of pounds since we've been gone?"

"Yes, he's definitely growing. Margaret will hardly recognize him," Eric laughed. He was in a fairly good mood now that danger had passed for the moment. He was surprised to admit to himself that he was looking forward to getting back to the Shreveport house, almost as much as Sookie. It would be nice to be back in their bed, just the three of them, and for the three of them to take a bath in the big tub for the first time. It occurred to Eric that he could never bear to sell that house – there was too much of Sookie and Alex in it already. Sookie reached over and squeezed his hand then and he smiled at her, knowing she had been following his train of thought.

"Yay!" Sookie said as they turned down the street toward their house. She couldn't wait to get home, and she especially couldn't wait until the three of them were in their bed together. She couldn't sit still, and Eric was laughing to himself at how excited she was. He was excited, too, but Sookie was like a little girl at Christmas.

All the lights were on in front of the house and the guards were on alert but even they seemed happy to see them. Margaret was standing on the front porch waiting for them and you could tell she was about to bust.

"Look! There's Margaret! Wait 'til she sees you, Pookie – she's never heard you talk!"

Eric was shocked to realize Sookie was near crying. He was hoping he had a message from Bobby Burnham waiting for him so he could tell Sookie about her surprise.


	76. Chapter 76

**Chapter 76**

The cars pulled up in front of the house and stopped. Bjorn stopped Sookie's car in front of the garage, but he told them not to hang around out front in case they were followed. Sookie bounced up to the front steps.

"Hey, Margaret!" Sookie hugged her. "I didn't know you'd be here this late. How have you been?"

"Oh, I'm fine – it will be nice to have the house full and busy again, though. I'm very glad you're all home!"

"Hello, Margaret!" Eric came up behind Sookie, the baby in his arms looking around with big eyes. "Alex, do you remember Margaret?"

"Mahdwid?"

"Yes, Margaret – she helps take care of you like Alicia does."

"Oday, Eesh." He pointed back to where Alicia was bringing things out of the car she rode in.

"Let's all move inside where it's safer, alright?" Eric tried to usher Sookie and Margaret indoors, just in case.

"Yes, yes, Missus, come in. I've got some supper ready for you all," she said as she led them toward the kitchen.

The guards were moving luggage into the house with Jerry's close supervision, just in case, and most of the crew – Eric, Sookie, Alex, Octavia, Amelia, Bobbie, Bjorn, and Alicia – gathered around the kitchen table for coffee, sweet tea, shrimp étouffée, and strawberry pie.

Eric was watching Sookie, and she was just glowing at having her whole family together again. Alex, who was sitting on Sookie's lap kept smacking the top of the table and trying to crawl up onto it and at one point he stuck his finger in Sookie's étouffée.

"Oh, no, Sweetie that's too spicy for a baby!" Sookie tried to keep him from putting it in his mouth but he did with no ill effects. He reached for it again but she caught him. "Alex – not for babies!"

"Nah por beebees," he repeated.

"What a little angel he is – I can't believe he's already talking! He's just brilliant!" Margaret was just gushing over the baby and Eric was loving it.

"Alicia – did you bring any Cheerios, by any chance? Maybe that would keep him busy?" Sookie suggested.

"Yes, there are some small boxes in my tote bag. Just a minute and I'll get them. " Alicia went out to the living room. Margaret stepped into the pantry and brought out the high chair she had put together and brought down in case they needed it.

"Lookie, Alex, Margaret's got your high chair ready for you!" Sookie said as she sat the chair between Sookie and Eric.

"Yes, that's what he needs," Eric agreed, standing up and taking the baby from Sookie, then settling him into the chair. "say 'thank you, Margaret.'"

"Day-oo, Mahdwid!" The baby leaned over so he could look at her, giving her a big smile.

"Oh, what a Sweetheart!"

"That's my good boy, Alex," Eric said proudly.

Alicia tore open the little box of Cheerios and poured some on the tray to Alex's delight.

"What is this?" Eric asked as Alex put one in his mouth and played with the others.

"It's a breakfast cereal," Sookie explained, "they give it to teething babies. It's easy for them to pick up and they like to nibble on them, and it basically melts in their mouths. He had some this afternoon."

"Alright – you're sure it won't hurt him?"

"He should be fine with it, but we keep an eye on him, just in case."

"Why would a baby like these? Do they taste good?"

"Sort of, but mostly it feels good to bite on something when they're teething. He's already showing signs that his teeth are coming in, so he wants to put everything in his mouth and he drools on everything."

"Octavia – is this early for him to get teeth?"

"Yeah, they usually don't start to come in until 8 months or so, but if you think about it, it's pretty much in line with his other capabilities – rolling over, crawling, even a bit of talking wouldn't be that unusual for 8 – 12 months. His abilities are advanced, but his size isn't – that's the interesting part of it. He's still as small as you'd expect him to be."

"I'm glad about that – I want him to stay small as long as he's supposed to. I don't want him to grow up too fast. Talking is OK, but that's it. I don't want him growing superfast at this stage."

"It looks like he will grow normally, so far at least," Octavia said.

"He may be walking soon, though," Eric reminded her.

"Walking is OK, too, though I worry about keeping up with him," Sookie laughed. "I just want him to stay cuddly."

"He will always be cuddly, Sookie." Bobbie was trying to reassure her.

"Yeah, but not like he is now. I want all of this I can get," she said wistfully as she stroked his cheek, smiling at him.

"Dee-ohs, Mamee."

"Yeah, you're eating Cheerios, aren't you? Do you like Cheerios, Alex?"

"Omba!" He was having a fine time and stuck a new one in his mouth, gumming it enthusiastically.

Eric was drinking an RM, which caught the baby's attention. "Ee, Dadee."

Margaret was there in a flash with a little bottle that Eric poured a little RM into.

"Here you go, Alex." Eric said as he handed him the bottle. Alex picked it up and put it in his mouth, sucking hard and humming.

"Is that good, Alex?" Eric was teasing him a little.

"Omba, dood!"

"Dood?" Eric asked

"Nah dood, DOOD!"

"He thinks he's saying "good,"" Octavia told him. "His mouth hasn't caught up with his brain yet. His brain thinks he's saying the word correctly because it hasn't developed the ability to distinguish the sounds he's making. He can tell the difference when you say dood and good, but he can't tell the difference when he says it. That will change as his brain develops. He also can't say gutteral sounds yet, but that will develop in time, too."

"What's a gutteral sound?" Sookie asked

"That's a sound made in the back of the mouth or throat. He can't say G's, K's, NG's. It's not a gutteral, but the letter L give him trouble because that requires a greater control of the tongue than he has now, so L's become W's and so do R's. Notice that "sleeping" becomes "seepeen," and he has trouble ending words with T's so they become D's. As he matures, he'll hear what he's saying more accurately and he'll have better control of his tongue, plus he'll have teeth then," Octavia explained.

"So he says "dood" but he hears himself saying "good?" Sookie asked.

"Exactly. As he gets older you'll want to correct him and help him learn to say the words correctly, but if you did that now, it would just frustrate him. He wouldn't understand what you wanted him to do and even if he did, he wouldn't have the capacity to do it."

"Wow – I didn't know it was that complicated!"

"Speech is very complex – it takes a combination of special neural connections in the brain and the motor skills to control his tongue and his breathing. It won't take long with that one – his neural highways are coming together at break-neck speed."

"Cool. So he's doing really well, then," Sookie said, almost to herself.

"As you said, Sookie, he's already getting to the fun part where he can play and talk," Eric said softly. This child was perfect as far as Eric was concerned, and he was happy to see Sookie starting to embrace his accelerated development and appreciate it for the gift that it was. Eric knew it was vital to his survival. He also just liked the fact that his son was so smart.

Margaret was gathering up dishes and it occurred to Sookie that it was very late. "Margaret, are you going to be OK driving home tonight?"

"I'm already home, Missus. Mr. Northman got me out of my lease and I'm living here now until we go to New Orleans."

"You live here now?! Awesome!"

"Yes, and I'm moving up to Bobbie's room on the fourth floor so there's still room for Octavia and Amelia, or later this week, Octavia and Alicia."

"Alicia, you're moving in, too?!"

"Yes, I am."

"Cool! I had no idea!"

"Which reminds me, Margaret, did we hear from Mr. Burnham today?"

"Yes, we did, sir and all systems are 'go' as of the 15th of this month. Nearly everything is in place."

"'Go' for what?" Sookie was realizing something was up.

"I didn't want to tell you until it was sure, Sookie, but we're going to expand our property here. I've bought additional land in every direction. The fence will be extended to the new boundaries, a guesthouse will be built out back, the servants quarters are already being renovated and this street will be closed off at the far border of our land. The next street over will become the entrance to our property. "

"What?"

"Yes, my dear, this will be our secure compound. We'll still stay in New Orleans a lot and we'll have our villa in Las Vegas, but this will be the base of operations."

"But I thought your time here was wasted?"

"Only in terms of the construction in New Orleans, and that will be well underway by the time we return there. Bill has everything in hand, and we'll be there through the fall as the construction takes place here. In the mean time, the new property lets the front of our house become the middle of the larger lot, and we'll have plenty of room between the house and the fence line, plus there will be guard stands that will make things more convenient for the soldiers."

"How long have you known about this?" Sookie was in shock.

"I had the idea some time ago, but I didn't want to get your hopes up until I owned the property and had the zoning issues resolved. Apparently, we'll be able to start construction on the 15th."

"So we're staying here?"

"My plan is to spend 2 weeks of every month here, 1 week or less in Las Vegas and 1 in New Orleans. Of course that's an ideal situation and we'll have to vary it according to any functions we need to attend. I'm pretty sure we'll need to spend the holidays in New Orleans, but you won't mind that, will you?"

"No way! Wow – this is fantastic! And Margaret and Alicia will be living here?"

"Yes, for a while at least. Once we get the guest house done, I may elect to go ahead and build a small house for them out back, too, but they both wanted to go ahead and take the 2nd floor."

"Did everybody know about this except me?"

"Not everyone – Bobbie didn't know, or Amelia, though I did confirm a couple of things with her. Octavia knew and Alicia and Margaret had to be in on the planning. Bjorn found out last week when he decided to move in with Bobbie, and he has been coordinating with Vincent as they set up our local security teams."

"So I don't have to look at more properties? And we'll be here at least half the time? That ROCKS!" Sookie was beside herself. This was the best possible thing as far as she was concerned. She pulled Alex's highchair back so she could get to Eric, then threw her arms around his neck, sat on his lap and kissed him.

"It will mean splitting time between three houses instead of just New Orleans and Las Vegas, you know…?"

"Hey, I can put up with anything if I know we can spend half our time here. This is so cool! That means Alex gets to think of this as home, too."

Alex was happily gumming Cheerios and he heard his name, but he had no idea what they were talking about. Sookie was going on about the new plan when he said, "Do-ee, Mamee."

"What, Sweetie?"

"Do-ee!"

"He wants his purple dragon – has anybody seen it?" Sookie asked.

"I think it's in the living room," Bobbie said as she went out to look for it.

"So when can we go to bed?" Sookie asked hopefully.

"Uh – I need to meet with Eric for a bit first," Bjorn said.

"Alright, Sookie, you can take the baby on up and I'll be there in a bit. Bjorn, let's use Sookie's office,"

"I'm going to bed, so I'll see you all tomorrow," Octavia said.

"You're in the pink room on the second floor, Octavia. Do you need me to show you where it is?" Alicia offered.

"No, I've stayed there before. Thanks for dinner, ladies."

Everybody called 'good night' to her and Alicia showed her where the elevator was hidden. Eric and Bjorn went into Sookie's office as Alicia and Margaret closed up the kitchen. Bobbie and Sookie were chatting over the baby and Amelia called to say she made it home safely. Bobbie helped Sookie gather up her baby stuff, including a couple of bottles of RM Margaret made up for him, and they headed up to Sookie's room with the baby.

"Haaa!" Alex said as they entered Sookie's bedroom.

"That's exactly how Mommy feels, Alex! It's nice to be home, isn't it?"

"OMba!"

Bobbie and Sookie cracked up.

"Do you want a massage before Eric comes up, Sookie?"

"Yeah, actually, that would rock. I can't wait to get out of these clothes," Sookie said as she turned down her bed and put Alex in the middle of it. He was giggling and playing with his toes as the two women chatted and Sookie got undressed. Bobbie took a bottle of oil out of Sookie's train case, which had been brought up by a guard earlier, and started to rub Sookie's back as Alex watched, fascinated.

"Alright, Bjorn, what do we know so far?" Eric asked him as he closed the office door."

"Well, the cars were registered to Allen and Associates in Houston, Texas, which turns out to be a dummy corporation used to obscure the activities of the real organization which is New Centurion, Ltd."

"I've never heard of them."

"Unfortunately, I have. They normally take defense contracts or work outside the US. They're mercenaries, linked to the illegal diamond trade in Africa and several South American juntas."

"Paid soldiers?"

"Yes, and the guy who owns it, Jubal Garner, is bad news. They've been keeping their names out of the papers so far, but they're providing a substantial number of the troops in the Middle East, but they don't answer to anyone. They've been connected to several massacres of civilians and they aren't subject to any law, anywhere, so far."

"So far?"

"The guy who runs it was big with the last administration because he considers their work over there a literal Christian crusade. He basically intends to spread Christianity to the whole world, by force, if necessary, so conservative forces are trying to keep them out of the media and keeping Congress from investigating their activities while under US employ."

"Why would they be following us?"

"That's what has me worried. If they've set their sites against vampires, it could mean serious trouble, especially if their involvement overseas ends. All those paid killers with nothing to do could make things very bad for vamps, or any kind of Supe, here in the States."

"This is a serious threat."

"Yes."

"Long-term?"

"Yes."

"Recommendations?"

"Yes – increase the guard, contact other Regents and see if they're being followed, too, prepare for war. Get the fences up here ASAP."

"How good are these mercenaries?"

"The best – they recruit heavily among Navy SEALS, Army Rangers, SEER School graduates. These are very dangerous people."

"Have you ever worked for them?"

"That's how I came to be in New Orleans. I came down to see about a job, but I decided not to take it. I took a job with Victor Madden instead."

"Why?"

"I trusted him more."

Eric raised an eyebrow and looked at Bjorn.

"Exactly," Bjorn said. "This is bad. They favor extremists, too, of the radical Christian variety."

"Are there so many?"

"A lot more than you might think, and they've infiltrated military academies, every branch of service, intelligence agencies of all kinds, and their connections go to the top of the government and beyond to big, old money groups that don't answer to anyone at all."

"At least a few of those groups are vampire-controlled."

"Yeah, but not enough of them, and the ones that aren't would be happy to see the vamp groups destroyed."

"Alright, what's the immediate plan?"

"Vincent is doubling the guard and looking for better soldiers who have a stake in keeping the vampire power structure in place. He and two guys will be here tomorrow afternoon with equipment and we'll sweep the place for bugs and check the phone lines for taps. I think you should invest in a small detector for us to take when we travel since bugs will be a continuous concern."

"Alright. You'll be here, so you can get whatever you need from Sookie or the staff, right?"

"Right – it shouldn't take us long. We need that fence up the minute it's legal to do it, even before the bull dozers come in to set up the new drive."

"Alright, have Alicia call my day man tomorrow and get the particulars from him. Vincent is arranging the fences, so he can go ahead and set that up for the legal date. If you need money for anything, Alicia has all the information for my accounts. I don't want Sookie scared about this any sooner than necessary, though she's going to know something is up. We need to consider if other security arrangements are necessary in New Orleans or Las Vegas. I thought the FOTS was bad – that's nothing compared to this."

"Right – though there might be some connection."

"Yes, well, the Newlin problem will be addressed very soon. Anything else we need to cover?"

"No, your majesty, that's it."

"Bjorn, when we're at home, you can call me Eric, alright?"

"Alright – thanks."

"Have a good night. I'm sure Bobbie is waiting for you."

"I guess so. I need to call Vincent first and he'll probably call you."

"I need to apprise Bill and Sandy of what is going on, then I'll talk to Niall tomorrow night. Are the Weres and Shifters still planning to come out?"

"Last I heard, Monday, July 13 is the date. They wanted to do it at the beginning of the week so people would have to work and they'd handle it, we hope, by the weekend."

"I haven't received any notice through official channels – I hope they're going to warn other Supes?"

"You'll probably get notice by Friday."

"Right. Good night, then."

"G'nite, Eric."

Bjorn headed upstairs, and Eric called Bill.

"Eric?"

"Yes, Bill. You heard about our shadows tonight?"

"Yes, I did. Is it what you suspected?"

"Yes, it is, so that tip was correct. You know what to do?"

"Yes – effective immediately?"

"Absolutely. Have you told Sandy?"

"Yes, I did. You want me to call her?"

"Yes, I want to spend some time with my family."

"Good night, then."

"Good night, Bill."

Eric dialed his phone.

"Eric?"

"Yes, Carolina. Your source was correct. I'm in."

"Excellent. I'll be in touch."

"Good. Talk to you soon."

"Very soon." She hung up the phone.

Bjorn stopped halfway up the steps to the third floor. "Everybody decent in there?"

"Just a second," Bobbie called. She wiped Sookie's back with a towel then pulled the sheet up over her. "OK, you can come up!"

"I hope I didn't wake anybody?"

"No, Sookie was just having her massage and the baby has been entertaining us."

"Oh, yeah – what's he doing?"

"We're saying words and he's trying to copy us. It's really cute."

"Ah, Borhd!"

"Hi, Alex! Are you ready to go up, Bobbie?"

"Yeah, I am, unless Sookie needs me for something?"

"No, we're fine. Have a good night!"

Bjorn and Bobbie headed upstairs and Sookie blew raspberries on Alex's tummy so he was giggling like crazy when Eric came in.

"I hear somebody having fun!" Eric teased as he knelt down beside the bed and tickled Alex. The baby rolled on his side toward Eric and Eric's hand crawled across the bed toward Alex, who was grinning like crazy. "I'm going to get you, Alex…" his hand crawled forward quickly, then pulled back, then shot forward and tickled him and the baby went nuts laughing. Eric picked him up and lay on his back, "whooshing" him through the air, bringing him down for a kiss, whooshing again, over and over, then suddenly, instead of a kiss he blew raspberries on Alex's belly and Alex and Sookie both cracked up.

"Oh, Mommy thinks that's funny, Alex! Maybe Mommy needs some?"

Alex was cracking up as Eric put him on Sookie's chest, then pulled down the covers and blew raspberries on her tummy. Sookie let out a small shriek and the baby was loving it, then Eric blew raspberries on his belly again and then pulled him back down for a kiss and held him on his chest and hugged him, still laughing.

"Funny Daddy, huh, Alex? Is Daddy being funny?"

"Pundy Dadee!" Alex pushed up against Eric's chest so he could look him in the eye. Eric kissed him on the lips and stroked his back and the baby lay back down and rested his cheek on Eric's chest.

"You two are so sweet together," Sookie sighed.

"I need you both to just snuggle up next to me for a while," Eric said a little sadly.

Sookie didn't have to ask – she knew he found out who was following them and it wasn't good news. He raised his arm and she snuggled up against his side, her hand on the baby's back, and the three of them grew quiet and relaxed for a while as he hugged her tight to him. After a while, Eric bit his wrist and fed Sookie because she was dozing off. It was only about an hour until sunrise when Sookie fell asleep completely. After a little while, he sat up, and the baby said "ee, Dadee," so he took the baby and one of the bottles into the nursery.

"This is your room, Alex. Did you know you have your own room?" Eric spoke to him softly," This is your very own room and someday you'll be sleeping in here, but not for a while. For now, Mommy needs to keep you close and I like keeping you close, too." Eric sat in the glider and began to give Alex the bottle, the two of them looking into each other's eyes and Eric continuing to talk to him about nothing in particular.

The baby finished the bottle and Eric hugged him up to his shoulder, patting his back until he burped. He pulled the baby back and looked him in the eye. "Are you full now, my son?"

Alex let out a huge yawn.

"I'll take that as a yes," Eric laughed quietly, rocking him until he fell asleep then tucking him into the co-sleeper next to Sookie. She opened her eyes briefly saying "hey!" and he kissed her, telling her "I'll see you at sunset, my angel." He wrote her a quick note and headed for his cache in the basement.

Sookie woke up feeling something crawling on her. "Alex – what are you doing?" she laughed.

"Nah nah, Mamee."

"Don't tell me "nah nah" – what are you doing?" she tickled him.

"Ee, Mamee," he giggled.

"OK, eat. Bjorn are you here?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"Don't start that ma'am stuff this early in the morning. What time is it?" She got the baby settled at her breast.

"Almost 11."

"Has Alex been eating?"

"Yes, Alicia gave him a bottle at seven, nine and about 10 minutes ago."

"Wow – and he's hungry already?"

"I'll be surprised if he eats much. I think he just wanted to wake you up. I think he likes doing that."

"Cool. I like it when he wakes me up. I'm surprised I didn't hear him earlier."

"He didn't have a chance to wake you. Alicia is trying to get you both back on schedule. She figured you'd sleep until about 1, but Alex had other ideas," he laughed.

Sookie yawned, "Ahh-hhh. It's nice to be wanted, though," she laughed. "I think we'll try to sleep some more when he gets done."

"Nah seepy, Mamee," Alex said, then returned to suckling.

Sookie and Bjorn both laughed.

"Hey, is there a party in here?" Bobbie came up the stairs.

"We're just laughing at Alex," Sookie said, "he's giving me a hard time about being sleepy again."

"Nah seepy, Mamee!" Alex repeated, then went back to feeding.

"See what I mean?" Sookie said, "He can be yawning and dozing off, and he'll still say he's not sleepy."

"That's kind of normal, though, isn't it?" Bobbie asked.

"I don't know – is that something kids do?"

"Ask Alicia to be sure, but I think that's a normal thing for kids not to want to go to sleep. They're afraid they'll miss something."

"That makes sense, I guess. I know when they're older they never want to go to bed. I just didn't know it started this early," Sookie laughed. Alex released and moved as if he wanted to go to the other breast, so Sookie shifted him so he could reach it.

"He even knows when to switch sides, doesn't he?" Bobbie marveled at Alex.

"Yeah, he seems to know he's supposed to feed from both each time, and he even seems to know to do it the same amount on both sides." Sookie let out another big yawn. "What's the weather like today?"

"Sunny but cloudy. It's supposed to rain tomorrow," Bobbie told her.

"I think I want to go down to the pool for a bit."

"Poo!" Alex said.

"Yeah, pool! Do you want to play in the water, Alex?"

"Omba, wada!"

"OK, throw me a robe and then see if you can find his plastic pants – you know what I mean?"

"Yeah, the cover he wore in the pool the other day. Does he need a fresh diaper?"

"Yeah, now that you mention it, he's wet."

"OK, you get into your suit, I'll change the baby, then I'll put my suit on and meet you guys down there. Here, you've got a note from Eric."

"Thanks – hey do you happen to have any, um, _edible_ massage oil?"

"Yeah, I've got some nice vanilla stuff. You want it?"

"Could you bring it back down so I can use it tonight?

"Sure, no problem. I'll bring it back after I change."

"Awesome. You want to swim, Bjorn?"

"I'd better not – not today." Bjorn said, "I'll be close by though, so we can all chat if you want. I can watch Alex, too."

"It's OK for us to go outside, isn't it?"

"Yeah, you might as well. Vincent and his eletronics guy will be going all through the house and this way they won't bother you. I think we've got enough guards on today to let us know if trouble is coming."

"Vincent is the big dude from Fangtasia?" Sookie was looking at the note, which was about Vincent coming to the house.

"Yeah – we all call him Duncan MacLeod. I swear whoever wrote that show had to know him," Bjorn laughed.

Bobbie brought the baby back and headed for her room. Sookie passed him over to Bjorn. "You'll watch him while I get dressed, right?"

"Yep. Come on, buddy,"

"VBEE!" Alex threw his arm up as Bjorn took him from Sookie.

"Víg!"

Alex cracked up. Bjorn held him with both hands and tilted his head downward as he lifted him over his head. He lifted him up and down, making silly noises, and Alex loved it.

"Fyid, Borhd!"

"Yeah, this is almost like flying. I can't fly like your Daddy though. Wait until you see how he can fly."

"Eh, Dadee?" Alex looked around the room.

"Dadee is sleeping, remember?"

"Seepeen?" Alex was looking around and beginning to get upset – he was used to Eric being in a box in Mommy's room. He wasn't old enough to interpret the feeling of Daddy being in the basement. "DADEE!" He began to cry.

Sookie came out of the bathroom in her bathing suit. "What's going on – you guys were having so much fun…"

"He asked about Eric and I told him he was sleeping then he looked around and started getting upset."

"He's used to Eric being in a box in the bedroom – he doesn't remember this room, I'll bet. Tell you what, Bjorn, meet me downstairs. I'm going to take him so he can see where Eric rests.

"DAHHHH-DEEEE!"

"Alex, Alex – listen – I'm going to take you to see Daddy, OK?"

"Oday," he snuffled but he was still pouting and had pink tears streaming from his eyes.

"You want me to go with you?" Bjorn offered.

"No, I better go alone. I'm the only one who knows where it is and I don't want to be the one to tell someone else without his permission."

"OK, I'll go downstairs."

"Thanks, Bjorn." She bounced the baby a little and tried to soothe him, "OK, darlin' we'll go see Daddy so you know where he is, OK?"

"Oday, Dadee."

Sookie carried him to the service elevator and they took it to the basement. She stopped and listened to make sure no one was down there. When she was sure it was clear, she went into the back room and closed the door, then kicked the rug away from the lid to Eric's cache. She was able to pop the latch with one hand and the door/lid raised itself, the light coming on automatically.

"Lookie, Alex, there's Daddy."

"Dadee?" The baby was chewing on his finger, looking down into the cache where Eric was laying wearing only a pair of jeans.

"Yeah, see. He's in his safe place, OK?"

"Oday."

"OK, Daddy is sleeping, so let's you and me go play in the pool, OK?"

"Oday."

Sookie pushed the door down, which was harder than letting it up, but she got it down to where she could step on it and it latched automatically. She put the rug back in place, wondering to herself why she always moved the rug when it was in a spot where it would just go up and down with the lid, but she realized it was a habit from Bill's house so she didn't want to dwell on that. They took the elevator to the first floor and they came around through the kitchen.

"Well, look who's up! Good morning, Alex!" Alicia greeted him.

"Mo-na, Eesh!"

"Good morning, Master Alex!" Margaret beamed at him.

"Mo-na, Mahdwid." He smiled and hid his face in Sookie's neck, peeking out and gnawing on his finger.

"Oh, are you gonna be shy now?" Sookie teased him.

Alex giggled and sat up in Sookie's arms and said "Ah!"

"That's more like it," Sookie teased him again and he giggled. "Tell Margaret and Alicia where you're going?"

"POO! Wada!"

"Yeah, he's going to go in the pool and play in the water," Sookie interpreted for them.

"That's just amazing that tiny thing can speak so well!" Margaret was just blown away by him.

"I'm glad it's not freaking you guys out." Sookie said a bit apologetically.

"Oh, no, Missus – he's just a miracle. And what a doll! He looks more like Mr. Northman every day!"

"Ain't that the truth!?" Sookie laughed. "Acts just like him, too, and they're just crazy about each other."

"Any father would love such a special child, but Mr. Northman is especially grateful and I think it's marvelous."

"Thank you. I…."

"Poo, Mamee." Alex wanted to get on with it.

"Alright, we'll see you all in a bit," Sookie laughed and took him out the door.

Bobbie had the video camera set up on the tripod, pointed at the pool. "Hey, Sookie – you guys get in, then I'll get it focused on the area you're in."

"OK, here we go, Alex!" Sookie waded into the pool with him and he was waving his arms up and down, he was so excited. "OK, Alex, look at Bobbie and wave," she waved his hand a little and he took it from there. Sookie sat down on the steps and helped him stand up between her legs. He was pumping his legs up and down and splashing the water, squealing with delight.

Bjorn cracked up, "that kid needs to cheer up, Sookie. He's too somber. Hey, Alex – are you splashing Mommy?"

"'Pashing, Mamee… Ah, Babee! Babee!" he was making his 'come here' motion.

"Bobbie, I think he wants you to come into the pool."

"I'm not going in that pool, that Alex will splash me!"

Alex squealed, and made the motion again, saying "'pashing! Umma, Babee!"

"Alright, Alex, but you better not splash me."

"Nah 'pash, Babee." He shook his head, trying to convince her he wasn't going to splash her.

"You better not…" she teased him as she threw her terry cover on a chair and waded into the water next to them.

"Nah!" He shook his head and most of the rest of him, too. He waited until she sat down on the step next to them, then he motioned for her to come here, which she did and he kissed her cheek.

"Aw – Sweet Boy!" Bobbie said.

Alex pointed his finger into the water. "Wada."

"Yeah, that's water."

Suddenly Alex was trying to splash her like crazy. She pretended to be complaining, but she and Sookie were cracking up.

"Listen you little sneak!" She tickled him and he went nuts. "You little sneak!"

"OO wido need!"

"You little sneak!"

"OO wido NEED!" He was beside himself, so proud that he tricked Bobbie.

"You know what I'm going to do, Alex?" Bobbie asked him, her face right up in his.

"Eh?"

"I'm going to SPLASH YOU!" and she pelted him with quick, gently splashes making him shriek with laughter, smacking both hands into the water at the same time.

"Hey, Bjorn, make sure the camera can see us," Sookie said as she walked deeper into the pool with him.

Bjorn looked through the viewfinder, "You're dead center."

"Good because Alex is going to get wet – WHOO!" She bent her knees so he went down up to his chest then she stood right up. He made the face with the big eyes and his mouth wide open and squealed. "Uh-oh, Alex, here we go again. WHOO!"

He was wild with laughter, flailing his arms like crazy.

"OK, Alex, what do we say?"

"Oo-hoo!" he tried to make the sound and she dunked him again, provoking more squealing.

Sookie noticed that Margaret was standing outside the sliding door watching Alex as she set a glass and a plate on one of the picnic tables and Alicia was unfolding a play pen next to Bjorn, moving one of the table umbrellas so it covered the area inside. Sookie swished Alex around a few times and began to notice he was shivering. "Oops, I think he's about ready to get out. He's cold." Sookie said, walking toward the side of the pool where Alicia was waiting with a towel.

"Hi, Baby E. Let's take a little break, OK?" Alicia said, hugging him and rubbing his little arms through the towel.

"Oday!" he said breathlessly, giggling.

"How about you talk to Bjorn for a bit, OK?"

"Oday."

Alicia gave him to Bjorn, and he talked to the baby, who was laughing, but not as wildly as before, and if he had teeth, they'd be chattering. After a minute, he let out a huge yawn, and Bjorn talked to him more quietly for a few minutes until Alex went to sleep, then he put him on his back in the play pen. Alicia brought out some of the teethers, rattles and his purple dragon, putting them in the playpen next to him.

"We'll keep an eye on him to make sure he doesn't overheat, Mrs. Northman, so you relax and enjoy the pool. If he gets too warm, we'll take him into the den in front of the sliding door so you can see each other. And I want you to eat this BLT since you didn't have breakfast and here's a glass of sweet tea."

"Thanks so much, Alicia," Sookie said sincerely as Alicia set her sandwich and drink beside the pool and threw her an air mattress, then threw one to Bobbie.

Both the girls got up on their air mattresses, and Sookie said, "Wow, Bobbie, it feels like forever since we did this!'

"We did this a couple of days ago, didn't we?"

"That wasn't the same. It feels different out here than it does there."

"That's true."

"I mean, neither feels bad, of course, but it feels more intimate or private or something here." Sookie had paddled over to the side of the pool and had the plate with the sandwich on her tummy.

"Maybe just more familiar? You've spent a lot of time out here, and that was your first time at the other place."

"True."

"So, Bjorn, when are they sweeping the house for bugs?"

"They're in there right now."

"Which parts of the house are they checking?"

"Everything but the basement, since no one goes down there. They'll check the phone lines and cell phones, too, and your car."

"And you don't think it's the FOTS? Or another vampire kingdom?"

"No, ma'am, we're sure it's not."

"How serious is it?"

"Very."

"Great."

"We'll handle it."

"Yeah… yeah," she said almost to herself.

"Sookie, any idea what we're having for dinner?" Bobbie decided to distract her.

"No, I don't have any idea. I never think to ask because anything Margaret fixes is really good. She'll probably come out and ask us what we want in the next hour or two."

"Yeah, that's right – she usually has a couple of options. I wonder when you'll hear from the decorator?"

"I don't know but I can't wait to see what she does with the place. I can't wait to try out the giant bed!"

"The what?" Bjorn asked

"The giant bed. Eric and I are getting a new bed for the New Orleans house that's 12 x 15."

"Holy shit! Are you planning to entertain guests?" he teased her

"Well, if we ever wanted to, there would be plenty of room!" she laughed

"Maybe Brad and Angelina will come over for a play date," Bobbie teased her.

"Oh my Goddess, can you imagine?" Sookie laughed

"I have – many times," Bjorn laughed.

"Oh, really, Bjorn? And exactly what is it that you've imagined?"

"Every combination you can think of – you and Angie, you, Angie and Eric, All of you with Brad, you Angie and Bobbie…"

"I don't hear your name in there," Sookie teased

"Oh, I'm there sometimes, especially when it's you three girls," he laughed.

"What about you and Brad? Or you and Eric?" Sookie teased

"Brad's not my type. I can't see myself with a guy, honestly, but if I was going to, it would have to be a guy like Eric that I really respected, but don't you EVER tell him I said that," Bjorn laughed.

"So you've never done a three-way?" Sookie was in the mood to talk dirty, so what the hell.

"I didn't say that – I just said I couldn't see myself with a guy."

"OK, so did you do it with 2 other girls or a guy and a girl."

"A guy and a girl once, 2 girls several times, a few groups in different situations."

"Oh, really? I don't know those stories," Bobbie joked.

"You'll hear some of them eventually if you want to, but then you have to tell me some of YOUR stories," he laughed.

"What makes you think I've got stories?" Bobbie batted her eyes, feigning innocence.

"Don't even try it, Sweetheart. I KNOW you've got some stories."

Sookie cracked up at that as she sat her plate on the cement and brushed the crumbs from her sandwich off her chest and tummy.

"You think that's funny, huh?" Bobbie splashed her.

"Not funny, just… true!" she giggled, "Nothing wrong with that – I'll probably have some stories some day."

"You've got at least one story that I know of," Bjorn said slyly.

"Does it count as a story if it's just me and my husband?" Sookie asked, half-serious.

"What about Pam?"

"Oh, yeah, I forgot about that."

"Wait, what? I don't know this story – dish it up, kid!" Bobbie was all ears now.

"My first time in the basement at Fangtasia, Pam was there, too."

"Watching or participating?"

"Participating – Eric watched most of the time, but he joined in at the end, then Pam left and it was just me and him."

"Damn, Sookie – she's hot!" Bobbie said with some admiration.

"Yeah, it was really fun. I got to do anything I wanted."

"What – to Pam?" Bjorn asked. He was going to see how much he could get Sookie to tell.

"Yeah, she was tied up so she could feed from me, because I'm bleeding fairy blood and it makes vamps crazy, so she fed from me and then I just did whatever I wanted."

"Was Eric giving you any ideas?"

"No, I didn't need any ideas, I just tried everything I could think of, but he did show me how to keep her from squirming away from me."

Bjorn was speechless and Bobbie was cracking up.

Alicia came out of the kitchen and asked if everyone was OK with catfish and fries for lunch, and everyone was, then she checked on the baby, who was sleeping soundly in the shade.

"What exactly is a catfish?" Bjorn asked.

"It's a big fish with whiskers – they're really good. It's got a mild taste and nice white meat. You'll like it," Sookie told him, "everybody does. Even people who aren't crazy about fish sometimes like catfish."

"So there's no actual cat involved?" Bjorn was half-kidding

"Nope, just a fish. She said fries, too, right? I wonder if Margaret will make hushpuppies?"

"What's a hushpuppy? Bjorn asked

"It's sort of a fritter – a little blob of cornmeal dough with chopped onions in it. You'll probably like those, too. You've never heard of them, huh?"

"No – is it a Southern thing?"

"Yeah, it is," Bobbie said.

"Is it? Doesn't everybody eat catfish? I know they sell hushpuppies at those Long John Silver's places, though homemade is much better."

"I've seen those places but I've never eaten in one." Bjorn said, "I don't eat a lot of fried food."

"Do you want me to ask Margaret to make you something else for lunch? I don't want you to eat something that's bad for you," Sookie offered.

"No, one time won't hurt me. I want to see what it tastes like. And I'll work it off in the gym tonight."

"Have you been using the gym?" Sookie asked.

"I did last night and I plan to every night that I can."

"Do you have everything you need up there? We can order other stuff if you need it."

"I was thinking about asking Eric about getting a Bowflex machine."

"I've seen those on TV – are they good?"

"They're affordable is the main thing. There's better stuff available, but I figure I could afford the Bowflex if Eric would let me put it up there."

"You wouldn't have to buy it yourself – I'll ask Eric to get it for you. I'm sure he'll want stuff like that eventually anyway – it will last a long time, right?"

"Yeah, that kind of equipment lasts for years."

"I'll tell him you need more equipment and I know he'll hook you up with whatever you need."

"Ah, Mamee!" Alex was on all fours, looking through the side of the playpen.

"Hi, Pookie. Can you play in there for a while?"

"Omba," he sat back on his haunches and managed to move into a sitting position, then quickly became focused on one of the rattles.

Alicia came back out. "Sookie - do we know for sure how many guests for dinner tonight?"

"Um – Niall and my doctor, and Octavia, then Bjorn and Bobbie, me and Eric. The baby will need his high chair in the dining room, I guess. Hey, where's Octavia today?"

"She's relaxing in her room. I told her I'd take a tray up to her for lunch at about 3 pm. With all the traveling we've been doing, she's worn out, so she's just taking a day off, but she'll be down for dinner."

"She's not sick, I hope?"

"No, just tired. She said she was going to be lazy and enjoy that big TV in her room. I go up and check on her every once in a while."

"Should I check on her since it's my house?" Sookie asked.

"It wouldn't hurt if you looked in on her and asked if she needs anything, but you don't really have to. Maybe when you get out for lunch you can go up and say 'hi'."

"OK, I'll do that. How long until lunch?"

"It's just after 2 now – we'll serve lunch at 3 and after we'll move the playpen into the den so the baby can take his nap before dinner." She walked over to the playpen and checked on the baby.

"Ah, Eesh!"

"Hi, Baby E. Are you having fun?"

He held the rattle up to show her and then shook it and stuck it in his mouth.

"I'll take that as a yes," Alicia laughed.

"Hey, Alicia, let me have him for a while," Sookie sat up on the mattress, straddling it like a horse. "We'll float around for a while."

"Alright, come on, Baby E," Alicia picked him up, "You want to float with Mommy?"

"Omba, Mamee!"

She handed the baby down to Sookie, and she hugged him to her, his back against the front of the mattress. "Hey, Pookie. We'll float for a while, OK?"

"Oday, Mamee," he hugged her and laid his head on her shoulder as she floated and bounced them gently through the water. "Ah, Babee!" Alex pointed to Bobbie on her mattress.

"Hey, Alex! Are you floating with Mommy?"

"Fodeen?"

"Yeah, we're floating, aren't we, Pookie? Say "I'm floating with my Mommy,"

"Ahm fodeen wif ma Mamee, Babee."

"Wow! Good job, Alex! You said that really well!" Bobbie was genuinely impressed. That was a big mouthful for a tiny baby.

"Hey, Alex," Bjorn called to him, so Sookie turned the baby so he was facing away from her, leaning on the front of the mattress, looking at him. "What are you doing?" Bjorn wanted to see if they could get him to repeat the sentence.

"Ahm fodeen wif ma Mamee, Borhd," he giggled, proud of himself because he knew he was being smart.

"Wow – are you having fun?"

"Omba! Poo!"

"You like floating in the pool?"

"Omba fodeen ina poo!"

"Alex – where's Bobbie?" Bjorn was going to see if he could keep him talking.

Alex looked back behind them and pointed at Bobbie.

"Alex, say "there's Bobbie."" Sookie told him.

"Dares Babee."

"Good. Where's Bjorn?"

Alex pointed, "dares Borhd."

"Where's Alex?"

He pointed to his chest and said "dares Aweth."

"Say, "I'm Alex."

"Ahm Aweth."

Sookie kissed him three times quickly. "You're so smart! Mommy can't believe how smart you are!"

"Ahm thmard!"

All of them laughed at that. "Yeah, you're smart!" Sookie tickled him and he giggled.

Alicia and Margaret were putting lunch on the table.

"Dares Eesh, Mamee, dares Mahdwid."

"Yeah, there's Alicia AND Margaret."

"Eesh an Mahdwid."

"Right – that's really good, Alex. We're going to go eat lunch now, OK?"

"Oday."

"Here, I'll take him," Bjorn bent down and took Alex from Sookie, wrapping him in the towel he used earlier. Alicia had his highchair outside so Bjorn put him there with a rattle as Sookie and Bobbie made their way out of the pool. Alicia brought Sookie a terry cover because the gardener's men were coming out to eat, too, and Sookie offered to take Octavia's lunch up to her so she could say hello and see if she needed anything.

Alex reached for Bjorn –"Borhd?"

"What's up, buddy?"

"Eh Mamee?" He pointed to the house.

"You mean 'where did Mommy go?'" Bjorn said it very clearly so Alex could copy him.

"Ware di Mamee do?"

"Mommy went up to see Octavia, but she'll be right back, OK?" Alicia told him.

"Oday." Alex was happy with that answer because he was proud of himself for saying what Bjorn told him. He turned his attention back to the round rattle/teether and chewed on it like he meant it.

Sookie came right back and Alicia already had a plate ready for her.

"Alicia, can I talk to you for a minute in there?"

"Sure,"

They stepped into the den and Sookie closed the door so the others couldn't hear.

"This might sound a little weird, but I need a couple of big flat sheets or maybe a flat flannel sheet or thin quilt – something I can throw over the bed and keep from getting massage oil or whatever on it… You know what I mean?"

Alicia smiled, "yes, I have an idea what you mean. Do you need it tonight?"

"Is that possible?"

"I should be able to find something suitable for you here in the house. I'll leave it on your bed for you."

"Thanks." OK, that felt weird but Sookie was proud of herself for getting through it without dying of embarrassment. She knew Alicia knew she wanted this for sex, but she just wasn't going to think about that.

She went back out and kissed Alex as she sat down and began to eat. Bjorn turned out to love catfish, especially once he pulled the breading off. Sookie was just finishing up when Alex said, "ee, Mamee."

"OK, Pookie, tell you what – let's go into the den so I can lean back while you eat, OK?"

"Oday," he said, though he didn't know what she meant. He just knew he was going to get to eat, and that made him happy.

Sookie took him into the den and turned on the TV. She sat back in the recliner and opened the terry wrap so she could feed him and he suckled happily while she dozed off. Alicia kept a close eye on them in case Alex decided to move around and she helped him move when he wanted to go to the other breast. Sookie was sleeping soundly, and when Alex was done eating he just laid his head on her chest and he went to sleep, too. Alicia just moved the sides of the terry wrap to cover Sookie's breasts and left the two of them to nap together.

When Bjorn was done eating he went into the den and sat on the couch, knowing Eric wanted him to stay close to Sookie and the baby. Bobbie went into the kitchen to chat with Margaret and Alicia and after a bit Octavia carried her tray down and sat in the kitchen with them drinking iced tea and talking about dinner later that night. They all ooh'd and ahh'd over the lobsters that were delivered for Margaret to fix for dinner and her helper Carrie came in to help her prepare, though Alicia was going to stay to help, because she knew these were unusual visitors. Now that she was comfortable with the Northmans, Alicia was fascinated with the idea of "supes" and was wide open to learning what was out in the world that most people didn't know about.

It was 6 o'clock before anyone knew it and Eric came into the kitchen.

"Hello, ladies."

"Mr. Northman – we were gabbing and had no idea it was time for you yet," Alicia laughed.

"Where are Sookie and the baby?"

"Sleeping in the den – I just checked on them a few minutes ago."

"Alright, I'll go see if they're still sleeping," Eric said as he headed into the den. He found Sookie sleeping soundly, but Alex opened his eyes as he came into the room and whispered, "Dadee!" Eric gently picked him up, letting Sookie continue to sleep as he took the baby back into the kitchen, nodding to Bjorn, who was still on the couch, reading a book as he watched over Sookie.

Alex rubbed his eyes as Eric snuggled him and kissed his forehead.

"He's awake!" Margaret was surprised the baby was with Eric when he came back.

"Yes, his eyes were open and he whispered to me, so I thought we'd come away and let Mommy continue to sleep as long as she can."

"Would you like an RM, Mr. Northman?" Margaret offered

"Yes, actually, I would."

"Ee, Dadee." Alex said quietly as he rested his head against Eric's chest.

"I think Alex would like one, too," Eric laughed as he took his usual seat at the table. "Has Sookie been sleeping long?"

"Since about 4:30," Alicia told him, "she got up a bit early today and they played in the pool for quite a while, then after they ate she came in to feed the baby and they both went to sleep."

"Did Alex get enough to eat?"

"Yes, I'm sure he did because he continued even after Sookie was asleep."

"Alright, and we are having guests at 8 o'clock, so let's let her sleep until 7. That should give her plenty of time to shower and dress for company," Eric said, thinking aloud.

"Poo, Dadee."

"Pool? Did you play in the pool today, my son?"

"Omba, fodeen ina poo wif Mamee."

"He was floating in the pool with Mommy," Bobbie interpreted for him.

Eric laughed and the baby said 'ooh-hoo!"

'That means Mommy dunked him. We got video of that so you'll be able to see the expression on his face. It's the cutest thing in the world." Bobbie bragged on him.

"How long was he out there?" Eric asked as Margaret delivered both his and Alex's RMs

"Maybe a total of an hour. He was in about half an hour, then he took a nap in his playpen, then when he woke up Sookie floated around with him and he was talking for us for about half an hour, then we had lunch."

"He enjoys the water, then."

"Omba, Dadee, wada!" Alex said as he put the bottle in his mouth.

"Maybe we'll play in the pool some night, then. Would you like to play in the pool with Daddy, Alex?"

"Omba, Dadee ina poo!"

Everybody cracked up at that.

"Hey, what's going on in there?" Sookie called from the other room.

Eric was up like a shot, heading into the den to see her. "Did we wake you, my angel?" He bent to kiss her, then held the baby down to give her a kiss, too. Bjorn headed into the kitchen so they could talk.

"I think I was sort of awake and then I heard y'all laughing. What's going on?"

"We were just chatting until it was time to wake you to get ready for our guests."

"Oh, yeah – do I have time to take a shower?"

"Plenty of time. In fact, if we didn't dawdle we could probably squeeze in a family bath."

"Yeah, let's do that. I need a glass of tea, first, though."

Eric helped her stand once she pulled the recliner upright and guided her back into the kitchen, his free arm around her. Alex was leaning on his shoulder, still not quite awake himself, still holding his bottle of blood.

"Hey, everybody – sorry I conked out on you all,' Sookie apologized as they entered the kitchen.

"Nonsense, Sookie – the whole idea is for you to rest up for a while so you'll be ready for all your activities this fall and winter," Eric reminded her.

"Yeah, I guess. Margaret, can I get a glass of iced tea?"

"Of course, Missus," Margaret got a glass out of the cupboard and poured her a glass from one of the pitchers on the counter. Sookie took a huge drink, took a breath, then finished the glass in one draw, then let Margaret refill it.

As Sookie drank her second glass, Eric told Alicia that they were going to bathe and that Sookie would need her help dressing in about 45 minutes, then they headed upstairs. Sookie was moving a little slow, but Eric took charge of running the bath and getting Alex's diaper off and cleaning him up so he could get into the bath.

Sookie managed to struggle out of her suit, and Eric held her hand to steady her as she climbed into the tub, then he and the baby climbed in behind her. Eric brought the baby around and sat him on Sookie's leg and he was fascinated with the running water. He reached out and stuck his finger in it, pulled it back, did it again, then stuck his whole hand in it, making his happy sound.

"What is that, Alex?" Sookie asked him

"Wada, Mamee."

"Do you like the water, Pookie?"

"Omba, wada. Dadee –wada!" He was looking back at Eric and pointing to the water, wanting to show Dadee the running water.

"Yes, my son, that is water – running water. Where are you, Alex?"

"Ina poo?"

"No, Sweetie, the pool is outside. This is the bathtub," Sookie told him.

"Nah poo?"

"Not pool, this is the bathtub."

"Bafdub?"

"Right, bathtub! We're taking a bath."

"Baf!"

"Yeah, a bath – it's like a shower, but sitting down."

"Sthowa?"

"Yeah, see, we're going to wash with soap," she took the soap and washed him with it, "washing, see? Eric, do my hair so we can show him."

"Of course, dear one," he kissed her hair as he reached for the hand-held shower. The baby was fascinated as he sprayed Sookie's hair, wetting it thoroughly then squeezed some shampoo in his hand and showed it to Alex. "Shampoo, Alex. We use shampoo to wash our hair." He soaped Sookie's hair up, massaging her scalp. She closed her eyes and focused on how good it felt, the baby in her arms fascinated watching Dadee wash Mamee's hair.

"Wathing Mamee?"

"Yes, I'm washing Mommy's hair."

Alex reached up to his own head and felt his hair. "Yeah, Alex," Sookie said, "that's your hair. I'm going to wash your hair next."

"Nah, Dadee wath."

"You want Daddy to wash your hair?"

"Omba, Dadee."

"OK, Daddy can wash it."

"Oday, Dadee wath it."

Eric rinsed Sookie's hair with conditioner, and when it was clean he twisted it up and clipped it so he could wash her back later. When he was done he asked, "Are you ready to have your hair washed, Alex?"

"Omba," and he patted his head as he'd seen Eric do to Sookie. Eric turned the flow on the shower down a little and Sookie held the baby closer to her so it was easy for Eric to reach him. Alex closed his eyes as Eric wet his hair then held really still as Eric put baby shampoo in it and gently rubbed it in and rinsed it.

"OK, all done, Alex." Eric put the hand-held back and then washed Sookie's back, arms, and the rest of her as she shifted as necessary so he could reach everywhere. When he was done, he took the baby and let Sookie move behind him. When she wet Eric's hair the baby said "Mamee wath Dadee!"

"Yes, my son, Mommy is washing Daddy's hair."

"Wathing Dadee's air."

"Right."

Sookie finished quickly and then washed Eric's back, arms and chest as the baby watched, then she washed the rest of him as Eric held him up so she could move around and reach him. When she was done, Eric started the tub draining, then took the hand-held and put it on a wide, gentle spray then held it upward to create a gentle shower over all of them. Alex made his happy sound and Eric and Sookie laughed. "Doesn't that feel good, Pookie?"

"Omba, sthowa!" Alex giggled, loving the gentle rain-like effect. Eric got out of the tub first, wrapping a towel around his waist, then he took the baby and helped Sookie out. She wrapped a towel around her, then Eric combed out her hair, still holding the baby, and he knelt down so she could comb his, then she gently combed Alex's hair. "I'm combing your pretty hair, Pookie!"

"Ma air!"

"Yeah, your hair!"

"I'll diaper him, my angel, so you can get ready for Alicia to help you dress." Eric bent to kiss her then took the baby into the nursery as Sookie put on her pink robe.

Alicia came up and began to dry Sookie's hair, while they were gone. Eric diapered Alex and looked through his clothes, choosing a black romper that said "too cute for words" on it and putting it on him. "Do you know what this says, Alex? It says "too cute for words." I'm guessing your Mommy bought that for you, but I agree so you can wear it to show your great great grandfather, OK?"

"Oday!"

"You're going to be a good boy for our company, yes?"

The baby just blinked at him.

"Well, we'll just hope for the best in that respect," Eric laughed and held him above his head, making him giggle, then brought him down for a kiss and a tickle. Eric picked up a little brush in one of the storage cubbies and gently ran it through Alex's hair. "You want to be beautiful for our company, OK?"

"Oday!"

"Good, let's go see how Mommy is doing."

"Ware di Mamee do?"

Eric was shocked to hear him say a full sentence. "Mommy is in our bedroom, see?" He took him into the room where Sookie was being styled and made up by Alicia.

"There she is, Alex! Mommy is getting her hair and makeup done," he pointed to Sookie as they entered the room. Alicia was using the dryer on Sookie's hair and Alex said "wathing Mamee's air?"

"No, now she is drying Mommy's hair."

"Dwyeen Mamee's air?"

"That's right, " Eric said as he laid the baby on the bed, "now you wait here while Daddy gets dressed, OK?"

"Oday."

Eric took the outfit Sookie laid out for him into the bathroom and dressed quickly, coming back out to find Alex crawling toward the end of the bed. "Where are you going, my son?"

"Dadee baf!"

"Yes, Daddy was in the bathroom, but now I am back." He picked him up and kissed him on each cheek. "Sookie, should we wait for you or go on down?"

"You two can go downstairs if you want – I'll be a few more minutes and you might want to show him the living room and dining room since he's never really been in there."

"That's a very good idea. He is going to be around unfamiliar people in an unfamiliar space. Might as well minimize that as much as possible."

Eric took the baby and flew down the stairs, Alex making his happy sound as they went. "Fyid, Dadee!"

"Yes, that was flying. You and I will go flying together soon, alright?"

"Omba! Fyid!"

Eric held him parallel to the floor and took him around the whole living room, making him giggle wildly, feeling like he was flying. He made two more turns around the room, then he held him up and took him into the dining room.

"This is the dining room, Alex. We are having company tonight and we will all eat in here together. See? Here's your high chair from the kitchen. You will sit here and I will sit here and Mommy will be over there beside you. Your great, great grandfather and your doctor will sit there and Octavia and Bobbie and Bjorn will be there, and we'll all have a pleasant dinner, then the doctor is going to look you over and see if you are healthy, OK?"

"Oday."

"Hey, you guys, what's up?" Bobbie came in carrying a large box that contained gold tableware and began to set the table.

"I was just letting Alex see the room and trying to tell him what we are doing. I hope he can handle an evening such as this."

"He'll be fine, I'm sure. He's usually well behaved."

"True, but he's rarely around anyone but us."

"Honestly, I wonder how he'll react to Niall, but other than that, I think it will be an uneventful evening."

"Why do you anticipate problems with Niall?"

"It's just a feeling I have - probably nothing."

"There's more to it than that – tell me."

"Well, he's very much a vampire, and I don't see a lot of Fae influence in him at all. I think Niall knows all about the 2 problem, whatever it is, and I think Alex will know that." Bobbie continued to set the table as they talked.

"Well, I will tell you this much – I know that Niall knows what the 2 problem is because I could hear it in his voice and whatever it is, Alex is as likely to connect Niall to it as he was to exhibit the problem in the first place, so you may be right. Alex knows things he couldn't logically know – though in this case, it is nearly logical that he will know what Niall's involvement is."

"Right. Well – just be prepared when he gets close to Niall."

"Eric, is there anything I can do to help?" Bjorn looked into the dining room.

"Now that you mention it, Bjorn, did we bring the blocks with the numbers that Alex used in New Orleans?"

"Yeah, I think they're in the trunk of the car, actually – I'll go see if I can find them."

"Alright, Bobbie, I'll let you finish your work. Thank you for telling me about your intuitions."

Eric and Alex went into the living room where Octavia was sitting on the couch with a cup of hot tea, and Eric sat in the large rose chair next to it.

"Good evening, Octavia – thank you for joining us tonight. I know Sookie will feel better having you here."

"Oh, I'm always available for a nice dinner," she joked. "I want to see how their tests of the baby turn out. I got a feeling we don't know the half of what he can do yet."

"I could easily believe that. He is growing so quickly and learning so much every day, I can't keep up with it just being gone during the daylight."

Bobbie came in and joined them. "Hey, Alex!" she tickled him as Eric held him and started to sit down.

"Babee!" He made his "come here" gesture, so she went back over and said, "whatcha need, buddy?"

"Do-ee?"

"You want your dragon?"

"Omba, dwadon."

"Say please, Alex," Eric instructed him.

"Pweez?"

"Say, Bobbie, I'd like my dragon, please."

"Babee, ahd wyd my dwadon. pweez."

"Sure, Sweetie, I'll get it for you."

Eric kissed him on the head, "that was very good, my son. Very polite."

Octavia laughed to herself and shook her head at that smart little thing being able to say that.

Sookie came downstairs in a pretty blue sundress, and made a beeline to the baby.

"Hi, Pookie!" she kissed him as Eric held him.

"Ah, Mamee!" Alex gave her a huge toothless smile and patted her cheek with both hands,

Bobbie came right back in with the purple dragon, which had been in the playpen that was now in the den. "Here you go, Alex."

Alex made his happy sound and hugged the dragon to him.

"Alex, say "thank you, Bobbie,"" Eric said softly to him.

"Day-oo, Babee."

"You're very welcome, darlin'."

"That's a good boy, Alex." Eric kissed him on the head again.

Bjorn came through the kitchen with the blocks as the doorbell rang. Margaret ran to the door, and Sookie braced herself as Eric stood up beside her. Sookie suddenly had a feeling she was going to find out some things she didn't want to know.

"Dr. Ludwig and Mr. Brigant," Margaret introduced them and went back to the kitchen.

Eric took the lead, "Dr. Ludwig, Niall, welcome. Can we get you something to drink?"

"No, we can wait until dinner," Niall responded, "You have other guests?"

"Oh, no, let me make the introductions – this is Octavia, a close friend of the family, and I think you both know Bobbie, Sookie's masseuse, and this is Bjorn, Sookie's bodyguard. They'll be joining us for dinner."

"Lovely to meet you all or to see you again, as the case may be," Niall nodded and looked around the room. Dr. Ludwig said, "Hello, everyone, nice to see you all in good health. Northman, can that possibly be the baby I just delivered?"

"Yes, Dr., this is he – he has changed, has he not? Alex, say 'hi.'"

"Ah!" Alex said and waved to the doctor. Niall approached him and suddenly Alex dropped his fangs and hissed.

"Alex!" Sookie couldn't believe he did that.

"That's quite alright, my dear – I expected as much. He's very much the little vampire. That must please you, Northman?"

"Very much, indeed." Eric said smugly, knowing that this was NOT a part of the plan. Niall had intended for this child to be Fae, but he had very little Fae about him except for the Witchy parts.

"But I want him to be sweet to you!" Sookie hugged Niall and kissed him on the cheek as Alex yelled "nah nah, Mamee!" and a light flashed between Sookie and Niall. No one was hurt this time, but everyone was surprised.

Doctor Ludwig was cracking up, "well, I guess we know who zapped Felipe de Castro. Niall, it's a good thing you listened to me and protected yourself. I had a feeling he wouldn't like you getting close to Sookie."

"But that's terrible!" Sookie was really upset about it.

"Not to worry, my dear, it could have been worse – at least I wasn't attacked by the falcon. We took precautions against that, too," Niall laughed.

"What kind of precautions?" Sookie asked.

"I warned Freya that we were coming for a visit, so She gave me a little shield that will last until sunrise. Not to worry, though – if he were threatened by anyone else, rest assured that the falcon would heed his call."

"So the falcon is Freya?"

"It emanates from Her, yes. It's one of his gifts. You could probably call it, too, if you tried, Sookie, but Alex has always known the falcon and can already control it."

"So this is a good thing?"

"How many times has the falcon saved your life, Sookie? My sources say 3."

"Yes, I guess it was – there was Felipe, then two FOTS at Merlotte's and then Sabrina."

"She's just waiting for you to call on Her, Sookie. When you've worked through your ambivalence, and call on her with pure intent so She knows you mean it, you'll manifest your full power. In the mean time, the child is watching out for you."

Alicia opened the doors to the dining room, signaling that dinner was served. They all went into the dining room, where dinner was already waiting for them. Eric took his place at the head of the table, and Dr. Ludwig was seated at the opposite end. Eric put Alex in his seat between him and Sookie, and Octavia sat to Sookie's right. Niall sat across from Sookie and Bobbie and Bjorn sat to his left.

Everyone except Eric and Alex had a lobster on their plate, along with a baked potato and a dish of green beans almondine. Eric had a goblet of RM, Alex had a small bottle of the same and some Cheerios on his tray, along with his dragon. Everyone ate as they talked and actually had pleasant conversation.

"What do you normally call the child?" Niall asked, studying the baby carefully.

"Alex, usually, or Eric Alexander. Mostly Alex, though," Sookie told him.

"Alex – what is that?" Niall pointed at the dragon.

"Do-ee."

"Toy," Eric translated.

"Ah. What kind of toy, Alex?"

"Ma dwadon" Alex told him as he gnawed on a Cheerio.

"My dragon," Eric laughed

"Alex, what are you eating?" Niall asked

"Dee-ohs." Alex said as he put another one in his mouth.

Eric looked to Sookie, who said, "Cheerios. It's a breakfast cereal.

"He eats solid food?" Niall was surprised.

"Not really," Sookie explained, "These are for teething babies – we think his teeth are starting to come in."

"Has he had other food?" The doctor asked

"He's had cheesecake, and a taste of Shrimp Étouffée by accident, and Cheerios – it's not an all the time thing," Sookie explained.

"You might want to try a bit of apple sauce for him, or other baby foods that are soft enough to swallow without chewing, in addition to breast feeding and RMs. Is he still feeding well?"

"Yes, he is – he even pops out of his crib when he wants to eat."

"Teleporting, you mean?" asked the Doctor.

"Yeah, I guess that's what it's called. Isn't that dangerous? What am I supposed to do with a baby that won't stay in his crib when I put him down? I'm afraid he's going to get hurt."

"Doctor did you bring them?" Niall asked.

"Yes, I did. Here, pass these down to Sookie, please, but keep them on this side of her." She handed a small manila envelope to Octavia. "These are fairy crosses, Sookie. They're not to be used all the time, or any time other than when he's supposed to be asleep and there's no one awake to watch him. Otherwise, keep them in a wooden box full of salt where he can't get to them. Use only one at a time, but there are several there so you can keep at least one in each house. I don't recommend you carrying them – they can affect you, too."

Sookie poured the stones on the tablecloth and looked at them. "Are these carvings?"

"No, they're a naturally-occurring crystal, called staurolite. that just happens to form a cross. There are stories about the fairies hearing of the death of Jesus and crying tears that formed crosses, but that isn't the origin of the name. Crosses stop energy – they hold it static. Fairy crosses can dampen the power of a Fae. That's why you don't carry them, it's why you keep them locked away, and it's why you only use them when you must to keep the baby safe. Remember that sometimes being able to teleport might save his life so you don't want to interfere with it unless you must. A few hours a night shouldn't hurt, as long as they don't touch him. I'd hang it in a leather pouch at the foot of his bed when you decide to use it."

"Are they that dangerous?"

"We aren't sure how they'll affect that baby. I'm pretty sure it will stop him from teleporting, but I can't say whether they'd have lasting effects, especially while he's growing. You don't want to take a chance on him swallowing them, either."

"Well, I wouldn't want that with anything this size, though, right?"

"Right, but these could be toxic. I'm not sure of that, but let's not test that theory, OK?"

"Oday!" Alex said, which made everyone, even Niall, laugh and he giggled knowing he was the center of attention. He was swinging his leg up and down, munching cereal and hugging his dragon as the conversation continued.

"You have other help with him in that respect, too, Sookie, you just haven't seen it yet," Niall told her. "That started the night of the parade, but they weren't needed.

"Shouldn't I know what it is?"

"He has a couple of Pixies watching out for him. Most of the time they're invisible, though you might be able to see a little light or two floating around him when they're active. They watch out for him the way Claudine watches out for you, but they're around a lot more because he's so small."

"So they'll only be visible if they're actually helping him in some way?"

"Yes."

"Do I need to thank them or feed them or anything?"

"They're being well-compensated, my dear, do not worry about that, though a small saucer of milk in his nursery or wherever he sleeps now and then would be appreciated, I'm sure, just as an occasional treat."

"Oh, OK, we'll do that for them. Can Alex see them?"

"Yes, he can. He can see most spirit beings -- at this stage, any baby could -- but of course, Alex will retain the ability as he grows. He'll need to learn to distinguish between them and corporeal beings and you'll have to teach him not to acknowledge them in front of unenlightened humans."

"What are their names?"

"Eddy and Freddy."

"You're kidding?"

"No, those are their names. They're twins."

"What do I do if Alex learns how to fly? What if he flies up on the roof?"

"Didn't Freya teach you to call things to you?" Niall was surprised she didn't know what to do for this.

"Yeah – wait, can I do that with the baby?"

"Yes, of course. That's the main purpose of it."

"Does he have to let me call him, though? Freya said sometimes people won't want my help."

"That only applies to others. Alex is your baby, so your wishes are paramount. They have to be so you can keep him safe. You could call him to you even if you couldn't see him or didn't know where he was. You should practice that so you both know how it feels."

"Put these on the baby's tray – one at a time - and see if he reacts to them." The doctor passed a silver chain and a piece of iron shaped like a cross through Octavia to Sookie. Sookie put the iron piece on his tray and the baby looked at it, picked it up and stuck it in his mouth, but Sookie pulled it away quickly.

"No, no, Sweetie, don't put that in your mouth."

The little doctor laughed, "I think we can safely say he's got no aversion to iron. Try that silver chain."

Sookie put the silver chain on his tray as Eric reflexively moved back from it. Alex looked at it, picked it up and played with it, then wrapped it around his dragon's neck.

"It's not burning him!" Eric was amazed.

"Sookie, wrap it around his arm just for a minute," the doctor suggested.

"Oh… OK," she wrapped the chain around Alex's wrist and all he did was watch her.

"No effect. I'm amazed," Niall said, "He appears to be a vampire with no vampire weaknesses. He has been in the sun, yes?"

"Yeah, he was outside today," Sookie said as she passed the chain back to the doctor.

Eric felt like showing off a little. "Alex, what did you do today?"

"Fodeen ina poo wif ma Mamee."

"He was floating in the pool with his Mommy," Eric translated.

"'Pasheen Babee!"

"He was splashing Bobbie," Sookie explained.

"Dadee wath ma air." He rubbed his little head with both hands.

"Daddy washed my hair," Sookie translated.

Alex was enjoying the attention so he stretched out the dragon's wing toward Niall and said, "weens por FYID!"

"Wings for flying," Eric said proudly.

"Dadee FY!"

"Yeah, Daddy can fly, can't he, Pookie?" Sookie was beaming at him.

Niall leaned forward and looked the baby right in the eye. "You're a very smart boy, Alex. Very smart, indeed. A lot of people are going to be very pleased with you if you stay so smart and grow up to be big and strong and clever like your Daddy. Don't you agree, doctor?"

"Yes, he's certainly already exceeded expectations in some quarters. Now, what's this about the number 2?"

"I'll get the blocks," Bjorn said. Alicia helped Margaret clear the dinner dishes away and told everyone there was still desert if they wanted it. Everyone agreed that cake and ice cream would be nice, so Margaret went to cut cake and scoop ice cream while Sookie took the baby from the highchair and Bjorn set the blocks in front of her. Sookie pulled them apart, asking him, "Do you remember this, Pookie?"

The baby reached for the 3, 4 and 5 blocks and lined them up – "fee, fo, fie."

Niall and the doctor both sat forward, transfixed. Sookie put the blocks in 1 through 5 order and Alex pushed the two off the table. Eric picked it up and started to put it back in place, but Alex said, "nah, nah, Dadee!" and put his hand in the way. Niall and Ludwig were very intent now. Eric moved the baby's hand and put the block in place, saying "leave it," when Alex reached for it.

Sookie said, "Alex, show me 3?" and he did, then she called out 1, 5, 3, 4, 1, 5, and he correctly identified them all but when she said 2 he put his hand over he mouth and said, "nah, nah, Mamee."

Ludwig and Niall looked at each other, and while Sookie was saying, "we have no idea why he won't say two," Alex reached the block, picked it up, said "uh-oh" and threw it at Niall, but Eric caught it before it hit him.

"Alex – no!" Eric said, "I'm sorry, Niall – that's not about you, it's about 2, whatever that means to him."

Niall was a bit shaken because that baby obviously knew… something. He looked to doctor Ludwig.

"Why don't we all relax and have some dessert," the doctor suggested as Margaret rolled a tray of cake and ice cream into the room. She served everyone around the table, giving Eric a small bowl to feed Alex. Eric took Alex and held him on his lap to feed him, and Alex made the cutest surprised face when he tasted cake and ice cream for the first time. Everybody ohh'd and aah'd over him, saying how sweet he was, though Niall was trying to figure out how Alex knew about the second and what he could possibly know.

They were being subtle about it, but Bobbie and Octavia were both watching Niall closely. He was obviously hiding something and he was studying Alex very closely. There was light conversation going on around the table, mostly talk of changes Eric had planned for the grounds in the Shreveport estate and the decorations in the New Orleans house and how good the cake was when Ludwig nodded to Niall and Naill spoke to Eric.

"Northman, if you have a few minutes, I have some Council business I'd like to discuss with you privately."

"Alright, then, we can step into Sookie's office. Sookie, we'll be back in a few minutes, so talk to the doctor – you had some questions for her, did you not?"

"Oh, yeah, I did – I mean, I do."

Eric led Niall into the downstairs office and Sookie kept the conversation going, asking about what exercises she should be doing and whether there were herbs or vitamins she could take to be sure she was producing enough milk.

Eric closed the door behind them as they entered the room, and he said, "I know this is not about the Council, so just get to the point."

"Patience, Vampire, I'm going to explain. First, you need to know that the doctor and I agree that Sookie must know none of this, for her own well-being."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, we are afraid she would be damaged, mentally and emotionally, if she knows what I am about to tell you."

"Alright, let's hear it."

"The magick that created your child was not entirely successful. Because we had planned to put you in charge of two kingdoms, we had planned… " he stopped.

"Yes?"

"There were supposed to be two children, so that they could each take one kingdom when they grew up. We knew you were not ambitious and that you'd be happy to relinquish control when they were ready."

"Alright, so there should have been two, but only one was created. What's the problem?"

"No, two were created. One of them… was not able to cross over. He is trapped in our world, the world of the Fae, and might never be able to leave it."

"What?"

"Your child has a Fae twin – pure Fae, but with your and Sookie's genetic material. Your child will be aware of him as he grows up, and may be already, from what I just saw. The other will never be able to rule a kingdom in this world, but he might challenge your son's inheritance of my seat on the council if he finds out who he is."

"He is in Faery? Who is raising him?"

"I've fostered him to a family who does not know his origins, only that he is not able to leave our realm. I will keep watch over him as he grows and see that he has what he needs."

"They are identical in every way?" Eric couldn't wrap his mind around the idea.

"No, they are not. They are identical genetically, but your child has had the advantage of being in Sookie's womb, and her feeding from you. He is far more advanced than the Fae baby. The Fae child is unremarkable in size and development – he looks like any other fairy baby of comparable age. The Fae child is sensitive to iron, silver and sunlight. They do look alike, though, and would recognize each other immediately if they ever met, though we suspect he will be much smaller than Alex."

"Who bore the Fae child?"

"Well, this will seem odd to you, but he was born of an egg – a part of the magick. He has no true parent, only your genetic donation."

"Is there any chance of Sookie finding out about this on her own?"

"Only if Freya tells her in a dream or in person. Only She, Ludwig and I know of the other child."

"She might already have tried."

"That would not surprise me. Freya is not happy with the situation – she is not happy with me. That is one of the reasons we think you should not tell Sookie about the twin. If she knew that she had another child that she could never see, could not raise, or care for…"

Eric understood immediately. "You're afraid it will drive her mad."

"Yes, and Freya would be furious if She thought Sookie was suffering that way."

"Yes, she would suffer, wouldn't she?" Eric said to himself. "What is the child's name?"

"Eric Auberon Brigant. I thought I could at least give him that."

"You gave him my name…"'

"Freya insisted on the first and middle names, but she relented in giving him your last name. With my surname, he will inherit certain wealth and position in our world that he could not otherwise."

"Is there any way you can assure Alex's place on the Council?" 'Might as well be practical about the situation,' Eric thought.

"I'm trying to do that now. I might be able to see that it passes directly to him, with you in his stead if he inherits before he is grown."

"Not to Sookie?"

"Sookie is under consideration for eventual elevation to the Living Pantheon. That would be very far in the future, of course, but they feel the Council would be a distraction from that goal."

"What if she doesn't want it?"

"There is no such thing as 'want' at these levels. There is destiny, and there is blessing or cursing, but there is very little choice in any of it from this point forward. Each of us has a destiny we must fulfill. Sookie is chosen. When her powers are sufficiently developed, Freya will see to her ascension. The Council is all politics, at which you excel. The Pantheon is about magick, and Sookie will fit in there nicely when she accepts herself for what she is. Your job is to help her get there." He became very serious now. "Our Lady did all of this for you, Viking. Endeavor to deserve it." Niall left the office without another word.

Eric's head was spinning. Another child! Another son! He had promised to tell Sookie everything about this when he knew – but how could he? Niall was right, this would eat at Sookie, and there was nothing they could do to change it. He wasn't even sure he could live with the knowledge of it – he almost wished Niall had never told him. Every time he looked at Alex, he would think of the other child, a child with no parents, his son that he would probably never see… FUCK! Fucking Fae magick – always a problem, a trick, an unintended consequence or some karmic kick in the ass.

On one hand, he could spare Sookie this pain. On the other hand, if Freya was trying to tell her… if Freya succeeded and she found out Eric knew, she would feel betrayed and he swore he would never do that to her. There was no good solution to this so he decided to think about it later – he needed to get back out there.

Everybody was laughing and applauding Alex because he was catching and throwing a little green Nerf ball that Niall gave him back and forth with Bjorn. Eric went back to his seat, and Alex said, "ba, Dadee!" and held it up so he could see it.

"Ball? Where did you get a ball, Alex?" Eric asked, trying to sound happy.

The baby pointed at Niall.

"Alex – say "Papaw gave it to me," Sookie said, proud that Niall had given him a toy.

"Papaw dave id do me."

"Good Alex – where's Papaw?" Sookie asked him

"Papaw," he said and pointed at Niall.

"And where's the Doctor?" she asked

"Dodor," he pointed to Ludwig.

"Who's that, Sweetie?"

"Borhd."

"And who's that?"

"Babee!" he laughed and giggled because he loved Bobbie – she always tickled him and he liked it.

"Alex, who is this?"

"Ayvbee!"

"Who am I?"

"Ma Mamee!" he said sweetly and leaned toward her so she kissed his head and tried not to cry, he was so sweet!

Margaret came in to gather dishes and offer coffee, so Sookie asked, "who is that, Pookie?'

"Mahdwid! Ah, Mahdwid – BA!" Alex waved at her with one hand and held the ball up with the other.

"Did you get a new ball, Master Alex?" Margaret was so pleased he called her attention.

"Omba, ba!"

"We'll take our coffee and tea in the living room, if that's alright, Margaret," Eric told her.

"Alright, sir, I'll bring the cart right out. Alicia is leaving for the evening if you need to speak to her."

"I'll leave a message for her if need be. Bjorn is that little tunnel around?" Eric asked

"Yes, it's in the den in the box – you want it in the living room?"

"Yes, it doesn't take long to set up, does it?"

"No, it's real quick – I'll get it."

"Niall, I want you and the doctor to see Alex in this little tunnel. It's a little play environment that helps demonstrate some of his skills."

"Alright, that sounds intriguing."

"Shall we adjourn to the living room, everyone?" Eric was playing host now.

Everyone migrated to the living room, Eric carrying the baby and Sookie bringing his ball and his dragon. Bjorn was setting up the tunnel, putting the little supports into the slots to hold it up.

"Dunna, Dadee!" Alex got excited and pointed to the tunnel.

"Tunnel? Yes, that's your tunnel, isn't it?" Eric didn't know he knew that word.

"Omba! Fyid!"

"Yes, sometimes we fly when we play with the tunnel, don't we? Sookie can you take a place at that end or would you like Bjorn to do it since you are wearing a dress?"

"Bjorn, would you mind?"

"Not at all, your majesty." He stayed toward the middle of the living room and let Eric get at the end near the door with the baby.

"The body guard plays with the baby?" Niall was surprised.

"Oh, yeah, we all do," Bobbie said, "he gets tons of attention."

The little doctor pulled an ottoman over to sit on and watch what the baby was doing. Niall had taken the side chair closest to the tunnel so he could see what the baby would do, too.

Eric set the baby at the entrance and Alex looked into the tunnel, saying "ah, Borhd!"

Bjorn looked back at him and said, "hey, Alex! Come here, buddy!"

Alex crawled toward him at regular baby speed and then came out of the end and turned around as Bjorn tickled him and made him giggle.

"Alex, come to Daddy." Eric said and the baby was back to him instantly, at vampire speed.

"My word!" Niall said

"Well, well – he's got his vampire speed already! That is unexpected!" The doctor was apparently thrilled.

"Fyid, Dadee!" Alex was patting Eric's face, wanting to fly.

"Want me to watch for humans, Eric?" Bjorn offered.

"Yes, we'll give him a little flying." Eric picked Alex up and levitated up toward the ceiling, holding Alex at arms length, then turned a complete rotation and Alex squealed with delight.

"Margaret's coming," Bjorn said and Eric quickly landed on the floor, the baby above him, but he did the move where he sort of drops him, then kisses him, several times while Margaret brought in the beverage cart and served cups of hot coffee and both hot and iced tea. Margaret was just beaming at Eric playing with the baby.

Niall was plenty impressed, too and the doctor was pleased as punch to see the vampire playing with his baby that way. They knew he would be a strict father, but they weren't so sure he would be able to be a daddy, yet he seemed to be excelling in that as he did everything else.

Eric moved the baby around in the air, saying "whoosh!" as he did, and when Margaret went back to the kitchen, the doctor said, "hold him up there and let him go."

Before Sookie could object, Eric put the baby directly above him and let him go – and he hung there, suspended in the air.

"Oh, my Goddess!" Sookie said, not believing what she was seeing.

The baby giggled like crazy, "ah, Dadee!"

"Hi, Alex. You know what you are doing?"

"Ahm fyid, Dadee!"

"Yes, you are! Can you fly to Mommy?"

"Ware di Mamee do?"

"I'm over here, Pookie!" Sookie was standing behind Niall's chair.

The baby turned toward her voice and slipped through the air in her direction, but flew up over her head and waved down at her, "Ah, Mamee!"

"Hi, Pookie – you be careful and don't get hurt, OK?"

"Oday!"

"Come to Daddy, Alex." Eric called him and he slowly went back to Eric, going lower so he landed in Eric's hands. Eric hugged him to his chest and sat up with him, kissing him and rubbing his back, just thrilled that his son could fly. "OK, my son, one more thing." He sat the baby on the floor in front of him and held his fingers up so Alex could pull himself up on them. "Stand up, Alex" and that's exactly what he did, pulling up with just a little struggle, giggling with glee as he did. "That's Daddy's good boy!" Eric said, thrilled, as he let him down gently on his bottom, then scooped him back up in his arms for more hugs and kisses and tickles and growls.

"Amazing!" the doctor was very pleased.

"Yes, indeed. He's his father's son, alright." Niall said proudly. At least he managed to get that part of the spell right. He was still racking his brain to figure out how things happened as they did. Instead of two vampire/Fae hybrids, he seemed to come out with a Fae baby with vampire weaknesses and a vampire baby with no weaknesses at all. He did exactly what Freya had told him to do – was this a part of Her plan?

"So, he can fly now?" Sookie was less than thrilled. She was never going to keep up with this kid.

"Call him, Sookie, the way Freya taught you," Niall suggested.

She stretched out her arms. "Alex, come to me." Whoosh! went a gust of air through the room and Alex was instantly in her arms. "It worked!" Sookie was thrilled and she covered Alex with kisses as he giggled, apparently tickled by the sensation of being "called."

"Does he always laugh so much?" Niall asked.

"Yes!" everybody in the room responded and laughed.

"He is a very happy baby," Eric said proudly as he stood up. Alex reached for Eric and flew to him, throwing his arms around his neck and Eric hugged him tight and kissed him again.

"Well, on that note, I think we should take our leave," the doctor said, "as for the 2 issue, don't press it with him, and take special note of any unusual behavior he might show on the second, twentieth and twenty-second of the month and let me know if you notice anything. He seems to be thriving, so let's not worry about it at this point."

"Yes, I think we should all be very pleased with these results. Keep doing what you're doing because the baby is strong, healthy, brilliant and happy – we could not ask for more." Niall agreed.

Sookie was thrilled that they were so impressed by the baby and so was Eric.

"Our guests are leaving, Alex, say "bye-bye," Eric urged him.

"Ba-ba!" Alex waved to them and giggled, laying his head on Eric's shoulder.

"Good bye, little vampire. Papaw loves you," Niall said, looking directly into his eyes.

"And I'll see you for a check up when you're one month old, little one. Be good!" the doctor said, then the two of them disappeared.

"Well, that was nice…?" Sookie said, not quite sure.

"Yes, it was. I'm glad to know they are so happy with him. And now he knows how to fly!" Eric was beside himself about that. He was trying not to think about the other...

"Excuse me, Mr. Northman?"

"Yes, Margaret?"

"The kitchen is all done – if you don't mind, I'd like to turn in now."

"Of course, Margaret, thank you so much for your help tonight! Have a nice night!"

"YES, Margaret, thanks so much!" Sookie went over and hugged her shoulders and gave her a kiss on the cheek.

Margaret gave her a huge smile, "my pleasure, Missus. Good night, everyone!"

"Thanks, Margaret – I'll put everything in the dishwasher."

"Thank you, Bobbie!" Margaret headed for the second floor.

"I'm gonna turn in, too!" Octavia spoke up, "Thanks for dinner – you put those stones in salt before you go to bed, girl."

"I will, Octavia, thank you." Sookie hugged her and the old lady squeezed Eric's arm as she walked past him. "Good night, Mr. Good night, little vampire."

"Ba-ba!" Alex waved to Octavia, sending her off to bed with a smile.

"So, Eric, did Niall tell you what the 2 thing is?" Sookie asked.

Fuck. "He said something about a Fae tradition and magick and secrets – it was very complex, apparently, but he felt it was a good sign for the baby to be so intent or aware or whatever. He assured me it was not an unusual thing for magickal child to have unusual likes or dislikes."

"Oh, OK. Well, that's cool about the Pixies, right? That's such a neat concept – fairy twins."

Ouch! "Yes, we'll be sure to leave some milk for them now and then. I understand Fae are very fond of milk." Eric would give anything to get her off this topic.

"There used to be a superstition about Fairies causing milk to spoil if they didn't get their offerings," Bobbie told her. "I wonder if that was true?"

"I wonder. I should have asked if I could speak to them. I hope they let me see them some day. They're sort of like family, right?"

Eric was deep in thought.

"Eric?"

"Yes, my angel?"

"You weren't listening to me. What's wrong?"

"I just have a lot on my mind, dear one. It's nearly midnight. Do you want to do something? We could all swim if you want."

"All – like us and Alex and Bobbie and Bjorn?"

"If everyone wanted to, yes, why not? It's a very warm night and an hour or two in the pool might be fun. What do you think, Bobbie? You're under no obligation, of course, it's just an idea."

"I think that sounds like fun. Where did Bjorn go?"

"He rolled the cart into the kitchen," Sookie reminded her. "Hey, Bjorn! You want to go swimming with us?"

Bjorn came back in the room, "who's going swimming?"

"All of us – me, Eric, Alex, Bobbie and you if you want to. It was Eric's idea."

"Really? Bobbie, are you into it?"

"Yeah, definitely."

"Yeah, I could go for a swim. There are plenty of guards on tonight. Eric you should check your messages first, but yeah, let's all take a dip."

"Good idea, Bjorn. I'll do that, and then put some trunks on, and Sookie, you and the baby get ready while I'm on the phone."

Everybody went in different directions. Bjorn told the guard what they were doing so no one would be surprised, Bobbie went to load the dishwasher, Sookie took the baby upstairs and Eric went into Sookie's office, just out of habit, to check his messages.

Eric had a call from Vincent, which he was sure is what Bjorn wanted him to hear. No bugs in the house, but Sookie's car and the phone line in the house were both wired for surveillance. Eric was especially unhappy about the car because that could mean someone following Sookie and Alex in the daytime as well as following him at night.

The good news was that the permits and ordinances were all set so the fencing company could work Friday, Saturday and Sunday, plus the bull dozing could be done now if Eric wanted to pay for it – otherwise, after the 15th, the city would pay. Eric called him back and told him to get everyone working on it now – he'd gladly pay to get this done. They both agreed that in this circumstance, days mattered.

He also told Eric that there were two chalet-style modular home kits available locally that could be put out behind the old summer kitchen, perpendicular to the old servant's quarters, and they would only take a week to set up, including the plumbing, if they did it before August 1st. The permits for the plumbing were not in effect until the 15th, so Eric gave him orders to go ahead and buy the home kits and set up the plumbing work to start on the 15tn. At this rate, the compound would be taking shape before they returned to New Orleans. Eric happened to own a construction company in Ruston, so he had them make this first priority and they knew not to give him any bullshit. Just show up on time and do what he wants and you make top dollar, and don't even think about cutting corners or trying to rip him off.

He would call Bill and Sandy later when Sookie was asleep, so Eric was ready to go up and get his suit on. Sookie was in her suit and getting Alex ready when Eric zipped upstairs for his trunks and when they were dressed, they all flew down the steps together, Eric holding one of them in each arm. Bobbie and Bjorn were already in the pool when they came out, and the back yard lights were on. Alex's playpen was back out by the pool in case he needed it. The cart of pool toys was out and Sookie took an air mattress and jumped in, which made Alex squeal with delight.

"Did you see Mommy jump in the pool, Alex?" Eric laughed.

"Mamee dump ina poo!"

"Come on in, Pookie!"

"You want to jump in the pool, Alex?" Eric was teasing him, acting like he was going to jump.

"Ee-aah, Dadee dump in, dump in!" Alex was bopping up and down, waving his little arms

The second time he said it, Eric jumped into the pool, Alex still in his arms, and Alex squealed and shrieked and giggled like crazy as Eric landed on his feet, just far enough into the pool that Alex was up to his chest in water as he held him.

Sookie, Bobbie and Bjorn were applauding and yelling "yay, Alex!" "Good Job"

"You go, Pookie!" and Alex was beside himself, slapping at the water with both hands, yelling "WADA, DADEE, WADA!"

Eric was cracking up so while everyone was laughing, he let go of Alex and backed up just a little and Alex just automatically swam toward him. He did it again and Alex swam toward him again. He stepped further back and said, "come to Daddy," and Alex swam toward him, his little hands and feet flailing like crazy, grinning from ear to ear.

"Hey," Sookie said, "is he…?"

"Yes, he is! Come on, Alex!" Eric would back up a little further each time, eventually moving back as Alex moved toward him, and Alex was swimming like a fish to catch up to him.

"Oh, that's so cool! If you start him at this age, it will never be a big deal to him." Bobbie said, "you know they have classes for human babies that start them really young because they naturally know how to hold their breath and paddle."

"Really?"

"Yeah, I've seen films of these little naked babies holding their breath and paddling back to the surface – it's so cute. It's one of the reasons I believe in the Aquatic Ape Theory."

"What's that?"

"Well, you know the Theory of Evolution, right?"

"Yeah, we learned a little about it in school."

"OK, well, the Aquatic Ape Theory says that at some point, people or our ancestors at some point lived in water. See there are all these anomalies in the way humans are made – why do our breasts get so big, why is the pattern of hair on our bodies more like a sea mammal than a land mammal, why does the hair on our head grow long, why are our brains so big, why did the human head grow faster than the human pelvis that has to birth it, etc."

"And the Aquatic Ape thing answers all of that?" Sookie floated her mattress over to Bobbie's so they could chat. Bjorn and Eric were playing with Alex while they girls talked.

"Yeah, it does."

"Have we talked about this before?"

"I don't know – do you remember it?"

"Not really."

"OK, then, this lady, **Elaine Morgan**, spent her whole life writing about the hypothesis – she really championed it. Scientists mostly don't take her seriously, but it's only because they're so stuck in their thinking. Like **Ardi** – _**A**__**rdipithecus**_ is the full name, I think_** - **_that new hominid skeleton they just did a special on – it's the oldest probable human ancestor they've ever found, but it's totally unexpected – it stood upright, but it had feet that grip and they can't quite figure out how an upright animal with those feet would walk, but then, they also found out that the area they've always theorized was a flat hot savanna was probably more like a rain forest 5 million years ago. See, they come up with these theories, then they fight for them in spite of evidence to the contrary. It will be a couple of generations before the Aquatic Ape Hypothesis gets any serious consideration. That's the way scientific history goes – first someone has an idea, then people ridicule it, then the next generation considers it, then the next generation accepts it as fact. The old guard has to sort of die off before new ideas get a fair shake."

"So this lady – she's a scientist?"

"No, that's part of the problem – she's a television writer. She just happens to be the one person who has written the most about this theory of evolutionary biology. I'll get you a copy of her book, **The Descent of Woman** – every woman, especially a Witch, should read that book."

"OK, cool."

"Sookie, call Alex!" Eric called to her from a few feet behind her.

Sookie turned around and said, "are you sure this is a good idea?"

"Absolutely, call him." Eric was smiling from ear to ear now.

"Come to Mommy, Pookie,"

Alex swam right to her over a pretty good stretch. It was far enough to know that the little scamp could actually swim on his own.

"That's unbelievable!" Sookie was amazed that he didn't really even need to be taught. "Good boy, Alex! Are you getting cold?"

"Nah dode"

"Are you getting sleepy?"

"Nah seepy."

"Are you getting hungry?"

"Ee?"

"Yeah, do you want to eat?"

"Ee-ah, ee."

"OK, sweetie, come here," Sookie moved one side of her top aside and Alex latched on eagerly. "Eric, I think I'm going to get out and sit down while he's feeding."

"Alright, lover, do whatever you want. I'm going to swim a little while you do that."

"OK, cool." Sookie walked out of the pool slowly because the bottoms of the suit she was wearing had a tendency to want to fall down when she got out of the water too fast. She grabbed a towel and wrapped it around Alex, then sat on one of the chaise lounges at the end of the pool, next to where Bjorn usually sat to watch her. It was a really warm night and it was humid because it was cloudy. You couldn't even see any stars tonight. "Has anybody heard a weather report?"

"It's supposed to be stormy tomorrow," Bobbie told her, moving toward the end of the pool on her air mattress.

"Yeah, there are no stars out at all tonight. No pool tomorrow I guess."

"Nope, you can just sleep late and read if you want."

"That's going to seem weird, reading with all these people around."

"All these people are around for your convenience, darlin', not for you to entertain. Just go in the den and lean back when you want, or stay in your room or the baby's room."

"You know what I really dream of doing – and this is so lame – I dream of just turning on the big TV in the den, putting Alex on a blanket and playing with him until he falls asleep and then reading while he naps. How boring is that?"

"There's nothing wrong with just wanting a day to be you, Sweetie. Just do that tomorrow. You want some of us to leave so you don't feel pressured?"

"I don't want to order people out of the house!"

"Give them a day off! Send them on errands! Give yourself some space."

"Y'all don't get many days off, do you?"

"That's just until you get used to dealing with the baby. Eventually, we'll all get one week-end day and one weekday off."

"Sookie, is something wrong?" Eric asked her – he heard what they were saying and figured it was time for him to step in.

"We were just talking about days off and stuff."

"Is there something you need to do, Bobbie?"

"It's not so much for me, but Sookie is feeling pressure about having people around all the time. She needs some quiet time with just her and the baby."

"What's wrong?" Bjorn stopped doing laps and came over.

"Nothing wrong, so much as Sookie needing some space." Eric explained, "You know, Sookie, technically, tomorrow is the first day of your vacation. What do you most want to do?"

"Well, it's supposed to rain, so I just want to watch TV, play with the baby and read."

"Alright – no need to dress up for that and I need Bjorn here Friday, Saturday and Sunday, so how about I give Bobbie, Bjorn, and Alicia the day off and you can just do as you want. Margaret will still be here to cook for you, and as long as you check your email for anything urgent, anything Alicia could do for you could be done Friday."

"You'll have to show me how to check my email – I only know my hotmail account, not the official one you made for me for Queen stuff."

"Alright, we'll do that tonight. I'll call Alicia and tell her to take the day off, and you two just enjoy the day tomorrow and Sookie will fend for herself, agreed?"

"Agreed." Sookie said.

"Works for me," Bobbie said

"Yeah, Kerik is on tomorrow so he can cover for me as necessary. There might be a surveyor coming tomorrow, but he can handle the background check on that – Vincent already started it today."

"Why do you need Bjorn this weekend? I'm just curious…"

"The bulldozers are coming to clear the new property and the fence lines will be going up. The place will be torn up for a bit, I'm afraid, but it will start to take shape in a few weeks."

"So it's really going to be a whole compound?"

"Yes, it is. There will be two chalet-style houses right back there, the fences will move out to the new perimeters of the property and we'll have a new drive down to the next street, then we'll let the landscaper to finish the design. You'll love it."

"Oh, OK…"

"You're going to have final approval of the design, Sookie."

"I will?"

"Of course, Sweetheart. Once the area is defended properly, you can work with the landscaper and have things exactly the way you want them. You might want to add a pond or gazebo or something like that. I'll have Alicia get you some magazines so you can get some ideas."

"Oh, you'll love that, Sookie! It's like decorating with flowers and trees," Bobbie reassured her.

"Hmm – if you say so… Alex is asleep. Should we swim some more or go inside?"

"I'm ready to go in if you are," Eric said, "though Bjorn and Bobbie, feel free to stay longer if you want."

"I'd like to swim some more if that's OK?" Bobbie said.

"Yeah, I'd like to do some more laps," Bjorn agreed.

"OK, well, we'll go up then. You guys have fun tomorrow." Sookie stood up and walked over to Eric as he came out of the pool.

"You, too, Sweetie. We'll see you tomorrow night."

"I'll turn the lights off for you," Eric smiled at Bjorn

"Thanks, boss. See you tomorrow night."

Sookie and Eric went back inside and Eric switched off the outside light. "They're going to swim in the dark?"

"Not exactly, Sookie. Think – what do you and I do when we're alone in the pool in the dark?"

"Are they gonna…?"

"Of course they are. Would you like to join them?" He asked as he picked up the video camera in the den and took out the DVD.

"Eric!"

"It's going to happen eventually, Sookie – why not start now?"

"It is? Huh?"

"Eventually, of course – but not tonight. Tonight we need to go to bed and have family time." He wrapped his arm around her and guided her toward the living room, laughing to himself.

When they reached the bottom of the steps, he told her, "hold the baby tightly," and scooped them up, flying the three of them up the stairs to their room. Sookie giggled quietly when they got there. "What are you laughing at, dear one?"

"Sometimes that feels like when an elevator drops too fast and your stomach flips – or like a carnival ride or something – I don't know… stop laughing at me," she punched him in the arm playfully and he laughed, too.

"You're in a silly mood, my angel."

"I don't know why – maybe it's just relief that I get a day off tomorrow." She tucked the sleeping baby into the co-sleeper and started to take off her suit.

"Do you not like having people around?"

"Don't get me wrong, I love our family of helpers and all, but it's going to be nice to have some time to be Sookie and not Mrs. Northman."

"Are you unhappy with your life, Sookie?"

"NO, Eric, I'm crazy happy with you, I just need some time off – you know that, that's why you scheduled this vacation for me."

"I'm sorry if I ruined it by making all these plans for construction, but it's a matter of safety."

"Don't be sorry," she said as she slipped his swim trunks down off of him. "Be naked and be happy," she laughed.

"You should follow that advice, too."

"I agree – can I make a request?" she asked as she wrapped her arms around his waist and looked up at him.

"Yes, you may…"

"Let's take a quick shower and then you can rub vanilla massage oil all over me…"

"Intriguing request – is that the end of it?"

"No, sugar, that's just the beginning of it."

"Sugar?" he laughed at being called that, but he loved the way her accent made it sound.

"Um-hm, you heard me. Very quick shower though, so the baby isn't alone long. We'll leave the door open and go fast and then we can come back out here for the oil and the games."

"Games? Now I AM intrigued, Mrs. Northman…"

"So let's get wet," she laughed and pulled him toward the bathroom by his "gracious plenty," whose attention she had, entirely.

He laughed, delighted, and let her lead him quickly to the shower, which he turned on while she continued to stroke him. He could tell she was taking charge tonight and he was more than willing to let her have her way because she could be a tigress when she was in this sort of mood.

The water was the perfect temperature when they stepped under the spray and let it rinse them off. There was a big bottle of baby shampoo in there and Sookie used it on Eric's hair as he bent down, then she washed the rest of him off with it and let him do the same to her, from her hair to her toes. She touched him just enough to keep him hard the whole time, then they quickly combed their hair and Sookie told him not to dry off as she clipped her hair up. She spread the empty blue cotton duvet cover Alicia had left for her on the bed, threw Eric the bottle of vanilla massage oil Bobbie had left for her and moved to the middle of the bed.

Eric squeezed some oil into his hand and covered her with broad, quick strokes of his big hands, kneading her muscles firmly as she rolled around letting him reach every part of her. She was giggling, trying to be quiet so they didn't wake the baby, and when she was completely covered she grabbed the bottle and covered him with the same sort of broad strokes, pushing him on his back as she finished with his incredibly stiff cock. He moaned in spite of trying to be quiet as Sookie mounted him quickly, the two of them holding hands, fingers entwined, as she rode him with great relish. It didn't take long for him to come, but he encouraged her to keep going and before she knew it, he rolled them so she was under him and he focused all of his energy on bringing her along, which didn't take much because she was right THERE.

They were both oily and giggling at the way they were slipping against each other as they wrestled around, kissing and nipping each other's neck and shoulders.

"OK, you big sexy Viking, lie back – I'm in charge," she laughed as she straddled his waist and pushed him back. He let her take over again and leaned back as she moved down between his legs. She grabbed the bottle of oil and sprinkled some on her first two fingers and Eric smiled from ear to ear, knowing what she had in mind. One hand worked on his cock while the other went under him, two oily fingers finding the entrance and slipping inside him as he moaned softly.

This was heaven. Moments like this were why he called her his angel – she was like a dream come true when she was controlling him this way, stroking just the right spot and giggling as he squirmed and tried not to cry out, doing it over and over, making him come twice in just a little while. He was a quivering mass by the time she was done with him, but when she told him to move down the bed, he was able to do it, though he was still shaky and fell backwards when he was done.

Sookie had never done this before, but she was pretty sure Eric would go for it. She moved up to his shoulders, putting a knee on each side of his head, sort of sitting on his face. He was in heaven again as he ate her while she braced herself on the headboard, squirming, moaning and giggling. This was one of those situations where a vampire had an advantage in not needing to breathe. He held her lower cheeks in his hands, kneading them and controlling her movement a bit. It didn't take long before she was begging him to stop, and he let her move off of him and lie back, then he brought her to her release with his tongue and fingers.

As she lay catching her breath, he moved up and wrapped her in his arms, whispering to her and rubbing her back.

"I love you so much, Sookie. That was so much fun – I can't believe how sweet you are!"

"Sweet? I was trying to be sexy and merciless," she laughed.

"Oh, but you were – you are sweetest when you are being wicked," he brushed her hair back away from her face.

"Wicked? OK, I like that," she giggled as she snuggled tighter against him.

"Mmmmm- my wicked little Witch," he laughed.

"Ye-ah – that's what I want to be!"

"Not to change the subject, but what are we laying on?"

"I asked Alicia for something I could throw over the bed to keep from getting oil and stuff on it and this is what she left for me."

"I'm surprised you would ask her for that." Eric was impressed.

"Yeah, me too. It was a little embarrassing, because I knew she knew what I wanted it for, but I really wanted it," she laughed. "I asked Bobbie for edible massage oil, too, but that wasn't that big a deal, 'cause Bobbie knows how we are, anyway."

"Why does it have buttons on it?"

"I think this is a duvet cover – it's made like a pocket so you put a down comforter inside it and button it closed. I asked for like, two sheets or something thicker than just a sheet. This is actually a good idea – it's easily washed. We can mess it up and then the sheets are clean for sleeping."

"Very pragmatic, my angel," he teased her as he nibbled her ear.

"When I catch my breath a little, could we try something?"

"Such as?"

"Well, we need to exchange blood, right? I want to try sitting facing each other and drinking from each other's wrists at the same time. I want to see if it raises that "circuit" of energy."

"Like the flashes of light we have sometimes?"

"Right. I want to figure out what it takes to raise that."

"We can try it."

"Cool. I just want to rest a little longer. I'm getting cold."

"Want me to get a towel and wipe off some of the oil so we can get under the covers?"

"Yeah – is that OK?"

"Of course, Sookie, whatever you want." He kissed her hair and got a towel, wiping her down and then wiping himself off. He scooped her up, pulling the blue coverlet off the bed, then turning it down and putting her in place on her side of the bed, crawling in beside her and pulling the covers up over them.

"Take the clip out of my hair, please?"

"Of course, my angel." Eric smiled to himself, knowing she would be asleep in a minute. He would do the blood exchange later if need be and he'd let her know that they could try the "circuit" exercise she had suggested any time she wanted. He thought the fact that she wanted to experiment with that was a good sign that she was becoming more accepting of her powers. He fluffed her hair up and she smiled up at him, whispering "thank you, Sweetie."

"Mamee," the baby rolled onto his side facing them, his eyes still closed.

"Oops –" she started to turn then Eric said, "Lie still, Sookie, he is dreaming."

"Really?"

"Yes, his eyes are moving, but closed. He is dreaming about you."

"Awww- he's so sweet."

"Yes, he is – just like his Mommy." He hugged her tight and kissed her forehead as she snuggled into his chest and fell asleep. He lay there for a while, listening to her breathe, watching the baby sleep, then he decided to make some phone calls and do some work, then check back in on them later.

He went first into the nursery and got the baby monitors, putting the listening part on Sookie's nightstand so he could hear either one of them if they called him, then he kept the other end with him. He checked the settings so they were "open" rather than needing a button to be pushed to let him hear. He turned off the light in the headboard.

He went into his office. First he called Bill and told him about the new construction that would be going on at his house and asked about the new recruits he had interviewed. Bill gave him an update on the reconstruction projects, one of which had already started. He called Sandy and made some notes to follow-up on some items she asked him about, and other than that, he only had some email to respond to and some bills to take care of. He was finishing up his last task when the monitor sounded with a small voice saying "Dadee?"

Eric was by the little crib in a flash, picking the baby up and taking him into the nursery at vampire speed and popping a bottle into the warmer.

"Ah, Dadee," he smiled,

"Hi, Alex. Are you hungry, my son?"

"Omba, ee."

"Alright, it's warming."

"Oday. Ware di Mamee do?"

"Mommy is in bed sleeping. You and I will have some quiet time, OK?"

"Oday, bood?"

"Book? Yes, after you eat we can read a book."

"Oday."

Eric took the bottle from the warmer, shook it, and tested it on his wrist. He and the baby settled into the glider, and Alex suckled eagerly.

"Is that good blood, my son?" Eric beamed at him.

"Dood bud!" he giggled, then went back to feeding, resting his little hand on Eric's wrist as he held the bottle for him.

"You like to be funny, don't you, Alex."

"Ee-aaah" he giggled, then went back to his bottle.

When he was about half way through the bottle, he stopped drinking and said, "bood, Dadee."

"You want to read now?"

"Pish!"

"Fish? Well, let's see…" he looked around the room and saw the fish book on top of the book shelf with some other things from the diaper bag. "OK, my boy, you're in luck! It looks like somebody thought to bring your book from New Orleans."

As they settled back into the glider, Alex played with the fish on top of the book, saying "fee, fo, fie pish."

"Yes, that's very good Alex. Now, let's begin – One fish, two fish…" Eric went slowly through the book with him, letting him count the fish in the pictures as they went and pointing out the colors of the fish. Alex particularly liked the last page this time, with the picture of the fish in the car. "This one has a car to drive."

"uh?" Alex pointed to the car.

"What is that?"

"Uh?" He looked at Eric expectantly.

"That's a car, Alex. You like to ride in the car?"

"Dar?"

"Yes, you know the car, where you ride in your little seat, between Mommy and Daddy?"

Eric had an idea and looked back at the pile of stuff he got the fish book from and the First 100 Words book was there, too. Eric opened it to the first pages, and pointed to the picture of a car. "What is that, Alex?"

"Dar!"

"Right, that's a car."

"Woodie, Dadee." Alex was pointing from the car to a square on the facing page, which was yellow with a picture of a duckling and the words, "Yellow Duckling."

"Lookie? You learned that word from your Mommy," he laughed. "Yes, the car is yellow and the duck is yellow."

Alex pointed to the boat on the same page as the car.

"Yes, the boat is in a yellow square."

Alex tried to turn the page, so Eric helped him, and he pointed to a picture of a lamp. "Uh-oh!"

"Yes, that's a lamp like the one you broke. It's in a yellow square, too."

Alex looked at the pages closely and pointed to a picture of a baby in a bath, "bafdub!"

"Yes, bathtub. It's in a yellow box, too. See, Alex, yellow?"

"ewwo?" He looked at the top of the page, "Ewwo, Dadee," he pointed to a picture of a hair brush that was yellow.

"Good, Alex, the brush is yellow."

"Pish ewwo!"

"Yes, the fish has yellow fins. Good, Alex!"

The baby made him turn another page, and pointed to all the blocks and pictures with yellow in them – a highchair, tomato, banana, cheese and an orange.

"Very good, Alex!"

The next pages had a clock, chair and table with yellow and a baby laughing in a yellow square. Alex pointed to them all and said "ewwo." Eric went through the entire book with him, and he correctly identified the color yellow in all of them.

"You're a very smart boy, Alex!" Eric was thrilled that he seemed to learn this on his own,

"Ahm smahrd."

"Yes, you are!" Eric hugged him and kissed him, putting the book on the floor. Alex hugged him back and laid his little head on Eric's shoulder. Eric could feel that he was falling asleep, so he rocked him quietly, then tucked him back in next to Sookie.

He tore open his wrist and pressed it to Sookie's lips, and bit hers while she was feeding from him. The air around them shimmered with tiny pink sparkles, and he made a note of that in her journal. Before he went to rest, Eric went to the second floor and got a small bowl full of Sookie's organic milk and left it on her nightstand, then called Alicia, and he took the DVD from the video camera to his resting space and watched it on his laptop as he waited for sleep.

He was completely enthralled watching Alex splash Bobbie and trying to say "whoo!" as Sookie dunked him. They were right – the look on Alex's face was priceless. Eric laughed that they had forgotten about the camera when they talked about group sex and he smirked to himself when Bjorn made the comment about him being the kind of guy he'd be with, and not to tell him. He melted watching Sookie and Alex bobbing around on the air mattress, and Alex talking to Bjorn. He fell asleep thinking of how much he loved his little boy.


	77. Chapter 77

**Chapter 77**

"Ouch!"

Sookie woke up when the baby extended his fangs because he was at an unusual angle and he hit skin that wasn't used to being bitten.

"Hey, Pookie – what did you do, crawl over by yourself?"

The baby was too intent on feeding to answer her. Sookie looked at the clock on Eric's nightstand. 9 AM. There was no Alicia or Bobbie today, so Sookie would be handling the feeding and changing by herself. She knew Margaret would help if she asked, but she wanted to do it. She was still going to let Margaret do the cooking though because her cooking was AWESOME! Even simple stuff she made was unusually good. Some people just have that magick touch and Margaret was definitely one of them. She also had a feeling that Margaret had given Alex a bottle or two to let her sleep late.

When Alex retracted his fangs, she moved him around to a more comfortable position, watching him and gently stroking his little head. She was dozing a little but she had him in a safe position, so she closed her eyes and focused on the sensation of holding him, feeding him, loving him SO MUCH is was just crazy. She never had any concept of what this was like until she held this wonderful little critter in her arms. And the best part of it was that Eric was as crazy about him as she was. She was so glad Eric wasn't like the men who think of babies as a burden.

She thought about their dinner last night. Niall actually let him call him Papaw! Maybe he would be a real sort of grandfather for him, the way he couldn't be for Sookie. Alex had had a bad reaction to him at first, but he had warmed to him through the evening, even showing off for him when they asked him questions. She knew that was mostly Alex being a ham, but she hoped some of it was affection for Papaw.

Sookie put her hand on the baby's bottom to shift him a bit and she realized he needed a fresh diaper.

'Ugh! OK, Sookie, you can't let him stay that way, so get your butt out of bed and change the baby,' she thought to herself, 'and remember that having Alicia here keeps you from having to do this every morning.' Sookie was realizing that she was spoiled and she liked it, but that was a little too much to think about this early in the morning.

She managed with some difficulty to get herself and the baby onto Eric's side of the bed so she could get up. She figured nobody was in the house so she didn't bother with a robe – she just took the baby into his room naked. Everything was all set up in there so it was quick to put his wet diaper in the pail and put a clean one on him, and they were back in bed in no time. He barely had to stop feeding, even when she slipped a little white onesie on him that had a "Mom" tattoo on the sleeve. She figured that wasn't that much more uncomfortable than a t-shirt and it was just so darned cute!

Alex fed for a long time this time around and went to sleep as he was doing so. She put him in the co-sleeper and lay back down with every intention of going back to sleep. She closed her eyes and waited.

And waited.

And waited.

And finally she realized she wasn't going to fall asleep any time soon.

'OK, Sookie, what did you want to do today? It's raining outside – you saw that through the window in Alex's room. Do you lie in bed and watch TV? NO. I've spent plenty of time in this bed alone.

'Hey, what's that little bowl? It's empty. Did Eric leave milk for the Pixies? And they drank it? That's so cool! Eddy and Freddy – fairy twins. Very cool.

'Did Eric leave me a note? Nope, no note today. He wants me to take it easy. Sweetie! I'm so glad he loves me! I could sneak down to his hideout today… but there's nobody to watch Alex, and he's not ready for Daddy in full on vamp mode yet. Keep that in mind for a day when Bobbie and Bjorn are here. I wonder what they're doing today?

** CRACK! BOOOOOOM** There was huge lightening and thunder outside!

'Wow – big thunder! OK, my agenda for today – check my email – Eric forgot to tell me how, but I'll try it in my office anyway. Maybe Alicia had the browser save my password? And I watch TV, play with the baby, read – grab **Ariadne's Thread** when you go down… go down… that reminds me of Eric. Yum.

'OK, grab the book, your journal, your laptop – where is it? Oh, there it is… and take the baby and - oops! Where's Do-ee? We must have left his dragon downstairs. I definitely want that for him. I could go through his toys, too and pick something new he hasn't seen yet. I hope Eric doesn't mind, but I'm going to get our quilt out of the closet and put it on the floor for me and Alex to play on. That's OK, right? It's private, between us, but what's more intimate than our baby? Yep, I'm using it. '

**growl**

'Oops – glad nobody heard that. I'm hungrier than I realized. Well, then let's get moving and let Margaret feed us!'

Sookie laughed at herself using the "royal 'we'" as she gathered up her things. She got her big tote bag and put her laptop and power cord in it, then put her journal and her book in, too. Alex was sleeping well so she snuck into the nursery for a minute and looked around at the toys. She saw a little riding pony that was cute but she'd wait until Bjorn was here to carry it downstairs for her. Alex was a little young for it, but she'd bet he'd get a kick out of it, anyway. She noticed a book on the floor by the chair – First 100 Words!

'Was Eric reading to Alex? That's so sweet!' Sookie thought, 'I wonder if he learned new words?"

Then "Oh, cool!' She almost jumped up and down when she saw it – she picked up a colorful box, reading: **K's Kids Deluxe Patrick Shape Sorting House, **'I didn't know we brought this from New Orleans. He won't be able to sort anything yet, but it's something to mess around with. Oh, here's the teddy bear, too!' Sookie tore into both packages and took a sling, the bear and the little house filled with shapes back into her room and managed to get them sort of into her tote bag.

She looked through her drawers and found a pair of gray drawstring shorts, a thong and a little yellow top with spaghetti straps that would be easy to pull down and feed Alex. She couldn't wear a dress crawling around with the baby. She used the bathroom, brushed her teeth, washed her face, skipped the make up, and dressed quickly, finally slipping the baby into the blue floral sling and grabbing the overstuffed tote bag, So far, she realized, this morning was like it would be if Eric had never become King. Man, it was really quiet, except for the thunder.

She made it downstairs with her load of stuff and went bopping through the kitchen, surprising Margaret.

"Mrs. Northman! You're up so early!"

"Yeah, I'm really hungry – I was hoping I could get some breakfast?"

"Of course you can, dear – what would you like?"

"I know I want fried potatoes, but I don't know what else – I don't want eggs or bacon…"

"How about a steak or a pork chop?"

"Pork chop and gravy?" she asked apologetically.

"Of course, dear – do you want biscuits, too?"

"Yes, please?"

"Alright, dear, you just go watch TV if you want and I'll call you when it's ready."

"Thanks so much – I'm sorry it's a lot."

"Don't you worry about that – we want you to eat and get some meat on those bones. You're still too thin for a nursing mommy."

"OK, thanks."

Sookie went into the den and dropped the tote bag, but she went back through the kitchen and into her office, baby in tow, to check her email. The computer was on, so she clicked on the email program Eric liked, Thunderbird, and opened it. The program automatically downloaded her email, so she didn't even need her password. Her addy turned out to be HRH dot Sookie AT Northman dot org. She never even heard of a "dot org" before, and did that mean Eric had his own – what's it called – a 'domain', maybe? Anyway, she had an email from Bruce in Las Vegas, 3 from Emily in New Orleans, 1 from Giselle and even an email from Mrs. Mayor Norris.

Bruce had just CC'd her on the shipping info for the furniture and artwork, but she sent him a thank you, anyway. Emily's were all about redecorating Sookie's offices, so she answered them all in one message, since all she needed to say was yes, yes, and pink. Giselle's email had three choices for lamps for the bedroom and Sookie chose the second option, which was crystal and she loved it. Irma Norris was just checking in to ask how Sookie and the baby were doing, and since her husband was important to Eric's business interests, she took a few minutes to catch her up on the stuff she thought would interest her and told her she looked forward to seeing her the next time they were in Vegas. OK, that was painless and it's only quarter to eleven.

She headed back through the kitchen and Margaret was just about to call her.

"Oh, good timing, Missus – your breakfast is all ready for you."

"Mmm – it smells delicious!" Sookie sat down and was trying to get situated with the baby when Margaret came back in with the Bloom Bouncer for the baby. "Oh, the Bouncer I got from Pottery Barn Kids! I forgot about it!"

"I think it's just adorable. I thought you'd like to put the little one in it while you eat."

"Yeah, good idea. He'll be comfy in that."

Margaret took the sleeping baby from her. "I just love the way it's made to cradle them," she said as she put the baby into the little seat on the floor and buckled him in. "I never saw one of these made of wood before, and the look of it is so modern – it has that Swedish design look to it."

"I never thought of that, but you're right. Eric will like that," Sookie laughed. "Oh, he looks so sweet in that!" she said as she cut into her pork chop. "I just fell in love with it when I saw it on the website. He can rock and bounce in it and it's supposed to soothe them, though he doesn't usually need a lot of soothing."

"That's because you're always focused on him. You've got time to spend with him, and you keep him with you even when he's asleep. Plus, he's so smart, he knows you're right there."

"Yeah, the one time he woke up crying was because he was in a bed where he couldn't see me. Most mornings I hear "Mamee" and I scoop him right up," she laughed. "Those co-sleepers rock."

"Mr. Northman's also comfortable having him in the bedroom – that helps a lot, I know."

"Yeah, Eric likes him to be there. The idea of separate rooms is too modern for him, I think. He's from a culture where mothers keep their babies close all the time, and that's fine with me. I'm so lucky I don't have to work or even clean house, so I've got lots of time for him. Most mothers don't have a choice – they have to work. I'm really blessed to have lots of help and to be able to arrange my schedule around things. I can take him with me for pretty much everything I have to do. I know how lucky I am."

Margaret smiled at her and patted her shoulder affectionately as she set a big glass of organic milk next to her plate, so proud that she was grateful for all the advantages she had. Sookie never took things for granted. She was always kind and polite to the servants and she was even apologetic about spending Eric's money. Margaret just thought she was the sweetest thing in the world and she was thrilled that Eric found such a lovely girl for himself.

There was a huge clap of thunder that shook the house. "Wow – it's loud out there!" Sookie said.

"Yes, and it's really coming down out there, too. Be glad you don't need to go out today, Missus."

Sookie scarfed down the breakfast in no time and then carried the sleeping baby, Bouncer and all, into the den. She found some mildly interesting daytime TV (The Doctors, Dr. Phil, Judge Judy) listed on one channel so she left it there and got the quilt out of the closet. Once the quilt was on the floor and the baby was snuggled by her feet, Sookie broke out her journal to look at the notes Eric had been putting in it. She was really pleased to see that he had made notes on the "swirling" and light effects that happened when they had sex in addition to notes about the baby.

She made a note about the dream she had had about Freya and the swords and dwelled on the words "It was never really here, and it's not your fault. Take off your blinders, make the most of what you've got." She thought about the disappearing sword – what was it? What was never really here? Where did it go? The Goddess didn't say it didn't exist – she said it wasn't here. Sookie knew enough about magick to know that there's an important difference – that words had to be precise, and should be taken exactly as they're stated. So where was it? If it wasn't her fault, whose fault was it?

Blinders – did that refer to the blindfold in the dream? What wasn't she seeing? What was she supposed to make the most of? Sookie ran her finger over the words she had written as if it might tell her what she couldn't understand. She lay down on the big brown couch, Alex next to her on the floor, and she closed her eyes, picturing Freya in the dream.

Sookie tried to focus her energy on Freya as she had appeared in the dream – the triangle pose with the swords, the slight breeze that was in her hair, the… sunrise? … in the background, the big ocean waves. Sookie looked down and saw the water swirl around the Goddess' bare feet, wetting the bottom of her long red dress. The golden swords at her side shimmered with energy and Sookie focused on the triangle shape – why was it so fascinating? She heard the word "Yoni" but she had no idea what it meant. Was it a Norse word? She opened her eyes and wrote it in her journal to look up later.

She closed her eyes again and saw herself with the 2 swords. Two – the number Alex refused to say. There were two of them, then there was only one. She remembered Octavia telling her that 2 was the number of the moon. She pictured the swords as clearly as she could – there were no differences she could see. They were identical, a set… like twins. She thought of Eddy and Freddy who had drunk the milk Eric left for them. Were they the swords? She decided they couldn't be, because one was never really there. Twins. The word stuck in Sookie's head. Pixie twins. Fairy twins. Fae twins. The Fairy Twin. What the hell was that? Was it a story she heard once? It sounded like a fairy tale – The Fairy Twin.

OK, time to break out the computer. First, she looked up Yoni, which turned out to be a Sanskrit word, whatever that meant, and it didn't come right out and say it, but when she looked at she got the message very clearly that a yoni was what she would call a "hootchie." She went to the Wikipedia definition and it was kind of buried but it did actually say "in classical texts such as Kama Sutra, yoni refers to the vulva." She looked at the images that came up with the search and got an eyeful – the word clearly referred to the female sex organs and there were several triangles used in various symbolic depictions so she figured triangles represented Yonis – she made a note to ask her Witches about this.

Next she looked up "fairy twin" – ugh – tons of links for twin bed linens with a fairy motif. She tried a related search for "fairy baby" and that brought up places that sell things with fairy themes. OK, she thought, let's go to Wikipedia and see what they say. She clicked several links and found herself reading about Feri tradition, which sounded like Wicce, but not exactly, and she noticed the name Starhawk, which was a writer Bobbie had mentioned to her. She followed link after link, reading about all kinds of things – Morgan Le Fey, French Folklore, Shakespeare, Huon of Bordeaux, chanson de geste, articles on Fairies and other legends. She found two items of interest:

First, there used to be a legend that when a child was born in this world, a fairy twin was born in the world of the Fae, the Norse name for which is Alfheimr.

Second, there's a 13th century story about Morgan Le Faye and Julius Caesar having a set of twins, one named George who would rule the human world and one named Auberon who would rule the land of the Fae. Auberon, or Oberon, the King of the Fairies, still appears in all kinds of literature. Sookie thought it was strange that the names were so different – George was so ordinary and Auberon so lovely.

'Auberon,' she thought, 'that's so pretty. What would you call a child named Auberon? Aubie, I guess? That's cute. Aubie.'

She also noted that Morgan Le Fey was supposed to have a Scandinavian lover that She whisked away to her mysterious palace. She loved Morgan/Morgaine from that **Marion Zimmer Bradley **book, **The Mists of Avalon**, and she had a quick little fantasy about being the Goddess and whisking Her Scandinavian lover – played by Eric, of course – to a secret palace where they could have sex for weeks at a time, but outside of time, without ever needing to sleep. She laughed at herself being so horny, but then she remembered reading that Freya was lusty, too, so she figured it wasn't her fault.

She also stumbled across the fact that Freya had a twin brother, Freyr, with whom She had had sex. EEW! That was one aspect of Freya Sookie planned to leave unexplored! Hooking up with Pam again was as close to that as she ever intended to get to that particular aspect of that particular Goddess. She needed to ask Bobbie about that myth, though – it seemed so perverse! Why would it still endure?

She was reading about Julius Caesar and thinking about the Fairy Twins – born of a powerful Witch/Goddess and a great warrior and statesman. The best of both worlds, both types of power. What a cool concept. She almost wished Alex had been a twin, but then she might not be able to be as close to him as she was if there was a second baby to split her time and attention. She was rolling the idea of juggling two babies around in her head when Alex woke up crying.

"Alex – hey, Sweetie! You're OK!" She rushed to undo the little harness he was in and pulled him to her, kissing and hugging him, telling him, "It's OK, Sweet Boy, Mommy's got you!" She cuddled and rocked him and he began to calm down, "Yeah, Mommy's got you!"

"Mamee?" He snuffled.

"Yeah, Sweetie, Mommy's got you! You're OK!" She closed up the computer and sat cross legged on the couch, hugging Alex to her, reaching to the side table for a tissue then wiping his nose and dabbing at his eyes, the thought flashing through her mind that just about everything that came out of this baby was pink instead of red like a grown vampire. She wondered if that's because he drank milk, too, or if it was because he was a baby? "There, now, you feeling better? Do you feel better, Darlin'?"

Alex didn't respond – he just sucked his thumb and laid his little head on Sookie's shoulder, and she rubbed his back and talked softly to him for a long time. Eventually, he took a deep breath and seemed to be grounded again, and was looking around to see where he was.

"Do-ee, Mamee." He pointed to his dragon on top of Sookie's tote bag.

"Yeah, let's get your Toy up here – he'll cheer you up." She reached for the soft dragon and the baby hugged it to him, leaning back into Sookie who was still cuddling him and kissing his head. He wiggled around and Sookie tried to help him get comfortable, and he finally settled into a position where Sookie was cradling him in her lap, his dragon on his chest, his big blue eyes staring up at her as she smiled at him, still speaking softly. He was completely content by the time Margaret came in with a huge box.

"Excuse me, Missus – I thought you might have forgotten about some of the toys in the basement. The little one is so fond of that dragon, I thought he might get a kick out of this dinosaur with balls in it."

"Oh, cool! I totally forgot about it! Look at that, Pookie!" She read the box to him, "K's Kids **I AM THE BOSS** Soft Dinosaur Storage Play Ball kit. That's the same company that made the other thing I brought down. I guess they make cool toys, huh, Pookie!"

Margaret tore into it and removed the big blue polka-dotted dinosaur from the box. Sookie held Alex up to watch her and he was mesmerized by the big critter as Margaret set him up in the middle of the quilt and unzipped his back, then filled it with plastic balls.

"Dwadon!" Alex pointed at it, obviously excited.

"Yeah, it's a dragon! A big one!" Sookie told him.

"Ba, Mamee!" His eyes were huge as Margaret poured the balls in.

"Yeah, lots of balls to play with. You wanna get in there and play, Pookie?"

"OM -BA!" He was bouncing up and down waving his arms like crazy.

Sookie and Margaret cracked up as Sookie slid off the couch onto her knees and walked on them over to the big toy, sitting Alex right in the middle of it.

"HAAAAAaaaaaaa!" Alex made his happy sound, his eyes huge, not knowing what to grab first. He flapped his arms up and down a few times, sending balls flying, much to his delight. He threw one and said "uh-oh!" then threw another and another. Sookie retrieved them and threw them back to him, letting him try to catch them. "Here, Pookie, catch the ball!" and he actually did sort of catch them and put them back in the "belly" (the back, really, but you get the idea) of the dinosaur, then picked up a different one and threw it to Sookie as best he could.

"Do-ee?" Alex pointed to his head and looked at Sookie.

"No, Sweetie his name is Boss. Can you say 'Boss'?"

"Bohth?"

"Yeah, Boss – that's good!"

Alex leaned toward the head and crawled through the balls, then planted a kiss on the dino's head and then turned back to the balls and sort of dived into the middle of them, laughing his little head off. Sookie sat with her back against the couch, watching Alex roll around in the balls, just loving the whole set up. That was one happy little baby right then. He would lie face down and kick his feet, making balls fly, then he would roll on his back and wave his arms around, balls falling over the side of the dino's pouch. At one point, he lay face down, then rose up and hovered just over the dino, and let himself down suddenly and howled with laughter when he fell into the balls.

"Alex! No – you only do that with Daddy, OK?"

"Oday," the baby replied, but he was cackling, flailing his arms and legs, sending balls flying everywhere. Sookie was crawling around, throwing the balls back into the pouch. At one point, she got tired and sat back against the couch and the baby threw a ball to the far side of the room. Before Sookie could move toward it Alex threw his arm toward it and said "BA!" and it was instantly in his hand as a puff of air went through the room.

"Oh, no – Alex, what did you just do?"

"Ba, Mamee!" He was exceedingly pleased with himself. He was also quite aware that Sookie wasn't too thrilled with his new skill and he thought that was funny, too.

"Yes, I see that." Sookie was at a loss now – how do you teach a little baby not to do certain things around certain people. She wished really hard that Eric was up right now – she didn't realize it but she actually sent out a call into the bond. She was rounding up more balls when Eric walked into the room.

"Sookie? What is happening?"

'Eric! You're up!"

"Yes – is it dark out? I feel so strange."

"It's like – 12:30 in the day time, Sweetie! Are you alright?"

"Is the sun out?"

"No, it's dark and rainy and storming – listen."

"You're right – I hear the rain on the roof and there's thunder in the distance…"

"Niall said you'd be OK in indirect light and you'd be able to stay up on rainy dark days, remember?"

"Yes, now that you mention it, I do. You called me – what is wrong?" Eric was still disoriented, so he sat on the floor next to Sookie and laid his head on her shoulder.

"I was wishing you were up to talk to me about Alex's abilities – he's using them to play in this little ball pit. Did you know he can call things to him the way I can?"

"No, I didn't. You saw him do this?"

"Yes, just now. Oh, watch this…" she pointed at the baby, who was hovering over the balls, then he dropped into them and squealed with delight.

Eric cracked up. "That's very good, Alex! Are you having fun, my boy?"

"OMBA! Dadee nah seepeen?"

"No, I'm not sleeping right now. So you've been flying today?"

"Fyeen, Omba! Dadee," Alex made his 'come here' gesture and Eric watched him. The baby picked up a blue plastic ball, said "uh-oh!" and let it fly toward the kitchen. Then, without missing a beat, he said "BA!" and the ball appeared in his hand with a little breeze. Alex giggled wildly and Eric was delighted, "Wonderful, Alex!"

"That's why I called you – what are we going to do about this? How do we teach a baby not to do things like that, at least not at the wrong times?"

"Did you try telling him 'no?'"

"I said something on the order of "oh, no, Alex, what did you do," and I felt him laughing at me in the bond. He thinks it's funny."

Eric tried not to laugh. He lay down next to Alex and his dinosaur languorously, tickling Alex, then noticed where he was. "Sookie – is this our quilt?"

"Yeah, you don't mind, do you? It reminds me of you and I thought it would be a nice place for me and Alex to play." She crawled over and sat next to his back.

"Of course, Sookie, it's fine – but only for you and Alex, alright? It's just between family."

"Yeah, of course, Sweetie."

He rolled on his back and looked up at her, reaching up to take her face in his hand. "You look beautiful today, my angel."

"Yeah, right – no make-up, old clothes, dirty pony tail…"

"I love you, Sookie, especially when you are natural this way. Anyone can look good in makeup and fine clothes. You are a Goddess in every way, my angel, no matter what you do or do not wear."

"You trying to make me melt all over our quilt?" she smiled at him. She felt so good just being with him, feeling his hand on her face.

"What have you done today, Sookie – you are up early, are you not?"

"Yeah, I couldn't go back to sleep, so I got up and brought the baby down. I answered some email, and ate breakfast and I did some writing in my journal and looked some stuff up on the Internet…"

"Let me ask the Missus when she wants lunch… Mrs… OH, MY! Mr. Northman! I didn't know you were home!"

"Yes, Margaret, it's so dark and dreary I can be up and about. What were you going to ask Sookie?"

"I was going to ask her when she wanted to eat lunch. Bobbie and Bjorn are in here so I wanted to see if you'd all like to eat together or if I should serve them and tend to your lunch later, Missus."

"I'll eat with them – we all will, right, Sweetie?"

"Of course, we will. Let's go into the kitchen and see what Margaret can make for you!"

Eric got up and picked up the baby, then pulled Sookie to her feet and they all followed Margaret into the kitchen where Bobbie and Bjorn were sitting at the table.

"Hey, sleepyheads! Did you sleep this late?" Sookie was glad to see them.

"Sort of…" Bobbie said, wiggling her eyebrows and Sookie laughed, knowing what she meant. "Wow – Eric! You're up!"

"Yes, it's so dark out today I'm able to be awake."

"Do you feel alright?" Bjorn asked him.

"I was a bit disoriented at first and I'm a little tired, but other than that, I feel fine." Eric put Alex in his highchair as Sookie opened a little box of Cheerios from the counter and sprinkled some on his tray.

"How does a grilled chicken and spinach salad sound?" Margaret asked.

"Yum," Sookie said.

"I'd really like that as long as I can skip the dressing," Bjorn agreed.

"Works for me!" Bobbie said.

"Alright, I'm going to go back to the freezer for a minute and then I'll get right on it." Margaret was heating a blood for Eric and Alex.

"Sookie, I'm sorry if we're intruding on your day…' Bobbie started.

"You aren't at all," Sookie assured them, "I was wishing you were here because I had questions about stuff I read on the Internet."

"What did you read?"

"All kinds of stuff – Freya and Yonis and fairy twins…"

Eric was shocked when she said that. Was Freya speaking through her? Or to her? His mind was racing as Margaret sat a warm RM in front of him. He thanked her and drank, listening to Sookie very intently. Margaret went to the extra freezer in the back of the pantry for the chicken.

"First, I need clarification, and this is a little embarrassing in front of everybody, but I need to know if a Yoni is what I think it is…"

"It's the female genitalia as an object of worship," Bobbie said casually. Bjorn and Eric were amused at the concept, but couldn't disagree with it.

"OK, that's what I thought… and triangles are a Yoni symbol?"

"Yes, they are. How did this come up?"

"I was sort of leaning back, looking at Freya in that last dream I had and I noticed the way she was holding the two swords looked like a triangle and while I was picturing it, I heard the word 'yoni' so I looked it up."

"You heard it? In your mind or in your ear?"

"In my mind, I guess. Does it still count?"

"Yeah, of course it does – I was just curious which faculty you got it from. So swords and Yonis – that's very sexual."

"OK, is there a male equivalent of the Yoni…?"

"It's called a 'lingam' in a spiritual context."

"OK… OK." She was trying to process the information. "Hey, did you know Freya had a twin brother and she slept with him?"

"That's common in Pagan mythology."

"It is? Why?"

"You have to remember that when you go all the way back, these are stories of the origin of creation. Isis and Osiris were siblings as well as lovers and had a child called Horus; Morgan was Arthur's half-sister yet they bore a child called Mordred; Freya and Freyr are just another pairing of the Lord and the Lady. In the beginning, the first couple was a woman and her child via parthenogenesis – asexual reproduction, also known as Virgin Birth. At the earliest point of sexual reproduction, someone had to mate with a relative for life to continue. These myths were carried down through time and there were civilizations where in order to rule, the king had to marry his sister, who represented the land and only her consort could have sovereignty. Sometimes they were symbolic marriages, sometimes they were literal. These were sacred pairings among gods and royals who were seen as gods, not incestuous relationships among humans. Real incest of the type where a child is victimized by a relative was virtually unknown until about 4,000 BCE."

"OK, so it's a religious idea and not a lifestyle choice…"

Bobbie laughed, "exactly. Don't let it flip you out. It happens all the time in Nature."

"OK, now I keep coming back to the two swords, and then there's only one."

"Any ideas what it is?" Bobbie asked.

"No. I kind of got off on a tangent about fairy twins."

Eric was paying close attention again. This was torture.

"What do you mean?"

"I don't know – ever since Niall told me about the two Pixies watching out for Alex I've had the idea of fairy twins stuck in my head. Did you know there used to be a myth that for every human baby born, there was a fairy twin born in the land of the Fae?"

"No, I didn't."

"Did you know that there's an old story that Morgan Le Fey and Julius Caesar had twin sons named George and Auberon, and George was supposed to rule in the human world and Auberon became the King of the Fairies?"

"No, I never heard that. That's pretty cool. I mean, I've heard of Oberon, King of the Fairies, of course, in Shakespeare and other works, …"

Eric was wondering if vampires could faint. He was hoping to Goddess he could keep Sookie from reading his thoughts.

"Can you imagine – a Goddess and a Warrior having twins, one in each world? I was even picturing what it might have been like if Alex were a twin, but then he woke up crying and I realized we might not be as close if there were two of him and I had to divide my attention."

Eric's head was spinning. He was going to have to tell her. Freya was leading her straight into the eye of the storm, and if he didn't tell her before Freya did, she'd never forgive him. He'd give anything to spare her this pain, but …"

"ERIC!"

"I'm sorry – what?"

"Wow, Sweetie, you were a million miles away. Maybe you should go back to rest?"

"No, I think I want to stay up with you, if I'm not in your way."

"Eric, you could never be in my way! You seem a little out of it, though. Is that normal in these cases?"

"What cases, my angel?"

"Where a vamp is able to get up in the daytime."

"I've never heard of a case like this, Sookie."

"You mean you might be the first vamp ever…?"

"It's possible."

"Maybe you should talk to Dr. Ludwig and find out if she knows anything about it?"

"Talk to Dr. Ludwig, then write this in your journal," Bobbie suggested. "But I'll bet this part of it has happened before in some context."

"Go ahead and call her, Eric, and see if there's anything we need to know," Sookie urged him. "I don't want you to get hurt."

"Alright," he pulled out his cell phone and pushed the button to call Ludwig.

"Sookie?"

"No, Doctor, it's Eric Northman."

"Vampire? What are you doing up?"

"It's dark and stormy today. Niall told Sookie that I would be able to be awake on such days and it is apparently true."

"I see. Have you done this before?"

"No. I have arisen at dusk a few times, but this is the first time I've been up during the day. We were wondering if there's anything I need to know, or to do…"

"Well, this is a very rare occurrence but there is some record of it, though it's generally considered folklore rather than history. There is some magick that can be worked to allow a vampire to walk in the sun, but in your case, I think Fae Addiction is likely the source of your new ability."

"Fae Addiction? What is that?"

"It's an effect of habitual, compulsive use of Fae blood by a vampire. It's a very rare complication, if only because most vampires don't have such constant access to Fae blood. I never expected it to happen in your case, but that's the best explanation I can think of for this."

"Is it a problem?"

"No, but it's something to be aware of. You say Niall told Sookie about this? When?"

"Sookie, when did Niall tell you about this?"

"The day of the cookout in Las Vegas, remember? He came to me in a dream."

"Did you hear that, Doctor?"

"Yes, I did. Now the question is – was that really Niall, and if not, who was it?"

"Who else could it have been?"

"Good question. Let me call Niall and get back to you. Did this person tell Sookie anything else?"

"Yes, she was told to tell me to watch out for the silverware, and then she had a dream that someone in a restaurant tried to stab me with silver, but nothing like that ever happened."

"Interesting. Alright, have a blood and relax and I'll call you back."

"What did she say, Eric?" Sookie was a little concerned now.

"She said to have a blood and relax. She's going to talk to Niall and call me back. She is not convinced that it was he who visited you in your dream."

"Wouldn't I know Niall if I saw him?"

"I don't know, Sookie – again, I am a warrior, not a magician. Bobbie, do you know?"

"Sookie was pretty wide open then, and she was tired. I can see it being possible for something or someone else to trick her. I can see it being a part of her, too, just taking his form so she'd pay attention."

"Interesting. This could be Sookie speaking to herself…"

"Yeah, why not – she does it all the time. Those visions of Freya are her talking to herself, too."

"So they're not real?" Sookie was confused.

"Oh, they're real alright, Sookie. In a way, they're more real than reality is. That's when you see yourself as you truly are, rather than the way you've agreed to be in that body."

"OK, so I chose to be in this body why?"

"So you could be you and be Eric's wife and Alex's mother, at least – there might be more we don't know yet."

"And Freya couldn't do that?"

"Freya IS doing that. This is how She was able to work it out so She could be with him and give him everything he ever wanted."

"So because She has limitations, She has to find a way to do what She wants to do?"

"Right. She had specific intentions and she took whatever steps were necessary to make them happen. It took so long to set it up that Eric thought She had forgotten about him, right?"

"Right," Eric affirmed.

"But She didn't hurt anybody, right – She can't do anything harmful?"

"Sure She can."

"She can?!"

"Sookie, gods and Goddesses are literal forces of Nature. They look at the big picture and They don't necessarily worry about how Their desires affect humans or other beings. They have their own agendas, and They'll do what They need to do to work Their will. They've been known to wipe out entire civilizations if it suited Them."

"I thought there was that rule – that 'reed' thing."

"The Wiccan Rede? That only applies to Witches, Hon. It's a code of ethics Witches agree to live by because they know that what goes around, comes around. Gods and Goddesses may or may not be included in that level of Karma."

"You don't know?"

"No, I don't. Ask Freya – maybe She'll tell you if it works that way for Them. You know Fae don't follow a code of ethics, other than Supe rules and they stretch those to suit them."

"That's true… So gods and Goddesses don't have rules?"

"I don't know – I don't know if anyone could answer that. Eric, do you know?"

"Only a member of the Living Pantheon could likely answer that question. You can ask Doctor Ludwig when she calls back – she's one of few non-deities who might know for sure. She or a member of the Council – those would be the only non-deities I would expect to know something like that."

**** POP ****

Dr. Ludwig was standing in the kitchen with them and everyone but Eric jumped.

"Hello, Doctor!" Sookie remembered her manners, at least.

"Hello, little girl. How are you feeling today?"

"I'm fine – I was worried about Eric."

"Well, since I'm here I'm going to take a look at the three of you. Northman, come in the den with me and let me take a look at you."

"Alright, Dr." Eric went into the den and Ludwig made a motion that Sookie should stay in the kitchen, which surprised her. The doctor followed him in and had him lie down on the big brown couch, then she looked in his eyes, had him stick out his tongue, placed both hands on his chest for a minute, then over his abdomen.

"Have you told her yet?"

Eric was shocked that she asked him that. "Not yet, but I think I must…"

"Well, I was afraid of that. I tried to tell Niall you couldn't keep it from her. When do you plan to do it?"

"Today or tonight – as soon as we are alone."

"You don't think it would be better to spare her?"

"I would prefer to, but I'm afraid…" he hesitated, wondering if he dared tell the doctor Sookie could hear his thoughts.

"You're afraid either you or Freya is going to give it away and she'll be furious with you?"

"Yes, exactly."

"You'd best not break your trust with her. That would hurt her more than anything at this point. She needs to know she can depend on you to be honest with her."

"I agree. Niall…"

"… is afraid of Freya, and perhaps he should be."

"I thought you agreed with him?"

"I am ambivalent about it. On one hand, she will suffer with the knowledge, on the other, she will be furious if she finds out on her own and she knows you didn't tell her. Since you apparently know she can get the information whether you give it to her or not, best to do it up front, gently, and lessen the shock to her and the damage to your relationship. Your relationship is vital to your son's interests."

"Yes, I agree."

"A lot of people are depending on that child being everything he needs to be – you and Sookie are integral parts of making that happen. Don't get distracted. Focus on the child you've got."

"Yes – we will try. I must confess I almost wish I didn't know."

"Well, we discussed that, but ultimately, the truth was going to come out. Even if Freya didn't tell you, little Alex would have as soon as he was old enough to communicate it to you. He's already reacting to the situation."

"Yes, I suppose he is."

"Alright, you seem fine, if a little shaky. Ask her to go to bed if you want, and wait until after dark when you're sharper before you talk to her. Send her back in here with the baby."

Margaret was grilling chicken when he went back in, as Sookie sat chatting with Bobbie and Bjorn and teasing Alex with a piece of cereal, making him laugh when she'd start to put it in his mouth, then pull it away and say "oops!"

"Sookie, the doctor would like to see you and the baby in the den," he told her as he pulled the baby up out of the highchair and handed him to her. Sookie want back into the den and Eric sat at the table, asking Bobbie and Bjorn if they'd had plans for the day.

Sookie went back into the den with Alex on her hip.

"OK, little girl, lie down. I won't do an internal today, I just want to see if things feel as if they're where they ought to be."

"Oh, OK." She laid Alex into the Bouncer while the doctor checked her out and he discovered that it rocked if he swung his leg as he liked to, which tickled him to no end.

The doctor pressed around Sookie's abdomen, looked in her eyes, listened to her heart and held her hand over her chest for a bit. "Alright, you seem fine. Let's see that little one." She said as she walked over to the bouncer. She ran a thumb up the bottom of the baby's foot and was pleased with the response. She looked in his eyes, smiling as he stared at her with big blue eyes, and she tickled his chin to get him to open his mouth so she could see his tongue. She tickled his gums and laughed when he popped his little fangs. "Well, now, he's a chip off the old block, isn't he? Just like his big vamp of a Daddy."

"So he seems OK?"

"He seems better than OK, little girl, he seems robust and happy."

"Oh, good. How was Eric? He seems a little off today…"

"He's not used to being awake at this time of day, so his body and mind are a little confused. I'd suggest the two, I mean, the _three_, of you spending a quiet afternoon in bed. He'll perk up after dark. With the weather and all, I'd say it's a good time to cuddle and talk. Get him to tell you some stories of his life – I'll bet he hardly tells you anything about his past, does he?"

"Not a lot, no."

"Sharing is important. It strengthens the bond between you. You need to protect that bond, just as you'd protect the bond between you and your baby. It's rare and it's precious and it makes all three of you stronger, and that's what's important – the three of you. Don't worry about the things you can't change."

"OK…" Sookie wasn't sure why she was apprehensive about what the doctor was saying, but it made the hair on the back of her neck stand up. She had that feeling that something just wasn't right again.

"Well, I'll be going…"

"Wait! Was it Niall in my dream or not?"

"Let's put it this way – the information you got was accurate. That's all you need to know." And with that, she was gone.

"Mamee!" Alex was bouncing in his bouncer, laughing and chewing on his finger, looking at Sookie the way he did with those big, trusting eyes. She scooped him up and tickled him, covering him with kisses then hugging him to her. No matter what else was going on in the world, she had her Alex and her Eric and that's what really mattered.

Sookie took Alex back into the kitchen and joined the others, who were chatting as Bobbie and Bjorn chowed down on salad. Sookie dived into hers, which was fabulous, and Eric even ate a bite of chicken. Alex wanted a bite when he saw Eric eat chicken, so Margaret ground a bit in a tiny red food processor she kept on the counter and Sookie gave him a little of the mash, which he loved. Margaret brought out a baby food jar of applesauce and Eric fed it to Alex, who was bouncing his leg up and down as he did when he was happy.

"Do you like that, Sweetie?' Sookie teased him.

"Mmmmm!" Alex hummed at her, making everyone laugh.

"That's apples – can you say 'apples?'" Sookie asked him

"Ap-po?"

"Yeah, apples! Do you like apples?"

"OMBA!"

Eric picked up the jar and sniffed them, raising his eyebrows – they didn't smell bad at all.

"Ee ap-po, Dadee!"

Everyone laughed.

"He wants you to eat apples, Sweetie," Sookie told him.

"Hmm – they smell sweet and sour at the same time."

"Yeah, they are kind of sweet and tart – a lot of fruits are. Give them a try if they smell OK."

Eric took a spoonful from the jar and ate it, which really tickled Alex. He was giggling like crazy. "Do you think that is funny, my son?'

"Ee-ahh , Dadee!" He giggled. "Dood!"

"Good! Yes, they are good." Eric smiled at the baby, who opened his mouth wanting another bite, which Eric gave him, laughing at how cute he was.

"So what's everybody doing this afternoon?" Sookie said.

Bobbie and Bjorn looked at each other and Eric explained, "they were planning to go back to bed since it's raining and they wanted to give you some space, Sweetheart."

"I was going to suggest that we do that, too. It's a good day to cuddle and talk, don't you think?"

"Yes, now that you mention it, it might be nice to have some family time in bed," Eric said, "I'm surprised you thought that, though, Sookie – I thought you had plans for today."

"No, what I had for today is the opposite of plans," she laughed, "but Dr. Ludwig suggested we should spend the afternoon in bed and it sounds kind of nice."

"It was Ludwig's idea?" That surprised Eric.

"Yeah, and she's right…"

"I thought you wanted to read today, Sookie. Would you rather I take the baby for a while and let you do that?"

"I'll read this week – I decided I was being silly. There's no reason I can't get a chair in the sun and read like I used to – y'all will give me space if that's what I want, right?"

"Of course, Sookie," Bobbie assured her. "I'm done – Bjorn are you ready?"

"Yes – let's go up! Sookie, do whatever you want and enjoy yourself and we'll probably see you at dinner time."

"Oh, OK, have fun you guys!"

"We will," Bobbie wiggled her eyebrows and everyone laughed.

Margaret was gathering up dishes and preparing a lunch tray for Octavia, who slept in again, as Sookie and Eric took the baby back into the den. Eric stood astraddle the dinosaur and swung Alex back and forth over the ball pit, saying, "I'm going to drop you, Alex. Are you ready? Ready to dive in?" and other things, letting him feel as if he was flying and occasionally swinging him low enough to touch the balls. Alex was cracking up, yelling "Omba, Dadee! Fyeen! Fyeen!"

Sookie was sitting on the couch behind them, laughing at how adorable they were playing together. Margaret came back in quietly and handed Sookie a point-and-shoot digital camera so she could snap some pictures. At one point Eric let Alex drop into the balls and he giggled wildly, flailing his arms and legs, balls flying everywhere, and then he floated back up to where Eric had been swinging him, yelling "Dadee! Dadee!" wanting Eric to swing him around some more. Sookie couldn't tell who was having more fun – Alex was beside himself with giggling but Eric was laughing and having more fun that she'd ever seen him have.

Eric was still swinging Alex over the ball pit when, without warning, he levitated and swung Alex in a complete, broad circle, making him literally scream with laughter. He waited a second hanging over the ball pit, then he swung them around again and again, then he turned and landed on the floor cross-legged, hugging Alex to him, both of them laughing until tears came out of their eyes. He kissed Alex and rubbed his back.

"I love you, Alex," Eric laughed and kissed him, petted and hugged him, "I love you, love you, love you!"

"Uh-voo, Dadee!"

"AW!" Sookie was melting all over the couch, "You know, Eric, I think that's the first time he's said that! What a sweet boy!"

Eric responded by grabbing Sookie's ankle and pulling her off the couch, to Eric Alexander's sheer delight. She was shrieking and laughing, the baby was shrieking and laughing and Eric was cracking up. Eric pulled her over and set the baby on her chest and told him "say 'I love you, Mommy'" and the baby giggled and said "Uh-voo, Mamee!" and before Sookie could say anything Eric tickled her. Amidst the laughing, Alex managed to say "ee, Mamee," so Eric helped Sookie get up on the couch and get situated with the baby, then sat next to her, wrapping his arm around her.

Sookie was about to catch her breath, and told Eric, "you know he's going to fall asleep after this. Why don't we go to bed until dinner time?"

"My thoughts exactly, my lover."

He stood and pulled her up, then steered her back toward the elevator, which surprised her but she didn't say anything. When they got to the third floor, he zipped ahead of her and turned the bed down. He was pulling his shirt off as she reached the door and closed it behind her.

"In a hurry, Daddy?" She teased him.

"Believe it or not, yes, I am. When he goes to sleep, I plan to enjoy a nap with my beautiful wife."

"A nap?" He was already pulling her shorts down.

"Among other things, yes. We've never been able to sleep beside one another. Today, we can." He pulled the thin straps of her top down over her arms and slipped it down over her hips and off.

"Don't even think about not having sex with me…" she said as she walked on her knees to her side of the bed.

He was pulling his pants off. "We'll get to that eventually, my angel, but first, we cuddle and nap." He sort of flopped onto his side of the bed as she settled cross-legged on her side, still cuddling and feeding Alex.

"Are you actually tired?"

"Yes, I am, and a bit anxious, and since there is nothing we have to do, I'd like to spend family time. I would find it…. soothing, I think."

"Wow – I don't think you've ever needed to be soothed before."

"I have never been awake in the daytime before. It is… unsettling. It could be a great advantage if there was something that needed to be done, but without a purpose to distract me, I'm very aware of everything in a strange way."

"Hey – remember when I said I should give you a massage sometime and you said you wouldn't get as much out of it as you would touching me?"

"Yes, I remember."

"Well, if I massaged you right now, would you get more out of it than normal?"

"I don't know but I find the idea very calming."

"Cool, when he gets done, I'm going to give you a back rub – not that I necessarily know how to give a good back rub, but I'll try."

"Feeling your soft hands on me, spreading oil and kneading my muscles, sounds like heaven right how. I don't see how you could get that wrong, Sookie, just being next to you this way is making me feel calmer."

"OK, Alex is dozing off now." She settled the baby into the co-sleeper, "now, do you want music?"

"Actually, would you open the window a little bit? I'd like to hear the rain and thunder."

"Ooh, good idea! It's not blowing or anything right now." She crawled over him to get out of the bed, then went to the window, unlocked it and slipped it up a few inches. There was just a little cool breeze and she put a towel from the bathroom on the ledge in case the rain blew in a little, but it wasn't at the moment.

Sookie got the bottle of vanilla massage oil she'd gotten from Bobbie and took it back to the bed, where Eric had already turned on his stomach in the middle of it. She straddled his waist, and he told her "put some oil in your hands, Sweetheart, and rub them together to make it warm."

She did that, amazed at how warm they got, then she pressed gently into his back over each shoulder blade and he moaned softly as if he were relieved. She worked very slowly, concentrating on kneading his flesh and muscles slowly and deeply the way he always did hers. She took long strokes up and down his strong back, and she rubbed deeply starting at his waist and working up to the top of his shoulders, where she dug in a little to get to the tension in his neck.

Eric was concentrating on the feel of her hands on him, trying not to cry because he was afraid she'd hear him. He couldn't tell her how much stress he was under knowing what he knew, and he dreaded telling her what was going on, but at least that part of it would be over tonight. It would be a relief not to have this secret between them. He wanted so much to be honest with her, and he just prayed that knowing wouldn't keep her from enjoying Alex and raising him as they needed to do.

Sookie didn't say anything because she could feel that he was stressed out and he needed some space to figure out what to say to her. She'd heard enough of his thoughts to know that he needed to talk to her about something and he was dreading it, but she clearly heard him think that he wanted to be honest with her. Whatever it was, she was sure that she could handle it as long as he told her the truth. Whatever this was, it had to be something new, because this stress she was feeling from him was new. He had been careful to think of it as "it" so she wouldn't be able to tell what "it" was. She was amazed at how disciplined his thoughts were.

"Sookie, are you reading my mind? I just heard you think that my thoughts were very disciplined."

"Yeah, I guess I am."

"What have you heard?"

"That you have something to tell me and that you don't want to, but you'll be relieved when there's no secret between us. Turn over, OK?"

He rolled on his back as she raised up to give him room to move, then she settled back on his stomach and warmed more oil, rubbing it into his chest. "I wasn't going to say anything because I knew you'd talk about it when you were ready. Whatever it is, you haven't known about it very long, have you? This is something new."

"Yes, I only found out myself very recently. I was encouraged not to tell you, and honestly, Sookie, I wish I didn't know myself," he closed his eyes and a bloody tear ran from his left eye.

"Look, Eric, whatever it is, it's better if we both know and we can be there for each other. I don't want you burdened with something I don't even know about and I don't want a secret to get between us. I'm stronger than people think I am. Here," she slipped off of him on her side of the bed and snuggled up next to him. He put his arms around her and kissed her forehead, then reached down and pulled the covers up over them. "Alright, now just tell me."

"Is there any chance you'd let me wait until after dark?"

"Why?"

"I'll feel more in control of myself then."

"You promise that as soon as it gets dark and you feel better, you're going to tell me the whole thing, right?"

"Absolutely."

"Alright, then. Let's sleep a while and then we'll talk."

"Thank you, my angel."

Sookie knew she could have pressed the point, but she could tell through the bond that Eric just wasn't himself and she knew this was going to be bad, though she couldn't imagine what it could be. To be honest, she'd rather Eric be together when he told her, too, because she was counting on being able to lean on him and right now, he was the one doing the leaning. The two of them lay quietly, listening to the rain, dozing off within minutes of each other.

Eric woke first, just before dusk, as he normally would, but he felt no bloodlust tonight because he was worried. He was spooned up against her back, feeling strong and grounded as ever and he made up his mind that before anything else happened, he would tell Sookie about the other child. As much as he hated to do it, it would be a relief for him to share the knowledge with her. If she knew, maybe they could console each other, and that would bring them even closer, as opposed to the distance keeping a secret would naturally create between them. He steeled himself to it, because it was too late to turn back. She knew there was a secret, and even if he came up with something else… no, he wasn't going to add a lie into the mix. That would only compound the distance this created between them.

"Eric?"

"Yes, my angel?"

"Tell me before the baby wakes up and it's time for dinner."

"Alright, Sookie. I want you to understand that the only reason I hesitated to tell you is because I knew this would haunt you. I've only known for a day and it is already haunting me…"

Sookie rolled over to face him, and he stroked her face as he continued, "I wish I didn't know, either. The magick that Niall performed to enable you to be pregnant…"

"Yes?"

"There were supposed to be two children, Sookie, but something went wrong and one of them is trapped in the world of Fairy."

"What?" He couldn't be saying what she thought he was saying.

"The other baby, the fairy twin, cannot leave the world of the Fae."

Sookie felt cold all over. "Alex has a twin?"

"Yes, but there are differences."

"I did only give birth to one baby, right?"

"Right, the other was somehow born of an egg."

"But he _was_ born…?"

"Yes."

"Who is raising him?"

"Niall has placed him with a family – I believe the plan is that he will never know who he is, except for having Niall's last name."

"What's his whole name?"

"Eric Auberon Brigant."

"Auberon!" Sookie was shocked and sick because she knew it was true – a part of her had always known and she was angry at herself for not putting it together.

"Yes – Freya named him, apparently, but she allowed Niall to give him his last name because it entitles him to certain property and position in that world that he could not inherit otherwise."

"Freya didn't tell me about this…"

"She tried, Sookie, She was beginning to…"

"The vanishing sword."

"Yes – I believe She intended for you to know."

"Niall knew about this?!"

"Yes, he did."

"He told you last night?"

"Yes."

"How long has he known?"

"I do not know."

"Son of a bitch!" Sookie sat up, angry but trying not to wake the baby.

"Sookie!"

"He knew that I was separated from one of my children and he didn't tell me?!"

"Sookie, they feel it's best if we…"

"They – so Ludwig knows about this, too?"

"Yes…"

"They've known all this time that my baby…." She got out of bed and started in the bathroom, stopped, started to the door, stopped, thought some more… "You said there are differences?"

"Yes, they are genetically identical, of course, but the other child has not had the advantage of growing in your womb and drinking your milk while you are drinking my blood. His development is normal for a Fae child, and he is sensitive to iron, silver and sunlight. They think he will look like Alex, but he may be much smaller."

"So this poor little baby, with all these weaknesses, and no parents, is just going to be pawned off on some unsuspecting Fae family, and we're supposed to pretend he doesn't exist?"

Eric sat up on the side of the bed. "What choice do we have, Sookie? He might never be able to leave the Fae realm."

"Why can't we go there? We're part fairy, both of us!"

"I don't know – I didn't think to ask about us going there, but wouldn't they tell us if that were possible?"

"How the fuck to I know?!"

"Sookie!"

"Don't "Sookie" me, Eric. I'm pissed. I'm not angry at you – at least you finally did the right thing, but I'm mad as hell, and cursing is the least of what I'm going to do."

"Sookie, don't do anything rash. We are dealing with Niall, Dr. Ludwig and Freya – these are powerful entities, no matter what your connection to them may be."

"Not powerful enough, apparently, if their magick left one of my children in a different world where I can't raise him!"

"That might have been an error on Niall's part…"

"Freya is a Goddess – why couldn't She fix this?"

"I don't know, Sweetheart, I…"

"Yeah, you're a warrior not a Witch. We don't know enough about this. Fuck this whole situation. There has to be something that can be done to help that poor baby. I'm not going to just abandon him and pretend he doesn't exist, Eric, I can't."

"We have no choice, Sookie."

"FUCK. THAT. People want me to study magick – you better _believe_ I'm going to study magick and I'm going to find a way to fix this. This is not over, not by a long shot. In the mean time, I want to know who has him, and how he's being treated. I'm going to figure out a way to talk to Freya and we're going to figure this out."

"Sookie…"

"There's a way to fix this, Eric, there has to be. That's why Freya has been trying to tell me about it. She had me bouncing all around it today when I was on the web. Think about it – a Witch and a warrior with a pair of twins, one in each world! That's us!"

"Sookie, the solution in that story was to put one in Fairy and one in the human world. That's the situation as it stands now."

"That can't be the last word on it. There has to be some way for us to get to that baby, Eric. He's our son, too."

"Yes, Sookie, I understand that – believe me, I grieve for him, too. Maybe there is a solution, I don't know, but if you are going to look for it, be smart about it. Yelling and cursing will only anger the Goddess – or Niall or Ludwig for that matter – and if there is a solution, they are probably your key to finding it. Angering them or alienating them won't bring our child to us."

"Alright, I need to do some research anyway." She was putting her clothes back on with a sense of determination. "That will give me time to calm down, then I'll talk to Dr. Ludwig and Freya about it. I'm not giving up on this child."

"What about Niall?" Eric picked up his jeans and began to dress.

"Niall created this mess, and then once he did, he didn't even have the decency to tell me about it. You were right about him all along. He's playing this situation to his own advantage and to hell with what's right or wrong, or who gets hurt. I won't alienate him since I might need his help to get to Eric Auberon, but I'm never going to trust him again. I'd rather deal with Ludwig at this point – she's fairly non-partisan in these matters, right?"

"Yes, and to be fair, Sookie, she did think I should tell you about it once she realized Freya was hinting around it."

"Is that why she wanted to see you alone today?"

"Yes. I got the impression that she wanted me to tell you all along though she said she was ambivalent about it."

"Well, that's something, at least. OK, you want me to be smart about things, so help me make a plan – who can I talk to about this? I assume it's better if not everyone knows right?"

"Right. I'm pretty sure that Niall, Ludwig and Freya are the only ones beside us who know and they probably expect it to stay that way. You never know how someone might try to use this against any of us."

"Can I talk to Octavia about it?"

"Yes, but let's keep it just to her – not Amelia or Bobbie at this point, OK?"

"What about Bjorn?"

"Let's wait until you've done some research and talked to Octavia and Ludwig and see where we are. We'll probably have to tell him at some point but let's go slowly."

"Alright. First thing's first – I need to get every book Bobbie has on magick and see if there's something I can use to talk to Freya. Octavia will help me with that, too, I'm sure. I may have to buy a bunch of books from the Internet, too, if that's OK?"

"Sookie, cost is of no importance - never hesitate to do what you must to care for our child."

"Our _children_. OK, let's go down to dinner. I've got work to do if I'm going to be communing with Goddesses any time soon. I've got no choice but to learn Witchcraft if I want to see our baby. I need to know enough about magick to know when Niall and the others are lying to me."


	78. Chapter 78

**[Author's Note: Merry Samhain, Everyone! **

**May the blessings of our ancestors be with us all!]**

**Chapter 78**

Eric pulled his shirt on as Sookie gathered the baby up so they could go downstairs to meet the others for dinner. Eric was a little apprehensive, but he knew Sookie wouldn't do anything to jeopardize getting to the other baby, so he figured she'd be careful what she said or did. He had never seen her this determined and he was relieved and proud. As usual, she was going to rise to the occasion, and do what had to be done. He had no idea if there was a remedy to the situation, but he knew if there were, she would move heaven and earth to find it.

As he saw the situation, his job was to give her all the support he could – physical, emotional, mental, financial, whatever she needed, and he would do his best to provide it. He had one other job, though, and that was to see that Alex didn't suffer because Sookie was preoccupied with the other child. In the end, there might really be nothing they could do for the fairy twin, but Alex was here right now and he wanted to be sure he got all the attention and love he needed. He would watch Sookie closely and be sure that she kept the situation in perspective. It wasn't that he didn't trust her judgment – he did, probably more than anyone's – it was that it would be normal for a mother to focus on the child most in need. Whatever happened, Alex must not suffer because of this.

"Don't worry, Eric, I'll keep it in perspective," Sookie told him as she cradled Alex in her arms. "I can handle this. I would never neglect Alex – you know that."

"Yes, Sweetheart, I do." He put his arms around her as she held the baby between them. "Our family is strong, and we'll stay strong. There has to be a reason for all of this – who knows – maybe something good will come from it all."

"Trust the Goddess and She will provide. That's what Octavia will tell me. I'll trust but I need to DO something, too. I'm going to do whatever I have to do to learn how to fix this. I know I can do it, Eric – I KNOW with everything in me, that's why Freya was trying to tell me. She's trying to tell me because I'm the one who has to fix it."

"Alright. Let's get you something to eat. I know enough about magick to know that you need to be strong to work it." He kissed her on the head and guided her down the stairs.

Margaret had the kitchen smelling heavenly by the time they got downstairs. Eric went in to get the bouncer to put the sleeping baby in as Sookie sat at her place and rocked him. Octavia was already seated and drinking an iced tea, working a crossword puzzle.

"Hi, Octavia – did you rest well today?"

"Oh, yes – I hope you don't mind me sleeping in. It's been a while since I've had a room that comfortable and it's nice to rest and know I don't need to worry about anything for a bit. I don't want to take advantage, though…"

"Don't be silly," Sookie said as Eric took the baby from her, "we want you to relax and feel at home."

"Absolutely, Octavia. This is your home as long as you want it, and I want you to relax and do as you please," Eric agreed. "You are very important to our family. Sleep in every day if you want to, and if you want the maids to bring your lunch or breakfast at a certain time, just let them know. And don't hesitate to let me know if you need anything. In fact, I was thinking it might be a good idea to put you on my payroll."

"You gonna put me to work?" she laughed.

"Not exactly, but you are a teacher for Sookie and hopefully later for Alex and I thought a consulting fee might be appropriate. I can even pay you under the table if you want, so you don't have to pay taxes on it."

"I won't tell if you won't…" the old lady laughed, glad he thought of this without her having to ask. It was appropriate for a student of magick to pay for the upkeep of an elder, but the elder isn't supposed to ask. The student should know to offer. She had been counting her room and board as payment, but a little green in her pocket would be helpful, too.

"Alright, then, I'll have Alicia pay you the first of every month through the household account, in cash, retroactive to the first of this month, so let's see," Eric pulled out his wallet, "is $1500.00 too little? That's what I've got on me right now. On the 1st of the month Alicia will give you another fifteen hundred."

Octavia was shocked – she was expecting a hundred bucks or so. "No, that's not too little – are you sure it's not too much?"

"No, of course not. If you decide you need more, just let Sookie or me know and I'll increase it on the first of next month, alright?" He handed her 15 hundred-dollar bills, which she took gladly. Except for the gift card he gave her in Las Vegas, it had been a long, long time since Octavia had had that much money of her own that didn't need to go for rent or groceries.

"I… I don't know what to say."

"Don't say anything. Just be there when Sookie and the baby need you. That's worth more than anything to me." He smiled at her and patted her arm. He knew he was paying her a lot more than she expected, but she was worth every penny and more as far as he was concerned, and he knew Sookie needed her now more than ever.

"Well, thank you," she said as she tucked the bills into the pocket of her sweater.

"And if you ever need or want to go shopping, or out to lunch, or a movie, or something, just let Alicia or Bjorn know and they'll arrange a driver and car for you. Plus, of course, you know if there's anything you want you can just ask Alicia or Margaret and they'll pick it up with their shopping."

"Yeah, they're good about asking me if I need anything when they shop. They've gotten things for me a few times."

"Good, I'm glad to hear it."

She looked around – Margaret was in the pantry, Bobbie and Bjorn hadn't come down yet, it was just the four of them – "You all can tell me what Niall told you whenever you're ready. I already got an idea what it was about."

"You do?" Sookie didn't think that was possible.

"Yep – about the number two. There was supposed to be a twin, wasn't there?"

Sookie and Eric were stunned. "How did you know?!" Sookie asked.

"I had an idea when we were in New Orleans that what was missing was another baby and that this one here" she nodded to Alex in the bouncer, "didn't like the idea of that at all. I came down earlier and went to look something up on your computer and saw all those links for fairy twins, so that tells me you know something."

"I just found out – Eric's known since last night – there's another baby, trapped in Fairy Land or whatever it is."

"Interesting – so half the magick worked, half didn't. What did they tell you to do about," Margaret came back in, "it?"

"They want us to pretend it isn't there," Sookie said in a way that let her know that that was absolutely not going to happen.

"Ready to fight for it, are you?" Octavia liked that. Sookie wasn't just hurt she was pissed off and that's when magick gets done. What all the little hippie pretend –Wiccans and New Agers never understood was that "airy-fairy" only gets you so far. A real Witch has exactly as much power as she has passion and anger. It's the hard, dark energies that make things happen. That's why Witches don't play around with magick. If you aren't interested in the outcome enough to be intense about it, you're wasting everybody's time. You gotta NEED that outcome to work your will. Magick is not for sissies or dabblers or those afraid of real power.

"Absolutely," Sookie said in a way that gave Eric chills. Damn, she was sexy when she was riled up, and no, he didn't feel a bit guilty for being happy to know that if they had sex later, she'd be a wildcat. He knew exactly what he was doing when he married a Goddess.

"All right, then me and you gotta get serious about your training. Is there a place in this house where you could set up an altar that no one would bother – a place where you can be alone and not have people knocking on your door?"

"The basement," Eric suggested, "there's a junk room at the back next to the room you're familiar with, Sookie, that closes off from the main part of the larger room.

"Yeah, I think I know where you mean," Sookie was picturing it in her head – the door to it was back behind Eric's hidey-hole.

"Would you like me to have it cleaned out?" Eric offered.

"Yes, if you've got a place to store what's in there." Octavia said.

"Not a problem. I'll have it carried out to the summer kitchen that no one uses right now. Do you want it painted?"

"I'll leave the decoration to Sookie – she might want to do something like that herself, to make it really hers."

"Can I paint it pink?"

"If that's what will make it feel like it's yours, sure. In the mean time, Eric, you should have some of your workers scrub it, walls, floors and ceilings, with castile soap and rinse it with vinegar and water. None of the books will tell you to do that, but it's a good way to get a clean canvas. Once that's done, Sookie, I'll teach you how to smudge it with sage and I'll show you a HooDoo way to really clear out a workspace that makes it inviting to helpful spirits.

"Now, read all the books you want so you get a solid foundation, but I'm going to show you some techniques that aren't in the books. Every practitioner finds her own ways. I'll show you some of mine, and before long, you'll be coming up with your own. The main thing to remember is that Wicce is pragmatic – you do what works, the rest you forget about. What works for you might not work for the Witch next to you – you follow what your inner voice tells you. If it don't feel right, don't do it, even if it's me or another practitioner or even a Goddess telling you – you know in your soul if something is right for you. ALWAYS listen to your inner voice."

"OK, I will."

"Now, we're going to need some supplies – is there a health food store in these parts?"

"Bobbie might know…" Sookie said.

"What might I know?" Bobbie came in with Bjorn close behind. "Hey, everybody!"

Everyone said their hellos as Bobbie sat down and Bjorn went to the counter for a cup of coffee.

"If there's a health food store in Shreveport," Sookie explained.

"Yep, Sunshine Health Foods – whatcha need?"

"Some Dr. Bronner's soap, apple cider vinegar, sage for smudging, a natural, or at least a brand new, broom, sea salt, charcoal disks and/or incense and something to burn it in, a good range of beeswax candles and holders, then we're going to need a table, some cakes, an altar cloth, regular matchsticks, an athame, a magnet, a jug of sweet red wine, a chalice, a bottle of anisette, and but we'll have to round that stuff up elsewhere."

"Wow – getting serious, huh?' Bobbie laughed – it was about time! "OK, I could go get that stuff tomorrow if you want, or I could take you there. I think I know a place to get a real broom, too. You want a pentacle or an image of the Goddess?"

"If you know a place to get them around here, yes. I figured we might have to order those over the Internet. I don't want to wait until we go back to New Orleans. There are some other tools I'll want her to have, too – a Connolly tarot deck and a scrying mirror, a pendulum, a nice big quartz crystal point, some little points, some gris-gris bags, some rose quartz and/or bloodstone, some tumbled hematite – loose stones or a bracelet or necklace will do. Some Florida Water, four thieves vinegar and a good anointing oil would be good, too."

"OK, let me get a piece of paper and make a list." Bobbie went into the pantry where she knew Margaret kept a pad of paper for making shopping lists.

"Should I go with you guys?" Sookie asked.

"No, not unless you really want to, or if you'd rather pick your own tools." Octavia told her, "It might be better for you to just rest and play with the baby while we set things up, and read as much as you can. I know you wanted some days where you didn't have to go anywhere."

"OK, if it's cool, I'll let you guys set me up. I really do need some days where I don't have to go anywhere."

"I'll get Kerik to drive you ladies tomorrow, since I need to be here," Bjorn assured them.

Margaret was serving steaks and mashed potatoes with a gorgeous green salad, and everyone got focused on food. When she brought Eric's RM she asked, "excuse me for asking, Missus, but are you supposed to be drinking these, too? I haven't seen you have one since you've been home and I thought that might be why you're so thin right now? You seem very washed out…"

"Huh – you know, now that you mention it, I haven't had one in a while – I don't have a baby inside me kicking me to drink them!" she laughed, "I am supposed to be drinking them, though."

"I didn't think of that, either, but it could be why you're so tired. You've got two vamps feeding on you and you aren't putting anything back," Bobbie agreed.

"OK, then, I'll have a cold one in addition to my sweet tea. Thanks for noticing, Margaret!"

"I failed to notice that, too, my angel. I'm sorry about that. We need to be careful not to neglect your diet." Eric couldn't believe he hadn't noticed she wasn't drinking them.

"Yeah, I just haven't thought about it."

"You're focused on that baby, which is good, but you gotta take care of Mama, too, girl." Octavia warned her, "you won't be any help to anybody if you let yourself get run down. It's good that it will be cloudy tomorrow. You make sure you sleep in and spend your time resting and reading."

"I'll leave instructions for that room to be cleared out, and we'll have it cleaned when you have what you need for it, Octavia," Eric promised.

"Good. Are there any windows in it?" Octavia asked

"Just one small one that faces the back of the house," Eric told her.

"OK, we'll need to cover it – either paint it so no one can see in or put a curtain up. She'll need privacy for what she wants to do. The fewer distractions, the better, and that will also keep the guards from knowing what she's doing. Eventually, she'll be able to cast anywhere, but when she starts out, this will help her focus, especially if she decides to work naked."

"Naked?"

"Yes – some practitioners do, and you might find that you're able to channel energy better that way."

"Is that why…?" Sookie hesitated.

"Why you generate sparks when you're having sex? It helps. Have you learned to generate that energy on purpose yet?"

"No, but we were talking about it…"

"Experiment – that's a powerful force. Use it – give it direction."

"I've tried that and I think it works."

"I'm more than happy to experiment any time she wants," Eric smiled and the rest of them laughed.

"Do that, with intention. That's real power so learn to make the most of it. Bobbie, do you have a copy of **The Holy Book of Women's Mysteries**?"

"Z's book? Yeah, of course!"

"Get that to Sookie tonight so she can start learning the basics of casting. We'll need to start her a Book of Shadows. I'm also thinking, since she can afford it, maybe we should get her one of those fancy, ready made ones on the web?"

"That's a Witches' book, right, like on **Charmed**? They sell those?" Sookie never knew you could buy something like that.

"Yeah, they're mostly collections of stuff you can find other places but it will save you a lot of time looking for things. It's a luxury, but in your case, it might be a good investment."

"Are they expensive?"

"The basic ones are around $400.00, but the kind I'm thinking of is closer to $3,000.00. I know it's a lot, but these are hand bound and you can pass it down through generations."

"Go ahead and get it. Don't worry about the cost," Eric reminded them.

"OK, might as well get a good book stand, too, and an altar table. Might as well set the scene as well as we can."

"Set the scene?"

"Yes, see, part of the point of using tools is that they speak to your subconscious in a way that language can't. The oldest, deepest parts of you know what these things are for and what they mean, and having them wakes those parts up and energizes them."

"Do the items have power themselves?"

"Some, depending on how they're created. Herbs certainly have their own energies, and stones do. Mostly, though, you put the energy in them when you charge them."

"How do I do that?"

"You cast a circle and dedicate them. That's what you'll learn from Z. Budapest's book. She gives a pretty thorough introduction to getting started. While I'm thinking of it, Bobbie, put a paint marker on the list – we'll mark out a circle on the floor down there and mark the directions, maybe go ahead and put a pentagram in it."

"Wow – good idea!"

"Does everybody do that?" Sookie asked.

"Most people don't, because they don't have a place to do it. Sometimes people have a circle of stones or something like that to mark their borders, or they'll use chalk or sand to mark their boundaries, but most just mark it off with energy. Since you've got a private room to use just for this, we might as well go whole hog and set up the ideal space."

"Yes, absolutely – make it as ideal as possible." Eric agreed.

"I thought you didn't like magick?" Sookie said to him.

"I never said that, Sookie. Norse men don't DO magick but we respect the power of it. We just think it is best left to our women."

"I can't say I disagree with that. This is very non-PC, and most Pagans would disapprove of me saying this, but I don't trust most men who do magick." Octavia said. "There are some who are good and ethical, but they're rare creatures. Men tend to play power games, and get their egos involved. Too many use it as a con or a way to get sex or money."

"We were always told that only women were able to do it – that men couldn't do it because they weren't women. It wasn't that we looked down on it. It's more that we were… afraid of it, or maybe in awe of it. It's like childbirth – we were happy to leave that to women because only women could handle it," Eric said in all seriousness, "they're so much closer to Nature."

"Yeah, exactly – like they're a part of the earth itself in a way we can't be," Bjorn agreed.

"Childbirth IS magick – red magick," Octavia explained. "and that's a pretty good description of woman's relationship to Nature."

"But Alex won't feel that way – he likes to do magick already," Sookie pointed out.

"There are always exceptions, of course – shamans or Witches or seers. Besides, Alex might change as he gets older. Right now, he is still more a part of you," Eric said

"I don't know why you think that – he's already just like you!" Sookie said, exasperated.

"Yeah, but it's different for him, Sookie – he's touched by the Goddess. That's very rare, so it's alright for him. It's what he's meant to do. Everyone knows that," Bjorn explained.

"Everybody knows he's magick?" Sookie didn't like the sound of that.

"Yes." Bjorn, Bobbie and Octavia all agreed.

"They know about the Goddess?"

"Most don't know which Goddess, but yeah, they know he's sacred," Bjorn assured her.

"Humans, too?"

"Not necessarily – but all supes know." Bjorn said.

"When Bill and I met with the Weres and Witch, and Wizard who came to Fangtasia before my ascension, they knew all about him. That's why the coven offered to perform his Wiccaning," Eric told her.

"Yes, it's an honor for them to do it and it's an honor to have them offer it. They see it as serving the Goddess," Bjorn explained.

"Yes, and they told me in no uncertain terms that their loyalty is to him. They couldn't care less about vampire politics, but they believe such a special child should be protected," Eric recalled. "If we ever needed their help for him, they would gladly give it."

"I had no idea about that. I thought all the fuss was about the first vampire prince…" Sookie said.

"They know he was created by magick and word got around that a Goddess was involved," Bjorn explained.

"Yep," Octavia agreed, "even the Solitaries know about him. People are excited to see how he grows up."

"Wow – I didn't realize that was so well known. If we can, let's not make him aware of that as he grows up. That's a lot of pressure to put on a child," Sookie said with serious concern.

"Don't worry about that, girl," Octavia told her, "that kid already knows who he is and at least a part of him knows what he's here to do. He'll be fine."

"Yeah – he does know who he is. He came out of me yelling "Víg!"" Sookie laughed.

"That's my boy!" Eric laughed and everyone laughed with him.

"Dadee!"

"And now he is awake," Eric laughed as he got up and went to the bouncer, picking the baby up, kissing and cradling him as he brought him back to the table. Eric bent too low as he sat down and Alex snatched a handful of Sookie's mashed potatoes and had them in his mouth before she had time to react.

"Alex! Don't do that!" Sookie reached for his hand but most of the potatoes were gone.

"Ee, Mamee."

"Alright, you ask first from now on, OK?"

"Oday. Ee!"

"Margaret…" Sookie started, but Margaret was right there with a little bowl of potatoes for the baby and a little spoon.

"Here you go, sir."

"Thank you, Margaret. Alright, Alex, what do you say?" Eric asked him.

"Dayoo, Mahdwid."

"That's my good boy. You must always remember to thank people for serving you, right, Mommy?"

"Right. I didn't realize you had him doing that yet!" Sookie was tickled that Eric was teaching him manners.

"Oh, yes, his Queen is quite the stickler for saying "thank you," Eric teased her and the others laughed. Eric fed the baby bites of the potatoes, and the baby hummed with delight.

"Yeah, I have gotten him to say it a couple of times. I'm glad you're teaching him, too. Even a Viking warrior can be polite when it's called for," She laughed.

Everyone finished their meals and migrated into the den after dinner. Bobbie got her copy of **The Holy Book of Women's Mysteries** for Sookie, then she and Bjorn decided to watch a movie in the den since he had to be up to work with the contractors in the morning. Octavia said she really just wanted to rest some more since she and Bobbie were going shopping the next day, so she said good night, borrowing a DVD of **Bell, Book and Candle** to watch on the TV in her bedroom.

Sookie stayed in the den talking to Bobbie and Bjorn while Eric checked his email and messages in her office. After about 20 minutes, Eric was back to talk to Bjorn.

"Bjorn, can you meet with me, the contractor's engineer and Vincent at 9 o'clock?"

"Sure. Where?"

"Vincent is bringing him here so he can see at least some of the property. They want to go over the plans one more time to be sure we all know what they're doing. We'll use the dining room so we can spread the blue prints out, and I'll need to give them copies of the permits and such that Burnham had delivered."

"Yeah, that sounds great. I'll feel a lot better knowing exactly what they're supposed to be doing," Bjorn said.

"Good. I'll feel better knowing we're all on the same page."

"Do I need to be there?" Sookie asked, hoping he'd say no.

"Only if you want to be, my angel. This is mostly about the fences and changing the borders of the property."

"Good. I don't want to get dressed," Sookie laughed.

"If you're interested at all, I can show you the plans before they get here."

"Yeah, I wouldn't mind seeing that."

"Could I see, too?" Bobbie asked

"Of course, I'll get them. Meet me in the dining room," Eric said as he went back to the office.

Sookie, Bobbie and Bjorn went into the dining room, Sookie hitting the switch on the wall. Alex was content in the bouncer with his dragon.

"This really is a gorgeous room," Bobbie said, looking around. "I've never been in here except to eat. Is that a real Monet over the fireplace?"

"Yep, it is. It's really pretty, isn't it? I guess the decorator chose it. It's probably worth a lot of money, huh?"

Bjorn just laughed and shook his head. He wondered if Sookie was ever going to wrap her mind around how rich she was now. It's like it never occurred to her that that painting, along with everything else in the house, the businesses or the many banks Eric dealt with, were as much hers as Eric's now. As incredible as it was that Eric was willing to share all that with her, it was even more incredible to him that she didn't really understand it. It wasn't that she was unappreciative because he knew she was grateful for everything he did for her, it was just that she didn't understand the magnitude of his generosity. She knew he gave her half of everything but she had no idea how huge the 'everything' was.

Eric came back with the plans and spread them out on the table. First, he showed them the drawing of how things were at the moment – the boundaries of the property, which went just to the next lot about 1/8 of a mile away, the street that dead-ended in front of their house, the big back yard that was lined with trees and a low iron fence surrounded by undeveloped fields and woods. They were able to see how the old servants quarters the gardeners and now the guards used ran down the right side of the lot from the house out to a small flower garden and the extra garage that ran perpendicular to it.

The other side of the lot was the old summer kitchen, used now for storage and pool supplies, that stretched to the left of the property at an angle that matched that of the pool. There was a total of about 6 square acres, so there was a large, unused portion of yard that stretched out behind the summer kitchen way down past the it and wrapped around the big lot in back of the extra garage, then that lot was lined with pretty fruit and ornamental trees, which were represented by a grey shaded area on the plans.

Eric then spread out the new plans. "You see this line to the right of the house will now be extended all the way down to the neighbors yard, encompassing the empty lot." He pointed to the spot on the plans, "The street will now end at their property line and our address will change. The empty lot we face will be bulldozed and it will become our front yard, then that will let out onto the next street over. Our property line on the left will extend down to the highway, making that edge of it very visible to the public, but keeping us far away from them. I've purchased a large, L-shaped lot that goes down from the new road, along the side of the current property, all the way back into the woods. That will make this an almost perfectly square lot of about 24 acres, with the house toward the center of it. Tall, wrought iron fences are going up around the perimeter, three feet inside the property line. The bulldozers are going to dig up the whole lot of new land and make it flat, then we'll landscape it. As soon as the fences are up and the surveillance cameras are in place, very tall trees will be planted all around the back half of the square, and ornamental shrubs will go up around the front."

He pointed to the field in front of the house. "This will be the entrance to the property, so this is where I thought you might want a pond or fountain of some sort, Sookie and some flowerbeds. You can make it very formal if you want, or we could have a winding drive to show off the house better."

"OK. So it's going to be big fences around empty stuff and then us?"

"Only at the beginning. As we go, we'll fill things in so it won't seem bare. We'll have the two chalets out here," he indicated the large area behind the summer kitchen to the left of the garage and servant's quarters, "and we'll put some nice winding walkways from them to the house and have some flower borders there."

"Chalets? Those are sort of triangle shapes, right?"

"Right – there will be two of them, each with three bedrooms, and they'll be up within a month."

"Wow – that's really ambitious…" Sookie couldn't believe all of this.

"The main thing is to get the fences up and some trees so people can't see in."

"And they're paving the drive next week?" Bjorn asked

"The part that goes around back in the perimeter. We'll get the landscaping done in front before we pave out there."

"OK, the landscaping gets done when?" Sookie asked.

"I'm going to have someone come in and look at it next week and then he'll provide sketches and you'll decide what you like. Use your imagination, my lover, and dream big – fountains, statues, a small pond with koi or a large one with swans and ducks. You can have a gazebo where you can sit and talk to your girlfriends, if you want, or put a hammock in it for you and the baby to nap in. I was also thinking about putting a porch swing on the porch of the summer kitchen."

"Ooh – I love that idea. I love porch swings." Sookie finally heard something she liked. The rest was overwhelming. "I'm sorry you have to go to all this trouble, Sweetie."

"This is not trouble, Sookie, this is doing what I must to keep my family safe and happy. Is this not what you want, Sookie? I can put a stop to it all if you want."

"NO, no, not at all. I think it will be great. I just feel so bad about all this money and construction…"

"It's being done very inexpensively once the land was purchased and the zoning resolved. That wasn't easy, but it's done now. The two houses are pre-fabricated kits. They'll be very nice, but they're very easy to put up."

"Oh, OK. Will they have to be decorated and all?"

"Yes, but we'll deal with that later. They'll be suitable for living and then we'll have Giselle finish them up for whoever decides to use them."

"Who is that going to be?"

"We had talked about Margaret and Alicia taking one, then the other can be used by Octavia and Amelia or we can leave it for Bill or Pam, or Jason, or other guests and servants. We might want Jerry Kerik to live in, or even Vincent."

"What about Bjorn and Bobbie?"

Bobbie took that one, saying "we talked about it, Sweetie, but Bjorn and I need to stay in the house. He's got to stay close to keep you and Alex safe and I need to be close to help you with Alex or do your massages at night."

"Oh, yeah – you don't mind it, though?"

"Not at all. I love our room upstairs."

"I like it, too. I'm right there with the gym and the sauna," Bjorn agreed.

"OH, I forgot! Eric, can we get Bjorn some more equipment to work out with?" Sookie said.

"Of course, Bjorn, whatever you need. I'm sure the girls could use it, too, and it would last long enough for Eric Alexander to use it, yes?"

"Yeah, that stuff lasts for years."

"Find what you want, and have Alicia order it. Just make sure it's good quality and will last for Alex."

"OK, no problem. Thanks."

"I want a kick ass treadmill, too, both here and in New Orleans," Sookie said, bouncing up and down.

Eric laughed and kissed her on the nose, "then you shall have one," he teased her.

"Thank you!" she kissed him on the lips quickly and hugged him around the waist.

The doorbell rang and Margaret answered the door while Bobbie and Sookie went back into the den to play with Alex, closing the door behind them. Sookie pulled the dinosaur out of the corner and let Alex see it, and he was nearly jumping in his seat when he saw it. "Bohth, Mamee!"

"Yeah, that's Boss. Bobbie hasn't seen him yet, have you, Bobbie?" She was unbuckling the harness on the bouncer.

"No – is that your dinosaur, Alex?"

"Omba, mmmy Bohth," he said as Sookie put him on his belly so he could crawl to the dinosaur. Bobbie and Sookie sat on the floor next to Alex and his big blue buddy. Alex sort of crawled up on its head and gave it a kiss then he started smacking at the back of it saying "ba, Mamee!"

"Watch this, Bobbie," Sookie unzipped the dino's back to show the balls inside and Alex made his "Hhaaaaaa!" sound that made them both laugh as he dived into the ball pit, giggling and throwing them everywhere. Bobbie and Sookie stayed busy retrieving the balls for him and occasionally getting him to catch one. He would sit up a while, then fall forward or lie back in them and squeal with delight as they fell on him and around him. At one point he floated up above them and dropped into them, and Sookie said, "Alex! I told you - only with Daddy!"

"Dadee!" he pointed to the dining room.

"Yes, I know Daddy is up, but I mean you don't do that unless he is right here with you! It's not safe! You only…" she whispered "fly" then continued "with Daddy, OK?"

"Oday!"

Sookie sat back and looked at Bobbie, "yeah, he says that, but I don't believe for a minute that he's going to do it."

"He'll learn, Sookie. He's just flexing his muscles, seeing what he can do. It's amazing that he can do it at all, let alone control it as well as he just did."

"Yeah, that's true. He can do it when he wants to. He loves that when he lands in all those balls," Sookie laughed.

"That's every little boy's dream, hon – he's going to be able to do all kinds of things most boys only dream about and not get hurt. I'll bet he hardly ever gets hurt, if at all."

"I hope so. He's never been hurt so we don't know if he heals quickly or not yet."

"I'd be very surprised if he didn't. He seems to have every possible advantage he could have."

"Yeah, I wonder about that…"

"Wonder what?"

"If he wasn't designed that way. I mean, what if they put all his weaknesses somewhere else?"

"I guess that's possible. I don't know where they'd put them, but theoretically, if you had a second target of some sort, you could probably put all the weaknesses in one and all the strengths in the other."

"Just speaking hypothetically, let's say all his weaknesses went to, say a sheep or some other… animal, or something. Would that be ethical?" Sookie needed to be a little cagey but she really wanted to know about this.

"Hmmm – good question. On the surface of it, I'd say 'no' but it would depend. If a Goddess did it, She might have worked it out with the souls ahead of time so that both entities agreed to it."

"A Goddess could do that – but could Niall?"

"I doubt it, Sweetie. He's got significant limits of some sort, short of what a deity has."

"So if Niall did it…?"

"Like I said, to me, no, it wouldn't be ethical. It would be pretty shitty to do that to the poor animal that got all the weaknesses. Why – do you know how Niall did it?"

"No, I'm just thinking of all kinds of possibilities. I don't trust him, Bobbie, and I need to learn enough about magick to know when he's lying to me."

"OK, that's a definite goal. That's good. You can actually do work that addresses that."

"I can?"

"Yeah, I mean, it's impossible to know everything about magick, but it's totally possible to put something between him and you to make his lies more obvious to you."

"Huh – I never thought of that."

"That's part of what magick is – figuring out how to approach a problem. You figure out what it is you're really after, then you give it to the Universe and let Her work out the details."

"So instead of trying to know everything possible… just make his lies more obvious."

"Right. See, in that case, you wouldn't do magick so that you'd know everything, because that isn't really what you want. What you want is to know if he's lying to you, so you address that specifically. Knowing everything is one way to do that, but it's not the only, or most efficient, way to do it."

"That's why you guys are always saying Witches are pragmatic."

"Right. There was a guy, Isaac Bonewits, who created the modern Druid movement in America, and he defined magick as "the art of getting results." You decide on an outcome and you make it happen."

"OK, so, say I wanted my yard cleared of leaves but I couldn't rake it, so I asked the Universe to help me, then my brother came over and raked them…"

"Then your magick worked."

"Or if the wind kicked up and blew most of them away…"

"It worked. See, Sookie, there will always be a way to explain what happens – the variable was you using your will to set it in motion. You can pray for good crops but you're still going to have to plant the corn."

"So casting the spell is planting the corn?"

"Right. Maybe your brother wouldn't have been available to rake that day, or maybe it wouldn't have been windy. Most times, you won't know how your magick came about, so you never explain your magick away. That undermines your sense of mastery. You want it, you work it, you get it, that's magick. Like with atomic particles – they don't have a location until you try to measure them. The act of measuring reduces the possibilities in that instant to just one result, but the minute you stop measuring, all the potential comes back."

"So why do scientists sneer at magick?"

"They don't understand it, and if you try to explain it to them, they assume you don't know what you're talking about, even if their calculations are telling them the same thing you do. Some people get really pissy if you challenge their assumptions, even if there's evidence to the contrary right in front of them."

"Yeah, I've seen that happen plenty of times. I've even seen people get mad when I could read in their thoughts that they knew the other person was right!"

Bobbie cracked up at that.

"Mamee!"

"Whatcha want, Pookie?"

"Ware di Dadee do?'

"He's still doing work, Sweetie. He'll be in when he's finished, OK?"

"Nah. Dadee!" He yelled and motioned for the door, opening and closing his hand in his "come here" sign.

"Alex, Daddy is busy…" Sookie was trying to be firm but before she got a chance to do or say anything else the side door from the dining room opened.

"Here, Alex, come with Daddy." Eric swooped down and took the baby back into the dining room with him.

"I'm glad he did that," Sookie said, "because he was getting ready to cry. Eric must have felt it."

"That's so cool that you guys are so tapped into him that way."

"Yeah, it's amazing to know what your baby is feeling all the time. It would suck if you knew they were sad and you couldn't get to them, though," Sookie would give anything right then to be able to tell Bobbie about the other baby. She knew she could talk to Eric about it later, but it would be nice to talk to her friend, too. It was just so big!

They could hear the men talking in the living room and soon they heard the door close. Eric, carrying Alex, and Bjorn came back into the den.

"How did it go, Sweetie?" Sookie asked Eric.

"Very well. I think we all know what we are doing. He thinks the bull dozing can be done completely this weekend with some additional workers he's hired and the fence company coordinated with him and they'll be done in just a day or two."

"Wow – that's fast!"

"Yeah, you can get things like that done when you own the construction company," Bjorn laughed.

"What? Eric, you do?" This was news to Sookie.

"Yes, so they're doing this before they start their next job. The fence company was a different matter, but we were able to meet their fee to expedite, so they're being cooperative, too."

"I'm sorry you had to come get Alex…"

"It's fine, Sookie, I knew he was about to cry so I just took him with me since we were almost done. The engineer thought he was adorable," Eric beamed at his little boy.

"Yeah, you guys have been really lucky so far. Whenever he's around other people, he's a perfect angel," Bjorn laughed. "And you girls should have seen his face when he looked at Vincent!"

"Yes, he took one look at him, threw his arm up and said, "víg,"" Eric told them proudly.

"Is that what you guys were laughing at?" Sookie asked.

"Yes. Vincent even pledged fealty to him before he left. He said he's sure he's going to be quite the warrior when he's older," Eric was beaming at Alex again.

"So what's this trick he does with these balls? Eric said something about it earlier," Bjorn asked.

"Here, we'll show you," Eric said as he knelt next to the ball pit. Sookie and Bobbie sat down to watch the demonstration and Bjorn perched on the arm of the recliner to get a good view. Eric laid Alex face down on the pit and he immediately floated upward, hung there a second, then fell into the pit, laughing hysterically, flailing and knocking most of the balls on the floor. Eric and Bjorn cracked up and all of the adults applauded.

"That's pretty cool, Alex!" Bjorn was almost as proud of him as Eric was.

Alex sat up in the pit and made his come here motion, "Bhord! Woodie"

"That means "lookie," Eric laughed.

The baby threw a ball and said "uh oh!" then said "BA!" and the ball was instantly back in his hand.

"Holy shit!" Bjorn said, "when did he learn that?"

"Sookie?" Eric asked.

"As far as I know, today when we were playing with this thing. I guess it's just an extension of getting his own blood out of the fridge," Sookie answered.

"Wow – that could be… inconvenient," Bjorn tried not to laugh but failed.

"Yes, we'll have to keep a close eye on him, especially if he's out around people," Eric agreed.

"Yeah, we're all going to have to be on our toes with him doing things like that, at least until he's old enough to know when not to do it," Bobbie agreed.

"How many people know of this, Sookie?" Eric asked.

"Well, Amelia and Octavia know about him getting his own bloods, but I haven't mentioned this to either of them, so as of right now, just the three of us."

"Well, they should probably know so they can help us run interference. Let's try to keep this from the staff if at all possible, but I know that will be difficult."

"DO-EE!" Suddenly the purple dragon, which had been next to the bouncer, was in Alex's hand as a little breeze blew.

"Oh, man," was all Sookie could say.

"Well, you won't have to worry about him losing his toys," Bobbie laughed.

"No, and remember, Sookie, your ability to do that will keep you from losing him," Bjorn added, trying to be helpful.

"Yeah, I guess so…" Sookie was wondering if that would work for Aubie, and made a mental note to mention it when she talked to Dr. Ludwig. She wouldn't try it until she asked about it because she couldn't risk hurting him. While she was thinking about it, she let out a huge yawn. "OOOhhhh-ooh! Excuse me!"

"Sookie are you sleepy already?" Bobbie asked her.

"I shouldn't be – we took a nap today."

"Yes, but you were up very early today, dear one," Eric reminded her.

"Yeah, I guess I was. You've got work to do, right, Eric?"

"Yes, I do."

"OK, then, I'll sleep, and you wake me later and we'll have a bath and some time together, right?"

"Right."

"And you will, without fail, even if I'm asleep, make sure you feed me."

"Yes, I will."

"And I guess Alex will stay with you?"

"Yes, and I'll give him a bottle when he gets hungry in about an hour and I'll tuck him in next to you, then after we have our time later, I'll have quiet time with him before I rest."

"Huh – so I guess this is our new schedule?"

"At least for these two weeks, so you get plenty of rest."

"OK… good night, everybody!" Sookie kissed Alex and headed out the door, when Bobbie said called to her, "Hey, Sookie – here, take your book with you, and I'll be up in a few minutes and give you a massage."

"You were going to watch a movie, though…"

"No, that's cool – I'll hit the gym while she does that…"

"Bjorn – would you mind if we joined you?" Eric said, picking up the baby.

"Not at all – are you guys going to work out?"

"I want to see what a good workout consists of, and we can talk about the new equipment you need."

"OK, Sure.

"Eric – when you wake Sookie later, she should eat something. She's only had two meals today," Bobbie reminded him.

"True. Margaret is in the kitchen…"

"I'll see what she's got for her and take it up and leave it on the dresser or in the fridge," she kissed Bjorn on the cheek, "I'll see you in a bit, Sweetie." Then she tickled Alex, "I'll see you later, cutie-pie!"

"Ba-ba, Babee!" he giggled, as Eric and Bjorn headed upstairs and Bobbie went into the kitchen.

Sookie wasn't even to her room yet when the boys came up the steps behind her. "Hey, where's everybody going?"

"We're going to the gym," Eric told her.

"Oh, male bonding time, huh? The Swedish he-man warrior club?" she laughed.

"Exactly," Bjorn said, and he, Eric and Alex all laughed as they continued past her.

Sookie just went ahead and got naked because she knew Bobbie wouldn't care, and she turned the bed down, wondering to herself who came up and made it after their nap. She flopped onto Eric's side of the bed and wiggled to the middle, rolling face down but up on her elbows to look at the book.

Sookie remembered her Gran using the bible where she'd flip through it and let her finger land on a spot that had something to say to her, so she flipped through the book, closed her eyes and read:

_This means there is no division between body and soul. One is not despised and the other glorified. There is no division of the sexes; both come from the same source, the Mother. There is no division of spiritual and profane; all is related in the universe, and none stands apart from nature. All is Nature. ( Zsuzsanna Budapest, Holy Book of Women's Mysteries, Pg.21)_

'Sounds just like Octavia!' she thought, 'try it again…' which she did and landed on:

_And you who think to seek for me_

_Know your seeking and yearning shall avail you not _

_Unless you know the Mystery:_

_That if that which you seek you find not within you, _

_You will never find it without._

_For behold, I have been with you from the beginning_

_And I am that which is attained_ _At the end of desire._

'OK, that's from the Charge of the Goddess. "Seeking and yearning will avail you not…" so I shouldn't have to look for the Goddess, She's already here.'

"Hey, Sweetie!" Bobbie came in carrying a huge turkey sandwich.

"What's that?"

"That's for you to eat after while. We're trying to make sure you get three meals a day, minimum." She left the sandwich on the dresser.

"Oh, yeah. Bobbie, I'm looking at this book…"

"And…" She grabbed the bottle of massage oil from Eric's nightstand and warmed some in her hands.

"I happened to open it to the Charge of the Goddess and I'm thinking about how you don't need to seek for the Goddess because She's already with you?"

"Uh-huh?" She was already rubbing Sookie's back, really digging in to relax her.

"So, I should just be able to speak to Her directly, right, and She'll hear me?"

"Right."

"So what's the point of the ritual?"

"Have you ever moved a TV antennae to get better reception?"

"Yeah, of course,"

"That's what ritual does. It tunes you in so you get better reception and a clearer picture."

"So it's for me, not for the Goddess?"

"Well, sometimes we call the Goddess to praise Her and thank Her, but when we do work, we're usually trying to perfect our own connection to Her so Her power flows more smoothly and powerfully to help us. Ritual changes the magician, first and foremost. Change yourself and you change everything."

"Niall said that the Goddess is waiting for me to call on Her and mean it."

"Right. I mean, you could say that about anybody, but it's specifically true of you right now."

"I didn't tell anybody, but I was looking at invocations to Freya on the web yesterday, among other things. They all look so complicated and I'd feel weird saying some of that stuff."

"Did they feel like they have any power for you at all?"

"No, most of it I couldn't relate to. It wouldn't make me feel powerful to say some of that stuff, it would bore me."

"OK, so write your own."

"Can I do that?"

"Yeah, some of the best stuff is stuff that comes from you."

"Isn't there more power in something old, though?"

"No, not necessarily. Wicce is a living tradition, which means that we are constantly evolving new ways to practice it, rather than having a static text that no longer has significance in our world. You could write the most powerful spell ever, right this minute. Or I could. Anyone might, or could, but the thing is, do it. See if it works for you. Take stuff from things other people have written and put them together so they flow for you, or start from scratch."

"Do they have to rhyme?"

"Well, it depends on you. Generally, if they have a good sing-song rhyme to them, they flow better and they're easier to remember. That's especially good for short ones you're going to repeat."

"OK, like, there was one that was really long, and I think some group uses it on a regular basis, but there was one verse that kind of stuck with me but I changed it a little."

"Do you remember it?"

"Yeah, it was:

_BY THE SACRED EARTH WE CALL THEE_

_BY THE MOON AND STARS AND SUN!_

_THOU ART THE ONE THAT WE ADORE_

_O COME UPON US SHINING ONE!_

Which I changed in my head to:

_BY THE SACRED EARTH I CALL YOU_

_BY THE MOON AND STARS AND SUN!_

_FREYJA, I IMPLORE YOU,_

_COME TO ME, O SHINING ONE!_

Is there any chance at all that could work?"

"Actually, Sookie, there's a very good chance that could work. Why don't you say

it three times before you go to sleep and see if you dream of Her? Make sure you write it in your journal, too, and then write if you got any result."

"Why three times?"

"Three is a magickal number. It represents the Trinity of Maiden, Mother and Crone. It's also a prime number, sacred to the Goddess. You might also want to say it 9 times, which is three times three, or 27 times, which is three times three times three."

"I'd lose count on the 27."

"Which is why they invented rosaries and Witches' Ladders."

"What's that?"

"It's a string with knots in it. You tie the knots as you say your verse, then you can use the knots to count repetitions when you do it later. Then you wear the string in your clothes until your spell works."

Sookie yawned again.

"You're fading, Darlin'. Just say your spell and let yourself go," Bobbie encouraged her.

Sookie started saying the spell, and did actually manage to get through it three times before she fell asleep.

Bobbie washed her hands and turned out the lights, closing the door so Sookie could sleep undisturbed. She decided to go up to the gym and see what the boys were doing.

As Eric, Bjorn and the baby arrived in the gym, Alex looked around with big eyes, zeroing in immediately on the swords on the wall. Before even Eric could react, Alex flew toward the swords on the wall, yelling "Vbee, Dadee, Vbee!" but fortunately, he didn't touch them. As Eric got to him, he was hovering in front of them yelling, "Woodie, Dadee! VBEE!" and pointing. Eric wrapped his arms around him and said, "Yes, my son, those are swords for fighting." He had panicked a little that the baby might get hurt, but once he knew he was safe, he was bursting with pride that Alex knew what they were for.

All of this happened so quickly that Bjorn barely saw them move, but when he saw Alex floating and heard him get excited about the swords, he cracked up. "That is definitely your kid, Eric!"

"Yes, he is spoiling for a fight," Eric laughed, kissing Alex.

"Sthorhds por fideen! Woodie, Borhd, sthorhds por FIDEEN!"

"Yeah, those are for fighting. Wait 'til you see your Daddy swing one of those swords!

"Ee-aah! Sthorhds, Dadee, sthorhds!" Alex was clearly asking Eric to show him the swords.

"Hold him tightly, Bjorn, and I'll go through some paces." Eric handed him the baby. "Alex – you stay with Bjorn, OK?"

"Oday, Dadee, Borhd," Alex put one arm around Bjorn's neck and patted his cheek with the other.

Bjorn took the baby and sat on the weight bench toward the end of the room as Eric took down the expensive Tachi. Eric stood facing the mirror, taking a few good swings to loosen up, then he went through an impressive routine as Bjorn and the excited infant watched. Alex was waving his arms, watching Eric with huge eyes, giggling and squealing, completely enthralled watching his Daddy show off his expertise with a blade. Bjorn was enjoying watching Alex's reaction even more that watching Eric. He didn't blame the kid – if he had a Daddy like that, he'd have been proud of him, too. Hell, he was only Bjorn's boss and that made him proud.

Bobbie came in as Eric was going through his routine and she walked back toward Bjorn and Alex.

"Babee! Sthorhds por FIDEEN!"

"Swords for fighting?" She looked at Bjorn to see if she was interpreting that right.

"Yep – he went crazy when he saw them. Eric's showing us how it's done."

"That's amazing that he can move like that," she said and then "WOW!" when Eric kicked into vampire speed and moved almost too quickly to see. Alex squealed and clapped his hands and messed his pants.

"Uh-oh. Somebody needs a new diaper," Bjorn laughed.

"Let me take him," Bobbie laughed.

Eric finished as he saw her head for the door. "Time for a new diaper?"

"Yep! Tell Daddy, 'be right back!" she said to Alex.

"Bee wide bad, Dadee!"

"Alright, my son. Get cleaned up and we will watch Bjorn, OK?"

"ODAY!" Alex waved to him as they headed down the hall.

"You should have seen his face, Eric. Talk about excited!" Bjorn laughed.

"Yes, I look forward to the day I can teach him to use a sword, but I must confess, I enjoy him so much now that I'm happy to wait."

"He's a cool kid. He's so small but he's got such personality. He knows what he likes."

"Yes, even before he was born he would let Sookie know what he wanted her to eat. He knows his own mind, and is already decisive," Eric laughed. "I was so proud watching him hover over the balls downstairs and then fall into them laughing. I know Sookie was aghast, but I am very pleased to see him showing such abilities already."

"He did scare you a little just now though, right?"

"Yes, very briefly, but I feel better knowing that he had the good sense to stop and not touch the swords. He is enthusiastic, but not reckless. That gives me hope that he won't hurt himself."

"Honestly, I don't think hurting himself is going to be a problem. Hurting someone else is more likely."

"Really?"

"Yes, see, he's got vampire speed, at least and maybe even vampire strength. He might not understand that everybody can't do what he can do. That's a common problem even with teenagers, projecting their own abilities onto others."

"I never thought of that. I'll have to be sure to teach him early on to be careful with Sookie and the other women. Now, your work out – what do you normally do?"

Bjorn showed Eric how he warmed up with martial arts and jumping rope, then he showed him how he used the free weights to isolate various muscles. Eric asked him about the new equipment, what the machines would do, and how big Alex would have to be before he could use them. Bobbie came back with Alex as Eric and Bjorn were talking and Alex flew out of her hands and over to Eric like a shot.

"Ahm fyeen, Dadee!"

"Yes, I see you flying. This is a nice big room – do you want to fly around it for a bit?"

"OMBA!"

"Alright then, fly!" Eric encouraged him and he took to the air, flying through the air near the ceiling, occasionally dipping down and then going back up. At one point, he noticed the mirror and went to hover in front of it. Eric walked over to him, saying, "What do you see, Alex?"

"Aweths?"

"Yes, that's Alex. That's you, and that's me."

Alex looked at the mirror image of Eric and then up at his Daddy beside him. He hovered up a bit and Eric wrapped his arms around him. Alex looked at them both in the mirror and Alex said, "Dadee an beebee."

"Daddy and a baby – yes, Alex is a baby."

Alex put his hand on Eric's cheek and said, "Nah, Dadee, beebee nah Aweths."

Eric was shocked because he knew exactly what Alex was telling him – that there was a baby that wasn't him. Eric looked him straight in the eye, "Alex, you are my baby. I love you always. Understand? Alex is Daddy's baby, OK?"

"Oday, Dadee." Alex laid his little head on Eric's shoulder, content that Eric was HIS daddy and not that other baby's daddy. That's exactly the way Alex wanted it.

Sookie was dreaming. She was on the shore again, climbing on rocks, wearing a long white robe and nothing else, but the rocks didn't hurt her feet.

"Come, my angel!" Freyja beckoned to her and Sookie was instantly in front of her, but she felt strange – was this a dream? Was she awake? Or was this that "lucid dreaming" Bobbie told her about? Freyja kissed Sookie on the lips and she felt a tingle of energy run through her. The Goddess stood behind Sookie facing the rocks and said "East, Sookie, follow the sun." Then She took her hand, which was suddenly holding a knife with a curved blade, pointing the tip of the knife out to the ground and said, "thrice around," then She and Sookie moved together in a circle, tracing a visible circle of energy in the sand. "Look, Sookie!"

Sookie looked up and she was in a strange, small room with a crib, and she instantly recognized Eric Auberon. The baby smiled up at her, and without thinking twice, Sookie put him to her breast, feeding him. Freyja, still behind her, said "33" and pointed at a clock that was only light shining on the wall. "Once in 3, my angel, no more." Sookie was alone with her baby, and sat in a wooden rocking chair next to the crib, playing with his fingers and smiling at him, speaking softly to him as he fed.

"Ware di Mamee do?" Alex asked Eric, and Eric wondered that himself. Something in the bond felt strange, so Eric excused himself and took Alex downstairs to check on Sookie. He looked into the bedroom, but she wasn't there. He thought she must have gone downstairs, but he couldn't feel her anywhere in the house.

"Ee, Dadee!"

"Alright, Alex, we'll take a bottle into the nursery. Mommy will be back in a minute." He took a bottle of RM into the nursery and heated it, as Alex began to fuss. "Mamee ee!"

"Alex, relax, Mommy will be back in a minute. Let's have some RM while we wait."

Sookie was careful to feed Aubie from each breast, and he fell asleep as the light marking time on the wall began to pulsate and glow. Sookie gently tucked the baby back into his crib and before she knew it she was lying in her bed, in her house, awake and crying.

"MA-MEE!" Alex started wailing though Eric was trying to feed him an RM. He had only seen Alex this upset once, when he left him to go to the office. Eric thought to himself that he was acting like Sookie was gone. Suddenly, Eric felt Sookie in the bond and she was feeling very sad, so he took Alex, who was still wailing, back into the bedroom.

"Sookie?"

"Eric? What's going on?" Sookie squinted at the light from the hall.

"Where have you been, Sookie?" Eric brought the baby in and let Sookie take him.

"Huh? I was asleep," she said as she put Alex to her breast. She and Alex both had tears streaming from their eyes as Eric turned on the soft light in the headboard.

"Sookie, we came in about 10 minutes ago and you weren't here." He reached across her to her nightstand and got a tissue, wiping Sookie's eyes, then Alex's.

"Eric, I've been right here. I was dreaming until you came in, so I had to be here."

"What did you dream?"

"I dreamt I was with Freyja and then I was feeding…" she stopped.

"Alex?"

"No, Eric, it was…" she didn't know if she should say it in front of Alex, "the other… you know?"

"What?"

"Freyja showed me how to get there, but I could only stay 33 minutes and then I was back here."

"You were there for 33 minutes?'

"Yes, and She said I could only do it once in three, and no more."

"Three what?"

"Days, I guess?"

"Where is your journal, Sookie?"

"I don't know – maybe in my tote bag. I had it downstairs today but I didn't see it when we were down there before."

Eric looked around the room. "Here it is." He went to the side chair near the bathroom. "Margaret must have brought it back up for you."

"OK, why do we need it?"

"I want you to write every detail you can remember of that dream. I mean everything, Sookie – what you were wearing, what you saw, what you felt, every word She said, the way She said it."

"You don't really think…"

"Yes, Sookie, I think you were actually there. I want you to remember what She told you and try it again – when did She say you could do it again?"

"Once in three… days, I guess, so what day is this?"

"This is Thursday – so you should be able to try it again Sunday night. What did you do there?"

"I breastfed him and talked to him, then when the light started flashing I tucked him back in, then the next thing I knew, I was lying here crying and then you came in."

"Alright, it's about 20 minutes to one – you must have gone there just after midnight."

"You're sure I wasn't here?"

"No, Sookie, you weren't, and I couldn't feel you in the bond, either. I think that's why Alex started crying. You simply weren't there, then suddenly, I felt you, so we came back and here you are."

Sookie just shook her head like she was trying to clear it, then she smiled down at the baby and said, "I love you, Pookie!"

Alex reached up and patted Sookie's face, looking her in the eye. He let out a big sigh and said, "Ma Mamee," as he went to sleep.

Sookie tucked him into the co-sleeper and Eric got undressed and got in bed. He hugged Sookie tightly then insisted she write the dream in her book. It took her a while to write about it, because she remembered it vividly and put a lot of detail in her description of everything.

"All She had me do was point the knife at the ground and trace a circle around me three times and I was there. It can't be that simple, can it?"

"There was no other instruction?"

"She started me facing East, and She said "follow the sun.""

"So you start in the East and turn three times clockwise."

"Is that what she meant by "following the sun?"

"Yes – the Witches might call it "deosil" but that's what it means."

"OK, is there a word for counter-clockwise?"

"Widdershins."

"Really?"

"Really."

"Good word! So I guess my Invocation I said earlier tonight works."

"You said an invocation and it worked?"

"Yeah, I found a thing on the web and I rewrote it and Bobbie told me to say it three times before I went to sleep and it worked."

"Did you write it down?"

"No, I forgot."

"Write it, and then say if for me."

She scribbled in her journal for a minute then she read it to him:

"_BY THE SACRED EARTH I CALL YOU_

_BY THE MOON AND STARS AND SUN!_

_FREYJA, I IMPLORE YOU,_

_COME TO ME, O SHINING ONE!"_

"Short, direct and, apparently, effective."

"Seems too easy, doesn't it?"

"I think for an average Witch it probably is, but you are already much more powerful than you know. Niall said She's waiting for you to make up your mind, and the minute you did, you called Her up and She taught you a spell. Octavia will tell you if this is correct, but I believe the more you use that spell, the stronger it will become."

"Really?"

"Yes, I'm pretty sure that's how it works."

"That makes sense. Bobbie told me you use what works and forget the rest. Speaking of which…" she suddenly got up and straddled his legs, giving him a wicked look.

"Yes?" He said slyly.

"Let's make it rain sparkles," she said as she stroked him. He was hard instantly and she mounted him carefully, but quickly got focused on fucking him. Eric sat up and grabbed her lower cheeks, helping her move up and down as she wrapped her arms around his neck and they pressed their foreheads together. It didn't take long before he came with a growl, but he kept going as Sookie continued to grind on him wildly. Eric reached into his drawer for his dagger, then came right back to her, forehead to forehead. Sookie was starting to moan and he knew she was close, so he pushed himself to meet her and leaned back, cutting himself on his shoulder. She latched onto the wound and he bit her opposite shoulder, which wasn't easy but they managed to make a complete circuit and just instinctively began to suck in unison. For some reason, Sookie found herself counting how many draws they took and when they hit 9, the world exploded in pink light and they were coming together in a whirlwind, light spinning around them as they both leaned back and gave into the sensation. When Sookie was able to speak she said "Freyja, help me know how to get my other baby," and the light exploded in sparkles as the two of them went wild.

Eric flipped her on her knees and she grabbed the headboard, but that didn't last long – there was too much movement on the bed, so he lifted her from behind and put her on the floor on her hands and knees, slamming her like never before. They were both gone – both high from each other's blood, from the magick, from the sex, from their anger at Niall, from their love for each other and their children. They had no idea how long it lasted but it felt like hours before Sookie let out a growl that Eric would have sworn came from a vampiress, reaching another peak just before he finished, crying out with each hard thrust. She crumpled on the floor and Eric fell back on his ankles then lost his balance completely and fell backward. He flashed through his mind that vampires who could fly usually didn't fall and that made him laugh out loud.

When he remembered where he was he immediately became concerned about Sookie. No, no sign of bleeding, but she was out of breath and out of her head. He picked her up and put her back in the bed, lying beside her, talking to her and stroking her face. Finally, she took a big breath and let it out completely and she seemed to snap back into herself.

"Wow!" was all she could say, and Eric laughed.

"How do you feel, Sookie? Are you in pain?"

"No, not at all. I do feel like I'm vibrating all over, though."

"Is it unpleasant? Should I get Bobbie or Octavia?"

"No, that's not necessary, it's just a strange feeling. Like my whole body fell asleep, even my face and scalp and the circulation is just starting up again. That feels good when you stroke my cheek that way."

"Like this?" He stroked her cheek, then her shoulder."

"Yeah, do that all over me." She rolled on her back and stretched out, her hands reaching above her head, as Eric gently stroked and kissed her arms, breasts, stomach, down her legs to her feet, then he moved slowly back up. "Mmmm – that's perfect," she purred.

Eric smiled and kept caressing her as he lay back beside her. Finally, she moved into his arms and he held her until she fell asleep. He set up the monitor and then went to work, trying the whole time not to think about the fairy twin.

Eric was not convinced that there would be a solution and he wouldn't allow himself to think that he might not really want one. Eric had been very relieved when Alex had been born vampire. This other child was definitely Fae. He wouldn't let himself think those thoughts and he tried to ignore those feelings. Of course, he would want his son, he tried to tell himself, and Sookie was going to benefit from this process – he had already seen that. And she had already managed to be with him, to touch him. This would drive Sookie to explore her gifts in a way nothing else could have. Eric wondered if that were not part of the plan all along. If that were the case, there probably would be a solution at some point to reward Sookie's hard work.

How would they explain a second child? Everyone knew when Alex was born. Could that child be around vampires at all? Would it be in danger from its own father? Alex's development was spectacular – this other would always seem younger, be smaller, have many weaknesses. Would he have the heart of a warrior, as Alex clearly did? Would it matter in a child with so many weaknesses?

Most importantly, would the second child reduce the resources available for Alex? Money was not an issue, of course, but Sookie's time and attention were finite, and so was his, particularly while they were King and Queen. There was also the matter of Niall's position on the Council – Eric was determined to see that it passed down to Alex, no matter what. Niall was very old. If he didn't become immortal soon, the seat would have to be filled, and frankly, Eric would be quite pleased to hold the office until Alex was grown. Eric was not particularly ambitious, but if his goal was to have as much time as possible for his family, the Council was much preferable to administering a kingdom.

It occurred to Eric that he had no one to talk to about this, and to his great surprise, he wanted someone. He didn't want Sookie to think that he wouldn't love his own son. He prayed that he would, if he were given the opportunity. This was probably a baseless fear, so he was not going to burden her with it. She needed clear focus to do her work.

If he were going to talk about this, there were only two possibilities. Bill was the most obvious, but that might give Bill a wedge to use against him with Sookie so that was no good. Eric knew he probably had nothing to fear from Bill since they were married, but there was no point in tempting fate… or Bill, for that matter.

The second possibility was Bjorn. He was becoming a good friend, in spite of being a Were, and he knew without a doubt that Bjorn was fond of Alex. He also knew that if Bjorn ever touched Sookie, it would only be when and if Eric allowed it. There was also a very real possibility that they would have to tell Bjorn about the situation anyway, because this sort of magick could impact Sookie's physical safety in several ways. He might have to have Bjorn stand guard when Sookie was in her altar room, and Bjorn needed to know any time Sookie left the premises as she had done tonight. The more he thought about it, the more he realized that Bjorn had to know what was going on.

Eric could hear someone in the second floor kitchen and decided to see who it was. He zipped down the stairs and found Bjorn getting a bowl of Special K and some organic milk before he went to sleep.

"Hey, Eric – everything alright? It was a little loud on your floor for a while, then it got really quiet," he laughed.

"Yes, we were very active earlier," Eric laughed, "but Sookie is asleep now. Do you have a few minutes to talk, Bjorn, or do you need to get back right away?"

"No, I can talk."

"Alright, bring your cereal and let's go down to the den where we can have some privacy."

They moved quietly down to the den, and Bjorn knew this was serious because Eric was making sure no one was able to hear them.

"There is a matter concerning my family that you must know about. You know that Niall's magick enabled Sookie to have Alex, yes?"

"Yes, and I know you don't trust Niall."

"With good reason. It seems that the magick he performed was not entirely successful. There were two children created, but the other is trapped in the world of the Fae."

"Oh my god – does Sookie know about this?"

"I told her today. I only found out myself last night."

"How is she taking the news?"

"She is furious with Niall and determined to learn enough about magick to set the situation aright."

"OK, that's the best possible reaction you could have hoped for…"

"Yes, and I'm very proud of her. You heard that Octavia is going to be training her in magick very actively – I'm wondering if you should stand guard when Sookie is in the altar room they're going to set up?"

"Yeah, probably, if only to make sure she isn't disturbed."

"I should warn you that I believe she will be moving between the worlds as she works."

"Wow – you think she'll be that good at it?"

"I think she already is. I'm pretty sure she went to Fairy earlier tonight."

"Damn – that's big magick, Eric. I know she's anointed or chosen or whatever, but do you know what they have planned for her?"

"Niall claims that they intend for her to eventually join the Living Pantheon."

"In addition to Freya?"

"Yes."

"You realize that some people will not want that to happen…"

"Yes, I'm quite aware that it could make her a target for some very powerful forces."

"When do they think this will happen?"

"Niall said many years from now, but he told me it would take a decade or so to become king."

"And it took…"

"About 12 days."

"Damn."

"Indeed."

"I don't suppose you know how she managed to travel to Faery tonight?"

"Yes, she saw something on the web, rewrote it to suit her, and said it three times before she went to sleep."

"She wrote a spell?"

"Basically. It was only four lines."

"She mumbled a few lines and transported herself to Faery?"

"Well, the spell invoked Freya and Freya taught her the spell."

Bjorn whistled. "That is one magickal little Queen you've got there."

"Yes, she is."

"This other baby – it's fairy, right?"

"Yes, it is."

"If Sookie succeeds in getting that baby, are you going to be able to raise it?"

"I hope so, because I believe Freya will eventually tell her how to do it."

"Is he identical to Alex?"

"Only genetically. He is aging normally, has several weaknesses, and he will probably always seem younger and be smaller."

"So no chance of having two little Vikings?"

"Not likely, no."

"You can't be too thrilled about that?"

"I am ambivalent. I assume that, if he is my child, I will love him, but I admit, I am worried. I will never speak of this to Sookie…"

"No, I wouldn't expect you to. She's a mother – she'd never understand it. It's different with fathers… and Kings."

Alex cried then and Eric responded instantly, zipping up the stairs to keep him from waking Sookie. He scooped him up and took a bottle from the little fridge, then they went into the nursery for their quiet time together.

Alex seemed very tired tonight, which Eric attributed to all the flying and playing he had done that day. He rocked him and talked to him as he fed from the bottle eagerly, holding onto Eric's wrist with both hands, watching him with his big bright eyes. When he finished the bottle, Eric brought him up to his shoulder, and Alex laid his head down, twirling Eric's long hair in his fingers as he snuggled into his Daddy's neck.

Alex fell asleep quickly but Eric held the baby as long as he possibly could, only tucking him into the co-sleeper when the sun was nearly up so he had to rush down to his cache before light came in the windows. Eric was a little sad and a little hopeful as he waited for sleep, thinking about his two sons.


	79. Chapter 79

**[Author's Note: People are asking for book recommendations about Wicce, so all of the books referred to in this story and a few others are listed on my profile. Every book listed in the story is real and can be found at most book sellers, like the big one beginning with A. I'm so glad people are getting inspiration from my story. And yes, you can do the ritual Sookie reads about just as it's written, even if you're not a Witch! Enjoy!]**

**Chapter 79**

Alicia came into the bedroom to make sure Sookie and Alex were all right. Neither had been up yet and it was nearly 1 in the afternoon. She saw that Sookie was breathing normally and the baby was sucking his thumb so she knew he was probably fine. Maybe they had a busy night?

She picked up the clothing strewn about the room and was about to leave when Alex softly called "Mamee!" so she rushed over to him. She looked into those deep blue eyes and smiled. "Good morning, Baby E."

"Ah, Eesh!"

"Will you drink a bottle for me today?"

"Nah, Eesh, Mamee ee."

"Alright, then," she picked him up and helped him get settled with Sookie, who stirred a bit when Alex began to suckle, wrapping her arms around him. "Good morning, Mrs. Northman."

"Hey – I missed you yesterday!"

"I missed you both, too. I managed to get all my packing done, though, so I'll be living here as of tomorrow."

"YAY! Do you need help moving?"

"I've got that all worked out. I should have it all under roof before you even wake up."

"Cool!"

"Ready for some breakfast?"

"I should go down and eat with the others…"

"Nobody's eating, hon. Bobbie and Octavia are shopping and Bjorn is seeing to the work outside and the clearing of a room for you in the basement, I think?"

"Oh, yeah. OK, well…"

"You lie still. I was told you're supposed to sleep late, eat well, play with the baby and read your book, so get comfy and I'll be back with some salmon and bagels before you know it."

"YAY!"

Alex gave a muffled giggle when Sookie said that, but he was feeding intensely and didn't stop.

"Oh, you think that's funny, do you? Well go ahead and laugh but Mommy loves that stuff. Come to think of it, you used to get awfully happy when I ate it, too. Maybe I'll mash some up and let you try a taste."

Sookie played with Alex's little fingers, closing her eyes and relaxing, listening to the noises outside. She could hear men yelling and bulldozers pushing things around and another sound that she was pretty sure had to do with digging for the new fences.

"I wonder if Bjorn will let us go outside and see what's going on, Alex? He might not want us out with strange people around, but I'd sure like for you to see the big trucks. You've never seen anything like that before! Would you like to see the big trucks, Pookie?"

"Dwudt?"

"Yeah, truck. There are big old trucks and bulldozers out there working for Daddy."

"Daddy seepeen?"

"Yeah, Daddy's sleeping, but Bjorn is making sure they do what they're supposed to."

"Oday."

He had apparently finished eating so Sookie sat him up on her ribcage the way she liked to and sang "Let's Twist Again" while she helped him dance. Alex loved this, because this is when it was just he and his Mommy and all of her attention was on him. He already knew that if other people were around, Mommy paid attention to them, too, and that wasn't as much fun as this was. He loved it when Mommy was smiling just for him. She would tickle him, and kiss him and hug him and it made him feel warm all over. He giggled and squealed and when she pulled him forward and hugged him he said "ma Mamee."

"Aw – yeah, Pookie, I'm your Mommy, and you're my sweet boy." She scratched his back a little and he hugged her back as she kissed him and cuddled him until Alicia came back with breakfast. Sookie had him on Eric's side of the bed, blowing raspberries on his belly when Alicia came in. "Oh, boy! Breakfast time!" she teased him. "Thank you, Alicia."

"Day-oo, Eesh!" Alex said, which made the women laugh and he loved getting that reaction. He was already learning how to play cute for people, and he loved the positive reactions it got him.

"You're welcome, Alex. I made a little sort of salmon mousse just for you, too."

"Oh, wow, lookie, Sweetie – Alicia brought you your own little dish!"

"You want me to feed him while you eat?"

"Sure, I'll bet he'd like that."

Alicia picked Alex up, giving him a snuggle and a kiss and she took him to the side table. Sookie handed her the little dish and she fed him little bites with his baby spoon as she held him in her lap.

"Mmmm!' Alex said, looking in the dish trying to figure out what it was.

"You like that, Pookie?" Sookie asked him as she piled up a bagel with cream cheese and salmon. "That's salmon."

"Sthama?"

"Yeah, salmon. Is it good?"

"Ee-ah, dood!" He was waving his arms, and opening his mouth for another bite. Alicia was getting the biggest kick out of him being so enthusiastic. He was such a doll when he was excited, and food got him very excited.

"He's loving that, Alicia – thank you for making that for him!"

"Oh, it was no big deal – I just put some salmon, a little cream cheese and milk in a food processor. Most babies wouldn't eat something like this but I had a feeling Alex might like it since you ate it so often when you were carrying him."

"Well, he's definitely liking it. Eric will like that. He says fish is brain food."

"It is and it's good quality protein for building muscle, too."

Alex patted Alicia on the arm, "bi!"

"Oops, you need another bite, Baby E?" She teased him and scrunched her nose at him, which he tried to copy in a completely adorable way.

"Do you think Bjorn will let me take him outside to see the big trucks? He's never seen anything like that."

"He might insist on being with you, but I think he'd let you go out for a few minutes anyway. Alex will get a kick out of those big bulldozers."

"Cool. I want to take a quick shower when I get done."

"Do you want me to help you with him in the shower?"

"If you don't mind, yeah. He loves it and so do I."

"Sure, no problem. Did I mention that Amelia might come back with Bobbie and Octavia?"

"No, cool! Did she call?"

"Bobbie talked to her – she was going to meet them at the health food store and shop with them, then she'll follow them back in her car. She said she's got the night off so she wanted to come see the baby."

"Oh, good!"

"I thought since it's a little cloudy, but not supposed to rain, you might want to have a cookout and we'll make burgers for the guards and everyone working on the construction."

"Oh, I love that idea! Yeah, let's do that. Eric would like that, too, I'm sure."

Alicia gave the baby back to Sookie while she laid out a nice navy short set that had a nautical style to it with a square collar and little anchors, then helped her take a quick shower with the baby. She diapered Alex while Sookie got dressed, then Sookie and Alex headed downstairs while Alicia made her bed and cleared away her dishes.

Sookie poked her head out the front door to see if she could see Bjorn. "Good morning, your majesty!" Harold was out front.

"Hi, Harold. Is Bjorn around? Is he really busy?"

"Hang on, I'll ask him." Harold called Bjorn on what Sookie figured was a type of walkie-talkie and Bjorn said he'd be right there.

"Hey, Sookie!" Bjorn greeted her with a big smile as he came around the house.

"Good morning!"

"Dood mona, Borhd!"

"Hey, Alex!" Bjorn tickled Alex and made him giggle.

"I was wondering if it was OK if I took Alex out to see the big trucks?"

"Sure, it should be OK – let me walk out with you, though, alright?"

"OK, I just don't want to take you away from your work."

"No problem at all. If they need me, they'll buzz me," he indicated the little phone or whatever it was.

Bjorn and Sookie walked out toward the front of the lot where the bulldozers were tearing up the ground inside the fence line that was going up. "Wow – the lot's going to be huge!" Sookie could see where the surveyors had staked off the boundaries of the property and there were guards stationed periodically along the perimeter.

"Yeah," Bjorn agreed, "there will be plenty of room between us and the road. Eric may do some brick work out toward the back to make it even safer, but just getting these fences up will help enormously.

It took a while, but eventually they got to where the bulldozers were running.

"Lookie, Alex! Aren't they big?"

"OMBA, BID! Ewwo, Mommy!" He was waving his little arms and pointing, his eyes huge as they watched the huge machines tear up the ground.

"Ewwo? You mean yellow? Yeah, they are yellow! That's really good!"

"When did he learn colors?" Bjorn asked.

"I have no idea – I've never worked on colors with him. Maybe from those books Eric reads to him?"

"Ee-ah, Dadee ewwo bood."

"Daddy showed you yellow in a book?"

"Ee-ah!"

"Is he trying to say "yeah?"' Bjorn asked.

"Yeah, I think so," Sookie laughed.

"Hey, do you know these guys?" Bjorn indicated some men on some of the dozers waving at Sookie, yelling her name.

"I don't know – do I?"

One man jumped off his dozer and ran in Sookie's direction.

"Jason!"

"Your brother?"

"Yes! I wonder what he's doing here? He'll get to see Alex! Lookie, Alex, that's your Uncle Jason running toward us."

"Una Dastha?

"Yeah, he's my brother, your uncle," she explained as Jason reached the three of them.

"Hey, Sookie! Hey, Bjorn!" He shook Bjorn's hand.

"Hey, yourself! What are you doing here?' Sookie was tickled to death.

"A guy Catfish knew was offering big bucks for a job that had to get done this week end, so me, him and Hoyt took a vacation day today and we're going to work all weekend. Is this for your husband?"

"Yeah, it is."

"I told those guys I thought we were real close to your new house. So what'd he do, buy up all this land around you?"

"Yeah, that's what he did. He wants fences all around the outside of it. He thinks it will be safer for us."

"That got somethin' to do with him bein' King now?"

"Yeah, exactly. He wants to make sure it's safe for Alex to play outside and stuff."

"Yeah, hey, is this my little nephew?'

"Yep, this is Eric Alexander, but we call him Alex. Alex, this is your Uncle Jason!"

"Ah!" Alex waved at him.

"Hi, little fella! Wow – he already knows to wave and say 'hi,' huh?"

"Yes, he's very smart, if I do say so myself!"

"Cool! Look at all that blonde hair! Reminds me of my hair when I was little. He looks just like Eric, don't he?"

"Yeah, he does. Hey, what time do you guys stop working?"

"Around 6 o'clock, I think."

"Why don't you, and Hoyt and Catfish eat with us? We're going to make burgers on the grill after while."

"You sure it's no trouble?"

"Not at all – we're going to do it anyway, we'll just make enough for you all, too. That'll give you a little time to visit with Alex. When you all get done for the day, come on up to the house. You can park out back if you need to."

"Oh, yeah, the extra garage. OK, we'll see you then!"

"Great! Say "bye-bye" Alex!"

"Ba-ba!" Alex waved and smiled.

Jason ran back to his dozer and Hoyt and Catfish waved and yelled "hey" to Sookie and she waved back.

"Hey, Y'all! Oh, that's so cool! I've been wanting Alex to meet Jason!"

"You sure Eric will be OK with that?"

"Yeah, he said I could invite him for a cook-out at the end of my vacation. We'll just do it a little early this way. Hoyt and Catfish are really nice guys, so that won't be a problem, I'm sure."

"OK, would you consider heading back now?"

"Yeah, I just wanted Alex to see the trucks, and he did, so we'll head back."

"Good, let's go," Bjorn smiled but he'd feel a lot better when the two of them were back in the house.

Bjorn walked them back and once he knew they were safely in the house he went to check on the installation of the fences. He would be very happy when they were all behind these kick-ass wrought iron fences Eric and Vincent had agreed on. They looked really nice, but they would stop a tank or a Mack truck if they had to because they were reinforced and being set in concrete. A flier could still get over them, of course, but the electronic surveillance would let them know about that. Only a vampire as old as Eric could bend them, and there were none that he knew of, though he supposed there might be somewhere. It occurred to Bjorn that there wasn't much a person could do to protect against an attack by Eric. He was in a class by himself, and Bjorn liked that, too.

"Hey!" Sookie walked into the kitchen where Margaret and Alicia were chatting over coffee as Margaret made preparations for dinner.

"Back already?" Alicia was really surprised.

"Yeah, and guess what? My brother, Jason, and his two best friends are working the bulldozers! I invited them for burgers later – that won't be a problem will it?"

"Not at all, Missus. So did your brother get to meet Alex?"

"Yeah, he did. Those rats took a vacation day so they could take this job – I'll bet they're getting paid under the table!" Sookie laughed. "Eric must be paying a fortune for them to do something like that."

"By the way, Mrs. Northman, I put your book and your journal in the den for you. I know you wanted to play with the baby in there and then read when he naps."

"You're a mind reader!" Sookie laughed. "I really do need to make a dent in that book. And I'll bet Pookie would like to play with Boss, wouldn't you, Sweetie?"

"Omba! Bid dwadon!"

"Yeah, Boss is a big dragon!" Sookie laughed and so did the other women. "OK, let's go!" Sookie said to Alex and took him into the den after she grabbed an RM from the fridge.

The bouncer was still in the floor and the blue dragon was tucked into the corner, so Sookie pulled it out to the middle of the floor, unzipped the back and dropped Alex right in the middle of it where he wanted to be. He made his happy sound, and Sookie laughed as she flopped on the big brown couch and turned on the TV. She was just going to let him do what he wanted for a while, even if he decided to fly, and she was going to enjoy watching him. She knew that was being inconsistent, but she wanted him to enjoy himself and he was so little she figured it wouldn't be a big deal. She was very pleased to see that the digital camera was still on the end table where she left it, so she turned it on and clicked lots of pictures of Alex doing his thing diving into the balls. She even got a good shot of him hovering over them, which she knew Eric would love. She knew he was busting with pride that his baby boy could already fly.

Her mood darkened just a little as she thought about the fact that Freya had designed the most perfect son possible for Eric, and may have gone to some unfair extremes to do it. Well, she was happy that Eric had his perfect son, but he had another son, too and that baby was going to be with them as soon as Mommy figured out how to fix things. Sookie lay back on the couch as Alex continued to play and she thought about how the second baby might impact her family.

She didn't have to be a genius to know that Eric would have reservations about a Fae child, especially one with all those weaknesses. She also knew there would be the issue of how to explain him. Alex was known all over the world as the first and only vampire Prince. A fairy twin wouldn't do anything to help his image and might actually reflect badly on Eric as King. Plus, that baby was really a baby, just like any other 11 day-old baby. Alex was at least a year ahead of him developmentally, maybe more, and if it took Sookie a long time to work this out, it would mean that they spent their formative years apart. At most, they might be brothers, but never true twins. Could they fake a second pregnancy? What if he were a cousin? It would be a lot easier to explain a little Cousin Aubie who looked a lot like Alex, but was smaller and had different abilities. But would that be fair to the child?

"Mamee!" Alex was getting fussy and making his 'come here' motion so Sookie scooped him up and grabbed Do-ee from the bouncer as she sat down with him. Alex hugged the purple dragon to him and sucked his thumb as Sookie cuddled him and talked to him for a long time while he looked up at her with big, tear-filled eyes. She finally got a smile out of him and he let out a big sigh and went to sleep. She held him for a bit, wondering if he got fussy because she was thinking of the other baby. He had done this before, hadn't he? Sookie decided to watch and see if this was a pattern. It didn't seem possible that Alex could be jealous, but who knew? Alex did a whole lot of things that didn't seem possible. Impossible was Alex's best thing, she laughed to herself. She held him for a while and watched him sleep, then when her arm started to fall asleep she put him in the little bouncer and got out her journal.

The first thing Sookie did was write that she suspected Alex cried whenever she thought about… Cousin Aubie. She thought that would be safe enough code to put in the journal for now. She got out the book and decided to read as much as she could.

Sookie liked the book, especially the philosophy of it, but some of the particulars didn't appeal to her. She remembered, though, that Octavia told her she should use what works for her, so she took it all more as theory than a cookbook. She just skimmed over most of the life rituals but her attention was caught by a **Self-Blessing Ritual** (Budapest, pp. 107-112) which was long, but seemed like a good place to start. She knew she couldn't use lemon in a ritual bath as suggested, but she was confident that Octavia would tell her something else that would work.

She decided to take a break and write in her journal when she read the lines:

There is nothing rigid in Goddess worship. Rituals can be researched and symbolism relearned and applied by any group of like-minded women who are inspired by the Goddess. These deeds will be equally valid. The important thing to remember is that beyond a certain structure upon which we all agree, creativity is the order of the night.

Therefore, read all of the pages, absorb what we communicate, and then create your own rituals, your own tradition. (Budapest, pg. 115)

Sookie loved that idea and it was consistent with what Octavia, Bobbie and Amelia were telling her. She didn't have to learn to say words she wasn't comfortable with.

She made notes for the **Self Blessing: **

Ritual Bath, submerge completely, (ask Octavia what to use)

Use imagination, fantasy

Prepare the altar before the bath?

Goddess-image,

candles,

incense,

a small bowl of salt

a chalice containing half water, half wine.

"Arrange your altar in a creative manner, with a white cloth,

two white candles on the sides, and

a rose or other Goddess-image in the center.

Place your chalice in front."

salt on the floor in front of the altar and stand on it.

(symbolizes wisdom, the Salt of the Earth, so you are standing on your own wisdom.)

Contemplate the wine-water mixture in the chalice as symbolic of the Life Force.

represents Aphrodite - no life without water

wine brings ecstasy - represents joy

mixing = temperance, which is important in women's Wisdom.

Drink 

Meditate = altar /psychic space you are creating for yourself.

completely naked

Light the incense now to awaken the brain cells

Light white candles, "**Blessed be, thou creature of fire**,"

Dip first two fingers into chalice touch forehead 

"**Bless me, Mother, for I am Your child**."

Dip touch nose, "**Bless my nose to smell Your essence**."

Dip touch lips "**Bless my lips to speak of You**."

Dip touch breasts "**Bless my breasts, formed in strength and beauty**."

Dip touch genitals "**Bless my genitals that bring forth life as You have **

**brought forth the Universe**."

Dip touch feet "**Bless my feet to walk in Your paths."**

stand a while allow energies to flow through you.

extinguish candles "**Blessed be, thou creature of fire. Thank you for your presence**."

REMEMBER!

Pleasure is worship because it replenishes the soul.

"All acts of love and pleasure are my rituals."

Revolution begins as a thought-form.

"Very strong witches have been known to say very little, to very great effect. That's part of having your mouth connected to your brain." Speak softly.

As your own Goddess you have created what you wanted.

"As below, so above." ripple effect of consequences. "Like" affects "like"

the small eventually affects the larger. That's why spells work!

'Whew!' she thought, 'that's a lot of writing, but it's a really simple ritual. I'll ask Octavia if I can start with this one." She popped the top on the RM she brought with her, laughing that it seemed strange that it still tasted good to her, but it really did. She expected not to like it any more after she had Alex. Maybe because he was still breast-feeding? She needed to tell Octavia about her experience last night and ask if breast-feeding two babies was a problem. Actually, she needed to talk to Dr. Ludwig about it, too. She looked in the tote bag Alicia brought downstairs for her and found her iPhone in it.

Sookie figured she was entitled to talk to Dr. Ludwig since they'd been keeping a secret from her, so she dialed her up and hoped for the best.

"Sookie?"

"Yes, Dr. Ludwig, I was wondering if I could ask a couple of questions?"

"You've talked to your husband, I suppose?"

"Yes, I know all about him now."

"Alright, sit tight and I'll come to you."

**POP**

Ludwig was sitting next to her on the couch. "Well, little girl, what sort of questions do you have?"

"Well, I got to feed him last night…"

"You what?!"

"Yeah, Freya showed me how to go there. I thought I was dreaming, but Eric said I was actually gone, so I must have been there, and I breast fed him."

"Well,well - that's unexpected. How did he respond to you?"

"He was very sweet. I looked in his eyes and talked to him and rocked him until the 33 minutes was up, then I tucked him in and I was back in my own bed, but I was crying."

"And he took your milk and wasn't afraid or anything?"

"Not at all. Listen, Dr., I really want to know who has him. Is he being treated well? Is he safe?"

"I can't tell you her name, but I can tell you that the fairy woman who has him is a young widow. Her husband and little girl were killed tragically and she was still breastfeeding, so she's able to wet-nurse him. She's very kind to him, and she'll protect him with her life, you can be sure of that. As far as I know, no one even knows she has him. I've seen him several times and he seems strong and healthy."

"Oh, good. That makes me feel better. I want you to know, though, Doctor, that I fully intend to figure out a way to bring him here so Eric and I can raise him."

"Well, I'm not sure that's possible, but I know you'll try no matter what I say, so I will just request that you be careful."

"Oh, I will. I wanted to ask you, would calling him the way I can Alex work?"

"Well, if you were going to try that, I'd want to be in the room with him first to be sure he transferred safely. It's not likely to work, but there's some possibility. Are you able to go to him again?"

"Yes, Freya said I could do it "once in three, but no more," so I guess that's once every three days?"

"Yes, that sounds right. She probably doesn't want you to exhaust yourself. Half an hour every three days is enough to establish a connection with him, but not enough to wear you down. You'll build your magickal muscles that way. How did you happen to see Freya?"

"I said a short invocation I got from the Internet and re-wrote. Bobbie told me to say it three times before I went to sleep and it worked."

"Did you write it down?"

"Yes, it's right here." Sookie opened her journal to the invocation and showed it to the doctor.

"You said this three times and Freya showed up and taught you to travel to Faery? That's all you did?"

"Yeah."

"OK, can you tell me what she had you do to get there?"

Sookie described seeing Freya on the shore and the simple process of drawing a circle thrice around, clockwise.

"That's all she gave you?"

"Yeah. I was going to wait until Sunday night and try it again and see if it works."

"Oh, it will work. If the Goddess handed it to you personally, it will most definitely work. What's of more interest to me is the simplicity of it. Have you ever practiced magick before?"

"No, but I have a teacher I'm starting to work with. She's out buying stuff to set up a room to practice in for me right now. She had dinner with us the other night – Octavia."

"Oh, yes – I know of her. Her reputation is good in circles I'd say she's not even aware of. She's strong and smart. That's a good choice. She won't waste your time with nonsense, which is good, because Freya is not including any bells or whistles, either, it would seem."

"Is that good or bad?"

"It's telling – it tells me you're already a force to be reckoned with, you just don't know it yet. Have you and Northman done any sex magick, even accidentally?"

"Yeah, we have these energy swirls or sparkles and stuff and I'm learning how to give them direction."

"You're keeping a journal now? Have you thought about a Book of Shadows – a formal one?"

"I think Octavia is going to help me get one or start one, or whatever you do."

"Good. I want you keeping notes on these energy occurrences. Have you ever experienced anything like them with anyone else?"

"No, only with Eric. I feel a lot of things with Eric I only ever felt with him. I didn't even know some stuff I feel with him was possible," she laughed.

"He'd probably say the same thing about you. I'll tell you what, you breastfeed the other one several more times and we'll think about letting you try to call him. I'll help you when it's time, so we're sure he's not harmed, alright."

"Alright. Is it possible that Alex could already be jealous of him?"

"More is possible with Alex than you'll ever know, my dear."

"He learned how to call things to him now, you know?"

"Already? Sookie, I want you to think very carefully about whether it's really in anyone's best interest for you to have that other baby. He might be better off where he is, and your family might be better off, too."

"I know it might not be easy, but I can't know I have a child and not be there to raise him. I want him to know that he's loved and wanted."

"Well, you think about it over these next few weeks as you visit him. Remember, he's got a good woman caring for him who loves him and wants him, too. Consider her feelings as well as you consider the ramifications of making so drastic a change."

"I never thought about that… but I still want my baby."

"Alright, then – just think about it. If you're going to be practicing magick, I want you getting lots of sleep. I hear you're going to be very busy this fall and winter."

"Yeah, we've got lots of King & Queen things we have to do, and a lot that I have to do on my own as Queen."

"OK, then, make the most of your vacation. Call me if you need me." And she was gone.

Sookie suddenly felt exhausted, so she lay back on the couch. The next thing she knew, Eric was smiling at her.

"Wake up, my angel."

"Hey, you're up already!"

"Yes, and we have company. Your brother and his friends are having dinner with us."

"Oh, yeah. Is everybody waiting on me?"

"The burgers are on the grill as we speak."

"Oh – help me up," Sookie said, still a little groggy, and Eric walked her out to the back yard where people were chatting and Alicia and Margaret were serving burgers and hot dogs to lots of men Sookie didn't know.

Alex was the center of attention, sitting in his highchair, chattering and playing with Jason, Catfish, Hoyt, and Bjorn, showing them his "dwadon." Bjorn was interpreting.

"Sleeping Beauty has decided to join us," Eric teased as they joined the group outside.

"Hey, guys! Sorry, I fell asleep…"

"Sleeping is what you're supposed to be doing, Sookie," Bjorn laughed.

"How long has Alex been up?"

"About an hour," Bjorn told her, "I came in to check on you and he was awake, so I brought him out to let you rest."

"Thanks for dinner, Sookie!" Hoyt gave her a big smile.

"Yeah, thank you!" Catfish added.

"Oh, I'm glad you guys could join us. I was tickled to death when I saw you all out there earlier. I'd been wanting Jason to see Alex so badly!"

"He's been trying to talk to us. He's extra-smart, huh?" Jason asked.

"Yes, he's very advanced for his age, probably from Eric being his daddy."

"That's cool. He's a cute kid. I wish Gran could see him. She'd be over the moon about such a smart baby."

"Yeah, I wish so, too." Sookie said wistfully.

"You know, Sam Merlotte would love to see you and the baby?" Hoyt told her.

"I'd love for Sam to see him, too, but we had some trouble the last time we tried that."

"Andy Bellefleur said something about a hate crime or something, but he said you didn't get hurt and didn't want to press charges?" Jason barely remembered the story even though it wasn't that long ago.

"Some of Arlene's crazy FOTS friends got smart with Bjorn, and tried to swing a pool cue at him and then grabbed at me and called me all kinds of nasty names."

"Wow – what'd you do, Bjorn?" Jason loved hearing about a good fight.

"I punched him in the chest and broke his sternum." Bjorn sort of demonstrated the punch.

Catfish whistled and Hoyt said, "oh, man!" They had no doubts that a big guy like Bjorn could do that without blinking. They had been blown away when Jason told them Sookie had a big bodyguard, and it was obvious this guy was lethal when he wanted to be, though he was being nice to them.

"How did the pool table get busted up, Sookie?" Jason asked, "Arlene had some crazy story about you putting a hex on her friend or something…"

"He had some kind of fit or something…" Sookie lied, "I don't know what his problem was but they both got carried out in an ambulance."

"Sam don't want you to be afraid to come in there, though," Hoyt assured her.

"I'd prefer that she didn't," Eric said from the other end of the table, "and I certainly don't want my son in there if there's a possibility of any threat to him. That waitress said some very disturbing things about him to Sookie. I think it unwise to underestimate fanatics of that sort."

"Yeah, she was saying he was some kind of devil-baby. She's off the deep end. I mean, this is the sweetest kid I ever saw, and I'm not just saying that 'cause he's my nephew. That's a handsome kid by anybody's standard," Jason said proudly and Hoyt and Catfish agreed. "He looks like an angel with that blonde hair and those bright blue eyes. I wish the b-i-t-c-h could see him and see how wrong she is about him."

"Aw – thank you, Jason. Did you get to hold him yet?" Sookie hoped he'd want to.

"Oh – no, he's just been in his chair there."

"Alex, you want to go to your Uncle Jason for a minute?"

"OMBA!" Alex loved the opportunity for more attention.

"What's that mean?" Jason asked.

"That's him trying to say "oh, yes" the way Eric does," Sookie said proudly. Eric was beaming when she said that.

Jason loved that Eric was taking such good care of them and making sure they were safe. For a vampire, he wasn't a bad guy, in spite of what people said about him. He sure as hell paid well. He was a little nervous as Sookie handed him the baby, but the baby put one arm around his neck and gave him a kiss on the cheek, which made all the women say "awwww!"

"He's giving you sugar, Jason! He likes you!"

"I like him, too. It's so hard for me to think about my baby sister having a baby, you know, but he suits you, you know, you two fit good together. I saw that when you carried him out front. You could just tell that you're a good mommy and he's a happy baby."

"Thank you, Jason." It wouldn't take much for Sookie to cry at that. Jason had never said anything so nice to her before. He really did like being an Uncle.

Alicia brought Sookie's camera out and let Sookie snap some photos of Jason and Alex, then them with Hoyt and Catfish, then Alicia took a picture of Jason, Sookie and Alex, then some of them with Eric. She kept the camera and snapped a few more of the whole group of people who were out back eating. Alex loved mugging for the camera.

"I'll get you copies of those pictures, Jason, especially the one of you and Alex together." Sookie promised.

"That'd be cool. I'd like to have a picture of him to show people how cute he is, especially when Arlene is running her mouth."

"We'll tell everybody how cute and smart he is, too." Hoyt promised, "We can say we seen him for ourselves and you couldn't imagine a nicer baby than him. What she's been saying about him is just ridiculous. It ain't right to act that way and claim to be a Christian, especially when you're talking about a little baby!"

"Thank you, Hoyt, I really appreciate that."

"Yes, we both do," Eric agreed. "Are you men going to be working the whole weekend?"

"Yeah, all three days," Jason answered.

"Well, I want you to feel free to have dinner with us every night. I know Sookie enjoys the company and it is good for Alex to know her family and friends. We appreciate your help with this project," Eric was trying to be very gracious for Sookie's sake.

"What all are you plannin' to do, Eric?"

"Once the fences are up and the ground is cleared, we'll put down sod grass until Sookie and the landscaper decide what they want. Then there will be two Chalets that will go back there, behind the Summer Kitchen over toward the garage."

"Chalets – those triangle looking houses?"

"Yes, they're manufactured kits that go up very quickly."

"Cool – who are they for?"

"Servants, family or friends who need or want to stay or visit. You're welcome to stay there if you like, or in the house as you did before."

"Wow – that's cool."

"Yes, we had planned to have a compound near New Orleans, but Sookie and I are too attached to this house. We're going to keep this as our base of operations and then we'll still have our houses in New Orleans and Las Vegas for when we need them."

"Wow – so you got businesses and stuff all over?" Hoyt asked.

"Yes, I'll be in on a large construction project on the strip in Las Vegas and I have several properties in New Orleans that are in need of repair, so we'll be traveling a lot."

"S'at true what they say on TV about you being a King?" Hoyt was dying to ask so he just did.

"In the vampire community, yes, it is."

"I saw some interviews with Sookie on TV. She done a good job."

"Yes," Eric smiled, "I'm always very proud of her when she represents us on TV."

"Hey," Jason asked, still holding Alex and looking at him, "has he really got fangs?"

"Yeah," Sookie laughed, "you want to see them?"

"Sure!"

Sookie went over next to Jason and Alex and tickled his gums, so down popped the little fangs.

"Holy smoke! Those look sharp!"

"They are sharp," Sookie assured him. "His Daddy is very proud of those fangs, aren't you, Sweetie?"

"Yes, that's one of the few things about his appearance that is distinctly vampire."

"Ee, Mamee!"

"Are you hungry, Punkin'?" Sookie took him from Jason and sat back down and he tried to crawl up on the table. "Alex, what are you doing?"

"Ee!" he pointed to the burgers.

"That's not for babies, Sweetheart! You want a bottle?"

"Ee!" He pointed to the potato salad.

"What do you think, Alicia, should I mash some up and let him try it?"

"Well, he ate salmon this morning, so why not?"

"He did?!" Eric was excited to hear that.

"Yeah, he loved it," Sookie confirmed.

"Sthama?!"

"Do you want some salmon, Baby E?" Alicia offered

"OMBA, Eesh!"

"I've still got some of the mousse I made for him – I'll get it."

"So he eats unusual stuff for a baby, huh?" Jason asked

"Yeah, he's kind of… adventurous, I guess? He always wants to taste what I eat," Sookie laughed. "He's sneaky, too. If I'm not careful, he'll grab a handful and stuff it in his mouth before I catch him."

"My sister's one kid did that," Catfish said, "even before he had teeth, she had to really watch him so he didn't get choked."

"Yeah, so far, with Alex, he's only managed to get hold of soft stuff – cheese cake and mashed potatoes – but man, is he fast! He has stuff in his mouth before I know he's moved. I'm trying to teach him to ask first, but it might be a while before he really understands."

Everybody laughed at that and Alicia came out with a bowl and a little spoon for Alex.

"Do you want me to feed him, Sookie, so you can eat?" Eric offered

"Could you, Sweetie? I'm pretty hungry."

"Of course, my angel." Eric went to the end of the bench where Sookie was sitting and brought Alex and his dish back to his seat.

"You feed him sometimes, Eric?" That really surprised Jason.

"Oh, yes, I feed him and sit with him when Sookie needs to sleep, and we have a lot of playtime together, don't we, my son?"

"OMBA, Dadee!" Alex said with a mouthful of mousse.

"Wow – that's good. I never really pictured you playing with him," Jason said

"Oh, yes, we have lots of fun, don't we, Alex."

"Ee-ah, Dadee!"

"That means "yeah"" Sookie said, "he's just started trying to say it. Which reminds me – Eric, he knows colors?"

"He knows one color – he was picking out everything yellow in his book the other night."

"I had no idea. He told me this morning that the bulldozers were yellow and I was shocked," she laughed.

"Yes, he just picked that up on his own as I was looking at that picture book with him the other night. He started pointing to things and I told him they were yellow, then he tried to say it and we went through all the pages and he correctly identified all the pictures that had anything yellow in it."

"Wow – he's really, really smart!" Jason was proud of that.

"Yes," Eric said proudly, "he's very special. He is everything a father could dream of." Eric gave Alex a big kiss and Alex hugged him back, then asked for more "Sthama, Dadee."

Jason really liked hearing that. He was really starting to be happy for Sookie. He had been really worried about Sookie's baby having a vampire for a daddy, but it was obvious that Eric was crazy about that kid and with good reason. Eric was right, Alex was as cute and smart as a baby could be. Between the money and the lifestyle and the way Eric was with Alex, Jason realized that Sookie had everything she could possibly want. No wonder she looked so happy.

Alicia and Margaret spread a table with newspaper and had the gardener's two helpers carry out some watermelons. Everyone had some, and Alicia even put a small piece in front of Eric, who took a bite and immediately had Alex wanting a taste. Sookie passed him a fork and he cut some of it to bits, then fed it to Alex with his spoon.

"Mmmmm!" Alex loved it, and Sookie was pleased to see that he seemed able to "gum" the little pieces Eric was giving him.

"Hey, I thought vamps couldn't eat?" Jason asked

"Most can't. Most would get sick from just a bite of any kind of food, but Eric is actually able to eat a little now and then," Sookie explained.

"That's really cool."

"Yes, I enjoy watermelon especially. It has a sweetness to it that reminds me of Sookie," he smiled at her.

"I smell extra sweet to vampires," Sookie explained.

"Is that why they like you so much, Sookie?" Hoyt asked

"It's part of it, yeah."

"There are more reasons to be attracted to Sookie than I could possibly count, but I must confess, her scent is at the top of the list. She's intoxicating." He gave Sookie a look that would melt butter and she blushed, but she loved it.

As the melons were disappearing, the workers began to wander off into the night.

"Well, I should get going. We gotta be here early in the morning to work on your yard," Catfish said.

"Oh, well – I'm glad you could have dinner with us, Catfish. We'll see you tomorrow evening I hope?" Sookie wanted to be a good hostess.

"Yeah, I can probably stay for dinner if the other guys are going to…"

"Me, too," Hoyt said.

"Yeah, why not?" Jason said, "this was fun." He started to get up and Sookie popped up to get Alex so he could say goodbye.

"You all be careful driving home now!" Sookie kissed Jason on the cheek and then she said "Tell Uncle Jason bye-bye, Alex."

Alex leaned forward wanting a hug, which Jason happily gave him, and he said, "good night, little buddy. I'll see you tomorrow, OK?"

"Oday!" Alex said happily and the guys all laughed at how cute it was. Alex giggled and chewed on his finger, leaning his head against Sookie's and she talked to him.

Alicia rushed out with a couple of photos she printed for Jason and he thanked her profusely. He couldn't wait to get to Merlotte's and show them off. Arlene was nuts. His nephew was a great kid! He and Catfish and Hoyt had already agreed to meet there after they left Sookie's house. They were just pulling out of the extra garage when Bobbie, Octavia and Amelia came out the back door.

"Hey, you guys! You missed Jason and his friends!" Sookie greeted them all with hugs.

"So we hear," Bobbie said. "We've been power shopping, Sookie."

"Yeah, we hooked you up good, girl!" Amelia said. "Wait until you see all the cool stuff we got you! We bought a bunch of books for Alex, too."

"We went to about three stores and just told them to give us one of everything," Octavia laughed. "We got the soap to use to scrub down the room. Eric did you make arrangements for that?"

"Yes, ma'am, I did. Margaret's two younger helpers are coming in early tomorrow just for this. It would help if you'd write down exactly what you want them to do, and then you won't have to get up for it. It can be done before you and Sookie even wake up. Did you get paint?"

"Yes, we did – bubble gum pink, just like Sookie likes," Bobbie laughed.

"Oh, goodie!" Sookie was excited about this, which surprised her.

"Leroy?" Eric called over to the other table.

"Yes sir?" Leroy hurried over to Eric.

"Are you going to be able to paint that room for me tomorrow afternoon?"

"Yes, sir, I'll start on it as soon as the girls get done scrubbing it down."

"Good, I'll leave cash for Alicia to pay you with when you're done."

"Cool, thanks a lot, Mr. Northman!"

"Thank you for helping, Sookie. You've gone out of your way for her more than once and I really appreciate it."

"I'm glad to do it, sir. She's a nice lady."

"Yes, she is. Did you get enough to eat?"

"I was thinkin' about having another burger."

"Margaret, can you fix Leroy another?"

"Of course I can, you come right this way, dear!"

"I could eat another burger, too." Sookie popped up and gave Alex to Eric so she could get more to eat.

"Bjorn, when you have a minute, I need to show you something about the set up downstairs."

"I'm done eating, so I'm ready when you are."

"Let's go on down, then. Sookie, we'll be back in a few minutes."

"Oh, OK,"

"I've got Alex, Sookie," Bobbie told her, "How are you, Sweetness?" Bobbie kissed and tickled the baby when she took him from Eric. It was good to be Alex Northman today – he was getting all kinds of attention from all kinds of people!

Eric closed the door to the basement as he and Bjorn went down the stairs.

"Alright, you are the only other living soul beside Sookie who will know this and no one, not even Bobbie, is to know about it. I need to tell you so you can insure that no one gets curious."

He took Bjorn into the back room. "That door there," he pointed to the back and to the left, "is the room being prepared for Sookie. This," he bent down and popped the top of his cache, "is where I rest. No one even knows I stay in the house and I want to keep it that way. This rug should suffice to keep it hidden, but I need you to make sure no one discovers it."

"Wow – that's like a whole little oasis down there."

"Yes, it's very cozy. It sleeps at least four, though only Sookie and Pam know of it and have been in it."

"Does Sookie ever stay in it with you?"

"One glorious evening I awoke to find Sookie naked, sleeping beside me. It was one of the most erotic, primal experiences of my life. Any other woman would have been scared to death – I nearly savaged her and she laughed. The woman actually awoke being fucked by a hungry vampire and she laughed about it."

"Holy shit!"

"Even if I were not bonded to her, at that moment, I would have had to ask her to marry me, if I had not already. I've never known a woman that brave or that lusty in my long life," Eric was speaking with awe in his voice and Bjorn understood why. Sookie was in a class by herself if she could get off on a scene like that. Hungry vamps were no joke no matter who they are or what you mean to them.

"She really knows how to make the most of adrenaline, doesn't she?"

"Oh, yes. In a thousand years I have slept with thousands of women, but never have I seen such strength or passion. I tell you, Bjorn, when I realized she was a Goddess, it all made such sense that I had no trouble at all believing it. No human woman could match her. No three human women could match her, nor would they want to try. That she did not run screaming from me after that was miraculous. When I came to my senses I asked her if she was crying but she said she was laughing, I was dumbfounded. I asked her if she was scared and she actually said it was "good scary.""

"Good scary?"

"She described it as riding a roller coaster on which you knew someone had been killed."

Bjorn was speechless. After his mind processed it for a few minutes, he said, "she couldn't have married anyone but you, could she?"

"No, I think not. I think anyone else would bore her very quickly. If she'd be perfectly honest about it, Bill Compton was beginning to bore her at the point that they broke up."

"OK, this is rude, but, is it true that vamps don't have any "down time?""

"You mean between erections?"

"Yes."

"I can't speak for all vamps, but I don't. I really only stop to enjoy an orgasm because I want to. I could go on indefinitely if I needed to, as long as it was dark."

"Damn."

"I've joked about taking Sookie to a country where the sun doesn't rise for months at a time to see how long we could actually go," he laughed, "and I just might some day, when Alex is grown."

"Is she going to age normally?"

"No. Drinking so much of my blood has all but stopped that process in her and if she moves up as seems to be the plan, she will be an immortal of some sort eventually."

"Like a vampire?"

"Possibly, or something else, which I'm beginning to think is more likely."

"What else is there?"

"She could become pure Fae, or an angel, or some similar being, or she might be accepted in the Living Pantheon, as I told you, which brings with it immortality."

"They're waiting for her to learn magick?"

"Yes, and the need to breastfeed Alex may enter into it. That is why I have not yet turned her. I don't know if angels or fully formed Goddesses can breastfeed a vampire baby or not. I don't know that anyone knows that or whether I will still be able to feed on her. I know something will change, though."

"How do you know?"

"I had a dream as I rested today that Sookie and Alex and I were together and we were flying."

"So you think…"

"That she will soon be able to fly." Eric pushed the door of his hideaway down and stepped on it to lock it.

"Is that a good thing?"

"If Alex and I can still feed from her and I can still have sex with her, then it is a wonderful thing. If not, then, I will accept it if it is her destiny."

"Can a vamp feed on a Goddess?"

"I have before, though I have no idea if that is something individual to Freya or not."

"If you could feed on Freya, I'd bet you'll still be able to feed on Sookie."

"I think you are probably correct, but it is never good to assume in these matters. It is better to get all the details from a reliable source. I'm planning to have a long, private consultation with Doctor Ludwig very soon. She's the best resource I know for such things."

"Sounds like a good idea," Bjorn said as they walked over to the room Sookie would be using. "Nice room, for a basement."

"Yes, it was finished nicely, but I never had any use for it other than storage. I don't really even remember what was in here. There are so many corners of this house I never paid any attention to until now," he laughed.

"Why did you buy this big place if you didn't need it?"

"Hope, I guess. The location was perfect and it was a lot more than I needed but I hoped at some point maybe I'd share it with someone. I always like to give my self options and possibilities."

"It sure worked out for you this time."

"Yes, it did. I can't tell you how relieved I was when Sookie agreed to visit me here, and then when she decided to move in, it was a dream come true. This is all like a dream."

"That's what Freya wanted, right? To make your dreams come true?"

"That appears to have been the intent, yes. I need to find a way to thank Her, but I haven't come up with anything that adequately expresses the depth of my gratitude to Her."

"What does She like?"

"Well, She did go to some extraordinary lengths for Brisingamen – Her magickal necklace of rubies and amber."

"Maybe something made of rubies, then?"

"Perhaps. Jewelry seems so… I don't know, it doesn't seem enough, but I wanted to present it to Her at Alex's Wiccaning, if She attends…"

"I'd bet money on Her being there, Eric. She'll want to see the results of Her magick."

"That is my hope. I need to make a decision and move on this – it will be here before we know it."

"You'll come up with the perfect solution, Eric, so just do your best and trust it will be right."

"That's all I can do, really. So you will be here early tomorrow when the maids begin, yes?"

"Yes – don't worry. Nobody will know you're there…"

"Knock, Knock!" Sookie called from the stairs.

"Yes, my angel?"

"Is it safe for us to come down there?"

"Yes, it is."

"Is there a table or something down here we can put this stuff on until the room is ready to use? This seems like the logical place to unpack it all." Sookie asked as Amelia, Bobbie and Octavia carried packages behind her.

"Yes, there's a folding table in the other room…"

"In the corner, right?" Bjorn said, starting in there.

"Yes, thank you, Bjorn."

Sookie reached up and kissed Eric, "Thanks, Sweetie! I can't wait to see what all they got me!"

"Do you mind if we stay and see, too?"

"Of course you can stay!"

"Where is Alex?" Eric asked as Bjorn brought a long folding table in and set it up along the wall opposite from Sookie's room.

"Alicia and Margaret are watching him for a few minutes. He was chowing down on more salmon when we left," Sookie laughed. "He likes that stuff as much as I do!"

All the women were chatting as they piled bags on the table and started unpacking them. There were candles, herbs, gravel-y looking stuff in little plastic baggies, little bottles of oil and stuff Sookie didn't know the names of – bowls and what she thought were incense burners and a tiny little cauldron, a weird little broom, some kind of knife in a sheath and a fan…? Yep, it was a pretty black fan with pink roses and black lace!

"Hey, what's the fan for?"

"That's one of my techniques." Octavia told her, "Some people use feathers or bird wings, and wands made out of wood, but I use a fan for all that because nobody is going to think it's all that weird if a lady in the South has a fan in her purse. It's a way to have a multi-purpose tool with you all the time. In a pinch, it can even substitute for an athame."

"So I use it to do magick? That's so cool! I love pretty fans like this!" Sookie opened and closed the fan with pink roses and black lace, showing she could do it one-handed.

"That's very Scarlett O'Hara," Bobbie laughed, and the others did, too. Sookie opened the fan and held it in front of her face, batting her eyelashes at Eric in an overtly flirtatious way and she instantly felt his desire flood the bond. This fan was already useful, she laughed to herself. She knew Eric loved the Southern Belle image it represented.

"OK, back-up – what's an athame?" Sookie remembered hearing the word but forgot what it meant.

"It's a black handled knife or dagger used for ritual purposes. Let's see," Octavia looked over all the stuff on the table and picked up the sheathed knife, "this is the one I got for you." She pulled the curved blade out of the cover.

Sookie nearly fainted. "Oh, my Goddess! That's the knife from last night!"

"Last night?!" Bobbie exclaimed, "did the invocation work?! I told them you said it before you went to sleep!"

"UH…" Sookie panicked. She wasn't supposed to tell them about the other baby yet…

"Go ahead and tell them, Sookie," Eric said, "They'll need to know so they can help you. Ladies, what Sookie is about to tell you is extremely confidential. It doesn't leave this room, agreed?"

Bobbie and Amelia quickly agreed, realizing this was something serious.

"Alright, Girl," Octavia said, "take a deep breath and tell them your problem."

"The magick that created Alex was intended to create twins. There's another baby trapped in the world of Faery."

Everyone was in shock. "What?" "Oh my Goddess!"

"Right, and I'm determined that I'm going to bring him home somehow. That's why I'm learning magick. And last night, I said the invocation Bobbie told you all about and Freyja taught me how to visit him. I breastfed him for 33 minutes last night."

Bobbie and Amelia were dumbfounded.

Octavia was impressed. "She tell you if or when you could do it again?"

"She said, "once in three, but no more," which I figure means three days, so I'm going to try it again Sunday night at midnight."

"Alright, so we got a lot of work to do tomorrow for you to be ready."

"Good - like what?" Sookie couldn't imagine where to begin.

"I gotta teach you how to cast a circle and consecrate these tools, particularly that athame if it's the one you were usin' in your visit with Freya."

"I made notes about a ritual in that book I'm reading that I wanted to try. It's called a Self-Blessing Ritual."

"Where you start at your head and work down to your feet?"

"Right."

"That's a good place for you to start. That's as close to an initiation as you'll ever need. We can add on the consecration part to that, too, if you want. Unless you want to be formal about it and call the Watch Towers."

"I'd rather keep it simple to start."

"OK, that's fine. Most of this stuff is just filler for you, anyway. You're already so plugged in it's not even funny. Teaching you ritual is just a formality so you know what's happening if you end up having to work with someone else. Eric, you got a big magnet around here anywhere?"

"Yes, there's one in the tool box. I'll get it." Eric went into the other room into a closet under the stairs and came out with a big, flat, square magnet with a hole in the middle and a piece of cord tied through the center around the edge.

"What do you have that for, Eric?"

"Picking up nails, mostly."

"OK, Sookie, take this athame, and stroke the blade over this magnet, toward you, and do it until it's got a good magnetic charge to it."

"OK…" Sookie took the knife and began to slowly pull it across the magnet.

"That's good, now visualize the power from you and from the magnet charging up the blade of that knife so it's full of life and just ready for you to give it direction. Really focus on it."

The others were chatting a little, Sookie focused her intention on the blade and for a minute, everything else melted away. Her breathing began to synchronize with the stroking of the blade and she imagined she could see a glow around it – it was faint at first, but it grew stronger, and brighter, taking on a yellow tone like bright sunshine. Finally, sparks began to fall from the blade, each spark exploding into a flash of light as it fell and hit something.

"Sookie…. Sookie. Sookie, can you hear me?" Eric was talking to her but he sounded as if he was in a tunnel. She shook her head and blinked, and realized that the others were all watching her with their mouths open.

"What?" She blinked, confused.

"You were making sparks again, darlin'" Bobbie told her, half laughing and half … scared or impressed or something she couldn't even put a label on.

"That's becoming a habit with you," Octavia laughed. She was only beginning to understand what a privilege it was to be Sookie's teacher. She didn't know yet that the gods were smiling on her, too.

"Damn, girl, what are you going to be like when you're trained and in a circle?" Amelia was excited to see what all Sookie would be able to do.

"But how can I already be making sparks? Shouldn't this take practice?"

"Apparently, all it needs is for you to try it. Looks like my job is just to teach you what to try and when." Octavia said. "And even that might be a formality. I think if you really needed something to happen, something in you would work it out."

"OK. So I'm learning what is possible…?"

"Yes – what's possible for you is a lot more than is possible for anyone else, but you grew up thinking you had human limitations. You don't. You might be able to defy gravity if you didn't expect not to."

"You think I could levitate?"

"Yep, and I want you to try it first thing tomorrow when your room is set up."

"Wow – do you think I might be able to fly some day?"

"Do you want to?" Octavia was surprised if she did.

"Yeah – Eric and Alex both can, and it would be nice if I could fly with them."

"We'd like that, too, my angel." Eric smiled at her and Bjorn nodded to him, letting him know he thought Eric was right – she'd be able to fly soon. Nothing Sookie did would surprise Bjorn at this point. If she was already walking between the worlds, and with so little effort, she was powerful, period. "Speaking of flying, I'd like to take Alex for a flight while you ladies are doing this. Bjorn, will you let the guards know so they don't shoot at us, please?" Eric laughed but he was quite serious.

"Yes, your majesty, right away."

"You're taking him out?" Sookie was surprised. "Just be careful – he's just a baby and we don't know how much is too much."

"I'll mostly keep him here over the property, Sweetheart, and I'll monitor the bond very carefully. I won't let him go fast, this time, we'll just go up so he can feel what being in the sky is like."

"OK…" Sookie wasn't sure about this, but she trusted Eric so she took a deep breath and went back to asking questions about all her new stuff.

Eric smiled and he and Bjorn went upstairs, knowing Sookie had many questions and she might feel inhibited at first if he and Bjorn were there.

They came up around through the pantry and could both hear Alex talking to Alicia and Margaret. As soon as they walked into the room, Alex was bouncing up in his highchair, calling him. "DADEE! DADEE! FYEEN!"

"Flying? Would you like to go flying, my boy?"

"OMBA!"

Margaret and Alicia looked at each other but didn't say anything and Eric and Bjorn were both so focused on the baby that it didn't occur to them that Margaret and Alicia hadn't really been briefed on Eric's, let alone Alex's, ability to fly. They had talked many times recently about the fact that they thought there was still a lot they didn't know about the Northmans' capabilities, so they had agreed to just take it in stride and roll with the changes. They both found the whole thing so fascinating, that they considered each new revelation as a treat.

Bjorn pulled out his cell phone and used the push-to-talk function to warn the other guards that Eric was going "X99-2" which was their code for flying with the baby. X99 was the code for Eric flying by himself.

"Alright, my boy, let's go for your first real flight!" Eric pulled Alex up out of his high chair and Alex was about to burst, he was so excited.

"EE-AH, Dadee!" He was almost squealing as Eric took him out the back door near the pool.

"Ready to go?"

"Do, do!"

"OK, go, Alex!" Alex flew out of his arms, giggling and flying around the pool. Eric took to the air and followed him, getting right next to him. "Alright, Alex, let's go higher," and pointed upward with his thumb, moving higher himself as Alex looked up and followed him, his eyes wide as they flew out over the yard.

After they made two circles, Eric said, "Higher, Alex!" and moved upward, the baby following him effortlessly, thrilled that they were so high off the ground. Bjorn had followed them out back, and he was sitting on a lounge chair watching them, while Margaret and Alicia stood just outside the door, amazed. They could hear Alex giggling, and Bjorn was getting a kick out of how much Alex was loving this. They made a couple of circles then Alex said, "'Eye-er, Dadee!" and flew quite a bit higher than they had been. Eric calmly moved up to match Alex, smiling to himself at how cute it was to see a baby in a t-shirt and diaper gliding through the air as if it was the most natural thing in the world. They made a few more circles, then Alex suddenly flew down and landed in the pool.

Bjorn jumped up, worried at first, until he realized Alex was swimming and giggling. Eric went into the pool in his clothes, grateful he had been barefoot when he came outside. A couple of guards had started running toward the pool, but Bjorn waved to them that it was OK. He was glad to see they were paying attention, though.

"Wada, Dadee!"

"Yes, now we are in the water, my son." Eric was cracking up and so was Bjorn. Eric scooped Alex up out of the water and kissed him, "You know you made Daddy get his clothes wet?"

Alex cracked up, "Dadee ina wada!"

Eric was cracking up, too, knowing Alex thought it was funny he came into the pool in his clothes. "You want to swim more?"

"Sthim?"

"Swim, Alex," Eric put him back in the water. "Good Alex – you're swimming!"

Alex was paddling his little arms and legs, yelling, "ahm sthimmeen, Dadee!"

Eric knew Alex was having fun, but he was getting tired, too, so he scooped him up again and said, "that's enough for tonight. Let's get dried off and go see Mommy, alright?" He kissed him again as he walked out of the pool with him.

"Oday, Mamee," he said as he wrapped his arms around Eric's neck. He was very tired so he was fine with stopping now, and he liked being held by his Daddy. Bjorn patted him on the back and said, "Good job, Alex!" and he loved that. Eric took them back in the house and said, "we'll be back" then zipped through the living room and flew them upstairs. "We're all wet, Alex! I've got to get us dried off." He took the baby into his bathroom and sat him in the tub. "Baf, Dadee!"

"Well, I wasn't planning to take a bath, but it's not a bad idea. I wonder if Mommy is done downstairs?" Eric was considering the possibility as he took off his wet clothes and threw them in the shower floor.

"Ware di Mamee do?"

"Mommy is downstairs with Octavia, Amelia and Bobbie," he told him as he pulled the little t-shirt and wet diaper off of him and threw them in the shower, too.

"Witches," Alex said clearly, smiling up at Eric as he lay on his back in the tub.

"What did you say, Alex?" Eric couldn't believe what he was hearing – had they ever used that term in front of him?"

"Babee, Ayvbe, Me-ah, Mamee, Witches."

"Alex, where did you hear that word?"

"Freyja Mamee Witch."

"Freyja told you that Mommy was a Witch?"

"Ee-ah!"

Eric was frozen for a minute. What did he want to do next? He and the baby were naked – should he dress them or call Sookie for a bath? He wanted to question Alex about Freyja, but Alex didn't know words about time like "when?" Why couldn't he figure out what to do?

"Eric?" Sookie came in the bedroom door.

"Sookie – I'm in here."

She reached the bathroom door. "What's going on? I had the weirdest feeling in the bond."

"Alex…"

"Ah, Mamee!"

"Hi, Sweetie! What are you doing in the tub?"

"Baf!"

"Did you want us to take a bath, Eric?"

"I considered it…"

"Eric, what is wrong with you?"

"Alex just told me that Freyja told him you are a Witch."

"Ee-ah!" Alex giggled.

"Alex, you've seen Freyja?" Sookie asked him with a big smile on her face. She knew Eric was freaking out just a little so she wanted to make sure Alex didn't focus on that too much.

"Omba!"

"Alex, where is Freyja?" Eric asked him.

Alex pointed at Sookie. "Mamee Freyja."

"You've seen Her when you are with Mommy?"

"Nah, MAMEE Freyja," he tugged on his little ear like it was no big deal.

"Mommy IS Freyja?" Eric asked

"Ee-ah!"

"Alex, do you ever see Freyja when I'm not here?" Sookie asked him.

"Omba, Freyja!"

"When do you see Her, Alex?" Sookie asked him.

"Ahm seepeen."

"You see Freyja when you are sleeping?"

"Omba! Ware di Witches do?"

Now Sookie was shocked. "Hey, where did you learn that word?"

"Freyja!" Eric and Sookie got the distinct impression that Alex was thinking they were dumb or something like that – that they should already know this stuff.

"Did you feel that?" Sookie asked Eric

"Yes, I did. He knows so he expects us to know."

"Sookie, everything alright?" Bobbie wondered because Sookie told them she felt something weird in the bond before she came upstairs.

"Yeah, just a minute, Bobbie. Eric, do you want to take a bath now?"

"If you do, then yes, I'd like some family time."

Sookie stepped out to the bedroom and told Bobbie that they were going to take a bath and go to bed. Bobbie told them to have a good time and left her with a wink and a sly smile, dropping Alex's new books off in the nursery before she went back down stairs.

Sookie went back into the bathroom and started to take her clothes off. "So I guess we've been expecting this, right?"

"Yes, I guess we have. It just took me by surprise when he called you all Witches. He says it so clearly – more clearly than he says anything else." Eric didn't know why it bothered him so much, but it did. "He even pronounces Freyja with a Swedish accent!"

"Yeah, it does sound like he's very familiar with the words, doesn't it?" Sookie laughed.

"Yes, it does," Eric said as he picked Alex up so he could start running the bath.

"Wada, Dadee, wada!"

Eric laughed and his mood lightened. "Tell Mommy what we did tonight, Alex."

"Mamee, Dadee an Awesth fyeen an sthimmeen."

"OK, I got flying and then…"

"Swimming. He landed in the pool and scared everyone half to death, but he just wanted to swim," Eric laughed. "That's why we came upstairs – he and I were both soaked. I went in with my clothes on, afraid he was in danger, but then we laughed about it, didn't we Alex?"

"OMBA!"

"Did you have fun flying with Daddy, Pookie?"

"OMba – fyeen eye-er an eye-er!" he told her with big eyes, pointing upward.

"Higher and higher?" Sookie wasn't crazy about the sound of that.

"Yes, we went well above the house and did several trips around the back yard. I was about to suggest that we rest when he dived into the pool," Eric laughed.

"He just suddenly decided to swim?" She said as Eric helped her into the bath then handed Alex to her.

"Yes, but I think he was tired, too." Eric said as he stepped in behind her. "As I said, I was getting ready to suggest that we stop when he went into the water. I could tell he was tiring."

Sookie moved back between Eric's legs and turned to the side so she and Alex could both snuggle up to his chest. "Mmmm – now all is right with the world," Eric laughed as he wrapped his arms around them both.

"You were a little freaked out before, huh?" Sookie thought they should talk about this again to help with Eric's comfort level, so she approached it gently as she played with Alex's little hand while he snuggled against Eric.

"Yes, a little."

"You're OK with me doing magick, right?" She looked up at him, trying to project calm and comfort to him.

"Yes, of course, Sookie. It's what you are meant to do."

"What about Alex?"

"Yes, I am trying to come to grips with that."

"OK, because I think he already knows all about it."

"Yes, I think he probably knows a lot, too."

"You know She's teaching him, right?"

"That would be the logical conclusion since She is talking to him about you and your Witches."

"Witches!" Alex giggled, as if it was his favorite word.

"You like Witches, Pookie?"

"OMba, Mamee. majik!"

Eric immediately tensed up, and Sookie looked up at him. "Hey, no tensing up, now. You want me to rub your shoulders?"

"No, just snuggle a while longer then we'll wash everybody's hair. He's going to be hungry, and then sleepy, very soon."

"Yep, I can feel it coming, too," Sookie laughed, "Alex is about to get hungry and sleepy," she looked the baby in the eyes and teased him.

"Dadee wath ma ayr?" Alex looked up at Eric and rubbed his hair with his little hands, which made Eric melt and forget about anything except how cute his baby boy was.

"You want Daddy to wash your hair, my son?"

"Ee-ah!"

"Aww!" Sookie thought that was so sweet. She could tell that Alex considered that Daddy's job if he was around, and she thought it was precious. Eric turned on the handheld and Sookie held Alex so Eric could wash and rinse his hair. As soon as he was done, Alex told him "wath Mamee ayr" so he did while Alex watched, sitting on Sookie's knees. "Mamee, wath Dadee ayr."

"That's so cute, Eric he sort of knows the drill already," Sookie said as she moved behind Eric to do his hair.

"Yes, he is very smart, this son of ours," Eric looked at Alex with love and curiosity. How much did he know? How much was possible for him at this point? He looked in Alex's eyes and sometimes there was a hint of something so old and powerful, even Eric was a little intimidated by it.

Sookie could tell that Eric was looking at Alex very closely and he wasn't saying anything. "He's beautiful, isn't he?"

"Yes, he is. He is the most perfect thing I have ever seen, Sookie. Sometimes I look at him and I cannot believe that this is my son, this beautiful, smart baby that isn't like anyone else on this Earth."

Sookie knew what Eric wasn't saying, too, but she would think about that later.

Once they were all soaped and washed, Eric made it rain over them and Alex made his "haaaa!" sound as he held his hands up to feel the water better. Eric got a big towel and wrapped Alex in it, holding Sookie's hand to steady her as she stepped out of the tub. Sookie combed out Eric's hair then he took the baby into the nursery for a fresh diaper while she combed her hair, wrapped herself in a towel and turned the bed down. Eric came back with the baby who, just as they expected, said "ee, Mamee," as soon as he saw Sookie.

"Eric, can you get the nursing pillow for me?" Sookie asked as she took Alex from him.

"Of course – where is it?"

"I don't see it in here, so I guess it's in the nursery."

Eric came back with the big pink pillow, noticing for the first time that it was embroidered with Sookie's name. "My angel, I never noticed you had this personalized."

"Yeah, it looked so comfy I figured I'd want to use it even after I wasn't feeding Alex anymore, so I splurged," she laughed as Eric helped her get settled with the pillow and the baby. Alex was happy when he finally got to feed, and he grabbed Sookie's thumb in his little hand, which she noticed was becoming a habit with him. Eric sat on the bed beside them, wrapping his arm around Sookie's shoulders. He always wanted to be as close to them as possible when Sookie was feeding Alex. There was something about it that made him feel warm and comfortable in a way nothing else did.

"I haven't had a chance to tell you about Alex's reaction when he saw my swords upstairs, my angel."

"Uh-oh – what did he do?"

"He flew straight toward them, very excited, yelling 'vig,' but he didn't touch them. I told him they were swords for fighting and he told Bjorn and then later Bobbie about them. He was beside himself when I went through a routine with my tachi. Bjorn was holding him and said the look on his face was priceless, and he was waving his little arms as he does when he is excited."

Alex pulled away for a second, looking at Sookie, saying "sthords por FIDEEN!" then eagerly going back to feed.

Sookie laughed in spite of herself. "You're such a little Viking, just like your Daddy!" she said to him, and his eyes sparkled because Mommy compared him to Daddy.

"I never expected to have such love or pride for another being as I do Alex," Eric said, getting a little misty as he caressed Alex in his Mommy's arms. "He could not be more perfect in my eyes. I am so proud of him when he shows off for others as he did your brother and his friends earlier. They were quite taken with him, I believe."

"Yeah, Jason was really impressed with him. I was so happy they finally got to see each other. I know Jason will be in touch more now so he can see Alex. He's probably at Merlotte's right now, showing everybody those pictures and bragging on how cute and smart he is," Sookie imagined, and she was right.

Jason, Hoyt and Catfish had gone straight from their house to Merlotte's and Jason showed the pictures to everyone who would look at them. Sam looked heartbroken as he bragged about how smart and cute he was and how Eric was expanding his property to see to his safety. Hoyt and Catfish backed Jason up when Arlene called Alex "the spawn of Satan" and Hoyt told her she ought to try reading her bible sometimes instead of always thumping on it. Jason suggested she try shoving it up her ass – he wasn't going to tolerate any negative remarks about his nephew, period. One of the girls in the bar that had driven down from Arkansas was so impressed with the way Jason was bragging about his nephew that she wound up going home with him.

Alex was dozing off when Sookie tucked him into the co-sleeper, and she and Eric slid down in the bed and rolled into each other's arms.

"Wow, we're in bed early again," Sookie said as she yawned.

"Yes, but this is what we talked about yesterday. You are tired, so let yourself drift off and I will come back after I work."

"You wouldn't consider the gently-while-I-go-to-sleep method, would you?"

"We haven't done that in a while – if you promise to let yourself drift off, I will and then I'll try to wake you later."

"Oh, goodie!" Sookie said as she turned her back to him.

Eric took her twice, as amazed as ever that she enjoyed this, but pleased to know that having him near, and feeling him inside her made her feel comfortable and safe.

Eric went to his office to check his messages, and found that Sandy had news about the residence in Las Vegas, so he called her right back.

"Your majesty?"

"Yes, Sandy – you have news?"

"Yes, your majesty, we've had a very generous offer if we can move very quickly. A wealthy gentleman from Dubai will take it off our hands for 137 Million if we can close on it this week."

"Do I need to come to Las Vegas?"

"No, I believe we can put the paperwork through and messenger it through Anubis for your signature if the price is acceptable to you."

"Take it and get the papers to me as soon as possible. The artwork and the furniture Sookie tagged has been moved to New Orleans, has it not?"

"Yes, your highness and we can move the offices into a suite in the Bellagio until the commercial suite is available. We can move into it on August first if we want to."

"Alright, then, move in that direction as quickly as you can. Don't let this one get away."

"Yes, your majesty, you can expect the papers no later than Wednesday."

"Wonderful. Keep me informed. Good night, Sandy."

"Good night, Sire."

That was very good news. Eric would have that albatross off his back and off the kingdom's books, plus the income from the sale of it. That meant Las Vegas would be back in the black by December first at the latest. He called Bill immediately in case he hadn't heard the good news.

"Eric?"

"Yes, Bill – have you heard from Sandy?"

"No – did she get an offer on the residence, I hope? I know there had been some interest."

"Yes, she did – 137 million, and they want to close on it this week."

"That's some offer – from whom?"

"All she told me is that he is a wealthy gentleman from Dubai. I don't care if he's from Mars, frankly, that's a fair offer and I'll be happy to be rid of it."

"Yes, that will put Las Vegas in good order before the end of the year. What will Sandy do for offices?"

"They're going to take a suite at the Bellagio until the commercial suite becomes available on August first. I told her to move on it quickly. I am very anxious to have it off our hands as soon as possible."

"Yes, so am I. I was looking at the books for both offices and that was one of our major problems. It was draining our resources there."

"It wasn't doing the New Orleans office any good, either. Felipe had redirected funds to the maintenance of it that should have gone to the reconstruction. Between that and Victor's theft, there was next to nothing going where it was most needed."

"Well, I've got good news on that front. Of the 7 properties with the greatest damage, 3 are well underway, and the first will be complete at the end of this coming week. They're already advertising for staff to re-open it."

"Excellent."

"Yes, and we expect at least one more complete and two others begun by the first of August. Your goal of being operational again by the New Year is beginning to look possible."

"I was hoping that would be the case. So you found three contractors to work for us?"

"Actually, if you'll agree to it, I found two and I'd like for us to purchase the third one. They're fast and they're good, but their owner has some personal problems that might make him amenable to selling his interest and staying on as manager."

"It would be convenient to have a contractor we can call on when needed. Make him and offer and see if you can work it out."

"Thank you. How is the construction at your place coming?"

"Very well. It happened that the men hired to work this weekend are Sookie's brother and two of his friends and they're very good. They made a good deal of progress and Sookie was beside herself that Stackhouse finally got to meet Alex."

"How did he seem with the baby?"

"He was very complimentary. I think he genuinely cared about him and the others seemed pleased with him as well."

"Good, I'm glad to hear it. Of course, he's so cute, it's impossible not to love him."

Eric laughed out loud at that. "Yes, I quite agree. Anything else going on there I should know about?"

"I spoke to Ms. Antoine-de Broux at your house on Prytania St. earlier this evening. They delivered the furniture from Las Vegas tonight, so I thought I'd see how things were going and make sure nothing was damaged. Things are moving along there very nicely."

"Already?"

"Yes, she's already had all the rooms painted, stored some of the furniture, and the bathroom in your bedroom has been gutted and new fixtures will be put in this week. Some of the furniture for the nursery arrived as well, but they won't open that until the construction is complete and they have the place cleaned up. She's taking great care to keep the velvet furniture covered so it doesn't get dusty. She took a minute and showed me some of the plans. I think Sookie will be thrilled when she sees it."

"Good, I'm glad to hear it. We'll be there a lot and I want her to feel at home."

"She'll love it. Everything here is going very well. I did get a call from Area 3 – Marcel DuPont let me know that he seized all of Sabrina's assets and he's dividing it up amongst the people she charged double tribute. There should be enough to cover what she owed them and then the rest will go into the kingdom's treasury."

"Good. Are we still getting a lot of requests for audiences?"

"Yes, you'll need to make some trips through the territories in August. We can't put people off much longer than that."

"Alright, arrange a small tour for us with stops in each area between August 3 through the 8th. We'll be heading back to New Orleans on the 10th and we'll stay a while, then come back here. The first week in September we'll move into the Villa at the Bellagio and I'll hold audiences for that territory then and get some work done. You might need to be there for part of that week."

"I'll put that on my calendar."

"Good. Anything else I need to know about?"

"No, things are quiet except for the construction. Have you heard from Carolina?"

"No, but I'm confident things are moving on that front. Are you still interviewing soldiers?"

"Yes, I am. We've got some good new people starting in August, including some Weres who are former military and we're bringing in some fliers from overseas."

"Everything on schedule with our little resort?" That was the code Eric and Bill had agreed on for the new training camps.

"Yes, everything is on schedule. We'll be ready when we need to, I hope."

"Alright, then I'll say good night."

"Good night, Eric."

This would be the first time that a vampire territory had a standing army, but given the type of organized opposition that might be forming against them, Eric knew they had better be ready. He had a mound of paperwork to get through, and it took a lot longer than he anticipated. He knew Sookie would be disappointed if he didn't wake her, but he'd rather get this done so they could have uninterrupted time the next night. He was even considering taking Sookie to Fangtasia for a bit, though he had planned to let her rest quite a bit longer before they did anything strenuous. Still, a little change of scenery might be nice, and it might take her mind off of things for a bit. It didn't have to be a huge deal this time around. Just a little roll around the big round bed… with bondage and a blindfold, of course, he laughed to himself.

He didn't have the monitor with him, but he could feel Alex was awake so he went back into the bedroom and found him sucking his thumb, waiting for him. He grabbed an RM from the fridge and brought him out, closing the door behind them, then took Alex into the nursery for some quiet time. He saw the new stack of books and picked up one called **My Big Animal Book **that seemed to bemade just like **First 100 Words**. Since Alex remembered "yellow" that day, he wanted to see if he could teach him any other colors. He was looking at the board book when he turned to the third page and Alex said "PISH!"

"Yes, those are fish – many different colored fish."

"Ewwo, Dadee!"

"Yes, that is a big yellow fish. What color is this fish?" He pointed at a red one to the far right of the picture. Alex didn't say anything but he pointed to a square on the opposite page with a Dalmatian in it. "Very good, Alex – that color is red."

"Wed?"

"Yes, red. Is there any more red on these pages?"

"Ah!" he pointed at a red square with a chinchilla in it.

"Alex say, 'there!' There's red. Or 'this one is red.'"

"Diz wondisth wed."

"Very good! Let's find some more red, OK?"

"Oday," Alex was very interested in the pictures and you could just tell he loved looking at the book. Eric could feel Alex's interest and a strong sense of comfort and happiness. He smiled to himself that Alex liked their quiet time as much as Eric did. He turned the next page and Alex pointed to a square with a duck in it and said, "Mamee."

Eric laughed, "Yes, that is Mommy's favorite color, pink."

"Peek! Dere'sth wed!" he pointed to a red square with a goat in it.

"Very good! Now what color is this, Alex?" He pointed to a blue square and Alex looked at him, then said "Wat dolor iz disth?"

"It's blue. Can you say "blue?""

"Boo!"

"Very good, now let's find more squares. What color is this?" Eric started pointing to different squares so Alex could answer.

"Ewwo. Boo. Ewwo. Boo. Peek. Wed. Wat dolor iz disth, Dadee?" Alex pointed to a picture of an owl in a purple square.

"That is purple. Say 'purple.'"

"Puppo!" Alex repeated cheerfully, very impressed with himself. "Wat dolor iz disth, Dadee?" He pointed to a green square showing a kookaburra.

"That is green."

"Dween."

"Good Alex! Let's try some more." Eric turned the page and went through most of the squares, with Alex naming every color correctly. "Excellent!"

"Ee, Dadee?"

"OK, let's just warm this up." Eric popped the bottle into the warmer for just a minute then checked the temperature, talking to Alex the whole time. "Would you like to hear a story, my son?"

"Ee-ah!"

"Alright then, when I was 12, there was a bear - see the big bear on the back of the book? Well this big bear was eating our animals at night and my father and the other men were away at sea, so it was up to me to stop the bear." Alex was sucking hard on the bottle watching Eric with big eyes, understanding even more than Eric thought he might, "I was already very tall, but I was skinny and young and I had only been on a hunt with many other men and boys. One night, I waited for him, hiding out by the fields where the animals passed the night. I was a fool – I could have been killed, but I was determined to stop that bear. My mother and my brothers and sisters depended on those animals to live and to trade for things that we needed. I should have dug a pit, but I was too lazy to do that. I thought I could stop him with a spear, a knife and one of my father's swords…"

"Excuse me, Eric?"

"Yes, Bjorn?"

"There's some suspicious movement out around the perimeter of the property. Everyone is on alert – I thought you should know."

"Alright – I'll be right down. What time is it?"

"Almost 5 am."

"The sun rises at 5:20 this morning. Is it cloudy, by any chance?"

"Yes, it is – are you going to try to stay up?"

"I'm going to see what's going on first. Let me put Alex back with his mother." Eric slipped silently back into the bedroom, telling the baby, "shhh – don't wake Mommy. Go to sleep." He slipped back out to the hallway. "Is Kerik on tonight?"

"Yes, he is, he'll be here any minute now."

"Alright, let's assess the situation then I'll probably want you in the room with Sookie and Alex, just in case."

The two of them went downstairs and consulted with the vampire guards who were going off duty. Some of the Were guards were scheduled in an overlapping shift so they had been briefed as to what was going on. Kerik pulled up to the back lot just as the vamps were leaving and they told him there was a problem so he hurried into the house just as Eric and Bjorn got to the kitchen where they were all meeting.

"Are the surveillance cameras working yet?" Eric asked.

"Yes, they went up earlier in the week. Christiansen is watching the monitors in the old servants' quarters now and he's keeping us updated," Bjorn explained. "Jansen, Lane and Roosevelt are at the back of the property now, seeing what's going on. Everybody else is at their post – the whole property is covered."

"Alright, check with Christiansen and see if there's any update." Eric said, then he turned to Kerik. "You'll need to take charge today, because I'll want Bjorn with Sookie and Alex. Have you been briefed yet?"

"Yes, suspicious activity at the back of the property, strange cars down the side of the property for two hours last night. We'll stay on alert all day. Nobody will get past us."

"Alright, I'm going to stay up as long as I can. It may be cloudy enough that I won't have to rest, but if not, I need to know that you are all prepared for anything."

Bjorn came back into the kitchen from outside. "They're pretty sure it was just some kids messing around out back, but we'll stay focused. There's no one out there now, and we know the people who are going to be working today. You don't need to worry, Eric, they'll be safe."

"Are you positive?"

"Yes, I am. I looked at the screens myself, and there's nothing visible. We've got three men out in those woods and they've found nothing. We have extra guards on today because of the construction. Jansen called and they found scents from three young males, but too young to be soldiers and there was grease on the ground and beer cans thrown around."

"What about the cars at the side of the property?"

"We're not positive but they believe they were visiting one of your neighbors and just parked there because it was out of the way."

"That's not enough – did they run the plates?"

"Yes, they were registered to an elderly lady from Monroe, and that's consistent with the two women who were seen near the car."

"Alright – Kerik, take your post and stay on top of things." Eric waited until he went out front. "I'm going to rest, but I'm taking my cell with me - wake me if anything bad happens. In the mean time, get up there with Alex and Sookie and stick close to them today, alright?"

"Absolutely. They'll be safe."

Eric went to rest reluctantly, worried about his family. He would not take them away from the property tonight – he wouldn't want them unguarded for a second until he was sure they were safe. He went to sleep praying to Freyja to watch over them.


	80. Chapter 80

**[Author's Note: I'm aware that certain things, like Freya/Freyja are spelled differently at different places. That's deliberate. When you see Freyja, hear a Swedish accent, even if the speaker doesn't know they're speaking in Swedish. If you see Freya, it's pronounced the way we would say it.**

**Chapter 80**

Sookie actually woke up before Alex, having a sense of purpose in what she needed to do today. Alex seemed to be sleeping quietly, so she tried to slip out of bed without any noise to check her tote bag, which someone had put on the chair by the table. Just as she hoped, her book was in it. She took it and slowly crawled back into bed, hoping to get some reading done before Alex woke up.

It didn't occur to her until later, but she was reading really fast this morning and she got through the sections on the seasonal celebrations, various rituals and she was in the middle of a section on Tarot before Alex stirred. Sookie was particularly pleased with the section that talked about mothers and sons in the matriarchal tradition. Eric was from a post-patriarchal society and she could see how that and being a Supe shaped his attitudes toward Alex, but she hoped she could balance that out and maintain a close relationship with him even after he reached puberty. The book said matriarchal society is based on the relationship between mothers and sons and Sookie loved that idea. As she picked Alex up to feed him she thought about the fact that Alex was a natural Witch and she hoped that would always give them a special connection to each other. If he already knew Freyja and what Witches were, she knew this would be very important in his life. She was determined to learn enough to be able to guide him to use his gifts for the good.

"Dood, Mamee," Alex said, then went back to feeding.

"Are you reading Mommy's mind, Pookie?" She smiled at him.

Alex giggled against her and his eyes twinkled as she gently stroked his cheek.

"You know Mommy loves you a lot, and wants to you grow up to be strong and help people, right? You can be tough and be strong and a warrior and still do good for people." Sookie grimaced a little and wiggled a little trying to get comfortable but she needed the big pink nursing pillow… and there it was.

"Alex, did you call this pillow for me?"

More twinkling in those wise blue eyes.

"Thanks, but you know, I could have done that."

Amusement. He was laughing at her again. She was absolutely sure that some part of him was thinking "yeah, you _could_ do it but you wouldn't have…" She thought about that a minute. He was right. She had the ability to do it, but it wouldn't occur to her because it was new. To Alex, it's just the logical thing to do – he doesn't have to think about it, he just does it. He doesn't understand that there are times not to do it. Then again, Sookie hadn't really grasped the fact that there were plenty of times when there was no reason not to.

This was a perfect example. Her back was hurting trying to get comfy with Alex, and it DID make sense at that moment to call this pillow rather than be uncomfortable.

She realized this was a mental shift she had to make so that she could show Alex when to use his gift and when not to. If she never used it, he wouldn't take her seriously. For the first time, she understood that she had a responsibility to use her gifts frequently and well so that Alex would learn how to make those decisions from her example.

"OMba, Mamee!" Alex said as he moved to the other breast.

"Ahhhha-ooooh!" Sookie let out a big yawn. She could stand to sleep a little more, but she wanted to get on with the magick today. The room wouldn't be ready this early, though – she didn't think they'd start working on it until 8 or 9 o'clock and it was only 11:30 now. She figured scrubbing it would take a few hours, then Leroy would paint it. The acrylic paint would dry quickly, especially with the fans going and the basement windows open all around. It was a small room and she heard Leroy tell Eric he didn't expect it to take long with the equipment he was using. She hadn't heard exactly what new gizmo he was going to use, but it was supposed to make fast work of this kind of room. The walls were perfectly flat and there weren't any nooks or crannies, and just the one little window up top.

She noticed for the first time that her bedroom door was closed, which was unusual. And where was Bjorn?

At 8 am, Carrie and her cousin Lena, a plump, but very pretty Creole girl, took buckets, mops and sponges down to the basement and Bjorn showed them which room to work in. He read the written instructions Octavia had left for them, and gave them the soap and vinegar she left for them to use. They were weird instructions, but Carrie had told Lena ahead of time to just do as they asked and do it well and Mr. Northman would pay them a lot of money for the work.

Lena didn't get a good look at the stuff piled on the folding table as they came into the back of the basement, but she recognized enough to know there was some kind of magick gonna happen here. Her grandma had been a local Mambo for a group made up mostly of sisters, aunts and cousins, so she knew that bottle of anisette and new broom meant a practitioner was moving into this room. She remembered her mama buying a new broom, sprinkling anisette on it and beating the walls with it whenever they moved into a new house or when her Aunt opened that roots and herbs shop. She wondered to herself if some of those packets of herbs out there didn't pass through Aunt Mimee's hands at some point. She probably knew which shop they bought those beeswax candles in, too, because there weren't many places that carried those colors.

There were plenty of places to by 7-day or jar candles and a skull or a black cat candle here or there, but those were hand dipped, pure beeswax in blues, pinks and purples that most people wouldn't need or buy because the beeswax dampened the hues a bit. At least they were positive colors. She heard something about the room being painted pink, which she figured meant a lady was going to use the room. She knew the big vampire that owned this fancy house just got married, so she figured the new Mrs. must be a Witch of some sort. Most practitioners she knew were afraid of vampires and wore a lot of silver to ward them off. Damn near every house in her neighborhood had a string of garlic in the kitchen, too, and not just for their cookin'. It wasn't news to them when the vamps came out of the coffin, but that didn't mean they were anxious to get friendly with them.

Of course, there were people, like Carrie, who weren't squeamish enough to let it stop them from taking their money and vamps had a lot of it. This old vamp did pay well – he was going to give the two of them $200 a piece, in cash, for washing down this room and a big one on the top floor. It would take her two weeks at her other job to walk away with that much cash, free and clear. She'd gladly scrub floors all day long for that kind of money. They were even going to give them lunch and dinner. Carrie told her one time that the cooking alone was reason to keep this job. Margaret always sent her home with leftovers so she hardly even had to buy groceries, and it was good food. She brought home some Étouffée one time that was near as good as Granny Lou's.

The two of them kept their heads down and worked hard, so the room only took two hours to scrub with soap, then they went over it quickly with some vinegar in clean water and put the fans in to dry it. By then it was lunch time, so they went up to the kitchen where Margaret had fried chicken and all the trimmings you could possibly want ready for the crew inside and out. Lena especially didn't mind working here while all this construction was going on because she figured nothing scary would happen with all these extra people around.

Carrie offered to help Margaret serve, but she told her she and Alicia had it under control, so just rest while she could because the fourth floor was big and needed a good scrubbing and dusting. They got to sit in the kitchen and eat, which surprised Lena, and she figured out from the conversation that the real good lookin' white boy was the new Missus' brother. She also figured out for the first time that this was the vampire with the first baby vampire in history. She'd skin Carrie later for not telling her she worked for the vampire king! She didn't know she was _that far_ into vampire territory – Jesus, Mary and Joseph! She wondered if she'd at least get a look at that baby?

She didn't have to wonder long, because the lady of the house walked in wearing a pink top, daisy dukes and carrying the baby on her hip.

"Mrs. Northman!" Margaret and Alicia were surprised to see her.

"Hey, Sookie!" "Mornin' Sookie!" "Hey, Sis!" calls came from the table.

"Hey, y'all! Smells good in here!"

"Mrs. Northman, you've met Carrie, I believe and this is her cousin Lena. They're helping us with the cleaning on the basement and the gym today," Margaret introduced them.

"Hey, Carrie! Nice to meet you, Lena," Sookie gave them a big smile, "thanks so much for helping us out today!"

"No problem, ma'am, we're glad to do it," Carrie knew Sookie was a nice girl – everybody said so - so she didn't scare her a bit.

"What would you like for breakfast, Mrs. Northman?" Alicia asked.

"Actually, if you've got enough, that chicken smells fantastic!"

"Would you like us to make you a tray, or serve you outside?" Margaret offered.

"Have you all got room here for me?"

"Sure, Sookie, it's your house," Jason laughed, teasing her.

"I don't want to be in the way, though."

"You sit right down, Missus, and I'll bring you a plate. Let me get Master Alex's high chair for you." Margaret hurried into the pantry to get the chair.

Lena was amazed. Was the lady of the house actually gonna eat with the help? It sure looked that way. And that was the vampire prince? He looked so normal! He was really white, of course, but he was sucking his little thumb and looking around just like any baby. She watched Sookie put the baby in his high chair and pour some Cheerios Alicia handed her on his tray.

Alex looked around the table as Sookie sat down. He didn't know some of these people, but they were looking at him so he liked that. He pointed to Jason.

"Unah Dastha!"

"Yeah, that's your Uncle Jason!" Sookie was excited that Alex remembered him.

"Hey, little buddy! 'Bout time you woke up!" Jason teased him, and Alex giggled and bounced his leg just from the attention, then he picked up a piece of cereal and held it out to him. "Whatcha got there, Alex?" Jason asked him.

"Dee-os!"

"He's trying to say Cheerios. Alex, look at Mommy – say 'cheer-ee-ohs'"

"Dee-wee-osth."

"That's pretty good!" Sookie told him proudly, and Jason and his friends agreed.

Sookie got busy filling her plate from the bowls and platters on the tables and tried to include the girls in the conversation. "So, Carrie and Lena, you're working on my room downstairs? How's that coming along?"

"Just fine, ma'am. Our part is finished and Leroy is going to start painting right after lunch," Carrie smiled and answered her.

"Oh, well, thank you so much! I really appreciate your help. And you're working on the gym later?"

"Yes, ma'am if that's the big room on the fourth floor."

"Yep, that's it. It is kind of dusty up there. Thanks for doin' that, too!"

"We don't mind at all," Carrie said. You coulda knocked Lena over with a feather. This girl was so sweet – was she a Witch? And married to a vampire – KING of the vampires?

"Mmm – Margaret – this chicken is out of this world!" Sookie said when she bit into a big, juicy piece with a perfect crust on it.

"Ee, Mamee!" Alex was pointing at the chicken.

"You don't have teeth for this, darlin', but how about some mashed potatoes? You liked those the other night." Margaret was there with a bowl and a spoon before Sookie could even ask for one. She put a big serving of potatoes in it and a few green beans, which she mushed up, and then she gave him a bite and he loved it.

"Ap-po?" Alex said,

"No, Sweetie, that's potatoes."

"Tay-tosth?"

"Yeah, potatoes, and this," she took a spoonful of green bean mush, "is green beans."

"Nah gween, Mamee."

"They're not green?"

"Nah – dere's gween," he pointed at Hoyt's green t-shirt.

"That's right! Good Alex! Did Daddy teach you green?"

"Ee-ah, gween, an," he pointed to Sookie's shirt, "peek, an wed an boo" he pointed to Lena's red top and Jason's blue t-shirt.

"Lord almighty!" Lena let that slip out but she couldn't believe how smart this tiny baby was.

"Good job, Alex!" Sookie was tickled to death and everybody at the table said "atta-boys" at Alex and he clapped his little hands.

"Wow, you two are up early!" Bobbie said as she came into the kitchen. "What did he do now?"

"Watch this – Alex, what color is Bobbie's dress?"

"Boo!" he giggled – he loved Bobbie.

"He learned more colors! Good job, Alex! Here, Sookie, let me feed him while you eat your lunch. Your food is getting cold," Bobbie offered, taking the bowl of potatoes. Alicia pulled a chair around for her and she fed the baby, teasing him and talking to him, making him giggle.

"Bobbie, aren't you going to eat?" Sookie asked

"I'll have a little something in a bit. I'm not usually hungry when I first get up."

"You sure?"

"Absolutely – we're fine, aren't we Alex?"

"Omba! Tatosth!"

"He likes potatoes, Sookie," Bobbie joked.

"Yeah, I got that when he grabbed a handful the other night," Sookie laughed.

"He eats food?" Lena couldn't stand it – she had to ask. Was this kid a vampire or not?''

"Yes, but he takes blood, too," Sookie said with a smile, "and he's got the cutest little fangs."

"Eric can eat tiny amounts of food, though, too," Bobbie pointed out.

"Yeah, that's true," Sookie said.

"Is he really old? I heard that really old vampires could eat some food sometimes," Lena remembered.

"Yes, he's very, very old," Sookie confirmed.

"Folks call it an 'old wives' tale.' My Granny will be happy to know it's true," Lena said, not meaning to be funny, but Sookie and Bobbie laughed anyway.

"Does your Granny know any vamps?" Sookie asked, genuinely interested.

"Not that I know of, but it wouldn't surprise me. She works roots and such."

"Oh, really? Cool! I'm learning to do something along that line."

"You're lucky you got a good place to do it. Most people just got a cabinet in a corner of their room." Lena said, getting a lot more comfortable after seeing how nice Sookie was.

"Yeah, I'm very lucky in a lot of ways," Sookie agreed. "I've got good teachers all around me and everything I need or want to learn what I need to learn."

Bjorn came in from outside with Jerry Kerik right behind him. Sookie didn't say anything, but she had a feeling something was up because they were both tense, and when they saw her, they left as quickly as they could – they just got coffee and left, barely even speaking. Bobbie and Sookie looked at each other, Bobbie shrugging her shoulders and Sookie could tell from her thoughts that she really didn't know what was up. She didn't have a chance to zero in on Bjorn and Jerry because they were purposely thinking "coffee, coffee, coffee" over and over to keep her out of their heads. Sookie could also see through the door that there were guards much closer to the house than usual.

She was tempted to go outside and ask what was up, but she knew Eric would be furious if there was danger around and she went out to bother the guards. He'd want her to stay in where it's safe and let the guys do the job he paid them to do. Bjorn came back with Leroy, carrying two small cans of paint each, and he took him down the stairs in the pantry, showing him which room to paint. She expected Bjorn to stay down there, but he came back up in a hurry and went outside. She and Bobbie were both worried, but didn't let on to the others that something might be seriously wrong.

Jason, Hoyt and Catfish thanked Sookie, Margaret and Alicia for lunch and went back to work out in front of the house, since that was nearly done and it was the biggest part of the job. The sides and back would go quickly so they'd do them all tomorrow if they could, because Bjorn had told them it wasn't a good day to work the back of the lot, whatever that meant.

Alex finished eating before Sookie did and he insisted that Bobbie take him out of his chair and hold him, which she didn't mind doing at all. He liked it when she held him because she always tickled him and made him laugh and gave him kisses. She was just plain fun to be around if you were a baby. Alicia was upstairs showing Carrie and Lena what to do next and then straightening in Sookie's room, and Margaret had to do some organizing in the pantry and make a grocery list, so when she left the room, Bobbie and Sookie talked about how weird the guards were acting.

"Do you know what's going on, Bobbie?"

"No, it's weird – Bjorn told me earlier he was supposed to stick close to you and Alex, but then he's been outside all morning, except when he was checking on the girls in the basement.

"Something's up – I heard Hoyt say Bjorn told them it wasn't a good day to work out back, so they're trying to keep them away from the woods for some reason. You don't suppose somebody tried to get on the property, do you? I hate to think what they'd do to anybody that posed a threat…"

"Don't think about it, Sookie. They'll do what needs to be done, but no more. There are new soldiers working today, so they might be doing some kind of training or briefing or something back there."

"Soldiers…" Sookie said to herself, but she said it out loud.

"What are you thinking, Sookie?"

"Something changed in New Orleans. Until then these were just bodyguards, but now they're soldiers. Eric hasn't told me what's going on because he knows I don't really want to know the grisly details, but there's some new threat or something and he's changed his tactics."

"What do you mean?"

"I don't think Eric is playing defense anymore. I think he's on offense now, whatever that means. That's why he moved so fast on getting these fences up. He wants a serious barrier between us and whoever he's identified as a problem. I don't have any illusions about Eric playing nice with enemies. Nothing and nobody is going to threaten his son."

"You think it was the silver-tipped arrows?"

"The what?"

"The arrows that hit the float in New Orleans – they were tipped in silver. They wanted to make sure…" Bobbie stopped herself.

"What? That it would K-I-L-L a vampire B-A-B-Y?" Sookie didn't want Alex to understand her.

Bobbie nodded.

"Yep, that would do it. We're at war, we just don't know it yet. Watch people start disappearing."

"Disappearing?"

"Yeah, Eric's not rash enough to pull a frontal assault. They'll never see him coming and there'll be no evidence left to find. And if they're stupid enough to try a frontal attack on us, there's gonna be blood and lots of it. Be prepared for that, Bobbie – Eric is not going to let an enemy walk around alive."

"Yeah, Bjorn told me something to that effect."

"What did he say?"

"Nobody is going to get to try twice, and there will be no more protest groups at any of Eric's functions."

"That means anybody who shows up is never going to make it home."

"Right, or if they do, they'll have been glamoured."

"Glamour is good. I'll take glamour whenever we can get it. It beats the hell out of straight up carnage. This is bigger than some radical FOTS rednecks, isn't it?"

"That I don't know. I just know that what Bill said once is true – threaten Eric's nest and die."

"Yep. I should be horrified at that prospect, but I've been through enough of these Supe wars to know that he can't do anything less than that. If somebody wants us dead, I want them dead first."

"You sound awfully serious in here," Octavia said as she came into the room.

"'Morning, Octavia!"

"You talkin' about war?"

"Yeah, maybe."

"That's the cost of bein' the boss, girls – comes with the territory. Just relax and trust your Viking to know what to do. Whoever is stupid enough to go up against him ain't gonna stay there long. Nobody with a brain would even think of tryin.'"

"True." Bobbie and Sookie both agreed.

"So what brought all this up now?"

"The guards are acting a little funny. We don't know for sure but we suspect they caught somebody at the back of the property."

"Well, then, just say inside and give them space to do what they gotta do."

"This doesn't scare you at all, Octavia?" Bobbie couldn't believe she was so laid back about it all.

"Bobbie, I've been through everything from drunk, abusive boyfriends to hurricanes in my life, and I know without a doubt that I am safer in this house than living in a bad neighborhood in New Orleans, or probably anywhere else I could end up. That's why I'm stayin' here instead of with Amelia at Sookie's old place. This is the safest spot in three states as long as Eric and his family are here. Team Viking is the catbird seat when it comes to safety."

Sookie and Bobbie laughed at that, and relaxed because they knew it was true, and Alex laughed just because they were laughing.

"You know your Daddy's got it under control, don't you, little vampire?" Octavia tickled Alex and he made his come here motion. Octavia took him in her arms and gave him a hug and a kiss, which is exactly what he wanted. "Yeah, you know that big, bad Daddy of yours is 10 steps ahead of everybody else, don'tcha? Say, "my Daddy is an army all by himself!""

Sookie and Bobbie cracked up at that and were still laughing when Leroy came up the stairs in the pantry.

"Hey, Leroy, how's it going down there?" Sookie asked

"I got the first coat done, ma'am, and the fans are on, but I'll do a second. I just wanted to get a drink first, if that's OK?"

"Here, Leroy, what can I get for you?" Bobbie got up to help him.

"You got a Pepsi anywhere?"

Bobbie looked in the huge refrigerator. "Yep, here you go. You want a glass and some ice?"

"No, thank you, ma'am, I like it straight from the can when it's cold like that. Thanks."

"You want to sit down a few minutes, Leroy?" Sookie wanted him to feel free to rest if he needed to.

"No, thanks, Missus, I'll just take this with me. That paint dries fast so I should be able to go back where I started and do a second coat."

"Alright, then. Take another with you, if you want."

"Oh, OK, yeah, that'd be good."

Bobbie handed him a second can and he bounced back down the stairs happy as a clam.

"I just realized who he reminds me of – he's like Jason when he was that age!" Sookie laughed. "He's a lot shyer, of course, but that football player build and the way he walks is just like Jason. No wonder I like him so much!"

"He's a good kid." Bobbie agreed.

"He helped me so much with the nursery, you wouldn't believe it. He went way out of his way to help set up all the furniture and stuff," Sookie recalled. "He even helped me straighten it up once when Niall was coming for dinner."

"There's a young black man that works here, too, right?" Octavia asked

"Yeah, Lonnie – he's taking summer classes, but he's around as much as he can be. Eric is paying part of his tuition or something," Sookie said proudly. "He works around his class schedule. I think he's going to be in tomorrow, but he had something to do today."

"It's just them and the old gardener?" Octavia was trying to work out who all kept this place running.

"Yeah, he's a nice man. He's been with Eric since he bought this house."

"It takes a lot of people to keep a place like this runnin' as well as it does," Octavia said with admiration.

"Yeah, we've got really good help. Eric seems to have a knack for hiring just the right people."

"That's that intuition of his. He can feel when somebody fits and when they don't."

"That's true. The only person here he didn't hire is Bobbie," Sookie laughed.

"Sookie hired me, but I think she made an excellent choice there, too," Bobbie laughed.

"I thought you two were old friends or somethin', the way you get along."

"We just sort of clicked. I was really glad she agreed to stay on after I had the baby. I was afraid she'd leave me!" Sookie said, only half kidding.

"Not a chance, Sweetie, I want to see your little bambino grow up and rule the world." Bobbie was only half-kidding, too. She expected great things from Alex.

"Yep, this is gonna be a special soul, this one is," Octavia said affectionately as she held Alex in her lap.

Margaret came back in the room then. "Miss Octavia, I didn't know you were up! Would you like some fried chicken?"

"If it's not too much trouble, I sure would."

"Coming right up, Miss." Margaret started dishing up a lunch for her and Sookie took the baby so she could eat.

"Mamee, dee-wee-ohs."

"I'll get them for him," Bobbie jumped up to get the little box and sprinkled some on the table in front of Alex and Sookie. He was chomping on them happily as they talked, Sookie bouncing him on her knee.

"Hey, everybody!" Amelia came into the kitchen.

"Miss Amelia, can I get you a plate of fried chicken or would you prefer eggs for breakfast?" Margaret asked her.

"Chicken must be what smells so good," she laughed as she sat down. "That'll be fine for me, thanks."

"Coming right up."

"You all are up early today – what'd I miss?" Amelia asked.

"We met Carrie's cousin, who is helping her scrub the room downstairs and the gym today. I had my breakfast with them and Jason and the boys." Sookie looked around as Margaret stepped into the pantry, then whispered, "we think there's something up with the guards, security-wise, but we don't know what."

"You think it's serious?"

"We don't know, but Bjorn and Jerry are really tense about it, so maybe."

Margaret came back in so Amelia changed the subject. "So what's the progress on your little room?"

"Leroy is doing the second coat of paint, then he'll set the fans up and then it's all mine."

"Are you excited, hon?"

"Yeah, actually, I am. I kind of… woke up to something this morning."

"What was that?" Octavia wanted to know.

"Well, I realized that if I have a talent and don't use it when I should, Alex will be less likely to take me seriously when I try to advise him on how to use his abilities. I need to make a shift of consciousness where I actually consider doing… things… when there's no reason not to."

"That's pretty good. You can't tell him what to do – you have to show him," Octavia agreed.

"Excuse me, Mrs. Northman – I'll be leaving for the market now, if that's alright?"

"Oh, yeah, of course, thanks!"

"Alright then, back in a bit!"

"Oh, I forgot to tell you all. Alex told Eric last night that Freyja told him we're Witches, and he pronounces Freyja with a Swedish accent."

Everybody was blown away by that, saying "wow" "holy smoke" "oh, my Goddess" all at once.

"I was wondering when he'd start talking about Freya. I knew he knew her," Octavia said.

Alex had been concentrating on his Cheerios until now, but he heard Freyja's name and spoke up. "Freyja – Witches!" he giggled.

"Watch this," Sookie told them, "Alex, when do you see Freyja?"

"Ahm seepeen."

"He sees Freyja in his sleep, just like you do?" Bobbie wanted to make sure she understood him.

"Apparently, and my hunch is that She's already teaching him magick, so I've got to get ahead of him if I can so I can guide him."

"Well, we can sure try," Octavia assured her, "you do any more reading?"

"Yeah, this morning. I got through the part of the book about the Sabbats and some of the rituals she describes. I read a really cool part that talked about mothers and sons in matriarchal societies."

"OK, good. Now I want you to skip to a new book. One of your new books I got you is called **Natural Witchery **by Ellen Dugan. It's got a section like a mini-book in the back of it called the Book of Witchery that has some very simple charts of correspondence in it. They're enough to get you started. I got you some very basic oils and herbs to go with it. Now call down your Journal and let's go over some basics."

Sookie looked at her hands and said, "Journal, come to me!" and there it was, pen still in the loop.

"Alright, now we're going to start with the Moon. The Goddess of the Moon for your purposes will be Diana, the virgin huntress. That doesn't mean She never had sex, it means She chose not to marry for religious reasons. That's true of any of the women with Virgin in their titles, like the Vestal Virgins. They were Priestesses of the Goddess Vesta, the Goddess of the hearth, so they lived in a temple for women only by choice. Vesta was so much and integral part of the family home that She traditionally was not represented by statuary of any kind."

Sookie was writing fast to keep up and Bobbie and Amelia were hanging on every word, even though they knew this stuff. It was just inspiring to hear Octavia teach because she was so passionate about it.

Now, back to the Moon. She's got three main phases – waxing, full and waning – which correspond to the triple, or tripartite, Goddess who appears as Maiden, Mother, Crone. Occasionally people will divide the lunar month into 5 phases which include those three plus the Dark Moon and the New Moon."

"The Dark Moon is the most dangerous night of the month for Alex," Sookie recalled.

"Then you best always know what day it is, so you can take precautions. Most people avoid doing magick on that night, too, because the energies are so dark. Now, almost every culture has its triad of Goddesses to play those parts. In The Holy Book of Women's Mysteries, Z. specifies Diana, Isis and Hecate. Now I vibrate strongly to the image of Isis, but you probably want to stick to Freya – it's up to you. Do what feels right. Isis is considered the favorite name of the Goddess, who is known by the Lady of 10,000 names. Ultimately, no matter who you go through, you're talking to Isis as the all-encompassing Mother Goddess."

"That's the monotheast – polytheist thing, right?"

"Right. Many realities co-existing without conflict, but all part of one whole."

"OK, you said you got me that book?"

"It's downstairs – call it up."

"**Natural Witchery,** come to me!" and she had it in her hands.

"Hey, Sookie, while you're at it, would you call down my journal?" Bobbie asked.

"OK – Bobbie's journal, come to me!" Sookie found herself with an armful of books falling all around her and she almost dropped Alex, but didn't. "Whoa!"

"Oops – guess I should have been more specific, huh?" Bobbie said sheepishly as they all had a good laugh about it.

"That's a good lesson to learn up front, girl," Octavia continued. "You don't get what you want, you get _exactly_ what you ask for. Bobbie's got about 10 books there that she considers her journals, so you got them all. You gotta think about it before you cast a spell and weed out the ways it can go wrong. That's been a theme throughout myth, legends, jokes and even TV and movies, but people never learn."

"Tell her that one joke, Octavia!" Amelia asked.

"You tell it – you're the one who wants her to hear it!" Octavia kidded her.

"OK, Sookie, one time, there was this guy who found this funky lamp at a junk shop and he just had to have it. He took it home and he was polishing it up when a puff of smoke came out and suddenly there was a Jinn…"

"What's a Jinn?"

"A male Genie… anyway, he offers the guy one wish. The man says, I don't even have to think about this because I've always dreamed of this and know exactly what I want – I want my cock to reach the floor. The Jinn asks him if he's sure that's what the wants, he says yes and POOF! There he was with no legs."

"Oooohh!" Bobbie and Sookie cracked up.

"It's a bad joke, but it gets the point across – don't leave yourself open like that. I remember reading where a girl asked that abundance rain down upon her, then she ran into a friend who had a big bag of beans and offered her some. When he went to put the bag down, it came open and she got a shower of beans on the subway."

The girls cracked up.

"There's another story I read on the web where a girl tried Dragon magick and asked that her living situation change, and her house was destroyed by a flood or a tornado or somethin' – you get my point."

"Yeah, be careful what you cast for. That's like when Alex was born and he disappeared."

"He what?"

"Oh, yeah, that was intense!" Bobbie remembered.

"See, I was in heavy labor and the shoulders were about to come out and I panicked and called on Freyja to keep us both safe, and he disappeared from my womb!"

"Holy shit!" Amelia could just imagine the reaction. "Where did he go? How did you find him?"

"He teleported to Eric's and my bed. Eric heard and smelled him immediately and he zipped up and brought him back. Before I had a chance to freak out he was back with this squirming, crying, bloody little thing. It was amazing."

"OK, and why do you think he went there?" Octavia wanted to make sure she knew.

"Eric said because I always say I feel safer in our bed than anywhere else in the world, so he went where I associated "safety.""

"Eric would make a good Witch himself," Amelia laughed.

"Yeah, but he would freak out if you told him that," Sookie reminded her.

"True," Amelia agreed and they all laughed, which made Alex laugh.

Leroy came up the stairs again and came into the kitchen. "Excuse me, ma'am?"

"Yes, Leroy?" Sookie responded

"Is there a rest room around here?"

"Sure, it's right through the den there to the left."

"Thanks, ma'am. I'm all done painting, by the way, and the fans are running. I just gotta clean the brushes and you're good to go." He said as he passed them heading for the bathroom.

"Oh, great! Thank you so much!"

Leroy liked the Missus a lot but he was more than happy to be done working in that basement. It kind of gave him the creeps being down there alone, especially when he saw all those Witch books and he swore they moved themselves or something while he was down there because stuff fell on the floor that wasn't that close to the edge of the table. You just never knew what was going to happen around this place, though the Northmans were really good to him and he'd never complain. He hoped the Missus didn't mind him using those fancy little towels when he dried his hands on them, too, because he didn't see any others. Boy, this was a really nice house inside it!

Leroy came back out to the den and started outside, but Sookie called him back. "Yes, ma'am?"

"Do you need another drink or anything?"

"No, ma'am I should be OK until dinner time now. I'm just gonna go mow the lawn now."

"OK, well, thanks again!"

"Speaking of drinks, I could use some more iced tea…" Sookie said.

"I think there's a pitcher already made up in the fridge – Margaret just put it in before she left," Bobbie said, getting up to get it.

Once they had drinks settled, Octavia gave Sookie more notes.

"OK, you dress candles with oil before you burn them, using two fingers moving from the middle to the top, then middle to the bottom. Which oil you use depends on your spell, but when in doubt use sandalwood, especially for spells involving protection or safety. Rose oil is for love, lemon or sage are purification, vanilla is lust, bay laurel is money and success, honeysuckle is intuition, jasmine is sensuality, clove is for courage, cinnamon is firey, and gives your magick a jolt, camphor is for cleansing and healing. Incenses follow pretty much the same guidelines, but there are many oils and incenses and special blends. Follow your intuition and use what speaks to you."

"Can I mix my own?"

"Absolutely, that's best."

"Remember, too, Sookie, I have almost any oil you can think of. If you want something special, just let me know." Bobbie reminded her.

"OK, now colors – white is for everything, for peace, for the Maiden Goddess. Red is for the Mother Goddess, passion, anything about sex, birth, the body, Black is for the Crone Goddess – she's hard core, so you call on her when you need dramatic results and you be very specific with her. Blue is trust and calm, pink is love or comfort, green is money or healing, silver is the moon and intuition, gold is the sun and success."

"OK, if I just really liked pink candles, could I use them for everything?"

"You could, but you'll get better results if you use things with the right vibe for what you want to do. The whole idea is to create a strong draw or release of energy and the more things correspond to the purpose, the time, and the day, the stronger your spell. Now, some people will use 2 white candles on their altar all the time no matter what else is going on with their altar, and some will use one white and one black, but that's more for the dualists."

"OK, so could I use white candles for the waxing moon and red candles for the full moon?"

"Yep, good choices."

"Do I need to know about planets?"

"Sun is success, Moon is intuition and illusion, Mercury is speed and communication, Venus is love, Mars is anger, Jupiter is luck, Saturn is restriction and obstacles, Pluto is psychic work."

"There's some missing?"

"Don't worry about it. Sunday is the Sun, Monday is the Moon, Tuesday is Mars, Wednesday is Mercury, Thursday is Jupiter, Friday is Venus, Saturday is Saturn."

"Oh, so they only focus on the seven?"

"For your purposes, yes. If you decide to study astrology one day, or you want to get more complicated, you can, but I'm giving you the instant Witch kit. You need to know this stuff I'm telling you so you can work when you need to. Now your big day will be Friday, or Freya's day, which is where the word comes from. Friday loves pink candles, and roses and strawberries and and rose quartz, all things I got for you. I suspect this is why you like pink so much – you manifest Her energy."

"OK, rose quartz is a crystal, right?"

"It's one of the gemstones, yes. I got you a few of those. I got you a good, big quartz crystal because that's an amplifier – it makes everything stronger, turns up the volume. Don't keep it in a room where you sleep unless it's covered or in salt or sand to ground it. Amethyst is for healing emotions and sobriety. Bloodstone is for healing. Hematite is fantastic – it can absorb and hold pain and negative energy, but you got to clean it often or it will overflow and back up on you like a psychic toilet," Octavia laughed at that.

"How do I clean it?"

"Sunlight, or moonlight, or running water or salt water. You'll learn to keep a little salt packet handy for instant rituals because it purifies anything."

"You mean like a salt packet from a restaurant?"

"In a pinch, yeah. Salt is powerful. You can scrub the back of your neck with it to make spirits leave you alone, you can completely clean out your energy by rinsing with salt water in the shower."

"Hang on, let me catch up," Sookie was writing furiously.

"If you're worried about negativity or negative spirits, leave a glass of salt water on your nightstand then flush it in the morning. You can put salt in the four corners of a room all night, then sweep it up and flush it in the morning. You can mark out circle with salt and you can purify any space with some sprinkles of salt water. Now, in voodoo circles, they don't use salt on their altar because they think it offends the spirits. Wiccans almost always use salt and salt is big with indigenous groups. I use salt. You got sea salt and black salt downstairs."

"Black salt?"

"Yes, it's black from volcano ash. Good for Crone magick, dragon magick, the element of fire."

"So, almost everything has more than one use and there's more than one way to do everything?"

"Right, it's just that some things work better than others and at different times. And keep in mind that different Witches have different ways. Some will disagree with what I tell you. You may find things work differently for you."

"You tell me that a lot," Sookie laughed.

"That's because your natural tendency will be to forget it and get stuck in a rut. I'm trying to reduce that tendency in you."

"OK, cool."

"Bobbie, did you girls get a paint marker?"

"Yeah, we did, while you were in that health food store."

"OK, well, when we're all done eating, we'll go downstairs and look at what we've got to work with."

"I'm ready!" Sookie said

"Me, too!" Bobbie was raring to go.

"Just let me put my dish in the sink," Amelia said. "Here, Octavia, I'll take yours, too."

"Should we take the baby with us?" Sookie asked

"Yeah, why not? He knows more about this than we do," Octavia laughed.

Everyone agreed with that so the five of them headed downstairs, Bobbie and Amelia carrying the books with them.

The fans were turned on high so the basement seemed loud when they went down and there were some lingering paint fumes, which was to be expected. "Ok, we won't be lighting any matches down here just yet, but we can mark out the circle on the floor and go over the tools. First, we're going to make Sookie's cord. Now there are two ways to do this, but we're going to use the easy way, which is to stretch out pieces of this cord, braid them and measure the braid to 9 feet."

"We can do that, while you two go over tools, if you want," Amelia volunteered.

"OK, good. Now this…"

"Sookie?!"

"Yeah, Bjorn, we're down here."

Bjorn came bouncing down the stairs. "You scared me!"

"I'm sorry – we should have told you we were coming down here."

"It's good to let somebody know – if I'm not around, tell one of the other guys, or at least Alicia – she didn't know where you were, either. You going to be down here for a while?"

Sookie looked at Octavia who said, "Yes"

"OK, they're still planning to do burgers on the grill, but it would be better not to go out until dinner. If you decide to go back upstairs, let me know, OK?"

"Yeah, I will. I'm really sorry."

"Not a problem, just keep me informed. I'll check back with you in a bit."

"Thanks, Bjorn."

"Yep, somethin's goin' on," Octavia confirmed. "He wouldn't be that tense over a suspicion. I'd say they caught somebody in the act."

"What do you mean?"

"He doesn't want people outside because there's somebody out there who isn't supposed to be there, but he's going to handle it by dinner time."

"You think they've got, like, a prisoner?" Sookie asked.

"I'd bet money on it," Octavia said, "so everybody stay inside until he says otherwise. My guess is he's waiting for Eric to rise, so be prepared for him to be occupied tonight. Now, this is…"

"Athame!" Alex said. Amelia's and Bobbie's jaws were on the floor.

"Yes, it is," Octavia said, amazed. "Alex, what's this?"

"Gwystal."

"Right, it's a crystal. What's this?"

"Gando."

"Right, candle." Octavia was more interested in this than Sookie right now. She wanted to see how much Alex already knew because it might be important for Sookie and Eric to know that now. "What's this?"

"Pendago."

"Pentacle, right. What's this?"

"Wan"

"Wand, right, and this is…?"

"Sald."

"Salt, good." She picked up a small image of a Goddess with a spiral shape in her womb, intended for use as the center piece on Sookie's altar, "what's this?"

"Freyja!" he giggled, delighted.

"You like Freya?"

"Ah WUV ma Mamee!" He kissed Sookie on the lips.

"Oh, yeah, he says I'm Freyja."

"You forgot to mention that." Octavia knew she skipped that part because it made her uncomfortable, and she wanted her to KNOW that she knew it.

"I just thought he got confused."

"Don't stand there and lie to me, girl. Words have power. You want to make your words accurate so when you speak your spells, there's power in them. Don't waste energy on words you don't mean."

"OK, yeah, I didn't tell you on purpose."

"Own it, Sookie. It doesn't make you an egomaniac. It makes you accurate." If she accomplished nothing else with Sookie, she was going to drill this into her so she didn't fritter away her power. "There's a line between confidence and conceit. Stand on it."

"Yes, ma'am," Sookie wasn't being smart, she knew Octavia meant business.

"Inthen, Mamee!"

"What?"

"I think he's saying incense. You like incense, Alex?"

"OMBA!"

Octavia held it up to his face and he snuffed a couple of times and said "mmmm!"

"Smells good, doesn't it?" She tickled his little chin and he said, "ee-ah! Wosthesth," he pointed.

"Roses, right," Octavia picked up a bag of dried roses.

"Oi-ah."

"Oil."

"Mang-ed."

"Magnet."

"Ee-ah."

"Wow – I don't even know what to say about you, kid," Amelia said to Alex. "Octavia, we're going to start marking off her circle."

"Make sure you start in the east and go clockwise – that's what Freya told her."

"Right – we'll use pencil first," Bobbie assured her.

"Good. Take this compass and mark the directions inside the edge of the circle."

"Wow – you got me a compass, too?"

"Yeah, you need to make sure you're using accurate directions with that energy of yours. It's too big to be careless with it."

"Woogie, Mamee, tawo cahdsth!"

"Yeah, Tarot cards. Mommy's got lot to learn, huh?"

"Nah."

"I don't?"

"Nah, Tho-mode-id-be," he pointed out with his finger and said it like he meant it, which reminded me of Shirley Temple pouting out the "you'll awake with a tummy ache."

"What?"

"So mote it be," Octavia translated. "That's the way you wrap up a spell. He's telling you all you need to do is do it. Ask and it shall be done."

"Ee-ah, Mamee."

"Alex, did Freya teach you any spells?" Sookie already knew the answer to that.

"Wada, erf, eh-a, fya, bwing do me wad ah dezyah," he said, then stuck his thumb in his mouth.

"Holy Mother Goddess," that one even blew Octavia away.

"What did he say?"

"It's a manifestation chant – "Water, earth, air, fire, bring to me what I desire."

"Alex, have you ever used that spell?" Sookie asked him.

"Nah."

"Why not?"

"BA!" He held out his hands and his little green Nerf ball Niall had given him was in them.

"He knows an easier way to do it. He's past incantations, at least as far as calling things goes," It wouldn't take much more for Octavia to be scared of Alex. What could Freya be thinking, teaching all of that to such a tiny baby? Or maybe…?

"OK, is it just me or is that way freakier even than him being able to talk at all?" Sookie asked.

"Well, it depends. If he actually remembers that, it's pretty far out there. I've got a feeling that's not all coming from him, though."

"Where's it coming from? Freyja?"

"That would make more sense at this point. He can call things, he can sic that falcon on people – maybe he's just able to channel whatever he wants from Her?"

"You aren't sure?" Sookie couldn't believe Octavia didn't know.

"I'm gonna have to study on this. You gotta remember, girl, we're all learnin' as we go with this one. There's never been one like him before."

"So our working theory is that he can channel what he wants or needs from Freyja… does that mean I can, too?"

"I'd guess yes, maybe even more easily than he can if you gave yourself permission. He doesn't need anybody's permission. He just does it."

"Gave myself permission?"

"Yeah, see, humans have much greater capabilities then most of them ever explore because culture and religion have been designed to make them deny their power so they're easier to control. Robert Anton Wilson said, "We are all giants, raised by pygmies, who have learned to walk with a perpetual mental crouch." That's from **Prometheus Rising**, another book you have to read."

"It's by a man? Is it Wicce?"

"No, it's about thinking, using your brain. There's some sexist crap in it, of course, but like with any book, you take what you can use and leave the rest. If I could make every person on the planet read one book, that would be it."

"It's that good?"

"The concept is that important. See, each of us has what he calls a "reality tunnel" that's made up of how we were raised and what we've learned or internalized, so we're all looking at a small part of a big picture. If we all knew at least that, we'd try a lot harder to get along. We'd use our brains a lot better. Most people never grow past the moral and ethical reasoning of a 15 year old. There is literally a world full of people walking around, making decisions, with no more depth of insight than a young teenager. We all have the capacity to grow past it from about the age of 16 forward, but most never do. People who go through some additional schooling are more likely to, but with colleges becoming more like vocational schools, even that isn't a guarantee anymore."

"I don't know what you mean about colleges and vocational schools."

"A vocational school is a place you go to learn a job – you learn the jargon, the processes, the functions, and that's your sole focus. Colleges are becoming like that, where you study mostly one subject, even in spite of the Liberal Arts requirements."

"Isn't that what college is for?"

"It's not supposed to be. It used to be a place where you went to learn how to learn. You learned how to think, explored philosophies and sciences and read literature that opened up your mind and your heart. That's an education."

"Do people still get that?"

"Some, but most employers want drones who don't or can't think for themselves. Independence is a pain in the ass on an assembly line. The smartest people are not necessarily the most successful."

"My Gran used to say that decisions weren't made by the ones who show up, they were made by the ones who could stand the stupidity you have to deal with to get into a position of power."

"She's right. Look at the 500 plus people in our Congress. Are they the wisest people we can produce? Nowhere near it. They're the ones who fought their way through corrupt local politics and kissed enough ass to raise enough money to get where they are. Anybody able to get elected to office is usually the very last person you'd want in office. Oh, well – the point is, most people aren't very bright, so you don't want to limit yourself by what most people think is possible. Get out there and find out what is possible for yourself."

"OK, so what are some rookie mistakes people make when they start doing magick?"

"The classic mistake, after careless wording, is that they clear things out without filling them back up. Every tom, dick and harry can do a clearing ritual to get the negativity out of a space or a thing or a person, but they forget to put back in what they do want. Remember this phrase – "Nature abhors a vacuum." If you don't fill the space you just emptied out with something positive, any damn thing might slide into that empty space. I've seen people have to battle with some nasty spirits because they didn't do proper clearing and filling, or they opened themselves up without proper precautions."

"Is that like being possessed?"

"Not Linda Blair possessed, but there are bad spirits just as there are bad people and you need to be reasonable in how you approach them. If you live in a bad neighborhood, you learn to lock your doors, that's all."

"Are there demons?"

"Of a type – think of them as Daemons, which just means a kind of spirit without making assumptions about their origin or intent. Angels and Fae are daemons, too."

"Have you ever seen an angel?"

"Several kinds, actually. I saw a big archangel after the funeral of a young man who committed suicide, or overdosed, but I think suicide. I've seen little healing angels in pastel dresses flying around the head of a woman who was about to have surgery to restore her eyesight, which worked, thanks to those angels. And I've seen angels who are sort of a better class of Fairy, which is something you might end up learning a whole lot about."

"Why would I learn about them?"

"Because I'm pretty sure you'll have to become one before you move up to the Pantheon."

"HUH?!"

"Don't panic. It's just a theory at this point."

"How would that work with me being turned vampire?"

"Good question. Luckily, I don't think we have to have those answers while you're breast-feeding that little angel there." She nodded at Alex, who was paying attention to everything as if he knew what they were saying.

"Me doe, Mamee," Alex said as he flew out of Sookie's arms and into the altar room where Bobbie and Amelia were working. Sookie started to call him back, but Octavia stopped her and said, "let's see what he does."

Once he was in the room he just gently floated around the circle in a clockwise direction, as Bobbie and Amelia were drawing it. He made slow circles several times then made his "come here" motion to Sookie and said, "ina thirco, Mamee."

"He wants you in the circle with him, Sookie. Go ahead and see what he does."

"Sorry, guys, I'm just following the baby," Sookie said as she stepped around the girls still working on the circle.

"No problem, Sweetie, just let us know if we should get out of the way."

"Nah, nah, Babee, thirco" Alex made it clear that he wanted them to finish what they were doing, so they kept going. Alex reached out his hand to Sookie and she took it, immediately floating up into the air. "Fyeen, Mamee!"

"Holy shit!" Amelia said. Bobbie was speechless. Octavia was tickled to death.

"Octavia, will I fall if I let go of his hand?"

"I don't know, darlin' - try it and see."

Sookie tried to get herself as upright as possible, took a deep breath and let go of Alex's hand – and stayed right where she was.

"OK, Sookie, try coming out of the circle toward me," Octavia told her and she did, finding that she slowly got closer to the ground the further away from the circle she got, so she went back in and went right back up.

"OK, what does that mean?"

"One of two things. Either you float easier in the circle because you expect to, or you need the circle to amp up your energy to fly."

"Any idea which one it might be?"

"I think it's easier when you're in the circle, which is why Alex called you in there. He wanted to show you that you could do it."

"OK, so now what?"

"Float back out here and see if you can get up the stairs without touching the ground."

"Ee-ah, Mamee, fyeen!" Alex flew out of the room toward the main room and Sookie willed herself to follow him and she did. Alex easily zipped up the steps, but Sookie only made it half way then she found herself on her feet. Alex came back down, took her hand they floated back into the back room and into the circle.

"Well?"

"I got half way up and landed on my feet, then Alex took my hand and brought me back here."

"OK, looks like you've got to build your muscles."

"I need to practice, you mean?'

"Yep."

"Should that be necessary?"

"Probably not, but something in you thinks you ought to have to work for it, so you're going to have to work for it."

"Oops – there's a drop of moisture on the floor here, Sookie. I think Peter Pan up there needs a dry nappy."

"It's almost dinner time, anyway. Why don't we all head upstairs," Octavia suggested, not wanting to overwhelm Sookie and knowing she was almost there.

"I want to neaten this up a little," Amelia said.

"I'll change the bambino for you, Sookie. Come on, Alex," she held her arms up and he landed gently in them, giving her a hug. She gave him a kiss and a tickle and took him back to the service elevator so they could go up to the nursery.

"You guys go on up," Amelia said, "I'll be right behind you when I get this evened out."

"OK, we'll see you upstairs," Octavia motioned to Sookie to come on and she followed her upstairs.

Alicia and Margaret were getting burgers ready for the grill and had barbecue chicken and barbecue ribs, too.

"Wow, what a spread!" Sookie said, pleased that everyone would have so many choices.

"We figured it was Saturday night so we'd party a little," Alicia laughed.

"Good idea! It all smells so good!"

"We're ready for your brother and his friends tonight, too – I got them some beer." Margaret said proudly.

"Oh, they'll love that. They're gonna love these ribs, too! Jason will be beside himself," Sookie laughed.

Octavia was proud of Sookie. The flying thing was a big deal, but she was taking it in stride, at least for the moment. This was all a lot for anyone to process, and even just being in the house with it was intense. She couldn't imagine what kind of stress Sookie was under with all these changes that were washing over her, but between the girls, the baby and Eric, they were keeping her well grounded. Octavia was glad she could be there to see all this happen. Sookie had a solid support system, and Octavia knew that was by design, too, and she was glad she was a part of it.

Bjorn came in from the back yard, and said, "You guys can sit outside if you want. It's really nice out."

Sookie and Octavia went out to the picnic tables and Sookie noticed that the vans that the guards used were all the way back at the edge of the woods. If they had somebody detained, they probably stowed him in there waiting for Eric. Octavia noticed her looking out that way, and told her "just trust him, Sookie. He's got you covered."

"Yeah, I know. It's one of the hazards of the occupation as they say," she tried to laugh it off, but she knew whoever was in those vans was dead before sunrise. She didn't think she'd ever get used to that aspect of Eric's world, but she also knew that she didn't want to. She wanted to retain enough of her humanity to feel bad when someone dies, even if they richly deserve it.

Carrie and Lena came out next, and Jason walked in from the extra garage. Leroy and the old gardener came in for dinner and Hoyt and Catfish came in from the side of the property. Some of the guards came in to eat, including Bjorn and Jerry, and just as everyone was getting settled, Eric was up.

"Hey, Sweetie! I didn't realize it was time for you."

"Apparently not, since Amelia was still in the room downstairs," he whispered to her.

"Oh, no – did she…?"

"No, I waited and she came up a few minutes ago. I think she's in the bathroom in the den. Things are moving along on that front apparently?"

"Yeah, great – wait 'til I tell you, but later. You need to talk to Bjorn before you do anything else."

"Yes, I do. I'll be back, my angel," he kissed her and followed Bjorn and Jerry back to the servant's quarters.

Amelia came out closely followed by Bobbie and Alex, who got put into his highchair at the end of the picnic table Sookie always sat on.

"Are you all fresh now, Pookie?"

"OMBA!"

"Yeah, he got washed and powdered and all kinds of good stuff, didn't you, buddy?" Bobbie teased him.

"Ee-ah!"

Jason came to the table with a huge plate of ribs. "There's my little buddy! How you doin', Alex?"

"Dood!"

"That means 'good'" Sookie explained, and Jason laughed and nodded.

Lena was busting with questions after seeing Eric. Why hadn't Carrie told her she worked for a big gorgeous vampire king? He was so pretty it was unreal and he was huge! She noticed he was really romantic to his wife, though, which was sweet, but she had a feeling there wasn't a whole lot about him you'd call sweet if he was a king.

"Ee!" Alex pointed at Jason's plate.

"Alex, you can't eat ribs…"

"They're falling off the bone, Sookie, he could probably handle a little bite," Bobbie speculated.

"You want to try a bite, Alex?" Jason offered

"Ee-aah!"

Jason took a fork and flaked some meat off the bone, making sure it was mashed up, then fed him a bite and he went wild for it!

"Bi! Bi! Mamee, Bi!"

"OK, Alex, hang on and Alicia will bring you some of you own, OK?"

"Oday. EESH!"

"What do you want, Baby E?" Alicia teased him.

"Bi!"

"He wants some ribs, Alicia. He needs really tender ones."

"OK, Alex, hang on." Alicia grabbed a little Styrofoam dish and filled it with meat and sauce, mashing it up really well. While she was doing that, Sookie noticed Bjorn and Jerry heading to the woods and Eric came back up to the back yard.

"DADEE!"

"There's my boy!" Eric said, smiling and scooping him out of his highchair for a hug and a kiss. Alicia sat the bowl on the tray for the highchair and left it for him. Eric pulled up a side chair next to Sookie and sat down with Alex, taking the bowl off the tray. "Are you going to eat this, my son?"

"OMba, Dadee! Dood!"

"It is?"

"Bi!"

"That means, "Daddy what are you waiting for? Feed me!"" Sookie laughed.

Eric gave the baby a bite of meat and he purred, it was so good, "Mmmmm!"

"He loves this, Sookie," Eric thought it was cute how excited Alex was, "what animal is this?"

"It's beef ribs."

"Cattle?"

"Yes, in barbecue sauce, which I'm surprised is not too spicy for him."

Eric sniffed the meat and took a bite, Lena watching him with big eyes to see a vampire actually eat. "Mmm, I have to agree with my son – this is quite tasty."

Lena couldn't wait to get home and tell her Granny Lou!

Eric continued to feed Alex until he was finished, then snuggled him up under his chin for a few minutes, kissed him on the head and said, "stay with Mommy, alright, Alex?"

"Oday."

"Good boy." He put Alex back in the high chair and said, "I might be a while, dear one."

"Yeah, I know. Do what you have to do – we'll be here when you're done."

He kissed her on the forehead again, and headed back toward the woods at a pretty good clip, but not at vampire speed so he didn't alarm anyone. Sookie kept herself busy talking to everyone and entertaining Alex, and she ate nearly an entire barbecued chicken.

"Sookie didn't you have chicken for lunch?" Bobbie asked her

"Yeah, I did."

"That's a lot of chicken…"

"Yeah, it is, but is was so good!" She laughed at herself. "Everybody wants me to gain weight, so I'm doing my part," she laughed and everyone around her did, too.

Jason whispered to Bobbie, who was sitting sort of between him and Alex, "why do they want her to gain weight?"

"She's a little too thin for a breast feeding Mommy. We're afraid she's going to get run down. She didn't gain nearly enough weight with the pregnancy."

"She's not sick, is she?"

"No, but she needs about 15 pounds on her, to make sure she doesn't get sick."

"Oh, OK. I noticed she's lost weight, but I didn't know it was a problem."

"It's not, yet, but we want to make sure it doesn't become one."

"Oh, yeah, well, good. I'm glad you all are watching out for her."

"Yeah, she's got lots of people looking out for her. We won't let her get sick – don't worry."

Jason was satisfied with that. He thought she looked pretty good, but if they were taking care of her, he figured that was a good thing.

Hoyt and Catfish got to talking to Carrie and Lena and figured out that their Granny knew Hoyt's Mama from her church group, so that kept the conversation going and nobody but Bobbie was noticing that Sookie kept looking out back to the woods.

" VBEE! VBEE! Dadee FIDEEN! VBEE!" Alex started yelling and bouncing in his seat, and Sookie tried to laugh it off, but she made excuses that he wanted ice cream and took him in the house because it flashed through her mind that he might try to fly back there. She couldn't decide what to do and he was still going crazy so she went to the service elevator and took it up to their bedroom. Alex tried to fly out of her arms as she approached the door to the room so she held him tight and locked the door once they were in the room.

"Alex, sweetie, calm down. Daddy will be back in a little bit."

"Dadee FIDEEN!"

"Yeah, I know he's fighting, but he won't want everybody to know that. It's a secret, shhhh!

"Nah, Nah, Mamee! FIDEEN!" He popped his fangs and was hissing like a snake, his little hands clawing at the air.

'Well,' Sookie thought to herself, 'this is better than having him inside me kicking.'

She put him down on the bed but he was instantly in the air looking for a way out of the room. "Alex, no. You stay here. Daddy will be angry if you go out there. Be good for Daddy. Remember Daddy told you to stay with me?"

Suddenly, Alex stopped flying all over the room. He hesitated for minute, then he flew back into Sookie's arms. "Are you going to calm down now?"

"Dadee nah fideen."

"The fight is over?"

"Ee-ah!"

"OK, that was a little intense for Mommy. How about we lie down for a bit and wait for Daddy?"

"Oday."

Sookie held onto Alex and walked on her knees across the bed to her side, then put him down on Eric's pillow. "There, you're in Daddy's spot. We'll wait right here and he'll come see us, OK?"

"Oday. DO-EE!" Alex opened his hands and called his toy dragon to him.

"Wow – I didn't even think about Toy today."

"Ma dwadon."

"Yeah, he's your dragon." She smiled at him and petted the soft toy he was snuggling in his arms. He laid his head back on Eric's pillow, and she could tell that if she was very quiet, he'd drop off to sleep in a minute, so she leaned back and waited. Sure enough, in just a minute or two, he was asleep. She picked her book up off of her nightstand and decided to read, but that lasted about 2 pages before she was asleep, too.

"Wake up, my sweet angel…" Eric was speaking softly to her as she opened her eyes and stretched.

"Hey, Daddy! Where's Alex?"

"Right behind you in the co-sleeper. I moved him so I could snuggle up with you."

"Good, hold me." She raised up so he could get his arm under her head and she wrapped her arm across his side. "So, we had an intruder?"

"Two, actually."

"FOTS?"

"No, this is a new group."

"Even worse, huh?"

"Yes, I'm afraid so."

"They're never going to report back, right?"

"Right."

"Won't people know what happened to them?"

"They might suspect, but there will be no proof. There is nothing left to find."

"OK. Your son went berserk, you know."

Eric laughed out loud. "Do you know where that word comes from?"

"No – why? Is it a Viking thing?"

"Yes, there were fierce warriors that transformed themselves into bears in the frenzy of battle. They were called the Berserkers."

"Well, your little "bear-sarker" wanted to fly back there and help you kick ass. I had to lock us in here to keep him from joining you. He kept yelling "Dadee fideen, vbee!"

"We'll have to keep in mind that he naturally goes toward conflict. We don't want him to endanger himself or anyone else."

"You better have a talk with him, Eric. He'll listen to you."

"He listens to you, Sookie…"

"He laughs at me. He loves me, but he thinks I'm funny. It has to come from you or he won't take it seriously."

"Alright, when he is awake later, I will talk to him. A warrior needs to know when not to fight as well as when to charge forth."

"Good. Thank you. Do you know he knows a whole magick spell? He told it to me and Octavia today. I couldn't believe it!"

"Really – a whole one?"

"Yeah, it was short, but he said it. I asked him if he had ever used it and he said 'no' and I asked him why and he called his ball that Niall gave him. He knows it, but he knows an easier way so he doesn't need it."

"What did Octavia say about it?"

"She thinks he channeled it from Freyja, rather than remembering it himself. She thinks he can pretty much access whatever he needs from Her."

"That is a great thing, Sookie. She won't let him abuse Her gifts. You and She will guide him and he will be honorable."

"Yeah – and, also, he had me flying today."

"YOU FLEW?!" Eric was elated at this news.

"For a bit, yeah. Bobbie and Amelia were painting that circle on the floor in my room downstairs and he went in, flew a few circles, then called me in. He reached out and I took his hand and immediately floated up in the air. Octavia had me try to go upstairs but I only got half way before I was on my feet. Alex took my hand again and flew me back to Octavia. She says I may need to sort of build my muscles."

"How did you like flying?"

"It was kind of nice, but I don't know how I'll like it if I'm able to go up in the air. I'm afraid of heights."

"If you can fly, you cannot fall. If you can get up there, you can stay there, or let yourself down gently. Do not fear it, Sookie, it is a great advantage. Imagine if you and I could have flown out of the Pyramid."

"We wouldn't go without Pam…"

"If you could have flown yourself, I could have carried Pam."

"Yeah, I guess so, huh? So, I'll practice it. Did you look at my room?"

"Yes, it looks very good."

"I need to figure out when it's safe to light a candle down there."

"It's probably fine now. I'll check it for you to be sure."

"Thank you."

"Did you have enough dinner?"

"Yeah, I ate a ton."

"Good. I was afraid you had to come in before you finished."

"Nope, I ate. I wonder if there's any watermelon left, though?"

"There is – Margaret told me to tell you she saved some for you. Your brother and his friends said to tell you good night and they will see you tomorrow."

"I forgot all about them! I hope they don't think I was rude…"

"I don't think so – they knew you had to tend to the baby. That was explanation enough. They had a good dinner and a few beers and went to Merlotte's."

"OK, good. I had to get Alex indoors so quickly I didn't have time to really explain. I just said he wanted ice cream and brought him in."

"I told them you were probably putting him down for a nap and that satisfied them."

"OK, well, that was kind of true after you got finished. We both dozed off."

"You were reading, I see?"

"Yeah, Octavia has tons of stuff for me to read, but I seem to be getting through it pretty quickly."

"Good, focus on that while you have lots of time."

"She gave me notes today she called the "Instant Witch Kit," that she said should be enough to get me started. I still don't know how to do a full ritual, though."

"I believe she said that is your next step, as soon as the room is aired out a bit. She and your other Witches were discussing it amongst themselves."

"Cool. So do you have to work tonight?"

"No, tonight, I am all yours."

"Goodie!"

"I had considered taking you to Fangtasia, but I'm afraid it would be unwise given the problem we had today. It's best to stay inside the fences."

"They aren't done yet, though, are they?"

"Yes, the perimeter fences are in place, though the concrete is still setting. Tomorrow your brother and company will grade the back of our lot and then we'll be ready for sod grass to cover it all until you decide on your landscaping."

"Wow, that was fast."

"Yes, and I feel much better now that it is done. Did you notice the little guard buildings in back?"

"No, the only thing I noticed today was the vans all the way at the back of the lot."

"Ah, well, behind that is a small guard stand that will have access to the surveillance equipment and communications with the front office and the house."

"The front office?"

"Yes, they have a sort of headquarters in the old Servant's Quarters that was remodeled. It looks unassuming, but it is full of state of the art surveillance equipment. Every part of the grounds can be monitored from there. There's another guard stand in place out by the entrance to our property, too, so all who enter must pass by armed guards."

"OK, that's good, I guess?"

"It's very good – it's much safer this way. The landscaper will be here Monday to show you his ideas. Alicia will advise you on that, if you need her."

"OK, cool. You want final approval, though, yes?"

"Yes, Bjorn and I both need to check the final design for safety."

"OK, that's good."

"What would you like to do tonight?"

"Later, I want to show you some of my new stuff, which Alex somehow already knows the names of better than I do, but for right now, can we just snuggle."

"Absolutely, my angel."

"Do you think I should cut my hair short?"

"Absolutely not."

"You don't like short hair?"

"I do not. Also, your hair is glorious – I love the way it reflects the light when we dance. I wouldn't stop you if it was what you really wanted, but I'd be sad if you changed your hair."

"OK, good."

"Good? Didn't you want to change it?"

"No, I just wanted to offer in case you were getting bored with me."

"Sookie, you are never boring. We will be married a thousand years and I will never bore of you. You fascinate me."

"Mmm – good answer. Let's get naked."

"Oh, yes, now that is a good idea," he started undoing her shorts. "Since I saw you in those shorts earlier, I've thought of nothing else but getting you out of them."

She giggled and let him completely undress her, then she pulled his shirt over his head and started on his jeans. His fangs were already down and his eyes were sparkling with excitement. "By the Goddess, Sookie, I have never smelled sweeter perfume in all my long life." He was kissing her all over, then, so quickly she didn't know it was happening, he was on his side, hand under her head, biting her neck. She didn't know how it was possible, but she was coming before she realized he had moved. She could tell from the way he was sucking the wound that he was trying to draw it out as long as he could. He was savoring her and it was the most erotic thing she could remember.

It was the oddest sensation, but the way his tongue and his lips were caressing her neck, the way he was bearing down with his teeth, felt as if he was doing that to another part of her and she was responding as if he were. Just from the way he was drinking her, she felt another orgasm washing over her and as she reached the peak of it he began to stroke her between her legs, his fingers somehow emphasizing what he was doing to her throat. She couldn't feel the bed underneath her anymore – she was writhing, but she was in a void where nothing existed but Eric's scent, his lips and teeth at her throat, his hand between her legs, his fingers inside her. She felt cool, blue-white air flowing over her skin, then the movement drew quickly in to her nipples and they felt as if they received a quick little electric shock. Her eyes flew open but she didn't see anything, all she could do in the blue-whiteness of it all was feel. She felt Eric's cock pushing inside her and everywhere his skin met hers was bright violet light, cold and hot at the same time. Was this what it felt like to die?

Why that thought flashed through her mind then, she'd never know but it was there in a flash and then gone as the bright violet pressed against her flesh, leaving handprints in her mind, everywhere he touched her and he touched her everywhere. She convulsed and wrapped her legs around him, digging her nails into his back, making electric orange trails on his skin. She could no longer tell where she ended and he began, and she could no longer tell if she was having many successive orgasms or one infinite crescendo that pulsed and continued for hours and hours. If you told her they were in this place for a week, she would have believed you. There wasn't anything like time, or day or night here. There was just his body singing against hers, violet bursts of pleasure against her skin as they floated in space. 'This is new,' she thought to herself, 'he's never done this to me before.' She didn't know what "this" was but she was coming again, or still coming, she wasn't sure which, and he was speaking that language he spoke when he was out of his head.

There was a flash of bright orange, then they were tangled up with each other, but fully in their bodies, but something was different. Sookie opened her eyes as he drove into her over and over and she realized they were floating above the bed. Fear shot through her and she started to fall, but he growled "no!" and held her up. She threw her arms around his neck and held on, sure she would fall to the bed if she let him go. He moaned and rolled her around in the air, taking her faster and faster, then raring back and biting her breast savagely. He lowered them slowly to the bed as her last orgasm faded and they lay in each others arms, both seeming out of breath, though she knew he didn't breathe.

They were both facing upward, neither able to speak, but Eric was quietly laughing. When Sookie could form words again she asked him, "did we just fuck in space?"

"That's as good an explanation as any."

"You were doing something new…?"

"Yes, but that went places I've never been before."

"And we were having sex in the air at the end…?"

"Oh, yes, my darling angel, we were," he was still laughing.

She shook her head side to side, trying to clear it, "I feel like I don't have any bones again. How do you make me feel like I'm jelly?"

"Shhh – Sookie. Stop trying to make sense of it. Just let yourself ride the wave of it and enjoy that we are together." He entwined her fingers in his and squeezed them to reassure her. She let out a big yawn, and he rolled on his side, taking her face in his hands and gently kissing her lips, her cheek, her eyes and then she knew nothing but sleep.

Eric lay there and looked at her pretty face a long time. There were no words for what he felt for her. They were moving into places where there were no words now, places humans never knew while they inhabited living bodies. It occurred to him that she was never going to lose her special scent – she was either all Fae now, or something beyond Fae, whatever that might be. She was a butterfly coming out of her cocoon – she had just been waiting for him to awaken her. Whatever she was, wherever she was going, he prayed to Freyja that he and Alex be able to go with her. He couldn't live without her now, and he would never try. Bloody tears flowed from his eyes as he looked at her. If anything ever happened to her, he would not want to live. He would live with her or he would not live at all.

"Shhh, my golden warrior, we will always be together now"

He froze. That was Freyja's name for him, Her golden warrior – she was speaking through Sookie again as she slept.

"Freyja, Min Vackra Gudinna, I must speak to You."

"Come to Her rose-colored room and I will meet you in the circle there, my lover."

Eric moved as swiftly as he ever had in his long life, closing the door to the room behind him and moving so quickly that no one in the house could see him pass them. He flew down the stairs and into the pink room, closing the doors and falling on his knees in the circle. "Come to me, my Goddess. Speak to me, I beg You."

He was bathed in golden light and he looked up as she stood before him in a fine red gown and her cape of feathers. He stayed on his knees and straightened up before her, and he felt her soft hands on his cheeks and her lips, like the petals of a rose, soft against his lips.

"Have faith in me, Erik, and have faith in Her. We are only at the beginning. There are wars to be fought and destinies to unfold, but you will do it together, the three as one."

"The other child... "

"Have faith in Her. Her Mother's heart will tell Her what to do when it needs to be done. All that is has a time and a place. It will be when it must be and not one second before. Rise to your challenges, and all will be well."

"What are my challenges?"

"Keeping them alive" and She was gone.

Eric fell as if he were a puppet and his strings had been cut. He lay on the cool floor for a long time, thinking about those words – keeping them alive. That meant that there were no promises. He could fail. He could lose them.


	81. Chapter 81

**[Author's Note: OK, you're going to start noticing more unusual capitalization of pronouns. It's deliberate, and meaningful, so bear with me… also, someone said that everything in the story should serve a purpose – everything in this story serves the ultimate purpose, which is to spend time with Eric and Sookie. **

**If I haven't said it before, you guys are awesome. Your reviews are what keep me writing!]**

**Chapter 81**

Eric lay on the cool floor thinking about what he needed and wanted to do next. He could go up and watch Sookie and Alex sleep, and maybe wake Sookie up for more sex, but he had things he should do. As much as he intended to spend his whole night with her, their uninvited visitors earlier were a symptom of a much larger problem. The recon on the New Centurion group was not promising. Garner, the leader of the group, was surrounded day and night by some of the finest warriors in the modern world and he had a security system that rivaled the one Eric just had installed in his home. He would be hard to get to under the best of circumstances.

Their best bet was going to be to get a mole on the inside of the organization. Bjorn would be ideal for that but he had been photographed standing next to Sookie more than once so he was out of the question. He did, however, still have some contacts in the murky world of Intel, and he had made some veiled inquiries of some old colleagues. His feelers had already revealed that Garner was lobbying SEALS and Rangers aggressively to join him for literally 20 times what they were making in the military. Eric could easily top that, but it would be better to have someone who was sympathetic to the vampire cause, rather than simply selling his services to the highest bidder. He needed loyalty if at all possible.

The two men caught back in the woods today were apparently supposed to establish surveillance on the compound because they had small wireless cameras and listening devices. They had apparently underestimated the level of security Eric had during the daytime. He could not count on them making this mistake again. Their van was at the bottom of a lake in the next county and Eric had had the foresight to be sure that from this point forward, there was no security at the Bayou Bandit alligator farm at night so he could access the alligator pens in a pinch. This wouldn't be the last time he had to improvise where Jubal Garner's spies and soldiers were concerned and he well knew that.

The gators had quite a feast on what was left of the two mercenaries after Eric got done getting the information he needed out of them. These men had been trained to withstand torture, but Eric was a lot more adept at it than your average Jihadist, and SEER school or no, there was no way to train a man to withstand what Eric could dish out. He was glad no one had noticed that he had flown back to the house and changed his clothes before he returned to the picnic out back. He had been covered with blood, but he had many pairs of jeans and many Fangtasia t-shirts, so no one had noticed that it wasn't the same jeans and Fangtasia t-shirt he'd put on when he first arose.

When he was through with the prisoners at the alligator farm, he had dismembered them and thrown them to the gators then he had burned his clothing while he watched to make sure all pieces were consumed. The guards had been warned that he would be flying back to the house and were told to leave the garage door open and not to bother him when he did. He came back naked, showered in the basement, scrubbed the walls and drain of the shower with Oxiclean to hopefully destroy traces of blood (he had read that forensics teams were running into problems when detergents with active oxygen in them had been used in crime scenes,) and put on one of 3 clean outfits he kept stashed in his hidey hole at all times. He dried his hair with a crazy strong hairdryer he kept down there and hoped no one would notice it was freshly washed. He then flew back to where the vans were parked and walked back to the house as if he had never been gone.

He knew Sookie had noticed his hair when he came in but he also knew she would never mention it. She was learning to take these things in stride, as much as was possible, anyway, and she was becoming very disciplined in not reacting in front of others or exploding at him when they were alone. So far, she had managed to develop a tougher core without losing her natural sweetness. He prayed that she never lose it – it was part of what was so special about her.

He counted himself blessed in many ways for having Sookie in his life and he was beyond grateful that she was not afraid of him yet. Now that she could read his thoughts, he believed it was only a matter of time before that changed. He no longer thought she would leave him, though, because he was sure that she wouldn't do that to Alex. The other baby was a complication he could have lived without, because it was more likely to come between them than bring them together. He would never love another child as he did Alex, no matter how much alike they might be.

Fair or not, Alex was and always would be Eric's only son. Only Alex had been in Sookie's womb. Only Alex had responded to Eric's voice and exchanged feelings with him as he dressed for the evenings. Only Alex cheered him on when he fought or fucked. Only Alex was lying on their bed, bloody and screaming when he disappeared from the birthing room, so that Eric was the first to touch him and to kiss his bloody lips. Only Alex spent some time every night in Eric's arms, reading books and looking into each other's eyes. If Sookie succeeded in bringing the other baby home, Eric would try to be fair and to show him love - he just hoped Sookie didn't hate him when he failed. There was only one Alex and he was all Eric could or would ever want.

He sat up suddenly, feeling Alex reaching out to him in his mind. He moved very quickly to get back up to their room, hoping Alex didn't wake Sookie. She was going to try to go to Faery again tomorrow night, so she needed as much sleep as she could get. He might dread what would happen if she brought Eric Auberon to live with them, but he still considered it his duty to do everything in his power to help her if that's what she wanted. Her happiness would always come first for him.

Alex was sucking his thumb, waiting patiently for Eric. It was a little early for him to be up, but Eric had a feeling he was reacting to the turmoil he was feeling. He also realized that Sookie usually fed him about now. He quickly put some clothes on and picked him up, then silently slipped out the door with him. He gave him a fresh diaper and took him down to the kitchen because there were no bottles in the little fridge upstairs. Everyone was still up, sitting around the table chatting about nothing in particular. Margaret had closed the kitchen and gone to bed, but Bobbie was keeping everyone supplied with coffee and tea. Alicia was sitting at the table in a robe, having moved in completely as of this morning.

"Hello, everyone," Eric greeted them all warmly as he came into the kitchen with Alex in his arms.

"Eric - we wondered what had happened to you," Bjorn said as if he had no idea.

"I spent some time with Sookie and then did a few things after she fell asleep. Alex was hungry so I thought I'd see about getting him some RM so he won't wake her."

"Margaret just made up some bottles for him, but we haven't had a chance to take any upstairs," Alicia said, going to the fridge and heating a bottle for Alex. Eric sat at the head of the table and cuddled Alex, who was very quiet for some reason. "She might want to consider expressing some milk so you have options when you need to feed him."

"That's not a bad idea – is it difficult for her to do that?" Eric had no idea about breast pumps.

"Not at all. I can help her with that, if you want. It might actually make her more comfortable, though she hasn't expressed much discomfort from feeding so far," Bobbie suggested.

"I believe her back is bothering her when she feeds him. I notice she is using that pink pillow a lot now," Eric had noticed it was beside the bed again. He tested the bottle Alicia handed him and then got Alex settled to drink from it.

"That could be from her chest being so much heavier than she's used to. If that's the case, then it probably would help her to do that," Alicia agreed. "Of course, Alex is gaining weight, too, and she'll feel more strain as he grows."

Eric made a mental note to talk to Dr. Ludwig about Sookie breastfeeding the baby and when she would be past things like backaches – an immortal wouldn't have such complaints, but who knew when Sookie would attain that status?

Amelia came in from the den in a pair of blue short-sleeved pajamas with a tulip print on them. "Hey, Eric – I hope you don't mind me crashing on your couch in the den…"

"Not at all if it's necessary – are the bedrooms all full now?"

"Yep, they are. I could drive home tonight if you want me to…"

"No, I'd prefer you stay when you can for Sookie. Those chalets will go up out back soon and this won't be a problem. I could put a bed upstairs in the meditation room or the gym in the mean time if that would help."

"Would you like me to order a bed or a roll-away cot in the mean time, sir?" Alicia offered

"Yes, Alicia, why don't you do that? It never hurts to have an extra bed around," Eric agreed.

"I'll get one brought to the house tomorrow if I can find a place that's open."

"Thank you."

"Eric, if I wanted to stay here full time once a chalet is available, what would you do with Sookie's house?" Amelia was thinking she'd like to be around more since she had a feeling they'd be safer and they'd want to do magick.

"Bill and I discussed having a security firm look after the two houses for the time being, and we'd close them up when no one is staying there. I'll hire someone to tend the grass and keep the bills in order. Are you leaving your job at Merlotte's?"

"I will be once I can live here full time. I warned Sam I might not be there much longer."

"Good. I think you will be much safer here, and I know Sookie loves having you around. She would be devastated if you were hurt while you stayed there."

"Yeah, I just don't feel right there since they blew a hole in the front door. Who knows when they might get drunk and stupid enough to try again, you know? I find myself jumping at every little sound now when I'm there alone."

"Construction on the chalets begins Wednesday and I believe they'll be livable by the following week."

"Wow – that fast?"

"Yes, these kits go up very quickly, but they're very nice. I told them I want them up as quickly as possible and I'm paying them to do exactly that. I thought we'd have Ms. Antoine de Broux decorate them for you, though you can move in as soon as they're under roof."

"That sounds fantastic!"

"I'll engage a mover for you if you like…" Eric offered.

"That's not necessary – I've only got a few things with me. Sookie's car will more than suffice."

"Are you still driving it? I would have thought Sookie's brother had it now?"

"He said he doesn't really have a place for it right now so he said I could drive it while I'm there. I might leave it there for him after I move here."

"Is Sookie ever going to sell that house?" Bobbie asked.

"We've never discussed it, but I assume not. It has been in her family for many generations, so I doubt she would let it go. I'll leave it to her, of course, to decide if she wants to do something else with it."

Alex finished his bottle very quickly and Eric put him up to his shoulder to rub his back so he could burp if he needed to. He patted his back for a few minutes, then said, "I'll need a couple of bottles to put in the fridge upstairs. He'll probably need at least one more bottle before I rest."

"Coming right up," Bobbie went to the refrigerator because she was getting more iced tea anyway. "Here you go, Eric."

"Thank you." Eric smiled at her, "I'm going to take Alex back upstairs and say good night, now."

Everyone called goodnight and Alex waved and said "na-na" which was as close as he could get to "night-night." Eric walked slowly back through the house and up the main stairs, Alex laying his little head on his shoulder and nearly asleep by the time Eric got him back up to the bedroom. Eric put the bottles in the fridge and then settled Alex into the co-sleeper. He didn't feel like working at the moment so he took off his clothes and lay down next to Sookie. He turned the light off and took her hand in his, folding their arms up between them as their fingers were intertwined. He went into down time so he could enjoy the sound of her breathing and the peaceful expression on her face.

Sookie was dreaming. She was on the shore again and the waters were very calm. She walked into the water's edge and looked into the flat surface of it, surprised to see that she was watching a woman rocking a baby as if it were on a TV screen.

"This is scrying, My Angel." Freya was suddenly but gently beside her. "You must learn so You know when to visit him. It will be very easy for You when You are in Our rose-colored room if You burn roses and think of me. You have the gift of sight – one of many gifts You've only begun to discover. You will find Me there whenever You seek Me."

"Our rose-colored room…" Sookie was saying out loud as she opened her eyes. It was dark but she could see Eric in front of her so she reached up and stroked his cheek. He came out of his down time, took her hand from his cheek and kissed the palm. They automatically moved together, he putting his arm under her head as she raised it for him, she wrapping her arm around his waist.

"What were you saying, my angel?" he spoke very softly, in case she wasn't really awake yet.

"She called it "**Our** rose-colored room.""

"She? You mean Freyja?"

"Yes – She considers the room in the basement Ours, not Mine."

"Sookie, you must remember that those words mean the same thing where you and She are concerned."

"See, Eric, in my head, logically, I know what you mean by that but in the front of my brain, I'm still Me and She is still She."

"It won't always be that way, my angel. Soon, "me" and "We" will mean the same thing for you."

"Do I want that?"

"Yes, my angel, you do. That will be the point when you can channel Her power when you choose to do so."

"So I'll understand what She can and can't do and I'll be able to call those powers up when I want to?"

"Yes."

"That _would_ be pretty handy, especially if we were under attack."

"Yes, it would."

"Octavia thinks Alex already can and that it ought to be even easier for me, but there's something in me that thinks I ought to have to work for it, so I do."

"I have a feeling that you will make the shift more easily than you expect."

"Why?"

"Because Freyja's energy is strong in that room. When you've spent some waking time talking with Her, you will realize how similar You are, and it will make more sense to you."

"How do you know Her energy is strong in that room?"

"I met with Her there earlier."

"Oh, _really_?" Sookie didn't know why, but she didn't like the sound of that.

"Yes, She was speaking through you and I told Her I needed to speak to Her. She told me to meet Her in the circle in that room and I did."

"And what did She have to say?"

"That the three of us will always be together as one as long as I meet my challenges."

"And what might those be?"

"Keeping you alive."

"Nice – not too ominous, now is it? She couldn't give you something more positive?"

"It is what it is…"

"What about Aubie?"

"She told me to have faith in Her and to have faith in you and your mother's heart would tell you what to do."

"My mother's heart tells me to do whatever I have to do to get my baby."

"Then that is what you should do."

"I know you have doubts, Eric, but he's our son, too."

"Sookie, I will do whatever I must do to make you happy. Do not worry about my fears. You and I will handle all of our challenges together, one step at a time."

"OK, good, I just…."

WAAA-EEEE! Alex was suddenly wailing, so Sookie rolled toward him and took him in her arms. She put him to her breast, though Eric told her he had just fed him RM, and did her best to calm him. Eric didn't tell her that he knew why Alex was crying – Alex reacted this way whenever Sookie was focused on the other baby.

"He couldn't be jealous of Aubie, could he?" Sookie had heard Eric's thought.

"Yes, I believe he is."

"So he's aware of him?"

"Yes."

"And he doesn't want him?"

"Right. He wants his Mommy and Daddy to himself."

"But any baby would feel that way at this age. He'll outgrow that…"

"Human children often do not. Alex is exceptional – he knows who he is and what he wants, and he wants our exclusive attention."

"You're going to be mad at me because I forgot to tell you that I talked to Dr. Ludwig about Aubie the other day."

"Was she here?"

"Yeah, she popped into the den and talked to me."

"What did she tell you?"

"He's with a young widow who lost her husband and daughter. She loves him very much and will do everything in her power to keep him safe. I think I got a glimpse of her just now when I dreamt of Freyja. She seemed very fond of him."

"So she could be hurt if you took him from her?"

"Yes, she could."

"And she is the only mother he has ever known?"

"Yes, I guess she is. Look, I need to know if I have the option of having him. I also think my feeding him is a good idea because it might give him some immunity to all the things he's sensitive to. I'm going to proceed as if he's coming to live with us, but I'll keep in mind that there are others involved and we'll do whatever is best for the kids, OK?"

"Yes, my angel, that sounds reasonable."

"I was thinking about how he might reflect on you and Alex the other day, as vampire King and Prince. I'm not sure this would be quite fair, but I was thinking maybe we act as if he's a cousin? Cousins can look a lot alike and they'll have enough differences to reinforce that they're not identical. If he's able to come out of Faery for short periods of time, at least they could know each other and we could know that he's alright, don't you think?"

"That would seem a possible compromise, if his Fae mother was amenable to it. You must be prepared, though, Sookie, she might not want our interference."

"Yeah, I guess. I know that a Fae baby would be hard for you to explain."

"There's no point in expending energy toward a hypothetical situation. Learn your magick and find out what is possible, and then we will act accordingly. We won't abandon him, no matter what. Even if he cannot leave Faery, we might be able to visit him and see that he is provided for."

"Niall will see to that, though…"

"Niall might not always be around. When you have honed your skills and discovered what can be done, we will consider approaching the Fae mother and working it all out. I'm sure Dr. Ludwig will act as intermediary if we ask it of her."

"Ok –oooo-aah-00ooh! Wow, big yawn!" Sookie laughed.

"I think you should sleep now, dear one. You need to be well-rested to do your magick tomorrow night."

"I thought we'd take a bath together, though…"

"That would be nice, but I think rest is more important. If you can sleep, you should."

"OK, then, I will. Alex is asleep," she said as she moved him back to his little crib.

"I'll set the monitor and listen for him so he doesn't wake you later. He and I will have our quiet time and I'll tuck him in with you before I rest."

"OK, good. He learns a lot from you, you know. He blew everybody away today naming all those colors you taught him."

"I enjoy that time with him very much. Before I forget, Bobbie and Alicia mentioned that you might want to consider expressing some breast milk for him for times when we don't want to wake you."

"That might not be a bad idea. I don't really know how to do it…"

"Bobbie said she will assist you."

"OK, cool. Before you go – you fed from me tonight but I didn't feed from you."

"You are right. Turn your back to me and I'll give you my wrist."

She rolled over and he spooned up against her, tearing his wrist and letting her feed from him. He held her tight against him as they both had a deep but quiet release. Sookie was very nearly asleep when Eric kissed her and said, "Sweet dreams, my lover." Sookie closed her eyes and drifted off in a gentle pink cloud of bliss.

Eric made his nightly calls to Sandy and Bill, both of whom seemed to have things under control. He told Bill about their two uninvited guests via a code they'd worked out so if anyone were listening on the line they'd think they were talking about Kingdom business. Eric was glad he had thought to set this code up with Bill before they left New Orleans. From this point forward, they needed to assume that they were being recorded.

Eric checked his messages and got an important one from Vincent that said Holy War was playing in Dallas this weekend and might be available tomorrow night. Hearing that, he wrote a note to Sookie that he had business to attend to this night and would be gone for a good part of it. He had email from his accountant, several from his various personal businesses and there was paperwork to do for the Kingdom. Before he knew it, it was after 4 am and Alex was awake. He heard "Dadee" over the monitor, Alex knowing that it was their time now. Eric was next to him immediately and swiftly but silently brought him and a bottle out of the room, leaving the note on the dresser for Sookie.

They went into the nursery, and Eric popped the bottle into the warmer.

"Bood, Dadee." Alex rubbed his little eyes, and pointed to the pile of books on the shelf that came from the Witches' shopping expedition. Eric looked at a few of them, not really feeling up to making weird noises for **Mr. Brown Can Moo, Can You? ** Alex pointed to **First 100 Words** so Eric went back to it.

On the first page, Alex identified two balls and a "wed pish." On the next, he immediately pointed out a yellow truck that was similar to the bulldozers and said "Una Dastha!" Eric laughed and said, "yes, Uncle Jason drives a yellow truck."

"Una Dastha dwibes a ewwo dwug," Alex repeated proudly.

"That's very good, my son. Remember to tell that to Mommy tomorrow, OK?"

"Oday!"

Eric turned the page and Alex saw many familiar things: "wed pish, peek towa, wath ayr, baf dub, seepeen, bood, and uh-oh, wamp!" Then Eric asked him to show him blue and he quickly pointed out a potty, bathtub, lamp, pajamas and slippers, plus the squares that contained a brush and a teddy bear. Alex pointed to the teddy bear and looked at Eric, "Do-ee?"

"Yes, that's a toy like your dragon, but this one is a teddy bear."

"Tay baya?"

"Yes, you probably have a teddy bear around here somewhere."

"Ware di tay baya doe?'

"Would you like me to find you a bear?"

"OMba!"

Eric laughed and stood up with Alex, laying the book in his chair and they looked around. Eric always laughed to himself out of sheer delight when he saw all the clothes and toys and other things in this room because it was visible proof to him of Sookie's love and care for his son. Alex looked around with big eyes, too, and Eric said, "This is your room, Alex. Some day you will have this room all to yourself. You can play with any of the toys in here when you want," he told him as they looked at shelves and piles of toys. When he looked into the crib, Eric found a soft blue teddy bear and pointed to it, "What is that, Alex?"

"Boo tay baya!" He was giggling and waving his little arms, so Eric picked the bear up and gave it to him. Alex squealed and hugged it to him, then gave it a big kiss on its head.

Eric was thrilled to see how excited it made him. "I think you are going to love stuffed animals as much as your Mommy does," he laughed.

"Mamee seepeen?"

"Yes, Mommy is sleeping. When she wakes up later, you can show her your new bear!"

"Omba, Mamee ma tay baya."

"Say, "I'm going to show Mommy my new teddy bear."

"Ahm gowin do chow Mamee ma do tay baya."

"And you will say, "Lookie, Mommy, I have a teddy bear!"

"Woogie, Mamee, Ah abah tay baya!"

Eric laughed and lifted Alex up over his head, teddy bear and all, and shook him playfully. "That's very good, Alex. You are a very smart boy!"

"OMba!" Alex giggled.

Eric hugged him close and kissed his head, then Alex said, "badow, Dadee!"

"Bottle? Do you know what is in the bottle?" Eric asked as he reached for it.

"BUD!"

"Yes, blood! Daddy's little vampire loves blood!" Eric kissed him again.

"Dadee's widdo bapaya wuvs bud!" Alex said then took the nipple aggressively, smiling.

Eric was smiling at him so proudly – he felt as if he could burst. He thought briefly of his life before Alex, before Sookie – he never imagined back then that such happiness was possible, and even if it was, it certainly was not for him. He had thought he was too old and jaded to enjoy anything on this level any more. Holding Alex, looking into his eyes as he took his blood, was worth every minute of the thousand years he had to wait for it. Maybe there was more human left in Eric than he had ever believed, because he loved this child fiercely, and he didn't think that was possible for a vampire of any age. He wondered if this was an effect of taking Sookie's blood, to feel love so intensely? If it was, then he would never stop tasting her. He never wanted to lose this feeling. It was very good to be Eric Northman.

When his bottle was finished, Eric held him up to his shoulder and gently patted his back until he burped and began to doze off. Alex loved this best, his head on Daddy's shoulder, fingers entwined in Daddy's long, soft hair, the smell of Daddy in his nose and the lingering taste of blood on his tongue. He smiled as he gently fell asleep, snuggled safely on Daddy's big shoulder. It was very good to be Alex Northman.

Eric smiled to himself, feeling the sense of safety, comfort and love pouring out of Alex. When he had held him as long as he dared, he tucked him and his teddy bear in next to Mommy, then went to rest in the glow of his little boy's love.

Sookie woke up when a surprisingly sharp baby fingernail scratched her stomach. She opened her eyes to see Alex trying to crawl up on her.

"Good morning, Pookie. Are you trying to come eat?"

"Ee, Mamee," he gave her a big toothless smile as she pulled him up and got him settled. Sookie said, "Pillow!" and the pink pillow was in her lap, much to Alex's delight. "Omba, Mamee!"

"Oh, you like that, huh?" Sookie laughed, knowing Alex was proud and amused that she beat him to it. She sat up a little more on the wedge pillow, which she was still using because she thought she breathed better with it, and snuggled Alex as he had his breakfast. She leaned her head back for a bit and dozed as Alex fed, grimacing a bit when he extended his fangs. She had no idea how long she dozed there, but at some point Alex said "woogie, Mamee!" and she opened her eyes to see him pointing at the crib.

"Ah aba boo tay baya, Mamee!"

"You have a blue teddy bear? You sure do! Did Daddy get this out of the crib for you?" She held on to him and leaned over so she could reach it for him.

"Omba, Dadee."

"Oh, that's so cool! Isn't he soft?" She petted the soft, light blue Gund bear as Alex snuggled it close. Alex snuggled with his Mommy and his bear for a few minutes, then he moved to the other breast, never letting teddy go. Sookie helped him settle and leaned back, smiling at him. She could feel that Alex loved his stuffed animals as much as she did. She didn't know why that made her so happy, but it did. He was such a lovable and loving baby. 'What Mommy could ask for more!' she thought, then she darkened as she remembered Aubie, but Alex quickly distracted her by patting her cheek. That always made her melt, and Alex knew it. He loved his Mommy more than anything, except maybe Daddy.

"Well, good morning, you two!" Alicia said as she came in with some laundry.

"Hey, Alicia. How's it going today?"

"Well, so far, it's quiet, but it's early. There's a little bit of paperwork for you from the New Orleans office and there are a couple of items Ms. Antoine de Broux wanted you to see so you can pick which one you like. Today is the last day for the bulldozers so your brother and his friends will have dinner with us again tonight. I've got a platter of salmon ready for you when you're up to eating."

"Yum! I'd love that!"

"Sthama?" Alex raised his head.

"Yes, I've got some salmon for you, too, Baby E."

"OMBA, Eesh!"

Sookie and Alicia cracked up at him being so excited about salmon. "Alright, then, I'll be right back with breakfast for both of you," Alicia set the laundry down, handed Sookie the note from her dresser and headed to the second floor kitchen.

"Oh, boy, Pookie, we get fish for breakfast!"

"Pish?"

"Yeah, salmon is a fish!"

"Sthama itha pish!"

"Oh, that's so good! You're so smart!"

"Ee-ahh!" he giggled and Sookie pulled him up to sit on her waist.

"Are you ready to dance today, Pookie?"

"OMBA!"

Sookie shook him gently, singing "well, shake it up, baby, now – shake it up baby! Twist and Shout! Twist and Shout…" and on and on and Alex cracked up and giggled and drooled because Mommy's smiles were all his again, like they were every morning. He loved Mommy's bright light – she shined "peek an ewwo" all around her and made him feel safe and warm. She always smelled sweet, too, like "inthen" and "wosthesth" and she tasted better than anything he'd ever tasted yet, even the stuff Una Dastha let him try then Dadee fed him out by the "poo."

"Knock, knock! Everybody decent?"

"Ah, Borhd!"

"Hey, Bjorn – come on in, I'm under the covers," Sookie laughed. "We're just dancing and singing like we do in the mornings, right, Pookie?"

"Omba, dadtheen!" Alex was giggling and Bjorn came in and said "hey, buddy!" and tickled him so he clapped his hands, then walked around the bed and sat at the table where he usually did. He had a big book with him today, which Sookie found odd, but she didn't know why.

Sookie kept playing with Alex, lifting him up and down above her and kissing him, sort of the way Eric did, but in a softer, smoother way, or as Alex would think of it, in a "Mamee" way. Sookie hugged him to her and patted his bottom, then sat him back up and sang some more while she jiggled him. Bjorn sat watching them with a big smile on his face. That was the luckiest kid in the world as far as he was concerned, and the cutest, too. There was a lot more of Sookie in Alex than she realized, but Bjorn was acutely aware of their similarities.

Alicia came back with Sookie's breakfast and Bjorn offered to feed Alex so Alicia could finish with Sookie's and Eric's wardrobes. Alex liked attention from Bjorn, too, so he was happy to go to him. Bjorn crossed his leg so it was parallel to the floor and put Alex with his back against the knee so he was at an angle but sort of sitting up. He fed him that way, just fascinating Sookie.

"Bjorn, where did you learn to do that?"

"I've done it before, caring for younger kids."

"You have brothers and sisters?" Sookie knew this was a sore point with him, but she knew he wouldn't yell at her, either.

"Not exactly. There were much younger kids where I grew up. I used to feed them when no one else would do it."

"Oh, well, that's good that you were there, then…"

"It was good for the younger ones, yeah." He wasn't really paying attention to what he was saying because he was intent on getting the salmon into Alex's mouth rather than on his face.

"Do you see them very often?"

"I haven't seen any of them since I was 17. That's when I went into the Navy."

"Don't you miss them?"

Bjorn suddenly realized what he was saying. "The two smallest ones, yeah, but getting in touch with them is out of the question."

"Don't you think they miss you?"

"I never thought about it. I left as soon as I could and I never looked back." His tone indicated that he didn't want to talk about this.

Sookie opened to listen to Bjorn's thoughts and realized there was some sort of violence in his childhood he didn't want to think about so she changed the subject.

"I'm glad you get along with Alex so well. It's good to have a man he cares about with him in the daytime. I think it keeps him from missing Eric so much."

"He's a great kid. There's no way to not like him. I like to see him with Eric, too. Eric is a perfect father, I think. He's better than a TV father in a lot of ways, too. The fathers on TV don't teach their kids how to be warriors. I never saw a father that would hold a baby and read to him the way Eric does. I mean, I guess a lot do, but I've never seen it before. He'll just sit and rock Alex for a long time, even when he's asleep."

"Yeah, I'm amazed at how patient he can be with him," Sookie agreed.

"He told me he wants to remember every minute of his time with Alex because it's more important to him than he ever imagined." Bjorn was scraping the last bits of salmon off the sides of the bowl for Alex

"Yeah, I can't believe how positive he is about the whole thing, but I'm so glad. I couldn't picture it early on, you know, I was afraid he'd be too stoic or detached the way most vampires are."

"I asked him about that," Bjorn said as he fed Alex the last bite, "and he said vampires practice being detached because people around them inevitably die, and after hundreds of years, you'd go insane if you let yourself be attached to so many people. It's like a suit of armor they wear to protect their own sanity. He said he couldn't stand it when you got to him in spite of him trying to forget about you, and then he said when he saw Alex for the first time, all bets were off. He couldn't be detached from Alex even if he tried."

"Yeah, I know. I hope they stay close as Alex grows up. I know fathers and sons can have difficult relationships."

"Only if the son feels too much pressure or if the son disappoints the father. Alex won't disappoint Eric. They're too much alike."

"Sthama, Mamee!"

"Do you want more salmon, Pookie?"

"Omba!"

"I think Alicia went back downstairs. I don't know if there's anymore, but we'll ask, OK?" She reached for the monitor and Alicia answered. "Alicia, is there more salmon stuff for Alex?"

"Yes, Mrs. Northman, I'll be up with it directly. Tell him to hold on."

"OK, Alex, Alicia will bring more but you have to be patient. Talk to Bjorn while you wait."

"Shtama dood, Bhord!"

"Yeah, salmon's good. I had some for breakfast, too! It will make you big and strong…"

"Por FIDEEN!"

Sookie and Bjorn cracked up, and Bjorn said, "Yes, for fighting and it makes you smart, too."

"You know, he wanted to go out back with Eric last night."

"Is that why you disappeared?"

"Yeah, I barely kept him from flying back there. Any time there's something like that going on, we need to be very careful that he's secured some way. Eric is going to talk to him about it if he didn't already."

"Good. It would not have been good if he had come out back when…" he stopped himself, thinking that it might not be such a great idea to tell Sookie they had tortured their prisoners for information before they killed them.

"Yeah, believe me, I know. I don't want him exposed to that so early. I know it's inevitable, but the later, the better. I don't want him to be a sociopath."

"That won't happen, Sookie – he's got two loving parents. It takes serious trauma to produce a human who can't feel empathy."

"It might not take as much to create a vampire who can't though, you know what I mean?"

"Yeah, I do. Not with this kid, though, Sookie. He's got too much love around him and he's already tapped into people's feelings."

"Good, I want him to stay that way. Is it safe to go out today?"

"It should be. We've got extra guards all around and the fences are up. It's supposed to be sunny – you heading for the pool?"

"Yeah, as soon as Alex and I are done eating. We could both use some fresh air. I feel like I haven't been in the pool in ages!"

"It's only been a day or two," Bjorn laughed.

"Yeah, but still. I feel better when I've been in the sunshine."

Alicia came in with another bowl of salmon mousse. "OK, Baby E, here you go!" she laughed as she handed the bowl to Bjorn.

"OMBA, dayoo, Eesh!"

"You're quite welcome, sir!" she teased him and he giggled then opened his mouth to let Bjorn know to get on with the feeding. Bjorn laughed and gave him a big bite that made him purr.

Sookie looked at the note from Eric, scowled a bit, then put it in her bottom drawer and finished her breakfast. Bjorn closed his eyes so she could run into the bathroom. Alicia took a bathing suit in to her and then began gathering her sun bathing equipment – books, journal, sunglasses, iPod, suntan oil, etc. – then changed Alex's diaper and got a plastic cover for him to wear swimming.

By the time they all migrated to the back yard it was after 11:30 and it was sunny and hot. Alex was waving his little arms like crazy saying, "Sthimmeen, sthimmeen!"

from the minute Alicia put the diaper cover on him. He knew the plastic pants meant he was going "ina poo!"

As soon as they were out back, Alex flew out of Sookie's arms and landed in the water. She panicked and jumped in after him with her cover-up still on, only to find him paddling along when she caught up to him. "Alex! Don't do that! You only come in the water WITH Mommy or Daddy, understand? You don't go in the water by yourself that way!"

"Did he dive in again?" Bobbie laughed as she took off a white terry cover and headed into the pool, too.

"Again?!" Sookie didn't know he had done this before.

"Yeah, the other night," Bjorn told her as he settled at his table, "when Eric was flying with him, when he was done he just landed in the water and scared the shit out of all of us. He was fine, though."

"I forgot about that. How are we going to keep him safe if he does things like that?!"

"He's a vampire, Sookie. I don't think you need to worry about him drowning," Bobbie reminded her as she waded into the pool and Alex swam toward her.

"That's probably true, but we don't know for sure so let's not find out, OK?"

"We'll watch him, Sookie, don't worry," Bjorn was mostly humoring her because he was pretty sure Alex couldn't actually drown.

"Hey, girls, want some company?" Amelia called as she came out the door in a bathing suit and put a towel on a chair.

"Ah, Ameeah!" Alex yelled as Bobbie was holding him.

"Hi, Punkin'!" Amelia waved at him.

"Hey! Is that Bobbie's suit?" Sookie asked

"Yeah, I forgot to bring one, but she was kind enough to lend me one."

"Oh, good! It will be fun with the three of us plus Alex."

"The four of us plus Alex. Octavia is putting her suit on as we speak," Bobbie told her.

"Octavia is going to swim?! That's awesome!" Sookie was really glad to hear that. "Hey, how did you guys know I was swimming?"

"Alicia spread the word after she got done in your room," Bobbie laughed, "and it just so happened that everybody felt like swimming, too. AND… you're going to start working out today."

"I can work out?!"

"Yep, you're doing so well, I thought we'd start with some aerobic stuff and some general toning and pretty soon, I'll have you doing crunches like Bjorn does," Bobbie teased her.

"How many crunches a day do you do, Bjorn?" Sookie had never thought to ask before.

"I do several types, so altogether, 2000."

"Two THOUSAND?! Holy smoke! Know wonder you're so buff!" Sookie didn't stop to think that she might not ought to say that in front of Bobbie, but Bobbie didn't mind.

"You should see how he does push ups, Sookie," Bobbie bragged.

"Why – what does he do?"

"You know those things on TV that rotate to work your arms better?"

"Yeah…"

"He uses those with his feet up on the bed."

Amelia whistled as she waded into the pool – that was impressive.

"Wow! You can do that, Bjorn?" Sookie wanted to see him do it, but she didn't say that.

"Yeah, it's no big deal."

"Can you help me get that strong, Bobbie?"

"With you drinking so much of Eric's blood, yeah, I probably could," Bobbie said as she pointed Alex at Amelia and let him swim to her.

"Let's go for it!"

"You want to get that muscled up, Sookie?" Amelia was surprised she'd want that.

"I don't want big bulky muscles, no, but I'd like to get really strong and in great shape so when I get turned I'll be buff forever," she laughed but she was dead serious.

"That's a good idea!" Bjorn liked this, and he knew Eric would like it, too. "I can tell you some supplements that will help you add muscle in the right places."

"Yeah, if you're serious about it, Sookie, there are some amino acids that can help you gain muscle if you take them at the right time. You'd have ridiculously perfect abs if you worked them seriously," Bobbie agreed. This actually was a really good idea.

"OK, so let's get serious."

"You want to start now?"

"Yep – what do I do?"

"The first thing you should do is swim some laps. How many can you do?"

"I hardly ever actually swim, but I could probably do two up, and back."

"OK, then, give me four, up and back."

"What about…"

"We'll play with Alex, Hon, you just do your laps," Amelia assured her. Sookie was on her second time to the end of the pool when Octavia came out and put her stuff next to Amelia's.

"Is she actually swimming?" Octavia laughed as she grabbed an air mattress and headed into the pool.

"Yep, she decided she wants to get in really good shape," Amelia explained as she held Alex up so he could hug Octavia.

"Good morning, little vampire," Octavia hugged Alex.

"Dadee's widdo bapaya wuvs bud!" Alex said proudly, and Octavia, Amelia, Bobbie and Bjorn nearly wailed with laughter.

"Did your Daddy tell you to say that?" Octavia asked him, laughing.

"OMba, Dadee bud!"

"Daddy feeds you blood every night, doesn't he?" Octavia took him from Amelia for a bit, since he was lighter in the water.

"Omba, bud an bood."

"Blood and… book?" She thought she understood him, but wasn't sure.

"Omba, boog!"

"Daddy reads you a book and feeds you blood every night?"

"Ee-ah."

"You like when Daddy reads to you?"

"Ee-ah! Ah aba boo tay baya."

Octavia looked at Bobbie and Amelia, who both shrugged.

"You know what that means, Bjorn?"

"No, but you can ask Sookie if she can talk," he laughed. Sookie was hanging on to the edge of the pool at the end of her fourth time up there, catching her breath.

"Hey, Sookie, what is Alex saying?" Amelia called to her

"Say it to Mommy, boy," Octavia urged him.

"AH ABA BOO TAY BAYA!" Alex yelled to Sookie, who laughed in spite of being out of breath.

"He's saying "I have a blue teddy bear." I guess Eric found it for him last night. It's his new buddy," Sookie laughed, partially at herself for being so out of breath.

"DO-EE!" Alex said and instantly had the blue bear, and Octavia barely managed to keep it from getting wet.

"Hang on, child, you don't want to get him wet!" Octavia told him.

"Sthimmeen."

"He can't go swimming with you, Alex. How about you let him keep Bjorn company until you get out of the pool, OK?" Octavia walked to the side of the pool and handed the bear to Bjorn.

"Oday, Borhd."

"He'll be right here waiting for you when you come out for your nap, OK, buddy?" Bjorn assured him.

"Ee-ah."

Sookie had slowly made her way back to the front of the pool by this time.

"Here, Sookie let me check your heart rate," Bobbie went over to her, "That's good. Now, while you're really pumping, let's go through a work out and we'll focus on some arms and abs work."

"OK, what's first?"

Bobbie worked with Sookie while Octavia sat on one of the steps and let Alex play in the water. Amelia was floating on the mattress Octavia had brought into the pool. Alicia brought out some little pool toys she had picked up for Alex on her last shopping trip and he was delighted with the bright, rainbow colors of the little plastic rings and animals and cups. Octavia had him naming all the colors and he was enjoying showing off for her.

"Here, Bjorn, why don't you make yourself useful while you're sitting there," Alicia teased him, handing him a toy to blow up and setting a glass of sweet tea next to him. Bjorn laughed and blew up the yellow fabric-covered duck, and when he saw what it was he asked her, "what's this for?"

"It's a little seat for him. See, he sits in the middle and he can float around."

"Oh, OK, I guess he'll like that. Maybe he'll like to float the way Sookie does." Bjorn closed the air valve and said, "hey, Octavia, here's a ride, or float or something for him."

Octavia took the seat and said, "Here, boy, you want to ride in this ducky for a bit?"

"Wide?"

"Yeah, watch this," she said to him as she sat him in the middle of it.

"HAAAA!" Alex made his happy sound as she settled him into the seat, just thrilled with his new ducky. "Woogie, Mamee!" he called to Sookie, waving at her to get her attention.

"Wow! What have you got, Pookie?" She had been so intent on her exercises she had missed the conversation between Bjorn, Alicia and Octavia.

"Ewwo duggy!"

"A yellow ducky? Where did you get that?"

"Borhd?" He knew Bjorn had blown it up and given it to Octavia, so he pointed to him.

"Alicia brought it out," Bjorn told her.

"I got it in town the other day. I thought he might like to float like you do."

"That's so cute! Thanks, Alicia! He loves it!" Sookie walked over to Alex to play with him a bit.

"Ah wuv ma duggy, Eesh!" Alex agreed, hugging it's head and making everyone laugh. He giggled and kicked in the water, knowing he was the center of attention for the moment. Sookie played with him a while, pulling him around the pool, having him paddle to some of the others. Alicia brought the playpen out and set it up, knowing Alex would be getting sleepy soon. Before long, he said, "ee, Mamee," to Sookie and she scooped him up and headed up to the table where Bjorn was sitting, taking one of the other chairs.

Alicia brought her a gorgeous beige nursing cover with dark pink flowers on it so she didn't have to worry about other guards being around as she fed Alex outside. By the time he was done eating, he was dozing off, so they took his plastic pants off, gave him a fresh diaper and tucked him into the playpen with his blue teddy bear.

Margaret had lunch ready then, so Sookie ate some grilled chicken and two big servings of Caesar salad, visited with Jason and the boys a bit, then went to float in the pool when they returned to work at the back of the property. They were nearly done, but said they might be back one evening during the week to dig for the plumbing on the chalets.. Bobbie decided to sit with Bjorn a bit and chat, Octavia took a lounge chair to nap in and Amelia needed to call her dad in New Orleans, so Sookie got to just float and think a while.

'This is so nice!' she thought to herself. She mused about how much her life had changed in just 67 days – she had counted it up as she floated. She told Eric she was pregnant on Cinco de Mayo and today was only July 12. She felt like it had been years since she first told Eric she was pregnant. She remembered one time Eric told her that time could be manipulated, and he said that he had no doubt Niall could do that. That was before they knew about Freyja, though. She could certainly manipulate time, right? But why? Why did She need for Sookie to move from being a single girl whose biggest problem was what to wear to Eric's house and how she was going to pay the light bill, to being a Queen with an entourage and a precocious baby who was already talking and calling up his own toys, in just a matter of days? Was it all for Her? For Sookie? For Eric? For someone else – the whole two kingdoms maybe? She sure hoped she'd get a chance to ask Freyja why, and she hoped She'd tell her the truth.

Not that Sookie didn't love her life the way it was now, but she didn't want to miss out on any of it. Alex was so advanced that she was afraid he'd be spouting Shakespeare by the time he was 5. She loved that he was bright and funny, but she wanted him to be a baby, too. She thought about the other baby, Aubie, and that dampened her mood. She would see him tonight, Freyja willing, and feed him again. The thought of it made her ache. Her poor little baby, being raised by a stranger, not even knowing Eric existed. She wondered if he'd remember her.

She thought about what Eric had said about the Fae mother not wanting their interference. Surely she'd understand that Sookie needed to have her own baby with her? Or was Sookie being selfish? Aubie wouldn't be able to play in the pool like Alex could, at least not in the daytime. She wondered when he slept. Was time the same in Faery as it is in the human world? Where exactly was _Faery_? Is it in Ireland or is it in a different dimension, or what?

Freya had told Sookie she needed to do scrying to know when to go see Aubie. She guessed she shouldn't go when his mother was there? Maybe it was best to keep it all between him and Sookie for the time being. Sookie was sure Aubie would have some positive effect from her feeding him. She was sure that's why Freyja told her how to do it as soon as she found out about him.

What exactly was scrying, anyway? She knew she remembered Octavia saying something about it, but she didn't understand it at the time. She looked around. Bobbie and Bjorn were chatting and she didn't want to interrupt. Octavia was still napping, but Amelia was coming out the back door. She hoped she was coming back into the pool. Sure enough, Amelia waded back in and grabbed an air mattress.

"Perfect timing," Sookie laughed.

"Really? What's up?"

"I have a question for you – what is scrying?"

"It's a type of divination, like Tarot or crystal gazing. There are a couple of ways to do it." Amelia explained as she got on the mattress, "some people use a dark bowl of water and some use a scrying mirror, which is usually a concave black glass. It might be painted black or made of naturally black material. You can get other colors, too, but black is most common. We bought you a really nice one."

"You did?"

"Yeah, it's on the table downstairs. It's in a square frame that has Celtic designs around the outside. It's one of the prettiest I've ever seen. Octavia picked it out."

"OK, do I use water with it?"

"You can fill it with water or you can just use it dry. The main thing is the dark surface. You focus your attention on it and sort of relax your mind. It's hard to explain, but it's the opposite of concentration. You let it all go and just let the images come to you. Some people get symbols, some see visions or get flashes of reality, some people might hear or smell things, too."

"I had a dream last night that I was standing in the water on the shore and it was very calm. I looked down into the water and I saw Aubie and his Fae mother just like I was watching them on TV. Freyja said I should do that to know when to visit."

"Wow – She's really moving right along with you, kid. That's great. If I were you, I'd put water in the mirror since you always see Her on the shore and I'd add a little salt. You might be able to zero right in on them, just like you did in your dream."

"Is that possible?"

"'Possible' is a fluid concept in most situations – in _your_ situation, it's nearly infinite."

"OK, do I use white salt or black salt? You got me both, right?"

"Right. I'd use white salt to call up the ocean. Black salt has lava in it, so you use it more for the element of fire."

"Air, Earth, Water, Fire, Spirit – those are the points of the pentacle, right?"

"Right."

"And I'm working with Water?"

"In your case, since you're seeing Freya on the shore and She's known as "shining on the sea," yeah, I'd stick with water. I'd talk to Her on Fridays and I'd keep roses and rose quartz around for Her."

"You all got me all those things, right?"

"Right."

"Do I need to do a full ritual to draw a circle?"

"I don't think so. It's good to know how it's done, but Freyja told you "thrice around, deosil" and it worked for you so you probably just need to do that."

"Thrice around, deosil – you girls talkin' about Freyja?" Octavia was stretching as she woke up.

"Yep, Sookie was asking me about scrying. Freyja told her about it."

"How did She have you do it?"

"I waded into calm water and watched the surface."

"I suggested she might want to use water with the mirror you got her, and a little salt to call up the ocean."

"Sounds right to me. She tell you why to use it?"

"To see when it was OK to see Aubie," Sookie just said it since there was no one around right now that didn't know.

"She doesn't want others knowing that you're visiting him and feeding him."

"That's what I thought," Sookie agreed. "So what's our next step? Eric has to go out tonight to take care of some crisis at one of his businesses so I'm going to be free all evening."

"Alright, then, when he goes out we'll consecrate your tools so they'll be charged up for your work later on," Octavia said.

"Hey, Bjorn, what time is it?" Sookie called.

"Almost 4:30."

"Thanks. Octavia, is there something I could work on now. I feel like I want to get started.

"Sure, you can go in and take a ritual bath. Soak a few minutes and wash, then scrub yourself with salt, anoint your head with lemon oil and visualize white light all around you. By the time you're done with that, Eric will be up and everyone will have dinner. Once he's out the door, you'll be ready to work."

"OK, I can do that."

"Before you go upstairs, stop down in the basement. There's a long black tank dress folded on the table. Take it up with you and put it on when you get done with your back, with nothing under it. No one will notice and it will keep a part of you focused on your work, even while you deal with dinner and all."

"OK – will it look weird if I wear that in front of people?"

"No, your hair will be wet from the bath and it's just a little summer dress you threw on. Only you will know the significance of it, and more importantly, the you deep down inside will know the significance of it."

"Can a wear make-up?"

"If you want."

"Shouldn't I do this right before I do magick?"

"Ideally, but you've got company, and a husband that needs to see you before he gets out the door, so this is how you'll do it this time. Remember, we do what works. You're taking the bath because you've got the time. If you didn't, you'd skip it, but you don't have to so do it."

"OK, Alex will be awake soon…"

"We'll watch Alex while you do your thing, Sookie," Amelia encouraged her.

"We won't give him time to miss you – we'll play with him and let him show off for us – he'll have a great time," Octavia assured her.

"OK, so I need the dress, lemon oil and salt from downstairs…"

"Right. Go to it. Think about what you need to do – to charge up your tools, to see your baby. Don't worry about anything else. Get your mind and your energy clear."

Sookie hopped off the mattress and headed for the steps. "Hey, guys," she spoke to Bobbie and Bjorn, "I've got something I need to do, so I'm going to go in for a bit. You all will keep an eye on Alex, right?"

"Right. Do what you need to do, sugar," Bobbie smiled, knowing Sookie was going to do some preparations.

Sookie went into the pantry and down the steps to the basement. She went to the back, past Eric's hidey-hole, which made her smile, and she looked at the things on the table. She found the scrying mirror, which was really pretty, though she didn't know why they called it a mirror when you couldn't really see yourself in it. She found the tank dress, which was simple but would be sexy, too, on the table. She smiled to herself that if Eric saw her in it, the way it would flow over her curves, he was going to be sorry he had to leave the house. That thought cheered her up a lot, because she was a little bummed about him going out, though she didn't know why.

She looked over some other stuff on the table, and noticed a big fat quartz crystal point that almost seemed to throb in her peripheral vision. She picked it up and found that she loved the feel of it in her hand. Octavia had told her that Quartz was an amplifier, so Sookie took it with her to amp up her power a bit.

As she came back up the stairs, she heard Margaret say, "Mrs. Northman," and as she reached the door of the pantry, Alicia said, "There she is!"

"What's going on?" Sookie asked, hoping it wasn't trouble.

"You got a special delivery, Missus," Margaret said proudly, nodding toward the table, which had a huge arrangement of pink roses on it.

"Wow! Where did those come from?" Sookie was stunned.

"Read the card and find out." Alicia said as she handed it to Sookie.

Sookie opened the little envelope and looked at the card:

_For Sookie, My beautiful Goddess, Love, Eric_

"They're from Eric! Oh, this is so sweet!"

"Is it an anniversary or something?" Alicia asked.

Sookie knew this was for her first official ritual, to take downstairs with her to share with Freyja, but she just said, "Yeah, it sort of is. I can't believe he thought to do this! How many are there?"

"The delivery man said three dozen. He could barely carry it," Alicia and Margaret were obviously thrilled for Sookie. "Would you like them up in your bedroom?"

"This is going to sound a little crazy, but I'd like to have them in my pink room in the basement, if there's a little table or something you can put them on."

"Oh, well, whatever you want. I think we moved some little tables and such in there earlier, didn't we, Margaret?"

"Yes, Miss Octavia looked through the storage outside and downstairs and picked a couple of end tables and side tables for that room, and a very nice little writing table and a chair. Leroy took them down early this morning. I'm surprised you didn't notice when you were down there, Missus."

"Oh, yeah – I didn't look into the room, I just needed something off the table outside of it. I'm sure it will fine. Octavia knows what I need down there better than I do."

"Alright, then I'll get Leroy to take these down now, if that's what you want?"

"Actually, if they're not in the way, could you leave them there and I'll get Eric to do it? It would mean more that way."

"Alright, then, we'll leave them here."

"Thanks! I'm going to go soak in the tub for a bit, so I'll see you at dinner time, OK?"

"Alright, Missus. Enjoy your bath."

Sookie took a big whiff of the roses then bounced on through the living room and up the stairs. Her mood was soaring right now. She knew the flowers were to attract Freyja, but they were for her, too, and she loved them. Besides, Eric thought she _was_ Freyja, so really, they were just for her, she laughed. She didn't even feel like she was missing Eric when she ran the bath because it was like he was there with her. He always was.

Sookie looked at all the bubble bath gels and powders Eric had in the big basket and found one that was rose scented, which was perfect. She stripped and climbed in, washing her hair right away and shaving her legs. She leaned back and relaxed, thinking about the ritual. She was going to charge her tools so they'd work as well as possible for her and she was going to feed Aubie tonight, and if she was very, very lucky or good or whatever, she might get to speak to Freyja directly. Sookie closed her eyes and tried to picture Freyja as she appeared to her in dreams.

In her dreams, Freyja was much taller than Sookie. They had the same color hair, though, and similar eyes, though Freyja's were bright blue like Eric's and Alex's… and Aubie's. They might look different when they were older, but at the moment, if you put Aubie and Alex next to each other, you'd be hard pressed to tell them apart if Alex didn't speak. Sookie remembered how it felt when she held Aubie and breastfed him. Would that be possible in the black dress she was supposed to wear? Sookie sat up, leaned over the side of the tub and said "dress" and the folded dress was in her hand. It had a low scoop neck, so it wouldn't be a problem to pull it down to feed Aubie. Good. Now, Aubie's eyes – she wondered if they sparkled like Eric's and Alex's when he was excited? She didn't even know how he smiled or laughed. She knew he was warm, unlike Alex and he had a certain softness when he looked in her eyes that was different from Alex's… what was the word? Intensity, maybe, or confidence? Alex was cute, but Aubie seemed sweet, if that made any sense. She was trying hard to act as if she was handling this, but knowing she had a child who wasn't with her was hell. She started to cry, but berated herself and got focused on clearing her energy and focusing her purpose. Crying wouldn't bring Aubie to her, but doing her magick well just might.

Sookie closed her eyes and focused on what Amelia had said earlier – it's the opposite of concentration. She slowed her breathing, cleared her mind and she felt energy swirling around her. It was almost like the energy she and Eric generated together but not as intense – it didn't have as much electricity in it. It was more of a gentle current than a whirlpool. After a few minutes, she realized that the pure white energy was expanding and contracting in time with her breath and it was huge – it easily encompassed the property and more. She pictured the property lines and saw them as an invisible wall that no one with harmful intent could penetrate. The energy moved up and down, reaching into the earth and up into the sky in a perfect sheer golden bubble. It flashed in Sookie's mind that nothing and nobody was getting through this to hurt them and when the thought registered, she said "so mote it be," and she meant business.

Whoosh! Sookie felt her intention fly out from her, and she knew the Goddess was making it happen. She figured she'd need to reinforce that bubble now and then, but she knew it was there and knowing it gave her a new sense of peace about their new compound. She felt filled with bright, calm energy, so she grabbed the salt, scrubbed the back of her neck and her whole body with it, then took the hand held and let a little bit of salt water from her palm wash over her as she drained the tub. She picked up the lemon oil and, remembering the self-blessing ritual, she touched some to her forehead at her third eye, to her lips, between her breasts, just above her clit, the top of each foot, then she put a little on the sole of each foot and in the palm of each hand. She wanted to put lotion on, so she picked one with little fragrance to it and mixed in a little lemon oil there, too. It couldn't hurt, right?

She wrapped a big towel around her and combed her hair out in front of the mirror over the sink, and for a second she almost thought her eyes were sparkling like Eric's. Wow – wouldn't that be cool if they did? When she felt comfortably dry, she slipped the black dress over her head, and was very pleased with the way it looked on her in the full-length mirror on the bathroom door. Eric would love this. It was casual and sophisticated and yes, a little Witchy, and she loved it. She felt grown up and sexy and powerful.

She looked at her self closely in the mirror. Her skin was flawless these days, thanks to Eric's blood, but she wanted to wear some makeup to match the feeling of the dress. She put a lot of black mascara on her lashes and even lined the inside of her eyes with a black kohl pencil that she'd had a long time but never really used, and she put on a deep pink lip gloss that she thought looked really sexy. She left her hair wet and combed back and she couldn't wait for Eric to see her this way. As a matter of fact, she was pretty sure he was up and down by the pool. Could she sense where he was in the house now? Wow! She knew he could feel that she was thinking about him, too, so she headed down to dinner.

Sure enough, everybody was gathered around picnic tables eating steaks grilled to order, potato salad and corn on the cob. Eric was at the end of their table talking to Octavia and Amelia as Sookie stepped outside. Every man in the place dropped his jaw to the ground when they saw Sookie, even Jason. Wow! Nobody noticed what she was wearing, they just noticed she was gorgeous.

She looked at Eric and smiled as she approached the tables. His fangs were partially down, so she knew he liked it, and she was nearly knocked down by waves of lust pouring out of him toward her. Alex was in his high chair next to Eric, so Sookie bent down to him, "Hi, Sweetie! Have you been having fun?"

"Omba, Mamee, sthimmeen!"

"Oh, did you swim some more?"

"OMba, Ah-mee-ah me sthimmeen!"

"Good evening, my angel," Eric couldn't wait until she finished that conversation before she acknowledged him. It was all he could do not to take her right there in front of everyone. She was all Freyja all over right now, and utterly irresistible. Even Hoyt and Catfish were drooling over her and they'd known her practically all of her life, but they'd never seen her so… so… well, neither one of them could have come up with a word for it, but DAMN!

"Hi, Sweetie! Have you been up long?" She bent to kiss Eric but he held her head down so the kiss lingered longer than she'd intended it to, so she stayed long enough for him to caress her cheek as he spoke.

"Not long at all. You look very ethereal tonight, my lover. I hear you have plans while I am gone."

"Oh, thanks, yeah, but I'll be done by the time you get home, right?"

"Yes, my angel, I won't stay gone a minute longer than I have to with you looking like that." His eyes sparkled at her and her whole body throbbed. She wished they didn't have to wait until later, but later promised to be a lot of fun if they did. Alicia brought Sookie a rare steak and she sat on the bench of the table next to Eric's and Alex's chairs and said hello to everyone. Octavia was tickled to see everyone reacting to Sookie's power, though none of them could have told you what it was about her that was different. It wasn't necessarily the sexy long dress or the makeup, but something about her was, as Eric would say, intoxicating. Sookie felt different, too. She wasn't bouncy tonight, she was more feline in her movements and her mannerisms. She managed to finish her steak and some potato salad before Alex said, "ee, Mamee."

Sookie didn't even think about the fact that there were other men around – she just picked Alex up and put him to her breast. Jason and his friends almost died right there, but Alicia rushed over with the pretty cover Sookie had used earlier and that made everyone a little more comfortable. Eric laughed to himself that Sookie was getting so bold with things like that. She was developing a Supe's attitude toward the body and she was less and less worried about what people thought. Not that he wanted her flashing all these people, but after all, she was feeding her child and women in most cultures would do exactly what she just did with as much ease. He would be much more uncomfortable if her breasts had been fully covered but the rest of her was displayed in a bikini than he was with her pulling out a breast while the rest of her was clothed.

Eric waited until she was done with Alex, then asked if she'd walk him to the car because he needed to go. He helped her stand, saying good night, and thank you, to Jason and the others, adding that Jason should feel free to visit whenever they were home. He put his arm around Sookie and they walked through the house to the garage.

"I took your beautiful flowers downstairs for you earlier."

"They are gorgeous – thanks so much for thinking of me! I wish you didn't have to go out tonight," she told him as he took her in his arms.

"I do, too, my angel, but this is very important. I talked to Alex and told him I had something very important to do, so I hope he doesn't cry while I am gone. Believe me, I would not leave if it was avoidable."

"Where are you going to be?"

"I will drive to Fangtasia, but I'll be flying from there. Don't worry about me. I'll be home well before dawn. Focus on your magick, and by the time you are done, I'll be home. Bjorn will tend the door while you do your ritual. Octavia, Bobbie and Amelia will entertain Alex once they leave you alone. Let him see you make your preparations and he'll know that Mommy needs space to work. He knows instinctively what is involved."

"Yes, he does. OK, I'll do my thing, then go to bed, but you promise to wake me later, no if's, and's or but's about it, OK?"

"Yes, my darling, I promise." He suddenly kissed her softly, for a long, long time, and didn't end it until he felt her knees buckle. He laughed, kissed her on the forehead and got into the car. She waved to him and then went back to her company, who were all getting ready to enjoy some watermelon. Bobbie was cutting some watermelon into tiny pieces so Alex could have it and he was bouncing up and down humming as she fed him. Sookie was smiling to herself about that kiss, refusing to think about where Eric might be going that he couldn't tell her about.

Once Jason, his friends, and the other workers were on their way, Sookie and her Witches got serious. They took Alex with them, Bobbie grabbing the little bouncer for him to sit in while they set the stage. Once Alex was settled in the corner of the room, Octavia took charge and everyone, especially Alex, hung on her every word.

"OK, now, first thing you need to know about ritual is be polite. You don't command or summon elements, spirits, or especially Goddesses or gods. You invite them in, then you thank them for their attendance, just as you would an honored guest. Your circle serves two functions – it protects you from negative influences and it makes a welcome space for the friendly spirits to commune with you. Now, first thing we've got to do is clean this room. Sookie take this broom," Octavia handed her an old-fashioned broom of branches that smelled like cinnamon. "They make these of several things, but this one is anointed with cinnamon. What did I tell you about cinnamon?"

"That it's fiery and it adds "kick" to your spells."

"Right, now see your circle on the floor – the girls have marked North, East, South and West. Now some Witches start in the North, some in the East. Freya told you East, so we're gonna do things Her way. Now, this is anisette. It's sort of a licorice liqueur, which people in these parts think pleases the spirits. Sprinkle a little on your Broom, or Besom as some call it, and start in the East and beat the walls of the room in a clockwise direction."

Sookie held her thumb over part of the neck of the bottle to keep the flow low so she could sprinkle just a little liqueur on her broom, then beat the walls of the room, sprinkling more at each point of the compass.

"Wow –the air smells like candy!" Sookie observed.

"Right – the spirits like sweets, hence the practice of giving them candy on Samhain night."

"Ok, what's next?"

"Walk three times around the room counter clockwise and say this:

_Thrice around the Circle's bound, evil sinks into the ground, no spell nor adverse purpose be not in true accord with me and as I will, so mote it be._

Sookie did as she was told, the Octavia said, "Now, you're going to set up your altar. That's that little table over there with the pentagram on it. Bring it into the circle and spread this cloth on it," she handed Sookie a white cloth.

Sookie did that, and she continued, "Now come out to the table," so Sookie followed her. "Now, you're going to need water, which is what I've got in this jar, you need a candle for the element of fire, you need incense for the element of air –you can use this little cauldron, you put one of these charcoal disks in it and set it on fire so it catches and turns hot, then you sprinkle incense or herbs on it."

"Freyja said I should burn roses to see her,"

"OK, so you'll use this protection incense and when you need to invite Freya in, you throw some of these dried rose petals on it. Now, you still need your earth element which is salt. You also want this little bell to ring when you invite the Goddess, and you'll ring it three times. You need oil to anoint your candle – this rose oil will do that, and you need your image of the Goddess, which is this statue of Freya we paid a pretty penny for, plus your Athame, then set it all up on your altar so they look good. Take one of these Ho-Hos in with you to eat when you're done."

"Ho-hos?"

"Traditionally you use cakes and ale. You're going to use Passover wine and Ho-Hos. That's close enough and besides, the Goddess loves chocolate and sweet red wine."

Octavia, Bobbie and Amelia helped Sookie carry all the stuff into her room. The statue of Freyja went in the center-back of the altar, which was set in the West quarter. The censer and charcoal disk went in the East position on top of the altar, the candle to the south, the water in the chalice to the west, and a bowl of salt to the north. The bell went to Freyja's left and the dried roses, scrying mirror, "cake" and bottle of wine sat to the side of the altar.

"OK, next step is to set your altar. First, take these matches – notice they're wooden matches from a box. I've seen Bic lighters explode during rituals so I don't allow them in my circles."

"I thought some people didn't like matches because of the sulphur smell?" Bobbie asked

"I'll take sulphur over my altar catching fire every time," Octavia laughed. Take that little disk of charcoal and light the side of it, then blow it out so it glows."

Sookie lit the disk, finding that it let off little sparks as she did.

"Good, now put it back in that little censer, then sprinkle a bit of that incense on it, saying Blessed Be thou Creature of Air."

Sookie did and Alex giggled "inthen!" and popped his thumb in his mouth as Sookie smiled at him. When she was done, Octavia told her:

"Take that white handled knife, which is called a Bolline, and carve your name at the bottom of that candle, and Freya's name at the top," which Sookie did. "Anoint the candle with rose oil, remember how?"

"Two fingers, middle to the bottom, middle to the top," Sookie said as she did it.

"Good. Light the candle and say "Blessed be, thou Creature of Fire." Pour some water in the Chalice and say "Blessed be, thou Creature of Water." Good. Now, breathe these words into the salt: "Blessed be thou Creature of Earth," and Sookie repeated the words into the dish of salt.

"OK, Sookie, now I'm going to lead you into opening the circle. I'm keeping this simple and logical so you can remember it. Take the black handled knife, the Athame, and point it down to the edge of the Circle starting in the East. Make three complete circles as you envision energy holding a circle of light all around it and say, "_As I cast this circle, I invite the Goddess to my ritual and ask that I be protected from all negative influences, so that only positive energies participate in my work._"

Sookie started around the circle and as she began to speak, to everyone's surprise there was an actual beam of light, like a laser, that lit up the floor where the circle was drawn.

"_As I cast this circle, I invite the Goddess to my ritual and ask that I be protected from all negative influences, so that only positive energies participate in my work."_

Octavia continued, "Take that fan and open it, then carry that censer with you by the handle and go to the East. Draw a pentagram in the air with the fan, say "I welcome the Air of the East to attend my circle and assist my work," then open it and wave the smoke about as you move to the South."

"Then I repeat that at each point with each Element, right?"

"You got it."

Sookie called the Four Elements as she made the circle, drawing a pentacle at each point:

_I welcome the Air of the East to attend my circle and assist my work._

_I welcome the Fire of the South, to attend my circle and assist my work._

_I welcome the Water of the West, to attend my circle and assist my work._

_I welcome the Earth of the North, to attend my circle and assist my work._

When she came all the way back to the starting point, Octavia directed her back to the altar.

"OK, now you're going to consecrate your tools. You do this normally on the full moon, whenever you feel they need a charge. You use each of the four elements. Take the tip of your Athame and pick up a bit of salt, drop it in the chalice, and do it three times. Stir it counterclockwise and say:

"Water and earth  
Where you are cast  
No spell nor adverse purpose last

Then sprinkle the salt water on your athame three times."

Sookie did that, then Octavia told her to pass the blade through the candle's flame and incense smoke three times as she said:

"Creature of fire  
this charge I lay,  
no phantom in thy presence stay."

"Good, Sookie, now face the Goddess, hold the blade up with both hands and repeat:

"By water and fire  
I conjure thee

to work my will judiciously

Ban such things as named by me

Swift draw the Good I ask of thee,

My spell is worked and now be done

With Good for All and Harm to None."

As Sookie repeated that the blade actually glowed and throbbed three times.

"OK, girl, it's late now. You burn some roses, ring your bell and call on Freya. She's probably going to take you to that baby again. When you and She are done, thank Her, put some wine in the chalice and open the cake, ask She bless them so that they ground and center you, start in the North and work backwards, counter-clockwise, thanking each direction for attending you. You say "The Circle is open but never broken, For the Good of All and Harming None, My Spell is Cast and My Will is done." Drink the wine, eat the cake and relax until you feel grounded. Then you're finished. Can you remember all that?"

"Yeah, I can."

"OK, I'm going to close this door and send Bjorn down to guard it while you're occupied. You take your time, remember to be polite and grateful, and we'll see you when you come upstairs."

"Blessed be, Sookie," Amelia added, and Bobbie repeated it as she picked Alex and his bouncer up and the three of them closed the door and went back upstairs.

Sookie sat on her knees and opened the bag of roses, sprinkling them on the charcoal with the incense.

"Freyja, my Goddess, show me the way to see my baby now, today." She had no idea where that came from as it came out of her mouth, but she picked up the scrying mirror and sprinkled it with the salt water, passed it over the flame and through the smoke then looked into it and it was like a bank of mist parting before her. The Fae Mommy was tucking the baby in, turned out the light and left the room.

"Freyja, if you like the time, take me to that child of mine."

Sookie was in the room with Aubie. He looked at her and gave her a big smile, and she scooped him up and put him to her breast. The relief she felt was enormous, tears streaming down her face as she talked to him and played with his little hands. At one point, he surprised her by extending his fangs. She tried not to laugh out loud, but she was amused at herself not realizing he would have that in common with Alex. Time must have passed very quickly because she heard Freyja say, "come home now, My Angel," so Sookie kissed the baby, tucked him in, and by the time she straightened up she was back in her pink room, in front of the altar.

"Freyja, will You talk to me?"

"Of course, My Angel," She said as She appeared before Sookie in exactly the same dress Sookie was wearing. Sookie felt woozy because Freyja's face kept turning into her own face and it was unsettling. "Are you beginning to see, now, Sookie? Look in the mirror and speak to Me as Alex will Auberon when they are older."

"All I have to do to talk to You is look in the mirror?"

"Yes, My Angel."

"How do I learn to channel Your power?"

"There is no learning for You, My Angel, only doing. Attend to your husband, he is home," and with that, Freya was gone.

Sookie didn't know how to feel but she was leaning toward being pissed off. These cryptic messages were getting old. She centered herself, though, asked that the wine and cakes be consecrated, said thanks and good night to Freyja, then the Four Directions, and opened the circle. She poured the saltwater into the censer to douse the incense and then she ate the Ho-Ho and washed it down with the syrup-y sweet wine, which actually gave her a little buzz. She forgot to bring her candle snuffer in, so she licked her fingers and said "Blessed be thou Creature of Fire" as she pinched the flame out. She heard voices outside, knowing it was Eric and Bjorn, so she got up and opened the door.

"My Angel! You are finished?"

"I am finished. Are you?"

"I am."

"Hey, Bjorn – thanks for watching out for me."

"Any time, your majesty," he smiled warmly at her.

"Well, let's all go upstairs, shall we?" Eric was being lord of the manner again, Sookie laughed to herself.

"We shall. Do I want to know why you smell like smoke?" Sookie answered and asked as Eric pulled her toward the steps and Bjorn followed.

"You do not."

"OK, then. Can I eat before we go upstairs? I'm starving!" Sookie said, surprised at herself.

"Of course you can, Lover."

As they all came from the pantry, they saw that the Witches were all waiting in the kitchen, drinking coffee and playing cards. Octavia spoke first.

"Did you thank Her?"

"Yeah, I think so, and I thanked the four directions and I ate the cake and drank the wine and the circle is open but not broken, etc. etc. Is it OK that I ad-libbed here and there?"

"Yeah, if it fit and it worked."

"It did."

"Did you see the baby?" Octavia wanted to get to brass tacks.

Sookie looked around, worried and Amelia told her, "Alicia and Margaret already turned in."

"OK, yeah, I fed him again. He's got fangs, too!"

"He has?" Eric was pleased to hear that.

"He has, and I think he recognized me because he gave me a big smile when he saw me."

"OK, then, that's a successful night. Next time, I want you to literally just do a circle thrice around and see if that works. My guess is, it's going to be just that easy for you, kid. Now, I'm takin' these old bones to bed if you don't need me anymore?"

"Oh, no, that's great. Thanks so much, Octavia!" Sookie went over and hugged her tight. "Hey, where's Alex?" Sookie noticed he wasn't there as Octavia left the room.

"He's in the den. He went to sleep as soon as we brought him upstairs. I swear, it's like he knew you were busy so he just went to sleep until you came back," Bobbie reported. "We expected him to cry since you and Eric were both gone. The only peep out of him was at one point he was dreaming and said "Dadee fideen, but then he stuck his thumb in his mouth and went right back to sleep."

"I'm glad he didn't pitch a fit on you guys. I was worried about that."

"I'll get him and we can go to bed, too, alright, Sookie?" Eric asked. He was anxious to take a bath.

"Let me eat something and I'll be right up, OK?"

"Do you want me to wait?"

"Nah, go ahead. I'll take the elevator up and be there in no time."

"Alright." Eric kissed her on the forehead then went into the den and took Alex out of the bouncer, saying good night to everyone as he came back through the kitchen. He didn't want to get too near anyone because he smelled of gasoline and smoke and he'd rather they not notice.

"I'll walk up with you, Eric," Bjorn said and left with him.

Sookie found some steak and potato salad in the fridge and took it to the table. "I can't believe how hungry I am! You'd think I didn't have dinner at all!"

"Between the ritual and the breastfeeding, you're burning tons of calories, Hon," Amelia reminded her.

"I feel like I've run a marathon, though."

"You've been walking between worlds, Sookie," Bobbie laughed, "that's a lot further than a marathon."

"Yeah, I guess," Sookie laughed.

"So did you speak to Her?"

"Yep, and it was weird because Her face kept morphing into mine."

Bobbie and Amelia exchanged a knowing look at that, then Amelia asked, "did the scrying work?"

"Yep, right off." Sookie talked while she wolfed down her food. She couldn't remember ever being this hungry. "At first, I saw mist or clouds and then they just parted and I saw the Fae woman tuck him into his crib. Next thing I knew, I was next to him and he was smiling up at me."

"How does it feel when you feed him?" Bobbie asked.

"Overwhelming. I feel such a mix of love and happiness and grief. Leaving him is so hard, I can't tell you…"

"Did you ask Freyja why it turned out this way?"

"I didn't get a chance! She has this way of just making some cryptic remark and then She's gone before you can ask a follow-up. She says all I need to do to talk to Her is look in a mirror like Alex will be able to do with Aubie."

"Wow – Alex can see Aubie in a mirror?" Amelia never thought of that possibility.

"I guess. I'm going to try to talk to Her in the mirror tonight or tomorrow – whenever I get the chance," Sookie said and guzzled the rest of her milk. "I better not keep Eric waiting. I'll see you all in the morning!" Sookie said as she quickly rinsed her dishes and left them in the sink.

As they reached the stairs, Bjorn asked Eric, "You were at Fangtasia?"

"Yes, my car was in the lot out back all night and Vincent and Pam will state that I was in my office all night if necessary, and the computer in my office will show when I logged in and out."

"Sounds good. I'll see you tomorrow night," Bjorn laughed as he continued up to the third floor.

Eric tucked Alex into the co-sleeper and stripped immediately, dumping his clothes in the shower and running water on them. He poured shampoo on them and swished them around, then he ran the bath. He poured some Chanel No. 5 bubble bath under the faucet, hoping Sookie would join him.

She came into the bathroom just as he got relaxed.

"Min Vackra Guddina!"

"Min Make!"

Eric was startled, but he didn't say anything because he was pretty sure she didn't know she was speaking Swedish again. She wiggled out of the black dress and Eric held her hand as she stepped into the tub, where she instantly straddled his lap and kissed him hard, which he didn't expect.

"No magick tonight, just knulla mig!" Sookie said as she lowered herself onto him. Neither of them spoke again for at least an hour. Sookie rode Eric like she'd never done before, with an air of self-assurance that shocked and delighted him. Freyja didn't come into her as She had with other lovers, but there was no doubt in his mind now that he was fucking Freyja in all Her glory. If there had been any doubt in his mind before now, She left none there after this night. Sookie was most definitely Freyja. She even did a trick with her internal muscles that Eric remembered only ever feeling about 600 years ago, and he nearly sobbed with relief as he drove his fangs into her shoulder. Sookie's eyes glowed and sparkled blue in the darkness of the bathroom, and without warning, She sank Her teeth into Eric's shoulder and repeated the little trick he'd done to Her the night before, using Her teeth and tongue to draw orgasm after orgasm out of him.

Tonight, it was Eric's turn to wonder if this is what it felt like to die. He was Hers and he had never been more thrilled about that than he was at this moment. Suddenly, a cloud of orange and blue light gripped them, contracted and then exploded.

When Eric regained consciousness, Sookie was spraying cool water gently in his face.

"Since when do vampires faint?" She asked, happy and pleased with Herself and her beautiful husband.

"I did not faint," Eric tried to play a little macho but did it poorly because he felt as if he'd been turned inside out. "I was merely resting and enjoying the afterglow."

"Uh-huh – you were enjoying the afterglow for a good ten minutes with me shaking you and slapping your face trying to wake you up. I was starting to think you were dead for real but I heard Freya say you were just overwhelmed."

"I have never been overwhelmed by…"

"by…?" Sookie dared him to finish that sentence.

"Never mind," he laughed. "I love you, Sookie, so much more than I can ever tell you."

"You told me pretty good just now," she laughed. "Sit up and let me wash your hair. It still smells smokey."

"As you wish, min Vackra Guddina."

Sookie laughed because She knew he really meant that and She gave him a long, luxurious shampoo and massaged his scalp, his neck and his back. Something had shifted between Them, something wonderful, and She could feel him surrendering himself to Her more completely than ever before. Not that they weren't still Sookie and Eric, and all that entailed, but this couple, this Sookie and Eric, shared a much broader, deeper connection than anything Sookie could have conceived of before She felt it. She felt like She was his equal now, in a way, where before She'd only felt like a pet, even after he married Her. They'd still play their kinky games, of course, but She was Eric's partner now in a new and wonderful way.

They were dried off and heading for bed when Alex woke up and cried for "Mamee," so She pulled him to Her and the three of Them snuggled while Alex fed. They were all quiet for a long time, but gradually Alex started patting their cheeks and talking a little and they played and had fun for a bit until Alex yawned again and Sookie tucked him back in. She and Eric were lying face to face, whispering to each other when they heard Amelia on the stairs.

"Anybody awake?"

Eric drew the covers over them and said, "Come up, Amelia, we are awake."

"Hey, sorry to horn in, but I thought you guys might want to watch the news. Steve Newlin is dead."

"What?!" Sookie couldn't believe it. She hadn't thought of that bible-thumping maniac for a while but he had tried to kill her more than once, so she wouldn't be shedding any tears for him. Eric used the remote to raise the TV from the cabinet at the foot of the bed and tuned in the local news. A reporter was standing in front of what was left of the Newlin mansion and stating that "Controversial Minister Steven Newlin and his wife Sara were the apparent victims of a fire believed to be set off as Newlin was building a bomb in the basement of their Dallas home…"

"I guess you don't have to worry about him and his crazies any more, Sook," Amelia said, oblivious.

"No, but there will be others. I wish I could feel sorry for him, but I can't," She looked right at Eric.

"There's little doubt why such a man would be building a bomb," Eric said with absolutely no emotion, settling back with his hand back under his head.

"Yeah," Sookie said, "no doubt at all."


	82. Chapter 82

[**Author's Note:** Sookie is not allergic to lemon. She handles it with no problem in the books. There was none on her breasts, so there was nothing to affect the baby, who may or may not be Fae… you just never know. Niall or Ludwig might believe a thing to be true, that turns out not to be. They're powerful, but nowhere near omniscient. Eric might not always be right, either. Aubie might not be what he appears to be. Alex, have to wait and see. We've got a LONG way to go.

I've got a bunch of book reviews I have to write, so you might have to be patient for a bit. The holidays will slow me down, too, but I'll write as much as I can and try not to leave y'all hanging too long.]

**Chapter 82**

Sookie settled back onto her wedge pillow as the news played on the TV. Eric was watching the news emotionless, just waiting to see if there were any suspicions about the origin of the fire in the Newlin home.

"Did he actually have bomb building equipment in his house?"

"Yes, he did. It made things rather convenient. I was afraid I'd have to stage an electrical fire. He had a virtual arsenal in his basement, too. The fireworks were quite spectacular."

"People know you weren't here tonight…"

"People saw me at Fangtasia, I logged in on my computer, logged out later, Pam and Vincent will state I worked on the bills all night. Everyone who dined with us will be able to say I could not possibly have gotten to Dallas early enough to have had a hand in it – and that's only if anyone makes the connection."

"Because they don't know you can fly, right? Flying is superfast and the police won't have any idea?"

"Right. If anyone even suggests such a thing, he'll be laughed off the force. We've done a good job of ridiculing any reports of such things."

"How will the Dallas vamps feel about you being on their turf?"

"They'll all have alibis because none of them knew it was going to happen. I set the scene very carefully. It cannot be traced back to me."

"Why do this now?"

"Those arrows in New Orleans came from Newlin – our spies traced them directly to him, and I found at least thirty just like them in the basement of his house."

"OK…."

"I promise you, my Angel, there is no sign I was ever there. Newlin was killed assembling a bomb and his wife was overcome by smoke trying to get back up the stairs. That is what the forensics will show."

"I hope you're right…"

"I am, there's only…" Eric's phone rang then and he picked it up from his nightstand. "Hello, Bill?"

"Eric, we've had a call from the press. They want a statement from you about Steve Newlin since it was rumored he was behind the attack on the parade in the Quarter."

"Interesting. Tell them I said that loss of life is always regrettable, and that though he was certainly no friend to the vampire community, our sympathies are with his family, friends and church. I only hope that in the future our communities can come together in friendship and cooperation as equal citizens of this great country."

"Very diplomatic. I'll release this statement now. I think we're going to get a lot of calls about this tonight."

"Is there anything else going on I need to know about?"

"No, it's very quiet other than this. There's a party going on in the Quarter among our kind and our friends, but I hope they won't be too blatant about things."

"Yes, we don't want to seem unsympathetic or celebratory. Let it be known that I expect my subjects to use tact and grace in addressing the situation. We are not the ones who create this conflict, we are merely the chosen targets of a type of prejudice that has plagued Western Civilization for hundreds of years. We are no more deserving of their wrath than were the African-American community, the Jewish community, the women and healers of the Old World or the ethnic minorities of today. All people should strive to live cooperatively for the good of all."

"Got it. I'll let you know if we hear anything else."

"Good. When you've typed that all up, send a fax of it here to the house so we'll have it to refer to if we are contacted. Best to fax a copy to Sandy in Las Vegas and Pam at Fangtasia, too."

"Will do. Good night."

"Good night, Bill."

"What was that all about," Sookie asked, even more concerned now.

"The press in New Orleans asked for a statement from me because of the rumors that Newlin was behind the attack on the parade in the Quarter. So, I gave them a statement."

"A very carefully worded statement – I notice you didn't say we didn't wish him any harm."

"There is no need to lie about the situation. I meant everything I said."

"You really want to work cooperatively with humans?"

"My first choice would be to simply be left alone by them, but I'd certainly choose cooperation over war with them. The whole point of our coming out was that we don't have to kill anymore – we don't need to prey on them and they don't need to hate or fear us."

"Well, sort of…"

"As far as they know, anyway. Are you upset with me?"

"No, I'm worried about you. I don't want you getting into trouble."

"I'm a vampire King, my Angel, trouble will be my constant companion." He rolled on his side facing her.

"I know that," she said as she turned on her side facing him. "I just… I can't just feel nothing about something like this, you know? I want to keep the human part of me that feels bad when someone dies, even if he did try to kill us."

"You will never lose that, Sookie. Your empathy is too much a part of who you are. If Newlin had been willing to let us live in peace, he would still be alive."

"True, and I don't want anybody threatening you or Alex."

"Or YOU, Sookie, he has harmed you directly more than once."

"Yes, he has."

"I don't expect you to rejoice, Sweetheart, I just need to know that you don't fear or resent me…"

"I'll never be afraid of you, Eric. I love you and I want you to be safe and happy. And I know and trust that you will do everything in your power to keep Alex safe and that means more to me than anything."

"So we are OK?"

"We are perfect, my husband," she smiled at him and stroked his cheek, but there was sadness in the smile and he understood that.

They lay facing each other and whispering about nothing in particular until Sookie fell asleep. Eric turned the monitor on and took it with him so he'd hear Alex when he awoke. He went to his office on that floor and called Sandy, who told him she had received the fax from Bill but they hadn't had any inquiries yet. Eric was pleased to hear that and to know that he was going to receive the paperwork the next day to close the sale of the residence. He got a call from the front gate that Vincent had arrived for a meeting with him and Bjorn so he went downstairs where Bjorn was waiting for them both in the living room. Eric wasn't sure the baby monitor would work if they went out to the servant's quarters, so they went into the dining room and closed both doors, hoping Amelia couldn't hear them if they kept their voices down.

"What did you find out?" Eric asked Bjorn as the three of them sat at the end of the table.

"I might have a bite. I got word that a guy I knew in Intel is dating a female vampire. I sent a coded email to him and he might be interested. He's located in New York right now and he said you probably know their Queen?"

"Carolina, yes, I do."

"He said he has worked for her, and you should talk to her before you hire him. He's willing to relocate temporarily to do what we need done. He knows it could take months or even years, but he says he and his lady have lots of time and he hates Jubal Garner. Garner is getting a bad rep among the Intel community and that definitely works in our favor. This guy has stayed under the radar and I don't think a background check would turn up his vamp contacts – the one I did on him didn't, and I go pretty deep. Garner will hire him in an instant when he sees his resume. He's exactly what he's looking for."

Eric nodded and so did Vincent. "Alright, I'll call Carolina to confirm and if I leave instructions with Sookie, you go ahead and set up his accounts and ID. You think he'll be able to meet with us in New Orleans?"

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure he can. There's a place there, Crowley's, that's out of the way enough, I think."

"Alright. He'll be moving to Georgia then – you'll have to set up ways to contact him that can't be traced. Vincent, you're going to keep your contacts active, correct?"

"Yes, I've spread enough cash around to keep the information flowing. We probably won't have enough to act on for quite a while, but we'll be pretty sure what they're doing in the mean time."

"Alright, we want to be particularly aware of how his forces respond to the news about Newlin, and about what direction the FOTS takes from here. Vincent, you are going to New Orleans this week to interview soldiers, yes?"

"Yes, your majesty. I'll be gone Monday through Thursday so I can see what we're working with."

"You've got someone in place at Fangtasia?"

"Yes, and I'll be in contact with him to be sure there's no trouble. Pam can stand in for me, too, if need be."

Eric liked hearing that. "Good to know. Alright, we all know what we're doing?"

"Yes, your majesty, and the extra guard will be continuing through the week due to the construction and the Newlin thing, just in case."

"Alright, Compton is expecting you, and you'll report back to me Friday about the state of the training camp and how many new hires."

"Yes, your majesty."

"Alright, Bjorn, I…"

"Dadee!"

"As I was saying, I'm going to check on Alex. I will talk to you both tomorrow night and see where we are, Good night." Eric quickly went back upstairs and Bjorn walked Vincent out to his car.

"You anticipating trouble, Vincent?"

"I'm not sure. It depends on how the fringe element of the FOTS takes the news. I'm sure there'll be no forensic evidence but that won't stop the conspiracy theories from flying. Best case scenario is that there's no leader to step into Newlin's place and they fall apart."

"You don't expect that, though?"

"No, there's always some greedy bastard willing to manipulate people's hate for a profit. Odds are, there will be a skirmish within their ranks and some new asshole will pick up where Newlin left off. Seems like there's an unending supply of those assholes these days."

"True. OK, I'll talk to you tomorrow."

"Right – good night."

Eric zipped into the room where Alex was waiting patiently, smiling up at him and making his "come here" motion that Eric just loved. Eric picked him up and kissed him, taking a bottle from the little fridge and heading into the nursery with him.

"Daddy needs to make a phone call, Alex. Will you be a good boy and be quiet while I talk for a minute?"

"Ee-ah."

"OK, that's Daddy's good boy," he said as he took out his phone and dialed Carolina's number.

"Northman, how nice to hear from you. I hear you may be hiring our Jack to help you?"

"Yes, if you tell me he can be trusted."

"I've trusted him with my life on more than one occasion. He's loyal, and he's very, very skilled in the arts of war. You'll be very pleased with him and we'll all be happy to back you up in this."

"Good. What can I offer you for your kindness, Carolina? I'd like to express my gratitude."

"No need, my Dear. You just take care of your end, and all we regents will be in YOUR debt. If you have need of anything, all you have to do is ask."

"Thank you for your support and generosity, My Lady. I will keep you informed."

"Lovely. Good night, Eric."

Eric ended the call and then turned his attention back to Alex. "That was very good, my boy. You were very polite, letting Daddy do important business. I am a King, and Kings have a great responsibility to take care of their subjects. Someday, you will be King and you will understand. I'm going to be a good King, and I'm going to teach you to be a great King." He put the bottle into the warmer, then gave Alex a kiss.

"Keeg!"

"Yes, King! Now you are a Prince, you know. You are Prince Eric Alexander Northman, the very first Vampire Prince!"

"Pwinze?"

"Yes, Prince Alex."

"Pwinze Awegs"

"Very good, Alex!"

"Do-ee!" Alex said and was instantly holding his dragon.

"Going to snuggle with your dragon tonight, eh, my boy?"

"Ma PUPO dwagond!"

"Yes, he's purple, isn't he?"

"Do-ee!" and he was holding the bear, dropping the dragon.

"Ma BOO tay baya."

"Yes, he is blue."

"Woogie, Dadee!" Alex pointed to the toy shelf. Eric understood that Alex wanted to look at the toys, so he took him over and Alex knew exactly what he wanted.

"Wed, Dadee?" Alex pointed to a red toy still in its package.

"I don't know what that is supposed to be." He read the packaging, ""Sesame Street Plush Elmo." This is an Elmo, apparently, but I don't know what an Elmo is."

"Wed Ehmo?"

"Yes, I suppose that's right. It's a red Elmo. Maybe Mommy can tell you what an Elmo is. Mommy knows more about toys than Daddy does. Do you want me to take it out of the box?

"OMBA, Dadee!" Alex was making his "come here" motion frantically.

"Alright," Eric laughed, easily snapping the little ties holding the toy in the package and giving it to Alex, who hugged it and made his happy sound. "There, now you can show it to Mommy and ask her what an Elmo is," Eric laughed. He got a kick out of seeing how much Alex loved these soft toys. He was so much like Sookie at these moments that it made him even more dear to Eric, if that was possible.

Eric took the bottle from the warmer and he, Alex and Elmo got settled into the glider so Alex could drink. Alex was stroking Elmo's tummy, the doll being almost as big as he was, and Eric could tell he was enjoying the soft feel of the fur, or whatever it was. It occurred to Eric that Alex was very sensual – he liked the taste of food and blood, he liked bright colors and soft toys – and that made Eric proud because it was a very "vampire" trait. He laughed, though, because he realized it was also a very Sookie trait. "Your Mommy always says she wants her child to have a whole plushy jungle to roll around in, and I can see you doing exactly that. Before long, this room will be filled with soft toys for you to snuggle."

"OMba! Do-eesth!"

"You like your toys, don't you, my son?"

"Ah WUV ma do-eeths."

"Oh, you do? What else do you love?"

"Ah wuv ma Mamee an ah wuv ma Dadee and I wuv Babee an Eesh an Bhord an Ameeah an Ayvbee!"

Eric laughed a little too loud but he couldn't help it. Alex was too cute and too smart. "That's a lot of love, my boy."

"OMba!" Alex giggled. They were both still giggling and Eric was tickling Alex when Sookie appeared at the door in Eric's t-shirt.

"Hey, what are you guys up to?" She said, pleased to see them having fun together.

"OOPS, Alex, we woke Mommy up!" Eric laughed.

"Yes, you did!" She tickled Alex as Eric held him. "I see you discovered Elmo! Isn't he sweet?!"

"What is an Elmo?" Eric asked, really wanting to know since it was apparently so familiar to Sookie.

"He's a Muppet. You've heard of the Muppets, right?"

"I'm picturing a singing frog…?"

"Right, that's Kermit, and there's Miss Piggy and a bunch of others. The guy who created the Muppets started a TV show for kids called Sesame Street."

"That was on the box…?"

"Right. Elmo is a baby Muppet character they created because babies can relate to him. He's crazy popular. They make Elmo dolls that giggle when you tickle them and dance and do all kinds of things, but I bought this one because it's so soft."

"Sthop!" Alex said emphatically. He agreed with Mamee.

"So he's not supposed to be a particular animal?"

"No, he's just a baby Muppet."

"Mupped!" Alex liked that word.

"I'll have to get some video of the Muppet Show and Sesame Street for you two. You kind of need to know who the Muppets are to raise a kid these days," Sookie laughed.

"If you say so. I told him Mommy knows more about toys than I do," Eric laughed.

"Yeah, remember that, Alex, that's the only time you'll ever hear Daddy say I know more about something than he does," Sookie cracked up.

"I _am_ sorry we woke you, my Angel," Eric really meant it – he wanted Sookie to rest.

"Don't be sorry – I'm glad you did. I love seeing you two having fun and I love that you gave him Elmo."

"Actually, he asked for him. He was very smart about it, too."

"What did he do?"

"He showed me purple dragon, blue teddy bear, then pointed at the toy shelf and said "red" so I knew what he wanted."

"Wow – that is pretty smart. You're a smart little fella, aren't you, Pookie!?"

Eric had never noticed Sookie calling Alex that before. "What did you call him?"

"Pookie. I call him that when we play in the mornings. We dance and sing and have fun when he wakes up, don't we, sweetie?"

"Omba, dantheen."

"Show me?"

"What?" Sookie thought she heard him wrong.

"Show me. I've never seen it. Show me how you play with him when you wake up."

"Well, you'll have to come back to bed."

"Let's go. He's finished this bottle." Eric stood up and they went back into the bedroom. Sookie shucked the t-shirt and climbed into bed, followed by Eric as he gave Alex to her.

"OK, so it's morning, and this little rascal has just done something to wake me up…"

"What does he do?"

"This morning, he scratched me with one of those sharp little nails as he tried to crawl on top of me to eat. Once he stuck his finger in my ear, once I heard "uh oh" as a lamp hit the floor - it's something different every day."

Eric laughed in sheer delight.

"So then I feed him, then I sit him up like this," she sat Alex up on her tummy, "and we sing and dance - show him, Pookie! "Let's Twist Again, Like We Did Last Summer, let's twist again, like we did last year…"" She started singing and jiggling Alex, who cracked up as he did every time.

Eric was completely enchanted. "You do this every morning?"

"Yeah, it's kind of our thing, when we first wake up, we have some fun, just me and Pookie, right, Pookie?"

"Wyd! Poogie an Mamee!"

"Bjorn swears it's why Alex is such a happy baby, because we wake up that way," Sookie laughed.

"I'd be a happy baby, too, if I had such a beautiful Mommy that would sing to me and tickle me every morning," Eric agreed. "My son is very lucky, indeed," he said as he reached over and kissed her and Alex giggled.

"Aw – Sweet Daddy, huh?"

"Su-eed Dadee!" Alex giggled, as Eric leaned over and kissed him, too. Alex motioned for Elmo, which Eric gave him and he held Elmo out to Eric expectantly.

"Uh – I think he wants you to kiss Elmo, too, Daddy," Sookie was trying not to bust out laughing.

"Do I have to?"

"You'll disappoint him if you don't," she teased him.

"Alex, Daddy's kisses are only for you and Mommy, alright?" Eric tried to reason with him.

"Nah, Dadee," Alex shook the toy at him and Eric gave in and kissed it on the head, which made Alex squeal and hug the toy to him.

Sookie cracked up, but the laugh turned into a yawn and then Alex yawned, too. "It is time for my beautiful family to sleep," Eric suggested.

"Will you stay with us until we fall asleep?" Sookie asked hopefully

"Yes, my Angel, I will. Here, put Alex between us, and we'll turn the lights off and the two of you just let go. I'll stay until dawn."

Alex and Sookie were asleep in no time, but Eric stayed until almost dawn, anyway. He kissed them both gently, wrote Sookie a note and went to rest with a smile on his face, thinking of Sookie waking up in a few hours and singing to his son with that glorious smile on her face.

The next thing Sookie knew, a little hand was patting her cheek and she heard Alex whispering "Mamee! Mamee!"

"Hey, Pookie! What's up?"

"Ee, Mamee."

"OK, Darlin', here you go." She slid him down so he could reach her breast and she stroked the back of his head while she dozed. She heard the rumble of thunder and looked back toward the window, which was not surrounded by sunlight as she'd expect. The clock read 10:33 so she figured it must be cloudy or raining. Her suspicions were confirmed by a huge clap of thunder, which scared Alex but she calmed him down quickly. "It's OK, Sweetie, it's just a thunderstorm. We're safe, so just relax."

"Sthape?"

"Yeah, safe. Bjorn is here and we've got guards outside – we're all safe in the house."

"Knock, Knock" Bjorn called softly from the hallway. Sookie pulled the covers up and said, "Come in, Bjorn."

He looked in the door. "Good morning. I wanted to see if you were OK. I didn't know how Alex is in thunder."

"It scared him a bit, but I told him we're safe. See, Alex, Bjorn is here to take care of us, so we're completely safe."

"Bhord?" Alex said with tears in his eyes as he tried to turn back and look at him and Sookie helped him turn toward him.

Bjorn walked to Eric's side of the bed, and sat down, "Hey, Alex! Don't be scared, I'm right here so you and Mommy are perfectly safe, OK?"

"Oday," Alex reached for Bjorn so he picked him up and hugged him. "It's OK, buddy, it's just thunder. Come here," he stood up and carried Alex to the window, pulling the heavy curtains back, "see the rain?"

"Wada?"

"Yeah, water is falling from the sky and that's called rain. Sometimes when it rains, there's thunder and lightning. Listen!" There was thunder rumbling in the distance and Alex tensed up, then there was a flash of lightning and Alex jumped and his eyes grew wide and mouth dropped open. He was too surprised to cry when the loud crack of thunder broke. He grabbed Bjorn around the neck and Bjorn patted his back. "It's OK, Alex, it can't hurt you. You're OK, Buddy. It's safe in here."

Alex whined a little then said "Mamee!" and reached toward Sookie so Bjorn gave him back to her. "I'll be right here, Alex, so you and Mommy are safe, OK?"

"Oday." Alex moved downward and Sookie could tell he wanted to eat, so she helped him get settled. She could tell he was trying to burrow under the covers, too, so she turned on her side toward Bjorn and pulled the covers up so Alex was against her and completely covered. She could feel it when he relaxed, and told Bjorn, "he's OK now, he's relaxing now, and he's eating well."

"OK, good. Storms are rough on the little ones. They're too small to understand and their instincts tell them there's danger. The safer we can make him feel, the better."

"Thank you for talking to him. He felt better the minute he saw you."

"That's what I'm here for, ma'am," Bjorn teased her, knowing she hated it when he called her ma'am, and she answered him by sticking her tongue out at him. He was hoping she wasn't listening to his thoughts because that created a rather inappropriate reaction in him. He was starting to think that Sookie Syndrome was incurable. He loved Bobbie with all his heart but Sookie was simply too damned hot not to react to, especially when he knew she was naked under the covers.

"Hey, Bjorn is there a note from Eric over there?"

"Yeah, there is," he got up to get it for her.

She opened it and said, "he says I should tell you to proceed."

"Will do."

"I don't want to know, do I?" she said wryly.

"You do not," Bjorn said, imitating Eric and making Sookie laugh.

"That was pretty good," she giggled.

"Don't you EVER tell him I did that," Bjorn said, not kidding at all. "I couldn't help myself. I've heard him say it too many times," he laughed.

"Sounds like everyone in here is in a good mood!" Alicia came in with the laundry. "Are you ready for some breakfast, Dear?"

"Yes, I am, but I want something kind of light. Would oatmeal be out of the question? With lots of sugar and butter?"

"We can do oatmeal. That won't take long at all, so I'll go work on it now," Alicia left the pile of laundry on the dresser. Sookie knew it would all get put away while she was eating. She loved the fact that she never had to think about this stuff.

"You OK, Sookie? You got really quiet all at once," Bjorn observed.

"Yeah, I just got to thinking how much I love having people to think about things like laundry and breakfast. My life would be so much harder if Eric wasn't looking out for me. I need to tell him I'm grateful more often."

"Buy him something special."

"Huh? What's special to a guy like Eric?"

"Honestly, Sookie, he'd be thrilled with anything. What you buy doesn't matter, he'll be excited that you were thinking about him."

"You know, you're right. I focus on the baby all the time, but I've never bought him anything. Is it weird if I buy him something with his money, though?"

"Sookie, you crack me up. It's your money, too."

"I never think of it that way."

"I know you don't, but he wants you to. He really does consider half of everything he owns to be yours. He's told me more than once that he'd give you everything he has, because all of it together is nothing compared to what you mean to him."

"OK, you're a guy – what could a woman buy for you that would really knock your socks off."

"Buy him some of those silk boxer shorts you like so much. Buy a new perfume and wear it for him. He loves clothes – buy him some designer something that you'd like to see him wear. Any little thing that lets him know you're thinking about him will make him happy."

"How do you know so much about this?"

"Think about it – he bends over backwards to buy you presents, right?"

"Right."

"So how much would he love something that shows you went to trouble to please him. He'll tell you that you shouldn't have and that you're the greatest gift he could ever have, but deep down, he'll be beside himself."

"Is Bobbie coming up?"

"Yeah, she said she'd come up when she's done eating and placing an order for some oils she wants for you."

"Cool. She can help me shop on the web since it's too bad to go out today."

Bjorn stood up and looked around, then retrieved Sookie's laptop without her even asking. "Here, do a Google search and get started. It will mean more to him if he knows you were doing it on your own." He took Alex back to his seat with him, Alex holding onto him tight because he was still a little afraid.

"Yeah, you're right. So, I just search for silk boxers, right?"

"Right."

Sookie did that and she found a couple of places she checked out. She settled pretty quickly on a site called Royal Silk because they had a good selection in some unusual patterns and colors. They weren't very expensive, though, and she wanted to give Eric something special. "Hey, Bjorn, how would a whole box of silk things be? Like a bunch of boxers and maybe a scarf and some ties and pocket squares?"

"He'll like it if you like it. That's the whole key. He'll want to know you chose them because you want to see him in them."

"That's no problem at all. Some of these are mad sexy."

"Am I in the right room? Did I just hear Sookie say the phrase, "mad sexy,"" Bobbie laughed.

"Yeah, because I'm talking about silk boxer shorts."

"Ooh, yummy. Buying a gift for Eric?"

"Yeah, trying to. They have 45 different colors. How would it be if I got him one of each?"

"Wow – that would be kind of cool – a whole box of sexy undies. What's the occasion?"

"I just want to do something special for him. Something he won't expect."

"Good idea. Do you know what size he wears?"

"No, but I figured Alicia will."

"I'd have her order them, if I were you."

"Is that fair though? Shouldn't I do it myself?"

"You chose them, hon. It will be easier for her to just call them up and say I want one in each color. When you get them, put them in a nice box and surprise him. He'll love it."

"They have ties and pocket squares and scarves. Should I get some other stuff, too?"

"It's up to you, but I think just the boxers is plenty. They're really sexy – the other stuff doesn't really say "sex," ya know?"

"True. I just… Oh, hey, Alicia!"

"I've got your breakfast, Hon. I made toast and there's some strawberry preserves and I brought you some grape juice with your oatmeal."

"Great, thanks!" Sookie handed the computer to Bobbie so Alicia could put her tray in place. We were just looking at this website – you know what size boxers Eric wears, right?"

"Yes, were you going to buy some for him?" Bobbie showed Alicia the laptop.

"Yeah, I want one pair in each color."

"Oh, my – those are very nice! How many are there?"

"45. I want to give him a big box of them, and it's a surprise, so don't tell him."

"I think he'll like that very much. Did you want me to order them?"

"Would you? It might be easier by phone, to just tell them we want one of each."

"Alright, I'll do this right now. I'll make sure we've got a nice gift box and wrapping paper, too so you can make it look really nice for him."

"Yeah, that's exactly what I want. It'll be cool, right, this big box of sexy silk undies?"

"Yes, he'll love it, especially because he knows you like them so much. Let me go do this now, and I'll ask them to expedite the shipping."

"Thank you so much, Alicia!" Sookie dug into her breakfast, happy she was going to do something to surprise Eric with something he'd like. "You know, it just occurred to me, I need to do some thinking in the next month or so about a Christmas present for him. I'll want to do something special – like a piece of jewelry or something to commemorate our first Christmas together."

"Are you going to decorate and everything?"

"Yeah, of course! I want Alex to have fabulous Christmases, or Yuletides or whatever. Ours were a little spare growing up. Mama and Daddy never had a lot of money and Gran certainly didn't. We were able to make it with those gas leases my family inherited, but they aren't worth much. I mean, we always had a nice dinner and a few presents, but I want Alex's to be really special. I even want to hire somebody to play Santa on Christmas Eve."

"You know, Yuletide and Christmas are slightly different days. Yule is normally on the 21st or 22nd."

"Yeah, I know, and I already thought about that. We're going to celebrate Yule with a big dinner and small gifts, Christmas with big gifts, then we'll do the Three Kings gifts on January 6th, too."

"That's a lot of celebrating!" Bobbie laughed.

"Yeah, they don't all three need to be huge, but just to mark the days and stretch it out, you know? I love the holidays! People are so much nicer then! Oh, and I want Alex to see all the kiddie Christmas movies – Charlie Brown, and Miracle on 34th st., but the old one not the new one, and Rudolph, of course – it'll be so much fun. Did you see he found Elmo last night?" Sookie nodded to the doll at the bottom of the bed.

"He found him?" Bobbie asked as she sat down.

"Yeah, he saw him on the shelf and asked Eric for him. He likes Elmo, don't you, Pookie?"

"Ah WUV ma Ehmo," he said emphatically, making them all laugh.

"Maybe you should get him a Tickle Me Elmo – you've already got a Tickle Me Alex!" Bobbie joked as she jumped around the side table and tickled Alex, making him giggle and squeal.

"Babee god me!" he said to Sookie, still giggling.

"Yeah, Bobbie got you! She's sneaky!" Sookie kidded him. She finished her breakfast and took him back from Bjorn as Bobbie put her tray on the dresser.

"Hey, do you know what today is, Alex?" Sookie asked him

"Nah," he shook his head.

"It's your birthday! You're two weeks old today!" She hugged and tickled and kissed him. "Happy birthday, Pookie! Alright now, Pookie, you know what time it is?"

"Dantheen!"

"Right – time to dance! Well, shake it up baby, now, shake it up baby, Twist and Shout, twist and shout, come on, come on, come on, come on baby, now, come on, baby, come on and work it on out, work it on out whoooo!" Alex was in heaven. Mommy was smiling at him, singing to him, jiggling and tickling him just like he liked.

Bobbie was cracking up, "do you even remember the Beatles, Sookie?"

"No, but they were always on the radio when I'd lie out in the sun and I just love all that old 60s music about dancing and surfing and summer. Sometimes we dance to "let's twist again, like we did last summer… let's twist again, like we did last year," she was shaking Alex again and he was giggling and drooling. Bjorn and Bobbie were just laughing and enjoying the "floor show," when Alicia came back in, stopping in the doorway to watch Sookie and Alex play.

Sookie lifted Alex up, head down toward her, and she dropped and kissed him a few times, then when she stopped to rest for a minute he floated back up on his own.

"Alex – you're only supposed to do that with Daddy!" Sookie wasn't aware that Alicia had already seen him fly.

"Dadee seepeen!" Alex said, then turned a complete flip in the air, giggling wildly. "Ahm fyeen!"

"You rotten little critter, come back down here!"

"Nah, nah, Mamee, fyeen!"

"Eric Alexander, you come to Mommy right now!" Sookie reached up for him, holding the blankets with one arm but giving Bjorn a quick view of her tush as she tried to catch Alex by the arm or leg, whichever was closer as he tumbled in the air. Alex bobbed up and down, staying just out of Sookie's reach, then he shocked everyone by landing on the ceiling.

"What the hell?" Bjorn said, as the others were speechless. Alex giggled and crawled on his hands and knees along the ceiling like a spider. He sped along to the corner at almost vampire speed, then headed down the wall, but went right back up when he thought Sookie was going to reach for him again.

"Alex, you know you're only supposed to fly with Daddy!" Sookie was trying to be stern, but she wasn't good at it.

"Nah fyeen, Mamee," he said as he crawled along the ceiling.

"Don't get technical – you know you shouldn't be doing that! You get down here or Daddy will be angry!"

"Dadee WUVS fyeen!"

"Yes, he does, but he knows when to fly and when not to. You can't just fly like that whenever you feel like it. Daddy won't want people to know what you can do!"

"Nah, nah, Mamee."

"ALEX, COME TO ME!" Sookie commanded without thinking and suddenly, Alex was in her arms.

"Oh, my!" Alicia had seen Alex fly but she'd never seen this before. She didn't know Sookie had that kind of power.

Alex was cracking up as Sookie scolded him. "Now, listen, squirt – when Mommy says stop, you stop! Daddy will be very upset that you didn't mind me! It's very important for you to do what Daddy and I tell you! Our lives could depend on it!"

"Oday, Mamee," Alex giggled and Sookie just knew he didn't mean it. Eric needed to draw the line with this kid soon and she knew it.

"Alright, now, I'm going to take a shower…"

"Sthowa!"

"You want to take a shower with Mommy?"

"OMBA! Wada!"

"Alright, let's do that before we get into anything else." Sookie threw the covers back and carried Alex into the bathroom, while everyone else froze. Alicia, Bjorn and Bobbie were all biting their lips, no one wanting to point out that Sookie had just walked across the room naked.

"I'll help her with Alex," Bobbie finally said and walked into the bathroom, trying not to laugh. Alicia continued with putting Sookie and Eric's clothing away. Bjorn prayed he wouldn't need to stand up any time soon. Damn, she was HOT!

It never did occur to Sookie that she had flashed everyone. She was too focused on Alex and getting Eric to talk to him. She hoped if they were ever in danger that she'd remember that she could call him to her. The natural tendency was to try to get him to cooperate, and that takes time. She needed to remember that she had the power to control him if need be.

She did manage to lighten up enough to play with Alex some in the water. He was just too cute to stay mad at for very long. Besides, Sookie reasoned, she wasn't really mad at him, she was afraid for him. She was afraid he'd get hurt if he didn't learn to do what she and Eric told him.

"Sookie, are you OK?"

"Yeah, Bobbie – why?"

"You've hardly spoken since you got in there."

"I'm just worried about Alex. He's got to learn to listen to us. I'm pretty sure he'd listen to Eric, but if he's out with me in the daytime and something goes wrong, he's got to listen to me."

"I think he would, though, Sookie. He knows what's going on. He knows he's in the room with all of us who love him and take care of him, so he cuts up. If there were an attack or something, he'd stick close to you or Bjorn, I'm sure of it."

"You think so?"

"Yeah, I do. Think about it – he's quiet when we're out in public. He never interrupts important conversations. He's always attentive when others are around. He knows when it's OK to cut up and when it's not."

"I hope you're right, Bobbie. I just don't want him to get hurt, or get someone else hurt. There's something big going on, and I need to know he'll do what I tell him."

Bobbie pulled the curtain to the side for a minute. "Do you know what is going on?"

"No, I don't, but I do know it's worse than the FOTS crazies. Why? What do you know?"

"Nothing except I'm pretty sure Bjorn is trying to recruit some old military buddies for something."

"Really? You think it's some sort of military group?"

"Yes, but I'm not sure why I think that. It's just a feeling I have."

"That makes sense. Whatever it is, Eric's taking it seriously."

"That's good. Hey, you heard about the Newlins, right?"

"Oh, yes. I heard that last night."

"Goddess or somebody saved Eric a lot of trouble."

"Yeah, that's one way to look at it." Sookie knew that Bobbie didn't know but she was sure Bjorn did, and she didn't see any reason to tell Bobbie if he hadn't. She might rather not know. Sookie almost wished she didn't know. She didn't question Eric's decision, but she did wonder about the timing. She almost thought this was Eric getting rid of a minor annoyance so he could focus on the real problem. If that's the case, she figured, then the real problem is serious.

Sookie swung Alex in and out of the water, laughing when he made his "haaaa" sound, and deciding to just enjoy this time with him. She picked up a bottle of baby shampoo, and said, "what am I going to do now, Pookie."

"Wath mah ayr!"

"Right, I'm going to wash your hair."

Alex closed his eyes, smiling, not only to keep suds out of his eyes, but because he enjoyed the sensation of Sookie gently washing and rinsing his hair. When that was done, Sookie washed him with baby soap. She finished rinsing him off, gave him a big kiss, and asked "are you ready for him, Bobbie?"

"Yep, fluffy towel at the ready," she laughed.

"Here he comes!" Sookie handed Alex to Bobbie who wrapped him up and dried him, then headed to the nursery for a new diaper. Sookie washed her hair, stepped out and wrapped a towel around herself. She walked over to the bathroom door, and stood in front of the full-length mirror. On a whim, she stared at her reflection for a moment, and it began to shimmer. She blinked and shook her head, but she was sure if she persisted that Freyja would appear. She wasn't mentally ready for that just now, but she decided that she needed a mirror she could sit in front of to talk to Her.

She thought about it as she combed out her hair. She could bring a chair into the bathroom, but it occurred to her that she'd rather have a vanity table. Then she could put some small tokens on it for Freya and she could do make-up there, too. It might even make it easier on Alicia to help her with hair and make-up. She looked out the door, "is Alicia still here?"

"Right here, dear. I've got a little tank dress for you, unless you'd prefer shorts?"

"No, that dress will be fine." She stepped back so Alicia could come in with the dress and a thong. "Do you think there's room in the bedroom for a vanity table?"

"That's funny that you mention it. I was just looking at a portable vanity that I thought might be useful for you because we could take it with us when we travel. It opens into a full vanity table but then folds up into a travel case. Would something like that work for you?"

"Yeah, maybe. Where did you see it?"

"On line, at a cosmetics site called Sephora. I was looking for some other things for you and I happened to see it. I think it would be very nice for you. Once you got used to it, it would be like taking a little bit of home with you and you'd always be comfortable and know where your cosmetics are. Would you like me to pull it up on the laptop for you?"

"Yeah, might as well. It sounds great." Sookie liked the idea that it could travel with her. It would be like taking an altar with her wherever she went and she and Freyja could consult in the same place most of the time.

Sookie wiggled into the bright pink dress. It was a soft t-shirt-style knit with spaghetti straps and only went to mid-thigh. It wasn't much bigger than a nightgown, but Sookie liked that because it was really comfy. It would be easy to pull down to feed Alex, too, and she could probably get away with sitting on the floor in it if she stretched it over her knees. Her chest was a little big for this style, but only family was going to see her so she didn't worry about that. She put on some mascara and lip gloss and went back out to the room, where Alicia had the laptop open.

"This is what I was looking at for you," Alicia held the laptop up for her.

"Ooh – that's cool! It looks like something a movie star would use!" It was black with telescoping legs and lights around the mirror. Marilyn Monroe would look right at home sitting in front of it.

"It does have sort of an old Hollywood glamour to it, doesn't it? It looks like it would hold a good amount of stuff in it, too."

"Yikes! It's expensive!"

"Not really, not for what it is."

"OK, well, could you return it if we don't like it?"

"Yes, this site is very good about returns."

"OK, then, order it and we'll try it out. Is Bobbie still diapering Alex? They've been gone a while."

"I thought I heard them giggling a minute ago. Maybe they're playing?"

"I'm going to go see. I'll be taking him down to the den in a few minutes. I thought he'd like to play with his dino." Sookie headed for the nursery and Alicia packed up some things to take downstairs for her. Bjorn got ready to head downstairs, too, still carrying that big book.

"Oh, that's nice – he'll love that."

Sookie found Bobbie and Alex in front of the toy shelf. Alex was looking at everything with big eyes, pointing and touching things as he noticed them.

"Hey, Pookie, whatcha doin'?" Sookie teased him.

"Woogie, Mamee! Do-eesth!" Alex reached for Sookie and Bobbie handed him over.

"Yeah, you've got lots of toys!"

"Ma do-eesth?

"Yeah, your toys!"

"Ware di Ehmo doe?"

"Elmo is in the bedroom. You want to go get him before we go downstairs?"

"Omba! Ah wuv Ehmo!"

"Oh, you do, do you?" Sookie laughed.

"Omba! Tatosth, Mamee."

"Tatos? You mean potatoes?"

"Eeah, Madwid tatosth."

"What's he saying?" Bobbie asked

"I think he wants to ask Margaret for potatoes?"

"Omba, Madwid, tatosth."

"Let's go downstairs and see." They grabbed Elmo and the three of them made their way to the kitchen. Alex got excited as they got there, yelling, "Madwid! Madwid!"

"Who's that I hear?" Margaret greeted them with a big smile and a tickle for Alex.

He put his little hands on each side of Margaret's face to make sure she was listening to him. "Madwid! Tatosth?"

"I think he's asking for potatoes?" Sookie guessed.

"Would you like me to make you some potatoes, Master Alex?"

"OMba, tatosth!"

"Alright, you go play for a bit and I'll make you some potatoes."

"Dayoo, Madwid!" Alex was happy as a clam knowing he was going to get what he wanted.

They took him into the den and Bjorn had already pulled Boss out into the middle of the floor. Alex squealed when he saw it and immediately flew out of Sookie's arms, landing in the middle of the balls, cracking up. Sookie and Bobbie sat on the couch and watched him, laughing and just letting him enjoy himself. Sookie turned the TV on and Alex suddenly stopped and looked at it. He hadn't been around TV much, and this was the first time he noticed it.

Alex was transfixed for a few minutes, then he crawled out of the ball pit and toward the TV. When he got to the wall, he floated up and looked at the big faces on the 65-inch screen and reached out to touch it. He floated up above it, looked behind it, then floated back down. Bobbie and Sookie were watching to see what he'd do. He floated down and touched the screen again, then flew to Sookie. "Woogie, Mamee?"

"Yeah, that's the TV. You want to watch a cartoon?"

Alex just blinked at her, not knowing what a cartoon was yet, so Sookie turned to the kiddie channels and found Sponge Bob just coming on one of them. Alex made his happy sound when he heard the singing, and flew back up to the TV. He was fascinated with the bright colors and the music, and he would fly back to Sookie, and point, then he'd reach for Bobbie's attention and point, then fly back, all the time waving his little arms. He did that three times until Margaret came in with a bowl of mashed potatoes for him.

"Ooh, Alex! Lookie what Margaret's got for you!"

Alex zipped back and said "tatosth!" and stuck his hand in before they could react. "Alex, hang on. I've got a spoon," Sookie laughed. Margaret hurried back into the kitchen for a paper towel.

"Nah, nah, Mamee, tatosth!" he said as he sucked the buttery potatoes off his hand.

"You need to learn to eat with a spoon, you little Heathen!" Sookie was cracking up. "Here," she took the wet paper towel Margaret offered and cleaned his hand, then wiped it dry with a dry towel. "Now sit here with me and Bobbie and you can eat potatoes, OK?" She turned his back to her chest so he was sitting on her leg and her arms held the bowl and spoon on either side of him

"Oday, Mamee, ee!" Alex didn't care about using a spoon or not, as long as the potatoes were going into his mouth. He hummed happily as Sookie shoveled the creamy stuff into his mouth. Between the cartoon and the snack, Alex was a happy boy. When he finished the potatoes, Sookie said, "all gone!" and Alex said, "ap-po?"

"Apples? You want apples?"

"Omba, Mamee."

"Here, I'll take his dish and see if there are any apples," Bobbie took the dish into the kitchen. "Hey, Margaret, are there any of those baby food jars of apples in here?"

"Oh, yes, I've got a pantry full of baby food, just in case," she said happily as she went into the pantry and came back with a little jar of apples.

"Here you go, Alex!" Bobbie came back into the den, twisting the lid off the jar.

Alex waved his arms, "Ap-po!" and eagerly ate the apples as Bobbie spooned them into his mouth while he sat on Sookie's lap.

"Wow – can he possibly be that hungry?" Sookie asked.

"He sure seems to be. Maybe you need to plan on feeding him some solid food in the mornings along with breast feeding?"

"Yeah, we'll try that. I'll tell Alicia to plan on bringing him something every morning. Apples and potatoes – that's all carbs. Should we give him some protein, too?" Sookie asked.

"As long as he gets some sometime today, I think you're fine. He already had milk. Are you still hungry, Alex?"

Alex blinked at her.

"Eat more, Alex?"

"Nah, nah, Bosth!"

Sookie and Bobbie cracked up, knowing he wanted to play now. "OK, Pookie, go for it!" Sookie let him go and he sped back to the dino on the floor, sitting in the middle of the ball pit and kicking balls all over the place, but also watching the cartoon.

"Ehmo!" Alex called the doll and it was suddenly in the pit with him, then he crawled out, put Elmo face down on it then made him float up in the air and let him fall into it as he liked to do.

"Uh – did you know he could levitate things like that?" Bobbie asked.

"Nope, never seen him do it before. I swear, Bobbie, it's like he comes up with something new every day!"

"Yeah, no kidding. Is it just because he's never been taught to think he couldn't do it? Maybe you can do that, too?"

"Maybe. Let's see – DRAGON!" Sookie called up Alex's purple dragon. "OK, now float!" she concentrated on the dragon and it began to rise up over her lap. It hovered a few inches above, then dropped back onto her legs.

"Looks to me like you just need practice, hon. We need to work your magickal muscles. Hey, see if you can levitate Alex!"

Sookie laughed, but she focused on Alex and pictured him floating and up he went into the air, making his happy sound and turning to look at her.

"Mamee fyeen me!"

"How do you like that, Pookie?" Sookie laughed and then she let him fall on top of Elmo, which tickled him to no end. He was kicking and squealing, "Fyeen, Mamee!"

Sookie did it again and Alex was beside himself giggling. She did it one more time, then laughed, "I'd better stop. I'm going to wear us both out."

"He enjoys everything so much," Bobbie laughed. "He's so intense!"

"Yeah, that's a vampire thing, I think. He gets it from Eric."

Alex crawled out of the ball pit and back toward Sookie. "What's the matter, Pookie," she said as she picked him up, "are you too tired to fly?"

"Nah nah," he said, but it was obvious he was getting tired and he wanted to be cuddled.

"He's been playing pretty hard since we got down here. It's almost 2 and a half hours."

"Wow – have we been in here that long?"

"Yep. He's already had a full day."

"Hey, I just realized – where are Amelia and Octavia?"

"They went to your Bon Temps house to get some things."

"In a thunder storm?"

"It wasn't storming when they left. I called Amelia and she said they were going to hang out there until the weather cleared then they'd be back. Jerry went with them, and I think they were going to fix lunch and clean out the fridge."

"OK, that's probably a good idea," she laughed, "they haven't been there much lately. It could be getting pretty hairy."

"Yeah, and you know how picky Amelia is about things like that."

"She's a perfect room mate, that's for sure!"

Sookie and Bobbie talked quietly as she gently rocked Alex and he was asleep very quickly. Sookie tucked him into the Bouncer and they moved into the kitchen so he could nap.

"Would you girls like a glass of sweet tea?" Margaret asked as they sat at the kitchen table.

"I'd love some!" Sookie said

"So would I," Bobbie agreed.

"Did you make lunch today, Margaret? I didn't smell any cooking…" Sookie could eat a little something if it was available, so she was hinting.

"I made huge roast beef sandwiches for everyone. There's plenty left if you'd like one, Missus."

"If it's not too much trouble…"

"No trouble at all, Missus. Bobbie, would you like one, too?"

"Yeah, if you don't mind. Can I help you?"

"No, just relax and chat and they'll be ready in no time."

"Bobbie, I always meant to ask you – why aren't you a vegetarian?"

"I have been at different times, but I become anemic if I don't eat a little beef now and then. Most people do fine on a vegetarian diet, of course, it just doesn't work for me. It would be easier to keep my weight down if I could, but I just do more exercises."

"When do you work out?"

"Late at night, usually, or really early. A lot of times I work out while Bjorn is dealing with things for Eric. Other times I get up with him and work out at the same time."

"When does Bjorn sleep?"

"He doesn't sleep much. Maybe 5 or 6 hours at the most, but most of the time, it's more like 4 hours. He says he doesn't need as much sleep because he stays in shape, but I never heard of that before."

"Neither did I. What do they call that when people are always hyper and don't sleep?"

"Manic?"

"Yeah."

"He's not manic, I'm sure of that. He's pretty steady, emotionally. He can be intense, but never excessively so, and I've never seen him lose his temper. He gets angry, of course, but he gets quiet when he's upset. A manic individual would be flying off the handle or bouncing off the walls at least occasionally."

"Some people don't need much sleep, though, right?"

"Yeah, I've heard of a few rare individuals that didn't sleep at all. I remember hearing about a girl in college who swam for 2 hours every night instead of sleeping. They say Martha Stewart only sleeps 4 ½ hours every night, but she leans toward manic, in my opinion."

"I think I tend to sleep a full eight hours."

"Yeah, or even a little more. It's good that you do. It's better for you and Alex both for you to be well-rested."

"Hey, ladies." Bjorn came in from the den, leaving his rain poncho outside the door.

"Hey, Bjorn. Anything going on?"

"No, everything is quiet. Do you happen to know if the VCR in the den works?"

"I guess so – there are blank tapes in the cabinet, I think," Sookie recalled.

"Good, I want to record the announcement tonight."

"Announcement?" Bobbie asked.

"OH, IS IT TONIGHT?!" Sookie was really happy for the Weres if it was what she was thinking.

"Yep, it is. We're going to have extra guards on here and at all your houses, plus extra at Fangtasia. You never know how the public is going to react to these things."

"I'm sorry you all have to work. You probably want to celebrate, right?"

"No, not really. I'm not crazy about the whole idea. It will take away part of our advantage."

"It will be really good for Weres in the military and police force, right?"

"Yeah, it will and it will probably mean that they get more money for their services, too. I just think the element of surprise was always useful."

"Do you think there will be any uprisings like when the vampires came out?" Bobbie was a little concerned.

"Well, it's possible, but I doubt it. We're very well-integrated in society. Almost everyone will find that they know a Were or Shifter already and we aren't driven to feed on humans as vampires are. Not that it doesn't happen, but our survival isn't dependent on it."

"Do you think there will be trouble here?" Sookie knew they'd be a target if people knew there were non-humans at their place.

"I don't know that anyone knows this is a vampire residence. As far as I know, the official story is that the place is owned by a wealthy eccentric. I don't think anyone knows the owner is a vampire."

"That's good," Sookie liked hearing that.

"Yeah, but we'll still be on alert. There is one group that knows who we are, and they could take the opportunity to strike and make it look like it was a group of local yahoos."

"Do you think they will?" Bobbie was worried about all of this. She wondered if that's why Bjorn hadn't mentioned it before now.

"No, but we need to be careful, just in case."

"Isn't it a perfect opportunity?" Sookie couldn't see what would stop anyone.

"That's just it. They'll expect us to be ready for trouble. They want to strike when we aren't ready."

"So how do you defend against that?"

"We stay ready, no matter what and we don't let our guard down."

"Is that really possible?" Sookie asked

"As long as we all do our jobs, it is. We've got a good team here. Don't worry about anything, just live your life and we'll keep you covered, your majesty."

"Why are you calling me that when we're at home?"

"Just to remind you that we're here for a reason, and we take it seriously. You're very sweet and friendly with us, but I promise you, none of us ever forgets why we're here. We're professionals, every one of us. Nobody is getting past us."

"Good," Sookie said as Margaret served her and Bobbie their sandwiches.

"Would you like another sandwich, Bjorn?"

"A small one, yes, thanks."

"Coming right up," Margaret was always happy to be able to feed the guards, and Bjorn especially, because she knew how important they were to keeping everyone safe. Margaret understood the situation a lot more clearly than anyone realized, maybe even more than Sookie did.

"Have either of you heard from Amelia?" Bjorn asked

"Yeah, she said they were going to stay at Sookie's until the storm passed, then they'd be on home," Bobbie reported.

"OK, I won't worry about them yet. I'll feel better when the three of them are back here. I want everybody inside these fences by 7. The announcement is at 8. Pam will be sheltering here tonight, too."

"Oh, cool. It seems like forever since I've seen her!" Sookie was always happy to have Pam around. "Is that for safety?"

"Yes, I don't think her nest is safe enough. She doesn't have anyone to watch her in the daytime so she's safer here. The plan is for her to come here after she closes Fangtasia, assuming nothing goes wrong."

"Are you expecting trouble there?"

"I think it's more likely there than anywhere else that concerns us. They'll be ready, though. We expect that there may be some FOTS-types protesting or causing trouble."

"Does the rule about no protesters apply there, too?"

"Not necessarily. We'll see how obnoxious they get. We have Were contacts on the police force who will be nearby, just in case. The police know that Fangtasia is a potential target."

"Do the police know about the announcement?" Bobbie didn't think anyone but Weres knew about it.

"They've been advised that there's going to be an announcement and that there may be a negative reaction in some parts. There are enough Weres on the force to see that they're ready, even if they don't know exactly what they're preparing for."

"What if…" Sookie started to ask a question but Bjorn got a call on his phone saying he was needed to help oversee a delivery Margaret was expecting from a local market. He excused himself and went out to the guard shack, then he and one of the other guards headed out front.

"What are you expecting, Margaret?"

"Some produce and some seafood. Catfish alright for dinner tonight, Missus?"

"Yeah, absolutely! Are you going to make hushpuppies, too?"

"Yes, and French fries and coleslaw, too."

"Awesome!"

"Sookie?" Eric was coming into the kitchen.

"Hey, Sweetie! I guess the rain has you up, huh?"

"Apparently." Eric bent down to kiss Sookie, his hair falling forward and brushing her cheek. "Where is Alex?"

"Sleeping in the den. He'll wake up around dinner time."

"Alright, then, I won't disturb him, I can wait until he awakes, I suppose."

"You sound like it's going to be hard for you," Sookie teased him.

"Yes, I must confess, I am always anxious to give him a hug and a kiss when I get up. It's one of the best parts of my day."

"Aww – that's so sweet. He loves seeing his Daddy, too. He'll be especially glad because the thunder had him a little spooked. Bjorn helped with him, though, and he felt safer."

"Thank you for doing that, Bjorn. I am glad that you are here when I cannot be."

"No problem. I took him to the window and showed him rain and lightening and told him he was safe and he calmed down and went back to Sookie."

"Oh, guess what he did today?"

"What?" Eric loved hearing Sookie tell him about Alex's day.

"We were getting dressed to come down stairs, and he said "Mahdwid tatosth." He wanted to ask Margaret for potatoes! You should have seen him, he was already yelling for her when we were coming through the living room."

"Margaret, was he polite?" Eric didn't want Margaret to feel put upon.

"He was just adorable, and he said 'thank you' when I told him I'd make them for him."

"Alright, good. I want him to be respectful."

"He was respectful, but he was hungry, too. You should have seen the bowlful he ate, and then asked for apples," Margaret told him proudly.

"He did?" Eric was amazed that Alex was asking for food that wasn't in front of him.

"Yes, he did," Margaret laughed. "With an appetite like that, he'll grow like weed."

"Yeah, he's growing alright. He gets heavier every day!" Sookie laughed, and Eric beamed with pride.

"Mr. Northman, you're here!" Alicia came into the room.

"Yes, Alicia, did you need me for something?"

"There are some faxes for you and Mrs. Northman in her office and there are three packages addressed to you, sir – I believe they were forwarded from the Las Vegas office."

"Alright, I'll attend to them in a bit. Thank you."

"Eric, you know what today is?" Sookie asked him

"Yes, it is the big announcement for the Weres. We are prepared for this, are we not, Bjorn."

"Yes, your majesty, everyone and everything is set. Pam will be staying here tonight through tomorrow, too." Bjorn went to the front door to see to the delivery.

"Good. I'm glad she agreed to do that. I was worried about someone following her home. If anyone follows her here, the guards will handle it."

"Have you mentioned the chalets to Pam, Eric? She could live here if she wanted to, right?"

"I have offered to let her live here and she is considering it, but she enjoys her independence. I think she'll stay on occasion, but not permanently. She'll keep room to enjoy her many playmates."

"Oh, yeah, that would be kind of weird having a lot of different people around, huh?"

"Yes, and we want to make sure that anyone here is well known or well researched. I can't have random people roaming in and out around you and Alex."

"DADEE!"

"He hears you!" Bobbie said and everyone laughed.

Eric was up and into the den in a heartbeat, coming back with Alex snuggled up to he chest, kissing his head. "Look who woke up!" he said affectionately.

Sookie just beamed at them – they were so crazy about each other.

"He's got a few new skills we discovered today," Sookie told him.

"Really? What can he do?"

"He flew and landed on the ceiling and crawled across it and down the wall like a spider, then he was levitating his Elmo doll over the ball pit."

"He made the doll float in the air?" Eric was delighted.

"Yep. I can do it a little bit, too, it turns out, but I need to practice. He just does it."

Eric was beside himself. He held Alex up in front of him, sitting his bottom on the table and looking him right in the eye. "So you can crawl on the walls and make things float, my boy? Daddy is very proud of you."

Alex giggled and squealed and kicked and chewed his finger. He loved it when Daddy said those words. He didn't know what they meant, but he knew it was good because Daddy always smiled when he said it and sent that feeling he always sent before Alex was out in the world. He made a biting motion at Eric and pointed to his gums and mumbled.

"What is wrong, Alex?"

Alex tried to show him his gums, but he didn't know a word for "hurt." Eric looked closely and said, "a tooth! Sookie, this is a tooth, yes?"

"Already? Let me see, Sweetie," she scooted around and looked at Alex's gums and sure enough, there was a little sliver of a tooth peeking out of the bottom toward the middle. "Yep, that's a tooth alright. Does is hurt, Alex?"

He made two biting motions at her then rubbed the gum with his finger. As he was doing that, Margaret took a little teething ring out of the freezer.

"Here you go, Master Alex. This will make it feel better." She gave the little yellow ring to the baby and it went straight in his mouth, of course, but he took it out and looked at it a few times because he never felt anything so cold before.

"Oh, thanks, Margaret! I didn't know we had one of these." Sookie was glad Alicia and Margaret were on top of these things.

"There are three of them. Alicia picked them up a while back and we put them in the freezer since he started drooling so much. We knew he'd need them eventually.

"What exactly is this thing?" Eric asked. There were certain baby items he'd never really seen before and didn't know what they were called.

"It's a teether. When the teeth are breaking through the gums, it feels good for them to gnaw on something. It's made to go in the freezer because the cold numbs the pain.

"Well, he seems to like it," Eric observed as he touched it to see how cold it was.

"I'm surprised he hasn't been crying if he's got a tooth that far along. They tend to cry a lot when they're teething and keep people up all night," Sookie warned him.

"I don't think Alex will cry that way. He cries very little."

"That's true, but if it hurts, it hurts."

"Do you think it might affect him less because he's a vampire?" Bobbie asked.

"That would be my expectation," Eric agreed. "He shows more and more vampire abilities and traits. Crawling on walls and ceilings is distinctly vampire behavior."

"It is? That's cool, because I never heard of such a thing before," Sookie laughed, "I was a little freaked out when it happened. You need to talk to him, though, Eric, about minding me."

"What did he fail to do?" Eric wasn't going to let Alex get in the habit of disrespecting Sookie.

"I told him he was only supposed to fly when Daddy was with him, but he landed on the ceiling and said he wasn't flying. I tried to reach for him and he avoided me. He just laughs at me when I tell him to do something."

"I really think he won't do that outside the house, though," Bobbie reminded her.

"Do you think it's only because he's safe in the house, Bobbie?" Eric valued her opinion in this because she spent so much time with Alex and Sookie.

"Yes, I do. I think if there were real danger, or if they were out somewhere, not around family in their own room, he'd do exactly what she told him to do."

"You have never taken him anywhere during the day, have you?"

"Only when he was first born and we were in Target in New Orleans, but he slept the whole time. I don't know what he'd be like now if I took him out somewhere. For all I know, when we take him into a store, he might call everything he sees off the shelves."

Eric considered that for a minute. "We need to practice that and see what happens. Tonight is not a good night, but maybe tomorrow or the next night we will take a trip to Walmart."

"Walmart?"

"Yes. We'll try it first when I can be with you so if he acts up, I can deal with it instantly. If he does well when I am with you, then I will have you take him somewhere during the day."

"You know, since I'm on vacation and all, I would kind of enjoy going shopping and having lunch out somewhere. Maybe Bobbie and I could go out for a day – with Bjorn, of course."

"Of course. You have been very isolated lately and I know you are not used to it yet. Let's try the trip to Walmart, then you girls can have a day of shopping if that works out."

"Cool. I thought maybe we'd go by Tara's shop. Bobbie has never met her and I haven't seen her in ages, and I always love the clothes she carries."

"Good. Ask her about buying your panties wholesale," he teased her.

"What?" Bjorn laughed as he came back into the kitchen, directing the guards carrying boxes of groceries.

"He always said he was going to have Tara order thongs for me wholesale because he destroys so many. I swear, I never had to replace clothes like I do since I've been around vampires." Everyone laughed at that.

"It seems the practical thing to do, my Angel," Eric was only half kidding.

"Do you really want me to ask her that?"

"Yes, I do. You wear the same type most of the time. Have her buy a large wholesale quantity for you and pay her a fair fee over that."

"OK, I'll ask her," Sookie said, rolling her eyes and shaking her head.

Bjorn thanked the guys for helping and sent them back to their posts.

"You had the guards carry things in?" Eric asked.

"Yes, they tipped the delivery service at the gate and two of them brought the boxes themselves. I don't want unknowns on the compound without a background check."

"Good, I'm pleased to hear that. Have we heard from the landscaper?"

"They said they'll be here tomorrow to consult with Sookie and they're going to measure off the lots for the chalets so the guys know where to dig for the plumbing Wednesday."

"Do you know who will be working on that?"

"Yes, Stackhouse and his friend, Hoyt. I told the contractor we'd prefer them to do it because we know them well and they did a good job, so he made arrangements. They're apparently taking another day off so they can do this."

"Good. They did do good work and I know Sookie enjoys seeing her brother."

"The fewer people we have in here, the better, too."

"Yes, I agree."

"Dee bee, Dadee!"

"What do you want, Alex?" Eric had no idea what he was saying.

Bobbie and Sookie laughed. "He discovered TV today. You should have seen him flying back and forth, looking behind it, pointing to it. He was absolutely mesmerized," Sookie laughed.

"He was beside himself watching Sponge Bob," Bobbie agreed.

"Do you want to watch TV, Alex?" Eric asked him

"Omba, Dadee, dee bee."

"I suppose we should get out of Margaret's way so she can fix dinner. Let's go watch TV, my son." Eric took Alex into the den and Sookie, Bjorn and Bobbie followed. The television was still on the cartoon channel when Eric turned it on, and Alex made his happy sound when he saw the bright colors. Sookie didn't think that cartoon was appropriate, but there was an age-appropriate show on PBS. Alex got excited again and flew up to the screen, touching it and looking behind it again, then he flew back to Eric and said "woogie, Dadee!"

"Yes, I see that. Those are strange creatures - what show is this?" He looked at Sookie and Bobbie.

"Teletubbies. Remember when Jerry Falwell thought Tinky Winky was gay?"

"Tinky Winky?"

Bjorn was sitting in the recliner cracking up at the idea of Eric learning about Teletubbies.

"Yeah, see the purple one with the triangle on his head and the pink magic purse? His group or whatever was claiming he was gay. People just made fun of them for it."

"Are they male?"

"They're sort of genderless as far as I know. Let's see – the red one is Po, the yellow one is Laa Laa, and the green one is Dipsy."

"Children do not find them disturbing?" Eric couldn't believe what he was seeing.

"Kids love them! Look at Alex!" Sookie told him. Alex had flown back up to the TV and was floating in front of it, chewing on his teething ring and staring at the screen.

"What are they saying?"

"I'm not sure. The show is Japanese, but they have some English voiceovers. It doesn't really matter though, because the kids who watch this show are mostly toddlers who can't really talk yet."

Just then one of the Teletubbies had a little snippet of live video showing on his tummy screen. Alex made his happy sound again and said "woogie, Dadee!"

"Alex, come sit with Daddy and watch the show, OK? I'm afraid you're going to hurt your eyes," Sookie said.

Eric smiled, knowing this wasn't a problem, but he liked seeing Sookie act motherly. Alex flew back to him and settled on Eric's lap, still reacting to what was on the screen. Eric was as amazed by Alex's reaction as Alex was with the show. He loved how big his eyes were and how he'd be surprised by something new that he saw. When the show ended about 15 minutes later, Alex turn to Eric and asked, "Ware di dee bee doe?"

"That show was called Teletubbies and it is over now. A different show will come on now."

"Dippin chow?"

"Yes, a different show."

"Alex, honey, that show will be on again tomorrow, OK? When we wake up tomorrow, after we dance and get dressed, we can watch it again, alright?" Sookie hoped he understood.

"Dantheen an chow?"

"Right, we'll do our dancing then the show will be on again."

"Oday," Alex forgot about the show and flew into the ball pit where Elmo was still laying. "Woogie, Dadee, Ehmo!"

"Yes, I see Elmo. Are you having fun with him?"

"Ee-ah, pun. Woogie!" Alex crawled to the side, made Elmo levitate over the pit, then dropped him right in the middle and giggled, "Ehmo ina bahs!"

Eric looked at Sookie, who interpreted: "Elmo is in the balls."

"Yes, he is. Can you make Elmo fly again?" Eric wanted to see it again.

"Ee-ah," Alex pointed at Elmo and he floated up in the air again.

"Very good, my son. Can you make Elmo fly here to me?"

"Oday," Alex pointed at Eric and the doll floated through the air toward the couch.

"That's excellent, Alex. Daddy is very proud of you. Were you flying today?"

"Ee-ah, Mamee NAH NAH!" Alex was clearly mocking Sookie yelling at him earlier.

Eric knew he should reprimand Alex for making fun of Sookie, but it was too funny. He and Bjorn were cracking up. Bobbie was trying not to. Eric finally said, "Mommy yelled at you for flying?"

"Ea-ah!"

"You know Daddy wants you to do as Mommy says, Alex. When I am sleeping, you do what Mommy tells you to do, OK?"

"Oday."

"Show me how you flew today."

Alex stared at him. "Fly, Alex," he simplified it for him. Alex flew up and turned a couple of flips in the air, giggling the whole time.

"Very good, Alex!"

"Woogie, Dadee!" Alex landed on the ceiling. "Nah fyeen, Dadee," he laughed as he scurried across the ceiling.

"Alex, Mommy still considers that flying. When she says no flying she means that, too, OK?"

"Oday."

"Alright, now come to Daddy, son."

Alex floated down and into Eric's arms. "Very good, Alex. You fly very well."

"Ah fyeen dood?"

"Yes, you fly good," Eric laughed and brought him up for a kiss. He held him up over his head and said, "You fly really good, my boy!"

"Ee-ah," Alex agreed, cracking up. Alex picked up his teether, and frowned as he looked at it.

"Mamee – nah nah?"

"What's the matter, Pookie?"

He held up the teether to her and said squeezed it with his fingers and said, "Nah nah."

Sookie touched it and she realized what he was saying. "It's not cold anymore. You want a cold one?"

"Gode?"

"Yeah, come with me," She took him from Eric, but Eric followed her to see what Alex would do.

"Mahdwid!" Alex called her as they went into the kitchen. He held up the teether and said, "nah nah?"

"I think he wants one that's cold," Sookie explained.

"They're right here, Missus," she showed Sookie where they were stored and took the warm one to clean it and put it back in the freezer. "Is this what you want, Sweetheart?"

"OMba! Dayoo!"

"You're quite welcome, sir." Margaret thought he was the sweetest baby she ever saw and not a bit scary, fangs notwithstanding.

"Is that one cold, Alex?"

He held it up to Sookie and she touched it and said, "Cold!"

"Gode," he repeated, then stuck it in his mouth.

"Amazing," Eric said, almost to himself.

"Yeah, you can almost see the wheels turning, can't you?" Sookie laughed.

"Yes, you can. He's so bright and learns so quickly."

"Yeah, and remembers everything."

"He's the most gifted child I've ever seen," Margaret said, "and one of the most beautiful, too. He looks like an angel with that white hair and those bright eyes."

"Thank you, Margaret. I agree." Eric said, taking Alex from Sookie. Alex held the new teether up to Eric and said, "Gode!"

Eric felt it and said, "Yes, that is cold. Does it feel good in your mouth?"

"Gode dood!"

"Yes, cold is good when your mouth hurts." He kissed Alex's forehead and snuggled him as he chewed on the teether. Margaret was setting the table and the others were migrating into the kitchen.

"I hear a car door?" Eric looked up.

"I hope it's Amelia and Octavia," Bjorn said, "I want them home before 7."

The door to the garage opened and there was Octavia. "Yes, good, you are home!" Eric greeted Octavia, who was followed by Amelia. "We were hoping you'd get home soon."

"Hey, Mister. We'd have been here sooner but we got caught in a storm so we stayed longer at Sookie's place than we had planned."

"As soon as the weather seemed to clear, I got us headed back this way. I had to pull twice to the side of the road, though, the rain was so heavy in spots," Jerry reported.

"You took Sookie's car, I hope?" Eric knew they were very safe if in that car.

"Yes, your majesty, we did. We didn't expect to be gone long, so I thought it was best."

"That's very good, Jerry, I want all of my family kept safe."

"Aw, thanks, Eric!" Amelia actually gave Eric a little hug and was surprised he sort of hugged her back.

"Octavia, guess what we're having for dinner?" Sookie asked, knowing she'd love it.

"I don't know, but it sure smells good."

"Catfish!"

"Oh, boy, now that sounds mighty good."

"Pish?!"

"Yeah, Alex, we're having fish for dinner."

"Sthama?"

"No, not salmon, this is catfish. You haven't had this yet."

"Gapish?"

"Yep, catfish."

"Excuse me, Mr. Northman?"

"Yes, Alicia?"

"I was mistaken earlier. These three packages are addressed to Alex, not you."

"Oh?"

"Yes, I just noticed they say Eric A. Northman. That's Alex, right – you don't have a middle initial."

"That's right. Jerry, have you screened these?"

"No, let me take them out to the garage and check them before you touch them." Jerry headed out the door with the little packages and the others got settled at the table. Octavia went on upstairs with the things she brought from Sookie's house.

Margaret brought Eric a warm RM and Sookie a cold one, plus a bottle for Alex. By the time they were settled and Bobbie and Bjorn had glasses of sweet tea, Jerry was back with the open packages. "I opened them, your majesty, since they were for the Prince. I wanted to be very sure they were safe."

"Thank you, Jerry, I appreciate that," Eric said, "You are staying for dinner, I hope?"

"Yes. Thank you, your majesty."

"Ooh, Lookie, Alex, you got presents!" Sookie loved this.

"Pesnan?"

"Yeah, somebody sent you presents. Let's see what you got!" Sookie opened the largest one and said "Aw – how cute! It's a little baby's place setting that says "The Prince Eats!" and "The Prince Drinks!" This is so sweet!" She showed it to Eric then passed it around the table so the others could see.

"Who is that from?" Eric asked, as Sookie opened the card. ""Caroline Andrews." She says she's looking forward to interviewing me this fall once school begins?"

"Oh, CAROLINE!" Eric laughed, "She was the young blonde UNLV student who couldn't take her eyes off of you at your seafood fest at the residence in Las Vegas. You said you'd have lunch with her and let her interview you for her college courses. I'm sure she's looking forward to that very much," he teased Sookie.

"Yeah, you would remember that."

"Wait, what'd we miss?" Amelia asked.

"Eric claimed the girl had a crush on me and told me I could invite her to our room if I wanted to." Everyone cracked up.

"She DID have a crush on you. I was just trying to be accommodating," Eric laughed.

"Yeah, I'm sure that would have been a real stretch for you, Eric," Bjorn laughed and Jerry, who sat at the back of the table next to Amelia, did, too, while all the girls groaned.

"Are you actually going to have lunch with her, Sookie?" Bobbie was intrigued by the whole idea.

"Yeah, I am, because I said I would. She's specializing in the psychology of human/vampire relationships."

"Do you really qualify for that, Sookie?" Amelia didn't think of Sookie as human.

"Well, I did when we got together, as far as I knew, so, yeah, I think so. I'll write her a thank you note and tell her I'm looking forward to it."

"Excellent idea, my Angel." Eric teased and the guys laughed again.

"Dream on, my husband," Sookie teased him. "Margaret, can we use this for Alex's dinner? He'll want some coleslaw and maybe a couple of soft French fries and we'll mash up some fish and make sure there are no bones in it?"

"Of course, Missus."

"Ee pish, Mahdwid."

"Yes, of course, you'll eat some fish, Sweetheart! I'll bring it as soon as it's ready," Margaret smiled at him.

"Oday, dayoo," he smiled and put his thumb in his mouth.

"He's so precious," Margaret gushed over him and Eric loved it. "I'll get his high chair for him."

"That's alright, Margaret, I'll do that," Bjorn offered, "You've got your hands full."

"Thank you, dear."

Bjorn brought the chair from the pantry and set it next to Eric, then took the baby from him and put him in place. Alex liked sitting in his high chair because it made him feel like he was the center of attention. All the adults could see him this way, and they always gave him food or at least Cheerios when he was in it. Yep, here comes Eesh with some dee-wee-osth now!

"Here you go, Alex, munch on these until the fish is ready."

"Dayoo, Eesh!"

"Very good, Alex. You are being very polite. Daddy likes that," Eric stroked his cheek with the backs of his fingers several times and Alex giggled and bounced his leg as he did when he was happy.

Sookie opened the other two packages, one of which was a thousand dollar savings bond and a silver rattle, and the other a set of pacifiers with ribbons and clips to keep the baby from losing them and a check for 500 dollars.

"More money for him – he's already loaded," Sookie laughed as she put the rattle on the tray of Alex's highchair. He looked it over and enjoyed the sound it made, but he really liked the pacifier she took out of the package of three and was fascinated with the clip she put on his little t-shirt and the ribbon that ran from it to the binky.

"I'm glad we finally got an account set up for him," Eric commented.

"We did?" Sookie didn't know about this.

"Yes, a part of his trust is a savings account for gifts like this check. He'll get more and more presents as the holidays draw near and his birthday will be a spectacular celebration. I'm thinking we'll hold a ball in his honor in Las Vegas."

"For a baby?"

"For a Prince, absolutely."

Margaret brought platters of fish, hush puppies and fries to the table, and a big bowl of coleslaw as a couple of the guards came in to take the dinners she had for them on the kitchen counter back out to the guard houses in front, back and the servant's quarters. Everybody dug in and Alicia brought over the newly washed and dried dish and spoon Alex got with the food Sookie wanted him to try.

"Thank you, Alicia," Eric said and he turned Alex's chair to face him so he could feed him. "Alright, my boy, let's try some of this catfish." Alicia had already mashed it up so he picked some up with the spoon and held it so Alex could take a bite. Alex hummed happily.

"Do you like the fish, Sweetie? Is it good fish?" Sookie was watching as Eric fed him.

"Omba, dood pish!" Alex said and made everyone laugh which pleased him to no end.

Alex picked up a French fry from the plate and looked at it, then put it in his mouth and said "tatosth!"

"Yeah, French fries are potatoes!" Sookie was pleased to see him make a connection. "That's called a French fry. Can you say that?"

"Pen pwy"

"OK, I guess that's close enough," Sookie laughed.

Alex finished that fry and grabbed another, humming as he ate it.

"Well, we know he's a kid, Sookie, he likes fries." Bobbie joked.

Eric looked at Sookie, not understanding the joke and Sookie explained, "most kids love French fries. That's a bit of his human heritage, I guess," Sookie laughed.

"Well, no one is perfect," Eric joked, "but my son is very close, even if he does eat food."

"I have a theory about that," Bobbie said.

"What is that, Bobbie?" Eric wanted to hear this.

"I think he needs food to grow – that's what will enable him to get bigger. He may not continue to eat when he's grown."

"Interesting. I can see that happening. His need for blood may eclipse his need for food as he matures. Why do you think this is the case?"

"Well, Dr. Ludwig says Fae don't come into their full powers until they hit puberty. I'm thinking that because he needs to grow, and there's Fae magick involved, that's the way they resolved the problem of a vampire baby that needs to change for a while."

"That's logical. I have no doubt he is vampire, but as you say, vampires don't normally change."

"It's a fascinating concept. It's going to be cool seeing how he develops. I mean, he does drink blood yet his is definitely growing."

"You know," Sookie interjected, "I should call Claudine sometime and ask her how this all works. She would probably know, wouldn't she?"

"You've been wanting to go out for lunch, Sookie. Why don't you have her meet you somewhere?" Bobbie suggested.

"You'll go, too, though, right? You know her twin brother, Claude."

"Oh, you mean that Claudine? I never put that together, but yeah, I guess I do. Sure, I'll go if you want."

"Amelia, you and Octavia will go, right? Where is Octavia, by the way?"

"She went to take her purse upstairs and some things she brought from your house, then she never came back down."

"Miss Octavia decided to lie down a bit, and I'm going to send a plate up to her later," Margaret said as she added more fish to the platter on the table.

"Oh, OK, thanks, Margaret. She must be tired," Sookie reasoned.

"Yeah, she helped me clean today. I told her she didn't have to, but she insisted," Amelia told her.

"OK. So the announcement is at 8, right? Anything going on after that?" Sookie asked

"I need to work, so I'd prefer you go to sleep early and I'll wake you later on, my Angel."

"OK, I guess. You don't think I should stay awake in case there's trouble?"

"I don't think there will be trouble, certainly none that we can't handle. You and Alex can both usually sleep at 9, so do that and we'll have our bath later on."

"Bobbie, what are you going to do?"

"After the announcement I have some personal things I need to take care of. I need to call and check on my mom, and I need to pay some bills."

"OK, and Amelia?"

"I thought I'd hang out with Jerry for a bit after he finishes his shift. He wants to stay around, just in case."

"That's good. Octavia is lying down, Eric will be working, Bjorn will be focused on security, Margaret will go to bed, Alicia will turn in. Yep. I guess sleep is my best option since I'll be all alone. If I can't sleep, I'll read."

"You do have a lot of reading to catch up on. Maybe you should call Claudine and see if she wants to meet us Thursday or Friday for lunch?" Bobbie suggested

"Yeah, I should. I haven't seen her since the day I told Eric about the baby."

"One of the best days of my long life, as it turns out." Eric smiled, feeding Alex a spoonful of coleslaw.

Alex picked up a French fry and held it up to Eric, "ee, Dadee, dood!"

"He says "eat, Daddy, they're good!"" Sookie laughed and translated.

"Yes, I got that much, OK, my son," Eric opened his mouth and let Alex feed him a French fry. "Hm, that is tasty, isn't it? You want some more of those?"

"Mo pen pwy, Dadee," Alex nodded deliberately and a little awkwardly.

"Sookie, when did he begin making gestures like that?" Eric asked

"I don't know – that's new, I think. I don't remember him doing it before."

"You're a very smart boy, my son!" Eric tickled him as Margaret put more of the softer fries she picked out for him in his dish.

"Dayoo, Mahdwid!"

"You're very welcome, Alex."

"He gets that from Sookie," Bjorn observed.

"What is that?" Eric wanted to know

"That bouncy "I know I'm adorable" attitude," Bjorn laughed.

"I do not have an attitude like that!"

"Yes, you do," Amelia agreed and everyone at the table cracked up as Sookie feigned resentment.

"Ah!"

"Come on, Sookie, he takes after you that way and you know it!" Bjorn teased her.

"He likes to show off, just like his Daddy," Sookie protested.

"He likes to be adorable, just like his Mommy," Eric laughed. "Hopefully, he'll grow out of that and take pride in being a bad ass as I do."

Everybody wailed at Eric making fun of himself. Alex didn't know why they were laughing but he laughed, too.

"You think Daddy is funny, Alex?" Eric teased him,

"Punny Dadee!" Alex laughed. Eric pulled him out of the high chair and hugged him and kissed him. "Are you done eating, my boy?"

"Ap-po, Dadee."

"Apples," Sookie interpreted.

"Coming right up, Mr. Northman," Margaret said and was off like a shot to the pantry, and right back with another jar of apples.

"That's twice today he's asked for apples," Sookie observed. "He must really like them!"

"It's probably the sweetest thing he's ever tasted." Bobbie said, "He had cheesecake once, and watermelon, but he's never had any other fruit or any candy at all. Apples is the only sweet food he knows the word for, I think."

"Yeah, he did really like that cheesecake, and he ate quite a bit of watermelon when you were feeding it to him."

"That's pretty normal for a kid. Some of the books suggest introducing a kid to vegetables before they have anything sweet, because they'll want something sweet all the time once they've had it. I'm not sure I agree with that, but it's something to think about or be aware of."

Eric was feeding the apples to Alex as he stood on his leg and had his arm around Eric's neck. "Look what he is doing, Sookie." Eric said softly but proudly.

'Is he standing up by himself?" Sookie couldn't believe it.

"He's leaning on me a bit, but it's mostly him. He's getting very strong."

"He's growing, too. We should weigh him and measure him, since today is his two week birthday."

"It is?" Eric hadn't noticed the date.

"Yep, he was born two weeks ago today," Sookie confirmed. "So much has happened, if feels like a year ago."

"Have you done any work to figure out why time is so compressed around you, Sookie?" Amelia had talked to her about this before.

"No, but I was thinking about trying to talk to Freyja about it. It has to be something She's doing."

"Why do you say that?" Eric asked

"It's the only thing that makes sense. She's the one that has a specific idea about our futures or destinies or whatever. It just makes sense that She's behind it and She has a reason for it and I want to know what it is."

"You may ask Her, Sookie, but She may choose not to answer," Amelia wanted her to be prepared for that.

"I think She will answer. She wants you to know what She knows, Sookie."

"Eric, are you sure about that?"

"Yes. I don't know why I am sure of it, but I am. Freyja will be honest with you of all people, Sookie. She would not lie to…" he stopped and realized that Margaret, Alicia and Jerry didn't know about Sookie's divine origins, or whatever.

"Me, you mean?" Sookie was helping him out, knowing why he stopped short.

"Yes, you."

"I'm going to try to talk to Her in the mirror before I go to sleep, I really need some answers about this whole situation."

"Excellent idea, my Angel. You should try often so you develop your skills."

"He's right, Sookie, you need to hone your skills and that's a great way to do it," Amelia agreed.

"Yep, it's simple and low stress," Bobbie added. "Get good at it and you might be able to see her in a compact in an emergency."

"Is that possible?"

"Theoretically, yeah," Amelia confirmed. "She just said a mirror, right? My guess is any mirror or reflective surface will do. It's an easy way to make Herself very accessible to you. All these gifts, Sookie – there's a reason you have them. There will be a time when you need them, so practice all you can. You should work out those muscles just like you're going to work out your abs. They'll keep you alive, I'm sure of it."

"Excuse me, but it's after 7. We should get ready to watch the announcement," Bjorn reminded everyone.

"Anybody want dessert?" Margaret asked as she began to clear dishes.

"I do!" Sookie said.

"Me, too," Amelia agreed. Everyone else passed so they migrated into the den while Sookie and Amelia got big slices of German chocolate cake and big glasses of whole, organic milk. The den was full so Sookie sat on Eric's lap and Amelia took the chair by the doors to the dining room and bathroom. Bobbie was perched on the arm of the recliner with Bjorn. Eric insisted that Margaret and Alicia join them before 8 and they sat on the couch with Eric and Sookie. Jerry stood in the doorway of the dining room. Alex was in the ball pit snuggling Elmo and looking at the TV occasionally.

The news conference began a little before 8, with reporters speculating on what the big announcement would be, since they had only been told it would, in a way, affect the course of history. The last time they heard those words, the world had learned about vampires, and they kept reminding people of that. A couple of them joked that maybe there were Werewolves now, too, but none of them meant it seriously.

A man and a woman, named Mary and John Knox, were introduced and the man began to speak.

"Welcome, members of the press and those of you watching at home. We come tonight to share the news that there is more in the world than humans and vampires. We are here among you, and mean no one any harm. Show them, Mary."

Mary was wearing a lovely, loose purple satin caftan and she stepped to the side of the podium. She shimmered for a minute and suddenly there was a wolf where the woman had stood. John helped the creature out of the dress, and then returned to the microphone.

"Mary is a Were, or what most of you know as a Werewolf. Those of you in public places may have someone there with you who has transformed. Do not be alarmed. Some of us are known as Shifters and they can become any animal they choose. Others are specific animals, like were-panthers, or were-bears. We've lived among you for centuries, and odds are that everyone watching knows one of us. We are your neighbors, your friends, and often your protectors as policemen or soldiers. We do not prey on humans, so you have nothing to fear from us.

Our only wish is to live among you as we always have, as normal members of society who run wild on the night of the full moon, and at other times of our choosing, but live otherwise ordinary lives. Thank you."

John petted the wolf, then slipped the caftan over its head and stood back. Before everyone's eyes, the woman stood before them once more, adjusting the caftan as she filled it. Everyone was stunned.

The news people hesitated for a few minutes, as shocked as everyone else, then they began to wave their hands to ask questions. John put his arm around Mary as she stood beside him, and agreed to take a few questions, though no one asked anything he hadn't already answered in his statement. He and Mary politely reinforced the idea that they had always been here, that they were not a danger to humans, that most could shift at will but had to shift on the full moon.

The presentation wrapped up after about 20 minutes, but the news people were droning on and on, repeating the information they'd been given. The feed switched to everyone's local news teams, and the Louisiana crew was taking callers' reactions to the news. About 60 per cent of the calls were positive, saying they'd accepted the vampires, and this was far less scary than that.

Another 25 per cent were a little worried and mostly wanted to know how to tell if their neighbor, boss, or their kids' teacher was a werewolf. It was obviously going to take a while for them to use the terms Were and Shifter, but it was early in the process. 5 per cent of the callers were actual Weres and Shifters who were mostly happy to be out, though one or two thought it was a mistake and that they'd be marginalized or be targets for discrimination.

The remaining 10 per cent were off the hook hysterics, claiming this was the end of the world and Satan was at work and these foul beasts were plotting to take over the government and enslave humans. They showed snippets of tape of what was happening on other stations and the hard-core religious channels were hyping up the fear so they could get more donations from the sheeple who watched them.

Prayer vigils were announced, either to show acceptance or to pray for their destruction, and two-thirds of the schools in the country were closed as the night went on so their administrators could debate how to handle this. Vampires were not an issue in most schools, but Weres and Shifters walked in daylight, so this was a whole new kettle of fish for the educational system.

It was all pretty predictable until they announced a shooting outside of Fangtasia.

"Shit." Eric said, "Have everyone on alert. We do nothing until we hear from Pam or her second – who is helping her since Vincent is in New Orleans?"

"One of the guys from Alcide Herveux's pack was supposed to be there with some of their group to provide extra security. Henderson was going to be reporting to Pam," Jerry explained. "He'll call me once they know what's happening, though Pam will probably call you first. We made sure there was backup tonight."

"Alright, keep it on the local news. If they switch to national, go to another local station and let me know if there's any change. I'm going out to the Front Office. Bjorn, you and Jerry stay with my family, please."

"Yes, your majesty," they spoke in unison.

The news turned out to be just some random redneck driving by Fangtasia as they heard the announcement and he apparently shot into the air. No one was hurt, or even threatened, though later in the night one small group showed up trying to exorcise the club. They didn't stay long because they approached the front door sprinkling holy water and Pam snarled at them. They dropped their crosses and ran like hell when she showed her fangs. Pam just considered that an amusing anecdote rather than real trouble. She talked about it for months.

The only incident at the compound was a couple of souped-up cars driven by local teenagers drove up to the gate on a dare and then sped off when they saw the guards and what they thought were guard dogs. Actually, some of the guards decided to work transformed to be prepared for anything, but nothing really happened.

By 9 pm Alex wanted "Mamee ee" so Sookie decided to take him to bed and feed him then they'd both sleep a while. Once Eric got the 'all clear' from Pam, he went to work, which entailed going over a lot of plans and figures over the phone with Bill.

Vincent called him at 12:30 to talk about new recruits he had interviewed, and Eric had to brief Sandy on the new plans for the chain of movie theatres and the elite vampire brothels they were setting up in 13 major cities. Sandy mentioned that she was hearing rumblings from the California territories regarding the theatre chain, and Eric told her he'd check it out and asked her to confirm the Bellagio ballroom for Alex's first birthday bash, which had to be reserved now. Then Eric called one of his best spies and offered him a lush month in California if he'd check out the rumors Sandy had related to him.

He called another contact that no one knew about and asked him to monitor the reaction from organized crime on the East Coast as the brothels were nearing completion. He expected trouble from that end, but he knew how to handle thugs – he'd been doing it for a millennium. A second call went to an equally clandestine contact in Miami, but he had a solid footing with the vampire king in that territory and they had reached an understanding. That particular king wasn't going to take shit from local drug dealers, so Eric expected any objections to be quelled quickly and quietly.

The vampire community had been pretty good about seeing that their own organizations didn't get polluted by human thugs and that human "organizations" didn't get vampire assistance. Justice was swift and cruel in cases where those lines were crossed, and Eric planned to keep that policy strictly enforced. If Felipe had followed it, Eric would be dead now. He made the mistake of sending a human into his bedroom after the wedding and Sookie was able to take him out all by herself and practically in her sleep. Luckily, he sent a sap to do a Supe's job. Eric would make no such mistake.

If Eric needed to send enforcers into the areas with brothels, he'd send the best and leave no doubt as to the mistake it would be to interfere in his businesses. These weren't going to be the skanky white slave cathouses such as the mob dealt in. These were going to be elite clubs for old, powerful, rich, vampires from all over the world. No force or terrorism would be required to staff these clubs. People would line up to work there and they'd only hire the very best – the healthiest, the most polished, the most beautiful young men and women in every major city were already vying for positions in **Sang Riche**, memberships were being sold at 1 million dollars per year and only those with the right references were invited to apply.

Eric's name was only associated with the clubs by innuendo, but that sold it to the vampire crème de la crème. He didn't want a direct connection to him because he hoped to keep these off Sookie's radar. Her Christian upbringing would send her into fits if she understood what the clubs were about, and she wasn't far enough along yet to accept the line that this was only business. Eric only needed 100 members to make the whole chain profitable, and he already had three times that sold. He would actually take Sookie with him to some of the club openings, but he'd make sure she never picked up on what the real business was. He'd just tell her that these were nightclubs he had invested in and keep her off the floors with the playrooms.

Sookie changed Alex's diaper and put him on the bed while she took her clothes off. She got comfortable with the pink pillow and got him into position. Alex fed like he was starving, though he had eaten a lot of food that day. She figured that was because he was growing, and he was definitely doing just that. She figured he looked more like 2 months old than two weeks, and maybe more than that. She sang to him and talked to him while he fed, and she could tell by the twinkle in his eyes how much he loved this time with her. He had a way of looking at her that made her feel so much love it overwhelmed her sometimes. Margaret was right – he was a beautiful baby.

"Are you reading my thoughts, Pookie? Do you know Mommy thinks you're beautiful? You are – you're the most beautiful baby I ever saw. You're beautiful just like your Daddy and you've got his sparkling blue eyes, just like I hoped you would. And you're so smart and funny. I'll bet you break a lot of hearts when you grow up because women will line up for a cute blonde boy with a good sense of humor. You've got Daddy's genes on one side and sort of your Uncle Jason's genes on the other, so you've got "chick magnet" in your DNA! I can see it now! All the little girls will follow you around and you'll give them a twinkle from those blue eyes and they'll just melt!"

Alex only understood bits of what she was saying, but he knew it meant she loved him and thought he was pretty and that was all he cared about. Mommy's smiles were all his and all was right with the world. He held his hand up to her face and she kissed it and held it and played with his fingers. He knew what "sopf" was and that was how Mommy's face felt when he touched it. Nothing in his whole world was as sopf as Mommy's face and breasts. He knew Daddy liked her sopf parts, too, because Daddy was really smart.

Alex fed for a long time, then finally yawned and Sookie knew he'd be asleep in minutes. She stroked his little cheek and hummed Brahm's Lullaby until Alex was completely out, then she put him in the co-sleeper, called up Elmo and tucked them in together under a light blue baby blanket.

Sookie knew Eric had work going on so she decided to lie back and see if she could call up Freyja. It occurred to her she could do it in a mirror if Eric put a mirror up on the ceiling. They hadn't talked about that in a long time, and there were so many people around all the time, she figured that wasn't going to happen now.

She tried to relax, from her toes, up her legs, through her lower body, her back, her ribcage and breasts, her arms and shoulders, her neck, her face and her scalp. She felt light and tingly, then she felt like she was floating. She never knew if she was or wasn't, but it sure felt like she was floating in the air with nothing touching her. She began to feel that white energy that covered the whole compound and it contracted and expanded with every breath she took.

"Open your eyes, My Angel," Freyja spoke to Sookie gently.

Sookie opened her eyes slowly and the two of them were face to face in the field of white energy.

"Where are we?"

"Everywhere and nowhere, but we are together, My Angel."

"Why is everything around the baby happening so fast?"

"You are three years late, Sookie."

"What do you mean?"

"I believed when you beheld Eric at Fangtasia, and felt his power, you would be together. When that failed, I sent him to you in need. You yielded to him, but still you were not together. I arranged your blood bonding, yet still you resisted. When I could wait no longer for Eric Alexander to be born, we arranged it though you had yet to accept him completely. We are pleased and relieved that you are home at last, Darling, Girl."

"You mean I was supposed to just hook up with Eric the first time I saw him and get pregnant?"

"Yes, you were, but you know that. You knew it then."

"Yeah, I did, but it scared me."

"You must do what you know to be right, in spite of your fears. You are not like other people, Sookie. Follow your natural inclinations."

"So why is it so important for Alex to grow up so fast – what are you preparing him for?"

"War."

Ow! Sookie bumped her head a little on the headboard as she landed on the mattress – at least that was what she figured must have happened to make her hit her head. What the hell just happened? Did Freyja drop her? And, damned if she didn't make another cryptic statement and disappear!

'If I'm supposed to be Freyja, why do I keep pissing myself off?' she thought as she lay looking at the ceiling. Alex. She rolled over and looked at Alex. 'He was supposed to be born three years ago. That's why he's a year or more ahead in his development. They need him to a certain point by a certain date. Time is compressed because I fought against my natural instinct to be with Eric.'

"But how could I have known?" she said quietly as she rested her hand on Alex's tummy. Sookie felt a profound sense of sadness envelop her. She didn't have long to examine it, though, because Eric was in the room before she really fell into it.

"Sookie, are you alright? I felt sadness in you."

"Yeah, I just… I just talked to Freyja. It's all my fault."

"What is your fault?"

"We were supposed to have Alex 3 years ago. It was supposed to happen when I first met you, but I fought it so long that now everything is happening so fast." It wouldn't take much for Sookie to become hysterical right now.

"Sookie, do not blame yourself for any of this. Everything happens when it must happen. Freyja told me Herself that everything happens when it must happen and not a second before. If Alex is here now, it's because it must be so. These things happen for a reason."

"Yeah, he must be here now because I was so damned stubborn that they couldn't wait any longer!"

He took her face in his hands and kissed her forehead, then looked her in the eye. "Sookie, there is a reason for it all, I promise you. Don't expend energy regretting the past. Look forward and know there is a reason."

"I asked her what they were preparing Alex for and She said "war" then She disappeared."

"Yes, I know."

"You know what?"

"Alex will lead a war of some sort. I knew this when I knew him to be mine. Do not fear, Sookie – he will be ready when the time comes. I will see to that."

"But he's just a baby and it's like his whole life is mapped out for him…"

"It is his destiny. He has an advantage most people do not – he knows why he was born and what he must do. That is a blessing, Sookie, he will never have to wonder why he is on this earth. He is a deliverer. This is why I am his father – he needs the skills only I can give him, and you are his mother so he'll learn to use his magick well and for the good. Don't you see, Sookie, we balance each other out perfectly. A father like me without a strong mother like you would make him too hard. A mother like you without a father like me might make him too soft to do what he must. Together we make him more complete, more perfect for leading or protecting his people. There is a reason for it all, Sookie, trust the Goddess."

"I know it's still early and you have work to do, but can you please come to bed for a while?"

"Early? Sookie, I worked for hours. You've been up here for at least 5 hours."

"No, I fed Alex then just relaxed and saw Freya and then opened my eyes– that couldn't even fill one hour. I'll bet it's not even 10:30 yet…"

"Sookie, it is after 2 am."

"What? How can that be? I just came up here!"

"You must have slept, Sweetheart, and you don't remember it."

"I haven't been asleep. I've been awake this whole time."

"I think you need to talk to Octavia about this. You are missing time."

"Isn't that what happens in alien abductions?"

"Sookie, this is not a laughing matter…"

"Who the fuck is laughing?"

"Sookie!"

"Well, damn, Eric, what would you do if you suddenly lost 4 hours of your life and didn't know what happened to it? Was Alex here alone? Was he in danger? Where was I - was I here?"

"Sookie, try to breathe normally, you are hyperventilating."

"You know, Eric, sometimes I feel like I have all the power in the world and then other times I feel like I'm a leaf being blown around by the wind."

"Remember last night?"

"Yeah, I fucked you unconscious," she laughed, "I'll never forget that, but that's what I mean. I felt so powerful last night and tonight I feel like I'm a puppet or something."

"Remember last night and forget about losing an hour or two. You were in the presence of the Goddess. She wouldn't endanger Alex, Sookie, you know that."

"Yeah, that's true…"

"And this ability to speak to Her is new. You just need practice to learn how long it takes and how to control it. Every skill has a learning curve, and these are big skills."

"Yeah, I never thought about it that way."

He kissed her lips softly and asked "bath or straight to bed?"

"Straight to bed, please?"

"Of course, my Angel." He kissed her again quickly and took his clothes off as she watched adoringly. Times like this she was so happy she was with him. No matter how overwhelmed she felt, he could talk her through it and get her grounded again.

She crawled under the covers and he slipped in after her, taking her in his arms.

As soon as she was snuggled up against him, she started crying.

"Sookie, why are you weeping?"

"I don't know – I just… I just…"

"Shhhh, Darling Girl, cry it out and I'll hold you. You need a release."

"Why did you just call me that?"

"What?"

"Darling Girl?"

"I don't know – I just said it, I didn't think about it."

"She called me that."

"Who – Freyja?"

"Yes, and I thought it was strange because She never called me that before. I don't think you have, either."

"I'm sure I've called you that at some point, but it is interesting that Freyja and I would use the same words at nearly the same time."

"You did that with My Angel, too."

"Yes, we did. Freyja and I were always very in sync when we were together, so it is not surprising. Look how you and I can read each others minds now, and Alex's."

"Yeah, he reads me like a book. I can tell when I'm feeding him sometimes, he knows exactly what I'm thinking. He sort of thinks in pictures, and I can see what he sees sometimes, too."

"Yes, I've done that a few times, now that you mention it."

"You have? What did you see?"

"Your breasts, mostly. He thinks your breasts and your face…"

"…are softer than anything, even Elmo," she laughed.

"Exactly, and he knows I am fond of your soft parts, too, so I must be really smart."

The two of them were laughing now. "That's so funny, Eric – he's so smart!"

"And happy. He loves his life. He is constantly discovering new tastes and sensations and he loves them all."

"Yes, he does, especially "tatosth" and "ap-po!""

"Don't forget "pish," Eric laughed. "and he was fascinated by the cold teething ring Margaret gave him."

"Yeah, he was. I don't think he ever felt anything that cold before and then when it stopped being cold, he wanted more cold. It was so cute!"

"And the sight of that big white diaper wiggling it's way along the ceiling – I thought I would burst out laughing," Eric recalled fondly. "I tried not to because I was afraid it would startle him. My favorite thing is when he does something that only vampires do."

"Vamps are the only ones that can crawl along the ceiling that way?"

"I have never encountered another creature with that ability, except a spider or a bat, of course. I suppose a god could do it, but I know Weres don't and Fae don't. A Shifter could in certain forms, but it's not an ability normally associated with them."

"Do they ever show vamps doing that in the movies?"

"Oh, yes, there were vampires in **Bram Stoker's Dracula** that did so and one of the vampires in **Underworld **did it. I'm sure there were others, too. I believe it's one of the reasons we are associated with bats. There are many vampiric animals and insects, but bats have both the taste for blood and that ability. Some lizards and frogs can do it, but they are not mammals as humans and bats are."

"Humans would find it creepy, I think."

"Meaning _you_ find it creepy?"

"When I first saw it, it did creep me out a little, because I've never seen such a thing, but I'm cool with it now. Can you do it?"

"I can fly so I don't need to. It's a vampire ability, but it's not one of my vampire abilities."

"He can do something you can't do?"

"He can do several things I can't do. He gets things from you, too, like the magick and telepathy."

"I can't crawl on the ceiling, though."

"Have you ever tried?"

"Huh? Of course not!"

"How do you know you can't do it, then?"

"Humans can't…"

"You are not human, Sweetheart." He brushed her hair away from her face and smoothed it as he spoke. "You must remember that. Making the mental shift from human to Supe could save your life."

"Because I might need to do something and my thinking like a human might keep me from even trying it, right?"

"Right. You have internalized limitations that do not apply to you. It's important for you to try many things and see if you can do them. In an emergency, even if you have not practiced something, if a need arises and your instinct says do it, follow that instinct."

"Freyja told me something similar. She said I must do what I know is right, even if I'm afraid, and that I'm not like other people so I should follow my natural inclinations."

"Good. Repeat that to yourself, Sookie and learn to do without thinking."

"Without thinking? That's a bit extreme, isn't it?"

"Not when you're in danger. Even humans have instincts that kick in when they are in danger. For you, those survival instincts are vital."

"When are you going to tell me what's going on?"

"What do you mean?"

"All this new security and soldiers and talk of war. I know we're at war and I know it's bigger than the FOTS. You got rid of the Newlins like they were nothing but an annoyance, so I know you've got really big fish to fry now."

"Have you ever heard of New Centurion, Ltd.?"

"Yeah, actually, I have. They've had to testify before Congress about defense contracts or something like that. They're using them overseas, right?"

"Right. It's a mercenary organization with soldiers for hire. They normally work for the highest bidder. The man who owns the company is a radical Christian…"

"And he hates vampires."

"Yes."

"So these hard core Christian soldiers might be after us?"

"There's no might be, Sookie. I killed two of them who were trying to establish surveillance here."

"You're sure that's who they were?"

"Yes, and they were the cars that followed us from New Orleans."

"That's why you're encouraging me so much with the magick now?"

"Yes. These are very skilled humans. It may take Supernatural powers to protect you from them. We need every weapon and defense we can muster. There is nothing more dangerous than a human who thinks they have "god" on their side. I've watched them for centuries, Sookie, and the carnage they've inflicted on the world is beyond imagining. These aren't run of the mill zealots like the FOTS. These are trained, professional forces. I'm going to have to be every inch a vampire king to ward them off."

"So be prepared for it to get ugly?"

"Extremely."


	83. Chapter 83

**Chapter 83**

"So what can I do to help?"

"Use your telepathy whenever we have new guards on the property or when we are out in public. That may be our greatest tool. If you can zero in on someone thinking about what they're about to do and we can stop them before they actually do it, that's a huge advantage. Scan the air throughout the day and see if you pick up on anything that seems off. Remember when we were attacked by the FOTS terrorists in that house in Texas – you could have heard them if you were scanning for it, couldn't you?"

"Yeah, they snuck up on us. So you want me to scan often and see what I hear?"

"Right. Pay attention to Alex, too. He has your telepathy and I'm not sure but I think his works on vampires. If he has a bad reaction to anyone, let me or Bjorn know instantly."

"I'm pretty sure if I concentrate, I can read vamps now. The volume is still really low, but it's there."

"Try every chance you get, but most importantly, listen to unknown humans. Anyone who isn't family is suspect. Garner will try to get a mole inside our organization just as we're sending one into his."

"We are?"

"That's the plan. I've got to get somebody on the inside to feed me intelligence and Bjorn has a contact with the right experience and a hopefully untraceable connection to the vampire world."

"So he'll help you know what they're planning?"

"Yes, and hopefully, once we understand the structure of the organization, he can kill Garner. If we can get rid of him before he gets a movement behind him, it's less likely that anyone will step into his position of leadership. Right now, New Centurion's interest in us looks more like his pet project than a true anti-vampire movement, but that can change rapidly. I'm especially worried about the remnants of the FOTS floating into his sphere of influence."

"You aren't going to take Garner out by yourself?"

"He'd be very hard to get to. His security is as good as mine. I'll watch for an opportunity, of course, but he won't leave himself open anymore than I would."

"Would they ever try an actual war against us? Like lobbing bombs over the fences?"

"Or using a grenade launcher? I don't know, but I have to act as if that is a very real possibility. I'm pretty sure Louisiana law enforcement would look the other way if there were a terrorist attack on us. We can't count on them for help. We must help ourselves."

"Do you ever feel like it's us against the whole world?"

"Yes, my Angel, I do, but that is common in all times and places."

"It is?"

"Yes, it is, especially from the perspective of a warrior."

"That's a drag."

Eric laughed, "yes, it can be. Most warriors look at it as job security."

"So how to you protect against a grenade launcher?"

"You don't let them get close enough to hit anything."

We aren't that far from the fences, are we?"

"Not quite, but the fences are not our perimeter. They merely appear to be our perimeter. Our property line extends quite a bit further in every direction."

"It does?"

"Yes, so that if anyone tries to approach the fences, they're already on our property. You come on my property with a weapon, I am allowed to defend my home."

"You really think the law would care about that?"

"The law will latch onto that to keep from having to deal with the vampire power structure. They're doing everything they can to pretend that we don't exist."

"OK, do we have bomb making materials here?"

"No, but we do have explosives."

"Do you have permits and stuff like that for them?"

"No, Sweetheart, we are operating under the law in that respect."

"Do other vampire Kings and Queens have to do this?"

"To an extent, yes, but not on the scale we will be doing it."

"Why are we going so far with it?"

"We have a larger territory and a higher profile. Our family is in the tabloids almost daily. That has good points and bad points."

"Can I ask a question you don't want to answer?"

Eric laughed. "What might that be, my Angel."

"What's Sang Riche?"

Eric stopped smiling then. "Sang Riche?"

"Yeah, I've seen it in paperwork around here and I've seen some ads for it in magazines and on line. I know it's one of your businesses you're keeping on the QT, and I know you don't want me to know what it is, but just suck it up and tell me."

"They are very, very exclusive clubs for the vampire elite. 1 million dollars a year to join, by invitation only, locations in 13 major cities."

"Uh-huh. They're more than that, Eric. What's the part you don't want me to know? We aren't supposed to keep secrets, remember."

"Yes, of course, you are right. They are… brothels."

"Brothels? Like, whore houses?"

"Nothing so crude, I assure you. There is no force involved or coercion. The most attractive men and women in the world work for a designated period of time for very great amounts of money to provide blood and sex for those used to the very best of everything."

"Isn't that illegal?"

"Many things we do are illegal, my Angel. We have no choice but to operate outside the law in certain areas."

"Isn't it immoral?"

"That is a value judgment, Sookie. Each individual must decide that for themselves."

"You don't believe it's immoral, then?"

"No, I believe it is good business. You see a demand for a commodity, you provide the commodity for a premium, everybody is happy."

"Isn't the commodity boys and girls, though?"

"No, my Angel, they are subcontractors providing their skills for our customers."

"Fucking is a skill?"

"Yes, of course."

"And blood is…?"

"A commodity. People sell their blood every day, my Angel, even before we came out. These people will be providing an exclusive delivery system for a premium product and they will be paid very well to do so."

"OK, so how is it different than a girl standing on a street corner?"

"That girl is a virtual slave. She often cannot leave her job, she may be beaten, sold, traded, she is probably a drug addict and often spreads disease. She is not paid fairly for her work if she's paid at all."

"And your subcontractors don't have any of those problems?"

"They work for us only when they want and do only what they want. They make 6 figures a year, they have the best medical care, the most luxurious accommodations, strict security, no drugs are allowed, and they will not be harmed beyond the extent of somewhat exotic sexual activity and feeding."

"Would you want me to work at one?"

"No, my Angel, you are married."

"If I had worked at one and you met me, would you still marry me?"

"If you were you and I was me, absolutely. We are destined to be together, Sookie, you know this."

"Does this make you a pimp?"

"Sookie, you know I don't like you using coarse language."

"OK, procurer, then?"

"In the broadest sense, I suppose."

"And me and Alex?"

"No, my Angel, it doesn't touch either of you."

"How doesn't it?"

"This is the business of the kingdom. You are supported by my own private funds."

"Alex is the Prince. I'm the Queen."

"Yes, but no one would hold you responsible for our business dealings."

"Why get into this at all?"

"This is not us getting into prostitution, Sookie, this is us getting out of it."

"Huh?"

"Felipe was hip deep into the white slavery type of prostitution. I got us out of it. Drug trafficking, too."

"But you're starting these?"

"To replace that lost income. I have a duty to the kingdom to maintain our income."

"So this isn't greed?"

"No, greed would be if I allowed those other activities to continue and profited from them. Eventually, I might be able to close the Sang Riche chain as well, but if I'm going to stop the other, I must replace that lost income with something. No one gets hurt in this situation. This is the best compromise I can come up with. People are flocking to it, Sookie. It's like a much more exclusive Playboy Club."

"Everything you're saying is completely logical, but part of me still has a problem with it."

"Your two week vacation technically ends on the 24th of this month. Sang Riche Dallas opens on the 25th. Go to the opening with me and you can see for yourself what the club is like. You'll see people you know, and you'll have a clear picture in your mind when we discuss it."

"You really want to take me there?"

"There is no reason not to go, Sookie. It will be a very elegant party."

"OK, I guess, we'll check it out. That's only fair."

"Thank you, Sookie, I was hoping you would agree to go."

"People will know you own these places right?"

"Not technically, no."

"No?"

"My involvement is more… covert."

"But you do own them?"

"Yes."

"But you're ashamed of them?"

"No, I'm not ashamed of them."

"So why is your involvement "covert?""

"Because the American tax system isn't set up to interact with a vampire kingdom."

"Are you cheating on your taxes?"

"No, not at all. If anything, I'm probably paying too much in taxes."

"Because the tax codes are not in synch with the way vamps function."

"Correct."

"So what happens if you get audited?"

"I hand them a gorgeous set of books carefully crafted to cover all of our activities."

"Wow – you have tons of stuff to take care of, don't you?"

"Yes, being Regent is a lot of work. Fortunately, so far, I have good people to whom I can delegate authority and things are getting into shape. Our accounts were horrid under Felipe and Victor, but I've almost got things in the shape they ought to be in. I hope to have us turning a profit by the first of the year, and we should be up to date with our tribute to the Council since they're trading off that debt for pictures of us."

"Did they set the date for that yet?"

"Not that I'm aware - they'll call us at some point and let us know what to do."

"I guess it won't hurt anything since we're apparently in the tabloids all the time anyway."

"True. Have you read any of the pieces?"

"No, and I think Bobbie and Alicia try to keep it all off my radar so I don't freak out."

"I'm sure that's best. You have enough to contend with – you don't need nonsense to distract you."

"Yeah, true. By the way," she gave him a big kiss. "Thank you!"

"What is that for?"

"Everything. I just don't say thank you enough for everything you do to make my life better. You're a perfect husband, all things considered."

"I hope that is so, my Angel, because you are most definitely the perfect wife. I could not ask for more."

"Aww, you're a sweetie!" Sookie let out a big yawn, so Eric insisted that she turn over and Eric rubbed her back for a while. "Eric?"

"Yes, my Angel?"

"Tell me a story about what it's like to sail to China, please?"

Eric laughed. "Alright, well, travel by sea has some extreme conditions for a vampire. You have to travel as cargo and feed from the scurvy crew…"

Sookie cracked up. "The scurvy crew, huh? Does a vitamin deficiency in a human affect the vampire that feeds on them?"

"You can sustain yourself on a deficient human, but you don't really thrive. It's almost as bad as feeding on animals."

"Can you feed on animals?"

"In a pinch, it will keep you alive. It doesn't taste good as human blood does, but if it's that or starve, it beats starving."

"Has the taste of humans changed over the years?" She yawned and was clearly slowing down, so Eric knew she'd soon be asleep, so he kept rubbing her back and talking softly.

"Yes, through the last few centuries and especially since the Industrial Age, they've become a bit metallic and a lot of them have a sickly-sweet after taste."

"Like mine?"

"No, your sweetness is very natural, like watermelon is sweet. Humans taste like the way they describe saccharine. It's a chemical taste, not a natural one."

"I taste like watermelon?"

"A little bit, yes. I've heard others say cantaloupe, but it's definitely closer to watermelon. There's no tart undertone as with cantaloupe. It's pure sweetness."

Eric continued talking about his first trip to China, and Sookie fell asleep. He was hoping she'd sleep some more. Sex would have been nice, of course, but he wanted her to rest a lot while she could. She wasn't really up to par yet, and he knew they were overdoing it. Her little body still needed to catch up from the birth and from what he understood about breast-feeding, that burned a lot of calories, too. He and Bobbie agreed that Sookie still needed to gain some weight.

Eric was less than thrilled to hear that Sookie was starting to work out already. He understood that she wanted to have tight abs, and that was fine, but Eric felt it was too soon and he planned to tell Sookie that when he could approach the subject gently. He reminded himself that he needed to talk to Dr. Ludwig about Sookie's human weaknesses. He'd be very happy when they were no longer a problem. He did agree with Sookie's idea to get into prime condition before being turned, but he was going to insist that she do it slowly so that she didn't get sick. He didn't see a thing wrong with Sookie's body right now, and he had told Bobbie he that she was only to work out if she was well rested first.

Bobbie had thought that Eric would be as happy about it as Sookie was, but he explained that he thought women today were ridiculously thin and he didn't want Sookie trying to look like a boy. He was quite happy with a few curves, but mainly he thought Sookie still needed more rest. He wanted his bouncy, sweet Sookie back and the bounce just wasn't quite there yet. He was tempted to try to pay Dr. Ludwig to order her to stay in bed for a few days. He had noticed that any time she sat still for a few minutes she started to doze off and he knew that meant she was still very tired.

Eric was about to go back to work when Alex woke up cranky, so they spent some time walking and talking as he gave him a bottle. He gradually got him calmed back down and he had a distinct impression that Alex had had a bad dream that woke him up but he couldn't get a clear picture what it was about.

"Were you scared, Alex? You know you're safe, right? Daddy is here and everything is alright."

"Dadee ear?"

"Yes, Daddy's here."

"Ware di Mamee doe?

"Mommy is in bed sleeping. Did you have a bad dream about Mommy?"

He pointed to the wall, mumbled a little and said, "Mamee?" so Eric took him back into the bedroom and turned on the soft light in the headboard.

"There, see Mommy?"

Alex leaned down and insisted on touching Sookie and he looked at Eric with tears in his eyes and said "Mamee seepeen?"

"Yes, Alex, she's just sleeping. You want to lie down with Mommy?"

"Eeah, Mamee," he gave that exaggerated nod and Eric lay down with Alex between him and Sookie. Alex kept touching Sookie's face to make sure she was warm, Eric assumed, and at one point, Sookie opened her eyes and said, "Hey, Pookie!" with a big smile then went back to sleep. Eric noticed that Alex seemed to relax all over once she did that, like he knew Mommy was alright now.

It never occurred to Eric that a baby might have a nightmare. Dreams, yes, and he certainly expected Alex to have visions but Sookie was fine so that didn't seem to be the case. He was pretty sure that Alex was just remembering a bad dream. Eric didn't want to leave Alex alone if he was scared so he turned the lights off and stayed with Alex until it was very nearly dawn and when he got to his cache, he sent Bjorn a text message telling him he thought Alex had a bad dream about Sookie so he should keep an eye on them both, just to be safe.

Alex woke up at 7 and Alicia was there with a bottle so he didn't wake Sookie. Eric had re-emphasized to all the staff that Sookie was to rest over and above anything else she did these two weeks. He felt that was falling too far down the list of priorities. Alicia had moved the appointment with the landscaper later in the day, too, because Eric felt that a noon appointment was too early. He wanted her back on her sleep-until-2 PM schedule for the remainder of her holiday.

Alex woke again at 9:40 and 11:15 and he didn't want to sleep at all after that second bottle, so Bobbie took him into the nursery and they sat on the floor and played with toys for over an hour. He especially liked a little blue rocking horse that she put him on and moved him back and forth. He even managed to sort of hold onto the handles.

Alex insisted on "Mamee ee" at 1:30 so they let him wake Sookie and she fed him as she dozed. By 2 they were having their breakfasts in bed. Alex had oatmeal and apples, served up by Bjorn, and Sookie had oatmeal, eggs and toast. After they ate, Sookie and Alex did their dancing and Alicia encouraged Sookie to stay in bed a while longer because the landscaper wasn't coming until 4:30. Sookie and Alex stayed in bed and played with Elmo until 3:30 when Bobbie helped her take a shower with Alex. Sookie made up her mind that tonight, come hell or high water, she, Eric and Alex were going to find time to soak in the tub. She was missing that way too often for her liking, night before last notwithstanding.

Sookie wore a little yellow terry dress with a zipper in front and her Birkies to meet with the landscaper, James Reeves, and the old gardener, Howard. They used the dining room since he had large drawings to show her and this way he could spread out his art supplies and make drawings on a blank he brought with him. Sookie liked all of the sketches she was shown and she saw how certain aspects of the layout were fixed – the drive that went around the inside of the perimeter of the fences inside the trees, and the large space between the front gate and the house. Sookie chose a fairly formal water feature for the front of the house, a rectangular pool with one large and two small fountains. There would be colorful beds of flowers all around it, with some swan sculptures and a statue of Aphrodite to the left of the central pool because Eric had specified he wanted Goddess statuary.

An informal walking path would run from the house to a pair of benches that would sit behind it facing the road. When asked if she wanted any form of statuary in the large fountain in front, she didn't even have to think about it before she said she wanted a mermaid of some sort in the center. The area between the house and the formal pool in front would be marked with amorphous shapes of pink and dark blue ground cover and small shrubbery with pink quartz gravel marking paths in between. The house was to be repainted an eggshell color and also at Sookie's request the window shutters and facings would be changed from dark blue to burgundy. The Goddess fountain would remain in front of the living room window, but a flowering cherry would be added to the front yard out to the left of the rose bushes at the dining room windows and another to the right of the garage.

Mr. Reeves showed Sookie two possible places for a gazebo and she liked the one between the Servant's Quarters and the back garage. She wanted a huge hammock put in it that would hold her, Eric and Alex all at the same time. She chose flowering shrubs to go around the perimeter of the fences where the trees that were being moved outward didn't fill in. At her request, some large weeping willows would be placed at the back of the property toward the woods where the ground became swampy.

More flowering cherry trees would be added between the summer kitchen and the site of the new chalets and Sookie asked for more pink, dark blue and lavender flowers in the beds between the pool and the other buildings out back. It was going to take miles of sod to fill in the rest of the yard, but the landscaper promised that would all be in place by Friday and the rest of the decoration finished within a week.

Sookie was pretty stoked about the new design.

"Did you hear all that, Alicia? Did I do OK?"

"You did very well. The yard will be lovely with all those flowers and those flowering cherry trees will be spectacular in the spring."

"Yeah, I love flowering trees and shrubs – flowers of any kind, really. What else is going on tonight?"

"You mentioned something about calling a cousin, I think?"

"Yeah, Claudine. I want to see if she can meet me and my girls for lunch," Sookie laughed.

"Yes and Mr. Northman said something about a trip to Wal-Mart? Plus, you need to approve some items for Ms. Antoine de Broux:"

"OK, cool. Let's do the decorator thing first, then I'll call Claudine, then it should be dinnertime and we'll talk about whether we want to try to take Alex out in public."

They went into Sookie's office and Sookie picked which paintings she wanted in the bedroom an in the baby's room. She never considered putting real art in a kid's room but there was a cute Matisse that would fit right in there between the Dr. Seuss bedding and the red curtains so Sookie agreed with the decorator that it was the good idea. She saw a couple of shots of the downstairs and loved the way it looked.

"I'm looking forward to going back, Alicia. I want to see what all she did to it."

"I'm pretty happy with the pictures I've seen of mine and Margaret's apartment. I think it's going to be very comfortable."

"Yeah, I hope so. We're going to be there a lot while Eric has all the construction going on in the Quarter. I know he's leaving more to Bill than he really wants to so I can rest. There are tons of parties and things when we go back this time."

"Yes, I've been thinking about that. I'm going to have to make sure you have a selection of day and evening clothes, though we'll certainly do some shopping while we're there."

"Yeah, when we go back I have to be Queen Sookie."

"That's not so bad, is it?"

"No, it's really kind of wonderful, but I like sleeping in and playing with the baby more than I'll like any of that."

"You'll still sleep in most days and you'll still have your morning time with Alex. Mr. Northman won't let you get so busy that you don't have time for the baby. I'm sure of that - he won't let you get overloaded."

"Yeah. We're going to be there for the holidays – are you going to be able to see your kids while we're there?"

"Yes, Mr. Northman has already given those of us with family time off then and he's going to have a big party for the single men and women in his employ. We all get our bonuses 2 weeks before Christmas, too, so we have money to shop and travel with."

"Oh, good! I want everybody to have a good holiday. I'm already getting psyched for it. I want Alex to have awesome Christmases."

"You seem like a person who would love the holidays."

"Definitely. Let's see… I guess I need my address book to get Claudine's number…."

"Actually, it's in your address book on the computer there."

"It is?"

"Yes, I transferred all your information for you some time ago. The book is up in your room, but I believe all the information is right here." Alicia opened the address book on the Mac and Sookie found her cousin's number quickly. Alicia went out to give Sookie some privacy as Sookie dialed the number and wrote a note to herself to put Claudine's number in her iPhone, too.

"Ciao, darling!"

"Claudine?"

"Yes, Sookie," she laughed, "How's everything? I hear my new little cousin is quite a pistol!"

"Yes, he's something alright. Would you like to meet him?"

"Sure! What did you have in mind?"

"I have a lot of questions about the Fae and stuff around my life and my pregnancy and I was hoping you'd meet me and my Witches for lunch and we could chat."

"Your Witches – this is the older African-American woman Niall told me about?"

"Yes, and my friend Amelia, who lives in my old house, and my doula Bobbie. Bobbie knows Claude, by the way."

"Bobbie… she's a masseuse, right?"

"Right. I was hoping you might be available Friday afternoon? Say, 2:00 at Hannigans in Shreveport?"

"Sounds good, Sweetie! I'll see you and the royal entourage there!"

"OK, cool!" Sookie hung up suddenly excited about the idea of going out to lunch. "Hey, Alicia are you out there?"

"Yes, dear, what did you need?"

"This might sound a little weird, but do I need to make reservations at Hannigan's since there will be so many of us there for lunch?"

"It might not be a bad idea. Are you going to feed the guards that go with you, too?"

"Yes, I wouldn't feel right having them there and not letting them eat."

"Alright, let me ask Bjorn how many there will be and then I'll call the restaurant. Bobbie has the baby in the den, by the way."

"Oh, cool!" Sookie went bouncing off into the den where Alex was sitting in the middle of the ball pit, throwing balls for Bobbie to catch. "Is he keeping you busy, Bobbie?"

"And how," Bobbie was out of breath, "I think he's making me fetch," she laughed.

Alex extended his arm toward Sookie and waved his hand from side to side, trying to get Sookie's attention. "Da, Mamee?"

"What, Sweetie?"

"Dat wed?"

Sookie looked where he was pointing and saw the little house-shaped sorting set with a red roof, so she picked it up. "Is this what you want?"

"Ee-ah!" he nodded and made his "come here" motion with both hands.

"Has he ever played with that before?" Bobbie asked.

"Not that I know of. I figured he'd play with the stuff in it even if he was too young to put the blocks in the right shaped holes."

"Bring him up to the couch and let's see if he can do it?"

"OK," Sookie laughed, picking up Alex and the toy set. She set Alex on the big couch next to Bobbie and sat on the other side of Alex. The seat of the couch was so big that there was plenty of room to spread the toys out for Alex. "See, Alex? This block is a triangle and it goes in here. This one is a square, and it goes here…" she continued, showing him where each block went into its same shaped hole on the roof, then she dumped the blocks in front of him and sat the house where he could probably reach it.

Alex picked up a block and put it in his mouth for a minute, then looked it over very closely. Sookie and Bobbie figured that was all he was going to do, so they started talking about what Margaret was fixing for dinner. Alex had the triangle block in his hand and reached for the house. Sookie was still talking, but she held the little house over to him so he didn't have to stretch. He tried the block at the different holes, pounding a little here or there, then he managed to line it up with the triangular hole and said "dat!"

"Oh my Goddess, did he just…?" Bobbie started as Sookie opened the roof of the house.

"Yep, there's a block in there. That had to be an accident, right?"

"Give him another block and let's see."

"Here you go, Alex, can you get this one into the box?"

Alex lifted the roof of the little house as he'd seen Sookie do and threw the block in, making Sookie and Bobbie crack up. "That's good, Sweetie, but I meant to find the hole that's shaped like it on the roof!" She tapped on the roof of the house to show him.

"Oday," Alex said as she handed the circular block back to him. He tried a couple of different holes before settling on the circle and pushing it through. "Dat!"

"Yeah, I see that!" Sookie said with delight as Bobbie applauded. Alex giggled and smacked his hands together, very pleased with himself. He reached for a square block and slid it around the roof of the toy house, slipping the block into the square hole and yelling, "dat!" and giggling again.

"You think you're smart, dontcha, Pookie?" Sookie teased him and tickled him and he said "ee-aah!" He grabbed the plastic star-shaped block and quickly found the hole it went into then he reached for some larger stuffed shapes that came with the set, saying "ba!" as he pulled back the round one.

"Yes, that's a ball. It's also a circle." Sookie told him.

"Thirco?"

"Yep, and this is a cube or a square."

He just blinked at her. Those were hard words.

"And this is a triangle or a pyramid."

"Pywamid! Isthisth!"

"What, Sweetie?"

"Did he just say Isis?" Bobbie perked right up at that possibility.

"Ee-ah, Babee, Isthisth!"

"Is that…?"

"Hang on a minute, Sookie. Alex, who is Isis?" Bobbie wanted to explore this a little.

"Goddesth!"

Bobbie and Sookie looked at each other. How did Alex know the name of an Egyptian Goddess?

"Do you know any other Goddesses, Alex? More Goddess?"

"Diana," he said, clear as a bell. "Freyja!" he said with a perfect Swedish accent. "Wee-annah."

Sookie looked at Bobbie. "Rhiannon?" Bobbie guessed

"Ee-ah," he giggled. "Ama, Achera, Tdiamadt"

"Ama, Ashera, Tiamat?" Bobbie repeated

"Eckaday, da Mohrdiga, Ap-prodydee."

"Hecate, the Morrigan, Aphrodite? Do you know any American Goddesses?"

Alex stared at her.

"Goddesses from here – near here," Bobbie tried to clarify.

"Donanthin, Ersthulee, Wy Buffo Caff Omah, An-Nanthee."

"Tonantzin, Erzulie, White Buffalo Calf Woman, Ananzi?"

"Ee-ah."

"Wait," Sookie said, "he knows them but can't pronounce them?"

"There are certain sounds his brain can't figure out how to make yet. He hears himself saying them correctly."

"OK, and is that him or is it Freyja?"

Alex was dumping the things out of the house to play again.

"I don't know that there's a difference, Hon, anymore than there's a difference when something is either you or Freyja."

"So he's Freyja, too?"

"Maybe, or maybe not directly – he's at least a really clear channel for Her."

"Is that what I am?"

"Dat!"

"No, you're a manifestation – a channel is like a radio that plays the music, you're the chorus of the song itself."

"The chorus – so a part of it, but not all of it, but part of the whole."

"Right. And I say chorus deliberately because there might be many of you in the chorus at once, or overlapping or singing different parts that don't touch each other."

"OK, that's sort of making sense to me. So Alex could be the chorus, or he could be the radio."

"Right, but as the radio, theoretically, he can play the whole song. You're the chorus, but not the whole song."

"Dat!"

"OK, so who controls the volume? Can he change channels, control the volume, and all that?"

"He's at the controls, but I'm pretty sure it's his higher self rather than being limited to his literal self."

"OK, what's a higher self?"

"Dat!"

"There's a part of a person that is eternal, that knows everything you've ever been or ever will be. It's your direct channel to Goddess. Some people hear it speaking to them when they're a kid, or even as an adult, as an older, wiser version of themselves."

"I thought I did that, but then I realized that voice was Freyja."

"That's because you're a Goddess, not human. If a human does it, it's their higher self. Your higher self is the Goddess Freyja."

"OK, where do the Fae fit into all of this?"

"I have no idea. I don't know that any human does, though it's possible. It would probably take a Fairy to explain it and they'd have to trust a human a lot to do that I'd imagine."

"Woogie, Mamee!" Alex held his hands up to the sides, "ah gahn."

"You did that really fast, Pookie!" Sookie scooped him up and tickled him, then covered him with kisses.

"We're having lunch with Claudine on Friday, by the way," Sookie laughed as she wrestled Alex around, making him squeal and giggle.

"Cool! I hope she doesn't mind me taking notes, because I'm taking my journal. Claude never wants to talk about the Fae."

"I hope Claudine does – I told her what I wanted, but she might just be coming to meet Alex. He was the first thing she asked about."

"I'll keep my fingers crossed."

"Yeah, me, too!" Alex was wailing with laughter as Sookie blew raspberries on his tummy.

"Someone is having a good time," Eric said from the doorway.

"Hey, Sweetie! You're up early again – I guess it's cloudy out, huh?"

"Apparently. I'm avoiding the windows, just in case."

"Guess what Pookie can do? Show him, Alex!" Sookie dumped the blocks out of the little house and Eric knelt in front of Alex on the couch, reaching over to kiss Sookie, then kissing Alex on the head. Alex held a block up to show it to Eric and then he slid it around the lid and put it through its hole, "Dat!"

"Very good, Alex!" Eric was thrilled.

Alex continued with the other three shapes and Eric made a big deal of it each time, telling him Daddy was very proud of him when he finished with the fourth one.

"OK, now watch this," Sookie added, holding up the stuffed triangle shape to Alex, "What's this, Pookie?"

"Pywamid! Isthisth!"

Eric was shocked. "Did he just say…?"

"Oh, yeah, listen – name some more Goddesses, Alex."

Alex reeled off most of the names he had listed for Sookie and Bobbie.

Eric sat back on his heel, amazed at his son. "How is he doing that? Can he know so many?"

Sookie looked at Bobbie, who said, "my guess is that he's channeling it from Freya."

"Sookie, can you do anything like that?"

"I've never tried."

"Try now," Eric wanted to see if this was unique to Alex. If Sookie could do it, it might come in very handy.

Sookie started slow, then got faster and faster. "Ok, well, Freyja, of course, and Isis or Au Set, and Diana, Elli, Frigga, Hella, Urd, Indunn, Sunna, Astarte, Istar, Ashtoreth, Ama, Rhiannon, Morgan, Aphrodite or Venus, Ariadne, Diana, Hecate, Demeter, Kore, Juno, Athena, Hera, Arachne, Erzulie, Yemaya, Oya, Tiamat, Bast, Hathor, Sekhmet, Kali, Kwan Yin, Amaterasu, Arianrhod, Astarte, Artemis, Brigid, Ceres, Flora, Fortuna, Hestia or Vesta, Pomena, Minerva, Innana, Lilith, Maat, Nephtys, Nuit, Persephone, Selene, Cailleach Bheur, Cally Berry, Coventina, Cerridwen, Danu, Epona, Habondia, Macha, Olwen, Scathach, Belisama, Aine, Baka, Heket, Kauket, Menhit, Meskhent, Mut, Neith, Nekhbet, Nut, Renenet, Satet, Selkis, Seshet, Tawaret, Tefnut, Unut, Wadjet, Wosyet, Gaia, Eurynome, Rhea, Iris, Nike, Themis, Chasca, Copacati, Mama Allp, Mamacocha, Mama Kuka, Mama Oello, Mama Quillya, Mama Zara, Pachamamam Ashnan, Damkina, Ereshkigal, Guia, Ki, Nammu, Nanshe, Ningal, Sarapanit, Sirtir, Asase Yaa, Annis, Badb, Baubo, Baba Yaga, Grandmother Spiderwoman, Ananzi or Aunt Nancy, Inaria, Kalma, Lara, Libintina, Mother Holle, Nicneven, Sedna, XochiQuetzal, Aveta, Bendis, Bona Dea, Corn Mother, Cybele, Mastor-Ava, Rainbow Snake, Tlalteutli, Aditi, Al-Lat, Anumati, Caireen, Cuba, Edusa, Iyatiku, Levana, Modron, Rumina, Tatsu Ta Hime, Ostara, Seshat, Aega, Anahita, Andromeda, Anunit, Arawa, Athenesic, Auchimalgen, Britomartis, Stella Maris, Mary, Candi, Chang-0, Coyolxauhqui, Dae-Soon, Gnatoo, Gwaten, Hanwi, Hina Hine, Hina-Ika, Huitaco, Ix Chel, Izanami, Jezanna, Juna, Komorkis, Lasya, Lucina, Luna, Mama Quilla, Mawu, Metzli, Yolkai Estsan, Zirna, Medusa, Pattini, Saule, Shapash, Sointse, Uelanuhi, Wajo, Wurusemu…"

"Stop Sookie," Eric laughed.

"Wow – I guess I can, huh?"

"Apparently. I wonder how long you could have continued?"

"I don't know, but I didn't feel it slowing down at all."

"We need to come up with things for you to try. Did you try to land on the ceiling yet?"

"Eric – I don't really see that happening, do you?"

"I don't know and neither do you."

"I'd tell you to try it, Sookie, but I have no idea how you'd start." Bobbie laughed.

"Here, let's do this," Eric went to Boss and threw the few scattered balls back in the middle of him and zipped it up, then pulled it toward the closet door. "Come stand here, Sookie."

"Um, Ok," She was hesitant, but she left Alex with Bobbie and went over to Eric. "Now what?"

"Float."

"Float?"

"Yes, float, fly, leave the ground. Picture it happening."

Sookie closed her eyes and in a second she didn't feel floor beneath her feet. She opened her eyes and was looking down at Eric.

"Mamee fyeen!" Alex was thrilled.

"Yes, she is," Eric was delighted, too. "Will yourself to go up, Sookie and land on the ceiling,"

Sookie took a deep breath and managed to float her body so she was face to ceiling, then suddenly, she was clinging to it.

"Awesome!" Bobbie was amazed.

"Crawl down the wall there, Sookie," Eric had no doubt at this point that she could do it.

Sookie crawled toward the wall and did manage to crawl down a bit but then she felt like she was falling, but she landed above the floor.

"You stopped believing you could do it, didn't you?" Eric asked her

"Yeah, I got panicked that I would fall."

"If you can fly, you cannot fall, my Angel. This is a very great advantage!"

"Fy me, Mamee!" Alex flew toward Sookie, reaching out to her. She took his hand and floated up into the air. "Fy me, Dadee!" Alex reached for Eric with his other and and Eric floated up and turned to face the same direction Alex and Sookie were.

"Bobbie, see if it's dark out and if so, open the door to the back yard," Eric suggested. "Run and tell Bjorn what we are doing so the guards don't panic."

"Sure thing!

"Uh, is that a good idea?" Sookie really didn't want to do this.

"Just for a minute, Sookie, so you can see what it feels like. Come on," Eric encouraged her and she followed him and Alex out the back door, and they headed out toward the back of the yard. "Go up higher, Sookie, so you can see what they're doing to the property."

"I don't know, Eric…"

"Fy, Mamee!" Alex pulled Sookie upward and she went with him whether she wanted to or not. Eric circled around and took Sookie's other hand.

"Do not be afraid, my Angel. You can do this. Come up with me." Eric led them all way up above the house so that the entire perimeter of the fences was visible. "See what we are doing, Sookie? See there where the sites for the chalets are marked out beneath the light there? And the new guard house at the back of the property?"

"Yeah, that's cool. I saw the landscaper today, you know," Sookie actually forgot she was flying for a few minutes.

"What did you decided for the front of the house? Go that way," Eric pointed and the three of them went up over the house.

"I picked a rectangular pool with two small fountains and one big one with a mermaid, and there will be little sculptures of swans and of Aphrodite on one side and some benches with a little walkway with flowers that comes back toward the house. We're going to add flowering cherry trees on each side of the house and between the back and the chalets and they're going to put some weeping willows back towards the woods because I love them. They're going to put a gazebo between the servants' quarters and the back garage and I want a big hammock in it that will hold the three of us."

"That sounds very nice, my Angel. So you were pleased with his designs?"

"Yeah, he left a lot of room for me to ask for what I wanted. They're going to add a lot of pink, blue and purple flowers all around the front pool and the yard out back, too, because I really like them."

"Wonderful. I knew you would have a sense of what you wanted when you saw the plans. You have marvelous taste, so I'm not worried at all with how it will look."

"Wow – I'm glad they're doing the sod this week. It looks kind of crappy out front here right now."

"Yes, but they'll move very quickly now that your plans are set. See the guard stand at the front entrance?"

"Is that the only way in or out of the property?"

"No, there's a side gate next to the back garage to make it easier for workmen to get in and out but it will be locked most of the time. There's also a hidden break in the fence at the guard house in back so we can get into the woods when we need to."

"How many guards are on each shift right now?"

"10 on duty and 6 on stand by, day and night."

"What's stand by?"

"They are on the property but not standing a post. They spend time in the front office sleeping, eating, taking turns watching the surveillance cameras."

"Isn't that a waste?'

"Not if we are attacked. It might be too little."

"They sleep in there, too?"

"Yes, and some of the vampires spend the day in there as well. There are 6 secure, comfortable light-free closets there and several cots in one of the rooms."

"It's a little wet up here, don't you think?"

"Yes, it is ready to rain. Let's head back to the house."

"Are we going to Wal-Mart tonight?" Sookie asked as they passed back over the house.

"When are you planning your luncheon?"

"Friday."

"Yes, I think we'd best test Alex in a public environment before you take him into a restaurant. We need to see if he will mind and how he reacts to things on shelves and such."

"OK, I don't need to change for that, do I?" she asked as they landed in the back by the pool.

"No, what you are wearing is very sweet. Wal-Mart does have toys, yes?"

"Yep, several aisles of them."

"Good. That and the food areas are where we want to test him." Eric held the back door open for Sookie, and took Alex into his arms. Margaret was serving up dinner as they came into the kitchen."

"So how was it, Sookie?" Bobbie couldn't wait to hear, and she had been telling Octavia what they were doing.

"A little damp, but after I stopped thinking about it, it wasn't bad at all." Sookie felt a little flushed and excited, much to her surprise.

"Movin' right along there with your abilities, eh, girl?" Octavia said proudly.

"Yeah, I guess so. I just have to think to try different things."

"Good. What's on the agenda tonight?"

"Well, we were going to go to Wal-Mart and see how Alex behaves in public now," Sookie explained as Margaret put a plate with half a baked chicken, stuffing and mashed potatoes in front of her.

"Tatosth!" Alex got excited when he saw Sookie's plate and made everyone laugh.

"Here you go, Sweetheart!" Margaret put his little The Prince Eats bowl in front of him and Eric with some shredded chicken, potatoes, stuffing and a bit of gravy.

"Dayoo, Mahdwid! Ee, Dadee!" Alex wanted Eric to get on with the feeding.

"Alright, my son, let's see what we have here. Sookie, what is this brown mixture?"

"Stuffing, or dressing. They call it either one, though technically, it's only stuffing if you cook it inside the bird. If you don't, it's dressing."

"Alright, let's try some dressing, my boy." Eric took a spoonful from the bowl and gave it to Alex.

"Mmmm! Dood dwestheen!"

"Well, that's a hit," Bjorn laughed as he sat next to Bobbie. "Your majesty, we are going to Wal-Mart tonight?"

"Yes, I think it's a good idea." He gave Alex a big bite of potatoes which made him purr with contentment.

"How many are going?"

"Octavia, will you join us?"

"Will I be in the way?"

"Not at all, and you don't need to feel obligated to stay with us, either. You can take your time and shop for yourself. You are always welcome."

"Where's Amelia? She hasn't been here all day," Sookie observed.

"She spent the day with Jerry since he was off. She'll probably be back for supper tomorrow," Bobbie told her.

"Oh, cool. I love that they're getting along. It's good for both of them," Sookie announced to no one in particular.

Eric was giving Alex a bite of chicken, which he loved, and he asked, "Margaret, are you and Alicia going?"

"I'm going to turn in early if you don't mind, sir, but I think Alicia did want to go. She needs a few things for the nursery, I think."

"Alright, and Bobbie, you are going I assume?"

"Yep, if you don't mind."

"Alright, Bjorn how many is that?"

That's six of us, plus we'll need 2 guards to go into the store and we'll take a van of 6 who'll be stationed outside.

"Wow – maybe we should buy a bus like the Partridge Family," Sookie quipped and most everyone laughed. "Eric – you actually know who they are?"

"Yes, I actually knew the male singer for that group for a year or so. I worked for him."

"You mean David Cassidy? You worked for David Cassidy?!" Bobbie couldn't believe it.

"Yes, why? Is that a big deal?"

"What did you do for him?" Sookie was stoked, too, though she was really too young to be into him.

"Security at some of his concerts where all the little human girls mobbed the stage screaming. It was worse than being in battle. You never heard such wailing," he laughed.

"Hey, I was one of those girls – one of the really small ones," Bobbie laughed. "I was almost too young, but I was there, screaming my head off."

"Why do women do that?" Bjorn laughed.

"Dionysus," Octavia said.

"Yes, if they only knew!" Eric laughed as Alex played with the tiny spoon. Eric was holding it down in front of him to see what Alex would do, and he was trying to grip it. Eric was watching to see if Alex would figure it out for himself.

"Dionysus? The god of wine?" Sookie knew that one, she thought.

"The god of orgiastic revelry, too," Octavia explained. "He's been driving women wild since the beginning of time. He was only associated with wine later on. He speaks to the part of women that goes back before civilization, and lets them throw off their responsibilities for a while and just be lusty and ravenous."

"So he's like a party god?" Sookie liked that idea.

"In a way, yes. Many rock stars are manifestations of him, and a rock concert is a pure Dionysian rite. All that's missing are the animals for the girls to tear to pieces."

"OK, what responsibilities?" Sookie asked.

"Raising kids, running a household, working in fields, harvesting and grinding grain, commerce, planning. Women created most of the wealth and sustenance then as they do now, but then they were respected for it. Every once in a while, a girl needs to throw all that off and have a good time – run wild for a bit so she doesn't get bogged down and depressed. We don't have those rituals in this culture, except concerts like that for young girls, so women go too far one way or the other. Honor Dionysus and you've got pleasant memories to think about while you're keeping house and conducting business. Neglect Dionysus and he'll drive you mad – you end up in rehab, or dead, or worse."

"What's worse than dead?" Sookie asked.

"Some believed that Dionysus would make women kill their children. Some think that was a reference to the commonality of abortions in those days, but some think it was literally true. His madness would cause a child's death either through neglect, abuse or infanticide."

"What do you think, Octavia?" Bobbie asked

"I think he needs to be given his due, because he's not going away. As the other gods have begun to fade, he's only growing stronger and he's relatively unrestrained because people don't believe in him."

"What did he look like?" Sookie wondered

"Jim Morrison," Bobbie replied. "He claimed he was Dionysus."

"He was, among many others. He was just more aware of it than most," Octavia said.

"Octavia, were you into The Doors?" Sookie was trying to picture it.

"I haven't always been this old, Sweetie. I've had me some wild times, and many of them were in the company of Dionysus, at least energetically."

"Wow!" was all Sookie could say.

"Dionysus is eternally young, so his manifestations usually die young, of an overdose or some other form of excess like driving too fast or being in the wrong place at the wrong time. He's specifically a very pretty god, as opposed to a rougher, more masculine type. Think about rock stars – pretty men, long hair, black eyeliner and other makeup, they tend to wear leather and furs, as in animal skins, they over do it with alcohol and drugs. That's the Dionysian archetype through and through. It's why vampires are so attractive to humans, too. They're Dionysian creatures. Eric, you must have worn an animal skin or two in your time, am I right?"

"Yes, you are right. I've worn a bit of kohl on my eyes here or there, too."

"Thought so," Octavia laughed.

"Really, Eric?" Bobbie wanted to know more about this.

"Oh, yes, rock concerts are like smorgasbords for a vampire. All those young bodies jammed together, most of them stoned or tripping. Fine pickings for a guy like me. Believe me, sex isn't the only thing going on in the restrooms or in the woods. There's plenty of feeding no one remembers but the vampire himself."

"You told me another time you wore an animal skin, didn't you?" Sookie didn't know how much to say in front of the others.

"That was the common thing to wear to an orgy in certain parts of the world at certain times."

"How many of those have you been to, Eric?"

"More than I can remember – literally. Some of them I cannot remember. Too much fairy blood on those occasions, or feeding from humans using drugs that affect vampires, too."

"Are there such things?" Bobbie didn't know this.

"There are a few hallucinogens that will affect a vampire if ingested by a human he feeds on. The strange thing it, ingesting the substances themselves do not alter the vampire. They have to be taken through feeding on a human to have an effect."

"Wow – what are some of them?" Sookie was thinking of a treat for Eric.

"Amanita Muscaria is one, and peyote is another. I can't think of any others at the moment."

"What's amanita whatever?" Sookie asked

"Magic mushrooms," Bobbie explained. "The kind hippies chew or make tea out of. Peyote is an American cactus with hallucinogenic properties."

"Yes, vampires originate in the Eastern European countries so there are certain substances, like peyote, that were unknown for most of our existence. When Vampires came to the New World, we found that it was unwise to prey on Native Americans found alone in the desert because they were often on spiritual journeys assisted by peyote, which makes us a bit mad for a while."

"Mad, like angry?"

"No, mad like crazy. We trip on it – see things that aren't there, have all kinds of sensory disturbances. Some find it pleasant, though, as with any drug."

"Have you tripped on peyote, Eric?" Bjorn asked

"Yes, many times when I lived in San Francisco in the 60s. For a time, I actually sought out young girls who were experimenting with it."

"Were there a lot?" Sookie tried not to sound jealous.

"Oh, yes, and they were delicious, all of them. People didn't have that metallic taste to them yet. Between the blood and the cactus and the wild sex, it was a most enjoyable period of time. There was only one other time I had more sex than I did then."

"Oh, really?" Sookie didn't like the sound of that.

"Yes, when I was a mercenary in China."

"Is that when you used to get paid in women, Eric?" Bjorn loved that story.

"Yes, it was. I had sex 63 times in one night, once, and over 50 times on many occasions."

"Holy shit!" Bjorn hadn't heard that. Bobbie and Octavia were reacting nearly as strongly as he did. Margaret didn't show an outward reaction, but she absolutely believed he was telling the truth. Wait until she could tell Alicia!

"How is that possible?!" Sookie couldn't believe that.

"It takes a lot of women who cannot say no to you, and you have to be a vampire. It helps if it's winter time, too, so the nights are long," Eric said as if it was no big deal.

"What's your personal best with one woman?" Sookie really wanted to know this.

"You cannot judge by that, Sookie, it was in a country where it stayed dark for months at a time…"

"Like you said you wanted to take me to some time?"

"Yes, exactly. I think you and I could break my old record easily."

Sookie didn't know whether to be flattered or insulted.

"Mr. Northman, there's a call for you on the house phone. I think you'll want to take it in Mrs. Northman's office." Alicia said as she came into the room.

Eric took Alex and went swiftly out to the office while everybody else was still trying to picture Eric's history. Sookie was speechless.

"So, Sookie, if you and Eric ever go to that country, Bobbie and I are available to go with you," Bjorn offered, cracking up. Bobbie laughed in a dirty, sexy way, and Octavia just laughed and shook her head.

"Why not," Sookie quipped, "he's fucked everybody else in the world. Holy Goddess."

"You knew that, though, Sookie, right?" Bobbie wasn't going to let her get bummed about it.

"Yes and no. I mean, I know he's a thousand years old and he's been everywhere and done everything but when you start putting numbers to it, holy shit!"

"You don't care though, right? He married you."

"Yeah, that's true, he did. It just makes me wonder how I compare, you know?"

"I can tell you that, Sookie," Bjorn offered, "He's told me many times that 5 human women could not match you, and few if any vampiresses. He's not kidding about you two breaking his record."

"But we don't go like 10 or 20 times a night or anything like that…"

"Yes, but I guarantee none of those others made it rain pink sparkles," Octavia reminded her. "Quality always trumps quantity in those situations. What you two get up to together goes way beyond just sex. I guarantee he's felt things with you that are entirely unique to you."

"For real?"

"Absolutely," Bjorn agreed. 'Don't be jealous of his past, Sookie, he was just learning what he needed to know to keep up with you." He gave her a wink and she laughed.

Eric came back into the kitchen with Alex. "So, when do we invade Wal-Mart?"

"I need about 15 minutes to get ready," Sookie said.

"Me, too," Bobbie agreed as she cleared her place.

"I'll round up the troops," Bjorn said, heading out to the front office.

"I just need to get my list," Alicia said, "Margaret, did you have a list for me?"

"Yes, back in the pantry," she said as she went to get it.

Sookie, Alex and Bobbie took the elevator up to their floors, and Sookie looked around for her purse. Alicia had packed a cute little yellow flowered purse for her and Sookie just ran a brush through her hair, put on some pink lip gloss and went into the nursery to get Alex a fresh nappy, teasing him and making him giggle the whole time. She took the diaper bag and the blue Gund teddy bear downstairs with them, knowing Wal-Mart wouldn't carry them and thinking she might need it to distract Alex.

The cars were out front in a line – a car with two guards, Sookie's car with Bjorn and Eric in front, Sookie, Alex and Bobbie in back, another car with a driver, another guard riding shotgun, and Octavia and Alicia, who were becoming good friends. Finally, a van with four heavily armed guards brought up the rear.

"Unbelievable," Sookie said out loud, unable to fathom that it took all of this to go to Wal-Mart. "Seems like only about 7 or 8 weeks ago, I could throw my purse in the passenger's seat and do this all by my lonesome."

"Much has happened in those 8 weeks, my Angel." Eric looked back at her and smiled.

"Yeah, you ain't kiddin'!" Sookie laughed. "I didn't have you back then, did I, Pookie? The last time you went to Wal-Mart with me, you were just a tiny thing inside Mommy's tummy and I couldn't wait to see you! I even bought you a little blue suit that day!"

Alex had no idea what she was talking about but he giggled and kicked his feet as she tickled him.

"We're going shopping, Alex. Women like me and Bobbie love to shop. Men like Daddy and Bjorn do not. You stick with Mommy and I'll teach you how much fun it can be! Yes, I will! I will!" Sookie was being silly, just chattering about nothing to the baby and Eric couldn't stop smiling. He would never get tired of seeing her coo at Alex that way. He and Bjorn exchanged a look and Bjorn said, too softly for anyone but Eric to hear him, "luckiest kid in the world." Eric nodded and just beamed with pride. Alex was entertaining Bobbie and Sookie so the trip seemed like it lasted no time at all.

"Wow – are we here already?" Sookie looked up.

"Yep, we're here," Bjorn confirmed.

Octavia and Alicia had specific things they were looking for, so they went off with two guards who could help them if need be. Eric let Sookie handle Alex, and he and Bjorn walked behind Bobbie and them, while two guards followed at a distance. Sookie grabbed a shopping cart and settled Alex into the basket, which fascinated him to no end. He kept looking over and around, amazed by all the new sights and sounds and smells. Eric was just beside himself watching Alex discover all these new things, and they headed straight back to the toy section. There was one of those big cages with big, colorful plastic balls and Alex looked up at it with his mouth hanging open.

"Woogie, Dadee! Bahs!" He pointed to them and looked up and down, taking them all in.

"Yes, my son, there are lots of balls there, aren't there?"

"Wotha bahs," he tried to imitate what Eric had said. There was a big display full of stuffed animals of every description, and Alex's eyes got huge. "Woogie, Dadee, do-eesth!"

"Yes, many toys."

"Ma do-eesth?"

"No, my son, those toys belong to the store. Would you like for me to buy you a toy to take home?"

"OMBA!"

"Alright, pick one toy, and I will pay for it and we'll take it home."

"Oday!" Alex was looking at all the toys and you could tell he was just overwhelmed at how many there were.

Eric stepped forward and took him out of the basket, saying, "here, Alex, let's look at these toys. This white one is a bunny…"

"Bundy."

"This pink one is an elephant."

"Ehment?"

"This blue one is a giraffe, the grey one is a raccoon, the red one is a fox," and he named several toys and held them up so he could see and touch them. "Which one do you want, Alex?"

"Peek wohnd."

"You want the pink elephant?"

"Omba, Dadee, peek."

Bjorn was trying not to laugh, but Eric was secure enough to know it didn't matter at this stage. He picked up the pink elephant and handed it to Alex, and Alex held it out to Sookie and said, "peek, Mamee."

"What have you got, Pookie? Are you going to take that home with you?"

"Nah, Mamee peek."

"He wants you to have it, Sookie. He knows you like pink," Eric said proudly.

"That's really nice, Sweetie! You should pick one for you!"

He pointed to them and said, "bundy, Dadee!"

"Do you like the bunny?"

"Omba, bundy sopf!"

"Yes, the bunny is very soft, isn't it? Do you want me to buy that one for you?"

"Ee-ah."

"OK, you keep it right here and we'll pay for it and take it home, alright?" Eric sat him and the bunny in the basket.

"Ee-ah!" he nodded, Eric put the elephant back on the display and they started to move on but Alex didn't want that. "Nah, nah, Dadee, PEEK!"

"Would you rather have the elephant?"

"Nah, MAMEE peek."

"Do you want me to buy this one for Mommy?"

"Ee-ah, por Mamee."

"He wants you to have a pink elephant, Sookie,"

"Aw, that's so sweet!"

Alex let go of the bunny and made his come here motion for the elephant. Eric handed it to him and he tucked it into the basket next to the bunny and looked at Sookie, "peek, Mamee," patting it to show her it was right there.

"OK, Sweetie, you hang onto it and we'll go pay for it, OK?"

"Oday."

They went up and down the toy aisles slowly and Alex pointed at some things but he didn't indicate that he wanted anything. He was more interested in the basket he was sitting in and how Mommy was pushing him around.

"Well, no crisis in the toy aisle," Eric was happy about that. "Now, let's go up where they have the food ready for take-out. I want to see how he does there."

They were going past a table of mostly junk toys when Alex said, "Woogie, Dadee, sthordsth por FIDEEN!"

Eric laughed when he saw what Alex was pointing to. "The Sword of Justice!" Eric read, laughing with delight. Alex had pointed out a toy sword!

"Like father, like son," Sookie laughed and Bobbie and Bjorn did, too.

"I wonder what this button is for?" Eric pressed the button on the handle.

Bjorn looked at it, "Pull that little tab out there – it's saving the battery."

Eric pulled it out then pushed the button and the sound of swords clashing played loudly.

"FIDEEN, DADEE!"

"How much is that thing?" Sookie asked

"One dollar, apparently," Eric said.

"Put it in the basket, Eric, you know you want to," Sookie knew neither he nor Alex would leave the store without that sword. Eric put the sword in the basket behind Alex and Alex said, "daygid om?"

"Yes, we're going to buy it and take it home," Eric assured him.

"Oday!" Alex stuck his thumb in his mouth, quite content to know it was going home with them.

They reached the deli section and the smell of chicken and other good things was wafting through the air. Alex looked around. "Ware di Mahdwid doe?"

"Margaret is at home, Alex. They make food here in the store so people can buy some and take it home," Eric explained.

"Pem pwy?"

"French fries? Do you smell them cooking French fries?" Sookie asked him

"Ee-ah, daygid om, Dadee?"

"Do you want some French fries to take home and eat?" Eric asked him.

"Ee-ah, pem pwy."

"You all want anything?" Sookie offered Bobbie and Bjorn, but they politely refused. "OK, Alex, watch this," Sookie pushed him over to the deli.

"Can I help you, ma'am?"

"Can I get an order of French fries to go, please?"

"Fries, Margie," she called back, then rang up the order, "That's a dollar, thirty-five, ma'am."

"OK, watch me, Alex," Sookie put her purse on the handle of the cart and found her wallet in it. She took out a dollar, a quarter and a dime. "See, Sweetie, that's a dollar, thirty-five. Now I give it to her, and she rings it up…" she handed the girl the money and Alex watched her put it in the drawer. "OK, now we wait a minute, and she'll bring us some French fries, OK?"

"Oday."

Alex was looking all around still fascinated by the bright lights and all the colors. The four adults were chatting about nothing in particular when the lady came back with the fries and put them in a bag. "Here you go, ma'am."

"Thank you!" Sookie smiled

"Dayoo!" Alex said with a big smile.

"He's so cute!" The girl at the counter said.

"Oh, thank you. This is his first time at the grocery store."

"Aw, that's cute. You come back and see us again sometime, OK?" She spoke to Alex

"Oday!" he said with a big smile.

Bjorn got a call on his push-to-talk and was told that Margaret and Alicia were in line.

"Alright, then, let's pay for our toys and we'll go." Eric said. Sookie led them all to an open cashier, and Bjorn and Bobbie walked on through. "Alright, Alex, now we put the toys on this belt like this, and she's going to make it go forward." Alex was watching everything with wide eyes.

"Well, hi, there!" The older lady with salt and pepper hair spoke to Alex, who waved at her and said "ah!" She continued as she scanned the tags on the toys, "Are you getting some new toys?"

"Nu do-eesth!"

"That means new toys," Eric interpreted as he handed the lady a twenty and a ten as Alex watched.

She rang up his order and handed him a dollar and seventy-six cents, then handed him the toys in a bag and his receipt. "Thank you, your majesty, come see us again!" she said cheerfully.

"Thank you, Madame, I'm sure we will." Eric went into royal mode and Sookie just laughed and said, "Thanks!"

"Thank you, Queen Sookie! Bye-bye, little Prince!"

"Ba-ba!" Alex waved with a smile. People sort of gathered around the check out counters to get a last good look at the Vampire King and his family and they noticed how many guards were with them. A couple of the customers were on their cell phones, calling family or friends to tell them who was just in Wal-Mart.

Eric took the baby out of the cart and let Bobbie put it with the others on the way out, wanting to hang onto Alex since they'd been recognized. Bjorn hustled them into their car and insisted they get inside while the other guards were helping Alicia and Octavia. Eric got in the back this time at Bjorn's insistence. Eric put Alex in his seat, and set the bag of animals on his tummy while Bjorn put the sword in the trunk.

Alex said, "pem pwy, Mamee."

"Oh, I almost forgot!" Sookie laughed and opened the little bag with the fries. She waved at them a bit, trying to get them a little cooler before she gave them to him. "Hang on just a minute, Sweetie, they're still too warm, OK?"

"Oday," Alex waited patiently, looking around at all the other cars and people, and finally trying to figure out how to open the bag with the toys. He found the top of the bag and reached in, taking the elephant out first, "Woogie, Mamee!" he handed Sookie the toy, then he pulled the soft white rabbit out by one ear. He hugged it to him, saying, "bundy sopf," and stroking it.

Eric smiled and watched him, reaching over and stroking Alex's cheek with his fingers.

"Alex, did you thank Daddy for buying you a new toy?" Sookie reminded him.

"Dayoo, Dadee, bundy sopf!"

"You're welcome, Alex. You were a very good boy tonight. Daddy was very proud of you."

"Hey, Sookie," Bobbie said from the front seat, "did you see your picture on the cover of the Enquirer?"

"I was trying to pretend I didn't. It's no wonder they recognized us. Our picture was on every checkout line!"

"At least we were not bothered," Eric observed.

"Yeah, but nobody is going to approach you and Bjorn, Eric, not to mention the uniformed guards shadowing us through the store.

"True, and yet, my son was able to charm everyone he came into contact with," Eric bragged.

Bjorn got in the car then and the caravan started up. "So, Prince Alex goes to Wal-Mart. I can see it in the papers now. How much you want to bet the security tapes show up on some entertainment show?"

"Nuh-uh!" Sookie laughed.

"I don't know, Sookie, he's right. There's a good chance of it," Bobbie agreed.

"It's the price you pay for being so beautiful, my Angel."

"If I'd known I was meeting the public I'd have dressed up more. I'd have put clothes on Alex, too. He's just in a diaper and a t-shirt."

"No one will think less of him, Sookie," Bjorn teased her.

"But what if they think I'm not taking care of him. It's rainy tonight."

"It's also 80 degrees out, Sookie, he's fine. Everybody thought he was a doll," Bobbie assured her.

"I guess. Did you like going to the store, Alex?"

"OMBA! Nu do-eeths!"

"See, I told you I'd teach you to like shopping!" Sookie teased and tickled him. "OK, Pookie, these fries are cool enough for you to eat." She set the little envelope of fries on Alex's leg and he grabbed one right up, happily gnawing on it as they drove. "Wow – look at him go!" Sookie laughed.

"I told you he would have a big appetite."

"Yep, he's just like his Daddy – fighting, feeding, and … uh.."

"We get the idea," Bobbie laughed.

They arrived at the house and Eric helped Sookie get the baby, his toys, his fries and her purse together so they could go in. The guards were helping Alicia and Octavia, bringing their groceries in, and Bjorn went to the front office to get a status report. Eric sat at the kitchen table with Alex and let him finish his fries, which he did with great gusto. Sookie came in and cruised through the kitchen, nearly jumping up and down when she found what she was hoping for – Margaret baked a German chocolate cake!

"Yay! Cake!"

"Did someone say 'cake'?" Bobbie said as she came in.

"Yep, I'll cut the cake, you get the milk," Sookie laughed.

Bjorn came back in, and Eric looked up expectantly.

"All secure, your Majesty. No one followed us, either."

"Good. I was a little concerned when we were recognized," Eric said, smoothing Alex's hair a bit.

"Yeah, we're hard to miss," Bjorn laughed. "The royal entourage goes to Wal-Mart. I'll bet that's never happened at a Wal-Mart before."

"You want a piece of cake, Bjorn?" Sookie asked

"No thank you, your majesty."

"Hey, none of that in the house!" Sookie shook the cake server at him.

Eric and Bjorn just looked at each other and laughed. Sookie was never going to get used to being called "your majesty," especially not at home.

Bobbie brought two big glasses of milk to the table and Sookie brought two big pieces of cake and two forks. They got settled with their snack and dug in. Alex finished his fries, and began to look at what Sookie was eating. When no one was looking, he grabbed a handful.

"Alex!" Sookie tried to catch his hand but it was in his mouth before she could react. "Eric, keep an eye on him. This has nuts in it and he doesn't have any teeth. He could choke."

"I'll watch him, my Angel, do not fear." Eric was pretty sure Alex couldn't choke but he did plan to keep an eye on him, just in case. Alex was enjoying the cake immensely, licking the frosting off his fingers and holding it up to look at it.

"Dat, Mamee?" He pointed at the cake and looked at Sookie.

"What? Cake? This is cake, Alex."

"Dayt."

"Do you want some more cake, Sweetie?"

"Ee-ah!"

"OK, hang on," Sookie popped up and got him a small piece and gave Eric the spoon. "Here, baby, Daddy will feed you."

Alex started to stick his fingers in the cake, but Eric stopped him. "No, Alex, use the spoon."

"Oday," he said with a mouthful of cake.

"I didn't know Vikings were big on table manners," Sookie teased him.

"This Viking is into many things with which the original people were not concerned. There is always something new to learn, my Angel, no matter where you are or when."

"Your life must have been so amazing, Eric. Have you ever considered writing a book?" Bobbie asked him.

"Maybe some day, if I'm ever not so busy. Modern life leaves little time for things like that. All this technology just makes people busier and busier."

"Did you prefer living before technology?" Bobbie asked.

"I wouldn't say I preferred it. I certainly love modern plumbing, and lights and heat, but life was much slower in earlier times and you had more time to enjoy your life, though there was, perhaps, less to enjoy. People take so many things for granted that we would have considered luxurious and fantastic. Much of it still feels that way to me, but the things that matter are unchanged. Women are still women, sex is still sex, blood is still blood, the rest is just details. Travel and communication are much better, of course. I'm more than happy not to have to rely on ships to get from country to country when I want."

"What was it like to travel that way?"

"I know – you had to travel as cargo and feed on the scurvy crew!" Sookie laughed and the others cracked up. "That's so funny, we were just talking about that last night. I guess we won't be going on any cruises, huh?"

"We can go on a cruise if you like, my Angel. We can do anything you want."

"Maybe February or March we could go someplace sunny?" Sookie asked apologetically.

"Yes, of course. Where would you like to go?"

"Mexico?"

"Very well, we'll add that to the calendar and I'll see what accommodations are available for my kind. I could enjoy some moonlight walks by the ocean with my beautiful wife."

"Cool!"

"Bobbie and Bjorn, you'll need to go as well, of course, unless you'd prefer not to?"

"I could force myself to go to Mexico…" Bobbie teased.

"Yeah, I don't think that's going to conflict with our plans, Eric." Bjorn laughed. That kind of perk was why he ever considered this job in the first place. You travel with vampire royalty, you get the best of everything just being near them.

"Are there any other plans for tonight, Eric?" Bjorn was wondering if he needed to stay around.

"No, not that I know of. I was going to spend some time with Sookie and Alex and then do some paperwork, so you and Bobbie feel free to do as you please."

"I was thinking about taking Bobbie to a movie. There's a midnight show at one of the theatres in town."

"Oh, that sounds nice!" Sookie said.

"Did you want to go out, Sookie?" Eric asked

"Nope, I want us to soak in the tub."

"Alright, Bjorn, why don't you take my corvette? The keys are in it."

"Wow!" Bobbie said before she knew what she was saying.

"Eric, are you sure you trust me with your car?" Bjorn couldn't believe it.

"Yes, of course. Go enjoy it. If you want to go for a drive, check the GPS – there are directions to a nice lake where you can park under the stars and have some privacy. It's very romantic."

"Alright, thanks. Bobbie do you want to change clothes?"

"Yeah, let me freshen up a bit."

"OK, I'm going to make sure you've got adequate cover on duty. Thanks a lot, Eric."

"Enjoy yourselves. I take it we are headed upstairs now, my darling wife?"

"Yep, soon as I put this in the dishwasher and wash the frosting off Alex's hand," Sookie laughed.

"Are you ready for a bath, my son?"

"Omba, baff ina wada! Ware di Mahdwid doe?"

"Margaret has gone to bed. What did you want, Sweetie?" Sookie said as she came back toward the table.

"Gode, Mamee."

"Cold? You want a teething ring?"

"Ee-ah." He pointed to his gum and Sookie looked closely.

"I'll bet he bit down on a nut and aggravated his gums. Let me grab one of those. You think I should take two and put one in the little freezer in the mini-fridge?"

"Good idea. He might need a new one later on," Eric agreed as he stood up and swung Alex up into the air a bit, causing him to make his happy sound. The way he was holding Alex made his little t-shirt ride up and expose his belly so Eric blew raspberries on it and Alex squealed and giggled.

Sookie laughed as she grabbed the Wal-Mart bag and said, "Daddy got you, Pookie!"

"Dadee god me!" He giggled like crazy as Eric brought him down and hugged him as the three of them headed to the elevator. As they went down the hall to the bedroom, Eric put Alex across his shoulder and held his hands out front making noises like an airplane. Once in their room, Eric laid him down on the bed and blew on his tummy again, making him squeal and giggle more. Sookie was laughing at them, putting one teether in the little fridge and giving the other to Eric who teased Alex with it, lowering it, then pulling it back, over and over, to Alex's great amusement. "Nah, Dadee!" he'd giggle and Eric would do it again. Eventually, Eric let him have it then tickled and kissed Alex's feet while he gnawed on it kicking, laughing and smiling. Sookie was running the bath and taking her clothes off while they played, then she stood in the bathroom door and watched them a few minutes. When they seemed to be winding down a little, Sookie asked Eric if Alex needed a new diaper.

"He's just wet, so no, he'll be fine for the bath."

"OK, you're both over dressed," Sookie laughed as she took Alex into the nursery to drop his wet diaper in the pail and his dirty t-shirt in his little laundry basket. Eric was settling into the water when they got back and had lit a few candles and put some music on.

"Oh, nice!" Sookie laughed.

"Hit the lights before you get in and we'll have a family bath by candle light."

Sookie closed the door and handed the baby to Eric, then turned off the lights and got into the tub.

"What's that band called again?" She indicated the speaker that was piping music into the room.

"Tabitha's Secret."

"Yeah, I found out that singer is the same guy who sings my ringtone on my phone."

"Really? What is it called?"

"_How Far We've Come_ by Matchbox 20. It's no wonder I like this music, Matchbox 20 is one of my favorite bands. He's a good singer."

"Yes, I agree."

Alex was looking around trying to figure out where the music was coming from. He pointed toward the speaker and said, "Dat?"

"What is he saying?" Eric hadn't noticed this before.

"I think he's trying to ask what that is. He's been saying that when he wants to know something."

Alex was still mumbling and motioning to the speaker.

"Alex, say, "what is that?" Sookie looked straight at him and spoke slowly.

"Wa-diz-dadt?"

"Pretty good. That's a speaker playing music."

"Mudik! OMBA!"

Eric laughed. "He loves anything that makes noise. When he is a teenager he will drive us crazy with his music."

"Yeah, that's true of most kids, but boys especially. Jason used to drive us nuts with his heavy metal stuff. "

"Maybe he will play an instrument?" Alex was splashing the water sort of in time with the music with one hand and gnawing on the yellow teething ring with the other.

"Maybe. He does everything else early, maybe we should get him a little key board to bang on. He loves those toys that play music."

"Good idea. See what is available that's safe for a baby."

"OK, I will. You gonna be a musician, Pookie?" She turned sideways to face him and Eric and kissed Alex on the cheek, then she laid her head on Eric's chest.

"Mudik!" he said as he happily splashed in the water. Eric and Sookie just snuggled and watched him play for a bit, enjoying the closeness and the warmth of the water.

Alex splashed and played a good ten minutes then he splashed himself and felt his hair which reminded him of where they were. "Dadee, wath ma ayr!"

"Alex, say "Daddy, wash my hair, please." Sookie instructed him.

"Dadee, wath ma ayr, pweeth!"

"That's very good, my son. Mommy will have to sit up a bit."

"Yeah, yeah, I'm moving," she laughed.

Eric took the hand-held and set it for a gentle spray and washed Alex's hair, much to his delight, then he washed Sookie's as Alex watched intently.

"Are you watching Daddy, Pookie?"

"Ee-ah, wath Mamee ayr."

"Yeah, he's washing my hair, isn't he? Daddy's good at washing hair," Sookie was talking to Alex with her eyes closed, enjoying the feel of Eric's fingers massaging her scalp.

Alex, who was leaning back against Sookie's upper thigh facing her, reached up and rubbed Sookie's soapy head, too, making Eric laugh. "Are you washing Mommy's hair, too, my son?"

"Ee-ah, watheen Mamee ayr."

"Thank you for helping me. We want to do a good job on Mommy's pretty hair, don't we?"

"Ee-ah, watheen dood."

"Yes, Mommy has glorious blonde hair that shines and sparkles in the light like an Angel."

"Mamee Andel?"

"Yes, Mommy's like an Angel."

"Nah, nah, Dadee, Mamee GODDESTH!"

Sookie opened her eyes wide and looked at Alex.

"Alex," Eric said slowly, "who told you Mommy was a Goddess?"

"Mamee Freyja!"

"Why can he say Freyja so clearly and he can hardly say anything else?" Sookie asked.

"I have no idea, and I don't understand why he says that word with a Swedish accent, but I don't hear any sign of Swedish in his other speech. When he was naming Goddesses today, did he name any Norse Goddesses?"

"I think so – is Frigga Norse? And Urd? No, wait a minute – that was me. Freyja is the only one he named that I know of, but I don't normally know who goes where."

"Alex, who are the Goddesses from Scandinavia, like Freyja?

"Sweden?" Alex said with a Swedish accent

Eric and Sookie were both surprised at that. "Yes, Alex, the Goddesses of Sweden."

"Elli, Frigga, Hella, Urd, Indunn, Sunna, Freyja, bahkewees."

"You mean Valkyries?" Eric asked him

"Ee-ah, bahkewees."

"So the Goddesses he can say perfectly, but not the Valkyries? What's the difference?" This made no sense to Sookie.

"The Valkyries are not technically Goddesses. They are magickal beings but not quite on the level of a deity. Did he say every Goddess name perfectly?"

"Earlier? No, only Freyja – I guess he can say the Norse Goddesses, then?"

"Apparently."

"Can he speak Swedish?"

"Let's see – Vad heter du?"

"Pwinzth Awegsth" Alex giggled, knowing it was a silly question.

"Var bor du?"

"Här."

"Var är här"

"Jag vet inte - med min Dadee och min Mamee!"

"Is he answering?"

"Yes. I asked his name and he said 'Prince Alex.' I asked where he lived and he said 'here.' I asked where is here and he said "I don't know – with my Daddy and my Mommy!"

"So he's speaking Swedish, and I can hear for myself that he's making sounds he isn't normally able to pronounce…"

"Yes, apparently. Alex, where is Freyja?"

"Ma Mamee!" He giggled and patted Sookie's face.

"It occurs to me, Sookie that you have always been near when he has channeled Freyja."

"Well, yeah, he's hardly ever away from me. We're only even in different rooms every few days."

"I am wondering if he could do these things if you were separated. Maybe you are a sort of antenna for him?"

"Maybe? How do we test it? Let me wash your hair, the water is getting cold." She gave the baby to Eric and moved behind him.

"I'm thinking I should take him somewhere without you and test him."

"Where would you take him?"

"I think Bjorn and I should take him to Fangtasia."

"You want to take my baby to Fangtasia? Without me?"

"Just to experiment. He hasn't been there except for the photo shoot. I could test him and take him around and introduce him. I know people would be wild to know that he might show up now and then. I'll take Bjorn and a couple of other guards and we'll just say hello to a few people, then I'll take him in my office and try to talk to him in Swedish."

"And you're going to leave me sitting home?" She smoothed his long hair back as she wet it with the handheld.

"Only for a few hours, my Angel. It's the safest place to take him, if you think about it. We do need to know if he has these abilities when you are not with him."

"Alright, but on one condition!"

"Such as?"

"You and me, downstairs in Fangtasia, before my two week vacation is up."

"That is a promise, my Angel. I had planned that anyway, as soon as you seem rested. If it bothers you so much, give us a few hours, then you and Bobbie come and join us."

"Let me think about that. I might agree to that."

"Alright, you think about it. I'd suggest doing it tomorrow night."

"Why tomorrow?"

"That's the third day…"

"Oh, yeah – I forgot for a minute…"

"You'll be away anyway. It might be a good way to keep Alex from knowing you're gone. You know it unsettles him. You do your Fae thing, then I'll have guards bring you and Bobbie to the club after. Invite Jerry and Amelia, too, if you want. A night of drinking and dancing, socializing, might do us all good. Alex will be able to charm the masses for a while, we all get out of the house… Yes, I like this idea very much."

"You don't think taking a baby to a bar is a bad idea?"

"_A _baby to _A_ bar, perhaps, but not MY baby to MY bar. We are not a normal family, Sookie."

"What if the bar gets raided?"

"We remind the cops that he's a vampire and therefore alcohol would have no effect on him."

"I thought Dr. Ludwig said he'd like alcohol a little too much?"

"The cops don't need to know that. As far as they're concerned, he is my son and therefore impervious to the effects of alcohol. There are no laws that govern vampire babies."

"He's theoretically half-human – what if they say the laws apply to him just like anyone else."

"Sookie, do you really think a cop is going to piss me off?"

"Good point. Alright, we'll consider it a big date night and I'll bring my Witches after my trip to wherever it is that I go."

"When are you going to find out more about that?"

"Friday – Claudine is going to meet me and my Witches for lunch so we can talk about the Fae."

"Good. I'll feel much better when we know what you are or becoming or whatever. I have a sinking suspicion you're never going to be vampire."

"Will you still love me if I'm not?"

"I will always love you, Sookie. I'll be more than content if you become immortal, no matter how it happens. That is the important thing. I will be disappointed not to get to turn you, but as long as it happens and we can be a family forever, I will not complain."

"Thanks, Sweetie." She kissed his ear as she began to rinse the shampoo from his hair. "Pookie is falling asleep," she said softly.

"Yes, when you finish my hair, I'll take him to his bed and come back for some Mommy and Daddy time."

"I like the sound of that!" She finished rinsing his hair, and put some conditioner in it, then massaged his scalp a bit, making him purr. She rinsed his hair completely, then reheated the tub while Eric levitated out of it with the baby still in his arms, and managed to get him into the co-sleeper without getting a huge amount of water on the floor or waking him up. He came back to the tub quickly, already hard, and leapt in slow motion over into it in front of Sookie, landing gently in the water and quickly pulling her up and impaling her slowly on his cock.

"Oh, Goddess – how do you do that?"

"Do what?" he asked as he kissed her neck and squeezed her lower cheeks, moving her up and down.

"All these moves that are right out of a movie – slo-mo and ev –everything." She had a tight grip on his shoulders and was riding him as hard as she could, even though they were splashing water on the floor.

"It comes naturally because I am with you, my Angel."

"Yeah, ri-right, you never did this with anyone else…"

"Most of it, no. I couldn't let human women see me do some of the things I do with you. Even if they could handle it, I had to keep my identity as a vampire secret."

"You've been with Goddesses, though, and what else – uh, uh, uh?"

He sort of punctuated each answer with a thrust. "One Goddess, Fae of a few kinds, Undines, vampiresses, of course, several Angels and various daemons, a couple of Witches, a sorceress, a mermaid once, but the vast majority were humans – actresses, models, slaves, scullery maids, prostitutes, courtesans and Queens – all kinds of women."

"You fucked a mermaid?" Sookie never slowed down, but she wanted to know.

"Yes, once, I was in service at the Siwa Temple, and we attended the same celebration. You don't see many mermaids in the desert, but she was there, somehow. You never know how his parties are going to go but they're always wild."

"Whose parties?"

"Dionysus. He built the temple in the desert when he was dying of thirst, supposedly, but I think the tale has been altered or exaggerated."

"How does a… a god… die of th-thirst?"

"Exactly. OHHHH! OH! OH!"

Sookie cracked up. "You're going to wake the baby!"

"I can't help it, it feels so good, Sookie, I swear, even in water it's like you're on fire!"

Sookie got very intent on what she was doing now, still holding onto Eric's shoulder and neck with an iron grip, pressing her forehead into his then quickly biting his neck down to his shoulder, where she really latched on and drew blood. She lapped at his bleeding shoulder as the two of them reached a massive orgasm that filled the room with red energy that contracted to an electric blue and exploded in orange… something. They looked like flames but nothing was burned.

They didn't stop to think about it, though. Eric scooped Sookie up out of the water and threw her on top of the bed, entering her again as she wrapped her legs around him and they rolled, bedspread and all into the floor. Eric forced her head to the side and bit her neck harder than he ever had and hit an artery, which covered him in her sweet blood. They were beyond speaking at the moment but they both laughed and Eric made sure her blood clotted just before the fairy blood… was that fairy he tasted? … hit him hard.

He was out of his mind, but she was worse, suddenly bucking her hips and pushing him over, straddling him and riding him so hard he was crying out at the same time she did. The guards that were at the front of the house were cracking up and held a push-to-talk phone open so the guys in the guardhouses could hear what was going on. Sookie was literally howling and it was clear that it was her, and not Eric, who was in a completely animalistic fucking frenzy. Eric was higher than he'd ever been on her blood and Sookie was raving, pounding away on him and reaching to the top of his chest and raking her nails hard down the length of his torso. He bled a lot and she lapped it up, coming again and again until his skin closed back up. What happened in the next 45 minutes or so, neither of them ever figured out, but at the end of it, Eric was a quivering mass on the floor, and Sookie was sucking his cock slowly and deeply as if in a trance. He slowly drifted back down from her blood, finally noting the state of the room.

"Sookie,"

"Um-mm?"

"Sookie…"

"Mmmm."

He wanted to tell her to stop but he was too close to another orgasm so went with it and then pulled her up beside him to stop her. She was writhing a bit, moaning softly, still about out of her head but obviously enjoying the feeling. Eric went into the bathroom and checked the walls for fire damage but found none, then he threw towels on the floor to sop up all that water. He zipped down to see if there was water damage on the second floor, and there actually was some dampness on the walls in the kitchenette and the stairway. He dried the wettest parts with some paper towels and decided to worry about it later. A little ceiling repair was a small price to pay for sex like that.

The bedroom looked like a cyclone hit it – clothes, towels, bed linens, books, and toys were strewn about the room – and yet Alex was sleeping soundly as ever, sucking his thumb and, based on the fluttering of his eyelids, apparently dreaming.

Sookie was still writhing just a bit, so Eric picked her up and put her on her side of the bed, laughing to himself that maybe silk sheets weren't such a good idea for them, since that's how they ended up on the floor.

He pulled the top sheet and comforter back up into place and then lay down next to Sookie and checked her pulse and breathing. He also checked to see if she was bleeding, but there was no sign of anything like that.

"Sookie, my Angel, are you all right."

"Oh, yeah," she said in a deep, sexy voice and then giggled but never opened her eyes.

"No pain?"

She cracked up, but still didn't open her eyes. "I feel drunk!" she giggled. "I dreamed you said you fucked a mermaid."

"I did…"

"But they don't have a hootchie!"

Eric had to bury his face in his pillow to keep from waking the whole house with his laughter. When he could speak he said, "They do, my angel, but it is hidden by a flap of scales that move out of the way when they are aroused. They have sex just like whales and dolphins and people do. That's how they reproduce."

Sookie was high as a kite. "Fish-fucking!" she giggled. "I'll have to try that sometime," she cracked up again. "I'll never be able to eat another can of tuna!"

Eric was amazed. She actually seemed drunk or stoned. "Sookie, do you think you can sleep now?"

"Yeah, I think so. I don't see me managing to stand up any time soon."

"Alright, Sweetheart, you drift off, and I'll check on you later."

"Mmm-hhm, g'nite, you fish-fucker," and she cracked up again but did drift off to sleep in a few minutes.

Eric didn't know whether to be amused or concerned. She seemed happy and unharmed, but he couldn't remember what all they did. He did know that there was time missing from the time he saw on the alarm clock when he threw her on the bed, to the time he woke up just now. Why was she acting drunk? She was able to converse with him, but couldn't quite awake, but she might just be tired. They had been very active and generated a lot of energy. He felt her scalp but there was no sign of a head injury and she didn't register any pain. He was feeling pure happiness and contentment in the bond.

He set up the monitor and took it to his office, and he wrote notes to Sookie and Bjorn for tomorrow. He didn't think Sookie was sick or hurt, but he wanted Bjorn, Bobbie and Alicia to keep a close eye on her just in case. He also told Bjorn about his plans to go to Fangtasia with the baby.

He took a steno pad from his desk and started making a list of questions he wanted answers to regarding Sookie and her Fae parentage or legacy or destiny or whatever the hell it was now. He'd have Sookie ask them of Claudine, and if she couldn't answer them, perhaps Ludwig or Freyja could. Eric had a feeling that Sookie wasn't anything near human any more, and that whatever part of her might still be human had something to do with nursing Alex, but he wasn't sure of anything at this point except that she was getting stronger, bolder and wilder than anything he could remember - except maybe Freyja, who was like riding a whirlwind. Even Freyja never generated pink sparkles or orange flames that didn't burn anything.

Alex awoke at his usual time, and Eric took him into the nursery for his favorite part of the day. He told Alex about Fangtasia and that he was going to take him there just the two of them, plus Bjorn and some guards, and he could see a bunch of Daddy's employees. Alex didn't understand much of it, but his eyes twinkled because he knew it was about him and Daddy and that's all he needed to know. Eric tucked him in with a kiss, said good night to Sookie again, and went to rest for the day with many questions running through his mind, making notes on the steno pad as he waited for sleep.


	84. Chapter 84

[Hey, Y'all –

Yes, the Temple of the Oracle at the Siwa Oasis still stands, but in great disrepair. You can find pictures of it on the Internet. Also, everything Eric says about dolphins is true.

Also, they are going to Fangtasia in this chapter, but no kinky stuff. More of that soon, though, promise. And, sorry this took so long. I've been really busy, then I got sick for about a week. Thanks for your patience.]

**Chapter 84**

Bjorn was sitting down to breakfast with that big book in hand when Margaret pointed out the note from Eric. He didn't get notes from the boss very often, so he knew something was up concerning either Sookie or the baby.

_Good Morning, Bjorn,_

_Sookie behaved very strangely last night after sex. I don't think she is sick or injured, but I want you, Bobbie and Alicia to keep an eye on her today. She almost seemed drunk, but I don't think she hurt her head, though there was a span of time I cannot recall and she came out of it as if in a trance. She was able to converse with me, but couldn't quite wake up. She might just have been tired, but watch her closely today, just in case._

_Tonight I'd like you to accompany Alex and me to Fangtasia. I want to introduce him around and then test some of his abilities while he is away from Sookie. I suspect she may be a sort of antenna for him, so I want to test that theory. Sookie will be going to her other "place" tonight, so have Kerik man the door while we're gone, then have him bring Sookie, Bobbie and Amelia to Fangtasia and we'll have some drinks and a few dances. It will be nice for us all to get out of the house. Make whatever security arrangements you deem necessary. _

_Thank you,_

_Eric _

Bjorn laughed out loud at the idea of taking Alex to Fangtasia.

"What's so funny, honey?" Bobbie said cheerfully as she sat down at the long stainless steel kitchen table.

"Eric wants me to go with him and Alex to Fangtasia tonight, then after Sookie does her ritual, Jerry is to bring her, you, and Amelia to join us for drinks and dancing."

"You're taking Alex to Fangtasia? Is that a good idea?"

"Eric says he wants to test his abilities away from Sookie, but I think he just wants to show him off. He was saying something about that the other day. He thinks it will create more interest in the bar if they think he might be there occasionally."

"Yeah, right. I'm sure that's what he's saying, but you know he just wants to show him off to his employees."

"Yeah, I know. He's so proud of him – you saw how he was at Wal-Mart. He loves to see people fawning over his son. Plus, everyone at Fangtasia calls him 'master' so Alex will see that, so he can show off to him, too."

"You should have seen them, Margaret!" Bobbie told her as she served breakfast. "Eric was about to bust when Alex was talking to the lady with the French fries. I thought he would pop when Alex said "dayoo" without even being prompted," Bobbie laughed. "And when he waved to the cashier – I never saw a man look at a child with such love."

"Oh – isn't that precious!"

"He's the best dad I ever saw." Bjorn said, "I never saw a man so patient with a child. Like when he was going through the stuffed animals with him…"

"Oh, I know! That was so sweet, how he took him out of the cart and held each one up for him, and told him the name and let him touch them. And then Alex was so sweet, getting that pink one for Sookie and I thought I would melt when he said "bundy sopf.""

"What did he say?" Margaret didn't quite know all of Alex's words.

"He picked this adorable little white bunny rabbit because it was soft. He's as bad as Sookie – he loves soft toys."

"He bought one for Mrs. Northman, too?" Margaret asked

"Yeah, Eric started to put it back but he insisted that Eric buy it for Sookie. He kept saying "Mamee peek!"" Bjorn explained. "He's so smart, he knew pink was Sookie's favorite color."

"And when Eric gave it to him, he put it in the cart next to his bunny and showed Sookie it was right there for her. It was so sweet," Bobbie added. "And then when he found the toy sword, Eric was beside himself!"

"Toy sword?"

"Yeah, it was on a table of clearance stuff," Bjorn laughed, "It's a plastic sword that has a button that plays sounds like two swords clashing together, and Alex said "FIDEEN!" and Eric was beaming with pride. I swear, they're just alike. It's going to be cool to see what Alex is like when he's grown."

"He'll be the spit and image of his father, with that blonde hair and that strong chin," Margaret bragged, "and those gorgeous blue eyes. I've never seen the like of those eyes!"

"Yeah, Sookie was praying Alex would have Eric's eyes and he definitely does," Bobbie recalled.

Bjorn finished up his breakfast. "I'm going to head upstairs. We're supposed to keep an eye on Sookie today. Eric said she was acting drunk last night."

"Drunk? Sookie?"

"Yeah, I think it had something to do with sex, but I'm not sure. He thinks she's OK, but he wants us to be aware, just in case."

"OK, well, if anyone was going to get high from sex, it would be Sookie," Bobbie joked and Bjorn laughed.

"True. She's on a whole different level from the rest of us," Bjorn agreed. "OK, I'll see you upstairs."

Bjorn took the big book with him and climbed the steps two at a time, stopping at the top of the stairs. "Anybody in there?"

"Yes, Bjorn, I'm here," Alicia said.

"OK for me to come in?"

"Yes, she's covered up."

"OK, thanks," Bjorn laughed as he walked into the room and headed for his seat next to Sookie. "Wow, what happened to this place?"

"Another wild night at the Northman's I presume. I'll start gathering it all up as soon as I finish putting their clean clothes away."

"Holy smoke. I want to be that guy for one day," Bjorn said, half kidding and half in awe. "By the way, we're supposed to keep an eye on her today. He said she was acting drunk last night… after, you know, and he thinks she's OK, but he said to pay attention, just in case."

"Well, she's breathing alright, but she hasn't really stirred at all. I gave Baby E a bottle about half an hour ago, and that was the second one of the morning. I have a feeling he'll insist on being breast fed next time he gets hungry."

"She can do that in her sleep, though, right?"

"Pretty much. I can put him in position and he knows what to do."

"Did he leave her a note?"

"Yes – do you think you should read it?"

"I'm wondering. We'll wait until after 12, and then if she's not stirring, I'll check to see if it's anything she needs to take care of before a certain time. I think he always assumes she'll sleep until 2."

"That's what he wants, yes. He thinks she's still run down, and I agree with him."

"Well, she needs a lot of rest for tonight, so let her sleep as long as she possibly can."

"Alright – let's see now – the sword and the stuffed animals go in the nursery, I assume?"

"Just the bunny and the sword. The elephant is for Sookie."

"He bought her a pink elephant?"

"Alex insisted that Sookie have it because it was pink."

"He actually knew that Sookie likes pink?"

"Yep, and insisted Eric buy it for her. He had everybody in Wal-Mart under his spell. You should have seen all the women gushing over him."

"And Mr. Northman found a sword for him?"

"No, he found it, but Eric was about to bust over it. He was so proud of him."

"I can imagine. I hear he's very good with his swords."

"Like nothing I've ever seen. You should see how he can move – faster than the eye can see."

"Oh, my!"

Bjorn and Alicia talked about the trip to Wal-Mart and Bjorn described more about Eric' martial abilities. Bobbie came in and got the cards out of Eric's drawer and before they knew it, it was 12:45 and Alex was awake.

"Mamee!"

"Good morning, sweetheart!" Alicia said softly to him. "Will you drink another bottle for me?"

"Nah. Mamee ee!" He pointed then reached toward Sookie.

Bjorn looked elsewhere while Alicia got him settled at Sookie's breast, and he, Bobbie and Alicia discussed the fact that Sookie barely moved as Alex fed. When he finished, Alex needed a new diaper so when Alicia took him into the nursery, Bobbie and Bjorn tried to rouse Sookie a bit.

"Sookie?" Bjorn said softly. "Sookie!"

Sookie shook her head slowly and mumbled softly, but she didn't really respond.

"Sookie, can you hear me?" Bjorn continued, "Sookie!"

"Mm-hm…"

"Sookie," Bjorn persisted.

"Fish fucker."

"What?!" Bjorn was shocked and Bobbie cracked up.

"What the hell went on in here last night?" Bobbie laughed

"I don't know but the room was destroyed. It took Alicia half an hour to gather up all the clothes and towels and toys," Bjorn laughed.

"There's got to be a story behind that," Bobbie laughed. "Wake her up and ask her who fucked a fish."

"My guess would be Eric, but it doesn't make a lot of sense. Sookie! Hey, Sookie, wake up."

"….don't even have a hootchie…" Sookie mumbled and Bobbie literally fell out of her chair laughing.

Bjorn was trying not to laugh but failing miserably. "Sookie, who doesn't…." he never managed to get the word 'hootchie' out, he was laughing so hard. He managed to calm down a bit, and said, "Sookie, what fish?"

"Fuckin' mermaid!"

"Whoa!" Bobbie said, "Is she saying Eric fucked a mermaid?!"

"Is there such a thing?" Bjorn asked in amazement.

"I have no idea, but if there were such a thing, Eric would most definitely have fucked one," Bobbie laughed.

"I can't wait 'til tonight so I can ask him what it's like!" Bjorn was cracking up.

"Sookie, can you wake up?" Bobbie was still laughing, but she did want Sookie to wake up so she knew she was alright. "Sookie, honey, wake up!"

"OK, now I'm getting worried," Bjorn said as he checked her pulse.

"Yeah, she should be awake with all the laughing and stuff. I'll go get the blood pressure cuff and you keep trying."

Bjorn sat on the edge of the bed, being careful to make sure Sookie's chest was covered. He slapped her face a few times very gently, trying to get her to stir, "Sookie! Sookie, wake up! Sookie, come on, wake up!"

Alicia came back in with the baby. "You mean she's still not awake after all that?"

"No, she's not," he said soberly, feeling around her scalp to see if there was an injury of any kind. "Her skin is normal and warm but not feverish, so I don't think it's an hypoglycemic reaction." He was opening her eyelids and checking her pupils, "I need a pen light."

"I don't know if we have anything like that, but if we did, it would be in my room - the birthing room - with the rest of that stuff. We packed it all in boxes and kept it in case she has another baby. Here, I'll leave Alex with you and see if I can find one." She put Alex in the co-sleeper and went down to the blue bedroom, which was her room now, and looked in the box of doctor's supplies. There happened to be two pen lights in it, so she took one up to leave in Sookie's room.

Bjorn was pumping up the blood pressure cuff when she came back. "Here you go," she handed it to Bobbie.

Bjorn was very intent on the reading. "It's low, but not dangerously so – about what a healthy, sleeping person would have. Let me have that light?"

He flashed the light in and out of her eyes a couple of times each. "Normal reactions. Are there any of those dietary supplements up here?"

"I think so," Bobbie went to the little fridge and came back with a chocolate one and a straw.

"Sookie, I want you to drink this," Bjorn said as he held the straw to her.

"Mm-hm…" she reacted just a little as he pushed the straw between her lips, but she drank it down without a problem.

"OK, now what?" Alicia was worried about this – this was more than just being tired.

"Well, if she's not awake in 10 minutes, I say we call Dr. Ludwig," Bobbie suggested. "Sookie is going through some crazy changes. She might have an idea what's up."

"Yes, I agree. Give the sugar in the drink time to hit her system and if that doesn't help, we call her. Where's her iPhone? Oh wait, here it is," Bjorn found it on the floor behind the co-sleeper. It had apparently fallen off her nightstand.

"I don't think we should wait. I'd feel a lot better if you'd call now," Alicia wanted to know what this was NOW.

"Alright, I'm calling," Bjorn said as he pulled the number up on the phone. "Yes, Dr. Ludwig, it's Bjorn Anderson. Yes, I'm calling about Queen Sookie."

"I'll be right there."

A very average-looking woman carrying a big carpetbag, was outside the bedroom door.

"Knock, knock!"

"Come in, Doctor," Bjorn said.

Alicia wasn't going to worry about how she got there – she knew Sookie's doctor wasn't human. She was just glad to see her.

The doctor walked around to the back of the bed and Bjorn detached the co-sleeper so Bobbie could pull it out of the way and keep Alex occupied.

"Queen Sookie! Can you hear me?"

"Mm-hm…"

"How do you feel?"

"Mm – tired," she mumbled softly.

"Alright, let's see what's going on." The doctor looked at Sookie's hands and nails closely, then checked her pulse and BP. She used the stethoscope on Sookie's chest, more to hide the fact that she was feeling her breastbone. She reached into the carpetbag and took out a little machine to check blood sugar, which gave a normal reading. "The good news is that there's no emergency," she said as she took a needle and a couple of vials out of her bag. "I'm going to take some blood samples and take them straight to a lab that can look at them for me. In the mean time, I suggest that everyone let her sleep. I'm quite sure she'll wake up before dinnertime. If Northman arrives and she's still asleep, have him call me immediately. Otherwise, I'll call him tonight with the results of the tests. When she wakes up after while, I want her to eat a special diet I'm going to write down for you. She can eat anything else she wants as long as she eats everything on this list. It's not a restriction – it's a minimum I want her to eat. She's still too thin. Anderson, you familiar with amino acids?"

"Yes, I use them for my work outs."

"Good – I want her to take arginine and l-tryptophan an hour after breakfast every day and again an hour after she eats dinner. If she exercises at all, it should be anaerobic, preferably targeted muscle-building movements. More than anything, though, I want her to rest. Don't be deceived by how strong she seems. Is she planning her special visit tonight?"

"Yes, doctor," Bjorn replied.

"Alright, what else is planned for the night?"

"We're all supposed to meet at Fangtasia for a bit after," he explained.

"Alright, she won't like this but no sex on the night of her visits. I'd prefer she skip the one tonight but I know she won't. Anything special happening at Fangtasia?"

"Eric wants to test Alex's abilities away from Sookie."

"That's a good idea. Might help us figure out who is able to do what. He probably wants to show him off a bit, too. I hear he was quite a hit at one of the local shopping centers?"

"Yes, the outing went very well. He was attentive and obedient and very polite. King Eric was thrilled."

"And well he should be. That's an extraordinary child, even more so than we had hoped. Just don't make a habit of taking him away from Sookie at this stage. This once is fine, but that's it. Now, Sookie is going to be sleeping heavily for the next few weeks. Have her express some breast milk in case she can't wake up. Her little body is going through some extreme and unusual changes right now. She'll come out of it better than ever, it's just going to take some adjustment. Any other unusual symptoms?"

"Eric said she was acting drunk last night…"

"That's from the blood and sex. His blood is beginning to make her high the same way his does her. Tell them to relax and enjoy it. They won't hurt each other. Being in the room won't hurt the baby, either – he'll sleep when they're in the act. It soothes him. That's a part of Freyja's magick.

If the baby wants to be near Sookie, let him, and make sure he's breastfed no less than twice a day in addition to bottles of her milk and RM. They're still closely connected right now and we don't want that disturbed just yet. He's not quite ready to be independent no matter how smart he is, so I want him right next to Sookie when she's asleep, either in that little crib or right in the bed with her. She can't hurt him at this point, unless it's by being away from him too much. I don't want them even thinking about putting him in his own room yet.

He's still drawing a lot of energy from her in ways you can't imagine. Also, keep in mind that he's going to be awake more at night as he gets older, so you'll notice a tendency for him to sleep later in the mornings now, too. Can you remember all that, Anderson?"

"Yes, ma'am, and I'll brief the King as soon as he joins us this evening."

"Good, take this bottle, and put it in that little fridge." She handed him a large green glass bottle with an ornate label on it. "Northman and only Northman is to give her this little gold cup full of that drink every night before he goes to rest. No one else is to touch it or taste it, understand? Tell him to keep going as long as it lasts, which will be longer than you think. Alright, let me write out this diet, and then I'll be on my way to the lab. Things might get a little strange, so just call whenever you have a question – any time, day or night."

The doctor wrote very quickly and left the note with Bjorn, then saw herself to the door.

"Things are going to _GET_ strange?" Bobbie was half laughing and half worried. How much stranger could things get?

"It's never going to be boring," Bjorn shook his head. "OK, Alicia – she wants her to have no fewer than 4 RMs a day, 5 ounces of dark chocolate, a minimum of one 10 ounce organic rare steak and 8 ounces of red wine every day, lobster at least twice a week, and she's to drink a one quart carton of organic whole milk every day. The rest of the time, she's to eat seafood – shrimp, fish, mussels, scallops, etc. and lots of good quality caviar of all kinds and all that goes with it. Chicken no more than once a week – she says it's poor quality protein and too low in fat. Eggs are better baked in cake or bread or as a garnish for caviar. Beef ribs are great, but no pork of any kind, and as much fruit and vegetables, olives and almonds as she wants. Fresh baked, whole grain bread with lots of butter and real preserves or good cheese. Cook with extra virgin olive oil, real butter or nut oils. Caesar salad with anchovies as often as she can eat it, which will hopefully be once a day. Think natural, non-processed, and very rich with as few chemicals as possible."

"Whew, that's a really rich diet!" Bobbie couldn't believe the cholesterol in all of that, though there were mitigating factors like the chocolate, almonds and olive oils.

"She'll definitely be eating like a Queen. Let me go give this to Margaret so she can plan her meals for the week. We'll order some caviar and such and have it shipped overnight."

"Thanks, Alicia," Bjorn said.

Once Alicia was out of the room, Bobbie asked, "OK, what's going on?"

"I'm not sure, but I don't think that's a diet for a human."

"What's it a diet for?"

"I could be wrong, but it's either for an angel or a Goddess or both."

"You're kidding?"

"No, I'm not. I saw the label on the bottle no one is supposed to touch or taste."

"What is it?"

"It said "Ambrosia.""

"As in "food of the gods?""

"Yes. That's why she's sleeping so much – her body is changing."

"Shit!"

Bjorn's push-to-talk rang and it was Margaret telling him Jason and Hoyt were in for lunch and asking about Sookie.

"I'll go down, and take the baby. I'll just say Sookie is sleeping late so she can go out tonight. You can stay here with her that way."

"Good idea. Tell them she'll see them at dinner."

"Will do. Hey, Alex, let's go see Uncle Jason, OK?"

"Oday!" Alex said happily as Bobbie picked him up with a tickle and took him downstairs.

Bjorn sat and looked at Sookie a long time. Exactly what was she becoming? Was she literally going to be Freyja? Or a full Fae? An angel? Some kind of hybrid? She definitely was not going to be a vampire, but theoretically, she might be able to choose to live like one if she were divine. Bjorn didn't know enough about other Supes to know exactly what was and wasn't possible. As he sat looking at her, he just shook his head and said, not really expecting a response, "what are you, girl?"

"Tripartite."

Bjorn thought he knew what that meant, but he pulled his phone out and used the dictionary to look it up.

_tripartite |trī pär tīt| adjective_

_Consisting of three parts.• shared by or involving three parties _

Was she talking about herself? With Eric and the baby? Freyja? He figured he'd tell Eric about what she said, but maybe no one else until he was told it was OK. There were certain things that went on with them that even Bobbie didn't need to know, unless Sookie wanted to tell her about it. He was lost in his thoughts when suddenly Alex was lying on Sookie's chest.

"Ah, Borhd!"

"Hey, Alex. I thought you were downstairs with Bobbie?" Before he had the words out of his mouth he could hear Bobbie running up the stairs, calling Alex.

Bjorn shook his head and laughed, "he's up here, Bobbie!"

"You little scamp!" Bobbie said as she came into the room and Alex cracked up.

"Please tell me he didn't disappear in front of Sookie's brother?" Bjorn asked as he put Alex in bed beside Sookie and pulled the covers over him.

"No, they went back out when they finished lunch then I turned my back for a minute and Alex was gone."

"So he got to visit with them a little?"

"Oh, yeah, he got to show off a bit, and give them hugs and kisses. Jason even brought him a little gift."

"What did he bring him?"

"A book about trucks."

"For a baby?"

"It's a board book of pictures made for babies, similar to the ones Eric reads to him."

"OK, that makes sense. I know he's crazy about his own truck."

"So I hear."

"Mamee!" Alex reached up toward Sookie's face and she rolled a little toward him and put her hand on his tummy. "Ah, Mamee!" He patted her cheek.

"Hey, Pookie," Sookie opened her eyes and smiled at him, and the two of them went to sleep facing each other.

"Well, that was something, anyway. She responded to him and rolled over," Bobbie was relieved to see that.

"Yeah, I think the doctor just thinks she's tired. She couldn't go into a lot of detail in front of Alicia. She'll tell Eric what's up when she talks to him tonight."

"Probably. I just wonder what she's becoming."

"Yeah, I know Eric is wondering the same thing. She probably is, too."

They played cards for a while, then Bobbie asked, "I never heard of anyone becoming a Goddess, did you?"

"I've heard stories about people who were Goddess- or god-touched, and I have no doubts at all that that's what is happening here, but I have no idea how it works."

"Octavia said it might be a progression – she might have to be a fairy first, then an angel, then a full Goddess."

"Honestly, I'll bet she's past the Fairy stage. I've been around Fae and they don't smell as good as she does. Maybe she's becoming an angel?"

"Mamee nah andel, Mamee Goddesth!" Alex raised up and announced adamantly.

"I thought you were asleep, buddy!" Bjorn teased him.

"Nah seepeen. Poogie an Mamee."

"Are you waiting for Mommy to sing to you?" Bobbie asked

"Eeah, dantheen." Alex said as he sat up beside Sookie.

"The doctor said Mommy will wake up in a few hours. Can you wait until then?"

"Eeah, Mamee seepeen."

"Who's sleeping?" Sookie said, "Are you waiting for me, Pookie?"

"Eeah, Mamee. Nah seepeen?"

"Nope, Mommy's awake now, Precious," Sookie gave him a big smile and a kiss then pulled him up on her tummy.

"Boy, are we glad to see you awake!" Bjorn said. "We even had the doctor here because you couldn't wake up."

"Dr. Ludwig was here?"

"Yes. She took blood from you and you didn't even react," Bobbie told her. "She left a special diet for you and some special stuff Eric is supposed to give you every night before he goes to rest and no one else is to taste it or touch it."

"Really? Where is it?"

"In the little fridge." Bjorn told her.

"Can I see it?"

"I don't think so," Bjorn said, "she said no one but Eric is to taste or touch it and he's to give you one of these full every night." He showed her the little golden cup.

"Wow – fancy little cup. Look at all the engraving!" Sookie was impressed. "What are those symbols?"

"Runes from the Elder Futhark, I think. It's an old Norse sort of alphabet," Bjorn told her.

"Can you read them?" She was playing with the baby and making him giggle as they all talked.

"No, but Eric might be able to, though I think they're even a little before his time."

"It's a language even older than Eric?" She said as she raised Alex up to blow raspberries on his tummy.

"Oh, yes, but it's still used for divination."

"Witches use runes for fortune telling and for writing. Some use the Elder Futhark, but there's an alphabet called Theban Script that Witches use, too, that no one knows the origins of," Bobbie added.

"Know one knows where it came from?" That sounded so strange to Sookie.

"No, it first appeared in a book in the 12 or 1300s but no one knows where that writer got it. It's also called Angelic Script because they say if you use it to talk to angels your spell has more power."

"I think maybe I better learn that. In the mean time, can we look up what these runes mean?"

"We can try. I'll get your laptop out and we'll see."

"I don't think that's a good idea," Bjorn said.

"Why not?" Sookie couldn't see any harm, but she was paying more attention to the giggling baby than what they were talking about.

"Only Eric is supposed to touch this stuff, other than when you drink what he gives you. It's not a good idea to do anything except what you're told."

"Where's Octavia today?" Sookie asked. "If she says not to, we'll leave it alone."

"Good idea," Bjorn agreed. "Are you going to have breakfast up here?"

"Is it cloudy today?"

"Yes," Bobbie told her.

"OK, well, yeah, I'd rather eat up here."

"I'll go down and tell Alicia and I'll ask Octavia to come up here. We'll take the elevator. Be right back!" Bobbie bounced down the stairs.

"I wonder what I'll get for breakfast?"

"Probably whatever they have that's on the list the doctor gave them."

"Salmon, I hope…"

"Sthama!"

"Maybe, Pookie, we have to wait and see, OK?"

"Oday."

"Has he been fed, Bjorn?"

"Several times."

"OK, then, you know what time it is, Pookie?"

"DANTHEEN!"

"Yep. Let's twist again…." She sang to him for almost 20 minutes waiting for Alicia to bring breakfast, making him giggle like crazy, giving him lots of hugs and kisses. They were both very happy to see a tray full of salmon brought into the room, and Bjorn was happy to feed Alex. He was actually starting to look forward to giving the little guy his breakfast because he got to hold him and play with him.

Bobbie and Octavia came in about halfway through breakfast.

"Morning, Octavia!" Sookie was in a good mood since she woke up.

"I hear you been havin' a hard time wakin' up."

"So they tell me, but I don't remember any of it."

"I also hear you're wanting to delve into something you were warned not to…"

"I wouldn't put it that way…" Sookie started.

"Were you told Eric is to give you one cup of it each night before he goes to rest and that no one else is to taste or touch it?" Octavia sat at the side table opposite Bjorn.

"Yeah, but…"

"No buts, girl. You drink that whole cup down when he hands it to you, then you forget it exists until the next night when he hands you another. The doctor didn't give you those instructions just to annoy you. You might unleash all kinds of hell if you start playin' around. You're dealing with huge forces here. This is no time to experiment. Do as you're told, exactly as you're told, and things will be just fine."

"You really think just looking up the runes on the cup would cause a problem?"

"I don't know and neither do you, but I got a healthy respect for the powers it represents so when somebody who does know tells me don't touch it, I don't touch it."

"Sookie, you said if Octavia said not, you'd drop it. I'm with Octavia – leave it alone, let Eric serve it up every night and forget about it the rest of the time."

"And I'm just supposed to drink it down and not even know what it is?"

"Yes." "Yes." Bjorn and Octavia spoke at once.

"Dr. Ludwig is not going to tell you to do something that will harm you and she won't give you anything that will harm the baby, either," Octavia reminded her.

"Why does it always have to be some big mystery? Like Freyja always making some cryptic comment instead of just saying 'do a, b and c, then this will happen.'"

"Because the Universe is more complex than that. You gotta proceed slowly and watch for unintended consequences. Not even a Goddess can calculate every single variable. It took her hundreds of years to set all this up around your Viking. It might take another few hundred to get it all right. You need to be patient. Keep your eyes and ears open, learn all you can, and there's no telling how amazing your life could be. Imagine if you never had to sleep…"

"Huh? Is that possible?"

"I don't know – maybe? There are all kinds of possibilities. That diet she wrote out for you was pretty interesting."

"It was?"

"Yes, like the no pork rule. You know Freya is known to travel with a golden boar? Pigs are sacred to Her."

"No more bacon?" Sookie crinkled her nose.

"Not from pigs. You can have turkey bacon if you must." Octavia didn't consider it a big deal at all, considering what Sookie would get in return. "And all that seafood…"

"Is that because She's called "shining on the sea?""

"Maybe, but did you know Her father was a sea god in the later Norse myths?"

"No, I didn't."

"That's the myth, though the Goddess comes before any god. OK, now I want you to think about this question before you answer it. You've been told repeatedly that YOU are Freya. Why haven't you read everything you could get your hands on about Her?"

Sookie was stumped for a few minutes. "Huh – I never thought about it. I looked Her up on line once when I caught myself talking to Her, but I haven't done anything like that since I was told I'm Her."

"And you know how you know that's definitely true?"

"No – how?"

"Alex has been telling you that, hasn't he?" Octavia was trying to get her to accept this and she knew this would get her.

"Yeah, sort of…"

"No sort of about it, Sookie," Bjorn said, "he sat right there not half an hour ago and said you're not an angel, you're a Goddess."

"Eeah, Mamee Goddesth!" Alex chimed in.

"Oh, yeah, then what does that make you?" Sookie was just teasing but then he answered, "ahm a demigod!" and shocked everyone.

"What else are you, boy?" Octavia asked him.

"Dadee's widdo bampaya!" Alex cracked up and so did everyone else in the room.

"Are you ever going to be a god, Alex?" Octavia wanted to see how much he knew.

"Eeah, an Dadee."

"Alex, Sookie said she's tripartite. Is that what she meant?" Bjorn asked on impulse.

"Nah, Freyja won an fee."

"Freya is one and three?" Octavia was trying to clarify what he was telling them.

"Eeah – Freyja, Mamee, bebe."

"Freya will have three aspects – Freya, Sookie and a baby?"

"Eeah."

"What baby – you?"

"Nah."

"Aubie?" Sookie asked

"NAH NAH!" Alex shook his finger – he didn't even want his name mentioned.

"Alex, are you going to have a little sister some day?" Octavia asked

"Eeah."

"WHAT?!" This was the first Sookie was hearing about this.

"Don't panic girl, I'd say it won't happen for a couple of years," Octavia laughed.

"But – nobody ever said anything about that! It's just supposed to be me, Eric and Alex and now there are going to be three?"

"You have all kinds of three's in that configuration – three aspects of Freya, you, Eric and Alex are three and one, then three kids. It wouldn't surprise me if the girl comes along in three years," Octavia laughed.

"Oh, my Goddess – I just got a picture of Eric having a little girl!" Bobbie laughed.

"Imagine having a little baby Sookie and then Eric as her father? He'd behead every boy that looked at her!" Bjorn laughed.

"I'm glad you all think this is funny because I SO DON'T!" Sookie was overwhelmed at the idea. She didn't even have both her boys and now there's a girl on the horizon? YIKES!

"Just relax, Queenie. It won't happen any time soon. Just take one day at a time and trust your Goddess to do what's best for you," Octavia reassured her.

"In mythology, though, gods and Goddesses mess with people all the time."

"Myths written by patriarchal priests who wanted to control the people with fear. The true Goddess was never about that. Freya is not going to mess with Herself, Sookie, and you are She," Octavia was going to drill this into her. "Think for a minute, Sookie – how much time have you actually spent trying to talk to Her?"

"Not much, I guess – maybe an hour altogether."

"You should be doing three times that every day. You should be learning to relax and be a clear channel for Her whole Being. We've all been expecting things to slow down, but I think just the opposite is happening and we'd better catch on now."

"The opposite? You mean you think things are accelerating?"

"Yes, I do. That's why you're getting so much information up front. She wants you to think ahead because it's going to be here sooner than you think. It might take three years, but that three years might feel like a couple of months to you. Look at the last two months of your life – where would you be if things stay that eventful for three years?"

"I don't even want to think about that…"

"You'd better think about it. I hear Eric is going to Fangtasia tonight?"

"Yeah, I'm meeting him there later."

"OK, then you've got a long time to work tonight. Get your shower so you can have dinner and get started."

"Good idea."

Bobbie threw Sookie her robe and she struggled into it as Bobbie took Alex out of his diaper. Octavia went downstairs and was sitting at the kitchen table talking to Amelia, who'd just arrived home, when Sookie and Alex came downstairs with Bjorn in tow.

"Hey, Amelia!" Sookie was glad to see her home.

"Ah, Ameeah!" Alex imitated Sookie, then he leaned and reached toward Amelia, wanting a hug.

"Well, hey, Punkin'!" She hugged Alex and took him from Sookie for a few minutes. "I missed you, Alex," she kissed him on the cheek and he hugged her again.

"I think he missed you, too, Amelia," Sookie laughed.

"Yeah, I mean, I had a great time with Jerry, of course, but when it would get quiet I'd catch myself wondering what Alex had been up to."

"I was telling her about his trip to Wal-mart," Octavia explained

"I already knew, though, from TV…"

"TV?!" Sookie was sure she had to be kidding.

"Yeah, they showed some still photos from the security cameras on one of the gossip shows," Amelia told her proudly as Bobbie cracked up. "They said "the little vampire Prince won hearts everywhere he went," and that he got "some French fries and some new toys and politely waved bye-bye after his daddy, the elusive and sexy 6 foot five inch vampire, King Eric Northman, paid the bill and thanked the cashier. Queen Sookie, true to her reputation as a real sweetheart, gave everyone a big smile and a thank you as she pushed the cart through the line." You should have heard the women on the show bragging on how cute Alex was and how sexy Eric was. They even made a joke about him being HUGE and they weren't talking about how tall he is," Amelia was cracking up now.

"Well, he'll be happy about that," Sookie said, rolling her eyes. "It just never occurred to me people would be checking us out. I would have dressed us all up more. I can't believe the whole world knows I took my baby out barefoot!"

"Nobody cares, Sookie. They know he's a vampire. They were all too overwhelmed by Eric's presence to pay any attention to that, anyway," Amelia assured her.

"Yeah, heads were turning everywhere we went," Bobbie confirmed, "Eric just commands attention even when he's not saying a word. I saw some cashiers, or whatever, in the sewing department swooning over him when he was showing the toys to the baby, too. I'd love to hear the conversation that went on in the break room that night."

"Oh, good morning, Missus! I didn't know you were up!" Margaret said as she came in from the pantry.

"MAHDWID! MAHDWID!" Alex went crazy making his "come here" motion.

Margaret took him from Amelia and kissed him on the cheek. "How are you today, Master Alex?"

"Tatosth, pweeth?"

"Would you like potatoes or French fries?"

"Tatosth."

"Alright, darling boy, let's put you in your high chair and I'll make you some potatoes." Margaret settled him into the chair Bjorn had brought out from the pantry.

"Dayoo, Mahdwid," he beamed at her, happy as a clam as Bobbie poured some Cheerios on his tray. The four women at the table just beamed at him as he became absorbed in munching on the cereal bits, which felt good on his sensitive gums, and bounced his leg up and down while he played with them.

"I love it when he bounces his leg like that," Bobbie said affectionately, "you can always tell when he's happy because that leg starts going."

"Yeah, wait until he can walk – he'll be running around and none of us will be able to keep up with him," Amelia laughed.

"I wonder when he'll start to walk?" Sookie asked

"Soon, probably. He can already almost stand up by himself," Octavia reminded her.

"Yeah, when Eric was feeding him the other night he was standing on his leg just bracing himself on his shoulder," Sookie remembered.

"I wonder if he can pull himself up yet?" Amelia mused, "before they start walking, they usually pull themselves up on things and hold them while they sort of creep along the side."

"He's never any place to do that!" Sookie laughed, "We've always got him in our arms or in a high chair."

"Bundy!" Alex called and suddenly he was holding his new bunny in his hands.

"Want me to bring his play pen in here? He could play a bit while he's waiting for his potatoes," Bobbie suggested.

"Yeah, why don't we? He hardly ever gets down to play," Sookie nodded.

Bobbie went to the den and brought the play yard into the kitchen, unfolding it and setting it up between Sookie and Amelia at the far end of the table. Sookie took Alex out of the high chair and put him and his bunny into the little yard, and Alex made his happy "haaaah!" sound as she set him down. Bobbie brought the little shape-sorting house in from the den, too, so Alex had lots to play with. They watched him for a few minutes, then got distracted talking about the ritual Sookie would be doing and their planned trip to Fangtasia.

"Are you and Eric planning to spend some time in the basement tonight?" Amelia teased Sookie.

"I don't think so – I think Eric just thought it would be nice for us all to go out, have some drinks and maybe dance a little," Sookie explained.

"I think it will be a nice break. You aren't supposed to have sex on the nights you do your little visit, anyway," Bobbie told her.

"I'm not?"

"No. Dr. Ludwig told Bjorn to tell Eric no sex on those nights. She'd prefer you didn't go to Faery tonight, but she knew you'd insist."

"Damn straight, I'm going!" Sookie was adamant about that. "It's bad enough I have to wait three days in between!"

"I know that's hard on you, Sweetie. Everyone is just worried about all the changes you're going through."

"Yeah, I can feel something happening. I told Eric, it's like one minute, I feel as if I have all the power in the world, then I'll suddenly feel like a leaf being blown around in a hurricane."

"That's probably going to last a while as you make the transition," Octavia warned her.

"What am I transitioning to?" Sookie was a bit exasperated.

"A Goddess, Hon." Amelia reminded her. "It will all be worth it when it's over with. Just enjoy life when you can and roll with it," Amelia advised.

"Exactly," Octavia agreed, "just roll with it and you'll get there sooner than you think. Relax and enjoy it – think of all that wild sex and be happy."

"Yeah, that's true," Sookie laughed.

"Alright, I have to ask," Bobbie started, "did Eric actually fuck a mermaid?"

The other women cracked up.

"How did you find out about that!?" Sookie said, both amused and a bit scandalized.

"You were talking in your sleep. You said "fish fucker," then you said "doesn't even have a hootchie."

Octavia and Amelia were howling with laughter.

"Yeah, I was a little out of it or drunk or something last night. I told Eric I had a dream he said he did and he said he did and I called him a fish fucker," Sookie laughed. "I might have said something about never eating a can of tuna again…"

All of the women were laughing so hard they had tears coming from their eyes.

"Did he explain how that was possible?" Bobbie really wanted to know – who wouldn't?

"He said they have a…. you know…. But it's covered by a flap of scales that move out of the way when they're in the mood."

"I'd love to see one!" Amelia said

"So would I," Octavia agreed.

"Yeah and to top it all off, it was in the desert, at some kind of temple built by Dionysus when he was dying of thirst or something."

"The Siwa temple?" Octavia asked, amazed.

"Yeah, I think that's what he called it. He said something about being in the service there or something. My memory isn't very clear. I do remember him saying you never knew what was going to happen at one of his parties, but they were always wild."

"There was a mermaid at a party in an ancient temple in the desert…" Amelia was trying to piece all of this together.

"Yeah, I guess. That's what he said."

"Ooh-ee! That man has lived places and done things that most folks don't even know enough to dream about," Octavia said with admiration.

"You all talking about Eric?" Bjorn laughed as he came in the kitchen.

"Yeah, how did you know?"

"He's usually the main topic of conversation. Either him or the baby but I heard Octavia say "that man," so I knew it had to be Eric."

"Can you blame us?" Sookie teased

"Not a bit. If I was a woman, I'd worship him, too," Bjorn laughed. "I'm looking forward to going to Fangtasia with him and Alex tonight because he always tells the best stories when it's just me and him!"

The women all laughed and Alex laughed, too, just because they did. Bjorn noticed where Alex was and bent down next to him, "Hey, buddy. You got your new bunny with you, huh?"

"Eeah, bundy sopf!" Alex held the bunny up to Bjorn and stroked it, wanting him to pet it and see how soft it was. Bjorn patted the bunny's head and said, "Yeah, that's really soft!" which made Alex squeal and snuggle the little toy. Bjorn rubbed his little back gently, then stood up. "Who is downstairs?"

"What?"

"Margaret – is anyone downstairs?" Bjorn asked

"Not that I know of…"

"I hear someone walking around…"

"It's me, Bjorn." Eric came up the stairs barefoot in just a pair of jeans.

"Oh, hey – I didn't know you were here." The women all reacted happily, yelling their "good mornings" and "you're up's" at him.

"It must be cloudy out?"

"Yeah, it's really gray."

"DADEE!" Alex moved almost faster than anyone could see, getting up first on his hands and knees then pulling himself up on the side of the play yard.

"There's my boy, standing there!" Eric was excited to see him stand on his own, even if he was holding onto something. Eric picked him up, hugging and kissing him. "Hello, my Angel." He bent and gave Sookie a nice long kiss, then sat at the head of the table.

"Hey, Sweetie. We were just talking about when he was going to start walking. I guess he can pull himself up, now, so it probably won't be long."

"I think it will not be long at all," Eric agreed, "will it, my son?" Eric touched his forehead to Alex's and set the baby on the edge of the table facing him.

"Nah! Ahm Dadee's widdo bampaya!" Alex laughed and everyone else laughed, too.

"Yes, you are!" Eric said with delight and hugged him, kissing him several times playfully.

"Boy, that kid knows how to make Daddy smile," Bjorn joked.

"Yes, he's very smart, indeed," Eric said, bursting with pride.

"Yeah, he's been very informative today," Sookie said.

"What do you mean?" Eric asked.

"Well, apparently, Freyja is, or will be, a tripartite Goddess, including Her, me and our daughter."

"Our what?!" Eric was thrilled. "Are you?"

"NO, no, not at the moment, but according to him, at some point I will be."

"That is wonderful! I hope it is very soon!" Eric loved the idea.

"You'd really want another baby?"

"A girl? Of course! What a beauty she will be, Sookie! Look at her mother!"

"But…"

"Mr. Northman! You're here!" Alicia came in. "Mr. Burnham just called and said he needed to speak with you urgently."

"What time is it?"

"It's only about 4:00…" Bjorn told him.

"Do I risk calling him?" Eric wondered aloud.

"Let Sookie call and find out what he needs. She can say she has a way to relay the information to you and get an answer," Bjorn suggested.

"Yes, that might work. I'll listen on the extension and tell Sookie what to say. Sookie, come with me."

Margaret brought Alex's potatoes to the table and Bobbie volunteered to feed him while they took care of business.

Eric had Bjorn come to the office with them and he took the cordless extension phone from the den with them. He dialed Bobby Burnham's number and had Sookie talk to him.

"Hi, Mr. Burnham? This is Sookie Northman."

"Well, hi, little lady – what can I do for you?"

"I got a message that you needed to talk to Eric immediately. If it's an emergency, I have a way of communicating with him and getting an answer for you."

"You do?"

"Yes, it isn't always possible, you know, but today it is. Did you need to tell him something?"

"I needed to get him to review a tax shelter we set up for his new position. I can't move ahead with it until he looks it over. I've got some contracts for the new clubs, too."

"Oh, well, is it something he needs to see, then?"

"Yes, I can fax it to the house, if need be."

"OK, well, go ahead and send it and I'll have him look it over."

"This is very important now – you need to be sure he gets it, and I need to have his signature on it. If that's not possible…"

"Oh, no, I can get that for you and fax it right back to you."

"You're sure now?"

"Yes, I assure you, no one but Eric will see it, he'll sign it if he needs to and then I'll fax it back or call you back if he says to."

"Alright then, I'll send this to his upstairs office. If you can get back to me in an hour, it would make things a lot easier on everybody."

"Yes, sir, I'll get back to you as soon as I can. Thanks."

Burnham hung up and went to the fax machine, wondering how the hell she was going to manage this and hoping Eric wouldn't be upset that he'd sent this stuff to her. He had said more than once that he trusted Sookie implicitly, but he had also said she didn't need or want to know the fine points of running his new territories.

Bjorn and Sookie waited as Eric zipped up to his office and got a stack of 10 papers he needed to read. He zipped back down to Sookie's office and sat at the desk, quickly reviewing the files. "I see why he was in a hurry. If we get this back to him, he can file this before the close of business in California."

"What's in California?" Sookie asked.

"Just a bank we have to deal with – something Felipe should have done ages ago," Eric said as he reviewed the contracts. He signed where he needed to, wrote a cover page with notes to Burnham, and sent them back on Sookie's fax machine.

The phone rang in just a minute and Eric motioned for Sookie to answer. "Hello?"

"Mrs. Northman – I got the papers. I can tell this is definitely his writing. Tell Mr. Northman this will be set by the first of the month, just as he wanted. Thanks for doing whatever you did."

"No problem at all. Thanks for your help." Burnham hung up. "Was that a big crisis?"

"It was pressing, but not really an emergency. There are some deadlines involved that are more likely to be made if he can get those things out today."

"OK, I guess." Sookie didn't want to know about all the machinations of the kingdom – she knew Eric had to do some weird and sometimes shady stuff and she figured it was better not to think about it. They all headed back into the kitchen where Bobbie was in Eric's chair, feeding Alex in his high chair. Bobbie jumped up as they came into the room so Eric could sit down.

"Thank you, Bobbie. I'll finish feeding him."

"OK, boss!" Bobbie handed him the spoon and the bowl of potatoes and went back to where she normally sat.

Eric sat down and took Alex's face in his big hands and kissed him.

"Ah, Dadee!" Alex laughed and smiled at him.

"Hello, my son." Eric looked right in his eyes with so much love, Sookie thought she was going to be a puddle on the floor. "What are you eating here?" Eric looked in the bowl, then began to feed him as Alex said "tatosth!"

"You seem to be eating a lot of potatoes. Sookie, is that healthy for him?"

"Well, he gets milk and blood, too, and we give him fruit and salmon and stuff, so it shouldn't hurt him, should it, Bobbie?"

"No, it won't hurt him, though it is a good idea to mix some veggies and some different fruits in there, too."

"Margaret, do we have anything like that?" Eric asked.

"Yes, Missus, I've got lots of baby foods – chicken noodle, turkey and gravy, lamb and gravy, macaroni and cheese, carrots, peas, sweet potatoes, apples, and pears plus spoonable smoothies, organic apple juice, cans of peaches and pineapple in the pantry and I've got frozen broccoli that I can cook and put in the food processor if you want him to eat some greens."

"He's never had peaches or broccoli – let's try and see if he'll eat them," Sookie suggested. "Maybe some turkey and gravy, too?"

Bobbie went into the pantry for a jar of "baby" turkey and gravy and a can of peaches while Margaret pulled a bag of broccoli out of the freezer and cooked all of it.

"OK, maybe this is a dumb question, but do you heat baby food?" Sookie asked

"Some babies don't want their food warmed early on, but I don't think that will be the case with little Alex," Margaret told her. "All you have to do is open the jar and use the same warmer we use for the bottles. It's best not to microwave things for a baby, you know, especially breast milk…" Margaret knew Sookie would have no idea that she could do that.

"No, I didn't know, but I guess that makes sense."

"Microwaving can destroy the nutrients in breast milk, Missus. Speaking of which, were you going to express some so we have it in case you're asleep?"

"Oh, yeah, I was. Bobbie, can you help me with that?"

"Sure, Sweetie. Do you want to do it now?"

"Eric, would you mind playing with the baby while I do that?"

"Of course not, Sookie. I'll feed him and keep him entertained while you do your… whatever you need to do…"

Bjorn laughed. "Yeah, I wouldn't know what to call it either, Eric!"

"Everything you need is clean and ready up in the nursery, Missus. We put it in a pan in the crib this morning."

"OK, then, excuse me, everybody." Sookie and Bobbie headed back to the elevator as Amelia and Octavia decided to watch some TV in the den.

"Holler if you need us, Eric," Amelia told him with a big smile.

"Thank you, Amelia, but my son and I will be fine, will we not, Alexander?"

"Eeah, me an Dadee!" Alex giggled then opened his mouth for more potatoes. At one point, he offered Alex a spoonful and Alex pushed the spoon toward Eric. "Dood, Dadee!"

"It's good? Do you want me to taste it?"

"Eeah, daysth id!"

Eric tasted it, to Alex's delight, and said, "hmm – not bad, but not the best thing I've ever had…"

Alex didn't understand what he was saying but he kicked and giggled because Eric tasted his "tatosth."

"He loves it when you eat some of his food, Eric," Bjorn observed as Margaret filled his coffee cup again.

"Yes, he does. I wonder why?"

"I think because it means he does something Daddy does. There aren't many things you do that he's able to copy yet."

"That's possible, I suppose. Alex, do you want to be like Daddy?" Eric teased him.

"Awgsth wyg Dadee," he nodded his head in that exaggerated style he'd just started using.

By the time Alex finished his bowl of potatoes, Margaret had a little plate with a bit of turkey and gravy, some pureed broccoli and peaches. "I only gave him a bit of each since he had his potatoes. There's more for him later on if he wants it."

"Thank you, Margaret."

"Dayoo, Mahdwid!"

Eric and Bjorn laughed at Alex copying Eric.

"Alright, Alex, let's see if you like this." Eric took a spoon of the turkey and fed it to the baby.

"Mmmm!" Alex said as he sat up more and leaned forward. This was good stuff!

"That's a hit," Bjorn laughed.

"Apparently." Eric gave him a taste of broccoli next and Alex liked it because his eyes got big. He went wild for the peaches, asking, "dat, Dadee!?"

"I think he's asking what that is…" Bjorn helped Eric out.

"This is peaches, Alex."

"Pejes?"

"Peaches."

"Ah wyg pejes, Dadee!" Alex was bouncing up and down but he opened his mouth wanting more and Eric gave him another bite. Alex ate everything on the plate, which surprised Eric.

"Bjorn, did he not eat earlier?" Eric wondered why Alex was so hungry.

"Yes, he fed a couple of times and he had that salmon stuff Alicia makes for him, then when they came down here he asked for potatoes."

"And then he ate all this? That's a very hungry boy, Alex!"

"Mo pejes, Dadee?"

"You want more peaches?"

"Eeah, pweeth."

Margaret brought the jar of peaches she had pureed over and put more on Alex's plate. Eric fed it to him, then when he finished that serving he said, "Dee Bee, Dadee."

"You want to watch TV? We'll have to go upstairs for that…"

"Bring him in here, Eric! We're not watching anything in particular," Amelia knew Eric was going to head upstairs because they were in the den.

"Alright, I will." Eric wiped Alex's face with a napkin and took him out of his chair, then he and Bjorn took Alex into the den. As they came in, Amelia put the Cartoon Network on and Alex made his happy sound when he saw the bright colors again. Eric took the recliner and settled Alex on his lap.

"Dippin chow," Alex asked Eric, and he was pretty sure he knew what Alex wanted.

"Bjorn, what was the show he liked on TV?" Eric asked, pretty sure Alex wanted to see that particular show again.

"Teletubbies. I think that's on PBS."

Amelia changed the channel and the Teletubbies were just coming on.

"Haaaaaahh!" Alex was thrilled to see the little creatures running around. Eric still thought they were disturbing, but it was obvious that Alex loved them. He went wild when Dipsy showed a video on his/her/its little tummy. "Woogie, Dadee, DeeBee!"

"Yes, he has a TV in his tummy."

"Eeeah! DeeBee inisth dumby!" Alex said as he pulled up his little white t-shirt and looked at his own tummy. "Nah DeeBee, Dadee," he pointed to his tummy and looked up at his Daddy.

"No, you don't have a TV in your tummy, but your tummy can do something that Teletubby's can't. He can't do this," Eric swung him up and blew raspberries on his tummy, making Alex squeal and giggle.

"Dat?" Alex said as he settled down to watch the show again, pointing to the screen.

Eric figured he wanted to know what he was watching. "That's Teletubbies, Alex."

"Tewetumbysth! Ah wyg Tewetumbysth!"

"Hey, did he just say Teletubbies?!" Sookie asked as she came through the kitchen.

"Yes, he did," Eric laughed. "Were you successful in filling some bottles for him?"

"Yes, so you can take a bottle of it and a bottle of blood with you tonight. Alicia and I filled up the diaper bag for you, just in case."

"Thank you for that – Bjorn and I will be leaving as soon as dinner is finished. He already ate, so I thought he and I would take a shower while you all eat then we'll be ready to go when Bjorn is done."

"OK, that's cool. I want to do a ritual bath after dinner, but I should be alone for that, right, Octavia?"

"Ideally, but it's not a hard and fast rule. You'll be able to focus better by yourself."

"Excuse me, everyone," Margaret came into the room, "dinner is ready whenever you are."

"Thanks, Margaret!" Sookie said and headed straight for the kitchen. The others followed her and took their usual seats, except for Eric and Alex.

"Are you hungry, my son? Eat?"

"Nah."

"Then we will take a shower, ok?"

"Oday! Ina wada!"

"Alright then, enjoy your dinner, everyone."

"Bye, Alex!" Amelia called and Bobbie said, "have a good shower, Alex!"

"Have fun, Pookie!" Sookie said as Eric held him down to kiss her, then they headed up to the bedroom.

Eric flew up the stairs with him, making Alex giggle, then laid him on the bed to get him out of his t-shirt and diaper, talking to him and tickling him the whole time. Eric quickly stripped off his jeans and took the baby to the bathroom. He turned the shower on, and Alex was getting excited. "Wada, Dadee!"

"Yes, water! I just have to get it to a comfortable temperature, then we'll get in," he told him as he took the baby shampoo from the side of the tub and put it in the shower stall along with the baby soap. He put two towels on the rack beside the shower door, spread two out on the floor, one on top of the other, and in they went, Alex making his happy sound as the water washed over them. Eric couldn't stop smiling. He loved seeing the joy Alex took in playing in any kind of water. He swung him in and out of the spray as he'd seen Sookie do. After a few minutes, Alex said "wath ma ayr, Dadee!"

"Of course, I will, my son!" Eric laughed, loving it when he asked him to do that, because he knew it was something Alex specifically associated with Daddy. He wet Alex's hair, and gently soaped it up with shampoo, enjoying the way Alex closed his eyes and held his hands up and to the sides to feel the water run over them. Eric then soaped his own hair, Alex reaching up to help. Eric bowed his head so Alex could reach his hair and let him think he was contributing. After he rinsed his hair, he added some conditioner, rinsed it out then thoroughly soaped and washed Alex, then himself, letting Alex rub some soap on his chest and shoulder so he could think he was washing Daddy. He gave them both a final rinse, then reached out for one of the towels beside the door.

He wrapped Alex up with a hug and a kiss, then laid him on the two towels on the floor just long enough to towel himself off and wrap a towel around his waist. He scooped Alex up and headed into the bedroom, where he laid him on the bed while he quickly combed out his hair and dressed in his signature black Fangtasia shirt and black jeans, with black Double H boots. He added a touch of expensive cologne and took Alex to the nursery with him.

"Inthen, Dadee!"

"Incense? Oh, no, that is cologne, Alex. Does it smell good?"

"Eeeah, sthmew dood!"

Eric settled Alex on the changing table and warmed some baby lotion in his hands, spreading it over Alex and giving him a gentle massage, as Alex looked up at him with big eyes and chewed on his own fingers. "Dood, Dadee."

"Good? Do you like that?"

"Eeah, dat Babee!"

"Yes, Bobbie gives you massages, too, doesn't she?"

"Eeah, dood 'sahjesth."

Eric powdered Alex's bottom and diapered him, then looked through the little clothing because he wanted to dress him up a little more than usual. He laughed out loud when he found a little black body suit that said "Hey, Dude – your wife keeps checking me out," and instantly decided that was what Alex should wear.

"Let's put this little suit on you, my son – it will show off your sense of humor and confidence. Besides, all the women will be checking you out because you're so cute!" Eric teased and tickled him. "You're going to go to work with Daddy. Won't that be fun?" he explained as he snapped him into the suit and brushed his hair.

"Eeah!" Alex giggled, only understanding a little of what Daddy said, but knowing it was funny and it was about him.

Eric also found a cute little pair of black shoes with skulls and crossbones on them, and a little pair of black socks, so he had Alex completely decked out when they went back downstairs.

"Oh, look how sweet!" Sookie exclaimed as they came back into the kitchen. "You match!"

Everyone ooh'd and ahh'd over Alex's ensemble to both Eric's and Alex's delight.

"Yes, I thought this suit captured Alex's personality, and the shoes make the outfit, do they not."

"Yep, he looks like a heavy metal baby. He'll fit right in at Fangtasia," Sookie laughed.

"I'm ready any time you are, Eric." Bjorn told him as he came back into the kitchen. He had eaten quickly and had a shower himself and looked really hot in a tight black shirt and blue jeans.

"Wow – I'm glad you guys are taking extra guards," Sookie laughed, "the women won't be able to take their eyes off of any of you!"

"Worry not, my Angel, we'll be waiting for you girls to join us so no one will have a chance to distract us."

"Right, nobody will get near your boys, Sookie," Bjorn laughed.

"That better include you, too, Bjorn," Bobbie laughed.

"Yep. I'm definitely one of Sookie's boys," he laughed.

"Yes, indeed," Eric agreed. "Shall we go?"

"Oh, wait," Sookie jumped up. "OK, Pookie, you're going to go to Daddy's club and I'll come meet you there later. You be a good boy for Daddy, OK?"

"Oday!"

"I'll see you in a bit, Sweetie," she kissed him, "and you, too," she laughed as she kissed Eric.

As they went out to the garage, Bjorn asked, "Which car should we take?"

"Leave the BMW for the girls. You and I will take my ' Vette. I can hold Alex. We're vampires, so no baby seat is really necessary. That's mostly for Sookie," he laughed.

"Yeah, she worries about him."

"She's more vulnerable during the day, too. You and I can handle whatever happens, I'm sure."

"Yeah, Alex has his own defenses, too."

"Yes, he does," Eric smiled proudly at the boy in his arms as they settled into the passenger seat of the bright red car.

Alex looked all around because he had never been in this car before. Bjorn noticed his big eyes looking all around.

"What do you think of Daddy's car, Alex?"

"Dadee'sth gar?"

"Yes, this is Daddy's fancy car," Bjorn told him. "Pretty cool, huh?"

"Eeah, goow!"

The other car of guards was waiting in front of the house as they pulled out of the garage, and their group all headed to Fangtasia.

Once the boys were out the door, Sookie went up for her ritual bath, which was so pleasant that she took longer than she had planned. She felt very relaxed and focused when she got finished and wiggled into her black dress. She did a little makeup, knowing she'd see Eric later, and she used the black kohl on her eyes again because it made her feel really Witchy.

Octavia was downstairs with Jerry, explaining what he needed to do while Sookie was in her ritual and she sprinkled Sookie's room with a little salt water just to freshen the energy a bit. A little book shelf had been added, so she put some of the books from the table in the outer room on it and she brought the herbs and candles in and placed them in the little armoire with lots of drawers they'd had moved into the room for her.

When Sookie came down, Octavia explained what she was doing, and Sookie was really grateful. "OK, now, girl. Scry to make sure it's a good time, then just do your thrice around and see if that works. I'll see you when you come upstairs."

"Thanks so much, Octavia," Sookie kissed her on the cheek as she left, then she decided to smudge the room with sage to get herself settled. When she felt really centered and grounded, she sat in the circle with the scrying mirror. The Fae mother was reading to Aubie as she rocked him in the chair next to his crib. Sookie watched them for a long time, trying not to cry. She could tell that the woman really loved him, and that he felt safe and comfortable. Sookie almost felt as if she could feel Aubie in the bond. Sookie had no idea how long she watched, but it seemed like hours.

Finally, the woman kissed Aubie and tucked him into his crib. Sookie waited to see if he would go to sleep, but he lay there with his eyes open, and Sookie almost felt as if he expected her. She took up the athame and traced the circle thrice around in a clockwise direction and instantly she was standing next to Aubie's crib. He smiled a big toothless smile as she looked down at him and reached up for her. She scooped him up and kissed him several times, hugging him closely to her.

She sat in the chair with him and pulled the dress down to feed him. He latched on eagerly, reminding her so much of Alex that it nearly broke her heart, and she looked lovingly into his eyes as he suckled. Sookie played with his little fingers, kissing his hand, and when he finished feeding she held him up to her shoulder and hugged him, stroking his little back as he twirled his fingers in her hair still damp from the shower.

"Time to come home now, Sookie," Freyja appeared before her. A tear fell from Sookie's eye as she hugged Aubie one more time, kissed his lips and tucked him back in. As she raised up, she found herself back in her room, Freyja still standing beside her.

"That's so hard – it's so hard leaving him!" she said to Freyja.

"Trust that there is a reason for everything, my Angel. As with everything in life, this is only a temporary thing. When he needs you most, you will be there for him."

"Doesn't he need me most now?"

"No, not as he soon will. Now, you must focus on Alex, then Aubie's time will come."

"Am I going to have a daughter some day?"

"Of course, my Angel, did you not want a daughter? Is that too much to give the Goddess for all the gifts you've been given?"

"No, of course not, I just feel… confused, I guess. Will Aubie ever be able to come live with us?"

"All in good time. When he is stronger and can defend himself as Alex can, then he might leave Faery. For now, it's the only place he is safe."

"So he's there because he's not safe here? But he will be some day?"

"Someday, perhaps."

"But it's possible that I'll get to raise him?"

"All things are possible – only a few are probable," Freyja smiled and was gone.

"Damn – She did it again!" Sookie said out loud. Freyja hadn't made any promises, but it did give Sookie hope. She was sure that breastfeeding him was making him stronger. She hoped that meant that after a certain point, he'd have enough immunities to live in the human world. She was more determined than ever now that she was going to have her child with her.

And the daughter – Freyja almost sounded as if She felt Sookie owed it to Her. Maybe she did? Sookie figured she had so many gifts now, that maybe that was what Freyja wanted in return. Well, that was no problem at all. She'd love to have a little girl and Eric was obviously wild about the idea.

Bjorn and Eric laughed and talked as they drove to Fangtasia. "You know, I didn't warn Pam that we are bringing Alex in tonight. I wanted to surprise her," Eric laughed.

"I hope she likes surprises."

"She normally doesn't, but she isn't around Alex much and I want him to know her as he grows up. She's an important part of my life, too."

"Yeah, naturally. How long have you two been… together?"

"Since the end of the 19th Century. I found her in Brighton, England just before the turn of the century."

"How did you meet her?"

"I had been searching for a companion for a long time, but I had very high standards. I saw her sneak out of a playhouse one night in the dark to meet a beau and followed her back in. I followed her for some time, getting to know all about her before I took her."

"Wow – did she have a choice?"

"Oh, yes, I seduced her and asked her permission, though she didn't really comprehend the situation completely."

"She wasn't upset?"

"No, she was thrilled. She wasn't suited to the sort of tight-laced life she'd been born to. She had the heart and spirit of a vampire. I saved her from a life of misery and boredom."

"Wow – you picked a good one!"

"I picked a great one!" Eric laughed. "I couldn't have hoped for much more. We've been very happy."

"And she doesn't mind about Sookie?"

"She thinks I over-indulge Sookie, but there's no resentment between them. She's probably right, but I enjoy indulging her so I've no plans to stop."

"OK, so tell me about the mermaid."

Eric laughed loudly. "Sookie told you about that?"

"OH, yeah, we've had big laughs on it. She was talking about it in her sleep."

"Well, it was a strange situation. Do you know the Temple of the Oracle in Siwa?"

"No, but Octavia seemed to know of it."

"That doesn't surprise me. It still stands, but it's considered a ruin by humans. It's actually a portal."

"A portal? Where does it go?"

"I'm not entirely sure – another dimension, perhaps? I just know that if you know when and how to approach, it becomes this huge place, almost like a combination castle and temple. It exists outside of time. I thought I had been there a year and a day but it turned out to be nearly a century."

"Wow! And you didn't know the difference?"

"No, but I might not have cared. Those were wonderful times. I became very strong there and honed my skills to their finest point. And, the worship was wild. There was a huge room, the size of a football field or bigger, with these three connected swimming pools in sort of a v or w shape in front of the altar. The entire room was covered with a mosaic of abalone shells that sparkled in the moonlight and candlelight. The roof opened up to the night so the stars were visible in doors. Dionysus would hold reveries there that went on for weeks. There were couches and beds around the room, some in alcoves with gossamer curtains, pillows on the floor.

There was always lots of food and wine, blood of many kinds, lots of wild women of every type – humans, Witches and sorceresses, Priestesses, Fairies, undines and wood nymphs, vampiresses, of course, and Daemons, Angels, a few creatures I never knew the names for. Once there was a mermaid there in the pool with a few of the undines I knew. You should have seen her, Bjorn! She was magnificent. Her hair was a strange shade of red and sparkled silver in moonlight and it was nearly as long as she was, falling around her shoulders in magnificent waves. Beautiful, firm breasts, as white as the moon, and perfect, unmarked skin with the softest shoulders and the most beautiful face!. Her scales were the most magnificent shades of turquoise, lavender, green, silver, some colors I've never seen in the waking world."

"So how do you…."

"You know how dolphins and whales do it, yes?"

"Not really…"

"Well, basically, just like people, though they're more likely to perform homosexual acts if they aren't specifically procreating…"

"What?"

"Oh, yes, it's not uncommon to see as many as five male dolphins rubbing their bodies against each other and they even have a kind of oral sex, with their snouts on another's genitals. Anyway, you don't normally think of whales and dolphins as having vaginas and penises, but they do. A mermaid's is hidden by a flap of scales that retracts when she is aroused."

"What does that feel like?"

"Wonderful, but not like a human woman. They aren't as warm as a human, and they're much… moister, almost slimey, but not in an unattractive way. It's very sensual, and they tend to sing as you make love to them. Their songs are ethereal and amazing. It seemed to go on for days."

"Wow – what was her name?"

"Marielle. She lived somewhere in the South Pacific, though I never got around to seeking her out…"

"You mean she might still be there?"

"Possibly. They live hundreds of years. She was only 150 when I knew her."

"How come no one knows they exist?"

"Well, like other cryptids, they're smart enough to avoid humans at all costs. They don't want to be found."

"What's a cryptid?"

"An unknown creature – unknown to science, anyway. Like the Loch Ness monster, or Big Foot. Those are real creatures, but they avoid humans, and humans don't bother to look into the stories closely enough. Everyone thinks there is only one Nessie, but there are lakes all over the planet with such creatures. They're always near a fault line or a volcano so the creatures can come in and out from the sea. That's why they rarely find a body. They go to sea to die."

"So Loch Ness isn't the only one?"

"No – there are 20 lakes in Sweden alone with creatures. There has been video of some in China recently."

"You're kidding…"

"Oh, no, there's much more to the world than human science wants to recognize. Their minds are resistant to new concepts and they're very susceptible to ridicule. It's why the government is able to conceal so much of their contact with interstellar and inter-dimensional travelers."

"Are you serious?"

"Absolutely. Think about it Bjorn – the human mind is designed to look for familiar patterns when confronted with something unknown. If they see something unfamiliar, their minds automatically make it seem familiar by giving it a familiar label. Humans don't look at shadows and see monsters. They see monsters and call them shadows. That's why our kinds were able to stay hidden for so long. The human mind will simply ignore anything that doesn't fit into their usually very limited experience. Even now, their scientists struggle to understand new discoveries in every field. With very few exceptions, they are not open to new ideas. We only had to come out because forensics reached a point where they could no longer deny their own results."

"Yeah, I knew about the forensics part. It was really giving us fits in the military. Then they started getting suspicious about our full moons. Some of us even registered as Pagans so they'd think we were holding rituals on those nights and leave us alone. They wouldn't schedule us if we said it was a religious thing."

Eric cracked up. "That's a great way to handle that. Americans are very squeamish about religious topics, especially if they're not Christian."

"Yeah, most of the psycho-fanatic Christians wouldn't mess with us that way, either. Every now and then, one would try to convert some guy who was designated as Wiccan and he'd just scare the shit out of him so he'd give up."

"Dadee?"

"Yes, Alex?"

"Ware di Mamee do?"

"Mommy is taking care of things at home, Alex. When she gets finished, Mommy will come see us here, alright?"

Alex looked at Eric with a pout.

"Look, Alex, we are here! You're going to see Daddy's club and meet new people. Won't that be fun?"

"Nu peepoh?"

"Yes, like you met people at the store, remember? There will be other vampires here!

"Bampaya?"

"Yes, lots of vampires!"

Bjorn turned into the back lot and they got out of the car. The back door was propped open as it usually was when they were expecting a shipment of some sort.

Two guards went around in front of Eric and went through the door first, then proceeded through the club to notify Vincent that they were there. Two more stood guard at the back door, and there were two that took spots outside Eric's office and would stay within easy distance of him and the baby as they moved through the club. Bjorn carried the diaper bag into the office as Eric went in carrying the baby.

Pam came back, having seen the guards go to the front, and knocked on Eric's office door.

"Come in, Pam."

"Master? Oh!" She was shocked to see her little brother. "I didn't know we were having a visit from the Prince tonight!"

"That's not a problem, is it?"

"No, not at all. It's always a treat to see the little bloodsucker." She walked up to them and tickled Alex under the chin, making him giggle. "He's getting so big so quickly!"

"Yes, he gets bigger and smarter every day, don't you Alex."

"Ahm sthmard." Alex agreed and Bjorn cracked up.

"What else are you, Alex?" Eric prompted him.

"Dadee's widdo bampaya!"

Pam laughed with delight at that. "He's going to be quite a hit out there tonight. You are taking him out front for a bit, I hope?" She gave Alex a kiss then wiped the lipstick off his cheek.

"Yes, I will."

"Good. It will boost our patronage if people think the Prince is apt to drop by…" Pam speculated.

"Yes, I thought of that. A little boost in sales would do us all some good."

"Indeed. How are you, Bjorn? You look yummy tonight," she purred at him and ran her hand over his muscular arm.

"I'm well, thanks. It's nice to be out of the house."

"Yes, well, maybe you and I can squeeze in a dance at some point tonight?"

"We'll have to do it early – Bobbie will be here with Sookie and Amelia later."

"Alright, I'll make sure we get to dance soon. I'd better get back out front. See you all in a bit!"

Pam wiggled back down the hall and Bjorn watched her as she went.

"Damn! You sure know how to pick 'em, Eric."

"Yes, I do have good taste in women, don't I?" he laughed.

They locked the door to Eric's office so they could try some things with Alex uninterrupted.

"Alex, fly!" Eric urged him.

With no hesitation at all, Alex flew up into the air and made a circle around the office, then came back to Eric, floating in front of him.

"Excellent, my son! Now, go up to the ceiling and crawl." He pointed upward and Alex went up and landed on his knees on the ceiling. "Wonderful, Alex!" Eric then concentrated on Alex crawling down the wall opposite his desk. Alex immediately did what Eric projected to him. Eric projected, "go to Bjorn," and Alex flew to Bjorn.

"Hold him there for a minute, Bjorn." Eric instructed as he took the bunny out of the diaper bag and walked across the room and behind his desk. "Alex, what have I got?"

"Bundy!"

"Call bunny, Alex."

"BUNDY!" Alex said throwing his arms forward and the rabbit was instantly in his hands.

"Good, Alex. Now send it back to me."

Alex just blinked at him.

"Give Daddy the bunny, Alex!" Eric held his hands out to him and Alex sent the bunny slowly flying across the room.

"Good, Alex. Do you know any spells?"

"Eeah."

"Say a spell, Alex." Eric walked back over to him and took him in his arms again.

"Aya, erf, wada, fiya, bwin do me wad I desaya."

"Wow," was all Bjorn could say.

"That's very good, Alex. Daddy has a gun hidden in his coat pocket on the door there. Bring me the gun. Call the gun, Alex." Eric held one hand out.

"Dun!"

Instantly, the gun was in Eric's hand. "Very good, Alex! That's a very good boy! Now you never touch a gun, alright? Only Dadee or Bjorn should touch guns, OK?"

"Oday!"

"Send the gun back, Alex. Gun go back."

"Bat!" The gun was gone. Eric took Alex across the room and checked his coat pocket. The gun was right back where it came from. "Excellent, Alex!"

"Mudik!"

"Music? Yes, you hear the music from the bar, don't you?"

"Ear mudik, Dadee!" He waved his little arms in excitement.

"Think we should introduce him to his public, Bjorn?"

"Sure, I want to see how he does out there."

"Do you anticipate problems?"

"No, I think everybody is going to love him. I love to watch him show off."

"So do I! Let's go meet some people and hear some music, ok, Alex?"

"Oday!"

"I'll bring the diaper bag. I'm glad Sookie used on that looks a little masculine."

"Yes, I think she told me that one is designed for fathers to use so it's not womanly," Eric laughed.

They walked out into the hall and headed toward the bar as the two guards fell in behind them.

Alex was really excited as the music got louder. They stopped first at the front bar to the left of the door, where Felicia was serving bloods and beer.

"Master! So nice to see you! And the Prince!"

"Good evening, Felicia! You have not met Alex yet, have you?"

"No, I haven't. Oh, he's so sweet! Hi, Alex!" Felicia beamed at him and Alex patted her face and said "ah!" which thrilled her and Eric.

"He likes you, Felicia," Bjorn smiled at her.

"Yeah, I think he does. How are you, stranger!?" She reached forward and kissed Bjorn on the lips and he gave her a dazzling smile. They might have drifted apart a little but it was obvious there was still a little heat there between them.

"You're busy, Felicia, but if you get a chance to take a break in the next hour or so, come sit with us a few minutes," Eric invited her.

Felicia was thrilled that Eric would ask her to sit with them a bit. As they started to walk away, Alex leaned so he could see around Eric and waved at Felicia, saying, "ba ba!"

"Good boy, Alex! Felicia will love that."

Every head turned to watch them as Eric said hello to a subject or greeted a patron. The vampires automatically knelt to Eric and when they'd stand, they'd say hello, and pledge fealty if they hadn't already done so. Eric took Alex up to the stage and sat in his big chair, motioning for Bjorn to sit next to him in a side chair. Alex was amazed by everything – the lights, the music, the people – and he could hardly decide what to look at next.

"See, Alex, this is Fangtasia. Daddy sometimes works here. We own this bar."

"Ownd id?"

"Yes, this is Daddy's bar." A waitress served a warm RM to Eric and a beer to Bjorn.

"I'm sorry, Master, we didn't know what to bring for the Prince."

"That's quite alright, we have things for him if he gets hungry. Thank you for asking, though."

"Dayoo!" Alex said with a big toothless grin.

A few people approached the side of the stage, wanting to offer fealty or speak to Eric and he allowed it. A guard took a place on each side of the stage and the other two were on either side of the room toward the back, so it wasn't obvious Eric and Alex were being guarded, but they were.

A small man who was new to the area stepped forward and Eric motioned for him to approach. He introduced himself and explained that he had arranged the move with Sheriff Ravenscroft but said he wanted to say hello and pledge fealty since he was from the East Coast territories. Eric received him politely and welcomed him. The man then addressed Alex: "I pledge fealty to you, Prince Eric Alexander."

"Dayoo!" Alex said, right on cue and Eric was about to burst with pride at Alex instinctively knowing what to do. The man was thrilled that the Prince spoke to him and Eric told him to enjoy his evening and gave him a free drink ticket.

A very pretty brunette vampiress Eric had known many years ago stepped forward.

"Desdemona, I barely recognized you!" Eric said with delight. She moved forward to kiss him but Alex yelled, "nah nah!"

"Alex, what is wrong with you?" Eric was shocked.

"Nah Mamee!" Alex said with absolute conviction, shaking his finger.

"Forgive me, Desi, my son reminds me that I am bonded to his mother and should not be kissing other women," Eric laughed.

"He's very protective, I see!"

"He's that way with his Mommy, too." Bjorn told them.

"He is?" Eric didn't know this.

"Oh, yes, when she was with her friends at Merlotte's before he was even born, her old boss tried to hug her and he had a fit. He doesn't like anybody touching Mommy but Daddy."

"Nor touching Daddy, but Mommy, it appears. I must accede to my son's wishes, but it is lovely to see you, Desi. How long will you be in town?"

"Just a month or so, but I'm planning to take up residence in New Orleans, so I expect we'll be seeing each other quite often."

"Wonderful! Leave your number with the New Orleans office and we'll see about getting together over the holidays, at the very least. I'm sure there's some plan for a vampire get-together in December. I'd love for you to meet Sookie."

"Ah yes, the young Queen. She's quite a beauty, I hear, and very nice. I'm amazed that you went for such an innocent type."

"I was much darker when you knew me. That all changed when I met her. She brought light back into my life."

"My, my – I never thought I'd hear you waxing romantically about a woman – let alone a WIFE! She must be treating you well, though, because you look marvelous."

"Thank you, Desi. Would you sit with us for a while?"

"No, I'm not staying, I just stopped in to see if you were here. I'll talk to you soon, I'm sure. Good night, little Prince. Sorry I tread on Mommy's turf!" she laughed.

"Oday, baba!" Alex waved at her.

She laughed and walked away.

"Wow - he's quite the little cock blocker," Bjorn laughed.

"Yes, he is, but he's right. I shouldn't be kissing other women, no matter how well I used to know them."

"She's an old flame, I guess?"

"We spent some good times together in the South of France before I made Pam, and we spent some time together in San Francisco in the 60s and 70s – she's hot, Bjorn, like you wouldn't believe."

"Yeah, I saw her. Feel free to tell me all about it, though, in great detail," he laughed.

"Ware di Mamee do?" Alex said and he started to act as if he was going to cry.

"Alex, Mommy will be here in a little bit. Are you hungry?"

"Eeah," he wiped his little eye and Bjorn pulled out the first bottle he could find, which was breast milk.

Eric sat Alex so his arm supported his back and held the bottle for him. Alex drank a little and said, "dat Mamee?"

"This is from Mamee, yes. She sent it for you. You just enjoy and Mommy will be here later, OK?"

"Oday," he settled down and drank, though he was still a bit agitated.

"He's trying not to freak out." Bjorn observed.

"Yes, I know. The bottle is soothing him, though. Sookie's taste is comforting to him."

"That's good. Watch his eyes, Eric – he just spotted that dancer and his eyes got huge."

"Dantheen, Dadee!"

"Yes, she is dancing to the music, isn't she?" Eric laughed as he watched the serpentine dancer writhe to the music.

"Ah wyg dantheen," he waved his little arms and watched with amazement as he sucked on the bottle.

"Yeah, I like that kind of dancing, too." Bjorn laughed. He thought to himself that all that was missing was the pole.

"Poh!" Alex laughed.

"What?" Eric had no idea what Alex was reacting to.

"Uh, I forgot that he takes after his Mommy. He's reading my mind."

Eric laughed. "Yes, you must remember to keep it g-rated around my son," Eric laughed.

"Not that that's going to help. With you for a daddy and Sookie for a mommy, he's going to have sex on the brain no matter how careful we all are."

"True. He's already a flirt."

"I know, right? Did you see him hitting on Felicia?" Bjorn laughed.

"He likes to show off for anyone, but he really turns it on for the women. He'd have put on quite a show for Desi if she hadn't started to kiss me."

"Bjorn, are you available for our dance now?" Pam sneaked up behind them.

"Can you spare me, Eric?"

"Of course, feel free."

Bjorn stood up and took Pam's hand, leading her onto the dance floor.

"Ware di borhd do?"

"He's going to dance with your big sister, Pam. See, watch them."

Bjorn and Pam were dancing slower than the music and Pam was making the most of her time in his arms, really rubbing up against him.

"Borhd dantheen?"

"Yes, Bjorn is dancing."

"Nah Babee."

"No, that's not Bobbie, but Bobbie will be here later."

"An Mamee?"

"Yes, Mommy, too, and Amelia and Jerry."

"Ah wyg Ameeah and Babee."

"Yes, I know you like Amelia and Bobbie. They play with you a lot, don't they?"

"Eeah, sthwimmeen ina poo!"

"Swimming in the pool. You haven't been able to be in the pool for a few days, have you?"

"Nah."

"Excuse me, your majesty?" a skinny lady in clothing way too young for her interrupted Eric's chat with his son.

"Yes, madame?"

"Would you mind if I took a picture of you and the little Prince? You just look so sweet together."

"Yes, you may." He moved the bottle to the side and said, "look at the lady and smile, Alex."

She clicked the button on her phone and said, "Oh thank you. It's so sweet."

"May I see it?"

"Yes, of course," she held the phone up to him and he loved it.

"Would you email a copy of it to me when you get home?"

"Oh, sure! Where should I send it?"

"Admin at Fangtasia dot com. Can you remember that?"

"Oh, sure. I'll definitely do that. Thanks for posing, little Prince!"

"Oday! Dayoo!" Alex replied, eliciting ooh's and aah's from the lady and her equally trashy companions. Eric figured they must all work in the same office, because they had that look humans get when they escape from their cubicles for a little bit."

Eric finished his blood and before it hit the table Felicia was there with another warm one.

"Felicia! Join us!"

"Thank you, Master!"

Alex reached toward her and Eric nodded as Felicia looked to him for permission to hold Alex. Alex hugged her and kissed her cheek, which shocked and delighted Felicia. "Oh, my!"

"He does like you, Felicia. I think my son has my fondness for pretty girls."

"Oh, he's so cute! Everyone is talking about him. I even heard at least three different people calling their friends telling them that the Prince was here. Everyone is so excited to see him."

"Good. Maybe we'll be busier later on tonight."

"Dadee – dat?" he patted Felicia's face and looked at Eric.

"Her name is Felicia."

"Peeshah?"

"Awww!" She cooed at him

"That's close."

"Ah wyg Peeshah!"

"You do?"

"Eeah, inthen!"

"You are wearing perfume, Felicia?"

"Yes, I am."

"He seems to think everything that smells good is incense. He likes your perfume."

"Aren't you sweet! I wish I had some kind of treat for him or something."

"That's not…"

"Bundy!" Alex was suddenly holding his rabbit.

"Oh, my!"

Eric looked around quickly to see if anyone else had noticed that, but no one seemed to.

"Bundy sopf!" He held the rabbit up to Felicia wanting her to pet it.

"He says it's soft, Felicia, he wants you to pet it and see."

"Yes, that's very soft. You like soft things?"

"Eeah! Ah WUV sopf!"

"He loves soft. And by the way, Felicia, I'd appreciate it if you didn't mention what he just did to anyone else. No one here seems to have noticed."

"Oh, I won't say a word. It's true, isn't it, Master? He's magick?"

"Yes, he is, but let's keep the particulars just between us, alright?"

"Of course!"

"Thank you!"

"Dayoo. Dantheen?"

Felicia looked at Eric. "He's saying "dancing" but I'm not sure what he wants."

"Is he asking me to dance?" Felicia laughed, delighted.

"Eeah! Me an Peeshah dantheen."

"Apparently, he is," Eric laughed.

"May I?" Felicia asked, to Eric's surprise.

"If you want to, of course," he said. Felicia took the baby out to the dance floor and held his one hand high and she danced around he floor with him in time to the music. Alex was beside himself, smiling and making his happy noise every time she'd spin around with him. That song ended very quickly, then a slower one came on and she swayed with the music and he laid his little head on her shoulder.

Pam was needed in the office, so Bjorn went back up to sit with Eric.

"Are my eyes deceiving me?" Bjorn said, looking back at the dance floor.

"No, Bjorn, my son is beating your time with Felicia," he laughed.

"How did that happen?" Bjorn was cracking up.

"He asked her to dance."

"You're kidding?"

"No, I'm not. I wouldn't believe it myself if I hadn't seen it. He looked at her and asked her to dance. He did it very simply, of course, but he was clear about what he wanted."

"Damn, he does take after his old man," Bjorn laughed.

"I just hope Sookie is not jealous that he's dancing with another woman!"

"Hey, a guy's gotta do what a guy's gotta do."

When the song ended Felicia brought the baby back to Eric. "Thank you, Felicia, he loved that!"

"I loved it, too. He's such a doll. There's something about him – like just being around him makes you feel so good. Thanks for the dance, Alex."

"Dayoo, Peeshah!" Alex said happily then pointed to his bottle. Eric retrieved it from the table and let Alex drink some more.

"Let's see now, he drank from the hottest actress on the planet when he was what – three days old? And he hit on his first chick bartender at just over two weeks? You should be writing this stuff down for him Eric!" Bjorn thought this was hysterical. "At this rate, he'll be taking Salma Hayek to his first junior high dance!"

"You may be right. I wouldn't dare write it in Sookie's journal, but maybe I should make notes for him he can enjoy later in life."

"Mamee! Mamee!" Alex got really excited.

"Yes, I feel her, too, Alex. She'll be walking through that door any minute now."

Just as a waitress brought Bjorn a new beer, Sookie came bouncing into the room in a really sexy, short pink chiffon dress with silver beading on the bodice. Eric and Bjorn both had eyes bugging out when they saw her. When she got closer, Eric noticed she was wearing the hot Mark Jacobs shoes with the silver heels that she wore to the fundraiser in New Orleans.

"Hey, Sweetie!" she said as she swished past the rest of the room, who were also all watching her.

"The shoes!" Eric said as she reached the stage.

"Uh-huh! New dress, too, do you like it?" She turned around, holding the top layer of chiffon out a bit, being very flirty and showing off.

"Sookie you know what the doctor said…" Bjorn told her.

"What did the doctor say?" Eric asked him as he handed the excited baby to Sookie.

"It's not a big deal, Bjorn," Sookie tried to get him to back off as she snuggled Alex.

"I was supposed to tell you all of his earlier, Eric. I'm sorry I didn't. Anyway, Sookie couldn't wake up this morning and we called Dr. Ludwig. She said, among other things, that Sookie was not to have sex on the nights she makes her trips to… wherever."

"And this outfit is an attempt to get me to ignore the doctor's orders?" Eric looked at her sternly.

"I feel fine. I'm eating all the stuff she prescribed, and I'll take the stuff."

"Stuff?"

"Yeah, she left a bottle of stuff in the little fridge, Eric," Bjorn explained, "and a special cup. You're to give Sookie a cupful of the stuff every night before you go to rest and then no one is to touch it or taste it until you give her some the next night."

"What sort of stuff?"

"The label was very old and ornate and I didn't look closely, but I think it said "Ambrosia" on it."

Eric's eyes were bugging again. "Dr. Ludwig gave this to you?"

"She left it in the fridge," Bjorn confirmed.

"And I am to give it to her?"

"Yes, she said one cupful every night before you go to rest. I have a feeling it will knock her out for a bit."

"Probably. There may be some effect that requires the dawn."

"Good point. I didn't think of that, but dawn and twilight are important times in magick."

"They are?" Sookie asked

"Yes, ask Bobbie and Amelia about it. Where are they, by the way?" Bjorn had just noticed they were missing.

"They stopped in the ladies' room. They'll be here any minute."

"Come sit down, Sookie, people are trying to look up the back of your dress," Eric insisted.

"Are you mad at me?" she asked sheepishly as she sat in her chair and settled Alex on her lap.

"I'm not pleased with you at the moment."

"What did I do?" she tried to play innocent.

"You know perfectly well what you did. The only question is what I am going to do about it."

"I think I'll go see what's keeping the girls. I guess Jerry's back there, too?" Bjorn asked as he got up. He knew Eric was angry with Sookie and wanted to give him space to deal with her.

"Yeah, he was parking the car. The lot is crazy full tonight." Sookie said, though she never took her eyes off Eric.

"Thank you, Bjorn." Eric said with an edge in his voice.

Bjorn worked his way through the crowd as the two guards in back of the room moved forward just in case, but they still stayed back from the stage.

"Eric, I …"

"Don't you sit there and lie to me on top of trying to entice me to violate the orders from your doctor."

Sookie's eyes were big but she stopped talking. Eric was fuming. "I'm sorry, Eric…I…"

"You aren't nearly as sorry as you're going to be."


	85. Chapter 85

[Sorry it's a short one – I need to get this one out to get to the next one. Enjoy!]

**Chapter 85**

"Eric Northman, you are NOT going to punish me just for wearing a sexy dress!"

Eric shrugged, "Alright. Alex, tell Mommy what you've been doing."

"Me an Peesha dantheen."

"Huh?"

"He asked Felicia to dance and she twirled him around the floor. He loved it!"

"That's nice, Sweetie." Sookie stroked the baby's head. "So, you're not mad at me?"

"It doesn't matter."

"It doesn't? Since when?"

"Sookie, you are the one who requested training. You obviously aren't into it and you aren't doing well anyway, so let's forget it. Maybe when Alex is older…"

"Wait a minute – I never said I wasn't into it."

"Your actions say it, Sookie. It doesn't matter. I haven't been consistent with you, so we'll forget about it for a bit."

"I don't WANT to forget about it, Eric! And what do you mean I'm not doing very well?"

"Your reaction just now was the polar opposite of submissive. If you don't want to do it, we won't."

"But I DO want to do it…"

"Then you need to learn not to defend yourself from me. If I say you need to be punished you should accept that without a fuss."

"Can we talk about this for a minute?"

"We are talking, my Angel – what did you want to say?"

"I'm not doing well because of my reaction?"

"Among other things. You have a lot going on, Sookie, so let's just let things go for a while."

"NO! I don't want to give this up – it's something special between us. What aren't you doing consistently?"

"Punishing you enough to prevent events like this from happening. If I were doing my part, you'd never have considered trying to entice me to break your doctor's orders."

"Because I'd be afraid of you?"

"NO, because you'd know better, or you'd have matured beyond this behavior."

"I'm being immature?"

"Very, and in an area that brooks no compromise – your physical well-being and your ability to care for Alex. A mature woman, a well-trained submissive, and certainly a budding Goddess, would be responsible enough to do exactly as she's told by her doctor because her family and her kingdom depend on her being up to meeting her obligations."

"And instead, I'm…"

"Being a brat, and there's only one effective way to teach a brat to curb her childish impulses."

"But if I don't think I deserve punishment…"

"Questioning whether you do or not is not being submissive. We're either going to do it or not, and you aren't committed to it, so we'll forget it."

"OK, one more question?"

"You don't have to restrict it to one question, Sookie. What did you want to ask?"

"How does playing submissive fit in with being a Goddess?"

"That depends on you. You could consider them completely separate, since it's sex play and doesn't have to affect the rest of our lives, or you could embrace it and let it make you a better Goddess."

"Oh, so, you've got experience training Goddesses?" That came out a lot snottier than she intended it.

He looked her right in the eye, "yes, Sookie, I have."

Yikes! Sookie had to think about that for a minute. She had a sudden urge to talk to Freyja and tried to think of where she could do that. She realized the single bathroom by the back door of the club had a mirror on the wall and a lock on the door.

"I need to go to the ladies' room – can we continue this discussion in a bit?"

"Of course, Sookie," he assured her as he took the baby from her. Sookie gave them both a peck on the cheek and made her way quickly to the hallway, snagging a salt shaker from Felicia on the way. Two of the guards followed her and took posts outside the bathroom door.

Once in there, Sookie twisted the top off the shaker and poured the salt in her hand. She faced the direction she thought was east, then spread the salt around in a clockwise circle right in front of the mirror. She stood facing it, closed her eyes, and took a slow, deep breath in, then slowly let it out and got herself grounded. She opened her eyes and meditated on her reflection. The rest of the mirror had fog or mist rolling around it and the image of Sookie herself began to shimmer and flicker. Soon it was morphing from Sookie to Freyja and back again, and it was making her dizzy, but she knew not to look away.

"Freyja, my Goddess, this is making me dizzy," Sookie told the reflection.

"Touch the mirror with both hands, My Angel."

Sookie touched the mirror on each side of her reflection and the image stabilized, though it still looked as much like Sookie as it did Freyja.

"Thank you. I need your advice."

"Ask your question."

"It's about Eric – He likes to dominate, and I like to be dominated, but is that what You want from me? Is that appropriate for a Goddess?"

"A Witch bows to no man, but a woman can always make an exception to please her husband and her king. Don't move, Sookie – close your eyes and try to remember…"

Sookie closed her eyes and saw a barrage of images – thatched huts, caves, medieval fortresses and castles. All of these images showed Eric and a blonde woman in various sexual acts, some of which were very extreme, all of which were hot as hell and it took a minute for Sookie to realize that she was each of these women. There was a flash of orange light and heat and suddenly Sookie was in the images as they rushed by, feeling what those women – what SHE- was feeling in them, all at once – the intensity, the lust, the pleasure, the pain, and the ecstasy of both, the feeling of freedom, of having no limits but the ones She chose for Herself.

Eric was still talking to Alex and letting him suck on his bottle though he kept getting distracted and looking around. Eric smiled knowing that Alex was trying to take it all in, and he could feel that the baby was fascinated by it all. He could also clearly feel that Alex knew this was Daddy's world. Bjorn, Bobbie, Amelia and Jerry joined him on the stage and were all chatting about nothing in particular when Eric felt an overwhelming rush of heat and lust that he knew was emanating from Sookie. It was brief, then it was gone. Everything was gone – not just the feeling - he didn't feel Sookie there anymore, either.

Alex looked up at him, "ware di Mamee do?"

"That's a good question, Alex. Bjorn, can you come with me, please?" Eric quickly got up and walked to the bathroom across from his office, Bjorn trying to keep up with him and the baby. He could smell that Sookie had been here, but her scent wasn't as strong as it should be. He knocked on the door and called out to her. "Sookie? Sookie are you still in there?"

No answer.

"Are you sure she came here, Eric?"

"Yes, and she was here just a minute ago." He turned to the guards on either side of the door, "did the Queen come out of here yet?"

"No, your Majesty," they said in unison.

He tried the door, and found it locked. "I've got a key to unlock this door in case of emergencies. Hold Alex while I get it," he told Bjorn as he handed him the baby.

Bjorn could tell Eric was really on edge, but he wasn't sure why, but he took the baby from him and waited by the door. Eric was back instantly with the key and unlocked the door. No one was there, but Sookie's purse was sitting on the sink. Eric stepped into the room and noticed that the floor was grainy or sandy. Looking closely at the black tile, he could see the circle of salt.

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking…" Bjorn said cautiously.

"Yes – she cast a circle for some reason and she's gone. The question is where, why and when she'll be back."

"What do we do now?"

"I have no idea."

Alex, still in Bjorn's arms, pointed to Sookie's purse and said, "Mamee."

"Yes, my son," Eric said as he took him from Bjorn, "that is Mamee's bag."

"Daygid om!"

"Take it home?"

"Eeah, por Mamee."

"Alex, do you know where Mommy is?"

"Eh, Freyja."

"Mommy is with Freyja?"

"Eeah."

"Bjorn…"

"I'll get Amelia…"

"Thank you." As Bjorn moved quickly back toward the front of the club, Eric stepped into the bathroom, outside the circle, and before he could say anything, Alex pointed and said "thirco, Dadee!"

"Yes, Mommy drew a circle, didn't she?'

"Eeah, Daddee an me ina thirco!"

"You want us to be in the circle?"

"Eeah!"

Eric wasn't too sure about this, but he trusted Alex so he stepped into the circle as Alex requested. Alex held his hands out, palms up like a statue of an Indian deity, and said, "ware di Mommy do?"

Eric suddenly got a flash of Sookie being at home in bed. Bjorn knocked on the door and came back with Amelia as Eric was looking through his address book on his cell.

"Eric, what happened?" Amelia asked.

"Amelia, I don't have Octavia's cell number in my phone – do you have it?"

"She doesn't have a cell phone."

"I'll have to get her one. Let me see if Alicia is still awake." He pushed the number for Alicia, who answered very quickly.

"Mr. Northman?"

"Yes, Alicia, can you do me a favor? Can you look in my bedroom and see if Sookie is there by any chance?"

"Of course I can. Just a moment."

Eric could hear her set the phone down and pull on a robe, then pick up the phone and he heard her slippers on the steps as she quickly climbed the stairs.

"Mr. Northman?"

"Yes?"

"She's asleep, but she still has her pretty dress and shoes on. Do you want me to wake her or undress her?"

"No, I'll be home in a few minutes. Thank you for checking."

"Of course." Alicia was wondering what the fuss was, but she also knew with the Northman's it could be almost anything so she wouldn't worry about it.

"Well?" Amelia was busting at the seams.

"She's there, fully dressed, and apparently asleep."

"How did that happen?" Amelia asked.

"I'm not sure, but this is a circle she cast in salt."

"Why are you standing in it?"

"Alex suggested it, then he asked where she was and I got a picture of her in our bed."

"OK, I have a suggestion – leave the circle intact until we can talk to Octavia. Lock this door and put an "Out of Order" sign on the door, and tell Pam no one is to come in here, including the cleaners." Amelia was talking fast because she was excited.

"Alright. I'm going to take Alex home, but the rest of you can stay if you want."

"Hang on – are you taking the corvette?"

"Yes, I'll leave Sookie's car for you."

"You'll need a car seat for Alex, so I'll have someone move it from her car to yours. I'm going to send two cars of guards with you, too. I also need to make the guards at the house aware that the Queen is inside."

"Alright, Bjorn, Alex and I will be in my office. Let me know when we can leave. Amelia, thank you for your help."

At that point, Pam came back to see what was going on and Amelia explained about the salt on the floor and the sign that was needed, so Pam locked the door and found a sign in the office.

Eric lay down on the black leather couch in the office and sat Alex up on his stomach the way Sookie showed him. Now that he knew Sookie was safe in their bed, he relaxed a little and decided it was a good time to play with Alex. He held Alex up in the air, "whooshing" as he moved him around, and Pam, who was behind the desk, shook her head and wondered which one of them was having more fun. The baby was giggling wildly, but Pam could feel Eric was beside himself with love and joy. Eric did the drop-kiss move a few times, then he sat Alex up on his tummy and asked Pam "Do you know any songs, Pam?"

"Songs, Master?"

"Yes, songs. Sookie does this with Alex and has him dance as she sings but I can't think of any songs."

"Try this," Pam said as she turned on a monitor that let them hear the music from the front of the club.

"Mudik, Dadee!" Alex giggled and waved his arms, and Eric helped him "dance" as he'd seen Sookie do, which delighted Alex. "Dantheen, Dadee!"

"Yes, you are dancing to the music."

"Ah wyg dantheen!" He giggled and drooled a little and Eric beamed at him. "Mamee om?"

"Yes, Mamee is at home. Bjorn is putting your seat in Daddy's car and we'll go home and see Mommy, OK?"

"Oday! Mamee seepeen."

"Yes, she is. Maybe she'll wake up when we get there and give us kisses before we go to rest."

"Eh, kithesth?"

"You know – kisses. Mommy calls it something else… SUGAR. Mommy will give us sugar."

"Kithesth?"

"This is a kiss," Eric pulled Alex toward him and kissed him on the mouth. "See, Alex? Kiss." And he kissed him again.

"Ah wyg kithesth!"

Eric laughed out loud. "Yes, I like kisses, too."

"Dadee wyg kithesth Mamee."

"Yes, Daddy likes to kiss Mommy. Mommy's kisses are the best."

"Eeah!" Alex giggled and bounced up and down as Eric moved his little arms in time to the music.

Eric sensed a familiar feeling from Alex and knew he needed a new diaper, so he laid him on the couch and reached for the diaper bag that was in the chair opposite them. Eric laughed to himself about the diaper bag being designed for daddies. He knew that this was a new cultural development, and a good one as far as he was concerned.

Eric kept talking to Alex as he changed his diaper, which was difficult because this was a bad one. Eric told himself this was a natural result of Alex eating so much food, but knowing that didn't make the task any more pleasant. Normally when Eric encountered human waste, there was blood along with it to make it less putrid, but in this case, there was nothing to distract from it.

Eric was kicking himself for not summoning Bobbie to do this, but he got through it and had Alex cleaned, powdered and diapered very quickly, then he wrapped the diaper in a plastic garbage bag and threw it out back in the dumpster as the guards stood by.

"You didn't?" Bjorn laughed as he came from the cars.

"I did. There is nothing in the world that makes a man more appreciative of women."

"Yeah, I can see that. We've got the car seat all ready for you."

"Alright, we'll be going then." Eric took Alex to the car and put him in his seat. "Look, Alex, this is your car seat. You'll get to ride in Daddy's car now! Just me and you – won't that be fun?"

"Dadeesth gar?"

"Yes, Daddy's car. You're used to riding in Mommy's car. This is the first time you and I will ride in my car alone."

Bjorn called the guards that would accompany them home and they were at their cars quickly. One of the black four wheel drives pulled out in front of Eric and Alex and the other followed behind. Eric turned on the radio and found a station playing Sookie's favorite band, which tickled Alex. "Mudik, Dadee!"

"Yes, that's good music, isn't it?"

"EEah!" Alex was waving his arms and kicking his feet almost in time to the music.

"Are you dancing, my son?"

"Eeah, Aweg dantheen."

"You got to dance with your first girl tonight, didn't you?"

"Peesha!"

"Yes, Felicia was very sweet to you. You've got good taste in women."

"Mamee tasth dood."

Eric laughed out loud. "Yes, Mommy tastes better than anybody. We are very lucky to have Mommy, aren't we?"

"We wuggy!"

"Yes, we're lucky." Eric drove with one hand, his other on Alex's tummy. He hoped he'd never forget this first drive alone with Alex. He was so cute at this stage and Eric was shocked at himself being able to love anyone or anything as much as he did Alex.

Alex was tired when they got home and he laid his head on Eric's shoulder as soon as he had him out of the car. Eric floated slowly and gently to the stairs and up to the bedroom. As he turned the light on, he saw Sookie lying there and it shocked him for a minute. She almost looked dead. She was lying on her back in the middle of their bed, her dress arranged perfectly, still in her Marc Jacobs shoes, every hair in place. He thought of fairy tales – Show White in her glass coffin, Sleeping Beauty in her tower covered with roses and thorns. This was more than sleep.

He was standing there, stroking Alex's back, wondering what to do next when Doctor Ludwig popped into the room.

"Northman," she nodded.

"Doctor Ludwig – this is a surprise."

"Yes, well, I was studying on things and thought I'd check in on you and your little wife. I thought maybe it might put your mind at ease if I looked at her just to be sure she's alright."

"Yes, Doctor, it would. I know she's going through extreme changes…"

"The three of you are going through changes. Sookie's are the most extreme, though, and they might go on for quite a while. You'll have to take part in the process at some point in the future…"

"What do you mean?"

"When the time is right, you'll need to turn her."

"But I thought she was not going to be vampire…"

"She's not, but the final transition is almost the same. To become immortal, one has to die. The process will be identical to what you would do to make her vampire, but the end result will be different if she's properly prepared. I don't want her to know about this yet. I'm telling you to give you something to look forward to that will make this all seem worthwhile."

"Anything that benefits Sookie, especially if it extends her life with me, is worthwhile."

"Good, good. Tuck that little one in, and let me show you how to tell if she's alright when she is in this state."

Eric walked around the bed and put Alex gently into the co-sleeper, covering him with his blue blanket.

As he came back around, she said, "alright, now I want you to check her pulse in her throat in the little notch there. You'll pick up a pulse there when you can't get one in the extremities. I know you can hear her blood circulate, but the others will need to know to check this before they panic. Also, look at her fingernails and toenails. As long as they aren't blue, she's fine."

"Alright, so she's fine right now."

"Good. Now, get the bottle I left this morning. It's in that little refrigerator in the corner. There's a golden cup there with it."

Eric went back to the corner and retrieved the bottle and the cup. He looked at the obviously old and very ornate label, which did, indeed, say "_Ambrosia_" on it.

"So this is…"

"Yes. She's not all the way there yet, but she's close enough that she'll need regular doses of this to function. It will make the transition easier and it will make her feel better. It might make her sleepy for a few days, but when she has the right amount of it in her, she'll feel better than she's ever felt before."

"That's good!"

"Yes. Now, I want you to fill that cup as close to the top as you can without spilling it and hold her up and give it to her. She'll drink it even if she's asleep. Now, she's probably going to like it more than she should at first, so it's important that she not sneak into it during the day. I want her only to take a bit before she's going to sleep."

"What would happen if she drank it in the daytime?"

"There's no way to anticipate it, but it could cause energy… eruptions."

"Eruptions?"

"Yes, little misfires of her powers or her magick – probably harmless, but potentially embarrassing or inconvenient, certainly unpredictable. It's just better for her to sleep right after she doses."

"Alright, that makes sense."

The doctor ran through everything she had told Bjorn that morning and added a few things as Eric filled the cup, sat it on his night stand and pulled Sookie up to drink. She never offered to wake but her eyes opened wide for a second when the liquid touched her tongue and she practically licked the inside of the cup and asked for more.

"No, no, my Angel, that's enough for tonight. More tomorrow," Eric told her as he kissed her forehead and let her settle back down.

"I told you – it tastes better than you can imagine and it IS addictive by its very nature, so follow the instructions strictly. It will have effects on you and the baby, too as you feed from her, but they should be generally pleasant. It could be harmful to a human, so don't let her share it with anyone. I know it looks like a standard wine bottle, but it will last much, much longer than you expect it to, and it's supposed to. Never skip a dose and only you must give it to her."

"When she changes, will she still consume food?"

"If she wants to, but she won't have to. You'll probably be able to as well. Bodily functions will be more about pleasure than necessity. She'll enjoy sleep and benefit from it but she won't need it. Same with food, sex, touch – as with many things, she'll have to unlearn her expectations."

"What do you mean?"

"If she expects to need to sleep, she will. If she doesn't expect it, it's up to her whether she sleeps or not."

"When will that begin?"

"We aren't sure yet. It could be weeks, months or years. For now, she needs sleep and it's still the priority for her other than feeding the baby. She'll likely sleep through tomorrow so tell your staff. I hope she expressed some milk?"

"Yes, she did."

"Good. Use that, leave her undisturbed and she'll awake on Friday fresh as a daisy."

"Doctor – will this affect the girl?"

"The girl child you're supposedly going to have?"

"Yes."

"Only in positive ways. It won't prevent it from happening. If anything, it makes it more likely. You may not even need Niall's intervention that time, but we'll have to see. As the process unfolds, it is surprising us all. I think we're doing well so far, though, don't you?"

"Yes, Doctor, we are. I'll be very glad when she no longer has physical vulnerabilities."

"Even the gods have a few of those, but you're right – your lives will be easier when hers are fewer. Now, one more thing…"

"What is that?"

"Keep the idea of the daughter as quiet as you can. If any of your staff knows of it, swear them to secrecy until the child is actually born."

"Why?"

"Do you know… the _nature_ of that child?"

"You mean about Freyja becoming tripartite?"

"Exactly. There are those who will not be pleased about the prospect. It's a huge power play on Her part. She wants to be returned to her former position as the head of the Pantheon and there are those who will violently oppose her. No one has any idea where She's going with this yet. Even the idea of Sookie being elevated has some of the male gods worried. A third aspect will set them off, so we want to delay that as long as we can."

"Why now, after all these years?"

"She was finally able to get you all in place. She told you She'd find a way for the two of you to be together forever. This is how She worked it out."

"Was this the only way?"

"To be with you, no. To move back up in the Pantheon AND be with you, yes."

"What if Sookie doesn't want it?"

"It's too late for that."

"That's what I thought. Doctor – the other twin…"

"Is making remarkable strides now that she is feeding him. The Ambrosia will increase the benefit of that, too."

"Was this a part of the calculation?"

"Only Freyja could answer that. It has occurred to me that in order to make one twin ideal, the other had to take its weaknesses. If I were you, I wouldn't question Her."

"I won't but Sookie might at some point."

"You need to train her out of that tendency to challenge everything and everyone as quickly as you can. You're going to be interacting with beings more powerful than she can imagine right now. I worry that she might provoke the wrong power before her powers are fully formed."

"Yes, I see that, but how does one train a Goddess?"

"If the Goddess is smart, she'll want the training. It could save all your lives. Make her understand that, Northman. Her actions now can have far reaching consequences. She wouldn't just be endangering your little family – the repercussions could reach your staff, your guards, your subjects, even Niall and I could be at risk. Don't forget who performed your wedding, either. The Ancient Pythoness put Herself in your corner at your wedding and your reception. You owe it to Her not to put Her at risk."

"Yes, I see that. Thank you, doctor."

"One last thing – when you find yourself awake on rainy days, drink from Sookie right away. You'll perk right up now that she's on Ambrosia."

"Alright – thank you!"

"Have a good night, and don't forget to tell your staff that she's not to be disturbed tomorrow."

Once the doctor left, Eric decided the first thing to do was to get Sookie out of her clothing. He wondered how and why she wound up back here at home, and what possessed her to try to cast a circle at Fangtasia? He took the shoes off of her and put them in the empty box that was sitting on the floor next to the closet. He unzipped the lovely pink dress and put it on the hanger that was on the hook by the closet door and put it back in the bag it had with it. He pulled her thong off and threw it into the bathroom, then he turned the bed down and tucked her in.

He lay next to her for a while, looking at her face. Was it possible she was getting prettier? Her skin was flawless, and there was no sign of any kind of line – even the little laugh lines almost everyone has around their eyes were gone. Her lips were full and dark and her eyelashes so long, dark and thick that he checked to see if she was wearing false eyelashes, but she wasn't. In fact, she didn't even seem to be wearing mascara. She had on that smudged black eyeliner she had started to wear that he loved, though he hadn't told her that yet. Her skin was creamy white but her cheeks were rosy and it occurred to him that she wouldn't be happy because her tan seemed to be completely gone. He pulled down the covers and noticed that her tan lines were no longer visible. Can a Goddess suntan?

Eric looked in her tote bag and found her journal and made notes of his observations and tried to approximate the time she must have cast her circle. He thought about their brief conversation earlier in the night. Was she so confused about the D/s concept that she ran to ask the Goddess what to do? If so, he thought, then he had to do a better job of explaining things to her. She was going through so many changes that it was only natural that she'd have a lot of questions and it was his responsibility to help her grow into her new roles. On one hand, it was great that she thought of using magick on the fly. On the other hand, he was going to take it as an indication that he needed to pay more attention to her feelings. Between managing his kingdom and focusing so much on Alex, maybe he was neglecting Sookie? It was far too easy for him to forget how young she was and how much was demanded of her. Just being his wife was a lot. Being Alex's mother was more than three women should have to do. Add in being Queen, and becoming a Goddess… the more he thought about it, the more he thought the sex should take a back seat to simply spending time talking to her. They had centuries to explore each other. There were other ways to teach discipline. It was time to get Sookie back into the gym and get her used to using a sword. The changes her body was going through might include changes to her musculature. This might be the best, or even only, possible time to build up her forearms and thighs.

It was still an hour and a half before sunrise, so Eric wrote a note to Bjorn, turned out the lights and headed to the basement with Sookie's journal. He went into Sookie's ritual room and lit a pink candle, then knelt in the circle.

"Freyja, min Vackra Gudinna, speak to me."

The shimmering image of the Goddess appeared before him, and he was shocked with how much she looked like Sookie tonight.

"My lover – you have summoned me?"

"Yes, my Lady, I need to ask you – am I neglecting Sookie?"

"No, my lover, but you might be underestimating her."

"How so?"

"She's much stronger than you think. She's stronger than she thinks she is, too. Wait and ask her where she went tonight. She's got a story to tell you when she wakes up."

"But she'll sleep through the day?"

"Yes, but she'll be wide awake on My Day, my lover. Take her for a midnight swim, just the two of you," Freyja gave him a smoldering look and was gone.

Eric smiled, knowing that She was right – he was underestimating Sookie. Maybe they all were. When you come right down to it, Sookie always rises to the occasion, even if she has a little fit about things first.

Eric scribbled a few notes in Sookie's journal, then he got the sense that Alex was awake and zipped back up the stairs. Alex was lying there patiently, chewing on his little fingers, when Eric got to him. He pointed to his mouth and Eric realized his gums were hurting and got one of the teething rings and a bottle from the little fridge before they headed into the nursery. He grabbed the diaper bag as he passed by it, too.

"Ware di Freyja do, Dadee?"

"Freyja went… wherever She goes."

"Mamee seepeen?"

"Yes, Mommy is asleep. She sleeps a lot these days, doesn't she?" He chattered with the baby as he put the bottle in the warmer.

"Nah."

"You don't think so?"

"Nah nah, Mamee mo seepeen."

"Mommy needs to sleep more?"

"Eeah."

"How do you know that?"

"Freyja!" Alex said, looking at Eric with surprise. Alex figured if he knew why, Eric should know, too.

"Mamee won't be awake to dance with you later, but she will tomorrow."

"Oday. Poo?"

"Pool? I don't know. If it's supposed to be sunny, I guess Bobbie and Amelia could take you in the pool. I'll leave Bjorn a note and tell him you want to swim, alright?"

"Eeah – sthimmeen ina poo!"

"Would you like to read a book?"

"Nah, baddow."

"You just want your bottle, tonight, eh?"

"Eeah, an appo!"

"Apples? Let's see…"

He set the diaper bag up on the changing table and rummaged through it, finding a jar of turkey with gravy and a jar of apples in a bag with a baby spoon. "Looks like the women anticipated your wants, my son. Which do you want first, apples or bottle?"

"Appo."

Eric sat in the glider with Alex and got him in a comfortable position, then he twisted the lid on the jar of apples and began to feed him. Alex fed voraciously, so much so that Eric took the turkey concoction out and fed that to him, too. Then Alex was ready for his bottle, which he drank with equal enthusiasm. When he was done, Eric put him up to his shoulder, putting a diaper under his chin in case he spit up, and Alex snuggled there, twining his fingers in Eric's hair the way he liked to. They sat quietly together, Eric holding Alex long after the baby had gone back to sleep, only tucking him in when the sun was actually coming up and he could put it off no longer.

Thursday was a quiet day. Eric had left Bjorn instructions that Sookie was to be left undisturbed and he left him a message on his phone that Alex had requested to play in the pool if the weather was good enough. Alicia checked on Sookie every hour and left the monitor in the room with her in case she woke up, but she never did.

Bjorn fed Alex a big breakfast of some kind of warm baby cereal, apples and pears at the kitchen table, then Bobbie, Amelia and Octavia took turns playing with the baby in the pool. He was in his glory being the center of everyone's attention. It was noisy out back from all the construction on the two little houses and at one point, Alex asked to see the "ewwo dwugs." The adults finally figured out what he wanted, so Bjorn wrapped him in a towel and took him to see the trucks, then fed him a bottle and put him down for a nap in the playpen. The women drifted in and out of the pool, and Octavia took a nap by the pool, too. Bobbie kept a close eye on Alex to see that he didn't get over heated and she made sure he was in the shade.

When Alex woke up, Bobbie had a little bottle of cold apple juice ready for him and he loved it. He sucked it down happily as she changed his diaper, then she took him back into the pool and pulled him around in his inflatable yellow ducky until dinner time. Alicia and Margaret had food on the grill for everyone, laborers included, so Bjorn stayed very close to Alex the whole time and was in the den playing on the floor with him when Eric got up.

"Having fun, you two?" Eric asked, laughing.

Bjorn looked up at him, "Yeah, we've had a blast today, haven't we, buddy?"

"OMBA! Sthimmeen ina poo an ewwo dwugs and ewwo duggy an Bosth!"

Eric sat down on the floor beside the big blue dinosaur. "How is Sookie today?"

"She hasn't been awake at all. Alicia checks on her at least every hour and the monitor is up there if she needs us."

"Alright. Alex, you have had a very busy day, I take it?"

"Eeah!" he patted the dino on the head, "Bosth!"

Eric looked at Bjorn. "He's telling you the dinosaur's name is Boss."

"Oh, I see. He loves playing in all these balls, doesn't he?"

"Yeah, I guess to a baby, this is a blast. He's been practicing his magick with it today, too."

"Throwing the balls and calling them back?"

"Yep. I didn't scold him for it, or anything."

"I think it's fine if he does that when it's just family here. Sookie gets a little nervous I realize, but I honestly think Alex would know not to do that in public."

"I do, too. He's always very well behaved when he's out – as long as women don't try to kiss Daddy," Bjorn laughed.

"Yes, that caught me by surprise, too. It never occurred to me that he would react that way."

"I'd seen him do that to Sookie when he was still in the womb. That guy Merlotte tried to hug her and he kicked her hard every time he touched her."

"Well, I don't want Sookie hurt, of course, but it's good to know my son is protective of his mother."

"Yeah, anyone that ever tried to mess with her was sorry for it."

"That's the way we want it, isn't it, Alex?"

"Eric, do you know what Sookie has planned for tomorrow?"

"Is that lunch and shopping with the girls?"

"Yes, they're meeting up with Sookie's cousin, I think?"

"Ah yes – the fairy."

"She has a Fae cousin? Full Fae?"

"Oh, yes, in training to be an Angel, I think."

"I don't know how all of that works."

"Neither do I, but I know Sookie is brimming with questions for her. How much she will tell, or whether it can be believed, is another matter entirely."

Bjorn laughed. "You don't like Fae much, do you?"

"I take it you've never been around them?"

"No, not that I know of…"

"Never turn your back on one. Their values and motivations are very different from humans or even other Supes. They're sneaky and manipulative and there's always a subtext or another agenda, or something going on that comes back to bite everyone in the ass. They're greedy, scheming and vindictive as hell. They're deadly vicious warriors, too, and they're always at war with someone."

"I heard about some epic battle with the vampires…"

"The carnage was beyond belief, even by Supe standards. They're long-lived and hard to kill. Vampires still have not replenished our numbers to where we were before it. Felipe de Castro damn near started it up again when he surrounded Sookie's house in his coup against Sophie Ann."

"He threatened Niall's granddaughter?"

"He didn't know who she was at that point. He only knew her then as a human in my retinue. Then Bill let him know there was a conflict between us over her by saying he'd die for her and challenging me to do the same."

"Shit! You can't tell a thing like that to a guy like de Castro!"

"Exactly. He risked all of our lives just to gain a few points with Sookie."

"Why would he do something like that?"

"She has that effect on Supes. We do stupid things for her. If I had been my normal self when I met her, I would have killed her on the spot – or at least once I realized I cared about her. But I couldn't do it. I love her too much, and I did the first time I saw her."

"Aren't you glad, though? Now you've not only got her, you've got Alex. You've got everything a man could dream of."

Eric smiled softly as he stroked Alex's hair. "Yes, I suppose I do. She's a miracle, and so is he."

"Ba, Dadee!" Alex threw a ball to Eric, and Eric gently tossed it back, Alex giggling as he tried to catch it, then picking up another and throwing it to him. Eric and Alex became engrossed in their game together and Bjorn quietly left the room to let them have some time alone.

Eric played with the baby a long time, and Alex finally asked for "tatosth" so they went into the kitchen where Margaret was cleaning the kitchen.

"I'm afraid he's hungry, Margaret. He's asking for potatoes again," Eric said almost apologetically.

"Not to worry, sir, I've made enough to last several days. All I have to do is warm them up for him."

"Good thinking," he laughed and sat at the table with Bjorn, Octavia, Bobbie and Amelia who were drinking coffee and chatting.

"So, Eric, is Sookie going to be able to go to lunch with Claudine tomorrow?" Amelia had her doubts.

"I was told she'll wake up fine. She just needed this rest now, I suppose. We should all be prepared that this might happen now and then. If she doesn't wake up, one of you will have to find Claudine's number and let her know that Sookie is indisposed, but the doctor didn't think it would be a problem." Eric had Alex in one arm and brought the high chair in with the other.

"The doctor? When did she see Sookie?" Bobbie asked.

"Last night when we got home, she popped in to set my mind at ease and clarify the instructions she'd given yesterday. I'm very glad she did – I was worried after Sookie disappeared from the club that way."

"I've been studying on your little problem there." Octavia said, "I think you need to take her back to Fangtasia to close that circle and you should do it as soon as possible."

"Why don't you go by there tomorrow afternoon before you go out to lunch? I'll leave you my key, though I'm sure some of the girls will be there," Eric suggested.

"We could do that," Amelia agreed.

"Good. I want that portal closed properly ASAP," Octavia said.

"It's not something someone else could do?" Eric asked as he settled Alex into his chair.

"Best not experiment with powers like hers. Too much can go wrong, and until SHE closes it, it's probably still there. I don't know what would happen if someone untrained happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time."

"You think it could send them somewhere else?" Eric wanted to be sure what she was concerned about. Margaret handed him a plastic container full of Cheerios so he could give a few to Alex.

"Maybe, depending on how she called it and why. You don't have any idea why she cast it at that particular moment?"

"We were having a conversation about something and I'm not sure, but I think she was asking Freyja something about me…" he danced around the subject as he sprinkled cereal on Alex's tray.

"That would make sense."

"Freyja tells me I've been underestimating her. At the very least, I've been confusing her or not explaining things clearly enough. I've always said she would be my first priority but I've let my focus on running the kingdom and paying attention to Alex cause me to lose sight of what she is going through."

"Don't beat yourself up, Eric," Amelia advised.

"Right – just consider it a wake-up call and get your priorities in line again. The best way to take care of Alex is to keep his Mama healthy and happy," Octavia advised.

"Of course, you are right. She's the key to his well-being. She's the center of his universe," Eric mused.

"And will be for a long time. That's as it should be," Octavia wanted to reinforce this with him.

"I suppose I've been worried…" Eric hesitated. Was he really going to say this out loud?

"I know you're worried about the other one," Octavia finished his thought, "Don't. She's a mother. Whether she has one, two or 22, she's got enough love to make each one of them think he's special."

"Do I?"

"Now you're underestimating yourself, Mr. You'll love them each in a special way, just like any parent."

"Alex…." Eric tried to distract Alex by playing with the cereal with him, and it seemed to work.

"Doesn't want any competition," Octavia finished that thought, too. "That's natural for a baby to want to be an only child, but most of them don't get that luxury and they do just fine. With all the advantages that little one has, you don't need to worry about him having to learn to share."

"But he's Fae…"

"Is he? Says who?" Octavia challenged him.

"What do you mean?"

"I never heard of a Fae baby being sensitive to sunlight, did you? Or silver?"

"But they said he couldn't leave the Fairy realm…"

"They said he didn't make it through when Alex did. Nobody has tried to bring him through now. My guess is, Dr. Ludwig is waiting for him to feed from Sookie for a while before they try."

"What are you basing this on?"

"I've been throwing the cards about your little family. Ludwig and Niall are giving you information on a need to know basis, and I think it's to cover Niall's ass. If you think about it, Alex and Freyja have been going around them to tell you things."

"You saw this in a Tarot reading?"

"Several over the past few days."

"Did they tell you why the baby didn't get through?"

"Are you sure you want to know?"

"Absolutely."

Everyone in the kitchen was barely breathing, waiting to hear.

"Alex wouldn't let him."

"What?"

"Alex wouldn't let him come through."

"That's not possible is it?" Eric was horrified, not because of the other baby, but because of how Sookie might take it.

"It's not only possible, it's the only thing that makes sense. Alex," she addressed the baby, "want to visit Eric Auberon?"

"NAH NAH!" He slammed his hand down on his tray sending cereal flying.

"He's the reason that one's not here. Whether he was capable of preventing it himself, or it was part of his negotiation with Freyja, he's the reason," Octavia was convinced of this.

"So Freyja may or may not have agreed to it?"

"Yes, I'm not clear yet on Her involvement. You should ask Her."

"Niall said he did exactly what Freyja told him to do…" Eric recalled.

"Right, so either She gave him a ritual designed for that result, or someone or something was powerful enough to keep one spirit from crossing over."

"Dadee! Deeweeohsth!"

"Alright, Alex, just a second." Eric went to the cupboard to get the container again and put some on Alex's tray as Margaret was sweeping the others off the floor. Eric sat back down looking at Alex closely. "OK, Alex, happy now?"

"Eeah. Ma Dadee nah dat beebee," Alex said with a pout.

"You got that, right?" Octavia asked him.

"Yes – he said I'm his daddy, not that baby's."

"NAH NAH!" Alex yelled and burst out crying. Eric quickly took him out of the high chair and hugged him close, rubbing his back and whispering, "shhh, Daddy loves Alex," to him.

Margaret sat the bowl of warm potatoes in front of them and Eric said, "look Alex – 'tatoes" and fed him a spoonful. Alex quickly forgot that he was upset and focused on chowing down on his favorite food.

Eric's mind was spinning. He didn't know how to process this information. What Octavia said made sense, and Alex's behavior certainly fit her assessment. Freyja might agree to such an arrangement if She had to to coax Alex to cooperate. Alex would obviously make the demand or cause the failure if he could based on his reactions. What would Sookie think when she knew this? Eric wasn't even sure what he thought about it. He knew he'd have to tell Sookie – they were far past keeping secrets from each other. Even if he tried to conceal it, she'd hear his thoughts. He was barely conscious of speaking when he said, "how do I tell Sookie?"

"Don't underestimate her, Eric," Octavia was very serious. "She'll handle it better than you are."


	86. Chapter 86

**Chapter 86**

Eric spent the whole evening in the nursery with Alex, reading books – well, one book, actually, over and over. He went slowly through Dr. Seuss's **Fox in Socks** three times, teasing Alex and letting him try to copy the words he was saying. Now Eric knew exactly what Sookie meant about the rhyming, repetitive words helping them learn to speak and was amazed at how Alex wanted to hear it over and over. While they were reading, Alex would point at an illustration and say "dat?" wanting to know the name of it, and Eric had a blast seeing how his mind worked and what caught his attention. Alex always pointed out anything "ewwo" and Eric started to wonder if that wasn't Alex's favorite color. He named other colors, too, if Eric pointed them out to him, but he really gravitated to yellow. Eric had as much fun as Alex did, and was very proud of his little boy. Alex was inquisitive and tried hard to copy the words. Eric was particularly impressed by such a small baby having such an impressive attention span. Alex was just fascinated with the book and the pictures, and he'd watch Eric's mouth very carefully when he repeated the little rhymes.

Once Alex went down for his next nap, Eric got a bit of work done, checking in with Sandy and Bill, following up on some information from Carolina, and getting a status update on the guards' schedule from Bjorn.

When Alex woke for his last feeding of the night, Eric was ready for him, having had Margaret prepare several things for him ahead of time. Alex asked the name of broccoli, which he loved, and he managed to get "bwogy" out for it. Turkey was "duhgy" and peaches were "beejes." Eric was about to burst at how cute Alex was when he ate food that he liked. Even after eating all of that, he drank a large bottle of RM and he fell asleep chewing on a teething ring as he rested his head on Dadee's shoulder and played with his long hair. Even when Alex was older he could remember how it felt when Daddy held him and he twirled his long hair in his fingers. It's why Alex never cut his own hair when he was grown.

Eric tucked the baby in next to Mommy and gave Sookie a kiss on the lips, which actually made her open her eyes and smile. Eric gave her a dose of Ambrosia and she asked for more again, but quickly went to sleep when he told her 'no, my Angel, sleep now' and kissed her goodnight.

**

"Ah, Mamee!" A tiny finger pushed Sookie's eyelid upward and she laughed at the toothless grin facing her from Eric's side of the bed.

"Hi, Pookie! Are you ready to eat?"

"OMBA!"

Sookie laughed and pulled him to herself and Alex latched on with a vengeance. "Wow, Pookie, have they been feeding you? What time is it?" she wondered as she looked at the clock on Eric's nightstand. 8:30 AM. Wow. Sookie remembered some really wild dreams but she didn't remember coming home last night and going to bed. She hoped Eric wasn't upset with her.

"Knock, knock!"

"Come on in, Bjorn, we're up," she laughed.

"Good morning, sleepyhead!" Bjorn came in with that big book and sat in his usual spot.

"Yeah, right?! I can't even remember going to bed last night!"

"Because you didn't. You went to bed night before last, sort of."

"What does that mean?"

"Do you remember being at Fangtasia?"

"Yeah, of course."

"What's the last thing you remember?"

"Well, Eric and I were having a discussion or argument or something and I decided I needed input from Freyja so I went to the bathroom. I remember seeing Her and talking to Her and then…." Sookie hesitated but then the images of where she had been washed over her in a wave and all she managed to get out was "guh!"

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing, I just… I need to write in my journal. Is it over there?"

"Yep, right here. There's a pen with it, too." Bjorn handed her the black book and Sookie opened to the last page with writing. She saw that Eric had written 4 pages since her last entry so she paged back and read what he had written.

"Eric has been talking to Freyja, too, I see."

"Anything interesting?"

"She told him he was underestimating me."

"Yeah, Octavia told him that, too. The general consensus is that you are stronger than you or Eric either one think you are."

"You agree with that?"

"Yes, I think you're a powerhouse, you just aren't owning it yet."

Sookie leaned back and thought about that for a minute as she watched Alex suckle. She gently stroked his little head and smiled at him, looking him right in the eye for a bit. She picked the book up again and asked Bjorn, "why does this say I disappeared?"

"You did. Don't you remember?"

"It was real…" she said, mostly to herself.

"What was real?"

"If it really happened, I went on this sort of sexual Odyssey through at least, like, 5 or 6 lifetimes where I was having the hottest, raunchiest, most extreme sex imaginable with Eric. I've known him so many times before!"

"You mean like in past lives?"

"Yeah, exactly, and maybe some future ones, too. Freyja told me to try to remember and boy, did I! I wish Eric was up – I want to know if he remembers me from all those times."

"I think that's going to be a big yes. I remember him saying a couple of times that he's known you before."

"Why don't I know this?"

"He probably didn't think you'd believe him. Or, maybe he wanted you to remember it on your own?"

"When Alex is done, I need to write down everything I can remember. I didn't even know some of that stuff could be sexual, but it definitely was…"

Bjorn was praying that Sookie was in a talkative mood now. "What kind of stuff?"

"Piercing, tattooing, branding, whips and chains, wild orgies with some kind of fairies – I think there was even a ritual sacrifice of an animal in there."

"Were there mostly women there for that?"

"Yeah, actually, there were very few men."

"Dionysus. Eric has talked about him a few times."

"Why didn't he say anything to me when we encountered the Maenad?"

"He said you'd have freaked out if you'd been compared to Her. He was pretty sure that the reason she went after you to begin with is that she recognized you. I take it that was a pretty ugly scene?"

"Definitely. Dr. Ludwig never said anything, either…"

"Wasn't she mostly focused on saving your life?"

"Yes."

"And Eric was still trying to get you to leave Bill?"

"Yes,"

"I can see why he wouldn't tell you until you remembered. To be fair, though, he might not have known then. He said you had been having sex a while before he was sure who you were."

"You mean Freyja?"

"No, that was the last piece of the puzzle. He told you about that as soon as he put it together. He said that the night you met, he felt as if you were supposed to be with him, and over the months or years or whatever, he'd get little flashes of the two of you together in other times and places, but he was never sure if they were fantasies or memories and he didn't have anyone to ask. That's why he likes having Octavia and Amelia around. He needed magickal info to help him with you for years and once he found the two of them, he's keeping them around."

"That makes me sound like a project," she laughed.

"You're the most important thing in his life, Sookie. He's told me more than once that you and Alex ARE his life. Naturally, he'll take all the help he can get to keep that."

"Aw – that's sweet," she laughed softly as she helped Alex switch to the other breast. "So what day is it?"

"It's Friday. You've got a busy day today."

"Refresh my memory?"

"First, you're going to Fangtasia to close the portal you opened the other night…"

"I didn't close it then?"

"No, you disappeared from the club and wound up back here in bed."

"Huh – " she considered that for a minute, "ok, what else?"

"Then you and your retinue are having lunch with Claudine, I think her name is?"

"OH YEAH! I'm psyched about that. I have so many questions!"

"Eric left a list of questions, too, and after that, you and the girls will shop a while, and tonight we're all going to learn a bit about swords. And I understand you have a date with Eric for a midnight swim."

"I do?"

"Yes, Freyja arranged it."

"OK. I learned one thing from my Odyssey – the gods can kick your ass!"

"That's a good thing to learn."

"Yeah, I don't know where my head has been. It's like, I know to call Freyja and talk to Her but on some level, a part of me didn't really _believe_ it."

"And now?"

"I'm a believer, boy, I get it now. Eric should have been kicking my ass for months to get through to me and he didn't do it. That's not good for any of us."

"Right."

Sookie thought about that and licked her lips. She got a rush from the taste of Ambrosia on them, but she didn't say anything to Bjorn. That stuff tasted better than anything, ever! Now that she was thinking about it, she wouldn't mind taking a swig right now. Maybe if she could get everyone out of the room for a minute…

"Well, good morning!" Alicia came in with laundry for Sookie.

"Hey! I guess I haven't seen you in a while?"

"Well, I checked on you every hour yesterday, but it's not really the same as having you awake and aware," she laughed.

"Yeah, I guess not. I feel great today, though. What should I wear today?"

"For your luncheon? I was thinking your black sundress with the lavender and yellow flowers. It looks so nice on you and you've got a perfect sweater to throw over it if the air conditioning in the restaurant is too much for you."

"Oh, yeah, I like that one. I can wear my Birkies with that, too, and they're best for shopping. What should Alex wear? I think I should dress him up a bit since he's meeting family for the first time."

"Well, he hasn't worn the little romper that says "Party in My Crib" yet – it would be awfully cute with those little skull and cross bone shoes he has."

"Oh, yeah! Good, we'll put him in that. Let's see, it's going on 9, so can I get some breakfast, then Alex and I will shower, then we'll head out around 12, we can stop at Fangtasia and then meet Claudine at the restaurant. Does that work for everybody?"

"Works for me," Bjorn laughed

"I'll be right back with your breakfast, dear."

"Thanks, Alicia."

"Anybody up yet?" Amelia called from the steps.

"Come on up, Amelia!"

"What time are we leaving today?"

"Since we have to go by Fangtasia, I thought Noon?"

"Good deal, I'll tell Bobbie and Octavia."

"Thanks, hon!"

"Mamee!"

"Are you done eating, Pookie?"

"Eeah – dantheen!"

"Oh, you're still going to dance with Mommy after you've been hitting on other girls?" she teased him as she put him up on her tummy.

"Eeah!" Alex giggled, and Sookie started in with **Surf City USA**. Bjorn loved this part of the day as much as Alex did. Sookie and Alex were just too cute together not to love them both.

When Sookie got to the chorus that said "two girls for every boy" she held Alex up over her head and Alex was giggling so hard he drooled all over her and she and Bjorn cracked up "Oooh!" which the baby just loved.

"Fy, Mamee."

"Alright, Alex, fly!" she let him go and he flew up to the ceiling, then came half-way down and turned circles in the air, giggling like crazy. Bjorn handed Sookie a tissue from the box on the table so she could wipe off the drool.

"Fy, Mamee!"

"I can't right now, Sweetie, I don't have any clothes on," she said as she cleaned herself off.

Alex cracked up but Sookie figured he couldn't possibly know what she meant, could he? Sometimes she really wondered if Alex didn't understand a lot more than they realized.

Alex landed on the ceiling and said, "nah fyeen, Mamee!" and giggled wildly as he made a circle around the room.

"Yeah, yeah, we've been over that, buddy, and you know perfectly well that counts as flying, now, don't you?" Sookie said to him in a mock-threatening voice.

"Eeah!" he giggled. "Bwogy, Mamee!"

"What's bwogy, Sweetie – Mommy doesn't know that word?"

"Mahdwid bwogy."

"It's something Margaret made for you?"

"Eeah."

"Did Bjorn feed it to you?"

"Nah."

"Bobbie?"

"Nah, Dadee."

"Dadee fed it to you? When, last night?"

"Eeah."

Sookie reached for the baby monitor. "Hello?"

"Yes, Mrs. Northman?" Alicia answered

"Do you have any idea what Eric fed Alex last night? He's asking for food but I can't tell what he wants."

"Margaret's right here, hold on."

"Missus? Last night he had potatoes, then later he had turkey, peaches and broccoli."

"BWOGY, MAHDWID!" Alex yelled down from the ceiling.

"Alex, are you saying "broccoli?" Sookie asked him.

"Eeah, bwogy!"

"Did you hear that, Margaret?"

"Yes, I did, Missus. I'll include that with his breakfast."

"Thanks!"

"Wow," Bjorn said, "I never saw a kid that liked broccoli before."

"Me, either, but it's really good for him, so I'm glad he does."

Alex floated down and landed on Sookie's lap and reached up for a hug, so she snuggled him for a few minutes and chattered with him for about 10 minutes until Alicia came up with their breakfasts on a tray.

"Yay!" Sookie said as she came in and Alex tried to copy her "eeay!" which made everyone laugh.

"Mmm, Alex, I've got steak! What did you get?"

"He's got shredded beef, pureed broccoli and pears," Alicia told her as she put the dish in front of Bjorn and brought Alex to him.

"Ooh, Alex, that sounds yummy!" Sookie teased him.

"Ee-uh-mmee!"

"Yeah, yummy!"

"Wow – this steak is so tender, I can cut it with a fork!"

"Yeah, I had one earlier," Bjorn told her. "She got some really good organic meats this week."

"Cool."

"Mmm- ah wyg bwogy, Mamee!"

"You do? Well, good, 'cause Mommy wants you to eat a lot of it so you can grow big and strong like Daddy, OK?"

"Oday!"

"Good boy!" She beamed at him; She thought it was sweet how Bjorn would give him breakfast every morning.

By the time they finished eating and got their showers, it was nearly 11:30. Alicia helped Sookie dress, then put diapers, bottles and some jars of food in the diaper bag for Sookie while Sookie dressed Alex. As they started out of the nursery, Sookie saw an opportunity.

"Hey, Alicia, I forgot something – would you take him on down and I'll be there in a minute?"

"Sure, I will. Come on, Baby E."

Alex went to her happily and Sookie waited until she heard them hit the second floor before she went quickly into her room, opened the little fridge and took a big swig from the ancient bottle. It was so good she let it roll around on her tongue and really savored it. It was hard to stop with just one, but she could still taste it on her lips, so she'd have to be satisfied with that this time. A feeling of wellbeing rushed over her and she felt bouncier and happier than she had for a long time.

Everybody congregated in the kitchen and Bjorn got everyone moving to the cars. Alicia and Margaret opted to stay home and get some work done, so it was just Sookie and her Witches plus Bjorn and the guards. They rolled into Fangtasia at about 12:45 and Bjorn made everyone stay in their vehicles behind the club until he and one of the other guards did a walk through and made sure it was secure. Dana, one of the newer bartenders, was there to receive a shipment and had been told to expect them, and other than she, only Sookie's people were there. Sookie and the girls headed for the bathroom and Bjorn got the key where Eric told him it would be, letting them in so Octavia could look the scene over before Sookie did anything.

"You girls all come in," Octavia directed. "Bjorn, we'll be out in a minute."

"Yes, ma'am."

"Alright, now, girls, spread out along the edges here. Good, now put your hands up and slowly move them forward and see if you feel anything."

Amelia, Bobbie and Sookie did that and they all reacted with surprise.

"You can feel the edge of it, right?"

"Yeah – cool!" Bobbie said. There was a spongy feeling to the air giving just a little resistance at the perimeter of the circle.

"That's pretty strong to last two days there, isn't it?" Amelia asked

"For no more than she must have done to create it, it's remarkable. Those powers of yours are no joke, Queenie."

"What do I do now?"

"OK, put your hands together, palm to palm, and reach through that wall then push the energy to the side so you can step in."

Sookie did that and there was actually a small puff of air where the energy sealed the circle back up behind her.

"OK, now face the direction you started, go counter clockwise kicking the salt out of formation as you say "the circle is open, but never broken. Blessed is the Lady, Our Mother and Our World.""

The energy in the room changed noticeably as Sookie finished the circle. Sookie could have sworn that she felt little sparks when she kicked the salt aside, but decided it was her imagination. Everything felt a little surreal just then, anyway, like the world was more 3-D than usual today. Next Octavia had Sookie take a broom from the hallway, sweep up the salt and flush it. Finally, she handed Sookie a small spray bottle of sage essence and had her spray the bathroom with it.

"OK, that should cover you, girl. I think we've returned this room to normal space."

"Thanks for your help, Octavia. I wouldn't have known what to do!"

"The way you made a hole and entered there? You do that if you're ever in a circle and need to go out, too, or if you're in circle and someone needs to come in. Respect that perimeter and it will protect you."

"OK, I'll remember."

Bobbie was furiously scribbling notes in her journal as they said goodbye to Dana and headed back for the cars.

They got to the restaurant about 45 minutes before Claudine was due because they knew it would take a while to get everyone situated. It was a good thing that they did, because just as they were being seated, a lunch rush hit and if they hadn't been there, they'd have lost their reservations to the overflow.

They were in a back section that was elevated from the rest of the floor and it was a good setting for what they needed. Guards were seated all around the perimeter of the space in tables of two, then the Witches, Bjorn and the baby in a borrowed high chair sat at a long table right in the middle. Bobbie sat on the other side of Alex so she could help with him as Sookie visited, and the seat on the other side of Sookie was saved for Claudine. Sookie was jumping in her seat, she was so excited. It felt like she was tingling all over, like a weak electrical current was caressing her skin. She couldn't remember the last time she was this "hyper." Her left leg was shaking like crazy, and she hoped no one noticed. Everyone was looking at menus and chatting when there was an audible reaction on the other side of the room.

"Oh, Sweetie, I'm sure I'll find them!" Claudine came sweeping in wearing a hot pink and orange floral wrap dress with glitter and sequins in strategic places. Every time she took a step, her long leg was exposed and she looked amazing. You could see her a mile away and the other patrons were checking her out and commenting on her.

"Does she always dress like a drag queen?" Amelia asked from behind her menu.

"Yes, actually, she does," Sookie giggled. The guards' eyes were popping out of their heads. Claudine was impressive by any standard, with her long legs and raven hair, but she looked really good today.

Sookie stood up as she came around the table. "Hey, Sweetie!" She threw her arms around her – she was so tickled to see her!

"Hey, yourself! You look good, darling girl! And before I sit down, I need to hug that little cousin of mine!"

Sookie pulled Alex up out of the high chair and held him forward, telling him, "Alex, this is our cousin Claudine. She's almost the only family we've got along with her brother and Papaw."

Claudine tickled Alex's chin and he giggled, but his fangs popped down.

"Oh, my!" Sookie said when she saw him drop his fangs, but Claudine told her, "not to worry, Hon, that's the vampire in him. I've got enough cover today that he won't try to bite me, but a small reaction like that is to be expected."

"Oh, I hope so. I don't want him to be rude to you!"

"Nonsense, Sookie, he's already my boyfriend, aren't you, Alex?" She gave him a big hug and a kiss.

"Eeah!" he giggled as she tickled his tummy. Sookie let her hold him and bounce him a bit and then settled him back into the high chair where Bobbie sprinkled a few Cheerios to keep him occupied. The waitress came over and they all ordered. Sookie had Bjorn tell all the guards to have anything they wanted because she was paying, and she and Bobbie decided to get fish and chips to mash up for Alex. Once the orders were in, Sookie introduced everyone at the table, then got down to business.

"Claudine, you know I've only known about my Fae ancestry for a little while now, and you know it's becoming more and more important in my life."

"And how, Sweetie." Claudine knew Sookie had no clue just how important.

"Can you tell me a little bit about Fae? What the culture is like, the customs and stuff?"

"OK, well the first thing you need to know is that there's a pretty strict caste system among our peoples."

"OK, so that's like a hierarchy?"

"Right. We – you, me, Niall, Claude, and (she nodded and raised a brow and Sookie knew she meant Eric. too) are the highest caste of Fae, known as the Sidhe, spelled SIDHE and pronounced "Shee." We're pretty much the ruling class. Now, at the bottom rung we have minor sorts of Fae types, like goblins, ogres, trolls, minor daemons. They're generally troublesome and they keep to themselves unless they're causing mischief.

Above them are the little people – leprechauns, pixies, imps, elves, brownies, nixes and pillywiggins, garden fairies, mountain fairies, plus the Elementals or Devas, which are salamanders, sylphs, undines and gnomes and they correspond to fire, air, water and earth."

"OK, hang on, I want to write this down," Sookie was fumbling for her book when Bobbie suggested, "Sookie, I'll take notes and you can get them from me later."

"Oh, good, thank you!"

Claudine continued, "then you move up to Selkies, Seelies, Sirens, Nyads, Dryads, Bean Sidhe – that's what people call banshees- Milloraines, Fantis, Apsaras, White Harts, White Does, White Horses, Mari-Morgans, Mermaids and some demi-gods with animal parts like minotaurs or centaurs or satyrs."

She paused a minute and spelled some words for Bobbie, then continued:

"Then you move into the aristocracy – White Ladies, Red Ladies, Gray Ladies, Black Ladies, Blue Ladies, Blue Fairies, Spring Ladies, Swan Mistresses and Masters, etc.

Then you reach the Sidhe, then you go to Angels and Arch Angels on the way to the rest of the demigods then gods and Goddesses."

"Wow – so many!" Sookie was overwhelmed.

"Those are just the main ones, Hon. We are many and varied people, the Tuatha Dé Danann."

"Children of Dana?" Bobbie asked.

"Or Danu or Diana – those are just a few of the 10,000 names, you know."

"I've met beings that called themselves demons…" Sookie recalled.

"Technically, they're daemons. They're sort of a parallel to us – they have their own caste system that progresses to Angels as well. There are some creatures that claim to be both, so there's a bit of overlap, but mostly we keep to our own kinds unless there's war. Of course, there's almost always war."

"Where do you live?" Sookie asked, hanging on every word.

"Well, some are location specific – mountain fairies and garden fairies, Spring ladies live in natural springs, Mermaids, undines, selkies live in the water, Nyads and Dryads are forest spirits, etc. A lot of us live out among other humans and Supes as Claude and I do. In the fairy realm, there are a few hot spots – Elfyria is the best known, plus the Isle of Avalon, the Fortunate Isles, and the physical gateway from the human world is the Glastonbury Tor in the Old Country. That opens to Avalon and Tir Na Nog but it's not as easily accessed as it used to be."

"Where does Niall live?"

"Elfyria – he's the head honcho, you know, since his wife died. Titles normally pass from mother to daughter, but the line of succession was interrupted."

"What interrupted it?"

"Oh, a little skirmish of sorts – an assassination, a coup, a couple of revolutions." Claudine wanted to gloss over it for now because Sookie didn't need the grisly details just yet.

"Who moves into his place if he…." Sookie nodded because she couldn't bring herself to say it. She just found Niall and as mad at him as she might be, she couldn't bear the thought of losing him.

"Well, that's the 64 thousand dollar question, isn't it? It will probably take a war or two to work that out if it happens in less than 20 years."

"What happens at 20 years?"

"His successor will be old enough to rule. There are others in line but they probably wouldn't want it, which will leave it open to whomever can take it if they refuse the seat." Claudine was thinking very quickly about whether Sookie should know whom the heir apparent was, since she was his mother – not to mention her being rightful heir - but decided against it. Niall would have to be the one to break that news.

"I don't know how to ask this…"

"He's in Elfyria, Sweetheart, where Niall can watch over him. Only a handful of trustworthy souls know of him. Believe me, that's the least of your worries…"

Three servers came over then with huge trays of food and everyone became preoccupied with getting their food and chowing down. Everyone chatted pleasantly and Claudine had Alex showing off for her and being a ham.

Alex cracked everybody up when he caught Bobbie concentrating on getting him a bottle and grabbed a piece of fish and gnawed on it.

"Alex, Sweetie, hold on!" Sookie laughed. "You don't have any teeth, Pookie! Yeah, you need teeth for that!" She teased him. "Let Aunt Bobbie mash it up for you, OK?"

"You won't have to mash his food up long, honey," Claudine joked, "that one will be out hunting and clubbing his own dinner before you know it."

"Ain't that the truth? You know he asked a bartender at Fangtasia to dance with him the other night? Yeah, you're already hitting on the pretty girls, aren't you, Pookie?" Sookie rubbed his cheek and he giggled.

"He takes after that big, gorgeous Daddy of his," Claudine agreed, "what a lucky boy, huh, to have such a beautiful Mommy and a fearsome Daddy as you've got! Born of the gods to walk among men. Couldn't have designed it better yourself, could you, Alex?" Claudine looked right at him when she said that and Octavia caught it. Claudine knew a hell of a lot more than she was telling.

Octavia was starting to wonder exactly who this kid was. He was obviously intended to be a hero, but she was sure there was more to it than that. Freyja was fulfilling her promise to Eric, that was clear, and She was taking back some of Her own power, but there was more. Octavia was beginning to think that Alex, not Freyja, was the driving force in this deal. It wouldn't be the first time a powerful ruler or magician had designed his own reincarnation. You couldn't design a more ideal set of parents for a great ruler than Eric and Sookie. Even their faults were advantages in many ways.

Sookie had just finished her onion soup with Gruyere cheese and was digging into a chicken Caesar salad when Alex began to make his "come here" motion.

"You want me to hold him, Sookie?" Bobbie offered, but Alex said, "Nah, Mamee," so Sookie just laughed and shook her head. Alex sat on her lap and flirted with Claudine as Sookie finished her salad, declaring it nowhere near as good as Alicia's.

"Claudine, are you still trying to become an Angel?"

"Yes, I am – I'm making headway, too. It might be as little as two years now."

"How do they decide who's an Angel and who's a Goddess and all that?"

"Ultimate decisions usually come from the Global Council with the approval of the Living Pantheon in normal successions like mine from Sidhe to Angel. Some people, like you, made your choices in other places and times and are fulfilling an individual destiny or some higher purpose."

"Did I have to agree to it?"

"Probably." Claudine knew Sookie could never know that Niall made a bargain that made the decision for her.

"Can I change my mind?"

"Not without hurting a lot of people in your wake. Just relax and enjoy it, Sookie. For all the trouble you may encounter, you're going to have a lot of joy in your life. It's worth any price to have what you have."

"You're pregnant, aren't you?"

Claudine was shocked. She wasn't showing at all yet. "What gave you that idea, Sookie?"

"I can see it in you. I can't explain it, but there are two souls with you now."

"Yes, I'm supposed to have twins – that's quite common with Fae, you know."

"No, I didn't. When are they due?"

"Four months hence."

Sookie hugged her tightly. "I'm so happy for you. You won't believe how wonderful it can be!"

"Yes, well, I won't be having any young gods, but I'll love them just the same," Claudine cracked, only half-kidding.

"So what kind of magick can Fae do?" Sookie asked next.

"You name it. You can find someone who can do almost anything, but not everyone can do everything. Most common are flying, teleporting, and shape shifting."

"And bending time?"

"Oh, yes, some can tie time-space like a pretzel. It's one of Niall's specialties."

Suddenly, it felt as if the whole world shifted. Sookie lost her bearings for a minute and Claudine caught Alex as she nearly let him go.

"Sookie, are you alright?" Bobbie jumped up and was beside her immediately. Only Claudine noticed Sookie's fork levitating before Sookie pushed it back down to the table.

"My head's just swimming a little. I think I need to go to the ladies' room." As she stood, Bjorn motioned and four guards surrounded her as Bjorn took the baby from her. Bobbie walked back with them and left Claudine to make small talk with Amelia and Octavia, which pleased Octavia to no end. It wasn't every day you get to sit down to lunch with a fairy, and Octavia had a few questions Sookie wouldn't know to ask.

The ladies' room was just big enough for two people with a little anteroom for the sinks and mirrors. Bjorn stood in the anteroom with Bobbie and the baby while Sookie went into the little room with the two stalls. Sookie was gone a good long while before Bobbie and Bjorn, who were talking to the baby, noticed.

"I'll see what's keeping her." Bobbie said and stepped through the door.

"Hey, Bobbie!"

Bobbie looked around then suddenly looked upward. Sookie was in the corner pressed up against the ceiling, pushing down to keep from being plastered against it.

"Sookie – what the hell!?""

"I don't know – I can't get down."

"Can't get down?"

"No, see?" she released the pressure of her arms and was splayed flat against the ceiling. "Don't tell anybody, but have Bjorn send one of the guards out to get Octavia, please?"

"OK…" Bobbie was stunned. Surely if she could get up there she could get down? "Bjorn, Sweetie, have one of the guards run and fetch Octavia."

"Why?"

"Just do, please? It's… girl stuff." She asked very sweetly. Bjorn stepped out and spoke to one of the guards, then came back. Bobbie had gone back in so Bjorn decided just to barge in, girl stuff or not.

"Holy hell, Sookie!"

"Shit. I was hoping you wouldn't find out," Sookie said as she tried to push away from the ceiling.

"How did this happen?" He couldn't believe it.

"Mamee fyeen!"

"I don't know – I felt woozy at the table and I thought if I came back here for a minute it would pass. Next thing I know, I'm up here and my panties are down there."

"You floated up out of your panties?"

"Sort of, yeah."

Bobbie was biting her lip not daring to laugh but Bjorn didn't even try to hold it in. There was a knock at the door and Bjorn opened it to let Octavia in.

Octavia just shook her head. "OK, so what have you been doing that you knew you shouldn't do that put you in this awkward position?" Octavia knew there would be an obvious answer.

"Well…"

"Spill it, Queenie, what'd you do?"

"I might have…uh…"

"Yes?"

"Taken a swig from that old bottle in my room?" Sookie said apologetically

"The bottle that Eric is to give you from before he goes to rest and no one is supposed to touch any other time?"

"Yeah, that one. I only took a swig…."

"Did you know what that would do to you?"

"I didn't think it could hurt anything…"

"You aren't hurt, that's true."

"Yeah, but, how am I going to get out of here?"

"Well, odds are, it will wear off eventually."

"But we're ready to leave, almost…"

"Yes, quite the predicament you're in, Queenie."

"So, how do I get down?"

"I don't know. Alex, can you bring Mommy down to the floor?"

"Nah nah," he giggled, loving this.

"Woo hoo?" Claudine looked through the door and then up. "Oh, dear. Sookie, you haven't been nipping at that bottle Ludwig gave you, have you?"

"Yeah, maybe."

"Yes, definitely!" Octavia said, aggravated that Sookie was trying to minimize her responsibility again.

"OK, so how do I get down?"

"Give me your hand, Sweetie." Claudine reached up, "Bjorn, put those big muscles to work and grab her other hand."

Bobbie took Alex into the anteroom and Octavia stepped out to give them room to work. It took all the strength Claudine and Bjorn had to pull Sookie off the ceiling, and they managed to get her most, but not all, the way down. Her feet were sill dangling about 4 inches above the floor, and that was with Claudine and Bjorn holding onto her.

"Ms. Octavia," Claudine said with some strain in her voice, "please reach into my bag there and see if there's an enchanted necklace of hematite beads."

"Oh – good idea," Octavia agreed and looked in the bag where the beads were laying right on top. She took the beads and reached up to put the necklace over Sookie's head. Gradually, Bjorn and Claudine were able to ease up their hold on Sookie and after about five minutes, Sookie touched ground.

"Alright, doll, I don't know how long that's going to work, so have somebody pay the bill and you get out to your car. You need to report this little incident to Dr. Ludwig, so she knows how much you've taken. From now on, take it exactly as instructed, please?" Claudine was trying not to laugh, because this could have been serious, but it was too funny.

"I will, I promise."

Bobbie retrieved Sookie's undies and put them in her bag, then took Sookie's credit card and paid the bill as the guards hustled Sookie and the baby out to the car. Claudine bent in through the open door and gave her a kiss, telling her not to worry about returning the necklace. She recommended keeping it nearby for a while and Octavia agreed that was a good idea. Octavia rode back in Sookie's car with her, the baby, Bjorn and Jerry and Sookie got an earful about not messing around with powers she didn't understand as they sped home. Sookie went straight upstairs and took the necklace off. She floated up off the ground a bit and went to lie down, but was floating three inches or so above the mattress. Octavia came in to check on her and sat at the side table.

"Damn it – I really wanted to go shopping." Sookie berated herself.

"Go tomorrow," Octavia told her. "It's not the end of the world. It could have been much worse."

Sookie looked at her with disbelief.

"Hey, you could have floated out of your panties out in the main room. This way, only family knows what happened. Imagine if the tabloids got word of Queen Sookie kissing the ceiling in the middle of a restaurant."

"Oh, lord – can you imagine?! What would Eric say?"

"You'll know in a few hours when you tell him what happened."

"Yeah, I guess I do have to tell him, don't I?"

"Yes, you do. He'd skin every one of us if he found out we kept something like this from him."

"Yeah, and he'd have every right to."

"Yes, he would. You got lucky this time, girl. Any damned thing could have happened. What if the kitchen exploded? Or the car? What if something happened to the baby? Or you disappeared again and we had no clue how to find you? You got lucky the other night that Alex knew how to figure out where you were. Eric would have been a wreck."

"I know. I've got all kinds of nightmare scenarios running through my brain. Eric said I was being a brat the other night."

"Imagine that!" Octavia said as she sat in the chair next to Sookie. "What do you think?"

"I thought, when I woke up this morning, that I finally got it. I thought I understood the gravity of the situation. Then I go and do something like this! What was I thinking?"

"You weren't thinking, kid, you were reacting. You have a habit of reacting first and thinking later. You've got to develop some discipline, Sookie, especially at these levels. You're in touch with literal, Universal forces. One small mistake can have sweeping repercussions. What happened today is what I call "a Universal kick in the ass out of Grandmotherly kindness." The Goddess teaches us lessons, and when we don't learn our lessons, She gets more definite about it. Right now, you think everything is no big deal – you're used to having no consequence to those around you. You aren't that unfettered girl anymore. You have great importance and are of great consequence to everyone around you - your husband, your baby, your extended family and friends, your kingdom and everybody who ever stuck their neck out for you is counting on you. Didn't the Ancient Pythoness stand up for you twice?"

"Yes, She did."

"Do you have any idea what that means?"

"Honestly – probably not."

"It means that She chose a side – YOUR side – and if your side loses, you take Her down with you and everyone between."

"I never thought of it that way."

"You'd better think about this stuff and quick. Eric said he thinks he needs to explain things more clearly to you and I'm thinking that's exactly right. You two need to spend more time talking about what's going on in every aspect of your lives. Your vacation ends a week from today. What are you going to do this week?"

"I'm going to talk to Eric as much as I can, sleep as much as I can, follow my doctor's orders to the letter, enjoy my baby while I can and really start getting my head ready to be Queen Sookie when I go back to New Orleans."

"Sounds like a good plan."

"Knock, knock?" Bobbie was on the steps outside.

"Hey, Bobbie, come on in."

"Your little buddy is on his afternoon nap so I thought I'd bring him up to you. How are you feeling?"

"Still a little "high," as it were, but getting better."

"Bring him over and tuck him in, Bobbie, and we'll go let these two take a nap so they're fresh when Daddy gets up," Octavia suggested.

"Thanks, guys," Sookie smiled as Bobbie put the baby in the co-sleeper, and she and Octavia closed the door behind them.

Sookie watched Alex sleep and fell asleep after only a few minutes, still above her mattress.

"Wake up, my lovely wife," Eric said softly to her, stroking her cheek and smiling at her.

"Hey!"

"Hey – I thought you were going shopping today – where are all the packages?"

"They didn't tell you?"

"No, everyone seemed to think you should tell me about your afternoon."

"Yeah, I should. I'm so stupid."

"Sookie, look at me," He made her look him in the eye. "You are not stupid. You've got some bad habits and you don't understand how important you are, but that's going to change."

"How?"

"You and I are going to talk about things a lot more. Between fucking and playing with the baby, we've lost sight of how all this change is affecting you. As of right now, we stop and regroup, and we come back stronger than ever, OK?"

"OK."

"Now," he said as he sat up against the headboard, "you snuggle up here with me, and tell me what happened today."

"Alright, well, I'm going to go backwards because I want to end with what happened after I cast that circle."

"Interesting. OK, so what was the last thing that happened?"

"I was at lunch with Claudine and the girls and I felt woozy, so I went to the ladies' room – you wouldn't believe what a production that is with all the guards – then I got in there and pulled my panties down and suddenly I'm up against the ceiling and they're down on the floor."

"You were on the ceiling?"

"Yes."

"On purpose?"

"No, I couldn't get down. I think it was what you'd call a side-effect."

"A side-effect of what, Sookie?" he was getting concerned now.

"Of taking a swig out of the bottle before I left the house."

"Oh, Sookie," he sounded sad, rather than angry, and that shocked Sookie. "Are you hurt? How do you feel now?"

"I'm fine now. Claudine and Bjorn had to literally pull me down and she had a string of hematite that grounded me until they could get me home. When I first lay down here, I was three inches off the mattress."

"But you are unharmed?"

"Yeah, just embarrassed. Octavia pointed out that it could have been much more embarrassing if I hadn't gone to the ladies' room when I did."

"Yes – it could have been quite a problem for us all if humans had seen this."

"Believe me, I am never going to do it again. I'm going to follow instructions, follow doctor's orders, and keep in mind that what I do affects a lot of other people."

"Good. I hope that you do." He kissed her on the head and squeezed her tight.

"Are you angry with me?"

"No, Sookie, I am worried about you."

"Why?"

"You could have been injured, my Angel, and I see this pattern of you dismissing your own needs at every whim. I have no doubt that you love me, or that you love Alex, or even your subjects, but I begin to wonder if you love yourself."

"What?"

"Do you love yourself, Sookie?"

"I never really thought about it. I don't think I have low self-esteem…"

"Really? Because I love my wife very much and she's very important to me. Alex loves his Mommy very much and he needs the very best she can give him. Yet you aren't taking care of my wife or his mother. If you care about us, you must care about you. You are not crazy little Sookie Stackhouse, a bar maid from Bon Temps. You are Sookie Northman – a vampire's bonded and wife, a Queen, the mother of a Prince, wife of a King, and that doesn't even approach how important your status as Goddess will be. You matter. It matters if you take an overdose of a magickal substance about which we know nothing. It matters if you run yourself into the ground for lack of sleep. It matters if you eat the right foods, know when not to pitch a fit and when to cast a circle, or travel to another realm."

"Bjorn said we have a date tonight for a midnight swim." What the hell, she couldn't think of anything else to say.

"Yes, that's what Freyja suggested. She said you have a story to tell me."

"Yeah, I do."

Without speaking, both of them scooted down in the bed so they were face to face. They just lay together for a long while, entwining hands between them, perfectly content until Alex woke up later on.

"Mamee!"

Eric and Sookie laughed and Eric sat up and brought the baby over, kissed him and laid him between them.

"Hey, Pookie," Sookie kissed his forehead.

"Mamee nah fyeen?"

"No, Mommy's not flying anymore."

"Were you there when Mommy was flying, Alex?"

"Eeah – pundy Mamee!"

"Oh, you thought that was funny, huh?" Sookie teased and tickled him.

"Omba!"

"I swear sometimes I think he thinks I'm the funniest thing in the world."

"You must admit, my Angel, you can be very entertaining." Eric teased her and kissed her forehead.

"I guess it's dinnertime, huh? We should go down."

"Actually, Alicia will be bringing a tray up to you. I want you to stay in bed for a while. We'll do the sword lessons tomorrow night."

"What about our swim?"

"That's hours from now. Between now and then you will rest, alright?"

"Yeah. Claudine said that I need to tell Dr. Ludwig what happened."

"That's probably a good idea. Part of it is my fault, too. I should have left you a note with explicit instructions, but it never occurred to me that you would get into it before I saw you tonight."

"You have no idea how good it is!"

"I suppose I don't. Ludwig said that it is addictive by nature, so I should have erred on the side of caution. I won't make this mistake again."

"I won't experiment with that any more. I've learned my lesson."

"Good," he smiled sweetly at her. He knew he didn't need to hammer the point with her. He could feel that she was a little panicked that she had such a close call in a public place. "Why did you cast that circle at Fangtasia?"

"I just needed some clarification about the dominance thing and how it relates to being a Goddess."

"What did Freyja tell you?"

"She showed me, rather than telling me. It's my choice and if I choose it, I do it for pleasure, mine and yours. There's no force in it, and there's no shame. It's an expression of my own strength."

"That's a good, clear explanation, so when we eventually try it again…"

"But…"

"No, Sookie, we are taking a break from it. There's too much going on for you to process right now. Sex games are our last priority, and we have many years for them in the future. For now, I need to get you mentally focused as soon as I can."

"Doesn't discipline help that, though?"

"It can, but we don't have that kind of time right now. The fact that they are already giving you Ambrosia tells me we are years ahead of where I thought we were."

"Things are still speeding up?"

"Yes, I'm afraid so. Plus, there is some new information that we need to discuss, but that has to be when Alex is asleep."

"Is it about…" she nodded side to side and Eric nodded in the affirmative.

"Mrs. Northman?"

"We're awake, Alicia, come in," Eric called back.

"I have your dinner tray, dear."

"OK, cool!" Sookie sat up and Eric took Alex in his arms and sat up next to her. "I hope the others don't think I'm rude for not coming downstairs."

"Not at all, dear. We all know you need some rest. The blue dish is for Alex. I'll be back in a bit for your tray. Enjoy!"

"Dayoo, Eesh!"

"Thank you, Alicia," Eric thanked her as she left the room with a big smile.

Alex was looking intently at Sookie's tray. "Are you hungry, Pookie?"

"Eeah."

"Alright, my son, let's see what we have here." Eric took the blue dish and the little spoon.

"Oh, goodie, I've got lobster!"

"I think Alex has, too, and isn't this corn?"

"Yeah, looks like. He'll like that."

"EE, DADEE!"

Sookie almost spit out her milk laughing at Alex speaking to Eric that way.

"Mind your manners, now, Alex,' Eric told him firmly, "here you go."

"MMMMMMM!"

"What was that he just ate?" Sookie asked.

"The lobster."

"Yeah, Mommy likes that, too, Alex! Good Lobster."

"Dood wobza!"

Eric and Sookie both laughed at how cute that was. Alex liked the corn a lot, too, so he was a happy camper. When Sookie finished her dinner, Eric put the tray in the hall way and they stripped and lay down together, just whispering softly and playing with the baby between them. Sookie dozed off again at about 8:30, which gave Eric time to meet with Vincent and Bjorn at 9. Vincent had just returned from New Orleans and the new training camp and had a report about their new troops for Eric.

Sookie woke up at 11:25, pulled on a t-shirt dress and went looking for Eric. She found him on the couch in the den giving Alex a bottle and chatting softly with him. Alicia, Octavia and Margaret were in their rooms and Bjorn, Bobbie, Jerry and Amelia had gone on a double date.

She came into the room quietly, hoping Alex was about to go to sleep. "How are my boys?"

"Ah, Mamee," Alex mumbled, rubbing his eyes and yawning.

"Hi, Mommy," Eric said and kissed her as she sat next to them. Sookie laid her cheek on Eric's shoulder and just enjoyed being quiet with the two of them. Alex soon fell asleep and Sookie set up the playpen so Eric could put him in it while they swam. They knew if they put it just inside the door that they'd know if he woke up, but he wouldn't be right there to be disturbed.

Sookie took Eric by the hand and led him to the end of the pool.

"So what is this story you have to tell me, my Angel?" He pulled her into an embrace and kissed her neck.

"Well, first I have to show you something, then I can tell you. Stay right here until I say move, OK?"

"OK."

"Promise?"

Eric laughed – what was she up to? "Yes, I promise."

"OK!" Sookie said as she pulled off her dress, slipped off her thong and jumped in the pool. Eric was in shock for a minute that Sookie would strip in plain sight that way, then he noticed she was moving through the water very quickly. On her third trip to the far end of the pool, she flipped, jumped out of the water toward the middle, dove deep, coming up at the deep end right in front of Eric and splashing him with her tail fin.

WHAT THE HELL?!

Eric shook his head and rubbed his eyes. Was he hallucinating?

He watched with his mouth hanging open as Sookie made quick laps up and down the length of the pool, doing jumps and flips like a dolphin, and after a minute, Eric had to accept the fact that Sookie had a tail.

She did a Flipper-style tail walk and motioned to Eric, "Come in, Sweetie!" then she dove deep again. Eric was still in shock, but he quickly shucked his clothing, dove into the water and met Sookie in the middle of the pool.

"Sookie, what is going on?" He pulled her to him and ran his hands over her bottom to see if it was true.

"It won't last long – I have to practice before I can stay this way any length of time."

"Practice what?"

"Shape-shifting." She threw her arms around his neck and he wrapped his arms around her waist.

"You can become any animal you want?"

"Not yet, but eventually, yeah."

"When did this happen?"

"It's a carry-over from a previous life-time. When I cast the circle the other night, I asked Freyja if I was neglecting you and how the domination stuff fit in with my being a Goddess and She told me to close my eyes and try to remember. The next thing I knew I was on this sexual Odyssey, flashing through all of these lifetimes where I was having extreme, wild sex with you. We've known each other so many times! Did you know?"

"Yes, I began to remember after we bonded," he smiled sweetly at her. He was so relieved that she finally remembered! It wasn't just his imagination.

"No wonder you were so impatient with me! Anyway, it turns out, I'm going to be able to do a special kind of temporary shape shifting. Right now, aquatic animals only, because they're easier or less complex or whatever, but eventually, I'll be able to do anything. I can already change my looks – I can be pale and white like a vampire or I can make myself look golden and tan. I can even change my hair color. The changes only last until I sleep, though."

"Sookie, this is amazing!"

"Yeah, but like I said, it's just aquatic animals right now, so there's not a lot of use for it. Mermaid is the easiest transition because it's part human. I'm supposed to practice every night and She said I'll know when it's time to try other animals."

"Are there rules or anything?"

"Not rules, but guidelines. She wants me to practice when the moon is out, so on the dark moon or cloudy nights, I won't do it. It will always be easier for me to do it at night, but by the time I can do land animals, I should be able to shift easily whenever I want. The best part is that there's no compulsion to change on the full moon. It's completely my choice when and if I do it."

"It's so funny that we were just talking about mermaids…"

"Yeah, well, when she asked me what I wanted to turn into first, that was the first thing I thought of. I guess it was in the front of my mind because we were talking about it, but I used to daydream about being one when I was little. Freyja actually took me out into the ocean and I met others. They thought I was real, too, they had no idea it was a shift!"

"Can you breathe under water?"

"Yep! I can do anything any other Mer can do, including communicate the way they do. Most of them don't speak human language, you know."

"Yes, I do know – the only ones that normally do are Sirens and they're quite dangerous."

"Exactly. I swam with a huge group of dolphins while I was at sea, too, along with some other Mers. Dolphins love us, apparently."

"What's not to love?" Eric joked.

"Yeah, I guess. That mermaid you fucked in the desert – what was her name?"

"Marielle."

"OK, she's not one of the ones I met. How did she let you know that she wanted to, you know?"

"Well, everyone was swimming naked so she simply took hold of my cock and pulled me to her – there wasn't much doubt what she wanted;" Eric laughed.

"Like this?" Sookie gave him a sultry smile and began to stroke him as he bent to kiss her softly. Soon he was purring and hard, beginning to lose himself in the sensation, when without warning, Sookie bared fangs of the sort that Mers use to bite through lobster shells and bit his shoulder hard. Eric howled and plunged into her, dragging them both underwater as they began a frenzied rut that churned the water and drove them both mad. It was Eric's turn to just try to hold on as Sookie changed form several times as they fucked. Her Mer shape gave way to legs wrapped around him and locks of her hair became writhing snakes like Medusa, then she was something more like a panther that made Eric think of the movie Cat People. She became a lioness, like Sekhmet, then she was lupine and growling and bit him again on his arm. As she sucked on his wound he bit her shoulder, drinking deeply. Intoxicated with each other's blood, they sunk writhing to the bottom of the pool, then Sookie somehow propelled them upward and into the air.

Eric's howl had drawn the attention of the guards and they were standing back behind the construction, trying to be sure everything was alright. When Eric and Sookie took to the sky, they were amazed.

They spun and rolled in the air, growling, scratching, biting, then Eric was the first to howl as he came. Sookie had come each time she changed shape, but now she had a massive release that made her howl and scream in a shower of orange sparkles. Eric had the presence of mind to move them over the grass and let them down on the ground, where they lay in each other's arms, exhausted.

The guards were stunned – the frenzy had gone on for nearly two hours and they weren't sure what they saw, but they knew it was wild and bizarre. They were debating whether they should check on them, they had been still so long, but then Eric stood up and carried Sookie indoors and closed the curtain. Eric zipped up stairs with Sookie at maximum vamp speed, then came back for Alex. Sookie was in that sleep that's deeper than sleep, so Eric tucked her in and wrote in her journal, trying to remember every form that she took.

Alex woke up once more for his final bottle with daddy, so Eric took him into the nursery with a bottle of breast milk and one of RM. Alex seemed to want to talk as much as eat, so Eric let him chatter, especially when he laughed and said, "Mamee dood pish!"

"Mommy is a good fish?"

"Eeah! Mamee pish ina wada!"

"Yes, she was. Did you see her?"

"Nah."

"Then how do you know Mamee's a fish?"

"Freyja! Mamee bi Dadee!"

"Yes, Mommy bit daddy. Daddy didn't know Mommy had fangs!"

"Eeah, ee bud."

"She ate blood? Yes, she did."

"Mamee seepeen dood."

"I hope she's sleeping well."

"Eeah, mo seepeen an mo seepeen." Alex let out a huge yawn and Eric helped him finish his second bottle, then put him on his shoulder and rocked him until dawn. He tucked Alex in next to Sookie, gave Sookie a cupful of Ambrosia and kissed her good night.

Eric had a lot to process as he went to sleep this day, and he wondered if he even remembered it all. Was there missing time between them again?


	87. Chapter 87

**[Author's note: **

**Hey, y'all! Sorry this is short, but you've been waiting a long time so I wanted to get something out here. Remember, I'm bouncing back and forth between this and Entitlement, and it's harder than you might think. Thanks so much for your patience! **

**Morgaine]**

**Chapter 87**

Eric had to zip back upstairs because he realized he forgot to give Sookie the cup of Ambrosia. He had been so preoccupied by the idea that she was changing that he completely forgot what the change required. He wrote himself a note to put on the lid of his cache in case he forgot again. The doctor had emphasized that they were not to skip a dose. Sookie drank it in her sleep and didn't remember him coming back at all the next day.

At 8:30 Alicia came in with today's laundry and two bottles of RM, planning to feed Alex a couple of times and let Sookie sleep as late as possible, but when she got to the bedroom Alex wasn't in his co-sleeper. She looked in the bed with Sookie, but she was alone and sound asleep. Knowing Alex was becoming very active, Alicia looked all around the room, top to bottom, under the bed, in the closet and in the bathroom, but still no Alex. She went into the nursery, then she even looked in Mr. Northman's office – still no Alex. She was trying not to panic, sure that Bobbie or maybe Amelia or Octavia had him, so she went downstairs to check with all of them.

Bobbie and Amelia were sitting at the kitchen table drinking tea and talking about the upcoming return to New Orleans.

"Have either of you seen Alex?" Alicia asked anxiously

"No – isn't he upstairs with Sookie?" Bobbie said with surprise

"No, and I can't find him. I searched the entire third floor."

"I'll check with Bjorn," Bobbie jumped up and went out back.

"I'll go see if Octavia has seen him," Amelia said, heading upstairs.

Alicia looked in the den, finding no one there, then went into the pantry to see if Margaret had seen him.

Bjorn came rushing in as Amelia and Octavia came out of the elevator and through the pantry, Octavia still in her robe.

"Nobody has seen him?" Bjorn asked, his voice deep and serious, in full "security mode."

"No, apparently not," Amelia said

"Sookie could call him…" Octavia reminded them.

"It's early to wake her. Let's sweep through the house before we do that. He has to be here – no one has been near the house. I've got double the men on this shift because of the construction and the house is being watched very carefully. It can't be a kidnapping – he's just wandering around the house somewhere," Bjorn stated, pretty sure of what he was saying, but also trying to calm the women.

Jerry came in then and they talked about where to start. As they finished one floor, they wanted to leave someone there in case he showed up after they were done. Alex could teleport from room to room so it would be easy for him to avoid them if that's what he wanted to do. Octavia would take the 2nd floor, Amelia the third, Bobbie the fourth. Alicia would take the basement and Margaret would watch the first floor. The women dispersed, then Jerry and Bjorn headed for the basement, quickly sweeping through it, then the first floor.

Octavia went up to the second floor and looked in every room, then she put a couple of pop tarts in the toaster and sat down in the little kitchen, figuring if he came flying through, she was most likely to see him from there. She wasn't very worried because she knew Sookie could get him back instantly.

Amelia went up to the third floor and looked through all the rooms again. Sookie hadn't stirred, and Alex was still not in his crib. Bobbie had taken the stairs so it took her a minute to reach the fourth floor. She checked in the meditation room, the sauna, her room, then headed for the big room. She looked around and didn't see anything, but she thought she heard giggling.

"Alex? Where are you?"

More giggling. Bobbie could hear Jerry and Bjorn coming up to the second floor, so she called down the stairs.

"Bjorn?"

"Find him, Bobbie?"

"Maybe. I think I can hear him giggling up here, but I can't see him."

"Hang on!" Bjorn and Jerry ran up the steps to the 4th floor, which Jerry had never seen before.

"Wow!"

"Yeah, it's nice up here, isn't it? Bobbie, where'd you hear him?"

"In the gym."

"OK, stay here near the stairs. C'mon, Jerry." The two men rushed into the room and looked all around. There wasn't a lot in this room to hide behind, but the ceiling had little cubbyholes at the end of each rafter.

"Alex?" Bjorn called for him. Giggles.

"Alex, want to go swimming in the pool?" Bjorn knew that would get him.

"EEAH!"

"Come here, buddy, let's get ready to swim!"

It wasn't hard to spot the big white diaper as it wiggled out from one of the cubbies where the wall met the ceiling and scrambled across the roof between the rafters.

"I'll go tell everybody we found him." Jerry headed for the stairs.

"Hey, Buddy, whatcha doing up there?" Bjorn was trying not to let Alex know he was upset.

"Nah fyeen!"

"Alex, you know Mommy counts that as flying. Now come down here."

"Ah wyg fyeen, Borhd."

"Yeah, I know you do, but you need to do that when Mommy or Daddy can be with you. We need to know where you are. Come eat and we'll go swimming."

Alex did a few loop-de-loops in the air and teased Bjorn a few times, staying just out of his reach, then he got distracted looking in the big mirror.

"Alex, Daddy will be angry if he knows you didn't do as you were told."

"Dadee seepeen."

"Daddy will wake up tonight and then he will be angry. Now come here," Bjorn was being firm with him now.

"Oday!" Alex landed in Bjorn's arms, extremely pleased with himself that he had teased Bjorn.

Bjorn held onto him for dear life as he took him down to Sookie's room. "You scared Alicia, Alex, and you had the whole house worried. You need to stay in bed in the mornings until somebody feeds you, understand? You stay in bed until you eat."

"Mamee seepeen!"

"Yes, Mommy's asleep, but Alicia brought you a bottle of blood and you weren't here. You wait for Mommy, Alicia or Bobbie before you get out of bed, OK?"

"Oday."

"Well, I see we found our little vampire!" Alicia said as she and Octavia, now dressed, came into the room. "He was in the gym?"

"Up in the rafters, just like a bat!" Bjorn could laugh about it now, but this was not a pleasant development.

"It might be time to break out those fairy crosses Sookie has stored away," Octavia suggested as she sat down in the chair opposite Bjorn, who hadn't let go of the baby yet.

"Yeah, I'd say so - either that or start looking for him in the gym first thing. I think he likes it up there because of the swords and there's lots of room to fly around. He likes that big mirror up there, too, and the room smells of Eric," Bjorn explained.

"I've never been up there," Octavia explained.

"I've only been up there a couple of times," Alicia told them as she handed Bjorn a bottle of RM. "I've never seen the sword collection. There's an upstairs maid that usually does the third and fourth floors."

"Yeah, I've run into her a few times since I moved in," Bjorn recalled, "I'm surprised she's still working here. She seems out of place."

"Mr. Northman talked about changing that arrangement, but hasn't made a decision yet. It's possible he'll put Carrie in charge of these floors and give her a raise and more hours. She's been very loyal and doesn't seem to be put off by the unique circumstances. Mrs. Chin was fine when it was just Eric, or even Eric and Sookie alone, but she's been nervous ever since the guards were hired."

'Yeah, she seems a little skittish around us," Bjorn agreed.

"She said something a while ago about retiring, so I think Mr. Northman is waiting for her to do that, then he'll just not hire a replacement. I'm pretty sure he's already talked to Carrie about taking the position – that's why she and Lena were hired to clean the gym the other day. He wanted her to get an idea of what was involved."

"Carrie's a nice girl – she did good work in the downstairs room," Octavia recalled.

"Yes, and Lena said she's willing to take more hours, too. I think she liked the fact that Mr. Northman pays top dollar. I gather she doesn't make much at her day job."

"I'd say not. There aren't many places that would pay as well as Eric does," Octavia agreed.

Alex didn't want to sit still with Bjorn, who was trying to give him a bottle. "Ayvbee me baddow!"

"You want Octavia to give you your bottle?" Bjorn was trying to be sure he understood Alex.

"EEah, Ayvbee!"

"Are you up to it, Octavia?"

"Sure, pass him on over. Come here, little vampire!" Bjorn got up and helped Octavia get settled with Alex, who took the bottle enthusiastically once he was happy.

"Does it taste better if Octavia gives it to you, Alex?" Alicia teased him.

"Daysth dood, Ayvbee!"

"I think that's a yes," Bjorn quipped. "You know, I left my book on the kitchen table. I'll be right back."

"OK, we'll be here." Alicia assured him.

Bjorn went down to the kitchen for the big book he had been carrying with him. He hoped no one had looked at it. He opened it to be sure the gun was still in the hollowed out space inside it, and still loaded. It didn't appear anyone had touched it, so he closed it back up and took it back upstairs with him.

Alex was finishing his little bottle and yawning when Bjorn got back upstairs, so he set the book on the table and took him from Octavia. He cuddled Alex on his shoulder a few minutes, which Alex liked, even though he didn't have long hair to play with like Daddy, and in no time, Alex was asleep. Bjorn tucked him into the co-sleeper and sat back down.

"Either of you got any idea what Sookie did with those fairy crosses?" Bjorn didn't want to forget about this.

"I don't know what they are," Alicia said.

"I know she found a little plastic bowl in the kitchen to hold them in salt, but that was the night she got them. I haven't seen any sign of them since," Octavia said, leaning back with her arms crossed.

"A plastic bowl from the kitchen? Where did I see that?" Alicia considered for a minute as she put Sookie's clothing in the dresser. "Bjorn, look in her bottom drawer there."

Bjorn pulled a little red margarine bowl with salt and the odd little stones in it out of Sookie's nightstand.

"Alright, she's only supposed to use one at a time and only when it's really necessary. She needs a leather bag to put it in," Octavia said as she got up. "I'm pretty sure I've got one in my room that will work, so I'll be right back."

As Octavia went downstairs, Alicia asked Bjorn to carry a big black case in from the hallway. "Put it in the corner there next to where Octavia was sitting, please?"

"Sure," he put it down, "what is this thing?"

"It's Sookie's new vanity table. It folds up to travel."

"Oh, OK…"

"You could go ahead and set it up for me if you wanted to, hint, hint," she laughed.

"OK, no problem." Bjorn busied himself with opening the case and figuring out how the telescoping legs worked. Octavia came back with a little red leather bag, and slipped around Bjorn, sitting where he would normally sit. While he wrestled with the vanity, she opened the butter bowl and took out one of the cross shaped crystals. Shaking the salt off of it, she put it into the leather bag and tied a knot in the top so the baby wouldn't get into it. When she was done, she put the bowl of salt back in Sookie's night stand and laid the little bag on the side table.

"Now, we only use this when no one is in the room with them." Octavia explained to Bjorn and Alicia. "If something happens and they're going to be alone, tie this to the bottom of the crib right here."

"What will it do?" Alicia hadn't been there when these were given to Sookie.

"It dampens his ability to fly temporarily. The thing is, if it's overused, the effect can become long term and we don't want that. It can affect Sookie, too. It shouldn't hurt anything over here, though, so we'll keep it here so when any of us leaves the two of them alone, we can hang it on the crib and he'll stay put."

"I'll ask Eric to put it on the crib when he leaves them in the mornings. I can't take many days like this," Bjorn laughed.

"I know I certainly can't. I can't tell you how frightened I was when I realized he wasn't here," Alicia shuddered.

"What's everybody talking about?" Sookie mumbled.

"You've got lots of time to sleep, dear. We'll talk about it when you get up." Alicia told her.

Sookie raised her head, "wait – what happened? I know you guys are trying not to worry me!"

The other three exchanged looks, wondering who would tell her first.

"Alex wasn't in his bed when I came up to feed him earlier. It was a little tense around here for a bit, but we found him and he's fine."

Sookie sat up now, alarmed, "where was he?"

"He was up in the gym, Sookie, it only took a minute for us to find him," Bjorn assured her.

"I put one of those fairy crosses in this pouch here," Octavia showed it to her. "We'll ask Daddy to put this on the end of his little crib there in the mornings until someone gets up here to watch him, alright?"

"Yeah, I guess we'll have to if he's going to do things like that. What was he doing up there?" Sookie was near panic.

"Flying around, being a kid. He hid from Bobbie when she went up there but she could hear him giggle, then I went up and asked him if he wanted to go swimming and he came out."

"Out of where? Where is there to hide in the gym?" Sookie knew there was only some weight equipment up there.

"The rafters, over at the sides of the room," Bjorn explained.

"Ewww!" Sookie was aghast. "There could be spiders or anything else up there! Is he clean? Did you look him over?!"

"We didn't really get a chance…" Bjorn said cautiously.

Sookie took the sleeping baby from the co-sleeper and looked him over. "I guess he looks OK. He's got a little dust on his knees and little streak on his diaper, but he needs to be changed, anyway. Has he been fed?"

Everybody knew Sookie was in Mommy mode because she was scared so she'd look for every little problem. They all exchanged looks knowing they needed to let her work through it. It wasn't unreasonable for her to be scared, of course, but the crisis had passed.

"Octavia just gave him a bottle, then I held him as he went to sleep. He's only been down about 5 minutes," Bjorn told her.

"OK, Alicia, throw me a gown from the drawer there, OK?"

"I'll change him for you, if you like…"

"That's OK, I want to do it myself, OK? I just want to make sure he's OK," Sookie was hugging Alex tightly, still looking him over.

Alicia threw Sookie her favorite pink gown and Sookie just put it on where she was because Bjorn was working with his back to her. She picked Alex up and backed off the bed on Eric's side and took him into the nursery. The others looked at each other wondering if they should do anything, and Alicia finally said, "let me see if she needs anything."

Sookie had Alex completely stripped, looking him over good, when Alicia came in. "Anything I can do to help, dear?"

"No, I know I'm over-reacting a little, I just need to see for myself that he's OK."

"He scared all of us, Hon, don't beat yourself up. We've got those little stones or whatever they are and Octavia seems to think they'll keep him from flying off when we aren't watching you two. If you want, I can start earlier – it's only about two and a half hours between Mr. Northman leaving and my giving him his first bottle. I can just start when he leaves in the morning."

"No, that's not necessary. Like you said, we've got those rocks, or whatever, and he'll be OK for just a couple of hours. Besides, you all will know where to look next time. I think he likes the gym because he associates it with Eric." Sookie took a baby wipe and was washing Alex all over, just in case, because his hands and knees were a little dusty.

"I'm sure you're right. It's also a big space and he likes to fly around. If you think about it, he's relatively safe up there as long as he doesn't touch the swords."

"Shit! I forgot about the swords! Bjorn!?"

"Yes, ma'am?"

"What does Alex do when he sees the swords up there? He won't touch them will he?"

"No, Sookie, when Eric and I were up there with him he knew to stop short of touching them. He looked at them, but he wasn't close to them, even as excited as he was. He didn't pay any attention to them this morning that I know of – it was more about flying loops in the air and he was staring at the big mirror."

"The mirror…" Sookie said to herself. Was Alex looking for Aubie? "Alicia, do babies like to look at their own reflections?"

"Yes, they do. Remember that little mirror on Alex's play seat, how much fun he had with that when you showed him that he could see himself?"

"Yeah, I do. OK, yeah, that's all it is. He just woke up early and wanted to play and he knew he could fly really high up there."

"Right. It's a little boy's dream, you know, being able to do the things he can do."

"Yeah, that's true. I just don't want him to get hurt," Sookie said as she put a fresh diaper on Alex. She didn't bother with any other clothes because they'd be taking a shower in a bit anyway. She picked him up and hugged him close and kissed him, but he was still sleeping soundly. Sookie laughed, "this kid can sleep through anything."

They went back into the bedroom, Sookie feeling a bit better now that she knew he didn't have any bites or scratches. She walked across the bed on her knees then settled in her spot, holding Alex on her lap, not quite ready to let him go.

"Hey, Alicia, this might sound crazy, but do we have any caviar?" Sookie asked completely out of the blue.

"Actually, yes, we got a shipment yesterday so you can have some any time. You want that for breakfast?"

"Yeah, I kind of have a craving for it."

"Want some salmon with it? They're often served together, though usually with toast points instead of bagels and crème fraiche instead of cream cheese."

"I think that's what we had in Las Vegas – crème whatever. I really liked that. Hey, where's Bobbie today?"

"She's taking the day off – she has something personal she has to do. Something about her mom, but I really didn't understand what she was talking about," Bjorn explained.

"Oh, yeah – she said her mom hasn't been feeling well. She told me she might even need to go see her," Sookie remembered. "I hope everything is OK."

"Whatever it was, Amelia was helping her with part of it. She'll probably be up when she gets Bobbie squared away," Octavia reported.

"Good."

"Alright," Alicia said as she closed the closet, "I'm going to grab the laundry in the bathroom, and I'll bring your breakfast back in a bit."

"Thanks, Alicia!" Sookie was smoothing Alex's hair and stroking his cheek, still a bit agitated, though she could feel in the bond that he was perfectly content. "Do you think it would help if we keep the door in here closed?" She looked at Octavia.

"No, because he can teleport. Your best bet is the fairy crosses."

"I just hope they don't have any lasting effect."

"I don't think they will. I think Ludwig was just making sure you took them seriously and didn't over-use them."

"I hope not. I hate that he has to be restrained in any way, but it's for his own good, right?"

"Right," Bjorn said, arranging the vanity table so it was kitty-cornered in the room between the side table and the bathroom wall. That way there was plenty of room to open Sookie's jewelry box. "This time he just went to the gym – next time he could go to the pool."

"Oh, my Goddess! I can't believe this is already a problem!" Sookie was feeling overwhelmed again.

"Sookie, get a grip," Octavia was speaking softly but firmly, "he's got extra strengths as well as extra powers. He's not vulnerable to the kind of injuries other kids are. Even if he did head for the pool, he'd probably be fine."

"Probably, but not definitely. We don't know for sure, and I don't want to find out."

"That's understandable, but he's going to stretch his powers until he learns to temper his use of them. I'm not even sure he can understand that you might not want him to right now," Octavia reminded her.

"He understands, alright, he laughs at me when I get upset over it."

"He understands that you're upset, not necessarily why you're upset," Octavia thought Sookie attributed too much ability to Alex at this early stage. He was advanced, but probably not as advanced as he would need to be to deliberately be trying to freak people out. He was just doing what came naturally and taking delight in the reactions he was getting.

"Yeah, maybe. He just gets this wicked twinkle in his eye when he knows he's being bad that is SO much like Eric that it's hard for me to believe he doesn't know exactly what he's doing."

"When did he start doing it?" Octavia asked

"The day he learned to roll over. He was so pleased with himself, you wouldn't believe it."

"Ah, Mamee!" Alex was awake and reaching up to pat Sookie's face, which always made her smile.

"Hi, Pookie. I hear you went flying this morning?"

"Eeah, fyeen eye-er and eye-er."

"You're not supposed to do that without Daddy, Alex!"

"Dadee seepeen."

"Right, so you wait until Daddy wakes up and he'll take you flying. You don't leave this room by yourself, you understand me?"

Alex just blinked at her.

"I know you know what I'm saying, Alex."

"Nah nah, Mamee."

"Yes, you do."

"Nah nah," Alex giggled.

"See what I mean? He laughs at me."

"Ee, Mamee!"

"He just ate less than half an hour ago," Bjorn told her.

"Nah nah, Bhord, EE!"

"Relax, Alex," Sookie told him as she put him in position to feed. He extended his fangs immediately and bit down hard, surprising Sookie. "Ouch! Ease up, Alex."

"Did he?" Octavia asked.

"Yeah, he did," Sookie assured her.

"He's eating a lot," Octavia observed.

"Yeah, and he's putting on weight like crazy. If he keeps growing at this rate, he and you know who won't look so much alike anymore."

"They're identical now?"

"Right down to the sharp little fangs, except I think you-know is warm and Alex is cold. It's hard to tell because his room is always so warm when I'm there."

"Fae don't like winter, unless they're born to it like mountain sprites or snow devils."

"Snow devils?"

"Little snow fairies – nothing sinister about them, except they love the cold and like to play tricks. They're a type of brownie," Octavia explained. "You can see them whirling around in the snow sometimes."

"Were they on the list Claudine gave me?"

"She was only hitting the high points."

"I can't believe there are so many!"

"Think of how many different races and cultures of humans there are and have been," Octavia pointed out, "it's the same thing, but Fae live a lot longer so their groups don't die out as quickly as human cultures do."

"Are there ever different cultures within other groups, like Weres or vampires?"

"Well, Weres and Shifters are clannish, so they divide up more as families and different large families might take on different characteristics or practices. Vamps have a sort of aristocracy, but they aren't strictly divided except for official offices like Sheriffs and royals."

"I met some European royals at the Sheriff's Ball," Sookie recalled, "and they were obviously high class, like you wouldn't believe."

"Really?" Octavia and Bjorn spoke at once.

"Yeah, imagine the slickest, most refined humans you've ever seen and then multiply it by a hundred. I couldn't believe they'd even speak to me," Sookie laughed.

"Did they make you feel uncomfortable?" Octavia was really curious about this since Sookie had never mentioned it.

"No, actually, they were very kind. They were all excited about the baby and they all invited us to visit them. The Queen of… Austria, I think?... invited us to bring Alex when he learned to walk. I think she wants to have him running through the halls of her castle or whatever."

"Is her name Giselle? The one they call Mama?" Octavia asked.

"Yes, that's her. Isn't that weird I know two people named Giselle?"

Bjorn laughed, "that is kind of strange. Except for that model, I don't know that I've ever heard the name before."

Octavia just laughed and nodded. She vaguely knew of the model from TV commercials but she had certainly heard of the vampire Queen Giselle. She was nearly as old as Eric and her money was even older. There were rumors she was connected to the House of Borgia before Rodrigo became Pope Alexander VI in the late 1400's, but she knew Sookie wouldn't know who the Borgias were so she'd save that conversation for another time.

"Tatosth, Mamee."

"Are you still hungry, Alex?"

"EEAh! Undwy!"

"OK, Sweetie, hang on…" Sookie reached for the monitor and pressed the button, "Alicia?"

"Yes, Mrs. Northman?"

"Are you bringing something for Alex, too? He says he's still hungry, though he's had blood and milk both."

"Yes, Margaret is making him some breakfast. Is he asking for anything specific?"

"Potatoes,"

"Tatosths, Eesh!"

Alicia laughed, "Alright, Baby E, I'll be there in a few minutes!"

"Thanks!" Sookie laughed, too and scooted down a little, putting Alex up on her tummy. "OK, Boy-a-mine, what time is it?"

"DANTHEEN!"

"Come on, baby! Let's do the Twist! Come on, Baaah-beh, let's do the Twist, take me by the little hand, and go like this! Yeah, twist, baby twist!" Sookie sang and Alex cracked up as he always did. Octavia hadn't seen them do this before and she thought it was funny Sookie would sing such an old song to the baby. She wondered if Sookie ever really heard of Chubby Checker, but she also knew it didn't matter what she sang because Alex was obviously in heaven. Glancing to the side, she noticed Bjorn was enjoying himself, too. That was interesting, but she wasn't sure why.

"Bjorn, what time is it?" Octavia couldn't quite make out the clock on Eric's nightstand from where she was.

"It's going on eleven…"

"OK, I've got a phone call I need to make and then I've got some stuff I want to finish before lunch. I'll see you all downstairs," she explained as she walked toward the door.

"OK, thanks, Octavia!" Sookie said for nothing in particular but she liked Octavia being around when there was a problem with Alex.

As Octavia went down the stairs, Alex floated up over the bed. "Ahm fyeen, Mamee!"

"Yeah, yeah, I see ya!" Sookie teased him. "You only fly with Mommy or Daddy from now on, right? You can fly in here in the mornings and at night you can fly with Daddy and that's it."

Alex turned over and over in the air, pretty much ignoring Sookie and just enjoying his time in the air. He was scampering across the ceiling when Alicia brought in the breakfast tray. "Ah, Eesh!"

"Hi, Baby E. Are you going to come down and eat breakfast?"

"Ee!" Alex flew down straight to Bjorn because he was used to him doing the morning feeding of solid food.

"Hey, Buddy. Let's see what we've got this morning," Bjorn was happy he'd be still for a bit and let Sookie relax and eat, too. "Say, 'what have I got, Alicia'"

"Wodava dod, Eesha!" Alex giggled, deliberately being cute.

"You've got a yummy breakfast of mashed potatoes, gravy, shredded beef and pureed green beans."

"That sounds more like dinner than breakfast!" Sookie laughed.

"Not a lot of breakfast foods go with mashed potatoes," she laughed, "it's sort of a deconstructed Salisbury steak with beans on the side."

Bjorn gave Alex a bite and he hummed loudly. "dat dwavby?"

"Yeah, that's gravy."

"Ah wyg dwavby!"

"Yeah, gravy is good on potatoes."

"Eeah, dood!" Alex held his mouth open wide for another bite and everybody laughed out how cute he was. "Mamee?" he asked with his mouth full.

"Whatcha want, Pookie?"

"Sthimmeen?" he was making a mess trying to eat and talk at the same time.

"You want to go swimming?" Sookie thought that was a fine idea.

"Eeah! Wondoo do sthimmeen."

"OK, eat all your breakfast and we'll go down to the pool."

"ODAY!" Alex accepted another bite of beef happily. "Bhord ina poo?"

"Not today, Alex, I have to work." He was scraping the little food gently around Alex's mouth, trying to get all the food in there. Alex was a sloppy eater, like any baby his age. "Maybe later tonight when Daddy is up. There are lots of strangers on the property today. We're only going downstairs because I have lots of extra men working."

Alex didn't know what Bjorn was saying, but he watched his mouth carefully, trying to learn more words. Alex wanted all the words he could get.

Sookie was humming as she ate her caviar. The tray Alicia brought had little bowls of garnishes – shallots, chopped egg, capers – a generous bowl of crème fraiche, some soft butter, and lovely pieces of smoked salmon cut to fit on the little "toast points," which were little rounds of French bread toasted with butter. "Mmmm. Want some caviar, Bjorn?"

"No, thanks, that's not a big favorite with me."

"It sure is with me. I love this stuff."

"Ee, Mamee!" Alex reached toward Sookie, pointing at her plate.

"You've got food right there, Alex!" Sookie was amazed.

"Ah gahn. Ee!"

"All gone? He ate all that already?"

"Yep, he did," Bjorn tried to hold on to Alex, but he was too fast. Before he or Sookie could react he was on the bed with a handful of fish eggs, giggling his little head off.

"Alex!"

"DOOD, Mamee! Dat?"

"Alex, say "what is that?"" Bjorn coached him.

"Wadiz dat?"

"It's caviar. I can't believe you like caviar!"

"Who likes caviar?" Alicia came back in

"Alex!" Sookie and Bjorn both exclaimed.

"Oh, dear! Well, I'll make sure we've got plenty of the salmon roe. It's pretty cheap. We'll save the better stuff for mommy, but he'll still get a taste when you have it."

Alex was leaning on Sookie with one hand and looking at the mix of tiny black and big translucent red berries on his hand. "Eh, Mamee!" Alex held his hand out to her, offering her some.

"That's OK, Sweetie, you can eat it now," Sookie teased him and he shoved his hand in his mouth, sucking and licking, then he yelped.

"Aeehh!"

"Oops! What happened, Sweetie," Sookie was alarmed again.

Alex held his hand up and she could see puncture marks that were rapidly healing.

"Ouch! You bit yourself!"

Alex looked at his hand then stuck fingers from both hands in his mouth. He felt his bottom gums, and he felt his extended fangs for a second, then made a little snarling sound and retracted them. Sookie, Alicia and Bjorn sat there watching Alex figure out how his fangs worked, and how it felt when he bit his own fingers. It was a fascinating process to watch, and they were barely breathing. It was so intense to see the wheels turning in Alex's head, and nobody wanted to interrupt him or distract him. After a few minutes, he started looking at his belly button, which was still a little shriveled remnant of the umbilical, and everyone laughed with him.

Alicia went to the nursery for a box of wipes. "I think we'd better start keeping a box of these in here now that he's getting bolder with his food," she laughed.

"Yeah, he's a mess, aren't you, Pookie? Yeah, you're a messy boy! Messy boy!" Sookie hugged him and nuzzled his neck and made animal sounds, sending Alex into a fit of giggles. Alicia handed her a wipe and she cleaned Alex up, then he reminded her, "ina poo, Mamee!"

"OK, Alicia, can you get his plastic pants while I get my suit on?"

"Yep, which suit do you want?"

"There are men working outside, right?"

"Right…"

"Something that won't give Eric a heart attack, please?" Sookie laughed.

Alicia laughed, "How about a one-piece just for today?"

"Actually, do I have one with more coverage lower, you know?"

"Hmm – there's this new white one that is kind of old-fashioned – the waist comes up higher and the bottom has a flap over the front, not quite a skirt, and it's got a very pretty halter. It's very "old Hollywood."

"OK, that sounds good. I know he doesn't like skimpy bottoms with other men around."

"You can't blame him for that, Sookie…" Bjorn defended Eric.

"No, I don't blame him, exactly, I'm just aware that he feels that way. I wouldn't even think twice about wearing a regular bikini if I didn't know it bothered him."

"I think it's sweet that he cares about things like that. It shows that he values and respects your relationship,' Alicia said.

"Are you sure you aren't just saying that because he's paying you to?"

"No, I'm not. It's really just another way to take care of you."

"Huh – I never thought of it that way. That does make it kind of sweet."

Bjorn shook his head and laughed to himself. He knew it was a purely possessive thing on Eric's part, but if thinking of it this way made Sookie more likely to do as Eric wanted, so much the better.

Alicia threw Sookie the suit and took the baby into the nursery while Bjorn went to stand outside the door, holding his book as he waited. Sookie wiggled into the bikini, not thrilled to be so covered-up, but knowing Eric would be pleased if she was still in it when he arose for the evening. She had to admit, it did look really cute on her. She thought she'd leave her hair down because it went better with the feel of the suit than a ponytail did. Finally she zipped into the bathroom to run some waterproof kohl around the inside of her eyes. She was really enjoying the way that looked these days and considering this was her night to see Aubie, she wanted to feel Witchy.

Bjorn could barely hang onto Alex as they walked through the house. He couldn't wait to get into the water. It was a gorgeous bright day and Sookie threw her cover off and dropped her bag as soon as she hit the concrete, then ran and jumped in the pool.

"Come to Mommy, Pookie!" She laughed and Alex flew from Bjorn's arms straight to her. Bjorn was surprised she let him fly in the middle of the day with construction going on outside, but then Sookie didn't necessarily make sense all the time. She forgot about propriety when she was really having fun, and this was her idea of fun – sun, water, baby and even Bjorn because she loved their talks while she floated. Nobody else had come out of the house yet, so it was kind of like when Bjorn first started.

As soon as she had a hold of Alex, she went "Whoo!" and dunked him, making him crack up. She noticed a stack of his pool toys on the cement beside the pool and she picked up a little red plastic starfish and threw it a few feet away. As she hoped, it floated there and she said, "Alex, see the red toy? Go get it!"

Alex hesitated, not sure what she meant.

"Bring the red toy to Mommy!"

Alex was off like a shot, paddling at vampire speed to the toy and grabbing it, then coming back more slowly because he had it in his hand and wasn't sure how to hang onto it and swim at the same time. He managed, though, smiling and laughing as Sookie scooped him up.

"Wow – did you see that, Bjorn?" Sookie was tickled that Alex did it so well on his first try.

"Yeah, he swims like a fish!" Bjorn was really proud of the little guy.

"Hey, speaking of which, are you doing anything tonight?" Sookie was swinging Alex in circles through the water.

"No, why?"

"I've got something I want to show you after all the workers go home."

"You can't show me now?"

"Nope, it has to be at night. Maybe we'll all swim together like we did before. Hey, throw me a mattress, please?"

"Does Eric know whatever this is?" Bjorn pulled her favorite pink air mattress off the rack and threw it into the water in front of them.

"Yeah, of course, but you need to know, too, but I want to show you and there can't be humans around."

"OK…" Bjorn figured it was some new ability she had, but the curiosity was really going to eat at him. Damn, she looked sexy in that new suit.

"I'll be going… you know… tonight and we can all swim after if that's OK – you don't have to if you don't want to, of course."

"I want to – I want to see what you're up to."

"You won't believe it until you see it – it's so cool!"

"You're busting to tell me, so why don't you just say it."

"Nope, I want to see your face."

"Nothing you do will surprise me that much, Sookie."

"Want to bet?"

"Not with you, Hon – I know I'd lose," he laughed.

"Hey, Bjorn?" Jerry called out to him as he walked from the construction of the two houses up toward the pool.

"Yeah, Jer?"

"What should I do with this?" he was holding something black and furry cradled in his arm and petting it with his other hand.

"Hey, what's that?!" Sookie asked, excited because she was sure what it was.

"It's a kitten. He wondered onto the property and we're afraid he'll get hurt. I thought the baby might want to see him. If you want we'll take him to the pound."

"OOH, lookie, Alex! A kitty kat!" Sookie held Alex forward so he could pet the little thing as Jerry held it.

Alex was beside himself – it was like a do-ee that moved! He stroked it with his little hand and said "sopf, Mamee!"

"Yeah, he's soft. He's a sweet baby, isn't he?"

"Beebee?"

"Yeah, he's a little baby cat. Baby cats are called kittens."

"Giddnens"

"Yeah, kitten."

"Ma giddnen?"

"Your kitten? Um –I guess we'd have to ask Daddy about that."

"As' Dadee?"

"Yeah, we'll see what Dadee says when he wakes up."

"How does Eric feel about cats?" Bjorn asked her. He was sitting forward with this elbows on his knees so he could watch Alex and the kitten, not only because they were cute, but because he didn't want either of them to get hurt. Any kid could hurt a little animal like that, but Alex could really hurt it without understanding what he was doing. There was also the possibility that Alex might think it was food.

"I don't know – we've never talked about it. I always had cats growing up so I love them. I know that it's a little dangerous having them around human babies – do you think he'd be a danger to Alex?" she asked Bjorn.

"More likely Alex would be a danger to him. If you want to keep him around, we'll have to watch them very carefully. He might not understand not to be rough with it or he might think it's lunch."

"I think it's more likely he'll think it's a toy. Well, let's keep him 'til Eric can see him and we'll talk about it. By that time we should have some idea if Alex is safe to be around him."

"Alright," Bjorn agreed reluctantly.

"He's probably hungry," Jerry observed.

"Yeah, I'll bet he is. Go ask Margaret if she's got some tuna or something for him, Please?" Sookie asked apologetically

"Sure thing, your majesty," Kerik smiled at Sookie.

"You can leave him for Alex until you get back, OK?" Sookie offered, not fooling anyone.

"Yes, Ma'am," Jerry laughed and Bjorn just shook his head. Sookie wanted the kitten more than Alex did and both men knew it.

Octavia came through the kitchen as Jerry was asking for tuna for the cat.

"You found a kitten in the yard? Inside the fence?" Octavia asked as she poured herself a cup of coffee.

"Yeah, he's small enough to fit through the bars. He's barely big enough to be weaned, if he is."

"I wonder where he came from?" Margaret asked as she opened a can of tuna and put it in a plastic margarine bowl.

"This far out, someone might have set him out of a car. You know how people are with unwanted litters," Jerry speculated.

"Is he out there by the pool?" Octavia wanted to see the cat, just in case there was something amiss.

"Yeah, Sookie and Alex are playing with it."

Octavia took her coffee and the puzzle book she was going to use while she relaxed by the pool and headed out for Bjorn's usual table. She smiled as she approached them, seeing how Alex was enjoying petting it and how tickled he was when the kitten licked his fingers. "Ayvbe! Woogie – giddnen!"

"That's a pretty black cat," Octavia commented. "you know they're really good luck if they're pure black."

"I thought they were bad luck?" Sookie made a curious face.

"Not originally, especially not for Witches. We favor the black ones , which is why Christians consider them bad luck. You know Freyja favors cats, too."

"Yeah, she does." Sookie looked the kitten over. "She doesn't have any white on her, but her paw pads are pink."

"I don't think that counts. I'd say that's a lucky one," Octavia laughed as she sat opposite Bjorn. "You sure it's a she?"

"Yeah, I know how to tell the difference. I've always had girl cats and I could always tell the girls from the boys when they had kittens."

"Girl cats are easier to keep around, especially indoors."

"Yeah, definitely. I hope we get to keep her," Sookie said wistfully.

"Waiting for the King to say 'yay' or 'nay?'" Octavia laughed

"Yep. If it's up to me, we keep her."

"Ma giddnen, Mamee."

"Alex, I told you we have to ask Daddy."

"Here you go, Your Majesty. I've got a big bowl of tuna for it," Jerry came back with a little blue dish.

"Oh, good. Thanks so much, Jerry. Here kitty, are you hungry?"

The kitten dived into the bowl with a little "yowl," tipping it sideways as she devoured the chunks of fish.

"Giddnen ee!"

"Yeah, the kitty has to eat. She's hungry – look at her go!"

"Eeah, giddy ee mo!"

"Eats more? You mean eats a lot?" Sookie thought that was what he was trying to say.

"Giddy ee tha wodt."

"OK, that's pretty close," Sookie laughed.

Bjorn spread a towel on the ground next to the kitten and her bowl and lifted Alex up to the side, letting him drip off a bit, and sat him next to the cat. Sookie kept Alex from bothering it while it ate, afraid it might take a swipe at him, and she enjoyed seeing Alex so fascinated by the cute little thing.

"Wadiz dat?" Alex pointed.

"That's her tail."

The cat licked the bowl clean, then sat back on its haunches, its tongue darting out licking what it could off of its little face.

"Wadiz dat, Mamee?"

"That's her tongue. See, tongue?" Sookie stuck her tongue out at Alex and made a silly face.

Alex laughed and said "pundy Mamee!" then he touched his mouth, looking for his own tongue. The kitten walked between Alex's legs and butted her little head into Alex's tummy, making Alex giggle. He petted the cat's back, Sookie guiding him, "gently, Alex, so you don't hurt her."

"_Meow," _the kitty made a little sound and sniffed at Alex's face, then it rubbed up against him, making him giggle again and blink his eyes when it turned around and lightly tapped near his eye with its tail.

"Eh, mow?!" Alex asked

"That's how kitties talk, Alex, they say "meow," Sookie told him.

Suddenly, something quickly hopped near the pool where they were all congregated.

"Oh, look – a grasshopper!" Sookie said, but it hopped twice and landed in the grass before the words were out and the kitten followed it. Before anyone could react, there was a second black cat chasing the kitten – and no Alex sitting on the towel.

"Holy shit!" Bjorn said and went after them both. Octavia yelled "hey!" and Sookie shrieked, unable to go after them from the pool. The noise from the construction scared the cats back in the direction of the pool, but they went right as Bjorn went left. "Call him, Sookie!" Bjorn reminded her, and Sookie yelled, "Alex, come to me!"

Instantly Sookie was holding one kitten dangling in the water and the other was running from Bjorn and dived into the water, paddling over toward Sookie where the bowl sat empty. Sookie scooped it up, too and handed it to Octavia, who had a towel in her hands, and Bjorn helped Sookie get her "kitten" into a towel.

"Alex, you turn back right now!" Sookie was frantic.

"Meow!"

"Alex! You turn back this instant!"

Sookie nearly dropped him as he changed and suddenly gained weight, surprising her. Fortunately, Bjorn was still near her and helped her catch him. Alex was giggling like mad, and Bjorn was trying not to laugh because Sookie was nigh unto a heart attack. She was sort of huffing, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.

"Sookie," Octavia said softly, "try to slow down your breathing. He's alright, and so are you." She knew it wouldn't take much for Sookie to be hysterical. "It's just another new ability, girl, he comes up with one every day, right?"

"Right," Sookie was trying to calm down. Bjorn put his arm around her and said "shhh, Sookie, it's OK. Just breathe slowly."

"Don't worry, Queenie, nobody saw what happened," Octavia assured her. "We're the only three who know, but you're going to have to tell the others so they aren't shocked when he does it on them."

"When did he learn to do that?!" Sookie wasn't connecting the fact that she had just learned to shape shift. Octavia and Bjorn didn't know, so they couldn't point it out to her.

"He's never encountered an animal before, Sookie, so he never tried. He just wanted to play with the kitten. It's just a lot easier for him than for most kids," Octavia explained. "At least that way, they won't hurt each other."

"True." Sookie was calming a bit.

"Plus, you know, having the cat around gives you the opportunity to teach him when not to shift."

"Ee, Mamee!"

"Good idea, Alex. Here, Sookie sit in my chair," Bjorn guided her to the table. "Just feed the baby and relax. It'll be lunchtime soon, so you don't want people to know what's going on, right?"

"Right. Right. Everyone will be coming up here…"

"Is the playpen still in the den?" Octavia asked.

"Yeah, it is," Bjorn confirmed.

"Here's what we'll do, Sookie, you come into the den and lean back and feed your baby. We'll put the kitten in the play pen, then when Alex dozes off, you can put him in with it," Octavia suggested.

"Is it safe?" Sookie liked the idea but wanted to be sure.

"It's safe for Alex. We'll have to watch and be sure it's safe for the kitten," Bjorn said, agreeing with Octavia - better to get them all into the house. Alex could teleport, so if they left the kitten outside, odds were he would come after it. "I'll be right there, though, so let's go in. I'll bet Margaret has something great ready for lunch, right?"

"Right – she probably does," Sookie agreed and let Bjorn guide her into the house as she held Alex to her chest, probably a little closer than was necessary. Octavia followed behind, softly talking to the kitten in the towel, which was much calmer than you'd expect a cat to be about water. Octavia had an idea that this might not be your average cat.

They got Sookie and Alex into the recliner in the den and put the kitten into the playpen.

"Sookie, I need to speak to Bjorn just a minute. You just relax. We'll keep watch on you, so go ahead and doze off if you want to," Octavia said, hoping Sookie's adrenaline would burn off and she'd fall asleep.

"OK, we'll be OK," Sookie said, not quite sure of that, but nursing Alex was beginning to make her feel grounded, as was the fact that Alex was sending all kinds of love and comfort into the bond.

Octavia and Bjorn slipped into the kitchen. Margaret was busily preparing turkey and roast beef sandwiches for everyone, so they continued into the living room.

"Bjorn, would you know another Shifter if you met one?"

"Yeah, most likely. I'd smell it on them in pretty much any form."

"OK, and that kitten smells normal to you?"

"Well, she doesn't smell of Shifter, but she doesn't smell exactly like cat, either."

"How is it different?"

"A little sweeter – kind of floral, if that makes any sense."

"Like roses?"

"Very faintly, but yeah, roses. What do you think it is?"

"I'm thinking Freyja sent the little one a Familiar. Or Sookie. It's hard to tell them apart at this stage, but one of them is supposed to form a magickal bond with that cat."

"You don't think it's just a stray?"

"Does it smell like a stray?"

"No, you're right, it's not."

"There's something else – you ever see a cat swim?"

"I have, actually, but it's very rare. Most of them want nothing to do with water."

"That one wasn't a bit upset when Sookie brought it out. I also think it's significant that she brought it out with the baby. Most mothers wouldn't give a damn about a cat when they thought their baby was at risk."

"Yeah, but Sookie is different…"

"Exactly – she might not know consciously that it's different, but the Goddess in her knows if She sent a Familiar this way."

"Right. That's why you brought him in… I thought you were just afraid Alex would teleport after it."

"There's that, too, but mostly, I think she's supposed to be here for one or both of them. You go back and keep an eye on them. I'm going to throw some cards and see what I can see."

"Good idea. Thank you," Bjorn said and made a beeline back to Sookie and the baby.

Octavia headed up the stairs, and met Alicia on the stairway. "Oh, there you are! Your room is all fresh and ready for you."

"Thanks for doing that. I'm sorry to add to your workload," Octavia was very grateful to have these things taken care of for her.

"Oh, don't be silly. You're part of the family, too, and family is no trouble."

"Well, thanks. I know it's a lot, but could I have my lunch up here?"

"Of course! Do you prefer turkey or roast beef, or would you like one of each?"

"One of each would be good and one of those blue cans of soda pop Sookie likes, too."

"I'll bring it up when it's ready. You just relax."

"Thanks," Octavia wanted plenty of time alone to work some things out so she was ready to talk to Eric first thing. These were two huge developments. She just hoped he liked cats.

Sookie was dozing when Bjorn went back in, so he brought his book inside and put it on the end table by the couch. Alex was talking to Sookie, who wasn't responding, and Bjorn could tell he wanted to switch to the other breast. Yeah, that wasn't something Bjorn felt he should do, so he went in search of Alicia.

"Hey, ladies," he said to Alicia and Margaret as he entered the kitchen. "I think Alex wants to move, you know, to the other… side."

Both women laughed. "I'll take care of it," Alicia said affectionately. "You want your lunch in here or in there?"

"I should stick close to them, so I'd better take it in there, if it's no trouble."

"Not a bit. I'll get a tray out of the closet for you."

"Thanks."

"OH, MY!"

Bjorn rushed to see if there was a problem.

"I'm sorry if I startled you. I didn't expect that kitten to be here."

"Yeah, Sookie wants to keep it for Alex, but they're waiting for the OK from Eric."

"Is it safe?"

"For the baby, yeah, I just hope it's safe for the kitten, too," Bjorn laughed.

"Good point. Did he seem to understand it was alive?"

"I think so – he saw it eat and he chased it around the yard…"

"Chased it?"

"It's a long story. Trust me, we'll fill you all in later. I need to talk to Eric first."

"O… K…" at this point, nothing was going to surprise Alicia. She moved past being shocked when Alex landed on the ceiling the first time. Nothing that baby did was going to shock her. At this point, she just laughed about all his "talents," as she and Margaret called them.

The workers and some of the guards came in for lunch and were served outside on the picnic tables. Margaret sent big sandwiches out to the guard huts and the servant's quarters, too, and Alicia delivered sandwiches to Bjorn and to Octavia.

Bjorn had to take a break in the midst of his sandwich to put a sleeping Alex in the playpen, and he tried not to peek when he threw the baby blanket over Sookie's chest, but DAMN! They were nice!

He was just finishing his sandwich when Alicia came in to ask if he wanted anything else.

"Is there any lettuce left?"

"Yes, what did you want?"

"Would it be OK if I took some meat and some lettuce and made myself a salad?"

"I'll do that, Hon, what would you like on it?"

He asked for onions, green or red peppers if she had them, cucumber, beef and turkey with some vinegar and a little olive oil, and Sookie piped up, "that sounds really good."

"Would you like one, too, Dear?"

"Yes, please? But I want blue cheese dressing."

"Coming right up."

"Blue cheese, huh?" Bjorn teased her.

"Hey, I'm breast-feeding, I need extra calories," she looked back at him and stuck out her tongue.

"True, you do. Can I get you anything while you wait?"

"No, I'm just going to lie here a bit while I wake up. Did you put this blanket over me?"

"I tried not to peek."

"You've seen them so many times, why bother," Sookie laughed and he did, too. "I don't even think Eric would mind."

"Eric would mind very much if it wasn't his idea."

"Yeah, you're right," Sookie said, almost to herself. What if is _were_ Eric's idea? Sookie almost wondered if they had talked about "it" but she couldn't think of a diplomatic way to ask. She wasn't really sure she wanted to know.

"Where's the baby?"

"He's in the playpen over here with his cat."

"Oh, good. Are they doing alright?"

"They're both asleep, but the cat's not near his face."

"What time is it?"

"Almost 2. He'll be up wanting to play in a few minutes then he'll be asleep again before dinner."

"Yeah, that sounds about right. Is the remote over there?"

"Yeah, right here." He handed her the TV control and before long they had settled on reruns of **Everybody Loves Raymond**.

"These people are so funny," Sookie said, "they're supposed to be based on his real family, right?"

"I don't know – are they?"

"I think so. That must be one crazy family. Imagine having a mother like that?!"

"Not like yours, huh?"

"No, my mom was basically a country girl. She liked to fish with my dad and they watched a lot of sports together. She'd never have the idea of manipulating people the way they do here. She wasn't devious in any way."

"That's good. You sound like you have good memories of her."

"Yeah, the only bad ones are when they worried about money, which was a lot, or about my disability. She worried about that quite a bit. She was afraid of me."

"That can't be true, can it?" Bjorn spoke softly. This was a big thing she was telling him.

"Yeah, it was. Don't get me wrong, she loved me a lot and really fought for me with teachers and stuff like that, but it scared her. It would scare anybody, I guess."

"No one else in your family has your ability?"

"No. I was in my mid-twenties before I met another one."

"But you have met others?"

"Yeah, one, anyway, the first time I went to Dallas with Bill. Barry the bellhop," she laughed. "He's a good guy."

"Is he still a bellhop?"

"I don't think so. Last time I saw him, he was working for vamps the way I was, when the hotel was bombed."

"The Pyramid of Gizeh, you mean?"

"Yeah, we worked for what seemed like days trying to find people."

"OH, so he was the other telepath?"

"Yeah. I haven't thought of him in a long time. We were pretty determined never to speak of it again, and hoped that the rescuers wouldn't tell anyone, but word got out anyway."

"You didn't want people to know?"

"No way! We'd never see a minute's peace! There's always someone in need. I don't mind helping when I can, but there's a lot more need than I could ever meet. You ever hear of John Douglas?"

"The profiler? Yeah, I know his rep at Quantico."

"Yeah, that's him. I read one of his books and he was talking about how his job nearly killed him because he couldn't say 'no' – every serial killer is horrible and every victim is precious and he almost literally worked himself to death."

"Yeah, I can see where that'd be a problem."

"No, you don't. Even if I couldn't hear your thoughts, Bjorn, I can hear it in your voice. I know you're service oriented. You want to help people."

"You do, too, Sookie."

"Not to my own detriment, though. You've put your life on the line for others…"

"So have you."

"For Eric. And for Bill."

"Sookie, what you did at the Pyramid was heroic. You could have walked away."

"I guess. I just… I can't do it every day, you know?"

"Yeah, I get that. You deserve a little peace, considering what you've been through."

"Thanks for understanding. Ooh, yummy!" Alicia handed her a big bowl of salad and put one in front of Bjorn, then gave them each forks.

"Dig in! Here, Sookie, I remembered your soda pop, too."

"Thanks! This looks amazing!"

Sookie and Bjorn watched the show, ate salad and chatted about nothing heavy or important. About the time Sookie finished her salad, Alex woke up, and Sookie watched him looking at the kitty, which was cute. He was so curious about it, but he wasn't threatening it in any way.

"Bosth, Mamee!"

"You want to play with Boss?"

"Eeah, an giddy."

"I don't know if kitty will like Boss but we can see when she wakes up."

"Oday." Alex sat and waited for Bjorn to pull the dino out of the corner and unzip it, then he sat Alex right in the middle. Alex wallowed into the pit and giggled and at one point the kitty "meowed" and Alex pointed at it and said "giddy!" and it was instantly in the pit with him. Balls went flying, the cat went scampering after them and Alex was completely enthralled, making his "hhaaahh!" sound and trying to follow it. Vampire speed was a definite advantage in crawling after the little animal, and they played together as if they'd been doing it forever.

Sookie and Bjorn just sat back and let them do their thing and they were happy as clams. Margaret and Alicia spent some time standing behind the couch watching, too, with big smiles on their faces. They played so hard that at one point, the kitten just fell over asleep. Alex was slowing down, too, so Sookie put them both into the playpen and he was almost instantly asleep.

Sookie insisted that Bjorn come into the kitchen with her and have a cup of coffee and they were sitting talking to Margaret when Eric came in.

"Hello, my Angel!" He bent to kiss her

"Hey!" She was really, really glad to see him.

"Where is the baby?"

"In the den in the playpen."

Eric went into the den, and was back instantly. "Is this a joke? There are two black cats in there."

"Tell Alex to change back," Sookie said with a little bit of attitude.

"What?!"

"Tell Alex to change back. There's one cat and one baby in there, so tell Alex to change back."

Eric went back into the den and looked at the two little kittens snuggled up together.

One of them was his son?!

"Alex, wake up. Change back for Daddy." Both little cats awoke and stretched, and one of them morphed into a crawling baby yelling "DADEE!"

Eric scooped Alex up and hugged him, a little bit disturbed at this development. Vampires looked down on Shifters as inferior. A vampire who could shift… well, it was not unheard of, but it was very, very rare. So, he reminded himself, was Alex.

"Surprise!" Sookie said wryly as he came back into the kitchen with the baby.

"I can't believe he can do it, too!"

"You coulda knocked me over with a feather. I nearly had a stroke."

"Yeah, she was pretty stressed when he first did it," Bjorn agreed.

"Where did the cat come from?"

"He wandered into the yard and the guards thought the baby would like to see him, and boy, did he! One minute, he's petting him, the next minute two cats are dashing through the yard after a grasshopper. I'd give anything for video of Bjorn trying to catch them," Sookie teased.

"Yeah, not on of my prouder moments. Sookie had to call Alex, and the cat evaded me by jumping in the pool," Bjorn laughed.

Eric sat down, hugging Alex tightly, still trying to process this development.

"Dadee!"

Eric let him lean back and look him in the eye, "Yes, Alex?"

"Ah ava giddy!"

"Yes, I saw that you have a kitty. Why is kitty in the house?"

"You need to talk to Octavia about the cat. She thinks she's supposed to be here for Sookie or Alex or both."

"Did she say that?" Sookie perked up.

"Yeah, she went upstairs to read cards about it. She thinks Freyja might have sent her," Bjorn explained.

"Her? The cat is a female?" Eric asked.

"Yes, it is. Cats are sacred to Freyja, you know?" Sookie added

"Yes, I've..." Eric stopped himself, realizing the maids were in the room, "I'm familiar with Freyja's cats."

"Yeah, Familiar. That's what Octavia said," Bjorn recalled.

"Like a Witch's Familiar?" Sookie asked

"Yeah, exactly. She says it's not a normal cat."

"Why would she think so?" Eric asked

"Well, she didn't mind swimming in the pool, and she's very attentive to Alex in a way a normal cat wouldn't be."

"Cats don't like Fae, though," Eric was trying to make sense of this.

"They don't?" Sookie asked

"No, they don't. They try to kill them," Eric told her.

"Well, I'm pretty sure she's not a Shifter, Eric, so Familiar seems the most logical," Bjorn told him. "Talk to Octavia about it. She'll be down soon, I think."


	88. Chapter 88

**[A/N: I think most of you are reading both "LATE" and "ENTITLEMENT" now. LATE is intended to go as far as it can in every direction. While I have felt a little intimidated since the recent dust-up, Master Eric will be back with a cast of favorites, and LATE will still be as extreme as I can make it without getting too twisted. If you want a story without the dominance stuff, and with a purely monogamous E/S, stick with ENTITLEMENT. It will stay relatively sweet. LATE is going to "go there" in the next chapter.**

**For our purposes here, "Cullach" is pronounced "Coy."]**

**Chapter 88**

"You all waitin' for me?" Octavia came in smiling.

"Good evening, Octavia," Eric said.

"Hey, Octavia!" Bjorn said, "I was just telling Eric you were doing some research about the kitten."

"Uh-huh, I did quite a bit about our new family member. Eric, how do you feel about cats?" She took a place at the end of the table, opposite Eric.

"I don't dislike them, but I have never shared my nest with one." He was teasing the baby, holding him up, forehead-to-forehead, smiling and making him giggle as he patted Dadee's cheeks with his little hands.

"It will help if you can develop some affection for that one. She's going to be important for your son."

"As a …?" he looked at Sookie, not remembering the word.

"Familiar," Sookie finished his sentence.

"Yes, or at least a protector at some sort. I got some information that I couldn't quite decipher… Eric, what do you know about your mother?"

"My mother?" Eric wasn't sure he wanted everyone to know about Erin. "She was from Ireland. I barely remember her."

"Did she look like Sookie, by any chance?"

"Yes, very much."

"She had something else in common with Sookie, didn't she?" Octavia looked right at him, sure he knew that his mother was Fae. That was the only thing that made sense with what she had seen in the cards.

"Yes." Eric laughed a little because he knew he was busted about his Fae heritage.

"She was full blood?"

"Yes."

"And you're half?"

"Yes."

"That explains a lot. Have you ever been told that you two might have had a baby even without Niall's intervention?"

"Yes," Sookie interjected. "Dr. Ludwig said it might have happened anyway."

"I know you don't see it this way, Eric, but it's a powerful advantage, especially where the other one is concerned."

That surprised him, "how so?"

"I think you ought to try to go with Sookie tonight."

"With her? To…?"

"Yes. I think if she holds your hand while she does her circle, you'll both go. You need to see him, so he's real to you."

"What has this to do with the kitten?"

"She's a part of Alex's magick, and she has something to do with your mother, but that's all I have so far. You need to keep her around, and expect her to want to be wherever Alex is."

"I thought cats hated Fae?"

"Not this one. I'm not sure she isn't Fae."

"There are Fae cats?" Eric had never heard of this.

"There are Fae that take the form of cats and live that way most, if not all, of the time. That cat does things no other cat would do."

"Such as?"

"Swimming in the pool. Paying attention to the baby. Letting him follow her around and pet her."

"You should see them play together," Bjorn told them.

"It's unusual?" Eric was trying to accept all of this.

"Yes, and it's funny as hell," Sookie told him.

"The cat is crying," Eric said.

"Do this – take the baby in there and put him in the ball pit then sit back and watch," Sookie suggested.

Eric stood up and took the baby into the den. Octavia followed and sat in the recliner, wanting to see what happened. She smiled to herself the whole time, loving to see them have so much fun.

As soon as Alex was in the ball pit, the kitty "meowed" and Alex threw his arm toward it and said, "giddy!" The cat was instantly in the pit with him, scrambling, and the balls went everywhere. The kitten chased balls and Alex chased the kitten, giggling like crazy. Eric laughed in spite of himself, watching Alex zip around at vampire speed after the cat. At one point, Alex changed and he and the kitten wrestled, tumbling over each other until they were exhausted, then the real kitten licked the baby's/kitten's head. Even Eric couldn't deny that they were crazy about each other. After a few minutes, Alex changed back into a seated position and the kitty gently head-butted him in the chest again, prompting Alex to pet him, making him giggle.

"Alright, my son, you have a new kitten."

"Ma giddy?"

"Yes, your kitty."

"ODAY!" Alex hugged the kitty and it rubbed its cheek against his. "Undwy, Dadee."

"Sookie, what is Alex saying?" Eric called to the kitchen.

"UNDWY, MAMEE!"

"He's hungry. Bring him in for dinner."

"You're hungry?"

"Eeah, an giddnen undwy."

"The kitten is hungry?" Eric thought he got that part.

"Eeah. Ee dinder!"

Eric laughed and scooped him up, putting his diaper back on him and heading for the kitchen. The kitten followed at Eric's heels and Octavia walked behind them all.

"Do we have something for the cat to eat?" Eric asked as they came in.

"Yes, I've got some milk and some tuna and a bowl of water. I'll have some proper food and dishes for her tomorrow," Margaret said, glad the kitten was staying because Alex really loved it. "We'll set up a litter box for her in the pantry and keep after it, too." Margaret shook the little bowl of tuna and the kitten pounced on it.

"I'm sorry it's more work, Margaret," Sookie said apologetically.

"Not at all, Missus. I think it's sweet the baby has a little friend to play with." Margaret said as she put a big crock of shrimp Étouffée on the table.

"Ah ava giddy, Mahdwid!" Alex reached for her to get her attention.

"Yes, I see that, Master Alex. She's a very pretty kitty." She smoothed the baby's hair and gave him a little kiss on his head as Eric held him to her.

"Eeah, pwiddy an SOPF!" Alex told her as Eric put him in his highchair.

"So, I guess we need a lot of stuff for the cat, huh?" Sookie said.

"Yes," Alicia said as she came in, "we'll get her a little stretchy collar and all the litter box items and a few toys. We'd better go ahead and get a carrier so she can travel with you. I'm pretty sure they make one to match your luggage."

"She'll need a scratching post. I hope she doesn't ruin the furniture," Sookie said, a little afraid that might turn Eric against the cat. She knew he wasn't thrilled with the whole situation, but she hoped he'd grow fond of it in time.

"You'll have to teach her not to," Octavia said, "You don't dare fix or declaw that one."

"Yeah, I guess not, huh?" Sookie didn't know a lot about familiars, but she was pretty sure they'd want all their faculties.

"On the plus side, I think that one will be easier to train than a regular cat," Octavia added

"That would be a very welcome thing," Eric said. He didn't dislike cats, but having one in the house was a bit much. Still, it was adorable watching Alex chase it around, and Alex was obviously wild about the little fur ball. He was surprised Alex didn't think it was a snack, though, as most vampires would. "Alex never tried to bite it?"

"No, we watched for that, but he's never offered to hurt it in any way. He seems to know not to be rough with it," Bjorn explained.

"Yes," Eric agreed, "when he wanted to wrestle with it just now, he changed so they were two kittens."

"Wasn't it the cutest thing you ever saw?" Sookie teased him

"It was very cute," Eric admitted grudgingly as Margaret handed him Alex's dinner. "Where will it sleep?"

"We'll get her a little bed for down here and one for the bedroom?" Sookie looked at Alicia who nodded.

"Good idea," she agreed. "Do you want me to go to the pet store at the mall tomorrow or do you want to do it yourself?" Alicia asked.

"I think I'd better rest. Just know that my first choice for everything is pink since it's a girl."

"Will do," Alicia laughed – she knew that, anyway.

"Where are Bobbie and Amelia?" Eric asked, noticing for the first time that the table seemed emptier than usual.

"Jerry and Amelia drove Bobbie to the airport," Bjorn told him, "Bobbie's mom is really sick. She thinks she'll be back in just 2 or 3 days."

"I'm sorry to hear that. Sookie will you be able to manage without her?" Eric's priority was always Sookie, though he was concerned for Bobbie, too.

"Oh, yeah, Alicia and Amelia said they'll fill in where they need to."

"Do I need to put Amelia on the payroll?" Eric asked as he took a drink of his blood.

"No, she's from a wealthy family – she wouldn't take it. The only thing she wants right now is to move into a chalet as soon as it's available," Sookie told him.

Eric nodded, "Bjorn, what kind of progress are they making?" Alex was devouring whatever this stuff in his dish was, making Eric smile.

"Well, they've been working on them both at the same time, but if you're in a hurry, the contractor said he could have all the workers focus on one of them at a time."

"Let's do that so we can get Amelia situated."

"I think that's a good idea. She was even wondering about getting a guard at the Bon Temps house until she could move. I think she's really scared to live there," Bjorn told him.

"Has something happened I don't know about?" Eric was wondering why she was in such a hurry.

"She heard some rumblings at Merlotte's that the FOTS is going to get more aggressive, and Sookie is well-known for her connections to vampires," Bjorn reminded him.

"Oh, no!" Sookie would feel awful if anything happened to Amelia at her house.

"Is there a specific threat or just general danger?" Eric didn't like the sound of this either way.

"No one has threatened her directly that I know of," Bjorn said.

"Alright. Alicia, did you order a rollaway bed?" Eric was trying to scrape what turned out to be shrimp mousse off Alex's chin and get it into his mouth.

"Yes, it's in the meditation room up on the fourth floor."

"Alright, Bjorn, you and Vincent had located a security firm for Sookie's and Bill's houses, had you not?''

"Yes, they're engaged to begin August third."

"See if we can move that up. Have Jerry help Amelia move her things here and we'll make her a room on the fourth floor for a week or so. I don't want her to feel unprotected. Tell her she can quit Merlotte's and move here any time. We'll adapt as we need to."

"OK, I'll talk to the foreman tomorrow and I'll tell Jerry before he goes home tonight."

"And I will confirm this with Vincent when I speak to him tonight. This is not a time to take risks. Let's get the whole family inside the gates as soon as we can," Eric said with determination. He sat up and looked toward the back door. "I hear them coming in the back now."

Just as Eric said, Amelia and Jerry came through the door in the den. "Hey, everybody!" Amelia seemed in a good mood.

"Amelia we were just talking about you," Eric told her, "I think you should move here now. You can make a room on the fourth floor for the week and I'll have them rush the finishing of one of the chalets."

"Are you sure you want me to do that?" Amelia said hopefully

"Yes, I am. If you don't feel safe there, you should be here. Tell Merlotte you won't be back and Jerry, you see that her things are brought here."

"Yes, your majesty." Jerry would be very happy when Amelia was safely moved here. He knew that Amelia was simply too afraid to stay at the Bon Temps house much longer.

"You all sit down and eat – we've got Étouffée!" Sookie told them, patting on the table.

"That sounds good," Jerry smiled at her. He thought Sookie was the sweetest thing in the world and he was very happy to be on her security team.

"Good. Eat up," Sookie said. She liked seeing them together so much! Amelia was much happier these days, not that she'd been unhappy before, but she kind of glowed around Jerry.

Jerry and Amelia sat down as Margaret brought them bowls of rice and utensils.

"So, Bobbie's on her way?" Bjorn asked. He told himself that he refused to feel guilty.

"Yes," Amelia told him, "they had a flight available today, so she just took it and went on. They don't think her mom is going to come out of this."

"Poor kid. I would have gone with her, but I have too much to do here," Bjorn said.

"Bjorn, you could have gone with her!" Sookie felt awful if he stayed because of them.

"No, Sookie, I really need to be here with all this construction. I know you'd let me go, but I wouldn't ask. I have too many responsibilities that I won't trust to anyone else." Truth be told, Bjorn didn't want to go. He loved Bobbie more than anything, but he was not equipped to deal with "family" things. He'd only say something stupid or fail her in some other way. He had no experience with these things where women were concerned, nor did he want any.

Sookie started to say something, but Eric caught her gaze and gave her a subtle frown and shake of the head to let her know not to interfere. Eric knew why Bjorn didn't go, and he'd explain it to Sookie later, but for right now, he didn't want her to lay a guilt-trip on him.

"So, Sookie, are you making your special visit tonight?" Amelia changed the subject.

"Yes, and Eric is going with me!"

"Sookie…" Eric started, but Sookie interrupted.

"Don't even try it, Eric. If it doesn't work, we've lost nothing. If it does, you've gained more than you can imagine." Sookie was adamant. "You're going to meet him sooner or later and I say sooner is better."

"That's amazing! You think it will work?!" Amelia thought it was a great idea.

"You'll never know until you try," Octavia added, knowing Eric was wanting out of this.

"Ah gahn, Daddee?"

"Yes, Alex, it's all gone."

"Undwy!"

"Alright. Margaret, do you have anything else for Alex?"

"I've got more pureed broccoli and more of that shrimp mousse, then there's peach puree for dessert," she said as she took Alex's plate to refill it.

"Alright, Alex?"

"Eeah, mo bwoggy, pweez!"

"I can't believe he'll eat broccoli," Bjorn laughed.

"Is that unusual?" Eric didn't know much about what kids liked to eat.

"It's very unusual, but it's good that he likes it. It's really good for him," Sookie told him.

"It's very green," Eric observed as he continued to feed Alex from the refilled bowl.

"Only if it's cooked well. If you over do it, it turns grey," Bjorn laughed.

"Margaret makes it just right, doesn't she, Pookie?" Sookie stroked his cheek as he gummed his dinner.

"Madwid dood!"

Eric laughed. He loved to hear Alex talk. He was so definite about everything and so smart about getting what he wanted. He never would have believed it was possible to admire a baby this way. He was dreading the idea of going to Faery with Sookie. She would feel that he didn't feel what he should for the other baby, wouldn't she?

"Not to change the subject, but you say that bed is here now?" Amelia asked

"Yes, it is, Miss Amelia. Would you like me to make it up for you?" Alicia offered.

"I'd really like to stay the night if you all don't mind."

"I'll get it set up for you. Margaret, can you spare me right now?"

"Yes, I think I've got it under control, thanks."

"Sorry – thank you!" Amelia said a little sheepishly.

Alex finished everything in his bowl and remembered to ask for "beejez, Dadee!"

Margaret already had the peaches in a little dish so she swapped them out and Eric continued to feed Alex.

"MMmmm!" Alex hummed loudly. "Ah wyg beejez, Dadee!"

"I see that! Now if you could just keep them in your mouth, we'd be flying," Eric laughed.

"Fyeen, Dadee!"

"Did you fly today, Alex?"

"Oh, yes," Sookie answered, "and scared everyone to death!"

"What did he do?" Eric knew they weren't happy about whatever it was, but he loved hearing about what Alex got into in the daytime.

"Alicia went up to feed him this morning, and he wasn't in his little crib," Bjorn said.

Eric didn't like the sound of that. "Where was he?"

"He was in the gym, crawling around the rafters like a bat," he answered.

"He went up to the gym by himself?" Eric was amazed he could find it.

"Yes, he did. We were panicked for a bit, but we found him pretty quickly."

"What are we going to do about this?" Eric didn't want Alex wandering around alone, either.

"Octavia put one of those little fairy crosses in a leather bag," Sookie told him. "You'll have to hang it on the end of his co-sleeper when you go to rest in the mornings to keep him there until Alicia can get to him."

"Alright, I'll do that when I give you your Ambrosia."

"Good," Sookie said.

"Fyeen eye-er and eye-er, Dadee!"

"Is that what you were doing in the gym?" Eric asked the baby

Alex blinked at him.

"The room with the swords, Alex."

"Sthordsth por FIDEEN!"

"Yes, but you don't go in that room without Daddy, Alex. Do you understand me?" Eric was being very stern. "Only with Daddy."

"Nah nah!" Alex shook his head.

"Eric Alexander, you know what I am saying. You don't go in the room with the swords without Daddy. You could get hurt. You stay with Mommy in the daytime."

"Mamee seepeen," Alex said emphatically. He was almost being sassy.

"If Mommy is asleep, you should be in bed with her."

Alex stuck his bottom lip out. He knew what Eric was telling him and he didn't like it. "Wostha seepeen," he pouted.

"I know Mommy is sleeping a lot. You stay with her anyway."

"MO FYEEN!"

"Daddy will fly with you more at night if you will stay with Mommy in the daytime, alright?"

"Eeah, Fyeen wif Dadee!" Alex reached for Eric with one hand and pointed to the back door with the other.

"Why don't you take him out for a bit, Eric. If you wear him out, he'll probably sleep while you and Sookie do your visit later," Octavia suggested.

"Jerry and I will stay with him later while you guys are there. Bjorn will need to watch the door, right?"

"Yes, and it's late to ask Alicia or Margaret to do it. We'd appreciate your help, Amelia," Eric said, knowing Sookie was not going to let him out of this.

"When we get back, let's all go for a night time swim. I want to show everybody my new thing, you know…" Sookie looked at Eric and he knew she wanted to show them she could shift shapes.

"Alright, then, Alex, are you done eating? Eat more?" Eric asked him

"Nah."

"Let's go flying." Eric took him out of the highchair and he was beside himself, waving his little arms, yelling "FYEEN, DADEE, FYEEN."

Eric and Alex headed out the back door and Sookie and the others, Margaret included, followed to watch.

As soon as Eric reached the side of the pool he said "go, Alex" and the baby took off, straight up. Eric followed him to see how high he was going to try to go.

"Wow, look at them go!" Amelia said.

"I hope he doesn't over-do it. I don't know how high is too high," Sookie said.

"Why don't you fly a bit, too, Sookie?" Octavia asked.

"I've got something to show everybody that takes a lot of energy."

"I won't be up later, so you'll have to just tell me," Octavia reminded her.

"Oh, yeah. Can I tell you tomorrow? I want everybody to be surprised."

"Sure, you can. Just don't forget. I need to know these things."

"Yeah, I won't."

Eric guided Alex back downward so the rest of them could see them again. They flew all around the property and Eric gradually got Alex to go lower and slow down a little. Alex was having a blast. This was his favorite thing of all, flying with Daddy, showing everybody what he could do. Alex turned some loops over the pool and Eric floated nearby to see what he would do. Alex showed no signs of stopping, so Eric went down to the cement, kicked his boots off, took stuff out of his pockets and went back up with Alex. Margaret went over and picked up Eric's things, and she and Alicia, who had just come out, held them for him. The kitty padded through the yard over to a bush beside the servant's quarters and did her "business", then sauntered back over to the patio door, waiting for someone to let her back in.

Sookie was trying to enjoy watching her boys fly, but she knew Eric expected Alex to dive into the pool, so it was hard to relax. She reminded herself that she was still in her bathing suit, so she could always go in, too, if need be.

Sure enough, at one point, Alex floated right above the middle of the water about ten feet, then just let go. He fell like a bomb into the water. Eric was right above the water when he came up giggling and paddling like a dog, his diaper floating behind him.

"Sthimmeen, Dadee!"

"Yes, I see you swimming. Are you ready to come out of the water?"

"Nah, me sthimmeen," Alex giggled and paddled away at vampire speed, leaving his diaper behind him. Eric just laughed, but Sookie couldn't stand it, so she jumped in the pool, just to be close, just in case.

"Hey, Sookie," Bjorn called, "why don't you go ahead and show us what you wanted to show us?"

"Eric, grab the baby and I'll just do it," she said.

"Alright," Eric laughed and scooped Alex up out of the water, He landed beside the pool, kneeling, and held Alex up, saying, "look, Alex. Watch Mommy!"

"OK, everybody, watch closely!" Sookie yelled then dove deep. She swam to the deep end near the house, to the other end, then back to the deep end, moving very quickly, and as she took the second turn at the deep end she splashed Eric and Alex with her tail.

"Holy shit!" "WOW!" "What in the world?!" and other exclamations rang out as Sookie tail-walked in the middle of the pool and flipped her hair back, not bothering to notice that her swimsuit was now at the bottom of the pool.

"MAMEE PISH!" Alex was standing up with Eric's help, waving his little arms, naked as a jaybird, almost jumping up and down.

"Yes, Mommy is a mermaid, isn't she?"

"Muh-made!" Alex clapped his hands and was obviously tickled to death.

Octavia was laughing with delight, Amelia was jumping up and down clapping, Alicia and Margaret were looking at each other with amazement, and Bjorn was in a little shock and Jerry's mouth was hanging open. Bjorn didn't think Sookie could surprise him, but she most definitely had. Sookie dived deep again and came up at the side of the pool where the others were, resting her arms on the cement, her breasts below the side so she was covered a little.

"So, what do y'all think? Pretty neat, huh?"

Bjorn spoke first, "Sookie, is that the only form you can take?"

"No, but it's the easiest. I can do other aquatic animals, too, and once I've had some practice, I can become anything I want. I'm supposed to practice at night, when the moon is out, and get good at it."

"When did you learn this?" Octavia was proud of the girl. This was very advanced.

"When I disappeared from Fangtasia. Freyja took me out to meet some real Mers, too."

"Real ones? They still exist?" Amelia was just amazed by this.

"Yeah, I met a whole colony of them. They didn't know I was a shift, either, they thought I was just from a different area. I was able to speak their language and everything!" Sookie swished her tail a few times just for fun and Alex couldn't take it. Next thing they knew, he was out of Eric's hands and swimming toward Mommy, tail and all.

Everyone cracked up at Alex turning into a little merbaby. Sookie turned, scooped him up and kissed him, then held him as she tail-walked with him, making him scream with laughter. She spun and sunk back down in the water, noticing that Eric was retrieving the diaper Alex had left behind.

"It's OK, Sookie, he needed a new one anyway," Eric laughed as the diaper dripped.

"There's just one problem," Sookie laughed, "if I turn back I'll be naked."

Everybody laughed as Eric took Alex from her, his little tail waving in the wind, and told him "turn back, my son" as he walked over to the towel rack with him. Once he had Alex wrapped up, he handed him to Bjorn, who was still blown away, and got another towel for Sookie. She dived to the bottom of the pool and got the pieces of her suit, then transformed as she came out of the shallow end of the pool and rushed into the towel Eric held for her, her hands behind her, shielding her backside from view.

Everyone applauded as she walked back toward the house.

"Pretty impressive, Queenie," Octavia teased her. "You still gonna try to make your visit?"

"Yeah, definitely. I can do both."

"Perhaps I should not try to go…" Eric thought he could get out of it.

"Nice try, but no, you're going. Alex will be asleep soon and Amelia and Jerry will watch him, right guys?"

"Right," Amelia assured her.

"Well, I'm going to turn in early," Octavia said as she got up. "Sookie, you be careful you don't stay too long, and you get straight to bed after."

"Yes, ma'am, I will."

"We're going to finish in the kitchen, then I'll be turning in," Alicia said. "Very impressive, Mrs. Northman," Alicia beamed at her.

"Yes, indeed!" Margaret was bursting with pride for her.

"Thanks!"

"I'll be turning in, too. Good night, everyone."

"Good night, Margaret! Good night, Alicia," everyone called to them in their own way.

"I don't want to go in just yet. I want to enjoy the night air a bit," Sookie said.

"My thoughts exactly," Eric said, "it's very nice out here tonight. I'll be back. Alex needs a diaper, and I'm pretty sure there's a stack in the den. Sookie, you relax a bit."

"You guys want us to clear out?" Amelia offered.

"No, not unless you want to. Everyone feel free to relax with us a while. We all rarely take time to just sit and talk," Eric said, to everyone's surprise.

"Yeah, it stays pretty busy around here," Bjorn agreed, settling into a lounge chair next to Jerry and Amelia.

"Sookie, how do you like being able to change?" Jerry asked her

"It's amazing. I love that buzzing feeling you get all over when it happens," she laughed as she sat in a chair next to Amelia.

"Yeah, that's fun if you're not in a hurry," Bjorn said and Jerry laughed with him.

"What if you are?" Sookie wondered.

"If you're in a hurry, it can be a little disorienting," Jerry told her. "In a battle situation, it can knock you off center until you learn to compensate for it."

"That comes with practice. I want to see you out here every night possible, Sookie. That's a powerful advantage once you learn to control it. It will make it easier for us to keep you safe." Bjorn wasn't going to let her skimp on the practice. This was a valuable weapon.

"Yes, definitely. You want to work at least up to a mountain lion or a wolf," Jerry said.

"Is there anything harder than that?"

"Based on what some Shifters have told me, the hardest are birds, but they're also some of the best in terms of escape. Really big animals are hard – elephants, for example, or really small ones. If need be, you could become a mouse and hide in our pockets if you get good enough." Bjorn told her.

"Wow, I never thought of that."

"We'll teach you to think of it. You'll want to teach Alex to do it on cue, too, though I think he'll do whatever you do," Bjorn was already thinking of how to use this for their security.

"Yes, it's one of the most powerful abilities you can have," Jerry agreed, "and if you can get Alex to do it, too, that's even better."

"What does it feel like being a mermaid, Sookie?" Amelia was just fascinated with that idea.

"It's so much fun! Don't tell Eric, but I actually like it a lot more than flying. You feel so powerful and connected to everything when you slip through the water. It's no wonder people associate the Goddess with the ocean. There's a power in live water like nothing else in the world."

"Live water?"

"Yeah, like an ocean or a real lake instead of a pool or man-made lake. The feeling is very different. Being here in the pool is fun, but being out in the sea with other creatures is so intense! Dolphins are even cooler than people think they are, and whales are so much bigger than I imagined and very spiritual in their own way."

"Hey, have you ever tried to teleport? Alex can, can't he?" Amelia remembered them saying something about it.

"Yeah, he definitely can," Bjorn laughed, "you should have been here for the birth!"

"I heard about that – is it true?" Jerry asked.

"Yep, he went right out of her vagina up to their bed. If Eric hadn't heard him, it would have been pandemonium."

"Yeah," Sookie laughed, "one second it hurt like everything, then suddenly it stopped. Even Dr. Ludwig was surprised."

They all laughed at that. Eric came back as they were laughing, making a sleeping gesture to tell Sookie he had put Alex down for a bit.

"You should have seen him on the bed," Eric laughed, "squirming and bloody, his cord still attached to the placenta. I think Margaret just threw that bedspread out."

"I wondered what ever happened to that," Sookie laughed. "I tried to teleport, Amelia, but She said it's harder than shifting. Shifting is just rearranging your cells, but teleportation is moving all your cells at once from one place to another. I'll be able to do it eventually, though, probably. It depends on how much I practice."

They all laughed and chatted for a while, laughing about shifting and different things Alex had done.

"Sookie, it's getting late. What do you need to do to make your visit?" Eric asked her.

"We're going to take a quick shower, I'm going to put on my ritual dress and then we'll meet in the basement. Bjorn, meet us down there in about half an hour."

"Alex is asleep in the playpen with his kitten," Eric told Amelia and Jerry, "so just watch TV or something until we come up. Thank you for watching him."

"No problem." Amelia never minded watching Alex. Just being around him made her feel good. She suspected that was part of his magick because she noticed everyone seemed to feel it.

Eric and Sookie headed upstairs as Bjorn went to tell the guard he'd be occupied. Sookie insisted that they shower very quickly, so there was only a little making out, and in no time, they were in the basement, Eric in a black tank top and jeans, Sookie in her black dress, kohl on her eyes, both of them barefoot. Sookie checked the Witch's Mirror quickly and saw the baby in his bed alone.

Eric stood in the center of the circle as she instructed him, then Sookie took her athame and traced the circle three times, deosil, creating a glowing ring on the floor around them, seriously impressing Eric. She came back to him and wrapped him in her arms.

"Close your eyes," she told him, and he did. "Freyja, if you like the time, take me to that boy of mine." In less than a heartbeat she said "we're here, Eric."

He opened his eyes as he and Sookie stepped apart. He couldn't believe it! They were in a little yellow nursery with a very low ceiling, obviously not of "this" world because it smelled strongly of fairy. He looked around, barely able to stand without hitting his head, as Sookie picked Aubie up from his crib. Eric was overwhelmed as she put the infant in his arms. He held the baby close, kissing his forehead, a bloody tear falling from his eyes. He was shocked at himself. He was not only able to love this child, he felt sorry for him, mourned for him. He let Sookie take him and sit in the rocker, and she put him to her breast as Eric knelt beside them so he could watch the baby feed. He kept his hand on Aubie's little back the whole time, and couldn't take his eyes off of him.

Eric marveled that he looked like Alex, only smaller, but he had a very different energy about him. Alex projected confidence and boldness, and was very robust, but this baby reminded him more of Sookie - a gentler soul that reminded him of her kindness and her soft-spoken manner. Aubie looked at Sookie with love in his eyes, and Eric knew that he knew she was his mother – it was an overwhelming feeling that flowed between the two of them and Eric was awash in it. He stroked his little head, and when he was done feeding, Sookie let Eric sit back on his feet and hold the baby as she stroked his long hair, her head resting gently against his, the air around them shimmering pink and gold.

"Time to come home now, my Darlings," Freyja's voice blew softly through the room, so Eric kissed the baby and gave him to Sookie, who kissed him again and put him in his crib. Eric stepped behind her and wrapped his arms around her, and at once they were standing in the circle in their basement. Neither of them moved or spoke for several minutes. Eric held her tightly to him, trying not to dissolve into tears. Sookie was sending comfort to him in the bond, but both of them were consumed with grief. Eric understood now why Sookie was so unrelenting about making these visits. He would never ask her to skip one or discourage her in any way again.

Sookie wasn't allowed to have sex on these nights, and she was very tired, so he simply held her and whispered to her as she drifted off early. He brought Alex up to the bedroom, the kitten padding up the steps behind them and jumping onto the bed so it could snuggle in with Alex once Eric put him down. Eric actually took a second to pet the little fur ball. He had to admit that it really was a very pretty little thing with its silky black fur and golden eyes. He went to work in his office, though his mind was on the Fae twin. Sookie was right – that baby belonged with them.

It occurred to Eric that Sookie still did not know that it was Alex who kept Aubie from crossing over. Alex would learn to adapt, he was sure of it. It was normal for a baby to be selfish, but presented with a smaller sibling, most children learned to love them. Alex was exceptional, so Eric was sure he would eventually understand what it meant to share and would appreciate having a brother. Part of being a warrior was adapting to hardened conditions and still being able to fight. Having a baby brother at this stage was nothing compared to what Alex would face when he was grown, and as much as Alex loved the kitten, maybe he'd love having another baby with him, too? Their development was vastly different, so it's not as if there would be direct competition. Eric Auberon would be less like a twin and more like a younger brother. Alex would be concerned with running and playing when Aubie was learning to speak and crawl.

Eric knew Sookie's heart was breaking all over again every time she went to see Eric Auberon. He admired her for bearing it as well as she did. Every three days, she was having to say goodbye to him, leaving that sweet little thing there looking up at her as she disappeared, knowing a stranger was raising him. The woman's strength never ceased to amaze him.

It was getting late, so Eric went back into the bedroom, finding Sookie lying there awake.

"Hey," she said softly.

"Hey. Ready for your Ambrosia?"

"Yeah. It was Alex, wasn't it?"

"What?" He acted like he didn't know what she meant as he went to the small refrigerator.

"Alex is the reason Aubie couldn't cross over."

"That seems to be the case, yes." He stood up with the bottle and cup, bringing them back to his side of the bed.

"How long have you known?" She asked as he sat next to her, facing the wall.

"A day or two. I was going to tell you, but we've been very busy." He filled the cup carefully so as not to spill the precious liquid.

"Yeah, it's not something you could just drop into the conversation," she said as she took the cup and drank it like a shot.

"Are you angry with me?"

"No, I'm just sad about the situation."

"Yes, it is… heart-rending." He looked directly at her. Octavia was right – she was handling it better than he was.

"You get it now, though, don't you?" she observed calmly.

"Yes, I do. I don't know how you do it. It's so hard to leave him…"

"I'm his mother. I'll do whatever I have to do. My magick is getting stronger every day, Eric. I'm going to make Dr. Ludwig let me try to call him to me soon."

"Yes, I'd expect that. I must confess, I'm much more open to the idea now."

"I knew you'd feel that way once you saw him. It's blood, Eric. We all share DNA – we're programmed at the Goddess level to care for one another. I know that Fae woman probably loves him very much, but she's not his mother. Even if he was never inside me, he's mine." She let out a huge yawn. "I'm going to fight for my baby, and Freyja knows it, so don't be afraid."

"Do you think Alex can adapt?"

"Yes, I do. Kids are resilient. I adapted to not having parents, and that's much worse than this. Look at all the people we have around here. Having another baby is not going to make Alex lack for any love or attention. When Alex is out running around in the yard, pulling away from me, Aubie will still need me. Alex will be wanting his independence right when Aubie is trying to talk and crawl."

"This might sound crazy," Eric said, "but I was thinking, if Alex enjoys the kitten so much, maybe he would enjoy a brother, too. Someone else to play with, you know?"

"Yes, I do. Look at it this way – it might keep Alex from getting spoiled. He's well on his way to that, you know?"

"Yes, he is very willful. He's too young to discipline, but we need to be aware that his natural tendency is to do what he wants, even when he knows we would not approve."

"_Especially_ when he knows we would not approve. He does stuff to mess with me, Eric, I know he does. He thinks it's funny when Mommy flips out."

"Most little boys are that way…"

"Not this early and not so deliberately. He gets this wicked twinkle in his eye that, I swear, looks just like you when you're being a badass, and I can just see the wheels spinning in his head, thinking he's going to pull one over on Mommy."

Eric laughed. "Yes, I know the look. I've seen him do it, and I know I should scold him, but he's so cute when he's being mischievous I cannot bring myself to stop him."

"May I remind you that YOU were the one that said we'd better not let bad behavior take root?"

"You are right, of course, but I enjoy his spirit so much – I never want him to lose that."

"He won't, but you know better than anybody, he needs discipline as well as attitude."

"Of course, you are right. Speaking of which, you know what I forgot to do?"

"What?"

"Where is the bag with the fairy cross in it?"

"On the table over there. It's red leather – you can't miss it."

Eric got up and retrieved the bag and tied it to the end of the co-sleeper.

"I hope this works," he told her, "because I know the gym is going to be a continual temptation for him."

"Yeah, that's boy heaven up there, especially since he can fly and hide in the little cubby holes at the top," Sookie laughed.

"He likes to fly very high, too. I could not believe how high he went earlier tonight."

"I don't even want to think about that. Is it possible he could go so high he would fall?"

"No, he'd just not be able to go any higher."

"So he can't, like, pass out from the altitude and fall?"

"No, that cannot happen. The extreme cold would cause him to turn back as it did tonight."

"Well, that's a relief. He's wanting to fly more and more, you know?" She let out another huge yawn.

"Yes, well, I'll start taking him out regularly in the evenings. Maybe if I wear him out at night, he will sleep later in the mornings?"

"Dadee?"

"I'm here, Alex." Eric reached across Sookie and brought Alex up to his shoulder.

"Boog, Dadee?"

"Yes, we'll go read a book and let Mommy sleep. Kiss Mommy good night." He held Alex over to her and she kissed his lips as he patted her face.

"Na-na, Mamee!"

Eric and Sookie both laughed at how cute he was, and Eric got a bottle from the little fridge. Just as they started out of the room, "meow!" the shiny black kitten stretched and jumped up, bouncing off the bed to follow them.

Sookie laughed, "good thing I bought a glider instead of a rocker."

Eric cracked up as they went into the other room. There was an insulated bag sitting on the chest of drawers that Eric found had a covered plate of food for Alex and a bottle of breast milk. Alicia and Margaret had thought of everything as usual. Eric and Alex settled into the glider as the kitty lay on the rug in front of them, licking its paws. There was a stack of new books on a new little side table next to the chair and Eric picked up the one on top.

""Dr. Seuss's ABC, An Amazing Alphabet Book, a Bright and Early board book"" Eric read. He started to put it back and look at a different book, but Alex objected.

"Dat, Dadee!"

"I don't know if you will understand that one, my son."

"Nah, nah, dat!" Alex reached toward the little book and Eric brought it back.

"Alright, we will read a little and see if you like it:

"Big A,

Little a,

What begins with A?

Aunt Annie's alligator.

A…a….A"

"Woogie, Dadee!" Alex pointed to the "A" at the top of the page then turned the pages back and pointed to the "A" on the cover.

"Yes, that is an "A." A is for alligator."

"A ith por awidayduh!" Alex repeated, then pointed out the "A's" in An, Amazing, and Alphabet at the bottom of the cover.

Alex pointed to the next big letter on the cover, "wadiz dat?"

"That is a "B."" Eric turned back into the second page and read:

"Big B ,

Little b,

What begins with B?

Barber, baby, bubbles and a bumble bee."

"Wadiz dat?"

"That's a big bubble."

"Bee bubbuh."

"Right."

"Babee bee."

"Bobbie?"

"Eeah, Babee bee."

"Bobbie has a "B" in it?"

"Eeah, Babee ath a bee inid."

"That's right, it does." This baby never ceased to amaze his Daddy.

"Wee mo, pweez?"

"Read more, please?"

"Eeah, wee mo."

Eric turned the page.

"Big C,

Little c,

What begins with C?

Camel on the ceiling.

C…c…C"

Alex cracked up. "Nah fyeen, Dadee!"

"The camel is not flying?"

"Nah. Mamee, "NAH NAH."" He giggled like crazy, making fun of Mommy.

"Alex, in the daytime, you must do what Mommy tells you to do."

"Nah." Alex wasn't having it.

"Yes, Alex. When I am asleep, Mommy is in charge."

"Mamee pundy." Alex shook his head at Eric.

"Yes, Mommy is funny, but if she says 'no,' you stop."

"Nah."

"Alex, I mean it. You do what Mommy tells you to do."

"NNNAH!"

"ALEX!"

"Meow!" the cat reached up Eric's leg trying to reach the baby.

"HEY, guys," Sookie came into the room, "let's all relax."

"He is being very defiant," Eric said, not pleased at all.

"Yeah, so what do we do? Like you said, he's too young to punish. Octavia thinks he wouldn't understand it if we did," Sookie took the baby from Eric. She knew he wouldn't hurt Alex, but she wanted them both to chill out so Alex would go to sleep.

"What do people do to train young children?" Eric had no idea what to do at this stage of the game.

"Well, when he's a little older, we'll use time-outs. I don't think that would work yet, though."

"I don't know, Sookie. Watch this…" Eric held up the book so she and Alex could see it." Alex, what is this?"

""A" ith por awidayduh."

Sookie looked at Eric.

"He said, ""A" is for alligator.""

"He knows what an "A" is?" Sookie couldn't believe it.

"Mamee, Babee ath a bee inid," Alex pointed at the "B" on the book.

"Bobbie has a "B" in it." Eric interpreted.

"An buhbuh!"

"And bubbles."

Before Sookie could respond, Alex said, "Ah ava undwy!"

"No, Alex, you say "I'm hungry," Sookie corrected him.

"Ahm undwy."

"Here, Sookie, I will feed him." Eric stood up and took him back. "You go back to bed. You and Octavia can talk about this tomorrow." Sookie stepped over to help him open the green insulated bag. "We have to do something, but I don't know what we can do. Where I am from, punishment was physical. I know we do not want that."

"Yeah, my parents tended to spank and stuff, too." Sookie helped him get situated with Alex, his spoon, and his dinner.

"I think we need to figure out where Alex is developmentally. Is he the equivalent of a one year old, or two or three…" Eric was thinking out loud.

"That makes sense, but I know at one point Octavia said his development was all over the chart. She also said some parts of the brain develop before the others do."

"It would be helpful to know which does what."

"Yeah. I almost…" she stopped herself.

"What, Sookie? Follow your instincts," Eric encouraged her.

"I almost think he's in his "terrible two's" now."

"What is that?"

"Babies go through this stage when they're about two years old where they're just monsters. They say 'no' to everything, even if they don't mean 'no.' Octavia could probably explain it better, but it's one of those things almost every parent knows. I think it has something to do with declaring their independence or testing boundaries or something like that."

Eric nodded as he scooped up turkey and gravy and held the little spoon so Alex could slurp it up. "The part about boundaries makes sense. He wants to see what we will let him get away with."

"I just hope his magick doesn't develop any more for a while. I'm having these Twilight Zone nightmares…"

"Twilight Zone?" Alex had already finished that small plate of food so Sookie handed Eric a double-size jar of applesauce from the bag.

"Yeah – it's a TV show…"

"I know the show, but how does it apply to Alex?"

"There was an episode I saw once where this little boy of about four or five would wish people away and erase their mouths and things like that and just terrorized everyone around him. They couldn't punish him or teach him anything – he was too powerful."

"I see what you mean. He was able to impose his childish will on everyone around him…"

"Right, and make any crazy fantasy come true. He turned one guy who bugged him into a jack-in-the-box. It was gruesome!"

"Yes, I can see how it could be. I'm wondering if there's some way to use the fairy crosses to help with that."

"How?"

"Well, if you put him in a time-out, the problem is getting him to stay put, yes?"

"Yeah."

"A fairy cross might make him stay put for a few minutes while he was restricted. It would only be a few minutes at a time, yes?"

"Yeah, it's just one minute for each year of age when they're really small."

"So, if you are correct, it would only be two minutes for Alex right now. That seems very short to be effective."

"Yeah, but to a kid, it crawls by. All they can think about is getting out of it."

Eric had gone through half the double-size jar of apples. "Alex, are you still hungry?"

"Eeah, mo appo."

"He ate that whole plate-full and half of that jar and he's still hungry?" Sookie asked.

"Yes, he is eating a lot," Eric was as surprised as Sookie.

"See if you can see his teeth coming in," Sookie suggested.

"There are edges of two little ones on the bottom, but nothing on the top yet."

"Let me see," Sookie bent down to look in Alex's mouth, which Alex held open for her without even being told. "I can't believe I'm saying this, but I hope the top ones come in soon, too."

"Why?"

"I'm starting to think we can't puree enough to fill him up. He might need things he can chew."

"Would that matter?"

"I don't know. That's a nutrition question. We'll have to ask Bobbie or Bjorn about it, or maybe the others who have raised kids. He's eating food several times a day now. He has a big breakfast every morning. Bjorn feeds him – you should see it, it's so cute."

"Bjorn is cute?" He was teasing her.

"No, Eric, it's cute seeing that big guy feeding a little baby."

"Do you think it's cute when I do it?"

"Even cuter, of course. Don't be jealous."

"I am not jealous of Bjorn, my Angel, have no fear."

"Good, I'm glad. You have no reason to be."

Eric laughed, more to himself than anything, and Sookie didn't think anything more about it.

Alex finished the jar of apples and finally yawned, so Eric took them both back to bed, kitten at their heels. Eric and Sookie snuggled the baby in between them until he fell asleep and the cat sat on the bed below him, between them.

"She's very attached to Alex already," Sookie said. "A normal kitten wouldn't act that way."

"Stop selling, Sookie, you can keep the cat," Eric teased her and stroked her cheek as she laughed softly.

"Come on, Eric, you like her, too."

"She's very cute," he admitted, "especially when she plays with Alex. I was trying very hard not to laugh earlier but I couldn't do it. They were too funny, especially when Alex shifted and they went tumbling together in a little black ball."

"I knew you'd like her." BIG YAWN!

"You need to let go and sleep, Sookie."

"Yeah, I do." So she did. When Sookie was sleeping soundly, Eric moved Alex to the co-sleeper and the kitten moved with him. Eric scratched it behind the ears then turned the light out and went to rest.

**

Sookie felt as if she was floating. Was this a dream? She felt like she was in a field of yellow, then she realized it was the yellow wallpaper on the walls in Aubie's room. Sookie was watching, but she wasn't actually there. The morning sun was streaming in Aubie's window, and a petite Fae woman, who had pointed ears and short auburn hair, came in and took him out of his crib for a bottle. Sookie thought this must be a dream, because Aubie was sensitive to sunlight, wasn't he?

She thought about this for a minute. How did she know he was sensitive to sunlight - because Niall said so? What about Ludwig? What if they were lying? Niall would most definitely lie about the situation if he thought it would benefit him in any way. Was this the same sun that shone in Sookie's world, or did Elfyria have a different sun? Did the rules that applied there apply here? There was still so much she didn't know!

Sookie felt like a fly on the wall as she watched the woman change Aubie's diaper and rock him. She had a little blue rag doll that Aubie seemed to like and she used it like a puppet to entertain him. Aubie giggled sweetly as she talked in a silly voice and tickled him with the little toy.

There was a knock at the door and the woman put Aubie on a blanket on the floor with the doll, then rushed to answer it. Aubie turned over on his tummy immediately and pushed up with his little hands. He wasn't able to get up on his knees yet, but he was trying. Sookie concluded that he wasn't as advanced as Alex, but he was more advanced than a human baby would be. She wondered if her breastfeeding him had caused any of this, because he'd shown no extraordinary signs when she'd first seen him.

The woman came back into the room with Niall, of all people, and picked the baby up. She handed him to Nail, who seemed used to handling him.

"How is my little Prince today, Auberon?" Niall tickled the baby under his chin.

"He's just had his morning bottle and we were playing with his little friend."

"Has he shown any signs yet?"

"I thought, perhaps, that things in the room seemed to have moved…"

"Well, it's still early. He should have essentially the same magick as the brother, though he'll develop much more slowly for lack of Sookie's milk. If I can hold off the opposition until he is old enough, he should be able to take the reins with no problem. You understand that we might have to move him a few times if his whereabouts become known? Continue to keep him out of sight."

Sookie didn't like the sound of that. Was Aubie never going outside?

"What about his parents? Do they know yet?" She asked Niall, obviously hoping the answer was 'no.'

"They know that he exists, but not that we're keeping him for our own purposes."

WHAT THE HELL!? Sookie paid particular attention now.

"They believe he is unable to cross over," Niall continued.

"Isn't he?"

"Well, the brother kept him from making the initial crossing, but we have no reason to believe that he couldn't make the trip now if we tried. I'd prefer to have him raised by Fae, however, so he's not so sympathetic toward the vampires. One child is more than enough for my granddaughter and her dead husband." Niall sneered as he referred to Eric and Sookie was boiling mad now. "He'll be a handful as it is, and since he was the one that put this situation in place, we'll do it his way. He wants their exclusive attention and that suits our purposes very well. There are those among us who would never trust him as Prince if they knew he'd been raised by a vampire King."

"If his mother knows…"

"Hopefully, she'll be too occupied with the vampire child to worry about this one. I see you have the windows open – is light no longer a problem for the child?"

"No, he actually seems to enjoy the sun now. I've never seen anything like it."

"With all the babies you've nursed?"

"No. It's quite extraordinary – I've never seen a child lose such a sensitivity, especially not so early on. We should probably test him for iron and silver again soon."

"I'll ask his doctor about that if I feel it is appropriate. The less she knows about these developments the better. She's a little too sympathetic toward Sookie's maternal feelings in these matters for my purposes. I don't want her getting the idea that it's safe for him to cross over. She's too apt to help Sookie take him."

"Wouldn't he be safer there?"

"Yes, but if we're very careful, Liam's assassins will never find him."

!

Sookie sat straight up to find Alex shrieking like a "banshee," red faced and crying, fangs down, acting as if he was out of breath, he was screaming so long and so hard. The kitten was hissing and clawing at the red leather bag as Sookie quickly picked Alex up and tried to comfort him. Bjorn came bounding up the stairs as she was trying to sooth him, as scared as Sookie was.

"What's wrong?!" Bjorn asked.

"I don't know – he woke me up screaming, but I don't see anything wrong with him."

"What's wrong with this cat?" The little animal was franticly clawing and biting at the red pouch. Bjorn untied the bag as the cat hissed at it and put it on the side table. All at once, Alex stopped screaming. The kitten bounced over to Eric's side of the bed and stretched up to meow at Alex, who reached out to pet her as Sookie rocked him and talked to him. Alex was still shaking and Sookie could feel his little heart beating fast and hard as she held him, speaking softly to him and rubbing his little back.

"Shhh, Pookie, it's OK. Mommy's got you, you're OK. Look, kitty is checking on you."

"Ma g-giddy," Alex snuffled.

"Yeah, she's your kitty. She wants to make sure you're OK, too." Sookie moved him around a little so the kitty could raise up and rub her cheek against his, giving him a little "meow," making him smile through his tears. "Bjorn, hand me a tissue, please?"

Bjorn gave her the box of pink Kleenex and Sookie dabbed at Alex's pink tears and wiped his little nose. The kitty seemed content that Alex was OK now, then so fast only a Supe could have seen it, she bounced across the bed, onto the floor, up to the chair, the side table, and grabbed the red bag, then ran out the bedroom door with it.

"What the hell?" Bjorn said and followed it, though it was moving like a shot.

The cat zipped down the stairs to the first floor straight to the sliding doors and stood in front them wailing. Surprised, Margaret slid the door open for the thing, which ran out under a bush out of view of the house and started digging at the ground.

"Margaret, did the cat…?"

"It's outside," she said as Bjorn went out back in pursuit. He couldn't see her and it was windy today, so by the time he picked up the scent, the kitten was trotting back up to the back door. She sat on her haunches looking up at Bjorn, waiting for him to open the door for her with a look of expectation that creeped Bjorn out a bit. This was definitely not a normal cat so what the hell was it? Bjorn opened the door and both of them went back inside, he figuring he'd look for the fairy cross later. Actually, he was pretty sure from the scent of the kitten, fresh dirt and urine, that she'd pissed on it and buried, so they'd just have to get another one out of the butter bowl. The cat ran ahead quickly, but not as fast as before.

Sookie was still snuggling Alex when Bjorn got back into the room and the kitten was already curled up on the bed next to them.

"So what happened?" Sookie asked

"I think she peed on it and buried it. Maybe I'll look for it later."

"Ewww – why would she do that?"

"I don't know, but you've got more of them, right?"

"A couple, yeah."

Bjorn went to the drawer and took out the plastic bowl. When he opened the lid, the cat jumped up and spit, and Alex zipped to the bottom of the bed onto his hands and knees, dropped his fangs and hissed.

"What's wrong with them now?" Sookie said in absolute shock.

"I think it's the fairy crosses," Bjorn said, " watch." He took one out of the bowl and walked toward Alex, causing him to let out a piercing shriek until Bjorn put it back in the bowl under the salt and closed it.

"You mean that's what he was screaming about?" Sookie said, aghast. "Now what do we do?"

"I don't know, but I know Dr. Ludwig didn't anticipate he'd have this kind of reaction to them." Bjorn put the bowl on the table and picked the baby up, giving him back to Sookie as the cat settled in next to them once again.

"Do you think I should call Dr. Ludwig?" She hugged Alex close and petted his back, calming him again.

"Maybe. You want to put on a gown?" The covers had fallen early on so that only Sookie's lower half was covered. There was so much going on she hadn't noticed and Bjorn hadn't had a chance to say anything.

"Yeah, look in that top, right drawer, please?" Sookie pulled the covers up but she was pretty much past being embarrassed in front of Bjorn by now. This happened every day and she didn't feel like getting uptight about it.

Bjorn pulled lavender knit gown out of the drawer and once Sookie had it on, he handed her the iPhone, which had fallen between the nightstand and the co-sleeper again.

"Is it really only 8:03?" she asked as she lit up the phone.

"Yeah, that's why I wasn't up here yet."

"So, let me get this straight before I call – he slept fine with it, then woke up screaming, and the cat took it, peed on it and buried it?"

"That seems to be the case, yes."

Sookie just shook her head in disbelief as she called Dr. Ludwig.

"Sookie?"

"Yes, Dr., sorry to call you so early…"

"Why are you up at this hour? You should be sleeping!"

"Yes, well, I was asleep, but Eric put a bag with a fairy cross on the baby's little crib, and he woke up shrieking like nothing you've ever heard, then his kitten…"

"His kitten?"

"Yeah, this little black cat he has now, grabbed the bag and took it to the back yard, and we think it peed on it and buried it."

"You've had quite an eventful morning, then."

"Yes, we have," Sookie agreed. "So the fairy crosses are a bad idea, I guess – is there anything else I can do to keep Alex in bed?"

"I'm going to have to think about that one. I didn't anticipate such a strong reaction in him."

"I need to talk to you, too, about the other one, you know…?"

"Alright. I'll be right there."

Instantly, the little doctor was standing there at the foot of the bed. She nodded to Bjorn, and he returned the nod.

"Anderson, could you take the baby somewhere else while I talk to Sookie?"

"Sure," he said, reaching for Alex, "hey, buddy, let's go see if Margaret has something for us to eat."

"Eeah! Ahm undwy!"

"What a surprise," Sookie said jokingly.

"He's speaking very well," the doctor was amazed that he continued to progress so quickly. "Let me look him over before you go." Bjorn sat at the bottom of the bed with the baby so the little doctor could see him. The kitten sat next to them as if supervising the exam.

"Yeah, and he's growing like crazy. He's eating a lot of food now." Sookie didn't know if that was a good thing or a bad thing.

"Well, that's because he's growing so quickly. Has he shown any sign of teething?" Ludwig looked in the baby's mouth as Bjorn held him and Alex held his mouth open for her.

"Yes, he's got two little slivers on the bottom gums, see?"

"Any pain from that?"

"A little. He's got some little teething rings we keep in the freezer for him."

"Good. As soon as he gets a little tooth showing on top, start giving him medium soft foods. You'll still need to shred meats for him and chop the harder stuff. Have your maid puree some raw carrot for him now – that might fill him up a little more, along with more cereals. Ice cream will be good on his gums, now and then, and let him have a little cake when you do." She looked in Alex's ears next, then put her hand on his sternum for a few seconds, glancing occasionally to the side to get a read on the cat, too.

"I let him have some, but is that good for him?"

"Fat and sugar won't affect this one much, so anything with protein in it is good for him. No pork, though. Does he eat anything green yet?" The doctor looked at Alex's scalp and nails on his hands and feet.

"He loves broccoli."

"Really? That's surprising. Since you've got the help, ask the maids to chop and puree fresh or lightly blanched foods for him. I'm not crazy about the stuff in the jars or frozen things, either. Things like cucumbers, lettuce, cabbage might work for him if it's grated. He should be eating a wide variety of fruits – blueberries and strawberries, watermelon, cantaloupe, apples, peaches, oranges…"

"He hates orange juice."

"Hmm – and we want to avoid lemons so let's just say no citrus and play it safe then."

"OK,"

"Most babies wouldn't, but see if he likes avocados. They'd be awfully good for this one. Cheeses and yogurts, too. You can take him on down now," she patted Alex's cheek and smiled at Bjorn.

"Alright – I'll tell Margaret what you said," Bjorn assured her as he left the room with the baby, the cat following at his heels.

"Now, you've seen the other one when?" She walked over to the co-sleeper and detached it so she could roll it away from the bed.

"Well, Eric and I went last night…"

The doctor motioned for Sookie to sit on the side of the bed.

"Stick your tongue out for me. You were able to take him with you?"

"Yes."

"How did he interact with the child?" She guided her to turn her head to each side, looking in her ears.

"He loved him instantly, just like I knew he would."

"He didn't perceive him as food?"

"Not at all. He held him twice with no problems."

"Interesting. Look up toward the ceiling." She pulled down each of Sookie's lower lids.

"What I wanted to ask you about is a dream I was having when Alex woke me up."

"Freyja?"

"No, Niall visiting Aubie." Sookie saw a chill run through the little doctor. Sookie wanted to know what she knew and she wanted to know it now.

"What happened in the dream?" The little doctor was pretty sure it was no dream. Freyja was laying things out pretty clearly for Sookie.

"Niall was saying he didn't want you to know that the baby liked sunlight because you'd be too likely to help me take him. You're apparently too tolerant of my maternal instincts." Sookie was clearly angry with Niall, even if she thought it was a dream.

"Did he say anything else?" She placed her hand between Sookie's breasts and concentrated on her energy.

"Yes, he's keeping him for his own purposes. He wants him to be Prince of something."

"Elfyria. That was always a possibility, of course, but I wonder that he's thinking of that already. He couldn't rule until he was at least 20, and probably much older than that."

"He said he didn't want him raised by a vampire."

"That's typical of Niall…" She looked at Sookie's fingernails. "He's spent most of his life at war with the vamps."

"…and that he would be safer here but he thought he could hide him from "Liam's assassins." That's when Alex woke me, so I didn't hear anything else. Are they keeping my baby hidden away indoors all the time? Is somebody trying to kill him?"

She pulled the covers completely off Sookie's legs so she could check them for swelling.

"Niall has many enemies, the worst and most persistent of which is Liam Cullach. The good part is that we're pretty sure he doesn't know about the baby yet."

"So they _are_ keeping him hidden?"

"Yes, they are, until he's stronger."

"He'd be _much_ stronger if I could feed him a few times a day."

"Yes, but then you call attention to him. And how will you explain him to the kingdom?"

"I don't care about any of that. I want my child. Let people think whatever they want but that baby belongs with me and Eric."

"Does Eric agree?"

"Yes, he does."

"How does he feel about the cat?"

"Are you changing the subject?"

"Not at all. You know it's not a normal cat, yes?"

"Yeah – we don't know exactly how, yet."

"Well, I'm not sure _who_ it is, but I may know the "what." I thought at first it might be a Cat Sith…"

"Huh? Like from Star Wars?"

"They stole the word from us. It's a type of fairy cat, but they usually have a white spot on their chests and can be quite large."

"That one's all black."

"So I saw – my money says it's a Pooka."

"A Pooka?"

"Yes, it's a shape shifter, but some of them favor a particular form. That one is a cat most of the time, but she might choose other forms if she finds it convenient or necessary. Their most common form is a black horse with golden eyes."

"Well, the colors are right…"

"Yes, and a horse couldn't follow Alex through the house the way a kitty can."

"Yeah, she stays right with him."

"Pay attention to what Alex says about her. Sooner or later, he'll tell you whom she is."

"OK, what about Aubie?"

"All I can tell you is you'll know when it's time."

"Like it's not time now?"

"No, now you have a choice. When the time comes, it will be the only option."


	89. Chapter 89

**[WARNING: Contains Extreme Sex, Violence, Controversial Material, **

**Non-monogamous relationships.**

**If you are sensitive to those topics, don't read this chapter. **

**You've been warned.**

Sorry it took so long, guys – it was one of those chapters that wouldn't end. I was sweating blood to get to the end of it. I hope you enjoy it.** MS]**

**Chapter 89**

Sookie was at least enjoying the sunlight pouring on her as she floated face-up on a pink air mattress. Amelia was keeping Alex and his "giddy" busy over on the pool steps, so Sookie had some time to just think.

She was seriously pissed off at Niall. The nerve of him thinking he had a right to keep her baby for his own purposes! And she was sick and tired of his attitude toward Eric. He was Aubie's father, like it or not, and keeping them apart wasn't going to change that. She kept remembering how big Aubie's eyes were when Eric held him, like he was taking him all in. There was no fear there, just curiosity and openness. It was like he had just been waiting to get a look at his daddy.

She was trying to imagine what might constitute a situation where there was no choice but to bring Aubie over, and none of the potential scenarios was less than terrifying. She wondered how she could find out more about this Liam Cullach and find out just how much of a threat he was at the moment. Suddenly her mind flashed on the Fae woman screaming and Aubie crying, and Sookie slipped into something like a trance as she got off the mattress and quickly headed out of the pool, not responding to anything around her as she headed upstairs, dripping all through the house.

"Sookie, did you get tired of floating?" Amelia said, but Sookie didn't respond. "Bjorn did you see that?"

"Yeah. HEY. SOOKIE! YOU ALRIGHT?" No reply. "Amelia, wrap the baby up and bring him into the den, OK? I'm going to follow her because something is up."

"OK, thanks!" she said as she accepted the towel from him and managed to get Alex into it as they sat on the edge of the pool. The kitten jumped out and shook itself like a dog, getting both of them wet.

Alex cracked up, "Ewin pasthed me!"

"Who splashed you, Punkin'?" Amelia didn't quite catch that,

"EWIN!" he pointed to the kitty as it licked its paws.

"Ewin?"

"Nah, nah, Ameeah, EWIN!"

"Erin? Is that what you're saying? Erin?"

"MEOW!" the cat replied loudly and rose up to tap Amelia on her shoulders as she did for emphasis."

"Hi, Erin," Amelia thought she should be polite, whomever it was.

"Meow!" The kitten touched its nose to her cheek as if it were giving her a kiss, then did the same to Alex just as Amelia began to stand and take them both indoors. Alex asked to play with Boss when they went in so Amelia pulled him out of the corner and dropped kid and kitty into the ball pit, then lay back on the couch watching the joy and chaos that ensued.

"Anybody see Sookie come through here?" Bjorn said anxiously as he came into the kitchen where Octavia, Alicia and Margaret were all sitting and having a cup of coffee.

"She came zippin' through here, but she didn't speak to anyone. What's up with her?"

"I'm not sure. Which way did she go?"

"Sounded like she went up the stairs."

"Thanks," Bjorn sped through following Sookie's trail, which was visible from water on the carpet. He knew there was no way she would do that consciously.

Sookie was in the bedroom turning her side chair to face her new vanity before she was aware of it. She sat before the mirror and said "show me" and was instantly looking at a home invasion in the familiar yellow room. She couldn't see the fairy men clearly but she saw the Fae woman's head struck off by a sword as Freyja commanded "NOW SOOKIE!"

Without thinking, Sookie called "AUBIE, COME TO ME!" and she was in the room, scooping him up out of the crib before the men could react and she was instantly back in her room before the mirror with the crying baby in her arms. The scene still played out in the mirror before her:

"What kind of Witchcraft is this? Where did he go?"

"I thought you said Niall's magick couldn't stop us if we used these charms?"

"It can't. That magick had another source. Liam will want to know about this."

"Liam will kill us both if we come back without the baby's head."

"Well, we don't have that one, so we either show up without or find another's head to take."

"Take them!" Sookie snarled into the mirror. The room was instantly filled with dark wings and the would-be assassins died screaming about falcons. The picture in the mirror faded and Sookie became aware that she was sitting there holding Aubie in her arms.

She was crying, rocking, hugging and kissing him when Bjorn came up the stairs.

"Sookie, is that…?"

"Yes! He's home! They tried to kill him but I got to him first!" She was talking fast and nearly hysterical as the baby cried.

"Who tried to kill him?"

"Two fairy assassins. They were talking about taking his head for their boss or killing another baby for its head so I sent the falcon after them."

"The falcon? Are they still alive?"

"No, they're dead, so no one will know what killed them."

"How did you know this was happening?"

"I was in the pool and I saw the Fae woman scream and Aubie cry and the next thing I knew I was sitting here holding him." She was rocking hard and clutching the baby, who was beginning to calm down now.

"Sookie, come away from the mirror, Hon." Bjorn helped her up and brought her to the bed. "Sit there, and relax and we're going to think about this."

"Why? What are you worried about?"

"I'm worried about the people who will come looking for those assassins. You're sure they're both dead?"

"Yeah, the birds ripped them to pieces."

"The Fae mother is definitely dead?"

"Yes, decapitated by a short sword."

"There was no sign of anyone else there?"

"I heard Freyja, but I don't think I saw her. She yelled "now, Sookie!" and I called him, and I was in the room and grabbed him and was back here now."

"Did they see you?"

"They saw something – they said it was Witchcraft from someone other than Niall."

"I'm going to make a suggestion that is going to sound crazy, but I think it's what you should do."

"What?"

"Get your suit off, get into bed with the baby, feed him and go to sleep if you can while I talk to Octavia about whether we should call Ludwig and when."

"Why do you want me to sleep?"

"So Freyja can get to you easily if need be. She'll warn you if anything happens before we figure this out."

"OK, let me put on a gown. Here, hold Aubie a second."

Bjorn took the baby a little hesitantly, noticing how much he looked like Alex. He bounced him just a little, though he wasn't crying now, and talked softly to him the way he did Alex. Sookie grabbed a lavender knit gown from her dresser and took it into the bathroom so she could use the pot as well as dress. She was back quickly and Bjorn tucked her in, letting her get settled feeding Aubie, who seemed happy as a clam.

Bjorn used his little phone or whatever to call Jerry in the front office. "Kerik?"

"Yeah, boss?"

"I need you up in Sookie's room. Put the other guards on alert, make sure the back of the house is covered and get up here."

"Be right there."

"Jerry's coming up?"

"Yeah, I figured you'd be more comfortable with him than any of the others. I need to talk to Octavia and maybe Ludwig. I'm just not sure it's safe to call her at the moment."

"Oh, OK."

"You try to relax and sleep. I want Freyja to be able to speak to you easily if need be. Your little buddy there seems to be calm now."

"Yeah, he's OK, aren't you, Sweetie?" She cooed at the baby, the two of them quickly settling in, very content to be together. By the time Jerry arrived, Sookie and the baby were both yawning. Bjorn briefed Jerry quickly about Sookie's vision and her response, then headed downstairs as Jerry took his usual seat.

"Thanks for watching us, Jerry," Sookie said with a big yawn.

"No problem, your majesty. You just relax and sleep. We've got you covered."

"Yeah," Sookie said as she and Aubie dozed off, relieved and happy to be together at last.

Sookie dreamed that she and Aubie were floating on a cloud for a long while, then she was standing on the shore with him in her arms, Freyja standing before them. "He's safe for now, but others will try in the future. Never leave him alone."

"Wake up, my beautiful wife." Eric was smiling at her, stroking her cheek. "I see our family has grown!"

"Oh, Eric! Did Bjorn tell you? I'm so glad you're up!"

"He told me there was an assassination attempt and you saved the baby. He also said you commanded the falcon across time and space!"

"Well, Freyja was already there, I think, and when I heard them talking about taking a baby's head, I just lost it and sicced it on them. There was a bunch of birds this time and they tore them to pieces."

"That's one way to be sure they never report back," he smiled, patting Aubie's tummy.

Sookie laughed softly, "I guess I learned that from you, huh? I just… I couldn't let them hurt another baby!"

"You did the right thing, Sookie. You and Freyja did what you needed to do, I'm sure of it."

Aubie stretched and gurgled, rubbing his little nose and looking up at Eric with big eyes.

"Hi, Sweetie! Are you looking at Daddy? Yeah, that's your Daddy!" Sookie tickled his chin and he smiled and waved his arms. "Here, Eric, hold him for a minute."

"With pleasure!" he said, taking the baby up in his arms as Sookie tried to sit up. "Hello, my little elf! Welcome home!"

"So you're not angry, right?"

"Not at all. I knew it was just a matter of time, and frankly, I'm relieved that he is here. We just need to get him acclimated, and get Alex used to his being here. I've already given the staff a rudimentary explanation. I told them he's been in the care of a nurse, which is apparently true, and that he is not as advanced as Alex, though they are twins."

"Is anybody going to quit on us?"

"No, I don't think so. They were surprised, of course, but they seem generally receptive. The guards all know there are two children to watch now. I'm afraid news of his arrival will spread quickly, whether we want that or not."

"Did anyone call Dr. Ludwig?"

"Bjorn and Octavia felt it was best to wait until tonight, and we're going to use Octavia's phone so no one will be able to trace the call to us."

"Good idea."

"Yes, we want to make the call seem unrelated to the events of today."

"I wonder if Niall knows yet?"

"I don't think he does, or we'd have heard from him. He's not going to be happy about this, I take it?"

"Tough. He's our baby and he's home where he belongs."

"Yes, he is," Eric smiled and stroked the baby's cheek. "Eric Auberon, are you laughing at your Daddy?"

The baby gurgled and giggled and reached for Eric's face, so Eric kissed his little palm. Sookie was watching them, glowing, when her tummy growled.

"You need to eat, my Angel."

"Yeah, I do. I'm going to be feeding three of you now."

"Well, I've been thinking that it might be time to let Alex start feeding from others, too. Amelia and Bobbie have both offered to feed him, and I think that, plus the other foods he's eating now, might fill him up more."

"OK, Aubie's a little too small for food just yet, so we'll stick with my milk and blood and RM for him."

"It's going to be very busy around here with two little boys and a kitten, you know."

"Yeah, but it will be fun!"

"Let's hope. I'm still worried about Alex's reaction."

"Well, let's go down to dinner and see what we're working with, OK?"

"Yes, let's get you something to eat."

Eric stood up still holding the baby and held Sookie's hand to steady her as she walked on her knees toward his side of the bed.

"Oops, one minute, Sweetie!" she said as she went to the dresser and took out a pair of panties, quickly wiggling into them before taking his hand again so they could proceed to the stairs.

The kitchen was full as everyone sat around the table chatting and drinking sweet tea as Margaret, Alicia and Carrie worked on getting dinner together. Alex was in his high chair next to the table, the kitten eating from her new pink dish by the entrance to the pantry, which was next to her new wicker bed with a pink floral-print pillow.

"Good evening, everyone!" Eric said as they came into the kitchen.

Everyone said 'hey,' 'hello,' 'welcome back, sleepy head,' and things to that effect.

"So this is our new little one?" Margaret came over, wiping her hands on her apron. "What a little angel!"

"Yes, he is!" Alicia agreed, tapping his little chest as he gurgled happily. "Hello, little one!"

"Margaret and Alicia, this is Eric Auberon, but I call him Aubie!" Sookie was tickled to death to finally have him home.

"He's like a little carbon copy of Master Alex!" Margaret said, enchanted by the angelic infant.

"Nah dat beebee, Dadee!" Alex wagged his finger at Eric as he sat down with Aubie, Sookie taking her seat on the other side of Alex.

"Alex, Sweetie, be nice to Buddy." Sookie urged him, "that's your little buddy, Aubie."

"Nah buggy."

"Yeah, he's your little buddy."

"NAH NAH, MA DADEE!" Everybody was holding their breath, ready for Alex to pitch a fit.

"Lay down the law, Daddy, and let him know how it's gonna be," Octavia urged Eric.

Eric shifted the baby over to his left arm, and told Sookie, "give Alex to me."

"OK," she popped up and took Alex out of his seat, Eric taking him in his right arm, giving Alex a big kiss and snuggling him under his chin.

"See, Alex – there's enough of Daddy to share," he whispered to Alex. "I'm still your Daddy, I'm just his Daddy, too."

Aubie looked at Alex and giggled, reaching for his face. Alex pouted a bit, leaning his head on Eric's shoulder, but he reached out and touched Aubie's hand. "Dat nah Awegs."

"No, that's not Alex. You are Alex. This is Auberon. Alex has a little brother named Auberon," Eric spoke softly and held the two close to his chest and close to each other. Aubie patted Alex's cheek, which prompted Alex to pat his own cheek, then pat Aubie's. Sookie was holding her breath, afraid Alex would slap at him, but he didn't. Out of nowhere, the kitten jumped up on the tray of the high chair and meowed. Alex looked to the side and said, "MA giddy!"

"Yes, that's your kitty. Auberon is too small for a kitty cat. That's for bigger boys like Alex," Eric was still speaking softly as everyone watched, motionless.

"Oday, ahm biggah bo-ee."

"Right, you're a bigger boy. Auberon is just a baby, you're a bigger boy."

"Ee-ah. Dat?" Alex pointed to the other baby.

"His name is Auberon. Mommy calls him Aubie."

"Obee?" Alex pointed at him then chewed on his own finger for a minute, everyone practically able to see the wheels in Alex's head turning.

"That's really good, Alex!" Sookie said, thinking he was catching on. "That's your buddy, Aubie!"

"Buggy Obee."

"Yes, that's good Alex. That's your brother, Auberon," Eric repeated.

"OBEE!" Alex giggled and touched the other baby's face with his wet finger.

"Right," Eric kissed Alex's forehead and Alex looked at him and patted his cheek, "ma Dadee?"

"Yes, I'm always going to be your Daddy, Alex, and Aubie's Daddy, too."

"Oday."

Auberon started to whimper and reach for Sookie.

"I think he's hungry," Sookie said, taking him from Eric and putting him to her breast. While she did that, Eric held Alex up over his head and shook him, making animal noises that caused him to giggle and squeal. "Now, my son, you will have your dinner, then we will go flying!"

"FYEEN!"

"Right." Eric set him back in the high chair and Margaret put his dinner in front of him. "Eat first, then flying."

"Oday!"

"What are we having, Margaret?" Eric laughed.

"Chopped chicken, potatoes and gravy, dressing, pureed green beans and we have watermelon for dessert."

"Ooh, yummy, Alex!" Sookie said to him, stroking his little cheek with the backs of her fingers, then going back to looking Aubie in the eye as he fed.

Everyone finally relaxed and dinner conversation progressed, Jerry and Bjorn giving Eric bits of information he asked for as he fed Alex. Carrie warmed up two bottles of RM, one small and one big, and brought them to Sookie and Eric. Alex was able to hold the big bottle himself and Sookie held the little one for Aubie until Amelia finished her dinner and took him from her so she could concentrate on eating.

"Boy, Bobbie's going to have some surprises when she gets back!" Amelia said, rocking a bit to soothe Aubie. "Maybe it will cheer her up?"

"How's her mom doing?" Sookie asked.

"Not well. They're pretty sure it's just a matter of time."

"Poor Bobbie! I should call her after dinner," Sookie said.

"It would probably be better to wait for her to call at 11 tonight. She's at the hospital and we don't want to wake anyone up," Amelia reminded her.

"Good point. I'll do that."

Octavia wasn't in a talkative mood tonight, so she focused on watching Eric and Sookie handle the two babies. There might be some rough patches, but she thought Eric laid a good foundation. All they needed to do was reinforce it.

"Alicia and Margaret, I'm sorry there's more work for you all now!" Sookie said as Alicia brought more potatoes to the table.

"Actually," Alicia said, "we're going to have more help. Carrie will be working full time now and her cousin Lena will come in Fridays and Saturdays to help clean the upper floors."

"So, is that, like, a promotion for you, Carrie?" Sookie asked.

"Yes, ma'am, it sure is. A lot more money, too, and I'm happy to have it." She put a big platter of chicken on the table.

"Oh, good for you!"

"Yeah, I'll be doing laundry most days plus dusting and running the sweeper, then keeping the bathrooms tidy. Margaret is going to focus on feeding everybody, with our help, of course, and then Alicia will keep doing your personal stuff, and Lena and me'll do the upper floors every weekend. We got it all worked out."

"Oh, that's great. You and Lena did such a good job last time!"

"Thanks, Mrs. Northman," Carrie smiled at her. Carrie loved this job – the house was gorgeous, there were good-looking men around all day, and nobody in this neighborhood paid anywhere near as good as Mr. Northman. She knew that there was always danger around vampires, but the benefits were totally worth it.

"Alicia, what do we have to do to adapt things for two babies?" Eric asked.

"Well, not too much, really, at least not at this stage. Alex is almost too big for the co-sleeper, so we can put him in the bed or in his crib and we'll put Aubie in the little crib."

"Better to put Alex in bed with me – I know Dr. Ludwig wants him to stay close a while longer," Sookie recalled. "It's much safer for him than Aubie, although that little rascal can roll over and hold his head up now," she beamed at him as Amelia held him.

"He can?" Eric was pleased to hear that.

"Yeah, he's more advanced than a human baby, just not as extremely advanced as Alex," Sookie explained.

"That is good news," Eric was happy to know both sons were exceptional.

"We'll be in the pantry if you all need us," Alicia excused herself, Margaret and Carrie, who would eat at the table in there.

"Now, Sookie, can you tell me how all of this came about?" Eric asked.

Sookie gave him a quick rundown of the dream about Niall's visit, her talk with Ludwig and how she went into a trance while she was in the pool.

"Niall actually planned to keep the child in spite of our wishes, knowing there was no reason he couldn't be with us?" Eric hated that old fucking fairy more every day.

"Yep, he thought one baby was enough for us," Sookie said, dripping with sarcasm.

"I have two words to say about that, but I shouldn't use them in front of the babies," Eric said angrily.

"Yeah, that was pretty much my reaction, too," Sookie agreed. "I don't care how this affects his political goals. Both our kids are with us and, by Goddess, that's where they're going to stay."

"Especially since they're safer here. That's the part that gets me," Octavia said, "he knew that baby was in danger and kept him there, anyway."

"Oh, yeah – Freyja told me others will try in the future and never to leave Aubie alone."

"Sound advice, but we'd not do that, anyway," Eric nodded, "Bjorn, do you have any experience fighting the Fae?"

"No, I really don't."

"I've got some," Jerry said.

"Indeed?" Eric was surprised.

"Yeah, I worked for a vampire King in Florida about 5 years ago and he had constant trouble over some kind of diamond smuggling thing he got into with some Fae named Liam."

"Liam Cullach?" Sookie said.

"Yeah, that's him. He's a greedy MF and that King said he's been after the fairy throne for years. At that time, he had tried to overthrow the "crown," what or whoever that was, three times in 59 years."

"That would be Niall," Octavia said, "he's been in charge since Titania was murdered in 1927."

"That was just a few years before the war between the Fae and the vampires," Eric recalled.

"It's all connected. I'm pretty sure that Liam was in cahoots with the vamps, trying to overthrow Niall. What resulted was…"

"A blood bath," Eric finished Octavia's sentence.

"Right. Niall has good reason not to trust vampires. They should have stayed out of it. The vampires lost a lot of people because Niall doesn't take prisoners. He staked every vamp he could find back then. The détente that exists now was negotiated by Carolina of Gotham and some of the European royals who stayed out of it. As a matter of fact, it was those negotiations that put Sophie Ann in power. Some said André was on Liam's payroll, but it was never proven."

"I'm glad he's dead," Sookie said with a shudder.

Eric didn't mention that if not for André, they might not have bonded, but Sookie responded, anyway, "Yes, we would have, Eric, we were meant to be."

"You are right, of course."

"So, if Alex is supposed to be vampire King, and he wanted Aubie to be fairy – King or Prince?"

"Good question. My guess is "Prince," Octavia said, "Technically, the crown only goes through the female line, but the word is that Titania left a declaration of who her successor should be. The name has never been released, to my knowledge, and Niall always puts off the question by declaring she's not old enough to rule, but they say he needs to pass the crown by 2027."

"Why?" Sookie asked

"There's sort of a term limit for a Fae regent. Niall can only hold the throne for 100 years, then either the True Heir or someone in the line of succession has to step in or the whole thing goes to whoever can take it."

"But Aubie can't be in the direct line of succession…"

"That depends," Octavia told her.

"On what?"

"On who Titania named as successor. No one will know who the True Heir is until 2027."

"When Niall has no choice but to release the name?"

"Yes, and he'll try to put someone he can control in that spot."

"And he thought that would be Aubie?"

"He probably thought Aubie was his best bet as long as he could raise him."

"But wouldn't that mean that Claude or Claudine would be in line?"

"Not if they were specifically passed over. How old are they?"

"A lot older than they look is all that I know."

"How does Niall's line tie into yours, Sookie?"

"His son, Fintan, had two kids with my Grandmother – my aunt and my father."

"Did your aunt have any kids?"

"My cousin Hadley, but she's dead."

"So Fintan's only other living heirs are you and Jason?"

"Yeah, as far as I know… You don't think…"

"That Titania left the crown to you? That's the only logical conclusion."

"But she died in 1927. I wasn't even born…"

"But you were promised to Eric hundreds of years ago, weren't you?"

"You think that's part of Freyja's plan?"

"I don't know, but consider it for a minute – a vampire King marries a fairy Queen, they have two sons – one vampire, one Fae. One ruler for each world, in the same family. Twins aren't likely to wage war against each other if they're raised together."

"So Niall would keep them apart…" Sookie was following her line of reasoning.

"So they wouldn't have feelings for each other."

"But wait, there's supposed to be a girl, too…"

"A true hybrid to rule them both from the Council, maybe? That's assuming you and Eric pass up the position. But then, you and the girl are destined for the Pantheon as Freyja's triune aspects, right?" Octavia was thinking out loud.

"That's what Alex said…"

"Alex doesn't get much wrong, does he?" Octavia asked her. "So, if I was a gambler, my money would say, you and the girl on the Pantheon, Eric on the Council and Alex and Auberon each in charge of one realm."

"But I am only King of two territories."

"For now. Don't think I don't hear the rumblings, vampire, they reach us Witches, too."

"What rumblings?" Sookie wanted to know

"All the regents, in the Americas, at least, united under one King," Octavia told her.

"I've heard that, too," Jerry said.

"Yep, me too," Bjorn nodded.

"Don't even try to tell me you don't know they're lining up behind you, Eric," Octavia told him.

"HUH?" Sookie knew nothing about this.

"You want to tell her, or you want me to spill the rumor?" Octavia asked.

"I'd like to hear the rumor," Eric told her.

"The rumor is that you're putting together the first vampire standing army because there's a serious, military-style threat. You're preparing for war against human zealots and all the regents in this country, and possibly beyond, are lining up behind you."

"Interesting," Eric said as he fed watermelon to Alex.

"Dat, Dadee?"

"Watermelon," Eric coached the baby, trying to ignore that everyone at the table was staring at him.

"Wadamewon."

"Very good, Alex!"

"ERIC?!"

"Sookie, you knew there was a new threat."

"That's big, though."

"Yes, but we are preparing for it."

"How big is it going to get?"

"Just a little bigger than they want to make it."

"So, if they're an 8 on the Richter scale…"

"We'll be an 11."

"Bjorn, did you know about this?" Sookie demanded

"Yes, ma'am."

"And you're going along with it?"

"I can be a part of the machine, or I can get my ass run over by the machine, so, yeah, I'm on board."

"Exactly," Jerry laughed.

"What's in it for the Weres?" Sookie asked.

"Freedom. Eric won't fuck with us if we don't fuck with him. That's all we want. We've always been mercenaries, now we've got a mercenary army to fight. We get paid, we get left alone. That's more than the humans are willing to do for us."

"And Eric is a good King," Jerry added, "We'd all much rather negotiate with him than anybody else likely to step forward. When you know what the options are, the choice is pretty clear."

"Wait a minute – what about the Council?" Sookie was still trying to understand how the power structure worked.

"You think the Ancient Pythoness takes sides in regional skirmishes?" Octavia asked her

"So She's backing your play?" Sookie asked Eric.

"From the start. They knew what I would do before I knew it myself."

"Are there Supe forces against you?"

"Of course. Liam, for one, but there are a few gods and a few Council members that think we should kowtow to the humans or who object to Freyja's moving back up the hierarchy. Niall is only on my side because he has no choice and I'll never be able to turn my back on him."

"And all of this was put in place before I was even born?"

"Yes." "Yes." Eric and Octavia spoke at once.

"What about Aubie being left in Elfyria?"

"That was apparently a miscalculation that Niall tried to turn to his advantage. Think about this, Sookie - he thought to set _my sons_ at war with one another." Eric was letting Sookie know in no uncertain terms that Niall had exhausted the good will that might be afforded him through their familial connection.

"Anybody need anything?" Alicia came back into the kitchen.

"No, thanks, Alicia!" Sookie said since no one else asked for anything, and everyone else called out thanks to all the maids who were beginning to gather up dishes.

They were all about to move outside for Alex's flying time when Bjorn's phone rang.

"Hello?"

"Anderson? This is Dr. Ludwig. Is King Eric or Queen Sookie available, please?"

"Yes, just a moment," he looked at Eric, "It's Dr. Ludwig."

"Yes, Dr.?"

"Please tell me you have a new addition to your family?"

"Yes, Auberon is with us now."

"Alright, I'll need to come check him out. I'll meet you in the den."

"Sookie, take Aubie into the den to meet with the doctor."

"You're coming, too, right?"

"I promised Alex to take him flying after he ate. You know more about the situation than I do, so there's no real need for me to break my promise."

"Good point. OK, we'll be out in a bit."

"Thank you. Come, Alex, let's go flying."

"FYEEN! FYEEN!"

Eric and Alex went out the back door with the rest of the group following and Sookie took Aubie into the den, where the little doctor was laughing. "That one loves to fly, I see?"

"Oh, yeah, he's always wanting to fly these days," Sookie laughed as she sat on the couch and held Aubie so the doctor could look him over.

Ludwig looked in the baby's ears and at his eyes, then she checked out his nails and ran her thumb up the sole of each foot to check his reflexes in his feet. She put her hand on his breastbone and concentrated, then she said, "well, he seems none the worse for wear. Niall is furious, you know?"

"Niall had no business keeping my baby from me. Besides, it happened just like you said – there was no choice. They were trying to kill him!"

"Who's "they?""

"Two assassins that Liam sent. They cut the Fae woman's head off and were going to do the same to Aubie, but Freyja told me to take him and I did. Then they were talking about cutting some other poor baby's head off, so I sent the falcon after them."

"The falcon? You can call it?"

"Yeah, I was watching in my vanity mirror and when they said that about killing a baby I just said "take them" and black birds filled the room and tore them to pieces."

"Are you telling me that you weren't even in the room with them at the time?"

"Well, yeah. I popped in just long enough to grab Aubie, then I was watching on my mirror and when I heard them planning to cut off a baby's head, I just lost it and sicced it, or them, or whatever, on them."

"That explains why Niall didn't want me to come to Siobhan's house. He's probably still cleaning up the evidence."

"Would you have done anything different?"

"No, I'd say you did what you should have done. It puts a serious crimp in Niall's plan, but from what I've gleaned of it, it needed to be crimped."

"He was planning to raise Aubie so he'd go to war with Alex!"

"That's what I thought he was up to, as well, but I couldn't be sure. How did you know about the attack?"

"I think Freyja showed me. One minute I was in the pool, then I saw the woman scream and Aubie cry and the next thing I know I'm in front of my mirror and Freyja is yelling "now Sookie!" and I called him. Then I was in the room, I grabbed him, I was back in front of my mirror and then I called the falcon."

"It's remarkable you were able to do that across the worlds. That makes you very powerful, indeed, my little Goddess. You probably had extra juice from seeing your child in danger, but that's still quite a feat."

"All I know is I've got my baby and I'm keeping him. Niall can kiss my ass."

"I wouldn't say that to his face, but I agree with the sentiment. Your household doesn't seem in any upheaval."

"Everybody seems cool with it. We're going to have a little more help, but nobody is upset about another baby. Alex is even handling it better than we expected. He's more interested in his kitty."

"Knock, knock!" Amelia was at the door.

"Amelia, you remember Dr. Ludwig?"

"Yes, hello, Doctor. I just remembered something from this morning I thought I should tell you both."

"What's that?" the doctor asked.

"The kitten's name is apparently "Erin.""

"ERIN?!" Sookie said.

"Yes, why?"

"I'm pretty sure that was Eric's mother's name."

"Interesting," Ludwig said, "she was Fae, yes?"

"Yeah, she was."

"That might actually be she, you know?"

"Huh?"

"I told you it's a Pooka. That's a kind of fairy that takes different shapes. What did she look like?"

"Eric says she looked like me."

"That might have been a projection of you. They aren't tied to time or space, you know?"

"Holy shit, Sookie!" Amelia loved this stuff.

"That doesn't mean I'm Eric's mom, right?"

"No, just that her spirit chose a form she knew he would love."

"OK, 'cause I've heard enough weirdness for today."

"That was mostly speculation earlier, Sookie, don't let it weird you out," Amelia reminded her.

"Dr. Ludwig, do you know who Titania's "True Heir" is?"

"Let's take one crisis at a time, Sookie. For now, you have your children. Just enjoy them and let King Eric do what he has to."

"Great."

"Relax and enjoy as much of it as you can, Sookie." The little doctor was very serious. "I'm going to have to pull some very powerful strings to keep Niall from coming after that baby. Don't leave him alone."

"I won't. One of us will be with him every minute."

"Have you still got those fairy crosses?"

"Some of them."

"Write Niall's name on a piece of paper three times, no breaks, don't dot any I's or cross any T's. Wrap it around one of the stones, tie it with a red string and bury it in front of your front door."

"I hope I can remember that…"

"I can remember it, Sookie, it's a simple spell," Amelia told her.

"Do it now, tonight, before he figures out how to get in here. I think Freyja's got a block on you but there's no telling how long it will last."

"OK, we'll do it now," Sookie assured her.

"Alright, call me if you need me." The little doctor popped out of the room.

"Come on, Sookie, we don't want to wait on this."

"Alright, I guess there's paper in my office."

"I'll ask Octavia if she has her string down here."

"Her string?"

"Yeah, we both keep red and green string on us, but mine is on the fourth floor. Octavia might have some in her pocket."

"You're kidding?"

"Nope, hang on," Amelia went back out the door and came back with red string.

"You're joking?!"

"No, honey, Witches' Ladders are easy, effective magick. It's no different than a Catholic carrying a rosary, really."

"OK, let's get the paper," Sookie said, leading the way to the office, still carrying the baby.

"I'll be right there," Amelia said, going back into the kitchen.

Sookie found a pad of paper and wrote and remembered not to finish the I's or the T's. Amelia came in with a case knife.

"What's that for?"

"Digging. Got the stone?"

"No, hang on to the baby." Sookie gave Aubie to Amelia then held out her hands, said "come to me!" and she held one of the fairy stones. She wrapped it in the paper, Amelia showed her to tie the string in a cross, and Sookie waited inside the door with the baby while Amelia took the stone in front of the front door and buried it there, keeping the sod in one piece so she could stomp it down and hide where the ground was broken.

"What's that supposed to do, exactly?"

"It will keep Niall from darkening your door, at least for a while. The stone won't let him cross the threshold."

"Does that matter if he can teleport?"

"Yes, symbolically, anyway. Magick is heavily symbolic."

"Right." Sookie sat down on the couch in the living room and Amelia sat with her.

"Ludwig seemed to think Freyja was keeping him away, but she wanted something more "fixed,"" Amelia explained.

"Do you think Niall would actually swoop in here and take my child?"

"Dr. Ludwig apparently thinks he would."

"If he tries to take my baby, Amelia, I swear to Goddess, I'll kill him."

"You know, Sookie, you need to be careful about saying things you don't mean…"

"I mean it. If Niall tries to take this child, or harm either of my kids in any way, he's going to meet that fucking falcon and I've never been more serious in my life."

"That might have far reaching consequences, Sookie."

"What – in Elfyria? They've been at this war for all these years for what? It's like the Middle East, Amelia, they don't even really know why they're fighting, they just do. One warlord is as bad as another."

"Maybe that's why Aubie needs to grow up and take over?"

"Well, if he does, it will be HIS way, not Niall's. That son of a bitch is done in my life. Eric was right about him all along. Liam's ass may not be long for this world or that one, either. I'm taking Eric's position – threaten my nest and die."

"Now, that's what I like to hear!" Eric laughed as he came through the house with Alex on his shoulder, the kitten following at his heels.

"Woogie, Mamee, Dadee fyeen me!"

"I see that! Did you have fun flying with Daddy?"

"Eeah, fyeen eye-er an eye-er!"

"He likes to go very high," Eric confirmed.

"OK, I'm just not going to think about that," Sookie tried to laugh as she shifted Aubie up to her shoulder.

"Obee nah fy!"

"No, Aubie can't fly yet," Eric told him. "He's too little."

"Too widdow?"

"Yes, you can fly because you're a bigger boy."

"Ahm a biggah bo-ee!"

"Right. Amelia, Jerry said to tell you he'll be upstairs in a bit if you want to go on up, but of course, that's only if you want to."

"I was actually thinking about watching some TV in the den if you guys are going to bed. I like hanging out in there."

"Alright, feel free. I do think we need to go up for some family time."

"That sounds good to me. This has been an eventful day," Sookie laughed at herself for understating the case.

"Alright, let's go up," Eric said. "Have a good evening, Amelia, I don't know if I'll be back before sun-up or not."

"You guys have a good night."

"Thanks," Sookie said as Eric guided her back toward the stairs, each of them carrying one baby.

"Do you want me to take Auberon from you, Sookie?" Eric asked as they reached the stairs.

"No, he's not heavy at all next to Alex. I hadn't realized how much Alex has grown already!"

"Yes, but the size is the only visible difference. They're both very beautiful," Eric said proudly.

"Yes, they are. That white hair and those big eyes and those big old smiles just make me melt," Sookie laughed. "I know I'm their Mommy and biased and all that, but they're just the most gorgeous things I've ever seen."

"Meow!" The kitten came bounding up the stairs after them.

"Did you lose your master, kitten?" Eric laughed. "She must have missed us coming in the back door."

"Ah, Ewin!" Alex waved to the kitten over Eric's shoulder.

"That reminds me," Sookie said as they reached the third floor, "Amelia says that the kitten's name is Erin."

"Erin?!"

"That's what Amelia said, and that's what Alex just called her."

"That was my mother's name," Eric said as Sookie walked across the bed on her knees with Aubie.

"Yep – Dr. Ludwig said that might actually be your mother," she told him as she sat on her side of the bed.

"This is a joke?" Eric said as he sat beside her and sat Alex in between them. The cat jumped up after them and walked between their legs to rub against Alex.

"No, not a joke." Sookie told him as he kicked his boots off, "That's what she said. She thinks it's a pooka, and they shape shift, and it might have taken the form of your mother, which could have been a projection of me because they aren't tied to "time/space" whatever."

"Alex – who is that?" Eric pointed to the kitten.

"Dat Ewin," he said as if he couldn't believe Daddy had to ask.

"See?" Sookie said, settling Aubie in between them near the pillows since Alex was sitting up a little lower facing them, the kitten prancing around and rubbing against him as he giggled.

"Yes, I do. I have to think about this."

"While you're thinking, think about this – what are the odds of the three of them ever being asleep at the same time?"

"The cat can be put out of the room for a while, if need be, and Alex and Auberon will have similar schedules, won't they?"

"I don't know. We can work on that, I guess."

"Should we move a crib in here for a while?"

"No, I think Ludwig wants Alex kept close, and I assume the same goes for Aubie, since he's playing catch-up. Alex will sleep in the bed, Aubie in the co-sleeper, and you and I will deal, somehow."

"We can always have sex in the tub," he leaned forward and kissed her, "Or on the floor," he kissed her again as Aubie gurgled and reached up toward their faces.

"Or at Fangtasia," she laughed, "with them in the other room?" Sookie joked as she played with Aubie's hand.

"Right, and Bjorn…"

"What – in the room with them?"

"Wherever – in the room, at the top of the stairs, in the bed with us," he laughed.

"Yeah, right," Sookie laughed it off but she wasn't sure he wasn't serious. Would she want that? Suddenly she got a hot, flashing image of being pressed between Eric and Bjorn…

"Sookie?"

"Huh?"

"You got lost in your thoughts for a minute. Are you alright?" Eric asked innocently. He knew what she was thinking and wanted those thoughts to stew a bit.

"Yeah, I was just thinking about what you said about a crib. I wonder how old they'll be before we'll leave them in a room alone?"

"That would not be advisable for quite some time, I believe," Eric was smiling as Alex discovered Aubie's feet, touching them and making them kick a little.

"Yeah, they'll be pretty big, I guess."

"At least old enough to protect themselves."

"How old would that be?" Sookie asked laughing as there were suddenly two kittens wrestling on the bed, as Eric just shook his head and laughed.

"I don't know – whenever they would know that if a stranger took them, they should teleport back to Mommy."

"Mmmaa!" Aubie said and giggled, proud of himself as he played with his toes, aware of them because Alex had tickled them, and because the kittens were now tumbling into them.

"That's good Sweetie!" Sookie kissed Aubie and patted his tummy then looked at Eric, "Amelia and I just buried a little spell in front of the front door to try to keep Niall out of here."

"Something the doctor suggested?"

"Yes, she thinks Freyja is blocking him for now, but Amelia said she probably wanted something more permanent."

"Is that who you were talking about when you said "threaten my nest and die?""

"Yeah, among others – that Liam character, Niall, anyone who tries to hurt us. I told Amelia, and I absolutely mean this, if Niall tries to take this child, I'll call that falcon down so fast he won't know what hit him."

"Niall is very powerful, Sookie, so think it through before you go to war with him. Your powers are new, and he is very old and skilled."

"I'm going to get better than he is, then. Nobody is threatening my kids."

"Are you going to shift tonight?"

"There's no moon tonight, is there?"

"Just a tiny crescent. Tuesday is the Dark Moon, you know."

"Yeah, we'll need to keep an eye on both of the boys that day. Dr. Ludwig didn't know what we should expect."

"We don't even know if the warning applies to both of them or not, do we?"

"No, that's right. Loup-Garou – is that his name?"

"Yes."

"OK, he was talking about Alex at that point. I don't know if the same things apply to Aubie or not."

"You should have Octavia read cards about it."

"Good idea. I'll ask her tomorrow. Hey, does Aubie smell like Fae or vampire?"

"I can't perceive any difference between him and Alex, but that doesn't mean there isn't one. We need another vampire to smell him."

"Pam, maybe?"

"Yes, I'd trust her more than anyone. Tomorrow is Monday – Fangtasia is closed and I had planned to meet her there briefly to go over some paperwork. Why don't we take the boys, let Pam meet Auberon, then after we finish our work, we can enjoy the downstairs?"

"OK – why not? We'll have guards all around and nobody will know ahead of time, right?"

"Right."

"And there won't be any other people there?"

"Correct."

"Hmm – I like that idea. Leaving them in the other room isn't the same as leaving Aubie alone, is it?"

"Ask Amelia to sit with them if you want."

"Ask Amelia to sit in the little room with the kids while we…"

"I'll pay her handsomely."

"She's rich, Eric, that's not the point."

"Why would she care?"

"She might be kind bored in there."

"There's a flat-screen TV in the room, with satellite."

"Since when?"

"Since I realized we might need a sitter in there with the baby so we could play,"

he wiggled his eyebrows at her.

Sookie cracked up. "I'll ask her, but no promises if she says 'no.'"

"We'll work something out, so plan on us all going to Fangtasia when I get up."

"Yum!" She reached over and kissed him, which made Aubie giggle with delight.

Eric and Sookie were laughing at how cute that was, and Alex and Erin were bouncing on and off the bed chasing each other, when Amelia called, "anybody awake up there?"

"Come on up, Amelia," Eric told her.

"Hey, sorry to interrupt, but Bobbie's on the phone. Did you want to talk to her, Sookie?"

"Yeah, I did. Hang on…" she crawled toward the end of the bed carefully, trying not to get in the way of the kittens or get anyone hurt.

"Wow, it's chaos in here!" Amelia laughed.

"We have a request, Amelia," Eric started,

"Eric!"

"Talk to Bobbie while I talk to Amelia," Eric teased her and shooed her away. Sookie took the little phone from Amelia and stepped out into the hallway.

"What's up, Eric?"

"Sookie and I need a trip to Fangtasia, but as you know, she's unable to leave Aubie alone…"

"As in leaving the two of them in that backroom she told me about?"

"Right, so…"

"You want me to sit with them while you two get your freak on?"

"There's Direct TV in there, and snacks,"

Amelia cracked up. "I'll take some toys to keep them occupied in case they won't sleep. Sure, I'll do it."

"I'll pay you…"

"That's not necessary. You're going out of your way for me, I'm more than happy to help out."

"OK, Sweetie, you take your time. We miss you and we love you!" Sookie came back in and Amelia took the phone and said goodnight again.

"How is Bobbie?" Eric asked as she crawled back onto the bed.

"She's sad, which is to be expected, I guess. They don't think it will be much longer."

"That is very sad." Eric could feel the turmoil Sookie was trying to repress.

"Yeah, it is. That's why we need to appreciate our families when we have them. You never know…" Sookie started to tear up.

"Come here, Sookie," Eric picked Aubie up and put him in his right arm so Sookie could snuggle up on his left. He kissed her head and held her close, and she cried into his shirt as the baby gurgled and put his hand in her hair. Alex came back up on the bed and shifted to himself, crawling up onto Sookie's lap. The cat jumped on the end of the bed and lay down.

"I'm sorry, Eric I don't know what's wrong with me."

"Don't apologize, Sookie, you've had a traumatic day. Your nerves are just catching up to you, and you're worried about Bobbie…"

"And it reminds me of my mama and daddy, and Gran…"

"And Niall," he kissed her hair as she really broke down. Eric let her cry it out, the two of them snuggling the boys close and both babies instinctively clinging to them.

"Oday, Mamee?"

"Yeah, Sweetie, I'm OK, I'm just a little sad," she kissed Alex and he tried to push up to a standing position so he could hug her, so she helped him lean on her and let him wrap his little arms around her neck. Aubie was reaching for her, too and she kissed his hand. Eric was pouring all the love and comfort into the bond that he could and to their surprise, so did Alex and Aubie. Sookie stopped crying for a second and said, "Eric, do you feel that?"

"Yes, I do. He's part of the bond."

"It's not as strong as Alex but it's definitely there!"

"This is amazing – it makes him much safer if we can feel him!" Eric was really happy about this and gave Aubie a big kiss. It solved several problems – it made Aubie safer, it meant there wouldn't be jealousy because they were closer to Alex than with him, it would help them know if something was wrong with him if they weren't physically right with him.

Sookie wiped her eyes, "I'll bet it gets stronger over the next week or so as I feed him. I knew my feeding him was bringing out more strengths in him!"

"There, you see, my Angel it's not all sadness – some good is coming from it all."

"You know, when I saw Niall talking to that Fae woman, he said that eventually Aubie should have the same abilities as Alex."

"That's wonderful, Sookie!"

"Yeah, it is. Who knows, maybe he won't be much smaller, either, now that I'm feeding him."

"Undwy, Mamee!" Alex patted Sookie's breast.

"OK, Alex, here we go." She put him in position and Aubie reached for her, too.

"Can you handle two of them?" Eric asked with serious concern.

"Yep, I can handle it. They pretty much know what to do. I just need to find the best way to hold them."

Eric helped her get settled with the boys, which took a little juggling, but they each found a comfortable position. Sookie found that if she sat "Indian style" with a baby sitting on each leg, they could reach easily enough.

"It's good that your breasts are so large, Sookie, they don't have to stretch – the boys, I mean," Eric teased her.

"Oh, you think this is funny, huh?"

"No, Sweetheart, I think it is precious," he stroked her cheek and Aubie giggled against her.

"He likes it when we kiss or show affection," Sookie observed.

"He has never seen it before, has he?"

"No, I guess he hasn't. He's missed out on a lot…" Sookie was on the verge of tears again.

"He's home now, Sookie, what's passed is past. Just love him – that can make up for anything. See how happy he is?"

She smiled down at Aubie. "Yeah, he is. Look at Alex holding his hand! Good boy, Alex, being sweet to Buddy!"

Alex pulled away and said, "Obee undwy."

"Yeah, Aubie's hungry, too."

"Obeeth undwy, doo!"

"Yeah, he is!"

Eric was about to burst, watching Sookie coo at the babies as they suckled, both of them looking at her with big eyes as she stroked their little backs and heads. There was no fighting, which surprised him, and it almost seemed as if Alex was making sure Auberon got to eat, too. 'This' he told himself, 'is bliss.'

Alex yawned first, and pulled away, so Eric took him and held him while he fell asleep. Aubie fed quite a bit longer, which surprised Sookie, but Eric said "he's making up for lost time. He never tasted anything so sweet."

"Yeah, I can feel how much he loves it."

"That's my boy," Eric said, teasing her and she laughed softly.

"Yes, he is. Just like his daddy. Yes, you are! You're just like your daddy!"

Aubie's eyes sparkled and danced as she spoke to him. He certainly took that after Eric. Their energy was different, but their eyes couldn't be more alike. Sookie let out a big yawn and Eric said, "time for everyone to sleep."

"But I want to spend time with you!"

"You'll be awake again in a few hours, Sookie, and we will spend time together, then.

You are still on vacation and supposed to rest when you are tired. Feeding two babies is a lot of work."

"Yeah, I guess."

"It won't always be this way, Sookie, don't worry."

"Yeah, I keep telling myself that, and I know they'll only be small for a short time, I'm just tired and I need attention."

"You mean sex?"

"That, too, but no, I just miss having all the time we used to have together. I used to get to spend the whole night with you."

"And you will again when the boys are sleeping through the night."

"Yeah, that's right. Alex only wakes up twice now, right?"

"Yes, it's midnight now, and he'll wake up again around four. He missed his after-dinner nap tonight."

"That's right, he did. He might wake up earlier or sleep later, or who knows what?"

"I'll be available to him until almost sunrise, and Jerry will begin watching you at 6:00, then Bjorn will be here at 10:30 now."

"Jerry's coming in early?"

"Yes, he and Bjorn talked about it while I was flying with Alex and they decided you should not be alone while you sleep. Someone needs to be aware in case there is trouble. We should have been doing this all along, anyway."

"Jerry will have to come in so early!"

"Jerry is already here. He stayed with Amelia and the plan is for him to move into the chalet with her, as well. That will make him more available to fill in around Bjorn and he will get to spend more time with Amelia."

"Oh, good! That's a great idea!"

"We're going to increase the guards on duty, as well, since there's a specific threat."

"How much good will that do, if the threat is from Fae?"

"We're making some changes in how they are armed and we'll be adding some special help to every shift in the form of daemon security."

"Really?"

"Yes, and it may be time for us to seriously consider a daemon nanny."

"I'd rather not, unless it's absolutely necessary."

"Alright, well, we'll see how it goes with the added security. I do want you to think about it, though, Sookie. If someone were to teleport in and take Auberon, a daemon could go after him immediately."

"So could I, though, like I did before."

"What if you were asleep?"

"I won't always need sleep, Eric, you know that."

"Alright, then, try this – ask Freyja about it."

"That's not a bad idea!"

"Alright, when will you do that?"

"As soon as they're asleep."

"I'll stay here with them, then, just in case."

"Yeah, in case I disappear."

"Exactly." Eric looked at Alex, who was snuggled with his head on his shoulder, "he's asleep. How's Auberon?"

"Nearly there. He's not sucking as hard. He'll be out in no time."

"Alright, when he's ready, put him in the co-sleeper and go to your circle…"

"Mirror – I'll do it in here."

"Alright, then, go to your mirror and I'll lie here with the boys until you are done."

"OK, he's out." Sookie put Auberon in the co-sleeper and crawled off the end of the bed. Eric put Alex down next to Aubie and noticed that their little hands moved so they were touching. He gently got up and got Sookie's journal while she was in the bathroom and made notes about the events of the day, trying to put in all the detail Sookie had given him. She came out and sat in front of her vanity, taking three slow, deep breaths and looking at the mirror.

"Freyja, speak to me."

Eric watched, but Sookie sat quietly, motionless. He had a feeling she was with Freyja on some level, but not in the physical space he was watching. He made note that it was 12:23 and went into down time.

Sookie saw Freyja's face before her. "Hello, My Angel."

"Freyja – thank you so much for helping me get Eric Auberon in time today."

"We could not let harm come to Our child, could We?"

"No, We couldn't. What do I need to do to keep him safe?"

"You need to confront Niall so he is no longer a threat. He fears Me, but he doesn't fear You yet. He needs to know that You know We are One and the Same."

"Do I have Your powers yet?"

"You will have what You need when You need it for now, but eventually, they will be Your own. Always drink of the bottle before sunrise."

"I will. What about Liam?"

"Do what You know You must, just as Our husband will do what is necessary."

"I have to kill him."

"You have to safeguard Our child. Liam has committed a Blood Offense against the Goddess and Her child."

"I can't use the falcon for this, can I?"

"You do not need the Falcon, You need Your faith in Whom You Are."

"I understand." Sookie saw very clearly what she was supposed to do.

She took a deep breath as Freyja disappeared. She was in her room, the babies were asleep, Eric lying next to them.

"Eric, are you awake?"

He came out of downtime, "Yes – did you see Her?"

"Yes, I did. I have something I have to do before sunrise. Stay here and I'll be back, alright?"

"Yes, of course."

Sookie was gone. Eric could feel her in the bond and she was determined in a way he had only felt once before – when she first found out about Eric Auberon. He followed her emotions as he lay there with the boys, sending her courage.

Sookie went to the gym first and called the katana off the wall. She swung it a few times the way Eric had shown her. When she was ready, she looked in the mirror, nodded, and pointed the sword at the floor. She traced a circle thrice around and when the light from the third circle tied into the first, she was in a room full of books, weapons and suits of armor. Liam Cullach, a gnarly, red-faced, red-haired Fae man, sprang out of his chair. "Who…!'

Before he could finish, Sookie, as if in a trance and faster than lightening, struck his head from his shoulders. Blood sprayed everywhere, covering the short lavender nightie she was still wearing. She had blood in her hair, on her face, her arms and legs as she picked up the head, which had rolled toward the window, by its orange hair. "Niall," she snarled, and at once she was in a magnificent room of white and gold with a gilt pentagram on the floor and a line of 5 paintings on one huge wall, the center of which she recognized as herself, but richly dressed in a scarlet gown. Niall entered the room and was shocked to see her standing there covered in blood.

"Sookie, what…?!"

Sookie threw Liam's head at his feet and Niall stumbled backwards in horror, grabbing a huge oaken chair to break his fall, and he turned white as a sheet.

"This is what happens when you threaten My nest. Stay away from My children, or I'll have your head, too."

As soon as the words were out of Sookie's mouth she was back in her room, sword still in hand.

Eric jumped up, defensively hissing and popping his fangs, the scent of Fae filling the room as his wife stood before him covered in fairy blood, his own bloody sword in her hand.

"Eric!" She cried out as she threw the sword to the side and they flew into each other's arms, kissing madly, both in full thrall of the blood. Eric tore their clothing to shreds, taking her on the floor, howling as she flipped him over so she was riding him. He stroked her face with his palm and she kissed it, taking it in her hand and then savagely biting his wrist and offering her own. He bit, completing the circuit, and the room shimmered hot and red, waves of ecstasy sweeping through the entire grounds of the house. Everyone on the property felt it and understood the source as Sookie howled as She came. There was no snickering among the guards this night – there was only awe at the power that was channeled by the Queen and Her King.

Eric was the first to regain his senses, still awash in sticky Fae blood, but he managed to get to the bathroom and start the water in the tub. He poured the first bubble bath he could find under the tap and he wet a hand towel that he used to wipe down the katana that was caked with blood. Eric's mind couldn't process that Sookie had actually used a sword on someone. As he laid it on the side table, he prayed that She remember what She did so She could tell him about it, not just to share the glory, but in case there were repercussions to what She had done.

He checked the temperature of the water, then picked Her up and floated them upward and into the tub. She was a little "drunk" as She awoke, wrapping Her arms around him and kissing him hard.

"Sookie, are You conscious?" he asked her softly, trying to get the blood off of Her so he could think.

"Um-hmmm, are you?"

"Yes, Sookie, You need to tell me what You have done."

"Freyja told Me to do what I had to do, so I did."

"What was that?"

"Oh, I hope you don't mind – I borrowed one of your swords," She said as She was coming out of it a bit.

"Yes, my Angel, I see that. Whose blood was on it?"

"Liam Cullach."

"You went after Cullach?" Eric was aghast.

"Yep, I cut his head off," She yawned.

"WHAT?!"

"Yeah, I left it at Niall's house."

"NIALL?!"

"Yep," She laid her head on his shoulder, "I told him this was what happened when you threatened My nest and he better stay away from My children or I'd have his head, too."

"SOOKIE?! YOU DIDN'T?!"

She sat up straight and looked at him, "yes, I did, and I meant it. Freyja said he was afraid of Her, but he needed to know he should be afraid of ME, and he definitely is. You should have seen how scared he was when I threw Cullach's head at him. I wish I had a picture of it," She said with a satisfied air.

Eric was stunned. "Sookie, Niall commands Fae armies! He could declare war against Us!"

"You command armies, too, and he's not going to fuck with Me, because I popped into his house in spite of his protections." She spoke with absolute certainty.

"His protections?"

"Yeah, he had wards and barriers all around his palace or whatever it is, but I went through them like a hot knife through butter. He might have skills, but I've got more power – Freyja made that clear to Me. Cullach had wards, too. He never knew what hit him."

"Alright, let me be clear, Sookie – You took one of my swords,"

"Yes."

"You "popped" into Cullach's home?"

"Yep."

"You cut off his head?"

"Yep."

"You carried it into Niall's home, threw it at him and told him You'd do the same to him if he threatened Your nest?"

"Exactly."

"Min Guddina!" That was more an exclamation than a direct address because Eric was stunned at Her.

"Damned straight."

Eric couldn't tell if She had no idea of the enormity of what She had done or if She was simply that confident in Her skills – which, if this is how it happened, were considerable. This was a feat worthy of Freyja Herself.

"I AM Freyja Herself, Eric," she read his mind, "I'm not 100% all the time, yet, but She said when I need Her power, I'll have it, and soon I'll have it all the time."

"So You have accepted this?"

"I wouldn't be hacking off heads if I hadn't."

"Good point. I think we need to apprise Bjorn and Jerry of this."

"Let's finish Our bath first."

"I don't think so – call my phone for me."

"Phone!" She held up Her hand and the phone was in it. Eric dried his hands and took it from her, texting Bjorn that they needed to be on high alert.

Eric continued to wash the blood off Sookie, rinsing her hair with the handheld, when Bjorn was at their bedroom door.

"Eric?"

"We're in the bath, Bjorn, come on in," Eric said just loudly enough that he could hear, but not loudly enough to wake the babies. Sookie was mostly covered by bubbles, but She made no move to hide what wasn't covered.

Bjorn was in the door, "sorry to interrupt. What happened?"

"Sookie, after consulting with Freyja, traveled to Liam Cullach's house, took his head, carried it to Niall's and told him if he came near our kids, She'd do the same to him."

"Is that all?" Bjorn wasn't trying to be a smartass, but DAMN!

"Is that all, Sookie?"

"That's it in a nutshell."

"OK, I'm going to need a little more detail." Bjorn was trying to process what he was hearing. "Are we at war with the Fae?"

"Good question. Sookie?"

"No one saw me at Cullach's place. Only Niall knows what I did, and he's got the head."

"You actually cut off a fairy's head and left it at Niall's place?" Bjorn was trying to picture this.

"I sort of … threw it at him."

"You threw it at him?"

"Well, rolled it at him, I guess. I threw it at his feet."

"And You threatened to do the same to him?"

"If he messed with My kids, yeah."

"Is it my imagination or is that water You're in red with blood?"

"Yeah, We need to drain it and rinse off." Sookie said, just now noticing it was getting gross.

"She was covered when she got back. Look at her gown out there." If he weren't afraid of repercussions, Eric would think this was funny. He was certainly enjoying Bjorn's reactions.

Bjorn looked out in the room where there were shreds of clothes scattered next to the bed. "This is that purple thing You were wearing earlier?"

"Yep."

"Yeah, it's caked with gore." Bjorn agreed.

"You'll want to tell Kerik about this," Eric told him.

"Yeah, I will. Sookie, can You do magick to cover Your trail?"

"Already done. They'll find Cullach's body, there's no trace of anyone being there, and I'm pretty sure Niall is disposing of the head so it can't be used to raise him again."

"OK, we need to keep this quiet. We'll tell Kerik and Octavia, and that's it. We need strict control of this Intel…"

Eric's phone rang. "Yes, Doctor Ludwig?"

"Finish your bath and get dressed. I'll be there in 30 minutes."

"We'll be here."

Sookie looked at Eric.

"Dr. Ludwig has apparently heard the news. We've got 30 minutes to get dressed."

"I'm going to round up Kerik and Octavia. Let's all meet in the den," Bjorn suggested.

"Yes, let's do that," Eric opened the drain and turned the handheld on again to rinse them off. Sookie just relaxed and let him clean her up. She had an odd sense of calm about the whole thing. She knew She did what She had to do.

"This is how you feel when you get rid of an enemy, isn't it? Satisfied, instead of guilty."

"If I did what must be done, yes."

"I know the night you killed Quinn. It was the night Pam sat with Me and you said you went to Fangtasia because of a fight. This is how you felt then – _justified_."

"I could not take a risk on the baby getting hurt," he fudged a bit as he helped her out of the tub

"That's not why you killed him. You killed him because he walked out of My house with Me against your wishes."

He wrapped a clean towel around Her. "True."

"OK, just so We know We're straight on that." She looked him right in the eye.

"Are you angry?" He knew She wasn't.

"No, I understand it now," She explained as he combed out Her hair. "I know how scared you were that Bill attacked Me and you weren't going to risk that with Quinn, especially when he challenged Our bond. It was a blood offense."

"You seem to have a better understanding of that now." He could feel that this experience had matured Sookie quite a bit.

"Yeah, I do. I get it. Before, I sort of understood it, but now I really get it. I know how it feels."

"You are a warrior now, Sookie," Eric was proud of Her for doing what She had to do for Her family.

"Yeah, I am. I need to get better with a sword, but I wish you could have seen Me tonight. I moved so fast, Cullach didn't have time to react. I was there and SWOOSH! I was out of there before his heart beat twice." She was bragging a bit as She put on Her favorite pink gown and a pair of matching panties.

"And how did you approach Niall?" he asked as he pulled on a pair of jeans.

She leaned on the dresser as she spoke, watching him comb out his hair. "I must have been in a room where he does magick, because there was a pentacle painted on the floor in gold. I'm not sure how I knew it was real gold, but it was. He was walking in the door and saw Me standing there, covered in blood, and he fell backwards when I rolled the head at him. He was white as a sheet. I mean, he was genuinely, thoroughly, scared."

"Let's hope he stays that way. If he does not, We may be fighting wars on two fronts." Eric slipped a black tank t-shirt over his head.

"Dr. Ludwig will know how things stand."

"Yes, I suppose she will."

"We need to take the babies down with Us."

"You carry Auberon since he's lighter, and I'll carry Alex."

"OK, good idea." Each of Them took a twin and headed down the stairs as quietly as They could, kitten at Their heels.

Bjorn, Jerry and Octavia, in her yellow robe, were already in the den when They arrived with the babies in tow.

"Sorry to get everyone up at this hour," Eric said, putting Alex in the playpen, then taking Aubie from Sookie and putting him next to his brother. The cat meowed at Eric so he picked her up and put her in the pen, too, where she made herself comfy next to the boys.

"War councils are never convenient," Octavia said, "how bad is it?"

"We won't know until Ludwig is here," Eric told her.

"This is more than what happened this afternoon?"

"Oh, yes. Much more."

-POP-

"Northman – quite a party you're having here," the little doctor said wryly.

"What can we do for you, Dr. Ludwig?"

"I thought I should fill you in on the news. Liam Cullach is dead."

"Really? Eric acted mildly surprised

"Yes, and somehow, his head turned up at Niall's home. Niall wouldn't tell me exactly how that happened, but he was scared to death, so I assume there was some powerful _intervention_ of some kind going on," Dr. Ludwig looked right at Sookie as she spoke. Sookie hardly blinked. "Now, You be absolutely sure You don't skip any doses of that Ambrosia, because if there's a chink in Your armor, one faction or another will find it."

"What do they know?" Eric asked

"Cullach's henchmen will assume that Niall took his head, but they won't have a clue how, so that will scare them into laying low for a bit. Only Niall knows the truth of how the head was delivered and I'm quite sure he'll die before he breathes a word of it to anyone. I'm also quite sure he won't forget it. Freyja and I will do what We can to see that a ceasefire is reached, so We should be able to avoid war on most fronts, but it would be best if no more heads appear where they don't belong. Northman, you and your Queen will be receiving a visit from the Ancient Pythoness tomorrow at your office in Fangtasia at 8 PM sharp. Don't keep Her waiting." And she was gone.

"Alright, I assume she meant "divine intervention," so Sookie, You cut somebody's head off?" Octavia asked.

"Yes."

"And delivered it to Niall?"

"Yes."

"Was there a message with it?"

"This is what happens to people who threaten My nest, so stay away from My kids or I'll have your head, too."

"Holy Mother Goddess!" was all Octavia could say.

Bjorn, Jerry and Eric were all laughing.

"You think this is funny, vampire?" Octavia asked.

"I know it is very grave, but the picture of my petite, blood-soaked wife throwing a head at Niall's feet and threatening him with a sword is quite amusing."

"What possessed You, Girl?"

"Freyja told Me he needed to be afraid of Me."

"And She told You what to do?"

"No, the "what" was My idea, I think. She told Me to do what I knew I had to do, and I got a really clear vision of what to do and I did it," Sookie explained as if it was the most natural thing in the world.

"How many times did you teleport?"

"I popped from the bedroom to the gym, drew a circle to go to Liam's, went from Liam's to Niall's, then I was back here."

"What did you do to go from Liam's to Niall's?"

"I said his name."

"Anything else?"

"No, I cut off his head, picked it up, said "Niall" and there I was, then as soon as I said what I came to say, I was back home."

"Jesus," Kerik shook his head.

"I've never seen the kind of power it would take to do that, Sookie," Octavia told Her. "I can barely imagine it. You must have scared the shit out of Niall if he won't even tell Ludwig You were there."

"That was the idea, right?" Sookie asked.

"According to You, it's what Freyja prescribed. I'll tell You something else – if You were zipping around Elfyria that easily, You must be damned near omnipotent there."

"Oh, I almost forgot…" Sookie said suddenly.

"Don't leave anything out, Child, this is too big!"

"Niall's magick room or whatever it was had five paintings on the wall and the one in the middle was Me, but I was in this really lovely scarlet gown I've never seen before."

"Scarlet? Not red, but scarlet?" Octavia asked Her.

"Yeah – why'd I say scarlet instead of red?"

"I've got an idea about that, but I need to throw some cards first. Your cousin, Claudine, does she have email?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Before You go to bed, send her an email and ask her for a picture of Titania. Tell her someone told You the history and You're curious about what she looked like."

"What do we need that for?"

"Mostly, we need to see if she produces one. I say she won't."

"Because you think that painting was her and not Me?"

"I'm starting to think that might be like saying it's Freyja and not You. Remember, there may be, or may have been, other incarnations of Freyja."

"So I am She and She was Me and I am Me and We are all Together?"

"You're way too young to be into the Beatles," Jerry laughed.

"Yeah, but they were always on the radio – still are!"

"Keep that sense of humor, Queenie – You might need it," Octavia said. "I think Ludwig told us that we're safe for tonight, so everybody get some rest. We'll have another war council tomorrow night. I notice Amelia isn't here – is there a reason for that?"

"We just thought to limit the number who know," Eric explained.

"You need to fill Amelia in tomorrow, Sookie. I need her and Bobbie up to speed, but don't dare speak of this over the phone. Tell Bobbie when she gets back."

"Dadee!" Alex was awake for his last bottle.

"I'm going to bed, Sookie, we'll read cards tomorrow," Octavia left the room.

Eric took Alex in his arms and talked to him, and Bjorn picked up Aubie and handed him to Sookie.

"Thanks, Bjorn."

"Want me to carry him upstairs for you, Sookie?"

"No, that's OK, we'll take the elevator."

"OK, then, I'm going to sleep."

"I'll be there when you wake up, Bjorn."

"Thanks, Jerry."

"Are there bottles upstairs?" Eric asked Sookie

"I don't know for sure, Sweetie – grab some while we're down here, just in case."

They all took the elevators to their respective floors, and Eric took Alex into the nursery for story time. Sookie sent her email and then she and Aubie went to bed with Jerry watching them.

Eric sat in the glider and picked up the ABC book they had been reading before, and Alex said, "Obee nah wee?"

"Aubie will read with us sometimes, but he's sleeping now."

"Doo widdow?"

"Yes, he's too little right now."

"Oday."

Eric read to Alex for a while then rocked him until almost sunrise. At the last possible minute, he tucked Alex in next to Sookie, gave her a cup of Ambrosia, kissed all three of them one more time, and went to his rest. He prayed to Freyja as he waited for sleep that She would keep his family safe.

Sookie, Aubie and Alex slept until about 10 o'clock, when Alicia came in with two bottles. Auberon was the first one awake, so she gave him a fresh nappy and fed him RM, and it just worked out that Alex woke up right as Aubie decided he was finished. Aubie woke again at 12:30 and Alex at 1. Bjorn fed Alex a big breakfast then, but Sookie didn't move until Alicia brought her breakfast at 3 PM, letting her sleep as long as she dared.

"Sookie, can you eat some now?" Alicia asked.

"Huh? Yeah, what time is it?"

"It's after 3, dear."

"Have the babies been fed?"

"A couple of times, but I expect them up soon, so you should eat while you can. I don't know if I can get them to take RM a third time and we're out of breast milk."

"Yeah, they'll be wanting me this time around. Thanks for waking me." Sookie dug into the rare steak and something unfamilar. "What's this?"

"Braised cucumbers."

"You're kidding?"

"Try it, you might like it." Alicia urged her.

Sookie did and found that they were pretty good if you didn't think about what they were.

"How are you today, Bjorn?"

"OK – tired."

"Sorry about that. I didn't mean to disrupt the whole household."

Bjorn cracked up. Alicia headed downstairs with the laundry and when she was gone, he said, "you didn't honestly think you'd do all that and not cause a fuss, did you?"

"Honestly, I didn't think about it – I just did it."

"It didn't occur to you that you might start a war?"

"No, it occurred to me I might end one. Think about it – they aren't going to mess with Niall, Niall knows there's no need to mess with them…"

"Somebody new will step up."

"Always, but for now, the crisis has passed. That particular asshole is not going to bother my kids again, and hopefully, neither will the other one."

"I don't know if he's the type to give up, Sookie."

"He'd better be, or he won't be any type at all."

"You really mean that?"

"Yes, I do. I'm over begging him to love me. Eric loves me, and my kids love me, and that's more than most people have. I don't need a great grandfather who thinks he's entitled to steal my kids."

"That kind of crossed the line, huh?"

"In a big way. It was one thing when I thought he couldn't cross over, but when I found out Niall knew he probably could and let me think I couldn't have him – I never felt anger like that in my whole life, Bjorn. I don't know that I even felt that kind of hate when my Gran was killed. I'll be honest with you, I don't think I could have gone to sleep after knowing what Liam tried to do to my baby. I needed to fix that before I let go enough to sleep. Freyja understood that. It's like Eric says, they have to know that you won't tolerate any enemies."

"You think Niall got the message?"

"For now, anyway. I gave him one warning. That's more than the bastard deserves, so from this point forward, I take no prisoners, either."

Bjorn could tell she really meant it. "So we're all going to Fangtasia tonight?"

"That's the plan. Eric needs to meet Pam, the Ancient Pythoness is coming for some kind of meeting, then I hope Eric and I are going to use the downstairs for a bit."

"Ohh – up for a little kink, huh?"

"And how! We've had a lot of sex lately, but it seems like I'm only conscious for half of it," she laughed, "I hope we just do some straight-up fucking tonight."

'Please don't let me need to stand up now!' Bjorn thought to himself. Sookie was getting bolder and bolder around him, which was cool, but it was also torturous at times. She was still the hottest thing alive as far as he was concerned. He was glad he knew Eric enough to admire him instead of hate him from jealousy, because if he didn't, he'd probably get himself killed over her. Her scent was so out of hand now, he worried about taking her around other Supes.

"What do I smell like?"

"Damn, Sookie!"

"I'm sorry – it was a really strong flash. I smell that good, huh?"

"You smell good enough to get a guy killed."

"Eric hasn't said anything lately, but he usually tells me I'm the sweetest thing he ever tasted."

"If you taste half as good as you smell, I completely believe it."

"Do Weres drink blood?"

"Sometimes. It's not a survival thing, though, it's more of a sex thing. It can be dangerous, though."

"Why?"

"The taste or even the smell of blood can overcome the Animal, you know? You start out to take a taste and end up killing the person you're fucking."

"Yikes!"

"Yeah, blood rites are amazing, but they're no joke. It's as far from "safe sex" as you can get," he laughed.

"You ever done that with anybody?"

"A few times, yeah, of course."

"Has it ever gone bad?"

"Almost."

"Almost? What stopped you?"

"There was somebody else there who whacked me with a silver cane."

"No way!"

"Oh, yeah, this friend of mine, who was a shifter, saw me getting out of control and beat me over the head with this silver cane he always carried with him.

"So it was two guys and how many girls?"

Bjorn laughed.

"Come on, I tell you embarrassing stuff all the time."

"About 5."

"Wow – wait. _About_ 5?"

"It was sort of an orgy situation, so people were moving in and out. This one Goth chick cut herself and offered it and the next thing I knew, my friend was wailing on me with that fucking cane."

"Silver hurts Weres, right?"

"Yeah, hitting me with a crowbar might slow me down, but the silver flat stopped me."

"Weren't you worried about the girls outing you?"

"They were so high, they wouldn't have been able to explain what happened even if they remembered."

"Pretty wild, huh?"

"I had some good times back then."

"You still do, right?"

"Yeah, but it's different, you know? There's not much risk."

"You like danger."

"Yeah."

"Eric says I do, too. I guess I do."

"You definitely do."

"Oh, you know that, huh?"

"Yeah, Sookie, guys talk," he laughed.

"Ah! What has he talked about?"

"You being there one day when he woke up."

"Oh, yeah, now THAT was wild."

"So I hear. Would you ever do it again?"

"Yeah, if someone was around or if I couldn't be killed."

"Like someone to stop him before it was too late?"

"Yeah, but honestly, he's got so much control, there's not that much danger."

"He seemed to think there was."

"He underestimates himself."

"ERIC?!"

"Yeah, where I'm concerned, he does. That's my fault. I pushed him away for so long, I made him doubt himself."

"I don't think Eric has any confidence issues, Hon."

"You'd be surprised…"

"Hey, Sookie!"

"Come on up, Amelia."

"We still going to Fangtasia tonight?"

"Yeah, probably right after dinner because Eric and I have an appointment at 8."

"You do?"

"Yeah, with the Ancient Pythoness. Did Jerry fill you in about last night?"

"No. Octavia said I should get a briefing from you," she laughed.

Bjorn filled Amelia in on all the events of the night, as Sookie finished her breakfast, then fed Aubie and then Alex and gave them both "dantheen" time, which made Aubie laugh so hard he got the hiccups. Amelia kept looking at Sookie, who nodded her head to confirm that it really happened.

"You should have heard Dr. Ludwig," Bjorn laughed, "she said no other heads better show up where they shouldn't be for a while."

"How did you know you could do all that, Sookie?"

"I didn't think about it. I just did it. Once I saw what to do, it got done."

"What did Octavia say?"

"She said she'd never seen power like that before, and that in Faery I might be nearly omnipotent."

"Octavia never saw it before?! Shit!"

"I know – I thought she'd seen everything," Sookie tried to laugh it off.

"Even Eric hasn't seen everything, Sweetie. What did he say?"

"Once I convinced him it really happened, I think he thought it was funny. The part about Niall, anyway, I think the Liam part scared him."

"Because you went in there and nobody knew what you were doing, probably."

"Definitely. I hope you don't make a habit of things like that, Sookie," Bjorn took the opportunity to put it in perspective. "You've got kids to consider."

"My kids are the reason I did it – but I know what you mean."

Alicia buzzed up on the monitor. "Mrs. Northman?"

"Yes, Alicia?"

"Mr. Northman said to remind you to be dressed by the time he arrives."

"Yeah, I should get in the shower – thanks!"

"OK, I'm going to pack up stuff to take with us," Amelia told her as she headed for the bathroom. Bjorn was glad she had a nightgown on this time because the sight of Sookie naked after that conversation would give him blue balls. Alex wanted to play so he and Bjorn went up to the gym, kitten at their heels.

"Hey, Sookie? I've got Aubie in the nursery, Bjorn's got Alex in the gym," Amelia said at the bathroom door.

"OK, thanks, Amelia."

Amelia talked to the baby and showed him the toys in the room as she packed up the diaper bag. She'd get food and bottles downstairs, but she filled it with diapers, wipes, baby powder, a couple of pacifiers, a book and some small stuffed toys.

Sookie put on a pink push-up bra since she had lots to push, and a matching thong, though she threw a nursing dress into a tote bag she'd take with her. She was looking through her closet for something sexy and found a new, hot pink dress that had hook-and-eye closures down the entire front. She put it on over the push up bra and decided she looked trashy, which might work another time, but the Ancient Pythoness was going to see her so she opted for the short pink sequined dress with Eric's favorite Marc Jacobs pumps with the silver-toned metal heels. She did a very quick makeup job but put a little kohl on her eyes, which she was beginning to love, and that made it look like she was really dolled up when she added pale pink lipgloss.

She went into the nursery, where Amelia was changing Aubie's diaper. "How do I look?"

"That is going to be one happy Viking!"

"Good. We need to have some fun."

"What do you call that hot, red wave that hit the whole house last night?"

"That was bloodlust and sex magick. Tonight is just going to be down and dirty fun, I hope."

"Will it bother you that I'm in the next room?"

"Not if it doesn't bother you."

"I'm completely cool with it. I've got snacks and stuff for the kids – we'll be fine, won't we, Aubie?"

"Ah!" he said and bounced.

"Good try, Sweetie. You know he said "Ma" last night?"

"He's not that far behind Alex, then. Good for you, little guy."

"Mmmaa!" he reached out for Sookie.

"Yeah, I'm your Mama! I'm your Mama." Sookie took him and he gurgled happily as she kissed and hugged him, then she nuzzled his ear making animal noises and he squealed with delight.

"He's happy to be home, Sookie!"

"Yeah, I think he is," she said, kissing him several times.

Everyone congregated in the kitchen for dinner and Eric came in to find everyone chatting pleasantly, Alex in his highchair, Aubie on Sookie's lap.

"Hello, my lovely wife," Eric kissed her, and Aubie and Alex. "Let me hold him while you eat, Sookie." He took Aubie with him as he sat down.

Margaret put a dish in front of Alex and Eric shifted Aubie to one arm so he could feed Alex with the other. He scooped up a bite of broccoli and Alex asked, "Obee nah undwy?"

"He's too little to eat food like this. He's only big enough for bottles and Mommy."

"Obee Mamee ee!"

"Mommy will feed him when he's hungry, Alex. He's fine right now, aren't you, Auberon?"

"Ah!" he responded and bounced a little and Eric kissed his head.

"Me kitheth, Dadee!"

Eric leaned over and kissed Alex, too, and Aubie giggled with delight.

"Obee wyg kitheth!"

"Yes, I think he does." Eric smiled at the two of them. Alex didn't seem to be showing any jealousy so far, and he hoped that trend continued. He hoped it was not too late to form a bond between them.

Everyone finished up and they were packed into the cars by 7:15 so they could get to Fangtasia in time for Eric's meeting. They had to dispense with the baby seats because there were two of them, and Eric started wondering what they would do when Sookie needed to take the boys out in the daytime. For tonight, they packed two baby carriers in the van with the guards that would be used to give them a place to nap in the basement safe room.

By the time they were all in the doors at Fangtasia, it was nearly 8 o'clock. Sookie waited in the office with Bjorn while Eric got Amelia settled in the safe room with the kids. She propped them up on the couch to watch cartoons, which tickled Alex to no end. Aubie was more interested in watching Alex than the TV, and Amelia had fun just being with the two of them. Alex yawned in just a few minutes and she knew he'd be down for his evening nap soon.

Eric was back upstairs, sitting at his desk while Sookie brushed her hair in the mirror, and Bjorn was standing outside the door when the Ancient Pythoness appeared before Eric's desk. He zipped around the desk and knelt before Her. Sookie dropped her brush and started to curtsy but the Pythoness said, "No, no, My Dear, Goddesses do not bow. You have learned much, but there is much more to know."

"My Lady, We are honored by Your presence," Eric said.

"Very eventful, this day and night past. I bring a message from the Council. We did not know of Niall's deceit – it would never have been tolerated." She looked directly at Sookie, "We commend the Goddess for Her swift and proper response. Niall has been warned that there must be no retaliation if he wishes to keep his seat within our Body. Even the Council may not interfere with the Will of the Goddess."

"Thank you!" Sookie said with great relief.

"Cullach's forces have been warned, as well, that they were opposing Divine Will. The Council wants peace between the worlds and within them."

"That is welcome news, My Lady," Eric told Her.

"We know of the coming conflict with the humans. Your course is true. Do not falter." And She was gone.

"So they're backing you in the war with New Centurion?"

"Yes, and it will be a long and protracted one. That's why they have such an interest in our children."

"Will Aubie be a warrior, too?"

"My own intuition says 'no.' I see him as a gentle soul – a diplomat rather than a soldier."

"Yeah, I see that. A benevolent King rather than a strong one."

"Exactly." He stepped to the door. "Bjorn, come in, please?"

"Yes, your majesty."

"You will stand your post here. You may sit at my desk. We will call you if we need you."

"Yes, sire." Bjorn took a seat and Eric ushered Sookie down the stairs. She started to tell him that the door was open, but he shook his head and urged her on down the stairs. Uh-oh.

"No talking until I say so." Eric said, then he looked into the safe room. "I'm going to close the door now, Amelia, but it won't be locked. Call us immediately if there's any trouble."

"Will do. You kids have fun."

Eric laughed and closed the door to the safe room, then the door to the bathroom.

Sookie was sitting on the foot of the round bed waiting for him. Without a word, he went to the far side of it and opened a hidden drawer in the platform, pulling out what Sookie was sure was a tube of lubricant. He was back instantly, kissing her hard, unzipping the back of her dress. He purred with approval when he saw the lacy pink bra and panty set she was wearing, and he whispered in her ear to "keep those amazing shoes on."

He peeled the straps of the bra off her shoulders with his teeth, nipping at the skin occasionally to make her jump just a little. Aside from soft moans she couldn't hold back, she didn't speak. Eric threw her bra back onto the chair and took her panties down with his teeth, running his tongue down the inside of her thigh. He was laughing to himself because she was already on fire and his plan was to get that fire burning white-hot before he moved forward. Once the panties were on the floor, he said, "spread your legs, Sookie" and she did as she was ordered. The edge of her butt was on the bed, she was leaning back on her hands, and Eric was kneeling in front of her, gently running his finger up her inner thigh. She was shaking as he said "we're going to play a game, Sookie. It's very advanced," his fingers found her center, "think you can do it?"

"Ye-yes,"

"That's my good girl. Now, the rule of the night is, you don't come until I bite you. No matter what I do, or what happens," he slipped his fingers inside her, "you don't come until I drink from you. Understand?"

"Yes."

"Be as still and quiet as you can." He wrapped his arm tightly around her waist, taking her nipple in his mouth and working her with his fingers. She was trying not to squirm but he was relentless with his teeth and tongue on her nipples and his hand between her legs. It seemed to go on forever. She was struggling with herself – part of her wanted to get away from him, part of her wanted to come. She willed herself with everything in her not to push, to just take it and enjoy the sensations but not push for their release. He was asking the impossible, she decided, but she was determined to do what he wanted. She began to whimper, and tears actually ran from her eyes, leaving a faint, sexy, trail of black down her left cheek. Suddenly Eric was standing and spinning her around. "Up on your elbows, Sookie, and remember the rule. Legs wide."

She was bent over the bed, her butt in the air, and she could hear him taking his clothes off. That was good news until he pulled the belt out of his jeans and lay it on the bed beside her. She felt cold all over. She wanted to run. She wanted to know how it feels. How can you dread something so much and still want it so badly?

He reached under her and stroked her center again. "What an amazing body, you have, Sookie. It's so warm here," he plunged his fingers in again, "but it's cold here," he stroked her bottom with both hands. "I think I should warm your bottom before we proceed, don't you?"

She didn't respond.

"I'll take that as a 'yes.' Allow me to point out that, while the children probably cannot hear you, Bjorn certainly can. You don't want to alarm him, so you be very quiet, and you hold your position."

He pulled the belt slowly down the bed like a snake, then he doubled it in his hand and struck once, just hard enough to make a loud smack and make Sookie jump. Eric ran his hand over her backside and she caught her breath. Why didn't she hate this? Why did she want him to do it again?

"Hold your position, Sookie," he stroked her center again then smack, smack, smack!

She hadn't been expecting more than one. He went at her with his fingers again and she was trying to hold her position, but her butt wouldn't stay still. It wasn't torturous at all – the little bit of pain just made her very aware that her ass was exposed, and she was wiggling it, almost begging for more.

Eric bent over her, pulling her hair back and to the side, whispering in her ear. "I think you like that, Sookie. Just a little more, and then you'll get your reward."

Reward? She hoped that meant an orgasm because her middle was gripping, begging for something to enter. SMACK, SMACK, SMACK!

"Unhh -! " she was trying not to cry out, but those were harder than she expected.

SMACK!

SMACK!

SMACK!

SMACK!

SMACK!

Eric stroked her bottom again, "much warmer," he whispered as he bent over her, kissed her shoulder, and reached for the tube of lubricant.

'Here we go,' she thought, but the thought barely had time to form before she was lubed and impaled. Damned vampire speed! His arm held her like iron as he swung her around so she was sitting on him as he took her place on the edge of the bed. One arm held her firm while the other twisted her nipples, then slipped down to her center and became merciless in rubbing just the right spot. She could feel him in her throat again. She was shaking her fingers desperately, trying not to pull his hand away.

"Ready for your reward, Sookie?"

"Yes!"

"Call Bjorn and ask him to join us."

"What?!"

"You've been thinking about him since I hired him, Sookie. You've always wondered what it would feel like to have two men at once. Call him and find out."

Sookie was going to lose her mind if she didn't come soon. Eric was relentless with his hand, "Call him."

"B-BJORN!" she called as Eric made her squirm.

Eric spoke loudly enough that he knew Bjorn could hear him – though he knew Bjorn had heard the whole thing - "Bjorn, you're under no obligation, but if you'd like to fuck Sookie, now is your chance."

Bjorn was down the stairs in a heartbeat, his shirt thrown on the floor, and he was kissing Sookie, hands on both sides of her face, as Eric laughed quietly. Sookie couldn't really think, but there were weird thoughts flashing through her head – how differently Bjorn kissed than Eric, how soft his skin over his hard muscles as she gripped his arms, and then suddenly he was in her and she was coming apart from the soul on out. She felt like she was surrounded by mountain of flesh on both sides. Bjorn pushed slowly in and out, his hand gripping her thighs, Eric's hands squeezing her breasts, her head thrown back on Eric's shoulder in ecstasy, joy, bright pain and heat, only strangling gasps escaping her open mouth. Her entire being was between her legs and she never even imagined being so thoroughly opened and filled. Did it feel good? Did it hurt? Yes. Both. Neither? There was no word for this in this world.

"Don't stop, Bjorn," Eric told him as he grasped her upper arms, then he bit Sookie's neck as savagely as he ever had and a howl came out of her as she drowned in a neon violet surge that touched every cell in her body. Even her nails throbbed and her hair stood on end. Eric came just after he bit, and Bjorn wasn't long after. Sookie collapsed, Eric and Bjorn laughing and supporting her.

Eric whispered in her ear, "want more, Sookie?"

"Unnh" she couldn't quite get the word out but they knew what she meant.

"Up on the bed," he directed Bjorn, lifting Sookie and putting her up in the middle of the bed. "The restraints are just beneath the platform there, do anything you want, except anal, and don't let her come," Eric told him as he went into the bathroom to clean up. When he came back, Sookie was in four points of restraint, writhing wildly as Bjorn licked her center with great gusto, so he sat in his chair and watched the show.

You didn't have to be gay to appreciate Bjorn's physique – it was impressive. Every muscle was developed and defined, and he had very nice skin with just a triangular untanned area where a tight swimsuit would cover. He was nearly hairless - a body-builder thing - and his stamina was impressive. He couldn't match even a young vampire, of course, but he wasn't bad. Eric knew they both had heated thoughts about each other, so maybe this would put out the fire. Or maybe they'd have a new playmate occasionally, or two, if Bobbie were amenable – and he knew she would be. Bobbie would be the most enthusiastic of the four, he believed, and she had experience with discipline, as did Bjorn, so that might be a good way to teach Sookie about more extreme practices before they tried them. He was confident Bjorn would never cheat with Sookie, knowing he'd die a slow and painful death if he dared, and Sookie would never cheat because she was not that kind of person. Eric had no doubt of Sookie's love for him or her devotion to her kids, especially not after she killed for them.

Bjorn was really making Sookie writhe and she was giving herself over to it, pulling hard at the iron restraints. Eric could feel what Sookie was feeling, and he was enjoying it. As long as he controlled the situation, Eric was quite content to watch Sookie have fun, and she_ was_ having fun. She knew this was her one chance to do it with Bjorn, so she was making the most of it, just as he hoped she'd do.

Sookie tried to hide that she had a very intense release as he finished and moved up over her, stopping first to nibble on her breasts, then taking her while she was still restrained. She particularly liked that he licked at some blood that dripped down her chest where Eric had bitten her and he let out a deep growl that was really menacing and exciting. He came very quickly this time and released the bonds, then picked her up and put her on her hands and knees.

"Face me, Sookie, I want to see your pretty face," Eric directed.

She rushed to face Eric and Bjorn took her hard, making her cry out with the first few thrusts, then taking short, quick strokes that made her pant. He tried to hold back, but Bjorn came very quickly, reaching forward and squeezing Sookie's breasts, pulling her back to him. As he slowed down and recovered himself, running his hands all over her, Eric said, "I think that's enough for tonight." Bjorn kissed her shoulder and grabbed his clothes, going up to Eric's office to dress. He laughed to himself as he put his pants back on – this was crazy intense and fun. Eric was right about something else, too – Sookie was warmer on the inside than normal. This was a thoroughly successful night as far as Bjorn was concerned.

"Come here, Sookie," Eric said as she stood unsteadily by the bed and he guided her to straddle his very stiff cock as he sat in the wide, black leather chair. She made that beautiful face as she lowered herself onto him, as if she was feeling the most wonderful thing in the world. If you didn't know what she had been doing, you'd never believe that she'd just had sex multiple times. It was like the first time, every time with her. There was no such thing as 'enough,' there was only stopping at the point of exhaustion. She kissed him as hard as she could, then wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him tight as she moved up and down on him. She concentrated all of her energy on her center and the "grip" was remarkable, even for her. She whispered in his ear, "I love you, Eric."

He put his hand on the side of her face and they pressed their foreheads together. "Jag alskar dig, min Guddina. I love you, Sookie, more than anything." He put his hands on each shoulder blade and pressed her forward as he bit her breast. The two of them came together as he drew blood from her, then before she knew what was happening, she was being whipped around and came to land on her stomach on the round bed. Eric pulled her hips up and took her hard, "doggie style," to remind her who had the biggest dick, and he made his point with hard, definite strokes. As soon as he came he took her in the back again, crushing her underneath him, pinning her wrists out in front of her to each side a bit. He drove hard, entangling his fingers in her hair, not really pulling it, but holding onto it firmly and moving her head to the side,

He whispered in her ear, "who do you belong to?"

"You, Eric, I belong to you."

"You're mine forever, Sookie."

"Yes, I'm yours forever."

He nibbled on her ear a bit and nipped at her neck. Sookie felt utterly controlled and possessed as he took her harder and longer than she ever remembered this going on before. She heard the thought that flashed through his mind - she wasn't pregnant, he was sure she was healed. She knew this would go on for a while because he wanted to push her to her limit and beyond.

It was working.

"Frantic" was the word she heard in his mind and she nearly sobbed as he slid his hands under her to grip her breasts and took harder strokes. She was clawing at the bedspread, kicking her feet, and for some reason she knew she didn't dare cry out.

It seemed like hours before he came, and she knew he was stretching it out as long as he could. Pictures were flashing through her mind – waterfalls, the belt striking her bottom, crucifixion, images of the Inquisitions she'd seen in one of Bobbie's books – it was all a jumble of wonder, ecstasy, horror and desperately wanting to get away.

Sookie couldn't remember what happened next, only that when the ice touched her nipple, she was hanging from her wrists, only the balls of her feet/shoes touching the floor.

"It's getting very late, so consider this just a sample of things to come," Eric said softly. He trailed the ice down under her arm and she tried to object but she was gagged. Nice touch, Eric. The ice trailed down her stomach to her nub, and he slipped it up into her as she tried to get away but there was nowhere to go and for some reason she couldn't close her legs. He walked away from her and turned off the light. Son-of-a-bitch. At least it wasn't going to last long because it really was getting late and they had to get the kids home. Oh, hell, where was he?

OW! She felt a sting on her bottom, then a serious pinch on her left cheek. She heard a buzzing sound and Eric's fingers were inside her, but they were vibrating. He had one of those things that straps onto your hand, and his thumb was right on The spot and his fingers all inside her. It was no time at all before she came on his hand, which was exactly what he wanted. He forced out every squeal, throb and wiggle she had left in her. When he could feel through the bond that she really couldn't take anymore, he released her ankles and let her down, then lifted her onto the bed so she could recover. He dressed while she lay there, putting her panties and her bra in her tote bag, and held her up to slip the pink dress over her head.

"Want to wear the gag home?" he teased her.

"UNN!"

"I didn't think so," he laughed and released it, "Next time, we start with the wrist restraints and the whip. That was that little sting on your backside. One isn't much at all, but a hundred or more can be very uncomfortable, I'm told, especially on tender spots. Can you stand?"

She tried to get on her feet, a little unsteady because she was tired. She laughed to herself that you could be so tired when you had been tied up so much of the time. Eric wrapped his arms around her and let her lean on him for a bit, which was nice but she nearly fell asleep.

"Have a good night?" he whispered.

"Yeah, definitely. Did you?"

"Oh, yes, I enjoyed tonight very much. Can you face people now?"

"Let me check my makeup, and we'll get the kids." She went into the bathroom. Yikes! She took a tissue and cleaned the black streaks under her eyes, then brushed her hair. Eric knocked on the door to the safe room, then opened it. Amelia was leaning back, watching TV and writing in her journal as the twins slept.

Amelia and Sookie went up and sent Bjorn back down to help Eric with the babies.

"You take Alex and I'll take Auberon," Eric told him. "Everything alright?"

"Everything's great," Bjorn smiled and Eric nodded, then they took the babies out to the car. Bjorn drove them home, Amelia in the passenger seat and Eric and Sookie in back with the babies.

"Didn't Jerry come tonight?" Sookie asked, thinking he must be in the van full of guards.

"No, he was in charge of the security at the house. We figured one of us should be in each spot," Bjorn told her.

"Where was Pam?" Sookie just realized she wasn't there.

"I got a message that she couldn't make it tonight, but by then the Pythoness was expected so we would have gone, anyway. She'll come by the house before she goes to work tomorrow," Eric explained.

"The new guards are starting tomorrow, and will be on three shifts," Bjorn said, looking at Eric in the rearview mirror.

"Good."

"Are they daemons?" Sookie asked.

"Yes, and they're very good. Vincent has worked with four of them before and the others are highly recommended. None of them has any love for Niall," Bjorn told them.

"That's not surprising. Most of the Supe world has been at war with him at one point or another," Eric recalled.

"Why didn't you tell me how horrible he was, Eric?" Sookie was so done with him!

"Niall? I didn't want to hurt you, Sookie. I knew you loved him."

"Well, thank Goddess I'm over that. He can't hurt me again. I'll never let him get that close."

"You may have to reach your own détente with him, Sookie. He is family and he is still on the Council, and you might be…"

"Don't even say it. I'll think about the True Heir some other time. Right now, all I care about is keeping my kids safe and with me. Can you be a Goddess and still be a Fairy Queen, anyway?"

"That's the best kind, Sookie," Amelia told her.

"Fuck."

"Sookie!"

"Eric, after the day I've had, if I want to say 'fuck,' I'm goddamned gonna say 'fuck.'"

Everyone in the car, Sookie included, burst into laughter, which woke up Aubie.

"He's hungry. Eric, unzip my dress so I can pull it down. I knew I should have put on that nursing dress!"

"Put it on now, Sookie," Amelia suggested.

"In the car? Nah, we're almost home and besides, I'm naked under this dress. I might strip down to a bra and panties in the car, but I'm not going completely buff."

"Good to know," Eric quipped and everyone laughed again.

Eric unzipped her and she managed to get one side of it down far enough to feed Aubie. He fed most of the way home, all the way upstairs, and even while Eric pulled her dress down over her hips in the bedroom. She got into her spot on the bed with some difficulty and he was still feeding 45 minutes later when Alex woke up. Eric helped her get into position with both of them, but Aubie decided he was done soon after and Eric took him from her.

"He's a doll, isn't he?' Sookie bragged on him.

"Yes, he's a very sweet baby. It's so amazing to see how much alike he and Alex are and yet how different." Eric hugged him up to his shoulder and kissed his head. "I can't believe I ever doubted…"

"That you could love him? I knew you would, the minute you saw him."

"I should have believed you. You know me better than I know myself, it seems."

"It's only fair that should go both ways," she leaned over and kissed him as they met in the middle.

Without even speaking, they both moved down in the bed, putting the kids in between them, Alex still feeding and Aubie gurgling and playing with his toes. They whispered to each other, played with the babies, and Sookie dozed off around 2. Aubie dozed off shortly after, and Eric put him in the little crib next to Sookie. Once Alex stopped feeding he moved him more toward his side of the bed. He set up the monitor and went to his office, really needing to catch up on some work.

Alex said "Dadee!" at about 4:40 and when Eric went in the room, Alex and Aubie were both awake. Eric managed to pick them both up and took them into the nursery.

"Boog, Dadee."

"Alright, let's see if we can do this with three of us." He managed to balance Aubie on his left leg and Alex on his right, since Alex could hold himself up and he'd need his right hand to get the book. He supported Aubie's back with his arm, his big arm wrapped under the baby's little arm, the book held in that hand. He picked **The Fox in Sox** since there was an actual story to it. Alex tried to copy words as Eric said them, but Aubie was more interested in Eric than the book. He watched him with big eyes, and Eric got the distinct feeling that he liked the sound of his voice. Aubie was feeling safe and loved, and that was exactly what Eric hoped for. Alex would occasionally reach for Aubie and pat his face or hold his hand for a minute.

"Nah wee – Obee doo widdow."

"Yes, Aubie can't read or talk yet. He's learning, though, so he will someday."

"Omba," Alex reached for Aubie to get his attention. "Obee, Dadee!" He patted Eric's chest, "DA-DEE."

"nnnDaa!" Aubie tried to imitate Alex and then giggled.

"Ee-ah, Obee, DADEE."

"DA!"

Eric was fascinated watching Alex try to teach his little brother.

"DADEE!"

Aubie looked up at Eric and said, "DADA!"

"Very good, Auberon! Alex, that's a very good boy, teaching little brother to talk!"

"Eeah, Obee ma bwuddah."

"Yes, he's your brother. He's talking, isn't he?"

"Eeah, Obee dokkeen."

Aubie let out a big yawn and laid his head on Eric's chest.

"Obee seepeen."

"Yes, he's getting sleepy."

"Ahm undwy."

"Alright, let's get Aubie settled here in this little bouncer." He let Alex down and Alex sat patiently on the floor while Eric got Aubie settled into one of the little carriers they had used earlier. Aubie was yawning again and Eric rocked the little carrier for a minute until he fell asleep.

The insulated bag held a covered, plastic, divided plate and it was fairly full of food. Eric decided the easiest thing would be to sit on the floor and hold Alex on his lap, so he settled between the boys and fed Alex, who devoured the stuff in the dish, which turned out to be a baby's version of mac and cheese, strained peas, and peaches."

"Dat beejes, Dadee?"

"It looks like peaches. Taste it," he gave him a spoonful, and Alex said, "dood beejes," which cracked Eric up. By the time the plate was clean, Alex was yawning, too, so Eric quickly moved Aubie and Alex into the bedroom, and was getting Sookie's Ambrosia when Jerry came down the stairs.

"Your majesty?"

"Yes, come in, Jerry."

"Am I interrupting?"

"No, you're right on time. I was just going to give Sookie her drink and then go to rest. Thank you for beginning so early."

"Not a problem. I wouldn't leave them alone, either, if I were you. I was hoping you would make this change, anyway."

"Well, we didn't want to over-stress the staff, but after a specific attempt on one of the boys, I feel we have no choice."

"Nobody feels stressed, your majesty. We all want the little princes to be safe."

"Thank you, Jerry." Eric smiled at him as he sat next to Alex and Sookie on the bed. "Sookie, my Angel, you must wake up and drink."

"Huh? Oh, OK. Hi, Jerry."

"Good morning, your majesty."

Sookie sat up a little and drank the cup Eric offered. "Have a seat, Jerry, and I'm going to tell you the same thing I tell Bjorn – none of that "your majesty" stuff in the house. You can be formal when we're out around people, but in the house, family calls me "Sookie," got it?"

"Yes, ma'am," he laughed as he sat next to the window. Eric handed him the bottle and he stored it in the little fridge, then Eric kissed Sookie deeply, then Alex and he walked around to kiss Aubie.

"Anything I need to know before you go?" Sookie asked him

"Alex taught Auberon to say "Dada.""

"Oh, that's so sweet!"

"It was very cute. I think he's beginning to feel protective of him, which is the best possible attitude."

"Yeah, it is. OK, rest well."

"Sweet dreams, my Angel." He bent and gave her one more kiss, and went to his cache. His mind swirled with trying to calculate all the potential repercussions from the Fae. He concluded that Niall or a single team of assassins was the most likely to strike. Niall wouldn't want it to be generally known that he could not control Sookie, or her husband. Any action he'd take would be covert, but it also would very likely be some time far in the future. Striking too soon could prompt too many connections to Cullach's assassination. As he waited for sleep, Freyja gave him a vision of what Sookie had done, so he could see for himself how powerful she could be when she chose to.


	90. Chapter 90

**[A/N: Sorry for the delay, everyone. I've been busy and I hit a wicked writer's block that I just couldn't shake. I think my Muse is back now so we'll try to get back on schedule. Enjoy!]**

**Chapter 90**

The ocean was calm and crystal blue as Sookie slipped through the water, her fins propelling her as she dove deep and then broke the surface, smiling into the morning sun. Freyja was standing on the shore smiling at her, and Sookie realized she must be dreaming. She started to swim to shore, but Freyja said, "Fly, My Angel!" Without thinking, Sookie dove down then came up flipping into the air, turning tail over head then sprouting great dark wings as she came upward again. Freyja was laughing with delight as Sookie swooped into the sky. She flew straight up into the sun, then lightly floated down to the shore in a gentle spiral. As she touched the sand, she rose up into Her Self, standing proudly as the gentle breeze blew her hair back away from her bare skin.

"I'm the Falcon," She said as Freyja approached Her.

"You always were. The Falcon has no limits under the sun or the moon – She moves easily between the worlds without sound or shadow. Nothing can touch Her – no arrow, no bullet, no magick from either world."

"So in the human world, nothing can stop Me?"

"Neither Falcon nor Flock in moonlight or sun."

"So the dark moon or cloudy days and nights… "

"Just a bird with no shadow…"

"Indoors?"

"A shadow, but no bird."

"AH!" Aubie stretched and yelled.

Sookie's eyes flew open as Aubie called out to her. "Mmmmaaa!

She scooped him up before Bjorn or Alicia could react.

"I'm sorry he woke you, dear, I was hoping he'd take a bottle again," Alicia said, "do you want me to take him?"

"No, I'm awake now, and he knows what he wants, don't you, Cookie?"

"I thought it was "Pookie,"" Bjorn laughed.

"Alex is Pookie. Aubie will be Cookie. I know they don't rhyme, but it's the best I can do this early in the morning," she laughed as she snuggled him and got him into feeding position. "Speaking of Alex, where is he?"

"Up in the gym with Amelia."

"He loves it up there, doesn't he?" Sookie laughed.

"It smells like Eric up there, and he's got some kind of fascination with that big mirror. He calls it "da dim.""

Sookie cracked up. "That's so cute!"

"It was the first thing he said once he finished his bottle earlier," Alicia told her, "Bohrd, Bohrd, fyeen in da dim!" she imitated him.

"Why didn't you take him, Bjorn?"

"Jerry is busy with the new recruits and I'm not leaving Aubie unprotected. Amelia was happy to take him," Bjorn assured her.

"He loves "A-mee-ah,"" Alicia joked, "and honestly, I think she's enjoying having a little more time alone with Alex since Bobbie's not here. She gets to play with him one on one instead of in a group."

"Where's Octavia?" Sookie asked as she yawned and wiggled a bit trying to get into a more comfortable position. Bjorn stood up and adjusted her pillows as she leaned forward a bit, getting a smile and a 'thanks' from her as Alicia continued.

"She's still taking it easy. I think she's been doing something late at night in her room. Seems like I hear her moving around in there, then she sleeps very late in the mornings."

"OK, well, if there's anything I need to know about, she'll fill me in, right, Cookie?" She looked Aubie in the eye and tickled him a little and he giggled against her, his eyes sparkling as he continued to nurse.

They heard frantic footsteps coming down the stairs then and Alex flew into the room with Amelia and the kitten hot on his heels.

"Mamee, Obee undwy!"

"Good morning, Sweetie!" Sookie reached up and kissed Alex as he floated above her. "Aubie's eating, see? He's OK."

"Oday." Alex lowered himself so his feet were on the pillow, then the mattress as Sookie moved Eric's pillow onto the floor, and he held the headboard with his hands, so he was standing. Amelia leaned in the doorway to watch what he was doing.

"Hey! When did you learn to do that, Pookie?" Sookie had never seen this move before.

Alex giggled and bent his knees a few times so he felt like he was bouncing. "Woogie, Bhord!"

"Hey, Alex – are you standing?" Bjorn leaned so Alex could see him.

"Ahm dantheen!"

"Dancing? Without Mommy?" Sookie said with surprise.

"Nah, nah, dantheen wif Mamee."

"Mommy's right there, isn't she, Alex?" Alicia teased.

"Eeah, Mamee ee Obee."

All the adults cracked up at that. "I'm feeding Aubie, Alex, not eating him," She leaned toward Alex and they touched foreheads for a second, then Alex giggled and bounced some more. The kitten decided it was safe to jump up on the bed and lay at the foot on Eric's side.

"Peedeen Obee?"

"Yeah, feeding Aubie."

"Oday. Mamee, dantheen! Da da, da da…" he tried to sing a tune as he reached for her cheek.

"I think he wants you to sing, Sookie," Amelia tried to interpret.

"Want me to sing, Alex? Sing? "Well, shake it up, baby, now, shake it up, baby…""

"Eeah! Theen!" He jumped up and down, still holding onto the headboard. Aubie started giggling so hard he couldn't suckle, and he was waving his little arm so Sookie sat him up on her tummy and kept singing as she jiggled him.

"Dantheen, Obee!" Alex giggled and bounced as Sookie sang to them and jiggled Aubie who laughed until he got the hiccups again. Everyone ooh'd and aah'd over how cute it was and Sookie held him up to her shoulder and rubbed his back as he continued to giggle between "hicks!"

"Oday, Obee?" Alex asked as he reached over to Sookie then held her neck with one hand and reached the other to the baby on her other shoulder. Aubie leaned back and looked at him, but "hicked" again and giggled, drooling a little. Sookie dabbed at it with a tissue Bjorn gave her.

"Say, "I've got the hiccups, Alex!" Sookie teased him.

"Ah!" The baby yelled toward Alex, and giggled some more.

"Ah!" Alex yelled back and grabbed his hand in his.

"Ah!"

"Ah!"

"Ah!"

"OK, you've got each other's attention!" Sookie said as if exasperated, but she was laughing.

"Get used to it, "Mamee," there are two of them now," Amelia laughed.

"They're going to egg each other on, aren't they?" Sookie laughed, thinking how silly it was that she never thought about that before. Of course, little boys would encourage each other to be… not bad, exactly, but loud. Well, she knew that, of course, but she didn't know it would start this early.

"You ain't seen nothing yet, Mama," Alicia said, laughing. "They're not even walking. Wait until we have to chase them through the house."

"I was just chasing Alex," Amelia reminded them. "When Aubie learns to fly…"

"Oh, man, you're gonna keep us all busy, huh? You gonna keep us busy, Aubie?" Sookie tickled his chin and kissed him. To everyone's surprise, Alex leaned in and kissed him, too. "Good boy, Alex, being sweet to Buddy!"

"Ma Buggy Obee!"

"Yeah, your Buddy, Aubie!"

"Ahm undwy, Mamee."

"You want to eat?" She motioned to her breast

"Nah, nah, Bhord undwy."

"He wants breakfast," Alicia said, "I didn't expect you all up so early. I'll be right back with it, OK, Alex?"

"Oday, Eesha."

"Ah!" Aubie wanted Alex's attention back.

"Ah, Obee! Woogie, Obee, Mamee." Alex patted Sookie's cheek, "MA-MEE!"

"Mmmmaa!"

"MA-MEE," Alex repeated.

"Mma-mma!" Aubie said and laid his little head on Sookie's shoulder.

"I can't believe he's actually teaching him! That's so cool!" Amelia was almost jumping up and down.

"I know. You two are gonna make Mommy melt!" Sookie laughed

"MA-MA!" Aubie rose up and looked at Sookie, bouncing as he spoke.

"Yeah, I'm your Mama! I'm your Mama," Sookie was smiling but a tear slid down her cheek. She put her other arm around Alex and snuggled them both close. Amelia and Bjorn were both aware that she was thinking about all the time she missed with Aubie, but Bjorn decided to joke her out of it.

"Don't squeeze 'em too hard, Sookie, they already need fresh diapers," he teased.

"Yeah, Aubie does, anyway."

"Here, Sookie, I'll take him," Amelia offered.

"Actually, would you throw me that pink robe inside the bathroom door, there? I want to do it this time since we're both awake."

"Sure, Honey, here you go," Amelia went to the door and reached in to get the robe and threw it to her. Sookie eased Alex down on his bottom where Eric's pillow would normally be and put Aubie about half-way down the bed so she could get up on her knees and put the robe on, not paying any attention to the fact that Bjorn was in the room. Amelia noticed she didn't make any effort to cover up, but figured she was just so used to him being around she didn't care anymore.

Sookie managed to crawl off the bed between Alex and Aubie and picked Aubie up, headed toward the nursery. Alex flew behind them, wanting to see what they were doing.

He floated by the changing table, watching Sookie open the pins on Aubie's diaper.

"Dat, Mamee?"

"Buddy needs a new nappy."

"Doo nap-pee?"

"Yeah, a new nappy," she repeated as she cleaned Aubie up, "Whew – stinky!"

"Thteek-ee."

"Yeah, smells bad, but we'll clean him up." She used several wipes on him and dusted his bottom with powder as Alex watched as if he'd never seen this done before. "There, now he smells better!" she beamed at Aubie as he chewed on his finger, happy to just go along with the program. Anything Sookie did was OK by Aubie. He didn't have words as Alex did, but he knew she was the most beautiful thing in his world.

"Me thteek-ee, Mamee."

"You're not stinky at the moment," Sookie told him, reaching up to check his diaper, "but you are wet. You want a new nappy?"

"Eeah, doo nap-pee."

"Hey, Amelia?"

"Yeah, Sook?"

"Can you come take Aubie for a minute?"

"Sure," she came in the door and picked him up, holding him so he could see because he was pointing at Alex and mumbling "um bumby."

"OK, Pookie, lie down," she patted the changing table and Alex settled into place so she could change him. She undid his diaper, wiped him and Aubie giggled as she powdered him.

"It's like they're fascinated with each other, Sookie," Amelia observed as Aubie watched what Sookie did to Alex very attentively.

"Yeah, it is. They've both been diapered a hundred times, but it's like a new experience seeing their brother get changed."

"It's like watching themselves from a different perspective – like a mirror."

"Yeah, it is, I guess," Sookie agreed as she was using the sanitizing gel. Alex took that as his cue to fly off, heading to the crib and going in, pulling out his Elmo doll.

"Woogie, Obee! Eh-mo!" Alex held him up so Aubie could see and he giggled with delight and reached for it.

Sookie put her hand under it, knowing one of them would drop it, and suggested, "let's take Elmo back to bed, OK?"

"Oday."

"AAay," Auberon tried to respond, too.

"You know, Sookie, I'll bet Aubie learns fast with Alex coaching him this way. He's trying to imitate him."

"Yeah, it's cool to watch," Sookie said as they went back into the bedroom. They just got settled when Alicia was back with Sookie's and Alex's breakfast.

"Come here, Alex," Bjorn called to him as Alicia put the plate in front of him and Alex flew over and settled on his lap. Sookie sat up in bed with the tray across her lap, Aubie on Eric's side of the bed. The kitten was still napping at the foot of the bed, not paying any attention to the whole diapering business, and not showing any interest in the food either, which Amelia thought was strange.

Sookie was sawing into her steak when Aubie rolled over on his tummy and raised his head up. "Hey, Sweetie! Are you trying to see what's going on?"

"Ay!"

"Hey, Sookie, why don't you see if he can eat a little of Alex's food?" Amelia suggested.

"OK, let him try a little really soft stuff. What's he got, Bjorn?"

"Apple sauce, some kind of cereal, and a small bit of mashed potatoes."

Amelia took Aubie over and held him down in front of her, facing Bjorn and Alex. "Obee, ee!" Alex said and tried to move Bjorn's hand holding the spoon toward Auberon. Aubie opened his mouth and slurped up a bite of applesauce, giggling and kicking his feet, his little hands holding on to Amelia's hands as she held him.

"He likes applesauce," Bjorn laughed.

"Obee mo ee."

"You want Aubie to eat more, Alex?"

"Eeah, ee mo."

Bjorn gave Aubie another bite of apples, and another. He acted tickled every time he took a bite and Alex said, "Obee – ap-po!"

"Abuh!" Aubie giggled and kicked. "tcheh!" he sneezed, and everybody laughed at how sweet it was, the babies laughing just because everyone else was. After a few minutes, Aubie said, "Mma-ma" so Amelia took him back over beside Sookie, who was finishing up her steak.

Amelia sat on the bed next to Sookie and held Aubie up so he could watch her.

"Hey, Sweetie! Did you eat some apples?"

"AH!"

"OK, y'all, here's a question – do we dare take Aubie outside?"

"You mean to the pool?" Bjorn asked.

"Yeah, we'd check to make sure he's OK in the sun and let him play in the water just a little, ya think?"

"Take him out slowly first, like you did with Alex and if he seems OK, we'll try it for a bit."

"If he can't take the sun, I'll sit in the den with him," Amelia offered.

"Don't be silly, Amelia, you've already got your suit on under your dress," Sookie laughed, "Alicia or Octavia will sit with him if necessary, but I don't think it will be. He's my baby, he's going to love the sun."

"We'll see. Go ahead and get your suit on, Sookie and we'll go down. It's hot in here," Bjorn joked, but he wasn't really kidding. Nope, the Sookie hard-on was as ON as ever, dammit. He really thought playtime at Fangtasia would end it, but it didn't. He was just happy it didn't make it any worse, but that was only because he refused to think about it. If he dwelled on it for any amount of time, the slow burn would become a raging fire. The smell of this room was driving him nuts.

It took almost 45 minutes to get bathing suits and plastic diaper covers on and move the party down to the pool, Bjorn trying to shepherd them down the whole time. The kitten followed them downstairs, but opted to stay inside in the air conditioning instead of going out to the pool.

Bjorn took his station, and Amelia took Alex into the water while Sookie covered Aubie with a towel. She slowly walked into the sun with him completely shrouded, and he didn't show any discomfort. She eased the towel slowly off his little foot and he didn't do anything, so she took a big breath and uncovered him. Aubie looked around with huge eyes. What was this place? He had never really been outside unless you counted his trip from the house to the car to the club and back, but this was amazing! He blinked a lot because he wasn't used to the bright light but he was stunned, his little mouth hanging open.

Sookie could feel the rush of feelings he felt and it was just thrilling. She hugged him tight and tried not to cry. "OK, boy-a-mine, let's go try the pool, OK?"

"Ah!"

"Obee ina wada, Mamee!" Alex called from his seat inside the inflatable ducky as Amelia pulled him around slowly. He was making his "come here" motion with both hands, excited that his brother was coming in the pool.

"We're coming, Sweetie!" Sookie was about to bust. Oh, please, Goddess, let him like the water!

She stepped down onto the first step, then slowly the second and third, where his little foot touched the water. He kicked an looked down – what was that?

Sookie sat on the top step and put him on her leg. Aubie was just beside himself, splashing his hands in the water, giggling like crazy. Whatever this was, it was fantastic and it was all because of Mma-mma. Aubie associated everything wonderful he was discovering with Sookie because when she came into his life, everything suddenly got bright and wonderful instead of dark and quiet.

"Ooh-hoo, Mamee."

"Uh-oh, Aubie – Alex wants me to dunk you! You want me to dunk you?"

"Ah!" Anything Sookie said seemed like a good idea to him.

She stood and waded a little further into the pool, then said, "whoo!" and dunked Aubie up to his little chest then stood up and he shrieked with delight. Sookie hugged him and kissed him, giving him a minute to catch his breath, then "whoo!" she did it again and he giggled until he got the hiccups again, but they didn't last long this time.

It wasn't long before Alex and Auberon were both yawning, so Sookie and Amelia got them dried off and tucked them into the play pen in the den, deciding it was too hot to nap outside today.

Sookie was on her way back out to the pool when Alicia called her into the kitchen.

"Mrs. Northman?" Alicia tried not to wake the kids.

"Yes?" Sookie went into the kitchen.

"You got your package!"

"The silk boxers?"

"Yes, I'm sure that's what this is." Margaret handed Sookie a knife to cut into the box and she and Alicia beamed at her as she tore into it. The boxers were each in a plastic bag with tape, so the three of them unwrapped them and Alicia brought the gift box she'd gotten for Sookie from the pantry.

The box was a glossy navy blue with red polka dots and Alicia had a red satin bow and ribbon to go with it. The tissue paper was layers of dark blue and red and they rolled the shorts and stood them on end together (with a great deal of difficulty) so they were sort of like a big bundle of silk flowers inside the box. Even if they didn't stay that way, they knew Eric would be blown away by all the colors and patterns. Once the lid was on the box and the bright ribbon and bow in place, Sookie took it in the elevator and left it on Eric's side of the bed.

While she was up there, she looked at the little pocket calendar she kept in her nightstand. Today was the Dark Moon. She didn't know how or if it would affect the boys, but she knew it was the most dangerous day of the month for Alex, at least. She actually considered not giving Eric his gift tonight in case the boys needed them, but she was really anxious to see his reaction.

She went back downstairs and floated in the pool for about an hour and a half before Auberon woke up. He didn't cry, but Alicia noticed he was up and took him out to Sookie, who nursed him while she sat around Bjorn's usual table talking to him, Amelia and Octavia, who had just gotten up, while the others ate turkey sandwiches.

"So, Queenie, don't you have a lot on your plate this week?" Octavia teased her.

"I don't know – do I? I know it's the end of my vacation Friday."

"I thought I heard Alicia say you need to meet with someone from a catering firm tomorrow night about the Wiccaning and you're having company Friday night for a cook-out."

"OK, the caterer is a new one on me, but I did invite Jason and his friends for a cook-out Friday night."

"Aren't we all going to Dallas Saturday night, too?" Amelia reminded her.

"Oh, yeah, some club opening I told Eric I would go to – we're all going to that?"

"Yeah, we're going to be a mobile unit for that," Bjorn laughed.

"Do you all know about the… kind… of club…?" Sookie didn't know how to explain what was up.

"Everybody knows about Sang Riche, Sookie. It's all over the place. Most people know it's Eric's deal, too, though he's covered his tracks pretty well," Octavia told her.

"Great," she said sarcastically. "Don't you think it's… immoral?"

"That's a matter of opinion. From what I understand, it's a far sight better than some of the seedy stuff Felipe was into."

"Sookie, nobody is being forced or harmed and the money they're going to be making is unreal," Bjorn told her.

"Is that a valid reason, though? Money?"

"How'd he get you to agree to go, Sookie, if you're against the idea?" Amelia asked

"Oh, I asked him about it because I saw some paperwork and knew he was trying to keep it off my radar and he asked me to just go and see it for myself before I made up my mind. I promised him I'd keep an open mind."

"Your mind sounds made up to me," Octavia said.

"Is that a good thing or a bad thing?" Sookie asked.

"It's not really fair to make a promise to your Bonded and not mean it, is it?"

"Well, if you put it that way, I guess not."

"You do realize that it's only different from Fangtasia by a degree, right?"

"How's that?"

"Anybody can come to Fangtasia and hook-up, right?"

"Yeah, but there's no money changing hands."

"Don't kid yourself, Queenie. There's plenty of trade going on there, but Eric isn't getting a cut of most of it. On the other hand, the participants don't have his protection in their transactions, either."

"So Eric is getting paid for protection?"

"In a big way," Bjorn said, "honestly, Sookie, the Supe community needs a place like this to keep people safe."

"How does it do that?"

"It prevents the spread of Sino-Aids and some diseases that affect humans, no one is being hurt more than they want, and it's going make the really old vamps a lot safer. Everybody gets what they want. These are adults, Sookie, everybody goes in with eyes open."

"I guess. He says it's going to be a very elegant party."

"You wouldn't believe the crush to get in," Bjorn told her.

"To work there or be a customer?"

"Both. If I didn't have this job I'd be trying to get in there, too," he laughed, "but I'm lucky – I know the boss."

"Is Bobbie going to go?"

"I think she'll be here when we get home Sunday night."

"Will she be disappointed to miss it?"

"Yeah, actually, she will, but she knows she'll get to go to other openings. The openings are staggered so Eric can attend them all."

"Bleh – that's a lot of traveling," Sookie said.

"Yeah, going to 13 kick ass parties is a real strain," Bjorn teased her and they all laughed. "He said he was originally only going to do five, but when he saw the response, he expanded the chain all over the country."

"And none of you has any problem with this?"

"Nope," Octavia said.

"No," Amelia said.

"I think it's awesome," Bjorn laughed. "Especially since I don't have to pay for a membership."

"What about Bobbie?"

"She knows what's up, Sookie, don't worry about that," Bjorn told her, looking her right in the eye to let her know he meant about her, too.

"OK, everybody is adults," she repeated to herself. She noticed that Auberon's eyes were sparkling at her and she played with his fingers, kissing his little hand and holding it to her cheek while she cooed and smiled at him.

"That little one's got good energy," Octavia observed.

"He has?" Sookie knew that but she wanted to hear what else she thought of him.

"Oh, yeah. He's about as different from the other one as twins could be."

"You don't mean, like, one's good and one's evil, do you?"

Everybody laughed.

"No," Octavia continued, "you watch too many movies. I mean like one's a poet or something artistic and the other one is a warrior."

"Artistic?"

"Yeah, I see him at a desk working on something, but I can't tell if he's writing or drawing," she told her. "We'll have to wait and see which one, probably. He's not going to love a fight the way Alex will."

"I wonder how Eric will feel about that?" Amelia asked.

"I think he'll handle it," Sookie said confidently. She thought she'd better not say their names so Aubie wouldn't understand what they were talking about. "He was worried that he'd never care for another like he does, you know, but he does. They're individuals and he loves both the same."

"That's good."

"Yeah, he's relieved," Bjorn said. "He said he couldn't believe the rush he got when he first saw him. He was glad you went back and got him."

"Yeah, I could feel that when he came upstairs and woke us," Sookie smiled at Auberon and rubbed his little cheek. "Honestly, I don't think he could have taken knowing he was there, once he saw him."

"I told him you were handling it better than he would," Octavia said. "You've been fierce since you found out about that one. Liam and Niall both made the mistake of underestimating your power as a Mother. The Goddess does not tread lightly when her baby is threatened. I'm really proud of you, Queenie."

"Thanks!" Sookie gave a big smile and tried not to cry. It meant the world to her that Octavia would say that to her, especially in front of everybody.

"So what's on the agenda for tonight?" Amelia asked.

"Well, we'll be staying home because it's the Dark Moon and we don't know what to expect. Pam is supposed to come by and meet Aubie. I'm giving Eric his present later tonight, and that's it as far as plans go," Sookie answered.

"We should all watch a movie tonight," Bjorn suggested, "because we'll be busy moving Amelia into the chalet tomorrow and then you've got that meeting with the caterer."

"What's that about?" Sookie asked.

"Just final approval of the menu. They're expecting a big crowd, so they want to make sure Eric will guarantee their fee," Bjorn said. "It's a Were-owned firm so they've done things like this before, but this one will be bigger than most because you guys are royals. It's going to be pretty wild. Security is going to be a bitch that night."

"Why?"

"They're expecting a lot of Fae."

"Oh, shit – I forgot about that. Niall will be there, won't he?"

"Count on it," Octavia said. "Be prepared to stand up to him. You did it once, so you know you can do it. You're going to be the guests of honor, so you'll have to be gracious to enemies as well as friends. All those vamps and Fae in one place are going to be an interesting combo."

"Is that normal for these cases?"

"No, because there's never been a Wiccaning for a vampire baby before."

"This will be for both of them, right?"

"Right. That will only be a minor adjustment," Octavia assured her.

"Do I need to study anything for this?"

"No. You can do a little research and read the way some people do them, but the High Priestess will direct the action. You and Eric will just have to respond to the vows."

"What vows?"

"To care for the children and bring them up in the ways of the Goddess."

"Oh, that doesn't sound too bad."

"I'm sure you'll enjoy the ceremony itself. They're usually not very long. Most of the night will be feasting and dancing."

"Eric will get to mingle – he'll love that."

"Yeah, he loves to work a room," Amelia laughed.

"Everybody will be congratulating you two and kissing ass. He'll love it," Bjorn agreed.

"Think you can dance with a baby in your arms, Sookie," Octavia asked her.

"Yeah, will I need to?"

"I can't imagine there won't be a circle around a bonfire or a Spiral Dance. You'll want to include the boys in that and the safest thing will be for you and Eric to carry them, or Eric and Bjorn."

"I wonder if Aubie will like that? Alex likes rituals of all kinds."

"I'd guess he'll take to it," Octavia assured her, "they aren't that different."

The baby was done eating, so she covered up and shifted him up to sit on the table as she held him. She looked him right in the eye and talked to him. "What do you think, Buddy? Are you gonna like to dance? We'll be dancing in a grove in the moonlight! It's going to be a big party to celebrate you and Alex!"

"Mmama!" He giggled and kicked a little. He didn't know what she was talking about, he just knew she was talking to him and that was the best thing in his world.

Sookie put him up to her shoulder and hugged him tight, kissing his ear and rubbing his back as he hugged her back as best he could. "Mommy's sweet boy! Yeah, you're Mommy's sweet boy!"

Everybody smiled and watched Sookie chatter with Aubie. They were so sweet together, you couldn't help but smile.

Alicia came out of the house carrying Alex, kitten at their heels.

"Lookie, Aubie, Alex is awake!"

"Ahhh!" Aubie said in a high, playful voice as Alex came to join them.

"Ah! Ee, Mamee."

"OK, eat," she smiled as she put Alex to her breast and Amelia took Aubie from her.

"You're doing pretty well juggling them so far, Queenie."

"Yeah, it's not too bad. Even when they feed at the same time, it's not too bad because Alex can hold himself up. Eric was able to read to them at the same time, and Alex has even been teaching Aubie words."

"What words?" Octavia was particularly interested in this.

"Daddy and Mommy, so far."

"And Aubie responds to him?"

"Yeah, he tries to answer back every time Alex shows him a word."

"That's interesting. I want you writing these things down, Sookie. These two are unique in so many ways, we need to keep track of everything about them."

"Eric is writing a lot of it down, but I'll add stuff, too, and make sure we're covered."

"You should have seen them playing together this morning, Octavia," Amelia bragged on them.

"Yeah, they egg each other on," Sookie laughed. "I just hope I can keep up with them. I'm outnumbered, you know!"

"Yeah, and Alex is getting more mobile. He was flying from room to room this morning," Bjorn laughed. "And he stood up holding onto the headboard and was bouncing up and down."

"That was so cute! He said he was dancing," Sookie bragged. "And Aubie giggled until he got the hiccups again."

"He's having the best time he ever had," Octavia smiled. "Did he like the water?"

"He loved it, and the sun didn't bother him at all, though it took a bit for his eyes to adjust."

"Is he mobile at all yet?" Octavia wondered.

"Yeah, he can roll over, but that's it. I can tell he's going to be able to sit up by himself soon, though. He can hold his head up now but he's getting stronger in his back, I can tell."

"I can't wait until he can get around a little bit so he can play in the dinosaur with Alex and the cat. That's going to be so much fun!" Amelia loved to watch them play.

Alex giggled against Sookie because he knew they were talking about him.

"Do you think that's funny, Pookie?" Sookie teased Alex as he suckled.

Amelia was holding Aubie on her lap facing the table and he was reaching for her iced tea, but she was keeping it away from him.

"Obee undwy," Alex leaned back and said, then went back to feeding.

"Aubie's hungry? I just fed him for a long time," Sookie couldn't believe it, but she concentrated and realized Alex was right. "Are there any bottles of RM ready?"

"I'll go get him one," Amelia started into the house with Aubie but he shrieked and scared them all to death.

"MMA-MAA!"

Amelia spun on her heels and headed back to the table with him.

"I'm sorry, Amelia…" Sookie said as she hurried to adjust Alex in her lap so she could hold Aubie, too.

"It's OK, Hon, he's just not ready to be away from you."

"Makes sense he would be afraid to leave you, Sookie," Octavia said as Sookie settled him onto her lap next to Alex. "He's afraid of losing you again."

"I guess that'll be a problem for a while?"

"Not too long, I don't think. He just needs to wake up here and find Mommy right there for a while," Octavia assured her.

"Eric took him into the nursery with no problem, though."

"That's what I find most interesting," Octavia said, "he's not afraid of Eric at all, is he?"

"No, he seems to love Eric. The minute he laid eyes on him it was like he knew he was his daddy."

"So we know it can't be a learned reaction. There has to be a deeper connection."

"Well, that's any child and a parent, right?"

"To an extent, but that parent and these kids - there's more, I just wonder what it is."

"What could it be?"

"Instinct. Scent. A psychic link. A race memory. Memories of a past life. Magick. All kinds of things. We may never know, but it's interesting."

"Yeah, I guess it is," Sookie looked down at the boys as she held them. Alex was still feeding but Aubie was just looking up at her and sucking his thumb. "Are you better now, Cookie?"

Aubie's eyes sparkled at her. All was obviously right in his world again.

"Are either of the boys warm?" Octavia asked her

"Well, it's weird. Aubie isn't exactly warm, but he's warmer than Alex, if that makes any sense."

"When is Eric's Childe going to meet him?"

"She's supposed to come by tonight before she goes into Fangtasia."

"I'm interested to see what kind of reaction she has to him."

"Me, too. She licked Alex's head when she met him. He's extra-sweet, but still vampire flavored. I just hope Aubie isn't irresistibly fairy flavored," she laughed a little but she wasn't kidding.

"Have you two decided how you're going to explain him?"

"We're going to say he was with a nurse because he was small."

"Well, that's sort of true. No need to go into detail. It's nobody's business."

"What are you going to do with them when you go to the club opening?" Amelia asked

"I have no idea. Bjorn, do you know?"

"They'll be close by, but they won't be exposed to any of the partying."

"Hey, you guys!" Bobbie came out of the sliding glass door.

"BOBBIE!" Sookie was surprised to see her and Bjorn was shocked as he jumped up and went to hug her.

"I can't believe you're here!" He swung her around, "what happened?"

"I managed to wrap things up and I decided to just come home and not even stop to call." She gave him a big hug and a kiss, and he hesitated to let her go when they stopped. "Hey – wait a minute – is that Auberon?" Bobbie bent and hugged Octavia.

"Yep, he's home!" Sookie said proudly. "I'm dying to give you a hug but I've got my hands full. I'm so glad you're back." Sookie could hear Bobbie thinking she didn't want to go into details about her mom just now.

"Can I hold him?" Bobbie skipped over to the chair Bjorn had been sitting in and perched beside Sookie so she could get a good look at Auberon. "Wow – they couldn't look more alike, could they?"

"No, they couldn't. They've got different energies or personalities or whatever though," Sookie explained.

Bobbie shook Aubie's little hand and talked to him playfully, "hey, Buddy! I'm Aunt Bobbie. We're going to be good friends. Yeah, we're going to be good buddies! Want to come to me for a minute?" She held her hands open to him and he leaned toward her.

"Oh, good. I think he likes you!" Sookie let her take him, but she scooted close so he was still close to Sookie as she held him.

"Ah, Babee!" Alex stopped feeding long enough to greet her, and she leaned over and kissed him, "Hey, Pookie!" then he went back to feeding.

She turned back to Aubie, "yeah, I hear you want to stay close to Mama," Bobbie teased him. "We'll just stay right here with her and we'll get to know each other, alright?"

"AH!" Aubie answered her and giggled, looking her over and liking what he saw. She had a big smile like Mommy and was almost as warm. Aubie loved feeling warm.

Bjorn was beside himself, and couldn't decide what to do. He wanted to take Bobbie upstairs for a few hours… or a few days… but he couldn't right now. He was too excited to sit down, so he asked, "Bobbie, do I need to take your bags up for you?"

"No, Sweetie, thanks, Leroy already did it. Come sit down. You guys have no idea how glad I am to be back."

"We're glad you're here. It's been pretty busy around here," Sookie told her.

"I guess so," she laughed as she reached for the bottle of RM Amelia brought out. Aubie took the bottle happily, and Alex leaned back to say "Obee wyg bud."

"Wow, he's getting really good at talking!"

"Oh, yeah, and so far he's kind of protective of Aubie. He makes sure he gets fed, too," Sookie laughed.

"Obee mah buggy, Babee."

She looked at Sookie for a translation. "Aubie is his buddy."

"Wow – no jealousy?"

"Not so far, knock wood."

"So how did you manage to bring him home?"

Sookie went into great detail telling Bobbie about the dream, the attempted assassination and her part in stopping it and warning off Niall. By the time she was done, the outside lights had come on and Eric was coming out the door as Octavia went in to use the bathroom, squeezing his arm as she passed him.

"Bobbie – welcome home!" Eric was genuinely glad to see her because he was worried about Sookie needing her help. He bent to kiss Sookie as she answered him.

"Yep – it's been a pretty eventful couple of days, I hear."

"To say the least. Sookie, Margaret wants to know if she should serve dinner out here?"

"No, we'll come in. We just got to talking and lost track of time." Eric helped her stand and Alex seemed to be done for the moment, so Eric took him so she could cover up. Bobbie took Aubie and they all went into the house where the others were already gathering in the kitchen.

"Ah, Dadee," Alex giggled as Eric carried him.

"Hi, Alex," Eric tickled him and hugged him close.

"Fyeen, Dadee." Alex patted Eric's cheek and looked him in the eye.

Eric laughed, "first we eat, then we fly, alright, my son?"

"Oday."

Eric was the first to notice that there were now two high chairs by the table. "I see you went shopping today, Alicia?"

"Actually, I called the store and sent Leroy after it. He just finished putting it together," Alicia told him as she helped Margaret and Carrie put dinner together.

"Oh, cool, they're just alike," Sookie laughed, removing the tray so Bobbie could put Aubie in it and they used the little harness to hold him upright.

"Does he eat food yet?" Bobbie asked

"Well, we gave him a little this morning and he did fine with it so, yeah, we'll be giving him a little to go along with his blood and milk," Sookie explained.

Eric put Alex in the other high chair and Alicia brought their plates, but neither boy ate much and while the others were eating, Alexander and Auberon both went to sleep and wouldn't wake up. In fact, they were completely limp and Sookie started to get scared.

"Eric, they're not moving at all."

"Yes, I know. I've never seen Alex like this before."

Everyone around the table was waiting to see if the babies would stir, but no matter what Eric and Sookie did, they didn't move.

"Call Dr. Ludwig," Octavia suggested.

"Do you have any idea what might be wrong, Octavia?"

"Yes, but you need to confirm it with Dr. Ludwig. I think they're down because of the Dark Moon. If I'm right, they should wake up at sunrise. I don't think it will last 24 hours, but it's possible."

"What is it, though?"

"Vampires," Eric said, "They're sleeping like vampires."

"They never have before…" Sookie started.

"Call the doctor and make sure," Octavia repeated, "but I think instead of resting every day from sunrise to sunset, they'll rest on the dark moon."

"But they sleep every day and night…" Sookie started, but Eric had his phone out and called the Dr.

"Northman?"

"Yes, doctor…"

"What are they doing?"

"They're limp. There's no response from them at all."

"I was afraid of that. I'd prefer not to come there tonight, but I'd recommend you tuck them into your bed and keep someone with them at all times. I'd guess they'll rise at sun-up, but it's possible they won't rise until sunset tomorrow."

"How do we know they're not dead!" Sookie could hear what the doctor was saying, but she was getting anxious.

"Tell Sookie to talk to Freyja if she needs reassurance, but she's not to go anywhere. Scrying only tonight, you understand?"

"Why?" Sookie didn't understand this.

"The Dark Moon. The same reason I don't want to travel. If it's at all possible not to do magick on the Dark Moon, you don't do it."

"Is there anything else we need to know, Dr.?"

"If this is going to be a monthly thing, they might need little coffins to use once a month, or you might need to put them to rest with you for the day, King Eric. We'll have to see what happens at sunrise. If they don't wake up, don't expose them to light. I'll check in with you later," the doctor said and hung up.

Sookie started to say something but the doorbell rang.

"That's Pam," Eric said as he took Auberon and went quickly into the living room with him.

"Bobbie, watch Alex, please?" Sookie said and followed them.

Pam was stepping into the living room as Eric came in with the baby.

"Hello, Master."

"Good evening, Pam. I'm afraid he's asleep." Eric said as he handed the baby to Pam.

A look of fear crossed Pam's face, "take him back!" She handed Eric the baby and backed away from them.

Eric's heart sank. "What's wrong?"

"He's Fae." Pam looked terrified. Eric wondered if she was afraid of his reaction.

"No…"

"Yes. It's about half way between Sookie's scent and a full fairy, but he's Fae. I'm so sorry, Master… I didn't want to hurt him."

Sookie was standing in the doorway to the kitchen and she turned white as a sheet. "But Eric doesn't smell it!" This was NOT good news.

"I am his father, Sookie, I'm connected to him." Eric hugged the baby and kissed his head. "I don't know if I could tell him from Alex if I was blindfolded."

"Maybe he'll grow out of it? Or it will fade now that he's here….?" Sookie was grasping for anything.

"We knew this was a possibility, Sweetheart." Eric pulled her to him with his free arm and kissed her head.

"But we can't take him to Fangtasia?"

"Or any other vampire-centric events," Eric confirmed.

"Master, I should go…"

"Yes, Pam, thank you. I'll talk to you later."

Pam left quickly as she could, trying to ignore the Fae smell on her hands and clothes.

Octavia came into the room with Bobbie, who was carrying Alex. "Bad news, folks?"

"Yes, very bad," Eric said.

"Don't panic. There are shields and wards we can use while he's small and when he's older he can shield himself."

"You think?" Sookie asked

"Yes, I'm pretty sure there's a work-around. You might even be able to put a shield on him, Goddess."

"I never thought of that."

"Think about it. We've got to hone your instincts so your first reaction is "what can I do with my own powers." There's no telling what you might be able to do if you just think to try."

"Alright. Can we take the boys to bed, Eric. I'll feel safer upstairs with them tucked in," Sookie didn't want to think about this right now."

"Yes, we can. Bobbie, I know you want to spend time with Bjorn. You and he can take the evening off. Where is Amelia tonight?" Bobbie helped Eric take Alex in his free arm so he was holding both babies.

"She and Jerry are moving her stuff into the chalet tonight," Bobbie told him.

"Do they need help?"

"They've had help. They're just setting up her bed and things like that and I think Jerry is moving his stuff tomorrow," Octavia explained.

"Do you want to move into a chalet, Octavia?" Eric offered.

"If I had my druthers I'd rather stay where I am."

"Oh, good," Sookie said, "I like knowing you're close by."

"I like it, too," Octavia patted her back. "You two go on to bed. We'll all be around if you need us, but try not to worry. They still have a great advantage only needing to rest once a month."

"But they sleep every day," Sookie still didn't get this.

"But that's while they're growing. We don't know if they'll always need sleep. It might turn out they only rest this once a month. That's a mighty big advantage if it turns out to be true."

"And a mighty big vulnerability if it lasts for 24 hours," Sookie realized.

"Think positive, Queenie. Take it one step at a time. You've got years to figure it all out."

"Yeah, I guess we do."

"We'll see you later," Eric said politely and headed for the steps, Sookie following closely behind.

"Eric, aren't you worried about this at all?" she asked as they reached the second floor

"About him being Fae? Very. About them needing to rest, no. That's a small disadvantage in the scheme of things. I just hope we can keep it quiet. That's not something we'd want generally known."

"Yeah, I guess not," she agreed as they continued up to the third floor. "If you have work to do, you can. I'll stay with them."

"I want to spend time with you, too, Sweetheart," he looked at her and smiled as he stepped to the side and let her go into the room first.

"Oh – woops!" Sookie said with surprise as she saw the gift on Eric's side of the bed. "I forgot all about that!"

"What is it?" Eric had no idea what it could be.

"It's a present for you. I can't believe I forgot about it."

"You bought me a present?" Eric's mood was instantly brighter. The idea she would do something like that delighted him. "What is it?" He couldn't remember a girl every buying him a present, except for a few little things girls at the club would use to curry favor.

"Let's tuck the boys in and you can open it," she was smiling but she was tense underneath the positive mood she tried to project. "Tell you what – here…" she stood back from him and said "playpen" and was instantly holding the one from the den. She set it up in front of the closet as Eric waited with the babies.

"Good idea. They seem to like being next to each other," he said happily. He couldn't believe how happy he was about the present. He didn't really care what it was. He was just excited that Sookie wanted to give him something.

"Yeah, they do. I'll grab a blanket from their room," she said as she took one of the boys and laid him on his back in the play yard, then ran into the nursery as Eric put the other baby next to the first. Sookie came back with a blue teddy and Elmo, putting one on the outer side of each boy, then she covered them all with a little blue blanket. "There. They're all snug. I hope…" she stood up and stood back and he wrapped his arms around her from behind.

He spoke softly in her ear. "Do not worry, Sookie, they will be awake in a few hours, or a day at the most."

"It's just so weird to see them lying there not moving or anything. How do we know they're not dead?"

"You know they are not, Sookie, or you'd be wild with grief."

"Yeah, I guess I would."

"There's no guessing, my Angel, you'd be calling down Freyja's help. Now," he let her go and turned her around, giving her a peck on the lips as he gently held her arms, "what did you get me.," he laughed and shook her a little to tease her out of her worrying. The kitten came running into the room and Eric scooped it up and put it in the playpen with the boys.

"Alright, alright, sit down." She laughed and tried to lighten up as she picked up the box and let him sit on the side of the bed. "It's nothing big…" she was going to give him a big explanation but he was as anxious as a kid at Christmas and it was really kind of hot.

"Can I open it now?"

"Yes!" She handed him the box and stood there anxiously, hoping he would like it and wouldn't think it was lame.

Eric looked at the box very closely. He bounced it a little to check its weight. He ran his fingers through the ribbon curls slowly and began to untie the bow very slowly. It suddenly occurred to Sookie that no one had ever given Eric a wrapped present like this and the realization of it stunned her. She was practically holding her breath, hoping he wouldn't be disappointed with her choice for him.

"Do not worry, Sweetheart, I will like it no matter what it is," he smiled at her just before he lifted the lid off of the box. His eyes lit up as he saw rolls of silk. The flower effect wasn't really there anymore, but he could see all the different patterns and colors. "What is this?"

Sookie pulled a pair of red striped boxers out of the box and held them, "they're silk boxers, see. There's 22 of them, in all different patterns and colors."

Eric was randomly pulling out different pairs and admiring them. "I like this blue and gold one very much. This green is lovely. Which is your favorite, Sookie?"

"I don't know – these a kind of neat!" She held up a purple and gold plaid pair and Eric laughed.

"Those are very unusual. Should I wear them after our bath tonight?"

"We get to take a bath?" She was being playful and girlish now, much to Eric's delight.

"Yes, of course. The boys won't be up so it's a good night to have some time for just us, don't you think?"

"Yeah, definitely. Ooh, these are pretty," she held up a lavender pair with navy pin stripes and Eric laughed. "I'll go run the bath, OK?" She kissed him and hugged him tight.

"OK" he smiled and she bounced into the bathroom. He sat and looked at the boxers for a few minutes, running his fingers through them to enjoy the feel of the silk. He liked these very much. They were luxurious and sensual and he knew Sookie would enjoy seeing him wear them. He felt as if he would burst. He couldn't believe she had bought him a present. He never expected that. He was so used to being the one who gave presents to others, and was always thinking of what he could do for Sookie, what he could give to her. If he thought about this very long, he would cry. He rubbed his eyes to keep drops of blood from leaking.

He looked at his sons lying next to each other in the playpen. Everyone said they looked like him but when he looked at them, all he saw was Sookie. He'd never admit that, of course. Alex had always felt like him, though, but now Auberon was here and he was so like Sookie, it scared him - especially knowing that he was Fae.

"Eric, are you coming in?" Sookie called from the other room, already in the water.

"Yes, I am," he said, shaking off all the thoughts of war and politics that had rushed into his head when he thought of having a Fae son. There would be time to think it through later. He pulled off his shirt, locked the bedroom door and headed for the tub.

"Hey – this is new, isn't it?" She held up a bottle of strawberry bubble bath.

"Yes, I think it is. It smells very good!" He laughed as he kicked his jeans off.

"Yeah, I like it. It reminds me of that shampoo I like."

"It's making a lot of bubbles, too. I wonder where Alicia got it?"

"You didn't buy it?" she asked as he settled in behind her.

"No, I asked her to look for some new things for us to try." He kissed her forehead as she moved sideways between his legs and snuggled against his chest. They were quiet for a few minutes, just enjoying the warm water and their warm bodies resting against one another.

"Mmm – this is nice," she said as she leaned against him with her eyes closed.

"Yes, it is."

"It's nice to be quiet for a little bit."

"Yes." He wrapped his arms around her, entwining his fingers at her hip, waiting for her to say what she was thinking.

"I heard that," she laughed softly.

"What?"

"You're waiting for me to say it."

"And?"

"Alright, I'm saying it. I'm really, really scared."

"About Auberon?"

"And about the Dark Moon thing, too. What are we going to do?"

"We are going to make sure we always know when the Dark Moon falls so we don't plan to take the boys out those nights…"

"And?"

"And you are going to talk to Freyja about how we deal with a Fae baby in a vampire kingdom."

"Yeah, that would be the source to go to, right?"

"Yes, and Dr. Ludwig, of course, but I think we start with Freyja from now on."

"I agree. We're getting stronger and it's easier and easier for me to call Her up, especially after last night."

"No word from Niall today?"

"Nope."

"You will hear from him before the first of the month, I am sure."

"Why?"

"He'll make sure it's safe for him to attend the Wiccaning."

"Speaking of which, what's this about a catering company?"

"We need to make final approval of the menu and Bjorn needs to coordinate with them regarding security."

"And where are we doing this?"

"Their representative is coming here tomorrow evening. It shouldn't take more than an hour."

"We both have to be there?"

He picked up the soap and began to wash her arms. "Don't you want to know what they will be serving your guests?"

"Yeah, I guess I do. Why isn't the… Coven?"

"Coven."

"Why isn't the Coven taking care of this?"

"They recommended the catering firm as someone they've used before, but we are paying for everything and they want to be sure we're happy with the arrangements."

"Are there going to be lots of vampires there?" She didn't say anything but as they were talking he soap under her arms and picked up her razor. This was new.

"Oh, yes, and Council members, some Weres and shifters and many Fae."

"Yeah, you told me they take these things seriously."

"Yes, and now that Auberon is with us…"

"Are we going to tell people he's Fae?" He finished shaving her underarms and motioned for her to lean back toward the front of the tub. She rested her back against the far edge and he raised her leg so her knee was slightly bent, her foot on his thigh, and he began to shave her lower leg. He'd never done this before, but for some reason, it felt perfectly natural to let him do it for her. It had been a while since she'd had taken the time, so she figured what the hell.

"We aren't going to tell people anything, but the vampires and Fae will know his scent. We'll have extra guards around him to be sure the vampires don't touch him."

"You're going to have to rely on Were guards against potential vampire attacks?"

"We do it every day, Sweetheart, but there will be vampires in our employ and there will also be Daemon security that night. You'll be meeting some of them tomorrow."

"Those are the strange faces I saw today?"

"Yes, some started today. There will be more, on three shifts, 24 hours a day."

"The Weres work 2 shifts, don't they?"

"Yes, with three days off every week."

"There are going to be a lot of people coming and going." She pulled the first leg back and let him take her other leg to shave.

"Vincent, Bjorn and Jerry will supervise it all. They can handle it, Sookie, don't be afraid."

"Are Daemons trustworthy?"

"If they're paid well enough and none of the new hires has any love for Niall or Cullach."

"Cullach's not a problem anymore, though."

"His supporters might be. My spies tell me he didn't have any sons, but he does have a nephew that could step forward in a few years."

"What about daughters or nieces?"

"Fae women are concerned with magick and commerce. They wouldn't lower themselves to deal with politics or war."

"Did I lower myself?" She sat up as he finished her legs and turned so he could wash her back.

"No, you are a Goddess of War. It is Your realm."

"I have so much to learn…"

"Then learn it, and quickly. You're too far into it now not to take it seriously, Sookie. You need to learn everything you can about Freyja as soon as you can, especially in the next 11 days."

"Because of the Wiccaning?" He took the hand-held and began to wet her hair.

"Yes. Tradition should prevent anyone from waging war at such an event, but not everyone respects tradition these days. You need to be in control of your powers that night. We need every possible advantage."

"Alright. Have there been invitations to this thing, or anything like that?"

"There have been general announcements and a few key printed invitations were sent out by Niall's people and ours."

"We have people?"

"We have Pam and Bill, and Sandy, plus the two offices of staff."

"Should I invite Jason?"

"Already done and he RSVP'd. Pam talked to him last week." He poured shampoo into his palm and spread it through her hair, beginning to massage her scalp.

"I should be more on top of this stuff, shouldn't I?"

"Ideally, yes, but you are on vacation so I've delegated as many of your duties as I could to our staff."

"Am I being a bad Queen?"

"No, Sookie, you are adapting to many changes. I don't know how you handle it as well as you do."

"Do they have these Wiccanings all the time?"

"Yes, but this is much larger and more serious than an average one."

"Because it's a vampire thing?"

"And a Fae thing. Our circumstance is unique in many ways. This will be the Supe event of the Millennium, at least."

"And we aren't going to explain Aubie."

"If anyone asks, they are twins, he was very small when he was born and was in care of a nurse until he was stronger. If anyone asks, it is important that you say Alex is the older twin."

"Why is that important?"

"To insure that he inherits Niall's seat on the Council."

"Is Alex older?"

"My understanding is that they were born at the same instant."

"But…"

"Sookie – do this for me. Please?"

"Is it fair?"

""Fair" is a judgment call. I am asking you, as his father and his King, to say that Alex is older."

"How much older?"

"9 minutes."

"Are we going to tell Bobbie and Bjorn and the rest of them?"

"No. We only offer the information if it is requested from the Council. No one else needs to know the particulars."

"Can we get in trouble for lying to the Council?"

"I don't know. I don't care. This doesn't mean I love Auberon any less, Sookie, but there are practical considerations…"

"It's because Alex is vampire and Aubie is Fae, isn't it?"

"Yes, and because Alex is a warrior."

"We don't know what Aubie is yet…"

"We will love him just as much, no matter what he is, but in this case… you must understand, Sookie, Alex is advanced for a specific reason. Remember – he should be three years old now.

"Right – I was late," she said as a pang of guilt shot through her.

"Exactly, and anyone who compares them now will assume Alex is older – he's talking and standing up…"

"He was jumping up and down today," Sookie laughed because she couldn't help herself when she remembered it.

"He was?" Eric loved hearing about all of the new developments with the babies.

"Yeah, you should have seen him. He was standing where your pillow normally is, holding onto the headboard, jumping, but he said he was "dantheen" and he and Aubie were yelling at each other."

"Yelling?"

"Yeah, just going "ah!" "ah!" back and forth, egging each other on. It was really cute. They like to get loud, I think."

"Boys will do that," Eric laughed, proud of his sons.

"Yeah, at least they're getting along."

"That is a great relief. I thought Alex might be very resentful…"

"So far, he looks out for him, and makes sure he gets fed. He kissed him today, too.""

"He did?" That made Eric smile.

"Yeah, he was standing there and I was holding Aubie up because he had the hiccups and I kissed him and Alex leaned over and kissed him, too. It was so sweet. Oh, and then…!"

"Umhm?" He was rinsing her hair really well as he listened to her.

.

"… he was teaching him to say "Mommy!" Then I was changing Aubie's diaper and Alex was hovering there watching every move just fascinated with it, then Aubie wanted to watch while Alex got his diaper changed. It's like they're fascinated with each other. Like they've both had dozens of new diapers but seeing the process with the other one was so interesting to them."

"Let's hope they stay that way. Most brothers resent each other."

"I'd love it if they would, with Alex being protective of him."

"Enjoy it as long as you can. Things may change as they get older."

"We'll know more when Aubie is mobile, I think. Want me to do your hair now?"

"Please." He moved forward so she could get behind him and she used the hand-held to wet his long hair. On impulse, she wrapped her arm around his neck and kissed his shoulder, then laid her cheek on his shoulder as she ran her hand over his bicep. "Are you alright, Sookie?" he asked even though he could feel what she was feeling.

"Yeah, I'm OK, I just feel more grounded when I touch you."

"So do I," he squeezed her hand as it rested on his chest. They were quiet for a minute, then Sookie went back to washing his hair. When she was done, she scrubbed his back, then they took their time washing each other very thoroughly, taking time to stop and kiss leisurely as they proceeded.

They were done washing, but not done kissing. Sookie started to ask if they should get out of the tub, but Eric was guiding her to straddle him so she knew the answer would be 'no.' She lowered herself onto him, throwing her head back as he held her head with his hand and bit her exposed neck as he slipped into her. They had barely moved but they were both coming almost instantly. Eric held her tightly with his free arm, still cradling her head and drinking longer than usual. She could hear him thinking she tasted sweeter than ever and his excitement was flooding the bond. Suddenly she was on her knees holding the edge of the tub but he flipped her so quickly she didn't know it was happening until she was there. Eric was holding her hips tightly, taking her enthusiastically as the fairy blood hit his system. Neither of them paid any attention to the water splashing on the floor. Eric was moving more slowly and deliberately now, getting close to his second release. Sookie wasn't there yet so he tore his wrist open and put it to her mouth, and the two of them quickly came again, laughing as he hugged her back to him.

"Wow – that doesn't take any time at all when we feed, does it?" Sookie laughed breathlessly.

"Mmmm," Eric agreed as he nipped at her shoulder several times. "Shall we move into the bedroom?"

"Yes. We need to comb our hair out before it dries funky."

Eric laughed as he threw towels on the floor to soak up the water, which wasn't too bad this time. "We're going to have to have water damage repaired if we keep this up."

"Is that a complaint?" She teased him

"No, just a fact," he laughed as he let the water out of the tub and used the hand-held to do a quick wash and rinse on them both as it drained. He rubbed some light massage oil on her skin and rinsed her again, then he got out of the tub and helped her step out.

Sookie yawned as Eric combed her hair out. "We're both clean, maybe we shouldn't have anymore sex tonight."

"If you are too tired…"

"I'm joking, Eric. We both know that's not going to happen," she laughed. "That's what showers are for."

He knelt down and let her comb out his hair, wrapping his arms around her waist when she was done and kissing her breasts. He went into vampire speed and stood up, scooping her up in his arms and carrying her out to the bed. He held her downward so she could pull back the covers, then deposited her on the soft cotton sheets. He lay down beside her and they rolled into each other's arms instantly, kissed for a few minutes, then Sookie said "check on the boys real quick then come lie on your back."

He liked the sound of that so he stepped over to the playpen while she went into the bottom drawer of her nightstand for the tube of lubricant. "The boys are just the same, Sookie, very snug. The kitten is sleeping at their feet and their toys are still next to them."

"Good, now come here." She patted the bed as she waited on her knees with a wicked smile. Eric knew what was coming and he was more than happy to comply. He got onto the center of the bed, she between his legs squeezing lubricant onto her fingers. In no time at all she slipped her fingers into him and took him in her mouth. He was completely unconcerned with the rest of the house hearing him, and they did.

"What the hell is that?" Bjorn sat bolt upright in bed.

Bobbie, enjoying the afterglow, laughed softly and told him, "Sookie must have decided she wanted to be in charge tonight."

"What the hell is she doing to him?"

"P-spotting."

"You mean…"

"Yeah, massaging his prostate."

"And it makes him yell out like that?"

"Yeah, most guys think it's awesome. Don't you like it?"

"No one ever did it to me."

"Want to try it?"

"You know how to do it?"

"I taught Sookie."

"I was wondering where a little country girl would learn a thing like that. I just assumed Eric taught her."

"She wanted to surprise him one time and did she ever. He said he should have given me a raise for teaching her that trick."

"It's that good, huh?"

Bobbie laughed and grabbed a towel to put under him, plus a tube of lube and a bottle of hand gel for cleaning up after. She spread the towel out in the middle of the bed and had him lie on it, then lubed up her fingers and pushed her way in as she took him in her mouth. Bjorn was a little freaked out by the sensation of being penetrated, but that quickly gave away to moans and spasms he couldn't believe, and he was almost as loud as Eric.

Eric cracked up as Sookie made him writhe, which made Sookie laugh, too.

"Having that much fun, are we?" she teased him, stopping to take a breath after he came the first time.

"We're not the only ones. Can't you hear that?"

"Is that Bjorn?"

"Yes, apparently Bobbie is giving him a demonstration of why I am being so loud – AAHH!" he cried out as she stroked him inside again. She immediately went back to working on him, making him cry out even louder and she was merciless because she was feeling a bit competitive knowing Bobbie was doing the same thing to Bjorn. He came again. And again. And again.

When she finally let him rest, he laughed hoarsely and said, "I think I know what you mean by feeling as if you have no bones. I'm jelly."

"Good. That was fun. I love making you squirm," she wiggled her eyebrows at him the way he always did and he cracked up, pulling her up next to him.

"My little vixen!" he brushed her hair away from her face. "I love you so much, Sookie – I never dreamed I could love anyone as much as I love you."

"Me, either. I never dreamed I'd be able to make anybody lose control that way, either," she giggled. "I still need to drink from you tonight."

"Yes, you do. Turn your back to me." She rolled over and he spooned up against her, then tore his wrist open and she drank a lot before it healed. They both had another orgasm and she drifted off to sleep as he held her in his arms. When she was sleeping soundly he picked up the playpen with the boys in it and went to his office for his evening calls.

"Eric?"

"Yes, Bill. How are things in New Orleans?"

"I'm getting a lot of requests from European vampires who want to attend your sons' Wiccaning. What should I do?"

"I assume this is Mama and the other two?"

"Actually, it's an entourage of almost 30, though Giselle and the Kings of Germany and France are included in the party. There's one from Bulgaria and one from Egypt in the party, as well, and I assume the bulk of the party is their retinue."

"Include them, certainly and make sure you notify the Coven. You have a contact there, yes?"

"Yes, I've been speaking with Robin Prentiss, the one who met with us in your office before your ascension. Sandy will be bringing a party as well, I understand?"

"Yes, some of the Hollywood vampires contacted her, so there will be several people from out west traveling for this. I hope we have the infrastructure in this area to support them all."

"Well, this particular Coven has a large camping ground with some very large Kivas that some of the vampires will use if they cannot find lodging."

"What is a Kiva?"

"It's a Native American word for an underground space used for teaching and vision quests. They're completely light free when they're closed. There's a large clearing where we can land helicopters, too, so we can shuttle people to and from the airport as needed. Anubis will be taking care of transport that evening."

"This is getting very big."

"Yes, it is, but I think the offices have it well coordinated. Vincent thinks that we have adequate security with the new Daemon soldiers and all the trainees from the camp."

"Let's hope. I'm praying that humans don't get wind of the event."

"The property will be completely sealed off. No human will get near the place unless they are accompanied by a Supe of some sort. We're working very hard to keep the press out of this."

"I hope we succeed."

"So both boys will be there?"

"Yes, they will."

"How do we explain this?"

"We say that Eric Auberon was small when he was born and was with a nurse until he grew stronger. We kept the matter private so as not to endanger him, but now he is stronger and ready to face the world."

"They look alike?"

"Nearly identical except that Alex is bigger, and more advanced. Auberon is just learning to say his first words, and is not quite ready to crawl."

"How is he adapting?"

"Very well, I think. He's afraid to be away from Sookie, but that is the only ill effect I'm aware of, other than…"

"Other than?"

"He is Fae."

"What?"

"He is Fae. Pam came by to see him tonight and she was afraid to hold him. She says his scent is about half way between Sookie's and a full Fairy, but he is distinctly Fae."

"People are not going to be happy about this, Eric, you must realize that?"

"Yes, but what can we do? My vampire offices would pass to Alex if anything happened to me."

"Does Sookie know this?"

"Yes. Auberon will probably inherit other offices that will become Sookie's in time."

"What offices would those be?"

"I cannot go into that over the phone, I'm afraid. We'll touch base on that when you get to Shreveport. Are you still coming in the day before?"

"Yes. Are the chalets available?"

"We'll have one ready for you by the time you get here."

"Good, thank you. I appreciate that.

"You are welcome any time. Will Pam be joining you here?"

"Yes, I believe that's the plan. Sandy's group will be staying at the casino in Bossier City. We're coordinating with Pam."

"Do I need to call Sandy tonight?"

"No, I just spoke to her. We've got things under control."

"Good. I have a lot of paperwork to do. Good night, Bill"

"Good night, Eric."

Eric dug into the paperwork he had waiting for him, most of which had to do with improvements to a shopping center he owned in Ruston and the administration of the Western half of his kingdom. He hoped he could put off the business he needed to conduct in Las Vegas until the first of September, but it was looking doubtful.

"Eric?"

"Yes, Bjorn?"

"I just wanted to make sure everything is OK. It got very quiet down here all of a sudden," he laughed.

"Sookie went to sleep, so I've been working. Can you stay here with the boys for a minute while I run down to Sookie's office?"

"Sure."

"Thank you," Eric zipped down the stairs at vampire speed and retrieved Sookie's calendar from her office.

"Alright, thank you, Bjorn."

"No problem. It's weird to see them so still like that."

"Yes, it is, but I'm sure they're just resting. It's probably a good sign. I think once they are grown they won't need sleep."

"That's a huge advantage."

"Yes, especially if this only lasts until dawn. Be aware that if they do not wake up when the sun rises you'll all need to keep Sookie occupied so she doesn't have time to think anything is wrong. If you think it's necessary, bring them down and leave them with me."

"Alright. I hope we don't have to do that, though."

"Yes, it would be a very long day for her if she had to wait until dark to know that they're alright."

"Right. You need me for anything else tonight?"

"No, you can go to bed. I'll stay with Sookie and the boys until Jerry comes in. Thank you for your help, Bjorn."

"OK, have a good night," Bjorn smiled and headed back up the stairs.

Eric looked at the boys for a while, lost in thought, then reminded himself what he was doing. He needed to add all the new activities to Sookie's calendar and then he would leave a message for Alicia that they should review it. They were going to be very busy and he was pretty sure Sookie would need to go shopping before the Wiccaning so she had plenty of wardrobe choices for the club openings and other activities they had planned. It took him 35 minutes to add all the new dates and he made a sticky note to put on the front to highlight the new stuff – the regional tour of 4 days, 13 club openings, The Vampire's Ball in Chicago, then Sookie's various engagements in New Orleans. He noted they would be spending a week in Chicago and that would be a good time for shopping, too.

Morning was drawing near, so he took the boys back into the bedroom and set the playpen near the bed so Sookie could get to it quickly if she needed to. He was taking her Ambrosia out of the little fridge when Jerry came up the stairs.

"Good morning, Jerry," Eric smiled as he moved the co-sleeper away from Sookie's side of the bed so he could get to her.

"Good morning, your majesty."

"I'll be out of your way in just a minute. Sookie, Sweetheart, you must wake up and drink."

"Hmm? Oh, goodie – I love this stuff," she said sleepily as she drank down the cupful of the wonderful blue liquid. Sookie never noticed what an unusual color it was before. It was an even brighter blue than a raspberry Popsicle. She was instantly back to sleep when she lay back down and Eric said 'good day' and went to his rest. He fell asleep praying the boys would wake up at sunrise so Sookie wouldn't have a stressful day.


	91. Chapter 91

**[Again, sorry for the delay – not a lot of time to write lately, though that scene from the show of Eric in the basement with Yvetta and Sookie certainly provided inspiration I sorely needed. If my Swedish is incorrect, send me a PM and I'll fix it. Thanks! Going to work on Entitlement now.]**

**Chapter 91**

Bobbie woke up to see Bjorn, a towel wrapped around his waist, taking a t-shirt out of the dresser.

"Mmmm – nice view!"

He laughed, "I was trying not to wake you up."

"I wish you didn't have to leave yet," she said wistfully as she hugged her pillow.

"Yeah, me, too, but I need to get down there and relieve Jerry."

"At least you're getting to sleep in a little longer now."

"Yeah, it's nice not to have to get up so early. It's easier to get my work-outs in before I have to start."

"I'm going to work out before I get my shower, and I'll be down in a bit."

"No hurry. I hope she'll sleep a long time. I might even put the TV on."

"I wonder if the boys woke up yet?"

"I wonder – we'll have to try to distract her today if they didn't. She'll be a wreck."

"Yeah, I'll bet. So did I miss anything good while I was gone."

Bjorn laughed as he was pulling on his white briefs, "yes, you missed a trip to Fangtasia."

"What? When?"

"Monday – they had to meet with the Ancient Pythoness and decided to have some fun."

"Oooh – sounds yummy. Did you get any?"

"Yep."

Her eyes bugged, "You DID? Details, I want details!"

He was pulling his jeans on as he spoke. "OK, well, Amelia was in the bomb shelter with the babies, and I was standing my post up at Eric's desk, but Eric left the door open so I knew something was up. At one point, when she was almost out of her head, he said she was getting a reward and told her to call me to join them."

"And she went for it?"

"Yep, I was down those steps in a heartbeat."

"You lucky shit!"

"You have no idea. When I got there, he had her impaled in her back entrance, sitting on the edge of the bed, and he told me to take her from the front."

"Two at once?"

"Yeah, and she loved it."

"I'll bet – was she as good as he says?"

"Unreal – he's right about her being warmer than other women, too."

"I had a feeling that would be true. Do anything else?"

"Yeah, he sat in his big chair and watched while I tied her down and did her, then I did her doggie style as she faced him, then at one point he said "that's enough for tonight" and I grabbed my clothes and ran upstairs," he laughed.

"You think they'll do it again?"

"I'm pretty sure he's planning to have me and you both join them at some point."

"I hope so. You think she'll go for it again?"

"Yeah, I do. She hasn't shown any embarrassment at all since then – she's perfectly natural around me and I noticed she doesn't bother to cover up around me anymore. She's fine with it. She was worried how you'd feel about it, I think, but I told her you knew what was up."

"That's sweet, but I've been waiting for this since they hired me," Bobbie laughed, "especially since I saw that round bed. I hope he doesn't wait too long for a four way."

"I don't think he will. He was pretty pleased with her and she didn't give him any reason not to do it again. He seems to be gradually introducing her to discipline and I got the idea from a conversation we had the other day that he wants us to show her what's up."

"I'm always up for Master Eric, believe me!"

Bjorn laughed as he put his wallet in his pocket, "yeah, he knows that. Trust me, it won't be long."

"Yuuuh – meee!" she giggled as he bent to kiss her, gave her a wink and headed down to the third floor.

Jerry was sitting at the table waiting for him. "Good morning, Bjorn"

"Hey, Jerry. Everything quiet?" He looked into the playpen where the babies were tucked in with their toys.

Jerry came around the bed and looked at them, too. "Yeah, the princes haven't moved. It's going to be a long day when she wakes up. Alicia's not handling it too well, either."

"Yeah, it will be a long day for them if the boys don't wake up soon."

"You think this will last until sunset?"

"Probably. You going to get some sleep now?"

"No, I'm headed to my apartment to let the movers in, and we'll be back this afternoon."

"Oh, yeah – you and Amelia are setting up house! Are you excited?" Bjorn kidded him.

"Actually, I am. I can use the money I won't be paying for rent anymore, the King gave me a raise since I'm here 24 hours, and the chalet is gorgeous even though the decorator hasn't been here yet. Did you hear him say he might extend the parking?"

"Yeah, he was talking about that. He's not sure if he wants to build another garage or just pay for us to store our cars somewhere nearby."

"I think he'll decide to build. There's a ton of room out back. He can get a kit that will go up even easier than the chalets and have all our cars under roof. He's very focused on making the compound self-contained."

"Yeah, he is, and I don't blame him."

"Neither do I. I can't believe we've gone this long without some kind of assault from New Centurion. We're on borrowed time as it is."

"Yeah, I know. My guess is that they're doing additional research since those guys never reported back. I just hope they don't get wind of the Wiccaning."

"Me, too. I think the one thing that might work in our favor there is that they don't seem to be plugged in to the Supe community."

"Let's hope they stay that way. The less they know, the better."

"That was right before our Revelation, too – they're probably trying to figure out if there are Weres on our team."

"Luckily they still don't know about daemons. That's a big advantage."

"True, and you know they have no idea about the Fae. Then we've got the Secret Weapon, too."

Bjorn tried to laugh quietly and looked at Sookie to make sure she wasn't awake. "She doesn't know we call her that, does she?"

"I'm not going to tell her," Jerry tried not to laugh.

"Yeah, after she took out Cullach the other night, there's no telling what she could do if we were under attack. I'm pretty sure she's better than an army if we can just get her to remember to use her powers."

"What are we going to do to develop that?"

"We're going to drill her on things. There probably won't be much of a moon tonight, but as soon as there's even a sliver, I want her in that pool shifting. Eric's going to start the sword training this week. I think we need to exercise her telekinesis, too, and see if she can materialize anything."

"I never thought of that – you think she can?"

"Honestly, Jerry, at this point, I think she could do anything she wanted. Everything she's done so far has been so effortless, I don't think she's tapped into but a fraction her powers. Look at all that energy she raises when they have sex – can you imagine if her kids were in harm's way? Look at what she did to Cullach – that MF never knew what hit him. Octavia said she couldn't even imagine the kind of power it would take to do all she did that night, and she didn't even think about it or make a plan – she just did it on impulse."

"Hey, do you think she can command the elements?"

"That's a good question. We should write out a list of what she might be able to do and test her."

"When's the meeting with the Daemon Master? Couldn't they come up with a better title for that?"

Bjorn laughed, "I know – it's a daemon thing, apparently. Probably tonight if he shows up. He's coordinating with Vincent and he said he'd come for a security meeting as soon as he can. Did you put him on your speed dial?"

"Yeah, I did. He reports to you now, right?"

"Yeah, I'm considered Vincent's second in command now, even above the captain of the guard. The captain of the guard and the Daemon Master are parallel positions, then each is in charge of the troops below them."

"Am I still considered a regular guard?"

"No, you're my second as the Queen's guard– that's in everyone's morning briefing. If I'm not around, you're number one on the compound."

"Thanks for giving me the promotion."

"It was the logical thing to do. Between the two of us, we should be able to cover all daylight hours, then Eric covers the dark hours – that's 24 hour coverage for the Queen and the Princes, and that's the goal."

Meow! The kitten came prancing up the stairs talking to itself and walked between Bjorn and Jerry to the playpen. It looked up at them expectantly, as if to say "well, are you going to put me in there or what?"

Bjorn picked the little black cat up, scratched it behind the ears and put it in the pen where it curled up at the boys' feet.

"How did that thing get out of the pen?" Bjorn asked

"It jumped out on its own about 7. I guess it didn't want to jump back in on top of the Princes. Did they ever figure out what it is? It's not a normal cat, right?"

"Dr. Ludwig says it's a Pooka."

"Oh, OK, I've heard of those. They're shape shifters, right?"

"Yeah, but they usually have a preferred form. She said this one is a cat most of the time, but she might decide to be something else if need be."

"She's a familiar for Alex?"

"Or a protector – we aren't sure yet. She might be here for Sookie, too, but she seems to stick right with Alex. If nothing else, she taught him to shape shift."

"Yeah, that was quite a surprise. The Queen nearly fainted," Jerry tried not to laugh, remembering how Sookie looked that first time Alex became a kitten and chased Erin.

"Yeah, that was a trip. I didn't know what to think – I just tried to chase them and they went different ways. What a day that was. Were you in there when Eric went in to get Alex and there were two kittens in the playpen?"

"No, what did he do?"

"He was in shock for a while. I don't think it ever occurred to him that Alex would be able to shift. You know how vamps are about that…"

"Yeah, I do. He knows it's an advantage, though, right?"

"Yeah, once he got used to the idea. I think Alex turning into a merbaby when Sookie was showing off went a long way toward making him accept it."

"That was hysterical. I'm glad I was there for that."

"Me, too."

"Well, I'm going to head out – have a good day."

"Thanks, Jerry. Good luck with your move."

Bjorn went over to the side table and sat in his usual chair. He figured Sookie was dreaming because he could see her eyelids fluttering. He hoped she'd sleep really late today, so she didn't worry about the boys.

Sookie was standing on the shore in the dawn light. She could feel that it was early, and a little chilly, and she was wearing nothing but her black ritual dress. The sand was damp beneath her feet. She could see the ship in the distance, the giant dragon's head lit by the emerging sunlight.

"Come to me, Sookie," she heard Freyja's voice all around her, and instantly took to the air as a huge bird of prey. She soared into the sky, then zig zagged through the air to the huge ship where something was shining on the deck. As she touched down next to the dragon's head and rose up into herself, she saw Freyja, in her red robe and cape of feathers, laughing and clapping her hands.

"Excellent, My Angel! You are learning to fly very well."

"Thanks. Are my babies alright?"

"Yes, of course, Dear One! They're only resting. Use the Dark Moon to spend time with Our husband and to study your magick. You can't cast on those nights, but you can learn. Are you ready to study?"

"Study?"

"Come with me, my Angel." Freyja led Sookie down a steep flight of stairs and Sookie had a feeling that they weren't in the bowels of a ship anymore because the walls in the hallway were made of stone and there were torches lit on the walls. At the end of the steps was a short corridor, and at the end of it a pair of huge doors. Freyja hesitated in front of the doors and they opened outward to them. Sookie recognized the white and gold room as Niall's chamber where she threw Cullach's head at him.

"My Goddess – why are we at Niall's house!"

"This palace is yours, My Angel, and everything in it. Niall is but a caretaker who presumes too much. Come." Freyja motioned to a table in front of a fireplace, where a large chair sat before the biggest book Sookie had ever seen, sitting on a stand right in front of it.

"This is your Book of Shadows, My Angel, handed down from 13 generations before you. Sit here and read all you can." And with a wave of Her delicate hand a large hourglass with golden sand appeared on the table. "When the last grain has fallen, close your eyes, and say "trygg i min säng " three times. That will always take you home, no matter where you are."

""Trygg i min säng "" Sookie repeated.

"Very good. Remember it, Titania."

Titania? Did Freyja make a mistake? She was Sookie. Can a Goddess make a mistake? If she and Titania were the same person, why couldn't she remember it?

"Remember!" Freyja's voice rang in her head and in her ears and she saw herself clearly as Titania, sitting at this table and writing in this book. Sookie's eyes flew open and she noticed that the sand was quickly pouring to the bottom of the glass so she opened the huge book and began to read. The first pages seemed to be family history so she decided to skim through the book first and see what was in there. The pages were carefully written and illustrated for the most part but there were some that had cross-throughs and little notes between the lines and in the margins. There was a family tree, stories of her ancestors, a section on herbs and their properties, planets and some charts of some sort, a list of types of fairies and daemons with numbers behind the names. There were stories of heroic battles and grand romances. There were pages that talked about souls, ghosts, vampires, Weres, and Shifters; how to attend a birth; ceremonies to mark death; cures for illnesses and some other sections she didn't understand, then the back of the book was spells. When Sookie found that section, she felt like she hit the Mother Lode. She flipped quickly through the pages, trying to remember what all was there, noticing that there were blank pages at the very back of the book and the last pages with writing were done in what she was sure was Titania's hand. She was almost too excited to read when she came on a page with a beautiful ink drawing of Eric!

"Time to come home, My Angel" rang Freyja's voice as the last golden grain fell.

"But, I…"

"Say it now, Sookie, quickly!"

"Trygg i min säng, trygg i min säng, trygg i min säng."

Sookie opened her eyes and found that she was "safe in her bed" once again.

"Bjorn are you here?" She was too exhausted to move.

"Yes, your majesty, I'm right here."

"Have I been saying anything?"

"You called out for Eric a minute ago. Did you have a bad dream?"

"No, but I know I was doing something about him or around him… Is my journal over there?"

"I don't see it, but your tote bag is here – want me to look for it?"

"Please, and a bring a pen with it if you find it?"

"OK, yeah, here it is. And there's a pen in here, too."

Sookie could barely lift her arm as she reached to take the journal from him. "Why am I so tired? What time is it?"

"Almost 3:00."

"Why didn't Alex or Aubie wake me up? Where are they?" Suddenly Sookie remembered about the Dark Moon and sat straight up. "Oh, My Goddess! They didn't wake up?"

"Don't panic, Sookie, we knew this was a possibility," he tried to calm her as she scrambled to get out of bed and over to the playpen.

"Oh, my poor babies!" She had barely enough strength to lift Alex as she picked him up and moved him to Eric's side of the bed. Aubie was lighter, of course, but it was still a struggle. The kitten jumped up on the side of the playpen then down on the carpet and up on the bed. "Hey, Erin," Sookie petted her a few times then crawled up on the bed below the boys and up to her usual spot. She snuggled under the covers and pulled the boys close, Aubie closest to her and Alex on the outside, but both of them close and in her arms. She kissed them both and cooed at them, smoothing their hair and trying not to cry.

"Don't cry, Sookie, it's just a few hours to sundown. Call Alicia to bring you some breakfast and by the time you eat and get ready to meet with the caterers, Eric will be up and the boys will be wanting you."

"Where's Bobbie? And Amelia and Octavia?"

"Octavia went to the movies,"

"She did?"

"Yeah and Bobbie is helping Jerry and Amelia move into the chalet."

"That's today?"

"Yes, they're living there as of today. I think they slept there last night, but the truck came to get Kerik's stuff today so he's out of his apartment now."

"That's cool. I won't feel so bad about him coming in so early."

"Yeah, starting later is working out great for me. I get a good workout in every morning, and he works out at night when he wants to, which is not that often," Bjorn laughed.

"Bobbie doesn't mind you getting out of bed that early?"

"By the time she wakes up, I'm done and back in bed, or in the shower. If she's awake, she works out, too."

"You go back to bed after you worked out? How do you sleep?"

"When I go back to bed while I'm pumped, sleep is not the goal, Sweetheart." He wiggled his eyebrows at Sookie and she actually laughed. That's more than he thought he'd get out of her under the circumstances.

Sookie used the monitor to call down to Alicia, who was on her way up with a rare steak and blueberry pancakes in just a few minutes.

"Good morning, sleepy head," Alicia was trying to be positive, though she was almost as upset about the boys as Sookie.

"'Morning, Alicia. I guess you haven't had a lot to do today…"

"Well, I got caught up on a few things, and I had a lot of packages to open. I'll need you to try on some clothes later on."

"Clothes?"

"Yes, some things I ordered from the internet. If there's anything you don't like or that doesn't fit, we'll send it back. I'm trying to get you ready for all your activities coming up over the next couple of months."

"I hadn't even thought about that. Every opening and every party is a new dress…"

"Well, we can rotate some of them to be worn more than once, but some of the bigger events, yes, we'll need a different dress for each one. I've got a list of your planned activities and we'll make sure there are a couple of extra in case of emergency."

Sookie laughed, "I never thought I'd need emergency formal wear."

"You're going to be very busy. There's the opening on the 25th in Dallas, then the Wiccaning on the first, then 7 more openings in August…"

"What?"

"That's right, and 4 in September, plus a vampire ball in Chicago and several afternoon functions while you're in New Orleans the second time…"

"HUH?"

"You haven't seen your calendar since Mr. Northman updated it, have you?"

"No, I haven't."

"We'll have to go over it, then. Mr. Northman put quite a few new activities on it and it's quite full. You're going to be on the road every weekend through the end of September, if you're going to travel with him."

"Not traveling with him is not an option. We all stay together."

"Do you think he would mind if I used the gym to prepare your wardrobe? It would be nice if I had a clothing rack to hang things on and a place to set up luggage."

"Bjorn, there's room up there, right?"

"Yeah, that shouldn't be a problem."

"It was either that or the basement…" Alicia continued.

"No, it's way too damp in the basement to have expensive clothes down there. I don't think we'll be in Eric's way too much upstairs," Sookie said. "If he can drag us all over the country, we can use his sword room for a bit."

"OK, well you finish your breakfast and I'll get your calendar so you can look at it. If it's alright, I'll go ahead and take the clothing you need to try on upstairs and then when the packages come in I'll just have the screeners take them on up there. Will that disturb you and Bobbie, Bjorn?"

"Not at all. Do the girls have a copy of the itinerary?"

"Well, I've got the list of events, so once Sookie sees it, I'll make copies for them and they can decide what they need to wear. Mr. Northman's tailor is coming to the house tomorrow and he wants you and Jerry to have fittings for formal wear as well."

"He does?" Bjorn was surprised by that.

"We're going to be so busy that he wants you two to have two tuxes you can rotate between, and three suits. Pull out what you would take with you and he'll want it to be checked for fit. The other guards will be in uniform, I guess."

"I knew about the uniforms but I didn't know he cared what Jerry and I wear."

"He just wants to make things more convenient for you," Alicia assured him.

"He doesn't want you to have to think about clothes, I'll bet. Then you can focus on security," Sookie said. "That's a part of taking care of us."

"That makes sense. Did he get confirmation on the plane?" Alicia asked.

"Yes, I believe he did and they've got it at least through October, with an option to buy."

"Buy? A PLANE?" Sookie hadn't heard this.

"Yes, he's got a private plane just for our use reserved and he's got the option to buy it if he wants to."

"We need a plane?"

"Yes, we do," Bjorn laughed, "We've got 30 people, plus or minus a couple, to move from point A to point B – there's no way to arrange all that for that many events using commercial flights. Some weekends have two or three openings. Our own plane is the only way to do that. It's also much safer since Eric will have to travel during the day so often."

"Oh, shit – I just realized – we need clothes for two babies, too!" Sookie was feeling overwhelmed already.

"You won't need a lot, but we'll have some nice outfits for them to wear to clubs and balls and such. If you want, you could do a little on line shopping for them, but I've ordered some things for them already," Alicia told her. "Speaking of which, how do you feel about matching outfits?"

"It's not necessary all the time, but I love that so I do want some cute sets that match for them. They need little shoes and we should probably have little jackets for them, just in case, too. How are we going to do all of this? Is it always going to be this way?"

"No, Dear, it will probably never be as busy as the next three months will be again. It's the club openings that are putting the crunch on us."

"Great." Sookie wasn't that wild about the clubs to begin with…

"Remember, Sookie, 13 kick ass parties. Pretty dresses, champagne and caviar, and making Eric look like the luckiest King who ever walked the earth. You'll have fun," Bjorn reminded her.

"Where will the babies be?"

"In your private suite in each building."

"We have a private suite in each club?"

"Yep, and they've already got double-sized cribs in them. He's got you covered, Sweetheart, all you have to do is show up and smile, have a drink, have a dance, charm a wealthy vamp or two and make your way to the penthouse after."

"Who'll be with the babies?"

"Margaret and I," Alicia started, "those special new guards and regular guards and Octavia, Amelia, Jerry, Bobbie and Bjorn will all rotate to give you time to do what you need to do, then you can make it an early night and get ready for the next party."

"Yeah – hey, I can't even drink champagne because I'm breast feeding."

"You can have one or two – you wouldn't drink more than that anyway, would you?" Alicia asked her

"No, I wouldn't – I didn't know I was allowed any drinks at all?"

"Breastfeeding mom's are able to have a little wine now and then – you had wine all during your pregnancy, didn't you?"

"Yeah, I did, now and then."

"As a matter of fact, starting tonight, you get red wine with your dinner every night except the nights we go out," Alicia told her.

"Is that part of the new diet?"

"Yes, it is. You get dark chocolate every day, too."

"Yum – that's my kind of diet," she laughed.

"OK, I'm going to move the clothes and get your calendar. Don't panic. It's going to be fine," Alicia said affectionately.

When Alicia left the room, Sookie asked Bjorn, "does Alicia understand what kind of clubs these are?"

"No, she'll never need to know."

"How are we going to keep her from knowing."

"Everyone is under orders to be very discrete. She and Margaret will probably only ever see the private suites and the people who deliver room service."

Sookie finished up her steak and was swirling a fork full of blueberry pancakes in syrup as she thought out loud. "I have to step up for this. I'm whining too much."

Bjorn didn't know if she was talking to him or to herself so he didn't say anything.

"I have to get out of this habit. I have to stop acting like it's all too much for me. Eric is counting on me, and there's nothing here I can't handle. I've got all the help anyone could want, and all the blessings I can imagine. I'm supposed to be a Goddess, for heaven's sake and I'm complaining about going to parties? People would kill to have my problems."

Bjorn was just smiling at her when she looked over at him. "You got anything to add?"

"You're doing just fine on your own, Sookie."

"Yeah. It's habit, isn't it? Eric said that to me before – that I pitch a fit, then I rise to the occasion. I've got to stop pitching the fits and take things in stride. I need to learn to roll with it."

"I had a buddy in the Marines that called it 'surfing.' You just ride the wave, wherever it takes you."

"Surfing. Yeah. Can you surf?"

"Yeah, I'd done it a few times. Eric can surf, you know?"

"He can? That figures – he can do everything else."

"Yeah."

"Maybe we can surf when we all go to Mexico?"

"That would be fun. Have you ever tried?"

"No, I've never been anywhere it was possible. If I can fly, though, I bet I can surf!" She brightened as the idea dawned on her for the first time. "Hey, what's the weather like today?"

"It's overcast but hot. You want to go out?"

"No, not without the boys. I should probably get in the shower and try on those clothes."

"That's a good idea. You'll probably get done right when Alicia is ready for you if you start now."

"OK, I'm going. Watch the boys, please," Sookie got up naked and walked down to the end of the bed on her knees then went into the bathroom, never acknowledging or recognizing that she hadn't even thought to cover herself in front of Bjorn.

"Yes, ma'am!" Bjorn was happy he was in the room by himself when that happened, because he didn't know if he could handle seeing that in front of Alicia. DAMN, she was hot. This Sookie Syndrome was just never going to go away.

Alicia came back for her tray, laid out a nursing dress for Sookie to wear, pulled a couple of boxes of shoes and several dresses out of the closet and left the calendar for her to look at. Sookie came out in a towel and lay on the bed, looking through the pages of the calendar, completely unconcerned about Bjorn being in the room when her towel slipped. "Wow – there's one weekend where we're going to be in Philly, New York and Atlantic City on Friday, Saturday and Sunday!"

"They're all relatively close to each other, so with our own plane, we'll have plenty of time to relax in each place."

"And we really have a suite in each club?"

"Yep, with places for our entire entourage plus guest suites if Eric needs to entertain."

"They sound like hotels."

"In a way, they are – they have rooms people can stay or live in and they have party rooms within them. Some regents and important vamps will stay there instead of in hotels when they travel."

"That seems so expensive for us to have rooms just for us."

"These are crazy expensive clubs. Only the richest vamps are even invited and they pay a lot to get in. Eric considers having places to stay for all of us cost effective. Think about it – one suite probably costs what 2 or 3 nights in a vampire hotel would cost. It won't take many trips to make that a cost saver, and he wants to be sure we all have places to stay in the major cities for when he needs to visit there."

"Is that going to be a frequent thing?"

"It might be, depending on our security needs."

"You mean where the war is concerned?"

"Yeah, if we have a place to go, we aren't at the mercy of what's available at hotels. It's no different than keeping a villa in Las Vegas, really."

"Are you sure the other regents are all behind him?"

"There are a couple who are dragging their feet, but they'll change their minds if New Centurion decides to get serious. If their defense contracts get pulled, they could be back here with a lot of time on their hands and nothing better to do than harass Supes."

"Why can't people just get along?" she said, exasperated at the thought of being under constant threat.

"I don't know, but they don't."

"Ugh!" she dropped the calendar on the bed and stood up, taking the dress and a thong into the bathroom with her and putting them on. She put on a bit of makeup and she and Bjorn headed upstairs with the babies in two little bouncer-rocker seats that could sit on the floor while Mommy tried on dresses. The kitten was hot at their heels and quickly found a beam of sunlight coming in one of the gym windows to curl up and nap in.

Alicia had a rolling clothing rack already set up in the gym, and there were several boxes on the table that normally sat against the wall down under the swords. Bjorn and Sookie got the babies settled next to each other and then he went to wait in the hallway so Sookie could change clothes.

"Alright," Alicia had her list at the ready, "we need up to 13 dresses for the club openings, probably a formal dress for the Wiccaning, the vampire ball and the NOMA fundraiser. There's an afternoon engagement at the Tea Room at the zoo, there's a charity luncheon for the hospital, a cocktail party, then we need at least one extra formal, one party dress and some every day clothing. "

"OK, lets see what you've got here," Sookie started with the Bergdorf-Goodman boxes and the first thing she pulled out was a ball gown by Carolina Herrera in shades of deep purple, light blue, orange and red flowers. "I love this! Do you think the strapless would work on me, though?"

"You'd be amazed what we can do with a strapless bra and some wardrobe tape," Alicia laughed as she looked through the boxes for the new, larger strapless bra she got her.

"Tape?" Sookie asked as Alicia helped her into the bra.

"Yep – trust me. Try it on and let's see if you want to keep it."

Sookie wiggled out of her dress and Alicia unzipped the ball gown, then helped her step into it. "The colors are amazing!"

"They're very unusual for a ball gown. Slip these shoes on and twirl in front of the mirror over there and see if you think you'd want to dance in it."

Sookie let Alicia help her with the jeweled, high-heeled sandals then twirled a few times in front of the mirror making the very full skirt fly out to its full potential. "I love this. It's a keeper!"

"OK, one down," Alicia said happily. She had a feeling Sookie would love that one. They were still trying on dresses hours later when the boys started crying at almost the same instant.

"Mamee!" Alex wailed as Aubie cried "Mmamma!" The kitten jumped up and rushed over to Alex, meowing eagerly.

"Thank Goddess!" Sookie dropped the pink ruffled dress she was about to try on and was on her knees talking to the boys, kissing them and trying to get the harnesses on the little bouncers they were in unlatched. "My Sweeties! I'm so glad you're awake! Yeah, Mommy's glad to see you awake!"

Alicia was trying not to cry from relief. She had been nearly as worried as Sookie. Bjorn was standing his post in the hallway about to bust, he was so happy.

"Sookie?" Eric came in the door in a rush, feeling the panic in the boys as they awoke confused and fussy.

"Eric! They're awake! They're OK!" Sookie had tears streaming down her face as she kissed the boys and stroked their little faces, cooing at them. Eric helped her get them both into her arms so she could cuddle them, then knelt next to them stroking the boys' backs and heads. "They're hungry, Eric! Help me get this bra off."

Eric unhooked the back of the bra she was wearing, and Sookie shifted around as she could to move from her knees to sitting on the floor "Indian style," which wasn't easy with both boys in her arms but she did it. She managed to get the boys situated at each breast and they fed voraciously. "Here, Sweetie, take these shoes off of me," Sookie tried to move each foot so he could unbuckle the straps and he managed to get them off of her so she was a little more comfortable as she sat on the floor.

Once she was settled for the moment, Eric looked around, noticing Sookie was wearing next to nothing and that the gym was full of clothes. "What are you doing in here?"

Sookie was too tickled and focused on talking to the boys to answer, so he looked to Alicia who said, "We needed a place to open packages and try on clothing for your travels. I hope you don't mind if we use your gym for a bit?"

"That's fine. I know you have a lot of preparations to make. Is she finding some nice things?"

"Oh, yes!" Sookie said between kissing the boys' heads, finally paying attention, "She got me some gorgeous things."

"She hasn't tried all of them on yet," Alicia explained, "and there are some more that should arrive this week. She had a few she bought a while back that will work, too."

"Alicia – show him that ball gown!"

Alicia held up the purple print gown so Eric could see it.

"That is very unusual," Eric nodded with approval.

"Isn't it pretty? It looks good on me, too, doesn't it, Alicia?"

"Gorgeous. It looks like it was made for her. I thought it would be a good choice for the NOMA fundraiser in September."

"Yes, it's very lovely. I'm sure she'll be the prettiest girl in the room," Eric smiled and kissed her. Aubie giggled as he fed and Eric tickled his ear. After about 20 minutes, Aubie reached for Eric, saying "nnDaa!" and Eric took him from Sookie for a few minutes.

"How is my little elf today?" Eric hugged him and kissed him. Aubie laughed and said, "Dada!" as Eric tickled him a little and then held him up over his head, shaking him a bit and making animal noises. Alex was laughing as he fed, enjoying the feelings of delight Aubie was pouring into the bond as Eric played with him. "Obee wyg Dadee!" he laughed then went back to Sookie's breast. It was at least ten more minutes before Alex got done feeding, and Aubie was ready to go back to Sookie, so they traded babies and Eric played with Alex while Sookie snuggled Aubie.

"So, Alicia, there are more to try on?" Sookie asked as she hugged Aubie to herself.

"Yes, a few more, but we can do that tomorrow if you want. I'm sure Margaret has dinner ready by now."

"Yeah, I am kind of hungry."

"Alright then, we know we're keeping the ones you've already tried, so I'll hang them up and we'll see about the others tomorrow," Alicia planned as she began to organize the packages still left.

Sookie sat Aubie back in his bouncer for a minute while she tried to get back into the nursing dress she had worn upstairs. Alex was flying around the room turning loops in the air so Eric came back and helped her stand.

"I've never seen this dress before, Sookie."

"Yeah, it's not the sexiest thing I own but it makes feeding the babies easier."

"Not sexy perhaps, but sweet. The purple color is very becoming."

"Thanks," she reached up and kissed him as he wrapped his arms around her. "You might be seeing it a lot as we travel because it's really comfortable."

"I take it you had a long day today?"

"I tried not to think about the fact that the boys weren't awake but it was so quiet without them, wasn't it, Alicia?"

"Yes, I hardly knew what to do with myself not needing to feed or change them. I'm very glad they're back to normal," she agreed.

"Well, this will probably be a monthly thing so plan for it. Use those days to catch up on things and know that they're only resting. As odd as it may seem, that rest is good for them, I'm sure," Eric said.

"Ware di Mahdwid doe?" Alex asked as he hung in the air in front of Eric and Sookie.

"Margaret is downstairs fixing dinner. Would you like to go eat?" Eric said to him.

"Eeah, ee dinder!"

"I can't believe he's still hungry!" Sookie said with surprise.

"Ahm undwy, Mamee, Mahdwid."

"You want some solid food, don't you, Sweetheart," Alicia cooed at him as she finished for the evening.

"Eeah! Pood!"

Everyone, including Bjorn in the hallway, cracked up at that. Alex flew into Eric's arms as Sookie picked up Aubie and everyone headed for the elevator. Bobbie, Amelia and Jerry were already at the table and Margaret and Carrie were dishing up lamb chops, fried potatoes and gravy, peas and biscuits as the others entered the kitchen.

"Mr. Northman! I was just going to send one of the girls to look for you all. Is everything alright?" Margaret was obviously pleased to see them.

"Yes, Margaret, everything is fine. The boys wanted to breastfeed when they woke up, but now Alex is asking for "dinder,"" Eric laughed.

"EEah, Mahdwid, pood, pweezth!" Alex reached for her and patted her cheek.

"Food? Well, you get settled in your chair, Darlin', and I'll bring you some dinner straightaway."

"Dayoo!" Alex clapped his hands and giggled.

Bjorn had pulled the highchairs out of the pantry and was setting them up next to Eric's chair at the head of the table.

ZZIIIIZZZZZ! ZZIIIIIIZZZZ went the little food processor that Margaret was using to chop vegetables for Alex, which made him jump and pop his fangs while Aubie calmly looked around to see what the noise was.

"It's alright, Alex, that's just a… what is that thing, exactly?" Eric asked

"It's a food processor, Sweetie," Sookie stroked Alex's cheek. "Margaret uses that to make dinner."

"Dinder?" Alex relaxed a little and snarled as he retracted his fangs.

"Yep, just relax and let Daddy put you in your chair, OK?" Sookie encouraged him

"Oday, Mamee."

Eric kissed him and settled him into one chair while Sookie put Aubie into the chair closer to her seat and fastened the little safety harness to hold him up. Carrie put a big platter of cucumber spears, tomato slices, and green onions on the table behind them as Bjorn took his seat next to Bobbie and kissed her.

Carrie was back with a warm blood for Eric and two small, warm bottles for the boys, then Margaret brought two little plates for them. Aubie was having turkey gravy and pureed peas, while Alex was having minced lamb chop, pureed peas, mashed fried potatoes, gravy, chopped cucumber and grated fresh carrots.

Aubie wasn't that anxious to eat, but he was fascinated watching Eric feed Alex. He giggled every time Alex took a bite and he opened his mouth wide when Eric turned to give him a spoonful of turkey gravy. Alex hummed while he ate and bounced his leg and Aubie looked him up and down the whole time. Aubie tried to hum while he ate a bite of peas but he choked just a little, prompting Sookie to fuss over him much more than the situation warranted.

"Jerry, are you and Amelia settled into the Chalet now?" Eric changed the subject so Sookie would relax.

"Yes, your majesty, we've got the last of our stuff in there, but we still have unpacking to do. I turned my keys in today."

"Very good. Amelia has the security firm started at Sookie's house yet?"

"They're supposed to start on Monday, but Andy Bellefleur said he'd drive by a few times this weekend just to make sure it's OK."

"Alright, that should be sufficient. Bjorn, we have a meeting at 8 'clock, yes?"

"Yes, your majesty. Crescent Moon Catering is sending two people, and I'm pretty sure Robin Prentiss and at least one other representative from the coven will be here to meet with us. I'd recommend that Jerry and I both attend along with you and the Queen."

"Alright. Bobbie, you'll watch the boys, I assume, since Alicia and Margaret will be closing the kitchen and such?"

"Yes, and Amelia will help me."

"Thank you, Amelia. Where is Octavia tonight?"

"Already in bed. She went to the movies today and went shopping and came home really tired so she's eating in her room," Alicia interjected.

"Good, I'm glad she is enjoying herself and doing what she wants."

"Did she have a good day?" Sookie asked

"Yeah, she had a great time," Amelia answered. "She's getting used to having people help her out with things."

"So one of the guards took her around today?" Sookie was just curious how it all worked out.

"Yes, Lane drove her in your car, your majesty and he said she had a fine time." Jerry answered her, "She saw a movie, had a late lunch, got some new clothing and a few personal items. He took her anywhere she wanted to go. He said he had fun, too – it was like taking his grandma shopping."

"Lane is the friendly young guy from Texas, right?" Sookie thought she remembered him.

"Yes, and Octavia said he was very kind and helpful," Jerry added.

"Oh, good. I'm so glad she did that!"

"She was a little shy about it at first," Amelia said, "but I told her it would tickle everybody to death if she took a day to do whatever she wanted. She had a blast. I think it's been a long, long time since she had time, money and transportation to do anything like that."

"I hope she enjoyed herself, and I hope she won't hesitate to do it again whenever she wants. I really do consider her family and I want her to be happy here," Eric said emphatically as he was spooning "beejes" into the babies' mouths. Aubie's eyes popped when he tasted peaches, making Eric laugh with delight.

"After dinner I'm going to run upstairs and check on her, OK, Sweetie?" Sookie asked him. "I want to make sure she's comfortable and has everything she needs."

"That's a very good idea, Sookie," Eric smiled at her and took her hand, raising it to his lips and kissing it. He loved to see her taking on responsibilities that the Lady of the Manor should do. Alicia filled in when need be, but Sookie was learning her roles as hostess and Queen admirably, he thought.

"What are we doing after the meeting?" Sookie asked as she took another lamb chop from the platter

"Did you have anything in mind, Sookie?" Eric asked her

"Well, first, Amelia, when can I see the chalet?" The curiosity was killing Sookie but she hadn't said anything.

"Give me until tomorrow to make it presentable, OK?"

"OK, the only thing we _have_ to do is make sure we bathe the babies. How we're going to manage that with two of them, I don't know, but I guess we'll figure it out."

"There are some new supports up in your bathroom, Mrs. Northman, that should help with that," Alicia told her.

"Oh, OK, thanks for thinking ahead, Alicia!"

"I think it might be a good idea if we all met back here after the meeting and go over the itinerary for the next couple of months as it stands now so we're all on the same page. You girls especially will want to know what we're doing since you'll need formal dress for some of the events. If there's something you want and can't afford, by the way, feel free to have Alicia order it for you and I'll be happy to treat you."

"Wow!" Bobbie said as Amelia said, "Thanks Eric, that's very generous."

"I want us all to have fun on our travels. We'll be very busy, to be sure, but we'll be in very glamorous parties and events and we should all enjoy ourselves as much as possible. There should be enough of us that no one is stressed about baby care and Sookie should be able to have some fun as well as represent the Kingdom."

"And I'm going to try not to whine so much and take things more in stride, so if I start, remind me that I said this and keep me on track, OK, y'all?" Sookie figured that was the best way to break her habit.

Everyone laughed and agreed to that as Eric beamed at her.

"Alright, it's a quarter to eight, everyone," Eric said when Alicia caught his eye and tapped her watch. "Let's plan to meet back here at 9:30. Attendance is optional, but greatly appreciated. Let's get Amelia and Bobbie set up in the den with the boys and Bjorn, you and Jerry can watch for our guests and turn the lights on in the dining room, please. We'll meet in there."

"I'm going to run up and check on Octavia, Sweetie," Sookie said as she kissed each baby on the head and ran to the stairs.

Bobbie and Amelia each took a baby and headed for the den, where Alex requested "dee bee" and "bosth" as soon as they were out of the kitchen. The wooden bouncer was still down there, so they put Aubie in it where he could watch Alex and then Alex and the kitty did their thing with the dino full of plastic balls. Aubie giggled and kicked with glee watching Alex, even if he didn't know what was going on – he knew he liked it and he liked what his big brother was sending into the bond. He loved all the feelings he was being flooded with in this bright, busy new place where pretty Mmamma had brought him. Everything here was bright and exciting, just like her!

"Knock, knock?"

"Come in?"

"Hey, Octavia," Sookie stuck her head in the door, "I'm not interrupting, am I?"

"Not at all, Queenie, come on in!" Octavia was propped up in bed watching TV and reading.

Sookie came in and closed the door. "I just wanted to see if you had enough dinner and ask how your day went."

"Dinner was as good as it always is, and I had a great day. That nice guard took me all over Shreveport today! I'm worn to a frazzle!"

"I'm so glad you had fun! Eric was really happy that you did that and he wants you to feel free to do things like that any time you want."

"Oh, I will, though from what I hear, we're going to be doing plenty of traveling for awhile. That's one of the reasons I went shopping. I don't need a lot of fancy clothes, but I thought a few new outfits would be a nice pick-me-up."

"If there's anything you need from the Internet or a catalog or anything, just have Alicia order it for you. Eric said he'll be happy to treat for things for our travels."

"He's mighty generous, girl. He's not like any vampire I've ever known."

"Yeah, he's special."

"He's smart. He knows he's got it good and he knows the key to that is keeping you happy, and part of that is supporting your extended family. I'm so grateful that includes me, I don't even have words to tell you."

"Oh, I'm so glad you're here for us!" Sookie sat on the edge of the bed and gave Octavia a big hug. Both women were near tears, then Sookie asked "do you need anything?"

"No, Honey, I'm fine for the night."

"OK, well, I have to go meet with the caterers…"

"You go ahead and have a good night, Queenie. I'll probably see you in the pool tomorrow."

"You betcha! Good night!" Sookie kissed her on the cheek and headed back downstairs.

The Caterers and Witches were just coming in the door when Sookie came down the hallway.

"Hi, everybody!" She gave them a big smile and held her arm out to guide them into the living room. "Come on in! I'm Sookie, and this is my husband, Eric Northman," she motioned to him as he stepped out of the dining room.

"Welcome to our home!" Eric was in bullshit mode, so Sookie just smiled and stood back and let him do his thing. "I see you've met my lovely Queen. Ms. Prentiss, so nice to see you again."

The thin woman with long, wavy auburn hair smiled at him. "It's nice to see you, too, your Majesty. May I present Crescent Grove's High Priestess, Laurel Moon." She was a short, powerfully built woman with bleached white-blonde hair and long, orange fingernails.

"Priestess, you are most welcome," Eric nodded to her.

"Merry met!" Sookie said and offered her hand to each of the women.

Eric turned to the two men in the party.

"We're very pleased to meet you, your majesty. I'm John Wolfson and this is my partner, James Norris." The two men nodded to Eric and then to Sookie, and the second man, who looked vaguely familiar to Sookie, spoke.

"I believe the Queen knows my uncle, Calvin Norris?"

"Oh, yes! How is your uncle?" Eric raised an eyebrow, not being crazy about Sookie knowing this man's family but he knew better than to be jealous.

"He's fine, ma'am, he sends his regards. He wanted me to convey his congratulations on your marriage and the birth of your… children?"

"Yes, it's children," Sookie laughed, acting as if it were no big deal. "Tell him thanks and I'm glad to hear that he's well."

"We were going to ask about that," Robin said, "Our Fae contact gave us some very specific instructions about the second child. We had no idea…"

Sookie laid out the "official story" - "There was a very unusual problem with the birth and he was very small, so he was with a special nurse for a while. We kept it quiet so he'd be safe until he was big enough to go out with us. The Wiccaning will be his first public appearance."

"Oh, bless his heart! Would it be possible for us to meet the boys before we leave?" The High Priestess was dying to get a look at the little Princes.

"Yes, of course," Eric smiled. "Let's bring them in for just a minute, Sookie, then we'll look at the paperwork – is that acceptable to everyone?"

"Yes, of course!" Robin Prentiss said and the men were equally enthusiastic.

"Alright, you can put your paperwork in here, and we'll be right back. This is Bjorn Anderson, and this is Jerry Kerik. They're the Queen's personal guard. Bjorn, will you show them to the dining room and ask if they'd like tea and cake?"

"Yes, your majesty." Bjorn led them into the dining room and they politely declined refreshments as the men took their paperwork out of a briefcase and the Priestess took a folder out of her huge black tote bag. Eric and Sookie went into the den through the kitchen.

"Hello, ladies, we'll bring them right back," Eric laughed as he picked up Alex and Sookie took Aubie out of the bouncer, then they went into the dining room through the side door.

"Here are our little Princes," Eric said proudly as they brought the boys in. "This is Eric Alexander Northman, and this is Eric Auberon Northman."

Laurel took the lead. "How precious. If it weren't for the size difference, you couldn't tell them apart, could you? One thing, though, your Majesty, we were told that his full name was Eric Auberon H'Eloise Northman – is that correct?"

"Who told you that?" Sookie asked, squeezing Eric's elbow so he wouldn't say anything. Eric looked at her, wondering where she was going with this.

"The Prince… I mean, _Mr. Brigant_ – he's the Queen's great grandfather, yes? He said it was important to include the H'Eloise in his name and that there were specific requirements for Eric Auberon's vows – something about Fae tradition?" Laurel knew more than she was saying and Sookie knew it. Sookie felt as if she could read this woman like a book, and something was up. She was being careful in the way she was thinking, too, so Sookie knew she knew she was a telepath and was hiding something very carefully.

"H'Eloise is a family name – we hadn't planned on using it, but we'll talk about it. When did he contact you?" Sookie was being as sweet as she could to hide the fact that there might be a problem with this. She bounced Aubie a little and nuzzled him, acting as if nothing was wrong.

"He called us yesterday. He sent us a fax with the child's name spelled out and some vows that he needs the Queen to say for his part of the ceremony. He wanted to be sure that the Fae guests would be satisfied with the content. They take these naming rituals very seriously, you know."

"Do you have the fax with you, by any chance?" Sookie was gently swinging Aubie from side to side as he smiled and chewed on his fingers.

"No, actually, but I have the ceremony written out as he signed off on it."

"I'd like to read through it, if you don't mind, just to make sure we're all on the same page?"

"Of course, I brought a copy for you." She handed Sookie a stack of parchment pages that said: **Notes for Wiccaning LUGHNASADH 2009, NORTHMAN **at the top of the first page.

"Why don't we put the boys back with the sitters so you can take a minute to go over that, Sweetheart," Eric said, following Sookie's lead, "and I'll go ahead and look at the caterer's figures.

"Good idea, Sweetie. We'll just be a minute."

Eric whispered "Say "bye-bye" Alex."

Alex waved and said "Ba-ba!" and everyone fawned over how sweet and smart he was.

Sookie and Eric took the boys back in to Amelia and Bobbie, closed the door, then sat at the dining room table, Eric in his spot at the head and Sookie at the other end next to the Witches. The others took seats and continued to talk about the food, security and decorations while Sookie was reading the papers. She was trying to really focus on them but still listen to what Eric and the men were saying, but it wasn't easy.

The first thing she noticed is it was spelled out that Eric had to hold Alex and Sookie had to hold Aubie. There were also certain instructions that the Priestess should touch Aubie with her left hand but Alex with her right. She knew there would be a reason, but she didn't think that was such a big deal. She was reading the vows to be read by the Priestess, repeated by Eric, then by the Priestess, then by Sookie, and she almost missed it. She was ready to assume that all the vows were identical until her eye caught the word "Elfyria." She backed up and read the vows she was to say for Alex:

Eric Alexander Northman, I am your Mother. I will keep you in my arms as you grow, in my thoughts as you learn and in my spirit as you manifest the Will of the Goddess, I will love you forever, So mote it be.

Then she read the vows she was to say to Auberon:

Eric Auberon H'Eloise Northman, I am your Mother. I will keep you in my arms as you grow, in my thoughts as you learn and in my spirit as you manifest the Will of the Goddess. I will love you forever and **at the end of my life, or on your 18****th**** birthday, I will pass to you my title as the True Heir of Elfyria, **So mote it be.

Son of a bitch. Sookie sent panic into the bond and Eric looked up at her as the Norris was showing him the figures on the food. He could tell from her eyes that there was something he needed to see.

"These numbers seem very high - is this within reason for the number of people you are expecting?" Eric asked the men

"We were told 1,000 to 1,200 people."

"WHAT?" Sookie couldn't hold that back.

Laurel Moon spoke up again, "That's the total from the estimate we were given by the King's regional offices, which said about 400, 100 for us, 150 or so from local packs, other covens and individual practitioners and from Mr. Brigant, who estimated 350 to 600. It's a lot of people, but we have the room for them. It should be fabulous. Imagine a Spiral Dance of that size!"

"Yeah, imagine, my grandfather is bringing 600 people, Eric." Sookie knew that couldn't possibly be good news.

"That's a lot of people, but I suppose it explains all the mead, milk, honey, butter and whole grain bread on the menu," Eric said

"This is going to be the largest ecumenical ceremony in several centuries, you know?" Wolfson reminded them, "We're pretty sure there has never been a gathering of this _diversity_ on this continent. We believe that nearly every possible order will be in attendance. There are Were packs of every type, nearly all types of Fae and Nature Spirits will be represented, daemons, angels, Pagans of every stripe, and representatives from indigenous cultures from the four corners of the world. "

"Even members of the Council and the Pantheon have RSVP'd," bragged the Priestess, "we're very excited."

"Yes, we're very excited, too. You will let us know, of course, if you expect more than 1,200?" Eric was trying to wrap this up so he could find out what was in the vows that had Sookie in a panic.

"Do you have a phone number where I could contact you if I have questions about the ceremony?" Sookie asked hopefully.

"Yes, of course, here's my card." Laurel handed her a hot pink card that said _Laurel Moon, . Divination, Counseling, Ritual Design 555-327-1313. _"That's my cell number, so feel free to call or text any time. We want you to have wonderful day to remember."

"Thanks, I appreciate that."

Eric signed the contracts and laid on the bullshit required to get them up and out the door, with thank you's and promises and well-wishes all around. Sookie waited in the doorway to the dining room, gnawing on her lip. This was a problem, but she didn't know what kind. She knew Niall's goal was to have Aubie named Heir before he had to relinquish control, but why was he passing her over? She was surprised when it occurred to her that maybe she didn't want to give her title away, and maybe she didn't appreciate Niall keeping an office that was rightfully hers. Did she want to rule Elfyria? Is that possible if you're a vampire Queen? What would be required? How much time would she have to spend there? She started to wish that she'd read more about her family history when she had the chance. Why was she never given the option? What if SHE wanted to take the throne in 2027?

"Such turmoil, my Angel!" Eric said as he walked back to her with a smile. Whatever was wrong, they would handle it.

Sookie handed him the pages and pointed to the relevant passage. "Read this."

Eric read the passage and his blood boiled. Niall was just going to have them spring this on Sookie at the Wiccaning? "Nice of him to tell you about your birthright, wasn't it?" Eric was being sarcastic, partly because he was pissed, partly to empathize with Sookie who was a seething pit of ambivalence right now.

"We need to talk about this, Eric."

"Should we be alone for this?"

"Yeah, maybe, until the two of us know where we are."

Eric wasn't sure what there was to talk about, but he could feel that Sookie needed something from him. "Let's meet with the family and go over the calendar, then we'll go up for family time and talk about it then."

"Good idea."

"Alright, Alicia has our calendars in the kitchen and I think they are all assembled," he kissed her head and put his arm around her, gently guiding her back into the kitchen. Bjorn, Jerry, Alicia, Margaret and Carrie were in the kitchen with their calendars and organizers and Bobbie was coming in from the elevator with her Day Timer.

"Are we all here?" Eric asked as they came in

"Amelia went out to get her calendar. She'll be right back," Jerry answered.

"Alright, Alicia did you make those print-outs?"

"Yes, sir, the preliminary ones. There's no information about flights or departure times yet, of course."

"We probably won't have most of that information until just before we travel." Eric explained as Amelia came in the back door.

"Sorry, everybody," she said cheerfully. You could tell she was relieved to be living out back now.

"That's alright, Amelia, we're just all getting here," Sookie assured her with a smile, then she asked "where are the boys?"

"Asleep in their little bouncers in the den," Bobbie told her.

"Oh, good! Thanks for putting them down."

Eric opened his calendar, which Alicia had left at his spot at the head of the table. Sookie's was in her place, too. so she opened it up to July, as did the others, and Alicia passed around the sets of pages she had prepared. The top page was a chronological list of activities, the next three pages were calendar pages for July, August and September.

"Alright, everyone, I'm just going to go through the list event by event and you let me know if you have any questions about each one. Today is Wednesday, the 22nd. First, there's the cookout Friday night that Sookie invited her brother and friends to. It's not a big deal, but it is the day before we travel to Dallas for the first Sang Riche opening. We'll be using the bus we used once before to move us all to the airport, and we'll be leaving at 9 in the morning. The plane will leave at 10:15 and we should land in Dallas before 12. We'll be picked up by 1 car, 1 limo, and one bus, and that will be the standard at every club opening. 4 guards will be in the lead car, Bjorn, Jerry, Sookie, the boys and I will take the limo, everyone else will be on the bus. Any questions?"

"Are we just going to hold the boys in the limo?" Sookie asked

"No, each limo has two car seats on the bench that faces backwards. They'll be able to see us as we drive."

"And you've got cars like that at every club?"

"Yes, they're a part of the club's standard equipment so we needn't worry about engaging cars in the various cities."

"Are you going to make any money on these?" Sookie couldn't fathom the amounts of money Eric was going to generate with this deal.

"Hundreds of Millions."

Sookie just nodded and tried to wrap her mind around that.

Eric continued, "we'd be back from Dallas on Sunday night. We could fly right back if we wanted, but I thought since it's our first time out, we'd stay the night so we can enjoy some of the amenities."

Sookie started to say something so Eric hesitated, but she said, "I'll ask later," so he went forward.

"Alright, Bjorn and Jerry, you know the tailor will be here tomorrow night at 7, yes?"

"Yes," both of them said, since Bjorn had filled Jerry in.

"Monday through Thursday next week we have no engagements so use the time to get ready to travel. Shop if you need to, order what you need from the Internet, ask Alicia for help if you need it and let she and Carrie help you with laundry or mending if necessary. Monday, furniture will be delivered for both Chalets. Amelia you can arrange your chalet any way you'd like. Sookie, I'd like you to make sure the second chalet is ready for guests on Friday, so if you'd check the progress of the decorators through the week, I'd really appreciate it."

"Sure – I want to be sure they look nice. Is anyone staying there for the Wiccaning?"

"Pam and Bill will be staying there from Friday the 31st through possibly August 7th.

The 3rd through the 7th we'll be going out every night – formal attire is not necessary, just wear what you'd wear to any bar or nightclub – Bill and I will be holding audiences through the territories. We'll leave at 7 every night, arrive at our destinations between 9 and 10, hold audiences until 2 AM, be home between 4 and 5. We'll be traveling with one lead car, Sookie's car, and three vans, so dress comfortably. Amelia, your attendance, and Octavia's, is optional these nights. Margaret won't be going with us. Alicia and Bobbie will be needed for help with the boys, of course. Any questions?"

"Jeans are OK?" Bobbie asked.

"Yes, if you'd like, or even shorts. The places we'll be using for audiences will be tourist traps, mostly, and they're not considered public appearances. Be comfortable so you can focus on the boys and Sookie."

"OK, thanks."

"Alright, Saturday the 8th is Sang Riche Austin – we'll leave at Noon, stay until 1 AM and be home by 3 am Sunday. Sunday is our last day home in August. We're leaving for New Orleans at 7 PM Monday and we'll be flying this time. While we are gone, we will be attending the openings of Sang Riche New Orleans on the 15th, Philadelphia, New York and Atlantic City on the 21st, 22nd and 23rd, Seattle on the 28th, LA on the 29th. NOTE that the Dark Moon is on August 20th. We'll be staying in LA until Monday the 31st so you'll have a couple of days to rest or shop if you'd like.

We'll be going from LA to Las Vegas on the first of September to take possession of the Villa at the Bellagio. While we are in Vegas, Bill and I will be holding audiences so he'll join us the 4th through the 7th. Sang Riche Phoenix is the 4th, Las Vegas is the 5th, and we all return to New Orleans on the 8th. Bjorn and Jerry, note that the 4th is the Full Moon so that will be an extra problem for security."

"Why the hell did they pick the 4th for that?" Bjorn wasn't looking forward to dealing with that.

"I don't know, but you'll have back up from the Las Vegas office. We'll be in New Orleans from the 8th through the 20th. We'll all need to attend the NOMA fundraiser on the 12th. Sookie has a charity luncheon at the Children's hospital on the 16th and she has a cocktail party at the Audubon Tea Room on the 18th."

"Isn't the cocktail party for both of us, Eric?" Sookie thought cocktails meant it was an evening function.

"Good question – Alicia?"

"My notes say it's at 8 PM at the Aquarium."

"Alright, then that will be both of us. We need to keep in mind that that day is the Dark Moon, too."

"Maybe we'll leave the boys home with Alicia and Margaret that night?"

"That's not a bad idea. We'll think about that as it approaches. Now, from the 21st to the 26th we'll be in Chicago. There's a Vampire Autumnal Equinox Ball on the 22nd, Sang Riche Chicago opens the 25th and Detroit opens the 26th. We'll be flying straight from Detroit to New Orleans. Sookie has an event at the Audubon Tea Room at the zoo on the 29th, the 3rd is the full moon, and on the 4th we return here to Shreveport for about 24 days. October 31st we are hosting a Costume Ball in New Orleans."

"Ooh, cool!" Amelia piped up.

"That should be fun," Bobbie agreed.

Eric laughed and finished up. "Briefly, through the rest of the year, we have the Regent's Ball in NYC on November 28th, a Winter Solstice ball we're hosting in Las Vegas on the 21st of December, we're hosting a New Year's event in New Orleans and we've penciled in Sookie's Mexican vacation to begin on February 28th. Any questions?"

"You know Octavia and I might opt out of a lot of activities, right?" Amelia asked.

"Yes, of course, and Margaret might elect to skip the side trips, too. Do what makes you happy. We appreciate your attendance when you do choose to go with us, but we don't want you to feel obligated."

"I just want to add that on July 29th, the boys will be one month old," Sookie said as she looked at her calendar and circled that date."

"This has to have been the longest month I've ever experienced. It seems like a year or more!" Bobbie observed

"I know – time is so compressed or something," Sookie said absently.

'The boys are so advanced. It's just amazing," Amelia gushed. "It's so amazing just being around them, and not just because of that vibe they give off."

"What vibe?" Sookie asked

"There's something about both of them that makes you feel good just being near them."

"Yeah, I've noticed that, too. You get such a sense of peace if you pick one of them up," Bobbie agreed.

"It's that angelic energy of theirs," Margaret agreed. "They're just precious!"

"I've even noticed it, no more than I've been around them," Carrie added. "Mr. Northman, would it be alright if I went home now?"

"Yes, of course, Carrie. I'll be sure you get a little bonus for staying so late."

"Thanks – I'm glad to know where you all will be, though. I'll see you all tomorrow!"

"Good night, Carrie!" Sookie called and the others around the kitchen joined in with good byes.

"Alright, it's going on 11 o'clock. I know Sookie needs to talk to me, and we'll be taking a bath when the boys wake up. Does anybody else need me for anything?"

"There's some mail on the desk in Sookie's office you should look at, sir," Alicia told him.

"Eric, does Vincent have this travel list yet?" Bjorn asked

"I don't believe so."

"I'll go out to the guard's office and fax him a copy."

"Thank you, Bjorn."

"I'm going to get some sleep, if that's OK?" Jerry asked.

"Have a good rest, Jerry," Eric smiled at him, knowing he had to be upstairs with Sookie and the boys in just about 7 hours.

Everybody called good night as Amelia elected to go with him and they went out the back.

"Alright, I'll go check on that mail," Eric said.

"OK, Sweetie, I'll be in the den with the boys when you get done," Sookie stood up and kissed him.

"I'll be with her for a bit," Bobbie said and the girls went off to chat and watch a little TV.

Alicia followed Eric and Margaret closed up the kitchen and turned in.

Eric looked through the stack of mail, some of which was Las Vegas business and some of which was about the household finances.

"Alicia," he said as she came into the office, "has Sookie seen these figures on the landscaping and the decoration of the chalets?"

"No, sir, I didn't know if she should see them or not."

"I think she needs to be aware of projects that might reflect on her as hostess. Tomorrow I'd like you to go over these with her and from this point forward, just make sure she knows what's going on around the administration of the houses, in case she wants to make changes to anything."

"Of course, Mr. Northman."

"How did she take the news of the calendar changes today?"

"She was surprised that we had so many activities in such a short span of time, but she's handling it. We're working on getting everyone's wardrobe set. Hers is the most difficult, of course, but then we need a variety of things for the boys, too, since they'll be out so much."

"Have you thought about what we're going to do with the cat?"

"I ordered an animal carrier and there shouldn't be any problem taking her with us. All of your private suites at the clubs have litter boxes and we'll set one up in the Villa – I just don't want them to know about it until we're actually there."

"Good. I hope they're not going to have misgivings about a second baby, too."

"I don't think that will be a problem. I'd expect them to object to the cat before they'd object to a second baby."

"Really?"

"Yes, cats can be very destructive, though I though I'm pretty sure that cat won't be a problem as long as she has a box and a scratching post. She's very bright."

"Yes, she is."

"It's not a normal cat, is it?"

"I don't think so – Sookie's doctor thinks it's a type of fairy called a pooka.."

"And it's here for Alex?"

"That seems to be the case."

"It stays right with him."

"Yes, it does, but so far it hasn't made a nuisance of itself."

"He just loves it, and I think Sookie's very fond of it, too."

"Yes, that's true. She used to have cats when she was a girl. I didn't know she was missing that, but apparently she was. The boys are awake. I'll leave you a note if I need you to take any action on these."

"Alright, then, I'll say good night. There are snacks in the downstairs fridge for Mrs. Northman. She should eat another small meal tonight."

"Thank you - good night, Alicia."

Eric zipped into the den where Sookie and Bobbie were picking up the babies and getting Sookie in position to feed them again.

"Hey, Sweetie!" Sookie smiled at him as he came in. She was sitting cross-legged on the couch and Bobbie was helping her get a baby balanced on each leg.

"Hey!" He was so relieved to have his family back to normal and together that it amazed him.

"Do you need me anymore, Eric?" Bobbie was pretty sure he'd want her to take off now.

"No, thank you, Bobbie, you can go for now. I'll take it from here."

"OK, good night every one!"

"G'nite Bobbie!"

Eric noticed Sookie's camera on the end table next to the dining room wall and picked it up, moving out to the middle of the room in front of her and the kids, kneeling down to get a good shot.

"Eric, I look awful!"

"You look beautiful, and I never want to forget how sweet you look when you are feeding my sons."

"Aw – you're sweet." She looked down at the boys, "isn't Daddy sweet? Yeah, Daddy is so sweet to Mommy, sometimes she can't believe it!" Eric snapped a several pictures as she cooed at the boys and rubbed their little backs, and she gave him a few smiles and even stuck her tongue out at him once, making him laugh.

"You are so funny, Sookie."

"I'm a little bit giddy because my boys are OK."

"Speaking of "giddy" where is the cat?"

"She went through the kitchen a few minutes ago, but I haven't seen her since."

Eric stood and walked in through the kitchen, then came back. "She is napping in her little bed," he told her as he sat next to her on the couch." What are we watching here? Seinfeld?"

"Yep, it's the one where George wants to become Latvian Orthodox because his girlfriend broke up with him."

"And Kramer has the "kavorka?"" Eric laughed

"Right. Snuggle up with us and let's watch TV for a bit. We never get a chance to just chill."

"Excellent idea," he smiled and put his arm around her, sitting as close as possible and stroking he back of the boys' heads as they fed.

"Ah, Dadee!" Alex leaned back and giggled, then went back to feeding.

"Dada!" Aubie tried to copy what Alex did.

"My very smart, very good boys!" Eric beamed at them.

"I think I might have to change Aubie's nickname," Sookie laughed.

"Why? What is it?"

"I was calling him "Cookie" but I think I should have called him "monkey," the way he tries to do everything Alex does."

Eric laughed. "Hmm – I don't know which I would prefer if I were a boy. Cookies are sweet to eat, but monkeys have a lot of fun."

"Yeah. I'll probably stick with Cookie, though, since it's the first thing I thought of, right, Cookie?" She tickled Aubie a little and he giggled against her. Alex leaned back and said "googie!"

"Yeah, Aubie is a Cookie like Alex is a Pookie," she teased them and they both giggled and looked up at her pink and yellow glow. "So, Daddy, what kind of "amenities" are we going to be enjoying in these clubs, or can you talk about it in front of the kids?"

"Designer suites set up just for us, world class chefs working in the kitchens at our request, 24 hours a day, private cars at our disposal, every possible convenience and luxury in some of the finest cities in the world."

"That does sound pretty nice. Having some fancy chef cooking for us on these trips will definitely be a highlight. I love Margaret's cooking, of course, but sometimes a little restaurant food is fun. They have things you never have at home."

"Anything special you'd like to request?"

"I had squid ink ravioli stuffed with lobster one time that was out of this world. I wouldn't mind trying a bottle of really, really good wine some time just to see if there's a difference in it and the regular stuff. Hey, are we going to take toys and all that stuff with us all over the country?"

"Well, we have duplicates of some things in the New Orleans house and this house and we might want to add to what's there, but each private suite has a few toys already in it."

"Wow – really?"

"Yes, they're designed just for us, including our kids."

"So the babies won't ever be exposed to the partying, right?"

"Absolutely not – they'll go from the parking garage, to the elevator, the to private suite and see nothing in between."

"Aren't you afraid of the clubs being raided?"

"How would the police even know what they are? The outsides of the buildings are black glass and there are no signs of any kind as to what is in them. There is security on the door and no one is getting in, even with a warrant. Only members with a key can access the parking lots or get into the elevators. People aren't going to be drifting in and out as they would in an hotel or a regular bar or club. There will be plenty of partying inside but you have to jump through hoops to get in."

"OK. So we get shopping days in LA and Chicago, right?"

"Yes, if you're up to going out."

"Oh, I will be. I probably already know the answer to this, but if I wanted to go shopping on Rodeo Drive…"

"Then you go, take your black card, and get anything you want."

"Can I go see the ocean?"

"Yes, you can."

"I'd like the boys to see it, even though they're so small."

"Take lots of pictures and video so I can see them on the beach."

"Yep, we need to do that. We don't have any video of Aubie yet, do we?"

"No, we don't. Remind Bobbie and Bjorn tomorrow if you make it out to the pool."

"I definitely want a pool day. The boys love it."

"Auberon, too?"

"Yep, he's my baby, alright. He giggled like crazy the whole time he was in the water. Do you know, I don't think he had ever been outside until I brought him home?"

"That's terrible."

"Yet another reason why I couldn't leave him there."

"Have you heard from Niall yet?"

"No, not yet, except, of course, for his little contribution to the Wiccaning ceremony."

"Bosth, Mamee!" Alex was done eating.

"OK, Sweetie, go ahead." Alex flew over to the ball pit, which was still lying open on the floor, and dived in. Aubie was trying to turn around to see what Alex was doing, so Sookie turned him so he was facing Alex and could watch. He was fascinated, waving his little arms and giggling now and then.

"What did you think of the changes he made?" Eric was going to proceed slowly here because he knew it stirred something up in her.

"Well, why do I get passed over? What if I don't want to give my title away?"

"Do you want to rule Elfyria, Sookie?" Eric was taking this very seriously because he could feel it was important to her. He also knew more about the situation than he had told her because he was waiting for the right time, and this might be it.

"I don't know. That's what bothers me – I don't know what that would mean and I've never been given the chance to find out."

"So you are saying you want to learn more about it?"

"Yes, I do. I have to tell you what happened with Freyja this morning."

"Alright."

"I saw her in my sleep again. I was on the shore, then She had me fly out to the dragon ship. We went downstairs, but We weren't in the ship anymore, We were wherever Niall lives – the room with the gold pentagram on the floor and the paintings. I said it was Niall's house and Freyja said Niall was just a "caretaker who presumes too much" – that it was My house and always was, and She said "Remember, Titania," but She was talking to Me. I closed My eyes and saw Myself very clearly as Titania, writing in this big Book of Shadows that She said was Mine from 13 generations and She set up an hour glass with golden sand and told me to read as much as I could before it ran out. When it ran out I was to close my eyes and say "trygg i min säng " and it would bring me home – She said it always would, no matter where I am."

"Did She tell you what it meant?"

"No, but I think it means "safe in my bed," right?"

"Yes, it does."

"That's what I thought. Anyway, I wanted to see what all was in the book, so I just scanned through it instead of reading and toward the back I found an ink drawing of you, then Freyja told Me to come home, so I wasn't able to find out why it was there or how Titania knew you."

"I knew Titania, Sookie, very briefly."

"You never told me?"

"I told you I've known you before, Sookie."

"You never told me any specifics."

"You must understand, Sookie, that I've lived for many centuries only telling people what they needed to know, keeping so many secrets I couldn't begin to remember them all. When I found out Titania was your great grandmother, I thought that my knowing her might have been disturbing to you so I was waiting until the right time to bring it up."

"OK, so this is the time – you knew her? Biblically?"

"Yes."

"What happened?"

"She was murdered."

"Do you know who killed her?"

"No, I do not know for sure,. War broke out then and Elfyria was no place to be vampire. I came back and wound up working for Sophie Ann when it was all over."

"Niall killed her, didn't he?"

"I don't know, Sookie, but it was he who benefitted most by her death."

"What would have happened if she had lived?"

"There is no way to be certain."

"But…? I know there's a 'but' coming."

"He might have been replaced as her consort."

"By you?"

"There's no way to know if it would actually have happened. We weren't together that long."

"Is there any chance you and I are related?"

"No, her children were born long before I met her."

"So she was married and a mom and she had an affair with you?"

"Yes."

"She didn't love Niall?"

"I was under the impression that her marriage to Niall was arranged. She found me in the woods one night when I had sheltered in the ground. She found my sword and my clothing hidden and she was sitting with them when I arose."

"Wait - that would have been in 1927, right? Weren't you in America then?"

"I spent most of my time here, but I traveled for various jobs. I have always been a mercenary, Sookie, it's how I made my living."

"When did you get crazy wealthy?"

"I nearly always have been. War pays very well, my Angel. The only times I struggled were when I had to flee with only the clothing on my back, but I often found ways to retrieve my wealth even then. I learned to keep my money in many places and to always be ready to travel."

"Somebody paid you to kill her, but you didn't – that's the part you're not telling me, isn't it?"

"Yes."

"Why didn't you?"

"Everything about her was magickal. Sookie, you are so like her... When I saw her… when she confronted me in the woods, I could never have done it. If I didn't do it, I knew someone else would, so I agreed to stay and protect her."

"But you didn't?"

"I could not taste her food for her."

"She was poisoned with lemon?"

"Yes."

"Confronted you how? What did she say when she saw you?"

"She asked if I was there to kill her. I said yes, and she just looked at me and took off her dress."

"And you what, just fell at her feet and worshiped her?"

"More or less, yes."

"So – WHEW! Alex needs a new diaper!"

"I was going to mention that," Eric laughed.

"OK, let's take them up and give them clean nappies and then we talk more about this right?"

"Right."

They gathered up the boys and headed for the elevator. The kitten was hesitant to go into the elevator, but Sookie said "come on, kitty!" and she ran in behind them.

They took the babies into the nursery and Eric put Alex down on the changing table first, then took Aubie from her so she could change Alex.

"Ooh – stinky, Alex!"

"Thteekee!" Alex laughed.

"Oh, you think that's funny do you?"

"Eeah! Pundy thteekee."

"Um bumby!" Auberon was trying to twist around in Eric's arms so he could watch the diapering process, so Eric turned him around and held him where he could see.

"I can't believe he wants to watch this," Eric said with surprise.

"Yeah, look at him – they love watching each other get changed, don't you, Cookie?"

"MMmaa!"

"Obee wyg Mamee," Alex giggled and chewed on his fingers.

"Yeah, Aubie's a sweet boy, isn't he?" Sookie tickled Alex and she wiped him off. "Eric, should we diaper them or just leave them off and take them in the tub?"

"I say we take them into the tub."

"OK, then Alex is ready. Put Aubie down here," she said as she handed Alex to him.

Eric let her take Aubie and held Alex, naked as a jaybird, up so he could watch Aubie get his diaper.

"So I want to picture this scene, Eric. You rise up out of the ground in the middle of the woods…"

"Yes?"

"Then what?"

"I swam in the river to get the dirt off of me, came out and walked to my clothing, and there she was."

"Describe her dress?"

"It was in two pieces. The top part was made like a vest. It was dark red and heavily embroidered, held with heavy buttons all the way down the front. The under-dress was a kind of white shift with very full sleeves and small buttons down the front."

"So you walk out of the water, naked and glistening in the moonlight, and go for your clothes and she's there in this beautiful gown and who says what?" Sookie asked as she wiped Aubie, who was only wet, and then picked him up and they headed for the bathroom.

Eric continued as he put Alex on the bed and he started the bathwater while Sookie laid Aubie on the bed and shucked her dress. "She said "I know you've come to kill me." I said "you are Titania?" She said, "Yes, I am, and you are the vampire my husband has paid to murder me." She was strangely calm about the whole thing. I said "Yes, I am Erik the Norseman."" He stopped talking as he looked at the new supports for the babies which were lying in the bathtub. They were light blue with turtles on them, almost a full circle cushion with a drop down seat for the baby to sit in.

"Yeah, and?"

Eric leaned in the doorway and smiled. "She didn't speak another word. She pulled at the top of her dress and the buttons fell open as if by magick, in one smooth motion, and she stood before me in the moonlight like the Goddess that she was, and I took her in my arms and we made love in the damp grass. And we rode to her home on the white horse she'd tied in the woods and I closeted in her chamber for the next several weeks and made love to her every night until she died."

"She looked pretty amazing in the moonlight, I guess?"

"Look in the mirror and see for yourself," he said as he kissed her.

"Did anyone know you were there?" Sookie picked Aubie up and Eric picked Alex up.

"Her servants, of course, but I don't know if Niall ever knew, though it would probably explain the poison." He took Aubie from her so she could step in the tub, then she sat down and he handed her Aubie, then floated up in the air and landed in the tub with Alex still in his arms.

"Niall paid you?" She said softly as Aubie was going crazy playing in the warm, but not too warm, water. She picked up two little rubber duckies that were sitting on the side of the tub and floated them in front of the boys, who were fascinated with them.

"He would have, but I never did the job. We never spoke of it after. I think he knew I couldn't hurt her. Almost no one could have – that's why he hired a vampire to begin with. She was much beloved by her people." Eric pulled one of the supports, which were floating in the water, to him and sat Alex in the middle of it. He made his "haaaa!" happy sound, liking the way the cushion wrapped around him, so he could lean back and enjoy the water. Eric helped Sookie get Aubie into his support.

"These are so cute!" Sookie loved the little seats and the way the babies' backs were supported by the cushion. "If he hired an assassin, I guess slipping some lemon in her food isn't much of a stretch. That's why you hate Niall, isn't it – you know what he's capable of?"

"Yes, I do. When I found out that he was your great grandfather, it made me physically ill, Sookie. I felt like I was reliving the loss of her."

"You aren't losing me, Eric, I'm not going anywhere. How did she know where to find you?" She was soaping Aubie up and he was loving the whole process.

"I told you, Sookie, everything about her was magick. It would be nothing for her to seek me out and seduce me. She WAS magick." Sookie handed him the soap and he washed Alex as she took the hand held and leaned Aubie back so she could wet his hair.

"Mamee wath Obee ayr?"

"Yep, Mommy's going to wash Aubie's hair," she teased him. "Eric, why couldn't she save herself?"

"It was her destiny, I suppose. I do know she must have arranged your birth, though, because she named you her heir. If you look through that book, you'll probably find yourself." Eric took the handheld and wet Alex's hair while Sookie soaped up Aubie's soft white hair.

"I can't wait to get my hands on that book again. I think Freyja is planning to take me there frequently for a while."

"That would make sense. And you will learn more about what it would mean to accept your title."

"Yeah, here's the thing – if Titania did specific magick to make me happen, it would be wrong of me to just give that away. Niall can rule until 2027, right? I want the option of taking my rightful place then if I decide it's something I want. I've got 18 years to learn what that would mean. If I give it away at the Wiccaning, though, I'm out." She was rinsing Aubie's hair and he was scrunching his little shoulders and giggling, making her smile.

"Then don't give it away," he said emphatically as he soaped Alex's hair.

"What should I do?"

"Niall made revisions without checking with you – make your own revisions to suit you."

"Like making Aubie my heir, but not saying I'll give the title away at a certain date?"

"Exactly. Of course, in order to do that, you have to announce that you're the True Heir. Are you prepared for that?"

"No, but I might be once I've had some time to think about it."

"What if they try to insist that you take the throne now?"

"If it's my title, I can choose when to take it, can't I?"

"Yes, I suppose you could."

"OK, so I'm going to rewrite the vows and have it so I'm not giving it away, right? You're OK with that?"

"I want you to be happy, Sookie. If it's what you want, we'll try to work it out. At least this way, you have time to learn what it would entail and you can always pass the title on if you decide you don't want it and Auberon thinks he does."

"It could make Niall want me dead, couldn't it?"

"He probably already does, Sookie. I think Freyja is the only thing keeping him from killing you and taking Auberon. If Freyja takes you there again, read as much as you can, every time. The more you know, the better."

"They said Niall owed a debt to the Goddess, right? And that's why he agreed to me being Freyja's? Could the debt that he owed be that he killed Titania and the Goddess let him live long enough for her to reincarnate as me?"

"That's a very solid theory. You should explore that with Octavia, with Freyja and with Dr. Ludwig. Use all the resources available to you."

"I feel like Freyja and Titania are counting on me. And don't worry, Eric, you and my boys come first, but there's more going on here than just us, you know?"

"Yes, I know. It's the same way with my Kingdom. Many people's lives hang in the balance. The better your understanding of the will of the Goddess and what fate might have in store for us, the better. We are who we are for a reason, Sookie, and in your case, I think there are many overlapping reasons that you are who you are in this place and this time."

"I'm going to understand it whether Niall likes it or not. And, by the way, I want to use the name H'Eloise for Aubie – it was Titania's name, not Niall's, and I do want to pass it on down."

"I suspected that might be the case. Do you want to use the name for Alex, too?"

"Honestly, even though they're both entitled to it, I think this should be something special for Aubie – to balance out Alex being a vampire prince, you know? I think that's his destiny – it's what feels right to me. Alex would inherit your Kingdom. Aubie would inherit mine or whatever. I'm not sure what to call it."

"I agree – this has to be why things happened as they did. It feels right to me."


	92. Chapter 92

**[A/N – This is a short, but I hope fun, one, because I need to get back to Entitlement for some reason. I'm writing as fast as I can – hang in there! I might take a night off to watch Bethenny's wedding on BRAVO. I love that girl! Also, Eric can get my rug all wet any time he wants, with or without the werewolf. I live next to a cemetery just like Sookie, so … Sorry, I'm babbling, but DAMN, that is one HOT vampire. **

**One more thing – somebody asked if Bobbie was a spy. Bobbie is Sookie's best friend, doula, confidant, etc. but not a spy. She's awesome, I promise you. Just ask Alex – she's one of his favorite people! Enjoy!]**

**Chapter 92 **

Aubie was having the time of his life in his first family bath. He was used to being in a little pan of warm water all by himself and only for a few minutes at a time. Mama and Dada and Bumby were all in this bath with him and there was a soft pillow wrapped around him and funny little brightly colored things – rubber duckies - floating in front of him. Mama gently washed his head with her soft hands and rubbed that white thing – a bar of soap – all over him and it was fantastic. It was OK when the other Mommy did that, but not fun like this! She and Dada were talking the whole time and he liked to hear Dada talk because it made him feel safe. He might not know the word "safe" yet, but everything about Dada, from his size to his voice to the hard way his arms and chest felt when he held Aubie up next to him said everything was all right and always would be. He never felt that before Mama brought him here.

Bumby was talking, too, and that was something Aubie wanted to do. Every time Bumby spoke to him, Aubie did his very best to say the same thing back to him and he wanted to get as good at it as Bumby.

"Ah, Obee!"

"Ah!" he answered back with a big smile and a giggle.

"Wada, Obee. WADA," Alex said and splashed him a little.

"Wa-wa" Aubie tried hard and thought he did pretty well.

"That's good, Aubie! Water!" Mama said, glowing all over him, pink and yellow. Nobody else in Aubie's world shined bright the way she did and he could tell it meant SHE was special. Anybody could see that.

"NnnDada!" Aubie pointed at Eric and made them all laugh.

"Very good, my son! I am Aubie and Alex's Daddy." Eric loved to hear the boys talk.

"Bumby!" He mumbled a little as he said that word, but it was clear enough for Sookie to understand since he was pointing at Alex and she had heard him say it several times.

"Buddy! Good, Aubie, that's your Buddy! Yeah, that's your Buddy, Alex! You're so smart!"

"Mmamma!" Aubie giggled and smacked and splashed the surface of the water.

"Obee dokkeen!"

"Yeah, Aubie's talking. That's because Alex has been a good boy and teaching him to talk," Sookie said, wanting to encourage Alex to keep prompting Aubie to speak.

OK, this was fun, but now Aubie wanted a hug from Mama so he could lay his head on her shoulder, so he tried to twist around and reach for her. Sookie could tell he wanted to be picked up, so she pulled him out of the support and hugged him to her and he yawned and put his head on her shoulder.

"Uh-oh! Aubie is getting sleepy!" She teased him a little and he snuggled up to her shoulder and just enjoyed the feeling. He yawned again, and this time Alex yawned in response.

"Now that they're clean, they're getting tired," Eric smiled. "Should we finish our bath, or should I dry them off, tuck them in and come back?"

"Hmm – decisions, decisions. They need diapers, too, you know?"

"Yes, they do. I think you should relax and I will take the boys and diaper them, tuck them into our bed, then I will come back and we will have our time together."

"Would you rather wait for me to do that?" Sookie offered

"No, Sweetheart, you relax. I can do it very quickly and be back much sooner. Let me take Aubie from you, and you hang onto Alex until I get back." Eric got out of the tub and quickly dried and wrapped a towel around his waist, then gently took Aubie from her, wrapping him in a soft towel. Aubie rubbed his little nose and was content to put his head on Eric's shoulder and was undisturbed as Eric zipped into the nursery and diapered him, then spoke softly to him as he put him up to his shoulder. Eric pulled down the covers on the bed and settled Aubie down on Sookie's pillow, which felt wonderful to him because it had her sweet scent on it. Eric went back to where Sookie was snuggling Alex and letting him play with the "duggiesth" and Sookie held him up so he could wrap a towel around him. Once Alex was quickly diapered and tucked into bed on Eric's pillow, he came back into the bathroom, lit some candles, hit the lights and slipped into the tub, which Sookie was warming with more water since the level had been low for the boys.

Eric and Sookie snuggled together in the warm water, relaxing for a minute and just getting in tune with each other, even to the point that Eric was pretending to breathe in time with Sookie. The air around the tub gently sparkled with pink energy as love and contentment swirled around them.

"Eric, do you see that?" Sookie asked quietly.

"The little sparkles? Yes, I do."

"Have we ever generated that when we weren't having sex?"

"I think we've generated purple swirls a couple of times when we've been in the tub together."

"What do you think it is?"

"Love."

Sookie laughed softly. "Love? From me, or you, or both of us?"

"If I had to give it a source, I'd say it comes from you, but you give it off when we are together. I think it is you projecting happiness and contentment all around us."

"Have you ever seen anything like that before?"

"No, not really. I have felt whirlwinds of energy from Freyja, and I felt a magickal "aura" of sorts from Titania and maybe one or two others, but these sparkles and explosions are unique to you, my Angel. You are the only one who has taken me to alternate dimensions and fucked me in the air," he laughed softly, "unless Fólkvangr counts as another dimension."

"That's where Her great hall is, right?"

"Yes. I sheltered there, I don't know how long. Nights seemed to last for weeks sometimes."

"Pretty wild, huh?"

"Not as wild as you can be at times, especially when you were in bloodlust the other night. That was the most intense sexual experience of my life."

"Yeah, you passed out," Sookie giggled.

"No one ever did that to me before, yet you have done it twice."

"I saw you get knocked out with a rock…"

"From a hit, yes, but not from an orgasm," he laughed. "You are the only woman, Divine or otherwise, who has ever fucked me unconscious."

Sookie giggled and stretched up to kiss him, and he stretched it out the way he liked to do. She reached between them and began to stroke his cock, which was as hard as she'd ever felt, and she knew he was nearly there. He moved slowly so she could continue her attentions as he sat on the edge of the tub with his back against the wall. Sookie got up on her knees and took him in her mouth, ignoring the slightly soapy taste and really focusing all of her energy into her hand and her mouth. Eric felt the most amazing tingle that began in his cock and then spread upward into the rest of his body. Every muscle came alive in a way he'd never felt as it spread through his abs, his chest, his nipples, down his legs and arms, up into his face and head. It was as if his entire body was being caressed by tiny tongues. with just a hint of spark, all at once. He laughed with delight when it moved into his earlobes and eyelids and he knew Sookie was laughing, too, but she was still concentrating on her hand and mouth. Her tongue was warm velvet, and waves of warmth and ecstasy followed the tingles in a wave outward from the center of his being, which at the moment was sheathed in Sookie's soft, warm kiss. Eric didn't know whether to laugh with delight or weep from the comfort and romance of the feelings that were moving through his body. The waves became throbs, hot and red and deep beneath his skin, massaging his whole body as he seized up, howling, and came. And came. And came. It was the longest release he could remember in his long life. When he finally slid back down into the water, he was panting as if he were out of breath.

"Min Gudinna, Sookie, you are getting so good at that. I could feel that in my whole body – every part of me felt so alive!"

Sookie giggled as she snuggled up to his chest and asked, "do you want to know a secret?"

"Yes?" He really, really did.

"I'm not going to try it tonight, but I have a feeling that I can make you come without touching you." She had an air of such wickedness and daring about her that was just delicious.

"Why do you think that?" He teased back, thinking she was probably over-estimating her new abilities, but who knew until she tried?

"Because I was controlling all those waves. I could start them, stop them, make them morph into something else completely. Sometime, when you least expect it, I'm going to make you come without even touching you."

"You are more than welcome to try, min Vackra Gudinna."

"Oh, yeah? You just never know when I might do it… there might be people around," she teased. "I might wait until you're in a whole crowd of people," she giggled. "Or at the dinner table. Or maybe I won't even be in the same room with you."

"You are becoming very confident, my Angel, but you'll need to put your powers where your mouth was, so to speak," he cracked himself up with that little joke and feigned indignance and stuck her tongue out at him, making him laugh even harder.

"Laugh all you want, my darling husband, but when you least expect it – expect it!"

He loved it when she got sassy. "In the mean time, I'm afraid my only option is to make you come the more traditional way." He grabbed her around the waist and pulled her to him, taking her breath with a long, hard kiss, then impaling her on his lap. He let her wrap her legs around him and moved her up and down with his hands as she bore down rhythmically with all of her attention. He noticed that she was getting very good at that, too, which was wonderful because it would enable her to do magick very effectively. Actually, as he felt another orgasm building, he laughed to himself that it was making her pretty effective at this, too.

She pulled her hair to the side and stretched her neck out to him, saying his favorite words, "mark me!" He bit her hard and she came instantly, bringing him over the edge with her. They were both peaking when he tore his wrist and gave it to her, and that sent them both into a frenzy. They didn't soak the floor this time, but they were both exhausted by the extended ending. He began to recover himself first, and pulled her around in front of him so he could wash her hair. She was utterly spent, so he worked gently but quickly, knowing she'd fall asleep if he let her. She leaned on the edge of the tub as he washed his own hair and they managed to wash each other off without disturbing the mood. Eric let the water out of the tub and then gently rubbed some Chanel No. 5 lotion into her moist skin. He got a big, fluffy towel to wrap around her when she stepped out of the tub and he gently dried her and combed out her hair, then his own and he led her to the bed, where the boys were sleeping soundly. He moved Aubie to the little co-sleeper and put Alex next to him, then let Sookie get into bed and he crawled in next to her, spooning up behind her as she lay facing the babies.

"I'm sorry I'm falling asleep, Sweetie."

"Don't be sorry, Sookie, you need your rest. Let yourself go. When the boys awake, I'll give them their bottles and tuck them back in with you."

"We need a bigger co-sleeper."

"I'll see about having one made that's twin-sized, alright?"

"We'll need a bunch of them."

"Would you rather have special ones made or simply have a crib in our room. The boys are secure enough to sleep in a crib."

"Not yet, OK? I like having them in bed with me when you're not here."

"Alright – I know they'd prefer that, too."

"Actually maybe we'll get rid of the co-sleepers and put them in a crib while you're up, then you move them to the bed, when you go to rest. Being next to each other is comforting, right?"

Eric laughed.

"What's so funny?"

"It's getting hard to keep a secret from you. It was going to be a surprise, but we've already ordered new co-sleepers that will hold both boys and they'll have room to grow."

"Really?"

"Yes. They aren't as pretty as this one, but they'll hold the boys for quite a while and can be used as a play yard and a stand alone… what is that word? It's not basket, it's…"

"Bassinet?"

"Yes, bassinet."

"Oh, thank you! It never occurred to me to look for a special one for twins."

"You'll like these. The babies lay perpendicular to you so they're equally close. It's about half-again as wide as that one and a bit longer. They look very comfy."

"Comfy?" Sookie laughed.

"Yes – isn't that the word?"

"Yeah, I just never heard you use it before."

"I probably picked it up from you. I caught myself saying "lookie" to Alex the other day."

Sookie cracked up at that and he laughed at himself. "You're definitely a daddy! You'll be baby talking with the best of them by the time they learn to walk."

"I would never have believed it, but you might be right. I enjoy hearing them try to speak so much. Alex fascinates me with the way he interprets words, and I am so proud of Auberon when he tries to respond to Alex. Watching Alex teach him is inspiring."

"I know! I love that. I almost wonder if Aubie won't catch up to Alex at some point because of it."

"It's possible. I hope it doesn't go the other way…"

"What – you mean Alex acting younger because Aubie does?"

"I've heard that can be a problem with siblings, where one regresses because the younger gets more attention."

"Not with Alex. He's hungry for new words. Watch the way he pays attention when people are talking. It's like he wants to take the words right out of their mouths and make them his own."

"True. I think that's part of the reason he's so well behaved around strangers. He's listening to what they say, trying to discern the meaning."

"So when are we getting this new co-sleeper?"

"Any day now. Alicia ordered it Tuesday, today is Thursday, so theoretically we might have it before the weekend."

"Good, it will make our lives easier and be safer for them and I know they love being next to each other. Are we going to take it with us as we travel?"

"There will be one in each of our clubs and homes, but we'll have one in the plane to use plus one in case we stay somewhere without one."

"Wow – big sale for that company, huh?" she laughed.

"Yes, and they will benefit many families when we no longer need them."

"Yep, but I hope we need them a long time."

"What do you mean?"

"I hope they don't grow as fast as they're developing speech and stuff. I want my babies to be babies."

"Don't worry, Sookie, they aren't growing at unusual rates, and you always have the girl to look forward to."

"That's hard to imagine right now."

"Not for me. I'm very anxious to have a daughter."

"Uh-huh – let's see how crazy you are about it when she hits puberty and goes boy crazy."

"Our daughter will not be "boy-crazy." She will be a lady, like her mother."

"So you're OK with the idea of your daughter doing what we just did some day?"

"It will never happen. No one would dare."

"You dare…"

"That's different."

"And you've talked about Alex hooking up when he's older…"

"A daughter, particularly a royal daughter, is different."

"Not necessarily – what if she's a warrior?"

"So much the better."

"Or a skank."

"Don't be crude, Sookie, it will never happen."

"OK, you've got a few years to get this through your head – you can't behead every boy that looks twice at her."

"I wouldn't kill anyone for looking…"

"Eric…"

"Let's cross that bridge when we come to it."

Sookie cracked up, but her laughs ended in a big yawn.

"You must sleep, my lovely wife," he said softly and nudged her from behind.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," she laughed softly, but she was fading and let herself sink into it this time.

Eric lay there watching his family sleep for a good 45 minutes, then he went into his office and handled some online banking. He pulled the specs on the airplane up on his computer and considered whether it would be more cost effective to own it or lease it as they would be these next few months. It would mean keeping at least two flight crews on his payroll, and assuming all the repair and maintenance costs on it, where as if they rented, they could continually have a newer model. On the other hand, if they owned the plane, they'd have a better chance of keeping it from being bugged, and that was no small thing. They'd also be assured of its availability at a moment's notice and in their current situation, that was no small thing. The more he thought about it, the more he realized they needed to own it.

It suddenly occurred to Eric that Sophie Ann had owned her own plane. Where was it? He couldn't imagine a regent as acquisitive as de Castro deciding to sell a private plane he already owned. It was too big an ego boost. Eric pulled out his phone and dialed.

"Eric?"

"Yes, Bill. Something just occurred to me. What happened to Sophie Ann's plane?"

Bill was stunned for a minute. "That's a very good question."

"I haven't found any record of it in de Castro's holdings, have you?"

"No, and he would definitely keep a status symbol like that."

"Sandy has never mentioned it, has she?"

"No, she hasn't and her books were in excellent shape when we went over them. Any ideas?"

"Madden either had it hidden, or he sold it and pocketed the money. Somewhere, there is an airplane or a huge chunk of unaccounted for cash."

"Let me talk to some of the people remaining from the old regime and see if I can get a line on it."

"Alright, keep me apprised of any developments."

"Will do."

"Good night, Bill."

"Good night."

Eric had to think about this. On one hand, it could be a simple theft on Madden's part, which would be easy to believe. On the other hand, Eric could think of several uses for a plane kept off the kingdom's books and they were all risky and illegal, which would also be par for Madden's course. Even if they found it, though, it was much too small for their current needs.

In the mean time, Anubis had sent pictures of the private plane they would use and he laughed to himself that Sookie would be blown away by it. She would also swallow her tongue if she saw the costs associated with it. So far, it had only required a few modifications to suit their needs – a California king-sized bed plus a co-sleeper in the master bedroom; a spare travel box, just in case, would be stored underneath; they created more room for the guards to lounge in, and added some couches and tables at the back, where there was still seating for 30 after 22 seats were removed; wifi and satellite TV were added; and they upgraded to a 65 inch TV in the forward lounge. The dining table seated 12 and would double as a conference room and the upper level of the Boeing 747-VIP would be quarters for the flight crew so they could stay with the plane if necessary. The galley they used to prepare meals was also upstairs and there was even a small wet bar with three stools in the forward lounge.

The first class seating for 12 was larger and "overstuffed" compared to the coach seats, though they were plenty roomy, and all were done in nice light blue leather. The overall décor of the plane was shades of light and bright blue with mahogany or dark cherry woodwork. There was light blue carpeting throughout and there were three ¾ baths and two lavatories. He was even arranging for Sookie's favorite items to be ready for her in the Master Bath, which also housed a changing table for the babies.

This was the height of luxury and the plane was guaranteed in good shape though it had originally belonged to a Las Vegas-type singer who had used it for various tours. Everything that needed refreshing had been and it was being serviced from nose to tail. The plane was so large they would be restricted to using major airports, but that would be fine because the clubs were all adjacent to large ones. He had made special arrangements to have it housed and maintained in Shreveport when not in use and he would keep enough crew to work 24 hours on retainer. Because of their travel requirements, he considered it a need, rather than a luxury and the kingdom would pay for it, so there were ways to offset most of the costs. There was simply no other way to move this many people from point A to point B on the schedule they had using commercial flights and this way, the crew worked for him, not an airlines, so he could have proper background checks done.

The background checks were no small thing. He was still expecting a mole to try and move into his employ and was having everyone investigated thoroughly. He was wondering if a more direct approach to Garner would help anything when Aubie woke up and said, "Mmama!"

Eric zipped back into the bedroom to find Aubie sucking his thumb, his big eyes looking Eric up and down they way they always did, waiting patiently for someone to pick him up. Eric scooped him up and said, "Shhh, Auberon, don't wake Mommy. We'll go have a bottle, alright?"

Aubie wrapped his arms around Eric's neck as he put him up to his shoulder, stroking his back gently and speaking to him the whole time. He took a bottle from the refrigerator and took him into the nursery. As he put the bottle into the warmer, Aubie looked up to see what he was doing.

"Ummuhmuh!" was all he could say as he pointed at the bottle and looked at Eric.

"That's the warmer." Eric said softly, "It's going to make the blood warm so it tastes good, then you and I will sit in the glider and drink some blood, alright?"

Aubie just looked at Eric and giggled. Whatever he said was fine with him and before long he was happily curled up in Daddy's arm sucking on a warm bottle. Eric talked to him the whole time, and sometimes Aubie would giggle and smile, then go back to suckling. About three-quarters of the way through the bottle, Aubie took a big breath and shook his head to indicate he didn't want the nipple anymore.

"Are you done eating? Did you have enough?" Eric spoke softly with a big smile on his face. "Would you like to read a book?"

"nnDada!"

"Let's read a book, alright, my son? Let's see – here's a new one. It's called **Dr. Seuss's Wet Pet, Dry Pet, Your Pet, My pet, a book of pettable pets**. Does that sound good?"

Aubie giggled and grinned, mostly because Eric was talking, and he watched closely as Eric opened the book and showed him a yellow string that was one of the illustrated critters' hair.

He read aloud:

"_From there to here, _

_From here to there, _

_Funny things _

_Are everywhere._

_These yellow pets are called the Zeds._

_They have one hair up on their heads._

_Their hair grows fast… so fast they say,_

_They need a haircut every day."_

"See the Zed's hair, Auberon? It's a long yellow hair," Eric lead the baby to stroke the yellow string, "He has yellow hair like you." Eric smiled and stroked Aubie's hair, which prompted him to rub his little head and Eric said, "hair."

"Ah!" Aubie reached up and stroked a long strand of Eric's hair.

"Yes, that's my hair. You and I both have yellow hair, don't we?"

Aubie wasn't sure what he was saying, but he liked the way he said it so he giggled and kicked and reached for Eric's face. Eric took his little hand and kissed his palm, then said, "Shall we read some more, my son?"

"Ah!"

Eric laughed. "I'll take that as a yes.

"_This one, I think, is called a Yink._

_He likes to wink, he likes to drink,_

_And drink,_

_And drink!_

_The thing he likes to drink is ink._

_The ink he likes to drink is pink._

_He likes to wink and drink pink ink."_

"Look, Aubie, the Yink is drinking the pink ink, watch," he pulled a little tab that made the level of ink in the illustrated bottle go down," see, he's drinking it up. All Gone!"

Aubie giggled, kicked and clapped his hands like he'd seen Bumby do. Daddy was talking just to him and it was AWESOME! Eric turned to the next page and Aubie said "Ahhh!" when he saw a big patch of light blue fuzzy feathers on the next pet. Eric helped him stroke the feathers and Aubie loved the sensation. Eric read:

"_Brush! Brush! Brush! Brush! _

_Comb! Comb! Comb! Comb!_

_Blue hair is fun to brush and comb._

_All girls who like to brush and comb_

_Should have a pet like this at home."_

He let Aubie pull a bit more at the feathers then said, "shall we continue?"

Aubie said "Ah!"

Eric turned the page and read:

"_Who is this pet?_

_Say! He is wet._

_You never yet met a pet, I bet,_

_As wet as they let this wet pet get."_

Eric turned to the next set of pages, which had a drawing of an animal with antlers with a real red satin ribbons stretched across them and three paper rings hanging on it.

"Ahhhh!"

"Yes, look at that. It's like a game."

Aubie was pulling at them roughly, so Eric pulled his hands back just a little and read to take his attention away from the book,

"_At our house we play out back._

_We play a game called Ring the Gack._

_Would you like to play this game?_

_Come down! We have the only Gack in town."_

Aubie giggled and drooled a bit, so Eric wiped it with a little towel that was laying folded on the table. They turned the next page and Eric showed Alex where to pet the little sheep with some cotton stuck in the page and showed him a little panel that lifted to up show two kids looking out the window. Aubie tried to pull the panel off the page, but Eric distracted him by reading again,

"_The moon was out and we saw some sheep._

_We saw some sheep take a walk in their sleep._

_By the light of the moon, by the light of a star,_

_They walked all night from near to far."_

Eric turned to the last pages and Aubie love it because there was a big cat-like creature with yellow synthetic fur that he was actually able to grab a hold of. Eric was laughing as he read.

"_And now good night._

_It is time to sleep._

_So we will sleep with our pet Zeep._

_Today is gone. Today was fun._

_Tomorrow is another one._

_Every day from here to there,_

_Funny things are everywhere!"_

"That's all of the story, Auberon. Did you like it?" Eric looked him in the eye and smiled, giving him a little tickle, and he said "Ah!" Eric laughed and put the book back on the side table and pulled Aubie up to his shoulder, patting his little back. Mmm – Aubie liked this best, leaning on Daddy's solid shoulder. He discovered this time that if he put his face in the crook of Daddy's neck that he could really smell that Daddy smell he was beginning to love almost as much as Mommy's smell. Mommy's smell was sweet like peaches, but Daddy's smell, like everything else about Daddy, made Aubie feel safe.

Eric enjoyed rocking Auberon for the little bit it took for him to fall asleep. He tried hard to distinguish the smell of fairy on him but he just couldn't. All he smelled was "his son" not "a fairy." Despite not being able to discern the Fae in him, he was quite sure he would be able to track Auberon should the need ever arise, even without the bond. When he was sleeping soundly, Eric took Aubie back into the bedroom and tucked him back into the co-sleeper with a soft kiss.

"Ah, Dadee!" Alex was waiting patiently for his last bottle, so Eric took him and a bottle back into the nursery and went through the process of warming the bottle, feeding him, and reading the book to him, though Alex was more interested in the fact that the string at the beginning and the fur at the end were "ewwo." Eric laughed to himself as he went to sleep that day that he was surprised he got through that book twice without it being destroyed because of all the "moving parts" it had in it. He enjoyed reading it to both of his sons, and seeing their different reactions. Aubie was more interested in hearing Eric's voice than anything in the book, but Alex was very interested in the book itself, wanting to look at each page very closely, looking for words or letters that he knew. The kitten came bouncing into the room as Eric tucked Alex back in, curling up at his feet as he was snuggled on Eric's pillow.

Before he went to ground, Eric had given Sookie her dose of Ambrosia and she practically licked the inside of the cup. As she went back to sleep, she was licking her lips for the last drops, feeling her mouth tingle everywhere the blue liquid had touched.

"Read, Sookie, Quickly!"

Sookie opened her eyes and she was in front of the big Book of Shadows, wearing the black ritual dress again. The hourglass was sitting next to her, and she instinctively knew to turn it over and begin to read. She flipped directly to the back of the book, looking for the drawing of Eric. The page was written in the most delicate script, obviously done with a quill pen, and she began to read Titania's last entries:

_At last, he is come. He is called Erik the Norseman and Our Lady, Freyja, She Who Shines upon the Sea, has confirmed it is he and forbidden me to speak of Her in his presence. I was stricken with terror to realize that he was vampire as well as Fae, but it was the Fae in him that saved me, I am sure. He was as incapable of harming the True Heir as any Fae would be, or should be. My husband has obviously found a way to overcome his Fae nature, and I shudder to think what horrible price he has paid to do so. _

_As the glorious Goddess, Queen of Heaven, Star of the Sea had foretold, I found him in the woods at the edge of dark, and, shaking in the chill air, I revealed myself to him and took him to my bed where he still lies. He has sworn to protect me every night of my life, so I must keep to my chambers in daylight for as long as I can. I have told my chambermaid to say I am at prayer but that excuse will protect me but a cycle of the moon at most. _

_I have performed the great Rite of Return, and have through divination arrived at the name of my Successor. The next True Heir shall be Sookie Stackhouse. The name is strange to me, but I am assured it is the Will of the Goddess and I have sealed the document with mine own blood and delivered it unto the Council. I can die in peace now if I must, knowing that the H'Eloise line will continue to the 13__th__ generation in spite of my husband's treachery. If only my children would find their way home, but alas, I am told I shall never see them again while I live. I pray Erik will know me upon my Return, for I Love him now more than my own life and knowing we will be together in time is my only source of comfort now._

With tears in her eyes, Sookie turned the page.

_My Dearest Sookie, _

_If You have found these words, You already know I have named You True Heir of Elfyria. I pray Our royal line has survived the march of time, and that there is still a Queendom for You to rule. If Niall Brigant survives, I beg of You, kill him, or he will certainly kill You. He will know that We are One, You and I, and he will see that You never attain Your throne. May the Goddess bless and protect You and Your children from him._

_Love Erik with all of Our heart, Sookie. It could not be My destiny, but by the Goddess and all the Magick I could muster, it shall be Yours._

_Ever After, Dear Child,_

_Titania H'Eloise_

Sookie was crying when she heard Freyja's voice: "Time to go home now, My Angel."

An impulse hit Sookie like a tidal wave, and she wrapped her arms around the Book as she said, "Trygg i min säng, trygg i min säng, trygg i min säng!"

The explosion was like ball lightning in the middle of Sookie's bedroom. Bjorn saw it as it knocked him unconscious. The babies were shrieking and there was panic in the house as Alicia, Octavia, Bobbie, and Amelia came running up and down stairs to see what had happened. Jerry heard the explosion from the chalet and tried to raise Bjorn on the radio, then threw his pants on and ran to the house, calling all stations to be on alert until he found out what happened.

Bobbie got to the room first and went to help Bjorn up. Octavia got there next and she and Bobbie were trying to calm the babies and decide what to do about the glowing book in Sookie's arms. Sookie looked dead, but Octavia was hoping she was just out of her body for a bit.

"What is that thing?" Bobbie asked as Alicia and Amelia made it upstairs.

"I'm not sure," Octavia said, "but I've got a strong feeling it's not supposed to be here."

Bobbie picked up Aubie and Alicia picked up Alex and they were making some progress in getting the boys to calm down.

"What the fuck?" Jerry said as he got to the door. The glow from the book was shining out into the hallway. "Is anybody hurt?"

"Bjorn might be," Octavia said. "I'm still trying to figure out what's going on with Sookie. On the plus side, I don't think we got hit with a bomb."

Jerry went around the bed to check on Bjorn, who was holding his head. His face and forearms looked sunburned, but other than that, he seemed unharmed.

"OK, everybody listen up," Octavia was taking charge. "Jerry, take a chair out in the hallway and let Bjorn get his head together. Bobbie and Alicia, I want you to take the babies downstairs and get them some breakfast. That will make them feel more grounded. Amelia, you and me got a problem to sort out."

"Octavia, do you want me to come back once we get the babies situated?" Bobbie offered.

"Yeah, good idea. It might take all of us to handle this."

"Be right back." She and Alicia went to the elevator and as soon as Bobbie got Aubie situated in his highchair she went back up and let Alicia and Margaret tend to the boys.

Octavia was sitting at the side table, shaking her head, and Amelia was moving around the bed trying to see what kind of book it was.

"Well?" Octavia asked as Bobbie came back in.

"I think it's a Book of Shadows," Amelia said.

"That would make sense. Any idea where she got it?"

"None. It has to be from Freyja, though, right?"

"I'm sure she's connected to it, but there's some kind of heavy-duty spell on that book. I'm thinking it's not supposed to leave its designated spot. Has she mentioned any books to either of you?"

"No, but we haven't had much time to talk," Bobbie said, "because of things with the boys, then the Wiccaning and travel…"

"H. E. L. O… that's all I can see of the text on the front," Amelia said, still trying to figure out the source of the book.

"Amelia?" Bjorn called from the hallway.

"Yes?"

"Is there an apostrophe after the H on the book?"

"Yes, I think there is," she said with some surprise.

"H'Eloise. It says "H'Eloise" on it."

"Did you see it?" Amelia asked

"No, but I could tell from the spelling. It's H'E-L-O-I-S-E, right?"

"Yeah, OK, I can see that now."

"OK, so the book belongs in Fae country, probably Elfyria, and we can reason that it's Fae magick protecting it," Octavia said.

Bjorn and Jerry came into the room, Bjorn beginning to shake off the blast.

"Bjorn, do you remember what happened?" Octavia asked him

"Yes, it was like a ball of lightning that exploded. It actually burned my face and arms a bit."

"I see that. See if there aren't some wooden hangers in the closet there."

Jerry looked in the closet and found two large wooden hangers that were used for Eric's suits.

"Alright, I want you men to each take one of those, and see if you can move Sookie's arms away from the book."

Bjorn took a hanger and walked around to the other side of the bed and Jerry moved toward Eric's side of the bed. Bjorn moved the co-sleeper away from the side of the bed so he could get to Sookie more easily.

"Now be sure you don't touch that metal hook, or let it touch Sookie. Just lift her hands and pull her arms away from the book."

It wasn't easy but Jerry managed to slip the end of the hanger under Sookie's fingers and with a couple of good pulls he managed to get her right arm away from the book. Bjorn tried not to show that he was a bit scared of messing with the force around that book, but he pulled first at her inner elbow to move her left arm out a bit and with some effort got her hand away from the book. It was still laying on top of her glowing, and she was still dead to the world.

"Alright, I know it won't be easy because it's a big book, but I want you two to lift the book with the hangers. It doesn't have to go very high, just lift it enough that it's not physically touching her."

Bjorn and Jerry tried, but the two hangers just weren't enough to lift it. Amelia took two of Eric's suits off of their wooden hangers and gave one to Bobbie, then they got next to the guys and with the four of them working together, they managed to lift the book off of Sookie's chest. The second it was no longer touching her, there was a loud POP and a flash of light and the book was gone.

"Alright, now see if you can wake Sookie up," Octavia directed.

Bjorn checked her pulse, which was on the slow side, then sat next to her and checked the pulse in her throat. "Look at her arms and face – and her chest. It's like she's sunburned."

"That was some strong magick protecting that book. I wonder how she came to have a hold of it?" Octavia wondered

Bjorn patted Sookie's cheek gently and called her name, "Sookie? Hey, Sookie, can you wake up?"

"Hm?" She shook her head and stretched, "What's going on?"

"Sookie, do you remember anything?" Octavia asked her

"About what?"

"About the book you turned up with that created an explosion."

"The Book! Where is it?" Sookie pushed up on her elbows, excited.

"Back where it's supposed to be, I hope. You almost killed your bodyguard, you know, and you couldn't wake up until we got it off of you. That book has some serious magick protecting it. We're lucky the babies weren't hurt."

"Are they OK? Where are they?"

"They're down having breakfast with Alicia. Have you noticed that you're burned yet? Look at Bjorn's face."

"The Book did that?"

"Yes, it did. Now put some clothes on and go check on your children. I'll be very surprised if they don't have some burned spots on them. They were wailing like banshees when we got up here."

"Bjorn, are they OK?"

"I was unconscious. Bobbie, did you look them over?"

"I didn't notice any burns, but we were more concerned with getting them calmed down and putting them in their high chairs so I could get back up here. It took four of us to lift the book off of you, Sookie, and we had to use wooden hangers to touch it."

Sookie dropped her head back on her pillow. "Damn it, I was hoping I'd be able to read through more of it."

"Whose book is it, Sookie?" Amelia was excited at the whole prospect now that everyone was safe.

"It's mine. It was Titania's, but I'm Titania so it's mine and Freyja said it was mine, too, come down to me from 13 generations. I don't see why I have to leave it there."

"Get up and get dressed and we'll talk about it. There might be a way to bring it home, but you got to be smart about it. What did you do this time?"

"I just got this impulse to wrap my arms around it as I said my spell to come home."

"What spell to come home? I haven't heard about this."

"I'm supposed to say "trygg i min säng" three times and it will bring me home to my bed no matter where I am."

"OK, get dressed. We got a lot to talk about. Bobbie and Amelia you might want to get your journals. Sookie, bring yours, and we'll see you down stairs."

"Are we going to swim?" Sookie asked

"Yeah, put your suit on and Bobbie, you bring the plastic pants for the boys. Get movin', Queenie, I need to know what's going on with you."

"OK."

Everybody filed out of the room, but Bjorn just grabbed the chair from the hallway and brought it back in to its normal spot next to the table and Amelia remembered to come back and put Eric's suits back on the hangers before she went down to the kitchen.

"Are you hurt, Bjorn? I'm so sorry."

"I'm OK, Hon, I just worry about you. I don't know what we'd have done if Octavia hadn't been here. We couldn't get near you. That thing had some kind of electric charge to it. It was like a ball of lightning exploded right over your bed."

"Shit, I better get moving and check on the boys."

"Good idea," he said as she scrambled out of the bed and headed for the bathroom naked, then came back out to the dresser to get her swim suit. Bjorn was busy putting the co-sleeper back into place and tried not to think about the instant hard-on he got around Sookie these days, though he was laughing at himself over it, too, and shaking his head.

Sookie came out and grabbed a cover-up and her tote bag that was hanging on one of the chairs, checking inside it to see if her journal was there, but it wasn't so she had to get it out of her bottom drawer. Bjorn walked down the stairs in front of Sookie and they went into the kitchen where everyone except Octavia was gathered drinking coffee. Alex was eating with his fingers and Aubie was fascinated with the first Cheerios he had ever seen.

"Hey, Pookie, wouldn't anybody feed you?" Sookie laughed.

"I tried, but he wouldn't let me. He said it had to be "Bhord an Dadee,"" Bobbie explained.

"Alex, why wouldn't you let Bobbie feed you?"

"Bhord ee dinder."

"This is breakfast, not dinner, Sweetie. Say "Bjorn will feed me breakfast, thank you.""

"Bhord wiw peed me bwepuss, dayoo."

"Then you look at Bjorn and say, "Bjorn, will you feed me breakfast, please?"

"Bhord, wiwoo peed me bwepuss, pweezth?"

"Sure I will, Buddy," Bjorn laughed and moved down to Eric's chair to feed him.

"Ah!" Aubie pointed at Bjorn and giggled and Bjorn said, "Hey, Aubie. Are you eating Cheerios?"

Aubie held a Cheerio up to Bjorn, brought it back and looked at it, then put it in his mouth. Alicia put a plate with salmon, bagels and cream cheese in front of Sookie and she dug in as Octavia came in carrying a big black book.

"Wow, what's that?" Sookie asked as Octavia sat down.

"This is my book. I got a feeling I'm going to have some things to add to it once you start talking. Now, when did you first see Titania's book?"

"Yesterday morning, Freyja took me there and I said it was Niall's place but she said it's my place – he's only a "caretaker who presumes too much," and she put me in front of that book and made this hourglass full of golden sand appear and turned it and told me to read as much as I could then say "trygg i min säng" three times and that would always take me home no matter where I am."

"OK, does anyone else know about this?"

"Eric. I told him last night."

"Alright. What were you able to read?"

"Yesterday I flipped through it to see what all was there, and when I got to the end I found an ink drawing of Eric but then it was time to come home, so I didn't get to read about it."

"And today?"

"I woke up sitting in front of the book and I flipped the hourglass and then went to the back of the book and read as fast as I could."

"How much did you get through?"

"Titania's last two entries. One about meeting Eric, and one directed to me."

"OK, let's hear it if it's something you can share."

"Well…"

"Alright, write it in your book, then slide it down the table to me and I'll read it. Put as much detail as you can in your book."

"OK," Sookie nodded, took a big bite of bagel and fish, then opened her book and quickly wrote everything she could remember. She stopped for another bite, saying, "sorry, I'm starving," and Octavia said "yeah, I'll bet you are. Keep eating, but keep writing, too. I'm afraid you'll lose details if you don't get it all down now."

Bjorn was still feeding Alex, but Alex began to reach for the spoon and after guiding it into his mouth a few times, he said, "Nah, me, Bhord!" so Bjorn let him take the spoon and he tried to feed himself. He did pretty well with it. Bjorn occasionally had to show him to hold it flat, or scrape a bit of food back into his mouth, but basically, Alex was able to feed himself.

"Woogie, Mamee!" Alex said proudly as he put a big spoonful of apples in his mouth.

"Wow! Good job, Alex! What a big boy!" Sookie was thrilled with him, but went back to writing because she knew Octavia was waiting on her. Aubie giggled because he knew something good happened, even though he wasn't sure what it was. He knew it was something Bumby had done, so that was always a good thing. These things on his tray were good things, too, he decided as he put another one in his mouth.

Since Alex was feeding himself, Bjorn fed Aubie some cereal and apples. Aubie got a huge kick out of that process and he'd clap his little hands every time Bjorn gave him a bite of apples.

"Obee wyg ap-poh!"

"Yeah, Aubie likes apples, just like Alex likes apples, " Bjorn said to him with a big smile.

"Abuh!" Aubie said as best he could.

"Apples? Are you saying "apples," buddy?" Bjorn teased him

"Abuh!" Aubie pointed to the dish, sticking his finger in it, tasting it and saying "abuh," again.

"Aubie, that's so good!" Sookie said as she slid the book down to Octavia for her to read.

"Mmamma," Aubie reached for Sookie and she took him out of the highchair. She bounced him on her knee for a minute, but he obviously wanted to be fed, so she helped him turn and she cuddled him and cooed at him while Octavia passed the book over to Amelia.

"Mahdwid, Mahdwid?"

"What do you want, Baby E?" she teased him

"Taytosth, pweezth."

"Alright, Darlin,' give me just a minute and I'll make you some potatoes.'

"Dayoo! Dee-wee-osth?"

"I'll get them," Alicia laughed, reaching into the cupboard and taking the box of cereal down and putting some on Alex's tray, much to his delight.

"Dayoo, Eesh!"

"Wow," was all Amelia could say as she passed the book to Bobbie. "Sookie, what are you going to do?"

"I'm going to think about it for a while, and I'm going to read everything I can every chance I get with that book."

"That's why you tried to bring it with you?" Octavia asked

"Yeah, I figured the more I know, and the sooner I know, the better."

"Well, you're right about that, you just didn't go about it the right way. Don't you think if it was as easy as taking it with you, Freyja would have suggested that?"

"I didn't think about it, I just did it."

"There's a time to act on impulse, and that's when you're in danger and the impulse can save your life. The impulse you acted on today was driven by want, not by survival. What you need and what you want are very different things. The sooner you learn to tell them apart, the sooner you stop making mistakes like this. Do you think you're smarter than Freyja?"

"No, but sometimes I think I must be as smart AS Freyja if I'm supposed to be, you know…?"

"You have the potential to be, but that potential isn't manifest just yet. You've still got a lot of hard work to do."

"May I interject?" Bjorn asked

"Sure, Bjorn, what did you want to say?" Octavia asked him

"Jerry and I have been talking. We want to start drilling Sookie every day to develop her powers. Her ability to shift is a crucial tool in our arsenal and so is her ability to call things and to teleport. We also need to know if she can materialize anything and whether she can make anything invisible."

"Good point. We do need to exercise her powers," Octavia agreed. "You got a plan?"

"Yes. We want to practice with her every day after breakfast. I want her in the pool every night after dinner shifting. I know she needs rest, but she needs practice more. She might be able to cause the boys to shift, too. We don't know if Aubie can shift or not, either, by the way."

"I'll be very surprised if he can't, but we need to find a way to be sure. Our best bet with that is probably the kitten. Speaking of which, where is she?"

"She's outside," Margaret said. "She was at the back door wailing to get out. The last time I saw her she was laying on the patio in the sun."

Octavia looked at the babies, "Alex, where's your kitty cat?"

"GIDDY!" The cat was suddenly scrambling not to fall off Alex's highchair tray, so Bjorn helped it catch its footing.

Aubie squealed with delight and clapped his hands, instinctively knowing his Bumby had made the cat appear.

"Oh, you like that, do ya, Cookie?" Sookie teased him

"Ah!" Aubie giggled. Alex was giggling, too, as the little cat was rubbing its cheek against his.

"Let's put the three of them in the den together. I think that's the best bet for getting Aubie to shift. If he sees Alex do it, he might try," Bjorn suggested.

"Can't we do it later? I want to get some pool time with them," Sookie argued in between bites of salmon and bagel.

"Let's just try it for half an hour, then we take them out to the pool," Bobbie suggested a compromise, "I'll get the video camera and we'll get some fun stuff for Eric.

"Good idea! Alright, I'm ready," Sookie finished up and took Aubie with her as Bjorn brought Alex and the cat.

"Bjorn, if you don't need me anymore…" Jerry started.

"Oh, yeah, Jerry, go get some sleep. Thanks."

"No problem. I already told everybody the crisis has passed, by the way."

"Thanks, Jer."

"Hey, Sookie," Amelia said, "I'm going to go out with Jerry for a bit."

"Sure, Sweetie, go ahead," Sookie encouraged her as she sat on the couch with Aubie.

Bjorn had put Alex and the cat down and was pulling Boss out of the corner as Octavia came in and sat down in the recliner. Bobbie came back in from Sookie's office where they had stored the video camera and got it set up pretty quickly, holding it so she could move it around as she needed to to capture the mayhem. Sookie scooted down on the floor and sat Aubie on her knee right in front of Alex, who was chewing on his finger waiting for Bjorn to unzip the back of the dragon.

"Obee, woogie – DWADON!" Alex tried to prompt Aubie to say dragon, but Aubie didn't understand what he wanted, though he was tickled that Alex was speaking to him. Bobbie pushed an ottoman over under the TV so she was looking back toward Sookie with the camera. Alex flew up over the ball pit and dropped into it, making Aubie squeal with laughter. The kitten went chasing the balls that flew everywhere and Alex turned into a black kitty and chased it. Aubie's eyes were huge as he watched them run after each other, then suddenly there was a yellow kitten chasing the other two.

Sookie shrieked with surprise, but Octavia and Bjorn were thrilled.

"Way to go, Aubie!" Bjorn was very excited. "Good boy!"

"Why is he yellow? Shouldn't he be black like the other two?" Sookie asked

"That's a good question, but focus on the fact that he can shift. This is a good thing," Octavia replied. "Bjorn, have you got any idea why he might be a yellow tabby instead of a Bombay like the other two?"

"I'm wondering if he's seen that kind of cat before. Sookie, were there any cats where he was living before?"

"I don't remember seeing a cat, but I do remember seeing some little toys and a ball of yarn in a corner that I thought looked like cat toys. I thought cats didn't like Fae?"

"They do if it's a Fae cat like this one here."

"Oh, yeah," Sookie said as the yellow kitten came back to her and jumped in her lap. She petted it for a bit and then suddenly she had her baby in her arms again. "Did you have fun with the other kitties, Sweetheart?" she asked him affectionately.

"Ah!" He giggled and gave her a big hug. The other kitties were fun, but he'd rather be in Mmamma's lap than anywhere else in the world he knew.

"That's Mommy's sweet boy! Yeah, Aubie's a sweet boy!" she cooed at him and kissed and tickled him. He squealed with delight and one of the black kitties came bouncing over, reared up on its hind legs and became Alex standing up with his hands bracing him on the couch. "Wow – look at Alex standing up, Aubie!"

Aubie giggled and clapped his hands. "Bobbie, make sure you can see us," Bjorn said as he knelt down between Sookie and the boys and the dino, clapping his hands and holding them open. "Hey, Alex, come here."

Alex turned a little unsteadily and toddled over to Bjorn, only needing to catch himself with his hands once, but standing right back up and continuing to walk.

"Good boy, Alex!"

"His first steps! Bobbie, did you get that?" Sookie was beside herself.

"Yep, got it. See if he'll walk back to you, Sookie."

"Here, Aubie, sit here and watch Buddy," she said as she sat the baby next to her leaning back on the couch. "Alex, come to Mommy!" she held her hands open and Alex toddled confidently back over to her, grinning from ear to ear, he was so proud of himself. Everybody was chiming in with praises for Alex, and Alicia and Margaret came in from the kitchen to watch. "Wow! Wait until Daddy sees this! Daddy will be so proud of you walking!" Sookie beamed at him.

"Wokkeen?"

"Yeah, you're walking! Walk back to Bjorn and show him!"

Alex turned back toward Bjorn and practically ran back to him and everyone, even Aubie, applauded as Bjorn caught him and gave him a big hug and kiss. "What a big boy, Alex! Your Daddy is going to bust when he sees you walking!"

"Dadee wokkeen?"

"Yeah, you'll show Daddy when he gets up, OK, buddy?"

"Eeah, chow Dadee ahm wokkeen!" Alex clapped his little hands as he leaned on Bjorn.

"Nobody tell Eric! We'll bring him in here and let him to walk to him and surprise him," Sookie suggested.

"That's going to be a mighty proud papa," Octavia bragged.

"Mahdwid, Eesha, ahm wokkeen!"

"Yes, you are!" Margaret beamed at him and Alicia said, "good job, Baby E!" as he turned and ran toward the couch, landing on it and giggling, though he almost trampled Aubie.

"Oops, Aubie, you're in a dangerous spot!" Sookie teased him and picked him up so Alex could run back and forth between Bjorn and the couch a few times. The third time up and back, Alex climbed up on the couch and said "Woogie!"

"Wow, good job, Alex!" and other praises washed over him as he giggled and figured out how to back down off the couch and ran back over to Bjorn.

"Ahm a bee boh-ee!"

"Yeah, you're a big boy!"

As he ran back to the couch, Alex noticed the pool outside. "Sthimmeen, Mamee!"

"Swimming? Are you ready to go swimming now, Pookie?"

"Eeah!" Alex squealed with excitement.

"You want to go swimming, Aubie?" Sookie gave him a big kiss and nuzzled him.

Aubie didn't know what she meant, but he said "ah!" just to go along with the program.

Alicia put a plastic cover over Alex's diaper and Sookie put one on Aubie. Bjorn took the camera from Bobbie and got the tripod from the closet in the den so he could set it up by the pool. Bobbie took Alex and followed Sookie and Aubie out to the pool.

"Babee! Ewwo duggie!"

"Yellow ducky? Let's see if we can find your yellow ducky," she chatted with him as she carried him over to the rack of pool toys. "OK, here it is, it fell over in the back.

Sookie waited until Bjorn had the camera set up before she waded into the water with Auberon. "Can you see us, Bjorn?"

"Dead center!"

"OK, are you ready to get dunked, Aubie?"

"Ah!"

Sookie bent her knees and said, "Woo!" as she took Aubie down to his chest. Aubie shrieked with delight and clapped his hands. Bjorn was looking at the display on the camera and cracking up. He never thought he'd see a baby that liked the water more than Alex, but Aubie might just beat him in that. That kid was having the time of his life.

Bobbie had Alex floating in his ducky and he wanted to paddle it a bit himself, so she stayed next to him but didn't pull him around until he asked her to. When he got tired of that, he said "sthimmeen!" and she took him out and let him swim in the water unaided. "Woogie, Mamee!"

"Wow, look at you, Pookie! Good job!" she said as he approached her and she picked him up so she had a baby in each arm. "Did you see Buddy swim, Aubie?"

"Ah!" he giggled and clapped his hands then reached over to hug Alex and Alex hugged him back and kissed his cheek. "Aww, sweet boys! That's good boys, being sweet to each other." Both boys beamed as she bragged on them then Alex said, "eh, Babee!" and Sookie let him swim back to Bobbie as she held Aubie so he could see.

"You want to try to swim, Aubie?"

"Ah!"

"OK, come to Mommy!" She let him go and held her hands open and he managed to swim toward her a bit. "Good job! Can you do it again?"

"Ah!" He giggled, having the time of his life.

Sookie let him go again and backed up, then kept backing up as he swam to her, until she got a sense that he was tired and she picked him up and snuggled him. He yawned as she held him so she headed for the steps out of the pool, and Bjorn was waiting for her with a big towel to wrap him in. He moved as if he wanted to feed, so she said, "you want to eat, Darlin'?" and put him to her breast as she sat at Bjorn's table and drank some sweet tea as Aubie fed for about half an hour then dozed off. She held him for a bit, then took him into the playpen in the den, which was just inside the sliding doors so he was still visible. By the time she got back outside, Alex was wanting to feed, so Bobbie handed him up to Sookie and she fed him at the table, chatting with Bjorn and cooing at Alex until he fell asleep, too. She settled him next to Aubie and the kitten wanted into the playpen, too, so she lifted her in and she curled up at the boys' feet.

Bjorn had thrown some mattresses into the pool when she got back and she and Bobbie were able to float and talk for quite a while, then everyone had salad with grilled chicken for lunch and by the time that was done, the boys were up again and wanting to play as soon as they had fresh nappies. This time Alex was showing off swimming at vampire speed, so Sookie put Aubie in the yellow ducky for a while and he was very happy to float for a bit while Bobbie pulled him around. Sookie was keeping an eye on Alex because she wasn't sure how much is too much and she didn't want him to suddenly give up and sink before they could get to him. At one point, though, Alex took to the sky and flew to Bjorn, who just luckily had a towel on the table to catch him in.

"Are you getting tired, Alex?"

"Nah, dokkeen wif Bhord."

"You just want to talk to me a while?"

"Eeah."

"OK, we can just sit and talk. Did you have fun swimming in the pool?"

"Eeah, an Obee."

"Yeah, Aubie's having fun in the pool, too, isn't he?"

"Eeah, me sthimmeen dood."

"Yeah, you were swimming good. Wait until Daddy sees you walking and swimming like a big boy."

"Dadee sthimmeen ina poo."

"You want Daddy to come swimming in the pool? He might do that if you ask him. When he wakes up and feeds you dinner, you ask him to swim in the pool, and I'll bet he says 'yes.'"

"Bjorn, is he bugging you?" Sookie didn't want Alex to distract him if he needed to be focused.

"He's fine, Sookie, we're just having a little guy talk, right, Alex?"

"Eeah, me dokkeen wif Bhord."

"What are you talking to Bjorn about?" Sookie teased him.

"Dadee sthimmeen ina poo."

"I told him he should ask Daddy when he feeds him dinner."

"Yeah, he'll probably swim tonight once you guys are done with the tailor."

"Oh, I forgot about that."

"It won't take long, that tailor is really quick. He handled Jason and Eric real quick when they got their wedding suits."

"Really?"

"Yep, you'll try on a couple of suits, he'll make a mark or two on the cuffs and sleeves and you'll be on your way."

"If you say so," Bjorn laughed.

Amelia came out from the chalet then, saying, "hey, everybody!"

"Hey!" Sookie said, and Bobbie replied, teasing, "it's about time you got out of bed!"

"Mee-ah!" Alex was excited to see her.

"Hey, Alex. Aren't you swimming?"

"Me sthimmeen dood!"

"You were? Well, come show me how good you can swim!" She bent over to take him from Bjorn.

"Oday!" He was waving his little arms with excitement, knowing he had a fresh audience.

"You won't believe what you missed earlier," Sookie laughed.

"What did he do?"

"Well, both of them, actually. Aubie turned into a little yellow tiger cat."

"Wow!"

"And Alex was walking!"

"Walking! Can you walk, Alex?"

"Eeah, me wokkeen dood!"

"Take him over in the grass and let him show you, Amelia!" Bobbie suggested

"Do it over there so the camera will catch it," Bjorn told her.

"Cool, let's see this," Amelia laughed. She set Alex down on a spot just out from Bjorn's table toward the summer kitchen, then she walked down the side of the pool a bit and knelt down. "OK, Punkin', come on!"

Alex pushed up on his hands and feet, stood and got his balance with a little effort, then ran straight to her. Everybody applauded and cheered for him and he was about to bust. Amelia picked him up under the arms and swung him in a circle, making him squeal with laughter.

"Mo thirco, Mee-ah!"

"Alex, tell her, "do it again!" Sookie coached him.

"Dooid uhden, pweezth!"

"OK, Punkin', here we go!" She laughed and swung him around again.

Aubie was tickled pink with the happy vibes Alex was pouring into the bond and so was Sookie. "You like that, Cookie?"

"Ah!"

Sookie pulled him up out of the ducky and swung him around in the water, to his sheer delight, then she took him over to the steps and sat down, giving him some toys that Alicia had left there for them – brightly colored blocks in shades of light blue, green and yellow that stacked to make a tower and some little monsters that squirt water - and she showed Aubie how to fill up a block and pour water from one to the other. Aubie was fascinated by the process, and almost able to do it by himself if there wasn't too much water in it. Amelia carried Alex into the pool and sat next to Sookie, letting the boys sit between them and play with their toys.

"So you've had an eventful day already," Amelia teased her.

"Yeah, one of these days nothing new is going to happen and I'm not going to know how to handle it," Sookie laughed. "I can't believe they're doing all this stuff so early on."

"It makes them a lot safer, though, Hon. Jerry and Bjorn are very relieved that the boys are showing such abilities."

"Yeah, I can see that. I just don't want to miss out on the baby stuff."

"You won't. I honestly think you're just going to get an extended toddler phase."

"Alex is going to start reading early. Eric had an alphabet book out the other night and do you know Alex pointed at the B and said "Bobbie has a B in it?""

"Wow – Eric didn't tell him that?"

"No, he read the first few pages and once Alex got the idea, he came up with that."

"You're a smart little monkey, aren't you, Alex?" Amelia teased him.

"Ahm sthmard! An Dadee!"

"You're smart? And Daddy what," Sookie asked, "Daddy is smart?"

"Eeah, Dadee ith sthmard."

"What about Mommy?" Sookie asked playfully.

"Mamee pundy!"

"Mommy is funny. I knew it – I swear Amelia, sometimes he thinks I'm the funniest thing in the world."

"He gets that from his big hunky daddy," she laughed.

"Yeah, I wonder if Aubie is going to be that way. Do you think Mommy is funny, Aubie?"

"Mmamma!" He reached up for her and she pulled him into a hug and gave him a big kiss on the cheek, then he pressed his mouth to her cheek.

"Aw – are you giving Mama sugar, Aubie? That's a sweet boy!"

"Obee wyg kitheth!"

"Aubie likes kisses – don't you like kisses, too, Alex?"

"Eeah, Obee wyg mo kitheth."

"Aubie wants more or Aubie likes them more than Alex?"

"Obee wyg kitheth modan Awegs."

"What do you like most, Alex?" Sookie teased him.

"VBEE!" Alex yelled, throwing his arm up and cackling wildly.

"Good boy, Alex, VíG!" Bjorn said behind them, making everybody laugh.

Aubie just looked at Alex and at Bjorn, and laid his head on Sookie's shoulder. "You're not going to yell "víg," too, Aubie?" Sookie was surprised.

"Aubie says he's a lover, not a fighter," Amelia laughed.

"I think you might be right about that. I hope Daddy's OK with that," Sookie said.

"He is, Sookie. He knows they're different and he's handling it," Bjorn assured her.

"He says that now – let's see if he says that when they're 17," Sookie said, none too sure about that.

"I'm not worried about that at all. I'm worried about how he handles it at the next vampire function," Bjorn said. "While you're learning your magick, Sookie, you need to find a shield so it's safe to take Aubie around vamps."

"You're right. Next time I get a hold of the book, I'll look in the spells section."

"Too bad your attempt this morning didn't work," Amelia said.

"Tell me about it – we could be going through it right now."

"Yeah, but then you wouldn't be out here enjoying your kids, Sookie. There's a time for everything, this is the time to play. You'll probably see it again tomorrow morning," Bobbie said from her mattress at the other end of the pool.

"I thought you were asleep!" Sookie laughed.

"I think I was for a minute, but mostly I've been thinking about your little buddies."

"Come up with any new ideas?"

"Yeah, I think Freyja's plan is right on schedule now."

"Why do you think that?"

"Because you're learning magick now that you don't have the original motivation anymore."

"Huh?"

"You only decided to learn magick when you found out about Aubie. You've got him, but you're still spoiling to get your hands on that Book of Shadows. She's got you where She needs you to get you to learn your lessons, and She's been pretty creative and entertaining in teaching them to you."

"Such as?"

"The ladies' room when you floated out of your panties," Bjorn said and then cracked up.

"Yeah, and disappearing from Fangtasia…" Amelia added.

"And knocking your ass, and Bjorn's too, out this morning," Bobbie continued. "You're getting big lessons, and that doesn't even touch on the wild sex energy. Are you writing this stuff down?"

"Not really. Eric has written some things, but I only occasionally do."

"Sookie, you have to get this stuff on paper. What if Titania hadn't written everything down for you? What if there's another Sookie some day who needs to know what you've been through? What if your own daughter has a baby some day, or your boys have wives who need to know how to raise a hybrid baby?"

"I never even thought about that. I was just always thinking I was writing things down so Ludwig and Niall could check up on me."

"That's not why you keep a Book of Shadows, Sookie," Amelia told her. "You can pass on lessons you learn to someone else on down the line. Wouldn't you like to spare your daughter from going through some of these things?"

"Yeah, I guess I would."

"Think of how much easier your life would be if your Gran and your Mom had written down some things about raising you, Sookie," Bobbie added. She and Amelia had talked about getting through to Sookie how important her Book could be, and they were going to stay on her to work on it.

Sookie realized Aubie was falling asleep. "My buddy here needs his nap before dinner time."

"Yeah, Alex is slowing down, too," Amelia confirmed.

"OK, fresh nappies and naps before dinner," Sookie laughed and they brought the boys out of the pool. Bjorn helped them wrap the boys in towels and Bobbie rounded up the pool toys and put them on the rack. Bobbie took towels and dried Sookie and Amelia off while they held the boys and when everyone was at least drip-free, they moved into the den. Bobbie changed the boys while Amelia went upstairs to check on Octavia, who had gone to lie down after lunch. Sookie slipped a white terry cover-up over her head and helped Bobbie get the boys put down in the playpen with their kitten.

"Bobbie, do you think we should put a crib in here?"

"They do nap in here a lot. It would be easier to get them in and out of."

"We could get one on wheels and probably slide it in and out of the closet…"

"I'd just stick it in the dining room and bring it in when you need it. We only use the dining room once in a blue moon."

"Hey, what exactly is a blue moon?"

"It's when you have a second full moon within one calendar month."

"Does it have anything to do with magick?"

"Not that I know of. It's just a really rare occurrence. I think it's supposed to be a good time to make wishes, though," Bobbie explained as they went into the kitchen.

They were just sitting down and Margaret was serving sweet tea when Amelia and Octavia came out from the elevator. Bjorn and Jerry came in through the sliding door, and Jerry had a couple of suits on hangers.

"Hey, Alicia, where are we going to see the tailor?" Jerry asked.

"I'm just going to close the living room curtains and have you guys set up in there. Do you want me to hang your suits up in the living room? I've got a rolling rack up in there."

"Yes, please," he said with a smile as Alicia took his suits into the front room.

"Bjorn, why don't you run up and get your suits before we start dinner," Alicia suggested.

"OK, I'll be right back," he said as he headed back to the elevator.

"Margaret, it smells fantastic in here! What are we having?"

"Well, I know it's a bit warm for this, but I baked a turkey. I want you and the boys to eat some good protein. I know you have rare steak all the time, but I just think this will do you all some good."

"Did you make dressing and potatoes and all?"

"Yes, and there's even ambrosia salad."

"YAY!"

"I hear my lovely wife!" Eric said as he came through the kitchen.

"Hey, Sweetie!" Sookie grabbed his face in both of her hands as he bent to kiss her and she kissed him back hard. "I'm so glad to see you!"

"Rough day?" He asked.

"Eventful, anyway. I've got some surprises for you after dinner."

"Where are the boys?"

"Still napping. They'll be up in a bit."

"Alright, I'll wait."

Sookie laughed at him, "I know it pains you, Eric, but they'll be up in a minute."

"Seeing my sons is one of the two best parts of my day. The other is seeing my beautiful wife."

"You're in a good mood tonight," Sookie said.

"I had very pleasant dreams today."

"You did?"

"Yes, I dreamt my family was all playing in the sunshine, laughing and swimming."

"We were. Maybe you were having a psychic vision of us."

"That would be nice. I hope you were having as good a time as I saw in my dream."

"The day had kind of a rough start, but it did end up with us all having fun in the pool. Bjorn and Bobbie took some great video today, so you'll get to see some of it."

"Wonderful! Now, why did the day have a rough beginning?"

"OK, you know the Book I told you about?"'

"Yes."

"I tried to bring it home with me and it didn't work out too well…"

"Huh, that's an understatement!" Bjorn said as he came through the kitchen with his suits, which he handed to Alicia.

"Yeah, sorry, Bjorn," Sookie said sheepishly. "Does your head still hurt?"

"The headache is gone, but there's still a knot on it."

"What did you do to Bjorn?" Eric was concerned now.

"Well, when it was time to come home, I got this urge and I just wrapped my arms around the book and it kind of caused… an explosion."

"An EXPLOSION?" Eric didn't like the sound of that at all.

"Yeah, it knocked Bjorn out and left some minor burns on us all…"

"The boys were burned?"

"Just slightly, you can't even see the marks since they've been in the sun."

"They are not injured?'

"No, it mostly scared them, I guess. I don't remember it because I couldn't wake up."

"Bjorn, explain?"

"She was lying there as if she was dead with this big book laying on her chest glowing. It had an electric charge to it. We wound up having to take wooden hangers to pull her arms away and lift it off of her and as soon as it wasn't touching her anymore it disappeared with a loud "pop.""

"How did you know what to do?"

"Octavia directed us."

"Thank you, Octavia, I'm so grateful you were here," Eric said sincerely. "How did you know what to do?"

"Well, it was just common sense, really. It wasn't going to let Sookie come all the way back, so we had to make it let go of her, or her let go of it, and nobody could get near it, so wood was the logical thing to try and touch it. We had a good talk about it after so I hope Sookie won't follow an impulse like that again."

"Yeah, I should have known there was a reason Freyja didn't just give it to me. It's apparently got heavy duty magick protecting it."

"Did you learn anything new from it?"

"Yeah – anybody know where my journal is?"

"It's in the den, Sweetie, I'll get it for you," Bobbie said as she got up. She was back in just a moment and handed it to Sookie, who turned to the pages about Eric and her and handed it to Eric to read.

Eric read a bit, then said, "excuse me for a minute," and quickly went into the den so no one would see him cry. Sookie followed him, and sat on his lap, hugging him tightly as he continued to read, bloody tears staining her terry dress.

"She knew – the whole time I was with her, she knew she was going to die."

"Yes, but she loved you, and I love you and Freyja loves you and it's all finally coming true."

"Yes, it finally is."

"Dadee!"

"I've got something that will cheer you up," Sookie laughed, "stay right here." She popped up and went to the playpen. Aubie and the kitten were still asleep, so she picked Alex up and knelt in the middle of the room with him. "OK, Alex, go to Daddy!" Right on cue, Alex ran across the carpet to a thrilled Eric.

"Excellent, Alex! Very good, my son!" Eric kissed him and held him up above his head. He was beside himself with pride as he hugged him to his chest. "How long has he been doing that?"

"He just started this morning and we actually got his first steps on tape, I think."

"This is wonderful! Is that the surprise you had for me?"

"That's one of them…" as she spoke the black kitten jump up on the rim of the play pen then down on the floor, the yellow kitten following its movements exactly and bouncing over to Eric and Alex. It jumped up on Eric's lap and became Aubie and only a vampire could have moved quickly enough to catch him. Aubie was giggling wildly and Alex giggled and clapped his hands. "And that's the other."

"So he can shift, too?"

"Yep."

"Alright…"

"It's a good thing, Eric," Bjorn said from the doorway.

"Yes, I suppose it is."

"Interesting that he turns into a yellow kitten, but being able to shift is a great advantage."

"Any ideas about that?" Eric asked Bjorn

"He must have seen a yellow cat somewhere before, probably at his Fae home."

"It would have to have been a Fae cat, like this one," Sookie explained.

"We should probably eat now, Sookie, so we'll be ready for the tailor, then I want you to practice shifting tonight," Bjorn suggested.

"Good idea," Eric agreed. "My boys must be very hungry!"

"Eeah, ee dinder!" Alex said enthusiastically.

"Ah!"

"Aubie agrees," Sookie laughed.

Eric stood up with a baby in each arm and they all went into the kitchen. Bjorn brought the high chairs from the pantry and helped Eric get them situated. When everyone was seated, Alicia put plates of food in front of each baby. Before Eric could move, Alex had the spoon and was feeding himself turkey and gravy. "Mmm, dood dinder, Mahdwid!" he said with his mouthful. Eric was stunned.

"Yeah, he learned that today, too," Sookie explained. "He'll still need a little help keeping it in his mouth, but he does pretty well."

"So I see. Auberon, can you read yet?" Eric joked, and Aubie giggled and opened his mouth wide so Eric could feed him some turkey and gravy puree, which he loved.

"He gets such a kick out of being fed. I don't think he ever had solid food until he came here," Sookie observed.

"He's very small, so you are probably right. I think his life here is much more fun. He laughs even more than Alex," Eric laughed.

"That's because he's got Alex to entertain him. He loves to see Alex do stuff, don't you, Cookie?"

"Ah, Bumby!" Aubie pointed at Alex.

"Yeah, Buddy!" Sookie repeated, teasing him and stroking his cheek. "He was right there cheering Buddy on today when he learned to walk, weren't you, Sweetheart?"

"Ah!"

Alex looked at his dish closely then asked, "Dadee, wadiz dat?"

"Ask Mommy, Alex, she knows more about food."

"Mamee, wadiz dat?"

"Turkey and gravy, and that's dressing, and cranberry sauce, and mashed potatoes," She pointed out each little pile of food.

"Ah wyg dwayvbie!"

"Yeah, you always like gravy when you get it, don't you?"

"Eeah, dood. Obee wyg drayvbie?"

"I think he did. Give him a bite, Daddy and see if Aubie likes gravy."

Eric gave Aubie a big bite of turkey and gravy puree and he giggled, kicked and clapped his hands.

"Obee wyg dat!"

"Yes, my son, I believe Auberon likes gravy. You both do."

"Wadiz dat?"

"What is what, Alex?"

"Wadiz Bohf?"

"What is both? You and Aubie together. Alex and Aubie both."

"Awegs an Obee bohf!"

"Very good, Alex. You and Obee both like gravy."

"Me an Obee bohf wyg dwayvbe."

"I just love watching the little wheels in his head turn when he learns things," Octavia laughed.

"He'd take the words right out of our mouths if he could," Sookie laughed.

"It's very enjoyable to read to them both, but it's a very different experience. Alex looks at pages and searches for things he knows – letters and colors," Eric mused, "but Auberon listens to the sound of your voice. I think I could read the phone book to him and it would mean as much, but he's very tactile."

"Tactile?" Sookie asked.

"Yes, he's very interested in touching things. Auberon likes to experience and he's very open, but Alex wants to command, so he's trying to acquire the skills to do that."

"You can tell that already, Daddy?" Sookie teased him.

"They might change as they grow, of course, but that is how they seem to me right now. I find their similarities and their differences fascinating."

"I'm just relieved they get along. Alex gave Aubie a hug and a kiss today, didn't you, Pookie?"

"Obee wyg kisthesth."

"He also said Aubie likes Kisses more than Alex does," Sookie reported.

"Alex told you this?" Eric asked.

"Yep, when I asked Alex what he liked more than kisses he said…"

"VĺG!" Bjorn and Alex said together and everyone laughed, Aubie most of all.

"Aubie says he's a lover, not a fighter," Amelia joked again and Eric particularly got a kick out of that.

"Mr. Northman, the tailor will be here soon," Alicia reminded him as she came back into the kitchen.

"Good, good. I want him to check the fit on a couple of my suits. Let me run up and get them. We're using the living room, yes?"

"Yes, and I was hoping Mrs. Northman would try on some dresses while you're doing that?"

"Oh, sure, Alicia!"

"Can I watch? I want to see what you're going to be wearing this season," Bobbie teased her.

"Yeah, sure. I'll need help with the boys."

"Sookie, just remember, I want you back out in the pool after," Bjorn reminded her because he wasn't going to let her blow this off. It was too important.

TBC


	93. Chapter 93

**Chapter 93 **

As soon as Eric had paid the tailor, everyone congregated out at the swimming pool, sitting around chatting while the men put their suits away and came back. Alex and Aubie were in the playpen with some toys, the most popular of which was the little shape-sorting house, which Alex was showing to Aubie as he sat propped up against one of the supports.

As soon as Bjorn came out back he was on Sookie's case. "OK, Sookie, in the pool."

"Alright," she said with just a little irritation, pulling off her terry cover and diving in just as Jerry came back. Both of them pulled chairs right up next to the pool as Eric came back in blue swim trunks and a white tank shirt. The various women pretended not to notice how gorgeous and big Eric was in his swim trunks, but he was smiling to himself knowing they were all admiring him and he knew Bjorn and Jerry were feeling minor twinges of jealousy, too. He liked that.

"OK, Bjorn, what do you want me to do?" Sookie called from the pool.

"You said a mermaid is easiest, right?"

"Yeah."

"Start with that, then try a dolphin, then a shark."

"Why a shark?"

"It's about the same size as a dolphin, but it's an actual fish. Dolphins are mammals, so it's not that far from a mermaid. You won't be able to stay that way long because this is not salt water. Just see if you can get there, then come back to mermaid."

"Alright," Sookie dived under and swam toward the deep end of the pool. She looped back then on her second time down, she came up as a Mer, splashing Bjorn purposely with her tail.

"Get as smart as you want, Sookie, just do this," Bjorn knew she was being a little belligerent, but this ability was too important to let her be lazy about honing her skills.

The mermaid did another dive into the deep end and came up a dolphin, which tail-walked as everyone applauded, including Eric, who was sitting with his feet in the pool. It took three passes up and down before the dolphin became a shark, but it was obviously struggling, and suddenly Sookie was herself, treading water and gasping for breath.

"Sookie, are you alright?" Eric was alarmed at seeing her struggle for air that way.

"Yeah, but salt-water fish are out in the pool. The chlorine burns my gills," she explained, still struggling for breath.

"OK, Sookie, catch your breath and let's try some other aquatic animals that breathe air then. Do you think you can do a sea otter?"

"I don't know, let me see…" she took a couple of deep breaths, dived deep again and came up as an otter but couldn't maintain it more than 30 seconds or so. As she became herself again, she went to the side of the pool next to Eric and took his hand as she laid her head on his thigh and tried to catch her breath as he stroked her wet hair.

"Tired, Sookie?" Bjorn asked her, noticing Bobbie was clearing the toys from the playpen because the boys were asleep.

"Yes, very."

"Can you do a mermaid again, do you think?"

"Maybe."

"OK, shift to a mermaid and just play around for a while. Try to do at least 10 minutes, even if you just hang on to the side of the pool."

"You can do it, Sweetheart," Eric assured her with a smile and she nodded, diving again and coming up as a mermaid. She swam up and down the pool several times at a relatively slow pace, just enjoying the freedom of slipping through the water so effortlessly. She playfully splashed Eric, who took off his tank shirt and dived into the water with her.

Bjorn and Jerry looked at each other and nodded. Jerry motioned for Amelia to follow him and they headed for their chalet. Alicia and Margaret went into the house, and Bobbie went over to stand with Bjorn. "We're going to leave them alone, I guess?"

"Yeah, I'll tell him just to have her maintain it as long as she can and we'll give them some privacy. He'll give her a good reason to stay in Mer form, I'm sure," Bjorn laughed.

Eric and Sookie came up in the middle of the pool in an embrace.

"We'll see you tomorrow, Eric, just have her stay in Mer form as long as she can," Bjorn said as they waved and went toward the house.

"Yes, good night, Bjorn, Bobbie."

"Good night, guys!" Sookie dived again and let Eric chase her playfully. Sookie came up for a deep breath and let Eric catch her, kissing him hard as they floated to the bottom of the pool in each other's arms. When they came up for air, Sookie was reminded exactly how Mermaids were able to have sex. Wild, wet, Viking vampire sex. They spiraled around each other, thrusting hard and churning the water as they laughed and tumbled through the water fucking like only a vampire and a mermaid can.

Eric was impressed at how long Sookie was able to maintain her Mer form. They managed to have sex three wonderful times before she switched back out of sheer exhaustion, both of them laughing with delight. Eric scooped her up and carried her out of the pool.

"Maybe we should do it that way all the time?" Sookie joked as Eric wrapped a towel around her.

"No, I would miss your pretty legs too much. I like my lovely wife just as she is."

"You always say the perfect thing, you know?"

"I'm just stating a fact, my Angel. Let's take the boys and go upstairs."

"Let's try something. Give me Aubie," she suggested as Eric bent over to the playpen. He gave Aubie to her, then picked up Alex. Sookie said, "Hang on!" and wrapped her free arm around him, and he wrapped his free arm around her.

"Bedroom!" Sookie said suddenly and the four of them were instantly in their room with a light popping sound.

Eric was stunned. "Sookie! What did you do?"

"I just wanted to see if I could transport us all at once. It wasn't very far, but I did it!"

"Yes, you did. Give me some warning the next time, my Angel," Eric laughed, partly at himself because she surprised him so, and partly out of delight that she always had some new surprise or power that made her so special. He kissed her and the boys woke up giggling. "Look who's awake!" Eric laughed again and they put the boys in the middle of the bed and took turns with quick showers to get the chlorine out of their hair, each taking a turn watching the boys. Sookie smiled to herself the entire time she was in the bathroom because she could hear Eric tickling the boys and making animal sounds as he played with them. The boys giggled and squealed and just as she was wrapping a towel around herself Eric called that he was taking them for fresh diapers. She combed out her hair and went back into the bedroom, putting on a little black nursing gown because she was pretty sure she was going straight to sleep once she fed the boys again, because she was exhausted.

"Here is Mommy!" Eric said to the boys as he brought them back into the bedroom. "Alex is asking for "Mamee ee."" He gave each boy another kiss and helped Sookie get into position to feed them.

"I expected that," Sookie laughed as he knelt on the bed and let her get Aubie into place first. "Alex can float and watch while Aubie gets diapered, but what did you do with Aubie while Alex was getting changed?" she asked as she got Aubie balanced on her left leg, then reached for Alex with her right arm as Eric explained.

"I sat him in the glider with their little blue bear and he was too busy looking it over to notice I was changing Alex. He was trying to pull its fur off," he laughed. "Will you be OK for a minute – I'll shower very quickly."

"Yeah, we'll be fine, won't we guys?"

The boys giggled a bit but neither stopped nursing, and Sookie was only mildly surprised when they both took blood at the same time. Eric was back very quickly, combing out his hair and putting on the blue and lavender striped boxers.

Sookie whistled at him and said "SE-XY, Daddy," with a laugh.

"They do look rather good on me," he preened in front of the mirror a bit, "my wife has very good taste."

Sookie cracked up at that as Eric came toward the bed, but said "wait, before you lie down, will you see if there's an RM in the fridge?"

"Of course, Sookie, let me see…" He went around the bed and found one RM in its original bottle and a couple of bottles for the boys plus a covered dish on the top of the fridge that said "for the boys" on it. "Looks like Margaret left a meal for them for later, too, and there's a salad here in here, and a sandwich of some sort."

"Is it a turkey sandwich?"

"Yes, that's what the label says."

"Let me have that and the RM and is there one of those strawberry things in there?"

"Yes. You've worked up an appetite, I see."

"Yeah, and I'm really tired, so once I finish with the boys and finish that, I'll probably conk out for the night."

"Good idea, you've done a lot today."

"You're telling me. I haven't been this tired since the day Alex was born!"

"Are you sure you're up to having company tomorrow night?"

"Yeah, it's just a cook-out. All I have to do is eat and chat, really, and Jason hasn't met Aubie yet."

"True. And I suppose this will be your last chance to see him for a while."

"Right, so one evening, and maybe I'll turn in early so I'll be well-rested for the opening Saturday night."

"A very sound plan, my lovely wife," he kissed her forehead as he retrieved her tray from the dresser and prepared her sandwich and drinks so she could have them as soon as the boys finished.

"Let me get started on the RM, now, Sweetie. They're both taking blood and I'm a little worried about running low," she laughed.

Eric laughed, too, and opened the RM, putting a straw in it and giving it to her so she could hold it in her right hand, which was balancing Alex, and drink.

"Ah – that's so good," she said when she got a good draw of it.

"It amazes me that you still like it," Eric said, "I wonder if that will persist when you are no longer breast feeding?" He sat next to her on the bed, stroking Alex's back with the backs of his fingers.

"I don't know, but that's going to be years from now, won't it?"

"I don't know. The boys are developing so quickly, you might not need to nurse them as long as we expected."

"Well, we'll see. For the moment I like doing it. It makes me feel so close to them, and it's the one thing I can do for them that no one else can."

"You underestimate your role as their mother, Sookie. There are many things you give the boys that only you can."

"Thanks," she smiled and laid her head on his shoulder as he moved closer to her.

"Dada!" Aubie finished first and obviously wanted Eric to play with him some more. Eric took him from Sookie and lay on his back, holding the baby up above him making whooshing sounds as he moved him in the air.

"Not wasting any time, huh, Daddy?" Sookie teased him.

"The sooner he learns to fly, the better."

"What if he can't?"

"He's my son, Sookie, he will fly."

Sookie cracked up, "that's what I said about him going outside. He's my baby, so of course he loves it."

"It will be the same with flying, mark my words. My little elf will be flying around the house in no time, won't you, Auberon."

"Ah!" Aubie said, having no idea what Eric was saying, but happy to go along with the program.

"Aubie fyeen," Alex said, then went back to nursing.

"He will be soon. You and your brother can fly in the gym together some day very soon, I am sure," Eric said with determination. Eric tried the move where he sort of dropped Aubie, catching him and kissing him, then putting him back up and Aubie got the giggles and let out a huge burp.

"Oops – careful, Daddy, his meal might come back up on you."

"It will wash off if it does, but he is not sick, are you, my son?"

Aubie just giggled and reached his arms down toward Eric and said, "Dada," so Eric brought him down to his chest for a kiss and a hug and let him lie there for a few minutes as Eric stroked his back and talked to him softly. "Daddy loves his little elf. Daddy loves Auberon." Sookie was beaming at Alex, and at Eric being so sweet to Aubie, and was just about to bust when the kitten came bouncing up onto the bed. "Hey, kitty, where have you been?"

"Ma giddy!" Alex forgot about nursing and wanted to pet his cat, so Sookie pointed him in that direction and he crawled toward the end of the bed. Sookie said "tray" and her tray with her sandwich was quickly in her hands and she sat up a bit more so she could eat. Eric smiled to himself that she did that without even thinking. He put Aubie back up in the air and whooshed him a few more times until he yawned.

"Uh-oh, Daddy, he's sleepy."

"Yes, he's fed and played a bit and now he will sleep, sleep, sleep." Eric said playfully as he hugged Aubie and patted his bottom with each "sleep," then kissed his cheek. Eric sat up and rested his back against the headboard, keeping Aubie at his shoulder, rubbing his little back and letting him drift off to sleep. Aubie let out a big sigh and Eric knew he would be out soon.

Alex was slowing down, too, and the kitty seemed to be brushing against him to encourage him to sleep. It wasn't long before he was lying on his side, his arm around the kitty, stroking its fur and beginning to doze off. Sookie was watching it all with a sense of contentment and satisfaction, but she didn't say anything because she was starving and the sandwich was so good.

Eric got up gently and took Aubie around to the co-sleeper. He had an idea and went into nursery quickly and got a blanket to pad the place where the co-sleeper met the bed so it extended the area a bit, then he put Aubie in it sideways and moved Alex, who was asleep now, in beside him.

"Aww." Sookie said as she took a drink of strawberry stuff.

Eric smiled. "It's a little tight, but it's just for a night or two. This is how they'll sleep when you get the larger co-sleeper. I don't think they'll crowd each other too much."

"Yeah, they'll like being beside each other. As much as I don't want them to grow up too fast, I'll be glad when Aubie can keep up with Alex a little bit because I think they're going to have a blast."

"Yes, it will be good for them to have each other to play with. I was worried about Alex being so isolated. Having a twin will make them more social, I think."

"Yeah, like a built-in best friend," Sookie laughed as the kitten bounced up the bed and sat next to her with big eyes, and Sookie gave her a bite of turkey. "Good kitty, Erin." She scratched it behind its ears, to its obvious enjoyment, then it looked at Eric and patted his arm with the paw closest to him. Eric looked at it with surprise, then relented and petted it a few times. The kitten meowed at him then walked across Sookie's legs to get next to the boys, but apparently decided there was no room so it went down to the foot of the bed and curled up by Eric's feet.

"If anyone had ever told me I'd be sharing my bed with a cat…" he remarked, but Sookie replied "come on, Eric, as much as you love pussy, it was bound to happen," which shocked him and she cracked up. He stared at her in amazement as she giggled wickedly, then shook his head quickly and said, "I cannot believe you said that!"

"Shocked you, didn't I?" Sookie was very pleased with herself.

"Yes, you certainly did!" he finally began to laugh.

"I couldn't resist – it popped into my head and I just had to say it."

Eric leaned over and kissed her even though she was still giggling. "You never cease to amaze me, Sookie."

"Good. I like keeping you on your toes," she teased him. He laughed and took her tray from her and sat it on the floor in front of his nightstand, then rolled back toward her and she scooted down and let him wrap his arms around her. Her giggles gradually gave way to a big yawn, and he kissed her hair as he held her, turning off the light in the headboard and speaking to her softly as she drifted off. Eric lay there in the dark watching his family sleep for a long time, letting waves of comfort and contentment wash over him. He could remember nothing in his long life that approached this bliss. Battle, conquest, fucking – they all paled in comparison to lying here, listening to Sookie's soft breath and watching his sons dream, their little hearts beating quickly and nearly in time with one another. Finally he forced himself to get up and go to work.

The most pressing point of the evening involved calling Bill, so he began with that.

"Eric?"

"Yes, Bill. Did you get my email?"

"Yes, I did – 600? Niall can't be serious!"

"I have no doubt that he's serious. The question is, about what? Do we think he'd risk starting a war at such an ecumenical event, even in the presence of members of both the Council and Pantheon?"

"You'll have to function as if that's a very real possibility."

"Yes, I will. So how do we defend against a force of 600 when we'll have 330 on our side, at best, and that's assuming all the vampires would support me and the Weres and daemons remain loyal."

"I hate to say it, Eric, but the only recourse would seem to be divine intervention. How is Sookie's special relationship evolving?"

"Quite well, but I don't know if it's developed enough to allay our fears. I'll ask her to seek help, but we need to act as if none will be forthcoming."

"Alright, we'll need a war council when I arrive Friday night. I suggest we have Sandy, Vincent, Bjorn and Jerry, your captain of the guard, the Daemon Master, Pam, of course, the commandant from the training camp and at least Alcide Herveaux representing the local packs."

"That would be my assessment."

"Where shall we hold it?"

"Let's hold it in your chalet at 9 pm Friday. I'll have Sookie and the boys stay in the house so they're as far removed from this as possible."

"You don't think she should attend?"

"No, I think she should stay with the babies in a controlled environment while Bjorn, Jerry and I are all occupied."

"Good point."

"I'll have her and her Witches discuss what they can do to help, too."

"Absolutely – use every tool at your disposal. Perhaps they should work with the Coven?"

"I'll talk to Octavia about that. My impression was that Sookie felt the High Priestess was hiding something, and I noticed that she misspoke once and referred to Niall as "the Prince" so I'm not sure where her loyalties lie. You know how some Witches are about Fae, especially in America."

"I forgot about that. Has Sookie had any contact with Niall recently?"

"No – I'll fill you in on that situation when you get here. It's very complicated."

"I can imagine…"

"Honestly, you probably can't. I'm very anxious for you to get here."

"Should I come in earlier?"

"Is that possible?"

"I can move my travel up a day or two if you think it will help."

"Actually, how about coming in Wednesday and you can celebrate the boys' 1 month birthday with us?'

"Alright, then let's move the war council to Thursday night – that will give us another day to prepare our defenses."

"Good, I'll leave Sookie a note that you're coming in Wednesday and she can work with Alicia to assure that your chalet is ready in time."

"Don't feel you have to go to any trouble, Eric – as long as there's a secure resting place, I'll be fine."

"Well, we want you to be comfortable and I'm gradually giving Sookie more responsibility since she's adapted to having the babies."

"The twin didn't present any additional problems?"

"Only in terms of security, but we'll cover that in the meeting."

"Really?" Bill couldn't imagine what it was Eric couldn't tell him. "Is there anything else we need to cover?"

"Did you check in with Sandy tonight?"

"Yes, she has everything running smoothly. You might need to sign some contracts this week, which she'll send via Anubis if that comes about."

"Alright, then, I have some paperwork to get to, so I'll talk to you tomorrow night."

"Thanks, Eric. Good night."

Eric stopped and thought for a few minutes and decided he needed to leave a note for Sookie. Not that he couldn't wait until tonight to catch her up, but he had noticed that when he gave her things in writing, they stuck with her and she took them more seriously. Once he had that written, he ploughed through the new batch of paperwork for the shopping center in Ruston and got it nearly complete before he felt that one of the boys – probably Auberon – was awake.

He moved silently into the room and found that Auberon was indeed awake, gnawing on his fingers, looking up at him with those big blue eyes that seemed so deep and soulful in his pretty face. Eric brought him up to his shoulder, enjoying the rush of love and trust that poured out of Auberon towards him. He wondered at himself being so attached to his children. Did all fathers want to cry when they held their sons? He felt this way with Alex, too, but this child, Auberon, was like a deep well of emotion and his focus could be a bit overwhelming, even for Eric.

Taking a bottle from the fridge and the plate of food, Eric took Aubie into the nursery. As he was warming the bottle, he could feel very clearly that Auberon wanted to be quiet and be held close. Eric fed him the bottle, and offered him a few bites of applesauce, but Aubie just shook his little head and sighed after just three, so Eric pulled him back up to his shoulder and rocked him. He noted that this was the first time Auberon had played with his hair as he rocked him. Alex almost always did, but this was the first night Aubie shown any interest in it. He laughed to himself that they even did that differently. Alex sort of ran his fingers through it, but Aubie grabbed a handful and held tightly onto it, almost as if he was trying to pull Eric closer. Eric could have enjoyed sitting there with him for days, but it wasn't long before Aubie was obviously asleep and Alex was awake, so he went in and changed babies, grabbing another bottle and bringing Alex back into the nursery.

"Book or bottle first, my son?"

"Baddow, Dadee."

"Oh, you're hungry tonight?" He chatted with the baby as he put the bottle in the warmer.

"Eeah, ahm undwy."

"Alright, you will have a bottle and I will tell you a story, alright?"

"Oday," Alex gave him a big sleepy smile, and Eric hugged and kissed him, patting his little back while the bottle was warming.

"What kind of story do you want to hear Alex? Conquest, or battle? I never finished the story about the bear, did I?"

"Bayah?"

Eric took the bottle from the warmer and sat in the glider, talking to Alex softly the whole time. "Yes, when I was a boy, a big she-bear was stealing our pigs and goats. My father was away on a raid, and my mother and brothers and sisters depended on our animals to live. I was only 12, but already very tall and I thought that I was a man." Alex watched Eric speak with big eyes, trying to understand all the words. "I was a fool, thinking I could catch a bear myself. I should have dug a pit, but I was too lazy, so I took one of my father's swords and a spear and I hid out by the pigpen in the dark.

It was very cold that night and I nearly fell asleep. At once, I was roused by the squealing of a small pig, and I scrambled to my feet, seeing that the bear was carrying it out into the woods. I chased it, carrying the spear and the sword, but it was moving very quickly in a line perpendicular to the way I was running. In frustration, I dropped the sword and threw the spear with all my might, actually managing to hit the bear in the leg.

I should have let it go, especially since it dropped the piglet, but as I said, I was foolish and I ran back for the sword, intending to go after the bear. Just before I reached the sword, the bear, which no longer had the spear in its leg and was angry and bleeding a lot, came at me from behind and knocked me to my knees. I should have been killed, and it would have served me right, but I grabbed a big rock and bashed its nose as hard as I could. It was stunned enough to let me scramble away to the sword. I wish I could say I valiantly killed the beast, but I barely escaped with my life, and was only saved when it swiped at my leg and I fell, then it rushed forward and I stuck the sword in its throat. My leg took weeks to heal, and my mother nearly died of shock when she saw me covered in blood and wounds. When she knew I would live, she wouldn't speak to me for days, she was so angry. The men of the village wanted to have a celebration in my honor, but she would not allow it and my father was not there to overrule her. The women of our village dressed and cooked the bear but my mother wouldn't allow me to eat any.

There was an old woman in our settlement that could read bones and tell the future and she made a charm of three claws and gave it to me in secret, knowing my mother would be angry if she knew. She told me I was foolish, but determined and brave, so bear was a good companion spirit for me. When you are older, Alexander, you will be wiser than I, because I will teach you these lessons early. I won't assume that a boy knows he is only a boy. I will know that your instinct is to go forward and fight, and I will teach you to know your limitations, to study your enemy and to plan wisely before you act. I will teach you to dig a pit when you need to, not to be lazy and foolhardy as I was. You will be brave and smart, I'll see to that, or your mother will skin us both," he laughed.

Alex had been hanging on his every word, understanding none of it, but he laughed because Eric laughed and he was determined that he would learn all of those words and know what they meant because the one word he did know, SWORD, was one of his favorites.

Eric put him up to his shoulder and kissed his cheek, then spoke softly to him. "I know you are too young to understand, my son, but I will tell you this story often. You'll be sick of it before you are five, mark my words, and I will take you to a zoo and let you see a real bear. There are some that are open into the evenings now so vampires can visit them, too. Mommy would take you, but I want to be with you and tell you this story and then you will understand."

Eric realized he had food for Alex, but he was already asleep. He decided not to wake him, but to tuck him back in next to Sookie and give her the nightly dose of Ambrosia. Once Alex was back in bed, he retrieved the note for Sookie and left it on the dresser, then poured her a cup of the electric blue syrup and woke her.

"Sookie, my Angel, you must drink!"

"Mmm? Oh, cool," she barely opened her eyes, but kicked the drink back like a shot and then threw her arm around Eric's neck and wouldn't let him go. "I wish you could stay here."

"So do I, Sookie, but it's best if I do not."

"I didn't drink from you tonight."

"That's right, you didn't. Roll over toward the boys and I'll spoon behind you. Hurry, before Jerry gets here."

Sookie rolled toward the co-sleeper and Eric lay behind her, tearing his wrist and letting her feed. She was greedy as she sucked on his arm, and didn't want to let him go even after the wound had closed and they had both had a very deep release.

He began to pull his arm away, but Sookie wouldn't let him. "Uh-uh! Stay!"

"Sookie, it's not a good time to do this."

"Then take me with you."

"My Angel, the boys need you here."

"Yeah, I guess they do," she said with a yawn. He doubted she was really awake enough to know what she was saying. "Have sweet dreams, Sookie and I will see you tonight."

"'K, nite-nite," she let him go just as Jerry came up the stairs.

"Your majesty?"

"Yes, come in, Jerry. I'm just saying good night," Eric smiled as he stood up, picking up his jeans and putting them on. "Please be sure Sookie reads my note as soon as she awakes. I need her to take care of several things today in preparation for the Wiccaning."

"Oh, OK, sure. Have a good rest, your majesty."

"Thank you, Jerry. Have a good day."

Eric went quietly down the stairs, feeling both sad that he had to leave and glad that she wanted so badly for him to stay. He would be able to stay in bed with her at the clubs, he reminded himself, and that would be something for her to look forward to. Sleep took him as soon as his head hit the pillow, which was very rare for him.

"Read, Sookie, quickly!"

Sookie opened her eyes and flipped the hourglass, then said aloud, hoping Freyja would hear her, "I need away to keep Auberon safe around vampires!"

A strong wind blew through the huge white room, and the book, already open in front of her, seemed to respond. The wind lifted the pages and blew to the Spells & Charms section, settling on a page that said_ Charm to protect the Sidhe from vampires and other predators. _'OK,' Sookie thought, 'not the most politically correct attitude, but this is probably what I need.' It was a simple thing to make, apparently, as long as she could find the ingredients. The words were written in Titania's delicate script

_Garlic and silver will not do if you must be in the presence of vampires. The Ancient Pythoness prescribes this charm so that I may attend the Council without danger from vampires, daemons and other evil entities._

_Dedicate a pentacle of copper to Our Lady, anoint it with hemlock, mugwort and sage and chant these words thereon:_

_Creature of Arts I charge thee_

_By the power of sun and moon_

_Let Creatures of Dark now ignore me,_

_Protect me from noon to noon_

_Creature of Arts I conjure thee_

_By the power of land and sea_

_Shield me, mine Aura, and person, _

_They shall bring no harm to me._

_Wear on this charm on a copper chain, do not dare take it off in a vampire's presence. Protection will cease if the charm is removed, for the magick lies within it. Store it in salt when not in use, repeat the chant by 3 when next worn._

"OK," Sookie spoke aloud again, "how do I remember all of this?"

"It is in your journal, my Angel. Time to go home now."

"Trygg i min säng, trygg i min säng, trygg i min säng!"

Sookie's eyes flew open. "Bjorn?"

"Good morning!" Bjorn laughed, because he expected her to do just what she did. He was learning to tell when she was dreaming and about to wake up.

"Hey – is my journal over there?"

"Yeah, here you go." He handed her the book from the table.

Sookie opened it and to her surprise, the spell was written in the book in her own handwriting. "Holy shit!"

"You OK, Sookie?"

"Yeah, just amazed. I just read something in the book and I asked Freyja how to remember it and she said it was in my journal and it is! And in my own handwriting!"

"You didn't put it there?"

"NO! Is Bobbie up yet?"

"I think she's having breakfast. You can probably buzz her on the monitor."

"OK, where are the boys?"

"Aubie is being fed in the nursery and Alex is in the gym with Amelia."

"Am I up early?"

"A bit, yeah. You can sleep more if you want, but now that I think about it, Eric wanted you to read his note right away," Bjorn said as he went to the dresser and brought the note back to her.

"OK, he must have something important for me to do."

"Things about the Wiccaning, I think's what Jerry said."

"OK," Sookie took the note and opened it.

_My Dearest Wife,_

_Things are about to get very busy, I'm afraid. You are having company this evening, of course, and we'll be traveling this weekend. Some of the plans for next week have changed, and I need you to see what you can do to help things along. _

_Bill will now be arriving from New Orleans on Wednesday instead of Friday, so please see what you can do to ensure the completion of the chalet. _

_Also, you must find a way to protect Auberon at the Wiccaning. I hope Freyja can guide you in this._

'Well,' Sookie thought, 'I've got that one covered.'

_You should also consult with Freyja and Octavia about the potential for war at the Wiccaning since Niall is bringing so many Fairies with him, and you need to decide how to approach the High Priestess about changing your vows, and whether to call Niall. Talk to Octavia first, consult Freyja if necessary, and you can always call Dr. Ludwig if you think it's necessary. Please get started on this today. _

_I'll be hosting a war council in the chalet on Thursday night, so we need to know what help you can provide before then. You and the boys will remain in the house during the meeting, because I feel that is safest. _

_I love you very much, min Vackra Gudinna,_

_Your husband, _

_Eric_

"You OK, Sookie?"

"Yeah, it's just war, you know?"

"Yeah, I know. We'll be talking about it all week so we'll be ready for the Wiccaning."

"He wants me to see what I can contribute."

"You might be the best defense we've got, Hon."

"Seriously?"

"Yes, ma'am. Maybe we should have a talk with Octavia today and you can do some magick before your guests get here, if necessary."

"OK, let's get on with the day." Sookie popped up and headed to the dresser. Bjorn was relieved to see she was wearing a gown for a change. It would make it easier to concentrate when they talked to Octavia if he wasn't already revved up. Sookie went into the bathroom with a cute pink paisley nursing tank and a pair of black drawstring shorts and was ready, make-up, ponytail and all in just about 15 minutes. She found a cute little pair of pink faux-suede Birkenstock sandals in the closet and nearly jumped up and down when she saw how well they matched her top. She looked herself over in the dresser mirror, trying to see how she looked from the back.

"You look great, Sookie," Bjorn laughed because she didn't usually let that girly, vain side of herself show that way.

"Not too fat?"

"You don't look fat, Sookie. We'd all like you to gain a little weight."

"I'm afraid if I gain weight it's all going to go into my chest."

"That's a bad thing?"

"They're already huge!" She was still twisting and turning in front of the mirror.

"Yeah, but not in a bad way. They look awesome."

"Yeah, but they're so heavy. I don't want to develop back problems."

"I don't think that will happen to you, Sookie. I know you feel a little strain now, but I think the longer you drink the Ambrosia, the less things like that will affect you."

"That would be good, because at the moment, it's getting worse," she confided as she went to the mirror that concealed her jewelry and opened it.

"Ask Freyja what to do about it."

"I've got so many things to ask Freyja about – I'm afraid She's going to get sick of me." She was looking through the little pink drawers and cubbies to see what all was in there.

"Not likely, Sookie."

"Yeah, I know. It takes a lot of energy, though." She pulled one drawer completely out and sorted through it, finding the big diamond studs she wanted to wear since her hair was up.

"Yeah, I can see that being a problem. You were pretty worn out last night, weren't you?"

"I told Eric I hadn't been that tired since I had Alex." She was taking her little gold earrings out and putting the diamond studs in as they talked.

"We're still going to push you, though, because eventually, it will make you strong."

"I hope you're right. I haven't worked out in a while, you know?"

"You're in good shape, though, and you're burning calories like crazy just feeding the boys. It's your magickal muscles we need to build."

"Where's Aubie, again?"

"I thought Alicia was feeding him in the nursery."

"Let's go find them, and then Alex, and then I'll talk to Octavia," she suggested as she grabbed her journal off the bed.

Bjorn followed her into the hallway and she looked into the nursery but no one was there. "Let's go up to the gym and see if they're there," he suggested, taking her shoulders and pointing her toward the stairs playfully.

They could hear Alex giggling and talking as he flew around, and it sounded as if Aubie was in there, too, as they approached.

"Hey, where are my babies?" Sookie laughed as they got into the big room.

"Ah, Mamee!" Alex waved down at her from the rafters.

"Mmamma!" Aubie, who was in Alicia's arms watching Alex, got excited and pointed at Sookie when he saw her.

"Good morning, Pookie!" she called and waved to Alex, then "Good morning, Cookie!" she tickled Aubie as she reached him. "Hey, Alicia, Amelia."

Aubie was anxious for Mama to hold him and that made Sookie very happy. "There's my sweet boy. Are you watching Buddy fly?"

"Bumby!" Aubie pointed at Alex on the ceiling, showing Mama what he was doing.

"Yeah, Buddy's way up there, isn't he? You gonna fly up there with him some day?"

"Nah."

"Hey – did you just say 'no?'"

"Nah!" Aubie giggled.

"Good boy, Aubie, you learned a new word! Have they both eaten, Alicia?"

"They've both had bottles, but I think we should get them some breakfast pretty soon."

"I could stand to eat a little, too. How long has Alex been up there, Amelia?"

"We've been up here about an hour altogether, but he's been up to the ceiling and down here looking around and flying in front of the mirror. He loves the mirror."

"Mamee!"

"Whatcha want, Pookie?"

"Ahm undwy por bwepuss!"

"Come on down, then, and we'll go ask Margaret for some breakfast."

"Oday!" Alex flew quickly down to Sookie who barely got Aubie shifted to one arm in time to catch him. She did catch him, but the others were a little startled.

"Hey, Buddy," Bjorn said, stepping forward, "come with me and let's go see Margaret. Maybe Bobbie's still down there, too."

"Ah wyg Babee!" Alex said happily as Bjorn took him from Sookie and they all headed for the elevator.

"Yeah, Aunt Bobbie is fun, isn't she?" Bjorn was entertaining Alex and everyone else just enjoyed listening to the chatter.

"Eeah, Babee pundy. Ah pash Babee ina poo!"

"Yeah, you like to splash Bobbie in the pool. Maybe she'll take you in the pool today while Mommy is busy."

"Mamee bithy?"

"Yeah, Mommy has some things to do today, so you and Aubie might want to hang out with Bobbie and Amelia while she does stuff to get ready for company."

"Wadiz dompamy?"

"Company is when people come to visit. Your Uncle Jason and his friends are going to come for cook-out tonight."

"Una Dastha!"

"Yeah, your Uncle Jason. You like him, don't you?"

"Obee nah nah Una Dastha."

Bjorn looked at Sookie, who said, "Yeah, Aubie hasn't met Uncle Jason yet, has he? He will tonight, though, and we'll have some barbecue. You loved that last time, didn't you? Remember Daddy fed you barbecue?"

"Babagoo atha B inid."

"Yes, barbecue has a B in it." Sookie repeated and everyone reacted once she interpreted what Alex said.

"Good job, Alex," Amelia gushed.

"Wow," Alicia couldn't believe it.

Aubie giggled and said "Um Bumby!" and clapped his little hands because he knew Alex had done something good.

They reached the pantry and filed into the kitchen where Bobbie was eating breakfast and Margaret was getting ready to cook for the rest of them.

"Well! Good morning, everyone!" Margaret was in a good mood this morning, "look at those little angels!"

"Ah, Mahdwid!" Alex reached for her and she gave him a hug and a kiss.

"Ah!" Aubie waved like Bumby did and Margaret kissed him, too, which delighted him. He loved anything he got to do that was just like Bumby.

Alex cracked up and clapped his hands, "Obee wyg kithteth!"

"And Alex likes to fight!" Bjorn held Alex up over his head and shook him a little to make him laugh.

Amelia had pulled their highchairs out of the pantry and set them up so Sookie and Bjorn got each baby settled as usual. Alicia warmed up the plates of food Margaret had waiting for them and brought them to the table. Bobbie put her plate in the sink and sat in Eric's chair to feed them, but Alex said, "nah nah, Babee, Borhd wiw peed me bwepuss, dayoo."

"Alex," Sookie called his attention, "let Bobbie feed you, Sweetheart!"

"Nah, nah, Dadee an Borhd."

"It's OK, Sookie, I'll feed them," Bjorn laughed. He actually got a kick out of the fact that Alex thought feeding him was a guy thing. Bobbie let him have Eric's chair and he got Alex started feeding himself and began to feed Aubie, who still opened his mouth really wide when he was offered a spoonful of food. Bjorn would occasionally scrape the food back into Alex's mouth, but other than that, he let Alex feed himself.

"Abuh!"

"No, Aubie, I don't think you have apples," Bjorn told him.

"Nah abuh?"

"No apples."

"ABUH!" Auberon said very distinctly.

"Aubie, do want us to get you some apples?" Sookie asked him

"Ah!"

"Margaret…"

"Coming right up, Missus," Margaret laughed as she went back to the pantry and came out with a big jar of applesauce.

"Here you go, Aubie, we got you some apples," Bjorn told him as he spooned some onto his plate. Aubie stuck his finger in them, then in his mouth and made a happy sound almost like Alex's happy sound. Everyone around the table laughed at how cute it was and Aubie giggled and kicked. Alex was humming, bouncing his leg and slurping up cereal as Bjorn spooned some apples out for him, too.

"Dayoo, Borhd."

"You're welcome, Alex," Bjorn laughed. Breakfast with the babies was Bjorn's favorite part of the day these days. He got the biggest kick out of Alex, and Aubie was so sweet, that it was just fun to sit with them for a bit.

Sookie was working her way through a big rare steak and decided to look through her journal and see what all she and Eric had written when she made an amazing discovery.

"Holy shit!"

"Sookie – language!" Bjorn teased her by imitating Eric.

"Even Eric wouldn't object to my language under these circumstances, Bjorn – there's stuff in here in my handwriting that I didn't put in here."

"Sookie, are you serious?" Amelia asked her

"Yes. This morning, I read a spell in the book and Freyja told me it would be in my journal and it was, but now I'm looking through here and there's stuff in here I know I didn't write but it's in my handwriting."

"What kind of stuff is it, Sookie?" Bobbie wondered

"Stuff that Freyja has told me that I forgot to write down, Titania's last couple of book entries in HER HANDWRITING! There are some spells, some information about Alex and Aubie that I didn't even know and a rewritten version of the vows for Aubie for the Wiccaning."

"That's amazing, Sookie – I never even heard of anything like that," Amelia was mighty impressed.

"How is this possible?"

"Remember, Sookie – possible for you is a much more elastic concept than for most people," Bobbie was so excited she couldn't believe it.

"Is any of that going to make Aubie safer at the Wiccaning?" Bjorn asked hopefully

"Actually, yeah – the spell I read this morning is for making a charm to shield Fae from vampires and other "creatures of the night.""

"What do you need for that, Sookie?" Amelia knew this was very important and they might need to order things from the Internet.

"I need a copper pentacle and a copper chain, hemlock, mugwort and sage."

"Oils or herbs?" Bobbie asked

"It didn't say."

"We'll ask Octavia," Amelia suggested. "Want me to go get her up?"

"I hate to wake her," Sookie said with concern.

"You need to talk to her Sookie and you've only got hours to get some things done today," Bjorn reminded her. "See if you can materialize a copper pentacle and chain."

"Materialize?"

"Yeah, make it appear out of thin air."

"What makes you think I can do that?"

"It's one of the things Jerry and I have on the list to see if you can do. Try it."

"Good morning, everybody." Octavia came into the kitchen.

"Hey, Octavia – we were just talking about you."

"Anything good?"

"I need your help today to do some planning and/or magick about the Wiccaning."

"She's got a charm she needs to work for Aubie and I want her to try to materialize it," Bjorn explained.

"What is it that she needs?"

Sookie handed Octavia her journal and she quickly read through the spell.

"You got this from Freyja?"

"Yeah, it was in the book and I asked Her how to remember it and She said it was in my journal and it and a bunch of stuff is in there that I didn't write, but it's in my handwriting and there's stuff from Titania in HER handwriting! How is that possible?"

"Stop questioning your magick, girl. You needed it, you got it, say 'Thank You' to the Goddess and get on with using it."

"OK," Sookie was taken aback for a minute, then she realized Octavia was right. She was thinking like a human, not a Goddess, and this was a habit she needed to break. "How do I go about materializing something?"

"Try it." Octavia said simply as Margaret brought her a plate of eggs, bacon and biscuits. "Put your hands together in front of you, concentrate on them, visualize what you need and call it."

Sookie finished her plate and asked for an RM as Margaret took it away, then she took a few deep breaths and closed her eyes to get centered.

"Margaret, bring Sookie about half a glass of red wine, please?" Octavia asked with a smile. Sookie looked at her and she explained, "it will help you loosen up and get grounded."

Sookie continued to watch her breathing and think about what she needed to do. She needed a copper pentacle and a copper chain and they needed to be small enough to fit Aubie. Margaret set the wine in front of Sookie and she sipped it slowly, thinking of the pentacle and chain and letting the warmth of the wine slowly move through her, relaxing her muscles and settling her energy so it rooted firmly in the ground beneath her.

"That's good, Sookie. Now stretch that energy you feel in the ground up through your spine and out through the top of your head."

Sookie pictured her energy flowing up through her and it instantly went out around the property into the golden bubble she had seen before. "I'm seeing that bubble again."

"What bubble, Sookie?" Octavia hadn't heard about this, either.

"Sometimes, when I give the energy we generate having sex out with intention, it makes this big golden bubble that encompasses the whole property way up into the air and down into the ground. I feel like it keeps us safe."

"I'm sure it does. You make sure you reinforce that bubble often, Sookie. It might explain a lot. So you're seeing the bubble now?"

"Yeah, it's throbbing or breathing. I think I could make it bigger or smaller…"

"Just focus on feeding it and making it stronger."

"Ok, I am."

"Now look at your palms, and picture that charm."

Sookie held her hands up in front of her and they began to glow. Her vision blurred as a small line of orange sparkles swirled like a tiny tornado in her palms as everyone in the kitchen held their breath. Even the babies were quiet and attentive as the tiny whirl began to consolidate into a round, copper shape and sparkles fell in a line to form a ball chain. A tiny star flared brightly and burned into the round shape, forming a perfect pentacle within the copper ring. Sookie's vision cleared and she let out a deep breath as she felt the heat of the chain in her palms and dropped it. "Ouch!"

"Hot?" Octavia laughed a little. Bjorn was just shaking his head, knowing this girl still had no concept of what she could probably do, but more determined than ever that she learn.

"Yeah, crazy hot – but it worked!"

"OK, it's about 11:45 now. If you shake a tail feather you can be in your circle and dedicate that thing at noon- that would be the most effective, since it's in the spell."

Leroy came in through the back door and asked Margaret for a Pepsi. While she was getting it for him, he overheard the conversation.

"I still need hemlock, mugwort and sage, though…"

"You've got sage in your cabinet downstairs."

"I've got some mugwort in a dream pillow," Bobbie offered. "Hemlock might be a problem, because it's poisonous."

"Excuse me, Mrs. Northman?"

"Yes, Leroy?"

"If you need hemlock, I'll be glad to go out back and pick you some. There's a bunch of it growing wild in the woods out back."

"There is?"

"Yes, ma'am. How much do you need?"

"Just a sprig or two would be enough," Octavia said, "but you wear gloves if you handle it. It can absorb through the skin."

"OK, I'll take my gardening gloves and get you some. Be right back." He hurried out the back door drinking his soda, always glad to help the Mrs. with anything she needed, even when it was a little weird, because she was a really nice lady and such a sweet mommy to her boys.

"OK, I'll get the mugwort," Bobbie headed for the elevator.

"Octavia, if I have more than one thing I need to do, can I do both in the same circle?"

"Yeah, as long as you wrap up the deal for the locket first. Say that chant over at least three times, until you really feel it working, and say specifically who it's intended to protect."

"OK, because I need to talk to Freyja about whether there's going to be war at the Wiccaning."

"I threw some cards on that, and I think it's unlikely once they find out you're Titania's heir, though I have a feeling they already know."

"Do we have any way to confirm that?"

"Talk to Dr. Ludwig. She'll know what's happening in the Fae world."

"Wouldn't she tell me what's going on?"

"Not unless you ask. She didn't get the reputation she's got by running around telling tales, but if you ask, she'll answer your questions."

"OK, ritual first, then I call her."

"Take your hair down before you cast your circle. You can put it back up when you're done," Octavia instructed.

"Why?"

"Spirits are drawn to women's hair. There are even spells you can do just by brushing or braiding long hair. That's why you're supposed to cover your hair in church."

"OK, good to know."

Leroy came back with a handful of hemlock and Octavia wrapped it in a paper towel so Sookie didn't touch it with her hand. She recommended tearing some leaves and burning them on charcoal, passing the charm through the smoke, and doing the same with the mugwort Bobbie got out of a little pink satin pillow that had "LOVE" embroidered on it in deeper pink.

"This might have a little lavender mixed in with it…" Bobbie said as they opened the pillow.

"That will just be an extra treat for the spirits. There's nothing in it that would contradict the purpose of it," Octavia assured Sookie.

"OK, another question – since this is supposed to protect Aubie, should I take him with me?"

"Yes, you should. I was waiting to see if you'd come up with that on your own." Bobbie took that as a cue to go into the den and get the bouncer for Aubie to sit in during the ritual.

"OK, you guys will have to watch Alex while we're downstairs."

"Sookie, I'm going to stay outside with Alex and put Jerry on the door with you – is that alright?"

"Yeah, Bjorn, whatever you think is best."

"OK, go ahead and set up and I'll send him down."

"I'll get Alex's plastic pants…" Bobbie volunteered.

"They're hanging up in the bathroom in the den, Bobbie," Alicia told her.

Sookie took the herbs, pendant and chain all wrapped in a towel and stuck them in her waistband, then put Aubie in the bouncer and carried him downstairs. When they approached the back room, Aubie said, "NnnDADA!"

"Yeah, you can smell Daddy down here, can't you, Sweetie? He's close by. You know what we're going to do, Aubie? We're going to do magick!"

Aubie squealed and clapped his hands and Sookie wondered if he didn't know exactly what she meant. She set him in the circle in her little room and closed the door. She chatted with him as she gathered up the other things she needed – candles, anointing oil, wine, a ho-ho from the box in the cabinet, her athame, the broom, anisette, dried roses and the sage. "Have you ever done a ritual, Aubie?"

"Ah!"

"You have?" She didn't think he really knew what she was saying.

"Ah! Papaw!"

Sookie looked at him as she set her altar up in front of him. "Aubie, you did a ritual with Papaw?"

"Ah!"

Maybe Aubie knew exactly what she was saying. She got a jug of water from the cabinet and filled a chalice, then filled her scrying mirror, too. She lit the candles, "Blessed be thou creature of fire," then went through all the other steps of casting her circle as Aubie sucked on his fingers happily and watched her with big eyes.

"Book!" Sookie meant to call down her journal from the kitchen but to her surprise, Titania's Book of Shadows appeared in her hands. Aubie giggled and kicked his feet, clapping his hands. It was really heavy, but Sookie settled it on the floor next to them and the book opened itself to the page she needed. As it instructed, she anointed the pentacle and chain with smoke from mugwort, sage, and then the hemlock, which didn't burn well, but it smoked enough to do what she needed. She chanted over the necklace, holding it first to her forehead, then to her lips, kissing it and saying the spell, then to her heart. Finally, she put the necklace around Aubie's neck, held her right hand over it and said the spell with the necessary adjustment:

_Creature of Arts I charge thee_

_By the power of sun and moon_

_Let Creatures of Dark now ignore thee,_

_Protect thee from noon to noon_

_Creature of Arts I conjure thee_

_By the power of land and sea_

_Shield thee, thine Aura, and person, _

_They shall bring no harm to thee._

She said the chant 9 times and on the last round she saw bright yellow energy flow from her hand, into the charm and then all around Aubie, sealing him in the light.

"Don't take it off of him – not until after," Freyja said as She appeared before her.

"Is it going to be enough?"

"For the vampires, at least, and the Weres and Shifters."

"What about the Fae? Is Niall planning to wage war?"

"That was his plan all along, but you've stopped him so far."

"Has he done magick on or with Aubie?"

"Yes, he thought to cloak him from you so you could never find him."

"But You showed him to me and took me there."

"Your magick is stronger than Niall's, My Angel."

"What if he tries to start a war at the Wiccaning?"

"No Fae will harm You, Sookie, not when they know what You are."

"How will they know?"

"Leave that to Me. Let Our husband make his war preparations, but have faith in Your true Nature, Darling Girl . Never doubt Your power as a Warrior, a Witch, a Queen, a Mother and a Goddess." Freyja waved Her hand toward the Book and it opened to an empty page, then the words she had said appeared as flames, then settled into writing in Sookie's own hand.

"Can I keep this book here?"

"In the circle, yes, in the house, no. No one but You can touch it where it is."

"You mean Niall doesn't know what's in it?"

"Niall has never touched it. It will kill him if he tries and he knows that." Freyja disappeared then, but Sookie felt satisfied with their conversation for the first time. She felt as if Freyja was revealing more, and listening more and she took it as a compliment.

Sookie made an offering of rose petals and wine, opening the circle, the Book disappearing with a POP at the instant the circle was no longer intact. She mashed a bite of the ho-ho for Aubie and they ate, then she put a drop of wine in Aubie's mouth and drank the rest. She took Aubie out of the bouncer and snuggled him close for a bit until she felt that they were both grounded.

"Hey, Jerry, are you out there?"

"Yes, your majesty?"

"Come in, please?" He opened the door and she asked, "would you please carry this upstairs for me?" She indicated the bouncer as she tried to stand. Jerry took her elbow and helped her get up, then picked up the bouncer and followed her upstairs as she cuddled Aubie closely and headed for the kitchen.

When she got upstairs, everyone had already had lunch and were playing in the pool as Margaret, Alicia and Carrie were preparing for the cook-out.

"Hey, ladies!" Sookie said brightly as she came back into the kitchen. "Anything I need to do now?"

"There's one of the decorator's people out in the empty chalet – did you need to speak to him?" Alicia suggested.

"Yes, I did. Thanks."

Sookie kept Aubie with her as she went outside to the chalet.

"Hey, guys – everybody having fun?" she laughed as she walked around the pool. Octavia was reading in the shade, and Bobbie and Amelia were in the water playing with Alex.

"Ah, Mamee!"

"Hi, Pookie! Are you having a good time?"

"Eeah, pasheen Babee an Meeah!"

"OK, I'll be back in a few minutes."

"Everything OK, Sookie?" Bjorn asked as she came around the pool.

"Yeah, everything is fine. I'm going to talk to a decorator. I'll fill you and Eric in later, OK?"

"OK," he laughed, figuring she had a good ritual.

Sookie went to the chalet that was more to the middle of the property and knocked on the door, which was standing open. "Knock, Knock!"

"Yes?"

"Hi, I'm Sookie Northman…"

"OH, Mrs. Northman! So nice to meet you! I'm Gerald Dupree – I'm one of Giselle's helpers." Sookie figured him to be about 6 feet tall, probably of French Acadian extraction and completely gay.

"It's nice to meet you," Sookie shifted Aubie to the left and offered her hand. "This is Aubie."

"Well, hello, little one!"

"Ah!" Aubie smiled and waved as Sookie continued, "I just wanted to check with you and see if there's anything we can do to speed things up? It turns out we're going to be having company here Wednesday, and I'd like it to be as nice as possible for him."

"Oh, my – well, I could ask the painters to come in tomorrow, and we could perhaps get the carpeting in Monday. That's also when the furniture will be delivered. If we work overtime Monday and Tuesday, we could certainly have things ready by Wednesday if you'll approve the additional cost?"

"Yes, just do what you need to do. If you can at least get the living room and dining area and one bedroom in shape, I'll be very grateful."

"Not a problem at all. We do have some artwork and wall fixtures and such we could put in the rooms that are painted if you want us to stay later tonight and tomorrow?"

"Yes, please do as much as you can. My husband won't mind the extra charges as long as our guests are comfortable. I'll check and be sure there's going to be someone to let you in Saturday since we'll be traveling, but I'm sure there will be. I guess you're coordinating things with Alicia?"

"Yes, and a man named Vincent, I think?"

"Right, he's the head of security. I'll let everyone know you'll be staying late tonight and coming in tomorrow and all. I really appreciate you making these adjustments for us."

"Oh, we're always pleased to accommodate a good customer like you and your husband."

"I'm going to look around a bit, if you don't mind?"

"No problem at all."

Sookie and Aubie went upstairs to check out the bedrooms, one of which still needed to be painted. The bathroom was really nice and pretty much finished, and she loved the view of her house from the upper level looking forward. She looked around the first floor a bit, then let Gerald know she was leaving.

"Thanks. I'll let you get back to work now. It was nice meeting you," Sookie gave him a big smile and got out of his way, then went to tell Bjorn and Alicia what was up.

Sookie really liked the way the walk looked as she came back toward the back of her house. "Hey, Bjorn?" she said as she sat at the table next to him, still holding Aubie because she didn't feel like letting him go just yet.

"Yeah?"

"How are they doing on the landscaping? I haven't seen the front of the house in a long time."

Bjorn laughed, "so go out and look. Want me to walk with you?"

"Yeah. Is that silly?"

"No, it's what I'd prefer if Eric is not with you."

"OK, let's go. By the way, the decorators are going to work late tonight, come in tomorrow and work late, then stay late Monday and Tuesday, too."

"OK, I'll have to let everyone know."

"Is there going to be someone here to let them in tomorrow?"

"Yes, Margaret and Carrie will be here. Margaret isn't going to go with us this time around."

"OK, good. Walk out front with me." She and Aubie followed Bjorn around the side of the house and came down beside the rosebushes that lined the dining room windows. The first thing they came to was the new flowering tree that was just out from the fountain in front. "Ok, that's not bad, even though it's on the small side." It was only about 7 feet tall.

"That's as big as you can buy those," Bjorn explained.

"OK, and I see they put miles of sod grass out here…"

"Yes, and these flower beds going toward your water feature and these pink quartz walks are in place."

"OK, where are the statues, the benches and the water feature?"

"Well, as you can see the pool is in place, but it's empty because they haven't finished installing the fountains yet. That should be done early next week, then they'll fill it, set the statues and benches, and add some flowers around here."

"How long will that take?" Sookie shifted Aubie a bit as he lay his head on her shoulder and went to sleep.

"Hopefully no later than Wednesday since Eric asked that everything be moved up so we're ready for company, right?"

"Yeah, I didn't know he told you yet."

"Yeah, he told me we had to get ready for Bill to get here Wednesday and there's a war council Thursday."

"Yeah, that I'm not invited to…"

"It's safer that way, Sookie."

"Why?"

"Because if anyone were going to target the meeting, they'll aim at the chalet instead of the main house. You and the boys will be safer that way since Jerry and I will be busy."

"OK, so if somebody targets the chalet and you, Eric and Jerry are all there, who protects us?"

"You do."

That hit Sookie like a ton of bricks.

"What?"

"If anything were to happen to me, Jerry, and Eric all at once, you're the best qualified person to protect the boys."

"What about the Kingdom?"

"If anything happens to Eric and no one steps up, there's going to be war. Neither Bill nor Pam has any interest in being regent. Without him, it all goes to hell until Alex is old enough to rule unless you rule as his mother while he's Prince Regent. You're Eric's second, Sookie, not Bill." Bjorn thought it was time Sookie understood the situation, and he knew Eric was hesitant to scare her.

"Bjorn," Sookie said in an urgent whisper, though no one was near them, "everybody knows I'm Fae, and after the Wiccaning, they're going to know I'm Titania's heir. Vampires are not going to sit still for me ruling their territories."

"People will be loyal to Alex, Sookie, if you step up. You're beloved among the vampires and so is Alex. There will always be some opposition – there's opposition now – but if you hold it together until Alex can rule, it will stay together. Pam, Bill and Sandy will all follow you, Eric has seen to that, and the other regents will back you up. You're not just his consort, you're his Queen in the most literal way."

"OK, so isn't it dangerous for us all to travel to the clubs?"

"Yes, but it's just as dangerous for Eric to go alone. It's not just him protecting you and the boys, Sookie, it's you protecting him, too. Keeping you two together is the best way to keep you both alive."

"Isn't that just the opposite of the reason you just gave me for staying in the house?"

"Different circumstances, different strategies. Eric wouldn't have this council here at the property if he could avoid it, but Fangtasia just isn't as secure as it needs to be for something like this. If he can create the expectation that none of this stuff happens in the main house, the main house stays safer."

"You think there's already a mole here?"

"We aren't sure, but we have to act as if there is. Ready to walk back now? I'd rather not stand around out here."

"Are we ever going to see any peace?" She asked softly as they started back toward the house.

"Technically, you've got peace now. There are two threats of war, but they're only threats. A lot of people think it's impossible for Niall to amass war against your family. If that's true, all of this worrying is for nothing. We're preparing for the contingency because that's the right thing to do, but if Fae know who you are, they won't strike against you."

"Even if I'm a vampire Queen?"

"Haven't you put this together yet, Sookie?"

"Put what together?"

"Your family is supposed to end all the fighting, and in return for bringing peace, you're going to be the most powerful family since the Borgias."

"Weren't they horrible, though?"

"Yeah, but you won't be. A Vampire King marries a Fairy Queen, so neither realm will war with the other. They have twins, one to rule each world, and they'll never war with each other. Eric goes to the Council, you go to the Pantheon along with your daughter some day, and most of the Supe world has a kind of détente that hasn't existed in 10,000 years. It's why the daemons will work for Eric and it's why the Weres are backing his play, too."

"Why us? Did Freyja do all of this – ALL OF THIS – by Herself?"

"No, Sookie, that's just it, one Goddess couldn't pull all of this off alone. Think about the visitors you had in Vegas – an American Goddess, a Priestess, the Pythoness, the Oldest living Were and Niall. At that point, everybody thought Niall was playing straight, so you had a rep from the Fae, the Vamps, the Weres, the Witches and the Pantheon – it was one of everything."

"Wait – what about Daemons?"

"Tied into the Fae."

"Witches?"

"Penelope, Priestess of Vesta."

"But Niall had his own scheme…"

"And he's got someone on the Pantheon that has kept him alive in spite of it. That's the real source of opposition from the Divine realm."

"How do we find out who it is?"

"The speculation is that Freyja has the backing of several other aspects of the Goddess. One moves up, They all do, in a way, and it will shift the balance of power. Some of the male gods are most likely the ones that object and Niall would sell his soul to keep the control he has now."

"You mean that literally, don't you? You think he's made some kind of deal with the dark side to stay in power?"

"Yes, and I think the dark side is the patriarchal side of the pantheon."

"Why is any of it patriarchal if it all goes back to one Goddess?"

"The same reason it always does, Sookie – greed and power. Individuals thinking about getting all they can right now and not worrying about forever. The Goddesses finally got into a position to use the patriarchal system against the patriarchs. They figured out how to fight fire with fire."

"And their goal is peace?"

"Right. Things were thrown out of whack by power and greed that has finally become so centralized it can be fought directly. It's not just pockets of warring humans any more."

"How long will all of this take?"

"A few hundred years, I'd think, maybe more."

"But things are moving so quickly…"

"They've got to get you and Eric into your places so you can prepare the places for your kids. The next step is to keep you all there until people learn a new way of thinking. Imagine people who've lived for 3,000 years suddenly having to unlearn the idea of a blood offense, and forgetting about all the carnage of the wars they've lived through. It's going to take a long time for people to make a shift in their thinking. Your family might have to reign a few hundred, or even a few thousand, years to make it happen."

"Where does New Centurion come into all this?"

"They're a symptom, like a flare up of a disease."

"And the disease is patriarchy?"

"Right."

"I still don't get why you'd be in favor of this – you're a soldier."

"I've seen a lot of death for no good reason, Sookie. I want to live in peace just like everyone else, and I'm willing to spend my life trying to help that happen. That's why I'm still here, and that's why I wouldn't want to be anywhere else. If we can create peace in the Supe world, it makes creating peace in the human world almost inevitable."

"Have we had this conversation before?"

"Parts of it, probably."

"I'm getting these weird waves of déjà vu lately, like everything is happening over and over…"

"Have you talked to Octavia about it?"

"No, not yet."

"Do it now, Hon, even a few hours delay is affecting what we do. We dodged a bullet with that Book of Shadows problem. You've got to keep her better informed."

"OK, I'll talk to her now if she's around," Sookie assured him as they came back around the house.

"Hey, Sookie," Bobbie called to her as they returned, "You know it's just about an hour before your company is due. Do you need to change clothes or put on your bathing suit?"

"I'm not going to wear a suit, but you and Amelia feel free to keep yours on. For some reason, I don't think Eric will want me in a suit tonight."

"Because of your brother's friends?"

"This is so weird, but I've had this feeling for days that they're bringing someone with them I don't know about and whoever it is, I don't want to wear a bathing suit in front of them."

"Good thinking, Sookie," Bjorn nodded.

"You think I'm right?"

"Yes, and I think you need to follow your intuition about everything right now," he told her as he returned to his usual seat.

"OK, good. Bobbie, where is Octavia?"

"In her room, I think."

"I need to talk to her, will you take Aubie?"

"Sure, Sweetie."

Sookie gave Aubie a big kiss and handed him, still sleeping, to Bobbie so she could tuck him in next to Alex, who was napping in the playpen in the den.

Sookie skipped through the kitchen to the elevator, saying "Hey, Alicia, I'll be right back, I need to talk to Octavia."

"Alright, Dear, we'll let you know if your guests arrive."

Sookie knock lightly on Octavia's door and looked in, "Octavia?"

"What's up, Queenie?"

"I hope I didn't wake you?"

"No, I was just thinking – what happened?"

"Bjorn thought I should tell you that I'm getting these waves of déjà vu. I feel like I'm having the same conversations over and over again…"

"Get used to it. You're remembering precognitive dreams, mostly, but you're dealing with big issues that are going to come up again and again until you really grok what's happening."

"Grok?"

"Haven't you read _**Stranger in a Strange Land**_, yet?"

"No, is it about magick?"

"No, but it might give you a broader perspective on things like sex and politics and religion. See if Bobbie or Amelia has a copy. You can read it while we travel."

"OK, if you say so…"

"I do. Write down your déjà vu in your journal, too, and read through it again. I think there's more stuff in it. It's writing itself."

"OK, I will. Will you be down for supper or should I have it sent up for you?"

"You're having company, right?"

"Yes, just my brother and his friends."

"Would you be offended if I skipped it? I'd like to write a letter and go to bed early since we're traveling next two days."

"Not at all. I'll ask Carrie to bring you a tray."

"Thank you, Darlin'."

"See you in the morning. Thanks for your help!" Sookie gave her a kiss on the cheek and went back downstairs.

Sookie was just making it back to the kitchen when Bjorn came in, "Hey, Sookie – your guests are here. There's somebody extra with them I need you to approve – a Sam Merlotte."

"Sam's here? That's great!"

"OK, they'll direct them back to the garage," he smiled and called the front gate to tell them what to do.

"Carrie, would you take Octavia a tray when dinner is ready, please?"

"Sure, Mrs. Northman."

"Thanks. I guess I better go welcome everybody, How's dinner coming along?"

"Ribs and chicken will be coming off the grill in about 10 minutes, Missus, along with corn on the cob and there's potato salad, cole slaw, baked beans, a big green salad, 7 layer salad, crudités and there's watermelon for dessert."

"Awesome! Thanks, Margaret!"

Sookie bounced out back just as Jason, Hoyt, Catfish and Sam were walking in from the garage. "Hey, y'all!" She waved and almost skipped toward them. "Sam, it's so nice to see you!"

"Hey, Sis!" "Hi, Sookie," "Hey, Sookie," "Hello, stranger!"

She gave Jason a kiss on the cheek and led them all back up to the patio where the tables were set up. "Come on in and have a seat. Everybody want beer or do you want a soda pop?"

Everybody was good with beer, so Sookie got cold cans of Bud Ice out of a tub of ice and passed them to all the guys as the rest of the family wandered out. "You guys all know Amelia, right? And Bobbie, and here's Bjorn and Jerry coming up the walk…"

"I don't think I know Jerry, but I remember the others. How you all doin'?'" Sam nodded to Bobbie and Bjorn, shook hands with Jerry and gave Amelia a kiss on the cheek. Sookie heard Sam think he wished he could kiss her, too, but he knew Eric wouldn't like it.

"OK, Sookie, before we do anything else, do I have one nephew or two?"

"You've got two, but you've only met one."

"OK, so there's Alex and who else?"

"Alex has a twin, but he was very small and had to stay with a nurse for a bit. We kept it quiet so he'd be safe and have time to sort of catch up before we introduced him to the world."

"I never heard of nothin' like that before, Sookie…"

"Jason, do you think I'm a good mom?"

"Yeah, of course…"

"Then just trust that I'm doing the very best I can for my kids and that I've got my reasons for doing things the way I do, OK? Things can be very complicated for us."

"Because of your husband being King and all?"

"Right. I'm doing what I can to keep them both safe and healthy, and it hasn't been easy, but they're both doing fine now. You'll see them in a bit. They should wake up from their naps any time now."

"Actually, I think I hear Alex," Bobbie said, "I'll change them and bring them out."

"Sookie, this place sure looks different than the last time we were here!" Hoyt said. "You had some landscaping done?"

"Yeah, I wish they had the water feature ready so you could see it all but that won't be done until next week."

"How come you didn't wait and have the party then, Sookie?" Jason asked.

"Well, today is the end of my vacation, and next week is the Wiccaning, so we thought tonight would be the best chance to do it. We're going to be traveling a lot over the next few months and we won't have much time to visit. I thought this was my best chance to see you, Jason, before we're so busy."

"You've been on vacation? From what?"

"Being Queen. Eric gave me two weeks off to spend time with the boys, but as the fall comes, I have a lot of responsibilities I have to meet."

"Wow, so it's like a real job and not just a title?" Hoyt asked

"Yeah, I have decisions to make, contracts to sign, houses to oversee, and especially functions I have to attend to represent the kingdom."

"Like those times you went on TV?" Catfish asked

"Yeah – they have a ton of things for me to do when we go back to New Orleans, plus we're getting a new residence in Las Vegas and Eric has business all over the country over the next few months…"

She heard Sam wonder whether she knew what kind of business it was.

"So I hear…" Sam started to say something, but Bobbie came back with Alex and Aubie, Alicia opening the sliding door for her and Bjorn following right behind her with the highchairs. Bobbie had dressed the boys in matching black creepers, one on Alex that said "party in my crib, byob," and one on Aubie that said "Hey, Dude, your wife is checking me out," and Sookie was tickled to death, especially to see they were wearing the two different pairs of skull and cross-bones shoes.

"There are my boys!" Sookie jumped up to give them both kisses, taking Alex from Bobbie first. "Look, Alex, there's Uncle Jason!"

"Una Dastha!" Alex reached for him anxiously and Jason took him, giving him a kiss and a hug, and holding onto him for a few minutes. "Hey, Alex! How you doin', buddy?"

"Dood! Sthimmeen ina poo!"

"Huh?" Jason looked at Sookie.

"He says he's good, he's been swimming in the pool," Sookie translated, laughing.

"Can he swim already?"

"Yeah, actually, he can, but mostly he floats around in a little pool toy and plays on the steps in the water. Alex, Sweetie, say 'hi' to Hoyt and Catfish, remember them? And this is Mommy's friend, Sam."

"Ah!" Alex waved to everybody as Sookie took him and put him in his highchair, then took Aubie from Bobbie.

"OK, everybody, this is Eric Auberon H'Eloise Northman…"

"H'Eloise?" Sam said with surprise, but Sookie gave him a look begging him not to say anything in front of the others.

"Yeah, it's a family name."

"I ain't never heard it before…" Jason said.

"I know, but trust me, it is. Anyway, we call him Aubie for short. Aubie, this is your Uncle Jason. He's Mommy's Buddy, just like Alex is your Buddy. See, Uncle Jason?"

"Ah!" Aubie waved at Jason, but was hesitant to go to him from Sookie.

"It's OK, Aubie, Mommy's right here. I'm not going anywhere," she encouraged him and he finally went to Jason, who hugged him and gave him a kiss.

"Wow, they couldn't look more alike, could they?" Jason laughed. "you're a mighty good lookin' kid, Aubie!"

Aubie didn't know what he was saying, but he liked the attention so he giggled and clapped his hands.

"He just learned to clap his hands, so he does that a lot," Sookie explained.

"Mmamma!" Aubie wanted to go back to Sookie now, so Jason handed him off, then tickled him once she had him and Aubie loved it.

"He's a sweet tempered kid, ain't he?" Jason bragged on him.

"Yeah, he is," Sookie said, "he's a little shy about being away from me, but he's just as sweet and happy as he can be. He and Alex get along really well."

"So they're born at the same time, but Alex seems a lot older and bigger…" Jason was trying to figure this all out.

"Yeah, Aubie's not as advanced as Alex, but he's still more advanced than a human baby."

"NnDADA!" Aubie called out just before Eric walked out the back door, and Alex yelled, "vìg!"

"Yeah, there's Daddy! Hey, Sweetie!" She reached up and kissed Eric, who then kissed Aubie and took him from Sookie for a cuddle.

"Hello, my lovely wife! Stackhouse – good to see you! Hoyt, and Catfish, and Sam Merlotte, welcome, all of you." Eric was being gracious but he was less than thrilled to see Sam there and Sookie knew it. She also knew that was why she had the intuition not to wear a bathing suit. She didn't want to think about how Eric would react to Sam seeing her in a bikini.

"Hey, Eric – the construction's coming right along, I see," Jason couldn't think of anything else to say.

"Yes, we've had very good workers and I'm hoping it will all be done before we head back to New Orleans next month. Have you all eaten?"

"No, they're just taking things off the grill, I think…"

"Yes, everybody have a seat at the table, if you want," Sookie suggested. "Can I get anybody another beer?"

Jason and Catfish accepted another one each and everyone sat at or near the tables.

Eric took a seat next to the highchairs after putting Aubie in his, and Alicia brought a little bowl of barbecue for Alex and a plate of apples and chicken gravy for Aubie since they thought the barbecue would be too spicy for him.

"Wow – Alex can feed himself already?" Even Jason knew it was way too early for that.

"Yes," Eric said proudly, "he just learned and he does very well. He's a very smart boy, aren't you, Alexander?"

"Ahm smard!" Alex said with his mouthful and Eric laughed with delight, and most of the others did, too.

Hoyt got a big kick out of the way Aubie opened his mouth so wide when Eric gave him a spoonful of food. "That's so cute how he tries to help out," Hoyt bragged.

"He just started eating solid food a few days ago," Eric explained, "so it is a very new thing for him. He already loves apples, don't you, Auberon?"

"Ah! Abuh!" Aubie smacked the tray of the highchair with both hands for emphasis then stuck his finger in the apples and took a taste, then giggled and said "Abuh!" in a really high, playful voice. Everybody laughed and Eric took the spoon for a second and scraped a little food off Alex's face and back into his mouth. Alex made smacking noises as he ate, then said, "Dadee, babagoo atha B inid."

"Very good, Alex! Barbecue does have a B in it!" Eric was very pleased to see Alex show off a bit.

"Can he read already?"

"Not yet, but I am sure it won't be long. I read a few pages of a Dr. Seuss alphabet book to him the other night and he immediately began picking out the letter B and even realized on his own that Bobbie's name has a B in it. He's very good at making connections of that sort."

"You read to them?" That surprised all of them.

"Yes, of course. We have some quiet time when they have their last feeding around 4:30 so Sookie can sleep. They have a bottle and a bit of food, and most nights we read, don't we Alex?"

"BAYAH!"

Eric laughed, "yes, last night I told him a story about killing a bear when I was a boy and was nearly killed. I'll make sure he is smarter than that."

"How old were you?" Jason asked.

"Twelve, but I was already very tall and thought I was a man."

"You get hurt?" Hoyt wanted to know the story, too.

"Yes, my leg was clawed very badly, but there was no permanent damage. My mother nearly died of shock when I came home covered in blood with wounds, and wouldn't allow me to eat any of the bear when the women in the village cooked it. I still have the three claws one of them kept for me, though."

"You do? From when you were 12?" Sookie couldn't believe that.

"Yes, even after all these years, I've managed to hang onto them. I don't know how, but I have. The original bag it was a part of has long since deteriorated, but the claws themselves are in the little wooden box on my chest of drawers."

"I want to see them, Eric!"

"That would be pretty cool…" Hoyt hinted.

"Alright, I'll go get them," Eric laughed, happy for a chance to show off. He went in through the kitchen and zipped up the stairs at vampire speed, returning almost instantly with the three claws held together with black string. "Here they are," he said proudly as he handed them to Sookie.

"Oh, my Goddess!" Sookie said and started to cry, surprising everyone.

"Sookie, what is wrong?" Eric couldn't believe she was crying but she threw her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly for a long time. "Sookie?"

"It's just... it's something from when you were human, when you were a little boy…"

"I was well over 6 feet tall, Sweetheart…"

"Yeah, but, you know, it's from so long ago and you still have it and the boys can see them… It's so special!"

"Women, huh, Eric?" Jason sympathized, knowing this was a girl thing and no guy would know how to handle it no matter how old and smart he was.

"Yes, indeed," he laughed as he held Sookie.

"Show them to the boys!" she urged him as she began to get control of herself.

"Alex," Eric knelt down next to his chair, "these are from the bear Daddy killed when he was a boy."

"BAYAH!" Alex felt them with his fingers. "Sthordsth por FIDEEN!"

"Yes, Daddy used a sword and a spear. You've never seen a spear, yet, though, have you, my son?"

"Is he saying "swords for fighting?"" Sam asked, appalled.

"Yes, he's quite the little warrior. The first time he saw my sword collection he went wild, but he was smart enough not to touch them. He loves to see me practice with them, don't you, Alex?"

"Eeah, Dadee sthordsth in da dim! Vìg!" He threw his little arm up for emphasis.

"Daddy's swords are in the gym," Bjorn translated. "He likes to go up there every morning and… play.' Bjorn barely caught himself, almost saying "fly."

"What was that other thing he said?" Jason asked.

"Vìg – the Swedish word for fight," Eric beamed at him.

"Does Aubie go, too?" Hoyt asked

"He did this morning. He likes to watch Alex play – he's a lot more mobile than Aubie is right now," Sookie explained. "He cheers Alex on, though, don't you, Cookie?" she laughed as she took Aubie out of his highchair for a snuggle.

"Una Dastha, ahm wokkeen!" Alex said proudly

"He's telling Uncle Jason that he's walking now," Eric translated. Sookie was horrified, but Eric didn't see any reason to hide it.

"He can walk already?"

"Yes, would you like to see? Want to show off, Alex?"

"Eeah!"

Eric was proud as a peacock as he took Alex out of his highchair. Jason got up from the table and knelt down and Eric knelt with Alex facing him. "Alright, Alex, go to Uncle Jason," though Alex didn't need any urging. He ran right over to Jason's open hands. Aubie squealed and clapped his hands. "UM BUMBY!"

Sookie cracked up, "Yeah, go Buddy!" Then, when they all looked at her, she explained, "Aubie calls Alex "Bumby" – he's trying to say "Buddy" but that's how it comes out."

"He doesn't like swords and fighting?"

"Not like Alex. Alex came out of me spoiling for a fight. Aubie's a lover, not a fighter, right, Cookie?" Sookie laughed. "Anybody need anything from the grill? Eat all you want, there's a ton of food."

"I could take some more ribs," Jason led the way and everyone filled their plates again as they wanted. Margaret brought another platter of chicken and ribs, and Hoyt said, "this sure is good food, ma'am," and everyone else agreed.

"Oh, thank you, sir. Don't be shy, now, there's a lot of it. Mrs. Northman, did we tell you that the new little bed for the twins is in place?"

"No – it is?"

"Yes, it came today and we've already attached it to your bed. It looks very cozy and they won't be so crowded now."

"Great – thank you for doing that!"

"Wow, Sookie, you don't have to do much around here, do you?" Jason couldn't believe all these servants.

"No, I really don't. Eric has things set up so all I have to do is focus on my work and my babies – mostly my babies."

"Sookie has finer things to offer my sons than wrangling their diapers and running sweepers. I want as much of her time and attention focused on the boys and me as possible. The boys are as healthy and happy as they are because of her. I've never seen a more loving mother," Eric smiled at her and raised her hand to his lips for a kiss. "The time she spends with the boys in the mornings and afternoons is invaluable – don't you agree, Bjorn?"

"Absolutely. Those are the luckiest kids I've ever seen. The first thing they see almost every day is that big smile, and she sings to them and tickles them, and feeds them, then they play in the pool and get cuddled and fed. They've got all of the rest of us to play with them, too, so they're showered with attention, and there are so many of us that no one is ever over-tired or cross with them."

"They like attention from you guys, too. Alex insists on being fed breakfast by Bjorn and dinner by Daddy, then they have their quiet time with Eric every night before he goes to ground. I breast feed them two or three times a day, but they get bottles from Alicia, too, which keeps me from getting too awfully worn out. I've been very tired since their birth, but everybody does as much as they can to let me rest."

"So, Sookie, if you're going to be traveling so much, what do I do if I need to talk to you about something?"

"Call my cell phone. There's always someone around, even when I'm asleep, so we'll know you called. Do you have Eric's cell number?"

"No, I don't. I have Pam's at Fangtasia…"

"You should probably have the house phone here and Alicia's number, too, just in case."

"Would you like me to add them for you?" Eric offered, holding out his hand.

"Yeah, please." Jason handed him his phone and Eric added the numbers very quickly.

"I'll also include our New Orleans house number, because we'll be there a lot between now and the first of the year. As Sookie said, though, your best bet is her phone."

"Oh, yeah, Jason, there will be a security firm watching the house now, so don't go over there without letting someone know. They'll be watching Bill's house, too."

"I ain't seen Vampire Bill in a long time – where's he been?"

"He is in New Orleans, working for me," Eric explained. "Since both houses will be empty, we thought it best to hire someone to see that they're undisturbed."

"Oh, OK. Will there be people here while you all are gone?"

"Yes, Carrie will maintain the inside of the house, the gardener's boys will be here as usual and there will be guards on duty."

"Would you ever consider letting me use the pool?"

"Oh, I don't know…"Sookie looked at Eric.

"If you notify the housekeeper ahead of time, and restrict yourself to the bathroom in the den, I wouldn't mind. I don't want people roaming through the house, so no one goes past the den, agreed?"

"Yeah, that's cool. It would probably just be me and Hoyt hanging…"

"No girls upstairs, Jason, he means it," Sookie said emphatically. "Remember, Eric can smell it if you go anywhere else in the house, even if you clean up, so don't do it."

"No, no, I'm just thinking about drinking a few beers and floating on an air mattress."

"OK, no showing up at 3 in the morning, Jason – the guards won't let you in," Sookie wanted to be sure she covered every contingency. She was shocked Eric didn't just tell him 'no' but she also knew Eric was thinking that Jason wouldn't dare piss him off. Sookie wasn't convinced that Jason was smart enough to be as afraid of Eric as he should be.

"Don't worry, Sis, I'm not going to throw a wild party at your house."

"No, you're not, because there will be guards watching everything you do. I just want to make sure you know that, and that you're smart enough not to mess with them or show up unannounced."

"They're like rent-a-cops, though, right?"

"No, Jason, these are not mall cops – these guys are trained killers, every one of them," Sookie told him seriously.

Bjorn decided to add his 2 cents. "Most of my staff is ex-Special Forces, Jason. This is not a ground crew here – it's an army serving a vampire King," he told him, knowing he'd pay more attention to him than Sookie because he was an idiot and had no idea who or what his sister really was. "There's not a man on these grounds that hasn't killed someone with his bare hands – if they haven't made an actual kill, I don't even consider them for the job."

"I might as well just tell you – they're all werewolves and vampires and some other things, Jason. Being my brother will only get you so far. They have a job to do and they'll do it."

"Your sister's and nephews' safety is their primary mission, so anything that impinges on their comfort, let alone their safety, won't be tolerated," Bjorn added.

"Have you guys ever had an actual threat or anything?" Jason was a little worried now, but not as much as he should be. Sam was the only one of the four visitors who understood the situation.

Sookie looked at Eric, who said, "yes, we've had actual attempts against Sookie, one of the boys, and this property. There are very bad people who want to harm my family, so that is why we're so adamant about this and why we're so careful about whom we let through the gates."

"Who would want to hurt one of the boys?"

"It was a kidnapping attempt, Jason, and by someone I should be able to trust. I won't ever trust anyone like that again," Sookie said with such determination that Jason actually got the point.

"Your sister can be quite the tigress when her cubs are threatened," Eric said proudly and Bjorn and Jerry cracked up.

"What'd she do?"

"We can't give any details for security reasons, but believe me, Sookie can kick ass and take names when she needs to," Bjorn said with obvious admiration. "She's a much stronger woman than you can imagine and she's fierce when it comes to her kids."

"Damn straight," Sookie said in all seriousness, but Bjorn and Jerry laughed, nodding agreement and Eric leaned over to kiss her.

"Is everyone ready for some watermelon?" Alicia asked.

"Yeah, great!" Jason said and everyone agreed. Lonnie and Leroy carried three big melons out of the house where they'd been in the big cooler and Margaret spread newspapers out as Carrie and Alicia cleared away the last of the plates. Margaret carved them up into nice wedges and everyone grabbed a fresh plate and dug in.

Alicia chopped quite a bit of it into tiny chunks so the babies could handle it and gave a big bowl to Eric, as well as a small plate with a small piece of melon on it for him.

"Are you going to eat some, Sweetie?" Sookie was excited – she didn't know why, but she loved it when he ate food.

"Yes, it smells very good tonight," he said as he sniffed it and took a bite.

Sam was shocked. "Eric, are you able to eat food?"

"Yes, small amounts of some things. Dr. Ludwig says it is probably due to my age, or to the blood exchanges Sookie and I do. We seem to be exchanging capabilities a bit. It keeps things interesting."

"Yes, it does," Sookie said, a bit more suggestively than she intended to, nearly causing Hoyt to choke.

"Me, Dadee!" Alex reached for Eric's piece of melon.

"You have melon in your bowl there, Alex."

"Nah, nah, por beebees! Dat, Dadee!"

"He says that's for babies, Daddy, he wants a whole piece," Sookie translated, standing up and taking the knife, cutting a small, thin wedge and putting it on Alex's tray. "Here, baby, be careful with it."

"We'll have to hose him down after this," Bobbie laughed.

"Nah nah, Babee, me ina poo!"

"Oh, you've got this all worked out have you, Alex?" She teased him

"EEAH!"

"OK, then, when you're done, we'll just throw you in the pool," she laughed.

"EEAH, ahm sthimmeen dood!" he said enthusiastically as he grabbed the little slice of melon and gnawed the shit out of it, making everyone laugh as he smacked at the melon and had juice running down his arms. Eric was giving spoonfuls of melon to Aubie and he was making his surprised, delighted face, and Eric was about to bust at how cute he was. "Auberon, this is watermelon. Watermelon," he said slowly.

"Dadee, Obee wyg wadamemom!"

"Yes, Alex, I think Aubie does like watermelon."

"Wama!"

"Yes, Auberon, that is called watermelon."

"Wama!"

"Close enough," Eric laughed and kissed him on the cheek, making him giggle. He kicked his feet a few times then opened his mouth wide because he wanted more wama!

Sookie laughed, "that's a big hit. I thought he'd had it before."

"I don't think so – it's only been a couple of days," Eric said.

Alex finished his watermelon and let out a huge belch.

"Alex! My goodness!" Sookie laughed. "Are you alright, Sweetie?"

"Sthimmeen, Mamee."

"Want me to take him in, Sookie?" Bobbie offered.

"Yeah, why not – it's plenty warm tonight."

"Come on, Pookie, let's show Daddy how well you can swim." Bobbie took him from his highchair and went to the other end of the pool where the steps down into it were as Alicia brought her the plastic covering for his diaper. Amelia decided to join them, and jumped in from the near end.

"You did not swim today, Sookie?" Eric was surprised she wasn't in her suit.

"No, I did some work - in the basement, you know? - and then I talked to the decorator and Bjorn took me out front to see the landscaping and by the time I did all that and went up to see Octavia, it was time for dinner. "

"Bjorn, will you need Sookie to work out tonight?" Eric wondered, though he knew she couldn't shift in front of Hoyt and Catfish.

"No, she already kicked ass today. She'll tell you all about it. What she needs right now is rest and we'll drill her in the morning."

Eric took Aubie out of his chair and sat back down with him, noticing the little copper necklace he was wearing. He pointed to it and looked at Sookie with raised eyebrows and she nodded, letting him know that was the shield they wanted for him.

"Where did you get it?" he asked softly

"Long story you won't even believe," she said in a way that told him she couldn't go into it in front of company.

Eric nodded and snuggled Aubie under his chin, rubbing his back as he laid his little head on his shoulder and grabbed a handful of hair.

"Is that a pain, having long hair around a baby, Eric?" Jason asked

"Not at all. He's not pulling it, he just uses it to get closer. Alex plays with it, too, but very gently. Neither of them gets too rough at this stage, though I know that will change as they get older."

"Dadee! Woogie!" Alex called

"Alright, Alex," Eric stood and Aubie turned so he could see Alex, too. "Swim!"

Alex took off like a bat out of hell, zipping through the water like a fish, going from Bobbie to Amelia

"Very good, Alex!"

"Um, BUMBY!" Aubie clapped

"Holy shit!" Jason said, "that kid swims like a fish!"

"Yes, babies apparently naturally know how to swim if you start them very early. Alex is much quicker than a human child, of course, and he took to it instantly. All I had to do was let go of him in the water and back away, and he came right to me. He can swim quite far. Auberon, do you want to swim?"

"Nah." Aubie shook his whole body and then laid his head back against Eric's chest.

"I think Aubie's tired today. He was helping me downstairs." Sookie said as she came to stand beside him, knowing Eric would know what she meant.

"Ah, well, then he's earned a rest. He's a very good boy," Eric kissed his head.

"Yep, not a peep out of him, he just watched everything with those big eyes."

Jason went to get another beer, and Sam went with him and waited for Sookie to come back to the table to try to talk to her.

"So, Sookie, everything is going well for you, I guess?"

"Yes, it really is. There are problems, of course, but they're all from the outside. When it's just us, everything is perfect."

"Well, you've never looked better. Being a mommy agrees with you."

"Yeah, it's so much fun, and I get to spend so much time with them and with Eric. It's like a dream sometimes."

"So, I got the invitation to the Wiccaning, but I haven't RSVP'd yet. Is it OK if I come?"

"Of course, Sam! I'm glad you were invited. I haven't seen the invitations or the guest list. It's more like a state affair than a family thing, though our family ties will play a big role in it. I think it's going to be a huge crowd. I want all the friends there I can get."

"Well, I'll be glad to be there for you."

"Thanks so much, Sam." Sookie knew he was sad to find her so happy and she understood that, but she couldn't imagine herself anywhere but right where she was. She loved her life.


	94. Chapter 94

**[A/N: **In this chapter, Sookie is reading_**Stranger in a Strange Land**_by Robert A. Heinlein. I highly recommend it. Also, sorry if anyone is offended by the use of real fur, but it's just fantasy so no harm done, and vampires are not exactly PC, anyway.

I had hoped to get to the Wiccaning, which I thought would be done by August 1 last year, yet here we are a year later and we're still not quite there yet This story has a life of its own and refuses to be rushed. Ah, well – Merry Lughnasadh! We'll get there soon!]

**Chapter 94**

"Bye, y'all!" Sookie waved as Jason and the guys walked back toward the garages after saying goodbye and kissing the babies.

"That was pleasant." Eric said with a bit of surprise as he held Alex wrapped in a towel.

"I knew you'd enjoy it," Sookie said with a laugh as she stood next to him bouncing Aubie, "you love showing off the boys. What did you do with the bear claws?"

"They're in my pocket, and I'll put them back in the little box when we go up."

"Good, I want you to keep taking good care of them. It will mean so much to the boys to see them as they grow up. I'm so tickled you have them, I can't tell you."

"Your reaction took me by surprise."

"It's just so wonderful, Eric. After a thousand years, there aren't any other remnants of your life. You don't have family heirlooms or things like that. Having those from your human life is a blessing."

"I was very proud of Alex remembering the story and recognizing the claws. He understands so much more than seems possible. He is a very great spirit, I believe."

"You're probably right. I think both boys are."

"Absolutely."

"Eric?"

"Yes, Bjorn?"

"It's going on 10 o'clock. I'd like your permission to go to bed now so I'm sharp in the morning, and I'd recommend that Sookie do the same since she has to be up early. She worked very hard today."

"That's a very good idea. Jerry has already retired, has he not?"

"Yes. I'll tell the guard that Jerry and I are resting so they'll be more alert and I'll turn it over to you. Alicia said she's got all your packing done, and she turned in as well, but Margaret is still up if you need her. Sookie has two meals up in the fridge for later if she wakes up, there's food for the boys and two bottles. Your travel box is ready for you in the living room."

"Alright, Margaret can retire any time then, and Sookie and I will take the boys up so they can wind down. Thank you for your help today, Bjorn."

"My pleasure. Good night." Bjorn headed back through the house and told Margaret she could close the kitchen for the night. Eric leisurely took Sookie and the boys back to the elevator and into the bedroom, talking about what they wanted to do tonight.

"How about a family bath?" Sookie suggested as they reached the third floor.

"Yes, a short one might be a good idea. It will relax us all and we'll be clean for travel."

"Right, and then I'll shower again when I get ready for the party tomorrow."

"Do you know what you are wearing?"

"Alicia said she packed three options for me and shoes and a bag that will match any of them. Bless her heart, Eric, I don't know what I'd do without her," Sookie laughed as they took the boys into the nursery and removed their dirty diapers. Eric loved hearing that because it was another way of saying he was right about something they'd disagreed about.

"What about Aubie's charm?"

"Freyja said not to take it off until after, so I assume that means after the Wiccaning."

"She gave it to you?" he asked as he followed her into the bedroom.

"No, I materialized it, then we did a ritual and She appeared and told me that."

"You materialized it? You mean out of thin air?"

"Yep. You could have knocked me over with a feather."

"How?"

"Octavia told me how to ground and expand my energy, then I visualized what I needed and before I knew it, it burned my hand."

Eric just looked at her.

"Pretty cool, huh?"

"Indeed."

He started the bath while Sookie undressed and chattered to the boys who were waiting on the bed. Eric came back and removed his clothing, each of them taking a baby into the bathroom. Eric helped Sookie get situated with Aubie then he and Alex floated up into the bath. Aubie was going crazy splashing the water, making Sookie laugh.

"You know, Eric, he likes bath water better than being in the pool."

"I wonder why?"

"I don't know why I think this, but I think because it's warm. I notice he likes to snuggle up against me and burrow under covers, and I think it's because it makes him feel safe."

"That would make sense," Eric said absently as he put the little duckies in the water to both boys' sheer delight.

"Duggy! Woogie, Obee, DUGGY!"

"nDuhee"

"Duggy."

"nDubhee."

"That's pretty good, Aubie," Sookie encouraged him.

"Obee dokkeen dood."

"Yeah, Aubie's talking good. You're a good teacher, Alex. That's a good boy, teaching Buddy to talk."

"Obee ma widdow Buggy."

Eric laughed at that. "That… is wonderful," he said with delight, stroking Alex's head gently.

"You like that, huh?"

"I could never have imagined the joy of hearing my babies speak. I cannot believe such joy is possible," he rubbed his eyes trying to hide his tears. Sookie leaned over and kissed him a long time, which made Aubie splash and giggle like crazy. Sookie and Eric both laughed at that, which made Alex laugh, too. "We are a very happy group tonight, my beautiful family."

"It was a good day," Sookie told him. "Some amazing stuff happened, Alex got to play with Bobbie and Amelia all day, Aubie got to do magick, and we met the decorator and saw the landscaping, and had company. Nothing was traumatic today. Surprising, but not traumatic."

"The necklace surprised you?"

"Not just that. I had my time with the book this morning, right? And I said out loud that I needed to protect Aubie from vampires and it opened itself to a page with the charm on it. I asked Freyja how I'd remember it all and She said it was in my journal. When I woke up, it was written in my journal in my handwriting, and so was some other stuff I know I didn't write, and more stuff appeared throughout the day today. Even Titania's last two entries are in it in HER handwriting. Then, when I did the ritual I forgot to bring my journal down so I called "book" and THE book appeared in the circle with us!"

"You mean you can read it here?"

"Yeah, but only in the circle. And Freyja told me Niall has no idea what's inside it because if he tries to touch it, it will kill him and he knows it. And She said he tried to hide Aubie from us with magick, but my magick is stronger than his."

"Interesting. You're getting stronger."

"Yeah, I know, and Freyja is trusting me more. This was the first time I talked to Her where I didn't feel like She cut out too early. She said She's going to try to get the word out about who I am to prevent war."

"Interesting. I would expect her to do it very subtly, so we'll still make our preparations. We can't risk being caught unaware. Turn around and I'll wash your hair for you."

"Goodie," she laughed, pulling the elastic out of her hair and shifting Aubie around so he was in front of her as Eric worked on her. Alex was off to the side facing all of them and was preoccupied with the ducks. Aubie watched with big eyes as Eric wet Sookie's hair with the handheld and then soaped it up.

"Your hair is getting very long, Sookie."

"Should I cut it?"

"I'd prefer that you didn't. I love very long hair. When you were…" he stopped himself. It might not be a good idea to say this to her.

"When I was Titania I had really long hair – that's what you were going to say."

"Yes, I started speaking before I thought that might bother you. I'm sorry."

"No, don't be sorry. Her hair is beautiful in that painting. I wouldn't mind letting my hair get really long like that again."

"Again?"

"Yeah, it was really long when I was a little girl. I didn't cut it until I was about 14. It got to be too much when we had to take showers after gym class."

"You should do what makes you happiest, of course, but I do like long hair, especially when it is so lovely and bright."

"Speaking of which, is there a silver grey bottle of shampoo over there, with dark blue writing?"

Eric reached toward the basket on the ledge behind them. "This one?"

"Yeah, after you rinse my hair, put some of that conditioner on it so the color will be bright tomorrow."

"Is it a hair dye?"

"No, it's a blue conditioner that just brightens blond hair a little. You'll like it, trust me."

He rinsed her hair then spread a generous amount of conditioner through her hair. "If I didn't know what this was, I'd think it was paint," he laughed.

"Yeah, there are two different types of color enhancements for blonde hair. Some are yellow and bring out golden highlights. This one will bring out the white highlights so it looks blonder. Sort of an optical illusion, I think. I don't use it all the time, just when it needs a little oomph, you know? I'll look extra-blonde tomorrow night."

"I can't wait to show you off tomorrow night."

"Who is going to see me?"

"Some of the richest vampires in the world, my Angel, and some royalty from several different places. Mama will be there."

"Giselle, you mean?"

"Yes, you remember her?"

"Yes – she'll want to see the babies, won't she?"

"Yes, we'll invite her to our suite for a nightcap and let her meet them. She adores babies."

"Well, I guess we'll find out how well the charm works then."

"Yes, we will. It's a good idea to try it in such a controlled environment before we try it at a huge event like the Wiccaning. Giselle is very old and has wonderful self-control. Even if it were ineffective, it would be the ideal situation for a test."

Sookie blew out a big breath. "OK, Eric, you know it scares me, but I'm going to trust that you know what you're talking about and that Aubie won't get hurt. "

"Thank you, my sweet wife." He pulled her backwards a little and kissed her cheek as he finished rinsing her hair.

"Dadee, wath my ayr an Obee ayr."

"Alex first or Aubie first?"

"Obee fuhss."

"Alright, then, Mommy, bring Aubie around between us."

"OK, here we go, Aubie." She picked him up and turned so she was facing Eric, then put Aubie, support pillow and all, between them so Aubie had his back to Eric. "Daddy's going to wash your hair, Cookie, OK?"

"Ah!"

Sookie guided him to lean back just a little and Eric made sure the flow on the handheld was very gentle, then wet Aubie's hair. Aubie closed his eyes and was reveling in the sensation.

"Can you feel that, Eric?"

"Yes, he likes this. I'm surprised he is not afraid."

"No, that feels good, doesn't it, Aubie?"

"nDada" Aubie said softly as he pressed his little hands together in front of his chest, almost like he was praying.

"Yeah, Daddy's washing your hair, isn't he, Sweetie."

"Ahhhhh!" Aubie said in a playful, soft, high-pitched tone.

"Alright, my son, all finished," Eric said with a smile as he kissed Aubie's forehead. Sookie pulled Aubie toward her and rotated him so he was facing Eric, then Eric pulled Alex facing Aubie and wet his hair."

"Ba Bumby!" Alex said playfully, still quiet from his shampoo.

"Yeah, Daddy's washing Buddy's hair now, just like he did yours, isn't he?"

"Ahh!" Aubie was being silly now.

"Alright, Alex, all done," Eric announced as he gave him a big kiss.

"Mamee, wath Dadee ayr!"

"Yes, it's my turn to wash Daddy's hair now, isn't it?" Sookie laughed as they scooted the boys sideways so their backs were against the wall next to each other and Eric turned so his back was to Sookie. She got up on her knees and used the handheld to do Eric's hair and the babies sat fascinated, and Sookie whispered to Eric at one point to look at the boys, because Alex was holding Aubie's hand.

After everyone's hair was done, Eric and Sookie washed each other, then Aubie said "Mmamma!" because he wanted her to wash him – he really liked that and Sookie could feel it, especially when she used a washcloth to wash his and Alex's faces. Eric washed Alex and opened the drain, then made it rain over them to rinse them all off, which Alex and Aubie both made happy sounds about. Eric got out and lifted Sookie out, each of them quickly drying off, combing their hair, brushing teeth and then wrapping the boys in soft towels and heading for the nursery. Sookie diapered one twin as Eric held the other so and before long they were all snuggled in bed with the boys between them.

"Eric, are you upset that we're not going to you-know-what tonight?" She asked as she was propped up on one elbow and using the other to stroke Aubie's hand.

Eric's position mirrored Sookie's. "Not at all, Sookie, I want you to rest so you'll be fresh tomorrow. You did huge magick today, Sweetheart, you could easily get run down if you don't rest properly."

"Was it really that big?"

"Sookie – you spoke to a Goddess twice. You went to Elfyria. You brought a book to you from Elfyria. You conjured your own journal to write itself. You manifested two items from thin air and then cast a spell around them. Any one of those would be so far beyond most people's capabilities, it is unimaginable. That you did them all and did them as well as you did, and as easily – Sookie, you are a miracle."

"Freyja did most of it…" she said as Eric smoothed her hair away from her face and fluffed it a bit.

"You are Freyja, Sweetheart and you channeled an enormous amount of energy through your body, which is still more human than not. You were told to be very careful about that. I know your vacation is over, but you must still take every opportunity to rest."

"I need to eat something…" she said quietly as she stroked Alex's cheek, both boys now sound asleep.

"I'll bet there's a salad in the mini-fridge," Eric smiled and got up to check. He stopped first to move each baby to the new co-sleeper, which was a beige wicker style but nicely padded and gave them plenty of room to move around while still within Sookie's reach.

"I love this thing!" Sookie said quietly, but enthusiastically. "They look so comfy and sweet."

"I think you'll sleep better this way, too. I think you were always aware of Alex being in bed with you and were not resting completely."

"You do?"

"Yes, there was always a bit of stress or hesitance in the bond when you'd sleep that way. A part of you never really let go because you were afraid of hurting him."

"Maybe – I can see that," she nodded. "What kind of salad do I have?"

"It looks like a Caesar salad with shrimp and a piece of large bread."

"Oh – Texas toast! That sounds yummy! I need an RM, too."

Eric put the salad on her tray and got her set with it, then opened the RM for her and put a straw in it. He came back and sat in bed next to her as she ate.

"Do you want to watch TV?"

"Nah – I like it when it's just us all being quiet."

"So do I!" he leaned over and kissed her.

"Listen, the boys will want to be breast fed pretty soon. If I'm asleep, wake me up for that one, then you take the later one, as usual, OK?"

"I could just give them bottles both times…"

"No, Eric, they need breast milk this time, OK?"

"OK, if you say so."

"Don't you dare blow me off by telling me what I want to hear then let me sleep anyway, Eric."

Eric cracked up. "You know me too well."

"Yes, I do, so you wake me up for the next one if I'm not awake" she was shaking her fork at him for emphasis, then she scraped the last bits of salad out of the bowl. "Is there anything else up here I'm allowed to eat? What about chocolate?"

"Let me see." Eric went back to the fridge and found two dark chocolate bars with blueberries and almonds and a bag of dark chocolate covered almonds. "Do you want one of these?" He held up the bars.

"I want both of those, gimme!" She was being silly, but she really wanted something else.

"Or would you rather have dark chocolate covered almonds?"

"Oooh – good question. Give me the bars this time, I guess. Almonds take a while to eat," she giggled. "Put those in my tote bag for tomorrow."

"Are you that hungry, Sookie? I can get you something else – there's peanut butter and crackers in here, and milk…"

"Ooh, milk. Give me some milk!"

Eric laughed, "if I didn't know better, I'd think you were pregnant."

"I'm not, Eric, it's too soon, plus I'm breast-feeding and I think that keeps you from getting pregnant again so soon."

"True, it has only been one month."

"Of course, things weren't really normal with me…" she said as she tore into the first candy bar.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, women usually bleed for 6 to 8 weeks after, but I haven't had any bleeding at all really."

"Of course not – my blood healed you."

"Yeah, so, maybe…"

"Do you think you are?" Eric said hopefully.

"No, Eric, I don't, but seems like I should have a period by now."

"Wednesday is a month, Sookie – maybe next week?"

"Yeah, you're probably right. I'll get it then. Surely nobody worked magick to make me get pregnant again so soon."

"Dr. Ludwig said it might not be necessary next time."

"Yeah, she did. It's not time yet, though, and there's no way I could feed three babies. Hopefully, I'll get a year or two before the next one comes along."

"I will be happy whenever it happens."

"Good to know," she laughed as she tore into the second one, having already inhaled the first. She let out a big yawn, then took a big bite.

"When you finish that, Sookie, you should sleep," Eric told her as he handed her a glass of milk.

"Yeah, you're right. You have work to do, anyway, right?"

"Yes, I do have some things that need my attention."

"OK, I'll be a big girl and go to sleep by myself."

"And I will wake you as I promised."

"OK, good night, Sweetie." He kissed her sweetly and turned out the light in the headboard leaving her to sleep. He closed the door so the light from his office wouldn't disturb her and went to do as much work as he could since he would be busy all weekend. Running two vampire kingdoms, or rather, the biggest vampire kingdom in North America, was a 7-days a week job.

Sookie lay in the dark with her eyes closed, laughing at Eric for thinking she was pregnant. While it did seem as if she should get a period soon, there was just no way she could be… shit! Sookie was suddenly in a cold sweat. Bjorn! Bjorn hadn't used a condom, had he? That's something that would never occur to Eric. She tried to replay their scene in the basement at Fangtasia and she was sure there had been no opportunity for him to use a condom the first time. Or the second. Or the third. FUCK!

'OK, Sookie, calm down. It's highly unlikely. That was what – four days ago?' Holy Goddess, it feels like a year ago. She counted it up on her fingers and realized that it was exactly 3 weeks to the day that Alex was born. Can you ovulate within 3 weeks of giving birth?

"Computer," Sookie said aloud and her laptop was instantly in her hands. She opened it and lay there in the dark doing an Internet search on whether this was possible. She wasn't really human, but let's start with that – can a human do that? A quick search seemed to indicate that the hormones from nursing prevented ovulation, but she ran across another article that said that's not so reliable now that nutrition has improved so much. Still, they're saying you bleed up to 8 weeks and then about 4 weeks after you stop is when you get a period. If, theoretically, the four weeks began that day because she was healed, then to have a period in 4 weeks she'd ovulate at about 3 – right around the time she hooked up with Bjorn. Oh, hell.

Did she feel pregnant? No, but she didn't feel normal, but she wouldn't because she was breastfeeding. No, it had to be impossible. It HAD TO BE impossible. She couldn't handle another baby now, and she wouldn't not have a baby if there was one, so there just absolutely had to not be one. She closed the computer and said "table" sending it over to the side table for the night.

"Sookie?" Eric peeked in the door.

"Yeah?"

"Are you alright – I felt panic in the bond."

"Oh, I – I think I had a nightmare."

"Alright," he started back out the door but she called him.

"Eric?"

"Yes?"

"Seriously, you don't really think I'm pregnant do you?"

He laughed. "No, Sookie, I was teasing you. I'm sure your appetite is from all the magick you did today. You don't smell pregnant."

"I don't?"

"No, you have a delicious extra something from the breastfeeding hormones, but you don't have that unmistakable pregnancy taste that I love so much."

"We didn't exchange blood tonight."

"Do you want to do it now, or later?"

"I'd feel better if we did it now."

"Alright, Sweetheart, as you wish." Eric came back in and left his silk boxers on the floor, spooning up behind her with his arm under her head and his other around her waist. He kissed her ear and whispered, "I love you, Sookie, don't be afraid. I still feel fear in you."

"I'll be OK. You're going to bite me, too, right?"

"Yes, of course. Shoulder alright?"

"Yeah, definitely."

Eric tore the wrist of the arm under her head and pressed it to her lips, then as she was suckling he grabbed her upper arm and drove his fangs into her shoulder. He was in the mood to drink deeply tonight, so he took more than usual, but not so much as to harm her. She came almost as soon as she tasted him, and he had a hard release just after. When he had all he dared take, he licked her wounds and said, "you are the most delicious thing in the world, my Angel."

"But I don't taste pregnant?"

"No, you do not."

"OK, then. Good night, Sweetie."

"Good night, lover." Eric smiled and went back to work. He knew exactly why Sookie was nervous. He wasn't stupid enough not to know that she was afraid Bjorn had planted a seed, and if she'd admitted that, he'd have told her not to worry about it because Bjorn had had a vasectomy. He never told Eric that specifically, but he knew because he could smell it – living sperm had a distinct odor, but only a vampire as old as Eric would know that. Bjorn also said once that if he ever wanted to have kids it would take a conscious decision and a trip to the doctor – but he said it to Jerry, and didn't know Eric was in earshot.

He knew he was being mean, but not too much. To be really mean, he wouldn't tell her at all and let her work it out over the next few weeks or months. He only intended to let her stew until he went to give her the nightly dose of Ambrosia, then he'd give her a little lecture about trusting him. He was a little hurt that she didn't confide in him when he came back into the room, and he wanted to nip that behavior in the bud. He even considered whether he should punish her for lying to him. He was lost in his thoughts an hour later when he heard Auberon say "Mmmaaammmaaa!"

"Sookie, are you awake?" he asked as he walked around the bed to pick Aubie up.

"Hmmm – time to feed the baby?"

"Yes, it is. Are you up to it?"

"Yeah," she pushed herself into a sitting position and he put a pillow behind her, then gave Aubie to her and she put him to her breast. She let out a big yawn and Eric sat watching her. "Why are you disappointed in me, Eric? I haven't felt that feeling from you in a while."

"What was your nightmare about, Sookie?"

"Alright – I didn't have a nightmare. I was afraid…"

"Yes?"

"Remember the other night at Fangtasia…?"

"Yes?"

"Bjorn didn't use a condom."

"Bjorn doesn't know that I know this, Sookie, but he has had a vasectomy."

"He has? But I know he thought about having a kid with Bobbie."

"It's reversible, of course, but I'm quite confident he could not have impregnated you. I wouldn't put you in that kind of position, Sookie. You should trust me more than that, and if you thought I hadn't thought that far ahead, you should have told me the minute you were afraid. That is why I'm very disappointed. You didn't honor our bond."

"I didn't know how you'd react."

"Then you are afraid of me."

"No, I'm not!"

"Sookie, I'm not going to argue about this. If you think about it for a while, you will see that I am right. You are afraid of me."

"I am not afraid that you'd hurt me."

"Really?" he said doubtfully.

"Yeah, I was afraid you'd hurt Bjorn."

"Sookie, I invited Bjorn into the situation – I'm not likely to hold it against him."

"OK, that makes sense and I should have known that, and when I didn't I should have asked you about it. You're right. I didn't trust you to know what you were doing and I didn't confide in you immediately when I should have. I'm very sorry I didn't honor our bond, Eric, and I promise I'll do better from now on."

Eric sat on the bed next to her and put his arm around her, kissing her softly. "I love you, Sookie, I wouldn't put you in a position where you could be harmed. I care about your wellbeing more than anything in this world. I considered all the risks carefully before that night. I would never risk letting another man impregnate you – that would be harmful to you physically, emotionally, and to our relationship. I would never take that chance. You mean too much to me."

"You could have told me that…"

"True, but that would have required planning and I wasn't sure you'd let yourself go if you thought about it too much before it happened. I wanted you to have fun."

"I did," she giggled. "And you're right, as usual – if I'd thought about it too much before, I'd have talked myself out of it."

"That's where the trust comes in, Sweetheart. You have to trust me to think of every contingency where you are concerned, and your first instinct needs to be to come to me if you think there is a problem, especially something of this magnitude."

"Yeah, I see that. It's a bad habit I have. I'm used to keeping everything a secret."

"So am I. Our strength as a couple lies in trusting each other completely."

"Thanks for telling me you knew I wasn't being honest."

"Thank you for not lying to me a second time."

"I love you, Eric."

"I love you, too." He kissed her on the nose, then told her "Alex is awake."

"Help me get him over here."

Eric got her set with both babies, and put Aubie back ten minutes later when he was full. Alex fed another twenty minutes and Sookie used the time to grill Eric about the airplane.

"OK, so tell me about this airplane we're going to use. Am I going to be shocked?"

"I hope so," he laughed. "I hope you've never seen anything like it."

"Is it big?"

"Very."

"How big?"

"Our bedroom has a California King-sized bed in it."

"BEDROOM? On a plane?"

"Yes, of course. We might want to fuck as we fly," he teased her.

"Does everybody have a bedroom?"

"No, just us – complete with one of these co-sleepers."

"Wow!"

"Yes, it's very nice. It's done in shades of blue. The seats are done in a very nice light blue leather and look very comfortable. It has a bar, a place for the crew to sleep, lots of room for the guards, a formal dining room that will double as a conference room, and a 65 inch flat screen TV in the forward lounge where all of the family will sit."

"You're not making that stuff up? That's all for real?"

"Oh, yes. I wish I could be there to see your pretty face when you see it for the first time, but that would have involved traveling tonight and I didn't want to interfere with your party plans."

"I'm sorry if I messed it up for you…"

"You didn't mess anything up. We'll travel together Sunday night and I'll initiate you into the Mile High club," he wiggled his eyebrows and made her giggle.

"I guess you're already a member?"

"Yes, my Angel, I might actually have been the founding member, now that I think of it."

"Well, if I can't be your first, I'll just have to make sure I'm your best."

"Excellent plan, Mrs. Northman. I like the way you think," he laughed.

"Why are we leaving so early?"

"Just because it's our first outing and we wanted to err on the side of having more time than necessary. You might want to play in your pool or take a nap when you get there, or you can have the chef make a party for you. Don't hesitate to make use of the room service and get anything you want, and I believe there's a banquet for our party in the afternoon. I told the chef about your squid ink ravioli with lobster, so I'm sure you'll have that for either lunch or dinner, and the chef has picked out some very special wines for you."

"Oh, cool!

"What time does the club part open?"

"Most of it opens at 8 o'clock, though some of the guests are checking in tonight, but they'll receive hospitality services."

"These sound more like hotels."

"Think of them that way if you want – very exclusive hotels with highly specialized personal services."

"You know, I'm trying to keep an open mind because I promised I would, but I'm afraid a part of me will always think this is wrong."

"Can we agree to call it 'controversial' rather than 'wrong?'"

"Yeah, I can agree to that."

"Alright, that's a beginning."

"Are you sure there's no danger taking the kids there?"

"Why would there be danger?"

"If the place gets raided and they find the babies in the building, they could try to take them from us…"

"That would start a war, Sookie, and they know it. No one will raid the clubs. The vampire community has been very discrete and we have enough contacts in law enforcement now to insure our privacy and security. These are huge private buildings, sweetheart, the boys won't be anywhere near the guest complex. Wait until you see it."

"Alright, Eric, but remember, this is big trust you're asking for…"

"Yes, Sweetheart, I realize that. Give me one year. If we make enough in our first year, maybe I can divest the kingdoms interest and sell them to someone else, though you realize, no one will run such an establishment as ethically as Bill and I will."

"This reminds me – I was supposed to ask Bobbie or Amelia if they had a book I'm supposed to read."

"What book is that?"

"_**Stranger in a Strange Land**_."

"The Robert Heinlein book? That's a marvelous idea!"

"You know it?"

"Yes, there's a very nice leather-bound copy in your office."

"In the library? I never even thought to look there."

"Yes, it was very influential in creating the counter culture of the 1960's. Humans seem to benefit greatly from reading it."

"Did you benefit from reading it?"

"I didn't have any hang-ups to undo, but I enjoyed it. It's was written in a time before sexism was an issue, so you might find some of the comments about women offensive, but try to ignore that and enjoy the spirit of the story. Would you like me to get it for you?"

"Yeah, Octavia said I could read I while we travel. Hey – you said something earlier about hanging out in my pool – is there a pool at the hotel?"

"There are several. There's a very large public pool, some of the fancier rooms have private pools, and you have a private one in the penthouse."

"I have a pool – on the roof?"

"Yes, of course. Trust me, Sookie, you've never seen such luxury. These clubs are built to vampire standards, not human ones. The elegance is unmatched on this continent."

"OK, here's the argument that keeps going through my head – would you want your son or daughter to work in one?"

"As opposed to working for a call-out service or walking the street, absolutely. As an alternative to being princes, of course not. Sookie, you have been to many functions where willing donors walked around with red ribbons on their clothing to identify themselves. Did you have the same problem with that?"

"Well, no – most of them enjoy what they're doing and they're all adults."

"Alright, as we go through the weekend, I want you to think about this as merely a matter of degree. The hosts and hostesses are willing donors who are willing to go to more extreme lengths."

"I see that argument intellectually, but I have an emotional reaction to the idea of sex being included."

"This culture works very hard to teach you to have that knee-jerk emotional reaction, but it benefits no one. It reduces sex workers to virtual slaves and spreads disease."

"What if I'm never OK with this?"

"Eventually, I would sell the chain."

"I want you to plan to do that as soon as you can."

"Alright, when I am able to divest the Kingdom of them, I will."

"I want a time limit – no more than 5 years."

"I can't promise, but I will try to set that as a goal."

"OK…." She thought for a minute, "OK. If I can tell myself you're doing it to get out of doing worse things, and I know it's temporary until you can do something better, I'll try to handle it."

"But you will keep your promise to approach it with an open mind?"

"Yes, I won't break a promise to you."

"Thank you, my angel. Alex has gone to sleep. You tuck him in and I'll run get that book for you. I want very much for you to read it." He zipped down the stairs at vampire speed as Sookie moved Alex over next to Aubie and pulled their soft little blue blanket over them. She loved this new co-sleeper. It was big and soft and they were both within arms reach. She smiled as she watched them because Alex rolled over facing Aubie and put his hand on his little tummy.

'You'd never know they hadn't been in the womb together,' she smiled, but that thought went from happy to sad pretty quickly. She berated herself not to give in to feeling sad and guilty. He was home now, and fitting right in, and the boys were getting along great. She got a picture of Niall in her head and was shocked at herself when a homicidal rage washed through her.

"Sookie, what is going on?" Eric came back in the room. "You went from love and amusement to guilt and sadness to wanting to kill someone."

"I was watching the boys sleep and got to thinking about what Aubie has missed then I got a picture of Niall in my head… I started wondering if I'm going to have to kill my own great grandfather."

"Think about calling him before the Wiccaning, Sookie, and trying to reach a détente with him. Tell him you won't challenge his office until 2027 and then you'll decide at that time if you want to take the throne or not. It will buy you some time."

Sookie nodded. "Yeah, that might work. He might not be so anxious to kill me."

"The longer you can delay the direct conflict between you, the better."

"How insane would it be to invite him to lunch or to tea with just me and him and talk to him about it?"

"It's certainly a brave approach."

"It seems very… civilized, and I like that."

"True. You'd have all your guards available to you and you could keep the boys away from him if you wanted."

"Wait – I've got it. Their one-month birthday is Wednesday. Let's have a little party, just family, and I'll invite him and Ludwig to come for a piece of cake and I'll see if I can talk to him privately while he's here."

"Not a bad idea. A children's birthday party should be a light atmosphere. If there's any softness in him at all, that might reach it – though be aware, Sookie, there may be none."

"Let's do that, and we'll get each boy a cake and a little toy and some ice cream.

Oh, I like this idea!"

Eric laughed. "I don't know if you're being brave or naïve, but I will admit, it is an interesting approach. Be sure you invite Freyja."

"Yeah, absolutely…ahhh –ahhhhhhh –ohh! Big yawn."

"Time to sleep, Sookie. Think about it tomorrow and we'll talk some more. You can call him Sunday afternoon if you decide you want to try it. You might mention it to Bjorn and Jerry, if there's an opportunity, and get their input."

"Good idea. Good night, Sweetie," she kissed him as he bent down.

"I'll put this book in your tote bag so you'll have it on the plane," Eric said as he put the book in the bag Alicia had packed for her, then bent and gave the boys each one more kiss.

Sookie was asleep again before Eric made it out the door. He slipped silently up to the gym and looked over the bag Alicia had packed for them, then did a few exercises with his katana and took it downstairs to the travel box in the living room, putting it in the lead-lined false bottom. By the time he did all that and made his nightly call to Bill, Alex was calling. "Dadee!" so he headed back into the bedroom where both boys were awake.

"nDada!"

"Hello, my sons! Be quiet so we don't wake Mommy." He picked Aubie up and grabbed two bottles from the little fridge. "Come fly, Alex."

"Oday," Alex zipped up into the air and followed them into the nursery.

"Bottles or book first, boys?"

"Obee undwy, Dadee."

"That's true, so we'll warm his bottle. You want yours warm, too, Alex?"

"Eeah, pweezth."

Eric warmed both bottles as he looked around the room. He decided the floor was his best bet again, so he sat Aubie and Alex in the glider while he brought two little bouncer seats over in front of it. He put Alex in one and gave him the bottle, which he could hold on his own, then lay on the floor next to the boys propped up on one elbow while he held the other bottle for Aubie. Aubie noticed Alex holding his own bottle and tried to hold his, too, so Eric let go of it a couple of times and let Aubie try to hold onto it. He did pretty well, though Eric had to help him keep it high enough to get the liquid out of it. When they had finished their bottles, Eric got the jars of food that Margaret had left for the boys and the two little spoons, and sat cross-legged in front of them feeding them what the label said was "creamy chicken apple compote" and "tender beef spinach." The two boys together ate a full container of the beef, and two whole containers of the chicken-apple mixture, the latter of which they clearly preferred.

At one point, Aubie reached forward and Eric held the jar to see what he would do, letting the baby stick his finger in the jar, then in his mouth and saying "abuh!" Eric cracked up. "Yes, Auberon, very good! This has apples in it."

Aubie began to yawn first, falling asleep while Alex was polishing off the last of the chicken. Eric picked him up, then stood and said, "come here, Alex" so that he flew up into his arms and let him take them both back to bed. As they entered the bedroom, Alex flew ahead to the co-sleeper and settled himself on the lower side of it, patting the side to show Eric where to put Aubie. Eric kissed Aubie and put him down, then bent down and kissed Alex, telling him, "you're a very good boy, Alex. Daddy loves you very much."

He was just giving Sookie her Ambrosia when Jerry came up the stairs. "Good morning, Jerry."

"Good morning, your majesty."

"Take good care of them as they travel today."

"Always."

"Good day," Eric went down to his travel box feeling very content, and looking forward to the party that night. He was telling himself that Sookie would relax about the club's purpose once she saw how elegant the clubs were, and that this would be a very good night. He couldn't wait to see what she wore – she always made him so proud. He had a smile on his face as sleep took him.

"Remember, Sookie – take your journal with you."

Freyja's voice was still echoing in her mind as she awoke at 10 minutes to 9, Eric having set the alarm for 9. She looked around the room and saw that Alicia had things well in hand – her outfit for the day was hanging on the bathroom door, her train case and tote bag were sitting at the ready, and the babies were gone. Before Sookie could panic about that, Alicia was back in the room carrying Aubie.

"Good morning, Dear!"

"Hey, Alicia. I guess he's been fed?"

"Yes, he and Alex have both had a bottle. Alex is in the gym with Bjorn. You might have to breast feed as we travel later and we've got lots of baby food in the diaper bags. We're taking two to carry everything, and in case we need to split them up for any reason, one can go with each." Alicia put Aubie gently down in the co-sleeper.

"Good idea! Do we have toys packed for them?" Sookie asked as she crawled out of bed on Eric's side.

"Yes, we have some little stuffed animals, their shape sorting house, and a little Baby Einstein music player that some parents swear by."

"Really?" She accepted the hairbrush Alicia handed her and began to put her hair in a ponytail.

"Yes, it's supposed to soothe them every time. Alex will probably be able to push the button himself and it plays short little classical pieces." Alicia handed her a cute pink thong to wear.

"Classical – babies like that?" Sookie wiggled into the underwear as they talked.

"Yes, and it has flashing lights that entertain them."

"Was it expensive?"

Alicia laughed a little as she held the purple and black nursing dress for her to slip her arms into. "Under ten dollars so it won't matter if they drop it."

She put her head into the dress and then they both adjusted it so it hung properly. "That was a dumb question, wasn't it? Why do I keep worrying about how much things cost?"

"It's habit, Dear, don't beat yourself up. Most people have to consider the cost of things."

"I'm becoming very aware of all these habits I have to break." Sookie said as she stepped into the bathroom to wash her face and brush her teeth.

"Awareness is the first step," Alicia said from the doorway. "You're growing into your new roles, and you're finding better ways to handle things that challenge you. You have such unique circumstances, it's reasonable to expect to have to adapt to it all. Nothing could have prepared you for the life that you have."

"Ain't that the truth," Sookie laughed. "No little girl grew up wanting to be a vampire Queen."

"Until now – little girls all over the country want to grow up to be Queen Sookie and marry a handsome vampire King."

"Is that for real? Do people really think that?" Sookie gave her the toothbrush, toothpaste and her facial cleanser for the train case.

"Yes, they do. The tabloids have something about you in every issue. Most of it is made-up, but people are hungry for information about you. You're a modern Cinderella."

Sookie pulled out her everyday makeup bag and used a big brush to put some powder all over her face. "That's kind of a big responsibility. That means little girls are looking up to me and wanting to be like me…"

"There's nothing wrong with that! You're a wonderful mother and partner, you represent the Kingdom very well, you always look good and are kind to people."

"Yeah, but some of the vampire stuff is…" she couldn't think of a word she could use in front of Alicia, and she stopped for a minute to concentrate on curling her lashes.

"Shady?"

"Yeah, at least," she said as she added some very black mascara to her lashes, though they were naturally long and thick these days.

"That's part of the attraction – everyone knows about the danger. You're married to the ultimate bad boy."

"Yeah, he's a studmuffin, alright." Sookie quipped and made them both crack up. "I just think it would freak people out if they knew how bad "bad" can be." Sookie slicked on a perfect pink Chanel lipstick called "Génial" and pressed her lips together.

"Reality never lives up to the fantasy, Sookie. Don't take all of that on. You be yourself, and do what comes naturally and it's all anyone could want or expect."

"I hope you're right," Sookie said as she swiped a little "Rose Temptation" blush on her outer, upper cheekbones and eyelids, but she thought Alicia probably had no concept of what kind of bad Sookie was talking about. "How do I look?"

"Very polished and pretty."

"Good, that's what I want. It's not too heavy, right?" Sookie handed Alicia the makeup bag for put in her tote.

"Right."

"Can I get away with the pink Birkies with this?"

"You could, but the black ones match your bag better. I've already packed the pink ones, but I'll go get them if you want."

"Oh, no – that's not necessary. Black will be fine. Oh, hey – I just noticed the vanity table is gone."

"Already packed up and downstairs with your luggage. Your tote and your train case are the last things to go."

"Wow – and the boys are all done?"

"Yes, and everyone else is moving their things down as we speak. We're ready to go."

"Is my book in there?"

"This one?" Alicia held it up.

"Yeah, that's my assigned reading for the weekend," Sookie laughed.

"I've never seen you read Science Fiction before." Alicia said as she closed up the train case and Sookie picked Aubie up.

"Hey, Cookie. We're going on an adventure today! Yeah! We're going to go see Daddy's swanky club in Dallas." She kept chatting to the baby as she and Alicia went down the stairs. Bjorn was coming through the kitchen with Alex as they got into the living room, which was dark, so Sookie could make sure Eric was OK before she locked his travel box."

"nDada!"

"Yeah, there's Daddy. Daddy's going to travel this way going there, but he'll ride the front of the plane with us coming home. We get to see Daddy's big fancy plane today."

"I hear it's very luxurious," Alicia bragged.

"That's what he tells me. I'm a little nervous."

"Don't be. Just bask in it and have fun. Let everybody else worry about impressing you."

"Right."

"Ah, Mamee!"

"Hi, Pookie. Did you have fun with Bjorn?"

"Eeah – fyeen eye-er and eye-er an thirco!"

"And circles?" Sookie asked

"He was doing loop de loops in the air." Bjorn laughed, "He's quite a little acrobat. Eric must have worked with his swords last night because his smell was strong and Alex kept asking if Dadee was sleeping."

"Yeah, he probably did, I know he hasn't been working as hard as normal these last few months. I hope he's as sharp as he needs to be."

"I don't think you have to worry about Eric getting rusty, Hon. He's still the deadliest thing on two legs."

Alex reached down toward the box and said, "Dadee!"

"Yeah, Daddy's in the box so he can go with us!" Sookie tickled him and kissed him as Bjorn held him forward.

Bjorn herded everyone into the living room, then saw that the luggage was packed on the bus. Once all their gear was stored, Eric's box included, he herded them all onto the bus and confirmed that their escorts, local guards who were just going to the airport with them, were ready to move, Bjorn pushed the button on his headset and said, "Svenska 1, 2, 3 and 4 green."

Sookie was sitting in a special area in the middle of the bus that had more secure seating than the rest and had special seats for the babies installed. She noticed that some of the guards used a door behind her to board the bus, and then realized that Eric's box was secured below her seat. Bobbie sat with her to help with the boys, but it was only 20 minutes to the airport so they barely got settled before they were driven into a private entrance and ready to disembark.

They attached a special tunnel to move Sookie's party onto the plane, so she didn't really see anything of it until they were on it. Bjorn carried Alex and Jerry carried Aubie right behind Sookie so she was the first in her party to see it after the first team of guards did a sweep through to make sure it was secure.

"Oh. My. Goddess!" This was not like any plane Sookie had ever been on. The entrance was more like a foyer in an hotel. There was a spiral staircase going up to the second floor and the staff was standing at the bottom of it to welcome them.

"Queen Sookie?" a tall, good-looking older man with slightly graying hair stepped forward and introduced them all. "I'm Captain Evan Johnston. This is my co-pilot, Mike Harris, your Stewardesses JoAnn and Macy, and your stewards James, George and Albert. If there's anything at all we can do to make your trip more enjoyable, please don't hesitate to ask."

Sookie was glad they were all wearing nametags. "Well, thank you. I'm very pleased to meet you all. Thank you for helping out today. Please, just call me Sookie, and this is Aubie and Alex," she pointed to the babies, then the guards, "and my security team Bjorn and Jerry. That's my assistant Alicia, my doula, Bobbie, my good friends Amelia and Octavia, and I don't know the rest of the guards. Where are they?"

"They're coming in the back door now, your majesty," Bjorn told her. "I'll make sure we're all situated before we leave."

"OK, thanks."

Two big guards came in carrying Eric's travel box and took it through a door to the left.

"Is that the cockpit door?" she pointed to the door they were using.

"No, your majesty, that's your bedroom and bathroom. The entrance to the cockpit is upstairs."

"Oh, wow!"

"Follow me, please?" JoAnn, a tall, freckled Stewardess with dye-enhanced red hair stepped forward and showed Sookie to their seats in the forward lounge. "If you don't mind, ma'am, I'd like to wait until we're in the air to give you your tour."

"Oh, that's fine. I don't want to be any bother." Sookie's eyes bugged out a bit when they walked past a couch, recliner, love seat and coffee table and what she was pretty sure was a wet bar.

"No bother at all, we just want to be sure you're at your destination on time."

"Thanks." Sookie sat in an area with 4 big, light blue leather chairs that looked like recliners, two of which were specially designed to hold the babies. Bjorn and Jerry secured the boys in the seats and Sookie could face them, reach them and talk to them as they flew. "Bobbie, are you going to sit with me?"

"I'll be sitting with you for take off, your majesty." Bjorn told her as he went toward the back of the plane.

"Oh, OK." Sookie needed somebody to talk to, but for the moment, she was talking to herself. 'Alright, Sookie, take it in stride. Eric says we can afford all this. This plane couldn't be more gorgeous! It's like a mansion with wings! Who ever heard of a couch and a coffee table on a plane? Or a bedroom? OK, I have heard of people being able to sleep on planes, so maybe that's not as far out as the coffee table. It's bolted to the floor, right? Are these seats for the boys facing the right way? Bjorn would know, right? This thing has an upstairs? And there's a dining room? Where are all the guards?"

"_Ladies and Gentlemen, please take your seats and secure your seatbelts. The stewards will walk through now to assist anyone who needs help."_ JoAnn announced from the foyer.

As the stewards went back through the plane, JoAnn and Macy, a perky, medium height girl with short dark hair that reminded Sookie of that girl on _Three's Company_, took everyone's purses and jackets and stowed them in a closet that was behind where the boys were sitting.

"Excuse me, your majesty?"

"Yes, Macy?"

"If you have pacifiers for the babies, it would be a good time to use them now. That can help alleviate any ear pain that the change in cabin pressure might create."

"Oh, OK. Alicia?"

"There's one in each diaper bag. I'll get them." Alicia went up to the closet and found the pacifiers, which had little clips and ribbons on them to keep the boys from losing them. Alex got an "ewwo" ribbon, which thrilled him beyond belief, and Aubie got a green one. Both boys were fascinated by the clips on their little, slightly different shades of blue onesies, and seemed to like using them, though Alex had only had one once or twice and Sookie was pretty sure Aubie had never seen one.

Alex took his out of his mouth for a second and held it toward Sookie. "Woogie, Mamee!"

"Yeah, you've got a binky, haven't you?"

"Beekee?"

"Yeah, a binky."

"Obee godda beekee."

"Yeah, Aubie's got a binky, too."

Alex patted Aubie's hand, and held the binky toward him. "Beekee, Obee, BEE-KEE!"

"BEE!"

"Beekee."

"Beeyee."

"That's pretty good, Aubie!" Sookie gushed over him as Bjorn came forward and sat next to her.

"_May I have your attention, please. This is Captain Johnston. We'll be cleared for take off momentarily and we've got beautiful blues skies all the way. Estimated arrival time for Dallas is 10:50 AM."_

"What are those?" Bjorn asked.

"Binkys."

"It's a baby thing, I guess?"

"Yes. Babies like sucking on them."

"If you say so." Bjorn laughed. "At least you're not talking to yourself anymore."

"Huh?"

"Yeah, a few minutes ago, you weren't saying anything but the way your face was changing it was obvious you were having some kind of argument with yourself."

The plane started moving forward and the babies were yawning. Sookie had a feeling they'd sleep all the way to Dallas.

"Did I look like a nut?"

"I'm pretty sure I'm the only one who noticed, Hon."

"If you ever see me doing that, stop me, OK?"

"OK. I figured you were just freaking out over the cost of the plane, so you'd work through it in a few minutes."

"Yeah, I guess I was. Bjorn, can Eric really afford all this?"

"Sookie, Eric could afford a fleet of these if he wanted them. He just never had a use for one until now. He was always loaded, but now that he's got the income from the Kingdom, it's off the hook, and these clubs are making money like crazy and they haven't even opened yet."

"Yeah…" she said, still completely unsure about everything.

"Think of it as a public service, Sookie."

"That kind of service shouldn't be public."

"But it is, and it always has been, and it always will be and this makes it as safe as it can possibly be. Seriously, Sookie, shake it off."

"But other people…"

"Sookie, you can't be you and worry about what other people, especially vanilla humans, think."

"Vanilla?"

"Yeah, you know – normal people, regular citizens who never question authority and never do anything kinky or extreme. You'll never be one, you wouldn't want to be if you could, so be all you're meant to be and enjoy the good stuff when you can. Just the high rolling off of Eric in your blood bond should keep you flying for a week. He's going to have a blast tonight."

"Yeah, that's true. I hear we've got European royalty visiting already."

"Yeah, they say Mama is there. Remember me mentioning the Borgias…"

"Yes?"

"Rumor has it she is one. She's supposedly Austrian now but back in the day she was the illegitimate daughter of the Borgia Pope. A lot of the money from their enterprises were channeled to her and smuggled out of Italy."

"A Pope had an illegitimate child?"

"Not the first or the last time, Sweetie. That particular one may have had a child with his own daughter."

"Yuck…"

"It gets worse – they say even she may not have known whether that baby was fathered by her father, the Pope, or her own brother."

"Please don't ever compare us to them again, Bjorn. That's making my skin crawl."

"I'm trying to put things in perspective for you, Sookie. There are much more twisted things in the world than an exclusive social club. These are not sleazy brothels, these are more like the highest possible class of bath house."

"What's a bath house? I've heard of them but I don't really know what they are."

"It's a place where gay men go to have sex. They take a steam, go for a swim, walk around in a towel and hookup with whoever looks good in whatever combination…"

Sookie was shocked. "There are places where people actually do that? Like, that's the intended purpose?"

"Yeah, Sookie, and there are S&M clubs where men _and_ women go to have all kinds of kinky sex in every possible combination."

"I was wondering what that was – Eric told me one time about meeting an English teacher in one."

"Yeah, he told me about that, too. She schooled him in English literature and he …" Bjorn suddenly realized to whom he was talking and stopped. "Well… you get the idea."

"See, I know people do kinky stuff, but it never occurred to me that there were places to go to do that – you know, like, businesses intended for that. I thought it was just people in their own basements, you know, or maybe a few basements like the one at Fangtasia?"

"Sookie, there's human trafficking for sex going on all over the world – women, little kids, you name it. These clubs are the opposite of that. Everyone is a willing participant, every one is compensated fairly, treated not just humanely but lavishly in a healthy way."

"What if I just always think it's wrong and I can't get past this?"

"Then you work it out with him, because he cares how you feel, but I'd bet money right now that once you've been to all 13 openings, you'll have no problem with them at all."

"Are you going to… you know?"

"If I get an hour or two off, Bobbie and I might find a friend or two."

"Have you ever…"

"Sookie, I was a soldier. Governments tolerate and sometimes even provide prostitutes to guys in combat."

"They DO?"

"Yeah, Sookie. This world is much more complex than you realize. On one level, that's kind of nice, but on another level, you're not able to put things into perspective because your worldview is limited. Your naïvete is sweet and sexy as hell, but Eric is running a vampire Kingdom. You're going to have to trust him to understand the ways of the world better than you do. Think of your friends here – you look up to Bobbie, Amelia and I know you really depend on Octavia's wisdom – none of them has a conflict with this."

"I look up to you, too, you know…?"

"The person you really need to think about looking up to is your husband and your King."

"Yeah… I guess…" Sookie had to think about that, and she knew she'd better think long and hard. She made a promise to Eric, so she needed to keep an open mind, but even beyond that, was she dishonoring the bond by questioning his judgment here? As he had pointed out on several occasions, they were not other people they were a Fae telepath/almost Goddess/vampire Queen and a vampire King and Eric was over a thousand years older than she. Was she presuming too much by questioning Eric's decision? She thought about it for a minute and she realized she cared more about that than about whether it was right or wrong in the first place. You could debate whether it was or wasn't, but there was no debate about what she owed to Eric. He was her bonded. That came before anything.

"Excuse me, Queen Sookie?" JoAnn was standing there smiling at her.

"Yes?"

"Would you like your tour of the plane now?"

"Yes, please. I need someone to stay with the boys…"

"Go ahead, Sookie, if I need to leave I'll get Alicia or Bobbie over here."

"OK, thanks Bjorn." Sookie undid her belt and stood up, saying, "OK, lead the way."

JoAnn led her to the door on the opposite side of the foyer. "Alright, let's start with the good stuff first. The very front of the cabin is your Master Bedroom." She opened the door and Sookie almost fainted. It was gorgeous. There was a light blue bedspread the same color as the leather upholstery on a bed almost as big as theirs at home, complete with brand new co-sleeper on Sookie's usual side of the bed. "You feel free to use it any time you want, of course, but we prefer that you be belted in for take off. There's actually a belt that reaches across the bed, though, if you really need to sleep or you're ill." She bent to show Sookie where it was, and Sookie was trying hard to take it all in, noticing Eric's box was under the bed. The woodwork in the room was dark cherry or mahogany – something dark with a pink tinge to it - and it was shiny and perfect. "Here's your entertainment center – you've got satellite TV, TIVO, a DVD and VHS player and a lovely stereo with a 300 CD changer filled to your husband's specifications and an iPod dock if you want to use your own. The remote to control both is on the nightstand there in a special pocket. Here's your closet with a full-length mirror. You feel free to hang your clothing or your garment bags in here and you can leave things on the plane if you need to. This is your bathroom," she opened the door, "you've got a shower and a really nice vanity here with a makeup mirror, sink, and notice it's all done in the same beautiful blue motif as the rest of the plane. We've got most of your favorite toiletries stocked for you."

She led Sookie back out to the foyer, then stopped at a gorgeous bar. "This is your wet bar, stocked specifically for both humans and vampires. It's also stocked with your special diet supplements and a good quality infant formula in case of emergency. There's also a bottle warmer for baby bottles and jars of food, and we'll stock some of their favorite foods if you give us a list."

"Oh, that's good to know. Thank you. Can I get a strawberry one now, please?"

"Sure, here you go. This is your main closet, of course, and your living area and front lounge with entertainment center. Now if you come down this passage way, here's a lavatory, and this is the forward entrance to the dining room, which features the plush blue upholstery of the seating, the blue inlay around the oak table which seats 12, and a collection of fine art from the Northman Collection."

Sookie followed her the length of the dining room. "This is beautiful. Where do you cook?"

"There's a galley upstairs and another located right behind this room. This hutch conceals a laser printer/scanner/copier combo, telephone and fax machine for your business needs. If you'll follow me on down the corridor, you see the galley here, a lavatory with shower, additional seating for 16 for anyone who wants to sleep and a video screen so they can watch a movie back here. Some of your friends might want to sleep back here some time while the rest of you socialize in the forward lounge. Then we have another lavatory, and this is where your security detail travels." She opened the door to a nice area with big comfortable seating for about 30 people with nice game tables and couches throughout. The guards all looked expectantly at Sookie, who said, "hi, guys! Thanks for traveling with us this weekend?" The guards all gave her a friendly and respectful response as JoAnn led her to the back of the plane and showed her a large lavatory with four showers and 6 commodes and sinks arranged in cubicles so that every commode had its own sink, and each shower was a separate stall that afforded some privacy.

"This is so nice!"

"I think you'll find it meets all of your party's needs splendidly."

"_This is your captain speaking. We're making our final approach to Dallas, so everyone please return to your seats and fasten your seat belts and we'll be landing shortly."_

"Wow, that didn't take any time at all, did it?" Sookie laughed as she and JoAnn headed back toward the front of the plane. When Sookie got back up front, Alicia was sitting with the boys who had Cheerios on blue trays that fit on their special seats and a little music player that had their rapt attention. Alicia was just clearing away two jars of baby food.

"Here's a card with my cell number and the pilot's," JoAnn finished her tour, "you call us anytime you have a request regarding your flights. I know we'll be in the air a lot in the next few months so don't hesitate to let us know what we can do to make you more comfortable. Here, I'll throw those away."

"Thank you so much." Sookie took the card, shook her hand, then let her take the jars from Alicia as she took her seat with the boys again.

"Hey, Sookie – how was it?" Amelia called to her from another group of chairs.

Sookie found that her seat would rotate all the way around as she turned to answer. "It's amazing. You know there's even an area where if some of us want to sleep and not be disturbed you can go back there and lean back or watch a movie?"

"Wow, really?"

"Yeah, and there are bathrooms, one of which has a shower, then there's a big bathroom with showers for the guards. There's a dining room that doubles as a conference room, and you've got to see the Master Bedroom to believe it."

"Wow – is it all this pretty?"

"This is nothing – wait 'til you see the dining room. They've even got pieces of Eric's art collection on display in there!"

"Vampires don't do anything small," Octavia laughed, feeling like she was in a dream. She sure loved living with the Northmans. Life was as fun and stress-free as it had ever been for her and she was living in absolute luxury, plus she got to spend time with those amazing babies, and she was getting paid to do it. Meeting Sookie was like hitting the lottery and she felt just as lucky.

Alicia couldn't wait to get to the club and get settled to tell Margaret about this plane. She expected it to be nice, but this was beyond anything she'd ever seen, and she had traveled with some very wealthy families.

"Sookie, did I just hear you say "Eric's art collection?" Bjorn laughed when he came out of the lavatory. "It's your collection, too. It's called the Northman Collection, and you're part of Northman."

"I never think of it as mine…"

"Eric does, so you might as well," Octavia told her.

"So, do you all think Eric will buy this plane?" Sookie asked a bit nervously.

Everyone laughed.

"I'd buy it if I were Eric," Amelia said.

"Definitely," Bobbie said. "He'd be crazy not to. As much as he'll need to travel and with all the people we need to take with us, it's the logical thing to do."

"Buying this plane is LOGICAL?" Sookie couldn't wrap her head around that.

"Actually, Dear, it is," Alicia told her. "What if we needed to go somewhere and this weren't available? Just moving the twins becomes a major problem on a commercial airline. Here, the problems have already been solved for you."

"Seriously, Sookie, this is a fantastic solution to a lot of problems. You should be thrilled that he found this," Amelia told her.

"Yeah, I guess I should," she said, more to herself than anything.

"Mamee!"

Sookie spun around, "what do you need, Alex?"

"Mo dee-wee-osth, pweezth, an Obee."

Alicia bent forward and gave each boy a few cheerios.

"Dayoo!"

"Ayy!" Aubie tried to copy what Alex had said.

"Alicia, how long will it take to get to the club?" Sookie asked, her mind a little numb as she put the straw in her strawberry supplement and started to drink.

"About half an hour. My guess is we'll get there right about the time the boys want to be breast fed, so we'll get you all situated as quickly as possible and I'll order lunch for everyone if they don't already have it arranged."

The plane began its descent then and it was a nearly perfect landing. The cars and vans were waiting for them on the tarmac and were loaded quickly, then most of the party was settled into the van first, then Bjorn, Jerry, Sookie and the boys were put in the limo in the middle of the caravan and the rest of the guards loaded up and they headed out for the 25 minute drive.

The building stood among some non-descript office buildings and was a tower of black glass. You couldn't see a thing going on inside it, and you'd have no way to figure out what it was. There wasn't even an obvious entrance, except for a small administrative office on the first floor that existed mostly to provide a cover story and sound an alarm if necessary. The guards at the parking structure in back, which was 9 levels high, waved them all in the gate. The 9th level parking was reserved for Eric's party and any special guests they might include, so there were already 4 limousines, three black and one white, parked there.

The limo Sookie was in pulled directly up to an elevator entrance that was obscured by black glass. Bjorn got out first, as Jerry came around from the front passenger seat, then Sookie handed each of them a baby and they helped her out of the car. It occurred to Sookie that no one could see who was getting out of the car, but she also knew that somewhere there were cameras recording everything because that's what Eric would do. The limo pulled away and two guards led Amelia and Octavia over to the elevator and they all went up first, then were followed by Alicia, Bobbie and more guards. There was an hotel manager waiting for them at the entrance to the penthouse, which was two floors above the parking structure. The foyer was magnificent – pink and black marble floor and white marble walls and a gorgeous chandelier, with mirrors lining the entry from the elevator.

"You Majesty! Welcome!" The tall, elegant gentleman spoke with a French accent and bowed to Sookie as she stood flanked by Bjorn and Alex, and Jerry and Auberon. "I'm Giles Breton, the hotel manager."

Sookie offered her hand and he shook it, then handed her his card. "I'm Sookie Northman. It's very nice to meet you."

"Welcome to Sang Riche Dallas, your majesty. Please allow me to show you around your suite."

"Thank you."

He led her into a huge room with a panoramic view. The carpet and the over-stuffed leather furniture were pristine white, and the tables were a bright red lacquer. The few walls that existed, back to the right, were red. The outer walls of the place were glass and it was surrounded by a concrete patio that turned out to go around three sides of the building. The black and pink marble walk way went straight down around the living area, framing the entire room. The swimming pool was directly out from the sofas and chairs. There was a long glass dining table sitting diagonal to the room on a platform that opened up to the patio, surrounded by white iron chairs with scroll work Sookie thought looked French. The chairs matched the white iron spiral staircase that went up between the red walls to who knew where, and the white iron patio furniture with red cushions that sat around the pool.

"Breath-taking, isn't it?" Giles said proudly, giving Sookie a minute to take it all in.

"Yes, it is!"

"Everything you see here will be identical to all of the Sang Riche locations, except, of course, for the art work. Let me give you the tour. First, of course, is your living area, with your entertainment center on the wall there. You have a perfect view of the swimming pool from here. The dining area, as you see, can accommodate a large party of friends. Don't worry about the glass – you can see out, but they cannot see in. Back around this way, you have a small kitchenette with a refrigerator, a sink, an ice machine and a wet bar. Back here is the bathroom, and on around the corner are your guest and servants rooms, each with its own bath. Now, it you'll accompany me upstairs."

He led the way up the spiral staircase, which was a lot sturdier than Sookie expected it to be, and she was floored by the room – it was all glass on three walls and the huge, white iron bed was on a platform that cut across the far corner of the room so that when you lay on it, you'd only see sky. There was a huge bathtub sitting out in the room in a sunken, tiled corner, too, but she didn't see a sink or a toilet. As if he read her mind, Giles said, "back here behind the staircase, we have a large walk-in closet, and a water closet for Madame's convenience." He showed her the closet, and then the "water closet" which had a nice glass shower, a commode, a sink, a vanity table and chair with a lighted mirror and a nice changing table fully stocked with disposable diapers. As she came back out she saw that the fourth corner of the room had two white leather easy chairs, a reading lamp and what had to be about a four foot by four foot red leather ottoman that sat low to the floor. Sookie flushed when she saw it because she was sure she'd end up having sex on it.

"This is just beautiful!" Sookie said with awe as she walked into it and looked around. The bedspread was white fur, and she just automatically ran her hand over it and it was amazingly soft. "Is that…?"

"100% mink, Madame, of the finest quality – fit for a Queen," he gave her a proud smile. He liked this girl's gentle manners and he could tell she was not spoiled and privileged as you might expect her to be. So far, everything he'd read about her seemed to be true.

"Eric was right – this is the most luxurious place I've ever seen."

"I'm so happy you are pleased, Madame. We've planned a luncheon for you and your friends which we'll serve in the dining area downstairs at 2:00 if that's convenient?"

"Yes, that should be fine. It will give me time to feed the boys and put them down for a nap."

"Just as we had hoped. It's a sampling of our chef's specialties I think you'll enjoy very much. Now, make yourself at home, because that is exactly what this is – your home when you are in Dallas. The kitchen is open 24 hours a day for anything you want. If there's ever a problem, you can call me at that number, but you'll have attendants with you most of the time that will see to any of your needs immediately. I'll let you get settled now. Enjoy your stay!" He bowed to her again and went downstairs and she heard him give direction about which bags went where, saying "Her majesty's luggage goes up the staircase to the loft, the rest go to the guest quarters at the back."

"Your majesty?" a voice came from the stairs.

"Yes, Bjorn?"

"Alex is asking to be fed. Where would you like to do that?"

"Oh, up here, I guess…" Sookie sat on the big bed looking around at the dizzying view.

"Alright, Would you like them to bring your things up now?"

"Yes, please, so we can get settled a bit."

"Yes, ma'am."

Three guards came up the steps with Sookie's vanity table, a garment bag, a suitcase, her train case and tote bag. Once they dropped her things off, they left quickly and were followed by two big, strong guards carrying Eric's travel box up and they set it back to the right in front of the reading corner. Bjorn came up carrying the twins. "Wow!" He said as he reached the top of the staircase.

"Yeah, that's about the only word I can think of, too. Did you know about all of this?"

"I knew it was going to be fancy – I didn't know you were literally going to be on top of the world."

"Mamee ee!"

"OK, Sweetie, just a minute." She took him from Bjorn and Bjorn brought Aubie behind her as she laid him on the bed. "Is there supposed to be a co-sleeper here?"

"Yeah, he said it was in the closet – they wanted you to get the full effect of the bedroom without it when you came up. I'll set it up for you."

"OK, thanks. They're serving us all a luncheon at 2 pm – what is it now? Like, 11:30?"

"Right."

"OK, I'm going to feed the boys and put them down for a nap, and I'll probably read for a bit or sleep myself. Tell Alicia she can come up whenever it's convenient to help me with my clothes, please?"

"Alright, Hon. I hope you get some rest. It'll be a late night tonight." Bjorn finished with the co-sleeper then helped her get the babies settled on each thigh as she sat-cross-legged in the middle of the bed.

Bjorn came down the stairs into the living room.

"Bjorn, is Sookie upstairs?"

"Yeah, Alicia, she said come on up whenever you're ready. Brace yourself before you go up there – you ain't seen nothin' yet," he laughed, knowing that sounded really funny with his slight Swedish accent.

Alicia went up the spiral stairs and couldn't contain herself when she reached the top. "OH, MY!"

"I know! Did you know about this? I feel like I'm floating!"

"No, I'm afraid I had no concept of this. Is that bedspread…?"

"MINK! And the manager told me all the clubs are exactly like this! I don't know if I feel safe sleeping up here!"

"I'm sure it's safe, How far can you see from there?"

"FOREVER!"

"Where's the closet?"

"Back there behind the stairs." Sookie pointed. "That's where the toilet is, too. He called it a water closet – I never heard that before."

""Water closet" is what they call it in Europe. People there will ask for the WC instead of saying bathroom."

"The manager is French, I think. "Giles Breton" is his name according to this card."

"Let me have that and I'll put the information in your phone."

"Here, take this one with the Stewardess and Captain, too, please. I'm not over-reacting, right, anyone would be stunned by this?"

"Yes, I'd say you're perfectly justified in being shocked. Your bed looks like an altar up there."

"People can't see in, right? Like, even in a helicopter, they couldn't see us?"

"No, you saw the outside of the building – it's completely black from the outside. You're going to have so much fun up here – in all the clubs. Mr. Northman said they were designed for pleasure and he wasn't kidding. Even with the co-sleeper attached to it, that's the sexiest setting I've ever seen." Alicia bragged as she hung Sookie and Eric's clothes in the closet. "Would you want your hair and makeup done up here, or down in the living room?"

"Up here, I think. Is that OK?"

"Yes, of course. I'll go ahead and set up your vanity table over here."

"Thanks, Alicia. Do we know what I'm wearing tonight yet?"

"I brought three of your new dresses, but I think for the very first opening, this is my favorite," Alicia held up a short dress with a purple bodice and spaghetti straps, and a teal sequined waist and teal chiffon skirt with a slit on the side.

"Wow – there's not much of it!" Sookie laughed, which made the boys giggle against her as she snuggled them and they fed voraciously. "It's really sexy, so I say let's do it. Did you bring Eric's favorite shoes? They'd really spark with that."

"The pink with silver heels? You're right, they would. I thought some dangling diamond earrings and a diamond bracelet would be all the jewelry you need. We want to take our time with your hair and makeup tonight because they'll be taking pictures. Mr. Northman said you'd be going downstairs around 9 o'clock. I think he was planning on a family bath after dinner."

"OK, did they tell you about lunch at 2?"

"Yes, it's apparently going to be a tasting menu so you'll get to try the chef's greatest hits."

"I hope it's good. When the boys get done, I'm going to put them down and read a while, and maybe sleep."

"OK, I'll come wake you at quarter 'til two. Do you want to put on a nightgown?"

"No, but do I have a casual dress I can change into after I sleep in this one?"

"Sure, that's no problem at all."

"OK, thanks."

"I'll see you in a bit, Dear." Alicia gave her a big smile and went back down the stairs.

"Well, boys, what do you think of this place? Daddy apparently wants to feel like he's flying while we're all in bed." That made Alex giggle, which in turn made Aubie giggle. Aubie's giggle turned into a yawn, and before long, he stopped suckling.

"Alex, stop just a minute, OK?"

"Oday." He sat back a little and let Sookie lower him to the bed, then get Aubie tucked into the co-sleeper.

"OK, Sweetie, you want to eat more?"

"Nah. Seepeen."

"Aubie is sleeping – you want to go to sleep, too?"

"Eeah."

"OK," Sookie picked him up and gave him a kiss, laughing to herself that this was the first time Alex ever admitted to being tired. She tucked him in next to Aubie and he was out instantly. Sookie got up quietly and took her journal and her copy of _**Stranger in a Strange Land**_ out of her tote bag, then settled down to read. She didn't need a light because she had the whole sky to light up the page. She wondered if she'd get a tan lying in the open this way, so just in case, she pulled off her dress and lay on the bed in her thong. Turning on her tummy, enjoying the soft fur against her bare skin, she turned to the first page.

Sookie expected to fall asleep, but after a while, she was so engrossed in the story, she forgot about the time. The story was slow at first and seemed to start in the middle. She had turned to the credits page to see that it was published in 1961 because the slang was a little weird, but the idea of a human raised on Mars by Martians coming to Earth and seeing a woman for the first time was pretty cool, and the idea that the government might be a threat to him because of his inheritance was completely believable. She liked the idea of flying taxis and real grass lawns in the living room, too. She laughed to herself that she'd better not say that to Eric or he'd get her a lawn in the living room somewhere. She laughed even harder when she realized this was the perfect place to do that.

She was just about to start Chapter 6 when she heard Alicia coming up the stairs.

"Sookie?"

"Hey, Alicia, come on up."

"It's almost 2, dear," she told her as she entered the room. "You wanted a casual dress, right?"

"Right?"

"How about the pink terry dress with the zipper in front?"

"Yeah, that's comfy. Are there any bouncers here anywhere?"

"There are two of those Swedish-style you got at Pottery Barn down there. You want to bring the babies down now?"

"Yeah, I don't feel comfortable leaving them up here alone."

"Alright, then, here's your dress." Alicia gave her the dress from the open suitcase which sat on a stand in front of the closet.

Sookie wiggled into it, then she and Alicia each took a sleeping baby and went down to the living room. Bjorn was bringing the bouncers, which had been stored in one of the bedrooms, into the living room, and Alicia and Sookie put them in gently and fastened the little belts, turning the bouncers so that when they awoke they'd be looking at the dining table.

Sookie walked over to the dining area where everyone was congregating and asked, "which end would be considered the head of the table?"

"I'd say that one there," Alicia pointed left, "and you should sit there, then there's room for the highchairs between you and you'll be facing the servers as they come in. They'll be focused on you so you definitely want to make eye contact."

At exactly 2:00 there was a knock on the door, and Bjorn answered. Two carts of food were wheeled in, and Sookie said, "Thanks, guys – wow, that's a lot of food!"

"This is the first course, your majesty. There are four more after this, each with a specially chosen wine from our private stock," the main server, George, smiled at her and they put 3-section plates in front of everyone. Sookie thought to herself that George looked like the actor Kevin Spacey. When they'd all been served, George said, "This is a selection of Chef Crudo's appetizers, From left to right, you have **Tuna Tartare**with Avocado Puree & House Fired White Corn Chips**; ****Baked Dungeness Crab Dip** with Wood Oven-Fired Crackers, and **Prime Tenderloin Tartare **with Capers, Red Onion, Quail Egg, and Hand Cut Potato Chips. Enjoy your meal." The servers bowed and removed the tables.

"Wow – this is raw tuna?" Sookie pointed to the left,

"Yes, and that's crab dip in the middle, and then your favorite, steak tartare on the right," Alicia helped everyone out.

"This looks amazing," Bobbie thought this was the coolest thing, ever.

"Did he say "four more courses?" Amelia asked. "How are we going to eat all that food?"

Octavia was looking at the food suspiciously, but she took a bite of tuna and found it delicious so she dug right in. "Mmm – this is good."

"Well, it's a tasting menu, so hopefully they won't be large portions," Alicia recalled.

Sookie asked, "are we supposed to eat these from left to right?"

"They didn't specify that, so I'd say eat them in whatever order you want," Alicia knew everyone was in shock at how fancy the food was.

"Mmm – this tuna is fantastic!" Sookie liked the first one, so like Octavia, she dug in and really enjoyed herself.

Everyone enjoyed their meal and chatted and in 20 minutes, when they were all mostly done, the servers came in with course number two. The same server introduced the food : **Cool Cucumber Soup** with Lump Crab & EVOO, and there was a platter of Burrata Mozzarella, Marinated Tomatoes, Fresh Basil w/ EVOO.

When they left, Sookie asked "What's EVOO?"

"Extra Virgin Olive Oil. It's very tasty and very good for you," Alicia explained.

Sookie went wild for the soup. "I've never had cold soup before, but this is really yummy. And what's the deal with the cheese, tomatoes and leaves?"

"That's served at a lot of Italian restaurants. It's probably buffalo milk mozzerella, then just tomato and basil drizzled with olive oil. It's considered a salad. Just take a little on your salad plate there. You'll love it," Alicia encouraged her.

"Wow – that cheese is awesome. It's from buffalos?"

"Yes, it is – that's the very best kind," Bobbie confirmed.

Twenty minutes later, the third course came in, again on a three-section plate**: ****Crab Crusted Sea Bass, Crispy Skate Wing and Pan Roasted Mahi Mahi. The boys woke up then and one of the servers pulled out a special plate with pureed food.**

**"****Specially prepared for the Princes, designed for them by our chef," the lead server explained. "Please, continue to enjoy your meal. Francesca will feed them."**

**A petite blonde server with a ponytail sat down cross-legged in front of the boys and fed them with two little spoons. Sookie watched them closely, but they seemed to be fine and she heard Alex say "dayoo" several times and both babies giggled now and then so she didn't interfere.**

**"****Francesca, is it?" Alicia asked from her seat.**

**"****Yes, ma'am."**

**"****When he says "dayoo" that means 'thank you.'"**

**"****Oh, good. I thought that was what he was saying. He's so polite!"**

**"****Yes, they're very good boys," Alicia said proudly.**

**The Fourth course was also on divided plates: slices of Roasted Duck Breast** w/Grilled Sweet Corn, Bing Cherry Sauce;**Colorado Lamb Osso Bucco**withCreamy Polenta and Gremolata; and **Three Pepper Crusted Ribeye**with Horseradish Cream.

"OK, I'm officially full for the rest of my life, but this is so good!" Sookie laughed.

The final course was dessert, and it contained tiny portions of **Caramel Créme Bruleé**with Bramble Berries, **Meyer Lemon-White Chocolate Tart**withWhipped Mascarpone & Mixed Berries, and **Sour Cream Apple Pie**withWalnut Crumble Topping and Lavender Vanilla Bean Ice Cream.

"OK, this is officially the best meal of my life," Sookie laughed.

The servers finally came back in to clear their plates, and George left Sookie with a copy of the menu showing how much more was available if she wanted.

Francesca stood up and said, "Bye, little Princes!" and was tickled to death when both boys waved and Alex said, "Bah-bah!"

One of the servers came back into the room with a playpen, and another brought an armful of toys to put in it. They set it up in the living area at the end of the couches that faced each other, toward the pool, but still on the white carpet. Once they had it put in place, they bowed to Sookie and walked out without a word, but she gave them a big smile and said, "Thank you!"

"Please send my compliments to the Chef," Sookie told George, "this was truly extraordinary, and special thanks for sending something for the boys. They just loved it."

"Thank you, your majesty, I'll tell him. He said to tell you he has a special treat for you for dinner, which we were told should be served at 8 o'clock so you can attend the party at 9?"

"Yes, that will be fine. Thank you so much."

"Our pleasure. Enjoy your stay."

When they were gone, Sookie asked, "so, will every club have the same food?"

"No, it will vary according to the chef at each one," Amelia laughed.

"So we're going to do that 12 more times? You all aren't going to have to worry about me gaining weight. My goodness!" Sookie collapsed on the couch just as the babies got restless, but Alicia and Bobbie took them into the bathroom where the changing table was and gave them fresh nappies.

Bobbie got back with Aubie first and he was calling for "Mmamma" before he could even see Sookie, so she brought him straight to her.

"There's my sweet boy!" Sookie was waiting for him with open arms and a big smile. She snuggled him and kissed him and blew raspberries on his tummy, which made him get the hiccups again. A minute later, Alex flew into the room on his own and landed on the couch next to Sookie and Aubie. "Hey, Darlin' boy! Are you flying?"

"Eeah, ware di Dadee do?"

"Daddy is upstairs in his travel box. He'll be awake in a while. What do you think of this place?'

"Eye-er an Eye-er!"

"Yeah, it looks high here, doesn't it?"

"Sthimmeen ina poo?"

"That's not a bad idea, actually. Bobbie, are you up for a swim?"

"Yeah, sure."

"Where's Amelia?"

"She's lying down. She woke up really early today. Octavia is lying down, too."

"Bjorn and Jerry are working, I guess?"

"Jerry is resting up for tonight. Bjorn is working with the local security to make sure everything is up to his standards, and he'll be back in a bit."

"OK, so we need plastic pants, and I need to put my suit on. Alicia just went upstairs, right?"

"Right. You get your suit on and get the plastic pants from her, and we'll wait here for you. I put my suit on as soon as we got here."

Sookie cracked up at that. "I wouldn't even have remembered to pack a swim suit. You haven't seen the upstairs yet, have you?"

"No, is it outrageous?"

"You have no idea. Why don't you go up and look, and you can get the plastic pants from Alicia."

"Want me to bring your suit down and you can change in the bathroom down here?"

"Yeah, actually, that would be cool!"

"Be right back!" Bobbie was more than happy to go upstairs because she'd heard people talking about it and was dying to see it. "Holy Mother Goddess!"

Sookie laughed when she heard Bobbie's reaction.

"It's really something, isn't it?" Alicia laughed as she was going through Sookie's suitcase. "Looking for these?" She held up the plastic pants.

"Yeah, and Sookie needs her suit. She'll change in the bathroom down there.

"OK, here's her favorite. Did she say anything about dinner?"

"No, but I heard them say they're going to serve it at 8."

"Alright, they'll need to bathe and dress before dinner. I hope they don't mess up their clothing."

"Have they got back-ups?"

"Yes, but I really want her to wear this outfit. It will be amazing on her and there will be photographers tonight."

"Yeah, this will be big news in all the vamp magazines."

"That's why I'm going to go ahead and steam their stuff now and give it plenty of time to hang and relax. I want them to be perfect."

"Are you going to the party?"

"No, I'll be part of the security team up here for the twins. They'll stay here in the living room with Octavia and me, and Jerry, then he and Bjorn might switch off. We're hoping they'll sleep a good deal of the time, but she may have to come in and out a few times if they won't take bottles."

"She's not that into the idea of the party, anyway."

"Does she know… the "nature" of the clubs?"

"Yeah, do you?"

"Oh, yes, Octavia filled me in a while ago."

"You don't mind?"

"Everybody is a consenting adult. Beyond that, it's none of my business. I work for Sookie."

"Good attitude. She's having a little trouble with it."

"I think she'll get over that pretty quickly. I hear they're having guests for drinks at some point tonight?"

"Yes, some of the European royals. There's one called Mama who will insist on seeing the boys."

"She likes babies?"

Bobbie nodded, "she's known for it. She's very kind, as vampire Queens go."

"What's she the Queen of?"

"Austria, I think. Sookie met her in Las Vegas."

"Wasn't she a little scared of her?"

"Yes, but everyone says there's no reason to be."

"I hope they're right."

"She's definitely not a risk to Alex. Aubie is the one to worry about, but as long as he's wearing that shield Sookie made for him, he should be safe."

"That little necklace?"

"Yes – don't take it off of him. It protects him."

"Oh, I wouldn't without asking. I know things are not always as they seem around here.

"Good. OK, we're going in the pool."

"There are toys and towels in a closet right behind the staircase down there."

"Oh, cool. Thanks!" Bobbie went down the stairs and found the closet behind it. "Hey, Sookie, did you know this stuff is in here?"

"No, I didn't. Are there any toys for the babies?" Sookie was playing with the boys. Alex was standing up holding onto the back of the couch, and Aubie was holding Sookie's fingers trying to pull himself up.

"Look at this little bulldozer! And a whale! There's one for each of them. They're already inflated, too."

"They knew we were coming," Sookie laughed. "Lookie, Alex, what Bobbie's got."

"Wadiz dat?" He asked with big eyes as he looked at the bright yellow and black inflatable bulldozer. "Una Dastha!"

"Yeah, that's a bulldozer like Uncle Jason drives, isn't it?" Sookie was tickled that Alex recognized that. "You want to go in the pool and try it out?"

"EEAH!"

"OK, let Mommy run put her suit on and we will, OK?"

"ODAY!"

Bobbie threw her suit to her and told her "Around the corner to the right – first door after the kitchen."

Sookie sat Aubie on the couch next to Alex, who was still standing, and went in a hurry because she wanted to get in the pool, too. The bathroom was really nice with a nice sized corner tub and shower combo that would hold two people, but only two, so it seemed small to her. She was pleased to see a fully stocked changing table in here, too. She was ready in seconds flat, and back out front.

"Hey, Sookie, have you ever seen these before?" Bobbie threw her a package.

"Swim diapers? I never heard of that."

"Should we give them a try?"

"You all just changed them, so let's use our regular system today, but tomorrow we'll put these on them." She picked Aubie up off the couch and took the inflated whale toy Bobbie gave her, and Bobbie grabbed Alex and the bulldozer.

"Will we be here long enough to swim tomorrow?" Bobbie asked as she put the dozer down and opened the door for Sookie and Aubie.

"Yeah, we're traveling at night so Eric can see the plane."

"Oh, good. That means we get more fancy food!"

"I know, that lunch was awesome, wasn't it?

"Yes, it was. We forgot towels. Hang on just a minute, Alex." She put Alex in a lounge chair and threw the dozer in the pool, then ran back in and got a stack of beach towels and put them on one of the poolside tables near the pool steps.

Sookie threw the whale in the water, then jumped in at the side with Aubie in her arms yelling "Whee!" Aubie cracked up, squealing and splashing the water. He loved to splash water.

Bobbie grabbed Alex and jumped in nearby, cracking him up, too. They were both tickling the boys and making the animal sounds they liked as they got their rides and put them in them. "Hey, these have got little covers on them!"

"That's good. Being on a roof like this, the sun can be pretty intense."

"Yeah, I guess. I hope this is not too much for them."

"They love the sun, Sookie, don't worry about that. We'll take them in before it gets to be too much. It's 4 o'clock, anyway so the sun won't be strong much longer."

"True, so we'll just play until they get tired. If we can wear them out, maybe they'll sleep well while we're gone."

"Let's see – Eric will be up around 7, right? And you'll have to shower and dress before dinner, so that's at 8. We should probably feed the boys at 6:00 and put them down, then you can feed them just before 9 if you want…"

"Actually, I think we'll try bottles at 9 so we can do our thing, then I'll come home to feed them at 12. Eric's bringing people up for drinks, so I'll feed them while they visit. Then I'm praying they'll sleep if he wants me to go back downstairs, but I hope I can talk him out of it."

"Sookie, just make up your mind to relax and have fun. There will be insanely good food and drinks and you'll have fun and dance..."

"Everybody keeps saying that…"

"You'll love it, Sweetie. I can't wait, even though I know I'll have to take a turn babysitting."

"Sorry about that."

"Don't be sorry, Hon, I'm glad to do it. Besides, I'm getting into the party of the Millennium for free. You won't hear me complaining."

"Is Octavia going?"

"I think she and Alicia decided to watch movies in the living room and hold down the fort. They want plenty of back-up with the boys."

"That's good. I'm pretty nervous about leaving them."

"Stop being nervous, Sookie. You're a Queen. You pay people to be nervous for you," Bobbie laughed and Sookie lightened up and laughed, too.

"Mamee, sthimmeen!"

"OK, baby." She pulled him out of the bulldozer and let him swim freely in the water. Bobbie pulled Aubie around, to his great delight, while Sookie chased around with Alex. "Hey, Bobbie – is anybody in the living room?"

"No, why?"

"Alex, watch Mommy!" She dove and came up a mermaid. Alex squealed and dove, coming up a merbaby and the two of them swam several quick laps before Sookie turned back and held her arms out to him. "Come to Mommy," she giggled and Alex went to her, swishing his tail as she held him, then changing back and laughing up a storm. "When Daddy gets up, we'll tell him we were naughty," Sookie laughed and Alex loved it. He understood enough to know they really shouldn't have done that here, so Mommy doing it and letting him, too, was a real treat.

"You'll give somebody a heart attack," Bobbie laughed.

"No harm in doing it just this once, you know?"

"Alex sure enjoyed it."

"Ah wyg dat, Mamee!"

"You like that? You like being a merbaby?"

"Eeah, an Mamee!"

"Mommy is a mermaid, Alex is a merbaby."

"Mamee itha muhmay an Awegs itha muhbeebee."

"Right, and when we do that, that's called "shifting."

"chifteen?"

"Right, shifting. You know who else can shift?" Bjorn!"

"Borhd muhmay?"

"No, Bjorn's not a mermaid, Bjorn is a wolf!"

"You know, I've never seen him shift?" Bobbie said.

"Really?"

"Yeah, he said he would some time, but there's just never been an opportunity."

"Where is he, anyway?"

"He was checking some of the security for tonight, and he said something about visiting the Weres with the European delegation…"

"Oh, right. They'd all want to scope each other out so they know who is what."

"Sookie?" Alicia called out the sliding door

"Yeah?"

"What time are you planning to feed the boys next. The chef wants to send something special for them."

"OK, 6 o'clock."

"I'll tell them."

"Alicia, do they know not to use any citrus?"

"I'll make sure."

"Thanks."

Bjorn came in through the living room, "Hey, Alicia – can I get a pitcher of tea. I'm going to go out and watch the babies."

"Sure, I'll get it for you. They left a pitcher earlier."

"Thanks." He went out the sliding door, "Hey, somebody having a party without me?"

"Ah, Borhd!"

"Ah-ya!" Aubie tried to copy Alex.

"Hey, Bjorn!"

"Hi, Sweetie!"

"Borhd, chifteen!"

"Shhh – Alex. That's a secret."

"Did he say?"

"Yeah, I was bad and did mermaid and he did merbaby, just for a minute."

"Uh-huh."

"Borhd, chifteen!" Alex said insistently.

"Oh – I'm sorry, Bjorn, he's asking you to shift. I told him," Sookie said apologetically.

"Eh, Borhd" Alex made his "come here" gesture. Alicia came out and left a pitcher of tea, and a glass on a napkin. "Hey, Alicia, I'm going to show Alex something, so don't freak out, OK?"

"Can I stay?"

"Sure, if you want. OK, Alex, watch this." Bjorn stood up and pulled his shirt off, kicked off his boots and socks, then shifted right out of his pants. He was magnificent! He was a huge, silver grey wolf with bright blue eyes.

Alex squealed and Aubie giggled and clapped his hands. The wolf jumped into the water and paddled out to where Sookie was holding Alex and licked his little face. Bobbie took Aubie out of the whale and let the wolf lick him, too, and Aubie petted his head gently, then pulled his hand back shyly, giggling. It swam back to Alex and "talked" just a little, projecting a picture to Sookie so she knew to put Alex on its back. He grabbed the fur and held on. The wolf swam to the steps and walked out slowly, Alex hanging on tightly. It stopped so Alicia could take Alex off his back, then it picked up his pants in its mouth and stood by the sliding door. Alicia rushed over, Alex dripping in her arms, to let it inside and it ran into the bathroom, coming out a minute later as Bjorn wearing just his pants.

"Yay, Bjorn!" Sookie laughed and clapped and the babies clapped, too. Alex wanted Bjorn to hold him so he took him from Alicia and sat for a few minutes with no shirt on.

"Dood, Borhd!" Alex was so excited.

"You like that, Alex?"

"EEAH!"

"I was a wolf – can you say "wolf," Buddy? WOLF."

"Oouhf."

"Good boy, Alex. Wolf!"

"Oouhf!"

"Some time when we're home, you can try being a wolf, too, OK?"

"Eeah!" Alex laughed, pretty sure he knew what Bjorn was saying, giving Bjorn a hug and a kiss on the cheek.

"Uh-oh, Sookie, Aubie is starting to shake a little," Bobbie told her.

"OK, I'll take him out for a bit. I don't want to freeze him." Sookie went over to them, "here, baby, come to Mommy and we'll go get warm. Yeah, we'll get warm for a bit, OK?' she chatted to Aubie as they came out of the water. Alicia was waiting for them, wrapping a towel around Aubie first, then wrapping one around Sookie's waist. Sookie sat at the table with Bjorn and Alex.

"Look, Aubie, there's Buddy! Yeah, there's Alex and there's Bjorn!"

"Oof!" Aubie tried to bark and Bjorn cracked up. Aubie reached for Bjorn, so he and Sookie traded babies for a minute. Aubie hugged Bjorn for the first time and Sookie saw Bjorn wipe away a tear.

"DeeBee, Mamee."

"You want to watch TV, Sweetie? We can do that."

Alicia came out with a terry dress Sookie could put over her suit, then took Alex as she slipped it on. Sookie took Aubie from Bjorn, who finally got a minute to get dressed again and Bobbie gathered up the toys and put them on the cement to dry.

"Hey, Sookie, I'm going to take my shower now," Bobbie said as she went through the room.

"OK, Sweetie."

Bjorn came in and sat on the couch opposite Sookie.

"I've got a surprise for Alex and Aubie," Alicia said as she turned on the TV, then the DVD player. "Look what I found in the cabinet." The DVD loaded and it turned out to be _**Teletubbies : Time to Play.**_

"Dewedumbeesth!" Alex was tickled pink and Aubie clapped his hands because he knew something good happened, though he wasn't sure what it was. They wrapped the boys in dry towels and propped them up on a cushion facing the TV, but it lasted about 2 minutes before Alex had to fly up to the screen. Aubie got so excited, his little arms waving - yelling "BUMBY!" - that he floated up out of his towel, too, and went up next to Alex at the TV.

"Oh my Goddess!" Sookie couldn't believe it was happening already. She was frozen, not knowing what to do next.

"Good job, Aubie!" Bjorn piped up, knowing Eric would be thrilled to hear about this.

"OBEE FYEEN!" Alex exclaimed, but then he went right back to paying attention to the TV.

"Aubie, Sweetie, fly back to Mommy!" Sookie called to him, still not sure what to do.

Aubie turned and zipped right back to her, landing in her arms and she covered him with kisses and hugged him tight.

"Sookie, I know you're freaking out, but Eric is going to be thrilled."

"Yeah, I just hoped it would take a lot longer. I don't want to lose both of them so soon."

"You won't lose that one, Sookie. You won't lose either of them, but you definitely won't lose that one," Bjorn told her. "Being close to you is his favorite thing. His attention strays a little now and then, but he always comes right back to you."

"That's exactly the way I want it. He's mine and I'm not letting him go." She hugged him tight and fought back tears, and Bjorn knew what she was feeling, so he let her have a minute to get a grip on herself.

A few minutes later, there was a knock at the door, and a server came in with dinner for the boys.

"Wow – is it 6 o'clock already?" Sookie looked for a clock as she popped up to the TV and took Alex out of the air.

"Yeah, we spent a lot more time outside than I realized," Bjorn agreed as he let the server in.

"Oh, hi, Francesca!" Sookie gave her a warm greeting as she stood there holding both babies.

"Hi, your majesty. They sent me again since I did OK with the Princes earlier."

"I'm so glad, they really enjoyed the attention."

"Thanks. I'll just get their highchairs and be right back." She left her serving table by the dining area and went into the kitchen area, opening a little alcove and pulling out the high chairs for the boys.

"If you have other work to do, we can feed them," Sookie offered.

"If you don't mind, I kind of enjoy doing it. My brothers and sisters will lose their minds when I tell them I fed the vampire Princes."

"Alright, well, you go right ahead. I don't know about Aubie yet, but I know Alex loves attention from pretty girls, don't you, Pookie?"

"Eeah!" Alex giggled as Sookie put him in one high chair, then set Aubie down in the other.

Sookie hooked the little seat belt on Aubie and explained to the girl, "Alex doesn't really need a seat belt, but we always use on for Aubie."

"How is his health, ma'am. I heard he was sick?"

"He was very small and had to have a nurse for some time. He's doing well, just not quite as exceptionally well a Alex, right, Cookie?" Sookie tickled Aubie's chin and he giggled and squirmed in the cutest way imaginable.

Francesca turned a chair around so she could sit in front of the boys and began to feed them out of little dishes with little spoons.

"Ooh, that looks good!" Sookie admired their meal.

"The chef said it's kiddie tartare, invented just for vampire babies. It's mostly ground meat, but he put a little Worcestershire sauce and a few things like that to make it tasty. I hope they like it."

"Mmmm!" Alex said when he got his first bite.

"Well, Alex likes it." Sookie laughed as she watched the girl feed them.

Aubie made his surprised face and smacked his lips. "OK, looks like it's a hit all around." Sookie laughed.

"I hear my lovely wife!"

"ERIC! You're up!" Sookie skipped over to the staircase to kiss him and he picked her up and gave her a good, long, wet one.

"Ah, Dadee!" Alex said with his mouth full.

"NnDada!" Aubie pointed at Eric.

"I hear my two very good boys!"

"Sweetie, this is Francesca. She fed the boys lunch today and they just loved her, so she's giving them dinner."

"Hello, Francesca. Thank you for serving my boys. They like you very much, I can tell."

"Thank you, your majesty."

Sookie tried not to laugh out loud when she heard the girl think Eric was the biggest, most gorgeous man she had ever seen, or when she saw Eric preening a little because he knew the girl was admiring him. Sookie'd never be jealous because she knew Eric was HERS, and she liked it when he showed off to other women… or anybody, really!

"Dadee, chifteen."

"Alex, Sweetie, don't talk with your mouth full, OK? We'll tell Daddy everything we did later."

"Oday."

Eric swept Sookie up off her feet and sat on the couch with her. "Busy day, my Angel?"

"Very!"

"Where is everyone?

"Half resting, half showering for tonight."

"How did you like the airplane?"

"It's spectacular, of course! It's like a mansion with wings."

"How did you find the crew?"

"Very hospitable, prepared for anything, and very professional."

"Good, just as I had hoped. Your flight was good?"

"Yep – really short, but take off and landing were easy as pie."

Francesca was enjoying seeing how they spoke to each other. It was obvious they were very much in love. Her sisters would die when she told them!

"How do you like the suite?"

"It's like a dream, Eric. And the food! My Goddess, you should have seen the luncheon they served us! It was a tasting menu with five courses, and each course had several items. It was officially the best meal of my life. I asked the main server to send my compliments to the chef and sent special thanks for making lunch for the boys, too."

"He did?"

"Yes, and they're eating a special steak tartare he created just for them and they love it."

"He has gone above and beyond his duties, then?"

"Yes. Everyone has. The staff is all just wonderful so far."

"Good. What is our schedule for tonight?"

"We need to shower and dress so we can have dinner at 8 o'clock and then we go to the party at 9, I guess?"

"Alright, when the boys are done we'll do a family bath. Are our clothes ready?"

"Yes, Alicia worked on them while we were in the pool. Oh, and I started reading that book today while the boys napped. It's so good! I can't wait to get back to it."

"Wonderful. Tomorrow you can sleep in late, play with the boys, read some more, play in the pool and we will all fly home together. Such a rough life, my Angel, I don't know how you endure it."

Sookie laughed and stuck her tongue out at him and he tickled her and kissed her. Francesca was dying. She was also done and a little sad to leave.

"Excuse me, your majesty? The boys are finished."

"Francesca, thank you so much! Will we be seeing you again?" Sookie got up with Eric's help.

"Yes, ma'am I'll come with their breakfast at noon, I think?"

"Yes, that sounds right. We'll look forward to seeing you then. Have a good night!"

"Thank you ma'am. I hope you all enjoy your stay."

"Thank you, Francesca. Here's a little bonus you don't need to tell your boss about, alright?"

"Oh, I'm not supposed to…"

"It will be our secret." Eric gave her a sly smile and a wink and she floated out of the room with 2 crisp hundred-dollar bills in her pocket. Sookie heard her think that she'd really be able to help her mama with the bills this month and that made her very proud that Eric did that.

When she was gone, Sookie said, "You knew she needed that, didn't you?"

"Yes, I did. She has 10 brothers and sisters and no father. They all contribute what they can to the household. When I read her profile, I told the manager I wanted to be sure that she got some special opportunities to impress me. I'll give her a glowing report and she'll get another bonus in her paycheck."

"Thank you for doing that."

"Thank you for letting her feed the boys."

"I was a little nervous about that at first, but Alex took right to her, so I went with it. It let me concentrate on feeding my face. The food here is just unreal."

"Well, then, let's have our bath and you will eat some more of it," he laughed and kissed her, then they picked up the boys and went up the spiral staircase.

"It's so weird up here – it's almost like being outside."

"Yes, when we are in bed, we'll have a nearly unobstructed view of the sky."

"Are there any lights up here?"

"Just walk into the room," he urged her forward and everywhere she went, tiny lights in the ceiling lit her way.

"What is that?"

"It's called ambient lighting. Very chic, don't you think?"

"It's like the room knows who I am…"

"It does. Say "play" and then "music."

"Play music," she repeated. Seemingly from nowhere, she heard "Here Come Horses," by Tabitha's Secret? playing, but there was no sign of any sound system or speakers.

"The stereo or whatever knows me, too?"

"Yes, it does."

"Unreal."

"It's supposed to be a fantasy setting. When we are here, it is only us in the world."

"And there's a room just like this at every club?"

"Yes."

"Alicia said the bed looks like an altar," Sookie laughed.

"Exactly. It's where I worship the Goddess most reverently," he wiggled his eyebrows at her and she felt it in her loins. This was going to be a long night. All she had been thinking about all day is getting him into that bed and on top of her and now they had to go out around people and wait for freaking HOURS!

She got the babies stripped down on the bed as he ran the bath in that gorgeous sunken tub. "I see Alicia remembered the supports for the boys," Eric said from the corner where he was lighting candles.

"Yeah, she's great," Sookie said as she undressed.

"Sookie, I know how you feel and I agree," he said as he came back, kissed her, then undressed.

"Agree with what?"

"Let's get this party over with and get back to this big bed under the stars," he bent her over backward and gave her a kiss that would melt butter.

"Why do you always do this to me?" She laughed.

"What?"

"Get me all revved up when you know it's going to be hours before we can do anything."

"Because I'm a selfish bastard and I want all of your attention on me tonight, not on the attractive young men – or women – who work here. I want all of your attention on what you will do to me when we get back here, and, even better, what I will do to you."

"You don't seriously think I'd look at anyone else, do you?"

"There are going to be attractive humans, Weres and vampires. Royals and the very wealthy from the four corners of the world. You will be the most desirable woman in the room. I want to make sure you are focused on coming home with me. I don't think you'd ever cheat on me, but if I'm smart - and you know I am - I'll make sure of it."

"Uh-huh. Let's take a bath," she teased him. She knew he was telling her what she wanted to hear, and she loved it. He was keeping her from being jealous of the other women by reminding her he was obsessed with her, and that was just fine with Sookie.

They each took a baby and Eric helped her get into the tub wih Aubie, then stepped in with Alex. They put the boys in the supports and started washing hair right away.

While they were working on Aubie's hair, Alex said, "Dadee, me an Mamee an Borhd chifteen."

Eric looked at Sookie. "He's telling you that he and I played merpeople today and Bjorn shifted into a wolf and gave Alex a ride in the water."

"You did?"

"Just for a minute when there was nobody around. Just for a laugh."

"Obee fyeen."

"Aubie was flying? Tell me this is true?" Eric was beside himself now.

"Yes, it's true. Alex got excited about Teletubbies and flew up to the TV and Aubie got excited and followed him."

They finished with Aubie's hair and Eric picked him up. "Auberon, did you fly with Alex today?"

"Ah!"

"Very good boy! Daddy is very proud of you!" Eric hugged him and kissed him. "You fly with Buddy a lot and learn to fly very well, alright?"

"Ah!"

"He doesn't know what you're saying, Eric."

''He knows what he feels from me in the bond. That is enough." Eric kissed his head again and put him back in his little seat so they could wash Alex's hair. They moved along with the bath so that they were finished by 7:15 when Alicia called up the stairs.

"Mrs. Northman?"

"Yes, Alicia, I'm ready for you!"

Alicia came up the stairs as Eric was sitting on the bed in a pair of silk boxers talking to Aubie. Alex was asleep in the co-sleeper already and Sookie had a pink robe on so Alicia could do her hair and makeup. Alicia dried her hair quickly, put it in big rollers and started doing a quick, but careful makeup job on her. They wanted her to look just a little more glam than usual, so her hair was teased a little and pulled back with a really thin black headband and she was wearing "cat's eye" eyeliner and false lashes. Aubie went to sleep and Eric put him next to Alex, then began to put his tuxedo on. They were both dressed just before 8 o'clock, Eric whistling as Sookie modeled the short purple and teal dress with his favorite shoes.

"The shoes!"

"Like 'em, huh?"

"Yes, indeed. I'll be in a hurry to get back here tonight."

"Good," she said as Alicia fastened her art deco diamond bracelet on her wrist, and handed her the diamond earrings they had chosen. "I'll probably need to feed the boys at midnight, so that would be a good time to invite your royal visitors for a drink."

"Good thinking. Then we can decide if we want to go back or not."

"I hear someone at the door – let's go down for dinner. Take the boys with us."

Eric handed Aubie to her, then picked Alex up and they all went downstairs. They put the babies in the playpen that was between the couches and the dining area, and tucked in their Elmo and blue teddy bear next to them like they did at home.

Sookie recognized George from earlier in the day. "Hi, nice to see you again!"

"It's a pleasure to serve you again, your majesty."

"This is my husband, Eric Northman."

The man bowed low to Eric. "It's an honor to serve you, your majesty. Our chef has prepared some very special dishes for you this evening."

"For me?" Eric was surprised at that.

"Oh, yes. Chef Crudo is on the cutting edge of the Nouvelle Vampyre cuisine trend."

"Interesting. Bjorn, are we all here? Let's be seated."

The family all took their places at the table, Eric at the head and Sookie beside him, and the staff began to serve their meal.

"To begin, for his majesty, we have a bisque du sang with nasturtium flowers and almond crème. For her majesty and your guests we have a special French onion soup gratinee' en croute."

"Wonderful!" Eric said, in full bullshit mode. The server was pleasantly surprised to see Eric give Sookie a taste of his soup.

"Mmm – that's delicious. Look how pretty it is with the flowers. Are they edible?"

"Yes, your majesty, humans often include them in salads. They have a peppery flavor that sparks up a dish."

Sookie took a petal and tasted it. "Oh – interesting!"

"Yes, it's very nice. How many courses are we having tonight?"

"We were told three courses because you'll be eating at the party, your majesty."

"Oh, good! I don't think I could do 10 courses in one day," she laughed, "even if it is the best food I've ever had. This onion soup is out of this world. I've never seen it covered in a shell of pastry before – it's so pretty, I almost hated to break it," Sookie laughed.

Everyone savored their soups and Eric was very impressed with the presentation of it all. When they were all done, the dishes were cleared and the next course was served.

"For his majesty, we have a terrine of aspic, leverwurst and an RM forcemeat. This is a favorite of the Austrian Queen, we are told."

"Oh, really?"

"Yes, her chef consulted with Chef Crudo on this dish."

"Giselle has a chef?"

"Of course, madame! For her majesty and your guests, we have a special squid ink ravioli stuffed with crab, served with sautéed lobster in a beurre blanc with pea puree and broccolini almondine."

"Oh, goodie!"

Eric laughed with delight at her reaction, having told the chef this was a favorite of hers. The plate was spectacular, with the purplish-black ravioli stuffed with creamy crab, Two small lobster halves, a beautiful mound of bright green stalks arranged in a creamy sauce with something green cut into it in a sunburst design, then the whole platter was sprinkled with toasted almonds.

"Oh, this is so good! How did he make this design in the sauce? What's this?"

"That's the beurre blanc, madame, and the green design is pea puree."

"Oh, it's all so good! This lobster is so tender, and the ravioli is unbelievable. The filling is heavenly!

"He'll be thrilled that you enjoyed it, your majesty."

"This is even better than the other time I had squid ink pasta."

Eric was beside himself watching Sookie enjoy her dinner. The bond was singing with joy. That girl loved to eat.

"That is the lobster?" Eric asked

"Yes – want a bite? It's really good."

"Yes, it smells very good."

The three servers watched in awe as Eric accepted a bite of lobster that Sookie swirled in sauce and then fed to him. They were actually seeing a vampire eat food!

"Mmm – that is quite good."

"Want to try some ravioli, Sweetie?"

"Yes, I would."

Sookie cut a ravioli in quarters and swirled a piece in sauce, feeding it to him again."

"Mm – quite tasty, but not as good as the lobster," he laughed and smiled.

"Well, yeah, lobster is like the ultimate food," she laughed.

The third course was desert and the chef pulled out all the stops.

"For his majesty, we have a sorbet du sang with lavender essence and gold flakes. For her majesty and your guests, we have a Crepe Suzette which I will prepare for you now."

A table was pushed forward and the server moved some things from a plate into a beautiful copper pan, then poured Grand Marnier over it, and set it on fire.

"Oooh!" came from several people at the table. Sookie was beside herself and Eric was beaming at her. The servers would talk for weeks about how the King looked at the young Queen with such love in his eyes, and how sweet and enthusiastic she was about everything. George told the chef that the Queen was utterly irresistible – any man who spent time with her would fall in love with her.

"Mmm, Eric, taste this!" Sookie fed him a bite of her crepe and he fed her a spoonful of his blood sorbet, then they kissed and Bobbie, Bjorn, and Amelia all said "awwww!" and made everyone laugh.

"George, can I make a request for tomorrow?" Sookie asked apologetically.

"Of course, your majesty! What would you like?"

"The chef is sending breakfast for the twins at noon – would you please ask him to send a big order of that steak tartare we had at lunch today for me? I just loved it. Also, ask him if he'd consider sharing the recipe he made for the boys – they just loved that and it would be great if they could have it at home!"

"Of course, your majesty, I'll see to that personally."

"Thank you so much! If Francesca is working, I'd love for her to feed the boys again. She was very sweet to them."

"Of course, your majesty."

"Well, this has been delightful! Has everyone enjoyed their meal?" Eric asked, and everyone sang praises of the meal. "Please convey our gratitude to the Chef. I wanted this to be a very special treat for Sookie and he has exceeded even my expectations. We are most impressed."

George and the two others cleared the plates as everyone finished, and Eric took the opportunity to move things forward. "Sookie, my Dearest, I'm afraid a Queen's work is never done. Now you must attend a lavish party, eat more delicious food and let everyone see how lovely you look in your new dress."

"It's a lot, I know, but I think I can manage it?" She said with feigned exasperation, making everyone, even the servers, laugh. "Just let me touch up my lipstick and I'll be ready to go."

Alicia stepped into the bathroom with her and touched her up, the Sookie smiled in the mirror to make sure there was nothing in her teeth. Amelia and Bobbie came back from making their necessary adjustments and prepared to go down. Eric, Bjorn and Jerry had their heads together talking about security for the night, and Sookie waited by the dining table so she didn't interrupt.

"Sookie, my Angel, shall we go to a party?"

"Yes, we shall," Sookie said, trying to be a good sport but really nervous about this because she didn't know what she was going to see. "Where is the party?"

"The Romanoff room on the 3rd floor." Eric said as he offered her his arm. Bjorn walked in front of them and two guards walked behind. They were met by four guards on the 3rd floor, two of whom preceded them into the room, and two who spread out through the room but who were obviously shadowing them.

The room was fabulous, decorated in a Russian style with gold everywhere. The party was in full swing, couples dancing to a swing band, of all things, and different groups of people in round booths and at big round tables. Eric's table was toward the front at the edge of the dance floor, and there were already about 12 people seated at it.

"Hello, everyone!" Eric greeted them. The men at the table stood and bowed to Sookie and waited for her to be seated. "Please everyone, sit." Eric indicated Bjorn was to sit next to Sookie and Bobbie next to him as Eric and Sookie sat in the middle of the semi-circular table. "It is so lovely to see you all. Sookie, you remember Queen Giselle, of course, and King Stefan, King Antoine. This is the honorable Prince Badru Bast, and his wife, Amunet, These are Sookie's attendants, Bjorn Anderson and Bobbie James. I'm afraid I haven't met the others." There were more introductions, but it was obvious that the others were security like Bjorn, and their dates.

"Splendid Party, Northman! The band is most enjoyable," Stefan started the conversation. Sookie was looking around as the party progressed. Nothing untoward was happening, and everyone seemed happy and polite. Two waiters carried a huge Lazy Susan made of black wood to the table and set it down. It had tiers of dishes arranged in rows of black and white, and they told Sookie – "Black is for Vampire, White is for others," and there was definitely something for everyone on the display. The waiters passed out little plates down the table so everyone could serve themselves.

"Hey, Sookie, check out the raw oysters," Bobbie said softly.

"Is that what they are? How do you eat them?"

'Most people use lemon, but in your case, hit 'em with a little hot sauce and then just swallow it."

"For real?"

"Try it!"

Sookie did that and found that if you didn't think about what it was, they were kind of pleasant and sexy.

Waiters brought two large buckets of ice, each with several bottles in it, and they began to pour from the bottles. The humans and Weres got a very fine French champagne and the vampires got a special carbonated blood that was some sort of delicacy but Sookie wasn't sure what it was. Eric offered her a drink at one point and it was fantastic and tickled her nose even more than the champagne. Giselle and a host, and Stefan and a hostess, who Sookie finally figured out were identified by a red satin cord around their wrists, went out to the dance floor and Eric became engrossed in conversation with Badru Bast.

"Heads up, Sookie," Bjorn said as he moved to sit at the table behind them and Bast's wife, Amunet, came to sit by Sookie. "Hi," Sookie gave her a big smile, "you're Amunet?"

"Yes," the gorgeous woman smiled. She was wearing a light blue sequined dress that looked like it was from the roaring twenties and she had a shiny black bob haircut with bangs that reminded Sookie of a Cleopatra wig. "Have you heard the name before?"

"No, but it's beautiful. Is it Egyptian?"

"Yes, it is the name of the Goddess of Mystery."

"Oh, are you…"

"I was named for Her."

"Oh, that's nice."

"Our last name is Bast."

"There's a Goddess Bast, right? A cat Goddess?" Sookie was sure she remembered that.

"Exactly. She is the Matron of my husband's family, as I believe, Freyja is yours?"

"Yes, She is."

"They are closely connected, you know, our two Goddesses?"

"I didn't know that."

"Bast is a Goddess of beauty, as is Freyja. They have similar tastes – cats, luxury, war, so many things. You should be wearing copper."

"Copper?"

"Yes, you know, metals have energy as stones do. Most people associate gold with the sun and silver with the moon, but copper – She is a child of Venus, which represents the day Friday – Freyja's Day –the day of Venus, of Aphrodite, She who Enchants with Her beauty. Your body contains copper, and it can align and perfect the polarity of your own energy. It will add power to your magick, but you must take it off and clear it regularly. Wear it on your left wrist, it will align energy as it flows into you. On the right, it will align your energies as they flow from you. For you, I think, left wrist is best – when it's not so splendidly adorned, of course!" She pointed to the fabulous diamond bracelet on Sookie's left wrist. "That is certainly fit for a Goddess!"

"Oh, thank you. I've only worn it twice."

"I would make my husband take me to places just so I could wear that bracelet. Is it Tiffany?"

"Yes, it is!"

"I thought I recognized it. I'm mad for Tiffany – I have a closet full of those little blue boxes."

"I do, too, actually, because Eric sent me there one day and told me to shop!"

"Mmmm – good taste and good looks, too. Some heads were born to wear the crown, you know. Everything about him makes him King."

"Yes, I agree," Sookie laughed as the woman gently spun the lazy susan, "Have you tried these rose candies?"

"Aren't those for vampires?"

"Yes, but those of us with a taste for blood can enjoy them, too. Try one – it will enhance your abilities for a bit."

"Well, that's always a good thing, I guess." Sookie took one of the dark chocolate colored candies with the red rose petal on it and ate one. It didn't really taste good or bad, but it made Sookie tingle.

Amunet gave her a knowing look and an arched brow. "There's a Witch in the kitchen tonight. I spotted her when I tasted one of those earlier. Shall we ask for a special selection from her?"

"Are you sure it's a "her?""

"Oh, yes, the roses are a dead giveaway. Let's go talk to her!" The woman pulled Sookie up by the hand and led her toward the kitchen, Bjorn hot on their heels.

Eric didn't seem alarmed when Sookie walked away, so she just went with it. This woman seemed to know a lot that it would benefit Sookie to learn.

"May I help you?" Chef Crudo, a very handsome Frenchman with long dark hair parted in the middle and a two-day beard, was obviously not happy to have visitors in the kitchen.

"This is Queen Sookie and I am Lady Amunet. We wish to speak to the woman who made those wonderful bloodrose candies."

"Selena, you have visitors."

Even Sookie recognized Selena as a Goddess name. The woman who walked forward was obviously a Witch, not just from the fact that even her apron was black, but that she wore an abundance of silver jewelry, and a gorgeous pentacle tattoo on her left shoulder.

"Merry met, Selena. Queen Sookie and I just wanted to tell you that your bloodrose candies are delectable. We were wondering if you had anything else around here for special… Sisters?"

"Yes, of course. Right this way, ladies…" The woman led them into a back room where she had rows upon rows of candies and hors d'oeuvres. "Wait right here."

She went to the back corner and walked into a refrigerator, coming out with a golden platter with all kinds of chocolates, each with something "extra" in them. "I heard a rumor that the vampire Queen was a Witch, so I made these special just in case. These (she pointed to a white chocolate rose) are for prophecy; these (dark chocolate squares with pecans on top) are for boosting your natural abilities, and these (milk chocolate clusters of something) are for making your enemies stand out from the crowd. You can't eat them all at once, of course, so I'll box them up and you can take them home."

"Would these work for a vampire?" Sookie asked as the woman filled two boxes, one larger than the other, with the candies.

"For A vampire, no. For YOUR vampire, maybe. I hear he can eat food?"

"Yes."

"Don't answer yes or no, just listen. If he can do that because he's so old, they won't affect him. If he's able to do that because he feeds on you, then yes, they might work for him. It all depends on how much of you is in him. If I were you, I'd feed him one of these clusters tonight and find out."

"Are you saying…"

"SELENA! I need you out here!" Crudo's patience was being tested.

"Go ahead, we'll close them up." Amunet told her.

"Thank you!" Sookie said as the woman hurried out front.

Amunet handed Sookie the larger box and the two of them hastily headed out of the kitchen. Sookie calling over her shoulder, "Thank you, chef, your cooking is spectacular!"

Bjorn was waiting for them at the kitchen door, never having let Sookie out of his sight. He didn't follow any closer because he knew this was Witch business and they didn't like people listening in. He had heard enough of Sookie's and Amunet's conversation to know that they were cut from the same cloth. The two of them might prove to be a powerful alliance if they liked each other and Amunet had known about Sookie's connection to Freyja. That was not generally known to anyone outside the family, and Bjorn had a suspicion Amunet's knowledge came from a Divine Source.

Sookie and Amunet went back to the table where their husbands were still engrossed in conversation. Sookie thought maybe Selena was telling her there was a problem, but she didn't want to interrupt Eric, so she just took out one of the chocolates and said, "Eat this, Sweetie," and Eric did without thinking. Badru and Eric exchanged cards, and Badru took Amunet out on the dance floor. Eric got the strangest look on his face.

"Sookie, what was that I just ate?"

"Magick candy. She said it may or may not work for you, depending on how much of me is in you."

"Is it an hallucinogen? I'm seeing strange things."

"It's supposed to make your enemies stand out in a crowd."

"I see two… no three people in the room who look as if they are standing in spotlights."

Sookie looked around and saw nothing of the sort. "Eric, I can't see anything like that. The candy is working. I don't know how long it will last."


	95. Chapter 95

**[Note for Revision 1 – thanks to Akatash for help with the German phrases!]**

**[A/N****: Sorry, it's a short one. I'm trudging away trying to get to that Wiccaning. I'm going to do a chapter for Entitlement now, so it might be a few days before I get back to LATE. People have asked for pictures of Eric's house, the toys, etc. I could post some pictures and even have a Chapter Menu I could post as a Word document. Any suggestions where I should do that? If so, leave it in a review – we're closing in on 3,000!]**

**Chapter 95**

"Bjorn, come here."

"Yes, Eric?"

"Do you see the man in the red silk shirt under the exit light?"

"Yes."

"And the woman in the blue and green dress on the dance floor?"

"Yes."

"And a man in a dark suit, sitting by himself eating."

"Yes."

"I have reason to believe they mean us harm. What do you recommend?"

"I need more information. You and Sookie go dance and see if Sookie can get information from the woman. I'm going to send an undercover Were female after the man having dinner, and I'll take the guy in the red."

"Good. Sookie, let's dance."

She accepted his hand and he led her to the dance floor, pulling her close and whispering in her ear, "the woman in the blue and green dress. Listen in on her and think what you hear back to me – can you do that?"

"Yeah, of course."

Eric swung her around, making her laugh and getting them right up next to the woman, who was dancing with a very distinguished vampire who looked about 50 but you just knew he was much, much older. Eric pulled Sookie close and didn't speak so she could concentrate and she picked up 'disgusting bloodsuckers. I can't wait to kill a few.' Sookie looked Eric in the eye and thought the phrase to him as hard as she could. Eric sent back "got it. I'll tell Bjorn. Keep listening." Eric twirled her again and dipped her, making her giggle like a girl and provoking the woman to think 'enjoy it while you can, fang banger – we'll see if you're laughing at 11:15.'

'ERIC!' Sookie thought, 'something is going to happen at 11:15!"

'Alright,' Eric replied telepathically, 'Amunet is still out here – ask her to dance and keep listening.' And he kissed Sookie's hand and walked toward Bjorn without a word.

Bjorn was standing where the man in the red silk shirt had been, and the female Were guard, who looked like just another pretty girl that might work here if you weren't a Supe who could tell the difference, was sitting with the gentleman who had been eating alone.

"Sookie, you lost your King!" Amunet joked as she and her husband, Prince Badru, came closer.

"You know how it is – he has duties he has to perform. Would you like to dance with me while I wait?"

"Marvelous idea. That will allow me to talk to Giselle while she's not busy," the Prince bowed to her and gave her Amunet's hand. The two women moved closer, leaving no space between them, but leaning back a little to chat. Sookie was wearing her emergency smile, so Amunet whispered in her ear, "to whom are we listening?"

Sookie looked at her surprised and thought 'the woman in blue and green.' Amunet gave her a sly smile and they moved closer to the woman and heard the woman think they were 'sinners' and would burn in a 'lake of fire' which was Sookie's first hint that these were religious fanatics. Great.

Amunet was leading, so she spun Sookie so that Amunet bumped the woman's back. "Sorry, dear," she put her hand on the woman's shoulder, "I'm not used to dancing with one so petite. Having a good night?" Amunet was smooth, and Sookie knew she was smart, too.

"Oh, uh, yes, I am."

"Which vampire are you with? I didn't see you come in…?" She kept her hand on the woman's shoulder the whole time they spoke.

"Oh, uh, you wouldn't know him."

"Oh, well, let me know if you want me to introduce you. I know a really cute Were who's unattached."

The woman looked shocked. "Oh, thanks. And thank you, sir, for the dance. I think I'd like to go to the ladies' room now." The gentleman vampire bowed to her and she scurried off to the ladies' room outside the door that Bjorn had staked out.

"Give her a minute, Sookie, then we'll follow. She's got a military background. I think there are 4 of them here. They came in as wait staff but got access through a grocery supply company that wasn't vetted by security."

"How do you know all that?"

"When I touched her. I'm psychic – I can read people very well if I touch them. It's a kind of empathic ability."

"I thought empaths were healers?"

"Most are. I can heal, too, but reading is my forte,"

"I heard religious stuff from her. Military and religious sounds like New Centurion…"

"OH, you know about them! I thought they were only a problem in our part of the world?"

"Yes, we've been wondering when they'd show up."

"Alright, you tell your husband, I'll tell mine and then we go to the ladies' together as if nothing is wrong, but ready for a fight."

"Done. Meet me over there – we only have until 11:15."

Amunet gave Sookie a kiss on the cheek to make it look good, then wiggled over to her husband to tell him there was a problem and what they knew. Sookie skipped over to Eric with a big smile on her face and acted like she was being flirty.

"Hey, boys, guess what I heard?"

"Military background?" Bjorn said

"Exactly, and they're religious fanatics. Amunet thinks there are four of them."

"Amunet?" Eric asked, surprised. He didn't know what she and Sookie had been up to.

"She's an empath – she touched her."

"Damn, Sookie, what Intel could do with the two of you," Bjorn laughed and shook his head.

"Where's red shirt?" Sookie hugged Eric around the waist, still pretending to be flirting.

"Being interrogated by my men. Jamie, the girl, is trying to get the diner out so our guys can nab him. You say there's a fourth somewhere?"

"That's what Amunet said. We're going to go to the ladies' room and see what that lady is up to."

"Be careful, Sookie," Eric said with some concern.

"Always." Sookie winked at him. He smiled, recognizing the same answer he always gave her when she told him to be careful. He knew she could handle herself, but anyone can get hurt.

Amunuet zipped on over and grabbed Sookie's hand and they giggled and went through the door.

"Don't worry, Eric," Bjorn told him, "Sookie's an army all by herself, and I've got a feeling Amunet can handle herself, too."

"They might have to," Eric said with a smile, leaning back on the wall, pretending he and Bjorn were just shooting the breeze. "You know this is New Centurion?"

"It has to be. FOTS couldn't get in here. It took several stages for them to get in here. This took good intel, planning and training. OK, Jamie's got him up and they're coming this way."

They let the man get out the door, then followed.

Amunet was the first through the door to the ladies' room, pulling Sookie behind her. The woman was in the back stall, and Sookie walked down there and stared at the door, whispering, "show me." It was as if the door disappeared, and Sookie could see the woman arming a bomb. Without even thinking, Sookie made the toilet shoot water up into the air and all over the woman and the device. She shrieked, and Amunuet hid just inside the door as a man came running in, gun drawn "Alice, you OK?" He pointed the gun straight at Sookie.

"She's having plumbing problems. You should lower that gun," Sookie told him calmly.

"You fucking whore, I should blow you away."

Amunet and Sookie spoke in unison. "Take him."

The man was besieged by birds that knocked him to the ground. The gun fell, but didn't discharge, and Sookie grabbed it, turning it on him. "Alright, you stand up and you," she pounded on the stall door, "come out of there, slowly."

"I'm not moving!" The woman said defiantly

"You want to meet the birds that just took your friend down, Alice?" Sookie said angrily, "because you're coming out of there, dead or alive. The only question is whether you still have eyes when you do."

Amunet grinned wickedly from the corner, staying back so she couldn't be seen by anyone coming in the door in case the first guy was followed. Sookie was tougher than she'd dared hope.

"What are you?"

"I'm the bitch that's going to see that you pay for trying to kill innocent people."

"There's not an innocent soul in this den of iniquity."

"You'd be surprised how innocent some of the souls here are. They're not filled with hate like you are, you pathetic bigot. Now come out of there…"

"I've got a bomb!"

"Now you don't," Sookie hissed.

The woman shrieked as the bomb disappeared from her hands. Another man came bursting through the door, saying, "Alice, is that you?" but before the women could react Bjorn hit him in the head from the back with a .45 just as Amunet tripped him. "Hey, Sookie, you in there?"

"Yes, come in."

"What the hell…"

"OK, we've got three of them accounted for," Sookie told him, "where's the fourth?"

"We've got him in custody."

"This one in the stall was trying to arm a bomb. There might be more!" Sookie told him, not taking her eyes or the gun off the men on the floor.

"Where's the bomb."

"It went away." Sookie said, looking him right in the eye so he knew she did it.

"What the hell happened to this one?"

Sookie and Amunet spoke at once "Falcons."

The two women looked at each other and laughed, knowing both of them were able to access the same entity.

"WHAT ARE YOU?" The woman in the stall was becoming hysterical. Military training or not, things like this simply weren't supposed to be possible in the real world.

"You come out of that stall or you won't live long enough to find out!" Sookie hit the door with her left fist and it disappeared. The woman inside screamed, but didn't get much out because Sookie hit her with the gun, taking her cue from Bjorn. Sookie was tired of fucking around with extremists. The woman was on her knees bleeding as two of Eric's guards came in and took her away, then two more took the first man, and two more the second.

"Bjorn, we need to know if there are more bombs," Sookie said.

"Yeah, it's almost 11."

"Sookie, if you have telekinesis, can't you bring them to you or send them away?" Amunet asked her.

"Bjorn, you think I can do that without blowing us up?" Sookie asked.

"Yeah, but not in here. Come with us, Hon, I'll show you where."

"Can I come too? I don't want to miss anything!" Amunet said

"Yeah, they tried to kill you, too. I might need you!" Sookie said and grabbed her hand. They followed Bjorn to a hidden passageway that you had to know the trick to opening. He took them down 4 flights of steps so they were under the club in a basement even more sinister looking than the one in Fangtasia. There were no round beds down here, just dark corridors that went down and down. Bjorn punched a code into a control panel and opened a door and they entered a room full of people. Eric was there, standing next to Badru, Giselle and a vampire Sookie didn't know who was wearing an old-fashioned suit with gold embroidery on the wide cuffs of the jacket. The four prisoners were tied to posts. They hadn't been tortured, though one looked badly beaten, but Sookie knew it was only a matter of time.

"Why are they here?" Eric wanted to know. Sookie didn't need to see this part of his job.

"I'm going to have Sookie call the bombs into the demo room," Bjorn told him.

"Sookie, do you think you can?" Eric hadn't thought of it, either.

"All we can do is try, but I made one upstairs disappear. Give me something to focus on – a rug or a piece of board or something…" Sookie asked.

One of the guards picked up a rubber mat by a different door. "Like this?"

"Yeah, exactly! Put that where you want the bombs to land."

Bjorn nodded, understanding she wanted a target to aim them at so they didn't land in her hands. He took the mat and opened another door and threw the mat inside on the floor. Sookie followed him and asked, "what's this room?"

"We can destroy bombs in it without damaging the rest of the building. Put them in there, and do it fast. It's 11:11."

"OK," Sookie took a deep breath, grounded her energy, pointed at the mat and said "all the bombs in this building." and suddenly there was a pile of boxes and wires in front of them. Bjorn quickly closed the door and twisted a big wheel of a thing on it that Sookie thought looked like it belonged in a submarine.

"Come on, don't stand here," Bjorn took her arm and took her back to the group.

"How many?" Eric asked.

"I counted six."

"He told us 7."

"I made one disappear in the ladies' room," Sookie reminded him.

"Witch! Witch! You demon from Hell!" The woman bomber, now tied to a metal chair, screeched at Sookie. Sookie waved her hand dismissively and the woman's mouth was instantly covered with duct tape. Bjorn laughed out loud and the Regents all looked at Sookie with surprise.

Sookie shrugged and said, "I don't want to hear it."

"Why is she wet, Sookie?" Eric asked.

"I made the toilet explode on her," she told him, provoking a look of surprise to which she replied, "what? She was trying to arm a bomb! My first instinct was to douse it.'

"When did you make it disappear?" Eric wondered

"When she wouldn't come out of the stall and tried to threaten us with it."

"Sookie finally got tired of fucking with her and made the door disappear, then pistol whipped her," Bjorn said proudly in front of everyone. "I told you – that little girl is an army all by herself."

For emphasis, the room shook, the clock having hit 11:15. Bjorn called upstairs on his walkie-talkie and confirmed that there were no explosions anywhere in the building. "All clear, your majesty."

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief, even if they didn't breathe.

"Well, that was certainly a crisis averted," Prince Badru said. "Your Queen saved many lives tonight, Northman, and most of them will never know."

"Yes, I'm pleased you other regents were here. If I had made such a claim without witnesses, people would think me mad," Eric laughed as Bjorn was notifying the flyers stationed with the boys in the penthouse that the coast was clear.

"She's vwery special, Eric. The Goddess has truly blessed you," Giselle said happily. She liked Sookie from the minute she laid eyes on her. She'd seen many people over the centuries and a light as bright as Sookie's was rare, indeed.

"My men will deal with these prisoners. Let's all go back to the party and confirm the security of our retinues. Giselle, you, Badru, Sarkasian and the other regents come up to the penthouse at midnight and we'll all have a drink. Sookie will need to feed the babies, and you'll all get to meet them."

"Wvonderful! I cannot wvait to hold a leetle Prince een my arms!" Giselle was very excited about that. She hadn't held an infant in 500 years, and that was what she missed most about her human life. She adored children and raised many in her human life – her own, her sisters', and some foundlings from the village. When someone had a child they couldn't raise, they knew if they left it at Giselle's door, it would be taken in and loved dearly. Her favorite sound was the sound of children's laughter. Even now, she liked baby vampires best, no matter what they looked like. No matter how old they were when they turned, baby vampires still needed a lot of care. These days, she welcomed orphaned "babies" whose makers died before they were seasoned. In life and as an undead, she was still beloved and called "Mama."

Eric hoped Sookie would learn to like Giselle, because he knew she'd greatly favor their children and she was a powerful ally to have. In the vampire world, Austria was a kind of hub for power and influence as well as money. If she took to the children, as he was sure she would, she could open a lot of doors for his sons, or at least Alex, if they had political aspirations beyond King. Eric would open as many doors for them as he could, but to have such a connection in Europe, where the majority of vampires still lived, would be valuable indeed. Even if Eric and Sookie took the positions for which they seemed destined, good connections around the globe would be important for the boys.

They went out another secret passage that brought them near an elevator, then went to the third floor. The party was still going strong, no one showing any sign that there had been a problem. Sookie went straight to the table to get the box of chocolates, which she intended to hold onto for dear life. It also occurred to her that she'd like to have a steady source of these special treats. A server came around with a cart to replenish the lazy susan, adding some new things, and taking old away.

"Excuse me," Sookie said to the young woman, "do you know if Selena will be in tomorrow?"

"The one who makes the candies? Yes, she's supposed to come in for the meeting at noon, then work on stock for the week."

"Will you ask her to come to the penthouse sometime after 12 and ask for Queen Sookie? I'd really like to speak to her privately."

"Of course, your majesty, I'll tell her now."

"Thank you so much," Sookie said as the girl turned to go into the kitchen with her message. Eric was working the room, so Sookie spun the lazy susan and added the remainder of the bloodrose candies she tried first to the box from the kitchen. She was also very pleased to find that among the new items on the tray was big bowl of beluga caviar and a few fixin's so since it was technically her party, she pulled the containers off the server and made herself a little assembly line for maximum caviar consumption.

"A woman after my own heart!" Amunet was coming back to the table laughing.

Sookie made a come here motion and said, "join me, No fish egg is safe!" she laughed and Amunet accepted a toast point full of beluga and crème fraiche from her.

"Mmmm – beluga!"

"You can tell the difference?" Sookie asked

"Yes. I've spent more than a few afternoons with platters of caviar and a good chick flick. At this point, I can recognize most of them with my eyes closed."

"Are you coming up to the penthouse?"

"Of course – I'm dying to see baby vampires!"

"I wonder if the kitchen would make us a big platter of caviar and stuff?"

"Of course they would, Darling! You're the Queen – they work for you."

"I never think like that."

"You'll learn. You just haven't realized that you can be assertive without being entitled and spoiled. You're still at the stage where you apologize for your wealth."

"Yeah…" Sookie realized that was true. "I guess I do."

"Anyone with a conscience goes through the same thing. That conscience will keep you from going too far, so just don't let it stop you altogether. You're allowed to enjoy your money," she said and Sookie laughed.

A server was going from table to table seeing if anyone needed drinks or anything from the kitchen.

"Here comes a server, Sookie. Tell him what you want – don't be afraid, and don't forget the champagne."

"Hi, can I bring you anything from the bar or the kitchen?" the young man offered.

"Actually, you could do me a favor. I'm Queen Sookie, and I'm having guests up to the penthouse in a few minutes. I'd love a large platter of caviars and all the trimmings but no citrus, and some good champagne for the humans in the party, and a couple of bottles of that carbonated blood for the vampires, please. Can you tell the kitchen?"

"Of course, your majesty, what time do you want it?"

"Between 12 and 12:30 would be perfect. Thanks so much!"

"Sookie!" Eric was coming up behind them. "Did you order food, Sweetheart?"

"I ordered some carbonated blood and a big platter of caviar and champagne for us upstairs. Is that OK?"

"Of course, it is. That's actually a very good idea. I'm glad to see you thinking of your guests."

"Mostly I was thinking of us. Amunet and I are going to wail on the caviar," Sookie laughed and the other two did as well. Eric loved to see Sookie indulge herself.

"Amunet, your husband said he will meet you up there. He had something to do before hand so he suggested you go up with Sookie and me."

"Alright, good idea." Amunet would take all the time she could get with Sookie. It had been a long time since she'd met one like herself. It was such a relief!

"Are we ready to go, Eric?" Sookie asked.

"Yes, we are. Shall we, Ladies?" He offered each of them a hand to help them stand and then offered them each an arm and they started to the door of the room where Bjorn was waiting with a security detail. Bjorn led them into the elevator, trying not to laugh.

"Alright, Bjorn, what is so amusing?" Eric kidded him once they were in the elevator car.

"It's just like you to leave a party with the two best looking women in the room, your majesty."

"I do count myself very lucky, indeed, at the moment, escorting my lovely Queen and her beautiful new friend."

"Bjorn, where's Bobbie?" Sookie just realized she hadn't seen her in a long time.

"She and Amelia went down to the Disco for a while."

"There's a Disco?" Sookie didn't know about this.

"Yes, but they play modern, hip-hop stuff." Bjorn explained.

"Do you want to go dance later, Sookie?" Eric offered

"No, I'm just surprised there is one."

"The room we were in, the Romanoff Room, is the most exclusive in the building. It's a little more sedate than the party rooms."

"What goes on in the party rooms?"

"Dancing, flirting, mingling." Eric explained "Sookie, there are no dungeons or kink rooms on the grounds. It's not that kind of place. That's of no interest to very old, wealthy vampires, and if it were, there are lots of places to find it. They want a safe place to meet healthy humans for a little romance and fantasy without being afraid that they'll be jumped in the bathroom or the parking lot by FOTS fanatics, drained by v dealers, or staked and robbed by some young hustler."

"Sookie, you're not upset about the purpose of the clubs, surely?" Amunet asked

"I don't know – I think maybe I don't really understand the whole deal."

"Have you seen anything offensive yet, Sookie?" Eric asked

"No, but I've only been in one room."

"You saw people there engaging hosts and hostesses."

"They were?"

"Yes, very discreetly."

"People were hooking up right in front of me and I didn't even know it?"

"Yes. Now, if you'd followed them to the private rooms, you'd have seen more explicit activity, but that happens in any hotel."

"Sookie, the community has been in need of something like this since the Great Revelation," Amunet told her. "It has become a very dangerous time to be a vampire, especially since their blood is being black-marketed. There aren't enough girls like us to go around," Amunet said with complete seriousness.

Everybody, Sookie included, cracked up at that, and they arrived at the penthouse floor so they were onto other topics. There were armed guards at the entrance to the suite who opened the door for them and they continued on into the room.

"FABULOUS!" Amunet said as she entered the room. "The décor is stunning!

"MMAMMA!"

"DADEE!"

"Oops, Daddy, guess who's awake!" Sookie laughed and skipped over to the playpen, picking up Aubie for a big hug and kiss and Eric picked Alex up for the same. "Amunet, this is Alex and Auberon, but we call him Aubie for short, and this is my assistant Alicia."

"Hello," she nodded to Alicia. "What beautiful babies!"

"AH!" Alex gave her a big wave and a smile.

"Ah!" Aubie tried to do the same thing Alex did.

Alex made his "come here" motion, opening and closing his hands, leaning toward Amunet, who was shocked that he would let her hold him. She took Alex from Eric and he hugged her, then patted her cheek and said, "Dat, Dadee?

"Her name is Lady Amunet."

"Waby Amuhdeh."

Amunet laughed with delight, "that's very good, Alex!" Alex giggled, clapped his hands and kissed her cheek.

"Alex, you're such a flirt!" Sookie teased him.

"Ah wyg dat."

"You like HER, Alex," Eric corrected him.

"Ah wyg uh!"

Amunet laughed and rubbed his back, kissing his cheek.

"Um, Bumby!" Aubie liked the fact that she kissed Alex even more than Alex did, and he was beside himself.

"Yeah, Buddy's being a flirt, isn't he, Aubie?" Sookie bounced him.

"Obee ma widdow buggy," Alex patted Amunet's cheek and pointed at Aubie.

Sookie translated, "Aubie is his little buddy." Eric was about to burst watching the boys entertain their guest, Aubie occasionally giggling and hiding in Sookie's hair.

"They're adorable! Does Aubie speak?" Amunet wondered.

"A little," Sookie explained, "he's just learning his first few words. "Bumby," or Buddy, is his favorite. Alex is teaching him, though, so we think he might catch up eventually."

Bjorn was leading some of the Regents in, so Eric stepped forward to welcome them. "Come in, please!"

"Hi, everybody, come on in!" Sookie greeted the others, then turned back to Amunet. "Are we going to be the only humans?"

"More or less, but then, we're only more or less human," she laughed and Sookie did, too. "The babies look so much alike, but they're not really identical, are they?"

"No, they've got some distinct differences…" Sookie didn't know how much to say.

"Don't worry," Amunet whispered, "the charm will protect him."

Sookie looked shocked, wondering how she knew about the charm.

"Why else would you put jewelry on a baby?" she explained softly, "and especially on one and not the other. Is this the first time he's meeting vampires?"

"Outside of family, yes, it is…"

"It's a good place to test, but I don't think there will be a problem. He's Fae, yes? They'll have more of a problem with Alex than the vampires will with a Fairy."

"You think so?"

"Yes. The vampires will consider him lucky to have Eric for a father, but the Fae will always mistrust Alex."

"I guess I can see that…"

Room service arrived with the refreshments just as Sookie was summoned by Eric to meet an Australian regent.

"Go ahead, I'll handle the food." Amunet urged her. She directed one waiter to put the big platter of caviar on the dining room table and the other to pour drinks for the guests who were gathering on the couches and chairs in the living area. There was a platter for the vampires, too, so it was put out on the coffee table in the center of the party.

"Sookie, Sweetheart, you didn't get to meet Robert Sarkasian earlier." He introduced the man who had been in the basement with the gold embroidery on his sleeve. "He's based in Australia."

"It's very nice to meet you." She shuffled Aubie to her left arm and offered her right hand, which he kissed rather than shook.

"The pleasure is mine, my Dear. That was quite an impressive performance earlier."

"Oh, thanks – I'm so glad it worked!"

"You've never tried it before?"

"No, I'm sort of just learning to use my abilities."

"On the job training, then," the man laughed and Sookie and Eric did, too. Giselle was coming in the door with a nice looking young man, and Eric excused himself, quickly taking Alex from Amunet to meet her.

"Giselle! Welcome!"

"Ah! Meine Göttin, Erik, was für ein Schatz!" [My Goddess, Eric, what a darling!]

"Danke, Giselle! Alexander, this is Giselle."

"Ah!" Alex waved hello and played cute for the new people, who were interesting because they were like Daddy! He didn't meet many of those!

Giselle was frozen for a moment, overtaken with emotion. Alex, as if on cue, made his "come here" motion and went to her enthusiastically. Giselle pulled him close, taking in his scent, laying her cheek against his head and rubbing his little back. "Ein hübsches Wunder!" [A beautiful miracle!] "He smells so sveet, Erik. Ees dat naturel?"

"Yes, he takes that after Sookie, I think. She has an unusually sweet scent."

"Dat strrong cheen – he ees de vwery imache uf you, Erik!"

"Thank you, Giselle. And this is Auberon." He motioned for Sookie to bring the other baby.

"Ein elf! Zweieiige Zwillinge?" [An elf! Non-identical twins?] She was surprised because the news of Aubie being Fae wasn't out yet.

"Ja, ein bisschen anders." Eric replied as if it was no big deal. [Yes, a little bit different.]

"Darf ich ihn halten?" [May I hold him?]

"Natürlich darfst du!" [Of course you may!]

Sookie held her breath as Giselle shifted Alex to one side and took Aubie in her other arm.

"Solch ein süßes Baby! Er ist so schön wie seine Mutter! [Such a sweet baby! He is beautiful like his mother!"]

"Ja, sehr!" [Yes, very!] Eric agreed, telepathically sending the translation of what she had said to Sookie. "Won't you have a seat, Giselle? The boys seem very content with you." He pointed her to a large easy chair and she sat down still holding the babies. Sookie was still a little nervous, but became less so every minute. The woman really did seem to adore the boys. Giselle's escort, Rolf, stepped forward and took a picture of her with the babies with her cell phone.

"Obee ma widdow buggy!"

Giselle was enchanted, looking to Eric for translation as he knelt next to her chair.

"He's telling you that Aubie is his little Buddy," Eric explained.

"You are a vwery smart leetle boy, yes?"

"Eeah, ahm smard," Alex nodded, to Giselle's delight.

"Auberon, who is that?" Eric prompted Aubie, pointing to Alex.

"Bumby!" Aubie pointed and giggled.

"Yes, Buddy!" Eric translated, proud as a peacock.

"Dat, Dadee?" Alex patted her cheek.

"He wants to know your name, Giselle. What should they call you?"

"How about Gigi?"

"Alex, that is Gigi."

"Chichi?"

"Yes, leetle one, that ees excellent. Ve veel be gut friends, you und I, yes? Und you, Auberon, can you say Gigi?"

"Obee – Chichi!" Alex reached for Aubie's hand to get his attention, then patted Giselle's cheek again. "Chichi!"

"Yiyi!" Aubie tried his best to copy Alex, waving his little arms and giggling.

"Wundervoll!"

"Very good, Auberon!" Eric beamed at him and rubbed his back.

"Obee dokkeen dood!"

"Yes, Aubie is talking good," Eric translated, gently stroking Alex's head. "Alex is a very good teacher."

"Mamee, Obee undwy!"

"OK, Sweetie, I'll get him." Sookie stepped forward and took Auberon, sitting at the dining room table with Amunet as Alicia hooked a nursing cover around her neck.

"You speek for your leetle bruther, yes?"

"Eeah, ahm a biggah boh-ee."

"I'm a bigger boy." Eric translated.

"Dadee – mudik!" Alex pointed to the playpen. Eric couldn't see what he wanted, so Alicia, who was hovering in the background in case she was needed, handed him the little Baby Einstein music player that was hidden by the blanket, switching it on. Alex squealed when he saw it, clapping his hands as Eric gave it to him. "Woogie, Chichi, mudik!" Alex pushed a big button on the front of the little white baby iPod-looking thing and it began to play a sweet classical tune, flashing colored lights, making Alex squeal and laugh and thrilling Giselle beyond belief.

"It's playing Mozart!" she said with delight.

"Sookie, what is this thing?" Eric asked her as she and Amunet munched on blinis and caviar as Sookie nursed Aubie.

"Alicia brought that for the trip. It's a music player that he can work himself. They love the flashing lights. She gave it to them on the plane today and they were mesmerized by it."

"So I see. He loves it. Excellent choice, Alicia."

"Thank you, your majesty. He loves anything that makes noise, but I think that's his favorite so far because it's small and he can take it to bed. He played it over and over when we put them down earlier."

"Ah wyg mudik, Chichi!"

"Perhaps you veel be a musician some day, yes?"

"Eeah. Ahm a Pwinzth!"

"He's a Prince. I'm surprised he remembers that word," Eric said, impressed because it had been a while since he told that to Alex. "What else are you, Alex?"

"Dadee's widdo bampaya!"

"Daddy's little vampire! Very good."

Giselle actually cracked up when she realized what Alex had said. "Und vat ees Auberon?"

"Dadee's widdo eff!"

"Daddy's little elf! Where did you learn that, Alex?" Eric was surprised he said that.

"Dadee!"

"From me?"

"Eeah, Dadee "ewwo ma widdo eff!"" Alex actually tried to imitate Eric's deep voice, making everyone laugh.

"He's right, Sweetie," Sookie said from behind him, "almost every day, when you first see Aubie, you say "hello, my little elf." Alex picked up on it."

"I guess I do, don't I. I wasn't even aware of it."

"Alex was," Sookie said proudly. "He doesn't miss much."

"Rolf, bring de presents I brought for de bebés, pleese."

The attractive young man with sandy brown hair and hazel eyes who accompanied Giselle brought a bag forward and they took two wrapped presents out of it.

"Theese von ees for Alex, und theese von ees for Auberon." She handed Alex a package wrapped in red foil paper with white ribbon to Alex and Eric took the one in blue foil with yellow ribbons to hold until Aubie was able to open it.

"Dayoo!" Alex said as he looked at the package.

"Alex, what color is this?" Eric asked him

"Wed an wyd. Woogie, Dadee, Obee dod boo an ewwo!"

Eric laughed and told Giselle, who was absolutely in love with this child already, "He seems to like yellow a great deal. It's the first color he picked out for me in his little books."

"Do you rread to heem?"

"Yes, we have some quiet time every night when we have a bottle and read a book, don't we, Alex?"

"Eeah, an Obee wee."

"And Aubie reads with us, too, sometimes."

"Eric, Alex needs a little help opening that," Sookie spoke from the table. "Tear the corner for him so he knows what to do."

"Look, Alex, pull this," he indicated the white ribbon and Alex pulled it open, then Eric tore the paper and Alex got the idea immediately, making his "haaaaa!" sound as he tore the paper. "What is that, Alex?"

"Won, doo, fee, fo, fie!"

"Yes, it has 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 on it. Very good, Alex."

"Hey, did he say "2?"" Sookie asked, surprised at this new development.

"Yes, he did. This is called a Baby Einstein Count and Compose Piano, Alex. You can play music with this!"

"Mudik! Pway mudik, Dadee!" Alex was excited and waving his little arms.

Eric took the toy out of the little box and Giselle said, "Eet hass batterries een eet."

"Alright," Eric found the on switch, and pressed a key, causing it to play a little melody and setting lights to flashing. Alex squealed with delight and hugged it, then turned and said, "dayoo, Chichi!" giving her a hug with one arm, the other not letting go of the little piano, and a kiss on the cheek.

Giselle hadn't felt happiness like that since she'd become vampire, and tears of blood leaked from her eyes. Rolf quickly handed her a tissue and she delicately dabbed at the corners of her eyes as she lovingly stroked Alex's hair as he explored the moving parts on the toy with Eric's help. "Woogie, Mamee, mudik!"

"Yeah, that's a nice piano! You'll have lots of fun with that!"

"EEAH!" Alex squealed again and pushed a button.

The other vampires in the room were virtually silent, except to accept an occasional refill on the carbonated blood, The concept of a baby vampire was so extraordinary that they all wanted to watch everything he did. They were nearly as taken with them as Giselle.

"Daygid om, Dadee?"

"Yes, you can take it home with you. That was very nice of Gigi, wasn't it?"

"Eeah, ah WUV Chichi."

Giselle just lost it at that and hugged Alex tightly, giving him a big kiss. "Süßer, schöner Junge!" [Sweet, beautiful boy!] Alex was more than happy to have the hugs and kisses and he knew the woman was praising him, even if he didn't know the words. He could feel love pouring from her all over him in Mommy's favorite color, "peek"

"Chichi, dat por Obee?"

"He's asking if that one is for Aubie." Eric translated.

"Yes, vwen he is done vwith Mama, he can open eet."

"I think he's done, now that you mention it," Sookie said. "Eric, you want to take him?"

"Yes, of course." Eric got up and went to take Aubie from Sookie. He settled Aubie into Giselle's lap, and took Alex away, but Alex insisted on standing at her chair so he could see what Aubie got. They gave the wrapped present to Aubie and he looked at it with surprise and interest.

"Eric, I just realized, he's never had a wrapped present before. This is his first!"

"Wundervoll!" Giselle loved that idea. Eric guided Aubie's hands to untie the ribbon, then he tore the blue paper and encouraged Aubie, "Pull that, Auberon and we'll see what is inside!" He helped Aubie pull the paper and he made his happy sound as it tore. He was fascinated as Eric opened the box and pulled out a Baby Einstein Discovery Plush Bard the Learning Dragon, according to the box.

"DWADON! Obee, dwadon!"

"Yes, it's a dragon, isn't it?" Eric confirmed. Giselle squeezed the soft tummy of the toy and it played a sound, which made Aubie squeal and clap, then he hugged it tight.

"Obee wyg dat dwadon, Chichi!"

"Alex is telling you that Aubie likes that dragon." Eric beamed at both boys. Aubie was looking all over the dragon and Giselle squeezed it again so it made more sounds and Aubie and Alex both squealed. "Dood dwadon! Ahm undwy, Dadee!"

"Do you want food, Alex?"

"Nah, Mamee ee."

"Come here, baby, I'll feed you," Sookie laughed and Alex patted Giselle's hand, saying "woogie, Chichi!" then he turned and toddled over to Sookie who was bending down waiting to catch him.

"Heilige Göttin, hee ees vwalking!"

"He just started the day before yesterday," Eric said proudly.

Aubie was giggling and clapping, "Um, Bumby!"

"Aubie says, "go, Buddy!"" Sookie laughed as she put Alex to her breast under the nursing cover.

Giselle was enchanted showing Aubie how to squeeze parts of the little dragon and make it say numbers and colors, and play tunes. What he lacked in verbal ability he made up for with pure cute. Aubie's pentacle charm dampened the Fae quality that made vampires crazy, but it left him with his own magick that made him give off a feeling of well-being that was particularly effective with vampires and other similar creatures. He and Alex both gave off a magick that made people feel good in their presence – Bobbie, Amelia and the servants had all noticed it – but the twins hadn't been around outsiders enough to make it clear that it worked on everyone, but especially on vampires. Niall hadn't realized yet that Freyja's magick protected the boys from Fae attacks as well, in addition to the protection that being in line as True Heir gave them both. By the time Niall realized what was happening, it was too late.

Aubie was delighted with the toy, and giggled and waved his arms every time it made a sound. It felt good, too, and he hugged it more than once, to Giselle's delight. She played with him until he began to yawn, then she decided to give him back to his Dadee to rock to sleep. "You are sleepy, leetle von – you vwant your Dadee now, yes?"

"Dada!" Aubie reached for Eric and Eric took him and kissed him, "My little elf is tired. He's used to sleeping after Mommy feeds him."

"Daba!" Aubie pointed to the dragon. Eric laughed and said affectionately, "are you trying to say 'dragon', Auberon? Dragon?"

"Ah! Daba!" The adults all laughed as Giselle handed Eric the dragon and he let Aubie snuggle it as he snuggled him. He knew it would take a few minutes for Aubie to go to sleep completely, so Eric sat on one of the couches with the other vampires and accepted a glass of the carbonated blood with his right hand as he held Aubie in his left arm.

"Eric, we had thought the rumors of a twin were urban legends." King Stefan said with all the delicacy possible. "He was not with you in New Orleans…?"

"He was with a nurse at that time. He was much smaller than Alex, as you can see, and we thought it best to keep his existence quiet for his own protection."

"Some were concerned during the pregnancy that your child would take after its mother…" King Antoine commented in his thick French accent.

"Yes, and one of them obviously did – but one did not. My office as King would pass to Alex if anything were to happen to me."

"And if he is not yet old enough to rule?" Stefan asked

"Then he will be Prince Regent and Sookie will take the reins until he can rule on his own. I have provided for every contingency. My staff knows what to do, should the unthinkable happen."

"Sookie? Is she capable of this?" Sarkasian asked. She was sweet, but that doesn't make her a Regent.

"Don't let the gossip rags fool you," Eric told them, "Sookie seems very sweet, and she is… until she is not. You all saw what Sookie did downstairs. I can't go into detail, but believe me when I tell you, Sookie can be deadly with a sword, and she knows never to let an enemy come back twice. She's every bit the warrior she would need to be."

"She is not vampire… and she is Fae… would she defend us from Brigant's attacks if he were to strike again?"

"Tell them, Eric," Sookie said from the table.

"Sookie, that would put you at great risk…"

"I'm already at risk. You have to tell them, or they won't believe I can handle it."

Eric considered it for a minute, then said, "Everyone but Regents must leave. This cannot leave this room, and I'm invoking King's Rights in this matter for my family's protection."

Everyone was shocked, but the guards, escorts and Amunet, who patted Sookie's back as she left, all quickly rose and walked out of the room into the corridor, leaving only the four kings, Giselle, Eric and Sookie. King's Rights were no joke. That meant Regents only in attendance and absolute secrecy. Everyone who stayed was automatically sworn to a blood oath to keep the information they were about to hear secret, and that they would never use it against the person invoking the Rights. Sookie stood up and took off the nursing cover, putting Alex in the playpen as Eric brought Aubie over and put him next to Alex, the little dragon next to him.

"Alicia, thanks very much for your help," Sookie said, "you can turn in for the night."

"Yes, ma'am." Alicia smiled at how confident Sookie was becoming in front of Eric's associates, and she was more than happy to turn in now.

Eric let Sookie take the floor. "I know you're all worried about my connection to Niall Brigant. Yes, he is my great grandfather. He also tried to steal Auberon from us and he murdered my great grandmother, Titania. I am Titania's True Heir, so it's entirely possible that I'll be forced to kill Niall at some point in the not too distant future, or he will kill me. When I found out that Niall was hiding Auberon from us, I became relentless. At one point, Liam Cullach sent assassins to kill Auberon where Niall had him hidden. I was warned by Our Lady Freyja, and I killed the assassins and was finally able to get away with Auberon. Once the children were safe with Eric, I went back to Elfyria, beheaded Liam Culllach and delivered his head to Niall with a warning that if he ever tried to harm my children again, I'd have his head, too."

"Heilige Göttin!" Giselle was shocked, but completely believed Sookie's story for some reason.

"If you are Titania's Heir..." Stefan began.

"I'm not planning to claim the office until 2027 when Niall can no longer rule. At that time, I'll decide whether I want it, and if not, it will go to Auberon. By that time, the boys will be 18. Auberon would never challenge Alex's claim as Eric's heir, because he has his own realm to rule. As long as Niall doesn't make me kill him, I'll remain available until Alex is old enough to serve as Eric's successor. Everyone who owes fealty to Eric owes fealty to me as well, and I am protected by decree by several Were packs. I can't be harmed by Fae once they know who I am. From a vampire perspective, I'm untouchable."

"What you are saying is incredible," Badru said slowly. "You are telling us that you are Titania, and that you are… _favored _by the Goddess Freyja, is that correct?"

"Yes," Sookie said simply.

"Have you reached an agreement with Niall?" Badru had to entirely rethink his political goals in this context. He never dreamed this was possible.

"Not officially. I'm going to meet with him before my title is announced at the boys' Wiccaning. I'm hoping he'll agree to this, but even if he says yes, I'll have to watch my back. I know he can never be trusted."

"You are planning to name Auberon your heir to Titania's throne?" Badru wanted to be sure he understood all the ramifications. "This will send shockwaves through the Fae realm."

"Yes, but those shockwaves make Sookie much safer from Niall," Eric pointed out. "Auberon and Alex will each be in line as one parent's successor. There should be no conflict between them. If we can bring them up to care about one another…"

"Peace! There could finally be real peace between the vampire and the Fae," Stefan exclaimed.

"Exactly," Eric nodded.

"Whose plan was this? It had to include at least the Council," Sarkasian said thoughtfully.

"We only know some of the players, and we won't endanger the ones we do know," Eric stated firmly.

"This explains the Ancient Pythoness' presence at your wedding – not to mention your most eventful wedding reception," Stefan concluded. "How did they induce you to involve your family to this extent? To risk your children!"

"We were enmeshed in the plan before we knew it existed," Eric explained.

The Regents all nodded.

"This had to come from the highest levels. It must have taken centuries to arrange this," Badru said, "did you know before you had the children?"

"No, we found out about all of it gradually after we found out Sookie was pregnant."

"Neither of you consented?"

"Not in this lifetime," Sookie said honestly. "There may still be more of it we don't know. If it helps any, the plan seems to be for Eric and I to live a long, long time, and to pass our offices down when we choose, rather than when we die."

Badru thought to himself that this would happen when Eric and Sookie decided to move upward in the power structure, which made them very valuable allies to have. He needed to cultivate this relationship as quickly and as deeply as possible.

"There will always be opposition, Eric – never forget that there are those who profit from the status quo," Sarkasian reminded him.

"Yes, we understand that, particularly where Niall is concerned. Sookie and I have been told that we have specific destinies to fulfill and so do our boys, and we will do our duty to the people who depend on us."

"Almost everyone seems to benefit if we just do what they want us to do." Sookie explained. "The only people who get hurt are the people who are hurting others. That makes it worth the effort. We never went looking for any of this – we just want to be together, and this is what we've been told is necessary to have that."

"Theese ees extraordinary. Erik, do you haff enough securrity? These bebés are sacred!"

"Yes, Giselle, we have a very good security team that looks after Sookie and the boys during the day. I have Weres, vampires and daemons on our team. I've extended the boundaries of our property and added the strongest fences available. Short of missiles or an aerial attack, nothing can touch us."

"Northman, is it true about you amassing a North American vampire army?" Stefan decided to ask him straight out.

"Yes."

"This would be in response to New Centurion?" Badru asked.

"Yes. Tonight is not our first experience with them."

"We have heard of no attacks," Sarkasian reported.

"There would be no report, just as there will be none tonight. Their soldiers have a habit of disappearing when they come around."

"That will drive Garner to become more aggressive," Badru said.

"Yes, it probably will, and we hope to be ready for him."

"Perhaps your Queen would be more effective in dealing with Garner than an army," Sarkasian suggested. "A targeted approach rather than open combat."

"Sookie's powers are developing. It is possible we will consider such an approach at some point in the future, but she needs a great deal more practice in using her abilities before we take a chance like that. Her guards are working with her daily to develop her skills and to teach her to think to use them."

"Yeah, like tonight – it was Amunet's idea that I use telekinesis on the bombs," Sookie told them. "It wouldn't have occurred to me."

Badru saw an opening and dived through it. "Amunet is very skilled in her use of magick. Perhaps our ladies should work together, Eric, and explore Sookie's abilities. Not to sound immodest, but if anyone can teach Sookie to think like a Witch, it would be Amunet. She doesn't have telekinesis, unfortunately, but she's quite formidable with the gifts she does possess."

"Yeah, she read that New Centurion chick like a book when she touched her shoulder," Sookie confirmed. "I could definitely learn some things from her."

"Perhaps we should arrange to get together again some time soon?" Eric said

"I think it would benefit your Queen greatly. Gifts such as she possesses must not be neglected when there is an enemy looming."

"Yes, you are right." Eric and everyone in the room agreed with that.

"Well, perhaps we should talk between now and the Wiccaning – we'll be in attendance for that, of course."

"Wonderful. We'll look forward to seeing you then!" Sookie was excited because she really liked Amunet. She was cool and confident in a way Sookie always wished she could be, and she was whip-smart. "I'll make sure she's got my cell number before you all go home."

"Excellent idea. Should the question of your successor ever arise, Eric, you will certainly have my support. I am satisfied that you have your second in place and you have assured Alexander's ascent in your absence."

All the Regents agreed that they would support Eric if the question ever came up. They were all from overseas, of course, but they all held sway both within the vampire hierarchy and with the Global Council.

They adjourned the special conference and the others came back in. Sookie and Amunet finished off the caviar with great relish, and all the Regents except Badru Bast excused themselves for the night, Giselle taking one last look at the very pretty sleeping babies and taking a picture of them with her cell phone.

"Oh, that reminds me, I wanted to give you my cell number!" Sookie told Amunet.

"Oh, good. I'll give you mine, too. I really want to keep in touch." Amunet popped up and went to her husband, who had her phone in the pocket of his jacket.

"Your husband said you all are coming to the Wiccaning," Sookie said when she came back, "I'll be glad to have some friends there."

"I can't wait! I hear it's going to be huge."

"The High Priestess told us it might be as many as 1200 people, half of them Fae."

"That's why you want to announce your title?"

Sookie looked at her with shock.

"I patted your back on my way out, remember. I didn't have time to get much, but I did get the part about Titania. It's a great risk, but I think it's the smart thing to do. When you have a high profile, you're often safest "hiding in plain sight." It gets all kinds of people looking out for you when you aren't even aware of it."

"That's what Eric said when everybody was all excited about the baby. That if people know him and love him, it makes him safer."

"He's right about that. If staying anonymous is not an option, stay in the spotlight. Want some more champagne?" Amunet shook a mostly empty bottle of Perrier-Jouet.

"No, I'd better not. I'm feeding babies," Sookie laughed.

"It probably won't hurt those babies, but I know it's better to be cautious."

"Yeah, we try to be careful because you never know what might hurt them."

"That's why you're so careful about citrus? I noticed you told them not to bring any on our platter."

"Yes, see, it's possible either one of them could be poisoned by lemon. I'm not allergic but we can't even take a chance with the boys. My great grandmother was murdered with lemon."

"You're smart to be cautious. It's not worth the risk. Those children are too important to take any risks."

"Yeah, a lot of people are depending on them to grow up."

"Apparently. What kind of teachers do you have around them?"

"School teachers – none, yet. Magick teachers, I've got a group of three that live with us. One, Octavia, is older and very powerful. She helps me a lot. Her student, Amelia, is one of my best friends, and then my doula, Bobbie, is a good friend and a Goddess worshiper."

"Good. I was hoping you had instruction available. When it's time for a school teacher, let me know – I know a Daemon tutor who will work privately and she can educate them in more than just math and history."

"Thanks. I know we can never send them to a regular school."

"There are Supe schools, but I don't think that would be safe for them. Maybe in their teens, but not the primary grades."

"Yes, I agree. We intend to keep them close to us until they can defend themselves – though Alex has defended me at times, even in the womb."

"Really?"

"Yes, he could call down the Falcon before I ever knew about it."

"That's amazing. He'll have the advantage of never learning human limitations."

"Yes, he will. I wonder if Aubie will be able to do it. They say eventually he should be able to do everything Alex can."

"They've both got Fae magick, right? That's a huge advantage."

"It is?"

"Oh, yes – it's very powerful and far reaching. Do you have it?"

"I'm not sure – I think mine comes directly from Freyja."

Amunet was shocked and impressed by that. "Really – are you a direct incarnation?"

"I think so, yes."

"Wow – there aren't many walking around these days. No wonder you can make bombs disappear. You'll be nearly invincible when you've got your magickal muscles in shape."

"Are you a direct incarnation?"

"I'm more what you'd call "Goddess-touched," but I've worked hard to develop my skills. I'm in circle every day."

"Wow – really?"

"Oh, yes – my husband and his subjects benefit a great deal from my work – I can't let them down."

"I know how that feels, but I also get scared of being drained, you know? Like I was in a disaster one time…"

"The bombing at the Pyramid?"

"Yes. There was a fire chief there that thought I should be doing that stuff every day, but I just can't."

"There are many ways to serve, Sookie, and still have a life. Look at what you did tonight! That was heroic, though no one will know what you did, and think of the carnage if you hadn't!"

"Yeah – you know what scares me, though – you were the one who thought of it. It wouldn't have occurred to me to use my telekinesis."

"That's where the training comes in, Darling. Are you training with swords at all?"

"Eric gave me one lesson, but we're going to do more."

"Think of your magick the same way. You practice form and balance and build your muscles so that when the time comes, you don't have to think about it, you just do it."

"I don't know what there is to try, though – I'm not sure I know what is possible."

"Anything is possible, so you try everything. You want me to make you a list of things you can try?"

"Yeah, actually, I do. Bjorn said he and Jerry are going to make a list, but I don't know how much they know, either."

"Not to worry. Let me put your email in my phone, and I'll send you a list of things to try."

"It's Sookie at E dot Northman dot org. There's an official one for the kingdom, but I don't know it."

"This is better. Your personal one is less likely to be hacked."

Badru and Eric had finished their discussion and they were standing, shaking hands and agreeing to arrange some time when they could talk with Bill on August 2.

"August 2nd?" Sookie said hopefully.

"Yes, they're going to spend the day with us after the Wiccaning. That will give you two time to discuss Witch business and at night we will have a meeting with Bill and Bjorn."

"Oh, OK."

"Are you ready to go, my Dear?" Badru smiled at Amunet affectionately

"Yes. Sookie it has been wonderful meeting you. I can't wait to see you again next week. I'll make some notes for us and we'll spend the day doing magick."

"Awesome!" Sookie said as she gave her a hug.

"Very pretty together, aren't they?" Badru admired the girls.

"Very pretty and very powerful – we are very lucky men," Eric agreed.

They all chatted pleasantries as Eric and Sookie walked them to the door and waved as they went to the elevator. Once they were inside the apartment alone, Eric grabbed Sookie and bent her over backwards with a smoldering kiss. She was a little bit dizzy when he stopped. "Wow – does that mean we're not going back to the party?"

"Yes, my lovely wife, I think you've worked very hard tonight and now I will be selfish and keep you all to myself. Let me check in with Bjorn and Jerry, then we will take the boys upstairs, alright?"

"Yes, that's really alright! Hey, is it OK if I teleport us up there?"

"Of course, my Angel, flex those muscles!" He laughed and kissed her forehead, then went to call Bjorn and Jerry into the room. Sookie bent over the playpen, put a hand on each baby and said, "bed!" and they were gone.

"Bjorn, Jerry, can we touch base before Sookie and I retire?" Eric said as he looked out the door.

"Sure thing, your majesty," Bjorn replied and Jerry followed him into the living room.

Jerry sat on the far couch, Bjorn on the first one and Eric sat in the large white chair Giselle had been using. "Do we have any status from our prisoners this evening?"

"We know how they got in and it won't happen again. We're running checks on who they are and, of course, they'll never report back."

"Are they still alive?"

"No, your majesty, the captain of the guard here is very aggressive and got the information we wanted very efficiently. No trace will be found of them or their vehicles."

"They had vehicles here?"

"At the supply house where they sneaked in. They'll be tin cans by Monday afternoon."

"Alright, I want you to follow them back to their families to find out if anyone knew what their assignment was."

"As far as we can tell, they didn't really have families. One of the men was married to the woman, the other two men were bachelors straight out of the military. We've got no evidence of any kids or parents who might come looking, but if they did, they'd go to New Centurion, not to us."

"I wonder how many of their people would have to disappear for New Centurion to give up," Eric said wryly, knowing this wouldn't deter Jubal Garner. Fanatics were rarely logical enough to know they should not pursue an enemy.

"The other regents were very impressed with Sookie tonight," Bjorn told him.

"Yes," Eric said, "she saved a lot of people and did it with surprisingly little effort."

"Maybe we should have her do that at every club?" Jerry suggested, he and Bjorn having already discussed the idea.

"You mean go into the demo room and call bombs whether we know they exist or not?"

"Yes. And maybe New Centurion members, too," Bjorn said. "She opens up whole new possibilities of warfare with her telekinesis that no one would know to prepare for. It's a huge advantage."

"Yes, I see that. Someone suggested tonight that I send her after Garner."

"I've thought about that, too," Bjorn agreed. "She needs more training first, but it's not a bad idea."

"That's my assessment as well. I want you and Jerry to continue with the program you have for her to practice, and I want you to stay with her and Amunet on the 2nd when she spends the day with Sookie and get an idea what she thinks the possibilities might be. I also want you to consider what Sookie may or may not be willing to do."

"That's the only stumbling block I see. She'll kill someone who tried to harm any of us, but I don't know if she'd have the stomach for a preemptive strike."

"After the way she took out Cullach, would she have any inhibitions like that?" Jerry asked.

"That's the big question. She's a tigress when there's a direct threat to the babies, but we don't know about a non-specific one. Though she was behind my getting rid of Victor Madden."

"Really?" Both Jerry and Bjorn spoke at once.

"Oh, yes. She said she knew he'd never leave us alone, so she wanted him dead and she said she wouldn't even mind being the one to do it. I have no doubt that if I'd failed to take Madden out that night, she'd have tried herself."

"That's promising," Bjorn said in amazement.

"Yes, it is," Eric smiled.


	96. Chapter 96

[A/N: If there's a mistake in the Swedish, just let me know and I'll fix it. I'm having formatting problems, so let me know if you can read it.

There's a page on my FaceBook profile (morgaineswann) for LATE that has a chapter menu, pictures etc. for those of you who've requested it.]

**Chapter 96**

Eric said good night to Bjorn and Jerry and slipped silently up the stairs to the loft. He was pleasantly surprised to find the boys asleep and Sookie posed seductively on the mink bedspread, though she had fallen asleep, too. He waited a few minutes to make sure she was asleep, then he went to a case marked "confidential papers" he'd told Bjorn to store in the closet there, and got out his camera. He hadn't taken any pictures of Sookie since she'd given birth, and he definitely wanted to document her current beauty. Her stomach had flattened, but her hips were still lovely and round and her breasts were full and practically begged to be touched. He used his flying ability to hover around the bed, and made sure he got pictures of her alone as well as a few that showed the babies sleeping next to her. She was still the most beautiful thing he had ever seen, and he was filled with pride from showing her and the boys off all evening.

She stirred a little so Eric quickly packed the camera away in the closet then came back and began to undress.

"Hey, Sweetie," she smiled at him sleepily, "whatcha doin'?" she was baby-talking a bit and he was about to burst.

"I was debating whether to wake you or not. You looked so lovely lying there, I was dying to touch you, but I was concerned you might need the sleep…"

"I need you, Eric, then I'll sleep later while you feed the boys. You're more important to me than sleep."

"That's very romantic," Eric said as he moved onto the bed over her, "but you know you're not to neglect your health."

"Then you better shut up and fuck me so I can go back to sleep!" She laughed and wrapped her legs around his waist.

Eric made a low rumbling growl in his chest as his fangs extended. Sookie purred and reached down to guide him into her, her eyes rolling back with satisfaction as their bodies moved together and away, together, and away, slowly creating a crescendo that both delayed as long as possible. "Shoulders," Eric whispered hoarsely and Sookie bit Eric's shoulder as hard as she could as he tore into hers. As both of them started to come, they floated upward, hovering in an apparent black void, only stars and distant lights of the city visible from where they were. Staying in the air was effortless for Sookie now, and she and Eric turned slowly, running their hands over each other time and time again, Eric slowly moving around her body and taking her slowly from behind, squeezing her breasts, kissing her back, teasing her clit until he heard her sigh and felt her stiffen in his arms. He gently pushed her down onto the mattress, bending her legs back, thrusting hard as he approached another release. Sookie was panting, reaching for the solid white iron bars of the headboard, thinking, "tie me down, Eric, please' and he pulled silk and leather cuffs from somewhere – she never did find out where – and he stretched her arms far apart and secured them so she had no "play" in them at all. He put his full weight on top of her, asking "does this hurt, little one?"

"Not enough."

He got that look in his eyes – that scary, sexy look that he got when he enjoyed causing a little pain, pushing her to her limits. Sookie's breathing was rough and she was shaking. She heard him think he was going to try something new, and he slowly pulled her leg up and back, thinking 'try to keep your leg straight, Sookie. Think of it as yoga,' as he tied her ankle to the bedpost out from her hand. He moved her other leg up and back to the other side, giving her time to feel the stretch in her muscles. He felt that she was slipping upward too much, so he reached under her and pulled the covers down toward the end of the bed, then he pulled her downward by her hips.

This reminded her of a woodcut she had seen in Eric's stash in the closet one day when she'd been in the mood to explore a bit. She remembered thinking at the time that it was the most exposed a woman could be – everything pointed to her center, which was the most prominently available part of her. Her face was back behind her limbs, her breasts were somewhat blocked by her legs, and if she bent her knees at all it only opened her up more. As she considered her position, and tried to stretch and relax into it, it occurred to her that Eric hadn't touched her in a while. She could feel him there, but his mind and body were completely silent. She tried to raise her head a bit and she realized he was kneeling at the foot of the bed, staring at her. She knew instinctively that he wanted her to be silent, to focus on the bonds, her taut muscles, what he was doing to her, all of it.

"Musik," he said quietly as one of her favorite songs, _Bent_ by Matchbox Twenty, began to play, then "Rusa."

Sookie had no idea what that meant but she could swear she heard something clicking and the sound of something mechanical moving.

'Really stretch now, Sookie,' he thought, 'give yourself over to it.'

She did exactly as she was told and was completely quiet and content until he said "blixt tre" and there were three quick flashes of light.

What the hell was that?

Did she dare speak?

'Please, Goddess, tell me that wasn't flashes from a camera! He wouldn't do that, would he?' Her mind was racing and she could feel the amusement, the intensity, the complete sense of self-satisfaction flooding the bond as he stood at the foot of the bed watching her.

'Mina.' He thought. 'Jag vågar du' [Mine. I dare you.]

Sookie could feel Freyja's voice in her cells, but knew Eric couldn't hear Her. "_He's daring Us, Min Ängel, do not give in. No noise until he allows you to speak. Show him Our strength, Our love for him. He is Master – give him all that he wants and We will be rewarded_."

That bolstered Sookie's resolve as she heard him think 'Du är min, Sookie, för alltid.' She knew somehow that he'd meant 'you are mine, Sookie, forever.' She projected the response, 'Ja, jag är. Jag tillhör dig, Erik, för alltid ' [Yes, I am. I belong to you, Eric, forever.] She was vaguely aware that she was thinking to him in Swedish, knowing Freyja was giving her the ability, and her hips and legs were beginning to shake a bit. She found herself becoming unable not to move her pelvis, and she heard Eric growl with satisfaction, which really set her off. He crawled onto the bed like a lion on the hunt. Her body and her mind were screaming for him to touch her already. 'Snälla, Erik, nu!' [Please, Eric, now!]

'Töm ditt sinne, Sookie, överlämna din vilja till mig.' [Empty your mind, Sookie, submit your will to me.] He drew his nails, like claws, down the back of her legs.

'ja, Herre,' [Yes, Master.]

'Min vackra älskare.' [My beautiful lover.] He took hold of her hips and pulled her down the bed again, stretching her to see if she'd cry out but all she did was pant. He was beyond smug now. Her training was coming along nicely and she wasn't even aware that it was ongoing. At this point in the game, she was just a little past the point of pleasure and it was time to push her hard. With no warning at all, he gripped her in a way that made the image of a bowling ball flash in her mind and began to lick and nip at her clit. She managed, barely, not to cry out but she was whimpering and arching her back and OUCH! This was torture of the worst/best kind and she could feel him laughing softly as he snarled and bit hard and she had an explosive release that left her high as a kite. He released her and pressed his torn wrist to her lips to make the pain in her limbs go away. She was a shell of herself, completely hollow, as he arranged her on her side of the bed and pulled the covers up over her. Her eyes were closed, her attention on his hand between her legs, the last words he whispered as she surrendered finally to sleep were that she was "nästan redo för piska."

Eric cleaned up then switched out the memory card for the hidden camera and put the used one in his briefcase. He sat on the floor with his back to the tub, watching Sookie sleep. He smiled to himself that if he were human, this would be the time for a cigarette. He was sorry they were hosting a Yuletide party this year. He'd love to see how many times they could do it on the longest night of the year. He decided he would take her to Alaska next year and see how long they could have sex without stopping. Even now, if they really put their minds to it, they could do more, but he didn't want to over do it just yet. He laughed to himself that he really pushed her hard tonight, and he knew she was struggling with herself, but she did it. She was getting tougher in the right ways, but was still soft and sweet where it counted. She was much improved in the time they'd been together, and he credited himself with most of that, even if she did want the improvements.

"You're pretty pleased with yourself, aren't you, Northman?" Sookie teased him from the bed.

"Are you awake already, my Angel?"

"Yeah, I just dozed off for a minute. Was I thinking in Swedish earlier?"

"Yes, you were."

"Have I done that before?"

"You've spoken Svenska a few times before when you were not aware of it."

"I'm pretty sure I could do it now any time I want."

"One of Freyja's gifts?"

"Yeah – a part of channeling her power. I wonder if I could do other languages?"

"We'll try it some time when you are not so tired."

"Yeah, better not push it tonight. I'm wiped out. You left me without any bones again."

"**Are you in any pain?"**

"No, your blood took care of that, thank Goddess, or I'd be hurting tomorrow. That was pretty intense."

"Too much?"

"No. I can take more."

"But would you want to?"

"Yes. I told you, Eric, I want all of you."

"And I want all of you, Sookie, every little bit of you." He got up at vampire speed and slid into bed next to her, spooning up against her.

"Mmm, snuggle me until the boys wake up."

"My thoughts exactly. It's getting easier and easier for us to communicate telepathically," he said softly as he smoothed her hair away from her ear and kissed it.

"Yeah, that's not hard at all, anymore. That'll come in handy at some point."

"It just did," Eric laughed, "it kept us from waking the babies."

"I think Freyja makes them sleep when we fool around."

Eric laughed at that. "That's definitely something She would do. She loves babies but She loves sex, too. This way, there's room for both."

"You couldn't hear Her earlier, right?"

"No, I guess not. She spoke to you?"

"Yeah, She was encouraging me to give you what you wanted."

Eric laughed again softly as he lay with his arm over her, fondling her breast. "Well, you certainly did."

"So this is pretty sweet up here. It's like we're sleeping under the stars."

"We are. How does it look in the daytime?"

"Bright. I took my dress off today in case I was able to tan while I was reading my book."

"Keep reading it. I think it will introduce some new ideas to you."

"That's a good thing, right?"

"Yes, of course. It's always good to learn new things, to see things in a new way. Did you have fun tonight?"

"Yeah, Eric, I always love having sex with you."

"I meant earlier. You liked it more than you expected, did you not?"

"There was nothing I experienced that was not to like – great food, elegant company – I love Amunet."

"You and Amunet have much in common, I think."

"I can learn a lot from her. She's not a direct incarnation but she told me she's in circle every day. Imagine what kind of discipline that takes."

"Well, she has no children to raise, so it's easier for her – though your connection to Freyja is so strong that it might be easier for you to cast a circle. Have you ever tried the "thrice around" approach for anything other than travel to Elfyria?"

"No, I always call the Quarters like Octavia showed me."

"Ask Freyja to show you the most efficient way to cast. You are not a normal Witch. It may be much, much easier for you. You are moving into areas even beyond Octavia's experience."

"You still want her around, though, right?"

"Yes, of course, Sookie – she's family, and she is still valuable in teaching you to think like a Witch."

"OK, good. Will you rub my back?"

"Would you like me to summon Bobbie for you?"

"No, I just want you to rub it a bit."

"Of course, Sweetheart." He began to knead her back, gently but firmly, making her relax instantly.

"You know I've got more of those chocolates like the ones you ate tonight."

"That was the small box you had earlier?"

"Yes. I asked the Witch who made them to come see me tomorrow. I thought we might need more of them at some point."

"Good thinking. Offer her a retainer if you'd like, and I'll tell the chef here to keep her employed. What is her name?"

"I didn't get her last name, but her Witch name is Selena."

"Alright, I'll make a note of that."

"There's more, too – she's the one that told me to feed you one to see if it would work. I think she knew there was some kind of plot, but I don't know how. I'll see what I can find out from her tomorrow."

"Good thinking. How did you find out about her?"

"Amunet – she pointed out the candies and said they'd give my abilities a boost, and said there was obviously a female Witch in the kitchen because of the rose petals. She said "let's go ask her for a special selection," and we did, and she had a gold tray waiting for us – she said she heard I was a Witch so she made them for me."

"How would she know you were a Witch? That's not generally known, is it?"

"That's another thing I've got to find out, though I'm pretty sure it's coming from the Coven doing the Wiccaning."

"Why do you think that?"

"That High Priestess knows Niall personally, I think, and that's the kind of thing he'd tell her to get her to do what he wanted. Pagans communicate by networking. I think it's on their grapevine, whatever it consists of."

"Is there a way to magically "spy" on Niall?"

"Well, theoretically, I could probably see him in my scrying mirror."

"What is that?"

"It's a black concave glass that I put water in and I can watch things – it's how I knew when to go see Aubie."

"How clearly do you see with it?"

"Like watching it on TV."

"That would be a very useful skill, Sookie, if you can do it for other purposes."

"I've never tried it for anything else. I guess I should add that to the list, huh?"

"Yes, I'd say so. Start making a list in your journal."

"OK, I will, and I'll get the list from Amunet and Bjorn and Jerry and put them in, too."

"Sookie, do you know what a pre-emptive strike is?"

"Yeah it's when you hit somebody first because you know eventually they'll hit you."

"Would you ever carry one out?"

"I've actually been thinking about that. I knew it would come up eventually."

"And…?"

"I'd want a chance to tell them to stop. Like with that New Centurion guy, Garner – if you or I looked him in the eye and said stop or we'll stop you, and then he didn't stop, then yeah, I'd stop him."

"But you'd insist on speaking to him first?"

"Yeah, I think that's only fair to confront someone like that."

"Though he has never confronted us?"

"His behavior is no excuse for ours – we're better than that, so we should do the right thing."

"Alright, we'll think about that for a while."

"Good. Have you got a file on him?"

"A file?"

"Yeah, I know you must have had Bjorn doing a background check on him – there's a security file or something, right?"

"Yes, there is."

"I want to read it. If I'm your second, I need to know about our enemies. We shouldn't wait until there's a problem. Forewarned is forearmed, right?"

"Right." He kissed her and smiled. He was very proud of her and projected that to her in the bond. She smiled as he kissed her shoulder and she let herself drift into sleep. Eric lay there quietly with his cheek resting on her shoulder until Alex woke up for his last bottle.

"Dadee?"

"Yes, Alex, Daddy is here." He reached across Sookie and scooped Alex up, kissing him and snuggling him under his chin. "Did you sleep well, my son?"

"Seepeen dood."

"That's good. Are you hungry?"

"Eeah, baddow pweezth."

"Alright, let's see if there's one up here." Eric looked in the reading corner and found that Alicia had left a couple of books on the table and there were two bottles in the little fridge which was hidden under the side table between the chairs. There was a bottle warmer on the table itself and Eric was pleased to find that the chairs were gliders, so he was able to rock Alex as they waited for his bottle to heat up. Alex seemed tired tonight but he fed enthusiastically. About half-way through the blood, he said, "Dadee, ah wyg dompamy."

"You like company?"

"Eeah."

"You enjoyed meeting Gigi, didn't you?"

"Eeah, ah wuv Chichi an Waby Ambuduh."

"Lady Amunet is going to come visit us at home, you know? She and Mommy are friends now."

Alex giggled and clapped his hands, then went back to his bottle. When he finished, Eric offered to read him a book, but he just wanted to lay his head on Eric's shoulder and be held. Eric was thinking that he was tired from entertaining guests and travel and it was clear through the bond he wanted Daddy to cuddle him.

Eric was tucking Alex into the co-sleeper when Aubie said "Dada!" and he repeated the process of feeding and cuddling. Aubie wanted to see the little book on the side table, which happened to be a baby's version of _**Horton Hears a Who**_ that had a plush Horton face on the front of it. Eric read the book, but Aubie was more interested in the soft elephant face, and Eric laughed to himself that he certainly took after Sookie and Alex in that respect – they all loved plush things. At one point, Aubie just wanted to chatter a little and play with Eric, leaning forward to touch foreheads and patting Eric's cheeks with his little hands as he giggled softly. Eric smiled and projected love and affection to Aubie and Aubie was feeling safe and warm when he lay his head on Eric's shoulder and let out a sigh. Eric held Aubie as he slept for as long as he could, but he had to give Sookie her Ambrosia and go to his box quickly once the dawn broke because they were completely exposed in that room.

Alicia let Sookie sleep until 11:30, waking her up then because their breakfast would be delivered at noon. Sookie took a quick shower, throwing on her pink bikini with black polka dots and a black lace cover-up Alicia bought for the trip. She added some mascara and lip-gloss and left her hair down because she thought it looked good today. Bjorn and Jerry carried the babies downstairs so they were seated in their highchairs when Francesca came in pushing a cart with two dome covered plates on it.

"Good morning, Francesca!" Sookie gave her a big smile, which made Francesca feel almost giddy. She loved these people. She put Sookie's plate in front of her as she told the boys, "Alex, Aubie, look who's here to give you breakfast!"

"Ah!" Alex gave her a big smile and a wave and Aubie giggled as he tried to imitate what Alex said and did.

"They're so sweet – do they laugh all the time?" Francesca asked as she uncovered Sookie's dish for her then turned a chair so she was facing the boys.

"Pretty much – they're very happy babies. They get a lot of attention and we all play with them so their lives are pretty easy. No one is ever cross or stressed out around them."

"Some babies cry all the time no matter what you do." She knew this from personal experience because she had two younger siblings who had been criers that were inconsolable most of the time.

"Yeah, neither of them does much. Now and then they'll wake up fussy or something will scare them a little, but it's rare."

"You get to spend a lot of time with them, right? I read that somewhere."

"Oh," Sookie realized she meant she'd read that in a tabloid, "yeah, I'm with them all the time and we've got good friends and workers who are always around for them. Eric has things arranged so I can put almost all of my energy into the boys, and even if I have to do "Queen" stuff, I've got them with me."

"He seems a lot nicer than I expected."

"Eric? Yeah, he's very sweet to me and the boys, but he's definitely a vampire King. He's not somebody you want to cross in business or politics."

"Most of them are never nice from what I've read. He was so sweet to you. Could I ask you a favor – I know I shouldn't but it would mean a lot to my family…."

"Sure, Sweetie, what do you want?"

"Would it be OK if I had my picture taken with the little Princes?"

"Of course you can! Hey, you know, you might be able to sell that to a paper and make a little money."

"Oh, I wasn't planning to do that!"

"That's OK – I'm giving you permission."

"For real?"

"Sure – they write about us all the time anyway, right? Might as well give them something nice and true for a change. Most of that stuff you see is made up."

"Is it true about the way the King swings you around when you dance?"

"Yeah, that part is definitely true. That's usually my favorite part of the night when we have to attend a ball or anything like that. Eric swirls me around and makes me feel like I'm flying."

"Is he really 6 foot 5?"

"Yeah, you saw him – he's big."

"Did you fall in love with him the first time you saw him?" Francesca knew she was being bad, but knew she might never get this chance again and she wanted lots of good stuff to tell her sisters.

"Actually, yes, I did, but it took me a long time to admit it. He always knew, though, and he wouldn't give up on me. He says he knew I was his the minute he met me."

"Wow – that's like a fairy tale."

"It can be that way with him sometimes. If people would just leave us alone, life would be perfect."

"There's a rumor that somebody tried something last night, you know?"

"Yeah, there was an incident, but it was handled very quietly and efficiently. We were very lucky. Don't be scared, though – it's all taken care of."

"Isn't it a shame people won't just get along?"

"Yes, it is. All we want is to be left alone. If the fanatics would leave us alone, you'd hardly hear a peep out of vampires." OK, Sookie was stretching it a bit, but that was her story and she was sticking to it.

Bobbie and Amelia came dragging into the kitchen area looking for coffee.

"Hey, y'all! Were you up late last night?" Sookie laughed

"Uuunnnnnhhhhh!" Amelia said as Bobbie laughed at her.

"We partied pretty hard. After you guys went upstairs, Bjorn and Jerry found us and we danced and drank and did a few other things I'll be taking to my grave with me," Bobbie was obviously in a great mood.

"The guys were just in here – they seemed fine," Sookie said.

""Seemed" is the operative word there," Amelia said as they came over to the table, "Jerry is definitely hurting today."

"Bjorn's OK, I think – he never sleeps much anyway," Bobbie said.

"You all remember Francesca?" Sookie wanted to be polite.

"Yeah, hi, Francesca!" Amelia said.

"Hi, hon!" Bobbie chimed in.

"Ah, Babee, Ah, Mee-ah!" Alex giggled with his mouth full and had food running down his face.

"Good morning, Punkin'!" Amelia tickled Alex and Bobbie kissed his head, then Aubie's before she sat down.

"Are you all friends?" She asked as she scraped some tartare off Alex's chin.

"Yeah, we're friends, though, technically, Bobbie works for me," Sookie laughed. "She's my doula."

"Your what?" Francesca never heard such a word!

"Doula. I never heard of it either, but she's a mother's helper. She helps with changing the boys and feeding them but mostly she plays in the pool with us and takes video so Eric can see what we do in the daytime."

"Oh – I never thought about that – he can't see them in the daytime, so you video tape them?"

"Right. We should do more of it, but we did manage to get Alex's first steps on video the other day, didn't we?" Sookie laughed and everyone else did, too.

"This tiny little baby can walk?"

"You'd be amazed what he can do. When he gets done eating, I'll show you," Sookie offered. "By the way, make sure you tell the chef that this tartare I'm eating is the best I've ever had. He even managed to make it better than my maid and I didn't think that was possible. It's way better than the stuff I had in Vegas."

"He'll be happy to hear that, though he'll never admit it," Francesca laughed. "He's really talented, but he's got this cute baby face, so he tries to be really gruff so people take him seriously."

"Do you know Selena?"

"Yes, ma'am, she said to tell you she'll be up after 2 o'clock if that's OK. She wanted to give you time to have breakfast in peace and relax a bit."

"Oh, that's nice. Yeah, I really need to talk to her."

"OK, I guess they're done with their breakfast."

"OK, do you have a camera or a cell phone for the picture?"

"I've got my camera."

"OK, Bobbie, take our picture with her camera, OK." Sookie pulled the boys' chairs back a bit and asked, "now, do you want me and the boys, or just the boys?"

"Can I have one of each?"

"Sure you can! Bend down a little here and get between Alex and Aubie. OK, Bobbie, you got a good shot of that?"

"Yep, looks great! Alex, Aubie, smile!" She clicked the camera and showed the girl the viewscreen on the back. She nearly jumped up and down, she liked it so much.

"Ok, now you want one with me, though I'm not really dressed up or anything?"

"You look beautiful!" the girl said with surprise.

"I don't know about that, but if you say so, here," Sookie stepped forward and put her arm around Francesca and thrilled the girl beyond belief. Bobbie got a great shot of the two of them standing with the boys and Francesca was almost giddy when she saw it. "OK, now one more thing – go over there and kneel down so you can catch Alex." Francesca was so excited she could hardly breathe. She knelt down and Sookie took Alex out of his chair and set him down facing Francesca. "OK, Pookie, go to Francesca!"

Alex proudly toddled straight to her with a big smile, saying "Ah!" and hugging her when she caught him and Bobbie snapped another picture right then

"Wow! That's amazing!" Francesca could almost cry they were all so nice to her and she thanked them all and collected the dishes and her camera. Sookie slipped her another hundred dollar bill as she left and kissed her on the cheek. Those pictures were Francesca's pride and joy, and she never even considered selling them to the tabloids. Her mom printed them out at Wal-Mart and they put them on the refrigerator in magnetic frames.

"OK, y'all, I'm going in the pool – who wants to go swimming?" Sookie said to the boys, Alex in her arms and Aubie still in his seat and both boys were waving their arms and yelling "wada!" and "wawa!" Amelia took Alex from Sookie and she pulled Aubie out of his chair, giving him a big kiss. Bobbie brought the swim diapers from the closet and they put the boys in them. They were blue with little green ukuleles with leis around the neck printed on them.

"These are adorable!" Sookie gushed as she walked to the pool with Aubie in her arms and jumped in from the side. Aubie was tickled to death with the fall and the splash and the water, which he was smacking with both hands. Amelia did a similar move with Alex, who yelled "FYEEN!" as they plunged into the water. Bobbie was cracking up at them all as she threw the floating toys into the pool for them and dived in head first, which thrilled Alex to no end.

"Me, Babee, me!" Alex yelled wanting to swim underwater like she did. No one was sure exactly what he wanted, but Amelia wasn't able to hold on to him and he was in the water all the way. Sookie started to panic, then told the others, "wait, he's OK." As she saw him swim around underwater with no problem then come up happy as a clam, "Woogie, Mamee!"

"I saw you, Sweetie! You can swim underwater like a fish."

"Eeah, Ahm a pish!" He dived down again and zipped around between them all coming up laughing next to the blue whale floater that Sookie had Aubie in, laughing his head off.

"Alex, say "Aubie, did you see me swim like a fish?"" Sookie instructed him.

"Obee didoo sthee me sthim wyg a pish?"

"Ah, Bumby!" Aubie said and smacked the sides of the whale.

"Alex, ask Aubie "Do you want to see me swim again?"

"Dowoo wandoo sthee me sthim aden?"

"Ah!" Aubie said with his whole body, leaning toward the side to see Alex better.

"Aubie, say "go, Buddy!'

"Wo, Bumby!" and Alex did, right under the water and around in a circle in front of Aubie, who made his happy sound and watched with his mouth hanging open and his arms flailing.

"Yay, Buddy!" Sookie said as Alex came up and Aubie tried to imitate her "Ayyy, Bumby!" and he clapped his little hands. Sookie suddenly realized there was room for two babies in the whale, so she scooped Alex up and sat him in front of Aubie and showed Aubie how to hold him around the waist. "OK, hang on, Aubie! Buddy's gonna take you for a ride!" and she pulled them around the pool as Alex bounced in front of Aubie and Aubie held onto Alex as tightly as he could, loving the idea that Buddy was giving him a ride around the pool. Alex and Aubie were screaming with laughter as Sookie pulled them as fast as she could, which was pretty fast because she was becoming really strong from Eric's blood and the Ambrosia. After about 45 minutes, the boys began to get a little quiet and a lot slow, so Sookie knew it was naptime. She and Bobbie got them out of the pool, and by the time they were dry, they were dozing. Sookie had just tucked them into the playpen and was considering whether she wanted to order a snack or go back and swim when Jerry showed Selena into the room pushing a cart with a big platter of sandwiches on it.

"Selena! Thank you for taking a few minutes to see me!"

"My pleasure, your majesty. The chef sent these sandwiches up for your party to snack on between now and dinner since you didn't order lunch. What can I do for you?" She asked as she put the platter on the dining table, then a stack of small plates and a stack of napkins.

"Those special chocolates you made for me – the ones to expose enemies - worked very well last night. I was wondering if I could get a regular supply of them from you? I'd pay you a retainer and you could ship me, say, two dozen about every 6 months?"

"Yeah, I can do two batches twice a year. Probably not a lot more, though – it takes a while to get the moon phase and the hour right, and one of the ingredients is really expensive."

"You just tell me what you need, and I'll pay for all that. Give me your address and phone number, and I'll write you a check – ten thousand enough for the first batch? And can you finish them by August 10th?"

"Yes, I can do that. That's very generous…" she was stunned at the price Sookie offered her.

"OK, good. I'll want them shipped to our New Orleans home this time around, and please be careful to see that they're in dry ice and all that so they don't melt."

"No problem, I'll be very careful with them."

"Alicia!"

Alicia came down the spiral stairs quickly, "yes, Mrs. Northman?"

"I need my checkbook, please, and we need to record Selena's contact information."

"Of course, I'll bring it right down."

"Thanks." She turned to the woman, "I'd have gotten it myself, but I don't know where she packed it," she laughed, "I never know where my stuff is."

Selena smiled. She had hoped that the candies would get the young Queen's attention, and when she heard the rumors about someone infiltrating the club, she was pretty sure the candy had something to do with resolving the problem, but she didn't expect this kind of money for them. This was fantastic. A cash infusion of ten grand every six months would enable her to expand her candy business without taking out any loans, and she was already permanently employed here at a crazy good salary, so this was a dream come true.

Alicia brought Sookie's checkbook, which was a big book with sheets of pink floral checks instead of a little single check size thing like most people have, and Sookie sat at the dining room table to fill it out.

"Alright, now, I make this out to you?"

"Yes, please. Selena Morgan Candy Corp."

"Is ten thousand enough? How much should I add for ingredients?"

"Oh, that's plenty! You don't need to add extra, that's more than enough."

"Oh, cool! Would you mind if I share your information with Lady Amunet if she should ask? She was the one who led me to you."

"Oh, yes, of course! And these will be exclusive to you and she. I won't sell them to anyone else or advertise them or anything."

"Eric will be pleased to hear that, and I'm pretty sure you'll have a bonus coming your way, too. He pays very well for good service and he rewards loyalty. Plus, it's safer if not everyone knows what you can do, right? Here you go." She tore the check out of the book and handed it to her. "Alicia, she needs our New Orleans address and the Shreveport one, too, I guess, and my email so we can confirm where each shipment should go, or if I decide we need them more than twice a year."

Alicia produced two business cards with Sookie's information on them and Selena thanked them both profusely. This amount of money would allow Selena to focus on making sure the things she sent Sookie were top quality and produced under ideal magickal conditions. Alicia recorded her contact information in Sookie's big book and put it in her phone as Sookie wrote a number on the back of one of the cards.

"Are you familiar with Anubis Airlines, Selena?"

"Yes, I've heard of them."

"Alright, Eric has a special account with them. You ship these at our expense and tell them it's a secure shipment for the King and give them this code, so they'll keep anyone from tampering with them in transit, OK?"

"Yes, your majesty."

"Alright – thanks so much for your help, and it was really nice meeting you!" Sookie shook the woman's hand. Selena hesitated for a minute. "Is there something you wanted to tell me, Selena?"

"Yes, ma'am – when they hire employees here, they do background checks, right?"

"Yes, they do…"

"But not on the undocumented workers. The dishwashers and busboys and especially the food suppliers…"

Sookie knew exactly what Selena was telling her. New Centurion got in that way, through a distributor that used undocumented workers. "Oh, I see. I'll tell my head of security immediately, and that practice will be changed before night fall, I assure you."

"That's good to know, your majesty. It should be a lot harder to get a job here."

"Yes, indeed. If you have any other suggestions, never hesitate to call my phone or drop a discreet email, alright? Better safe than sorry, always."

"Yes, your majesty. Good day."

As soon as the woman left, Sookie had Jerry summon Bjorn, who was investigating their intruders from the night before. Bjorn was there in just a few minutes, "Yes, your majesty?"

"I have some security information for you about how our visitors got in last night." She pointed to a chair at the table and sat down, serving him a sandwich. Bjorn sat in Eric's usual seat right next to her as she continued. "The person who tipped me off last night just told me that they're not doing background checks on undocumented workers – dishwashers, busboys, and especially the distributors."

Bjorn nodded. "We traced their entry to a place that supplies fruits and vegetables."

"Right, so that's where your hole in security in. You need to put the word out to all the clubs that no one sets foot on the grounds without a thorough check – no cutting corners, no admittance for suppliers who haven't been thoroughly vetted."

"Yes, ma'am. We need to tell the King about this as soon as he gets up, too. He already gave similar orders, but we still want to confirm this with him."

"Right. OK, I'm going back to the pool. You want to join us?"

"I would if it weren't for the problem last night. I've got to be able to satisfy Eric that I've got this under control. Maybe next time."

"OK, thanks. Tell Jerry to have a sandwich if he wants and you help yourself to as many as you like." Sookie squeezed his shoulder as she walked past him toward the sliding doors.

She left the glass door open and gently moved the playpen next to the screen door in case the boys woke up because Alicia was working upstairs and Bjorn and Jerry were really busy. Bobbie and Amelia were still in the pool when she went outside. She grabbed something from her tote bag, grabbed a mattress and jumped in at the side of the pool.

"Sookie, do you want me to go in and sit with the boys so you can close the glass door? The air conditioning…" Bobbie began to offer, but Sookie wouldn't hear of it.

"No, I won't be out here that long." She said as she put her hair up with the thing she'd gotten out of her tote. "They'll want to be breast fed when they wake up, so I'll go inside for that. I just want to float for a few minutes while I have the chance. There are sandwiches on the dining room table if you're hungry." She brought the others each a sandwich so the three of them had plates of food on the cement around the perimeter of the pool. She lay across the blue mattress sideways and just relaxed for a minute, then found a way to eat and float at the same time.

"OK, Sookie, what's the deal with the candies in the fridge that say DO NOT TOUCH on them?" Amelia teased her as she dug into her roast beef sandwich.

"They're magick."

"What?"

"That girl that was just here? She's a Witch, a really good one apparently, and she gave me some special candies that can do things like give you prophecies and make your enemies visible."

"Is that possible?" Bobbie asked as she tore her turkey sandwich in half.

"Yes, because she said they might work for Eric and he ate one and he saw those people last night as if they were in spotlights."

"What exactly happened? Bjorn didn't want to talk about it yet."

"OK, this is just between us, don't even tell Alicia, but there were four people, or soldiers or whatever, and 7 bombs in the building last night. Basically, Eric saw the people, then I called the bombs and they exploded them in some room in the deep, deep basement of the building."

"Holy Goddess!" Amelia said

"You mean we were that close to…" Bobbie was just understanding what a close call they'd all had.

"Yep. Within minutes. They found a hole in the security they were able to exploit. That's why Bjorn is busting ass today – they have to close the hole fast, and make sure it's safe at all the other clubs."

"What happened?" Amelia asked

"Apparently, they didn't do thorough background checks on undocumented kitchen workers and food suppliers, and these people got in through one of them."

"And Eric spotted them?"

"Yeah, see, the girl in the kitchen said he should try one of the candies right then and see if it would work, and he did and it did. Then Amunet and I followed the one girl that was with them into the ladies' room and I made the toilet explode and a guy fell and I got his gun, then I made the bomb she had disappear and made the bathroom door disappear and hit her with a gun, and a guy came running in and Amunet tripped him and then Bjorn was there. It was all really fast, then guards took them away and Bjorn took me and Amunet to where they had the prisoners and there was a demo room and I made the bombs appear in there, and then walked away and boom!"

"What would have happened if…?" Amelia was stunned

"I don't know, but I know there were fliers up here with the boys because I heard Bjorn give them the all clear."

"So if the bombs started blowing, they'd have flown the boys out?"

"I guess, yeah. I kind of think that's why we never went back to the parties."

"You didn't?"

"No, I went back and got my candy and ordered a caviar tray and some stuff for the guests then we came up and the European, Australian and Egyptian regents met the boys and Giselle had presents for the boys and - oh yeah, Amunet is going to spend the day after the Wiccaning with me doing magick."

"She's good, I guess?"

"Yeah, she says she's in circle every day. She's really, really smart, too. She's the one that figured out there was a Witch in the kitchen and took me in there, and she can read a person like a book if she touches them."

"Like psychometry, where you read an object by touch?" Amelia asked

"No, she says she's an empath, but she focuses on reading more than healing. She's also the one that had the idea for me to use my telekinesis to call the bombs."

"Thank Goddess she was there. What kind of Witch is she?"

"I'm not sure, but their last name is Bast and she said She's a patroness of her husband's family. She was telling me about the similarities between Bast and Freyja. And, by the way, the word is out in certain circles about me being a Witch."

"Let's just hope nobody makes the leap from Witch to Goddess," Amelia said.

"Why?" Sookie wondered.

"You're not immortal yet. If someone wanted to stop you from becoming a deity, they might still do it."

"Might?"

"Yeah, at some point, if they killed you, you'd just be a Goddess anyway, but I don't think you're there yet. Make sure you don't skip your Ambrosia. Did you take it last night?"

"Yep, Eric gave it to me like he always does."

"Ok, good."

"Hey, it just occurred to me – do I have to die to become a Goddess?"

"Maybe. You should ask Dr. Ludwig some time, but I'm pretty sure you do have to die to be immortal."

"Eric always really wanted to turn me."

"Maybe he still can. Freyja made every other dream he had come true, maybe She's got that one covered, too," Bobbie suggested.

"I hope so. He said it would be the most erotic experience of our lives. It's a scary idea, though – what if it didn't work?"

"That's where faith comes in, I guess. You have to trust Freyja to know what She's doing," Amelia said somberly.

Sookie didn't want to think about this right now so she asked, "are you guys all packed?"

"I will be once I change my clothes. We're leaving at 9 tonight, right?"

"Yeah, that way I get one more gourmet meal and then Eric gets to look the plane over himself."

"When do you join the Mile High club, Sookie?" Bobbie teased her.

"I'm not sure, but he already said it was going to happen," she laughed. "I don't know, though…"

"You don't want to?" Bobbie couldn't believe that.

"Well, it's a little… I mean, the bedroom is right there, you know, and you all will know and for all I know, you'll be able to hear everything…"

"We're used to that, Sookie. You guys aren't exactly quiet at home." Bobbie reminded her.

"Yeah, but there are extra people on the plane - five stewards and stewardesses, a captain and a co-pilot…"

"Sookie, don't you dare refuse Eric because you're worried about what stewards think," Amelia teased her.

"Huh? Why not?"

"Because every woman alive or undead, and half the men, would gladly take your place. You owe it to yourself to make the most of him since you're the one that's got him."

"OK, I guess that makes sense."

"If you really want to make him proud, do it and be loud about it so you have the crew in awe of you the way everyone at home is. The guards look at him like he's a sex god," Bobbie laughed.

"Well, he is, kind of…" Sookie laughed.

"How was your first night in the glass loft, Sookie?" Bobbie teased.

"Let's just say I'm glad Eric's blood has healing properties or I wouldn't be able to move today."

"Indulge in a little kink, did we?"

"Oh, yeah. Thank Goddess the babies sleep when we have sex."

"They do? All the time?" Amelia asked

"Yep – it's apparently part of the magick. Freyja makes sure Eric gets what he wants and the babies get what they need by putting them to sleep when we do it, so they can be right there with us and not be disturbed."

"That's convenient!" Bobbie laughed.

"Yeah, it is. We'd have to have someone stay in the nursery with them, otherwise."

"Did they get their time with Dadee last night?" Amelia wondered

"Oh, yeah. I got to listen in last night – usually they're in the nursery so I don't hear them, but they were just over in the corner up there and I got to listen to Eric talk to them and rock them. Aubie just chattered and giggled and Eric was so patient with him, I was melting. Alex was really quiet last night, though. I think he was tired from entertaining our guests. I almost laughed out loud, though, when I heard him tell Eric he liked "dompamy.""

Everybody laughed at that.

"What did they think of them, Sookie?" Amelia was dying to know that.

"They seemed fascinated with them. Giselle really doted on them and the others were so silent and intent on watching their every move. And you know what a ham Alex is – he was eating up the attention and playing cute, and even encouraging Aubie to talk and do things. They were a little surprised about Aubie, of course, but they all saw how it's part of the plan."

"You told them?" Amelia couldn't believe that.

"Eric invoked King's Rights, which I never heard of before, and everybody but the regents left and I told them the story so they'd understand why if would be alright if I had to rule while Alex was Prince Regent if anything, Goddess forbid, happened to Eric."

"And they were good with that?"

"They all said they'd back me if it came up and that they were satisfied that I'm his second. I'm so glad Bjorn told me about that."

"Eric didn't tell you?" Bobbie was shocked by that.

"No, Eric didn't want to scare me, but Bjorn said it was better if I knew what was up. Eric is very protective, you know, but Bjorn thinks I'm stronger than anybody, sometimes," Sookie laughed a little as she said that but it meant a lot to her that he thought so much of her.

"Ah, Mamee!"

"Hey, Pookie – are you awake?" Sookie started toward the steps out of the pool.

"Eeah – sthimmeen!"

"Don't you want to eat first?"

"Nah, sthimmeen."

"OK, you can swim."

"Mama!"

"Uh-oh," Sookie laughed as she wrapped a towel around her waist, "Aubie's up, too. Are you hungry, Aubie?"

"Nah, Obee sthimmeen, too."

"Are you sure about that?"

"Eeah."

"Wawa!" Aubie said as he sat up all by himself.

"OK, rascals, let's swim," she laughed as she opened the screen door and picked Aubie up, then was able to pick Alex up, too, because he was standing at the side of the playpen. She slid the door shut with her elbow, wiggled so her towel dropped and jumped in the side of the pool with both of them in her arms, thrilling them both as they all hit the water together. Alex swam off immediately to Bobbie and Sookie pulled the blue whale into the water and put Aubie in it. Aubie patted the seat in front of him and said "Ah Bumby!"

Sookie knew he wanted to ride with Alex again, so she looked around. "Alex, you want to ride with Aubie for a minute?"

'EEAH!" he squealed and swam back to Sookie, and she put him up in the float. Aubie was beside himself and she and Alex could both feel it. He laid his cheek against Alex's shoulder and held on as Sookie and Bobbie took turns pulling them around the pool. Sookie was beaming at them, enjoying the feelings they were projecting into the bond. Alex was feeling pride because he knew Aubie looked up to him and Aubie was feeling admiration for his big brother and joy at having his attention. She hoped they always felt so positively about each other. So far they'd shown no sense of rivalry at all, but she knew it was really early and when it got down to sharing toys and things like that there might be more selfish behavior. At this point, Alex was eager to share toys with Aubie and show him things and Sookie was making a conscious effort to praise Alex for that. She might not know a lot about babies, but she knew positive reinforcement was her most powerful tool where they were concerned and particularly with Alex because he loved to show off and be praised.

"Obee undwy, Mamee." Alex said about an hour later as they were playing with pool toys on the steps.

"OK, Sweetie are you hungry yet or do you want to play some more?"

"Mo payeen."

"OK, Bobbie? Can you play with Alex while I feed Aubie?"

"Sure, I can!" She had been playing with the boys on and off the whole time, but now she took primary charge of them so Sookie could get out. Bjorn, who had been at his station for about half an hour, handed Sookie a towel to wrap around her waist and tried not to notice the way the padded top of the bathing suit pushed her breasts up and together. Sookie brought Aubie over and sat with Bjorn while she fed him, not bothering with a nursing cover because it was just family out here.

"Get things straightened out, Bjorn?" she was just making conversation, really, but what the hell – this was important.

"Yes, ma'am, I've been in touch with security at every club and warned them about the hole. There shouldn't have been a hole to begin with, but the manager here was trying to save some money. Eric told him this morning that he wanted things done right, first time and every time, and if he caught him cutting corners again, unemployment would be the least of his problems. He made it very clear that safety was first priority here, closely followed by customer service, and to forget the penny-pinching ways he'd learned from his previous employers. This is a premium service and it needs to be perfect, not cheap. The customers here have more money than most people ever dream of, and what they want is safety."

"I didn't really understand that at first, but I think I'm starting to get it. Every vampire I saw here was very refined. They're all really old and don't have that wild streak the younger ones do. You'd never see Sarkasian, let alone Giselle, hanging at Fangtasia or even an upscale club or bar. They really do need a place where everything has been screened and polished. They get stronger as they get older, but they also get more discerning. Eric told me many times that their drive for luxury is almost as strong as their drive for blood. It's why they take such pleasure in showing off what they have. Aside from the occasional vampire ball, they haven't had a place to socialize."

"Right – there's only so much you can do at each other's houses, no matter how fancy they are."

"So you all went dancing?"

"Yeah, for a while – the dance rooms close at four, so we didn't have long."

"Did you, uh…"

"Yes, we uh… with a very hot girl from San Antonio."

"You and Bobbie both?"

"Yeah, of course, I wouldn't do it without her."

Sookie was quiet for a minute, trying to decide if she should ask the next question or not, enjoying another sandwich Alicia brought out to her.

"I had permission, in your case," he said very softly. "We'd talked about it many times and had an agreement that if either got the opportunity, they'd go for it."

"I'm such a hypocrite," Sookie said, sort of to herself.

"Why do you say that?"

"I'm all worried about the purpose of the clubs, but I've done things that would be considered just as wrong…"

"Don't be so hard on yourself. Your world is growing and changing and you're learning things about politics and religion you never knew before. It's normal to revert to your home training now and then, even if intellectually, you know better. You're doing fine. You want to be a good person – that's a worthy goal."

"I think about that Wiccan Rede a lot – it sounds so simple to say "do no harm" but then you have to define what harm is… "

"That's a big question, Sookie. Don't beat yourself up for not being able to answer it."

"Was the girl you met nice?"

"Very. I saw her a couple of hours ago and she gave me a big smile and was talking about how good the food is here."

"Does she work in the day time?"

"No, but she lives here, so she was eating down in the dining room. Jerry and I went to get a cup of coffee and she was just having her breakfast."

"So there's a central place for them to eat?"

"Yes, and gift shops if they need anything, and cars they can use to go shopping or do whatever else they want to, or there are special areas in the garage where they can keep their own cars. Sookie, this is a dream job here – for everybody, from the hostesses to the bus boys."

"So this is really more of a private hotel, then?"

"Basically, yeah."

"OK, Aubie is out. I'm going to put him in the play pen then see if Alex will eat, then I hope I can take a shower and get dressed before Eric gets up so we can relax at dinner."

"Sounds like a plan," he was teasing her a little. He thought it was nice that she wanted to dress up a little for Eric. He also knew she wanted to look good in case Eric decided to take advantage of the half-hour flight to Shreveport, and he thought that was a good idea. If he were Eric, he'd absolutely "christen" that big bed on the plane.

Sookie took Aubie inside and gently changed his diaper then put him in the playpen. She went back out and before she had a chance to speak Alex yelled, "Mamee, EE!"

She held up a towel, calling, "come on, baby" and Alex flew into it. She kissed and snuggled him and sat nest to Bjorn again to feed him. Bobbie and Amelia wandered out to start getting ready for dinner and decided to go shower so they'd be done before Sookie needed to so they could watch the boys.

"I wonder what we'll get for dinner today?" Sookie said, just to make conversation.

"Eric sent word to the chef that he wanted him to blow you away again, so it should be pretty spectacular."

"Again? I can eat regular food, too, you know?" She laughed.

"He wants you to be impressed and have a good time."

"I'll make sure I tell him that I did have a good time, then. I want him to know I appreciate how he tries to make me happy, especially when he has so much else on his mind."

"Thinking about you takes his mind off of the rest of it. You're the bright spot in his day – don't ever forget that."

"What do you mean?"

"He's been really nervous about taking you to these openings because you've been so conflicted about them. He knows when he can be with you at night he can talk you through any reservations you have, but you've been alone here for two days when he couldn't be there, so he's trying to make sure you're so busy with food and the babies that you don't have time to think about where you are."

"I didn't think of it that way. I was pushing him to get rid of them when I should have been letting him enjoy the fact that they're opening. I'm taking all the fun out of it for him."

Bjorn didn't say anything, but Sookie heard him think that he was proud of her for finally catching on.

"OK," she said softly, "Alex is out. I'm going to change his diaper, then hit the shower – can you stay with them until Bobbie or Amelia takes over?"

"Sure thing, hon." He got up and walked ahead to hold the door open for her and he sat in the big easy chair next to the playpen while she went to do what she needed to do to get ready.

Alicia was checking their luggage, and had everything almost ready to go. "Ready for your shower, Dear?"

"Yes. What do I have to wear home that's cute?"

"I was thinking about this. It' more of a maternity dress than nursing, but it's so cute, it just looks like a sweet little summer cocktail dress."

She held up a white dress with an irregular pattern of black roses on it that Sookie knew would look adorable on her. "That's great. OK, I'll be back in a few."

Sookie took a quick, but very thorough shower, but took time to shave her legs all the way up. Her train case was sitting open on the vanity table and she was pleased to see that her little bottle of Chanel No. 5 lotion was in it because she knew Eric loved it. She smoothed some all over and blew her hair out a bit while it soaked in, then did a quick make up job that consisted mostly of bright pink lipstick, mascara, sheer gold eyeshadow and black kohl on her eyes. She was sunkissed from playing in the pool, so she looked glamorous and healthy. She put on the dress then added a tiny black headband, a black lace thong underneath and Alicia had a pair of simple diamond earrings picked out for her and some simple black patent leather sandals with a medium heel. She looked at her herself in the full length mirror in the bathroom and was pretty pleased with what she saw.

"Eric will like this, right?"

"He won't be able to take his eyes off of you."

"Good, that's exactly what I want," Sookie laughed. She thought to herself that he wouldn't be able to keep his hand off of her, either, and she had decided the girls were right – they had the bed on the plane, so what the hell, make the most of it! As much as she hated to admit it, Eric was right – she did like to show off as much as he did.

Alicia had finished all the packing she could do until Eric was dressed while Sookie had dressed so they headed downstairs and decided to watch a little TV and relax. Sookie insisted that Alicia sit with her for a bit because she'd been so busy all day, and Alicia opted to eat a sandwich even though it was so close to dinner so the tray would be empty when they brought dinner.

Sookie actually fell asleep for a bit and everyone was quiet so they didn't disturb her, though they all knew she'd never expect that.

"Wake up, my lovely wife."

She smiled and opened her eyes to see Eric, dressed in a beautiful blue silk shirt and dark jeans, hair slightly damp, kneeling next to her with a big smile. "Hey!

"Hey. They will be here with dinner any minute, Sweetheart. Can you wake up enough to eat?"

"Yeah – I can't believe I fell asleep." She lazily wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him. "Are the boys up yet?"

"Already in their highchairs."

"Did you talk to Bjorn yet?"

"Yes, he told me about your conversation earlier. You gave him exactly the right instruction."

"All the clubs have been notified?"

"Yes, and he talked to each manager personally."

"Good. That was way too close last night."

"Yes, it was." Eric helped her stand as the others began to gather at the dinner table. She wrapped her arm around his waist and leaned into him as he kissed her hair. "You look very pretty tonight, Sookie."

"Thank you. I love your shirt – it's almost as blue as your eyes. Is it new?"

"You might say so, I chose it because I thought it was the color of your eyes. I bought it when we first started dating, but I've been saving it."

Francesca was back to feed the boys, and everyone else sat at the table and enjoyed the spectacular four-course meal, the same headwaiter introducing each course:

"For his majesty, we have Sangria Réal Bisque. For her majesty and company, we have Wagyu Beef Carpaccio, which consists of premium Wagyu beef blended with seven spices, seared, chilled, and sliced razor thin, garnished with fresh arugula and raspberry vinaigrette."

Sookie and Eric exchanged bites of their starters, and Sookie particularly liked his soup. The second course was simple and delicious – a Summer Watermelon Salad with Texas feta, prosciutto, and pink peppercorns – and Eric ate it along with everyone else and loved it. Sookie had never tasted feta cheese before, and she never imagined mixing something so tart and creamy with watermelon. "Wow – this is really creative! What kind cheese is this, again?"

"Feta – it's Greek, Madame."

"I love it!"

Sookie was pretty sure Eric had tipped off the chef about the entreé, which was Chipotle Turkey Bacon Duck Breast in a Maple-Black Pepper Glaze with Cous-cous Risotto and California Avocado Crème Fraiche.

"You told them I like duck, didn't you, Eric?"

"I might have mentioned it," he gave her a sly smile and kissed her hand.

They pulled out all the stops for dessert, serving Peanut Butter Cakewith Chocolate Geleé, homemade Marshmallow Fluff, and Caramel Popcorn.

"OK, I guess flying back here for dessert once a week or so is out of the question, right? Because this is AMAZING!" Sookie laughed. "I've never tasted anything like this! I wish I had a bag of this caramel popcorn to eat on the plane."

Eric turned to the headwaiter and asked, "would that be possible? We leave at 9 o'clock."

"It will be ready, your majesty," and he motioned for one of the other waiters to go directly to the chef and get it working. Eric didn't think Sookie would have time to eat on the plane with what he had planned, but she could always enjoy it in the cars or at home. Besides, he wanted to impress her by showing how he could have it made for her immediately. Fortunately, the chef had anticipated Sookie's love for caramel corn and had a beautiful bag already made up along with some frozen packs of the "kiddie tartare" the babies liked so much, and it was all brought upstairs in a nice little cooler before they had finished their desserts.

At that point, it was time to pack up and by the time everyone pulled everything into the living room and the guards moved it downstairs, it was time to head for the airport. The boys fell asleep in the limo on the way to the airport and Sookie tore into the bag of popcorn. Eric was laughing to himself that she couldn't possibly be hungry, but he was glad to see her enjoy herself and even ate a bit when she offered.

"That's not bad. You know, corn had not been discovered in my part of the world when I was alive."

"Oh, yeah, that's a Native American thing, right?'

"Yes, I believe it is."

"I bet I gained ten pounds in the last two days."

"You haven't gained an ounce that I can see, Sookie, and I would notice any change in your body, no matter how small."

"Yeah, I know, I think my clothes actually feel a bit bigger."

Eric laughed out loud, then caught himself because he was afraid of waking the babies. "When did you start fishing for compliments?"

"I wasn't fishing, exactly, I just…"

"I told you how beautiful you look earlier."

"True, you did."

"And yet you are feeling neglected? Wait until we get on the plane, my Angel, and I will leave you in no doubt of how attractive you are to me," he wiggled his eyebrows in that sexy way of his and Sookie's motor instantly started running. Now she couldn't sit still so her hand sneaked its way over into Eric's lap and had his full attention instantly. "Sookie you know there are guards in the front seat."

"Yeah, but it's just Bjorn and Jerry…" she said with a wicked smile as she rose up and straddled his lap. Eric spread her skirt out a bit and put his hand up under, snapping the sides on the black lace thong she was wearing and pulling it from under her. She had her arms around his neck, running her tongue around the edge of his ear as he opened his jeans and raised her bottom so she was slowly impaled, then rubbed her clit with his thumb as she rode him up and down.

Bjorn and Jerry were trying desperately not to laugh. Eric and Sookie had obviously not noticed the window was open, and they hesitated to send it up and draw attention to it, but when Sookie began to moan, Bjorn couldn't take it and put the window up.

Sookie moaned loudly then suddenly she and Eric heard the sound of the window between the back and the driver's seat go up and they both cracked up – but didn't stop.

"Ah! Ah! AH! AH! AH! AAAHHHHOOOOOOOO Goddess!" Sookie came and nearly fell, Eric just managing to hold onto her as he came, too.

"Uh-oh…"

"What is wrong, Sookie?"

"I've got nothing to clean up with and no underwear…"

"Aren't there baby wipes in the diaper bags?"

"Oh, yeah," she said as she climbed off of him and went to the bag, trying to keep from getting "stuff" on her white dress. As she was cleaning herself up, Bjorn buzzed the intercom and said, "we're approaching the airport."

"Thank you, Bjorn," Eric buzzed back.

"I really wish I had a pair of panties right now."

"You want me to have Alicia take one out for you?"

"No, that would call attention to it."

"Are you sure you don't have any?"

"Why would I?"

"Look in your tote bag."

"Holy shit!"

"Find some?"

"Yeah, there's a black thong just like I was wearing. Why is this here?"

"Alicia anticipated your needs. We'll be careful not to destroy that pair so you have some to wear home."

"So she knew… what?"

"That we're going to fuck on the plane."

"That's embarrassing."

"No, it's not. Everyone knows. Everyone will hear. They always do. Just don't think about it if it bothers you, though I don't know why it would at this point."

"Yeah, you're right."

"I'm right?"

"Yeah."

"No argument?"

"No, no argument."

Eric didn't say anything. Did he want an argument? Was he disappointed that he no longer had to entice her to do things she was embarrassed to do? This was a positive development, right? It crossed his mind that he could always do something that would embarrass her anyway. A spanking was not out of the question and everyone would definitely hear that. He was picturing how much fun that would be when he realized Sookie was looking at him.

"What?"

"You wouldn't dare…"

"Oh, but I will if I want to," he gave her the biggest smirk she'd ever seen on his face.

Ah – there it was. That delicious mixture of excitement, lust and fear. That internal debate she has with herself when she doesn't know which she wants more – to do it or not to do it. To talk him out of it, or to be made to go along. Now the only question was – how far did he want to take it?


	97. Chapter 97

[A/N: OK, this is a very, very short one but I know it's been a long time and I wanted to get something to you before Sunday. Most of you know I have a chronic illness that flares up now and then and keeps me from writing – I'll get the next update as soon as I can, but things have been rough lately. Thanks to everyone to wrote to check up on me.]

Chapter 97

Eric put on the black jacket he was carrying with him and took the black lace thong away from Sookie, refusing to let her have it until they were on the plane so she had to go up the stairs into the craft with nothing under her dress. Eric was wishing he had the ability to control the elements because a gust of wind just as she reached the top of the stairs would have been perfection. As it was she blushed furiously because there were guards she didn't know right behind her with Eric's travel box as she got up there.

The crew was waiting in the foyer again to greet Eric and Sookie and the captain went through the introductions and everything that he'd done for Sookie. Eric shook his hand and thanked all of them for being there and as soon as they dispersed Sookie reached in Eric's jacket pocket and got the panties, making a beeline for the bedroom. She was wiggling into them as he came in the door. "Are you sure you want to do that now?"

"I'm wearing a white dress, Eric, and I have to sit out there through take off. I need a little something, you know?"

He laughed, "Yes, I suppose you do – for a little while, anyway. Do you like the room?"

"Yeah, I love it! Are the boys OK?"

"They're still asleep. Bjorn and Jerry just buckled them into their little seats. Come, we should take ours so they can get us off the ground." He put his arm around her shoulders and they went out to the seats across from the boys. Sookie didn't say much because she knew Eric was looking at every detail of the plane. She knew that he liked what he was seeing and he was calculating if it was worth the price.

Bjorn walked through making his last seating check as the captain made the announcement to be seated and buckle up, saying they'd be in Shreveport in 25 minutes.

"Are we all in place, Bjorn?" Eric asked.

"Yes, your majesty, the bags are all on board and the guards are in their seats."

"Good – thank you." Eric looked around at the others, "Octavia – I haven't seen much of you this weekend. Have you had a pleasant trip?"

"Oh, yes, I've had a fine time. I've been an early riser, so we've been on opposite schedules. I had breakfast by the pool this morning, but I napped until dinnertime."

"Are you feeling well?" Eric was a little concerned.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I've got a sort of project I'm working on that I need to work at certain hours."

"Alright. Bobbie and Bjorn, did you enjoy your stay?"

"It was fantastic," Bjorn smiled at him and Eric knew they had sampled some of the club's talent.

"And Amelia and Jerry?"

"Fabulous!" Amelia said.

"It was a great weekend," Jerry agreed.

"Alicia, you were not too overworked, I hope?"

"No, I didn't have much to do other than pack and unpack."

"Alicia, you did way more than that! You helped with feeding and changing the babies, and arranging meals and you helped me with all my stuff!" Sookie said, wanting to make sure she got credit for everything she did.

"That's not so bad, though. I can't wait to tell Margaret all about the club! Did you have a good time, Mr. Northman?" Alicia asked.

"Oh, yes, I had a fine time. I was very proud of the club and especially proud of Sookie and the boys. The other regents were very impressed with them, too. All things considered, things could not have gone better."

"Excuse me, your majesty?" JoAnn was standing there with a big smile on her face. "May I give you your tour of the plane?"

"Yes, we'd like that. Sookie, Dearest, come with me. Alicia, will you stay with the boys, please?"

"Yes, sir."

Eric and Sookie unbuckled their belts and Eric stood, offering his hand to Sookie, and telling JoAnn, "I'd like to start at the back of the plane and work forward, please."

"Yes, of course, sir," JoAnn was a little surprised, but she led them to the back of the plane and began by showing Eric the bathroom for the guards, then the guards' area. Eric nodded and smiled, listening politely as she told him things he already knew, holding Sookie's hand the entire time.

He particularly liked the dining/conference room, and asked to see the office equipment in the corner hutch. Sookie followed behind him, smiling and nodding, making a comment here or there, knowing full well where the tour to the front of the plane would end, so she was blushing like crazy. By the time they worked their way through the forward lounge where everyone else was seated, Sookie was beginning to fidget. She noticed as they walked toward the bar that the boys were asleep and Alicia was reading an Agatha Christie novel. Octavia was sleeping, Amelia and Bobbie were chatting and Bjorn and Jerry headed toward the back of the plane as they came forward. If you put a gun to her head, Sookie couldn't tell you one word JoAnn said about the wet bar.

By the time the three of them walked into the master bedroom, Sookie's cells were vibrating. If she didn't feel Eric inside her soon, she was sure she would dissolve into a puddle on the floor. It was maybe 35 minutes since they had sex in the limo, and she was still absolutely on fire for him. At least she knew he'd have to get on with it, because they had to be more than half way to Shreveport by this time. As soon as JoAnn finished pointing out the finer points of the room, Eric said, "Thank you very much. My wife and I would like to be alone now," and locked the door behind her.

Sookie wanted to be mortified. She should feel embarrassed. Did she have no shame left? Because this was hot as hell and she wasn't nearly as embarrassed as she felt she should be.

"Bend over the bed, Sookie, and rest on your elbows."

She did, and her skirt was flipped up over her back, then her thong pulled down around her ankles.

Nothing.

Eric didn't move or speak, and the only sound Sookie heard beside the plane's engines was her own ragged breathing.

Sookie was trying to not even think at Eric, to just wait in silence inside and out. That's harder than it sounds, even when you think you don't have long to wait.

Eric pulled a pillow out from under the covers and put it under Sookie's face. OK, she thought, here we go. She shoved her face down into the pillow just as the leather of Eric's belt made contact with her bottom cheeks. YYYEEEOOOOOWWWW! Damn vampire speed! He had his belt out of his pants and on her before she had a chance to brace herself. She managed not to yell, but her knees almost buckled. Smack, smack, smack – three blows that sounded a lot worse than they were – did Eric actually know how to make them sound loud without hurting so much? Because they sounded like gunshots, but really just warmed her bottom after the first one. Anyway, this train of thought flashed through her mind in an instant because he was in her before she realized the last blow had landed. She'd only had one other quickie with Eric, the night he killed the terrorists that tried to blow up Fangtasia, but she could learn to love this. He was quick, he was rough, he was done – loudly. He didn't stop, though, he continued slowly and reached in front to stroke her gently until she stiffened, cried out sans pillow because she knew he'd like that, and shuddered beneath him. He leaned forward on her, nuzzling her neck and making her giggle.

"I think we'll enjoy this room very much on longer flights, don't you, Sookie?"

"Ye- yeah," she said, out of breath and completely blissed out.

"Ready to go back out?"

"Not yet. I don't have any bones in my legs."

Eric laughed as he pulled his pants, then her panties, up, then pulled her up and scooped her into his arms, laying her on the bed. He lay next to her for a minute and took her in his arms.

"The captain's getting ready to tell us to go back to our seats," Sookie said with a little regret.

"Can you read his thoughts?"

"Yeah, they're right above us."

"That's good to know. It might come in handy."

"Yeah, you never know when you're dealing with terrorists," she said a little absently, her mood darkening just a little.

"Alex is awake," Eric said to her as he got up and gathered her up in his arms again. He managed to open the door and carry her out to their seats, everyone else trying to pretend they didn't hear the whole thing, Eric laughing to himself smugly and Sookie wanting to smack him, then fuck his brains out. Again. The captain's voice came over the speaker asking everyone to buckle their seatbelts.

"Mudik, Mamee."

"Music? Where is your music?" Sookie looked around. Alicia had run to the bathroom, so Sookie went to the closet and found the little music player in the diaper bag. Alex was happily pushing the button to play music when Aubie woke up and gave Alex an audience to play for. Every time a new tune would start, Alex would squeal and Aubie would clap his little hands.

"Oops! Here we go guys!" Sookie told the boys as she felt the plane descend, "they're landing the plane!"

Alex and Aubie both made their "Haaaa!" sound this time as the plane descended a little more quickly than before and hopped on the runway a bit, but they weren't disturbed by it. When they landed, Bjorn had everyone else disembark and the luggage loaded before Eric and Sookie, and he and Kerik carried the babies behind them. That gave Eric time to thank the captain and chat a bit about the plane, which Sookie could tell Eric had decided to buy.

They all rolled onto the compound at about 11:30 and Margaret was still up ready to feed them when they got there. There were stacks of sandwiches in the HQ for the Were guards and bottles of RM for the vamp guards, and Parmesan crusted turkey cutlets in the kitchen for Sookie, Bobbie, Alicia, Amelia, Octavia, Jerry and Bjorn. The babies had a little feast ready for them because Margaret had cooked for them all weekend, and Eric was very content to have them tucked into their high chairs while he gave them their dinner. Sookie was watching Eric out of the corner of her eye as she ate, smiling to herself. She knew that no matter how glamorous the clubs were, he was just as happy to be home as she was. The black kitten was losing its mind, and wouldn't let Alex out of its sight. Margaret told them it had cried for Alex several times over the weekend, and wouldn't eat at all.

It wasn't long before Eric and Sookie were settling the babies in the middle of the bed between them, each with a fresh diaper and a pacifier, which they were really starting to like. Eric and Sookie settled facing each other, propped up on one elbow, each of them playing with one boy's hand. Erin was curled up at the bottom of the bed, very glad to have her Alex back.

Alex pulled his binky out of his mouth and said "Bundy!" and was instantly holding his soft bunny. "Woogie, Obee, bundy sopf!" Alex said as the two boys rolled so they were facing each other.

"Yeah, that bunny is soft, isn't it?" Sookie cooed at them, rubbing Aubie's hand on the bunny as Eric watched with a big smile. Aubie made his happy sound and dropped his pacifier, which surprised him, and he made the cutest face, which tickled Eric to no end. Eric leaned over and kissed Aubie, rubbing his head, then Alex, then he put his palm against Sookie's face and kissed her. Sookie laughed, "You're as happy to be home as we are."

"If you never go anywhere, you never get this wonderful feeling of finally being home again."

That cracked Sookie up, which got the babies started. Eric tickled everyone, one after the other, several times, and had them all riled up and laughing. At one point, the cat meowed, annoyed at the commotion, but then she bounced up the bed and jumped right between the boys. Eric tickled the kitty, too, much to its delight, and Sookie tried not to yawn, but failed. Eric didn't say anything, he just kept the boys occupied knowing Sookie would fall asleep watching them and she did. The sound of Sookie's breathing had a calming effect on the boys and Aubie was out not long after Sookie. Alex was awake a little longer, Eric speaking softly to him until he dozed off, too. Eric levitated off the bed so there would be no movement, and he hovered over them in the air, gently moving the boys to their places in the co-sleeper, putting the stuffed bunny between them. Erin walked over and looked around the situation, and curled up by Alex's knee. Eric petted her, "Did you miss your master, kitten?"

"MEOW!" The cat replied, obviously irritated at having been left at home.

"Don't worry, you'll go with us in the future. We needed to keep things a little more simple this time, but I'll make sure you can stay with Alex as we travel."

"Maow," she replied softly, still not happy.

Eric was laughing about talking to the cat as he went into his office to work. He'd been very occupied at the club and hadn't checked his mail in two nights and things were piling up. He had a long talk with Sandy about some of the plans he and Bill had discussed during the week and prepared a package of papers which he left for Alicia to ship to her via Anubis the next day.

He wasn't happy with the progress being made on the shopping center renovations and left a message for Bobby Burnham to take a trip over there and see what was going on. He really didn't want to be bothered with this and was thinking that if Burnham couldn't get things on track he'd just sell the damned thing and invest the money elsewhere. It was only marginally profitable in this economy, but he was sure he could get a reasonable profit from it and be done. He was walking a tight rope, trying to strike a balance with keeping things as simple as possible and still being sufficiently diversified so that if one area fell short, the others would pick up the slack. His wealth was not in danger, by any means, but he needed to be sure all of their bases were covered just in case. This threat from New Centurion might be protracted and who knew where it would take them. Eric and Sookie had a very high profile, especially because of the boys, and there was simply no way to know what Eric might have to do, or where he might have to take them, to keep them safe. He prayed it wouldn't come down to a choice between his family or his kingdom, because, by the Goddess, his family would come first and the vampire power structure be damned.

He was lost in his thoughts when suddenly Alex was floating in the air in front of his desk.

"Ah, Dadee!"

"Hello, my son! Why are you out of bed?"

"Baddow."

"Bottle? You just…" Eric stopped, looking at the clock and realizing he had been in here for almost four hours so it was actually time for the boys to be fed again. "Come to Daddy." Eric held out his arms and Alex flew into them, giving him a big hug because whatever Dadee was thinking about, it was dark and Dadee needed it. Eric hugged him and kissed him as he sat at his desk, then said, "Is Aubie awake?"

"Dat?"

"Is Aubie sleeping?"

"Nah seepeen." Alex scrunched up his little eyes and made solid fists like he was really concentrating, which Eric had never seen him do before but as he was doing it, Aubie flew into the room, and Eric realized Alex had sent for him somehow. "Good boy, Auberon! Come to Daddy!" Aubie got a big welcome kiss and Eric told him, "Daddy is very proud of Auberon for flying. That's a good boy, Aubie. Alex, that was good of you to call him. You're a good big brother." Eric took them into their nursery and found that there was a plate of food and two bottles on the chest of drawers by the bottle warmer. Eric put the boys down, settling them on their tummies, though Alex immediately rolled over and sat up. Aubie looked at Alex with big eyes, trying to figure out how Buddy did that, as Eric heated the bottles and set up their little carriers so he could sit on the floor and feed them. Margaret had left the boys a big turkey dinner with all the trimmings and Eric tried not to wake Sookie laughing when Alex tried to teach Aubie to say "dwavbe." When they'd had both food and bottles, Eric sat in the glider and said, "come to Daddy, boys, fly!" and both of them did, so Eric was able to settle them on his lap and read the Dr. Seuss "Pet" book to them for a bit. Eric laughed to himself that he better enjoy this while he could because he barely kept the twins from destroying it this time when they were pulling on the "hair" and strings and such in it. When the boys quieted down, Eric just rocked them a bit and they fell asleep holding hands. When the sun was about to rise, Eric tucked them back into the co-sleeper, which made Sookie open her eyes and smile.

"Hey," she whispered.

"Hey," he came around the bed and sat on his side so he could kiss her and give her the nightly cup of Ambrosia. "I'll see you tonight, my Angel."

"Where's Jerry?" she asked, licking her lips and the inside of the golden cup.

"Coming up the stairs as we speak."

"Your majesty?" Jerry whispered from the hall.

"Come in, Jerry, I'm just leaving," Eric said as he stood, put the bottle and cup away, and left the room. Jerry settled into his usual seat, and Sookie noticed he had that big book that Bjorn always carried with him, but didn't think much about it as she slipped back into a deep sleep.

"Open your eyes, Sookie," Freyja spoke with some urgency, turning the pages of the book in front of her. Sookie was shocked to find herself sitting in the chair in front of the Book of Shadows, and Freyja flipping through it as if She was looking for something specific. "Here, Sookie, you need to read about the history of the arranged marriage between Niall and Titania. Read quickly, he'll be back soon, and you need all of this information before you speak to him."

"Speak to him?" Sookie leaned forward, preparing to read, but she wasn't sure what Freyja was telling her. "You mean when he gets here? Now?"

"Yes, you're going to stand up to him. Tell him you're having cake for the boys' one month milestone on Woden's Day, and that you expect him and Dr. Ludwig to be there. Tell him you'd also like to talk about the Wiccaning, so that the two of you have a clear understanding of what will take place. Be very strong, Darling Girl, and show him no fear. Remember that We are One and the Same. He cannot hurt you with Me standing behind you, not in Elfyria. Read, quickly."

Sookie took a deep breath and let it out, then focused very intently on the words before her. She read about centuries of bloody war between the H'Eloise clan, who had ruled in that time, and the violent opposition from the Brigant clan, who were pretenders to the throne, claiming it was theirs according to an old law no one else remembered. Titania's mother and father, thinking Niall had the same limitations of any other Fae, wrongfully thought that if they merged the two clans, the fighting would cease. They never dreamed Niall would be able to harm Titania, let alone have her killed. It had seemed a good match – Niall was dashing and handsome, very savvy politically, and Titania was beautiful and a gifted in prophecy and divination. They had no clue that Niall was secretly trained in Ceremonial Magick in addition to his innate Fae abilities. The blending of the clans should have created ongoing peace once they had children and eventually, if they had a daughter, she would rule both clans with equal influence. Unfortunately, Titania had only sons, which she suspected had something to do with Niall's magick. She tried to do magick to counter this effect, but to her great sorrow, it was not Titania's destiny to have a daughter. Finally, she fasted and prayed for weeks, then rode into the wilderness to a far orchard on the night of the full moon, casting a circle and calling the Goddess down to her.

Titania was shocked when the Goddess Who appeared turned out to be Freyja, who was not normally associated with Fae magick. The two sat in the circle talking until dawn, Freyja telling her she was chosen to help Her fulfill a great destiny, that her prayers – to be safe, to be loved, to rule Elfyria in peace - were being answered, but not in the way she envisioned. Freyja told her about Erik, the Norseman, one of the greatest warriors She had ever seen, and the very best lover She'd ever enjoyed. She told Titania that her destiny was to be reborn as another, a true incarnation of the Goddess Herself, and to live in love, sensuality and luxury for many, many lifetimes together with Erik. Freyja foretold that Titania would meet Erik when Niall hired him to kill her, but that Erik would not be able to do it when he saw her naked and felt her power. Titania was shocked at what She was suggesting, but she trusted the Goddess implicitly. Freyja assured her that once she'd spent time with Erik, she'd be more than happy to fulfill her part in the Goddess' plan, but that she must never explain it all to him – she should feel free to love him the short time they'd have together but never to mention Freyja to him unless he brought Her up, and then all she should say is that the Goddess will keep Her promise to him.

Freyja handed her a sheep skin scroll with the Great Rite of Return written out, explaining that only those approved by the newly formed Global Council were permitted to do such work and that no eyes but hers must see it. At the end of the rite, Titania was to burn the scroll, and scatter the ashes of the fire into the river. The Goddess told her that her future name would be given to her through scrying three nights hence, and that the Rite of Return must be performed on the Dark Moon. Titania had little experience with such volatile energy, but she had been warned not to vary from the written spell in any way, so she steeled herself to it, thanked the Goddess with fervent praise, poured a libation in her honor and opened her circle. She barely made it back into her chambers before the house stirred, and she prayed that Niall would not find out she'd been out to the apple orchard, which he knew was a sacred and powerful spot for her. She opened a large chest at the foot of her bed and put the scroll deep inside under the piles of bed linens and quilts inside it, then locked the trunk and hid the key in the pocket of her robe. Niall rarely visited her chambers anymore, but she knew she couldn't take any chances of him finding the scroll, so she anointed the lock on the chest with her own blood and cast a cloaking spell on its contents while she waited the two weeks to the Dark Moon.

Sookie sat back and closed her eyes, clearly seeing in her mind how Titania spent the next two weeks in prayer, chanting with a string of beads that gave Sookie chills when she saw them. What were they? It wasn't a rosary – there was no cross on the end, but that seemed to be the way she was using them.

"Stand up, Sookie, he is here," Freyja spoke and was gone. Sookie stood before she realized what she was doing and braced herself, forcing herself to be centered, calm and firm. Niall came into the room and reacted with a start when he saw her standing there in her black gown, looking so much like the painting of Titania that hung on the wall behind her that it made Niall feel faint.

Niall tried to suppress his shock, but Sookie could feel his fear, his tension and his anger, and it only made her more determined not to back down.

"Sookie, how nice to see you. You're full of surprises lately."

"Things are changing so quickly I've had to become more decisive in my actions."

"Yes, well, many women find that motherhood puts things in a new perspective for them." Niall was trying to belittle Sookie and she knew it, but it only pissed her off.

"Yeah, I've got a new perspective on a lot of things. I'm here to invite you for cake on Wednesday. The boys will be one month old and we thought you and Dr. Ludwig might want to join us. It'll just be family, and I thought you might like to be there. It will give us a chance to talk about the Wiccaning."

"Am I still welcome at their ceremony?" Niall pointed to two huge carved oak chairs beside the white marble fireplace and Sookie walked over and sat down in one. The feeling of familiarity was overwhelming, but she held it together as he sat in the other, sitting back and trying to act as if he wasn't scared to death.

"We are family, Niall, and the Fae will expect it. We'll have to put our differences aside and do our duty for the sake of the boys."

"Yes, my thoughts exactly. Have you… spoken to anyone with the coven?"

"Fine, let's talk about it now. I've seen the changes you made to the vows if that's what you mean. Nice try, but I'll be making changes of my own. I have a compromise that I think is reasonable."

"I'm intrigued. Do go on."

"I understand that by law you are able to rule until 2027, at which point you must name the True Heir and step aside. Is that correct?"

"It is."

"And I know I am Titania's True Heir." Sookie sat up very straight and looked Niall right in the eye, "I know all about Titania, Niall – all of it. I know exactly who I am."

The color drained from Niall's face.

"My proposal is that you retain your office until 2027, then I will decide whether I want to take the throne, or I will pass it to Eric Auberon, but it will be my decision when and if that happens. I'm not giving my title away at the Wiccaning as you'd planned. I'll make it known that I am the True Heir, and I'll name Auberon as my successor, but it won't automatically go to him on a given date. You don't lose anything that way, and neither do I. You get all the time you'd ever be entitled to anyway."

"Well," Niall was obviously not happy, but was trying to keep his head at this point, literally, and said, "I suppose that's an acceptable plan. It solves all of our immediate problems."

"What would those be?" Sookie knew he might lie to her, but she wanted to see what he'd say.

"My enemies are trying to claim that Titania died without naming the True Heir. If that were the case, the title would go to whomever could take it. As long as you acknowledge your birthright, and you specify that Auberon will be your Heir should tragedy befall you, I will agree to this."

"Good. Believe it or not, Niall, I'd like you to be a grandfather to my boys. As long as you don't try to interfere with my custody of them, we won't have a problem. Agreed?"

"Agreed," he said grudgingly.

"Good," Sookie stood. "Now, I'm going home, but I'll be back in the near future to look around this house and learn more about Elfyria. That won't be a problem, will it?"

"Of course not, my dear, you are always welcome here."

"I'm more than welcome here and we both know it." Sookie disappeared as she uttered the last syllable.

Sookie sat bolt upright in bed, making Bjorn jump because it happened so quickly. She looked around a bit disoriented, then she understood what had happened.

"Are you alright, Sookie?"

"Yeah, good morning, Bjorn. Sorry if I startled you. I know I startled me," she said and began to laugh.

"What happened?"

"I was in Elfyria then suddenly I was here – there was no transition, just now you're here, now you're not. It's a bit unsettling."

"I can imagine… no, strike that, I can't imagine it. The stuff that's going on with you is way beyond my ken."

"Imagine how I feel about it all. I swear, Bjorn, just when I think I know what's going on, there's another layer or another twist…"

"Eric says it's always like that when you deal with Fae."

"Yeah, so I'm learning," she said absently as she looked over the boys who were snuggled up in the co-sleeper. Sookie was just beginning to realize how early it was.

"You know that includes you, too, right?"

"Huh?"

"Those layers, with the Fae – that includes you, too, Sookie."

"I've got layers?"

"Big, badass karmic ones. Eric says one minute he's courting a little country girl and all of a sudden he's married to a Goddess who's the incarnation of half a dozen former lovers. You've got layers that put Niall to shame, Hon," Bjorn laughed and Sookie did, too, realizing how right he was.

"So I'm up really early today…"

"Why don't you try to sleep some more?"

"I kind of want to get up and get on with some things. I've got a ton of work waiting for me in my office." Sookie laughed, "that sounds so weird – me having work in my own office."

"Stuff for the Kingdom?"

"Yes, and I think I'm supposed to get a ton of final things to approve from Giselle for the New Orleans house. She's putting the finishing touches on it now. OH – I almost forgot – they're delivering furniture today for the chalets and I have to see what need to be done for Bill and Pam!"

"People will do that stuff for you though, right?"

"Yeah, but technically, I'm the hostess so I need to make sure things are done the way I want them."

"No one's going to think less of you…"

"I will. My vacation is over and part of being Eric's Queen is seeing to our guests and our home.

"Mamee!" Alex was up and a little fussy, pouting and rubbing his little eyes.

"Hi, Sweetie! Are you hungry?"

"Eeah, ee!"

Bjorn handed Sookie the nursing pillow that was always beside his chair in front of the mini-fridge these days and she pulled Alex over and let him do his thing while she looked in his eyes and talked to him softly, kissing his hand and holding it to her cheek. Alex relaxed instantly when he tasted her milk, feeling safe again. He couldn't explain in words, but he'd had a bad dream and was very happy to be snuggled against Mommy's warm breast, looking into her pretty blue eyes and feeling that big, bright smile warming him all over. Bjorn was smiling to himself, watching the two of them together, wondering how it must feel to be Alex at that moment. Bjorn was pretty sure he'd never had a moment like that when he was an infant, and it was both heart-warming and heart-breaking at the same time. Alex didn't feed long, but he insisted on being held after, so Sookie pulled him into a hug and settled on her side with him, facing Bjorn, who watched the two of them sleep until Aubie woke up about an hour later.

Aubie was in his usual good mood and fed eagerly when Sookie put him to her breast. By that time Alex was more centered and was doing loops in the air above the bed, chattering "woogie, Mamee! Ahm fyeen, Obee, thirco!" and entertaining everyone with his antics.

Alicia came up the stairs with a load of laundry and was surprised to hear them all up and laughing so early. "Well – look who's up at this hour!"

"Good morning, Alicia! I know I could sleep later if I wanted to, but I figured since I've got so much that needs my attention today, I'd better get on with it."

"Do you want me to bring your breakfast up here?"

"Yes, please. When Aubie gets done, we'll do some D-A-N-C-I-N-G, and eat, then I'll tackle that paperwork in the office and see what's going on in the guest house."

"Alright, I'll be back in a minute with your breakfast."

"Thanks."

Alex hovered over the bed at Eric's side and let himself drop with a bounce, laughing as he hit. Aubie looked around to see what he was laughing at, but went right back to feeding as Alex crawled up onto Eric's pillow and pulled himself up on the headboard so he was standing and bouncing by Sookie's head.

"Ah, Mamee!"

"Hi, Pookie. Are you in a better mood now?"

"Eeah. Ahm undwy por bwepuss."

"Alicia will be back with it in just a minute, OK?"

"Eeah!" he laughed and bounded into the air, flying at Bjorn very quickly, but Bjorn did manage to catch him when he got there.

"Hey, Buddy."

"Ah, Borhd!" Alex put a hand against each side of Bjorn's face so he had to look right at him. "Ee bwepuss?"

"Alicia is bringing it."

"Eesha bweeneen id?"

"Right. Margaret is making it, then Alicia will bring it up, and I'll feed it to you, OK?"

"Oday" That satisfied Alex so he put his arms around Bjorn's neck and laid his head on his shoulder and closed his eyes. Sookie and Bjorn exchanged a strange look – was he going to sleep? – but before either of them could speak Alex raised his head and kissed Bjorn on the cheek and said, "Mamee, ah wyg Bhord!"

"Awww." Sookie teased Bjorn and he laughed and told Alex, "I like you, too, Buddy. You're a good kid," as he patted his back and kissed his cheek. Alex cracked up as Bjorn swung him up over his head and growled and shook him a bit.

Sookie loved watching them together, and Aubie liked the whole scene because his tie into the bond was humming with HAPPY. Sookie looked into those deep blue eyes, stroking his cheek and adjusting the little copper chain around his neck so it lay straight and the copper pentacle was in front. She thought how well it had worked over the weekend and hoped the magick would hold out through the Wiccaning, but she wasn't too worried about it.

Breakfast turned out to be pancakes for every one. Margaret made little ones that Aubie could gnaw on as Alicia dipped them in syrup and butter for him, then Alex was able to feed himself once Alicia tied a blue bib around his neck and Bjorn showed him how to dip it then eat it. Sookie inhaled a huge stack of pancakes and enjoyed them immensely, stopping only to tease Alex, "you're going to be a mess with that syrup, Pookie!"

Alex didn't know what she said but he giggled a little as he sucked on his syrup-covered fingers.

When Alex was done, Alicia gave Aubie back to Sookie and set her tray aside, then came out of the bathroom with a washcloth to clean Alex, who had syrup smeared on his face and running down his arms. When he was more or less clean, Alicia held him up so Sookie could position him sitting up on her stomach behind Aubie as if they were riding a horse. Sookie was able to hold two wrists in each hand as she started to shake them and sing "well, shake it up, baby, now, Shake it up, baby! Twist and Shout! Twist and Shout, c'mon, c'mon, c'mon, c'mon, baby, now, come on, baby, come on and work it on out, work it on out. WOOOOO!"

Both babies were laughing hysterically, more from the fact that they liked sitting together that way than from the singing, but whatever the reason, everybody was having fun because of Mommy and that was all that mattered. A few minutes later, Sookie realized Bobbie was standing in the door watching them, messing around with an iPod.

"What'cha got, Bobbie?"

"Just this," she said as she press PLAY and The Beatle's original recording of Twist and Shout began to play.

"Yeah! Crank it up!" Sookie laughed and nodded and began to sing along with the song. The boys were tickled to death with the music and with Mommy singing with it. Neither of them had ever heard anything like that and it was the BEST thing EVER! Alex was squealing and Aubie giggled until he got the hiccups and the boys had so much fun they couldn't believe it.

When things calmed down a bit, Alicia and Bobbie took the babies in for fresh diapers and Sookie pulled her hair into a pony tail and took a super quick shower. Come hell or high water, Sookie decided, tonight was family bath night, so she didn't need to be too meticulous. She'd wait and let Eric take care of the detail work and she flushed a little as she thought about him. Yum. She wrapped a towel around herself and went out to the bedroom to see what she had that was easy to wear. Bobbie was lying sideways on the made-up bed, playing with the boys, who were freshly diapered and in plastic pants for the pool. There was a light blue sundress laying on the end of the bed for her and a matching thong panty.

"Hey, Sookie, do you trust me and Octavia to take the boys into the pool while you and Amelia tend to the chalets, or do you need me to help there, too?"

Sookie slipped the sundress over her head and pulled it over the towel, then dropped the towel from under is as they talked. "I would love it if you guys would play with the boys so I can really look things over. I want the house to be nice for our guests."

"It's just Bill and Pam, right?"

"No," she replied as she wiggled into the thong, "Amunet and her husband are going to stay there the day after the Wiccaning, but Bill and Pam will be there alone in the mean time so we won't be able to work on things much after Wednesday. Oh, and I need to write down about my Visit to Elfyria this morning – I talked to Niall – and I need to call Dr. Ludwig and invite her for Wednesday. I also need to make sure Margaret has plans for cakes for the boys and we have to think of what to do about gifts."

"Are we having a party?" Bobbie hadn't heard about this.

"Just a family thing, but I've invited Niall and Ludwig and Bill will be here. I don't know about Pam, yet, but I hope so. Do you think I should invite Jason? He's seen Niall before, right?"

"Yeah, but he didn't know who he was."

"Let me think about that, then. I'll wait and talk to Eric at dinner and if he thinks we should I'll call him then. Did he see Ludwig that day in Vegas? I barely remember what was going on."

"That's understandable. You were in a lot of pain. Yeah, he saw Ludwig and almost fainted. I think at this point Jason just knows to expect weirdness around your family, you know?"

"Yeah – I better clear it with Eric, though, just in case." Sookie looked herself over in the mirror of the dresser. This dress must be new, she decided, and it was pretty. It was a very delicate blue with pleats on the bodice and rick-rack around the neckline. It buttoned all the way up the front, so breastfeeding would be easy, and it looked like church picnic wear so she knew Eric would love it. She sat briefly at her vanity table, which was back in its place, and added a little powder, blush, mascara and medium pink lipstick, deciding she looked sufficiently polished to deal with decorators. She, Bobbie, Bjorn and the boys made their way down the stairs to the pool, though it was overcast today and Sookie thought to herself that Eric might be up if it got any darker. She sat with Bjorn while Bobbie and Octavia got Alex and Aubie into a green frog pool toy sturdy enough to hold both of them, and watched them splash and giggle as Bobbie pulled them around. Once Sookie was sure Aubie was OK in the water without her, she ran back to the chalet to see what was going on.

Men were carrying furniture through the front door, and Gerald Dupree stepped outside just as Sookie approached the house.

"Good morning, Mrs. Northman!"

"Hi, Gerald! How are we doing so far?"

"Well, it cost a pretty penny, but I got the carpeting installed yesterday, so once they get the furniture inside and we get rid of the packing materials, it will be ready to clean and do final touches."

"OK, good. One thing – remember I said we just needed one bedroom ready? I was mistaken – we need two. There's going to be more company than I expected originally."

"Not to worry, Missus, we've got all three almost ready for company. By Wednesday evening it will be an absolute show place."

"Oh, good! Now, what can I do to help?"

"Well, give us about two hours here and then if you want to come back we'll go over some last minute details, room by room, then we'll put the final touches on tomorrow. Alicia told me she has supplies – towels, bed linens, toiletries – all ready to put in the rooms once we have them clean."

"Oh, good. I can usually count on her to be tho –" Sookie suddenly felt panic in the bond and realized Aubie had missed her. "I'll check back later, thanks!" She spun on her heel and raced back to the pool. Bobbie was bringing Aubie, who was screaming for "MMMMAAAA_MMMMAAAAA!" as Sookie came running toward them, sending all the comfort she could through the bond to him.

"Aubie, hey, Sweetie, Mommy's right here!" Sookie flew across the lawn at something well above human speed. She had Aubie in her arms in an instant and was so busy kissing him, cooing at him and rocking him that she didn't notice the others staring at her in astonishment.

Aubie settled pretty quickly once he was in Sookie's arms and he hugged her around the neck as she sat in the chair next to Bjorn and continued rocking him, his little body still shaking a bit from the fright. He let out a big sigh and they both relaxed and Sookie noticed for the first time that the others were staring at her. "What?"

Bjorn let out a little laugh in disbelief. "You don't realize what you just did, do you?"

"What? My baby was crying and I got here as fast as I could."

"Yeah, exactly," Bjorn was continually amazed at how Sookie would do something superhuman and not even notice.

"Was that wrong?"

"Sookie, were you ever on the track team in school?"

"Ew – no, I hated gym class. The last thing I wanted to do was spend my off hours hanging around the school sweating. Why?"

"I figured, because if you had been, running as fast as you just did, you'd have been in the Olympics."

"Why? How fast was it?"

"Faster than I've seen anything short of a vampire move."

"He's right, Sookie, you were a blur coming this way!" Bobbie agreed.

"Faster than human, you mean, for real?"

"Yes, definitely," Bjorn confirmed. "I don't know if it's from drinking Eric's blood or the Ambrosia, but that was far beyond human capacity. Make sure you write this in your book, and tell Eric as soon as he gets up that you may have super human speed."

"I'm stronger now, too, right?"

"Yes, definitely," Bjorn said.

"Hey, Bobbie, I've got 2 hours to kill. Could you do a massage on me and Aubie – Alex, too, I guess. Aubie has never had one."

"That's true and it's been a while since I worked on you. You want to do it down here?"

"No, I'd rather do it indoors since there are delivery men around. Can we use the massage room on the fourth floor?"

"Good thinking." Bjorn said, "Any objections to me being up there with you, Sookie?"

"No, I want you to stay close, for some reason," Sookie said as her mood began to darken.

"Alright, let's all go in," Bjorn suggested.

"Where's Alex?" Sookie realized he wasn't out there.

"In the kitchen eating potatoes," Bjorn laughed, "he asked Margaret and Octavia took him in. We should have taken Aubie, too, but he seemed to be having fun playing with toys in the water."

"Let's go in. Bjorn, I want to talk to you in my office before we go upstairs," Sookie said in a more serious tone than anyone was used to hearing from her, walking quickly into the house, still hugging Aubie tightly to her.

Bjorn and Bobbie gave each other a look acknowledging Sookie's suddenly dark turn of mood, so they quickly followed her.

Sookie stopped just briefly in the kitchen to tease Alex. "Are you eating potatoes, Pookie?"

"Eeah, dood tatosth!" he said with his mouth full. Sookie offered a bite to Aubie to see if he liked them but he didn't even want to taste them, he just wanted to cling to Mommy, so she continued in through the living room with Bjorn following her. Bobbie told them she was going upstairs to prepare the massage room and went back through the pantry.

Sookie led Bjorn into her office and said, "close the doors," to him as he followed her in, which he did. "Something's wrong."

"Can you be more specific?" He needed her to really focus if something was going on.

"Yeah – I've got this intense feeling that you need someone to sweep the chalet for bugs – you know, microphones."

"OK, Sookie, answer me without thinking, just say what pops into your mind – are they still here?"

"Yes."

"How many,"

"I think 3 but only two inside the gates."

"How'd they get in?"

"Delivery vans."

"Any on our staff?"

"Yes and no."

"Clarify…"

"It's not human – what I'm getting, it's not from a human. It's in pictures but not like a Were."

"Can you read daemons?"

"Never have before, but now, who knows?"

Bjorn pushed a button on his phone and someone who Sookie figured was out in the guard shack answered, "Yeah, boss?"

"Is Rafael here today?"

"Yes, he's on the grounds."

"I need him in Queen Sookie's office on the first floor."

"Bjorn, you need me, too?"

"Yeah, Jerry, come with."

"Be right in."

"Bjorn, what if I'm wrong about all this?"

"You're not. You picked up on it when your "Spidey" senses were on alert because of Aubie."

"You knew?"

"No, but we've been waiting for the other shoe to drop."

Jerry came in quickly with a tall man in all black. At first glance he seemed perfectly human – just a tall, thin man with black hair and very pale skin, but not like a vampire. Vampires have soft, velvety skin, but this man… something about him said "slither" to Sookie and she hoped he wouldn't touch her. She remembered hearing stories about nasty Fae that would pluck people's eyes out for being able to see them and he gave her that sinister, supernatural vibe, big time. She held Aubie a little more tightly to her when she saw him.

Bjorn briefed them, "Sookie picked something up – non-human, pictures, probably 2 in the gates, one outside, they got in with the delivery vans, and she thinks the chalet is bugged. Sookie, this is the Daemon Master, Rafael."

"Your Majessssty," he said with an exaggerated "s" sound that reminded her of a snake hissing, "have you any experiencsse with our kind?" He also rolled his "Rs" in a weird way like his tongue was too long and Sookie noticed he had vertical pupils.

"Daemons, you mean? Yeah, I've met a couple, but I don't have what you'd call comprehensive knowledge of you all. I knew one that was a lawyer and his niece or something, but she was more like a Pixie…"

"Yesssss, well, many of us can mix with humans undetected, but you ssssseem to be particularly ssssenssssitive to variant thought patterns. I sssssusssspect there'ssss one of ussss with the enemy."

"New Centurion, you mean?"

"Not necessssssarily. If a daemon mercsssssenary has been employed, I'd ssssay that our ssssssource is more likely of the Fae realm."

"Would Fae bug our house, though?"

"My guesssss would be that newssss of your war councssssil has leaked out and sssssomeone would like to lisssssten in."

"Can't Fae do that without listening devices?" Sookie didn't see why they'd need to.

"The quesssstion, My Lady, is which Fae and where. There is magick protecting thisss property, issss there not?"

"Yes, there is."

"So what one is barred from doing onesssself, one might hire help to accomplish."

"Niall? You think Niall is behind it?"

"Or Cullach's hoard, but Brigant issss the most immediate danger and has mosssst to lose. He would naturally be very concssserned with your activities for the celebration."

"I've invited him here Wednesday."

"Precisssssely, My Lady. He wantssss to know if you're laying a trap for him, and he wantssss to know what to expect at the ceremony the sssssabbat."

"What do you recommend, Rafael?" Bjorn wanted to get to the bottom of this, fast.

"The matter requiresssss extreme dissssscretion sssso as not to alert any humans involved, asssss well asssss to keep newsss from going back to Brigant. You have your sssssecurity team do a ssssssweep of the chalet and my men will deal with the intruders away from here in a way that cannot be connected to the housssse."

"What do you need from us?" Bjorn asked

"Ssssecure the property, ssssstay with the Queen, go on asssss if nothing is wrong. I will brief you on the disssssspossssition of the matter tomorrow, at the latest." The man bowed to Sookie and left very quickly.

When he was well out of what Sookie thought "ear-shot" might be, she asked Bjorn, "are you sure we can trust him?"

"As sure as you could be with any mercenary. He's got no love for Niall, so that works in your favor."

"Is it safe for Niall to come here?"

"That's entirely up to you."

"As in I could have him killed?"

"As in you are the one most likely to kill him."

"Was I wrong to invite him?"

"No, you pretty much had to. Royalty and protocol and progeny, and…"

"Blah, blah, blah, I get it. I need a massage, if you think it's safe."

"Yeah, I think you can risk it," he teased her, nudging her shoulder to get her to lighten up a little, though he noticed she was taking these things more in stride lately.

Sookie decided to just trust Bjorn's team to do what needed to be done and she figured if Rafael was going to be involved, it was better to have him on her side than working for the other side. She hoped Eric was paying them enough, but she knew he probably was and then some, just to be safe. By the time she was on Bobbie's table, all was right with the world. Aubie went to sleep as Bobbie taught Sookie how to do infant massage on him, and Alex was brought upstairs when he finished his potatoes and got himself a massage, too. They were both tucked into little carriers napping while Mommy got one of the longest massages Bobbie ever gave her because Sookie was carrying a lot of tension she wasn't even aware of in her shoulders. Bjorn was sitting outside the door in a chair and she knew that was mostly because of the threat on the compound.

At about 4:30, Sookie was lying there absent-mindedly wishing Eric was up when suddenly he was at the door.

"Sookie?"

She raised her head, excited to see him. "Eric!"

"Hello, my Angel. Have you got her nice and relaxed, Bobbie?" He came in and kissed Sookie on the back of her head.

"As well as can be expected."

"Sweetie, you need to talk to Bjorn ASAP."

"Alright, we'll be right back."

"OK," Sookie finally let go of some of the tension she was carrying – Eric was here and all was right with the world, or would be very soon.


	98. Chapter 98

**[A/N: This is a really, really short one, because I know you've all been waiting while I was sick. The next one won't take so long, promise! **

**The artwork referenced herein can be seen on ArtMagick dot com ]**

**Chapter 98**

Eric and Bjorn stepped down the hall into the gym.

"What's the situation?"

"Sookie picked up on something – probably Fae or Daemon, probably paid by Niall – and we need to sweep the new chalet for bugs. Raphael thinks Brigant wanted to listen in on your war council."

"What did he recommend?"

"We've secured the compound and his troops will take care of the intruders away from the house in a way that can't come back to us."

"How did Sookie pick this up?"

"Apparently, she can read Daemons. She said it was pictures, but it wasn't a Were or Shifter. She thought they came in with the delivery vans, and that there were two on the compound and one outside."

"She was scanning for this?"

"No, Aubie panicked because he couldn't see her, and while her senses were focused on him she picked it up. Also, she may have super human speed now."

"How do you know this?"

"She was at the chalet when the baby cried, and she came across the lawn in a blur. The only thing I've ever seen move faster is a vampire."

"Has she mentioned her plans for Wednesday?"

"Yes, and she talked to Brigant in Elfyria this morning, but I don't know the details. I believe he accepted the invitation."

"Let's get Sookie to brief us on that so we're all on the same page. When will you sweep the chalet?"

"We might as well wait until Wednesday before Bill gets here, unless you want us to do it now?"

"I'll do a walk-through and see if I pick up anything, then we'll be very thorough Wednesday night."

Sookie came out of the massage room with her dress back on, stopping a few feet from the door of the gym in case she was interrupting.

"Come in, Sweetheart. You visited Niall today?"

"I woke up in Elfyria. Freyja turned to a page in the book that told me how Niall and Titania came to be married, and told me to stand up to him and show no fear. I only intended to invite him and then talk about the Wiccaning after the party, but he pushed the issue so I told him I know all about Titania and exactly who I am and that I wasn't going to give my title away. I told him I'd give him until 2027 and then I'd decide if I want it or give it to Aubie, so he wouldn't lose anything. I also confirmed that I expected him at the Wiccaning."

"How did he receive the news?"

"He said it seemed reasonable and would solve some immediate problems, but I could feel that he wasn't happy about it. I also told him I'd be back soon to look around the palace and learn more about Elfyria. He said I was welcome any time and I said I'm more than welcome and we both know it, then I was back here."

"Did you actually use those words?" Bjorn couldn't believe she actually said that to him. That was pretty ballsy to talk to someone as powerful as Niall that way.

"Yep. I'll never show him fear or weakness again. Niall's marriage to Titania was arranged to end the war in Elfyria, and he thanked her parents, who were being more generous than they needed to, by killing her. I told him we'll do our duty and keep up appearances according to our offices. What I didn't tell him is that I have no feeling for him now at all and I consider him a threat to me and to Aubie. I did reinforce to him that he'd better never challenge my custody of Aubie. Remember what we were talking about, Eric – the preemptive strike?"

"Yes."

"He's had his one warning. If he fucks with us again, I'm taking him out."

"Sookie…" Eric couldn't believe she was being so firm about this.

"I know he's the one bugging the chalet. I'm going to give him the benefit of the doubt, because they were probably hired before I talked to him today and he wouldn't have had time to call it off. From today forward, any new threat will be the last."

"Did you say that explicitly, Sookie?"

"No, I didn't. I just told him if he'd leave my kids alone, we'd have no problem, but as far as I'm concerned, that's enough. I made him a fair deal and offered to let him be a grandfather to the boys. If he doesn't stick to it, that's it."

Eric could tell Sookie had made a decision, so he didn't press the point. He'd wait until after the issue with the chalet was resolved and they'd revisit this again. If Sookie still felt this way, they'd talk about making a plan. He'd much prefer that Niall take the 18 years and give Sookie time to learn more, but they had to be pragmatic. If she was going to have to kill Niall, the element of surprise would be necessary to accomplish it.

"What time is it?" Sookie asked

"Almost 3:30."

"Eric, do you need to feed from me to feel grounded?"

"No, I'm surprised to say I feel fine."

"OK, I need to go back to the chalet and talk to the decorator. Can you stay with the boys?"

"Yes, of course. Should you take Auberon with you?" Eric didn't know if Auberon would be afraid to be left with him or not.

"Actually, yeah, I will. I'll put him in a sling. He was really upset and shaking earlier and since we've got him calm, we'll play it safe." Sookie took Aubie out of the bouncer and went down to the nursery for a sling, finding a blue floral one that looked cute with her dress. He barely stirred as she changed his diaper and got him situated, then she took the elevator down to the first floor.

"Hey, Margaret – you know Eric is up, right?"

"Oh, no, I didn't see him."

"OK, well he's got Alex, and I've got Aubie. I'm going to go out to the chalet for a bit. If Alicia is looking for me, tell her I'll do the paperwork when I get done out there, OK?"

"Sbe might already be out there, but if I see her, I'll let her know."

"Thanks!" Sookie gave her a big smile and headed out the back door.

Octavia was sitting on a lounge chair in the shade reading a book about astrology.

"Hey, Octavia! How are you today?"

"I'm fine. Just taking it easy until dinner time."

"Oh, good. I'm going out to talk to the decorators."

"Good luck!"

"Thanks," Sookie was feeling better and bouncier now and Aubie must have been dreaming because he was sending happy vibes into the bond. Sookie smiled down at him and stroked his cheek softly as she covered the ground between the pool and the chalet. The door was standing open, so Sookie looked inside, "knock, knock?"

"Mrs. Northman! Perfect timing! They're just finishing with running the sweeper one last time and - Alicia, I think?..."

"Yes, Alicia, she's my assistant."

"OK, well, she's making the beds and putting all those boxes of linens into the rooms. We'll be hanging pictures and we're putting out little knick-knacks and such."

"Is there still a lot to do?"

"The main thing is placing the art and getting the lighting right. Also, the vases will be empty until Wednesday morning when we'll have the fresh flowers delivered."

"Oh, good idea. Who will be in charge of replacing them? We might need to freshen them before the 2nd."

"Your household staff will make those arrangements as necessary."

"OK, great."

"Why don't you just look through the rooms and see if things are to your liking – everything is in the right rooms, but they aren't necessarily in place in them all."

"Oh, goodie. I can't wait to see!" Sookie gave him a smile and started up the stairs. She peered into the bedroom on the left, and found that the bed had been made with an unusual and pretty blue floral spread and nice, soft blue sheets. The windows had very nice dark blue silk drapes with light blue sheers, and the furniture was in position. They were equipped basically like the guest rooms in the house – quilt rack under the window, walnut dresser, two nightstands, with matching lamps, a small bookshelf - but they had armoires in them instead of closets and really nice suitcase racks at the end of the bed. Sookie opened the armoire and saw that the top shelf had spare blankets and there were nice flocked hangers in a blue color that matched the room.

Sookie did notice that there was no television or clock in the room, so she'd ask Gerald about that.

She walked across the balcony, peeking into the upstairs bathroom which looked pretty good, but needed to be wiped down, then into the other upstairs bedroom and found Alicia taking a bedspread out of the packaging. "Hey, Alicia! Need help?"

"Hey! Nope, I've got it under control. This is the last bedroom for making the bed, the linen closet is filled and Leroy just took out the boxes."

"Thank you so much for doing that! You don't happen to know what the deal is with TV's and clocks and such do you?"

"I believe they'll all be delivered and installed tomorrow, the artwork should be finished tonight and tomorrow, then Wednesday we'll dust, run the sweeper again, stock the fridge and put fresh flowers in the vases. Margaret is making those little baskets up for the dressers with the toothbrushes and socks and lotion and all as we speak and we'll put one in each room Wednesday, too."

"Oh, great! What do you think of the bedspreads – do you like them?"

"They're pretty, but unusual, don't you think?"

"Yeah, I expected something more traditional, but I really like these. They look like paintings."

"I think they are actually watercolor paintings printed on fabric. They're very modern but still cozy."

"Cool. There's a third bedroom, right?"

"Well, sort of. The bedroom downstairs actually has 6 very modern looking … I think they're called travel boxes?"

"Modern?"

"Only in the shape. They're walnut, to match the rest of the furniture."

"And they put them all in the same room?"

"Yes. Mr. Northman thought you might need extra room for an entourage. There are also three armoires in there. Did you see the electric blinds?"

"No, what do you mean?"

Alicia picked up a small remote control and pointed it at the windows and a cover slid down over them completely blocking out the sun. "Your guests can sleep in the beds if they want. All the bedrooms have these."

"That's fantastic! It's like a vampire hotel!"

"Exactly. It's much more luxurious than most would expect in a guesthouse for a private home. All the rooms have deadbolts on the doors, too, for extra security."

"Is Amelia's chalet done in the same style?"

"No, I believe hers is done in green and cream with oak furniture and she's using her own artwork. Her living room furniture is much sleeker, too – the overall look of it is more modern."

"Is this one too old fashioned?"

"I think it's lovely. The furniture is excellent quality and it's got touches like the bedspread that make it more contemporary. It might not be the most fashion forward design, but it's very cozy."

"OK, I like that – guests should be comfortable, more than anything."

"I think they'll be very pleased with the accommodations. It's Mr. Compton and who else?"

"Eric's Childe Pam will be here with him, and then Prince Badru and his wife Amunet will stay with us the day after the Wiccaning."

"Amunet needs food, yes?"

"Yes, so I hope we'll have groceries as well as RMs."

"Oh, you're going to serve RMs instead of True Blood?"

"Yes, I think Pam is supposed to bring several cases with her. Eric feels they're a little more upscale, you know?"

"Well, that's good. If you have leftovers, the two of you can always drink them."

"True…"

"Mrs. Northman!"

"Yes, Gerald?" Sookie looked out into the hallway, then down over the balcony to the living room.

"Did you want to choose the artwork? We've got several options, then we'll send the rest back to the collection in New Orleans."

"Oh, great!" Sookie started down the steps and Aubie woke up as she jostled him a little.

"MMamma!"

"Hey, Sweet boy! Are you waking up?" She pulled him up so he could see around them and gave him a kiss. He sucked his little thumb and rested his head on Sookie's shoulder as she looked over the art.

Gerald had a selection of paintings lined up for Sookie to look at, organized by size in three stacks. They started with the big ones.

"OK, of this six, you'll want to pick two for over the beds, then probably two smaller ones for each room upstairs."

Sookie noticed that the men were wearing white gloves to handle the artwork because they were "real" art and needed protection. Sookie went wild for a work by Edward Robert Hughes called The Valkyrie's Vigil and insisted it be used in the living room. She found one for a bedroom called A Pastoral Scene by John Reinhard Weguelin that she felt had a Pagan feel to it, showing a nude woman from the back, sitting in a field with lambs surrounding her. She chose another by Henry Meynell Rheam called Sleeping Beauty that was done in gorgeous shades of blue that would match the bedspreads perfectly.

There was a work by Edouard Bisson called The Goddesses on Mount Olympus that she insisted be taken to her house and put over her bed, so Leroy and Lonnie went up with Howard to see what they needed to do for that. She picked one called The Crystal Gazers by Henry Siddons Mowbray for the wall outside the bathroom on the upper floor, and another Henry Meynell Rheam called The Sorceress for the other side of the door.

They needed a smaller painting over a table in the entry and Sookie loved a Herbert Draper called A Water Baby. "Alicia – are they supposed to be merpeople?"

"Yes, I think that's the idea, though they don't have fins."

"That's what I thought. I love this. I never saw this stuff in Feli… I mean, in the Las Vegas residence."

"Apparently there were quite a few of these stored there and Mr. Northman had all of it made available for your use…"

"Hey, Sookie!" Amelia looked in the door.

"Hey, Amelia! What's up?" Sookie asked as she held Aubie forward and let Amelia give him a kiss.

"Eric said if I wanted to I could pick some art work from what's left after you chose what you want to use."

"I'm sure you'll find something cool. These are just gorgeous. I wonder why Felipe didn't have these displayed?"

"I don't know – I love all this romantic/pre-Raphaelite stuff. Maybe he thought it wasn't prestigious enough?"

"Idiot."

"Yep – are these the ones you're using?"

"Yes. Aren't they amazing?"

"They should probably be in a museum, but if you've got them, might as well enjoy them," Amelia laughed. "OOH! I can't believe you have this!"

"What is it?"

"It's called Bacchante with Grapes. See the Dionysian imagery with the leopard skin?"

"Bacchante – is that like a Maenad?"

"Yep."

"I think I'll pass. Use it if you want to – it won't go with anything in here."

"Are you serious?"

"Sure, if you like it that much…"

"It would be amazing in the living room over in my house."

"Have them hang it for you. Your stuff is green, right – that would look great with it."

"Oh, look – this one is called A Bacchante!"

"You going to stick with that theme?" Sookie and Alicia both laughed.

"If you're not going to use it, I'd love to."

"Take it. Look through it all and see if there's any more Dionysus in it. I know Eric knows him, but it scares me."

"He's not so bad, Sookie, you just had a bad run-in with a fanatic."

"Fanatic – I never thought of her that way. I guess she was – she never did really invoke him – she just spreads her madness wherever she goes."

"Here we go – Bacchus by Simeon Solomon! This one is pretty well known – he did two similar ones."

"Pretty boy!" Sookie laughed.

"That's Dionysus through and through – the eternal youth."

"You taking that one, too?"

"Yeah, why not? It's a fun theme – maybe it will keep the house rocking?"

Sookie laughed, but she couldn't really picture Jerry rocking the house, though she didn't really try because that would be weird.

"Did you just come from the house, Amelia?"

"Yeah, why?" She was paying more attention to the gorgeous paintings than she was to what anyone was saying.

"What's Eric doing?"

"He took that Mount Olympus painting from Howard and the boys and took it up to hang it in your room. He was tickled to death that you chose it, by the way."

"He was?"

"Sookie – that's pretty much the way the Living Pantheon looks. He thinks you were destined to own the painting and it's a very good sign that you had such a strong reaction to it."

"I didn't really think about it – I just instantly loved it."

"He knows that, and he's thrilled."

Aubie whimpered a little then and made a motion that let Sookie know that he wanted to be breast fed, so she finished with the paintings and headed back to the house with him, leaving Alicia to direct the hanging of the art she chose. When she unbuttoned her bodice as she walked and as she reached the pool, she let him have her breast then continued on into the house with him and back to the elevator. Eric was standing back from the bed, admiring the painting as it hung over the headboard.

"My Angel! Look at your beautiful painting!"

"Oh, that looks so good there! I always thought we needed something up there."

"This was an excellent choice, Sookie. I hear you jumped up and down when you saw it?"

"Yeah, I guess I did. I just instantly pictured it over our bed. It's like that space was just waiting for it."

Aubie didn't stop feeding but he reached out to Eric with one hand and Eric bent to speak to him. "Hello, my little elf! Is Mommy feeding you?"

"Ah!" he leaned back and said, then went right back to suckling. Eric laughed with delight and kissed his little hand, then the top of his head.

"Hey, where's Alex?" Sookie was gently swinging Aubie from side to side as he fed.

"Bjorn took him so I could tend to your painting. I didn't really want the gardener's boys up in our room."

"Well, it was easier for you to do, right? Since you can fly and all?"

"Exactly – I didn't have to stand on the bed. How did you find the chalet?"

"There's still a lot to do, but it's going to get done. If worse came to worse, it's livable right now. Alicia made the beds and filled the linen closet, so it's just finishing touches left, really – hanging the paintings I chose, filling the fridge, fresh flowers in the vases, one good final cleaning, the baskets of toiletries we keep in the rooms. You did say Pam is bringing a few cases of RMs, right?"

"Yes, so we can stock their fridge and ours."

"OK, good. The carpeting looks really nice and I love those automatic shutter things that darken the rooms!"

"Those are nice, aren't they? If our bedroom didn't face the front of the house, I'd have them installed here. Our current system is fine, though – there's no real light in here if we don't open the windows."

"You know my favorite part of the chalet? I love the view of the back of our house from there. It looks really nice from the upstairs. When the new flowers are in around the walks and the pool, it will be really even better."

"Speaking of new flowers, I got a message from Vincent that the landscapers will finish your fountains tomorrow and add the rest of the plants around the pool, the front walk and from the front gate back toward the house. All your water features and statuary should be in place by Wednesday evening."

"Oh, good! I really want it to look nice when Badru and Amunet visit."

"I thought you might. They might even be able to set your gazebo in back. If there's one already together on the suppliers lot, it will go up tomorrow."

"Oh, that's so cool!"

"Anybody up there?" Bobbie called from the stairs.

"Yeah, Bobbie, we're in here!" Sookie replied.

"Margaret said dinner is served."

"OK, we'll be right down."

"I've got to run upstairs, so I'll see you all down there," Bobbie said as she bounced on up the stairs.

Eric led Sookie and Aubie back to the elevator since Aubie was feeding and they reached the kitchen as Bjorn was setting Aubie's high chair next to Alex's.

"So both boys got hungry early today, huh?" Bjorn asked as he held Sookie's seat for her.

"Yeah, I guess they did – we're not late, right?"

"No," Eric said, "it's earlier than we normally eat."

"Honestly, I don't think Aubie is feeding because he's hungry – I think he needed the closeness," Sookie said softly as she looked into his eyes and rocked him very gently. "I'm going to keep him close the rest of the night. He was really scared earlier."

"That's probably a good idea. I hope he isn't frightened by Niall on Wednesday," Eric said, stroking Aubie's shoulder with the backs of his fingers.

"Shit – I never even thought of that. I hope he doesn't think Niall is here to take him away."

"Just be prepared for an adverse reaction, Sookie. If he is scared, you hold him close and if necessary, take him out of the room. As long as you hold him, I'm sure he'll be fine. Being close to you soothes him," Eric reassured her.

"I just remembered – I've got paperwork in my office I have to get to tonight. Can you stay with Alex? I'll keep Aubie with me."

Eric laughed. "You put Aubie in your sling, I'll put Alex in one of mine and we'll work with them in tow."

"Alright, good. Also, we are, without fail, having a family bath tonight and going to bed early."

Eric wiggled his eyebrows at her, "yes, ma'am."

"Don't get too excited – I'm more interested in cuddling the boys so Aubie will feel safe."

"That's a pleasant prospect, too. How scared was he today, Sookie?"

"Very – I'm telling you, his little heart was about to beat right out of his chest and he was shaking all over."

"Is that around the time you got your intuition about the problem out there?"

"Yeah…"

"What are you thinking, Eric?" Bjorn asked him.

"Is it possible Aubie saw a familiar face? Someone he's seen in Elfyria, with Niall, or one of Cullach's assassins?"

"I never thought of that, but it was right when the delivery guys were taking furniture into the chalet," Sookie remembered.

"Yeah, it was," Bjorn agreed, "and he was looking in that direction when he screamed."

"Margaret, can you hold Sookie's dinner for about 10 minutes?" Eric asked

"Of course, Mr. Northman. It's not quite ready to come off the stove."

"Sookie, let's take a walk out to the chalet. Bjorn, would you like to join us?"

"Yeah, I would."

Eric stood and gave Sookie his hand. "Margaret, we're going to leave Alex here, alright?"

"Yes, that's fine. We'll be fine, won't we Master Alex?"

"Mm-mmm." Alex nodded, his mouth full from his second bowl of potatoes. Alex was a hungry boy and these "tatosth" were rockin'!

"Bobbie will be down in a minute, too," Sookie reminded her as they headed out back.

'We'll say we're looking at the artwork you chose, Sookie,' Eric projected to her.

'Gotcha.'

"Bjorn, have you seen the inside of the chalets, yet?" Eric was pretending to make small talk and Bjorn knew it.

"No, not yet. I haven't seen them since they're under roof. Do they look good, Sookie?"

"Wait 'til you see!" Sookie said, playing along. "The blue one will be really cozy."

'The delivery truck is still here, Sookie. Walk around front of it with Aubie so he can get a look at the driver.'

'Alright,'

Sookie split off to the left where the truck was parked and walked toward the front of it. Aubie looked right at the guy in back and had no reaction. As they reached the front, the guy in the driver's seat glanced up, surprised to see someone coming that way, and when he showed his face, Aubie screamed like a banshee and popped his little fangs. The man bailed out of the truck and began to fly away, but Sookie threw her hand in his direction and said "NO!" and a blast of light struck him, leaving him on the ground, stunned. Bjorn ran in that direction as Rafael, who was at the guardhouse in back of the property, literally swooped in and covered the guy with an iron net that reminded Sookie of loosely woven chain mail. Rafael was wearing black gloves, so he and Bjorn were able to use padlocks to seal him inside the net before he regained his senses. Iron didn't burn daemons and Fae as silver does vampires, but it rendered them so powerless that the guy in the net couldn't get away from them.

"Sookie, distract the decorator inside," Eric said as he headed toward the prisoner.

Sookie snuggled and cooed at Aubie to calm him as she went into the house and looked around, but Gerald wasn't there. That was odd. He was supposed to work late, wasn't he?

She had an idea so she pointed at a throw rug in the entrance and said, "all the surveillance devices in this house" and there was a flash leaving a small pile of little boxes and "buttons" of some sort. She found an empty glass candy dish on the coffee table and put the "bugs" in it, then decided to go ask if his car was still here. She was able to tell that their prisoner had been taken to the guard shack in back, which was bigger than she ever realized as she got close to it. She thought she could see Eric inside, but she didn't want to interrupt so she projected to him, 'Eric! Can I come in?'

Eric stepped in front of the window and waved to Sookie and sent, 'come in,' so she and Aubie went on up to the building and Eric opened the door for her.

"I thought you might want these," she held the candy dish out to him and his eyes popped.

"Where did you get these, Sookie?" Eric couldn't believe it – there had to be ten of them there!

"I called them."

"How?"

"I pointed at a throw rug and called "all the surveillance devices in this house" and there they were. I grabbed this dish off the table to put them in."

"Which table?"

"The coffee table in the living room."

"Alright, we'll use it for a minute then I'll put it back when we're done. Anything else?"

"Ask them if Gerald left or if his car is still here – I thought he had more work tonight but he's not in the chalet where he should be."

"Any of you men recognize the decorator?" Eric walked on in and asked.

"Yeah, he's still here, I think," a guard Sookie didn't know replied.

"Do you know his car?" Eric knew something was up.

"Yeah, it was in the barn a minute ago," the man said as he went to a video screen to look inside the converted barn. "Yeah, that's his car there."

"I wonder why he's not in the chalet? Where else would he be?" Sookie asked.

"Good question," Eric agreed something was wrong. "Jerry?"

"Yeah?"

"Is there anybody in your chalet?"

"No, why?"

"Just a hunch, but I think you and Bjorn should take a trip through it," Eric suggested, so he and Bjorn quickly headed for the other chalet. Weres can move almost as silently as a vampire when they want, so they slipped inside and followed the strange scent in to the utility closet, where they caught Gerald wiring a "tap" into the phone line. What happened next is hard to describe.

There was a flash of red light and Gerald was gone, then he was back, then gone, another red flash, then he was a pile on the floor. Bjorn and Jerry put some iron handcuffs Rafael had given them on him and carried him back to the guard stand as he moaned.

"Bjorn, what the hell was that?" Jerry was a little freaked out.

"My money says it was Sookie."

"What'd she do?"

"She kept him from escaping, but I don't know what she did. It had to be her, though – she's the only one I know with that kind of power."

"Yeah, you're probably right."

They dragged him into the building and Eric said, "what do we have here?"

"He was trying to tap our phone," Jerry said. "He tried to teleport out, but something stopped him." He glanced at Sookie and Eric nodded that it had been she, but they didn't go into how she did it just then.

"Do you need me, anymore, Eric?" Sookie asked hopefully. She was ready to go in now, because she was working up an appetite. Aubie was being perfectly quiet, knowing Mommy had it under control, and Daddy, too, but his big eyes were taking in everything that happened.

"Try one more thing." Eric pulled a chair out from a desk. "Put their accomplice in that chair."

Sookie took a deep breath and focused her energy and pointed at the chair – "the third man" and there was a POP and then a very confused daemon was being wrestled to the ground.

"Your Queen is very talented, sssssssire," Rafael told Eric with a strange tone in his voice – it wasn't really admiration, but there was a little of that.

"Yes, well, let's find out who we're dealing with here…"

"They're double agents," Sookie said.

"What?" Eric was shocked now – how did she know this?

"I can hear him like a radio. He is trying to decide whether to blame Niall or Liam under torture. He takes money from both. There were apparently more than two assassins when they went after Aubie. I only saw the two in the bedroom – the two that the falcons killed. Aubie recognized that first guy from that day – this one is remembering being outside and running like hell when the other guy ran out screaming about birds."

"Anything else?"

"Yeah, Niall sent him in here. He didn't know he was hiring one of Cullach's assassins. They're looking for a new source of income since their boss was killed."

"Alright, Sookie, you can go in and have your dinner. We might be a while."

"Jerry and Bjorn, I'll tell Margaret to put some dinner back for you guys."

"Thanks, Sookie," Bjorn said, just shaking his head. She still had no idea what a formidable weapon she was.

The rest of the night in the guard stand was like a seminar in the handling and torture of various daemon life forms, conducted by Rafael. He seemed to take pleasure in teaching Bjorn and Jerry how to deal with lower orders of Fae and Daemon. Niall's mistake was apparently hiring too low an order of daemon for two of the three positions on this team of spies. Gerald was able to keep Sookie from hearing his thoughts, but the other two had no such protections. They were only supposed to be lookouts, so they didn't think they needed any. It never occurred to them that a baby would recognize the one who had been in Siobhan's house the morning Sookie saved Aubie. Niall didn't tell them anything about Sookie's powers, and they knew nothing about Sookie killing Liam, so they had no way to know what she could do. Eric and Bjorn were both running different scenarios for using Sookie's abilities through their minds as they dealt with their intruders.

Sookie chatted with Aubie on the way back to the house, "you were a really good boy, Aubie – that's good, telling Mommy when there are bad people around. Mommy won't let any of the bad people near you. Mommy's going to keep you with her always. You're my sweet boy, and I'm going to keep you safe." She kissed him and cuddled him and she was trying to figure out what to tell Giselle, whom she had to contact tonight to make some final choices for the Prytania St. house. She was glad they'd made so much progress on the chalet – worse come to worse, Alicia, Carrie and Lena could finish what had to be done.

Dinner was grilled salmon, fried potatoes and spinach salad, which was good, but not at the top of Sookie's hit list. She figured she was a little spoiled from the meals in Dallas that weekend. She tried to get Aubie to eat some food but he didn't want to, and he didn't want her to put him down, either, so she ate with him on her lap.

"Margaret, Jerry and Bjorn will be in later – can you keep a plate warm for them?"

"Of course, Missus. I know they've been busy with all this construction."

"Thanks."

Alex ate a huge dinner, with just a little help from Bobbie, and was yawning, so Sookie had Bobbie bring him and they went up to her room, black kitten at their heels.

"Any plans for tonight, Sookie?" Bobbie asked as they rode the elevator to the third floor.

"I have some work I need to do, but I'm more concerned with getting the boys a bath and keeping my poor little buddy here calm. He's had a scary day, haven't you, Aubie? Yeah, my baby's had a scary day!" She swung from side to side a little and looked directly into his eyes, making him feel safe and loved. "I may blow the work off until tomorrow. I think as soon as Eric comes in, we should bathe and cuddle the boys."

"What exactly happened? It was more than just missing you, right?"

"Yeah, he apparently recognized one of the people that tried to kill him out at the chalet – he was the driver of the delivery van," Sookie explained as she led them into the nursery.

"Oh, my Goddess!"

"Niall sent them in here to spy on us. You should have seen the pile of bugs I called from the chalet." Sookie put Aubie on the changing table and undid his diaper as Alex watched, transfixed.

"Bugs? Like, microphones?"

"Yep – Eric said there were about ten of them, then they caught the decorator trying to tap Jerry and Amelia's phone. He was in on it, too." She wiped and powdered Aubie, giving him a fresh diaper and a tickle and a hug, then she and Bobbie traded babies.

"The decorator? Who's going to finish the chalet?"

"Well, it's mostly done. I've got to come up with something to tell Giselle, though."

"Tell her he told you he had a family emergency and never came back."

"OK, that would work. Whoa, Alex! Stinky diaper!"

"Thteekee!" he giggled, so Aubie did, too. As she cleaned him up and got the new diaper on him, Alex began to yawn again.

"Are you sleepy, Pookie?"

"Eeah, an Obee."

"Daddy will probably be busy for a while – why don't we take a nap, then Daddy will wake us up when he's done working, OK?"

"Oday."

Sookie tucked Alex into the co-sleeper, but Aubie still wanted to be held, so she took him from Bobbie.

"Bobbie, can you do me a favor?"

"Sure – what do you need?"

"Can you open my laptop there and get my email for me. I know there's stuff I'm supposed to do – I'll just do it up here."

"Is it Kingdom business?" Bobbie was just curious.

"Mostly stuff about decorating – I've got like three choices I need to notify Giselle on and I think Emily left me a question about my New Orleans office, then I think there's something about the Wiccaning in there, too."

"What are you going to wear to that, by the way?" She had the laptop starting up on the side table.

"Alicia says she thinks she's got something perfect that will be in tomorrow or the next day. She called it "hippie formal wear," Sookie laughed as she settled cross-legged on the bed with Aubie still in her arms.

"That sounds perfect. What kind of shoes are you going to wear? You'll need to be able to dance, you know – not ballroom dancing, Pagan dancing around in a big circle or spiral."

"I don't know – I can't dance in Birkies and I know I won't want to wear stilettos. I probably have some low-heeled sandals somewhere. I hope Alicia thought of that."

"You've got time if she didn't. Worse comes to worse, we run to the Mall on Thursday or Friday."

"True. I'll bet she has something, though – she's always on top of stuff," Sookie said confidently as Bobbie handed her the laptop.

"OK, so there are three sets of pictures. Can I drag a picture from one email to another?"

"You should be able to."

"OK, because I'm just going to pick my favorite picture from each set and send that back, then I'm going to tell her about Gerald's emergency and ask her if she has someone else to handle things or if I should just have my regular staff finish up. We're still waiting for electronics tomorrow and for fresh flowers on Wednesday…" Sookie was sort of thinking out loud so Bobbie could follow what she was doing in case she had any suggestions.

"There's not that much left to do, right?"

"Not really. The TVs need to be installed on their brackets or whatever and hooked to the cable, but worse comes to worse, Eric and the guys can do that. I heard Margaret tell Carrie that she'd need her and Lena to do a good once over on the place Wednesday morning, the art work is going up now, Alicia and Margaret usually do the flowers, so we really don't need more help that I know of. I'm not above doing a little cleaning out there if I need to, too," Sookie laughed.

"So, was the decorator human?"

"No – some kind of Daemon, I think, but a different kind than the two other guys. I've never been around them much, so I didn't know what was going on until I picked up on the pictures from the driver."

"Pictures?"

"Yeah, see, with people, I hear words most of the time – their internal dialogue or whatever. With Shifters and Weres, I get mostly a series of pictures. I was picking up pictures out there, but not like from a Were – they were… distorted, or something. Then the third one I could hear just like a human. Gerald was apparently able to block me – but then, I never really tried to listen to him. Maybe if I had, I'd have figured things out sooner. I've got to start scanning everybody we don't know, no matter who sends them."

"Yeah – that took some real planning to get Gerald in here, didn't it?"

"Yeah, that had to be planned a while back, now that I think about it. I got the impression that Giselle had worked with him before."

"Do you know who sent him?"

"I'm sure it was Niall." Sookie finished her email and closed the computer, handing it to Bobbie to put back on the table.

"So he must have been planning to spy on you guys all along."

"That's what I think. Eric will tell me that's typical for a Fae – no wonder he hates them so much."

"Not all of them, Sookie."

"Yeah, he loves me and Alex and Aubie," she laughed. "And I'm supposed to be the Queen of 'em all," she said softly. "I wonder if he can really handle that if I do?"

"He can handle that just as well as you handle him being King of the vampires," Bobbie laughed. "It's all coming together the way it's intended to, kid. Just let the plan unfold."

"Yeah, that's all we really can do," Sookie said as she shifted Aubie so he was lying between her and Alex in the co-sleeper, Sookie facing Bobbie, her head propped up on one hand, the other hand on Aubie's tummy. "So what are you wearing to the Wiccaning?"

They chatted for a while about clothes and spiral dances and nothing in particular, then Bobbie turned the lights off when Sookie dozed off and closed the door.

"Sookie, can you hear me? Sookie?" Eric was speaking softly, shaking her shoulder just a little.

"Hmm? Hey," she gave hm a sleepy smile, "are you all done?"

"Yes, I am – the baby is asking for you,"

"Mmmammma!" Aubie called her again, his little hand patting her breast so she opened her dress and let him feed. Eric spooned up behind them and kissed Sookie's ear, his arm over her resting on Aubie's back.

"So they never report back, right?"

"Right."

"Get any useful information?"

"Yes and no. We learned a lot about dealing with several types of Daemon and Faery, but you told us as much as we learned from them. They owed loyalty to no one – they were purely mercenary."

"I told Giselle that Gerald said he had a family emergency and never came back."

"Good thinking."

"Did you get rid of his car?"

"Yes, it will never be seen again."

"What happens to them when they die?"

"They sort of disintegrate – similar to the way vampires do."

"So there's nothing to find, as usual?"

"Exactly."

"So we can all just finish the chalet ourselves?"

"Do you need my help?"

"Maybe – the TVs and clock radios will be delivered tomorrow, I hope, and you or the guys might need to install the wall brackets and hook up the cable or whatever."

"That's not a problem. What else?"

"That's probably it. The rest will be handled by Alicia, Margaret, Carrie and Lena, then I'll run through and see if there's anything we missed."

"Good. I put your candy dish back, by the way."

"Thanks."

"Did you choose the painting in the living room?"

"The Valkyrie one? Yeah, I did."

"I like it very much," he kissed her cheek and squeezed her shoulder.

"I thought about using it here in the house, but it didn't really go with anything."

"I like it there – a subtle reminder of their host," he laughed.

"That's what I thought. Did Amelia get her paintings hung, too?"

"Jerry is probably doing that as we speak. You might also hear Bjorn hanging a painting tonight. Bobbie saw one you didn't use that she really liked so I told her she could use it in her bedroom."

"Which one?"

"A Dedication to Bacchus."

"Damn – he got into the house anyway…" she said softly.

"What?"

"Nothing. Have the boys been fed at all?"

"I fed Alex before I woke you and he went right back to sleep. By that time Auberon was trying to wake you and he began to fuss when I picked him up, so I decided to wake you and let you feed him."

"He's not as into food as Alex is," Sookie laughed softly, looking Aubie in the eyes and playing with his fingers.

"No, he's not. He'd rather have Mommy than anything else he's offered."

"That's just fine with Mommy, isn't it, Cookie?"

"Cookie?"

"Yep – Alex is Pookie, Aubie is Cookie. I know they don't rhyme."

"But Cookie and Sookie do," he kissed her ear again.

"ha," she laughed softly, "I never thought of that."

"You didn't?"

"No – I completely spaced on it."

"When you are done feeding him, you should eat, my Angel."

"Yeah, I could definitely eat. Is it too late to do a family bath?"

"The boys look awfully comfortable. Are you sure you want to disturb them?"

"Maybe if they wake up later?"

"We'll consider it. For the moment I think you should relax. Were you able to finish your work earlier?" He smoothed her hair back from her face.

"The emails, at least. There's still some stuff in the office that I'll do first thing tomorrow. Do you have things to do?"

"I thought I'd stay here with my beautiful family as long as I can."

"Aww, Sweetie," she turned back a little to kiss him.

"I talked to Dr. Ludwig earlier."

"You did – did you call her?"'

"Yes, actually, I did. I wanted to be sure she knew she was invited here for the little party Wednesday and I had a few questions for her."

"About me?"

"How did you know?"

"It was either me, the kids or you – or all of us."

"Mostly you. I had some questions about how your new skills might affect you."

"You talked about that stuff over the phone?" That didn't seem like a good idea.

"No, Bjorn and I met with her in the den."

"He thinks I can do anything, you know?" she tried to laugh it off.

"Your powers are extensive, Sookie, and not yet fully formed."

"What are you worried about?"

"Word getting around before you are sufficiently developed."

"You mean someone killing me before I'm Goddess enough not to die."

"Yes."

"What did the doctor tell you?"

"Never to skip a dose of your Ambrosia. In fact, she might increase it in a week or so. She's probably going to have you dose before the Wiccaning, at least."

"How would that work?"

"She might start having you take a dose with dinner, then another when I go to rest. That way, you would be at your lowest dose during the day when you're most likely to interact with humans."

"What would happen if a human drank it?"

"It might be fatal."

"Yikes."

"Yes, it's only for those who are already metamorphosing. She'll probably take another blood sample from you when she's here for the party."

"What for?"

"Sookie, did you know that you have no blood type?"

"Huh?"

"Have you ever been told your blood type?"

"No, I never needed a blood transfusion or anything. Why?"

"Your blood is unusual. She told me that even when you first became pregnant, you had no "type" as humans do."

"So it started out weird and it's getting weirder, is that what you're saying?"

"Basically."

"Was I ever human at all?"

"I don't think so. I'm surprised it never came up before."

"I never really got sick. I was never in the hospital until I met Bill and got into all my Supe adventures or fights or whatever. What exactly did the doctor say?"

"Not to be surprised if there are changes."

"Such as?"

"The color."

"The color? Of what – my blood?"

"Yes."

"What color would it be instead?"

"We don't know yet."

"Will you still be able to feed on me if I change so much?"

"Yes, and they believe that you will always have an intoxicating effect on me. In fact, it might get stronger."

"Why don't the boys get high on it?"

"They have half your genes. It inures them to the effect."

"I guess that makes sense."

"They also think that my blood is becoming n intoxicant for you."

"That's why I've been acting drunk or high after sex?"

"Yes."

"Will it hurt either one of us?"

"Just the opposite – they think it will make us stronger and cause us to develop each other's strengths."

"We sort of knew that already."

"Yes, but it is good to have confirmation."

"Anything else?"

"You might have to take a trip or two."

"Where?"

"Fólkvangr."

Sookie lifted Aubie, who was fast asleep, over next to Alex and rolled to face Eric. "Fólkvangr? What, to visit Freyja?"

"Yes."

"So I'd stay where – at Her hall or palace or whatever?"

"Sessrúmnir, yes."

"Would you go, too?"

"Not early on."

"How long would I be gone?"

"Well, that's the problem. It is outside of time…"

"It's not one of those deals where I think I'm there a week and I end up being there a hundred years is it?"

"Possibly."

"I'm not going, then."

"Sookie…"

"Absolutely not."

"Sweetheart…"

"NO, ERIC! If and when I ever go there, you and the boys will be with me or I'm not going."

"If Freyja asks this of you…"

"Forget it. If I'm Freyja then She knows that I will absolutely not leave you three for any length of time. I have to breastfeed the boys. I won't be away from you for any reason."

"But…"

"Watch the boys. I'm going to talk to Her."

"Sookie, you can't yell or be rude…"

"Eric, according to all the rest of you, I'm going to be talking to myself. Now stay with the boys. I'm going to the basement."

"Let me call Bjorn…"

"No. You stay here. I'll be right back."

The next thing Sookie remembered, Eric was giving her a dose of Ambrosia.

"What happened?" she asked as she sat up to drink.

"I was hoping you could tell me, my Angel. Do you know what day it is?"

"It's early Tuesday morning."

"No, Sweetheart, it's early Wednesday morning. You've been missing for over 24 hours."


	99. Chapter 99

**[A/N: People have asked why Sookie disappeared this time when she didn't other times. Her physiology is changing and her abilities are increasing, plus Freyja had different plans this time. People are asking when we get to the Wiccaning – either Chapter 100 or 101, I'm not sure which yet. ]**

**Chapter 99**

"WHAT?"

"Sookie, you have been missing for over 24 hours. We knew where you were, but we were still scared to death."

"But the boys…?"

"…Have been drinking the milk you sent for them and they slept the whole time."

"What milk?"

"Dr. Ludwig brought us 6 bottles of your milk and said to give one to boys every 8 hours, with blood halfway in between, and that they would sleep while you were gone, which they did. They've been fed every four hours."

"Did I miss my Ambrosia?"

"I didn't give you any last night, but Ludwig said you'd have it at Freyja's summit. She told me to give you a cup the minute you got back, which I am, and you're to take it twice a day now."

"How'd I get back?"

"You appeared there with a loud "pop" just a minute ago."

Sookie finished her drink and dropped back down on the mattress, staring at the ceiling. "Where was I?" she said to no one in particular.

"You don't remember?"

"No – the last thing I remember, I was asking you to stay with the boys and I walked out the door and the next thing I remember is you trying to get me to drink just now." She rolled over facing the co-sleeper and caressed each baby's face gently as they lay there looking like angels. "I'm so glad they're OK! When will they wake up?"

"They had their last bottle about an hour ago. It's almost 6 now, so probably around 9 o'clock, as usual."

"And they haven't made a sound?"

"I wouldn't say that – Alex chattered a little when he fed and Aubie asked for "Mama" a few times, but he was soothed by your milk. Ludwig assured me that everything would be back to normal today."

"It's Wednesday?"

"Yes, it is. You should sleep now, Sookie – you have a lot to do today. We're having company tonight, remember?"

"The chalet! Did anything get done?"

"Yes, it's nearly ready. Alicia said they're expecting fresh flowers this morning, then they'll fill the vases and do a final dust and sweep, then you can inspect it and see if it's up to your standards."

"Your majesty?" Jerry called from the stairway.

"Yes, Jerry, come in. I'm just getting ready to go to ground."

Jerry came into the room quietly, very pleased to see Sookie back where she belonged. "Welcome back, your majesty," he said with a big smile as he pet the kitten in its usual spot on the foot of the bed.

"Hey, Jerry. Eric is just filling me in. I don't remember anything."

"It was really quiet around here without you and the boys. I hope things will be back to normal today."

"Dr. Ludwig assured me they would be," Eric told him. "Sookie will sleep now and she and the boys will hopefully get back on schedule." He lifted Sookie gently and she pulled back the covers, all the while he wondered where she got the beautiful pink gown she was wearing, but he didn't mention it. Once she was tucked in, he gave Sookie another lingering kiss, then went around the bed and kissed each baby, leaving Jerry in charge.

As Eric lay waiting for sleep, Freyja showed him where Sookie had been and why. A bloody tear leaked from his eye as he proudly watched her sitting at Freyja's table in such esteemed company, smiling, talking and fitting right in.

As confused as Sookie was, it was surprisingly easy for her to just let go and sleep. She wondered if she had been very active in her absence, because she was bone tired as she rolled on her side and said 'good night' to Jerry.

"_**Don't worry, Sookie – you'll remember before the Wiccaning," Freyja whispered.**_

"Mama!"

Sookie was instantly up, scooping Aubie out of the co-sleeper and putting him to her breast.

"Good morning!" Bjorn said, happy to have her home.

"Hey, Bjorn," she gave him a big smile. "Did you miss me?"

"We all did. I'm just glad the boys slept through it. We were worried about what Aubie might do if you weren't here."

"Yeah, he definitely needs me here," she said with a smile. She gazed into his eyes as they twinkled at her, and she kissed his little palm three times when he reached for her face. "Aubie's glad I'm back, too! Aren't you, Precious? Yeah, you're glad Mommy's home!"

"Where were you, Sookie?" Bjorn was dying to hear the details, though he knew she'd go over it with Octavia later. He told himself he needed to know as head of her security, but it was really just plain curiosity eating at him.

"Well, I can't exactly remember, but I'm getting little flashes of being at a huge celebration at Freyja's home. She just told me I'll remember before the Wiccaning. This sounds crazy, but I'm pretty sure I was there for a week."

"Is time different there than it is here?"

"I do know that much – yes, it is, and I can sort of control it now. I can go there for as long as I need to go, and come back here in a reasonable amount of time because time as we know it doesn't really exist – it's a construct. It won't take a whole day anymore. It did this time because I needed more juice."

"Juice?"

"Yeah, that's what They call Ambrosia."

"Who's "They?""

"The other Goddesses. I was at a… summit, I guess is the word Eric used. They prepared me for the Wiccaning."

"Prepared you how?"

"We did some… training, I guess - We talked, We partied, We did ritual - I can't remember it all but I will. The main thing is that I went, and I know better than to question Freyja now."

"You didn't?"

"I did – I was pretty steamed when I called my circle and that's definitely not a good idea. I had to fight my way through some nasty shit to get there. Keep asking questions – it's helping me remember!" She grinned as she settled on her side looking at Bjorn, Aubie still feeding. She felt fantastic today! The kitten woke up, stretching and padding over to settle in the vacant spot next to Alex.

"Did you go to Her or did She come to you?"

"Well, first, there's no "there" there… it's all HERE. Anyway, when I started my circle She called me – you know, the way I can call the kids and bombs and things – and it was a good thing because I was drawing negative energies. I had to go through a sort of black hole of negative energy. I'm going to have to smudge my room downstairs really well because I could have let any damned thing in there."

"What did you say to Her?"

"I told Her there was no way I was going to be away from my husband and kids. When She got done laughing, She told me I'd do what She wants me to do because I am She and I should know enough to trust Her by now."

"She could have really come down on you, Sookie…"

"Yeah, but She wouldn't because She's me. She just shook me up a little to get my attention and then She taught me how to pretzel time a bit."

"Could you, like, time travel?" Bjorn wanted to know if he understood all of this. Sookie seemed a little bit giddy so he was a little wary of her descriptions just now.

"I just did! It will take time before I really grok it all, but yeah, it's a kind of time travel. Time doesn't exist, so if you really get that, you can manipulate it."

"It doesn't exist?"

"Not the way we experience it, anyway. Imagine that time/space is a tapestry – we just follow one thread our whole lives and never see the whole picture. If you have enough juice, you can skip around from thread to thread and come back pretty close to where you started. Have you ever seen The Matrix?"

"Yeah, I've seen them all."

"OK, in the first movie, remember when Neo takes a big breath in and out and the background contracts and expands with him? Then their bullets don't work because he can slow things down and just pick them out of the air?"

"Yeah."

"Like that, but I have to practice to get really good at it."

Bjorn just looked at her. He had no doubt this was true, but it was still a lot to take in. "Eric and I have been talking about possible uses for your gifts."

"Yeah, I know. I've been thinking about it, too."

"Any ideas?"

"Well, except for emergencies, like when we're under attack, I need to use my gifts thoughtfully. I need to think about the repercussions before I use my powers on others. Karma still applies to an extent, and there's that 7th generation thing."

"Seventh generation thing?"

"Yeah, people think the Native Americans invented that, but they're just the last humans to remember it and practice what is a Universal law. When you do an act of big magick, you should stop to consider how it might affect the next 7 generations, though the Pantheon is considering shortening it to 3 generations now that human technology is so advanced again."

"Again?"

"Yeah, humans have risen to great technological advancement at least 3 times now. The pyramids and Sphinx are remnants of the Second or Third Era, but Christians destroyed all the records of it when they trashed the Library at Alexandria and carried stuff off to Constantinople. That's hard to say. Anyway, we're in the Third or Fourth Era now. History is nowhere near as linear as we're taught it is. We've got a long way to go before we discover anything that hasn't been known before. There's evidence of it all over the place but people who write about it are labeled crackpots."

"What happened before?"

"Weapons of mass destruction. Did you know there's evidence in India of a nuclear explosion that probably happened 10 – 12, 000 years before the common era? Even if humans manage to resist using nukes or something comparable, Natural disasters can set them off – volcanoes, tornados, hurricanes, earthquakes, floods. There's no way to really secure them. Humans have to get smart enough not to allow the creation of technologies that can destroy the world, because eventually, they will. Look at the stupid stuff we do right now – we've got no way to deal with the waste from nuclear energy, but we're still creating it when there are better alternatives. That kind of stupidity has destroyed greater civilizations than ours. People need to wake up."

"Who told you all this stuff, Sookie?"

"This woman named Hypatia…"

"Hypatia?" Bobbie came in the door with two little bottles of blood. "Did you read something about Hypatia, Sookie? Welcome back, by the way."

"Hey, Bobbie – no, I met her at Freyja's castle or whatever. She's really smart."

"THE Hypatia?"

"Maybe – she was murdered by a bunch of Christians in Egypt in the 5th century."

"That's the one – was it her ghost or something?"

"No, the gods made her an immortal because she was such a great spirit and intellectual. She could have reincarnated, but they decided the humans didn't deserve her after they treated her so horribly. I don't know the gory details, but Freyja assured me they were extremely gory."

"I'll say – they flayed her flesh from her bones with abalone shells and burned the pieces, all while she was still alive."

"EWWW! Why would anyone do that to another person?"

"Because she was an intelligent woman in the way of the patriarchy. That was the beginning of the end of the old world. The all-male hierarchy of the Church went on a killing spree directed at women and "heretics" that lasted from the 5th century up though at least the 1700's – though actual Witch hunts still go on in Africa and parts of the Middle East today. In the mean time, once the library was raided and destroyed, most of the true intellectuals flocked to Constantinople where the remnants were stashed and left a complete "brain drain" in the West. Arab culture flourished for a while because of it but Western culture went from the "Golden Age" into the Dark Ages in a hurry."

"So, she didn't commit a crime or anything…?"

"No, she dared to presume to teach men, which was not illegal in Alexandria, though some believe it was also because she was Pagan. There's no record that tells for sure what her religion was. Some preacher got his flock all riled up and they found her in the streets and slaughtered her, so it's probable she was a Pagan."

"I don't know what it was then, but now, she's a Goddess worshiper."

"I'll bet – so you were actually at Freyja's great hall?"

"Yeah, for about a week."

"But it only took you a day? Did She teach you to shift time or something?"

"Yep, but I need more juice and more practice to get good at it."

"Juice is apparently what the Goddesses call Ambrosia," Bjorn explained.

"I thought it was "nectar?"" Bobbie asked

"That's what it is, but amongst themselves, the Goddesses call it "juice." I had a lot of it there, I think. I remember drinking it out of a golden goblet."

"Real gold?"

"Oh, yeah – there's nothing fake in Freyja's realm. It's beautiful there, too. Is it possible I remember sheets embroidered with actual gold thread?"

"Yeah, that wouldn't surprise me at all. It wouldn't be possible here, but there, I'm sure it would be," Bobbie confirmed. "Have you written any of this down?"

"No, I just woke up and Bjorn was asking me questions and that was helping me remember."

"Here's your book, Hon, make notes while we talk!" Bobbie gave her the black journal from her tote bag.

"OK, thanks. Let's see, now there were 13 of us at the table…"

"Thirteen Goddesses?"

"No, there were 8 Goddesses including me, then there were 5 elders from the council for a total of 13. I hope I can remember them all."

"Ok, so it was you, Freyja, Hypatia…"

"Right – she's an elder. There was a British Witch lady named Sybil…"

"Sybil Leek?"

"Yeah, that's her! And another English woman called Violet, but she was known as Dion, something…"

"Dion Fortune?"

"Yeah, exactly! And Penelope, who was in Las Vegas that time…"

"She was a Vestal, right?" Bobbie was eating this up – it was SO COOL!

"Yeah, and Tonantzîn was there, again, too. The rest of it is fuzzy right now, but She promised I'd remember before the Wiccaning."

"Make a list of 8 and 5 in your book and fill them in as you remember."

"OK, one, two…" Sookie counted out loud as she made the chart Bobbie suggested.

"So, Alicia said we're expecting Egyptian royalty this weekend?"

"Yeah, Prince Badru Bast and his wife Amunet, who is so cool, I can't begin to tell you. OH! That reminds me, Bastet was there!"

"For real? Did She have the head of a cat?"

"Sometimes, and there's a cat headdress that She sometimes wears, but mostly She had this really beautiful face with golden cat's eyes. There were a lot of cats there – I remember that much. They had the run of the place and were lots of fun."

"Freyja has cats, too, right?"

"Yeah, big ones with heavy fur for living in the snow. She loves the cold."

"Was there snow there?"

"No, it was summer time – no, that's' not right… _SUMMERLAND _is what They called it!"

"That's where Pagans believe we go when we die," Bobbie said with surprise.

"Well, yeah, it's where Freyja takes Her pick of the fallen warriors, so that makes sense, right?"

"Yeah, I just didn't know you could go there when you're alive…"

"You can't. I'm not technically alive anymore, but I'm not dead or immortal yet, either. I'm in transition."

"When will you finish?"

"She said probably in three years, because I need to breast feed the babies."

"The two you've got or the girl, too?"

"Her, too. Freyja definitely wants a daughter out of this deal. She asked me once if it was so much to ask for all the gifts I've been given. When you put it that way, I guess I do kind of owe it to Her."

"But you'd like that, too, right, Sookie?" Bobbie couldn't believe Sookie would take it as an obligation.

"Of course I would. I just hope they aren't all real close together. I don't think I could juggle feeding three babies and I don't want to wean the boys too early."

"She'll work it out, Sookie," Bjorn said with absolute certainty, "it will all happen in perfect time."

"Yeah, and you know Eric will be beside himself whenever it does happen," Bobbie laughed.

"Ain't that the truth. He'd love it if I was pregnant right now!" Sookie laughed

Alex sat up rubbing his eyes. "Ah, Mamee!"

"Hi, Sweetie! Do you want to eat?"

"Ahm undwy por bwepuss. As' Mahdwid, pweezth!"

"You don't want Mommy eat?" Sookie was surprised at that.

"Nah, wan bwepuss an Borhd!"

"OK, then," Sookie reached for the button and called the kitchen.

"Yes, Mrs. Northman?"

"Good morning! Alex is asking for breakfast and I'd like something to eat, too, please?"

"We've been working on it – Alicia will be up with it directly."

"Thanks! OK, Pookie, it's on its way!"

"Dayoo!" Alex said with a smile as he zipped out of his crib and flew over to Bjorn. "Ah, Borhd!"

"Hey, Buddy. Are you ready for breakfast?"

Alex put a palm against each of Bjorn's cheeks so he had to look him right in the eye. "Eeah – wiwoo peed me bwepuss, pweezth?"

"Yep, just as soon as Alicia brings it."

"Oday. Ah, Babee!"

"Good morning, Pookie! How are you today?"

"Dood! Wandoo doe sthimmeen!"

"You have to ask Mommy about that. You're having company tonight for your party."

"Wadiz pahdy?"

"A party is when you have cake and ice cream and get presents!"

"Ah wyg dayt and pweznan!" he said brightly. He was definitely up for dompamy!

"You'll like ice cream, too. You just wait!" Bobbie teased him

"Ee dayt por bwepuss?"

"No, Sweetie," Sookie said, "we have cake after dinner and Papaw will be here and Dr. Ludwig and Bill and Pam."

"Oday. Doo nap-pee, Babee!" Alex patted his bottom to show he wanted to be changed.

"New nappy? You want a fresh diaper?"

"Eeah, pweezth."

Bobbie laughed and took him from Bjorn, giving him a kiss and a tickle and making him squeal with laughter as they went into the nursery. Aubie looked around to see where Alex went.

"You want to go with Buddy, Aubie?"

"Nah! Mama!"

"You want to stay with Mommy?"

"Ah!"

"Want Mommy to take you for a new nappy?"

"Ah!"

Sookie noticed what she was wearing for the first time as she started to get up – a filmy chiffon gown of delicate pink. "Wow – where'd this come from?"

"What?"

"This gown… did Eric dress me in it?"

"No, that's what you came back in, according to Jerry, Eric just put you under the covers as you were. Your blue dress was still in the circle after you disappeared."

"It was?"

"Yep. Eric was a little freaked out by that in particular. He hoped you were clothed wherever you were."

Sookie closed her eyes and tried to remember. "Yeah, I see myself in gowns, I think. Some of them were really gorgeous. I remember this really ornate gold and white bedroom with a huge canopy bed, and there was a rack of gorgeous gowns that all fit me perfectly. There's no such thing as casual wear in that world," Sookie laughed, "we all wore gowns all the time we were there, except I slept naked because the sheets were so soft…"

"You actually slept while you were there?"

"Yep, everyone did, but they didn't have to. It's another way to indulge yourself, like drinking goblets of juice and feasting and lounging in the Roman baths or tepidarium."

"What's a tepidarium?"

"It's sort of like a sauna, but dry. We'd all lie around in there for a bit and then we'd go to the caldarium then back to the tepedarium, then on to the frigidarium."

"The what?"

"The caldarium is a hot bath – you dunk in it and rub perfumed oil on yourself and scrape it off, then you mellow out in the tepidarium, then you go to the frigidarium, which is basically just a swimming pool. We'd stay in there for hours just chatting and talking, wearing nothing but a sheet or a towel if anything at all – it was all women so no one really worried about it. It was awesome," Sookie laughed as she managed to get up and take Aubie into the nursery.

Bjorn was just shaking his head. She was acting like this was all no big deal, like it was the most natural thing in the world to disappear for a day and spend a week with a bunch of Goddesses. He wondered what new skills she learned in her absence, because he was pretty sure that was the reason for her visit.

By the time the boys had fresh diapers, Alicia was there with breakfast. Sookie noticed they were sending quite a bit of food for Alex now and she had a small dish of apples for Aubie, which he ate happily as long as Sookie fed them to him. She held him up to her shoulder with her left arm while she ate with her right. She knew he just needed a little reassurance today, and since they didn't know how he would react to seeing Niall, she decided to keep him right with her all day so he'd feel safe and loved. He wrapped his little arms around her neck and lay his head on her shoulder, pouring love and happiness into the bond.

"So, I guess the boys didn't have a bath yesterday?" Sookie asked as she shifted Aubie so he could eat. Bobbie leaned over and cut Sookie's waffles up for her so she could eat one-handed, and Sookie smiled and thanked her.

"No, we just left them in bed except when they were feeding," Bobbie told her, "I fed Aubie every time since he seems more comfortable with me."

"Thanks, Bobbie – he does like you a lot, don't you, Cookie?"

"Ah!" Aubie said as he sat on Sookie's lap. He was pretty sure she was talking about Bobbie but whatever she meant, Mama had him so all was right in Aubie's world.

"Sthimmeen, Mamee," Alex said with his mouth full, not wanting Sookie to forget about that.

"What's it like outside today?" Sookie asked, considering it.

"It's pretty nice out," Bobbie told her. "I was thinking maybe we should play in the pool early, then you can take the boys in for showers and dressing around four o'clock, then they'll nap until dinner time."

"That's not a bad idea. I'll need to check the chalet at some point…"

"They'll nap around lunch time, so do it then. You aren't going to find any problems out there, Hon, Alicia worked like a fiend yesterday to get it the way you wanted it."

"What about the TVs and clocks and such?"

"Eric, Jerry and I took care of that last night," Bjorn told her. "Eric is crazy fast with all that cable/satellite stuff so everything is hooked up and each bedroom has a small stereo in it, too, and satellite radio."

"So everybody stayed busy, huh?"

"It kept them from freaking out about you being gone," Bobbie explained, "Eric knew you were in good hands, but he was still freaked because you'd been so angry when you went downstairs."

"Yeah, I can see that. I'm sorry I scared everybody."

"Don't be sorry, Sookie, just learn from it and don't question Freyja again," Bjorn told her. He had been nearly as crazed as Eric while she was gone, but he wouldn't tell her that.

"I won't. I got to really know Her while I was there and I trust Her. One afternoon we just lay in Her huge bed and napped and talked. I know She has all our best interests at heart. In a way, this is Her dream come true, too."

"It is?" Bobbie asked

"Yeah – She loved Eric so much and She wanted to always be with him and to be able to give him babies and just be a wife to him, but it just wasn't possible for a lot of reasons. This way, She gets to do all of that without abdicating any power and she enjoys it just as much. She particularly likes it when we all play in the pool. She said She had no concept of how much fun I would have with the babies during the day, or how wonderful it would be when it was just me and Eric in the pool at night. She's happier right now than She has been in several millennia."

"Wow – that's great!" Bobbie was thrilled for Sookie. If Freyja was happy, Sookie was more likely to keep all the blessings that she had.

"Octavia will want a full briefing on all this stuff, Sookie. Make sure you've got all this in your book there, and let's get going downstairs. I think some time in the pool would do everybody good," Bjorn said. He'd be very happy indeed to see everybody in the pool having fun where he could keep an eye on them. He loved watching the girls all play with the babies and splash around. It made him feel "at home" in a way nothing ever had before. This was the first time in his life that he ever considered himself to be part of a family. Sookie caught that last thought and smiled to herself. She was glad to know Bjorn considered this home.

"Make sure you take a terry cover-up so you can run up to the chalet later, Sookie," Bobbie suggested.

"Good idea. There are a lot of new guards around." Sookie remembered that Rafael might be around and he made her skin crawl. She could definitely live without him seeing her in a bikini.

"Hey, Abie! You know what time it is?"

"Ah!" he said, already giggling. Alex flew back to Sookie and they had their time "dantheen" as Sookie sang "Rock Around the Clock," then ended with tickles and kisses all around.

Alicia came back in and helped the girls get everything ready to migrate downstairs, and they all took the elevator down to the kitchen.

"Hey, Margaret! Great breakfast!" Sookie said cheerfully as she bopped through the kitchen with Aubie in her arms, Bjorn with Alex, Bobbie and Alicia following behind with Sookie's tray and totebag.

"I'm glad you enjoyed it, Missus. It's nice to have you back!"

"Thanks!" Sookie called back as she headed out the back door. It was a glorious day and Sookie and the boys were all very relieved to be in the water. Aubie didn't want to get into a float by himself but he was tickled beyond belief when Sookie put him into one behind Alex. "Hold on to Buddy, Aubie, here we go!" Sookie urged him as she pulled them around in the water. The bond was singing with happiness, Aubie being thrilled to ride with Bumby and Alex feeling proud understanding Aubie looked up to him as he did. Sookie was beside herself with happiness and actually had to wipe away tears, she loved them so much, but then she got the oddest feeling that Eric could see them and was happy, too.

"Eh, Dadee?"

"DADA!"

Sookie looked around – no, Eric wasn't up. Was he dreaming about them playing in the sun again?

"Hey, guys, can you say, "we love you, Daddy?"

"We wuvoo, Dadee!"

"Ee uhba, nDada!"

"That's really good! I think Daddy heard us."

"Eeah!"

"Ah!"

Sookie wrapped her arms around them both and kissed them on the heads, making them giggle, then she pulled them around some more until Alex said, "sthimmeen, Mamee."

"Point him in this direction, Sookie," Amelia laughed, rolling off her mattress to catch Alex. Sookie took him out of the float and pointed Alex in her direction and he was off like a shot.

"Whoo!" Sookie shouted playfully, and Aubie tried to copy her, "ooh!" and cracked everybody up. "That was really good, Aubie. You want to swim like Buddy?"

"Ah!" he said with a bounce, so she took him out of the float and put him in the water in front of her, backing up and saying, "come to Mommy!" He paddled his little heart out, catching up to her every time, getting better and better as he swam. When she thought he was tiring, she scooped him up with hugs and kisses and he giggled like crazy and threw his little arms around her neck. She snuggled him for a minute and he yawned, and she looked at Amelia, "Aubie's getting sleepy. How's Alex?"

"He's trying not to yawn, but he's about played out, too."

"OK, let's take them out and dry them off and I'll feed them and they'll nap for a bit."

"Naah!"

"Are you saying 'no,' Aubie?" Sookie teased him as they headed for the steps out of the pool.

"Nah, naah!"

"Nap – are you saying nap?"

"Ah!" he said with an enthusiastic bounce.

Bjorn handed her a towel as they came out of the pool and she wrapped it around him as she talked to him. "Do you like naps, Sweetie?"

"Ah! Bumby naah!"

"You and Buddy want to take a nap?"

"Ah!" Aubie pointed to the playpen inside the sliding doors.

"Yeah, that's where you take your naps, isn't it?"

"Ah!"

"Do you want to eat first?"

"Ah, ee!" Aubie said in a playful, high-pitched voice as he clapped his hands and Sookie kissed him.

Amelia brought Alex out and Bjorn helped her wrap him in a towel, taking him from her so she could go in and make a phone call. Bobbie came out with two cold bottles of apple juice that were a big hit with the babies, though they wanted to feed from Sookie, too. Bobbie helped her get settled with them on her lap, and sat in the back chair at the table between Sookie and Bjorn, staying close to help Sookie as she needed.

They all chatted quietly and in no time at all, Aubie was out. Alex lasted another ten minutes, but he was sleeping very deeply when Sookie tucked the two boys into the playpen with the kitten, then ran up to the chalet to look around. Alicia was finishing the last two flower arrangements when she got there, having bunches of blue, yellow, purple and pink flowers of several kinds and a lot of baby's breath stems spread out on paper on the kitchen counter.

"Wow – nice flowers!" Sookie said appreciatively as she looked at what Alicia was doing in a gorgeous crystal vase.

"Thanks. This will go in the dining area. I've already put flowers in every bedroom and then this bunch in the black vase will go in the living room."

"Will there be any flowers left for my house?"

"You've got fresh pink roses in your living room, dining room and bedroom and there are small arrangements in everyone's bedrooms and the den. We did all that while you were in the pool."

"Thank you so much, Alicia. You guys are the best!" Sookie hugged her shoulders a little and Alicia patted her hand.

"Why don't you run through and look at everything. I think you'll be very pleased," Alicia encouraged her.

That sounded like a great idea to Sookie so she headed up the stairs in the middle of the living area and checked out each bedroom up top. The bathroom sparkled and had some basic toiletries in it – Olay soap, Pantene shampoos and conditioners in the shower, the medicine cabinet stocked with bars of Olay soap, a package of razors for men, one for women, spray deodorant for men, a roll-on deodorant for women, aspirin, ibuprofen, Nyquil, hairspray, Pepto-Bismol, Olay Regenerist cleansers and moisturizers for the face, a small can of baby powder, a box of assorted band-aids, Neosporin, Rembrandt tooth paste, a compact with powder foundation in a neutral color, a small jar of Carmex lip balm, a really neat little makeup kit that folded out and had about anything a girl could want in it – Sookie made a note to ask where Alicia got that because it was really cool – a little mug with tweezers, nail clippers for fingers and toes, cuticle nippers and pushers, and even an eyelash curler, plus a wide-toothed comb, a hairbrush and a little clear plastic box of bobby pins. Sookie opened a little pink case and found a nice assortment of cosmetic brushes. A person could literally show up here with no luggage at all and be quite comfortable and polished, and Sookie knew that was the idea. If they ever had an emergency, Pam or whoever could shelter here and need nothing but the clothes on their back. Sookie laughed to herself about the Regenerist products – was that a joke? She knew they were good products, but she wondered if that wasn't a little pun on Alicia or Margaret's part since vampires do regenerate. Sookie was going to ask for some of that stuff in her bathroom, too!

She went into each bedroom and found more interesting items – each armoire had a men's jogging suit size large, and two simple pull-over knit dresses, one in navy and one in black, size medium, plus a cream cashmere sweater with pearl buttons and blue his and hers cashmere robes. The dressers had a pair of panty hose and black leggings, a package of bikini panties size medium and a pink terry wrap-around for after the shower in the top left drawers, the top right drawers had men's socks, a package of briefs, a roll of duct tape and a small electric razor. Each dresser had a basket on top that had sock-type slippers, a new kind of slipper made for women to keep in their bag so they could change out of stiletto heels – another thing Sookie wanted – plus all the usual amenities, like baby powder, a small bottle of baby lotion, shower "puffs", new tooth brushes, combs, brushes, razors, safety pins, a sewing kit, a roll of clear tape, a pair of scissors, a package of hair barrettes, a tin of breath mints, a package of condoms and a package of double A batteries.

The nightstands had candles, matches, a flashlight and a disposable cell phone in the top drawers. Sookie realized that they were prepared for war. She didn't want to think about the boxes she'd seen the guards sneaking into the old servants' quarters, and she knew better than to ask Eric or Bjorn about them. All of this did remind her, though, that she needed to see the file on Jubal Garner. She headed back out to the house and found Bjorn in the den watching the boys.

"Bjorn – I need to see the file on the head of New Centurion."

"You want it now?"

"Yes, I want to know what we're up against."

"Stay with the boys and I'll go get it. Jerry is in the kitchen if you need him."

"Thanks." She sat in the recliner and watched the boys sleep while she waited. Bjorn had moved the playpen in front of the recliner away from the glass doors when they came in so they were right in front of her. They looked so sweet lying there, with their delicate white skin and whitish blonde hair. It had been more golden when they were born but now it was becoming white, though Sookie wondered if it was being lightened by spending so much time outside. They didn't really tan, but they did get a little color from their time outside. Eric could always tell when they'd been out, she smiled to herself, and she mused on the fact that she was pretty sure that he'd been able to see them out there earlier. What would you call that? It's not really telepathy. She knew she could always see Bjorn come in from the kitchen so she went in there to see if any of her Witches were around. Sure enough, Octavia was sitting there having a cup of coffee.

"Morning, Octavia! Hey, Jerry!"

"Good morning, Queenie. I see you've already been in the pool?"

"Yeah, and I looked over the chalet, so we're good to go. When the boys get up, I'll take them for showers and have them dressed before Eric gets up."

"What time is your company getting here?"

"Bill will get here any time now, and Niall and Dr. Ludwig are coming at 7:30. I'm not sure if Pam is coming yet or not…"

"She's planning on it," Jerry told them.

"Oh, good!" Sookie was glad to hear that. She wanted Pam to know the boys well since she was so important to Eric. "Octavia, is there a word for being able to see something happening somewhere else?"

"You mean through scrying or just seeing it in your mind?"

"In your mind."

"Yeah, that's called clairvoyance. That word means 'clear vision.'"

"OK, cool…"

"That happen to you?"

"No, but I think it's happening to Eric. When we were outside, I could swear he was watching us play in the pool, just like his dream…"

"So you think when he's resting he can actually see you and the boys playing in the pool?"

"Yeah, I do."

"Did you do anything we can test that with? Something he'd only know if he actually did see you?"

"Yeah, I had the boys try to say "we love you, Daddy," and I swear I felt him react in the bond."

"OK, so you tell him nothing about today when he gets up later and we'll see if he actually remembers that. That would be a mighty big advantage for him to have, even if it only works where you and the boys are concerned."

"Have you ever heard of a vampire with that?"

"Clairvoyance? No, I never have, but that doesn't mean there aren't some. You need to ask Dr. Ludwig about that. Vamps guard their secrets pretty closely, but she'd definitely know. She needs to know about all this stuff happening with you two. When can you go over what happened to you yesterday?"

"As soon as I read this file Bjorn went to get me."

"A security file?"

"Yeah, about Jubal Garner."

Octavia nodded, "good idea. The more you know, the better."

"That's what I thought," Sookie said as Bjorn came in the back door and handed her the file. Bjorn went over to the coffee pot and got himself a cup.

"I'll be in with the boys, Sookie. Let me know when you're done with that so I can make sure it's secure," Bjorn told her as he passed back to the den.

"OK, thanks," Sookie said as she began to read. Garner's military background was extensive, going back to Desert Storm where he was involved with some shady stuff that was investigated by congress, but they never did anything about it. From that point forward, he seemed to be on the fringes of a lot of questionable situations in the Middle East, Haiti and South America, which all culminated in the formation of New Centurion and their subsequent involvement in Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan. "Pakistan?"

Jerry nodded, "Pakistan."

"I thought they were just using drones there?"

"That's the official story. Garner's people are considered contractors, not military, so they can be involved without any acknowledgement of military activity."

"Who do they answer to?"

"Nobody."

"Huh?"

"That's the thing," Jerry explained, "they're just paid contractors. No one in our government or any other really has jurisdiction over them. They get involved with a massacre or get caught smuggling, they transfer them out of country and nothing ever happens to them."

"That's why congress is investigating them, right?"

"Yeah, but until somebody comes to an agreement, nothing is likely to happen."

"What kind of agreement?"

"Whether they're subject to our laws or theirs. If the US would join the International Criminal Court, they'd have jurisdiction, but our government won't agree to cooperate with them."

"Why not?"

"We like being in control of things, basically, and we won't allow them to hold our people accountable to international law."

"Why not?"

"We've got several former officials who could be tried for war crimes if they did."

"War crimes?"

"Yeah, Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, at least, probably a few others. Charges have been filed in other countries once or twice, but so far they haven't stuck. If we belonged to the ICC, they'd have already been charged. This administration is doing all kinds of acrobatics to try and keep that from happening."

"If they're wrong, why not let them be tried for it?"

"That's the question a lot of people have. We aren't policing ourselves the way we should be."

"Is it ever possible that another country could go after them?"

"Yeah, it's been tried and it's not going away. There's some speculation that they're waiting for Cheney's heart to give out, then they'll pin it all on him posthumously so they can keep the others from standing trial over it."

"Do people know about this stuff?"

"Some, but not enough. Most people have no concept of how deep or ugly things have been over there for the last decade or so. If people really understood the situation, I have to believe they'd be sick over it. I can't accept that we're so uncaring in this culture that we'd be OK with torturing and killing people under any circumstance, but especially when we know some of them were detained improperly and had nothing to do with the war. Some of it is just sick – stuff they did to old women, under-aged boys – stuff you don't even want to imagine."

"Is there proof of it?"

"Yeah, Sy Hersh of the New Yorker and some other journalists have reported on it and seen the photographs and all, and congress has seen them, but they haven't done anything."

"I can't believe it!"

"Believe it," Octavia said, "People stop thinking when they're scared. Get people scared enough and they'll let you get away with murder, literally, if they think you'll keep them safe, even if you failed to do it before. Never underestimate the power of fear, Sookie. It will drive normal people to do unspeakable things. Have you done any reading on the Inquisitions yet?"

"Not really."

"It might be time for that, and for a little Mary Daly, too. Daly will seem very extreme to you, but you need a little streak of anger about what women have been through over the years to keep you moving forward. Too many women these days got it a little better than they did a few decades ago and figure that's enough – they think there is no patriarchy anymore. That's dangerous thinking, because we've still got a long way to go. Too many of the Third Wave practice what I call "white chick feminism."

Sookie laughed at that. "White chick feminism?"

"Yeah, you see it mostly in white girls of the middle to upper classes. They've never experienced in-your-face discrimination, so they think it doesn't exist. They think feminism is about who picks up the check or who opens the door, or whether they should work or stay home with their kids. It doesn't occur to them that feminism is about making sure a woman can get a job when she doesn't have a choice and that she can get paid a fair wage for it. It's about providing care for her kids when she's raising them alone. Patriarchy wants women to be dependent on their husbands, then it turns around and abandons a woman when the husband walks out on her and the kids. It keeps them enslaved and dependent. Feminism is about social justice at its core. Think of it this way – women are always more than 50% of the population, and they usually have primary care, if not custody, of the kids, right?"

"Right?"

"So if the women are impoverished, or mistreated, that's more than 2/3 of the population living in misery. The state of the women in a culture IS the state of the culture. The media wants you to think it's how high the highest in the social structure can go, but it' not – it's about how low the lowest part of the social hierarchy falls. We're the richest nation in history – why are people dying for lack of health care? Why do we have the infant mortality rate of a Third World country? Why are we the only industrialized nation where you can die for no other reason than lack of insurance?"

"It's greed, right? Because things are run based on greed rather than what's fair or good…"

"Or even functional. The simplest things in this country – things like the food you eat, for example – are tainted with greed."

"So with a guy like Garner," Sookie looked at the file in front of her, "is it his greed or the greed of others…?"

"He and a few other people make money from war. Companies like KBR – Halliburton - make millions of dollars doing shoddy work that really ought to be done by soldiers making a fraction of the money they do, but the owners of the companies are the ones who give big political contributions. Your man there, I guarantee, is putting a lot of money into just the right pockets in Washington. Nobody that should stop him will. A few will try, but they're outnumbered and don't have the financial resources it would take to fight the big money interests backing him."

"Nobody that should stop him will…" Sookie said, almost to herself, still looking through the files. "He's got kids."

"How many and how old?"

"One is 25 and in Afghanistan, and there's one that's 16 an in military school."

"Both training to be just like their daddy, no doubt."

"Exactly," Jerry said. "Garner is in this for the long haul. He fully intends to make sure his kids carry on his work after he's gone, but he's not planning to go anywhere any time soon. Look at the section on his personal security, Sookie. Nobody gets near the guy. Even when he testifies before congress, the room is full of his soldiers, whether they know it or not. His houses are like fortresses."

"Yeah. I see the diagram here. They've got radar, so even a flier couldn't get in there undetected," Sookie said, obviously thinking that it would be too risky for Eric to try to get in there. It was becoming clear to Sookie that the only one that might get near Garner was she. "He's got heavy duty military training himself, right?"

"Yeah, I wouldn't want to face him. Eric could probably take him but I don't know who would win if it was him against Bjorn. Bjorn is a little bigger but their training is pretty evenly matched."

"I don't see a page on Garner's wife here…"

"She died ten years ago under mysterious circumstances," Jerry said as he turned to the page that had the information for Sookie.

"Found dead in their pool. She was barely 30?"

"Yep. She was his second wife. The first one died of cancer when the boys were 5 and 14."

"Well, we know he didn't cause that…" Sookie caught a glance between Octavia and Jerry. "OK, what…"

"It's just a theory…" Jerry said.

"What theory?"

"Have you ever seen JFK, Sookie?" Octavia asked her.

"Yeah, I have – why?"

"Well, there have been four basic ways people who know things they shouldn't tend to die – car accidents, plane crashes, lone assassins and cancer."

"So, you're telling me that there's a conspiracy theory that there's some way to kill people with cancer?"

"Or something like it, yes," Jerry confirmed.

"Jerry, you really think this is possible?"

"More importantly, Sookie, Bjorn thinks it's possible, and Bjorn might actually know for sure and not be able to tell us."

"Because it would be classified if he did know?"

"Right."

Sookie looked through the folder a bit more then gave it to Bjorn when he came back in and sat down. She was being very quiet, and the others just let her think about things because they knew she was putting it all together.

"OK, one more question," she finally spoke, "why only Garner? If he's stopped, won't some other contractor fill in where he is now?"

"In the wars, yes, where vampires are concerned, not necessarily. It's his fanaticism that puts him into conflict with us," Bjorn explained. "His affect on the rest of the world is secondary to us. He has set himself against us by targeting us. We've been lucky with them so far, Sookie – that was a fluke in Dallas, you figuring out what was up in time to put a stop to it, and having the ability to do it. There are too many variables to account for every possibility every time, everywhere we go. We're only getting the people following orders – we've got to stop the orders at their source."

"OK, let me think about this and talk to Freyja about it."

"OK, Hon," Bjorn smiled and patted her shoulder as he stood up and took the file back out to their safe in the headquarters. "The boys are awake," he called back to Sookie as he went out the back.

Sookie went into the den as both boys came floating up out of the playpen. "There are my baby boys!" She wrapped her arms around them and each snuggled up to her shoulders, still sleepy. She took them into the kitchen as Amelia and Bobbie came in from the back and they all spent about an hour talking about the bits Sookie could remember about her trip. Bobbie took Alex from her so Sookie could call her journal down and show Octavia the list she had started of the 8 Goddesses and 5 elders.

"You say answering questions was helping you remember?" Octavia asked as she looked at the incomplete list.

"Yeah."

"OK, were there any black Goddesses there?"

"Well, yeah, Yemaja is black…"

"YEMAJA?" Octavia was shocked

"Yeah, you know Her?"

"Yes, Honey, I do. That's big power right there, girl, have no doubt! She's one of the Orishas in Voudon – the Seven African Powers."

"OK, and then there were Inanna, who was very dark but not really black and Benten was Japanese and OH, YEAH – she said you'd know her – Marie Laveau, the first, she said, not her daughter."

"Marie Laveau was there? Holy Goddess!"

"Yeah, she's sort of in charge of HooDoo and Voudoo and stuff here in the South. She says you're doing a great work."

"A great work, or just great work?"

"She specifically said A great work and she said you'd know what she was talking about."

"OK, good to know. So we've got 5 elders – Penelope, Hypatia, Violet, Sybil and Marie?

"Right."

"And 8 Goddesses – Freyja, Tonantzîn, Yemaja, Inanna, Bastet, Benten and?"

"Aphrodite!"

"OK, that's 7. Who's number 8?"

"Me," Sookie said then she blanched a little at saying such a thing about herself.

"Don't wilt, Child. That's exactly right – you were number 8. Did Freyja have a name for this group?"

"She said it was a summit."

"Good word for it," Octavia laughed, "did you do ritual?"

"Yeah, but I can't remember anything except drinking from a copper chalice."

"What were you drinking?"

"Uh…" it was right on the tip of her tongue but she couldn't remember. "I don't know. It's right there, but it won't come out!" Sookie laughed.

"She told you that you'll remember before the Sabbat, though, yes?"

"Yes."

"Don't worry about it, then."

"Excuse me, Mrs. Northman?" Alicia came in from Sookie's office.

"Yeah?"

"It's almost 5 o'clock. If you're going to shower and bathe the boys…"

"Yeah, I better get moving."

"Need help in the shower with them, Sookie?"

"Yeah, Bobbie, please? I've never done this with two of them," she laughed and they took the elevator up to the third floor. Amelia went to do a very quick shower and Octavia decided to rest a bit before she got dressed for dinner.

"Are you guys ready to get cleaned up so we're ready for your party?" Sookie teased the boys as she and Bobbie took them in the elevator. "Yeah, you're having a party tonight! So we're going to take a shower…"

"Sthowa!" Alex liked the sound of that. Aubie's eyes got big because Bumby obviously thought whatever it was was a good idea , so he looked at Sookie with big eyes to see what was next. He was definitely happy when Mama took them into the nursery and dropped their diapers off, but didn't put them back on.

"Wawa!" Aubie said hopefully, trying to remember the word for bath.

"Yeah, water, but we're going to take a shower this time! Yeah, we'll have a nice shower!" Sookie teased him and kissed him.

When they got into the bathroom, Sookie and Bobbie decided the smart thing to do was to put a couple of towels in the bathtub to cushion it, and sit the boys there, then Bobbie would hand them in to Sookie one at a time for their showers. Sookie got into the shower and the boys reacted to the noise of the water.

"Wada! Sthowa!"

"Yep, hang on, Alex, Mommy needs just a minute, then you go in the shower with her first, OK?" Bobbie chatted with them.

Aubie was waving his little arms around furiously so Bobbie offered her hands and let him use them to pull himself up to a sitting position like Bumby. "Yay, Aubie! Good job!"

"What's he doing, Bobbie?"

"He's sitting up with just a little help from me."

"Good job, Aubie!"

"Sthowa, Mamee!"

"Hang on, Alex, just let me wash my hair, OK?"

"Dadee nah wath id?"

"No, today we need to be dressed before Daddy wakes up, OK?"

"Oday!"

Bobbie folded up another towel and put it behind Aubie in case he fell back while she was handling Alex.

"OK, Bobbie, I'm ready for Alex."

"OK, Alex, here we go."

Aubie watched with his mouth open as Bobbie handed Alex in to Sookie who he could see was standing under a bunch of wawa! He was transfixed, trying to figure out what was going on, but Bumby was sending fun vibes into the bond so he knew this was a good thing. Sookie washed Alex quickly, starting with his hair, then the rest of his body, then she handed him back to Bobbie who was waiting for him with a dry towel. Bobbie wrapped Alex up tight and laid him back on the towels in the tub, then picked Aubie up.

"OK, Aubie, your turn now! Ready, Mama?"

"Ready!" Sookie reached out for him with a big smile and Aubie went to her happily, fascinated with the wawa falling from above them. Sookie swung him in and out of the water a little bit, which thrilled and surprised him, then she washed his head with her soft hands just like he liked and she rubbed that white thing all over him and rinsed him in the warm water and then before he knew it he was wrapped in a soft towel, lying next to Bumby, feeling fantastic. He saw Mama get out of the wawa and wrap a big white thing around her self and watched fascinated as she combed out her hair. When she picked him up and did that same thing to his head he wasn't even scared because he'd seen her do it and it didn't seem to hurt.

Mama carried him into the room with the diapers and he got a soft, clean one then she put him in something he'd never seen before, which turned out to be a bodysuit with a crown on it that said "My Dad is My Hero." He wasn't sure how he felt about this thing until he saw Bobbie put one on Alex so they looked just alike. Sookie had Bobbie stand close in case she needed to catch one of them, and she sat the boys side by side on the changing table so she could snap a picture of them. Aubie was looking at Alex more than at Sookie, but the picture came out really cute. Aubie was looking at the writing on the little suit, trying to pull the letters off.

"Are you trying to read your shirt, Aubie? That says "My Dad is My Hero!" and you and Alex are dressed just alike. See? Just like Buddy!"

"Dada?"

"Yeah, that says Daddy is your hero!"

Aubie giggled and gurgled a little. Dada was OK by Aubie, so he guessed that was fine, and his suit was just like Bumby's so that had to be good. If Aubie could talk he'd tell Sookie that Alex was more of a hero to him right now than Daddy. He didn't know what Daddy could do, though he did make him feel safe, but Bumby could do all kinds of things Aubie wanted to do, too. Then again, when you came down to it, Sookie was the whole world in Aubie's eyes and "hero" didn't come close to describing how he felt about her. Aubie associated everything wonderful in the world with Sookie. Even if she weren't an actual Goddess, and she was, she was a Goddess to Aubie because she enveloped him and everything around him in her warmth.

"Alex, can you say "My Dad is My Hero?"

"Ma Dadee ith ma earoh!"

"Yeah, when you see Daddy, you read that to him, OK?"

"Oday!" Alex liked that – he'd get to show off for Dadee. He knew he'd get to show off for dompamy tonight, too, so he was psyched about that. He was very content as he and Aubie lay side by side on Mamee's bed, Bobbie rubbing their legs with lotion as Alicia did Mommy's hair and makeup.

"They love that, Bobbie!" Sookie laughed as Alicia put big Velcro rollers in her freshly dried hair, "you should feel the happy vibes they're sending out. Don't be surprised if they doze off."

"It would be fine if they did, wouldn't it?'

"Yes, it would. Now that they're nice and clean, they could sleep right up until dinner."

"Good, because I think Alex is already out, and Aubie is fading fast. You can always tell when Aubie is about to go because his thumb goes in his mouth," Bobbie laughed softly.

"Yeah, Alex does that now and then, but Aubie almost always does. I think it comforts him."

"Yeah, it does. He likes the pacifier a lot, too, doesn't he?"

"Yeah, and you know, it's funny, but he's not as into food as Alex is. I don't know if it's because he's younger in a way or if he's just more of a breast baby."

"He's definitely a breast baby. I almost think Alex will wean himself, but Aubie will put it off as long as you'll let him."

"You might be right. Alex didn't even want to feed from me this morning, he just wanted Bjorn to feed him "bwepuss," Sookie said with a laugh and the other two women joined her as quietly as they could. They did a very simple make-up job since this was a party at home, but it WAS a party, so Sookie slipped into a gorgeous "liquid" sequined party dress with short sleeves and a scoop neck in shades of purple on top, then light blue, then a deep aqua, then smoke around the hem.

"Sookie – you look like a mermaid in that!" Bobbie laughed.

"Yeah, I do. I know sequins are a lot for a kids' birthday party, but the cut of it makes it a little more casual, right?"

"If you say so," Bobbie laughed.

"I do!"

"What do you do, my Angel?" Eric asked as he walked into the room in jeans and a t-shirt, barefoot and smoothing his long hair back from his face. He stopped when he got a look at her. "Sookie, you look marvelous!"

"Thanks – you don't think it's too much?"

"I think it is lovely!"

"Good, because I love it, so I'm wearing it," she giggled and bounced toward him, stretching up to kiss him. "Are you going to take a shower?"

"Yes, and I thought I'd dress up a little – that darker blue color is very like the dress you wore for the parade in the Quarter. I wonder if I still have that satin shirt?"

"Yes, Mr. Northman, it's in your closet. Would you like to see if it matches?" Alicia offered.

"Yes, I would. I'll want a pair of black jeans with it and we won't bother with a tie. I do like the idea of matching Sookie, though," he teased Sookie and kissed her on the nose.

Alicia pulled the satin shirt from his closet and took it out of its protective cover. It did, indeed, match the darker blue in Sookie's dress so Alicia steamed it while Eric took a quick shower. Bobbie and Sookie took the babies on downstairs, though they were still asleep, and tucked them into the playpen, which was sitting in the living room in front of the fireplace. There were already some wrapped presents stacked on the coffee table in front of it

Margaret had been hard at work and the whole downstairs smelled like her amazing fried chicken.

"Mmm – Margaret, it all smells so good!"

"I hope you'll enjoy it, Mrs. Northman. I know little Alex likes chicken and potatoes a lot, and we'll see if little Aubie likes it, too. I'll put some in the food processor for them, and I made broccoli since that's a favorite, too."

"Did we get cakes and ice cream?"

"Yes, I got two small cakes for each of the boys and the family, then there's a sheet cake out in the guard's headquarters so they can celebrate, too. Some of them dropped off a little present and Alicia said there were some gifts in the mail, as well."

"Really – for one month?"

"I think they were belated and the office in Las Vegas just held them until now. You could have opened them when you're there next, but when they heard you were having a small gathering tonight they decided to just send them on."

"Oh, that's cool. I like that they'll have some little things to open."

"They've got little gifts from you and Mr. Northman, too, of course."

"What did we get them?"

"Mr. Northman said not to tell you so you'd be surprised, too."

Sookie laughed at that. She was excited, too, and Eric knew she would be. "No hints?"

"It's nothing very expensive, but he thinks these babies in particular will enjoy them."

"Oh, goodie. I can't wait to see what it is!" Sookie was practically jumping up and down and Margaret was just beaming at her. She loved to see Sookie so excited about things around the babies and she thought Sookie was a wonderful young mommy.

"Hey, Sookie, did you know Bill is here?" Bjorn asked as he came in from the back.

"No – when did he get here?"

"About an hour ago. They set his box in one of the upstairs bedrooms, but he's up. He's talking to the guards out back. Is Bobbie in here?"

"Yeah, she's in the living room with the kids. I just came in here to see what Margaret was cooking."

"OK, are your guests coming for dinner or just cake?"

"Just cake. They'll be here at 7:30, so as soon as we're all together, we should eat. Hey, Margaret, where are the cakes?"

"They're back in the cooler, but that's part of the surprise so you have to wait until after dinner to see them," Margaret teased her.

"You mean they're not just plain cakes?"

"Oh, no, Missus, these cakes were made by the finest bakery in Shreveport."

"Are they really fancy?"

"Not fancy – more special."

"But they'll taste good, right?"

"As good as any chocolate cake with butter cream frosting and vanilla ice cream on top."

"Ooh, yummy!"

Bjorn tried not to laugh out loud at Sookie, but you'd think it was her birthday, she was so excited. He had seen the cakes when Margaret brought them in and he knew at least Sookie and Alex would go wild when they saw them, too, and he was shocked at himself being so anxious to see their faces. The design was Eric's idea, and it was perfect. That guy really did know the right thing to do, all the time.

"Hello?" Bill called in from the back door.

"Hey, Bill! Come on in!" Sookie was glad to see him because it seemed like forever since they left New Orleans.

"Good evening, everyone!" Bill came in with a big smile. Was it possible he was glad to be back at this house? ERIC's house? "Am I too early?"

"Nope, you're right on time. Eric will be down in a minute, Bobbie's in the living room and..." She looked to Bjorn to finish the list.

"Jerry and Amelia are on their way in now," Margaret nodded toward the back door, "Miss Octavia will be down directly, and as soon as the boys wake up, we'll be ready to eat."

"Hey, where's Alicia?" Sookie just noticed she wasn't around.

"Oh, she's out in my chalet, I'm afraid," Bill told her. "She was helping me get settled."

"Oh, good. Was everything OK out there? Do you like it?"

"Yes, it's very nice. This place has been through quite a transformation in such a short time."

Bjorn tapped the earpiece he was wearing. "Yes? OK, show her around to the garage. She's in the chalet closest to the garage in the north bedroom."

"Pam is here?" Bill said brightly

"Yes, they're letting her through the gate now," Bjorn told him, wondering what the hell a dish like Pam would want with the likes of Bill. Women were funny that way.

"Will you excuse me? We'll be in as soon as I get her settled." Bill nodded and left quickly. He was really looking forward to seeing Pam. She'd been down the weekend before, but he still missed her this week while they were apart. Bill was trying very hard to remember that Pam was not the romantic type, but he was falling in love with her in spite of himself. He was very glad Eric didn't disapprove, at least openly, because once he was with her, he couldn't get her out of his mind.

Eric came down looking amazing, though his hair was damp, and he threw his arms around Sookie's waist and swung her around the way he did when they danced together, making her giggle.

"Wow, you're in a good mood!" she laughed as he nuzzled her neck and growled playfully deep in his chest.

"I had very good dreams today and I'm very happy to be celebrating the most wonderful and eventful month of my life."

"What did you dream?" Sookie was so anxious to hear if he had heard them.

"I dreamed of watching you and the boys play in the pool and at one point you had them say "we love you, Daddy." Even Auberon nearly said it!"

"We did do that, Eric. You weren't dreaming – you actually saw us. We all felt it."

"What? Is that possible?"

"Octavia said it's called 'clairvoyance.' She's never known a vampire who had that ability, but she suggested asking Dr. Ludwig if she's ever known one."

"It was real?" Eric said, almost to himself, thanking Freyja silently for letting him see his family enjoy the sunshine. "Yes, I'd say I certainly should talk to Ludwig about it, but we'll do it when Niall is not around. He doesn't need to know about all of my abilities, or yours either."

"I agree."

"The boys are up!" Eric said as he zipped into the living room, returning almost instantly with a baby in each arm. "Here are our birthday boys!" he beamed as he kissed each boy on the cheek. The babies were still a bit sleepy so they were clinging to him a little, but they both had big smiles and were sort of mirroring each other – Alex was chewing on his forefinger, Aubie sucking his thumb – and Sookie was just overwhelmed with love for all three of them. She smoothed each boy's hair and stroked their cheeks.

"Did you notice what their little suits say, Daddy? Alex – read that to Daddy!"

"Ma Dadee ith ma earoh!" Alex pointed as he tried to read it upside down, trying to spread the shirt out on his tummy to show Eric.

"nDADA!" Aubie said playfully and bounced for emphasis, patting Eric's cheek. Eric was about to burst from it all when Pam and Bill came in from the back.

"Look, there's your sister, Pam!" Eric said to the boys, meeting Pam in the middle of the kitchen with them.

"Hello, Master." Pam hesitated as he approached, but noticed she felt no compulsion to taste either of them and eventually leaned in and kissed each baby hello. "Has something changed?" she asked with surprise, looking at the boys very closely as she handed two wrapped presents to Sookie.

"See the little necklace Auberon is wearing? It protects him from our kind," Eric explained as Pam touched the charm gingerly, causing it to glow gently.

"Well – that's useful! Where did you get it?" Pam didn't even know such things were possible. She had no interest whatsoever in Witches or spell work or other such things.

"Sookie created it. She's becoming quite the magician," Eric said proudly.

"My, my, things are certainly changing around here," Pam said with amusement, especially at Eric being proud of Sookie doing magick. "The fountains out front are spectacular and the chalet is very cozy. The compound is really taking shape."

"I haven't seen the fountains yet – did they finish?" Sookie asked with great enthusiasm.

"Yes, they're gorgeous, especially with the turquoise and pink lights shining on the statuary. You should go out front and see them. You'll be very pleased with them, I'm sure," Pam purred at her. Was it her imagination, or was Sookie even more attractive now? She certainly smelled better than anything Pam could remember, and everything about her seemed ripe and juicy. Pam's mouth was watering just looking at her. It was all she could do to keep her fangs from coming down.

"We should all be seated," Eric suggested as Amelia and Jerry came in the back door and Bjorn carried the highchairs out of the pantry. Bobbie was helping Margaret and Carrie by getting drinks for everyone and Alicia came in from the chalet to lend a hand with dinner and the party after. Bill showed Pam to a chair at the back of the table next to Octavia and Sookie was tickled to see that there was room for everyone at the long metal table, though you'd be hard pressed to squeeze anyone else in. Bobbie put warm RMs in front of Pam, Bill and Eric, then Carrie handed her little bottles of it for the babies. Margaret was grinding food in the food processor for the babies, which made Alex pop his fangs for an instant, but Eric reminded him it was Margaret making his dinner and he retracted them with a little snarl.

Alex was able to hold his own bottle, but Eric held Aubie's bottle up so he could drink and Aubie reached for him, so he took him out of his chair and held him on his lap for a bit. Sookie noticed Aubie seemed happy and relaxed even though there were people new to him at the table, so she hoped he'd stay that way when Niall and Ludwig arrived. She also noticed that Pam was watching Eric with the boys, fascinated at seeing her Master play with babies as he was. Sookie realized this must seem very strange to Pam because she'd known Eric for so long and had never seen him be "domestic" in any way before. Dinner conversation was mostly Bill answering Eric's questions about New Orleans, and a little discussion about the upcoming Wiccaning.

Alicia put small, but very full, dishes on each boy's tray, and Alex grabbed his spoon and dug in with gusto.

"Mmm, Dadee, ah aba dwayvbe!"

"You have gravy? Yes, that's one of your favorites, isn't it?"

"Eeah, ah wyg dwayvbe, an Obee."

"Yes, Aubie likes it too, doesn't he?"

"Eeah, peed Obee dwayvbe, Dadee!"

"Alright, Alex, I'll give him some when he finishes his blood."

"Oday," Alex said with a drizzle as he spoke with his mouth full. Eric laughed and reached for the spoon, scraping some of the food off Alex's chin and putting it back in his mouth.

Bill was trying to focus on Pam, but he was seething with jealousy and Eric was basking in it. Knowing he had everything Bill ever wanted made having it that much sweeter to him. Sookie wolfed down two big pieces of chicken, potatoes, gravy, broccoli, two biscuits thickly covered with butter and was about to pop when she was able to turn her attention back to the boys, though she stayed engaged with the whole table and made a deliberate effort to keep everyone included in the conversation. She held Aubie on her lap while Eric fed him, and he seemed to enjoy his dinner very much, though he didn't eat nearly as much as Alex.

"Alex, you and Aubie leave room for cake and ice cream!" Sookie teased them.

"Wadiz ith dweem?"

"Oh, wait 'til you taste it, Alex – it's cold and sweet and delicious."

"Dewithsusth," Alex tried to repeat what Sookie said as Eric helped him scrape the last of his food from his bowl and slurp it up.

The doorbell rang and Margaret rushed to answer it as Alicia and Carrie quickly cleared the last of the dishes, and Carrie left for the day. The kitten, who had been napping on the living room couch, ran to hide upstairs at the sound of the bell. Eric and Sookie stood up, Sookie taking Aubie and Eric pulling Alex up out of his seat, and they went in to greet their guest.

"You all just relax," Sookie said as they got up, "we'll bring them back here for cake and ice cream."

Sookie held Aubie tightly as they went into the living room behind Eric and Alex. Dr. Ludwig and Niall were just entering, Niall giving his cane and overcoat to Margaret, who hung them up inside the door of Sookie's office.

"Dr. Ludwig, Niall, welcome!" Eric was being Lord of the Manor, covering the very obvious tension in the room with perfect protocol.

"Hello, Vampire," Niall said, obviously a bit apprehensive.

"Hi, Doctor, Hi, Niall," Sookie said as she came up beside Eric. Aubie saw Niall and began to cry. Sookie pulled him up into and embrace and tried to soothe him as he cried "nah, Papaw! Mmmama!"

"Shh, Aubie, it's OK. Papaw is just here for a visit, OK? You're staying with Mommy. Mommy loves you and I'm not going to let you go for anything, OK?"

Aubie seemed to relax a little but he burrowed his little face into Sookie's neck as she cooed at him and rubbed his little back.

"Well," Dr. Ludwig said with disgust, shooting daggers out her eyes at Niall, "I suppose that reaction was to be expected. I hope the child isn't damaged by this."

"No, he's OK, aren't you, Aubie? Yeah, Mommy's got you and you're OK. Mommy's got her sweet boy. Yeah, Aubie is my sweet boy!"

Alex popped his fangs as Niall stepped toward him. "Obee nah wyg id!"

"Aubie doesn't like HIM, Alex, but he'll be alright. Say hello to Papaw," Eric urged him.

"Ewwo!" Alex said, looking at Niall suspiciously.

"These children change more every day it seems," the doctor said, taking Sookie's cue to try not to make a big deal of it all. "Very healthy and robust, I see."

"Yeah, they're getting along really well," Sookie bragged, "Alex sort of looks out for his little Buddy, don't you, Sweetie?"

"Obee ma buggy," Alex said directly to them as he pointed at Aubie. Aubie was calm now, sucking his thumb, his head resting on Sookie's chest as she swung him a little and whispered to him.

"Why don't we all go into the kitchen and have some cake and ice cream?" Sookie suggested. She could feel in the bond that Aubie knew he was safe with her, so she'd get this party back on track and get it over with. She knew the boys would forget about any discomfort as soon as they tasted ice cream.

Bobbie had pulled out the video camera and had it on the tripod when they came back in and everyone made room for Niall and Ludwig to sit at the table, Bjorn and Jerry standing in the background. Sookie noticed a Daemon guard lurking in the doorway to the pantry, too, which she figured was necessary.

Amelia took a post at the table opposite the boys and had Sookie's camera. "OK, is everybody settled enough to bring the cakes to the table?" Alicia asked, directing the party as needed.

"Yep, we're good," Sookie said as she looked around to be sure and she and Eric got the boys back into their chairs, but Sookie never let go of Aubie's hand once he was seated.

"OK, here we come," Alicia said playfully as she and Margaret came forward with green mounds of cake with colorful sugar figures arranged around them and each sat one on each boy's tray.

Sookie's expression was Eric's favorite part of the night. She was delighted as she and Alex said in unison, "Dewedumbeesth!" "Teletubbies!" The cakes were replicas of the little grassy mound they lived in and the little creatures themselves had been created out of sugar and were exactly as they looked on TV.

"Wow, look at that, guys! You got Teletubbies on your cakes! See, there's Dipsy, and Po, and Tinky Winky and look at LaLa peeking out of the roof of their little house."

"Doeesth, Mamee?"

"No, Sweetie, these aren't toys, they're cakes."

"Let's start them off with these," Alicia suggested as she handed Sookie two 7-inch plush Teletubby dolls.

"Oh, sweet!" Sookie was giddy as she gave the yellow LaLa to Alex and the red Po to Aubie. "See, Alex, these are toys. This is cake to eat."

"Ee?"

"Yep, you'll see. First we have to sing and blow out the candles!"

"Gando?" Alex loved candles!

"Yeah, candles," Sookie confirmed as Alicia stuck a small candle shaped like a 1 on each cake and gave Sookie a box of matches. Sookie and Eric stayed ready to stop them if the boys moved to touch the flames but all they did was pop their eyes and their mouths dropped open as Sookie lit each candle.

"OK, everybody, happy birthday to you!" and everyone in the room except Pam, who didn't know the song, sang Happy Birthday to the boys to their utter amazement and delight, both of them squealing and waving their arms and legs in response, then Sookie said "Make a wish – Goddess please keep us safe and happy! Now blow out your candles! One, two, three!" and she and Eric each blew at the candles and they went out, which also delighted the boys.

Alicia came back with the cake server to cut the cakes and Sookie asked, "wait! Bobbie and Amelia, did you get the cakes really well? I don't ever want to forget this!"

"I took a bunch of pictures back in the pantry, Hon, we've got you covered," Amelia assured her. Alicia cut a piece out of Alex's cake and he watched mesmerized as she put the hunk of cake on a little paper plate and Margaret added a scoop of ice cream.

"Eric…" Sookie started, but he said, "yes, I'll help him, Mommy." Eric decided it must not be possible to die from happiness or he would be finally dead at this moment. It was lost on no one at the table that Eric had to wipe his eyes several times to keep from leaking bloody tears. Even Niall could not doubt Eric's love for these children.

"OK, Bobbie, get Alex's face when he tastes ice cream for the first time," Sookie urged. Eric was laughing with delight, taking a big spoonful of ice cream and putting it in Alex's mouth. Alex was registering new levels of shock and delight – what was this?

"Do you like it, Alex? That's ice cream!" Sookie told him.

"Mo ith dweem, Dadee, mo!" Alex pounded his tray and wanted Eric to get on with feeding him more of that good, cold stuff!

"OK, now get Aubie's face!"

Sookie gave a bite to Aubie and got a similar reaction, though Aubie was a little more shocked than Alex because he'd never had anything so cold before. The coldest thing Aubie had ever encountered was a bottle of apple juice. Aubie touched his mouth and gums with fingers of both hands, trying to process the sensation, then he opened his mouth wide to Sookie, wanting another bite. This time, Sookie mashed up some cake and icing along with the ice cream and Aubie made an "ooohhhh!" sound no one had ever heard from him before. This was another impossibly wonderful thing Mommy had introduced him to. He didn't know the word "magick" yet, but he knew the meaning and Mama was IT!

Alicia and Margaret quickly distributed plates of cake and ice cream to everyone in the kitchen, which was awash in good feelings and soft conversation as the flash from the camera went off over and over. Even Niall and Ludwig ate cake and ice cream, and Eric had a bite of Alex's at his insistence. Bill was positively green when he saw Alex feed a bite of ice cream to Eric, the lucky bastard, but even he had to admire the way Eric doted on those boys. He especially admired the fact that Eric seemed to make no difference in them, which he never would have believed. To see him be so loving to a Fae child was more than extraordinary – it was surreal. This whole situation defied any form of logic. Only magick could account for these circumstances, Bill decided, so he'd better steel himself to accepting and supporting Eric's relationship with Sookie and those adorable boys of hers, and even he had to admit that those were two of the most adorable children he had ever seen. There was so much of Sookie in them, he had to love them. They looked like perfect little cherubs with those impossibly blue eyes and pink lips shaped just like hers.

Everyone cracked up when Eric became too engrossed with answering a question from Dr. Ludwig and Alex picked up a big hunk of cake with his hand and jammed it in his mouth.

"Alexander!" Eric laughed, wanting to scold him but unable to because it was so cute he couldn't stop laughing.

"Alex, Sweetie, use a spoon!" Sookie laughed. "Did you see what Buddy did, Aubie? Yeah, look at Alex with cake all over his face! We'll have to give him another shower, won't we?"

"Wawa!" Aubie reached toward Eric and said it again, pointing at Sookie, "wawa!"

"What is he saying?" Eric asked with a big smile.

"Me an Obee an Mamee ina sthowa!" Alex interpreted

"Yeah, we took showers today, didn't we?" Sookie interpreted next.

"How did you manage with two of them, Sookie?" Eric wanted to be able to picture this.

"Bobbie set them in the tub, then handed me one at a time. Aubie loved it, didn't you Sweetie?"

"Mama wawa!" he said playfully, knowing Eric knew exactly what he meant – he had fun in the water with Mommy.

"You lucky boy!" Eric beamed at him and tickled him.

"Ah!" Aubie said happily, sticking his finger in his ice cream. Aubie liked to test things out with his own finger and this cold stuff was fascinating. It reminded him of the way Mommy tasted, but she was really warm. He tried to pick some up but it ran through his fingers. It was pretty clear the boys were playing more than eating at this point, so Alicia brought warm, wet wash cloths to Eric and Sookie and they wiped the boys down as Sookie asked them, "you know what we do now, guys?"

Both babies looked at her with big eyes and she said, "we open presents!"

"Pwezthnan!" That sounded like a great idea to Alex! Aubie was psyched because Alex thought this was a good thing, whatever it was, and Bumby always knew what was good stuff. Alicia came back with a stack of presents, setting some on the two high chair trays and Margaret deposited some larger boxes on the table in front of Sookie and Eric. Alex and Aubie both looked things over, looking at the pretty colors and ribbons. Now that they were clean, Sookie gave them each back their plush Teletubby to hold next to them in their chairs, and helped them start opening packages. The first packages were from Bill and Pam and Alex had the paper on his in shreds in seconds because he knew how this pwezthnan thing worked now. Aubie caught on pretty quickly when Sookie helped him start tearing the paper. Alicia was standing behind Sookie with a steno pad so they could keep track of who brought what. Eric helped Alex get his box open and found an adorable Stieff teddy bear in a light brown color. Sookie got Aubie's box open and it had the same style bear in blue.

"Dadee, dares boo!"

"Yes, Aubie's bear is blue, isn't it?"

"Eeah, wadiz dat golor?" He pointed to his own bear.

"That color is brown."

"Bwowd! Oday, ah wuv id!" he said happily as he hugged his bear tight.

"Pam, these are adorable!" Sookie gushed. Aubie was obviously delighted with his bear, too, feeling its "fur" and looking it over with big eyes as he pulled at a tag on its ear. Sookie started to move the bear away to make room for another package but Aubie pointed next to him where the Teletubby was and she managed to squeeze the bear in next to him, too.

The next package was from the table and it turned out to be from some of the Daemon guards. It was a set of four maraca-type toys and the babies went wild when Sookie and Eric showed them how they made sounds if you shook them.

"Sookie, the yellow and orange packages are from Bobbie and me," Amelia told her.

"Oh, cool – you guys didn't have to do that!"

"We saw these and thought they were too cute, so we thought we'd add them to your plushy jungle," Amelia laughed and everyone else did, too. Sookie and Eric each helped a baby tear the paper and they found two Greenzys brand stuffed toys – Willow, the elephant and Violet, the Giraffe, both in the signature green color.

"These are so sweet!"

"There's a certificate for each one," Bobbie explained, "to commemorate the fact that a tree is planted for each purchase. We already printed them out for you and thought you might want to put them in your baby books."

"Oh, my Goddess! I just realized I don't have a baby book for Aubie!" Sookie said with a little panic.

"Don't panic, Sookie – open my present," Octavia told her as she pointed out a box with blue paper with turtles on it. Sookie opened it and there were two brand new books that were identical except each was personalized with one of the boys' names. "We figured it's only been a month, so you can start them off even," Octavia told her.

"Oh, this is so thoughtful! Thank you so much!" Sookie said sincerely, hugging the books to her for a second before Alicia gave her the next boxes. Bjorn brought in a bigger box, saying, "The guards chipped in for this, Sookie. They figured the boys would both use it."

"Oh, that's so sweet! Thank everybody for us, OK?"

"Will do," he told her, he and Jerry both grinning as she let the boys tear the paper then finished it up.

"VTech Winnie the Pooh Explore and Learn Table!" Sookie read. "Oh, cool!" she was bouncing in her seat as she pulled the tabletop out of the box. "Lookie, guys, it's got lots of neat toys on it, and numbers and letters!" She pushed a button and it made a noise, then she pushed another and they boys were excited and reaching for it. "Maybe if we ask nicely, Bjorn will put it together for us?" Sookie hinted. "say, "please, Bjorn?""

"Pweezth, Bhord?"

"Can you say it, Aubie? "Please, Bjorn?"'

"Bee, Bah?"

"Good job, Aubie!" Sookie beamed at him and everyone clapped their hands and Aubie squealed and clapped, too, because he knew that was for him. Bjorn laughed and came around the table, taking the box and the tabletop from Sookie and bending down behind her to assemble it.

"This is just a little something from me and Margaret," Alicia said as she handed Sookie a little cube with a ribbon around it.

"Oh, this is nice!" Sookie said as she pulled little clothes out of the cube. "Wow – 24 pieces! It's a whole wardrobe! Thank you!"

"It's got some of those little creepers that you like, some little shirts and pants, and most importantly, some bibs," Alicia laughed and showed her.

"Yeah, we definitely needed some bibs for Alex – he's so messy when he eats, aren't you, Alex?"

"Eeah!" Alex laughed, understanding what she said. Alex liked getting down and dirty with his dinder.

"Aw – look at the little bears on them. You guys will look so cute in these!" She held one of the little bibs up to Aubie to see it on him and he tried to pull the bear off of it.

"He always does that," Eric laughed.

"Does what?" Sookie asked

"Tries to pull things off of other things. Watch him sometime – he tries to pull the fur off of bears and any kind of little tag or attachment on things gets pulled."

"I never noticed that. I'll pay closer attention. That might be a problem if he's wearing something with buttons that he could get choked on."

Alex said, "Fyeen, Dadee!"

"You have more presents to open, Alex," Eric reminded him.

"Mo pwezthnan?"

"Yes, you each have one from Mommy and Daddy. Let's open those, then we'll go fly, alright?"

"Eeah! Mo pwezthnan!"

Eric picked up the last two little presents and gave one to Sookie, and they each helped a baby tear paper again.

"Fisher-Price Laugh & Learn… what are these? Story books?" Sookie read the packaging as the babies looked over the one they each had. Eric reached over and pressed a button on the one in Alex's hands and it began to sing a song about counting, the button flashing lights, and Alex squealed with delight. Eric took the little book out of the box and gave it back to Alex as Sookie and Aubie watched. As soon as he gave it to him, Alex opened the book and it read the words inside it to him. When Aubie saw what Alex was doing, he pulled the page open on his as it was still in the box and it said, "Let's go out to play. It's a sunny day!"

"Ooohhh!" Aubie said, amazed by this thing in his hands. Alex was clapping as he watched Aubie, his own book on the tray in front of him.

"Oh, I see," Sookie said, " Alex's is "Counting Animal Friends," and Aubie's is "Teddy's Shapes and Colors," so they're the same, but different." Sookie pushed the big button on Aubie's book and it said "Hello there!" which thrilled him beyond belief. Eric reached over and removed the book from the open cardboard packaging and Aubie opened it again, squealing when it spoke. Alex opened his again and they were beside themselves, not knowing whether to look at their own book or watch Buddy's.

Everyone enjoyed watching them explore the little books and then Alex said, "Fyeen, Dadee?"

"Alright, my son, let's go flying," Eric laughed as he pulled him out of the chair. Sookie pulled Aubie up and everyone moved out to the pool. "Go, Alex!" Eric said as soon as they were out the door and off he went, Dadee following close behind him. Everyone stood and watched them, chatting a bit, Sookie pointing at them saying, "Lookie, Aubie. See Buddy flying with Daddy?"

"Excuse me, Sookie?" Niall interrupted

"Yeah?"

"I brought this for Auberon to match the bracelet I gave Alex. I thought they should match."

"Oh, thanks," Sookie said as she took the box cautiously, opening it. It was the same small gold bracelet, but this one said "H'Eloise" on it and had two loopy triangle forms on the ends. "I've seen this before on that TV show, "Charmed." What's it called?"

"It's a triquetra, my dear. It's a symbol of the Trinity."

Sookie looked around and Octavia, who was standing near by to listen in, said, "Maiden, Mother, Crone."

"Oh, OK, cool. Thanks."

"I assumed the boys would wear them at the Wiccaning?" Niall said, subtly letting her know that he expected it.

"Yes, of course, for an official event like that," Sookie said.

"That's good to know. A royal should have some form of seal or mark of his office. I've had a very nice time tonight, Sookie, thank you for inviting me. I think I should be going now."

"Oh, OK, I guess. I'm glad you came."

"So am I. I'll see you at the ceremony, my dear." Niall walked into the shadow of the house and disappeared.

Sookie started to speak to Dr. Ludwig, but Eric and Alex came back around the pool and did a loop and Aubie flew off after them, surprising her. "Oh! Aubie, be careful! ERIC!"

"Yes, Sweetheart?"

"Aubie is following you guys! Keep an eye on him, please?"

"Auberon! Good boy! Come to Daddy!" Eric was thrilled to see him in the air and hovered to let him catch up. He had no fear about Alex flying at this point, but he didn't know yet what the extent of Aubie's abilities might be. Aubie flew up to him and said, "um, Bumby?"

"He's up higher, Auberon, come with me and we'll go up a little, OK?"

"Ah!"

Eric led Aubie up a little more, but he could tell Aubie was a little hesitant. As far as Eric could see, Aubie could fly as well as Alex, but he didn't love it as Alex did. He mostly wanted to follow Alex just because he looked up to him, and Eric was fine with that. He loved the way Alex and Aubie were getting along and he thought it was cute that Aubie wanted to be like Alex, while Alex wanted to be like Daddy.

"Dr. Ludwig, I had a couple of questions for you, if you don't mind?" Sookie said once she was content that Eric was watching both boys.

"Of course, my dear. I'd like to give you, the King and the babies a once over while I'm here, just to see how you're progressing."

"OK, that'd be good. They won't stay up too long. The boys will be getting sleepy soon."

"Sookie?"

"Yeah, Bill?"

"Pam and I are going to go to the chalet for a bit. Tell Eric to call my cell when he wants to have our meeting."

"OK, sure."

Amelia and Jerry went to their chalet, too, since he had to get up early and Margaret and Alicia finished closing down the kitchen. Bjorn stayed close until Eric came out of the sky and Bobbie sat near Sookie in case she needed her. Sookie sat next to her so they could chat while they waited.

"Did you enjoy your party, Sookie?" Bobbie asked with a smile.

"Yeah, it was fun. I was so glad Aubie was able to relax and enjoy it."

"I know you were worried about that, but I was pretty sure that he'd be OK as long as you stayed close to him. He trusts you. You should see the way he looks at you."

"Why – is it unusual?"

"It's sweet. It's like he's got stars in his eyes when he looks at you. He's affectionate with other people but it's obvious to everyone around him that you're the center of the universe."

"Is that bad?"

"No, it's great, I just want you to be aware of it so you make sure you give him plenty of attention."

"Don't worry about that, Bobbie. Neither boy will ever lack for my attention, but Aubie especially won't. I fought for him and I'll fight every day from now on if I have to. He means as much to me as I mean to him."

"What would you do if somebody called him a mama's boy?"

"I'd tell them he's absolutely Mama's boy and they can kiss my ass if they don't like it."

Bobbie and Bjorn both cracked up at that and Bjorn was pretty sure he could hear Eric laughing up over the house, too. Before anyone could say anything else, Eric flew down to them with a baby under each arm.

"I think we've had enough for tonight, Mommy," he said laughing, "we're both yawning."

"Good." Sookie told him as she took Aubie from him, "why don't we gather up our toys and head upstairs for some family time?" Sookie asked hopefully

"Actually, Sookie, their toys are already upstairs. Margaret and Alicia knew you'd be ready to go up soon, so they took them up for you," Bobbie told her.

"Where's the C-A-K-E?"

"In the big cooler in the pantry."

"OK, I might want some later, and some more chicken."

"Margaret made up a plate for you for later, and there's more of everything in the fridge," Bobbie assured her.

"Cool, can we go?" Sookie was being playful and cute now, knowing Eric was going to say 'yes.'

"Is everything secure, Bjorn?"

"Yes, but Dr. Ludwig is waiting for you two inside."

"Oh, I forgot! She wants to look us over since she's here."

"Let's not keep her waiting, then," Eric said happily, wanting to get everybody upstairs soon because he wanted time alone with them all. He felt wonderful and he wanted to just wallow in it.

They went into the den and the little doctor had some syringes and some vials laid out on the end table, and was writing on labels for each vial. "One small inconvenience this time around, I'm afraid," Ludwig told them.

"You need to test my blood again?" Sookie asked

"Actually, I need a sample from each of you."

"Oh, nooo" Sookie whined, "the babies, too?"

"I'm afraid so, little girl. Any baby at this stage would have to have shots or something similar, so it's not a big deal. They'll survive it."

"But I like them to feel safe. Won't that traumatize them?"

"They can handle it, Sookie, you'll be here to soothe them," Eric tried to get Sookie not to make a big deal out of it. "You need to act as if it's no big deal."

"Yeah, that's right. If I get upset, they will, too."

"Right," the doctor agreed, "now, let's get this over with."

Sookie and Eric sat on the couch next to each other, each holding a baby. The doctor was unusually good at taking blood and vampire veins were easy to find under white skin, so it only took a second to get Alex's blood and he flinched a little and popped his fangs, but he didn't cry. After she was done with him, Eric praised him, "that was very good, Alex. I know that hurt, but you were very strong and did not cry."

Alex was pouting a little but Eric lifted him over his head and shook him a little and he snapped right out of it. It was Aubie's turn and Sookie was trying to flood the bond with comfort, but she was dreading this. Eric sent comfort to both of them, and even Alex intuitively knew what was coming and held Aubie's hand while Ludwig worked on his other arm. Aubie yelped a little when the needle went in and was panting as if he was going to cry, but the doctor finished and Sookie hugged him close and said, "It's OK, Aubie, she's all done. You're OK, Mommy's got you." He clung to her tightly because he was a little freaked out, but he never did cry. He insisted on being held for quite a while, though, but Sookie didn't mind. She even continued to hold him while the doctor took blood from her arm, and while she took a fourth vial from Eric.

"What will these tell you, Doctor?" Eric was curious about the whole process because it was so foreign to him.

"It will give me an idea of how the Ambrosia is affecting the four of you. You're all taking it, though you boys are getting it indirectly. It will affect all of you in some ways, but we expect most of the side effects to be advantageous to you. You may develop some unusual abilities or tendencies."

"Like clairvoyance?" Sookie asked.

"Have you been having that?" The doctor asked.

"Not me - Eric."

"Clairvoyance in a vampire?" she looked at him with surprise. "My, my. That is very rare, indeed."

"But not unheard of?" Eric asked.

"It's almost as rare as you fathering a child, though there are some very ancient legends that support it. You'll need to keep that very quiet, Northman. You've already developed telepathy, yes?"

"Yes, at least where Sookie and the boys are concerned."

"Sookie will likely be clairvoyant, too, if she isn't already."

"Could I have it and not know it?"

"I suspect you've had it all along, it just never occurred to you that you were seeing as well as hearing. It's so natural to you that you never noticed it."

Sookie thought for a minute and nodded, "yeah, you might be right. I do sometimes know what's happening in another room, even more than hearing would tell me."

"Can you fly yet?"

"Yes, I can, I just don't like to, that much. I could if I needed to, though."

"Good. I still want you to practice a few times a week to build your endurance. I'm also doubling your Ambrosia doses. I want you to drink a cup when you go up now and then every night at dinnertime and then your usual cup before Northman goes to rest. Did you enjoy your trip to Freyja's house?" She was looking in Sookie's eyes and ears as they spoke.

"Yeah, I did, what I remember of it. You were there at one point, weren't you?"

"Yes, I was there for dinner one night. I checked you out then to see how you were adapting, and you expressed the milk I brought back for the babies."

"Oh, I was wondering where that came from!"

"Directly from you, my dear. You needn't worry about Freyja doing anything to compromise your care of those babies. At some point, you'll all go for a spell, but not yet."

"What are we waiting for?"

"For the four of you to reach certain levels of transformation. We're taking everything very slowly because we have to allow room for the boys to grow, and for you to be able to feed them."

"What about the girl?"

"She'll be along before you know it, but concentrate on these two just now. You've heard of Irish twins? You'll have Irish triplets," Ludwig laughed and popped out of the room.

"What's Irish twins?" she asked Eric.

"I have no idea – Margaret might know, she's from Ireland, yes?"

"I don't know – I always wondered about that…"

"Ask her in the morning, alright?"

"You better believe I will! Actually, let's go up and I'll see if I can find it on the Internet."

"Good idea, my Angel. I'm very curious, too. I hope it's a good thing."

"So do I!" She said as she headed for the elevator. Eric had an idea what it meant, and he'd be very happy, indeed, if he was right about it.

"Sookie, I think Alex needs a new diaper…"

"Aubie does, too, but I want to look this up first," she said as she fidgeted all the way up to the third floor.

"Give Aubie to me, Sookie," he said as they got there and she did, running straight into the bedroom and to her laptop as Eric laughed and took the boys into the nursery. Their toys and clothes were already in baskets and on shelves and Alex saw his Teletubby first thing. "Ewwo Dewedumbeesth, Dadee!"

"Yes, that's your yellow Teletubby, isn't it?"

"Me, pweezth?"

"Alex, you say, "may I have it, please?"

"Mayh ah abid, pweezth."

"Yes, you may," Eric laughed as he put him in the rocking chair and put it on his lap, then took Aubie to the changing table and gave him a fresh diaper. These were relatively bad ones for both boys, but he did it without calling Sookie because he knew she was anxious and wouldn't relax until she knew what the doctor had meant. He switched babies, leaving Aubie in the chair with the red Teletubby, and diapered Alex. He was nearly done when he heard Sookie say, "NO!" and he tried not to laugh out loud. Sookie was standing in the doorway as he closed the diaper pins on Alex, just staring because she was speechless.

Still trying not to laugh, Eric decided to break the ice. "Let me guess – Irish twins is having one baby right after another?"

"Yeah, like two babies in the same year. There is a thing called Irish triplets where a woman has 3 babies in three years. I guess in our case it would be three babies in one calendar year…"

"Don't be upset, Sookie."

"I'm actually not, I just want more time with the boys, you know?"

"You'll have time with them all, Sookie, they'll be small for many years."

"I hope so."

"It will all work out perfectly, Sookie. Have faith in the Goddess – have faith in yourself."

"Yeah, I know you're right. There are variables I can't comprehend yet and it took so long to set it all up and blah, blah, blah," she laughed a little. "It's all in motion, anyway. There's not much that could be changed at this stage of the game, anyway."

"That's probably true, my Angel."

"I wonder if I'm pregnant now?"

"Do you feel pregnant?"

"No, honestly, I don't, except for the fact that I still haven't gotten my period."

"It's only one month ago today, though."

"True, it is. What a crazy month this has been, Eric! Look at how our lives have changed!"

"Do you wish you could go back?"

"No, I don't," she said as she walked over to the changing table and put her arms around his waist. "I love our life and I love our boys. When it's just us, here in this house, there's not a thing I would change."

He hugged her and kissed her on the head. "Neither would I. I don't see any way things could be better."

"Mama!"

"Hey, Sweetie! Look at you sitting in the chair like a big boy! And you've got Po! Alex, where's your Lala?"

"Wadiz Lala?" Alex asked as Eric picked him up.

"If that's the yellow one, it's in the crib." Eric told her.

"Here, Alex, this is Lala – that's his name! Lala."

"Wawa?"

"That's close!" Sookie laughed and kissed him, then she took Aubie out of the glider and brought his Po as they all moved into their bedroom. "Can you say 'Po,' Aubie?"

"Ba?"

"PO!" She repeated, looking straight at him so he could see her mouth and he tried very hard to imitate her round mouth and managed, "Boh."

"Good job, Aubie! Po!"

"mmBo!"

"Yes, this is Po!" she repeated as they went into the bedroom and she put him down on the bed so she could take off her nice dress. She nuzzled his neck with the toy's face and said, "Po!"

Aubie giggled and said "Bo!" with much more confidence this time.

Eric was carrying Alex out as if he were flying and "flew" him over Aubie, teasing, "look, Alex, there's little brother!"

"Ah, Obee!"

"Ah, Bumby!" Aubie called back, flailing his arms and legs, as Alex was held over him.

Eric moved Alex to the side and pretended to drop him on the bed several times, but caught him just before he touched the bed. Aubie kicked and giggled watching them, and Alex was giggling wildly and drooling on the bed. "Mamee, Dadee fyeen me!"

"I see that, Sweetie, and he's letting you drool on the bedspread, too!" she laughed as she threw her underwear into the bathroom.

"It can be washed or replaced, Sookie, this…" he said as he "dropped" Alex again, "is irreplaceable."

"Yeah, it is. Fly Aubie a little, too," she said as she sat in one of the side chairs to watch.

"Of course!" he laughed as he "swooped" Alex through the air a few times and put him on his back, then picked Aubie up and "flew" him over Alex, making flying sounds as he did. Alex was still laughing hard and Aubie was tickled pink as Eric raised and lowered him, though he didn't let go of him as he had Alex because Aubie was holding onto his hands. After a few "drops," Alex reached his arms up and Aubie reached down to touch them so he spread out as if flying a little more. He enjoyed the sensation, which the other three could all feel, and Eric "swooped" him around a little, always bringing him back over Alex to the delight of both boys. After a few more passes, Eric said, "Uh oh, Alex, Aubie's going to get you! Get him, Aubie!" and he dropped him just short, then let him down on top of Alex and tickled them both. Both boys were shrieking with laughter, rolling so they were face to face as Daddy tickled them and made noises like a little piggy. Alex yawned first, and Eric stopped tickling, bending down and giving each boy a big kiss. "Daddy loves his little boys," he said as he nuzzled one and then the other several times. "Daddy loves Aubie. Daddy loves Alex."

Both boys yawned and Sookie did, too, which made Eric laugh. "My family needs to get into bed! And Mommy needs to drink her drink!" He kissed each boy once more and headed for the mini-fridge. "Get into bed, Sookie and I'll give you a cup, then we'll tuck the boys in between us and snuggle a while."

"That sounds good," she said happily as she went back around the bed and moved the boys with a little bounce each so she could get to her spot in the bed. Eric came back with her cup, let her drink, then put the bottle away and moved the boys up next to Sookie, sliding under the covers after them.

"Finally!" Sookie said with mock exasperation, dropping her head back and laughing. Eric laughed, too, as did the babies, though Aubie yawned at the end. "Seriously, Eric, I can't tell you how I wait for this moment all day!"

"I look forward to it, too, Sookie. There are no words for how much I long for this, even in my sleep. I dream of us all here, together." He leaned forward and their lips met above the boys, who giggled with approval as they kissed. They both scooted down a little and propped their heads up with their hands, letting their other hands meet, his over hers, over the boys.

"Did you enjoy your party tonight, my lovely wife?"

"It wasn't my party, Eric, it was theirs, but yeah, I loved it. Even Niall being here wasn't so bad. He brought a bracelet like Alex's for Aubie, though it's a little different?"

"How does it differ?"

"It says "H'Eloise" on it instead of Northman, and it has two little symbols on it that he said are called triquetras. Octavia recognized them, apparently, and they stand for the Trinity of Maiden, Mother and Crone."

"They can stand for other Trinities, too, Sookie. Those are Celt symbols that Christians use, too."

"Niall wouldn't use them for that, though, would he?"

"No, but I find it interesting that there are two of the symbols rather than one. Is there a set time for you to see Freyja again?"

"No, I can see Her whenever I want. She told me not to hesitate anymore, it's only making me stronger when I do and there's no strain to Her at all."

"I want you to show the bracelet to Freyja before you let Auberon wear it."

"What are you worried about?"

"That it might be enchanted for some purpose, or that those symbols mean more than you were led to believe. Freyja is your best source for finding out. I don't know that Ludwig would know, even if we asked her. A Goddess would know if there were magick on it."

"OK, I'll ask Her in the morning, or tonight if you want…?"

"You can do it when you see Her. She'll be around the next few days."

"Yeah, She will – how did you know that?"

"There's huge magick going on around us, around the boys, around the Sabbat. She'll keep us close until after."

"Eric, you seem so sure about that… what's going on?"

"I've had other dreams I haven't told you about yet, Sookie."

"Are they horrible?"

"No, but they show near apocalyptic forces in conflict. I don't believe we'll be hurt out of it in any way, but there is always danger when the gods are involved."

"Yeah, I know. Entire civilizations get swept away sometimes."

"Yes, well, I don't expect anything so dramatic, but I do think there may be conflict."

"Don't underestimate Her, Eric. She knows exactly what and who She's up against."

Eric looked at her with surprise. He never heard her be so definite about anything, except that she was going to bring Auberon home. "What are you not telling me, Sookie?"

"I'm telling you what I remember as I remember it, but there's more we haven't covered yet. I do know this, though – those Goddesses know what They… I mean, WE… are doing. This goes back even farther than you know Eric. You know what a dodecahedron is?"

"Yes, a 12 sided geometric figure."

"Right – the Universe is basically a big dodecahedron of energy. We only see one plane of it, from the inside, which is 13."

"What is happening on the other 11 sides of it?"

"Who knows? I'll tell you something I haven't told you yet – Octavia and the others know, but not this context."

"What is that, Sookie?"

"There were 13 of us at Freyja's – 8 Goddesses, one for each Sabbat, and 5 female elders. That's 13, not 12, but 12 signs of the zodiac, but there used to be 13 and 13 is sacred to Witches and unlucky for Christians."

"What are you saying, Sookie?"

"I don't know yet."

"Are you afraid?"

"Yeah, but I'm hopeful, too."

"Did you say there used to be 13 signs of the zodiac?"

"Yeah, Arachne was dropped to make the zodiac have 12 instead of 13 signs, and Arachne is the Spider and Ariadne- Aphrodite was hanged, and so was Dionysus and he saved her when her lover abandoned her on an island and something, weavers and tapestry and ancient mariners… DAMN IT!"

"What Sookie?"

"I don't know - it's RIGHT THERE and I can't pull it out of my head. The Universe is a tapestry and we only follow one string… but if you know that you can skip around…"

Eric didn't say anything, but Sookie was practically babbling.

"I know I sound like I'm babbling, Eric, but believe me, at Freyja's house it made perfect sense, I just hope…"

"Hope what?"

"That my human brain can translate it so I know it here. I still have human limitations and while I'm sure Freyja has our best interests at heart, there were a few times when I wondered if She really understood human limitations. They forget sometimes, you know…?"

Eric spoke gently and cautiously because he was becoming worried about her. "Who forgets what, Sookie?"

"The gods sometimes forget that humans have limitations. Like, they'll mate with a human and forget to shield themselves and leave a woman nothing but cinders – that happened to Dionysus' mother, I think – what was that again? The Sun and the Moon, Apollo and Dionysus, Tripartite and duality… It's all so fucked up!"

"Sookie!" He didn't want to scold her, but he did want her to calm down a little. She was suddenly very agitated, and Bjorn had told him how giddy she was that morning.

"I know, but something has to happen to make it better. We used to have peaceful matriarchal cultures that lived by the lunar calendar of 13 months a year, then the partriarchal religions violently imposed a solar calendar and actively suppressed these other cultures and religions. All these Goddesses were these amazing, Tripartite Creatrices, or Creatrixes or whatever that word is, and they were Maiden and Mother and Crone and then their civilizations were just crushed by war and torture and they rewrote the myths so that the Goddesses turn on each other and aren't even Goddesses anymore…" Sookie was panting a little and Eric thought she was about to cry.

"Sookie, breathe, Sweetheart, you are getting very upset..."

"It's so big and so long and just a handful of people even know it wasn't always this way – that we don't have to be at war all the time and we aren't all going to burn in a lake of fire except for a chosen few – Eric it affects everything! The way people vote, the way they shop, the way they treat their neighbors and kids! The way they do almost everything. We have to pull the bits and pieces out of the dust and ashes of 6,000 years of hatred against the Goddess who only ever wanted to love us! Like, did you know that Jews and Christians and Muslims pray to the same god, the god of Abraham?"

"Yes, I did."

"They all think they're the chosen group and they're supposed to stamp out the others. Christians want to make the whole world Christian and Muslims want to make the whole world Muslim and we'd all be so much better off if we'd relax and let the Holy Mother love us!"

"True,"

"OMBA, Mamee!"

"Ah!"

Sookie laughed when the boys piped up and Eric stroked her cheek and kissed her.

"Your sons agree with you, my Angel."

"Yeah, they're smarter than almost everybody," Sookie laughed and relaxed a little. "Eric, what if it takes a big cataclysmic change to get us all back there?"

"Then it does – but I don't think it will."

"Why?"

"As long as communications remain as good as they are, the word can be spread very quickly. What took hundreds of years before might take only a few generations when you harness the power of the media."

"Yeah, that's why we're in the tabloids all the time."

"It is?"

"Yeah – all these little girls want to grow up to be Queen Sookie because when it comes out that Queen Sookie is a Goddess worshipper, they'll already be softened up."

"How will they find out?"

"I don't know yet, and I don't know when, but it's going to happen. They think if our family is pop culture icons, it makes people more disposed to take the Goddess stuff seriously."

"That makes sense."

"Yeah, it does."

"Sookie, I know what you are afraid of. The patriarchal religions are warlike by definition and they're known to be vicious and cruel. We will be very careful, but we also have to be very brave."

"Yes, we will. I just keep telling myself that as scary as it is, it's better than having another great flood or volcano destroy half the world so we have to rebuild it again. There's been enough death and suffering."

"Yes, there has."

Sookie suddenly relaxed as if someone flipped a switch and turned her off. She was asleep instantly, in an odd position, so Eric moved the sleeping babies to their co-sleeper and gently moved Sookie down in the bed. He was watching her sleep when the kitten bounced into the room and up onto the bed.

"Hello, Cat," Eric said with a smile as he stroked its little head.

"Meow!"

"Your master is sleeping."

"Merow-ow" The kitten said as she looked at the way the boys were situated and decided there was room to squeeze into the little crib next to Alex, walking over Sookie and settling against his back as he faced Aubie.

Eric turned out the lights and went to his office, going through the mail Alicia had left there for him. After he had seen what needed immediate attention, he called Bill's cell and asked him to meet him in the dining room in 20 minutes. He knew Bill would need a few minutes to dress and say good night to Pam, who he was sure wouldn't sit in on this meeting, but would be at the war council the following night.

He wrote out a few bills that couldn't be paid by computer and looked at the cryptic notes he had made for what he needed to tell Bill.

Bill was just coming in the back door as Eric turned on the dining room lights and put his steno pad on the table. Bill had a briefcase full of paperwork they needed to go over, but Eric had to get him up to speed on the larger issues at hand first.

"Bill, what I am about to tell you must not be repeated to anyone – not Pam, not Sandy. Agreed?"

Bill was shocked at how serious Eric was being about all of this. "Yes, of course."

"Alright, you know that Niall tried to keep Auberon from us, yes?"

"Yes."

"What you don't know is that Niall's enemy, Liam Cullach, sent assassins to kill him, and Sookie saved him, killing two of them by calling down Freyja's falcons, and she did it across time and space."

"What?"

"She was sitting upstairs in front of her vanity watching them in her mirror, as they were in Elfyria talking about killing another baby since they didn't have Auberon's head to prove their success, and Sookie sent the falcons after them there. They were ripped to pieces."

"Oh my god!"

"There's more. Freyja told Sookie later that night that she needed to make Niall afraid of her, and that Cullach had committed a blood offense against the Goddess. Sookie took one of my swords, went to Cullach's house and beheaded him…"

"Wha-!"

"…Carried the head to Niall's house, threw it at his feet and told him if he didn't stay away from her children, she'd have his head, too."

Bill was even whiter than usual, and he was in shock. He knew Eric was capable of lying, but he wouldn't invent a story that would put Sookie in danger. If she really did this… "Does anyone know?"

"Her security detail and her Witches. Dr. Ludwig, I believe, deduced the sequence of events. Niall told her he had the head, but he refused to speak of how it turned up at his house, but she came here and warned Sookie that no other heads should show up where they shouldn't be for a while."

"But he was here tonight..."

"They've reached a détente out of necessity. Bill, Sookie is the reincarnation of Titania, whom I am quite sure was murdered by Niall. She told him she knows whom she is, and that she's going to give him until 2027 before she decides if she wants to rule Elfyria. She's going to announce that she's the True Heir at the Wiccaning, and name Auberon as her successor."

"You are telling me that Sookie is Titania's designated heir?" He needed to be sure he was hearing this correctly.

"Yes."

"And you say she is Titania reincarnated?"

"Yes, I've known that for some time, but she remembers it now, as well."

"You knew – did you know Titania?"

"Yes, I did. She and Sookie are nearly identical in appearance. The first time Sookie went to Elfyria, she saw a portrait on the wall that she thought was she, but it was a portrait of Titania."

"They're that much alike?"

"In every way, except I believe Sookie is far more powerful."

"Titania was reputed to be a very gifted magician…"

"She was, but I don't think she could do some of the things Sookie has already done. You saw the amulet Auberon is wearing that shields him from our kind?"

"Yes, Pam was playing with it."

"Sookie materialized it and enchanted it."

"Materialized, as in, from thin air?"

"Yes, and with remarkable ease, according to Bjorn and Octavia."

"They saw her do it?"

"In front of them all, right at the kitchen table, in a matter of minutes and with very little effort."

"Good lord!"

"Do you know about her absence yesterday?"

"No, I don't."

"She was missing for over 24 hours, during which time she spent a week at Freyja's home in Folkvangr."

Bill just sat back and looked at Eric. "Gone for a day, there for a week – magick makes such things possible?"

"Yes. Niall is a very powerful time-shifter, too, so that might run in the family."

"That's quite a family. I never really connected that Titania would have to have been Sookie's great grandmother. Have you thought about the implications of you being a vampire King at the same time she might be a Faerie Queen?"

"Yes, this is all apparently a part of a grand plan on someone's part to bring peace between the vampire and the Fae."

"By having the two of you in charge?"

"For a time, at least, and then Alexander and Auberon. Again, this is strictly confidential, and it may take a few hundred years to come to pass, but we believe that the end result intended is Auberon in Elfyria, Alex in my kingdom, me on the Council, Freyja, Sookie and our daughter in the Pantheon as a Tripartite entity."

Bill had to blink back some tears and Eric gave him a minute to process it all. This was too big. It flashed through Bill's mind that he didn't know if he could do this. Sookie and her children would be in constant danger. This would make them targets for enemies from every direction, but it could also be a very real way to create peace. After a long while Bill asked "your daughter?"

"Yes, apparently there will be a girl in the not too distant future."

"Is she…?"

"Not yet – not that we know of, anyway, but I expect it to be very soon. Everything else is happening so fast, I'll be very surprised if she is not with child again before Yuletide."

"Won't you need Niall's intervention to make this happen?"

"I don't think so. Her physiology is changing – she's taking regular doses of Ambrosia now to acclimate her to the change."

"Is there such a thing? It's not a myth?"

"Oh, yes, there's a bottle of it up in our room. Starting tonight, she'll be taking two doses a day. It's the oddest shade of blue I've ever seen, and I believe the bottle replenishes itself because she's had more than the bottle would realistically hold. Anyway, let's talk about our war council."

"Well, now that I know all the circumstances, I'm glad we decided to do it early. It's far more important than I ever imagined."

"The main thing will be keeping the peace until Sookie announces her heritage. After that, the Fae won't follow Niall against us."

"Yes, but he'll know that, so he might try to strike early."

"Freyja told Sookie that She'll try to let them know whom she is before the Sabbat so they'll already know. That could work in our favor. They won't feel too kindly toward Niall if they know he's tried to lead them against the True Heir."

"Let's hope She does. Even with our best defenses, including the Weres, Daemons and Witches, I'm not sure we can hold off that many Fae. At what point does she make the announcement?"

"When the vows are stated. Auberon will be named Eric Auberon H'Eloise Northman, and Sookie will name him her heir at the end of her life or a time of her choosing."

"You are not giving the H'Eloise name to Alex?"

"No, we want to make it clear that Alex is my heir, Auberon is Sookie's."

"That's something, I suppose. How do you think the other regents will take the news?"

"Well, I do have some support from the European group, Australia and Egypt if I need to call on them so that's another resource we want to remember. I'm pretty confident Carolina will back me, as well."

"There's been talk of putting you above the North American regents, you know?"

"Yes, primarily because of the army."

"It's more than that, Eric, but I wonder if they'll feel the same when your Fae connection becomes undeniable?"

"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it. They can all take it under advisement after the Wiccaning. Have you been coordinating with the others?"

"Yes, and they're all coordinating with the commander at the camp. We're getting good reports from there. They'll be completely ready very soon."

"Good. We're still debating our best course of attack. There's a possibility we'll have Sookie make a preemptive strike."

"Sookie?"

"She's the only one of us with the potential to get past his defenses. Cullach never saw her coming."

"I can't believe you let her do that!"

"I didn't know about it. She had seen Freyja and said she had to do something before dawn and asked me to stay with the boys. I had no idea what she had planned until she returned covered in Fae blood."

"How did that affect you?"

"We went mad for a bit, but didn't damage each other. Sex makes us both quite intoxicated at this point, but she was able to tell me what she did once we calmed down a bit."

"Where are the children when you are "intoxicated?""

"Sleeping. Freyja protects them that way, so we can have them with us, but still have room to enjoy each other."

"Have you given any thought to Sookie's part in our defenses at the Wiccaning?"

Eric laughed, "her personal guards call her the Secret Weapon. Her abilities are becoming formidable, if she thinks to use them. I forgot to brief you on the incident at Dallas, now that I think about it."

"Yes, I knew something happened, but you said you couldn't cover it over the phone."

"New Centurion found a hole in our defenses and managed to get into the club with bombs. A series of fortunate circumstances led Sookie to know there was a problem, and Bjorn had her call the bombs into the demo room before they exploded."

"What do you mean "call?"

"I don't really know what to call it. It's like teleportation. She can call things, or even the boys, and they come to her or to a designated spot."

"I had no idea she had such powers."

"She can also fly and is learning to shape shift. She makes a marvelous mermaid, but she needs to work on land animals"

"Is there anything she can't do?"

"We haven't found anything yet, but we don't know all of the possibilities. Do you know Badru Bast?"

"The Egyptian regent? I've seen him but we've never been introduced."

"He and his wife, Amunet, will be sharing your chalet with you the day after the Wiccaning. She's a very practiced Witch and an empath. She and Sookie are what you might call kindred spirits. They will spend time during the day seeing what the extent of Sookie's abilities are."

"Amunet? Petite, pale skin, black hair in a Cleopatra/flapper bob?"

"Yes, exactly."

"Interesting. I've heard it whispered that she's largely responsible for him getting and keeping his office."

"I can easily believe it. She's clever and quick, and from what I saw, she's as fearless as Sookie. She and Sookie together are better than an army."

"If Sookie has all of these abilities, what does she need Amunet for?"

"To learn to think like a Witch. Sookie still thinks of herself as human. It doesn't occur to her to try certain things yet, though she's getting better. She was fantastic when we had the spies in here Monday night."

"Another incident you needed to brief me on?"

"Daemon spies sent by Niall to install bugs in the chalets. He wanted to listen in on our war council."

"How did you catch them?"

"Auberon recognized one from the day of the assassination attempt and Sookie picked up on it. She can apparently hear Daemons now, too. She stunned one who tried to fly away with a jolt of some kind of energy from her hand, she kept one from teleporting out of Amelia's chalet somehow and she "called" one who was outside the gates, whom she said she could hear like a radio."

Bill rubbed his eyes and shook his head, "is she omnipotent? Is that possible?"

"Some can block her, some cannot. She's not omnipotent, at least not yet, but she's powerful. She needs training and practice. Her skills are still a bit unpredictable."

"Unpredictable?"

"Yes, she took her Ambrosia at the wrong time early on and floated up out of her panties in a public restroom. Fortunately, Bjorn and her cousin Claudine were able to pull her down from the ceiling and get her home without any humans finding out."

"Where was she?"

"Hannigan's."

"If that had happened in the restaurant…!"

"Yes, but we've been fortunate, or else Freyja has been vigilant. I suspect She's letting Sookie learn her lessons in ways that will get her attention but not give her away."

"I hope that continues to be the case. I don't know how humans will react if they learn about magick and Fae."

"Yes, it would be inconvenient, but I suspect it will happen once Sookie takes Elfyria."

"Do you think she will?"

"I don't think she'll have a choice. I think Niall will push her and she'll be forced to kill him. Titania left a message for Sookie urging her to do that before he can kill her. She warned Sookie he would never let her take the throne."

"How did she do this?"

"There's a Book of Shadows – a Witches' spell book, or grimoire – that Niall cannot touch and which cannot leave Elfyria. Freyja has been taking Sookie to study it. It's where she learned the spell for Auberon's charm. The most miraculous thing is that when she needs something from that book, it appears in her book here. Her book is writing itself at times."

"I've never heard of anything like that!"

"Neither have we – even Octavia is amazed by it. Octavia says she has never seen the kind of power it would take to do some of the things Sookie has been doing, especially not with such ease."

"Is there any strain on her?"

"It can make her very tired, so we're trying to make sure she gets enough sleep. They estimate about 3 years before that is no longer a problem."

"Is there a reason for that?"

"It has something to do with her need to breastfeed the babies. There have been days when we've been told not to disturb her at all and she sleeps around the clock."

"If she were to be harmed…"

"That's the main issue just now – at some point, if she were to be killed, she would simply take on her full Goddess Nature, but she is not there yet and we don't know when she might reach that point."

"Will anything have to be done to cause the final transformation?"

"Yes, at some point, I'll have to turn her. The process will be the same as if she were going to be vampire, but the outcome will be different. In order to become immortal in any way, one has to die."

"Does she know this?"

"Yes, though I'm not sure she really understands the whole process yet. She is thinking about what it would mean and what effects it might have on her."

"What might those be?"

"We don't know yet. At one point, we thought that she might lose her telepathy, but given the new powers she's gaining, and the fact that she's taking Ambrosia, I no longer think that is a danger. I think if anything it will extend her telepathy to all creatures."

"To vampires?"

"Again, no one else must know, but she's beginning to develop it now. I also suspect that since she can hear Daemons, she might be able to hear Fae as well. We won't know until the ceremony, because she's never around them."

"She can hear you and the boys?"

"Yes, and we can hear her, but that's an effect of the bond. We don't know how it will work around others at this point. Things are changing so rapidly that what she cannot do one day might be possible the next."

"Have you ever known of a situation like this before?"

"No, I've never really heard of one. I've heard of people mating with the gods, but not being a direct incarnation. I think this is very, very rare. Most who manifest divine energy never know it, or they are "god-touched" but to become an actual Goddess is a completely new concept for me, though I don't doubt it because she needs the Ambrosia now."

"She drinks it, and you and the children drink from her – will that have any effect on you?"

"Yes, it will enhance our powers as well. I have apparently developed clairvoyance in the last week or so."

"How do you know this?"

"The last few days, when I am at rest, I have seen Sookie and the boys playing in the swimming pool. Today they spoke to me because they sensed I was watching, and I remember it."

"Did Ludwig have any comments about it?"

"She says it's nearly as rare for a vampire as having a child, but there is folklore that it has happened before."

"Auberon can fly as well?"

"Yes, and he's more advanced than a human child, but not as advanced as Alex."

"I heard him cry when Niall arrived. Is that going to be a problem?"

"He's very attached to Sookie at this stage, but we expect that will wane as he becomes more secure. He's a very sweet-tempered child, though, and he adores Alex."

"Does Alex adore him?"

"We were afraid Alex would react badly, but he has taken a very protective role with Auberon. He makes sure we know when he is hungry and he tries to teach him words that he knows."

"That must be adorable," Bill had to admit.

"Yes, it's very sweet. Auberon tries very hard to copy Alex, then Sookie and I say the word correctly to reinforce it."

They both laughed and then gradually turned to the paperwork Bill had regarding the reconstruction in New Orleans and the property sales in Las Vegas. By the time they got done, it was almost 2:00, so Eric zipped upstairs to find Sookie feeding both boys.

"That's a very sweet picture, my Angel," he beamed at them as he leaned in the doorway.

"Hey – we were just thinking about you. Come snuggle!"

Eric was undressed in a flash and the babies giggled as he zipped into bed with them all, giving everybody kisses. He wrapped his arm around Sookie and stroked the babies' heads and backs as they fed. Both boys were asleep in another 15 minutes and Eric tucked them in gently then rapidly shifted gears, hovering over Sookie, emitting a low growl from his chest, fangs down, nipping at her neck.

Sookie was more than ready to go along and she dug her nails into his lower cheeks to spur him on a little. It was a quiet, silly night as they tickled and giggled and slammed together, both so relieved to be in each other's arms that it wouldn't take much for the laughter to turn to tears. Eric was so relieved to have Sookie home, and he hadn't really had a chance to process it until now, that he poured all the accumulated stress and fear into his thrusts, doing everything he could to stretch it out and make it as long as possible. Sookie stretched beneath him, her feline movements fascinating him as he took her, very happy when she reached up and grabbed hold of the headboard, opening her legs as wide as she could now, whispering in his ear, "I missed you so much!"

He never slowed down, kissing her all over her face and neck, saying, "I'm so glad you're home, Sookie, I was out of my mind. Please don't ever leave me," he choked back a sob. Sookie didn't want him to dissolve into tears so she bit his shoulder as hard as she could, causing him to snarl and bite back. He struck so hard it made her laugh and he slipped his arms under her, floating them up, over and down on the floor. The thrall of their blood hit them both very quickly in a wave of heat and they stopped talking, fucking wildly on the floor. Eric came explosively, flipping Sookie around on her knees, holding her hips and taking her from behind. Sookie clasped her hands as if in prayer and put her weight on her forearms, her forehead on her wrist as she grunted with each deep stroke. She felt her lower half rising and soon her hands were braced on the floor, her legs held in the air as Eric took her in a standing position.

When she came to her senses later, she laughed that she didn't even know that was possible, but they were both so strong at this point – not to mention being able to fly - that more was possible than might be for others, though Sookie was sure she'd seen this sort of wheelbarrow pose in a book somewhere. Maybe in a magazine she found under the couch cushions at Jason's house once when she was waiting for him to get back with pizza? Anyway, she came like gangbusters, a loud roar escaping from her chest as she reveled in an extended orgasm that made her jerk her legs so hard that Eric nearly dropped her. He let her down and collapsed on the floor next to her, both of them cracking up. Gradually Eric lifted her back onto the bed and spooned behind her as they continued to chuckle until Sookie fell asleep.

Eric lay in the dark smiling and stroking her hair and shoulder until the boys woke up, then took them into the nursery for a book. Instead of reading, he used the little plastic book, opening the pages, showing Alex where the words it was reading were, asking them the shapes and colors shown, tickling them by letting them push the big button that made phrases or songs come out of it. At one point Alex said, "Obee undwy, Dadee!" So Eric opened the covered dishes left for the two of them and fed them a pretty good dinner, which was basically a repeat of their dinner earlier, but with apples for dessert. Aubie lost interest in the food pretty quickly and wanted to be held, so Eric held him in his lap while he fed Alex in one of the little carriers, mostly holding the bowl for him as he scooped up his own food. The kitten sat next to the carrier and watched as if she were supervising Alex's meal. As Alex ate the last bits of food that Eric scraped out of the dish for him, Aubie said, "uh, Mama?" and looked at Eric with big soulful eyes.

"Mama is in bed asleep. I'm going to take you to her right now, alright?"

Aubie bounced his whole body and said, "Mama" happily, knowing he was going to see her. Eric took the boys back to bed, Alex falling asleep very quickly, but Aubie trying so hard to reach for Sookie that Eric brought him over and wrapped him in her arms until he fell asleep, then he tucked him in next to Alex and the kitten after.

Jerry came cautiously up the stairs as Eric was giving Sookie her second cup of Ambrosia, and Eric went to rest contented that his family was safe and would be well-tended while he was gone. He would think about war tomorrow – tonight he wanted to bask in the glow of love for his beautiful family, and when he closed his eyes he could see them in his mind, sleeping soundly as Jerry watched over them.


	100. Chapter 100

**[A/N: Longest. Chapter. Ever. Enjoy! **Daoine Sídhe is pronounced "deena sheeuh"**]**

**Chapter 100**

Sookie's eyes flew open and she was sitting in the magick room in Elfyria again. The familiar hourglass with the golden sand sat next to her, so she flipped it and Book of Shadows opened itself to a particular page as a gentle warm breeze blew by.

"The Fae at War" Sookie read at the top of the page. It was an enemies list of sorts, with notes as to exactly what grievance with each group or individual the Fae held. The last entry was by a Queen Mother Genevieve H'Eloise and she had written "Niall Brigant, for the murder of my daughter, Queen Titania, and the death of her dear father, Lachlan, who died of a broken heart shortly after."

Sookie's blood ran cold as she read it, and she wondered what ever happened to Queen Mother Genevieve. She paged through the book and found a record of births and deaths that recorded her death, exactly one year and one day after Lachlan's, and the reason for both was marked as a broken heart. Sookie turned the page and was surprised to see her own family tree and a notation by her name that said, "Titania's chosen heir," after it. She ran her finger over the writing.

"Ye called, Milady?"

Sookie was startled, but was glad she didn't jump. There was an old woman in a grey blue gown with a white under-blouse and a matching old-fashioned kerchief on her head, in a deep curtsey and her eyes cast down, holding some kind of embroidered cloth over her arm.

"Hello," Sookie said, remembering her manners, "I'm Sookie."

"Oh, yes, Milady, I know who ye are," the older lady said in a thick brogue of some sort – Irish? Scottish? Welsh? "I'd have picked ye out of a crowd anywhere in the world. Ye are so like our Titania, I can scarce believe it. We've been waiting for ye to come home. I'm Madeleine. I've been with the H'Eloise family almost 400 years. I was Titania's nurse, and now I'll be your Lady in Waiting if ye'll have me."

"Oh, well, it's nice to meet you," Sookie stood up, noticing she was in her black ritual dress and nothing else again, and she stepped forward to shake the older woman's hand. Sookie wouldn't have guessed she was over 60. "Do I call you Madeleine, or…"

"Your great grandmother called me Maddy. Whichever ye prefer is fine, Milady." She began unfolding what turned out to be a gorgeous embroidered pink gown with long bell sleeves.

"I like Maddy," Sookie said sweetly, taking an instant liking to the older lady. "Do you work for Niall now?"

"My birthright is to maintain the H'Eloise home. The Prince has not the authority to replace me, though he'd certainly like to. The Council would never allow it, nor would the White Ladies," she explained as she helped Sookie into the robe. It was a little cold in here, so Sookie didn't mind having something warmer to wear.

"White Ladies?"

"Yes, Milady – ye haven't met them yet, have ye, now?" She helped Sookie with the gold buttons on front of the gown as she spoke. "Their proper title is Witte Wieven, which means Wise Women, but they're more commonly called the White Ladies. They're the spirits of powerful Witches who've become immortal and live among the Fae. They're the governing body in Elfyria. Only they could separate me and mine from our birthright, and Niall knows that if he were to openly oppose them, he'd lose most of his support."

"He has a lot of support?"

"Enough to hold the throne this long, but there are those who are near taking it. It will help him a great deal when your heritage is announced at the Wiccaning."

"Oh, you know about that?"

"Why, I'll be there! I wouldn't miss it for the world. We've waited a long time for this day. You should hear the rumors, Milady – the people are buzzing like a beehive about the idea of finally seeing the True Heir and now there are rumors of twin Princes! It's the biggest celebration anyone has seen since poor Queen Titania married Prince Niall!"

"Do they know anything about the Princes?" Sookie asked nervously as Madeleine went to a cabinet at the side of the room and took a pair of burgundy, gold-embroidered ballerina slippers and knelt to put them on Sookie's feet.

"Not to worry, Milady, they know about the fangs. Your little ones won't be the first or the last of the Tuatha to have a taste for blood."

"Oh, good – I was worried about that," Sookie said as she let the woman lead her down a long, long corridor of white stone. Sookie ran her hand over the stone and enjoyed the cool feel of it as they walked.

"They say one is more vampire and one more Fae – is that true?"

"Yes, so the Fae twin, Eric Auberon will have the H'Eloise name and he'll be my heir. The other boy, Eric Alexander, will be my husband's heir."

"Your husband is the Fae vampire, yes?"

"Yes, but most people only know him as a vampire."

"I can well understand that. The vampires wouldn't trust him if they knew, after the wars and all."

"Yes, and he's a really good king and the best possible husband."

"I'm sure he is, Milady, or ye wouldn't have chosen him. It's a grand love story, I hear."

"I think so – we knew it the minute we met, but I was afraid of him. He fought for me, though, and didn't give up, no matter how stubborn I was," Sookie laughed.

Madeleine smiled as she opened the big wooden door to the Queen's chambers.

Sookie stopped cold as she stepped into the room. Tears streamed from her eyes.

"My Goddess," she said softly, "I remember this!"

"Of course, ye do – these are your rooms. This was your favorite place in the world, my Child."

"Nothing has changed!"

"We've kept it just as ye left it, Milady, and everything in here is clean and fit to use," Maddy told her proudly.

Sookie walked over to the big, canopied bed and pulled back a dark burgundy velvet curtain. She had an overwhelming urge to lie down, so she did and Maddy pulled a beautiful quilt up over her. "I can't believe I'm so tired."

"You go to sleep now, Love, and don't worry about anything. I'll be here when ye wake up."

Sookie was asleep, but aware of it, and she enjoyed the comfort of the bed and the warmth of the quilt, the feeling of being home… HOME! "Trygg i min säng, trygg i min säng, trygg i min säng!"

Sookie's eyes popped open and she was in her own bedroom. "Bjorn?" she said in a little panic.

"Good morning," he smiled at her from his usual spot.

Sookie rolled to face him, relieved, but not really sure why. She rested her hand on Aubie's tummy for a second, then just pulled him to her and cuddled him as he slept.

"I guess Alex is in the gym?"

"Yep, Amelia is with him."

"OK, that's good, I guess," she said as she stroked Aubie's hair and cheek, tears streaming from her eyes as she looked at him.

"Sookie, are you crying? Did you have a bad dream?" Bjorn was concerned now. He half expected Sookie to break down at some point with all this change going on, He knew she had the power of a Goddess, but in her mind she was still very much a little girl from Bon Temps. Anyone would have a hard time adjusting to all this change and he figured she was entitled to give in to her nerves now and then, though he'd move heaven and earth to keep her from suffering. Bjorn didn't have a proper title for Sookie – she sure as hell wasn't a mother or sister to him – but she was family, just the same.

"I don't know what's wrong with me – I was in Elfyria and I went to sleep, and then I remembered I was needed at home and here I am. I was really there, though, Bjorn and it felt so comfortable and familiar! I remembered that room and that bed, and I know my good stuff is in the trunk at the foot of the bed and where my secret hiding place is…"

"What room, Sookie?" Bjorn spoke softly, trying to be as soothing as possible.

She spoke very quickly, still weeping. "Titania's bedroom in the castle in Elfyria. I met her nurse, or lady in waiting or whatever and she wrapped me in this soft warm gown and these cute little slippers and took me to her rooms and it was like coming home. Everything in me just needed to snuggle into that bed and hide, and I did, and she said she'd be there when I awoke, but then I remembered this is home and said my spell to be in my own bed."

"But you were here, Sookie – I was sitting right here watching you sleep."

"I didn't go anywhere?"

"No. You've been right there all night. You haven't been alone at any time. Jerry sat here and watched you, then I took over. You've never been out of our sight."

"It was real, though! I know it was!"

"Then you're able to be two places at once, Hon. That's a pretty handy skill," he teased her and gave her a big grin, trying to lighten her mood.

"Yeah, I guess so, huh?" She laughed a little. Aubie woke up and reached for her face and she kissed his lips and hugged him to her. She felt comfort and love coming from him and she mirrored it back as best she could, immediately feeling grounded.

Bjorn didn't say anything, hoping she'd doze off and forget about being sad, and it wasn't long before she and Aubie were sleeping peacefully.

Aubie called out "Mama!" and Sookie talked to him, never opening her eyes, and managed to open the buttons on her gown to let him feed. He fed enthusiastically and she smiled to herself as she adjusted his position and moved her arm out to the side where it brushed the velvet curtain surrounding them.

Velvet curtain?

Sookie sat up with Aubie in her arms and realized they were in Elfyria.

"Are ye awake already, Milady?" The nurse looked in to see Sookie nursing Aubie. "Oh, my! Is that our Prince?"

"Uh, yeah, please don't tell anyone. I don't think Niall should know he's here!"

"I should say not! You needn't worry, though, Milady, I've got guards in the corridor. Even if he came down the passageway, and he never does, he'd not get past them. They know you're here and I promise ye, they'll guard ye with their lives."

"OK, do I remember a rocking chair in here I can use?"

"Yes, of course – your rocking chair is by the hearth where it always is!" She helped Sookie get her shoes back on and get out of the bed, then led them to the other side of the room where the fire felt warm and soothing against the chill morning air. Sookie sat in the gorgeous oak rocker, which was upholstered in burgundy leather and felt like it was hugging her as she sat in it. The nurse brought a soft little blanket woven in shades of blue. "Wrap him in this, Milady, he won't like the cold. Fae children love to be warm."

"Oh, I didn't know that, but I know he certainly loves to be warm. He likes to be held, too."

"Of course he does! Nowhere in this world or any other will he feel as loved as when he's in his mother's arms," she said softly as she admired the baby at Sookie's breast. "What a little angel! So fair and such fine features! I've ne'er seen bluer eyes in all my years!"

"He has Eric's eyes. You should see how they sparkle when he laughs!"

"I expect I'll be seeing a lot of that, Milady. You'll be coming to visit regular now that you know where we are, and what you're about."

"Yeah, I guess I will…"

"It's all unfolding just as ye foretold, Milady. Have no fear, Child – the Goddess is with ye, just as She always was."

"Hey, wait a minute – you know Eric, don't you?"

"Yes, Milady, I do. He's a hard man to forget, even after all this time," the old lady said with a knowing smile.

"Yeah, I guess he is. What do you remember about them? When they were together?"

"I ne'er saw love the like of they had before or since. That kind of love lasts forever, but you already know that, Child. You've always known it."

"How many people knew – about Eric, I mean?"

"But four people in this world – me, the chamber maid, and your two most loyal guards. No one else in the house ever knew he was here."

"Where did he shelter in the daytime?"

"In your bed, Milady – no need for coffins in this world. Our sun wouldn't burn him, though he did rest in the day time."

"So we could sleep together like normal here?"

"As normal as any other Fae couple," she laughed. "As long as he's not trying to feed on the help."

"Oh, Eric would never do that!"

"He didn't seem tempted when he was here last, so I can believe that. He only had eyes for you."

"Thanks. Oh, no – the baby is wet!" Sookie said, patting his bottom

"Let me run get a fresh diaper for him, Milady. I've got some things stored away, just in case."

"Great, thank you, Maddy." Sookie said as she continued to rock Aubie as he suckled, talking to him softly and looking into his eyes. "What do you think of this place, Aubie? Technically, it's ours. Someday, when you grow up, you might live here all the time, but only if you want to. We'll come to visit and see how we like it and you've got a long time to see how you feel about things, and so have I. We're just going to keep all of our options open, as much as the Goddess will let us."

Aubie giggled against her and his eyes sparkled.

"What was that for? Was that giggle for the Goddess?" she teased him.

"Ah!" he said playfully, and reached up to Sookie so she pulled him up into a hug. He laid his head on her shoulder for a bit, then leaned back so he could see Sookie's face, patting both cheeks with his little hands. "Mama!"

"Yeah, I'm your Mama." She touched her forehead to his, "I'm Aubie's mama, and Aubie is my sweet boy!"

He giggled and hugged her again as Madeleine came back in with some white cloths.

"Would you like me to change him, Milady?"

"Oh – no, that's OK, I like to do it when I'm awake. He's a little shy of people he doesn't know," Sookie told her, hoping she wouldn't hurt her feelings. So far, Sookie felt like this was just the Fae version of Margaret and she felt much more comfortable than was probably smart, she told herself, but then she also knew this was a confidant of Titania's. "This might seem like a strange question, but how do we get back?" Sookie asked as she carried the baby to the bed.

"Well, I'm not an expert by any means, Milady, but I believe all you have to do is lie down with the baby in your arms and you'll wake up there."

"So, when I go to sleep there, I'll be awake here?" Sookie thought she understood now, trying to process that idea and wrestle with diaper pins at the same time.

"Yes, if you like. I'm sure it's up to you. You'll get the run of it pretty quick, I'd say – you always excelled in your magick."

"OK, well, I think I should go back now, but we'll be back."

"Alright, Love, just remember – if you want to bring Prince Auberon with you, hold him in your arms as you sleep. Otherwise, you'll come alone."

"Would that work with Eric?"

"I don't know – you'll have to try it and find out. Just as you used to say – "anyone can make a wish, but the magick is in the doing."

"This might sound strange, too, but, is there anything here I could take back with me? Just to have something to remind me?"

"Have you got a key in your pocket there?"

Sookie reached into the pocket of the pink robe she was wearing and there was an old-fashioned brass key. "Yeah, there is!"

"That will open the trunk at the foot of your bed. You kept your jewelry and letters and such in there. Maybe you'll find something there you would like?"

"Oh, good idea. I'm kind of curious to see what sh… I mean, what I left," Sookie said, but as the words left her lips, she was pretty sure she knew most of what was in it.

"You go ahead and take your time, and I'll be outside the door. If you need me, just give a call, and if you want to go back, just take the baby and go to sleep."

"Thank you so much!" Sookie picked Aubie up and went to the huge wooden trunk with brass corners. There was a stack of big velvet pillows beside it in deep, jewel colors, so Sookie pulled a purple one next to her and laid Aubie on it.

There was a little trick to getting the brass key to open the lock and Sookie was surprised that she instantly knew how to twist it just so, so that the tumblers would snap into place. She was shaking all over as she lifted the big lid, and could barely breathe as she looked inside. There was a beautiful black silk quilt, embroidered with pastel flowers done delicately in silk thread. Sookie knew it had been a wedding present, but that Titania loved it just the same because an…. Aunt, that's right, Titania's Aunt Katherine… had made it for her by hand. Sookie gently lifted it out and underneath there was a stack of old letters, some books that seemed to be hand written poems and spells, and a beautifully carved rosewood box that held Titania's favorite pieces of jewelry. Sookie was very excited to see the string of rosary beads she'd "seen" Titania use to pray, and she instantly knew that was what she wanted. She took the beads out of the box, kissed them, then closed it back up and put everything back in place. There was more to explore, but she'd do that another time. She really wanted to get Aubie back home and make sure Alex was alright, since he'd gotten upset before when she'd been away. Sookie locked the trunk and put the key back in her pocket, then took Aubie and the beads and got back into the bed. "OK, boy-a-mine, let's go to sleep now, alright?" She pulled the soft quilt up over them and they snuggled together, both of them going to sleep quickly.

Sookie was standing on the shore holding Aubie, but Freyja was nowhere to be seen. Sookie heard a gasp behind her and turned to see what looked like a mirror image of herself, dressed exactly the same, but somehow she knew this girl was younger than she.

"Who are you?" she asked, not wanting to scare the apparition, or whatever she was, away.

"I'm Sookie Stackhouse, but I think I'm you," the Younger said, a little scared and a little cautious, but also fascinated.

"I'm Sookie Northman now," Sookie said with a soft smile, suddenly feeling the urge to protect the girl in front of her.

"What year is it?" The Younger Sookie suddenly became excited that she knew what was happening. "I live in 2006."

"It's 2009 where I am."

"Is that my baby? Eric's baby?" The girl touched her own stomach, which Sookie noticed was just starting to form the familiar bubble.

"One of them. They're twins, you know, don't let anybody tell you different."

"Twins! Eric will be thrilled!"

"Yes, he will," Sookie beamed at her younger self.

"Are we still happy and in love?" the Younger asked hopefully.

"More than ever," Sookie smiled, walking closer so the Younger Sookie could see the baby, "This is Eric Auberon. His brother is Eric Alexander." The Younger looked closely, but both Sookies were instinctively afraid to touch. Aubie looked at the Younger with big blue eyes, and a tear came to the Younger's eye.

"He has Eric's eyes! He's so beautiful – is he vampire or Fae?"

"This one's Fae, but there's one of each, and Sookie, never trust Niall. He'll try to keep the Fae child if you're not careful. Ask Freyja to help you keep them together!"

"Freyja! She told me to give this to you," the Younger held out the Goddess rosary beads she and Bobbie had made.

Sookie reached for them, but there was a shimmer of light and an identical string was hanging from her own hand.

"Freyja said to tell you that the others need to stay in…what was that name?"

"Elfyria?"

"Yes, the other rosary beads have to stay there, but She said to give you these."

"Where did they come from?" Sookie asked as she looked at the beads. Aubie was looking them over, too, and playing with them.

"Bobbie and I made them of materials that Freyja likes – rubies, garnets, copper, rose quartz," she listed all she could remember.

"You know Bobbie? In 2006? And you're already pregnant?"

"Yeah, Eric and I just clicked and before we knew what hit us, we were bonded and expecting Baby E in just a week or so!"

Sookie suddenly had a thought. "Sookie, this is important – did you ever sleep with Bill Compton?"

"No, thank Goddess! Eric got me away from him before we got that close. He was just trying to recruit me for his Queen!"

Sookie closed her eyes and said, "Thank you, Goddess!"

She opened her eyes and she was lying in her bed, Aubie in her arms, and the rosary beads in her hand.

"Hey, sleepy head," Bjorn teased her.

"Hey! Is Bobbie up yet? I have to tell her something right away!" Sookie kissed Aubie's forehead twice and put him in the co-sleeper.

"She should be up by now – want me to call her cell phone?"

"Yes, I really need to tell her what just happened so she can tell me about these beads!" She struggled a little, pulling herself up to a sitting position.

"Where did those come from?" Bjorn didn't remember seeing those before.

"You won't believe me when I tell you! I don't even believe it, but here they are!"

Bjorn buzzed Bobbie, who was just out of the shower, then Sookie buzzed down to the kitchen for some breakfast. Amelia came in with Alex as Sookie sat up, and Bobbie came bopping down the steps behind her.

"Maybe Octavia should be here for this?" Sookie asked out loud, though she was talking to herself.

"What's going on, Sookie?" Amelia wondered

"You won't believe it! I don't believe it!"

Amelia handed Alex to Bjorn as she said, "I'll go get Octavia, Hon. Be right back!"

Amelia knew this would be something juicy because Sookie was so excited.

"Sookie. is it good or bad?" Bobbie was dying to know what was up now, and she was frantically looking for a blank page in her journal that she grabbed on her way out of her room.

"It's AMAZING! Do you know what these are?" Sookie held the beads out to her.

"Yeah, it's a Goddess rosary. This looks like one I made for myself ages ago – I even tied the end off this way, see? I wonder where those are?"

They could hear Amelia and Octavia coming up the stairs so Sookie said, "hang on…" until they got into the room. Octavia, still in her robe, came over and sat at the table opposite Bjorn, "Mornin', Queenie." Amelia leaned against the doorway to the bathroom, and Bobbie sat on the foot of the bed on Eric's side, still looking over the beads.

"OK, y'all, you won't believe the morning I've had!"

"Somebody taking notes?" Octavia asked and Bobbie showed she had her journal open and pen at the ready.

"OK, this is a three-parter. First, I woke up in Elfyria this morning, in front of the book, but then I met my lady in waiting, Madeleine, who showed me to my rooms, meaning Titania's rooms, and I knew the place instantly. I lay down in the bed there, went to sleep and woke up here. I was a little freaked out, as Bjorn can attest, then I hugged Aubie to me and went back to sleep. The two of us woke up in Elfyria, I breast fed him rocking by the fire in Titania's room and I changed his diaper – see this weird cloth it's made of? And then I wanted something to bring back with me so I went into this big trunk and found her jewelry box and I took a string of what I guess were rosary beads out of it to bring back with me. I got back into bed, beads in hand, Aubie in my arms, and I woke up on the shore where I usually see Freyja. Ok, are you with me?"

Everyone nodded or said 'yes,' hanging on every word she said.

"OK, I hear this gasp and turn around and there's me, but a younger me. I'm face to face with Sookie from 2006!"

"Holy shit!" Bobbie was jumping out of her skin, Amelia was laughing with delight, Octavia was impressed and Bjorn was trying to digest what she'd just said.

"Ok, so I'm standing there, holding Aubie and she says she's from 2006 and I told her I'm from 2009. She asks if she and Eric are still together, I say it's better than ever, and I warn her that there are two babies, and not to trust Niall and I let her look at Aubie, but both of us know we shouldn't touch – I don't know how, but we did. She notices he has Eric's eyes, I tell her he's Fae and Eric Alexander is vampire, then I mention Freyja and she says Freyja said the rosary beads of Titania's needed to stay in Elfyia, but she's supposed to give me these. She holds up a string of beads then there's a flash of light and I'm holding this…" she indicated the string of beads Bobbie had, "identical string of beads, and I asked her where they came from. She said she and Bobbie made them. I said, wait – it's 2006 and you know Bobbie and you're already pregnant? And I suddenly understood, and I asked if she ever slept with Bill Compton and she said, no, she and Eric hooked up and were bonded and pregnant the first week they knew each other and he got her away from Bill before they got that close. Then I closed my eyes and said, "thank you, Goddess," and when I opened them, Aubie and I were here, just now!"

"Wow!" came from Bobbie and Amelia as Bjorn and Octavia made similar exclamations.

"OK, Octavia, tell me if I'm right – that wasn't just a younger me, it was a me from a different dimension or something – one where I met Eric and did everything right, right?"

"That certainly sounds like what happened," Octavia laughed as she was beginning to absorb it.

"So somewhere, some version of me got it right, right?" Sookie was getting a bit giddy, which did not escape Bjorn's notice.

"It certainly sounds like it. And she told you she and Bobbie made these beads? Bobbie, you ever done anything like that before?"

"Yeah, I have. If I look through my stuff I can show you a set I made for myself, and what's funny is, I even tied them off the same way this one is here, see?" She held the beads out and let Octavia see how the ends were knotted and joined at the connector.

"Well, then, Queenie, I'd say your next move is to learn to use them."

"Wait, are they rosary beads? Is that the right name for them?"

"Yep, that's the right name. I can tell you how to use them, but I don't know a lot about the use of prayer beads in history or other cultures, I just know they use them in these parts." Octavia said.

"I know about them…" Bobbie said as Alicia came in with Sookie's breakfast tray.

"OK, then Bobbie, teach her everything you know. I'm going to go get a cup of coffee and think about this." Octavia said as she went to the stairs so she could go to her room and get dressed.

Amelia took Aubie to feed him, and Bjorn fed Alex as usual. Bobbie went upstairs to find her own beads, and Sookie wolfed down a big breakfast of her favorite, salmon and bagels. When Bobbie got back she spent almost an hour giving Sookie a rundown of the use of rosaries in different religions and cultures.

"So, they're originally a Goddess thing?"

"Yep."

"Do people know this?"

"Nope."

"And the beads symbolize the petals of a rose, and the petals of the rose are the…"

"….Labia of the Goddess. If they only knew, huh?" Bobbie laughed and everyone else did, too.

"So, why do Catholics use them?"

"It's one of those things people wouldn't let go of when they were forced to convert, so they wrote knew uses and meanings for them. Jesus didn't approve of rosaries. He told his followers not to use "vain repetition as the "heathen do.""

"For real? I could look that up in a bible?"

"Yep, Mathew 6:7."

"Is there a bible around here, anywhere?"

"Octavia has one, Hon," Amelia told her.

"OK, I want to see it later. Not that I don't believe you, Bobbie, I just need to see it for myself for some reason."

"No problem. I had to look it up when I found out about it, too. It's just another example of people claiming to practice a religion when they really have no idea what its sacred texts say. People will kill in the name of a religion they know very little about."

"That's hard to wrap my mind around, but I know it's true. They think they know what it's about, but they really don't."

"The thing that gets me," Amelia said, "Is that they'll do the sickest stuff imaginable if they think "god" is on their side. Some of the stuff they did in the Inquisitions in the name of religion – it's worse than any slasher movie you've ever seen, and these were Catholics and Protestants both, all claiming to be doing "god's" work."

"Look at the stuff they did in Abu Ghraib – it wasn't as gory, but there was no reason for it, and I guarantee you, at the time they did it, they thought they were doing the right thing," Bobbie said.

"Some of them said they were following orders," Bjorn said, knowing more about the situation than he could say, "who knows? Maybe they were."

"That argument didn't help anybody at Nuremburg," Bobbie responded.

"There's a book called **The Lucifer Effect**," Bjorn said, "have you heard of it?"

"I haven't read it but I know of it – it's about that Stanford Prison Experiment," Bobbie said.

"I've read it," Amelia replied. "It's pretty heavy reading, but it's important information."

"OK, I never heard of it, what do I need to know from it?" Sookie asked.

"It's an experiment they did with a bunch of average college students," Bobbie explained, "where they randomly assigned some as guards and some as prisoners. It only took days for the guards to begin to dehumanize and degrade the prisoners. They got so sadistic so quickly that they had to end the experiment early."

"See," Bjorn continued, "one of the things a dominant group does when they want to control or oppress people is to dehumanize them. Like in Nazi Germany, they started rumors that Jews ate babies…"

"They did that with Witches, too," Amelia added.

"Right, it's a standard tactic – they make them seem barbaric and less than human so that normal people can be convinced to stand by or even participate in things like Witch burnings, or lynchings or their neighbors being dragged off and killed in concentration camps. People are social animals and it's in our nature to go along with the group, then most people are socialized to submit to authority through religion and education and that makes them easy to manipulate."

"They go along out of fear, though, right," Sookie asked, "they're afraid they'll be next?"

"That can be part of it," Bjorn explained, "but more often, they're told the "authority" in question is doing what it needs to do to keep them safe. People stop thinking when they're scared. If you've already indoctrinated them to see someone as The Enemy, it's not hard to get them to go along with destroying the perceived threat. That's the basis for psyops – you create a reptilian response."

"Is that the R-brain thing Bobbie told me about?"

"Right. Fear makes people revert to more primitive instincts. They stop thinking and start reacting."

"How come you know so much about psychology, Bjorn?" Sookie asked innocently.

"Oh, uh, I just picked it up somewhere. Would you mind if I ran down to get a cup of coffee?"

"Sure, go ahead. I'm planning to hang out up here all day, though, because of the war council tonight. I don't think being outside today is a good idea."

"Good idea, Sookie, it's much safer. I'll be right back," Bjorn said as he rushed out of the room, praying Sookie would forget about that particular line of questioning.

"Is he OK, Bobbie? He seemed agitated all of a sudden?" Sookie asked

"You weren't able to hear anything?"

"No, he was thinking "coffee, coffee, coffee," like he does when he doesn't want me to pick up what he's thinking. Did I say something wrong?"

"No, Sweetie," Bobbie reassured her, "I think he said a little more than he intended to. That "psyops" reference slipped out."

"What does that mean, anyway."

"Psychological Operations. It's a military slash spy thing. He's not supposed to talk about that stuff."

"Oh, OK. I won't bring it up again, then."

"Thanks. He'll relax if we just change the subject."

"So, Sookie," Amelia changed the subject, "you're not going down to the pool?"

"No, I think the boys and I should stay indoors and away from the windows so I thought we'd just hang out in here, or the nursery or gym. I don't know why, I just don't think we should go out today. "

"Considering that you've had spies on the grounds about that war council, that's probably a good idea," Amelia agreed, knowing Sookie should always follow her instincts.

"How about doing something silly, like an indoor picnic?" Bobbie suggested

"How would we do that?" Sookie liked the sound of it, anyway.

"We spread a big quilt on the floor in the gym, we eat our lunch up there and play with the babies. Alex can fly around and show off, and Aubie can practice sitting up and we could play music."

"That's not a bad idea! The boys went wild when you played The Beatles for them. Maybe Aubie will fly some, too. Eric wants him to practice."

"OK, I'll run and ask Margaret if she can do us a picnic lunch," Amelia offered.

"Good, Sookie, let's take the boys and get some toys to take up to the gym. We'll need a big quilt."

"Amelia, ask Margaret if she's got a quilt, OK?"

"Sure. What about music?"

"I'll bring my boom box out of my room," Bobbie offered. "Come here, Pookie!" She held her arms open and Alex flew into them happily.

"OK, I'll meet you guys up there," Amelia said as she bounced toward the stairs.

Sookie grabbed a pair of black drawstring shorts out of her dresser drawer and threw a pink knit camisole on with them. "OK, Aubie, come with Mama!" Sookie gave him a big smile and a kiss as she picked him up from rolling toward the end of the bed where Bobbie was standing with Alex.

The four of them went into the nursery and looked around. Sookie decided to take a little blue rocking pony up for them, and their Teletubby dolls, plus Elmo and their blue Teddy bear.

"Let's find some new stuff for them to play with…" Sookie said as she looked around.

"It's all new to Aubie, isn't it?"

"Yeah, but there's a ton of stuff in the closet Alex hasn't seen. Look at this!"

Bobbie read the package, "Infantino Surfboard Tummy Time Mat. That's really cute! That would be good for Aubie. Alex is a little beyond it already."

"Cool, it's something just for Aubie. I like that. Ooh, look at this!" Sookie pulled a box out of the right side of the closet, where it was pushed back behind the portable highchair and stroller boxes. "It's a dragon!"

"DWADON!" Alex said joyfully when he saw the picture on the side of the box, alarming the kitten as she waited outside the nursery door. She meowed, but relaxed when Alex giggled.

"Can't have too many of those!" Bobbie laughed. "Fisher-Price Stride to Ride Dinosaur. That'll be perfect for Alex if he's tall enough to reach the handles. It's for babies just learning to walk."

"Yep, and he'll go wild when he sees it out of the box."

"Does Aubie like dragons?"

"I don't know. I don't think he's ever seen one, has he? No, wait, I remember Alex trying to get him to say "dwadon" once when Alex was playing with Boss, but he didn't really register what he wanted. Let's find out. Grab the purple dragon out of the crib, too."

"OK, let's take a blanket up in case the boys fall asleep, and lets take these little teethers so they have something small to chew on."

"This is a bunch of stuff just to go up one floor," Sookie laughed as they stacked stuff up by the elevator with their free hands, pushing some stuff with their feet.

"Yeah, but it will be fun. It's just something a little different to do since you don't want to go out," Bobbie said as she pushed the button for the elevator.

"Yeah, I don't know why I don't, I just don't," Sookie said as they pushed the stack of toys into the car. The kitten followed them in hesitantly, but it did follow.

"I'm sure there's a reason, so don't. Your intuition is sharp as hell now," Bobbie said as Sookie pressed the button to take them all upstairs.

Amelia was coming up the stairs as the elevator door opened on the fourth floor, a pretty bow-tie quilt and a big blue blanket over her arm, so she helped them move the stuff from the elevator into the big room.

"Margaret says no problem – she was doing roast beef sandwiches anyway since she has to do refreshments for Eric's meeting tonight. I almost slipped and called it the 'war council!'" Amelia laughed. "She'll have trays of sandwiches for the Weres and humans and RM for the vamps."

"How many humans will be there?" Sookie asked, not being able to think of any.

"There's a Witch and a Wizard, then Alcide, Jerry and Bjorn, and Vincent is what?" Bobbie tried to remember what Bjorn had told her.

"You know, I have no idea. I always assumed he was a vampire, but I think he was here once during the day when they swept for bugs - but then I also know he's Pam's second, so I don't know – is there anything else? He couldn't' be Fae and work in a vampire club."

"We'll ask Bjorn when he comes up," Bobbie suggested as she let Alex go fly and helped Amelia spread the blanket on the floor, then put the quilt on top of it to cushion the hardwood floor.

"Do you suppose there are lots of things? Sookie said as she put Aubie his back on the blanket then sat beside him, "I mean, I know there are Daemons and Faeries, humans, Weres of all kinds, and angels and Goddesses and gods, and demi-gods – what else?"

"That's all I've ever heard of," Amelia said, taking the riding-walking dino parts out of the box, "but the Fae and Daemon categories include a lot of different beings and I think the demi-god category does, too.

"Me, too. If those myths are true, though, who knows what else there might be. It would be cool to know, wouldn't it?" Bobbie mused, then said "be right back," as she ran down the hall to her room for her music player.

"Seems like I would need to know, but then there are a lot of things I think I need to know that I don't. That's a recurring theme with me," Sookie laughed at herself as she patted Aubie's tummy and smiled at him, teasing him a little and tickling his chin as he giggled and waved his arms.

"Did they tell you anything about that at the Summit, Sookie?"

"Yeah, now that you mention it. At some point, a lot of information will flow into me, but it will be a while before my mind can withstand it. If they do it too soon, I could go crazy, at least for a while."

"That makes sense," Amelia said. "You can access information now, though, can't you?"

"Yeah, when I really need it, so it doesn't really matter. I'll have it if I need it to keep us safe," Sookie said as she tore into the package for the "tummy time" mat and looked at the instructions. "Hey, you have to add water to this, and it says you have to empty it every day. That's a pain in the butt," she laughed.

"You won't have to do it, Sookie," Amelia teased her as Bobbie came back with a solid unit that had two speakers in it and a dock for an iPod.

"Do what?" Bobbie asked as she plugged the thing into the wall near them.

"Empty this little bubble thing for this play mat. You have to fill it with water and empty it every day."

"Let me see?" Bobbie came over for it and looked it over, then looked at the instructions. "I'll take this to my bathroom and fill it for you," she ran back down the hall as Bjorn came up in the elevator and went into the gym with a folding chair. "Hey, Sweetie!" Bobbie called to him as they passed.

"What's the chair for, Bjorn?" Sookie wondered

"I need to be able to move quickly. Sitting on the floor is not a good idea when you're protecting someone."

"You don't think that will be a problem up here, do you?"

"I'm not taking any chances. People know about the meeting tonight. Everybody is on alert and Jerry will be up here with us when he gets up. I'm really glad you decided to do this today. I was going to try to talk you out of going out to the pool, anyway."

"I had a feeling that might be the case. What do we need to put that dino together, Amelia?"

"A Phillips head screwdriver," she said as she looked over the instructions.

"Eric's tools are in the basement. I'll be right back," Bjorn said, setting the chair up then going quickly back to the elevator. He wanted to get what he needed and get back up there, because he was afraid Sookie was having a premonition that something was going to go wrong. By the time he got back, Aubie was on the tummy time mat looking at the fake fishies in the bubble/aquarium and Bobbie was putting little socks and white baby shoes on Alex so he could run around on the wood floor.

Alex wasn't too sure about these shoes at first, since he'd never worn any like them, but when Bobbie set him up on his feet, he loved the way they felt when he ran around in them. He'd run over and look in the mirror, then he'd run back to supervise Sookie and Amelia putting his "dween dwadon" together. Bjorn turned out to be pretty good at putting things like this together, and in no time Alex was pushing his new buddy all around the big room, lights flashing, sounds and songs playing over and over, Alex squealing and giggling the whole time as his little voice echoed into the rafters. Sookie turned Aubie so that he was facing where Alex was running around so he could watch as he was propped up on the little pillow. The mat itself turned out to be kind of thin, so they folded the baby blanket under it so he was well padded, and they gave him a little set of plastic keys to play with along with the little toys that were attached to the sides of the mat.

"Woogie, Obee, ahm wokkeen wi ma dwadon!"

"Ah-ahh!" Aubie tried to respond, trying to push up on his little hands. Sookie had the feeling that the little pillow was more in his way than anything so she took it off the mat and Aubie was free to push up on his hands and knees and creep around. After about 20 minutes investigating all the good stuff on the mat, he fell over on his side and with a little help from Sookie he was able to sit up and watch Alex.

"Ah, Bumby! Ah!" Aubie waved his arms and called to Alex, wanting his attention, and Alex turned the dino around and ran back toward him. When he got near the blanket, Alex let go of it and walked toward Aubie, Bobbie and Sookie both holding their hands out in case he fell, but he managed to get over to Aubie, kiss him on the forehead, then pat his cheeks saying "Ah, Obee. Dood Buggy!" before turning to run back to the dino. The women all went "Awwww!" and Alex beamed, knowing it was for him being so cute. Aubie was beside himself that Bumby paid attention to him, waving his arms, giggling and drooling and Sookie wiped his mouth with a little blue cloth and rubbed his back.

"Wasn't that sweet of Buddy, Aubie? He gave you a kiss!"

"Ah! Bumby dahban!" Aubie patted Sookie's cheek with one hand and pointed at Alex with the other.

"Yeah, Buddy has a dragon!"

Amelia handed Sookie the purple dragon and she gave it to Aubie. "Look, Sweetie, here's a dragon! Yeah, this is a dragon, too!" Aubie looked at it with big eyes, pulling at the fuzzy plush fabric and holding a wing out to show Sookie. "Yeah, he's got wings. Wings are for flying."

"Uh! Bumby, Dada!" He pointed up and Sookie saw in his mind that he was remembering flying outside with Eric and Alex.

"Yeah, you went flying with Daddy and Alex, didn't you? You flew up in the air!"

"Ah!"

"Can you say "fly," Aubie? Fly?"

"Bah!"

"Fly!"

"Bah!"

"Good try, Cookie!" She snuggled him and kissed his head.

"Sookie," Amelia said quietly, "look at Alex."

Alex had the dino up against the mirror, looking at himself very intently, then pushing a button on the dino, bouncing a little to the music, then he'd go back to looking in the mirror, occasionally pressing his forehead against it. At one point he stuck his tongue out and touched it to the mirror.

"Alex, Sweetie! Don't lick the mirror," Sookie said to him, laughing.

"Wadiz wick?"

"Lick means touching it with your tongue. You can look in the mirror, but don't touch it with your tongue, OK?"

Alex looked into the mirror and curled his tongue out and downward, looking very hard. Sookie could see the wheels turning in his head, figuring out what his tongue was and what 'lick' meant.

"He's so smart," Sookie said quietly, "sometimes, I swear, I think he's smarter than anybody."

"You might be right, Hon. He obviously knows things that he can't possibly know through normal means, even if he were a genius – he knows stuff he's never actually encountered," Amelia agreed.

"Yeah, he does, especially about magick. I wonder how Aubie will be in that respect? Like, is it because of Freyja or is it the individual spirit that Alex is, and I wonder how alike their spirits are, you know?"

"Yeah, I've thought about that. I think they're very different, mostly because of the kitten." Amelia nodded to the other side of the gym, where the kitten was chasing dust particles in a beam of sunlight.

"I know!" Sookie said, "like, I wonder if one will show up one day for Aubie, or is it just for Alex? The cat has never really shown any interest in Aubie. It will let him pet it and all, but it doesn't work at getting his attention like it does Alex's."

"Where's your book, Sookie?" Bobbie asked, "You should be writing these questions down."

"Good point," Sookie agreed, holding out her hand and saying, "book and pen!" so that her journal appeared in her hands, pen attached.

Bobbie entertained Aubie for a bit, letting him put a little crab shaped toy from the play mat in his mouth, then pulling it away playfully, making him laugh while Sookie was writing in her Journal.

"While you're at it, Sookie, write down everything that happened to you this morning," Amelia reminded her.

"Hey, where's Octavia today?" Sookie asked

"She went back to bed. She's sleeping in so she can go to the war council tonight," Bjorn told them.

"Oh – I didn't know she was invited!" Sookie said with surprise and just a tiny bit of jealousy.

"Yep," Bjorn continued, "she's going to feel out the Pagans – one of them is that woman from the Coven and Eric wants someone to feel her out and see if they're in cahoots with Niall. They're going to do a run through of what to expect at the ceremony, then after they leave, Alcide will meet with Eric, Bill, me, Jerry, Vincent and Rafael to make sure our troops are all in place."

"Is Rafael going to be there for the whole thing?" Sookie didn't know why, but she was sure the answer was 'no.'

"No, he'll come in after the Pagans go. It's better if they work undercover, so Niall doesn't know who is with us, especially since it's unclear what his relationship is to the Coven."

"That's good thinking," Sookie agreed. "Hey, we were all wondering earlier, what is Vincent? He's not a vampire, is he?"

"No, he's something I never heard of before. He's a Cambion."

"Wow!" Amelia said as Sookie asked, "what's a Cambion?" looking back and forth between Amelia and Bjorn as Bobbie shrugged.

"I know – it's a hybrid born from an Incubus and a human. Merlin was supposed to be one," Amelia explained as Bjorn nodded that she was right.

"Incubus? That's a horror movie, isn't it?" Sookie knew she'd heard the word before.

"They made a couple based on the mythology, but I'm sure the people that made them had no idea there really is such a thing as an Incubus, so I doubt they're realistic They'd play if for the scare factor," Amelia explained.

"Did you know they were real before now?"

"Nope, and I have no idea what one would look like or if…" Amelia was searching for a polite way to say it.

"If?" Sookie asked, knowing it was something unsavory.

"Well, the mythology is that they're demons or daemons or whatever that prey on women in their sleep, sexually."

"Like, rape?"

"Maybe? That's the mythology, but then some of the stories say they "seduced" women so the consent issue – who knows?"

"Ew. Is there a female daemon like that?"

"Yeah, they're called Succubi. A Succubus is a female Incubus that preys on men in their sleep."

"Weren't they considered to be vampiric?" Bobbie asked, "I thought their victims were known to waste away?"

"According to the mythology, yes, but again, who knows about the reality?"

"Think Octavia would know?" Sookie wanted to know more.

"Maybe, but I'm pretty sure that's something she'd have mentioned by now if she did," Amelia speculated.

"OK, so is Vincent immortal or undead or just long lived like a Faerie? Does he have any powers?" Sookie asked.

"He's got some kind of powers," Bjorn said, "because he can move faster than the eye can see. I don't know what else he can do, but he's super fast and super strong."

"OK," Sookie nodded, "I guess it's as good a time as any to bring this up. My journal is writing itself again."

"Really? What's in it?" Amelia asked and Bobbie was practically jumping up and down.

Sookie opened the book and handed it to them. In what appeared to be Sookie's handwriting it said:

On the small beads say one phrase for each:

_Freyja, Frigga, Vanadis,_

_Wrap me in Your golden bliss_

_Lady, Lover, Warrior, Mother,_

_Bless Our love for one another_

_Wrap me in your Falcon cloak_

_Let Erik's love in me invoke_

_My greatest good; I shall aspire_

_to manifest all You desire_

_Sun and Moon, Land and Sea_

_Let your power flow through me_

_Wise of mind and pure of heart_

_From Erik We shall never part_

_Lady Shining on the Sea,_

_Awaken magick born in me_

_With good for all and harming none_

_Through me now shall Your will be done_

_Freyja, golden boar and cats,_

_Let me remember my lives past_

_To finish work that came before_

_I'm ready to walk through the Door_

_Your power is Mine,_

_Now is the time,_

_East through North, three times three_

_You manifest Your dreams through Me._

On the bigger dark beads say "_Blessed is the Lady, Our Mother and Our World_" then repeat; OR say one line, repeat it on each smaller bead in a set, then do the _Our Mother_, then another line for the next group.

"Wow, Sookie, that's what you need to do the rosary!" Bobbie recognized it instantly.

"That's exactly what this is!" Amelia said. "You have no memory of writing this?"

"Nope, and I'll tell you something else – that's her handwriting, not mine."

""Her," who?" Amelia asked

"Sookie 2006. Look at the "Es" – see how they're regular loopy "Es?""

"Yeah" Amelia and Bobbie said together.

"Look at the stuff I did write. I make Greek "Es" – I read a couple of years ago that using Greek "Es" – the kind that look like backward "3s," you know? – makes you look educated, so I taught myself to use them when I print. And look at her date in the corner – no line through her "7s." I started putting lines through my "7s" at about the same time for the same reason."

"Right, it makes it look like you were educated or lived in Europe," Amelia confirmed.

"Yep. I knew it was sort of… "putting on airs" but I wanted people to think I was smart and when I read that makes you look educated, I started doing it. But that was way after 2006 – as a matter of fact, Eric was the first person I saw make a "7" like that and I asked Bill about it. Sookie 2006 hasn't changed her writing yet."

"Sookie, that's amazing! I need to go get my journal – hang on," Bobbie popped up and ran down to her room. Sookie and Amelia exchanged an amused look when they both noticed Bjorn turn his head to watch her run away. It was such a guy thing to do, and it was so cool that Bjorn cared so much about her.

"I wonder if I can get my journal to answer questions?"

"What do you mean, Sookie?" Amelia had an idea what she meant, but wanted to be sure.

"I mean, I wonder if I wrote some questions, would the book write the answers?"

"There's only one way to find out."

"Yep, like Titania used to say, anybody can make a wish, but the magick is in the doing," Sookie said as she wrote the quote down in the book. "OK, what do I call this page? "Questions I need answers to?""

"That sounds good," Amelia encouraged her. "Give it a shot. If it works, fantastic. If it doesn't, at least you've got a list to remind you to ask Freyja or whomever."

"OK, what does a Cambion – how do you spell that?"

"C-A-M-B-I-O-N," Amelia told her.

"OK, what does a Cambion look like, what are their powers, how do they interact with humans?" Sookie said out loud as she wrote it in her journal.

"That sounds good," Amelia said as Bobbie came back with her book. Alicia came up with a picnic basket full of sandwiches and a platter of crudités, plus a huge jug of sweet tea that Bjorn had to carry in from the elevator, and they put it on another folding chair so they could get their cups under the spigot. She also dropped off two bottles of blood for the boys, though it would be a bit before they got hungry, and she left the two Bloom Bouncers up there so Sookie had a place to put the boys if they dozed off.

About the time they each got squared away with a sandwich, Jerry came up with another folding chair for himself. "How we doin' up here?" he asked with a smile. He was as happy as Bjorn that the girls weren't outside today. Sookie noticed that he was wearing an earpiece like Bjorn used sometime and she wondered why he would need it in the house.

"Hey, Jerry – you want a sandwich?" Sookie offered as he came in and sat on the other side of them facing Bjorn.

"Sure, I can eat a sandwich."

"You want mayo or mustard?" Sookie was playing hostess.

"Mayo, please," he laughed a little at Sookie serving him. She was such a doll – so unspoiled. He and Bjorn just looked at each other and shook their heads as she got them both set. Alex was back looking at the food, so Bobbie turned her iPod on and the babies went wild.

"Mudik, mudik!" Alex looked around to see where it was coming from. He was up like a shot and over to the player to look it over. Bobbie stayed with him as he looked the set up over and she kept him from undocking the iPod, but let him touch things and feel the vibrations from the speaker. "Theen, Babee!"

"Yeah, it's singing, isn't it?" She knelt next to him.

"Eeah! Ah wyg theen."

"You like SINGING, Alex."

"Theeneen! Dat?"

"That's an iPod."

"Aypa?"

"Yes, iPod. It's a music player. See?" Bobbie undocked it and let Alex look closely at it, and showed him how to change the song. His eyes popped and his mouth formed a perfect O when he heard it go from one kind of song to another. Alex hadn't heard much music in his short life, but he really liked it. This thing was fascinating. "Hey, Sookie, you know, there's an iPod around here that you got for Alex at the wedding reception, remember?"

"There is?"

"Yeah, didn't somebody give you three – one for you, Eric and the baby?"

"Yeah, that does sound familiar. I wonder where they are?"

"Why don't you let me fill one up for Alex? He might enjoy it. I've got a rubber skin we can put on it in case he drops it, and you can lock it on or off if you need to. It wouldn't matter if he broke it, but somehow, I don't think he will."

"I don't either, Sookie," Amelia agreed. "I think if you show him how to use it, he'll be fine with it." Jerry and Bjorn nodded in agreement. You wouldn't want to give equipment like that to a normal baby, but Alex would understand what it was for. They just needed to teach him not to get it wet and not to drop it.

"OK, I don't know anything about filling those things, but we can ask Alicia where they are and if you can fix it up for him if you want. He loved that little music player Alicia got for them, so he'd probably love an iPod of his own, wouldn't you, Baby?"

"Ma aypa?"

"No, but we'll get you one, OK?"

"Eeah, aypa!"

Almost on cue, Alicia came up to see if anyone needed anything else. "How is the picnic going?"

"Great. Alex just discovered iPods," Bobbie laughed.

"Alicia, didn't we get some iPods at the wedding reception?" Sookie knew she would know, and probably know exactly where they were.

"Yes, you did. I think they're in a box with some other things in the closet in Mr. Northman's office.

"Could you grab one for Bobbie? She's going to put some music on it for Alex."

"Me aypa, pweezth, Eesh?" Alex looked up and tugged on Alicia's skirt.

"Alex, say "will you bring me an iPod, please?"" Sookie instructed him.

"Wiwoo bween me an aypa, pweezth."

She bent over to look him in the eye and smoothed his hair. "OK, Baby E, I'll go find one for you,"

"DAYOO! Mudik! Woogie, Eesh! Dween dwadon!" Alex pointed at the walker and then ran over to it and pushed a button on its head, squealing as it played music, then he pushed it over toward Alicia.

"My goodness! That's a cute little dragon you've got there!"

"Dood dwadon?"

"Yes, that's a very good dragon."

"Ah wuv my dwadon! Ah wuv aypa, Ah wuv my giddnen, Ah wuv ma Buggy Obee..."

"Aw – Alex that's so sweet!" Sookie praised him, and he ran to her and said "Ah WUV ma Mamee!" Alex hugged her and kissed her cheek and she kissed him back and nuzzled him making silly noises so he giggled. Bobbie made a motion that she was going down with Alicia to get the iPod and Amelia nodded.

"Mamee, Ah wuv Meeah an Babee an Borhd an Eesh an Mahdwid, and Ayvbee an Chehwy…"

"Who, Sweetie?"

"jerry," Amelia said proudly. She taught him how to say Jerry's name a few days before.

"Jerry? Cool! Did you forget anybody?"

"Ah WUV ma Dadee, an Bee an Pam and Papaw and Dodor."

"Did he say "Bill and Pam?"" Bobbie laughed

"Eeah, Bee an Pam. Pam ma bee sthisthuh."

"Pam is your big sister?" Sookie asked, amazed.

"Eeah!"

"Who told you that, Sweetie?"

"Dadee! Pam Dadee "Masthah!"" Alex tried to imitate the way Pam said it.

"Pam calls Dadee, Master? Yes, she does."

"Peesha Dadee Masthah."

"Who?" Sookie didn't know that name.

"Felicia," Bjorn laughed. "His girlfriend."

"Ah wyg Pesha! Me dantheen!" he waved his arms, holding one up high like they did when they danced.

"Aw – yeah, she danced with you at Dadee's club, didn't she? We'll have to take you to see Felicia some time soon," Sookie told him.

"She'll be at the Wiccaning," Bjorn told her.

"She will?"

"Yeah, Eric wanted her there. Fangtasia is closed that night."

"Oh – won't that cut into the profits?" Sookie didn't want Pam to suffer from this.

"Yeah, but Eric wants the staff to be able to attend. It will only inconvenience a few humans – every Supe in the area will be at the ceremony," Bjorn reminded her. "It's getting huge."

"I hope there's room for everybody and I hope there's enough food and blood."

"There will be. Stuff is already being delivered to the site and set up. We've got people over there supervising already and guarding the grounds."

"Wow – I had no idea!"

"It's going to be spectacular. It's bigger than most royal weddings," Bjorn teased her.

"Wow, how about that, guys?" Sookie teased the two babies who were both moving into place to breast feed before their nap. "you're going to have the party of the century!" She said as she got Aubie situated on one leg.

"More like the millennium, at least!" Amelia laughed

"Yeah, there's going to be a big party, just for you two."

"Pahdy? Pweznan?" Alex asked as he climbed onto Mommy's lap.

"You might get some presents, but mostly we'll do a ritual…"

"EEAY!" Alex cheered as best he could, then latched onto her left breast like he was starving.

"…And we'll dance and meet lots of people!" Sookie was trying to stay positive about the whole thing, war or not. She was learning to enjoy the good stuff when she could and deal with the bad stuff when she had to.

Bjorn put the IPod on a playlist of soft music and Sookie could tell it was soothing both boys. Alex was blinking slowly, moving his little foot in time to the music. Aubie was feeding well, but he had his eyes closed, enjoying the warmth and the sweet taste of her milk and the music that he loved. If Aubie had words, the word for this would be "heaven."

Alex was the first one asleep, and Amelia took him from Sookie and gently buckled him into one of the bouncers. Aubie lasted a little longer, taking more milk and blood than Alex because he hadn't had as much food earlier. Sookie buckled him into the other bouncer and noticed that it felt later than the boys normally napped.

"Bjorn, what time is it?"

"Ten after four."

"Wow – is it that late already?"

"Yeah, the boys usually have their second round in the pool about now. They were so excited with the new toys and music and all that they played through their first naptime," he laughed softly.

"I guess they'll sleep quite a while, then. Are there more sandwiches?"

"Yep, and there's a lot of them in the kitchen if you want more," Jerry told her.

"I'm going to have another. You guys want another one?" Sookie offered. Bjorn and Jerry let her put mayo on a sandwich for each of them and they all talked quietly as the babies slept. When they were done eating, Sookie and Amelia packed up the basket and closed it, setting the tray of crudités on top and every one moved where they could reach it. Bobbie came back with her computer and loaded a couple of playlists from it onto the new iPod that were baby safe – no bad words or adult content – and it was ready before the boys woke up.

Since they were all upstairs anyway, Bjorn had the girls all do a few exercises with a lightly weighted bar and some small hand weights. He paid particular attention to Sookie building her forearms, and showed her what she should be doing to build them up, though she might have superhuman strength even without it. Better to be sure, was his position and she agreed. When that was done, Sookie showed them all the moves Eric had taught her with the katana, and she gave a dramatic retelling of her encounter with Liam Cullach and Niall, a story Jerry and Bjorn could hear again and again because badass Sookie was HOT.

Alex woke up first and was quickly back to running around behind the dino, and was having a blast and raising the roof when Eric came to the door in a blue un-tucked dress shirt, jeans and black boots and Sookie motioned for him to be quiet and watch. Eric was beaming at Alex, who spotted him after a minute and yelled "Dadee!" and went running straight to him, pushing the dino all the way. "Dween dwadon, Dadee!"

"Green dragon? Where did you get that, my son?"

"Mamee!"

"It was in the closet in the nursery," Sookie said, "we just hadn't gotten to it yet. He's been having a blast."

"So I see. Why are you all up here?"

"I didn't think we should go outside because of the war council," Sookie said.

"And we agreed," Bjorn told him.

"Probably a good idea. Margaret wants to know if you're eating downstairs?"

"Yeah, let's go down," Sookie said.

"Dada!" Aubie said, patting the bubble on his play mat.

"What have you got there, my little elf?"

"Umma!" he pushed his finger into the plastic and looked at Eric, who got down on one knee to see what he had.

"He's showing you the fish in the bubble," Sookie coached him.

"Are there fish in there? Yes, I see the fish! This is a nice little surfboard you've got here. Have you had fun up here today?"

"Ah! Bah!"

"He's trying to say "fly." I was trying to get him to say it."

"Has he been flying?" Eric asked hopefully

"No, Alex has been running around with the dino so he didn't have any reason to."

"Auberon, want to fly with Daddy?" Eric asked hopefully

"Ah! Bah!"

"Good boy! Let's go up!" Eric's body rose into the air and he offered Aubie his hand. Aubie grabbed his finger and they floated toward the ceiling. Eric stayed with him, giving him encouragement as Sookie watched them with a big smile. "Aubie, say hi to Mommy! Hi, Mommy!" Eric urged him.

"Ah, Mama!"

"Hi, Baby. Are you having fun with Daddy?"

"Ah! Dada!"

Suddenly Alex was next to them.

"Me fyeen, Dadee!

"Yes, we're all flying, aren't we?"

"Eeah! Obee fyeen dood!"

"Yes, Aubie is flying good. When you fly up here in the gym, bring Aubie to fly with you, alright Alex?"

"Me an Obee fy in da chym?"

"Yes, you help Aubie fly, OK?"

"Oday!"

"Come join us for a minute, Mommy!"

Sookie started to object, but then she just let go, lay back and floated upward and rolled over in the air.

"Mamee fyeen!" Alex yelled as Aubie yelled "um, Mama!" with absolute glee.

"OK, boys, once around the room then we go down for dinner!" She went up past them and made a circle around the big room and Eric led Aubie and Alex after her. When she reached the door she let herself down and said, "Come to Mommy!"

Aubie went to her instantly and landed happily in her arms, Alex and Eric right behind him. The whole crew headed down in the elevator and down the stairs and converged in the kitchen where Margaret had a fabulous dinner of shrimp Étouffée and rice, corn bread, a big salad and that strawberry/pecan cake Sookie loved. Eric didn't say much and everyone knew he was planning what he had to say in the war council. As Sookie finished her cake, Bjorn got a call on his phone that cars were arriving, so he went out to direct them to the barn and Bill and Pam went to their chalet to greet people while Eric took Sookie and the boys upstairs to their bedroom.

He kissed Alex and then Aubie as the door to the elevator closed. "I'm going to take my sweet family to bed, then I will be in after our meetings are finished and I'll tell you what was decided."

"You don't want us to go to the gym, Sweetie?" Sookie asked as they went up to the third floor.

"No, the light will call attention up there. Alicia put a Teletubbies DVD on our bed. Keep the lights out, let the boys watch the DVD, then you'll all probably doze off and I'll wake you up when I'm finished."

"Can I put the light in the headboard on? I have a lot of writing I need to do in my journal."

"That should be fine. It's not visible with the windows closed."

"I have a lot to tell you about this morning…"

"Does it have a direct bearing on security for the Wiccaning?"

"Uh – no, I don't think so, it's more about my magick."

"Alright, then let's talk about it later. I want to focus on my meeting now. It's bad enough that Sandy's people won't be here." Eric was serious to the point of being grim and Sookie knew he was nervous about dealing with the others that he had to coordinate with, so she didn't give him a hard time. He gave her a kiss and put the DVD in the TV for them. Sookie knew he was just doing that as a way to take care of them because he was worried about his ability to keep them safe. He went to the mini-fridge next and came back with her Ambrosia.

"Eric, it's going to be OK." Sookie told him as he sat next to her so she could drink. He leaned over to kiss her as she sat on the bed with the boys propped up on pillows in his spot.

"Yes, it is, because I'm going to do everything I can to make sure that it is. It wouldn't hurt if you scanned about to see if you hear anything amiss. Contact me telepathically if you do."

"OK. I'm going to reinforce my bubble around our boundaries, too."

"That's a very good idea. Where are your special candies?"

"They're in a box in the freezer in the kitchenette on the second floor."

"I'll be right back," Eric said as he zipped down to the freezer, got the special box and took them back upstairs.

"Which is the type I ate at the club opening?"

"This one," she pointed to one with a pecan on top of it.

"Alright," he took one out and ate it. "Which are for prophecy?"

"The ones with the white chocolate Egyptian eye."

"Alright, I want you to eat one now. Keep your book handy and write down whatever you get."

Sookie popped the candy in her mouth. "Mmm – that's yummy."

"Yes, but only take one at a time – we don't want a repeat of the Ambrosia mishap."

"No, we certainly don't," Sookie made a goofy face and actually got Eric to laugh. He turned on the TV and spoke softly to the boys.

"Alex and Auberon, enjoy your show and Daddy will see you in a little while. Be good for Mommy." He gave each baby a kiss, then kissed Sookie's lips and zipped quickly down the stairs and out the back. The Witch was already there when Eric entered the door of the chalet, sitting and chatting with Octavia and Pam.

"Ms. Prentiss, so nice to see you again!" Eric had on his Lord of the Manor persona again, though it was hiding a warrior on full alert underneath the smooth façade.

"Thank you for inviting me, your Majesty. We want very much for you to enjoy the ceremony Saturday, so anything we can do is yours for the asking."

"Thank you, we appreciate that." Eric was very relieved to see, via the candy, no indication that the woman had any ill intent.

"This cottage is gorgeous. I don't remember it being here the last time we visited?"

"Yes, we had these two units added very quickly. Our family is growing faster than the house alone is able to accommodate. This way, we can keep family and friends close and our servants have ample room to live in."

"That's very convenient, I suppose?"

"It solves a multitude of problems for us with very little inconvenience. I see you've met Octavia, the Queen's advisor?"

"Oh, yes, but I had no idea of her position. May I ask, what tradition you are?"

"Dianic, mostly. I use a combination of traditional and folk magick."

"Oh, wonderful. I don't meet many Dianics around here. You tend to stay to yourselves."

"That's true, unless we're in an area with major Goddess temples or festivals. I understand your group has quite a large grove?"

"Yes, we're very fortunate. We're probably the only group that could handle a party this large outside of California, Ohio, or Wisconsin."

"I'm sure that's right. I understand there will be a large Fae presence – is that common for your celebrations?" Octavia asked the question so Eric didn't have to, and he was grateful. Eric excused himself as Octavia took over because Alcide Herveaux was coming in the door.

"Well, we have some very good friends among the Folk, you know, but they only rarely attend our circles. Our High Priestess has a familial connection, though she's very vague as to the nature of it. She's had several visits from Mr. Brigant recently, but I don't really know the origin of their relationship or what they've discussed other than that it definitely related to the ceremony. Of course, everyone is anxious to see the little Princes, so we've been inundated with requests from every realm I've ever heard of and a few I hadn't."

"It'll be an interesting night. It's very rare to see an ecumenical event where humans are the minority these days," Octavia continued to pump the woman, who seemed to have no ill intent at all, for what little information she could glean.

"Herveaux," Eric nodded as he came through the door. There was no spotlight around Alcide as he'd seen the night of the attempted bombing, but there was a small glow around him. Eric figured that was reasonable considering his feelings for Sookie, so he didn't worry about it.

"Eric. I hope we're not going to make a habit of this. Seems like we just got through your wedding reception and here we are again."

"I wouldn't have bothered you, but this is about Sookie's and our sons' safety. As I understand Were custom, her Friend of the Pack status extends to our children, does it not?"

"It does. So there really are two of them?"

"Yes, there are."

"Any truth to the rumor that one is vampire and one is Fae?"

"Yes, the elder takes after me, the younger is more like his mother."

"Some people think you kept him hidden because you were ashamed of him." Alcide was pulling no punches tonight. He wanted to make sure Sookie and her kids were being treated well.

"That's nonsense. You'll see for yourself that the younger twin is much smaller and not as advanced as the older. We were keeping him safe while he grew strong enough to go out with us. I love both of my sons equally and I'll protect them both with my life, just as I would Sookie."

"That's good to hear, but I'll believe it when I see it."

"Once the ceremony is complete, you'll have a better understanding of the situation, I'm sure you'll be satisfied with what you see. Help yourself to a sandwich and a beer if you'd like," Eric pointed to the buffet on the kitchen counter and Bill led him over to it. "We're still waiting for two people."

"Compton," Alcide nodded as he walked toward him.

"Herveaux," Bill nodded, opening a beer for him. "For what it's worth, I've seen Eric with the twins, and what he says is true. He makes no difference between the boys. I'd never have believed it if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, but he's a very loving father to them both."

"I can't even imagine that."

"You won't have to – you'll see it. I would say it's inspiring if it were anyone but Eric," Bill said wryly, and Alcide smirked in agreement.

Jerry came in with Vincent, and they all gathered around the dining room table, Vincent taking the lead.

"Ms. Prentiss, correct me if any of this is wrong," he began, spreading out a big map of the camp grounds the Coven owned. "This is a fairly good representation of the grounds, is it not?"

"Yes, it's very good."

"Alright, this clearing in the north corner of the property is where we'll have the helicopters shuttling guests from the airport land. Our information says there will be 25 parties that need shuttle service."

She looked at the computer print out she'd been given, "yes, that's what we have."

"Alright, if that changes, we need to know immediately. Here are two of my business cards. You keep one and give the other to your Priestess so you can contact me directly if need be."

"Thank you, we will."

"Alright, here are the green badges for your coven and the blue ones for your immediate guests." Vincent pulled a stack of laminated badges on green glow-in-the-dark lanyards from a black backpack and gave them to Robin. "We need you to wear them so our security and the guests know who you are if they need you. This," he handed her another laminated badge with a gorgeous golden seal on a multicolored background that said "NORTHMAN Security Team" on it and had some kind of laser watermark so it couldn't be duplicated without specific equipment, "is what my men will be wearing. There will be security on duty in plain clothes, but they'll have badges like this somewhere on their person if they need to prove who they are. Unless violence breaks out, they'll be nearly invisible and blend with the crowd. The rest of our security will be in a uniform consisting of a black t-shirt with the royal seal on the front and the word "security" on the back. They'll hang back as much as possible and only engage in cases of emergency or if someone asks for help.

The parking areas were marked off today. Now, no one gets in through the gates from this point forward without their invitation or a badge, no matter whom they are, but that only limits Pagans, Weres, most vampires, and assorted human escorts. There's a stone circle on the south border of the property, beyond the perimeter of the central grove. We're asking that all Supes who can materialize or teleport come through that portal which will be erected that morning by our specialist. There's no way to enforce that, of course, but we're asking that they cooperate as a favor to the King and Queen so they can check in and give us some idea who is supposed to be there. That request is going out through the Council, so it will have more weight, and they're specifying that weapons are strictly forbidden. It's going to be chaotic, to say the least, but hopefully the good will of the guests will help us keep it moving smoothly."

"I'm sure most will agree to do that, Our Fae contacts had asked if there was a registry of any sort, so we'll see that one of the books is at the portal for you."

Vincent handed a program to her. "Alright, as I said, our team is watching the property as of tonight and they'll be there around the clock from now through the end of the celebration. People who are using the campgrounds will start arriving tomorrow night, and the caterers will start serving food and drinks as of 6 o'clock on Saturday. The Royal family will be in place on the stage by 9 for the receiving line, the ceremony will take place at midnight, followed by dancing until 2:00 and then feasting and mingling until dawn. Our clean up crew begins at sun-up."

"Well, it certainly sounds as if you have it all under control. We'll all be there before 6 o'clock and we'll have our badges on in case anyone needs us. We've all arranged a push-to-talk network so we can communicate with each other."

"We have a communications network set up for our people as well. Were there any concerns you had that we need to address?"

"Actually, no, we think you've done everything possible. I'm sure I speak for us all when I say we can't wait for Saturday night!"

"Wonderful," Eric took over now. "It was so nice for you to join us, Ms. Prentiss. My wife and I are most appreciative of your help. She asked that you give this copy of the ceremony to your High Priestess for her. She made a few very important alterations where Auberon is concerned. They're clearly marked in red. I'm afraid we must insist on them. If you need anything at all, please don't hesitate to contact us. Jerry, will you see our guest to her car, please? I noticed it's very dark out there. We'll need to add another security light, I'm afraid."

"Sure, I'd be glad to."

"Well, thank you again, and we'll see you Saturday night." She was too in awe of Eric to notice he was trying to get rid of her so he could get on with the serious part of the meeting.

Once she was on her way out the gate, Rafael joined them all in the chalet.

"You all know Rafael, I believe?"

"Yessss, your Majesssty, I'm acquainted with everyone here," Rafael confirmed, nodding to Octavia, Pam, Bill and Alcide. Jerry came back in and they barely got started before Dr. Ludwig popped in.

"Hello, everyone. Sorry to drop in like this, but I thought I might be able to provide a little help."

"Welcome, Doctor, it's always a pleasure to see you." Eric was lying and she knew it. He'd much prefer that she didn't know about the meeting. Like as not, she learned about it from Niall.

As if reading Eric's mind, she said, "I'm here representing the Council. They want me to assure you that they've told all parties concerned that there will be no war at this event. Niall specifically has been told, and I quote, that "heads will roll if there's a disturbance at the blessing of those sacred children.""

"That's good to know, Doctor, but you understand, of course, that we must prepare as if there will be."

"Yes, of course, I just thought you should know. Also, I bring a gift from Freyja and the Council."

"A gift?" This was a surprise. Eric couldn't imagine what it might be as the doctor pulled a large box from her carpetbag. It was a beautifully carved rosewood box with an ornate gilt pentagram on the top, rounded edges, and a hinged lid. The doctor opened it and showed two very pretty laurel wreaths or crowns interwoven with gold thread and small gold ornaments. The smaller of the two, obviously intended for the Queen, had what Eric knew would be diamonds and natural pearls at the center front section. "You and Sookie should wear these the whole time you are at the party. They're enchanted so that when people approach you, you'll know who and what they are, and can give them a proper welcome and response. Eventually, you'll both have that ability as it's natural to most higher-order Supes, but for now, you'll need this bit of help. Take good care of them, and I'll be back Monday night to pick them up."

"Thank you, Doctor," Eric said, trying not to show his displeasure at the implication that vampires were not of the highest order among Supes.

"There are tortoise-shell combs attached to hold them in place. It's best not to use any metal with them. Don't let your Queen use bobby pins to hold it in place. If they were to contain lead or iron, it would make them ineffective."

"Good to know."

"Alright, I know you've all got war to plan. Expect a lot more people than you've planned for – I estimate between 4 and 5 thousand total. I'll get out of your way now. See you Saturday night!" She said as she popped out of the room again.

"Alright, everyone, let's go over our parts. Herveaux, you have a copy of this map, yes?"

"Yes, we do. Our men will be here, here and …" and the conversation continued as each person went over their part of the plan.

At one point, Octavia closed her eyes for a minute and Eric asked, "are you alright, Octavia?" with genuine concern.

"I was just blending into the energy. Can't you feel that?"

"The rush of power from Sookie? Yes, of course. I didn't know you could."

"I can feel it," Vincent said, "it's throbbing."

"I thought that was a change in air pressure," Alcide said, surprised that he knew what they were talking about. The air definitely felt different, and it was, as Vincent described it, throbbing.

"Anyone with a bit of psychic energy could feel that. She's reinforcing your borders. You need to show her this map and let her cast a bubble around this land, too."

"Would that put a strain on her?" Eric didn't want to exhaust her, and he wasn't convinced she was well rested yet.

"No, that energy is Universal," Octavia explained. "She's just a channel for it, so she should be able to boost it up without draining herself. It's a good way to flex her muscles, anyway."

"Alright, we'll take this in to her before you leave, Vincent, and let her get a clear picture."

"That's a good idea," Vincent agreed. "If she's tapped into that power I feel now, that's the most powerful weapon we have. I had no idea she was that advanced."

"She's becoming very powerful," Eric confirmed.

"Yes, she is," Bjorn said, "I can't believe some of the stuff she's doing now. Did she tell you about the rosary beads?"

"Rosary beads?" Eric said with surprise, "as the Catholics use?"

"No, these are Goddess rosary beads," Octavia explained, "that apparently came from another dimension. She'll tell you all about it, but trust me when I tell you, she may no longer be limited by time and space."

Eric looked at Jerry, who nodded that it was true, and he didn't even know what to say to that. Of all Sookie's accomplishments, this was the first thing, in Eric's mind, that was distinctly of the gods. He'd never heard of a Witch or Wizard who could move across time. He knew some that could bend time, like Niall, but not move through it.

"Are we nearly done here?" Eric asked, thinking that catching up with Sookie needed to be his next step tonight.

Most nodded and agreed that they were fully prepared.

"I'm sure I know what my people are doing," Alcide said.

"Herveaux, would you like to meet my sons?"

Alcide was taken aback, thinking Eric wouldn't want him around them. "Sure, I'd love to see the little Princes. I'd like to say hi to Sookie, too."

"Alright, Sookie will meet us in the den. Let's go into the house. Vincent, bring the map for her. Bjorn, you and Jerry check the status around the property before you come in."

"Your Majesty, I'll go to rest right after if you don't mind?"

"Of course, Jerry, I'll see you at sunrise."

"Good night, everyone," Jerry nodded and went to the guard stand in back, then to the other chalet.

"Pam and I would like to remain here, if that's alright, Eric? I'll check in with you before you go to rest."

"That's fine Bill. Octavia, can I help you?" Eric offered her his arm and led Alcide and Vincent into the house, the back yard light coming on as they approached the pool area. They could all see Sookie standing inside the door with a big smile and a baby in each arm.

Eric beamed at them as he slid the door open and let Octavia go in ahead of him. She said good night to everyone and kept going on to the elevator.

"Hey, Alcide! Nice to see you!" Sookie was obviously in a good mood for some reason. "Hey, Vincent!" Sookie was a little scared of Vincent, but she was glad he was on her team.

Vincent nodded to her as Eric gave Sookie a kiss, dropped the rosewood box on the couch and took Aubie from her. "Herveaux wanted to meet the boys, Sweetheart. Alcide Herveaux, this is Eric Auberon," Eric indicated the baby in his arms, "and Sookie is holding Eric Alexander. Say 'hello' to our guests, boys."

Alex waved and said "Ah!" and Aubie copied him, "Ah!"

"Oberon – that's from Shakespeare, isn't it?" Alcide thought it was a strange choice of names, remembering it from high school.

"Among other places," Eric said. "It's spelled with an AU rather than an O, but it's the same name."

"As in King of the Fairies?"

"Yes, Alcide," Eric said seriously, "exactly like that. As I said, you'll understand the situation better after the ceremony."

Aubie pointed to Alcide's neck and mumbled. "What do you see, Auberon?" Eric asked him. Aubie reached to his own neck and showed Eric that he had a necklace, too. "Oh, I see. He noticed your necklace, Herveaux. Yes, Auberon, he's wearing a necklace as you are. You're a very smart boy! His necklace is a wolf's head, yours is a pentacle."

"Pendago!" Alex said happily, sticking his thumb in his mouth, making Eric, Sookie and Aubie laugh. Alcide was shocked at seeing that tiny baby speak. When the laughing died down Alex sald, "Wuff eh Bhord!" and pointed at Alcide.

"They talk?"

"Yes, they're very bright children. Alex has quite a vocabulary at his point. Auberon is just learning his first words, but Alex is coaching him so we expect him to catch up fairly quickly," Eric bragged.

Alex snuffed at the air and pointed to Alcide and said, "Eh Borhd, Daddy?"

"Yes, Alex, he's a Were just like Bjorn. Does he smell like Bjorn?"

"Eeah, sthmew wyg Bhord an Chehwy! Wuff!"

"Very good, Alex! Yes, he's a wolf."

"Ah wyg wuff, Dadee!"

"You like wolves? Well, you're still young," Eric laughed, smoothing his hair and stroking his cheek with the backs of his fingers as Sookie held him.

"The only wolves Alex has ever been around have been good guys, haven't they, Sweetie?" Sookie bounced him a little, "Alcide is a good guy, too, right, Alex?"

Alex finally noticed Vincent and his eyes got big then he threw up his arm and yelled "VBEE!" which made Eric beam and Aubie giggle as Vincent raised his fist and said "vìg!"

"Very good, Alex, Vìg!" Eric laughed and Aubie looked at Eric with a delighted, surprised look and said "bee!" in a high, playful voice. Eric laughed and kissed him and said, "you'll get it eventually, my little elf!" as he rubbed his tummy.

Alcide couldn't believe his eyes. Eric was absolutely doting on these little babies and it was obvious he loved them very much and that they loved him. He shook himself a little, asking, "What does that mean?"

"Vìg is the Swedish word for "fight." Alex came out of the womb trying to say it," Eric laughed.

"He's not kidding, either," Sookie laughed and told Alcide, "the day he was born he took one look at Eric, threw his arm up that way and made a noise. He knew what he wanted to say, but he couldn't manage it yet. He's getting there, though, aren't you, Baby?" Sookie nuzzled him. "Do you all want to come in and sit down?"

"Actually I just wanted to say 'hi' and meet the Princes. I'll be sayin' good night now," Alcide said, sorry to leave Sookie, but wanting to be alone in his truck to process all of this.

"Oh, well, it was really nice to see you. You'll have to come for a visit some time when you can have family dinner with us," Sookie said with complete sincerity. "We'll give you a call the next time we have a cook-out."

"Oh, uh, yeah, that'd be nice." Alcide was being polite because he was quite sure Eric would never let that happen. "I'll see you all Saturday night," he said and quickly headed back out to the garage, stopping to talk to Bjorn briefly as he went past the pool.

"Alright, Vincent, let's spread the map out on the dining room table," Eric said as he led them in that direction, turning on the lights as they entered the room. "Sookie we want you to put one of your protective bubbles around the property this map represents. Think you can do it?"

Vincent spread the map out on the table and Sookie instantly knew what to do.

"Yeah, actually, I think I can," she said with surprise and confidence. "Here, Vincent, will you hold Alex for a minute?"

Vincent looked at Eric and Eric nodded to him so he took Alex from her. To his surprise, Alex talked to him. "Dadee ath sthordsth por FIDEEN in da chym!"

Everybody cracked up at that, Vincent knowing exactly what Alex meant. "You going to be a big warrior, Prince Alex?" Vincent asked him affectionately. He genuinely liked this kid.

"Eeah, bee wyg ma Dadee!"

"So mote it be!" Vincent said, bouncing Alex who responded "stho modeid bee!"

"Well now it's definite!" Sookie laughed as she looked at the map. "OK, I need to concentrate for a minute," she said, getting herself focused and centered. She put a hand on each side of the map and stood over it as best she could, taking a deep breath and blowing quickly around the perimeter of the map, then standing very still, saying nothing, she was able to picture the camp grounds, the roads around it and even the Northman Security guards wandering around to see that it was secure. She saw the boundaries in her mind, then she felt them in her body. She was right in the middle of the land, and the edges of the property began to glow around her. She took another deep breath, and the glow began to grow up into the sky and down into the ground. As she continued taking deep breaths, the light formed a perfect bubble and when it was complete, Sookie felt herself in the center of it and the bubble contracted and expanded with her breathing. She made the energy perfect and golden and fortified it with the suggestion that no one could wage war within the bubble, and that the bubble would bring peace and good feelings to all who entered it. When she felt that it was solid enough, she took a last deep breath, exhaled deeply and opened her eyes. Bjorn, Vincent and Eric were all standing there looking at her, the babies absolutely quiet.

"OK, it's there," she said.

"Yes, it is. Very strong and clear," Vincent agreed.

"You can feel it, Vincent?"

"Yes, and I can see it, too. It's very resilient for so little effort. I'm quite impressed," he smiled at Sookie. "Your Queen is growing very strong now, your Majesty. I'd hate to be the person who walks into that bubble and tries to start a fight," he laughed.

"That good?" Eric asked hopefully

"Oh, yes, Sire, very good, indeed. If you don't need me anymore, I'll say good night now."

"Yes, of course, thank you for your help tonight."

Vincent nodded to Eric, handed Alex off to Bjorn and bowed deeply to Sookie, leaving very quickly.

"Wow – I've never heard that guy say such nice things," Bjorn laughed. "You seriously impressed him, Sookie."

"I'm glad, but I'm going to reinforce that bubble tomorrow night, too. I think I should do more than anyone knows about."

"What do you mean, Sookie?" Eric asked

"Like if somebody knows I did a 10, I'd better do an 11."

"You don't suspect Vincent, do you?"

"No, I don't but there's someone around him… I don't know. Someone around him can't know all that we're doing."

"Alright, Sookie, follow your instincts."

"It's not just instinct. I took one of those candies for prophecy, remember? Someone, and only one, will try something very targeted, probably at me, and it will backfire on them if I've got the bubbles properly seasoned. That's why I was working on the one around this property – I know you felt it."

"Several of us did, even Herveaux."

"I think you scared him, Sookie," Bjorn laughed. "He had no idea you were doing magick now. He couldn't believe it was so strong that even he could feel it."

"Yeah, he's still not crazy about Eric's influence on me – he doesn't realize that the magick stuff is me influencing Eric, not the other way around."

"He still wants you, Sookie," Eric told her.

"Yeah, I know, but I'm right where I intend to stay. We need to keep him on our side, though. You know that, Eric."

"Yes, I do. Half his pack works for me. What's our status, Bjorn?"

"Everything around the property is secure, your Majesty."

"What did you find out about the blue car, Bjorn?" Sookie asked.

Eric and Bjorn both looked at each other. "Did you tell her?" Eric asked him

"No, you told us not to."

"Alright, give her the report," Eric said, since he hadn't heard it yet, either.

"It definitely was not a neighbor or anyone visiting them. It's registered in Georgia, but the plates don't match the car. We're 90 per cent sure it was some sort of reconnaissance, but we don't know whose yet."

"It's not New Centurion and it's not Fae. That's all I have on it right now," Sookie said casually. "They'll be back."

"What do you recommend, Sookie?" Eric was dead serious, knowing Sookie knew more about this than he or Bjorn did.

"If you see him again, and you probably will at some point this weekend, bring him in and find out who is paying him. He's a hired gun for one individual with an axe to grind, and it may or may not relate to why I want to be sure Vincent doesn't know everything. It's someone he knows, but doesn't trust."

"Should I keep Vincent in his position, Sookie?"

"Yeah, he's trustworthy, and you won't find anyone better. It's this other person we have the problem with, or I should say, who has the problem with me. If I didn't know she was dead, I'd think this was Sabrina."

Bjorn and Eric looked at each other. It definitely couldn't be Sabrina, but they both knew Sookie was picking up something real.

Eric nodded. "Alright, Bjorn, you update Sookie with everything you find out immediately. Sookie, if you decide on a course of action while I'm at rest, make sure Bjorn knows exactly what you're doing. If I'm awake, you tell me before you act if possible, but don't wait if it's urgent – just do it."

"Oh, I will. I told you, I've adopted your policy – come after me or my family and you won't be trying it a second time."

"Good, I'm glad to hear it."

"I'm pretty sure whoever this is won't come at us with a rocket launcher. I'm seeing more of a sniper-type attack."

"Alright, Bjorn, we are prepared for that?"

"As much as is possible, yes. I don't think Sookie should go out for a couple of days, though."

"That might be why I don't want to," Sookie said, "because everything in me tells me don't take my boys outside right now."

"Listen to that intuition, Sookie, it will keep you alive, I'm sure of it," Eric told her emphatically as he put his free arm around her. Aubie was asleep on his other shoulder.

"These babies need to go to bed," Sookie said warmly as she took Alex from Bjorn. "Let's go up and have some family time, Eric and then you and Bill can work after."

"Precisely what I had in mind, my Angel. Bjorn, we'll be going up now."

"Have a good night, your Majesty. I believe there's a bowl of Étouffée on your dresser for Sookie to eat later. Margaret didn't think she ate enough dinner."

"Alright, I'll see to that."

"Yeah, you're really going to have to twist my arm to get me to eat more Étouffée, Eric," Sookie joked quietly, not wanting to get the babies riled up.

Eric grabbed the box from the couch and they went back to the elevator. Alex was asleep by the time they reached the third floor. Eric threw the box on the side table and they tucked the boys into the co-sleeper, then cuddled up on their bed.

"So what should we do, my Angel?" he asked once they were settled in each others' arms, "Bath? Sex? Or just stay here and cuddle?"

"Good question. Would you consider a bath when the boys wake up later?"

"Of course."

"OK, can we cuddle until then?"

"Absolutely."

"You won't be mad if we don't have sex?"

"Never, Sookie, you know that."

"Yeah, I do. I just want to feel close and safe right now. I don't like this feeling that somebody is watching me. It pisses me off."

Eric laughed softly and pulled her close, kissing her for a long time, then letting her lay her head against his chest and just be quiet. Sookie didn't say anything for about 5 minutes, then she laughed softly and looked up at him.

"You should have seen the boys watching that Teletubbies DVD. Alex went wild, as usual, but I think Aubie kind of caught on this time, too. The looks on his face were priceless. When something surprises him, his eyes get big and he goes "hoo!" in that silly little voice he does. I was cracking up."

Eric laughed softly, "he's very playful. Alex likes to show off, but Aubie thinks everything around him is fun or funny."

"You think so?" Sookie hadn't made this observation yet.

"Yes, he's delighted with everything around him, and you most of all. I've never seen a child show more love than he does when he looks at you," Eric said proudly, kissing her forehead.

"Bjorn and Bobbie said something like that, too. Is it really that noticeable?"

"Yes, it is – it's very sweet. It makes me very proud of him."

"Why?" She looked up at him, surprised that he'd said that.

"Because he's smart enough to recognize how special his mother is – he appreciates you, and knows he is lucky to have you. I believe he will always be that way, even when he is grown."

"Why do you think that?"

"I had a vision of him the other day as I was at rest, similar to when I saw Alex as King, but he was presenting you with a gift. I couldn't see what it was, but I could tell that he still had that same adoring look on his face when he spoke to you. He still had stars in his eyes when he looked at your face, and your face was as lovely as it is right now, if not lovelier. Auberon was grown, but you still looked like a girl."

"That's good to know," she laughed. "Was he short?"

"A little shorter than I remember Alex being, but not a lot. He was at least 6 feet tall."

"OH, GOOD! That's such a relief!" she laughed as if she'd been worried about it.

"Why is it a relief?"

"I was reading about the myth of George and Oberon where one was human king and one Fairy king, and in that story Oberon only grows to three feet tall."

"No danger of that, my Angel. You had to look up at him."

"Was he very handsome?"

"Oh, yes, much more than I," Eric laughed.

"Not possible." Sookie looked right at him to let him know she was serious.

"My face has some roughness from living such a hard life when I was human. His face showed no roughness, and was almost angelic. His hair was much longer than mine, too."

"When you saw Alex, was his long, too?"

"Yes, and both their hair looked like spun gold. It was very luxurious and nearly to their waists."

"Wow – even longer than yours?"

"Yes, even longer. They'll have better products and implements to care for their hair than I did growing up."

"They're going to be gorgeous," Sookie laughed, "they already are! Honestly, Eric, have you ever seen a baby look more angelic than ours do? They should be in those calendars that lady does of babies as angels!"

"Yes, they wouldn't even need the little fake wings. I was very proud of them tonight. Your wolf friend was quite impressed with them, I believe."

"Yeah, they start out cute, then Alex charms the pants out of everybody. It's freaky that he can speak already, but he's such a flirt, people forget about it! "Ah wyg wuffs, Dadee!"" Sookie imitated him and laughed. "You know if he'd stayed 10 more minutes, Alex would have hugged or kissed him."

"You're probably right. We'll have to watch him closely at the ceremony, though, because we don't know if he's any judge of character yet. An infant might be open to any stranger…"

"Not him, Eric, no way. When he was inside me, he knew if he didn't like somebody. He knows when there's danger around. Aubie is even more wary of people, so we don't need to worry about them being overly trusting. What we need to be aware of is whether they know not to zap the hell out of someone who means us harm. I was half afraid Alex was going to zap Niall the other night when Aubie cried. Alex didn't like that AT ALL."

"He's very protective of his little brother – and of his mother. Yet another reason to be proud of him. Do we know if Aubie can "zap" people yet?"

"He's never had to, but I'm pretty sure that if the situation warranted it, the falcon would come for him. He and Alex will have pretty much the same magick, just not the same personalities. Alex is more Yang and Aubie is Yin."

"Where did you learn those terms, Sookie?"

"What terms?"

"Yin and Yang?"

"I have no idea. Did I use them correctly?"

"Yes, you did."

"Want to know what's weird? I also know that Yin/Yang is an Eastern duality that most feminist Witches would be suspicious of, but in the twins' case, it's almost literal. They're intended to have complimentary skills."

"That's new information – I've never heard that before."

"Yeah, like Alex is very physical, but Aubie will be more emotional and intellectual. A Fae Prince wouldn't do well if his primary orientation was war-like, but a vampire Prince has to be a warrior. Fae need nuance."

Eric cracked up at that.

"What? Did I say something funny?"

"No, and I'm sure what you said is accurate, it just struck me as funny. Nuance is a very nice way to describe the shifty, multi-layered, conniving nature that Niall in particular possesses. I can't picture Auberon, as sweet as he is, being able to manipulate situations to his own advantage, but I know he will have to learn to live in that world."

"You're not so bad at that yourself, you know."

"True, I do have a way of coming out on top in most situations."

Sookie reached up and gave Eric a smoldering kiss. "I know a situation you can come out on top of…"

"Are we suddenly in the mood?"

"We are suddenly ravenous!" Sookie said as she ripped his shirt open, sending buttons flying everywhere. Eric was on her and in her, her favorite shorts in scraps on the floor, almost before the buttons landed and he took her energetically as she tried to pull her camisole over her head.

"Want me to rip it?" he asked as he pounded away at her, making her laugh with delight.

"No, it's my favorite. I've almost got it," she laughed as she finally got it over her head and off. Sookie took all the irritation she was feeling earlier and poured it into her hips, thrusting upward to meet Eric's strokes with a loud slap every time they came together. They were both laughing and really letting go, and it felt like it went on for hours. The headboard was pounding into the wall and actually chipped the paint. At one point Sookie noticed the painting was moving a little in time with Eric's thrusts, the wall was shaking so hard. Suddenly there was a crack and a shifting of the mattress, and they went tumbling off the side of the bed, laughing hysterically, but never really stopping. Sookie thought they'd better finish and find out if the bed was broken, so she dug her nails at once into Eric's back and he howled and came just as she bit his neck hard and sucked as much blood as she could before the wound closed. It was the first time Sookie remembered having fangs, but she did, and sharp ones at that. Eric slowed, becoming very deliberate and intense, and Sookie held her head to the side. He struck at her neck right into the artery and drank hard as she came harder. When she finished, Eric fell to the side, actually seeming out of breath, the two of them laughing softly as they tried to recover themselves. When she could speak, Sookie asked, "did we break it? "

"I… I don't… think so," he said, half laughing, half panting. "I think the slat slipped off the frame and the mattress fell inside it. It can be easily fixed."

"We end up down here a lot! You know what I was thinking?"

"You were thinking we need a bed on a solid platform here like we have at Fangtasia," he laughed.

"Yeah, exactly – this one moves too much. I love the headboard, though."

"I can have it attached to a proper platform. I think I should do that very quickly, before we leave for New Orleans. I'll call Giselle, and my carpenter if need be, and get that done this week. I don't want you to get hurt tumbling off the bed," he nuzzled her ear and she giggled and hugged his neck.

"The new bed in New Orleans is on a platform, isn't it?" She asked as he moved over her, thinking how beautiful she looked in the soft light.

"Yes, it is, and it's huge." He smoothed a strand of hair out of her eyes and stroked her cheek.

"Yeah, it is – have you seen it?"

"No, I just remember you asking about it." He looked at her with such love in his eyes that Sookie thought she would melt.

"I'll show you a picture she sent me. You could hold a party on it," she laughed. "Hey, did you notice I've got fangs now?"

"Yes, I did. When did this happen?"

"I'm pretty sure it happened at Freyja's, but I can't remember how."

"Are they permanent?"

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure they're just like your fangs now. It's a part of the new me."

"Why does a Goddess need fangs?" He couldn't think of a reason, himself.

"This Goddess needs fangs because she and her big hot Viking husband get off on drinking each other's blood," Sookie laughed. "I think I chose it, and I made sure we can always do that. I remember saying there was no way we were giving that up and Freyja and some of the others laughed and agreed they wouldn't, either."

"Yes, She would certainly be sympathetic to that in particular."

"Yeah, She said She loves the mutual feedings and always did. She likes being bitten, but then you know that, right?"

"Right."

"You know what else?"

"What, my Angel?"

"She's not sure if our daughter will have fangs or not. She might have to choose to have them like I did if she wants them."

"You know, Sookie, I was wondering. If we are to have a daughter, wouldn't she be your automatic heir to the throne of Elfyria?" Eric knew little of the customs of Elfyria, but he knew the title normally went from Mother to daughter.

"Normally, yes, but this won't be a normal situation. Freyja said the line of destiny is not set at this point. It's possible Aubie won't want it, or that they'd share it as brother and sister as they did in ancient times, or she'll go straight to the Pantheon and won't be bothered with it… there are other possibilities, but I don't want to think about them."

"She might not live that long, is that the other possibility?"

"Yes, but she could still be tripartite with us, I don't know how, but I don't want to think about it. Even knowing that, I couldn't stand it if…"

"Don't get upset, Sookie, I'm sure that won't happen."

"Why are you so sure?"

"You would never allow it. You'll see that your magick keeps her safe."

"My magick can't override Karma, though. If she comes from another life marked…"

"Use your magick to prevent that, too."

Sookie lay back and looked at the ceiling. "You think I could?"

"I think you could do anything you need to do to protect your children. You've got time to figure it out, just as you figured out how to get to Auberon."

"I didn't figure it out, Freyja told me."

"That was you figuring it out, my Angel. When the time comes, you'll keep her safe."

"I hope so."

"Don't hope, Sookie, do it."

"Exactly," She agreed. "Deep down, I know you're right."

"I'll fix the bed, you run the bath."

Eric kissed her quickly then stood up, helping her stand, then he pushed the mattress back up through the frame and put the slat back in place. He let the mattresses down and pushed down on the bed to test its sturdiness. Sookie started the bath as he suggested and he came in with a naked baby in each arm.

"Shouldn't we wait until they wake up?" she asked as she swished some vanilla bubble bath into the water with her hand.

"They are waking up, they're just being very quiet, aren't you, boys?"

"Mama?" Aubie said softly

"Mama is right there, Auberon, see her?" Eric said softly and Aubie raised his head up off Eric's shoulder and leaned toward Sookie, who took him and hugged him to her. Eric checked the temperature of the water and stood close in case she needed help getting into the tub, but she and Aubie were fine. Eric and Alex were in next to them before Sookie even got settled, and they put each baby in the little support pillows and gave them the rubber duckies that they loved. Sookie knew the boys would want to feed soon, so she let Eric wash her hair while the boys played and splashed a bit.

"So, my Angel, tell me about these rosary beads of yours."

"Hang on to your hat," she laughed.

"Alright."

"I woke up in Elfyria this morning and met my lady in waiting, Madeleine, who took me to Titania's and my rooms. You know her, right?"

"Right."

"OK, I lay down in the bed and fell asleep, panicked and woke up here, hugged Aubie to feel grounded, fell asleep again and we both woke up there. I rocked him by the fire, changed his diaper, and I asked Madeleine how to get back and could I take something with me. I looked in the big trunk at the foot of her bed and found a set of rosary beads in it, then went to sleep with them in my hand and Aubie in my arms. We woke up on the shore where I usually see Freyja. Still with me?"

"Hanging on every word," he laughed a little, but he wasn't kidding.

"So I'm standing on the shore holding Aubie and I hear a gasp behind me. I turn and I'm looking at myself, but a younger me. I'm face to face with Sookie in 2006. She's pregnant and she says Freyja told her to give me this Goddess rosary, holds it out and we know not to touch each other, but there's a shimmer of light and I have an identical set in my hand. I asked where she got them and she says she and Bobbie made them. I said wait – you're in 2006 and you're already pregnant and you know Bobbie? She says yes. I suddenly realized this was me, not from MY past, but from the past in another reality, so I asked if she had ever slept with Bill Compton. She said no, thank Goddess, Eric got me away from him before we got that close. She said she and Eric met, clicked and were bonded and pregnant in just about a week."

Eric was stunned, not knowing what to say.

"Still with me?"

"I think so."

"OK, I warned her about Aubie and Alex and not to trust Niall and told her he would try to keep Aubie and to ask Freyja to help keep them all together. I forgot something important, though."

"What did you forget?"

"I forgot to ask about Gran. Gran was killed because people knew about me and Bill. If there was no me and Bill, is it possible Gran didn't die in that reality?"

"One of your Witches will have to answer that, but it would seem possible. If the rest of it can happen differently, I don't see why that detail couldn't be changed."

"So what do you think?"

"I don't know what to say, Sookie," Eric was overwhelmed and she could feel it.

"I thought you'd like knowing that somewhere, somehow, we got it right and I never hooked up with Bill."

"I do like it, Sookie, more than I…" he had to stop for a minute and get hold of himself while he rinsed her hair.

When he saw Eric finish with Sookie's hair, Alex said, "Dadee, wath Obee ayr."

"Can I wash your hair first, Alex? Aubie is having fun right now," Eric smiled softly at him, not wanting to interrupt Aubie, who was now showing Sookie his duckie and she was telling him about all about it as he sat rapt with every word she said. "That's a rubber ducky, Aubie. See, rubber," she ran his finger over it. "And it's yellow. See, this monster is yellow, too." She squeezed a little water toy and Aubie was thrilled when a stream of water shot out of it.

"Oday," Alex said, content to let Aubie go second. Eric used the handheld on a gentle setting and quickly washed Alex's hair, then soaped him up all over to his sheer delight. Aubie discovered bubbles right about then and Sookie showed him how to blow them off his hand, which he picked up pretty quickly. "Bubba, Obee!" Alex held a handful of suds out so he could see, "bubba?"

"aBah!" Aubie tried his best to imitate Alex.

"Bubba!"

"aBah!"

"That's a good try, Aubie. Those are bubbles."

Aubie shook his little head and giggled, loving the way Mama said that.

"Auberon, can we wash your hair now?" Eric asked him, still very subdued.

"Mama!"

"You want Mama to wash your hair?" Eric asked him gently

"Ah, Mama!"

"You think he knows what you're asking or is he wanting me to feed him?" Sookie asked

"Either way, go ahead and wash his hair then we'll wash him off because they need to feed soon."

"Yeah, you're right. OK, Aubie, we're gonna wash your hair now, OK? Just like Alex! Alex got his hair washed, didn't he?" She chattered to him as she pulled him around and Eric fixed the handheld for her to use. She was always afraid Aubie would be afraid to get his hair washed, but he closed his eyes and appeared to enjoy the sensation. Everybody could feel the pleasure and love he felt when Sookie soaped him up and rinsed him off, too. The boys splashed a little more while Sookie washed Eric's hair and they washed each other off, kissing when they were finished and making Aubie giggle.

"Are you laughing at Mommy and Daddy, Auberon?" Eric teased him, recovering himself a bit.

"Ah!"

"Obee wyg kisthesth!"

"Yes, he does!"

"Alex likes kisses, too," Sookie teased him taking his face in her hands and kissing his face and head all over. Aubie cracked up at that, so she did the same to him.

"Obee undwy, Mamee."

"Diapers first, then eat, OK?"

"Oday."

"I'll diaper them, Sookie, while you comb out your hair."

"Good idea," she said as he kicked it into vampire speed and got out, dried off, combed his hair and zipped out of the room with Aubie in a towel. Sookie made sure Alex couldn't fall, then got out quickly and dried, staying close to him the whole time until Eric came back for him. She combed out her hair and by the time she was done, Eric and the boys were in bed waiting for her, Alex crawling around after the kitten while Aubie sat on Eric's tummy chattering and giggling as he held onto Eric's hands while he shook him around gently and teased him.

"Aw, you all look so sweet."

Eric picked Aubie up and held him over his head. "Mommy thinks we look sweet, Auberon, but we're ferocious, aren't we!" he shook him and growled playfully and Aubie squealed with laughter, Alex zipping back to play, too, and Eric held him up next for a gentle shake as Sookie took Aubie on her side of the bed. Aubie immediately wanted to feed, so she got him into position, and let him go to town. It suddenly occurred to Sookie that she thought her milk made them sleepy, but then she remembered they usually suckled in the morning and didn't go back to sleep. At any rate, it was obvious Aubie was feeling warm and comfy and wouldn't be awake much longer. Alex took time out of laughing and squealing to say, "ahm undwy, Mamee!" so Eric kissed him and helped Sookie get him into place. Eric immediately put his arm around Sookie's shoulders and kissed her, snuggling close so he could gently rub the babies' backs as they fed.

The boys weren't the only ones getting sleepy. Eric could see Sookie fading as she laid her head against his chest and closed her eyes.

"Sookie?"

"Mm-hm?" she responded, not opening her eyes.

"Promise me if you ever see that Sookie again, you'll ask her what I did right?"

Sookie laughed softly, and said, "I'd like to know that myself. OK, if I see her again, I'll find out," as she slipped away. He really hoped she'd remember, because it was eating at him.

It amazed him that she could fall asleep with the boys feeding. Most women found the sensation very intense, if not downright painful, but he believed Sookie was soothed by it just as the boys were. Once the boys were tucked into the co-sleeper, and he had moved Sookie down into a comfortable position to sleep, Eric dressed, set up the monitor and went down to meet with Bill in the den, calling him first from his third floor office.

Bill had expected Eric to call about this time, so he was dressed, though he and Pam had been in bed for several very enjoyable hours. He zipped from the chalet to the back of the house where Eric had the sliding door open as he arrived. Bill had the briefcase of papers with him, and another list of questions for Eric.

"Bill, having a pleasant evening?" Eric asked as he led him into the dining room, though he didn't really care. Eric had a lot on his mind, especially regarding 2006.

"Yes, the chalet is very comfortable. You said we'll be sharing it the day after the Wiccaning?"

"Yes, Prince Badru Bast and his wife will spend at least one day with us so she and Sookie can do magick together."

"It never occurred to me that Sookie was so advanced that she'd be collaborating."

"It's less of a collaboration and more of a more experienced practitioner teaching a newer one what is possible."

"Isn't Octavia handling that part of Sookie's education?"

"Primarily, but there's a particular bond with Sookie and Amunet – you might say they're cut from the same cloth. She's very sharp and quick, with great confidence and apparently great skill. I'm sure it will be good for the two of them to be friends."

"They're closer in age, if I remember her correctly?"

"Yes, probably within 3 or 4 years at the most, and she's very petite and pretty as Sookie is, you know. She's more of an equal, but also someone Sookie aspires to emulate."

"She's more stylish is what you're saying."

"That, too, but it's her confidence that impressed Sookie most, I believe. From what I observed, that woman could walk into any room or situation and handle herself gracefully with no self-consciousness at all. She's very… chic, I suppose is the best word for it. Combined with her magickal skills, she's an excellent role model for a young Queen."

"I can see that. Sookie dresses the part very well, but she doesn't own it yet."

"Excellent choice of words. Yes, she needs to "own it." She's more self-assured every day, but Amunet can improve her sense of self very quickly by showing her what she can do. I suspect we've only scratched the surface at this point."

"What you've told me already is remarkable. I can't wait to hear what she learns from her. I got the results of the background check on them, by the way, and there's nothing there you wouldn't find with any vampire regent. He's honest when he can be, ruthless when he needs to be, tries to keep his business separate from humans as much as is possible. He's got reason to hate New Centurion, though, which is a plus."

"Yes, it is. I don't know when we'll have to go after them, but I know it's inevitable. Do you have the figures on the East Coast club openings?"

"Yes, they're right here.

Eric and Bill worked for over three hours before he heard Alex say "Dadee," over the baby monitor. They said goodnight and Eric locked the back door and zipped up the stairs to see to the boys. It was a very quiet story time because Alex was tired. He ate a lot of baby mac and cheese and a jar of apples, plus a big bottle of blood. He fell asleep quickly after Eric burped him, so he was already tucking him in when Aubie woke up.

"Mama?"

"Shhh, Auberon, Mama is asleep. Let's go have a bottle and let Mama rest, alright?" Eric spoke softly to him, rubbing his back as he took him into the nursery. Aubie didn't want food tonight, but he drank an entire big bottle of blood as Eric told him the story about the bear. Eric could tell he didn't understand much, but he could also tell that the sound of his voice made him feel safe, and he looked him in the eyes the whole time and reached up to pat his face three different times. He walked him for a long while, enjoying the fact that he felt safe in Daddy's arms, and surprised it took him so long to go to sleep. When he was sleeping soundly, Eric tucked him back in next to Alex, gave Sookie her Ambrosia, and left Jerry in charge of the family for another day. He fell asleep thinking about Eric from 2006, wondering what he did to get such a quick response from Sookie and wishing he could have been there when he did.

Sookie was dreaming, but it wasn't a "visit Freyja on the shore" dream. In this dream she relived meeting Eric for the first time, word for word, but from the point where she fought with Bill the whole night went differently. She watched herself fight with Bill on the front porch of her old house, but was distracted by something off to the left. Somehow she could see up into the trees beyond the light in the yard and she could swear she saw Eric standing in a tree. What the hell? Eric wasn't there, was he? She shook herself for a minute, feeling like a stranger in her own dream, but she snapped out of it when she realized the Sookie she'd been watching had run back into the house. Suddenly, she was in her room, watching Young Sookie undress, hearing a voice at the window. Like a fly on the wall, or a phantom in the air, she watched as the next two days unfolded, Eric courting and seducing her at the window, their glorious first time together in her own bed, Eric saving her from a strangler on the back porch by the dryer. When Eric pulled the mask off the attacker and Sookie saw it was René dead on the floor, she was so shocked she shot back into her body like she ran full speed into a wall.

She was numb. She tried to open her eyes and couldn't manage it, but she realized she was completely lucid. She was back in her own body, wasn't she? Was she stuck between the worlds? It suddenly flashed into her mind that she hadn't properly cleared her magick room after invoking the circle in anger and going to Folkvangr, and she could feel something lurking in the house. If she could wake up, she'd banish it, but she realized her spirit felt disconnected from her body. Was that thing keeping her from incorporating completely? Octavia had taught her that if your spirit travels at night and you're scared, there's a cord that jerks you back instantaneously. Yes, she felt the jerk and the fall, she felt the impact of hitting the bed, but when she raised her hand only her spirit hand moved and her body lay motionless.

Shit! Sookie wasn't trained to deal with this because theoretically, this wasn't supposed to happen. She couldn't see so she sat up. Alright, she could see the room, and she could see her lower body. To the left, Jerry was drinking a cup of coffee and reading **City of Night** by Dean Koontz as she lay there motionless. Suddenly, she was standing by the bed, looking at herself and the boys as they slept. Everyone seemed fine for the moment, so Sookie decided the thing to do would be to try to ask Octavia what to do, though she also knew she was probably not going to know. Something slipped across the ceiling into the shadows, and she instinctively threw her hand at it and said, "get out!" but there was no sound. She saw a flicker in the shadows and whatever it was quickly left the room. 'Alright,' Sookie told herself, 'I've still got some powers, so that's good!' She threw a quick bubble of protection around the bedroom and everyone in it, then she decided her next move - "Octavia!" she thought again and was instantly by her bed, but Octavia wasn't in it. She was kneeling in a corner, adding herbs to a brass cauldron and chanting, but Sookie couldn't make out what she was saying. She knew she shouldn't interrupt, but this was important.

"Octavia? Octavia! It's me, Sookie, can you hear me?"

Nothing. She was too focused on what she was doing and Sookie couldn't generate any noise. OK, the only one who might hear her at this point would be Alex or Aubie, but they couldn't tell her what to do and it might scare them, so that was out.

Go to the Source, she realized and went instantly to her circle in the basement. Ew – the energy in here was almost slimy! She berated herself for not smudging it immediately when she got back and she ran through what she might be able to do about it now. She didn't have a physical body, but she realized she did have telekinesis. Alright, she looked around the room. She willed the cabinet doors to open and saw what she needed on the top shelf – a box of sea salt. She pointed at it, just to focus her attention and brought it out to the middle of the room. She willed the spout open and managed to get the box to move around the circle to pour a solid ring of salt on the floor around her. Good. She called her scrying mirror into the circle and settled it on the little altar table on the floor. She started to kneel but then realized it was easier to just hover over it and look into it. "Freyja! I need you – help me!"

The mirror seemed to shimmer and she saw Freyja facing her. "There's a reason for everything, Sookie, you just need to ask what it is."

"Ok, what's the reason I can't get back into my body?"

"Who is on the grounds, My Angel?" Freyja was guiding her to work it out, rather than just telling her.

"Besides the immediate family, there's Bill and Pam, and Were and vampire guards."

"Who else, Sookie? Think! You saw someone around Vincent – the Cambion. It's not New Centurion and it's not Fae…"

Sookie recognized her words to Bjorn from earlier in the night. "Daemons! There are Daemon guards on the compound."

"While you're noncorporeal, you might take the time to see what they're up to. If you cloak yourself in wind, they'll never know you're there."

"What about the thing in the house?"

"You're not the only one who can leave your body, My Angel. Find the other person who is not in their shell. I'll be here when you get back."

Sookie willed herself to fly to the HQ behind the house, riding an unusually strong wind that was blowing through the trees. She saw familiar faces watching the video screens, vamps in a couple of the cabinets, a Daemon playing solitaire in the corner. That struck Sookie as funny, but she didn't dwell. She rode the wind to the guard stand in the back. Two Weres watching the video screens, three Daemons, one of them Rafael, having a conversation in the front, and finally there was one on a cot in the back, not moving, empty. Why did he look so familiar? Sure, he was working on the compound, but Sookie was sure that's not where she'd seen him. She pointed at him to focus her attention and said "get back in your body and stay there!" The man's eyes instantly flew open and he acted as if he was suffocating or having a heart attack. Sookie was outside the room looking in now, as he sat up, looking scared to death, trying to figure out what happened. "Bjorn will find out who you are!" Sookie said and the wind whipped up across the property again.

Sookie knew it was her own power causing the wind, and she loved it. She rode it to the front gate, but there was nothing going on in the guardhouse there – just two guards playing poker, occasionally checking the video screens. She counted about 6 wolves prowling the grounds as she flew all around the property, loving the sensation. This was different from flying when she was in her body. She was one with the wind, a part of it, and it swept her around in great swoops that reminded her of the way Eric played with the babies. It was exhilarating! She wondered if she could fly that way in her body if she tried, and put that on her mental list of magick to explore.

It was getting very light out, so she returned to her circle and, true to Her word, Freyja was waiting for her.

"I found him! I put him back in his body and told him to stay there!" She said, still invigorated from the wind.

"Very good, My Angel! Now, I know you've been taught to smudge, but that's a human technique. It's much easier for you to clear the energy in a building. Send your energy out with intention, Sookie, and feel yourself grow into the rooms, into all the corners and nooks and crannies. Leave no room for other magick."

"What about Octavia and Amelia and Bobbie? They do magick!"

"They're family – their magick is tied into yours. There will always be room for the people you love."

"OK," Sookie said as she felt her spirit grow denser and reach out to the rest of the house. It didn't take long at all, to her surprise, before the house felt like another body or shell to contain her.

"Excellent, Sookie! You can do that instantaneously, whenever you feel the need, wherever you are. Before long, you'll be able to enter another creature, to see what it sees and know what it knows. Say your incantation now, and you'll return safe to your bed."

"Is that all I needed to do earlier?"

"Yes, but you needed to clean house first. You did well to examine the problem. Your higher self often knows what is necessary before it enters your consciousness. The boys need you now, Sookie, go."

"Trygg i min säng, trygg i min säng, trygg i min säng!" Sookie's eyes popped open as Aubie was calling her.

"Mama!"

Sookie scooped him up and hugged him, rolling on her side. "Hi, Jerry."

"Good morning your majesty. I think he was having a bad dream. He was whimpering for a few minutes, but I didn't know what to do."

"You could pet him and try to comfort him, or you can wake me up – either would be fine, but he's OK now, aren't you, Baby."

"Ah, Mama!" Aubie patted her face and then snuggled in under her chin where it was warm. He and Sookie were asleep in an instant.

"Good morning, your Majesty!" Madeleine greeted Sookie as she opened her eyes.

"Hey! Here we are again, huh?" She laughed a little, noticing Aubie was still snuggled in her arms. "And my buddy is wet!"

"I've got a fresh diaper right here, and here's your robe. I've got some fresh milk and warm bread, white tea and fairy cakes by the fire for ye, and the freshest honey you've ever tasted, I guarantee."

"Oh, I never heard of white tea before…"

"It's the youngest tea they pick. First it's white, then it's green, then it's black. The youngest is the brightest and best, much favored by our People."

"OK, good to know." Sookie let her help her into her robe, then she changed Aubie's diaper on the bed. She was soon seated at a small table by the fire, having a lovely breakfast with Aubie tucked into a little bassinet right next to her.

"This is so nice of you – thank you," Sookie said sincerely as Maddy drizzled honey on a piece of warm, fresh, buttered bread and poured Sookie some sweet, whole milk from a blue glass pitcher. The tea was very mild and the fairy cakes were sweet and wonderful. "The cakes taste like apples," she happily observed, and Maddy said, "Yes, there's grated apple in the recipe. I'm so pleased that you like them."

"Aubie will like them when he's older. He loves apples."

"Does he now?" Maddy loved any little bit of information she could get about the Prince.

"Yes, he loves apple sauce and will even ask for it sometimes."

"Should I get him a little dish for when he wakes up?"

"If it's not too much trouble, I know he'd like it."

"I'll send the girl down straight away, Milady!" Maddy rushed out the door and sent the chambermaid to the kitchen for a bowl of applesauce.

When she came back, Sookie asked, "so, Niall doesn't know we were here yesterday, right?"

"Oh, no, no one breathed a word. We'll try to get ye familiar with the castle before he knows of your visits. It would be good for ye to know your way around."

"Yeah, it would. Hey, did I… I mean, did Titania have any kind of teacher? For magick, I mean, like a Witch or a Priestess?"

"Oh, yes, she had a very famous tutor – Nivian, The Lady of the Lake!"

"Lady of the Lake? Like in the Arthurian legends?"

"The very same, Milady, and many other cultures as well."

"I thought She was a spirit that lived in the water?"

"She's Mistress of the sacred spring in Avalon – the Apple Isle."

"It's real?"

"Oh, yes, Milady, and a part of your Queendom, though they operate independently of the Crown. It has many names – Tir Na Nog, Hesperides , The Fortunate Isles…"

"The people who live there operate independently?"

"The Priestesses – its only inhabitants are a religious order of women dedicated to the triple Goddess."

"What about Arthur? Isn't he supposed to be there, waiting to be King again?"

"That's the legend, but who knows if it's true? The Lady might be able to tell ye, but I don't know that She would. At any rate, no man lives there. They can visit, but they don't stay long. Titania was very happy there when she was a girl."

"She lived there for a time?"

"Yes, to study magick. Her gifts were apparent from the time she was a baby, so she went very young for one season every year."

"Which season?"

"It circled about. First, she went in spring for 3 years, then summer for three, fall for three, winter for three, then she went whenever she wanted, but she'd stay for weeks or months at a time."

"Did you miss her?"

"I most often went with her, Milady, to see to her needs. It's the most beautiful place in the world, I'm sure, with the most beautiful apples of every kind."

"Do the Priestesses ever come here?"

"Oh, yes, and they'll stay for quite a while at times. Nivian has been our guest many times, and of course, She'd come whenever Titania called Her."

"Called her? Like, the way I can call the babies?"

"Yes, but it required a special talisman – a necklace with a fabulous aquamarine crystal in it. I don't know what ever became of it, though, no one does. Niall has been looking for years."

"I know exactly where it is!" Sookie said with surprise. "Would you excuse me for just a minute?"

"Of course, Milady! Just call when you need me again." She said as she quickly left the room and closed the large wooden door. Sookie went to the left side of the fireplace, moving a large marble pot full of ferns by rolling it on its base to the side onto a throw rug and pulling it away from the wall. At the back of the fireplace, she pulled loose a stone, exactly where she remembered it, and inside was a book, a letter, a ring and a round stone box that she knew contained the necklace. She tucked the other things back in for another day, replaced the stone and moved the large pot back into place. She looked at the area carefully, trying to be sure nothing looked as if she'd moved it, sure no one would dream that she or Titania could have moved that big pot.

She was shaking all over as she took the small black marble box to her chair next to Aubie. There was a rose carved into the stone lid, and Sookie could barely breathe as she lifted it off, showing the necklace inside. It was a long, heavy gold chain that gleamed in the light of the fire, and the large emerald cut pendant was exquisite. The stone reminded Sookie of a Tiffany necklace she had at home and wondered if that's why she'd been so drawn to it. She remembered that she chose it to wear at the wedding reception, and wondered if there was a connection between the stones. Something about the aquamarine soothed her and she thought the name was so fitting for this stone in particular because it was the color of the water on the shore where she always saw Freyja. Aubie seemed to be sleeping soundly so Sookie slipped the necklace over her head and held her hand over the stone as it fell between her breasts. She stepped to the middle of the room, gripped the stone with her right… no, she remembered, use the left hand… and she spoke. "Nivian, are You still there, my Priestess?"

The air shimmered and an impressive woman stood before Sookie with a big smile on her face. She was tall – as tall as Claudine – and her long wavy hair was the color of flames. Sookie remembered seeing a painting of a girl in an orange dress called Flaming June and she thought it must have been inspired by Nivian's hair. Her white dress looked Greek and draped beautifully over her powerful but feminine frame. When she stopped "shimmering," She swept Sookie into an embrace and cried, "Titania! At last you've come back to Me, My precious Child!"

Sookie was overwhelmed and cried, too, feeling for the first time since she was a child that she had a mother. Nivian kissed her eyes and her forehead and hugged her again, and they stayed that way until Aubie called, "Mama!"

"Tend to him, My Darling!" Nivian encouraged her, stroking her hair.

Sookie pulled Aubie up and brought him to Nivian, who kissed him ceremoniously on the forehead. "Our Anointed!" She said with a dazzling smile, "we've waited a long time for you, little boy! And his twin, Sookie, is he as lovely as this one?"

"Yes, they're nearly identical, except he's a little bigger and more advanced than Auberon."

"Well, he's a warrior, that's to be expected. He needs to be big, as well as clever and quick. This tiny Angel will never go to war if we can prevent it. He's far too precious to Our People."

"Hey, how did you know my name?"

"Titania sent the name of the True Heir to me before she died, My Dear! I would have known you anywhere, you are so like she."

"I'm so glad I remembered how to call You!"

"I have been waiting for you – Dr. Ludwig told me of your visit to Folkvangr, so I knew it would be soon."

"I've got so many questions!"

"Are you writing them down?"

"Some, yes, I have a book…"

"Write them all, Sookie, your sons and your daughter will need your book, just as you need Titania's. That little thing you have at home will not do. You will find a proper book waiting when you get home, and you be consistent with your entries, you hear Me? What is happening is too important not to record and reflect upon it. It is time to take your Self seriously. You have serious work to do."

"What is my work?"

"To be the mother these children require to be whom they will grow to be, and to inspire others with your love and your kindness, and especially your love for the Goddess. Follow your instincts, Sookie, they naturally guide you toward your destiny. There will be peace within and between the Worlds when We are done, so never doubt that your cause is True and Just. Sacrifices have been made, so you must strive to be worthy of what others have offered in Our Name."

"This is about the war between Matriarchy and patriarchy, right?"

"The Tide is turning as We work Our Will. Harmony will reign at the end of Our Journey. Never falter, My Child. I must go now before I exhaust you, but you call Me again, and I will attend you! Write your questions and when the planets align you will bring your book to Avalon, then We will find some answers. I'll see you sooner than you think." She kissed Sookie's lips and Aubie's forehead as She shimmered and disappeared.

"Maddy!"

Madeleine was in the room instantly. "Yes, Milady?"

"It worked! I called Her, and She came and spoke to me, and kissed me and Aubie. She called him Our Anointed. What did that mean?"

"He is to be King at some point in his life, and there will finally be peace among our People."

"OK, that's what I thought it meant."

Maddy had the bowl of applesauce and Sookie had her sit and talk while she fed them to Aubie. When he took his first bite, he smiled and said "abuh!"

"Yeah, apples! They have the best apples here, right, Maddy?"

"Oh, yes, you'll never taste a sweeter one than ye find among the Fae."

"Why are apples so sacred?" Sookie wondered.

"Have ye ever cut one crossways, Milady?"

"No, why?"

Maddy pulled an apple from her apron and used Sookie's bread knife to cut the apple through the meridian, and held the cut face up to her.

"A pentacle!"

"Exactly, Milady. It's why the Christians claim Eve ate an apple that brought sin on the people. It carries the mark of the Goddess within it."

"There was no Eve, right?"

"Not the one the priests try to sell ye, but I know this – even that one is more than She seems."

"What do you mean?"

"Titania told me once that the name of that god is four letters in Hebrew and three of the four spell Eve – even in their own language, the woman is three quarters of god."

"Oh! I…"

"Eh, Bumby, Mama?"

"Buddy? We need to go home to Buddy now?"

"Ah!"

"OK, I guess. I feel like we just got here!"

"You'll be back before you know it, Milady. You go feed these beautiful babies, and we'll see you again soon!"

"Alright," Sookie said reluctantly, taking Aubie back to the bed, still wearing the necklace. Just as she began to drift off, Maddy tucked the marble box in between her and Aubie, and before Sookie knew it she was looking at Bjorn on Eric's side of the bed, leaning over her, shining a pen light in her eyes.

"Good morning, your Majesty!"

"My name is Sookie," she laughed weakly. "Good morning – what happened?"

"We had a flash of light and a sonic boom right on top of you about an hour ago, and you couldn't wake up until now. How do you feel?" He pressed the back of his fingers against her cheek, then the front against her forehead, but found no sign of fever.

"Really tired, but I've got things to do today," she said with a sense of purpose.

"You aren't going anywhere for a while, Sweetheart," he told her firmly, "You're going to stay in bed until I'm satisfied with your blood pressure."

"Is it high?"

"It was very high, and now it's too low. Neither extreme is good. Pick a movie and we'll bring it up for you to watch. You're staying in bed until Eric gets up."

"But I've got to…"

"You have nothing you have to do, according to Alicia, except try on your dress once more since it's been hemmed and tucked or whatever and pick a pair of shoes. Did Freyja give you any orders for today?"

"No, We already did a lot today. **I** did a lot, I should say."

"Alright, you can try on your dress before dinner. You have a package marked "Urgent" downstairs. Jerry says it's safe, but I'd like you to give him permission to open it."

"OK, if you think so…"

Bjorn pulled his phone out of his pocket and pushed a button. "Hey, Jerry?"

"Yeah, Boss?"

"The Queen said go ahead and open the box. She's spending the day up here, so if it's important, you can bring it up for her."

"Will do."

"Where are the boys?" She could feel them in the house, but couldn't pinpoint it.

"Flying in the gym."

"Aubie, too?"

"I don't know if he's actually flying, but he's up there. Amelia and Bobbie took them up while I stayed with you after the boom. Octavia was pretty sure you would wake up eventually, but in another hour, we'd have called Ludwig."

"OH, YEAH – Bjorn!" she grabbed hold of his arm for emphasis, "there's one of the Daemons who's up to something. He was out of his body sneaking around in the shadows in here early this morning. I put him back in his body, but I think it's connected to Vincent and that blue car. Is one of them related to him, maybe?"

"Possibly. There's one new one I've seen at Fangtasia with him a few times. I figured he got him the job."

"Maybe that's why he looks so familiar to me. I know I've seen him before. Anyway, Freyja put me onto him and like I said, his spirit was prowling around in the shadows in here. When I zapped him back into his body I told him to stay there and I cast "Bjorn will find out who you are.""

"OK, I'll check him out. What's the deal with this marble box?" He pointed to her nightstand and there was the round black box.

"The necklace!" her hand went immediately to her chest and the amulet was still there! "It's here! It came with me!"

"That's nice – the girls were admiring it. You wore it to bed?"

"It's special and I… oh, I'm so glad it came with me! I'll bet that's what the flash and the boom was about – was it like when I tried to bring the book home?"

"Yeah, now that you mention it, it was an exploding ball of light like that, but it wasn't as powerful. The sound was almost the same, but the light didn't knock me out."

"OK, either this has less magick on it than the book, or I'm getting stronger, or both. I need to figure out which. Octavia is up now?"

"Yeah, she'll be back. She was going to get dressed and come back to check on you."

"OK, that's cool."

"Your majesty?"

"Jerry? Come on up!"

Jerry came in with an open box and Sookie found that it contained a big dark brown leather book full of thin tan paper.

"Wow, I never saw paper like this before."

"Bobbie's got a book or two like that. I think it's called parchment paper."

"Hey, there's stuff already in it! My stuff! Where did this come from?"

"There's a letter in the box," Jerry showed her an envelope of really old paper with a red wax seal on it – of an apple! Her name was on the front in the most beautiful script – even more ornate and lovely than Eric's.

Sookie opened it carefully, not wanting to crack the seal, and found a note from Nivian! She read aloud:

"_My precious Sookie, _

_Here is the book I promised you. Use it well and often, My Darling._

_Love to your wonderful family,_

_Nivian of Avalon"_

"Wow! She just told me about this this morning and it's here already! She must be a time-bender, too!"

"Who is it from, Sookie?" Bjorn was having trouble keeping up with all of this.

"Nivian, the Lady of the Lake."

"THE Lady of the Lake as in King Arthur's Lady of the Lake?"

"Yep, She's Titania's teacher. This necklace summons Her, and I knew exactly how to use it! She came and hugged and kissed me and we cried, and She kissed Aubie and She kind of scolded me a little about not working on my book so my kids could use it!" Sookie was getting a little giddy again, so Bjorn got the blood pressure cuff and made her let him take it.

Octavia came back in as Bjorn was pumping the cuff up and she looked at the letter and book while Sookie tried to be calm.

"Damn! It's too high again, Sookie!" Bjorn was worried about this. These highs and lows were dangerous.

"I thought it was too low?" Octavia asked.

"It was a half hour ago. Now it's spiking again. I'm calling Dr. Ludwig," he said emphatically as he grabbed Sookie's phone, reaching across her to the nightstand, and pulled up the number.

"Sookie?"

"Hello, Dr. Ludwig, this is Bjorn Anderson, the Queen's guard. I'm very worried about some abnormalities in her blood pressure – it goes very high, goes very low, then a half hour later it spikes again."

"I was afraid something like that might come up, but this is sooner than I thought we'd have to deal with it. I'll be right there."

Bjorn started to say, "she's coming," but the Dr. was there before the words were out. Bjorn went around the bed and moved the co-sleeper so the doctor could get to her. The doctor put the cuff on her other arm and pumped it up, then shook her head when she read the results.

"No, no, that's no good. We can't have this. What have you been doing today?"

Sookie gave her a run down of being out of body, spying on the guards, and going to Elfyria.

"Things are moving very quickly," the doctor observed darkly, "I just hope you're up to all of this. Lie back."

Sookie did and the doctor put her hand over her womb.

"Am I pregnant yet?"

"Not yet, but it won't be long. We have to get your blood pressure under control."

"Dr., is it possible for a Goddess to forget about human limitations? Like, to not realize that a human body might not withstand certain energies or processes."

"Yes, it's very possible – even likely, in some cases. Do you feel that is happening here with you?"

"I absolutely trust that Freyja and I are one and that She means only the best for me, but sometimes I do wonder if my body can keep up with all the change and the energy and stuff."

"Well, overall your body is changing for the better, but I am definitely seeing signs of strain. That box," she pointed to the rosewood box she had given Eric at the chalet, which was sitting on the table where the guards sat, "should be in a much safer place! Why isn't it in the safe?"

"I don't know – what is it?"

"Northman didn't tell you?"

"No, he didn't."

"Do you know how to get into his safe?"

"Yes."

"Take it and put it away right now, then I want you back in bed. I'm going to mix up a shot, and we're going to work like hell to keep you alive through the Wiccaning."

"Oh, OK…"

Bjorn handed Sookie the box and she took it into Eric's office. It took just a minute to remember the combination, 23 left, 9 right, 13 left, but she did and the lock clicked and opened. Sookie opened the lid on the box before she put it away, and saw that it was two pretty wreaths with gold and pearls. "Crowns?" she asked herself as she closed and locked the safe again.

"Dr. Ludwig," she asked as she went back to bed, "are those crowns Eric and I have to wear?"

"Yes, my dear, and very special ones at that," she replied as she used a syringe in a couple of bottles and mixed it into another with some herbs.

"They're enchanted?" Sookie decided she liked using that word instead of saying they had magick on them. It sounded so pretty in a Cinderella way – "_enchanted_."

"Yes, they'll let you know to whom and to what you're speaking at the party. There will be many kinds of Supes and many important office holders, and those will help you greet them properly and take proper care where necessary."

"That's cool. I was worried about that."

"Eventually, you and the King will have the ability of your own power, but we're not there yet. This is an important event and we can't take a chance on offending anyone more powerful than you are right now." She was shaking the final syringe to make sure the ingredients blended properly.

"Then we won't always need them?"

"No, and I'll be back for those Monday night. They belong to the Global Council. Freyja arranged permission for you to use them and it's a great honor that they've gifted you the use of them, so guard them well."

"Oh, I will. Eric just forgot to tell me, I guess."

"You two need to fill each other in more thoroughly. Between the sex and the babies, important details are getting missed. We can't have that. I want you to take an hour every night just to talk with no distractions. Plan for it around the babies' nap schedule and make it a priority." She swabbed Sookie's arm with something that didn't smell like alcohol, then gave her the shot.

"Alright, we will."

"Holy Mother! Is that Titania's amulet?" Ludwig was shocked.

"Yes, it is. Isn't it beautiful?"

"Very. Your great grandfather would kill – literally – to get his hands on it. He would have torn that castle down to find it in the rubble if there hadn't been people there to stop him. Don't take it off while you're outside of Elfyria with it. It will be easy for him to find it here and if you're not wearing it, he'll kill you and take it. Listen to me carefully, Sookie. Niall will KILL for that necklace."

"Would it work for him? It's how I call Nivian to me!"

"Great Goddess – have you been with Nivian?"

"Yes, She came to me in Elfyria this morning."

"You knew how to use it?" This was beyond even Freyja's predictions.

"Instantly – I knew where to find it, too."

"Sookie, that amulet is a key – the wearer has access to Avalon. You can call people from there, or it will take you there yourself. It may have other properties I don't know, but it is at least that powerful. Don't take it off, not even to bathe. Now that you've got it, you might as well wear it to the Wiccaning. No one will doubt you are the True Heir with that around your neck. My Goddess, I can't believe you found it. That shot is going to knock you out. You and the babies stay in here today."

"That's fine, I don't want to take them out before the Wiccaning."

"That's very good thinking," the doctor said, knowing it was a much better idea than Sookie realized, even if she didn't have the amulet.

"Can I breast feed the babies after I had that shot?"

"Yes, it will help them sleep, too. Tomorrow night will be a long one, so the better rested you all are, the better. I also want you to drink two bottles of red wine today."

"So much?"

"Yes. Have one with lunch and one with dinner, and make sure you take both your doses of Ambrosia. It won't hurt to mix it with wine – the gods do it constantly, as you might remember."

"Yeah, now that you mention it, I remember drinking buckets of the stuff," Sookie laughed. "I'd never been that drunk before!"

"Now that you've been very drunk, do you think you'd know when to stop if you were in a social situation where you had to drink?" the doctor asked her

"Yeah, I think so."

"Good, remember it at the Wiccaning. I'll see you tomorrow night," and she was gone.

"Did you get that, Bjorn?"

"Yep, two bottles of red wine, one with lunch and one with dinner. Now lie down and go to sleep."

"But…"

"Get comfortable, Queenie, that shot is going to knock you out," Octavia ordered before Sookie gave him an argument. Fortunately, Sookie scooted down just in time because a second later she passed out.

Amelia and Bobbie were able to keep the babies busy with toys and bottles of blood until almost three, at which point they insisted they wanted "Mamee ee," so they tried to wake Sookie up to feed them. She managed to sit up and get them into position, but Bobbie sat on the edge of the bed and Amelia got into Eric's side to make sure the babies didn't fall. Alex finished quickly and went right to sleep, but Aubie insisted on staying with Mama.

While they were trying to figure out what to do, Alicia came up with Sookie's lunch and a bottle of good red wine, so they tried to wake Sookie again.

"What's going on?" she asked, struggling to awake.

"You need to wake up and eat and Aubie wants to stay with you, Hon," Bobbie told her.

"'K, help me sit up and get me a sling to put Aubie in."

Bobbie and Amelia helped Sookie get more upright while Alicia set the tray on the dresser and went into the nursery for a sling. They managed to get Sookie and Aubie settled so both were comfortable, and Bobbie fed Sookie her lunch, delicious beef stew, bottle of red wine and all. Alex was back up and flying around the room when Eric woke up, and he came through the door laughing.

"Hello, my son! Are you having fun?"

"Eeah, pun!" Alex did a flip in the air, flew to him and gave him a hug. Eric kissed him and patted his bottom and beamed at his beautiful son.

"Hello, everyone. Why are we all watching Sookie sleep?" Eric was in a really good mood.

"She had some problems today, but a lot of good stuff happened, too," Bjorn reported. "Dr. Ludwig came and gave her a shot to make her sleep, then she wanted her to have a whole bottle of wine with lunch and dinner, so she's pretty out of it, but she'll have to wake up to eat again."

"Why was the doctor called?" Now Eric was concerned about Sookie and his mood faded a bit.

"Her blood pressure was very high, then very low, then very high again. She's afraid all of this magick and change is too much for her."

"I knew she wasn't getting enough rest!" Eric said, sitting next to her and holding her hand, Alex still in his arm. "What else happened today?"

"Well, the doctor said you and Sookie are to spend 1 hour every day talking when there are no interruptions because things are getting missed. Like the crowns in that box – Sookie didn't know what they were, or what they were for, and they should have been in the safe until they were needed. Ludwig was not happy when she saw them sitting out."

"That's my fault." Eric said, "I did just throw them on the table and forget about them."

"Sookie is also doing crazy amounts of magick in her sleep."

"Did she go to Elfyria again?"

"That's the least of what she did," Octavia continued. "See that big gold chain around her neck?"

"Yes, I don't remember seeing … Oh My Goddess – Titania!"

"Exactly. Apparently, Niall has been looking for it since she died. Sookie knew where it was hidden and how to use it, and she's already had a visit from Nivian."

"She's still alive?" Eric was sure Nivian would have passed on by now.

"And stronger than ever, since they've gotten so insular. Ludwig told Sookie not to take it off while it's in this world – Niall will come after it and kill to get it. She's supposed to wear it to the Wiccaning, which I think is a show of power," Octavia speculated. "No one will doubt she's Titania's heir if she's wearing it."

"That's true, they won't. Even the very young ones will have heard of it."

"Wait a minute," Bjorn said, "that's THE amulet? From the legends?"

"Yes, it is." "Yes, it is." Eric and Octavia spoke at once.

"I thought she threw it in the ocean?" Bjorn remembered from when he was a kid.

"That's the myth that was spread to keep Niall from tearing down the H'Eloise castle looking for it. Nivian probably started it," Octavia explained.

Eric shook his head. "Niall will lose his fucking mind when he sees it on her."

"I thought that might be the case," Octavia said. "Are your guards going to be wearing swords?"

"Some of them," Eric said, but he was thinking "not nearly enough of them."

"Is it possible to hurt her while she's wearing it?" Octavia asked.

"I don't know." Eric said, "it might protect her – that might be why Ludwig told her not to take it off."

"Sookie might know when she's more awake," Octavia speculated. "This just gets bigger and bigger."

"Yes, it does," Jerry said from the doorway. "Sorry to interrupt, but Bjorn, I got that report you asked for. We should have a security meeting."

"Do you need me?" Eric asked

"Yes, Sire, I'm afraid we do."

"Alright, Alex, you stay with Mommy. Daddy has to work for a bit."

"Oday!"

"Good boy!" Eric kissed him and let Bobbie take him.

Eric stepped out with Jerry and Bjorn, "where should we do this?"

"Upstairs. We can't do it in the guard house and the lower rooms might be bugged," Bjorn told him.

Eric was surprised this was a problem again, but they all went up to the gym to talk.

"Alright, what's going on?" Eric said when they got there.

"Sookie found a mole, but not from New Centurion," Bjorn started.

"Another one?"

"Yes – Jerry, what'd you find out about him?"

"She was dead on. He's a Daemon, Victor's cousin, but even Victor is cautious around him. He's being paid, we think, by a female vampire, but we don't have her name yet. We think the blue car was hers."

"A female vampire?" Eric couldn't imagine who it could be.

"Yes, and Sookie caught his spirit prowling in the house," Bjorn continued.

"His spirit?"

"Yes, she had an OBE - an out of body experience - this morning and saw a phantom in the shadows. With Freyja's guidance, she spied on the guards and figured out who it was."

"She spied on the guards? How?"

"Nearest I can understand, she cloaked her spirit in the wind so the Daemons couldn't detect her and flew to all the guard houses. She said it was exhilarating."

Eric was speechless, again. "Can she command the elements?"

"We're not sure, but that's on the top of the list Amunet Bast sent her, so they'll be trying that when they're here."

"She cloaked her spirit in the wind…" Eric repeated to himself, "… and hid from the Daemons. Can Niall do this?"

"No, Vincent is sure he can't," Jerry reported. "It's not a Fae ability to hide from other elemental spirits that way. They recognize each other's energy as well as scent."

"Freyja taught her this?"

"Yes, and if you think about it, it's something the gods are known for. They take on the shape of something in Nature - clouds or rain or animals - to do things. Zeus did it all the time – remember Leda and the Swan?"

"Right – now how does that differ from shifting?" Eric needed to understand the details of this.

"Shifting involves rearranging your physical body. This kind of cloaking is done by the spirit while the body is elsewhere, if there is a body involved."

Eric rubbed his eyes and tried to think of his next move, but every thought led back to just being with Sookie. "I need to get back to her. What action do you recommend with the mole?"

"I suggest keeping him on and watching him to see if he leads us back to his employer," Bjorn said. "We don't want to tell Rafael about it yet."

"I agree," Jerry nodded.

"You don't think we could break him?"

"Not if he's a Cambion. We couldn't hold onto him," Jerry said. "They aren't sensitive to iron and we're not even sure they can be killed."

"What?"

"I mean, they probably can be, but no one in our circle knows how. Vincent might know, but he says he doesn't. He's a Cambion himself, though, so it would be kind of crazy for him to give out information like that."

"Alright, keep me informed. I'm going to spend some time with my family," Eric was down the stairs almost before the words were formed.

Sookie was trying to sit up when he got back, Aubie still strapped to her, so Eric lifted her into a sitting position.

"I need to try on my dress before I drink more wine."

"Are you sure you're up to it, dear?" Alicia, standing there with a supper tray, asked her.

"We need to make sure it's going to work. Eric, you can help me, right?"

"Of course, Sookie. Where is the dress?"

"It's upstairs," Alicia said, " I'll run get it."

"Help me take the sling off, Eric."

Eric lifted the baby out of the sling, waking him up. He gave Eric a big smile and said, "Dada!"

"Hello, my little elf!" Eric kissed him and put him into the co-sleeper, where he pulled himself into a sitting position with just a bit of struggle and his hand on the side of his little bed for balance.

"Good job, Aubie!" Sookie beamed at him.

"Very good, Auberon! You're getting very strong!" Eric reached over and stroked his cheek, and Aubie giggled, proud of himself.

Eric helped Sookie get to the side of the bed as Bjorn and Jerry went outside and closed the door.

"You want us to leave, Sookie?" Amelia offered, referring to herself and Octavia.

"No, that's not necessary. It won't take but a minute."

Alicia came back in with the dress, a plunging halter dress with bold tie-dyed splashes of purple, blue and gold against black. Eric helped steady Sookie as she stepped into it and they had her in it in just a minute or two.

She turned to face the other women. "Well, what do you all think?"

"Wow, Sookie, that's gorgeous!" Bobbie would kill for that dress, she laughed to herself.

"It's stunning, Sookie," Amelia said.

"You'll be hard to miss. How you gonna function with that low neckline?" Octavia wondered

"Wardrobe tape," Alicia told them, "We'll have it solidly in place and I'll send extra for when she has to feed the babies, though we hope they'll take bottles while we're there."

"Which shoes did you want to wear, dear?"

"I think those black patent sandals with the low wedge heel are my best bet." Alicia helped her slip them on and she tried walking in them in the dress. "Yeah, this should work. I'm sure I can dance or run in these if I need to. Are you going to the ceremony, Alicia?"

"No, I think it's best if I stay home," she said warmly as she helped Sookie back out of the dress and handed her a little pink gown which Eric helped her into.

"Yeah, that's a lot of Supernaturals to deal with," Octavia laughed.

"I'll have her back, though, and we'll manage the babies," Bobbie said confidently.

"I'll help, too," Amelia said happily. She was counting the minutes to the party.

"Thanks, you guys. I'll try to make sure you get to have some fun, too," Sookie promised as she settled back into bed.

"Just being there will be amazing. I can't wait to see who shows up!" Amelia was really looking forward to this.

"I'm excited about it, too. There's never been an event like this on this continent, and You'd have to go back to pre-Hellenic times to find one of this size, I'll bet," Octavia said. "There aren't many occasions that interest so many different types of beings."

Once Sookie was settled with Aubie happily next to her, Alicia put her tray across her lap and Eric helped her with her dinner.

"I suppose I should tell you now, Sookie…" Eric started, as he gave her a bite of grilled tuna.

"Oh, no – what?"

"Well, when they began counting the invitees and their entourages, and the rumors hit the Fae realm…"

"Ye-es…?"

"The gathering may be much larger than we'd anticipated."

"How many?"

"Probably no more than 5,000…"

"What? Are we going to be able to feed all those people?"

"Yes, because the Council is sending special provisions for some of the more special guests. There was a message from the caterer when I awoke today."

Sookie knew the answer to this question before she asked it. "Let me guess – bottles like the green one in the fridge over there?"

"Yes, among other things."

"Wow!" Amelia was tickled to death at that news.

Octavia nodded, "It's going to be huge, but look at it this way – there's safety in numbers. The more important the people who attend, the less likely anyone is to cause trouble."

"Niall has been warned that, and I quote, "heads will roll if anyone causes a disturbance at the blessing of those sacred children,"" Eric told them.

"That's good news," Octavia said, "you still have to prepare, but that will go a long way toward keeping the peace. My contacts say Cullach's people haven't had time to regroup, so Niall is the major source of opposition, unless there's a rogue vampire element."

"There always is, even though no one has made themselves apparent yet," Eric said darkly. He still had no idea what female vampire might be gunning for his wife. "By the way, Sookie, I gave Ms. Prentiss the revised vows you decided on and told her we insisted on those changes. You might get a call from the High Priestess tonight or tomorrow."

"She can call all she wants, but those vows better be exactly the way I wrote them or I'll disrupt her ritual, big time."

"She won't risk that," Octavia told her. "She might not be happy about the changes, but she'll abide by them if she's any kind of Witch at all. Words are too important and we're all big on the fine points. Ultimately, this is your ceremony, and she's obligated to do it your way."

"Good, because I won't repeat them if she changes it to something I don't like."

"No one would expect you to. If, for some reason, she did change them, you stop and make her get it right. Everyone will back you up," Octavia assured.

"Good, because this is non-negotiable. I'm not giving away my… what's the word for it?"

"Legacy," Eric said simply.

"Legacy. I'm not giving up my legacy. Titania left it to me, and I'll decide how to handle it."

"Sorry to interrupt, but I think Margaret is waiting to serve dinner." Alicia reminded them.

"Oh, I'm sorry, guys! Go eat. I'll talk to you later."

"She'll talk to you all in the morning unless something urgent comes up. After she eats, she's going to sleep. Thank you all for looking out for her."

Bobbie gave Alex to Eric, and Alicia asked, "Should I bring the twins' dinner up here, Sir?"

"Yes, please. We'll all take it easy tonight. I'd like a warm RM, too, if you don't mind."

"Alright, Mrs. Northman should have her Ambrosia now, too."

"Thank you for reminding me!" Eric said as he got up and put Alex in his spot while he got Sookie her first dose for the night.

"I feel bad about kicking everybody out," Sookie laughed.

"Their dinner is waiting for them," he said as he filled the gold cup.

"That's true, and it's fish so that doesn't keep well. Can we manage feeding the babies, do you think?"

"Of course, we can. Aubie doesn't eat much food and you can hold his bottle for him if he wants it. I'll sit at the table with Alex…" he handed her the cup and she drank it down.

"If you'd rather take them downstairs…"

"We'd rather stay with you while you're awake, Sweetheart," he laughed a little as he put the bottle back in the mini-fridge.

"Oh, good. I want you to stay, I just…"

"Shh, Sookie, relax. You're getting worked up for no reason," he said as he came back to his side and picked Alex up so he could sit.

"I'm trying to stay awake," she laughed.

"Eat your dinner so you can let go, my Angel."

"What about our hour together?"

"We'll talk while you eat, just for tonight. I hear you had a very eventful morning?"

"And how. OH! First, I had a dream that I think answers your question about what Eric 2006 got right!"

"Tell me!"

"You followed me home the night we met."

"I did?" Eric was proud of himself. He had always berated himself for letting her get away that night, and not realizing that Bill hadn't had her yet.

"Yep. See, Bill and I had a fight that night, and you were in a tree in my yard watching the whole thing. Then you came to my bedroom window and talked to me until I got too sleepy, and you came back the next night and after a while I invited you in. And here's the best part – when Rene broke into my house to kill me, you were there and you killed him. I'm pretty sure in that reality, Gran is still alive!"

"Sookie, that's wonderful!"

"Yeah, it's cool. It makes me feel so much better about things, you wouldn't believe. Alex will get to be a baby there, Aubie will get to be inside me, Gran will live to see them. It's like everything went perfectly there," Sookie said as tears began to stream from her eyes.

"Sookie, what is wrong? That is good news, Sweetheart."

"Yeah, I'm happy for them, but I'm sad for us, you know?"

"Sookie, don't be sad for us. We have a wonderful life. Complicated, sometimes, but wonderful. Even the experience of meeting the other Sookie is a kind of wonderful gift."

"Yeah, I'm trying to remember that," she laid her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes.

He kissed her head. "Sookie, answer me without thinking. What is the advantage of being who you are, here and now?"

"I'm stronger than she'll ever be," the words were out of Sookie's mouth before she realized what she was saying.

"That is a very great advantage, Sookie. Your strength is what makes you YOU. That Sookie won't have a reputation for being fearless. She has never saved the victims of a terrorist bombing, or saved my life several times, or been in a pack war. Maybe I'll never be Eric the Untouchable there," he teased her, "I love being us!"

Sookie laughed and had to agree with him. "You're right. It's enough knowing they got it right. We are who we are for good reasons."

"Exactly, my Angel."

"You should have seen her face when she realized Aubie has your eyes," Sookie remembered. "It was wonderful to see her so happy."

"I know that feeling. I have it every time I see you smile, especially when you feed the boys. It's the most beautiful thing in the world."

"Aww, Sweetie!" She looked up and kissed him, and Aubie giggled.

Eric shifted Alex on his lap and pulled Aubie up from between them so he was balancing both boys. "Alright, what happened after the dream?"

"I had an out of body experience and ran a Daemon's spirit out of here and figured out which one it was and Freyja taught me how to clean the energy in a space instantly and how to get back into my body."

"Good skills to have," he nodded. "Did I also hear about cloaking your spirit in the wind?"

"Yeah, that was awesome. I was swooping around the way you do the boys when you play-fly them. Can I do that when I fly in my body?"

"Probably – you'll have to try."

"I can't fall if I dip too fast can I?"

"No, you can't. The only real accident you can have when flying is if you fly into something."

"Have you ever done that?"

"Early on, I ran into a bird or two. I learned how to avoid them pretty quickly. I try to stay lower than most aircraft."

Sookie cracked up, because he said that the way most people would say they were changing their socks. The boys laughed because Sookie laughed.

"Oh, we think that is funny, do we?" Eric said then he tickled all of them and had them laughing and shrieking. After a few minutes, he stopped and kissed each one and they all snuggled for a bit, then Eric opened Sookie's bottle of wine.

"Aren't you supposed to drink white wine with fish?"

"I don't know – are you?"

"Yeah, I think so, but Dr. Ludwig said red wine. That's all we ever drank at Freyja's house."

"Was it good?"

"Much better than the wines I've had here, but I think that's because everything there is better."

"Alright, now where were we? What happened after you spied on the guards?"

"I think then I went to Elfyria, had breakfast, found the necklace, and called Nivian. We hugged, she kissed me, we cried, she said I needed a better book and there'd be one when I got home, then she left, then Maddy cut an apple to show me the inside then I came home and the book was actually here!"

"Where is it?"

Sookie looked around the room. "I don't know. It should be here."

Eric got up and looked around, finally opening the closet door. "Here it is – looks like someone just shoved it in here."

"That's odd."

"May I read the letter?"

"Sure – it doesn't say much."

Eric read it, agreed that it didn't say much, and poured Sookie another glass of wine, then took away her tray and put it on the dresser. He left the bottle on the nightstand so she could finish it, and when she started to fade he got her to finish the bottle of wine and just let go. He kissed her and took the boys out of the room so she could sleep undisturbed for a while.

Eric was able to talk the boys into taking a bottle for their midnight feeding and gave them food and apple juice at three. It took a little cajoling and cuddling but he got them to take blood for the last feeding of the day and go to sleep. He went to rest that day a little worried about Sookie, praying to Freyja that she be healthy enough and protected enough to get through the Wiccaning without illness or injury.

Sookie was on the shore and looked around her. Freyja came laughing over the hill behind her, dressed in a beautiful white gown, flowers in her hair, wearing the same necklace Sookie had around her neck.

"Good morning, My Angel! Are you ready for Our celebration?"

"You look like you are! You're GLORIOUS!" Sookie thought She looked even more radiant than ever. "I forgot to ask you something important!"

"About the bracelet Niall gave you for Eric Auberon H'Eliose?"

"Yes – is it safe to let him wear it?"

"Take it to your circle and rinse it in salt water. You'll know when it is safe. You'll get another present for the boys when you awake. Dress them in it tonight."

"Are you going to be there tonight?"

"Oh, yes, My Angel! I've waited a long, long time for this night to come. I'm even bringing a date!"

Sookie's eyes flew open. Did Freyja just tell her she was bringing a date to the Wiccaning? Do Goddesses date? It instantly flashed through Sookie's mind that this Goddess in particular liked to fuck. Was She bringing a new lover? If she were Freyja, whom would she date? Eric, of course! Who could compare? Was there anyone…?

"Good morning, Sookie." Bjorn spoke to her from the side.

"Hey, you! What time is it?" She woke up with a smile.

"Almost 2:30."

"Where are the boys? Why did you all let me sleep so late?"

"Eric's orders, Hon. We're all worried about you."

"Freyja will be there – I'll be fine. Have the boys been fed?"

"Yeah, but they really want you."

"Bring them to me and I'll feed them, then we have to start getting ready."

"Not really…"

"What do you mean?"

"The plan is for you, Eric and the boys to take a ritual bath when he gets up until no later than 7. Then you get dressed, hair and makeup until 8 while Bobbie and Amelia dress the boys. We all head out at 8, we get there and get you all on stage by 9. The receiving line goes until 11:30, then the ritual starts so the vows fall as near midnight as possible. After the vows, there's feasting and dancing until dawn, and more receiving line if necessary."

"What are we doing with the boys?"

"We're taking those bouncers that you like for when they sleep, otherwise you two should probably hold them."

"I hope they don't get fussy."

"They won't, Sookie, they know what's up."

"I hope so. This will be a long night for them."

Bjorn took out his phone and pushed a button, "Sookie is up."

"Be right down," Jerry replied, and Amelia and Bobbie called the boys down from flying around the rafters and brought them down to Sookie. Aubie flew to her the second they were back in the room and he saw her awake.

"MAMA!"

"Hi, Baby!" She kissed him several times and put him to her breast.

"Obee fyeen dood, Mamee!"

"Yeah, he can fly fast when he wants to. You want Mommy eat?"

"Eeah!"

"OK," she shifted Aubie and Amelia helped her get Alex into position. The boys took both milk and blood for nearly an hour. "They act like they haven't fed in days!" Sookie said. "They were eating and getting bottles, right?"

"Yes." Bjorn, Bobbie and Amelia all answered at once.

"I guess Octavia will sleep as late as possible today?"

"Yes," Bjorn answered, "and she'll have a guard assigned to her tonight to make sure she's alright."

"Do you know who it is?" Sookie wanted to be sure it was someone good.

"Yeah, Cody Lane volunteered," Bjorn told her.

"Oh, good – she likes him a lot."

"He likes her, too. He'll take good care of her – he'll make sure she eats, rests when she needs to, there will be a place she can lie down if need be, and, if necessary, he'll even bring her home."

"That's good. I was wondering about that."

Bjorn's phone buzzed. "Anderson. Yeah. OK. Sookie, you got another weird package. Can Jerry open it and then bring it up. It's addressed to you, Alex and Auberon."

"Oh, OK. Freyja said I would get a gift for them today. She said to dress them in it, whatever it is. I hope I like it!"

Jerry came up the stairs quickly with the opened package and Sookie was thrilled when she saw the contents. It was a set of matching "bubble" creepers in crisp white fabric with blue trim.

"Oh, these are so cute! I was just going to put them in rompers, and we will take some to change them into if they have an accident or get fussy, but these are just darling!"

"Look how sweet!" Amelia loved them, too.

"They're going to look so adorable in those! Are their bracelets alike?"

"They're similar, but not identical. Speaking of which, I need to work on the one for Aubie. Is Alicia bringing breakfast?"

"I'll call her," Bjorn offered.

"Ask her how long it will be, please," Sookie requested.

Bjorn spoke to the kitchen and told her, "half an hour."

"OK, after I eat I have to go down for a bit, but the boys will probably sleep after this."

"You might as well sleep a while longer, too, Sookie," Bobbie suggested. "This is going to be a long night. You could sleep until about 5:30 if you wanted to."

Sookie yawned just as she said that. "OK, I eat, I fix the bracelet, then I sleep, OK? I can't risk forgetting about the bracelet," She said as Amelia took Alex, who was now sound asleep, from her and took him around to the co-sleeper.

"If you're really worried about the bracelet, Sookie, do it now. You won't need a half hour, will you?" Bobbie asked.

"Actually, no, I won't," she looked down at Aubie, who was almost out. She smoothed his hair and stroked his cheek, and he was out. She moved him gently to the co-sleeper and said, "OK, Bjorn, you stay with the babies. I'll be right back."

"I'll go with her," Jerry said, knowing Bjorn was about to object. Bjorn nodded and Sookie grabbed the bracelet from the nursery, then she and Jerry headed for the elevator. When they got to her room downstairs, she had him wait outside the door and took the bracelet into her circle. The ring of salt was still on the floor, so she just took the container of salt and a bottle of spring water, and poured it into a cup. All Freyja said to do was rinse it, but Sookie took some salt and scrubbed the surface of the bracelet a bit and sparks were flying out of the water. In a moment, they stopped and Sookie pulled it out of the water. One of the two triquetras was missing, and the other one had a circle in it. Sookie knew that whatever Niall had purposed the bracelet to do, Freyja had now fixed it to her own liking. She was back in her room in 15 minutes.

"Wow, that was quick!" Amelia laughed when she came back.

"Look at the bracelet!" Sookie showed her and Bobbie.

"Wow – the symbols have changed!"

"Yep, one is gone, one has a circle now."

"Did you see it happen?" Amelia loved every bit of this.

"It threw sparks out of the water when I scrubbed it with salt!"

"Amazing. It's all just amazing!" Bobbie was blown away.

"I know. I'm right in the middle of it and it still just blows me away," she laughed, "anyway, I'm going to get back in bed, eat breakfast and try to sleep some more. Do you all need anything to get ready for tonight?"

"All I have to do is shower and dress. My clothes are ready, and so are Bjorn's."

"Mine and Jerry's are ready to go, too. We already worked it out. We'll dress at four, Bobbie and Bjorn at 5, then by the time you and Eric get ready, we'll be all packed up and ready to head out."

"So everybody's got it under control? Good!" Sookie laughed and just then Alicia brought her breakfast, which was gorgeous Belgian waffles with blueberries and whipped cream. The others laughed quietly because Sookie inhaled them, then she was asleep before her head hit the pillow. Finally, they all dispersed – Bjorn to make final orders to the guards, Bobbie and Amelia to pack up the diaper bags, Jerry staying with Sookie and the boys, reading his book.

"Wake up, my lovely wife!" Eric was smiling warmly at her, stroking her cheek.

"MMmm – that is my favorite way to wake up!" Sookie purred.

"You looked so peaceful I hated to wake you, but we have a party to go to. You should eat, then we bathe with the boys, then we dress."

"I can't believe it's finally here! I feel like it's been years building up to this!" Sookie laughed

"It has been a very eventful few months. Here is Alicia with your food."

"You're awake!" she said as she brought the dinner tray. "You have a rare steak, baked potato and broccoli. Alex is very excited about the broccoli," she laughed.

"Have they eaten?" Sookie asked

"Bobbie and Amelia are feeding them now, with Bjorn's help. They'll be up as soon as they're done, then the four of you need your bath."

"Yeah, we need salt for the bath…"

"Knock, knock!" Octavia called from the stairs.

"Come in, Octavia," Eric called to her as Sookie inhaled her steak.

"Everybody getting excited?" She came in smiling.

"Anxious, yeah!" Sookie said with her mouthful.

"This is a special oil for Lughnasadh. Use it to anoint yourselves in the bath."

"Cool, thanks! What's in it?" Sookie wondered if this was what she was working on the night before, but thought it might be rude to ask.

"Frankincense, rose, yarrow, a piece of wheat, a blackberry leaf and a citrine crystal. It will make you all feel grounded and centered. That's going to be huge energy tonight, so you want to go in as solid as you can."

"Thank you so much, Octavia!" Eric said sincerely. "And thank you for going with us tonight. I know it's very late to keep you out…"

"Bjorn's got me all taken care of. I've got an escort and if need be, he can bring me on home."

"Good, I am glad to hear it."

"Is the plan still to head out at 8?"

"Yes, it is."

"Alright, I'm going to go get some dinner and I'll see you all downstairs in a bit."

"Thanks!" Sookie called as she went out.

Alicia came in with their freshly steamed clothing and hung it up on the hook over the closet.

"I never even thought to ask what you're wearing! I'm a terrible wife!" Sookie said, half-serious.

"You've been very busy. I'm wearing ironed, dark-rinsed jeans, a perfect white shirt, untucked, and my bear claws on a new gold chain."

"Shoes?"

"Motorcycle boots, suitable for fighting… or dancing," he laughed.

"Glad you think it's funny. My dress doesn't look too slutty, does it?"

"If it did, you would be wearing a different dress. As with most of your other evening wear, you will look ethereal and glamorous and be the prettiest girl there."

"Good," Sookie laughed. "Want to hear something weird?"

"Why stop now?" he laughed and she did, too.

"Freyja said She's bringing a date!"

"Did She actually use the word "date?""

"Yes, She did."

"I can't wait to see whom it is!"

"Any ideas?"

"Not with Freyja – Her lovers are many and varied. Whomever it is, he – or she - will be impressive. She'll want to show off a bit for this company in particular, since this celebrates Her as well as the boys."

"I just hope it's not someone wild and unpredictable like Dionysus."

"Now THAT would be wild!" Eric laughed

"Yeah, but he scares me."

"Don't worry, Sookie. Freyja will make tonight as special as She can. Do not be afraid."

"You know, I'm really not scared anymore? I'm excited. We get to show off our gorgeous babies to all these important people. You're going to be like a peacock tonight!" Sookie laughed.

"I know – I'll be crowing and preening and ready to burst as half the world falls in love with my beautiful wife and my handsome sons. I am the proudest father in the world, Sookie, have no doubt."

She kissed him hard for a long time, and they only stopped when Amelia and Bobbie came in with the babies.

"Here are your bundles of joy!" Amelia laughed, putting Aubie next to Sookie on the bed.. She was already dressed in a pretty lavender dress and all ready to go.

"Are you done with your tray, Sookie?" Bobbie asked as she gave Alex to Eric. Her hair was in curlers and she was wearing a kimono style robe.

"I"ll take it down, Bobbie, you go get dressed," Amelia urged her.

"Thanks. Have a nice bath, you guys!" Bobbie bounced up the stairs, ready to get this show on the road.

Amelia left with the tray, and Sookie started the bath as Eric undressed the boys.

"What are they wearing tonight, Sookie?" He was throwing their diapers and t-shirts into the shower.

"Freyja sent the cutest little white bubble/creeper suits for them. They'll look really sweet. And She told me how to fix Aubie's bracelet and the symbols on it changed."

"How did they change?"

"One of the triquetras disappeared and the other has a circle in it now."

"Did She do it or did you?"

"There's no difference, Eric, you know that," she laughed as she settled into the tub.

"Yes, I just wanted to see if YOU knew it yet."

"I do - especially tonight! I'm going to have fun until war breaks out, and it won't because the Council said so," she laughed again and took hold of the amulet, raising it over her face…

"Sookie, stop!" He came through the door with a baby in each arm.

"What?"

"You were about to take the amulet off! Dr. Ludwig said not to take it off when you bathe. Keep it on you at all times." He leaned down so she could take Aubie from him.

"You don't think it was an exaggeration?"

"I do not – we've had too many lessons in what can go wrong to ignore a direct order like that one, have we not?" He climbed in with Alex and immediately washed his own hair as the boys splashed in their supports.

"Yeah, you're right. I was slipping into thinking I don't matter. Nivian told me it was time to take my Self seriously. I have to remember that."

"You've got a bad habit of dismissing good advice. Be aware of it, Sookie, and stop yourself. Mistakes at this level can be far reaching and affect many people."

"You're right," she said, her mind a million miles away suddenly. Why couldn't she get Dionysus out of her head?

"Sookie, are you listening?"

'Huh? Yeah, I am."

"We'd better proceed, Sookie, what is the ritual?"

Sookie gently scrubbed them all with some salt, which she had to call up from the basement, paying special attention to the backs of their necks and rinsed them all, then he washed her hair, she washed Aubie's and he washed Alex's.

"We're getting pretty quick at this," she laughed. "OK, now bring the boys in between us," they slid the boys between them and linked arms. "OK, now I'm going to clean and center our energy, then protect us, then anoint us with this Lughnasadh oil."

Sookie closed her eyes and Eric watched as her aura became visible to him, a subtle glow of pink and yellow, growing gradually stronger and larger, enveloping the four of them in warmth and light. The babies were perfectly quiet, basking in the same glow they did when they were feeding, not realizing it was bigger and better now and included Daddy, too. They thought Mommy made everybody feel this way all the time.

The light gradually formed a shiny bubble all around them and Sookie reinforced it with love and protection and it took on a golden gleam. "Abuh!" Aubie said, and Eric looked at him as Alex said, "bubba, Obee, BUBBA." It was all Eric could do not to laugh, but Sookie's concentration was solid and extended out to the property lines, their vehicles, and finally to the campgrounds, leaving golden protection everywhere her mind touched.

She took three slow, deep breaths and the energy moved visibly in and out with them. Eric was amazed at actually seeing the energy respond to her that way. When the bubble was perfect, Sookie opened her eyes and took the vial of oil from the side of the tub. She anointed the crown of her head, third eye, lips, throat, breast, genitals and the soles of her feet and the palms of her hands. She followed the same procedure with Eric, then with each boy and they were all glowing with love and protection by the time she drained the tub and Eric rinsed them all off with the hand-held.

Everyone was quiet and content. Eric couldn't remember the last time he felt this wonderful. Being a vampire gave him a constant sense of buzzing with energy but at the moment he was as content and centered as he'd ever been in his long life. He was both impressed with and proud of Sookie being able to create this wonderful feeling in them all. He diapered the babies wearing nothing but a towel around his waist while Alicia dried Sookie's hair. Bobbie and Amelia took over to dress the boys and Eric went to put on his clothes, laughing to himself that they were checking him out in his towel. He loved the whiff of sex he always got from them when they saw him undressed in the pool or in a towel. They always gave off a little something when he was in the room, but seeing his chest always made it spark in the most delightful way. He wondered sometimes if Sookie was aware of how turned on they often were around him, but he was afraid asking might sow seeds of dissent and he couldn't have that – he wanted a happy family around his family.

"Eric, you're feeling very pleased with yourself," Sookie teased him.

"I told you I'm looking forward to showing off my family."

Sookie projected to him 'you're forgetting I can hear your thoughts, Eric!'

He laughed out loud and so did she. He projected back o her 'that could come in handy at the ceremony,' as he took his jeans and red silk boxers into the bathroom.

'Yes, it could. It could help when we get home, too!' and she sent him an x-rated suggestion in images, forgetting the boys could see it, too.

'Sookie! The boys!'

'Yikes! I forgot!'

'Keep that in mind, just don't send it out.' He was laughing in his mind as he came out of the bathroom shirtless and sockless and she stuck her tongue out at him.

'You're trying to get me excited before we get there so I'll only have eyes for you, my Angel,' he teased her as he sat down to put his socks and boots on.

'Hey, there will be Goddesses there – can you blame me?'

'There's a Goddess here, Sookie, and I only have eyes for you.'

'Aww – I love you!'

'I love you, too, Sookie.'

Alicia, unaware of their internal conversation, commented, "Your eyelashes are amazing these days!"

"They are?"

"Yes. I was going to put false lashes on you tonight, but yours are so thick, long and dark now, it would be wasted effort."

"Good, I hate the fake ones. Just hit 'em with a little mascara to keep them curled."

"Bobbie will have your touch-up kit in Alex's diaper bag. Amelia will handle Aubie's diaper bag. They're going to take one baby each so you've always got coverage."

"I hope they get to have some fun, too, though."

"It will be nice if they do, Sookie, but we can't take any chances with the boys. Do not be too trusting tonight," Eric reminded her.

"Yeah, it will be good to have help."

"Bjorn and Jerry will stay right with them, too," Alicia reminded them and herself – she was nervous about tonight. She almost regretted her decision not to go.

"It's OK, Alicia, we'll be OK. You deserve your time off!" Sookie said, forgetting that Alicia didn't know she could read minds. Alicia didn't say anything, but she would think about it a lot later on, and wonder exactly how extensive Sookie's powers were.

"Well, I hope it all goes well for you. Will there be pictures or video?"

"Probably not," Eric said as he took his crisp, expensive white shirt off the hanger, "many of the guests wouldn't want tangible evidence of their existence."

"That's too bad. It would be nice to have a record of it," Alicia was hoping to see a little of it, anyway.

"Someone might take a picture of just us when we take our vows," Eric said as he pulled his shirt on. "That would be more the option of the Coven hosting the event."

"Mommy and Daddy, look how handsome we are!" Bobbie laughed as she and Amelia brought the babies in wearing their new outfits.

"Oh, they look so sweet!" Sookie said as Alicia was taking her hair out of rollers.

"Look at my handsome sons!" Eric was bursting, and left his shirt unbuttoned to talk to the babies, tickling their chins and stroking their cheeks. "Alexander, Auberon, you look very nice. Your public will be in awe of you!"

"Me an Obee dood?" Alex didn't recognize some of Dadee's words.

"You and Aubie are perfect! Very, very good!" Eric beamed at them as he took them from the girls.

"Oday!"

"Ah!"

He kissed them both, nuzzled them and growled, making them giggle, then took them over and said, "give Mommy some sugar before she gets her lipstick on."

"Awww," Sookie said, giving each a kiss on the lips.

Aubie shook his head and giggled like that was so good he just couldn't stand it. Alex laughed, "Aubie wyg Mamee kissthesth!"

"Yes, Mommy gives the sweetest kisses, doesn't she?" Eric chatted with them, bouncing them, teasing them a bit, then putting them on the bed and tickling them.

"Those babies need to cheer up," Bjorn laughed as he came in the door. "We could hear them all the way downstairs."

"Are we almost ready, Bjorn?" Eric asked, still playing with the babies

'Everything is in place. All we have to do is get on the bus."

"I'll be a while," Sookie said.

"No hurry, your Majesty, we have plenty of time."

"Eric, you should get the boys' bracelets and the crowns from the safe."

"Yes, I should. Good thinking." He bent to look them in the eyes, "boys, you wait here, alright? Daddy will be back in a minute." He zipped out of the room, buttoning his shirt, and grabbed the box with the crowns and the boxes with the little bracelets from a drawer in the nursery. He came back very quickly, to the boys delight because Daddy was fun. "Alright, my sons, we have your royal bracelets from… what's that word you use for him, Sookie?"

"Papaw."

"I've never heard anyone else use that word before. Is it common?"

"It's one variation of what Southern kids call their grandpa. Papaw, Pawpaw, Peepaw – different areas and different families use different ones. I like Papaw best, so that's what I'm teaching them."

Eric kept chatting with them as he put the bracelets on them. "Alright, then, my sons, these are your royal insignias from Papaw. He's very proud of you both and wants everyone to know it. Do you know where we are going tonight? We are going to a big party and ritual in your honor! You'll be officially given your full names and Mommy and Daddy will promise to love you and take care of you and Freyja will be there to bless you!"

"Pahdy wif Freyja!" Alex said happily

"Pya!" was the best Aubie could do

"That's very good. You're very smart boys and Daddy loves you." He kissed them both again and smoothed their hair. "I wonder if Bobbie or Amelia packed a hairbrush for them?"

"That's a good question. We'll want to touch them up before the ceremony begins," Sookie said.

"Let me see," Eric zipped into the nursery. "Here's a brush that was in the top cubby. We'll take it with us, just in case. You want to be beautiful for your public, don't you boys?"

"Eeah! Alex laughed and Aubie imitated him with an "Ah!"

Eric, on his knees by the bed, pulled each boy into a sitting position and brushed his hair, which was getting a little long and he liked it. The kitten surprised everyone by coming up the stairs with a leash in its mouth, jumping onto the bed and patting at Eric's arm with its little paw.

"What's she doing, Eric?" Sookie asked as Alicia sprayed her face with Model in a Bottle to set her makeup.

"I think she's asking to go with us."

"MEOW!"

"Ewin doe wif me, Dadee!"

"Erin wants to go with you? What if she gets lost?"

"Nah gep wosth, Dadee."

"What do you think, Eric?"

"There's an animal carrier with your luggage in the basement if you want to use it," Alicia reminded them.

"She brought her little leash, so I'd say she means to stay with us. Are we taking the playpen? She could stay in it during the ceremony.

"MEOW!" The kitten reared up on its hind legs, it's paws on Eric's arm, emphasizing that she should go, too.

"Alright, kitten, we'll take you along," Eric figured the cat knew its own purpose and perhaps it really should be there for this. Eric reached for his cell phone and buzzed Bjorn.

"Yes, your majesty?"

"We need the animal carrier from the basement for the kitten. Have you loaded the playpen?"

"The small one, yes. I'll be right up with the carrier."

"I wonder if Amelia and Bobbie packed a blanket for the boys?" Sookie asked

"Bjorn, do the girls have a baby blanket for the twins?"

"Yeah, they do, and their bears that Pam bought them."

"Did they remember the new stroller?" Alicia added

"Yep, it's packed up."

"Alright, thank you."

"What new stroller?" Sookie asked

"We got a special foldable double stroller for the twins," Alicia told her.

"The one stroller holds both of them?"

"Yes, it's very nice."

"Oh, good. Thanks for doing that."

Alicia finished up Sookie's lipstick and sealed it, then did the final touches on her hair and helped her into her gorgeous tie-dyed dress and her black sandals. She posed for Eric and asked, "so how do I look? Is this hippie chic enough for dancing in a grove in the moonlight?"

"You are a vision, Sookie. That dress is very appropriate. I had wondered what you would wear to such an event, but this strikes the perfect balance between the setting and the purpose of the event. Everyone will envy the boys and me having such a beautiful mother, wife and especially Queen. I predict that your side of the "family" will be thrilled when they meet you."

"Let's hope."

Bjorn came in from the elevator, opened the little animal carrier on the bed and the kitten walked right in. Bjorn wound up the leash and put it in a zippered pocket on the side and said "I'm going to take a bottle of water and a plastic bowl of food, just in case."

"Wadiz dat, Bhord?"

"That's the carrier for your kitten. She'll ride in this to the party and then we'll let her sit with you and keep you company, alright?"

"Ah wyg dompamy!"

"You're going to have fun tonight, then, because there will be more people than you've seen in your whole life."

"Mo peepoh?"

"Many, many more people. Big party!"

"Eeay! Vìg!"

"Let' hope not vìg," Sookie said as Alicia taped and glued her dress in place. Bjorn and Eric exchanged a look because neither had ever seen a woman tape on her dress before, though Eric was relieved it wouldn't be gaping open. It was very low cut and he could see everything when she bent a little to put on her shoes just then.

"You guys stop laughing at me. Women do this all the time with fancy gowns."

"I would not dream of questioning your female arts, my lovely wife. I'm sure you and Alicia know what you are doing. The results are certainly spectacular, are they not, Bjorn."

"You look amazing, your Majesty."

"Aw – thank you!" That tickled Sookie, as compliments from Bjorn always did, and she felt ready to face the world now.

"Alright, dear, here's your touch up bag. You've got tape, glue, safety pins and a little sewing kit as well as make-up. Put it in Bobbie's bag, since she knows more about makeup than Amelia.

"Will do." Sookie turned and twisted a little in front of the mirror, satisfied that she was going to turn more than a few heads this night, and the four of them took the elevator downstairs with the babies. They saw Margaret in the kitchen and let her kiss the boys and coo over them and their little outfits for a few minutes, Sookie confirming that there were bottles and food for the twins in the diaper bags.

They walked into the living room as Jerry came back in the front.

"Where is everybody?" Sookie asked, surprised that the living room wasn't full.

"All loaded and waiting for you, your Majesty."

"OK, then, let's get this party on the road – FINALLY!

Bjorn and Jerry moved the family into Sookie's car, everyone else already in place on the bus behind them and the security vans and cars front and back. Bjorn had his earpiece in place, tapping it, "Svenska 1, 2, 3 and 4 green."

The vehicles started up and at long last they headed for the Wiccaning.

"So, how long will it take us to get there?" Sookie asked, bouncing Aubie on her lap.

"Just under an hour. You can nap if you want to." Eric told her.

"Nah, I'm too wired for that and I don't want to look droopy when I get there. I can't believe how cute the boys look. Did you remember the crowns, Eric?"

"I"ve got them up here, your Majesty," Bjorn answered.

"Where is the kitten?" Eric asked

"On the bus with Bobbie. We're doing a zone defense tonight," Bjorn joked. "Everything Alex is me and Bobbie, everything Aubie is Amelia and Jerry, then Vincent will be on the stage with us to help cover Sookie and you'll have 6 guards just to watch you."

"Alright, do we have fliers posted for snipers?"

"Yes, a lot of them. We brought everyone up from the training camp for this."

"That's right – I knew that," Eric berated himself.

"It's good to go over it all again, your Majesty," Jerry told him. "The more aware of it all we are, the better. Sookie doesn't know all the plans either, does she?"

"No, I know next to nothing about our defense tonight."

"That's another thing that got skipped. Ludwig is right. We need to talk more."

The three men briefed Sookie on the security plans as the motion of the car lulled the babies to sleep.

"What did you call it, Bjorn? A zone defense?"

"Yes."

"OK, I think Eric and I should do that, too. You be in charge of Alex, Eric and I'll be in charge of Aubie. Our skills are more suited to the individual boys. If someone took Aubie, I can follow, plus he doesn't like being away from me yet. If anyone tried to hurt Alex, you can handle that better than anyone. We have to do that during the ceremony anyway, so let's just plan on it all night."

"I had hoped you would agree to that, Sookie, but I was afraid you'd think I was favoring Alex…"

"No more than I'd be favoring Aubie. It's really just providing for the individual needs of the boys. Our skills are complimentary, too, so we're each more suited to one than the other. That's just efficient use of resources."

"Exactly." Eric smiled and Bjorn caught his eye in the rearview mirror, nodding. They had all noticed that Sookie was taking things more seriously and beginning to really think defensively. Whether that was from Freyja, learning from them, or just natural maturation on her part, it was a positive development that made their jobs easier.

"Are we going to have swords within reach? I'm not above whacking heads if trouble breaks out, you know," Sookie joked, but they knew she was serious, too.

"Yes," Eric told her, very glad she asked, "we'll show you where they are when we get to the stage, but we want to be careful not to let anyone know they're there."

"OK, good. When we get there, I'm going to take a few minutes to reinforce that bubble of protection."

"Excellent idea." Eric was going to suggest that, anyway.

"Vincent was blown away with whatever you did the other night," Jerry told them.

"When did you talk to Vincent?" Eric asked

"I had to run over there to drop some stuff off and we talked for a few minutes. He thinks Sookie will be able to move massive amounts of energy if she needs to. He said he's seen groups of Witches that couldn't generate the energy that she did in hours of work, and she did it so easily and so effectively, he said calling her a Witch is to underestimate her powers."

"He's got a patriarchal attitude toward Witches, then," Sookie said. "Witch, Goddess, Woman, it's all the same."

"He's a Daemon, though, Sookie, they have a hierarchy. He says you'd be near the very top of almost any system he's ever seen. He said he wishes he'd known you during the Inquisitions."

"Why?"

"They weren't organized then and they weren't able in most cases to defend the people accused of consorting with them. He said you can't imagine the horror. He's never seen an entity worse than a religious organization on a crusade. Whether it's against heretics, devils or infidels, they're worse than anything you'll encounter in the Supernatural world."

'But if they knew about me, they'd have killed me, too."

"They'd have to catch you, Sookie." Jerry hardly ever called her Sookie so he got her attention with that. "You can teleport and walk between the worlds. As long as no one catches you by surprise, you're becoming untouchable, especially wearing that amulet."

"Because I can go to Avalon, you mean?"

"Yep – its impenetrable. Supes don't get in there without an invitation."

"But they could if they had this, right? That's why Niall wants it?"

"He thinks it will work for him, but Vincent said he doesn't think it would. For one thing, he's male, and that's well known to be a female stone. For another thing, if he tries to invade them, or steal gold or tools from them, he's dead, period. That would be a blood offense against all Goddesses, the Council, the Pantheon, you name it."

"If it's that crazy, why even try?"

"According to Vincent, Niall is an egomaniac who can't stand it when someone says "no" to him. It nearly drove him mad that Titania was trained there but he couldn't even get in, and there was more than one time she took the kids and sought refuge there to get away from him. A lot of people wish she'd stayed there, even if it meant abandoning her people, but she couldn't do it."

"Is there anybody he hasn't been at war with?"

"No."

"Why is he still alive?"

"Magick, maybe, plus he's smart, experienced, ruthless and a master tactician."

"Why didn't people rise up against him?"

"There hasn't been anybody outside the Pantheon who could take him down until now."

Sookie's blood ran cold. "I'm the one, right? I'm the one who can take him down?"

"Yes," Eric answered, "and he knows it, or will. He's going to lose his mind when he sees that amulet around your neck."

"Because he wants it so badly or because I knew where to find it?"

"Both, and if he finds out you know how to use it, and that Nivian met with you in his own house… I hope he doesn't find out, because it might provoke him to act irrationally."

"It will just make him more afraid of me, won't it?"

"It's a matter of degree, Sookie. If he's afraid you might come at him with a sword, it makes sense for him to stay away from you and your kids. If he knows you can reach him with magick, it makes sense for him to kill you, because he can't hide from you. That's why your Ambrosia is so important."

"Shit! We forgot my dose with dinner!"

"Did we?" Eric was going through the events earlier in the evening, "you're right. I never got it for you. I'll get you a cup as soon as we get there."

"Screw that – "Cup and bottle!"" Instantly she was holding the bottle and the gold cup in her hands. "Here pour me a cup." Eric, Bjorn and Jerry cracked up. "Are you all laughing at me?"

"No, we're impressed with you. You thought to use your magick. That's wonderful, Sookie," he said as he carefully poured the cup full and she held it away from the babies so she didn't drip on their suits and kicked it back.

"OK, that's one problem solved," she laughed as she finished it.

"Should you send that back to the house?" Bjorn asked

"I don't know if I can send anything. I've only ever tried to bring things to me. "Let's just hide it under the seat. It should be fine, right?"

"Probably."

"If you see Dr. Ludwig, Sookie, ask her, just to be sure," Eric suggested.

"Here we are. Everybody get focused," Bjorn said into his earpiece but he was speaking to everyone in the car, too.

Sookie and Eric prepared to get out of the car, and the movement woke the boys up, but they didn't fuss. They were too interested in seeing where they were and what was going on. There were lots of people walking from the entrance toward the party area. A helicopter took off down to the right of them and they were waved around to a special parking area near the stage that was quite a way on into the campgrounds. The woods were alive with people in colorful clothes, capes, cloaks, and every kind of dress from the most casual to the most formal you can imagine. Someone had marionettes leading children into the grove. People were playing pipes and drums. Three little fauns ran beside the car and waved calling "hazzah, hazzah," their little goat legs able to keep up with the car, their little horns reflecting the lights of the vehicle behind them.

"Am I seeing what I think I'm seeing?" Sookie asked in amazement

"From this point forward, my Angel, the answer to that question will be 'yes.' You will see things tonight of which most mortals never even hear stories. Jerry, hand me the box, please."

As if to emphasize Eric's words, something big and blue with leathery wings and a long lizard tale swooped down in front of the car and on through the woods, clearly visible in their headlights.

"Wadiz dat, Dadee?" Alex asked with wonder

"I believe the English word for that would be pterodactyl."

"I never saw a pink or a blue lightening bug before," Sookie said, looking to the left side of them.

"Those are fairies, Sweetheart, here to see you and Auberon, no doubt."

"OK, _why_ would there be a pterodactyl here?" Sookie felt like she was tripping, but in a really good way.

"Transportation," Eric said as if it were the most natural thing in the world. He opened the box and placed the smaller crown on her head, fixing the combs to keep it in place.

"I'm glad Alicia stayed home."

"Mmm" Eric nodded in agreement as he set his own crown upon his head.

"Where are Bill and Pam?" Sookie asked.

"They came in a different vehicle, and left as soon as they arose," Bjorn told her.

A large party of guards, Vincent at the head of them, waited at the stage entrance. They parked behind the stage and walked up onto it from behind. It faced into the grove, where the clearing was huge and thronging with beings of every description. There were four bonfires, one in each quarter, and there was what Sookie deduced was a huge chalk pentagram in a huge circle, but it was barely visible for the people, if you could call them that. This crowd made a vampire convention seem run of the mill. At the far side of the grove, directly opposite the stage, there were tables and groups of chairs where people could sit and eat or visit, and the woods seemed to extend forever in every direction.

"Hey, is my eyesight better than usual?"

"Yes, an effect of the crowns, apparently. Mine is better than usual, too," Eric told her as they stood on the stage holding the babies and surveyed the crowd.

"Good, because I can see stuff on the tables I shouldn't be able to see."

To the far right of the stage down the width of the grove were beverages – blood, Ambrosia, all kinds of special blends and things Sookie later heard names for but couldn't begin to pronounce, most in buckets of ice, and there were actually some cauldrons of hot water in which to warm the blood. To the far left was the food and she was quite sure some of it was not of this world. One stack of meat was blue-ish and Sookie thought to herself she hoped it didn't offend the flying lizard. Eric laughed out loud at that thought.

"Eric, have you ever been in a crowd this diverse before?" Sookie asked him

"Yes, a few times, at the Siwa Temple."

"The place Dionysus built?"

"Yes, of course."

Sookie didn't say anything but picturing Eric in a place where the whole point was to lose control scared her and she shivered thinking of the pain when the maenad attacked her. If she thought about it too long, she could still feel where the claw marks ran down her back.

The cat was brought out and they put the leash on it and hooked the handle under Eric's large wooden chair. They spread the baby blanket on the stage at their feet and let the babies sit there and look around, the kitten curled up next to Alex, Aubie with his new blue bear from Pam and Alex with his brown one.

People were milling around, some walking by the stage to get a look at the babies, usually making eye contact with Eric or Sookie and nodding with a smile. There were fauns and little girls with flowers in their hair, small children and small animals running through the crowd waving ribbons on sticks, some playing flutes and whistles. A string of teen-aged(?) girls holding hands, wearing long white dresses, danced through the crowd, kissing strangers here and there. Two groups of drummers gathered at the far side of the clearing and began to set up and play through the night, along with fiddles and windpipes and lutes. The music was playful and primal all at the same time, and at times it was downright hypnotic.

A group of four swans landed in front of the stage and turned into the most beautiful girl and three boys, of whom two were twins, dressed in what Sookie was sure were nightdresses. The children curtsied and bowed, then changed back to swans and flew away. "The children of Lir," Sookie heard in her mind, and she looked at Eric with tears in her eyes.

"Don't cry, my Angel, that's the later version of the myth that says they're bewitched by their stepmother/aunt. They're Fae shape shifters from a certain region of Ireland. When you hear these stories of monks and priests, they always cover over the original truth. They obviously didn't look 900 years old, though I'm sure they're much older than that."

"OK, so I need to look deeper when that stuff comes up," she said, mostly to herself, trying to get the trick of using these crowns. She adjusted the left comb, which was sticking her scalp a bit, and said, "I wish I had some bobby pins for this."

"Actually, Ludwig warned not to use them. Iron or lead could make them ineffective."

"OK, good to know," she said as a cloud of the little multi-colored lights she'd seen in the woods descended in front of her, chattering, she thought, like tiny chipmunks. She heard them call her "Milady! Milady," in their tiny little voices and her mind said, 'Faerie blessings.' Sookie instinctively held her hand out, palm up and was delighted when some of them landed. "Hello," she said softly with her brightest smile, "welcome!" and they tittered and giggled and said, "pretty Milady, pretty, pretty babies," then flew down and floated around Alex and Aubie, letting them touch them in the air as they spoke: "pretty Alex, pretty Aubie, nice babies, sweet Princes." Three of them landed on Aubie's left shoulder, chanting, "Hail to the Prince, Hail, Prince Auberon!" several times and they stayed quite a while, but Sookie knew they meant no harm, and thought they were really very cute. The babies were fascinated with them, and two slightly larger faeries, dressed like Disney's Peter Pan, appeared around them then flew up to Sookie, "Queen Sookie! Queen Sookie!" they called in slightly lower voices and Sookie was thrilled to recognize them. "Eddy and Freddy!"

"So we are, Milady, so we are! "

"We're on the job!"

"No worries, safe babies!" then they flew around the boys in a circle and disappeared again.

Eric was beaming at Sookie, knowing the vampires would naturally hang back but very pleased to see that the Faeries were not afraid of him or Alex and obviously adored Sookie, who looked at this moment the very embodiment of Queen of the Faeries. Her hair shone like gold under the lights on the stage and she couldn't have picked a more perfect dress if she tried. She was smiling almost… no _exactly_ beatifically and she radiated love and warmth. Everything about her said "magick" and that made him think of Titania, so he had to wipe away a tear. Eric was overcome with awe at all the blessings he'd been given, and Sookie reached over and squeezed his hand. He smiled at her and kissed it, and they both sat up straight as the High Priestess approached and a line began to form out to Eric's left.

"Welcome, Welcome!" The stout woman, hair white as the moon, called as she came up the steps. "They only just told me you'd arrived! I hope it's all to your liking?"

"It's wonderful! You've done a marvelous job," Eric laid the bullshit down with a shovel and Sookie just smiled.

"Queen Sookie, forgive me, Robin brought me the changes to your vows and I was very surprised, I was led to believe…"

"I know what you were told, and I understand your concern, but the choice is mine and this is what I have decided. My great grandfather is aware of the changes, though the choice is mine alone, so there should be no misunderstanding among us." Sookie was being perfectly charming, but very firm. She wasn't going to be dissuaded, for her own sake as well as Aubie's.

"Alright, just to be sure, this is the text you've requested?" She handed Sookie a printed parchment and showed her the relevant passage. It said "at the end of my life or a time of my choosing," just as she wanted, so she said, "Yes, that's right. Thank you for your cooperation."

"Well, we aim to please! Is there anything I can do for you? Food, drink?"

"I see people coming with food for us now, thank you," Sookie smiled, seeing Bobbie come from the food tables, diaper bag on her shoulder, and Amelia come from the beverages area with an RM and something golden in clear plastic cup, diaper bag also over her arm.

"Hey! I wondered what happened to you all!" Sookie laughed as they came up on her right side.

"We wanted to get you two something before everything was picked over," Bobbie laughed.

"Get something for yourselves, too!" Sookie urged them.

"We were going to do that after we drop this off to you and the boys, and we knew you'd want the diaper bags near by. We aren't abandoning you, just getting us all settled," Amelia laughed as she handed a warm RM to Eric who thanked her, then gave the golden liquid to Sookie.

"OK, thanks. What's this?"

"Mead – honey wine. Fae love it!"

"Oh, OK," she sniffed it, but didn't taste just yet.

"Here, Sookie," Bobbie gave her a plate as Vincent stepped forward with a little table for Sookie, "I got you some caviar and blinis, veggies, falafel and couscous – high brow and hippie food. The deserts will come out after the ceremony, apparently. And here," she pulled something out of the diaper bag, "are some frozen wieners the boys can gum. The caterer brought them because they're good for teething babies." Bobbie gave each boy a frozen hot dog and they were fascinated. Alex's went instantly into his mouth and Aubie was blown away by how cold it was and whether he should touch it, but he saw Buddy gnawing on his so he tried it. Bobbie also sprinkled some cheerios in a little bowl and left them there in front of them.

"OK, that will feel good on their gums." Sookie said, "thanks so much!"

"Sookie, did you see the pterodactyl?" Bobbie was jumping out of her skin she was so excited.

"How could I miss it? It almost landed on us!"

"It had some little people on it's back but I didn't get a good look at them. I wonder where they flew in from?""

"Or WHEN they flew in from. You guys go get something to eat while you can!" Sookie encouraged them and they did.

"Sookie did you see that they put the diaper bags on the black foot locker there?' Eric nodded toward the back. As Sookie looked back there, he projected, 'swords in the trunk.'

"Sthordsth por FIDEEN!" Alex said happily then went back to gnawing on his hot dog. Eric and Sookie wailed with laughter.

Eric motioned for the line to begin, content that the guards were close enough to protect the boys as people came up in front of the stage. The first to approach them, 5 little men about 3 feet tall in dirty shirts, pants and suspenders, were 'dwarves or gnomes' according to the magick crown and Eric knew to acknowledge them first. "Greetings! Welcome to our celebration, friends of the earth!

"Greetings, your Majesty, an offering for our Mistress!" The leader held forth a wooden box, intending for Sookie to take it, but Eric had to give permission first.

"We are most grateful to receive it," Eric answered, nodding for Sookie to take it from them and open it. It was a large filagree cuff of gold with diamonds, rubies, amber and aquamarines.

"Oh, this is beautiful!" Sookie said, overwhelmed by such a generous gift.

"We mined it and wrought it ourselves, Milady, of the purest gold and the finest gems, for your lovely upper limb."

Eric tapped his upper arm and Sookie understood, slipping the cuff around her upper arm, where it looked, frankly, stunning.

"This is so lovely and generous. Thank you so much!" Sookie said sincerely, thrilling the little miners, who bowed, and called "bright blessings, Milady!" and scurried away to find beer and beef.

"It looks lovely on you, Sookie," Eric assured her. "It's very sexy."

"Oh my Goddess, it must be worth a fortune."

"Considering the source, my Angel, it might be priceless. It looks very much like Brisingamen. I don't know if those are the same miners She got that from, but it's a very similar tribute.

"Wait a minute, didn't She…sleep with them for Brisingamen?"

"Supposedly."

"They don't expect me to…"

"No, Sookie, don't worry. It's a tribute for you as Auberon's mother, or as Queen of their realm."

"OK, good," Sookie laughed, relieved.

A group of vampires was next, three men and one human woman, from the St. Louis area.

"Your Majesty," the first lanky fellow nodded, then he bowed to Alexander, Auberon and Sookie, and the others followed, not really speaking but looking intently at the babies, who waved to each one.

'OK, that was creepy,' Sookie projected to Eric.

'I wonder that they came so far for so little,' he sent, turning his attention to the next people in line.

For the first time this night, but certainly not the last, a group of little fairies with big, colorful butterfly wings swooped down and dropped wild flowers in front of the babies. Sookie was sure she counted 9 waves and the pile of flowers at the end of the night was impressive to say the least.

They greeted people for about 45 minutes before Sookie even got a chance to take a drink. A cluster of 12 little Pixies, a little shorter than Sookie, in brightly colored silk costumes, with short little bobs and pointed ears, ran up to the front of the stage. They looked like children, but if you looked very closely, some were much older than one could imagine. They did a sort of half-ballet, half-gymnastics presentation for the King and the Queen, then ran up calling "Sookie, Sookie! We love you, Queen Sookie!" and some of them swarmed onto the stage. One little blonde girl handed Sookie the as yet untouched cup of mead, saying, "drink, Sookie, drink! It's a party, you know!" Some of them flocked around, kissing her and the babies on the cheeks, and one even dared kiss Eric, making it a big production and making Sookie and Eric laugh!

Sookie intended just to sip, but went wild for the mead and drank the whole thing in two gulps. "Bjorn," she asked when she emptied her glass, "can I get a couple of unopened bottles of that?" Eric and Bjorn were shocked that she asked, but Bjorn sent a man for her request as the pixies sang, "do hurry, do hurry! Sweet Mommy, sweet babies. It's a party, a party! It's a party, you know." and then Bjorn opened one of the bottles for Sookie and poured it for her himself.

She drank another cup straight down and said, "that's really good!" and the Pixies went scampering away, singing "she likes it, she likes it, we love you, Queen Sookie, bright blessings, pretty babies."

"It must be a Fae thing," Vincent suggested, knowing Eric and Bjorn were confused. Sookie didn't normally like to drink, even when she was supposed to. From that point on she took frequent sips, but didn't gulp the mead down as she did at first. She never got drunk, but was happily buzzed most of the night.

A long string of vampires, about half of whom Sookie recognized from Fangtasia, came forward and pledged fealty to Eric, then to each baby as Eric would introduce them as "Alexander" or "Auberon", then to Sookie. They bowed to each and smiled when Sookie said 'thank you' or the babies smiled and waved, or Alex said 'dayoo' and Aubie said "ayay," which they almost always did. Both Alex and Aubie looked everyone over with big eyes and listened intently to anything they said. Eric and Sookie were both bursting with pride at how well their little boys behaved.

At one point, Alex shocked them by jumping up and yelling, "Peesha! Peesha!" as he spotted Felicia in the line. Eric could see her, but Sookie couldn't yet, so Eric stood and waved at her to come to the front of the line. "Felicia, come here!"

"Hello, Master! Milady!" She waved with her free hand as she held a present in the other. Alex was beside himself when she skipped up to the stage and gave him a big hug and kiss. "How are you, Prince Alex? Hi, Aubie!" She tickled Aubie, to his sheer delight, and Alex was leaning her her, jumping up and down.

"Ahm dood! Dantheen wif me, pweezth!"

Felicia looked at Eric and he shrugged, but there was a small group dancing to the drums and flutes, "Sookie would you mind if she took him to dance?"

"If someone goes with them, I guess it's OK…"

Bjorn and Jerry took two other guards and stood to the side as Felicia took Alex into the circle of dancers, who were thrilled to see one of the princes out with them. A little girl, dressed like a milk maid, asked, "which one is this?"

"Prince Alex," Felicia told them, "he loves to dance!"

"Hail, Prince Alex!" a little faun cheered and the others joined in and they chanted his name as they danced.

Bjorn and the other guards were on alert, but they enjoyed watching Alex have fun, too. That kid had a way of enjoying life and drawing everyone around him right into it.

Felicia loved this kind of "grapevine" dance and they stayed in the circle quite a while. Alex was laughing his little head off, then when he seemed a little tired, she took him into the middle and twirled him, then told him, "say bye-bye, Sweetie!"

Alex waved to the dancers and said, "ba-ba!" and they all cheered and laughed as she took him back to the stage.

Alex was grinning ear to ear when she brought him back and he couldn't wait to tell Mommy where he'd been. "Mamee, me an Peesha dantheen!"

"I saw you dancing, Sweetie! Did you have fun?"

"EEAH! Dantheen pun! Ah wuv Peesha!"

"Aww – he says he loves you, Felicia," Sookie said proudly. "Isn't he a flirt?

"He's such a doll! I couldn't wait to see him tonight! I brought them some little presents."

"Ah wyg pweznan!" Alex said enthusiastically.

Felicia held the box so both boys could tear the paper and they were both delighted with the little selection of rattles and teethers, which she took out of the box so they could play with them. Alex particularly loved the "PISH!" and Aubie grabbed hold of the butterfly teether and gnawed on it like he meant business.

"Oh, thank you, Felicia, they love those!" Sookie was as thrilled as the boys were with the toys, knowing the babies would definitely enjoy them. Felicia said bye-bye and went to get herself a blood before the ritual.

The line continued, and in about half an hour, Sookie heard a voice to her right saying, "Your Majesty, Darling!" and was thrilled to see Amunet, in a flawless pink sequined flapper dress and a white fox stole, a big tin of caviar in one hand and a bottle of champagne in the other.

"Amunet! Come here, come here!" Sookie waved for her to come up on the stage, which she did, kissing Sookie on the cheek as she dropped a big pink leather tote bag by her chair, waving at Eric, who was pleased to see Sookie's reaction to her, then she sat on the stage next to the boys, tickling them with a fox tail.

"Waby Amaduh!" Alex recognized her, too, and jumped up to waddle over and give her a hug and a kiss.

"Aww – he remembers you!" Sookie was tickled to death as Amunet kissed Alex and then kissed Aubie, too. She petted the kitten, who went on alert when anyone got close to Alex, but you could tell that she really liked Amunet and she purred and rolled over to get her belly scratched.

"Of course, he does, he's BRILLIANT! You're all looking well. How's it going?"

"See the length of that line?" Sookie said softly

"Mm-hmm. You just do your thing and I'll set up some snacks, alright?"

"Sure! You know what I like," Sookie laughed, feeling a weight off her shoulders that she didn't even realize was there. Amunet stood, with a little help from Eric and Vincent set up a chair on the other side of Sookie's little table, just back a little so Sookie was still the focus. People continued to come up to bow to Sookie and Eric, saying hello, occasionally giving small gifts or offerings of food, bottles of wine, or other farm products. A group of 6 very tall and sophisticated Daoine Sídhe came by, in sumptuous clothes with medieval flair, the men with long hair like Eric and the women with long, thick Rapunzel braids. A group of three Nymphs gave Sookie a whole sheepskin, and she thanked them just as enthusiastically as she did the little men who made her arm bracelet – which, by the way, did not escape Amunet's notice. "That gold cuff is fabulous – did you get that tonight?"

"Yeah, I did."

"I thought so – not many humans do that kind of work these days. You must have good jewelry karma, Sweetie, you've always got something spectacular on." She handed Sookie a blini full of crème fraiche and caviar that was so good it made Sookie's eyes roll back in her head. "When did you start drinking mead?"

"Tonight. I love it!"

"How very Faerie of you!" she teased and Sookie laughed.

"I feel more Fae tonight than I ever have before. I've got so much to tell you."

"Oh, Sweetie, I know – it's hanging around your neck like a sign, if that's what I think it is."

"Oh, yeah! Wait 'til you hear."

"There's a lot of them here, you know."

"How many?"

"They outnumber the others put together at least two to one. I hope they're all friendly," Amunet said quietly.

Sookie and Eric exchanged a look, both hoping that all these Fae were friendly, too.

"Mamee, ahm undwy and Obee."

"Oh, what time is it?" Sookie asked

"Almost 11:30," Bjorn told them. "If you're going to feed them, you'd better do it quick."

"You keep up with your line, Sookie, I'll help feed them," Amunet offered, as Bobbie dug into the bags for baby food and bottles.

"Bobbie, this is Amunet Bast – I was telling you about her! Amunet, this is Bobbie James, my doula and my very good friend. She's one of my Witches. I don't know where the other two are at the moment," she laughed.

"Something came up, Sookie, I'm not sure what, but Amelia said she'd be gone for a bit and I think Octavia went with her," Bobbie told her.

Bobbie and Amunet stood in front of the stage and fed the boys right there, and both ate quickly and well as if they knew this was their last chance for a while. People had stared at the boys all night, but now some of the vampires were shocked to see them eat food, though they seemed calmed when they saw them take bottles of blood.

"Amunet, where's your husband?" Sookie asked in between visitors and well-wishers.

"He's mingling with the European group. They'll be along in a bit, they wanted to hit the refreshment stands first. They're all here, you know, the American royals."

"All of them?"

"Of course, Darling, everyone who's anyone wants to say they were here to see the new vampire Princes blessed and dedicated. The event is as unique as they are. We'll all be up here watching your vows."

"You will?"

"Yes, the Coven invited the vampire royals, the Council members and Pantheon guests to sit up here so they can see the whole rite. Not all of them will, of course, because it's too ripe a target, but quite of few of them will watch from up here."

"I hope that it's safe…"

"There's heavy protection all around this place – yours, I assume?"

"Yes, it is."

"Have faith in your own strength, Sookie. If someone chooses to start trouble, you of all people can handle it."

"Sookie, my Dear, you look lovely tonight!" Niall appeared before the stage in his best black suit with a long jacket and silver vest and string tie, watch chain gleaming, Silver handle on his cane polished and ready for a fight. Eric hated that damned cane, knowing why Niall carried it, and he had to suppress a laugh when he heard Sookie think that he was dressed like Doc Holliday. Though he had never seen it, Eric was pretty sure that the cane was a sheath and the handle attached to a sword.

"Hi, Grandpa. I'm glad you made it," Sookie tried to sound sincere.

When Alex saw Niall he held Aubie's hand and didn't let go.

"I couldn't miss the blessing of our precious Princes, you know. Hello, Alexander. Hello, Auberon. Having a nice night, Vampire?"

"Yes, Niall, it's been a very good night so far," Eric answered, on high alert as were all of the guards.

Niall frowned for a second, then said a bit darkly, "are these the bracelets I gave to the children?"

"Yes, they are, the very ones," Sookie said innocently.

"Funny, I could swear Eric Auberon's is different, somehow." That was as directly as he dared say that he knew it had been changed.

"I gave it a good cleaning, if that's what you mean," Sookie said, still pretending not to know what he meant, but the tension between them was nearly visible.

"Well, that's to be expected I suppose," though it was clear he had not expected that at all. Sookie was getting very clever, very quickly. He never expected her to know there was anything amiss with the bracelet, and he could feel that all of his magick was gone. That part of the plan was now ruined.

In the distance, a bell was ringing. The High Priestess waved the bell and walked around the circle in a counter-clockwise direction as the crowd magickally parted and formed a huge circle.

"Looks like she's ready to begin," Amunet said what Sookie was wondering.

"OK, here we go. Save my seat, Amunet, and wish us luck."

"All the luck and blessings in the world, Sookie, have no doubt," Amunet said as she kissed her cheek.

Eric stood and straightened his clothes a bit and offered Sookie his hand. They walked down the steps to the right of the stage and each took a baby and walked to the center of the circle, where an altar was being quickly constructed.

'Here we go,' she projected.

'We'll be fine, Sookie. Did you see Niall's face when you bent to pick up Aubie?'

'How could I miss it? The amulet fell forward and he nearly swallowed his tongue.'

The two of them locked eyes and tried not to laugh, since Niall was shooting daggers out of his eyes. Just to rub it in, Eric bent and gave Sookie a lingering kiss, enjoying the scowl it evoked from great grandpa.

Niall knew three things about Sookie having that amulet hanging around her neck – she'd been in his home (by his way of thinking,) she knew where to look and more than likely the little_ Witch _also knew how to use it. He tried not to let rage cloud his thinking, Was it possible Sookie had already contacted Nivian? He knew it wasn't likely, but neither was her finding the damned thing in the first place. He wondered if the secret was in that damned book that remained in his home as a constant reminder that we was a pretender to the H'Eloise throne. He knew the story about Titania throwing the amulet in the sea was a lie, and this just proved that others were working against him - he figured a cloaking spell had been used to keep him from finding the amulet, which he felt should have been his when Titania died. He also knew that the only chance of taking it while Sookie wore it was to cut her head off, and this wasn't the best place to try.

The biggest problem was that he had assassins in the woods and there was no way to call them off without drawing attention because they were already up in the trees. If Sookie were to die while wearing the necklace, it would automatically return to Avalon, never to be seen again. Damn it! The plan had been to kill Sookie so that Eric would give up custody of the Fae child. Niall was sure he wouldn't want the boy if Sookie weren't there to care for him. Killing her solved the problem neatly. The vampire would raise Alex, Niall would have Auberon, and Niall would retain control of Elfyria through him. By crippling Auberon before he reached puberty and gained his full powers, Niall would be holding the reins far into the future. The amulet, however, changed the entire situation because Niall wanted it more than anything, including the throne of Elfyria.

His lust for the necklace was the only reason Titania lived as long as she did. There were things to be found and things to be done on Avalon that didn't exist anywhere else in the worlds and the idea of being excluded from them had driven Niall nearly insane. He had tried every avenue to form a partnership that would give him at least occasional access, but even the College of Druids had rejected him over suspicion that he had killed their Queen. He blamed Nivian for that and for several other problems that Niall had ultimately created for himself. If he ever got into Avalon, the first thing he'd do is to track Nivian down and hand her her head, but his seeming last chance to do that was now hanging around Sookie's neck. What to do, what to do?

The Coven, which was about 20 people, all moved into place and some little girls ran around the circle sprinkling rose petals in case the Goddess actually materialized instead of just attending in spirit. The little fauns, four of them, ran forward with little sticks to kindle the fires around the new altar. The pixies were doing little cartwheels and tumbles to entertain the crowd as everyone shifted to ritual mode. It became gradually quieter, and people were donning all kinds of capes and robes, ritual instruments, jewelry or knives, that they only used in Circle. Two older women stepped forward with some sort of cloth and Sookie recognized one of them as Madeleine from Elfyria!

"Maddy!"

"Milady, you look lovely tonight. We made special capes for you and your King." She turned to Eric, "so nice to see you again, Dear Sir."

"Maddy, it has been far too long," Eric nodded to her and knelt down so the other woman could put the wool cape on his back and fasten it under his chin, then raise the hood over his head. Maddy put a black velvet cape with a pure pink satin lining on Sookie's shoulders, fastening the frog under her chin, kissing her cheek and putting the hood up to frame her pretty face. Aubie grabbed a handful of Mama's cape, liking the soft feel and he held on through half of the ritual.

Sookie was surprised to see Amunet put on a light golden, pleated cloak reminiscent of Isis and stand facing her in the circle.

"I couldn't just watch!"

"I'm so glad!" Sookie looked around, wondering where Amelia and Octavia got to, hoping everything was alright.

The high priestess, in a long black dress with beaucoup cleavage, and a long black cape almost like Sookie's, swung a big sword in a circle over her head three times. Sookie could see that the woods were alive with a thousand Fairy lights and butterflies circled around them.

Four huge wrought Iron candleholders were set up in the four directions, each with a different colored candle.

"It's hot tonight," Sookie said softly, "we could use a little breeze."

Just at that moment, a light breeze began to blow and Alex said, "Omba, Mamee!"

Eric just looked at her and laughed to himself, knowing she wasn't even aware of what she'd just done.

The HPs (High Priestess) lit a white candle, saying "Blessed be thou creature of Fire" and walked to the East and the drums sounded. She began to call the Quarters:

She lit the big Yellow candle in the wrought iron stand to the east from the white one in her hand.

"I call upon you, powers of Air,  
to witness this rite and to guard this circle."

In the southern quarter she lit the huge Red Candle and greeted the element:

"I call upon you, powers of Fire,  
to witness this rite and to guard this circle."

She moved to the west, in front of the stage, and lit the Blue candle:

"I call upon you, powers of Water,  
to witness this rite and to guard this circle."

Then she went north, lit the Green candle saying:

"I call upon you, powers of Earth,  
to witness this rite and to guard this circle."

She walked on to the east and kissed the two flames of the white and yellow candles, completing the circle. She moved back to the central altar, putting her white candle into a holder, still lit. She picked up the sword again and stood facing east, marking a pentacle in the air and then pointing the sword at the edge of the circle and leading a chant that the others joined in four times:

"This circle is bound,  
With power all around,  
Between the worlds We stand

with protection at hand"

The Priestess' voice rang out into the night:

"We gather together as a Circle of friends to welcome two of our own back to the community. In past lives we have lived, loved, and fought together. It is with great rejoicing that we greet these twins who have returned to us now in this place. Their spirits are one with us, as they have shown by choosing to reincarnate here and now to these royal parents. Their spirits are ancient, but their bodies are new, and must be introduced to the ancient ways of our people.

Holy Mother Goddess!

We ask that you attend this rite as we welcome these children to the moonlit earth.

Repeat after me! "All Hail the mighty Freyja!"

The crowd spoke "All Hail the mighty Freyja!"

,

We welcome thee to our rite, O Goddess

- 'We welcome thee to our rite, O Goddess"

Hearken Lady to our words!

- Hearken Lady to our words!

THE AIR SHIMMERED and the night grew completely silent. A figure of white formed in the middle of the circle before the altar, and several others appeared around the edge of the circle. The figure in the middle split into two and at once there was FREYJA, in the beautiful white gown Sookie had seen her in that morning, and next to Her was a gorgeous young man with long, curly dark hair in an animal skin, holding a tall stick with a pine cone on top. Around the circle appeared Tonantzìn, Yemaya, and right next to Amunet, Bast, all similarly cloaked in white.

Sookie looked at Eric, "Jim Morrison?"

"Dionysus," Eric said in a hoarse whisper, in awe of what was happening around them.

"Bring forth My beautiful children!" Freyja said, laughing, stepping forward as Dionysus stepped back and a goblet of wine appeared in his hand. He drank, smiled and laughed throughout the ceremony.

Eric and Sookie stepped forward, holding the babies tightly.

Freyja spoke to the HPs: "Proceed, My Dear!"

The Priestess, who was both thrilled and shaken, presented the question:

"Who are these new travelers?"

King Eric spoke first: "Eric Alexander Northman,"

Queen Sookie spoke next: "Eric Auberon H'Eloise Northman"

There was a murmur in the crowd – H'Eloise! Was it true? It was true! HE had come!

The Priestess continued, raising a censer of incense and using it to draw a pentacle in the air before each child as she spoke:

"_I bless you, Eric Alexander, with the power of fire and air_".

"_I bless you, Eric Auberon H'Eloise, with the power of fire and air_".

She picked up a cup of water from the altar, using an athame (a ritual knife) to ad three little piles of salt, then she plunged the tip of the blade into the water and stirred it three times widdershins. Freyja held out Her hand and the HPs handed the cup to Freyja, who drank and said, "I bless thee" into the water then handed it back to the Priestess. The priestess dipped her finger into the blessed water and drew a pentacle on each child's third eye as she spoke

"_I bless you, Eric Alexander by the power of earth and water."_

"_I bless you, Eric Auberon H'Eloise by the power of earth and water."_

Priestess placed her left hand Auberon's head, the right on Alexander's and spoke:

"Queen of Heaven make these children bold and courageous. Let them be wise and vigilant, Let them be strong, free and independent as You are. Guide each child in the hunt for his own path."

The High Priestess motioned for Eric and Sookie to follow her, and they walked slowly clockwise until they faced each direction. The Priestess used the sword to draw a pentagram at each of the Quarters:

"Hail to the powers of the East! Recognize these children _Eric Alexander & Eric Auberon H'Eloise_. Help them to soar in the limitless sky of thought, imagination and inspiration and let them move easily between the worlds on the wings of the Falcon. Send them gentle breezes to guide them on their path. Bless _Eric Alexander & Eric Auberon H'Eloise_ with all the airborne powers of the East.

Hail to the powers of the South! Recognize these children _Eric Alexander & Eric Auberon H'Eloise_! Warm them, strengthen their Will with your fiery energy. Send themdominion over darkness andlight to help them prevail in the challenges that await them. Bless _Eric Alexander & Eric Auberon H'Eloise_ with all the burning powers of the South.

Hail to the powers of the West! Recognize these children _Eric Alexander & Eric Auberon H'Eloise_ as issue of the Womb of Life. Help them to swim the deep seas of emotion and empathy, plumb the depths of the ocean and to know Her creatures and the glory of Stella Maris, the Lady of the Sea, O Shining One. Send _Eric Alexander & Eric Auberon H'Eloise_ cleansing waters to purge them of doubt and confusion. Bless these boys with all the raging rivers and the gently flowing powers of the West.

Hail to the powers of the North! Recognize these children _Eric Alexander & Eric Auberon H'Eloise_. Help them to stand firm on Mother Earth. Send them rich soil to root in, and connect them with all that is, was, will ever be. Let them be blessed with gold and gems from Her deepest depths. Bless _Eric_ _Alexander & Eric Auberon H'Eloise_ with all the riches and deep, grounded powers of the North.

She led Eric and Sookie back to the center of the circle for the vows:

**Priestess:**

"King Eric Northman, you are charged with the great gift of being father to these two sacred children. Will you promise to do everything in your power to bring them up in the ways of the Goddess, to help them fulfill their sacred destinies in accordance with the will of the Goddess?"

KING ERIC: I will

**Priestess:**

"Repeat after me: Eric Alexander Northman, I am your King and your father. I pledge to keep you safe, to help you grow strong for as long as I shall live. I pledge my Kingdom and offices to you at the end of my life and I will Love you forever."

**KING ERIC: **

"Eric Alexander Northman, I am your King and your father. I pledge to keep you safe, to help you grow strong for as long as I shall live. I pledge my Kingdom and offices to you at the end of my life and I will Love you forever."

They then turned to Sookie and Aubie, the Priestess directing Eric to put his right hand on Aubie's head.

**Priestess:**

"Put your right hand on Auberon's head and repeat after me. Eric Auberon H'Eloise Northman, I am your King and your father. I pledge to keep you safe, to help you grow strong for as long as I shall live and I will Love you forever."

**KING ERIC:**

"Eric Auberon H'Eloise Northman, I am your King and your father. I pledge to keep you safe, to help you grow strong for as long as I shall live and I will Love you forever."

The Priestess turned to Sookie.

**PRIESTESS: **

Queen Sookie H'Eloise Northman,you are charged with the great gift of being mother to these two sacred children. Will you promise to do everything in your power to bring them up in the ways of the Goddess, to help them fulfill their sacred destinies in accordance with the will of the Goddess?

**QUEEN SOOKIE:** I will

**Priestess: **

Put your right hand on Alexander's head and repeat after me: Eric Alexander Northman, I am your Mother. I shall hold you in my heart forever. I will keep you in my arms as you grow, in my thoughts as you learn and in my spirit as you manifest the Will of the Goddess. I will love you forever.

Sookie teared up as she said her vows to Alex.

**QUEEN SOOKIE: **

"Eric Alexander Northman, I am your Mother. I shall hold you in my heart forever. I will keep you in my arms as you grow, in my thoughts as you learn and in my spirit as you manifest the Will of the Goddess. I will love you forever."

She kissed Alex on the lips and Eric stepped back for the big announcement, smiling at her proudly.

The Priestess began to speak, but suddenly 5 arrows flew from the tops of the trees right at Sookie, but stopped dead in the air with a sizzle and fell to the ground on fire. Sookie froze as half the grove hit the dirt and the other half screamed. The sounds of war rang clearly from the woods, but Freyja raised her voice to the wind and said "Do not give chase! They shall not break through! Finish!"

The Priestess was clearly afraid, but she continued. Sookie was pissed and she was not moving.

**Priestess: **

"Repeat after me.Eric Auberon H'Eloise Northman, I am your Mother. I shall hold you in my heart forever. I will keep you in my arms as you grow, in my thoughts as you learn and in my spirit as you manifest the Will of the Goddess. I will love you forever and at the end of my life, or at a time of my choosing, I will pass to you my title as the True Heir of Elfyria."

When they heard the words "True Heir of Elfyria" every Faerie in the grove gasped and dropped to one knee. The vampires froze – could their King be married to the Faerie Queen? What about the babies? Are they vampire or not? The Daemons and Weres were ready to pounce if anything else happened, but who the hell was fighting in the woods?

Sookie saw Niall watching her and knew those arrows were from him. She set her stance, looked at her baby that he tried to steal and let her voice ring out into the night as she shook and tingled all over.

**SOOKIE: "**Eric Auberon H'Eloise Northman, I am your Mother. I shall hold you in my heart forever. I will keep you in my arms as you grow, in my thoughts as you learn and in my spirit as you manifest the Will of the Goddess. I will love you forever and at the end of my life or a time of MY choosing I will pass to you my title as the True Heir of Elfyria. There will be peace, so help me!

The Priestess held a hand out to each baby, addressing the Goddess in the center of the circle:

"Freyja, Golden Lady,  
We bring these young children before You,  
Asking that You embrace them in body and spirit.  
Protect and guide them upon this path,  
and witness that we accept them into our community  
In Perfect Love and Perfect Trust."

Freyja stepped forward, first to Alex, and said, "bright blessings, little boy," and kissed him on the lips, then stroked Eric's cheek as he knelt before Her. She turned to Sookie and Aubie, putting her hand on his forehead, then stroking his cheek, "bright blessings, little boy," and she kissed his lips, too.

Dionysus stepped forward and Sookie wanted to run, but Eric was still down on one knee so she curtsied and stood still. He kissed Aubie on the forehead and used his forefinger to anoint his little mouth with wine, then he did the same to Alex. Eric was overwhelmed and Sookie knew it, so she was careful not to send anything negative to him. Dionysus told the Priestess, "you may proceed" and swaggered back up to the altar.

The Priestess was stunned, but she held it together and closed out the ceremony.

"May all present bear witness to the naming of these children, the vows made by these parents and these Divine blessings. It is time for the community to welcome: Eric Alexander Northman & Eric Auberon H'Eloise Northman - Greet them and give them your blessings!"

Freyja spoke again, "We thank the Watchtowers and end this rite. The Circle is open, but never broken, and flows through and around us all. Time for feasting and dancing and bestowing your tokens on My two precious boys!"

Everyone clapped and cheered, chanting, "hail to the Princes, hail to the Princes!" and the music started up again wildly.

A huge book was set before the stage and Eric and Sookie went back to their seats. Amunet and Bobbie went for more treats. The line was much more impressive this time around as the gods and the Council went first. The first to sign the book was the Ancient Pythoness then She walked to the stage and looked at the boys very closely.

"Ewwo!" Alex said and waved at her and Eric told Sookie that was the first time he'd ever seen the Pythoness smile. She tickled Aubie's chin, smiled and nodded at Sookie, then Eric and Her two helpers came forward, each with a jewelry box. They opened the boxes and the Pythoness took one gold medallion on a chain and slipped it over Alex's head. She took the other and put it on Aubie, then handed the closed boxes to Sookie and saying, "gifts from the Council, insignias of their Kingdoms. She stepped back toward the line and linked arms with the helpers. In an instant there remained nothing but purple sparkles and smoke.

Tonantzin, warm and feminine, came forward and stroked the boys' cheeks, and said "such lucky boys!" She gave them two small bags of sacred blue corn and three gold rings each "from the Aztec empire."

Yemaya, La Siren, gave the babies a bowl of small watermelon chunks, and fed them both several by hand. When She got up to go, she winked at Sookie and said, "I'm a mermaid, too! I'll see you in Mexico," and then She was gone.

Bast, who glowed golden, came forward and petted the cat, then rubbed it's little ear and an earring appeared there, made of pure gold. She tapped each baby on the nose, making them giggle, she winked at Sookie and then She was gone.

People were mingling and talking, lining up for desserts and other treats just brought out and a few revelers were dancing to music where the altar had been. At once, the crowd parted and out of the woods rode a woman in white on a pure white horse, hair the color of flames, carrying a sword and a man across her lap. She was leading a group of very tall women dressed in brown suede with the left breast exposed. The women were carrying bows and swords and had obviously been in a battle. As She came closer Sookie jumped up and said, "NIvian!" and ran down the steps to the horse.

"Hello, My Precious." She cupped Sookie's chin as she looked up at her, "I told you you'd see Me sooner than you thought!"

"What happened? Was there a fight?"

"The old Fae tried to kill you before you claimed your title, this is the only survivor," She said as She threw the man bound with iron off Her horse to the ground. Rafael and some others swooped forward and took him away, Sookie knew, never to be seen again.

"I knew it was Niall! Where did he go?"

"If he's smart he's a lifetime away."

Sookie was shocked to realize that Bill and Pam, Octavia and Amelia were with the… "Amazons!" Sookie realized, "They're real!"

"Oh, yes, but they rarely leave our realm these days. Niall is so predictable – We knew he'd try to kill you, so We waited in the woods and We killed the assassins. This ritual had to be done tonight, and Freyja made sure that it happened."

"Octavia! Where have you been? Are you…"

Sookie never finished her sentence because the music took over as Freyja and Dionysus danced in the circle. The whole party formed the circle again and there were nymphs and fauns and satyrs and maenads all drawing the crowd to the dance.

"Go have fun, Precious, you've still more to do!" Nivian laughed and rode into the shadows, the Amazon warriors running behind Her.

"I've still more to do?" Sookie asked as she was grabbed by the waist and spun into the dance and she landed in the arms of Dionysus.

"Mmm, very sweet, Milady," and she thought he would kiss her but he stuck his tongue up her nose and cracked up, spinning her away.

"Eric!" She panicked but at once Eric had her and swirled her around in the air.

"The babies!" She cried

"They're fine, Sookie, they're with Bobbie and Bjorn, have some fun while you can!" He laughed and led her into a line that was forming in a girl-boy-girl-boy pattern. They turned a corner and Sookie looked back as Badru Bast grabbed her hand. Amunet was with him and the line made a circle and soon was a spiral moving in on itself. The drumming was overwhelming and it felt so weird as Sookie felt her heartbeat take on the pattern they played. The line was alive and throbbing, a huge snake coiling inward, then the front of the line reached the center and flipped so the line was spiraling in and out all at once. Sookie was awash in a sea of ecstasy, everyone chanting:

"We are the flow, we are the ebb, we are the weavers, we are the web!'

Over and over, and there was nowhere to go but forward with the flow of bodies, coming face to face with everyone else in the line, and at one point Sookie met Bobbie and Bjorn!

"Where are the babies?"

"With Freyja!"

"What?" Sookie tried desperately to see the stage but she was too short, and there had to be thousands of people in this Spiral. The drumming was getting more and more primal and the energy bigger and bigger. Finally Sookie reached the edge of the spiral and broke out to woods and tried to run back around to the stage, nothing but moonlight lighting her way. Eric caught her and said "where are you going?"

"Eric, it's all getting out of control!"

Eric laughed, "that's what He does – that's His gift to the party!"

"Bu-!" His mouth caught hers and at once she was gone - she wasn't in Shreveport or anywhere near it, with a flash of light and a throb of energy she was Titania in the moonlight, seducing her assassin to save her own life. Sookie was vaguely aware of other couples running into the woods around them, shrieking and laughing and throwing off clothes, but the only thing real was the drive to survive and she pushed Eric down and yanked down his pants. She rode him as if her life depended on it, like if she stopped he might slit her throat. Her eyes were clenched tight and her nails cut his chest as she clawed at his shirt, her knees in the dirt, his fingers digging into her thighs. For the first time, ever, Titania was coming and she threw back her arms, stretched her throat to the night and she howled as a column of light shot up through her center and out of her throat, and up into infinite space.

When Sookie woke up they were back in the car, Alex and Aubie tucked safely between them. Eric was staring out the window, lost in his thoughts, and was actually startled when Sookie spoke.

"Eric?"

"Yes, my Angel?"

"I'm pregnant."

"I know."

[a/n: Yes, the story will continue, however, first I need to do a chapter for Entitlement. I'm going to participate in National Novel Writing Month in November so I might be slow to update while I work on an original story, so be patient. The pictures for this story are on the LATE page on FaceBook and there's now a Late Discussion Group there, which is the best place to get progress updates for both stories. Lastly, if my calculations are right, this chapter should have put me over the One Million Word mark. Love and Bright Blessings, Morgaine]


	101. Chapter 101

**[A/N Hey, Y'all – I cut this one short because you've been waiting for so long. I went through a really, really bad time that lasted a few weeks, but I should be able to get back on schedule now. I promise some ESN (at least) in the next chapter. Have fun at Sookie's!]**

**Chapter 101**

"You know?"

"Of course, Sweetheart," he laughed softly and took her hand, "I was there." He kissed her hand and continued, "everyone in the grove knows."

"They do?"

"Yes, of course. There were very nearly witnesses, but everyone did actually see the light when it happened."

"That column of light that shot up through me, you mean?"

"That was the moment of conception, Sookie, you know that."

"Yeah, but… did you know this was the plan?"

"Honestly, Sookie, I didn't, but I feel like a fool for not figuring it out ahead of time. Octavia is kicking herself, too. We should have seen this coming."

"OK, Eric, I'm kind of exhausted and disoriented, so bear with me here. This was the plan all along, that's what you're saying?"

"Apparently, yes."

"And nobody told me?"

"They didn't tell me either, Sweetheart."

"Who was in on it?"

"Well, Freyja and Dionysus, certainly, and we think probably at least the Council, maybe the rest of the Pantheon. Ludwig certainly knew – that's why she was so concerned about your blood pressure."

Sookie was breathing heavily, nearly panting, trying to figure this out. She'd known the instant she was impregnated but she couldn't wrap her mind around the fact that this was all part of some master plan. "Nivian had to know, too, because She said I had more to do…"

"As I understand it, Lughnasadh is the sabbat at which the Corn or Grain Maiden mates with the newly chosen King to create the crops for the next year. In ancient times, they believe that a King and Queen had sex in the fields to make them fertile. If a child is conceived, she is considered divine."

"**Harvest Home**," Sookie said.

"What?" Eric asked her as they each picked up a baby so they could slide together on the seat.

"It's a book I read once after I saw this rerun of an old made-for-TV movie with Bette Davis in it," she recalled as she laid her head against his chest and he put his arm around her.

"What about it?"

"This average family moves into this isolated little New England community that has some kind of a corn cult where they hold a harvest festival to choose a new king and he mates with their chosen female, then the guy from the past is sacrificed. Now that I think about it, it must have been a matriarchal cult because men who saw what they did were blinded and had their tongues cut out."

"Matriarchal groups do not do blood sacrifice, my Angel."

"Yeah, I know, but this was a scary book written by a man in the 70s, so he would have had no concept of what a real matriarchy would be like. I'm sure Octavia will say the movie was made to appeal to men's fear of woman's connection to Nature, but the ritual took place at a harvest festival in August or September, I'm pretty sure."

"Maybe the writer stumbled on a real group and twisted their tradition for shock value?"

"I wonder. In the movie, one of the divine children born from the ritual is a girl, and she chooses the new king. So our daughter would be that girl, right?"

"We'll need to talk to Octavia about this to know for sure. I'll have to go to ground almost as soon as we get home, but you can talk to her when you awake later, or we can talk to her together tonight. You should sleep as late as possible tomorrow and stay off your feet."

"Right, I've got to be careful for the next 8 weeks or so. Is Amunet coming home with us?"

"They're on the bus with the others. I offered to let them ride in here with us but they didn't want to crowd us since you were not awake. She'll come see you when she gets up, which I gather will be some time after noon."

"Cool. I can't wait to see what she can teach me."

Eric laughed softly, "there's not much left for you to learn, Sookie."

"Yeah, I think there is. We'll find out. I know I have to start doing a lot more writing. Nivian was very specific about that. She said our kids will need my book later on, just like I need Titania's."

"What did She say to you when She was on the horse?"

"She said "the old Fae," meaning Niall, tried to kill me and that They knew he would, he was so predictable, so they waited in the woods and killed his assassins. That guy Raphael took with him was the only survivor, I think."

"It will be interesting to see what we learn from him."

"I don't know what he can tell us, really," Sookie yawned, "Niall tried to kill me, plain and simple, and Nivian said he's "a lifetime' away by now if he's smart and we know he is. I'm sure he'll lie low for a while since he knows I've been going to Elfyria. The gloves have come off, though, we're officially at war now."

"You may have one advantage working for you that I just found out tonight."

"What's that?"

"If you are killed while you are wearing the amulet, it will return to Avalon automatically. That's why Ludwig told you not to take it off. She says it will keep Niall from using assassins. The only way she says he can get the amulet from you is to cut your head off and grab it before it goes…"

"Lovely. I guess I'm going to be working with your swords every day now?"

"You know it, and we'll have to stash a few around the house just in case."

"I can always materialize one, if need be," she reminded him.

"Yes, but Bjorn and Jerry can't. I'm hoping we can avoid a one on one conflict."

"Can they fight with a sword?"

"In theory, Bjorn has studied sword work in his martial arts training, but he's only used wooden, bamboo or synthetic bokken.,,"

"Bokken is a practice sword?"

"Yes, exactly."

"I think I've seen those in some of my brother's catalogs."

"Catalogs?"

"Yeah, he used to get these catalogs with all kinds of stuff for hunting and fighting. There were scary knives and swords for collectors and they had some wooden things that looked like swords and I remember seeing them one time and wondering what good that would be."

"They're used in training so novices don't hurt each other before they know what they're doing."

"You don't have any, do you? I don't remember any in the gym?"

"No, I don't have any, but Vincent is going to pick some up from a dealer he knows and everyone will be training with them."

"Bobbie, too?"

"And Amelia. Bjorn said he had you do some arm exercises yesterday."

"Yeah, I can really feel it in my forearms, too."

"Good – that means your musculature can probably still be improved or there would be no soreness."

"Will that matter when I'm a Goddess?"

"No, but it could matter very much right now. You're stronger than a human, but probably not as strong or fast as Sidhe Fae, and there's always danger from mercenary Weres or other creatures. We need to give you every possible advantage."

"It won't work, Eric."

"What won't work?"

"You trying to go after Niall before he can come after me. He'll expect you to do that."

"Yes, but…"

"No 'buts,' Eric. You could probably take him out if you could find him, but he's not going to be easy to find and you can't teleport. Besides, I'm pretty sure Nivian has got that covered, just like She did tonight. If he needs to be found, She'll find him."

"You seem very sure of that."

"I am sure. She knows what She's doing, or She wouldn't have lived this long."

"That's true of me, too, Sookie."

"Yeah, but you've got limitations She doesn't have. I wonder how many were out in the woods last night?"

"I counted about 50 following Nivian as She rode away, plus the people from the party that were recruited, like Octavia and Amelia…"

"They were out in the woods?"

"Yes, and Bill and Pam, a few others. My own security had to do very little once Nivian had her battle line drawn."

"Battle line?"

"Yes, there was literally a line of defense all around the perimeter of the grove about 500 feet into the woods where the crowd wouldn't see. That's where your Witches were – that's what Freyja meant when She said "they shall not break through." We couldn't keep Fae from getting into the area, but there was an impenetrable wall they couldn't breach – a physical extension of the circle. The assassins in the trees were picked off by Amazon warriors with bows once they revealed their positions. Freyja had you completely shielded from the arrows."

Sookie's eyes and face were burning as she thought about the events of the night. "What the hell was Niall thinking, trying to kill me in front of all those Fae?"

"It was a calculated move, I believe. You said Auberon's bracelet was altered when you cleaned it, yes?"

"Yes."

"At that point in the ceremony, they knew he was your heir, and that you were Titania's. I believe Niall intended to take Auberon as the arrows hit you and hide him from me. The bracelet was enchanted to help move him and cloak him, but you spoiled it."

"Yeah, but you'd find him eventually."

"He didn't think I'd want to. He thought that with you dead, I'd only want Alex and that he'd be free to raise Auberon as he chose, thus keeping control of Elfyria as long as he lived."

"But you wouldn't..." she started, but she was afraid of the answer so she stopped.

He tilted her chin so she was looking into his eyes. "He is MY son, Sookie. No one is taking him from me, not now, not ever. Goddess forbid that the worst should happen, but if it did, I'd find him or die trying. Never fear that my love for either of my sons will falter. There's too much of you in them to ever let them go. Niall miscalculated in that respect. He thinks I am as unfeeling as he."

It was dark in the car, but Sookie could see dark tears in the corners of Eric's eyes. It occurred to Sookie that Niall had never seen Eric interact with Aubie. He assumed a vampire wouldn't want a Fae child. 'Well, fuck you, Niall, Eric would have fooled you,' she thought and Eric laughed. He kissed her lips as he projected, "I love you, Sookie and I love our boys."

The window between the seats rolled down then and Bjorn said, "We're home, Your Majesty."

"Thank Goddess!" Sookie said, more than ready to be in her own bed with her husband and her babies.

"You're awake!" Bjorn said with excitement and relief and Jerry said, "Hey!" at the same time. They were worried about Sookie when Eric put her in the car unconscious, but Dr. Ludwig had told them to take her straight home and keep her on the compound for a few days.

"Yeah, sorry I passed out on everybody," she said with an apologetic smile.

"Don't worry about that, Sookie, we're just glad you're OK," Bjorn said, looking at her in the rearview.

Sookie sat up to look around as they went through the gates to the property. This was really the first time she had seen the front since it was completed and she was tickled pink. "Oh, look at the fountains! It looks amazing!" She was beside herself as they drove to the right of the pool, the big mermaid awash in pink and turquoise lights and sprinkling water sparkling in their headlights. "It looks even better than I hoped! It's like a real Estate now!"

Eric was about to burst because he felt such happiness coming from her. Considering the events of the evening, he thought it was remarkable that she could get so excited about anything, and nothing in his long life pleased him as much as that big smile. The limo pulled in front of the house and Bjorn and Jerry helped them out of the car as they were flanked by 6 guards that moved them all into the house. The rest of the vehicles went around the back to the converted barn, and one of the flanking guards took the limo back around there, too.

Sookie was surprised to see the light on in the kitchen and den as well as the living room. Margaret came bustling out from the kitchen, "Good morning, Missus!"

"Margaret! Why are you up so late?" Sookie didn't want them to strain the poor woman, who already worked so hard for them.

"I'm up early to see you all home. I know there was food at the party, but Alicia and I thought you'd all like some breakfast before you go to bed."

"It does smell really good in here – what have you got?"

"Turkey bacon, eggs, pancakes, strawberries, sausage, biscuits, you name it!"

"Yum!" Sookie said, almost bouncing as she carried Aubie into the kitchen, Eric and Alex following behind them, Eric laughing with delight at Sookie's reaction.

"Undwy, Mahdwid!" Alex said, rubbing his eyes and looking around to see what kind of food he smelled.

"Alright, Sweetheart, I'll get you some breakfast!" Margaret patted his back, and he said "dayoo!" and gave her a kiss and a big sleepy smile.

Bjorn helped Sookie get Aubie into the highchair that was already waiting for him and Eric put Alex in his as Jerry went to the back door and turned on the back porch light.

"Jerry, dear, would you tell the others I've got breakfast for them if they want it?" Margaret asked him cheerfully.

"Sure, I will. Be right back!"

Eric held Sookie's chair for her then went around the boys and sat down.

"Dadee, woogie!" Alex pointed to his mouth and held it open so Eric could see.

"What's wrong, Sweetie?" Sookie wondered and Eric said, "Teeth!"

"Well, we knew he had two little slivers, right?"

"He's got two top and bottom now."

"Good! If he learns to use them, we won't have to grind everything up so fine and maybe it will fill him up more."

That made Eric laugh because he took pride in Alex's big appetite as a sign he was a true Viking. "Good for you, my son! Now you can try some solid food!"

"Wadiz sowid pood?"

Eric reached for a platter of bacon and gave Alex a strip. Alex took it and started gnawing on it with great enthusiasm. "Ah wyg sowid pood, Dadee!"

"That's called… " he looked at Sookie.

"Turkey bacon," Sookie said, laughing at how much Alex was enjoying himself , gnawing off a piece then chewing it intently with his front teeth, mouth open, of course. "Just watch that he doesn't get choked, Eric."

"He will not choke, Sookie, half of it is gone already. He knows what to do. He ate half of that hot dog earlier tonight."

"Yeah, now that you mention it, I do remember him just leaving a chewed up nub when he was done," Sookie laughed.

"He's just been waiting for the equipment to chow down, haven't you, Alexander?" Eric stroked his cheek and gave him a big smile.

"Eeah! Mo duhgy bago, pweezth."

The others were coming in the back door as Alex worked on another piece of bacon and Margaret set two small bottles of blood on the boys' trays.

"Hey, everybody! I hear there's breakfast in here?" Amelia laughed, Bobbie and Amunet right behind her.

"Yeah, you all come in an sit down! Amunet, this is Margaret – she feeds us around here," Sookie said affectionately. "Margaret, this is Amunet Bast. She and her husband are staying in the chalet with Bill and Pam."

"Very nice to meet you, Missus! Would you like a glass of blueberry pomegranate juice?"

"Hello, Margaret! Yes, that sounds very good! Thanks!" Amunet sat at the back of the table across from Sookie, Amelia sitting next to her and Bobbie on Sookie's right, as usual. Octavia took her spot at the end of the table, Jerry next to Amelia, and finally Bjorn next to Bobbie. There was room for another person at the table, but one chair usually sat to the side of the room as it did now, right at the doorway to the huge pantry. Alicia came in from the pantry with bottles of juice and cartons of organic milk and helped Margaret serve as she continued to fry up pancakes.

"Everyone have a good night?" Alicia asked as she put a platter of pancakes on the table.

"It was pretty wild," Sookie laughed, "and I'm glad we did it, but I'm glad it's over, too. That was a once in a lifetime experience, and then some."

"It was an amazing ritual, Alicia – you should have seen all the different kinds of people and creatures!" Amelia was still bubbling over with excitement.

"It was like a book of Fairy Tales came to life," Bobbie said. "The grove they held it in was gorgeous and green, and there were bonfires and people dancing, children running around."

"It was pretty orderly, too, all considered," Bjorn said. "There was a little trouble, but someone had anticipated that and kept it from getting out of hand. They say the mess isn't too bad, either."

"Really? I was worried about that…" Sookie said seriously.

"Yeah, the grass got trampled pretty good, but people were good about using the trash cans and there weren't that many humans so the porta-potties were hardly used. The coven was amazed at how good the grounds looked when everyone left, and somebody did some magic to bring the grass back once the caterers had packed up."

"Where did you hear this, Bjorn?" Eric asked as he got another strip of bacon for Alex and took Aubie out of his chair to hold him so he'd let Sookie eat.

"The high priestess told Vincent and I just talked to him," Bjorn explained. "They're very pleased with all the events of tonight."

"Good, I am glad to hear it. I had thought to offer to have the grove re-landscaped if necessary."

"No, you won't need to do any of that."

"Very good. Amunet, did you find the accommodations satisfactory?"

"Yes, it's very nice. Badru went rest as soon as we got there, so he's all tucked in. The bed looks very comfy. I hope we won't be in Pam and Bill's way?"

"No, not at all. Everyone is in here most of the time we're awake," Eric explained, "we all have family dinner together here most nights and if there's no activity planned, we go our separate ways."

"There's almost always something going on, though," Sookie said, "Usually about me or the babies or traveling or something."

"So, is it safe for us to do magick in the daytime?"

"Yeah, there's no one close enough to see that doesn't know about me anyway."

"Good, because I want to do at least some things outside. I want to see if you can command the elements, and manifest large things, call up animals or spirits. Can you shape shift?"

"Some – I can do most aquatic animals, but I haven't really tried land animals lately."

"We'll try that, then, because that's a very useful skill."

"Yes, it is," Bjorn agreed and Jerry nodded.

"Can you become invisible?"

"I never tried."

"We'll check that, too."

"I did do one thing where I was able to cloak my spirit in the wind and people couldn't detect me."

"Ooh! That's fantastic. You might be able to hide from other Supes that way!"

"Yeah, I'm sure I can. I was able to hide from the Daemon guards."

"Have you possessed another animal yet?"

"No, but Freyja mentioned that."

"We'll see what's around tomorrow. Maybe we can find a rabbit or a squirrel – mammals are easier than birds."

"How does that differ from shapeshifting?" Eric asked.

"Shapeshifting rearranges the atoms in her body. Possession is her spirit going into another being while she's conscious. She'll need to have her body in a safe place for that. Eventually, she might be able to be conscious at the same time she possesses something, which would be ideal, but that's very advanced."

"You mean I could, like, sit here and talk to you all, and still be inside an animal somewhere."

"Yep. Could come in handy around a large group of people if there are animals present."

"Could she do that with a Were?" Bjorn asked, "or a human or a vampire?"

"Well, it's not unheard of, but it's considered bad form. It's rude, because you're infringing on another person's privacy," Amunet explained.

"It might be possible, though?" he wondered.

"Yes, if she can do it with one animal, she could do it with another. The other being might be aware of the intrusion, though."

"Could she influence their behavior?"

"Good question. I know she could control the body, but I don't know if that means she could make the person do something against their own nature. I've never heard of anyone who could do that, but there might be some mythological basis for it," Amunet speculated. "For example, I know you could make a dog turn on its master, but I don't think you could make the master harm the dog if he cared for it."

"OK, and you say they'd know I was there?" Sookie was trying to wrap her mind around all of this.

"With Supes, yes, but not necessarily your identity, just that they're not alone. A human might feel disoriented or unwell, schizophrenic, even. I don't know if a vampire would know, or even if it would work."

"So how do we test this stuff?"

"We'll need some volunteers for some of it. A human, a Were, and maybe a Daemon. Badru might be your best bet where vampires go – you wouldn't want to use Eric or his child, or anyone you know very well."

"OK, would he be willing to do that?"

"Yes, he said he'd be happy to help. He's very curious to see what you can do, too."

"He is?" Sookie asked, as Eric focused on the conversation now, wondering what relevance it might have to Prince Badru.

"Yes, you see, it's possible you can bestow powers on others, at least temporarily."

"Really?"

"Yes, it's something only the gods and Goddesses can do, so it depends on your stage of development."

"I just spent some time at Freyja's castle, and I know some stuff happened there, but I don't know what stages there are to be at, you know?"

"Yes, well, it's a very rare process, so there's no literature on it. Basically, from what I've observed, your body is a kind of chrysalis or cocoon. Rather than move forward as simply a divine spirit, your chrysalis is becoming divine, too, so your body will last forever without aging."

"Would it be better to be a spirit?"

"Not if you want to continue to live the life you have now. As a spirit, you couldn't nurse your babies or make love to your husband, unless he was a spirit, too."

"Are Cambions spirits?"

"No, they're half human – why, do you know one?"

"Yes, the big guy standing behind my chair all night with the pony tail."

"Oh – Duncan MacLeod, you mean?" Amunet said with delight. "I wish I had known, I'd have arranged to be next to him when The Madness hit."

"The Madness?"

"Yes, The Madness from Dionysus. You know, the orgy in the woods. You were there, Sookie, you were impregnated, right?"

"There was an orgy in the woods?"

"YES!" Everybody at the table spoke at once.

"And I missed it?" Sookie asked, a little bummed about it

"Missed it? Darling, you were the star of it!" Amunet laughed.

Sookie was horrified, "did people see us?" she asked Eric.

"Not really. One or two might have seen you sitting on top of me, but they wouldn't really have "seen" anything," Eric tried to minimize the incident for her.

"Everybody knew?"

"Everybody was doing it, too," Bobbie laughed.

"But there were children there!"

"Anyone too young to participate slept through it," Amunet reassured her, "Freyja gave them all candy that put them to sleep. The stage looked like the floor of a kindergarten class where the kiddies all nap on the floor."

"Who was watching the babies?"

"Freyja!" Eric told her, "You know She wouldn't allow any harm to come to them."

"Yeah, I guess."

"Didn't you enjoy yourself, Sookie?" Amunet asked.

"Well…" she stopped and thought for a minute. She'd had a mind-blowing orgasm that culminated when the beam of light shot through her, but her mood at the time was more "desperate," Sookie said as she tried to remember. "I felt desperate, like my life depended on it, and then it all exploded in light. I flashed back to when Eric met Titania and relived it."

"I thought I dreamed that," Eric said distantly.

"You were there, too, right?" Sookie was sure Eric felt it, too.

"Yes, I was."

"This is our baby!"

"Of course it is, Sookie!"

"No, I mean, Titania was pregnant when she died. This was our baby, and Niall killed her when he poisoned Titania."

Eric grew pale and sat back, looking at Sookie with tears in his eyes. "I convinced myself it couldn't be true," he said softly.

"But it could because you're…" Sookie caught herself before she gave Eric's Fae heritage away to Amunet. She knew instinctively that was not a good idea, no matter how trustworthy Amunet was. "But you knew…?"

"I knew she was with child, and Maddy swore it was mine, but I convinced myself it couldn't be true. If I hadn't…" he swallowed hard, "I couldn't have gone on if I'd believed it was true. I barely survived it as it was," he said as he got up and walked into the den and sat down.

Sookie looked at Amunet, who nodded for her to go on and follow him. Sookie sat in Eric's lap and they kissed and cried for a good ten minutes while the others continued their meals. Gradually, they all dispersed, Jerry, Amelia and Amunet tip-toeing out the back door as Sookie and Eric sat lost in their own world, she straddling his lap, pressing their foreheads together. After a while, Eric carried her up to their bed, came back for the babies who were being fed by Bobbie and Bjorn, then went back upstairs and gave her a cup of Ambrosia, which was back in its place in the mini-fridge. She drank the cup down then Eric hugged her as she sat up in bed, and held on for a long time.

"It's OK, Eric, it's all happening exactly the way it's supposed to," Sookie comforted him and stroked his hair. "Go rest, it'll all be OK!"

He gave her one last, lingering kiss that nearly curled her toenails, then rushed down to his cache because it was getting very light out.

Sookie rolled over on her side to watch the babies sleep and in about 5 minutes Jerry came up the stairs and took his place beside her.

"Hey, Jerry, I thought you went to bed?"

"I just tucked Amelia in. We can't leave you alone, you know?" he laughed.

"Yeah, I know. I feel bad you have to stay up, but honestly, I like knowing somebody can keep an eye on Aubie when I'm asleep."

"Yeah, we were talking about that earlier tonight. We're pretty sure we'd better stay on our toes, so don't worry, because that's exactly what we plan to do."

"Why?"

"We're pretty sure Niall planned to take him tonight, which is why he hasn't tried until now. He's on the run, so that might buy us some time, but eventually he'll be back in Elfyria plotting to extend his reign again."

"I wonder what ruling Elfyria actually involves?"

"I imagine you'd have to live there part-time, at least."

"Maybe. But I go there almost every morning now, so maybe that's the same as living there?"

"Maybe. I only know about fighting Fae, I don't know what it's like living with them."

"Anything I need to know about fighting them?"

"Yeah – when you try to kill a Supe, always go for the head or the heart. Also, always look for your own weaknesses before they do, and know how to defend against an attack."

"So try to figure what they could use against me, and figure out what to do if they did?"

"Right. We half expected an attack driving home tonight, and were ready for one, but we have to be aware that any time any of us is off this compound, we can be hit or taken."

"That sucks."

"Yes, it does. Make sure you keep your bubble charged."

"Yeah, definitely. Niall won't send an assassin against me again. He'll come for me himself, or try to force me to give him the necklace and/or Aubie, too."

"We won't let Eric out of our sight, Sookie. Don't worry about that."

"I'm more worried about Margaret and Alicia, or Octavia, Amelia and Bobbie. I don't want them getting hurt."

"We're doing everything we can to make sure that doesn't happen, Hon. Nobody has been off the compound in the last week or so without an armed guard, and we're going to keep it that way."

"Yeah, but we're going to New Orleans soon. What are we going to do there?"

"All your guards will be quartered right next door, and we've doubled who'll be on the grounds. It's going to look like you've got company every day, there will be so many men on the porch and in the back yard. Plus, you're going to cast a bubble there before we leave and reinforce it when you get there."

"That's a good idea – I didn't think of that."

"Vincent thought of it. He's pretty impressed with what you can do. He said there's a lot of things possible now that he had no idea you had the power for – ways to use your telekinesis, ways to move people around, ways to expose assassins and anticipate attacks. He's going to travel with us a couple of nights this week to school you a bit on different possibilities and he wants a full accounting of what you and Amunet do today."

"What about the mole?"

"He knows there's a problem and he's working on that in his own way. We're keeping the guy on here so we can see if he leads us back to his employer."

"I swear, if she wasn't dead, I'd think it was Sabrina. It just feels like her, you know?"

Jerry just smiled and shook his head because Sookie fell asleep as she pronounced the last word. He was glad she went to sleep, because she needed to get all the rest that she could to be doing all this magick. There were huge forces flowing through that little body now, and no one was sure that little body was up to the strain. If she had the same complications she had with Alex, things could get pretty dangerous for she and the baby. Divine or not, things could still go wrong.

Sookie woke up in Titania's bed again, stretching lazily and stroking the velvet curtain at her side, enjoying the softness and the scent of her sheets, which smelled like flowers. She could hear the fire crackling in the fireplace and thought she smelled fresh bread.

"Milady? Are ye awake?"

"Yes, Maddy, I'm here."

Madeleine opened the curtains around the bed, "oh, good! You didn't bring the Prince. It's best that he stay where he's guarded for a bit. You have an audience this morning, so you need to eat and dress quickly."

"An audience?" Sookie asked as she sat up on the side of the bed.

"Yes, one of the White Ladies is coming to talk about the events of last night and what they'll mean for Elfyria," Maddy explained as she helped Sookie into her robe.

"Do I work for them?" Sookie asked as she followed Maddy to the table where her breakfast awaited her.

"No, but you cooperate with them. If you were very unfit, they could challenge your claim to the throne, though that's not likely. They let Niall keep it this long, and he was far from a benevolent ruler, but they knew replacing him would start another war and they want to avoid that at all costs. "

"Do they know he tried to have me killed last night?"

"I'd wager they know all about it and they won't be pleased."

"I should hope not!" Sookie half-laughed, wondering what these women or Witches or whatever would think of her and her vampire husband and son. She was sure they'd accept Aubie for some reason, but worried about what they'd think of the rest of her family. Titania hadn't really had anything nice to say about vamps in her book, though she was sure all that was before she met Eric. The White Ladies might not have the same soft spot Titania developed when she hooked up with Eric.

Maddy poured Sookie some apple juice as Sookie ate eggs sunny-side-up and whole wheat bread with honey. "Don't worry, Milady, it's all unfolding as it needs to."

"My great grandfather needed to try to kill me?"

"No, but they knew that he would and they did what was necessary to stop it."

"Why did they let those arrows come at me, though? I mean, yeah, they stopped in mid air but why not stop it way before it got to that point?"

"Maybe the people needed to see it with their own eyes to believe it?"

Sookie sat back and considered that for a minute, then nodded. "Yeah, it was for benefit of the Fae, right? They had to be there when it happened and know that only Freyja and Nivian stopped it. Otherwise, their loyalty would be to Niall. This way, they know he tried to kill the True Heir," she continued, talking mostly to herself as she worked it all out, "and he did it just as I was about to claim my birthright. People won't like that, will they?"

"I should say not! The only reason they didn't follow Niall out of there last night was that Freyja wanted them to stay. Nivian might still be giving chase, for all I know, or maybe She went straight back to Avalon. You never really know what Nivian's next move will be – it's why She's so powerful. She's good at making ye look left when all the while She's moving to the right, and before you know it, She's got ye right where She wants ye."

"OK, good to know," Sookie laughed as she brushed crumbs off her lap and let Maddy lead her to her bath. The dress Maddy had laying out for Sookie looked very formal and very regal. It was pale turquoise blue with delicate pink embroidery on the fitted bodice, with a low, square cut neckline trimmed with pink ribbon and lace, and a long, full length skirt. It had short sleeves, which surprised Sookie for some reason, and there were at least two dozen tiny buttons Maddy had to fasten to get Sookie into it. Maddy expertly brushed Sookie's hair and twisted it up into a very pretty French twist, fastening it with gold combs decorated with jewels. Maddy washed Sookie's face and handed her a mirror.

"Don't I need makeup?"

"Of course not, Milady. Ye look at yourself until your face pleases ye."

"I do?"

"Give it a try, Milady."

Sookie took the mirror and looked at herself. Her skin was a little sallow so she wished it was pale and porcelain and gradually she realized it now was. 'Longer, curled lashes,' she thought and in no time they were thick and lush like they'd never been before. 'rosy cheeks, pink lips, perfect cleavage,' she told herself as she stared into the mirror and each time she saw her image gently morph into exactly what she wanted. "Is this just an illusion, or do I really look like this now?"

"It's exactly as ye are, Milady, and it will last until you change it."

"So I can go back home and decide to have a tan and I'll have it?"

"Of course."

"See, I knew that, but I forgot. I have to remind myself of what I can do!" she laughed at herself as Maddy put black leather ballet slippers on her feet, then a diamond crown on her head and she lead Sookie down the long hall way past 4 big guards who all went down on one knee as Sookie passed them. They went down a passage with big double wooden doors and she was in a more modern looking hallway with sea blue wallpaper with a gold fleur-de-lis pattern and a beautiful display of full suits of armor that stretched all the way down the long corridor. There were people waiting at the end of the hall and Sookie heard them whisper "the Queen! The Queen!" as she approached.

Sookie was a little nervous so she had her right hand over the aquamarine amulet and it somehow made her feel more secure and grounded. A girl who looked about 18, and older woman in a brown dress and white scarf on her head, and three men dressed just like the guards outside Sookie's room all knelt and curtsied as Sookie approached. Sookie said, "good morning, everyone" as she walked between them, prompting big smiles from all of them.

"It's like she's never been gone at all," one older guard said to another, and the others nodded in agreement. As far as they were concerned, Queen Titania had come home and they all hoped never to have to deal with Prince Niall again.

They watched her happily as she went through the door into the Great Hall, where a throne sat on a platform before a long purple carpet that ran the length of the long room. Sookie noticed great, long wooden tables pushed to the sides of the hall, and there were people in old fashioned, formal dress milling around. Two trumpets sounded as Sookie entered the room and everyone curtsied and bowed.

Maddy subtly nodded and pointed at the throne when Sookie looked back at her, so she held her head up and sat a little gingerly in the big oak throne with purple velvet upholstery. As she was seated, all the fine ladies and gentlemen in the room applauded softly and smiled at Sookie, who called "good morning," to them all with a big smile. Two bearded guards in brown leather jerkins and leggings stood behind the throne, spears in their hands and swords on their belts.

A very handsome, dark-haired man about 6 feet tall dressed in a royal blue tunic and black leggings and boots stepped forward and doffed his blue boat shaped, feathered cap as he bowed at the waist, then rose up and said, "good morning, your Majesty! May I approach?"

Sookie looked at Maddy who smiled and nodded, so Sookie said, "Yes, of course! I'm Sookie H'Eloise Northman. And you are?"

"Sir Robert of Swansea, at your service, Milady!" Sookie had offered her hand and he kissed it.

"It's nice to meet you, Sir Robert!" she said, a little flushed at the unexpected attention.

"I can't tell you how happy we all are to have you home, Milady. You look resplendent this morning!"

"Oh, thank you," Sookie said and blushed, not only from the compliment, but from the fact that the gorgeous Fae man was giving her a dazzling smile with a twinkle in his blue green eyes. It did not escape Sookie's attention that he looked like a taller, smoother version of Bill with some kind of thick, beautiful brogue.

"I'm your Minister of Days. I see to the administration of your affairs, head the staff who serve the castle, and oversee your guards, your lands and your subjects. I'm here to keep things running smoothly for you."

"Oh, well, I'm glad to have you here, then. I have a lot to learn."

"You'll get the run of it pretty quickly. Unless you choose to get involved in the minutiae of local government, your duties are largely ceremonial. You set general policy, then each district has its own government, each of whom reports to me and to your Minister of Finance."

"Oh, when will I meet him?"

"Soon, I'd say – he's a great loyalist to Prince Niall. I'm sure he'll be anxious to meet you."

"Yes, I'd expect so." Sookie said, completely understanding what Sir Robert was telling her – watch your back around that guy, he's not to be trusted.

"You know about our meeting this morning, I assume, with the Wise Ladies?"

"Yes, I knew I was meeting with one of them – will there be more?"

"Considering the events of last night, Milady, I think we can count on at least three of them."

"How many are there all together?"

"There are always 13. When one passes on, another is appointed to maintain their number."

"Were you at the Wiccaning, Sir Robert?"

"Aye, Milady, I was in the woods with Our Lady Nivian."

"Oh, thank you! I'm sorry if you missed any of the ceremony."

"I heard the most stirring part, your Majesty, when you declared "there would be peace, so help you!" It's all anyone is talking about," he smiled at her proudly.

"I meant what I said. I want an end to all these wars. We shouldn't be fighting amongst ourselves and considering we can be completely separate from others, if we so choose, we don't need to be fighting with those who need not concern us."

"Do you plan to allow your subjects to live among humans?"

"That's their individual choice, but I don't want problems from that world coming into this one."

"We'll be meeting with the Wise Ladies in chambers – perhaps we should adjourn to that room now, and speak privately of these things? I'm sure you have many questions for me."

Sookie saw Maddy nod and said, "Yes, that might be best." Sookie stood, causing the whole room to bow, and Maddy pointed her out the opposite door, which opened to a large library. It was furnished with a large meeting table and chairs and some leather chairs and a couch by the fire. Maddy pointed to the head of the table, which had the largest chair, and Sookie took her place as Sir Robert took his usual seat with Niall, which was immediately to Sookie's right. The large door was closed, only Maddy and two guards just inside the room, and Sir Robert took the lead.

"May I speak frankly, your Majesty?"

"Yes, of course!"

"Keeping that world out of this one will pose a very great problem. Some of your lords are involved in the smuggling of jewels, and they aren't likely to give it up easily."

"You're saying it will take violence to end it?"

"I'm saying that ordering an end to it might provoke violence from those who profit from the trade."

"Are there very many?"

"No, but they've nearly unlimited funds due to the smuggling."

"Do we have any other lines of commerce, legal or illegal, with humans?"

"Not really. There are some who trade diamonds and shop for food or clothing there, but there are no trade agreements because they don't know, as a group, that we exist. We've got some treaties with the vampires you'll have to familiarize yourself with, but if the rumors are true about your husband, they might become moot. I doubt the two of you will wage war against each other."

"No, we won't – that's the whole point. By joining the worlds through my family, these conflicts should be eliminated."

"It's very generous of you to dedicate your children to this cause, Milady."

"It's not generosity, it's destiny. The dice have been thrown so here we are. The decision was made long before I was born."

Sir Robert started to speak again, but there was a knock at the door and they both watched Maddy speak to someone outside the door.

"Pardon me, Milady, but the White Ladies are here."

"Show them in, please?" Sookie asked, and she started to stand as Sir Robert did, but Maddy motioned for her to stay seated. Three very old women, one tall and thin with salt and pepper hair in a braid over one shoulder, one short and plump with ruddy cheeks and a big smile, the third one a little younger and pretty (like Shirley Jones, Sookie thought) came through the door, dressed identically in black robes with white wimples like nuns wear on their head. Sookie later found out they only dressed that way for official business, and that at other times they dressed like any other rich fairy. The prettiest sat immediately to Sookie's left and the tall one next to her. The plump one sat next to Sir Robert, who held her chair for her and gave her a big smile.

'Your Majesty," Robert began, "I'd like you to meet three of our Witte Wieven, the governing body of Elfyria." He pointed to the pretty one, "This is Lady Ariel," then the tall one, "Lady Berthe," then the plump one, "and Lady Jocelyn."

"It's very nice to meet all of you," Sookie said sincerely, smiling and looking each woman in the eye.

The tall one, Lady Berthe, spoke first, "We want you to know we have deliberated how best to proceed from this point forward. We are aware that you have a family and a life elsewhere, but as your duties here are largely ceremonial, that should not present a problem. Except for an occasional seasonal festival, our schedule is fluid and you will be an acceptable placeholder until the Prince is old enough to take the reigns if you choose. Of course, should war become necessary, according to our traditions, the soldiers will answer to you above anyone else, which would require much more of your attention. Our primary concern today," she continued, "is what to do about Niall Brigant."

The pretty one, Lady Ariel, spoke next. "His assassination attempt last night has put your great grandfather at odds with the Council, the Pantheon, and with us, most of all. It will be announced before dark that we have declared him an outlaw, and that anyone who offers him quarter in Elfyria will be sentenced to death for treason against the Crown. If he is caught, he will be killed immediately, but the chances of catching him are not good."

"You see," Lady Jocelyn continued, "he is far more likely to hide in your world than ours, and that is a line we do not wish to cross. We will leave his pursuit in that realm to you, and you may administer that process however you like. The Elfyrian army is, as always, at your service."

"Assuming they can be trusted," Lady Berthe added. "Niall had to think he had the support to hold the throne to make such an attempt, so there may be some who are still loyal to him."

"His assassins were Fae, weren't they?" Sookie asked, wanting to be sure she understood the situation.

"Yes, but all had been banished from our world for various crimes. There are parts of Elfyria that have suffered near lawlessness since Queen Titania was assassinated. Except for the aggression of the Brigant clan, crime was nearly unheard of during the H'Eloise reign."

"There were others who challenged Niall's reign, though, like Cullach?" Sookie asked.

"Yes, but he made a fatal miscalculation in trying to kill the Heir Apparent," Ariel told her. "He lost sight of the real goal and lost support from the Council when he erred."

"The Council was behind Cullach?"

"Not behind him, just not against him." Berthe explained. "We had no idea if you would choose to rule, and almost anyone had as much right to the throne as Niall."

"So Niall has lost everything?"

"We're sure he has resources hidden away, but we are equally sure he will not rest while you are alive and on the throne, so be assured that he will be back. Speaking of which, there is one more formality to which we must attend, Milady."

Uh-oh. "What is that?" Sookie smiled, dreading the answer.

"Your coronation. You've claimed your throne, so the office is yours, but the people will want to see you ascend to the throne officially in the presence of the Council, our body of Witte Wieven, and your family."

"My family? You mean my husband and children have to be here?"

"Yes, of course – we'll expect to see them now and then, especially little Auberon," Jocelyn laughed. "What a beauty he is, with that white hair! Both babies are just adorable."

"Will they be accepted here? My husband…"

"…Is half Fae," Berthe said firmly as the others nodded in agreement, "and so are both babies for all practical purposes. We have all decided that it would be best to focus on that, since his offices do not affect yours and the blending of families, and orders, is conducive to the cause of Peace."

"When I have this… coronation?" (they nodded) "will humans be able to attend?"

"Only Witches, please. We understand you have three who offer you regular council?"

"Yes, I…"

"The older woman, Octavia – we'd like very much if at least she were to attend. We are very anxious to meet her."

"How do you know about Octavia?"

"Freyja has mentioned her, and she's known to the Council, but that's a topic for another time. Your official coronation will take place on the first full moon after Harvest Home – October 3 in your time. It's a couple of months from now, so it gives us all time to plan and to take necessary precautions."

"What kind of precautions?"

"Why, killing Niall Brigant, of course!" Lady Jocelyn laughed as the three of them stood. "Now don't you hesitate to bring that wonderful family to visit us!"

"How do I do that?" Sookie wished they wouldn't leave yet.

The three women cackled, "My Dear," Ariel laughed, "with that amulet around your neck you can move an army between the worlds. Don't take it off outside of Elfyria."

Sookie played with the amulet nervously. "Yeah, I heard about that. He's going to try to cut my head off."

Berthe showed genuine surprise, "not if you cut his off, first! We all know you're perfectly capable of that," she said with a wink, so Sookie knew they knew she killed Liam Cullach.

"So I'm supposed to go after Niall?"

"No need for that, Milady – sooner or later, he'll find you," Berthe said with as much passion as one would use when asking someone to pass the salt, then they turned to go, but Sookie needed more information.

"Wait – what about Were and Daemon guards?"

"As few Weres as possible, and no Daemons, please. Your Cambion may attend your King, if you wish. Sir Robert will see to the rest of your questions. You'll find his council indispensible, I'm sure," Berthe said without looking back.

Sookie sat back a little dazed because they left so quickly, so she turned to Sir Robert. "Is it my imagination, or were they in a hurry to leave?"

"They were scared to death Niall would attack while they were here. Those wishing to stay alive would be wise to avoid your company until your grandfather is dispatched."

"You mean "dead," right?"

"Yes, Milady."

"And I have to do it…" she said mostly to herself.

"Look at it this way, it will settle definitively his claim to the throne."

"Yes, it will. You know, I made him an offer, I don't know why he didn't take it."

"What offer is that, Milady?" Sir Robert needed to know things like this to give Sookie proper advice. She already had enemies in this world and that, so keeping him informed was essential to her safety.

"I wanted him to stay in office until 2027. Then either I'd take over, or I'd give it to Eric Auberon, but the jerk had to try to kill me and take my baby instead," she said with some perfectly understandable exasperation.

"May I speak bluntly, Milady?"

"Please!"

"Your grandfather is not one to compromise. As long as you live, in his mind, you stand between him and what he most wants. That baby is the key to securing his control of the throne."

"Why? If Aubie grows up and doesn't want to give him the throne, it's gone anyway."

"That child would never reach adulthood with all of his faculties intact."

"What?" Sookie prayed he wasn't saying what she thought he was saying.

"If Brigant had succeeded in taking the child, he'd see that he were crippled in some way before he reached puberty, so Niall could continue as Prince Regent since the heir was unable to serve."

Sookie was seeing red. "Are you telling me, that that son of a bitch not only tried to steal my baby, he was going to permanently MAIM him so he could keep this throne?"

"Oh, yes, Milady, his plan was well known in certain quarters to which I have been privy."

"You were on his side?"

"I was his advisor, but I advise the crown at the request of the Wise Ladies, and as of last night, you are she."

"If he takes the throne back…?"

"He won't. If he ever succeeded in harming you, he could never return to Elfyria now. The people are in love with you and your little boys and the little one now on the way."

"You know about that?"

"Everyone knows who was in the grove. It was an honor to be there."

Sookie blushed a little at the idea of thousands of people knowing she got knocked up in the woods, but she didn't have time to think about that.

"So, I can trust you?"

"With your very life, Milady. If Brigant comes back, I will kill him myself. Elfyria is well rid of him, I assure you."

"He won't do anything nearly that convenient," Sookie said sarcastically and Sir Robert laughed. "What do I do if I have questions about all of this?"

He handed her a beautiful calling card done in calligraphy. Sookie looked at it.

"You have a cell phone?"

"Yes, of course, Milady. You call any time, and of course, you can come here, or I can come to you whenever you wish."

"You can do that?"

"Yes, I can, and I'll be dressed like a human instead of a fairy tale character," he laughed.

"I like the way you're dressed!" Sookie said, laughing. She was determined to keep her sense of humor in all of this.

"I wanted you to get the full effect on your first day here. Most times you see me, I'll be wearing a boring dress shirt, jacket and pants."

"So you'll be here tomorrow?"

"Unless I need to see you before. I may "pop in" on you from time to time."

"Oh…"

"Don't worry, Milady, I'll take care not to interrupt any intimate moments, unless it's a matter of life or death."

"Yeah, there are a lot of those matters these days, though. Is there anything else I need to do here today?"

"No, you can go back to your babies any time now, Milady."

"Alright, then, please excuse me - trygg i min säng, trygg i min säng, trygg i min säng!"

POP/FLASH

Sookie was back in her bed, still wearing the lovely dress, and Bjorn was on the floor. Shit! Sookie jumped up with almost vampire speed and ran to Bjorn, smacking his cheeks gently, trying to wake him up. "Bjorn! Are you OK? Bjorn?"

Bjorn groaned and shook his head, trying to respond, and finally opened his eyes. He looked Sookie up and down, knowing this dress was not of this world, and shook his head laughing, "damn, Sookie! If you're going to keep coming home this way, I'm going to need combat pay!"

He was joking, but Sookie knew he was a little hurt, too, so she rubbed his head to see if he bumped it. Yep, there was a big old knot on the back of his head. "Oh, Bjorn, I'm so sorry," she said as she rubbed the knot which suddenly went away.

Bjorn frowned and looked confused. "What did you do, Sookie?"

"I don't know. It was there, then it wasn't."

"You healed it!"

"Can I do that?"

"Apparently. It went from hurting like hell to not hurting at all," Bjorn said, suddenly realizing Sookie was bending over him in a low-cut dress and they were bulging over… 'get up, dummy, don't stare at her chest!' he berated himself. "I'm OK, now, Hon, let me get up."

"OK, if you're sure you're OK?" Sookie was too worried about Bjorn to worry about the fact that he was looking down her dress in spite of himself.

"I'm fine now, honest."

"Knock, knock!" they heard from the hallway.

"Come in, Octavia!" Sookie called as she stood and helped Bjorn get up.

"Well, what'd you bring back today?" Octavia said, having heard the now familiar sound.

"This dress, maybe? Or the amulet again?" she said as stood back to let Bjorn pick up his chair. She felt the top of her head, "this crown, I guess?"

"Well, they're getting smaller and smaller, and you're awake this time. Bjorn, did you get hurt again?"

"Yeah, but I think Sookie healed me."

"She did?"

"Yeah, she rubbed the spot and it stopped hurting,"

"We'll have to test that out. When are you girls going to start play time?"

"Is Amunet up?"

"I haven't been downstairs yet – I was just getting dressed. You look like you're all ready to go."

"I shouldn't wear this, should I?"

"You can if you want to – might be a little hard to breast feed in that."

"Right, I need to change. The boys are in the gym, I guess?"

"Yes, they're with Bobbie and Amelia. Alex was teaching Aubie to do flips in the air right over you," Bjorn laughed, "so they took them on up."

"OK, unbutton me, Bjorn," Sookie said, turning her back to him and pulling her hair to the side. Bjorn was a little embarrassed that she asked in front of Octavia, but he slowly started undoing the tiny buttons on her gown.

Octavia chuckled to herself, knowing what conflict Bjorn was feeling, "OK, I'm goin' down for coffee. See you in the kitchen." Octavia was pretty sure why Sookie was so unselfconscious in front of Bjorn and she thought it was funny he was so prudish about it when she wasn't. If she were thirty years younger, she'd show Bjorn a trick or two he'd not forget.

Suddenly, as Bjorn worked the buttons, Aubie flew in the door with Alex, Amelia and Bobbie close behind. "Mama! Mama!" he was so happy to see her.

"Hi, Sweetie!" Sookie caught him and kissed him all over his little face, then shifted him so she could catch Alex, too.

"Sookie, that's gorgeous!" Amelia said when she saw Sookie standing there in the gown.

"Thanks. It's from Elfyria – it followed me home," she laughed.

"Bobbie, you do this, please!" Bjorn was relieved to have someone else to work with those little buttons. He was breaking out into a sweat at the prospect of undressing Sookie. He went back to his seat and crossed his foot over his knee so they couldn't see his hard on.

Bobbie took Bjorn's place behind her as Amelia took the babies and put them on the bed one at a time. "Did the crown come with it, Sookie?"

"Yeah, this was sort of my first official day as Queen. I met my Minister of Days and three of the Witte Wieven or White Ladies or Wise Ladies, or whatever. Anyway, they told me what's what."

"And…?" Amelia wanted her to go on, quickly. She sat on Eric's side of the bed and gave Sookie her attention as she tickled the boys.

"And Niall has been declared an outlaw. Giving him quarter in Elfyria is punishable by death and they fully expect me to kill him when he comes after me, which they assure me he will."

"Well, you sort of knew that already, Sookie," Amelia laughed.

"Yeah, but when three wise women dressed like nuns tell you about it, it suddenly loses its glamour," Sookie said sarcastically. "You should have seen them, you guys. They couldn't wait to get the hell away from me, because they were afraid he'd come busting in after me."

"So what's this Minister of Days person like?" Bobbie asked.

"Oh, you two will love him. Sir Robert of Swansea. Imagine a taller, prettier Bill with blue-green eyes and a thick brogue."

"Wow!" Amelia said as she and Bobbie laughed. Bjorn didn't think it was funny, and he was pretty sure Eric wouldn't, either.

"Will we get to meet him?" Bobbie thought that sounded pretty tasty.

"Yeah, he could pop in at any second, but if you don't see him before, you'll see him at my coronation on October 3."

"Why'd they pick that date?" Amelia asked

"It's the first full moon after Harvest Home, which I need to ask you all questions about."

"What's "Harvest Home?"" Bobbie asked

"Mabon – the Autumnal Equinox," Amelia answered.

"It wasn't last night?" Sookie asked.

"No, it's the Equinox. Why?"

"I saw this movie once…"

"With Bette Davis?" Amelia asked.

"Yeah, you know it?"

"Yeah, it's a Witch movie, right up there with **The Wicker Man**, but not as well known."

"I've heard of The Wicker Man, but I've never seen it," Bobbie said.

"Well, they're similar in plot. An outsider finds his way into a remote village which turns out to be a Pagan cult and he ends up being a sacrifice to bring good crops."

"Are they matriarchal?" Sookie asked

"In Harvest Home, yes. In the original Wicker Man, I don't think so, but in the new one with Nicholas Cage, yeah, they're matriarchal and worship bees."

"Because bees have a Queen?"

"They have more than that. Did you know all worker bees are female? The males are called drones and there aren't that many of them. They only exist to fertilize the Queen and they usually die from mating."

"Yikes!" Bobbie laughed

"Yep, and the worker bees decide which egg will become Queen and if they end up with more than one, they fight to the death."

"Glad I'm not a bee," Sookie said.

"Me, too." Bjorn joked and made them all laugh.

Bobbie finished with the buttons, so Sookie looked in her top drawer and found a little pink knit dress that was easy to pull down and she took it and a pink thong into the bathroom to change. She was back in no time, almost ready to go. "Anyway, in Harvest Home they conceive a girl in the ritual, right?"

"Yeah," Amelia remembered, "they did have a little girl who was conceived during the rite some years before. We're all kicking ourselves today, you know? Some of us should have realized what the plan was last night."

Sookie was brushing her hair into a ponytail, leaving the crown and combs on her dresser. She started to speak when Sir Robert popped into the room and scared everyone almost to death.

"Forgive me, your Majesty, are you done with the crown and the dress?"

"Oh, yeah, here you go," she handed him the crown and pointed to the dress on the foot of the bed.

"Thank you. Sorry to interrupt, everyone!" He bowed to Sookie, nodded to the others and disappeared with the dress and crown.

Amelia and Bobbie cracked up, "damn, Sookie! He's your what?" Amelia laughed

"Minister of Days. He's the one who really runs things unless there's war or some ceremonial function they need me for."

"Who runs things if there's a war?" Bjorn asked, a little pissed for some reason he refused to call jealousy where a fairy was concerned.

"I do. They said it's tradition – if there's war, the army will follow me over anyone."

"That could come in handy," Bjorn thought out loud.

"Yeah, if they're loyal. Some might be loyal to Niall."

"I doubt it," Bjorn said.

"You do? Why?"

"From a soldier's perspective, you're the smart bet. You've got all the authorities on your side, plus I assume the people love you already and you've got their little Prince. The only thing Niall might offer is money or some other form of treasure, and even if he offers them the moon, they give up living in Elfyria if they lose. I'd say Niall is a lone wolf at this point."

"They told me the assassins he used were outcasts who were banished for committing crimes."

"How many of those could there be?" Bobbie asked.

"I don't know, but I'm sure that's where the real danger is. If they can't go back, they need money, and I'll bet Niall has a pile of it somewhere," Sookie said, already having it worked out in her head.

"Yeah, that sounds right," Bjorn agreed. "You have to find out how many we could be talking about. Who would know?"

"The Wise Women, I guess? They said parts of Elfyria have been nearly lawless since Titania was killed."

"Because some of them never considered Niall legitimate, I'll bet," Bjorn said.

"Right – they said almost anybody had as much right to it as he did."

"He was a bastard, too, from what I hear," Bjorn recalled.

"He still is," Sookie said darkly, looking in the mirror and willing her lashes a little longer, "but not for long."

"You going after him, Sookie?" Bobbie asked as she and Amelia exchanged looks of concern. This was a lot to expect of a pregnant woman, Goddess or not.

"I'm going to let him come to me, then I'm taking his ass out. We all start training with swords tonight, and if he shows his fucking face, whoever gets a swipe at him takes him down. I should have killed the SOB last night when I had a chance. I won't let him get away next time, no matter who's around to witness it," Sookie said in such a casual way it made the others' blood run cold. Something had changed in Sookie. Something in her really had accepted that she had to do this to keep herself and her kids safe, and there was a new darkness within her that was almost visible.

"So, let's go downstairs!" Sookie said, making a conscious decision to brighten her mood and get on with her day. "Come on, Sweet boys, let's all go downstairs."

"Sthimmeen, Mamee?" Alex asked as he was perched on Amelia's lap.

"Swimming? I've got company, baby, so I can't, but if Bobbie and Amelia want to take you, you can. Mommy has to do some magick!"

"Doo machig wif Mamee!"

"You want to do magick, too, Sweetie?" Sookie loved that he'd rather work with her than go swimming.

"Eeah, doo machig!"

"Ah!" Aubie agreed as he crawled down the bed toward Sookie.

"You want to do magick, too, Aubie?" She laughed as she scooped him up and held him over her head.

"Ah! Mama!" Aubie reached for her face and patted her cheeks.

"Yeah, Mama's got you. OK, darlin' boys, let's get breakfast and go do magick!"

"EEAY!" Alex was waving his arms, ready to go, so Amelia brought him and they, Bobbie, and Bjorn followed Sookie downstairs.

Everyone in the kitchen was surprised to see them all so early.

"Mrs. Northman! We didn't dream you'd be up yet!" Alicia teased her.

"Yeah, I had another eventful morning and I thought I'd just get up and get on with the day. I want to make the most of my time with Amunet."

"Alright, what would you like for breakfast?"

"Do we have plenty of smoked salmon? I know she likes it, too."

"Yes, of course! Coming right up."

"Sthama?" Alex said hopefully as Amelia put him in his highchair.

"Yes, Baby E, I'll make you some salmon!" Alicia tickled him and made him laugh.

"Dayoo!"

Alex and Sookie were chowing down on their breakfast, Aubie suckling from Sookie's breast, when Amunet came dragging in wearing a pair of khaki short shorts, a peach camisole, long pearl necklace with a knot in the front and huge Dior sun glasses. Sookie laughed to herself when she noticed she was wearing really expensive wedge sandals with that outfit.

"Amunet! Good Morning!" Sookie was so happy to have her here, she couldn't believe it.

"Uuuhh! Darling – you're so cheerful," she laughed. "I'm wiped out!" Amelia and Bobbie laughed and nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, it was a big party last night," Sookie teased her, "but seems like I had the most to do."

"True, but I've been traveling non-stop for a few months. It loses its glamour after a while."

"Excuse me, Mrs. Bast, would you prefer coffee or espresso? Alicia offered

"Espresso would save my life right now!" she laughed.

"Coming right up," Alicia laughed.

"I didn't know we had espresso around here?" Sookie laughed.

"We don't make it often, but we were told it's one of Mrs. Bast's favorites."

"That it is! Thanks so much!" Amunet laughed, finally taking her sunglasses off. "Ugh – it's so bright today! I'm not used to human hours."

"You normally keep your husband's hours?" Sookie wanted to know all about Amunet's lifestyle, it seemed so glamorous.

"Yes, we normally sleep in the same bed for the same hours. It's just easier that way. If I wake earlier, I use the time to read, but I try to be there when he wakes up."

"Isn't that dangerous?"

"Of course, Darling, that's the point," she laughed. "It keeps things zesty!" she wiggled her perfectly drawn eyebrows and made Sookie laugh.

"I did it one time, and it was pretty wild. I think it scared Eric, though," Sookie said. "He's always afraid he's going to lose control and hurt me, but he's got so much control, I don't think it's possible."

"Well, you're a lot tougher than a human girl, too, but it's good for him to be a little cautious. The more you do it, though, the more control he'll have."

"Oh – I never thought about that…" Sookie said with surprise. "So the more we do it, the safer it is?"

"Yes, unless he's wounded or something. That's when you need to be careful."

"Yeah, I learned that the hard way one time," Sookie said, trying not to flash back on being in the trunk of the car with Bill.

Alicia brought Amunet a little cup of espresso, which Amunet filled with sugar, and asked, "would you like some lox and bagels?"

"Well, I'd like to have some salmon and do you have cream cheese or crème fraiche?"

"We have both – which would you prefer?"

"Just some salmon and crème fraiche, please? Thanks!"

"You don't like bagels, Amunet?" Sookie asked

"I like them, but I try to keep the carbs to a minimum most of the time so I can splurge on pasta or at a party now and then. I'll be good this week so you and I can go crazy next Saturday."

"What's Saturday?"

"The opening for Sang Riche Austin," Amunet laughed, "We're going to try to make all of the openings since we're in the States on business, anyway."

"Oh, cool! I'll have someone to play with if Bobbie and Amelia are busy with their guys or the babies. Eric needs time to schmooze all the rich vamps, anyway."

"He's good at that. The others are in awe of him, and well they should be."

"Will they still be now that they know about my Fae heritage?"

"It did cause a little shock wave last night, but you're well known as a friend to the vampires, so I think they'll come around. Nobody wants another war with the Fae, and this is a perfect way to create harmony. Plus, people were absolutely in love with these children. The vamps couldn't figure out why they didn't feel Auberon was truly Fae."

"He's still wearing that shield I made for him. It protects him from them."

"It seemed to work perfectly. Some of the vamps don't really believe he's Fae. That can work to his advantage. It helps Alexander, too."

"It does?"

"Oh, yes, they're mostly convinced that Alex is all vampire, as if it's a dominant gene or something. They were surprised to see him eat food, but I heard they were all very happy to see him drink RM. Of course, the Fae think they're both all Fae, so everyone is happy. Alex has a strong aura of Fae magick about him, too, and the Fae could feel that, but the vamps can't."

"Good – it means they'll be able to blend into either world if they need to."

"Yes, and each group is very happy to have its own little Prince."

"Good," Sookie was happy with that and with her breakfast. Alex had finished his "sthama" and was asking for more, which Amelia got up to get from the fridge while Bobbie went up in the elevator to get her journal so she could take notes on what Sookie and Amunet did.

"Mamee, Waby Amuduh doo machig?"

"Yes, she's going to do magick with us." Sookie stroked Alex's cheek with the backs of her fingers and Aubie giggled against her breast. "Aubie wants to do magick, too, don't you, Sweetie?"

He giggled again but he didn't stop feeding. "Aubie is really hungry this morning!" Sookie teased him, but he kept feeding as she looked in his eyes and rubbed his little back.

Margaret put a glass of juice and a plate of scrambled eggs and link turkey sausage on the table in front of Amelia, who was feeding Alex salmon. Amelia turned to take a drink of juice and when she turned, Alex threw his spoon on the floor. "Uh-oh!"

"Alex!" Sookie said as Amelia bent to get the spoon, but before anyone, even Sookie, could react, Alex had "called" two of Amelia's sausages off her plate. He had one in his mouth with one hand and one in the other fist, ready to stick it in, too. "Alex! No! You don't take food off people's plates!" Sookie started to pull his hand away from his mouth but he popped his fangs and hissed at her. Sookie was so shocked she jumped back and just stared at him with her mouth open as he went back to gnawing on the pieces of sausage.

"It's OK, Sookie, we should have given him some," Amelia tried to downplay the problem as Amunet and Bjorn, who was at the other end of the table drinking coffee, cracked up.

Alex was jamming the second sausage into his mouth, which was already full of the first one. "Alex, Sweetie, hold on, you're eating too fast. Just a little at a time," Sookie was more concerned that he was going to choke now than that he'd attack her. She did manage to pull his hand away with a little more than half of the second sausage in it, and was considering sticking her fingers in his mouth to take some of the sausage out of it, but he had swallowed most of it and seemed fine.

"Eric Alexander, you apologize to Amelia! You say, "I'm sorry, Amelia!" Alex just looked at her and kept chewing. "You say you're sorry, young man!"

Whoa! Alex never heard Mommy get that mad before and it shocked him a little. When he swallowed what was left in his mouth, Sookie kept him from putting the other piece in and he yelled, "Mo, Mamee!" defiantly.

"No! You say, "I'm sorry, Amelia," first! Say it!"

Alex didn't know whether to scream or cry but he was mad, too, but after a minute of trying to stare Sookie down he said, "Ahm sthowwy, Ameeah."

Everyone at the table instantly relaxed, all having been afraid Sookie and Alex were going to really throw down.

"Alright, now you finish that and if you want more, you ASK for it. Don't you do that again!"

"Undwy!" he pouted.

"Then you tell us that and we'll get you food. You can't just take things off other people's plates. It's not nice."

"Wadiz nisth?"

"Nice is a good boy. You be a good boy and ask, alright."

"Eeah, undwy."

"Alright, how about some apple sauce?"

"Eeah!" Alex liked the sound of that, and Aubie leaned back from Sookie and said, "abuh!"

"I'll get it," Amelia started to get up and Sookie said, "no, Amelia, eat your breakfast."

"What's all the yelling in here?" Bobbie asked, amused, as she came back with her journal.

"The little Viking stole food off Amelia's plate and I made him apologize."

"Go ahead and eat, Amelia – what did he want?" Bobbie put her book on the table and Amelia said, "they both want apple sauce."

"OK, I'll get it. Everybody relax a little, he didn't hurt anyone," she deliberately tried to joke Sookie out of it.

"I know," Sookie said, still embarrassed and irritated, "I just won't have him behaving that way. Like Eric says, we can't let bad behavior take root. He can be a badass everywhere else, but at the breakfast table, he's going to use some manners."

Alex finished his other sausage and reached for Amelia with his "come here" motion. Amelia leaned toward him and he said, "ahm sthowwy, Ameeah," very softly and Amelia said, "that's OK, baby, you just got excited," and kissed his lips as he wanted and rubbed his head and back a little.

"Alright, Alex, that's a good boy," Sookie was much happier with that reaction so she let it go. Bobbie gave Alex a little bowl and a little spoon and he happily tried to feed himself and Sookie pulled her top up and fed Aubie as he sat on her lap.

Once the boys had finished their applesauce, everyone was ready to get started with the magick. Jerry was up now and he and Bjorn stood by as Amunet and Sookie went to the middle of the yard back toward the chalets. Bobbie and Amelia had Aubie and Alex respectively and they sat on the grass off to the side of the summer kitchen.

"OK, Amunet, how do we start?" Sookie asked as Bobbie opened her book to take notes.

"Well, we know you're pretty powerful in circle, so we're going to try some things off the cuff."

"No Circle?" Amelia was surprised.

"Yes," Amunet said, "in an emergency there won't be time for all that. I want to see her raw power as it is right now. Ready, Sookie?"

"Yep."

"Make the wind blow."

Sookie held her hands up to the side and said, "wind," and in a second, a strong wind blew across the yard.

"OK, Sookie, make a mini-tornado right there on the walk."

Sookie looked at the walk and said "spin!" and a little whirl wind blew up and danced along the walk.

"Send it up into the sky, Sookie, then make it bigger, then let it disperse."

Sookie pointed at the small funnel and guided it up into the air where it settled right above the barn. "Bigger," she said softly and it grew larger, causing the wind to kick up all over the yard. "Calm," Sookie said and the funnel spread wide and thin, and was gone.

"OK, you can command at least one element," Amunet said happily, "now, make it rain right there over that flowerbed," she pointed to the bed in front of the garage. "Wet," Sookie said softly and a small dark cloud gathered up in the sky and rained right over the flowerbed and the walk next to it. "OK, Sookie send the cloud up and back over the woods back there."

Sookie pointed at it and it followed her direction backward, raining on the guard shack in back as it passed over.

"Now, Sookie, make it bigger and darker, and hit that big tree off to the right there with lightning."

Sookie had to concentrate for a minute to make the cloud get bigger and darker and in a minute it was really storming over the woods. Sookie hesitated, and Amunet could tell something was wrong. "Sookie, you're doing fine. How do you feel?"

"Scared. I'm afraid of lightning."

"Don't be afraid, Sookie. You're in control of it. Just hit that tree and if it catches fire, you make it rain hard enough to put it out."

Sookie took a deep breath and looked at the cloud raging over the woods. She concentrated and snapped her fingers and a bolt struck the tree with a loud CRACK! Rafael came out of the guardhouse and saw Sookie and Amunet, then looked back at the woods. He flew up over the fence and was gone for a few minutes, then flew back to where Sookie and Amunet stood. "You were aiming for the tall tree?" he asked.

"Yes."

"Direct hit, but there is no fire. It's smoldering from the rain. You might want to let it continue a while to be sure there are no sparks."

"Good idea," Amunet agreed, "thank you."

Rafael nodded, smiled at Sookie in a way that made her skin crawl, then walked back toward the guard shack.

"Alright, Sookie, find a small animal around here. What's in the area?"

Sookie looked all around and pointed out beyond the summer kitchen. "There are rabbits in the grass out there. One mother with two babies and there's another mom and 4, then there's a male rabbit over toward the highway. I think there are more but they're way back that way.

"Alright, bring the male here."

"Should I call him so he's here right now?"

"No, see if you can influence him to come through the fence on his own."

"OK, let's see," Sookie stared at the ground a bit, picturing the rabbit in her head. She willed him to come quickly toward the fence and after about 5 minutes she said, "there, he'll come right through those bushes." Sure enough, a big brown buck rabbit hopped through the fence and came directly toward Sookie. The rabbit hopped in a zigzag pattern once it was half way through the yard. "He's confused," Sookie said, "he doesn't want to be out in the open this way."

"OK, Sookie, get into his head. Be the rabbit. See what he sees, feel what he feels."

Sookie knelt down, "come on, Bunny, it's OK," she held out her hand and the rabbit cautiously made its way to her. Sookie stroked his ears, "he's trembling, I don't want to do this very long."

"OK, get into his head and go back into the field with him. Be the bunny all the way to his hutch, then come back to your body."

Sookie sat cross-legged on the ground and stroked the bunny, then pointed him back toward the fence. In a minute, she wasn't Sookie anymore. Her tiny heart fluttered, her tiny paws felt around the soft grass and her powerful back legs moved her forward. She pinned back her ears and listened for sounds of predators, but heard nothing but the sounds of the field and the cars on the road in the distance. A sudden crack of thunder from back in the woods sounded and the rabbit ran bouncing through the tall grass to a safe spot burrowed into some weeds near a scrub raspberry bush. Sookie snuggled into the little soft spot and the rabbit went to sleep.

Amunet waited a long while before she spoke to Sookie. "Sookie? Time to come back now," she said softly. Sookie jumped just a little and you could almost literally see her snap back into herself. "Wow!" was all she could say.

"What's it like being a rabbit?"

"Scary, but comfy once you're in your little hole," she laughed softly as Amunet helped her stand.

"OK, now we're going to see if you can conjure an animal."

"Like, create one out of nothing?"

"Yes."

"How will we know I didn't just call it in from the field."

"You're going to conjure a baby dragon."

"What?"

"I want you to conjure a small dragon, right there."

"Is there any such thing?"

"Only one way to find out. Put a little dragon right there."

Sookie thought for a minute then she knelt down on one knee. She held her hands in front of her, as if there was an invisible ball in them, and she focused her intention between them. Before too long there was a glow between her hands that grew more solid as she moved to set it on the ground. She spread her hands slowly and the glow became denser, darker, and at once she stood up and back and there was a small reptile with wings! It was about 4 feet tall, scaly and dark green everywhere, except its sort of smooth yellow belly, with spiny bone-like protrusions aligned down its back. It stood on its stout hind legs and had smaller arms that it could use almost like hands. Its wings were leathery and bat-like and it let out a small sound Sookie had never heard before, though later she realized it sounded like a Wookie from Star Wars.

"DWADON!" Alex yelled, jumping up and down in Amelia's lap. Bjorn and Jerry were frozen, not believing their eyes. Sookie was in shock, but it looked at her and cried out and Amunet said, "give it some food, Sookie!"

"Like what?"

"Fish, put some trout right in front of it and see if it eats."

Sookie pointed at the ground and said "fish," and there were three big trout flopping on the ground. The little creature leaned down and picked a fish up in a sharp claw and into its mouth it went with two chomps and down his gullet. The dragon sort of growled, sort of purred, and sniffed the other two fish. The second was soon in its sharp teeth, then the dragon threw its head back and swallowed. Number three was chomped in half before the dragon picked it all the way up, but in no time there was nothing left of it, either. The dragon smacked and licked his chops with a serpent's forked tongue as Sookie said, "OK, now what do we do."

"Send it back where it came from."

"I don't know where it came from."

"You don't need to know – send it back."

Sookie pointed at the thing as it looked at her curiously, and said "go back" with all her intention. There was a flash and a shimmer, but the dragon remained. "It's still there!"

"So I see. Try again."

Sookie sent all of her power into her hands and the dragon shimmered and looked like a negative for a brief second, then it shimmered and became solid again. "OK, what do I do?"

"I have no idea."

"What?" Sookie asked as the baby dragon cried again.

"I didn't think you could do it. I have no idea where to put it now that you did."

"HUH?"

The dragon let out a weird shriek and ran straight toward the pool, diving in before anyone could react. "Amunet, there's a dragon in my pool!"

"I know," Amunet laughed, "You might have to call in your Goddess for this one. Let's try a few other things in the mean time."

"But…"

"He's not hurting anything, Sookie. Call your little journal out to you."

"Book and pen," Sookie said in a daze and they appeared in her hand.

"Alright, send them back in on the kitchen table."

"Can I send?"

"Why not? Do it."

Sookie said, "kitchen table," and the book disappeared.

"Can someone run in and see if the book is on the table now?"

"I will," Jerry said, running toward the house, staring into the pool as he walked past it.

"Sthimmeen wif dwadon, Mamee!"

"No, you can't swim with the dragon! He might eat little boys!"

"Sookie, turn invisible."

"What?"

"Turn invisible." Amunet stepped forward, "sneak around behind Bjorn and scare him," she whispered very softly in Sookie's ear.

"Fuck it, INVISIBLE!" Sookie said and she was gone.

"What the hell!" Bjorn cried out. "Is she still here? Or did she teleport? I need to know where she is!"

"Look behind you," Amunet laughed.

"Hey!" Sookie said as she appeared at his shoulder. Bjorn jumped half a foot. "Were you here the whole time?"

"Yeah, I walked right up to you. Couldn't you smell me?"

"No, it's as if you were just gone."

"That's good, right?"

"Yes, I suppose, but damn, Sookie!"

"OK, now you know she can do it, the question is how long can she maintain it. You'll have to work with her to see how long she can go," Amunet told him, still laughing.

"Yes, we will," Bjorn said, his head spinning, not the least of his worries the three-foot reptile swimming in his boss's pool. "So that's a real, live dragon, right? It's not an illusion? Or a spirit?"

"No, it's real," Sookie said, "I'm sure of that, but for some reason, it won't go back."

"OK, has your magick ever not worked before?" Bjorn really needed to know what they were going to do with a baby dragon.

"Yeah, the other morning I couldn't get into my body, but it turned out that was because I needed to find the intruder."

"OK, what's the reason it won't work now?"

"Good question."

"What did you do the other morning?"

"I went to my circle and asked Freyja what to do."

"Jerry's already in the house. Take him down with you real quick and ask Her what to do with the dragon. I need an answer before Eric gets up."

"Eric won't be mad at you…"

"Sookie, I stood here and watched you do magick we didn't know how to resolve because I didn't think there was any such thing as dragons. I'm supposed to be protecting you – I should have stepped in."

"It's not your fault, Bjorn, but I'll run in and take Jerry with me. Watch the boys closely because Alex wants to swim with him."

"OK, go on."

Sookie kicked it into superhuman speed and ran down to her magick room, grabbing Jerry from the kitchen where he was explaining to an amused Margaret why a book and pen appeared on the table while she and Alicia were sitting at it.

She closed the door and saw that her scrying mirror was still in the circle of salt, which she refreshed by doing her "thrice-around" thing with her athame. She knelt to the mirror and said, "Freyja, my Goddess, I need you again!"

Freyja appeared before Sookie laughing. "I see your family has grown, My Angel!"

"The dragon, you mean?"

"Yes, of course! Do the boys like it?"

"Yes, but couldn't it hurt them?"

"It could, but it won't. I've seen to that."

"You… how did you do that? I didn't even know…"

"I knew, Sookie. You need him!"

"I NEED a dragon?"

"Well, more precisely, the boys do, but you do, too. They make wonderful pets. They're very, very intelligent. He'll help the guards keep an eye on the place and they can see spirits, like daemons who are out of their bodies or Fae who think they can sneak in on you. He'll be better than 20 watch dogs, I promise."

"But I don't know anything about taking care of a dragon!"

"You haven't spent any time with the book Nivian sent you, have you?"

"No, there hasn't been time."

"Make time. You need to describe the Wiccaning, and what happened when you and Eric made your daughter. It will be important to her future. Toward the back of the book you'll find everything you need to know about the care and feeding of a pet dragon."

"You're joking?'

"Not at all. Make him a pen in the summer kitchen and put him in there if there are humans around. The rest of the time, let him run in the yard and swim in the pool. He won't hurt the babies, and that one is housebroken."

"I should let him in the house?"

Freyja cracked up, "of course not, Sookie, at least not past the den, I just meant he won't foul the pool. Teach him where you want him to go. Humans call it "paper-training."

"Oh… OK. Where did he come from?"

"Let's just say he's a gift from a Friend. If you really can't handle him, we can send him to Elfyria, but I want you to give it a try for the boys. What will you name him?"

"Shouldn't you know that, too?"

"Of course, Sookie, but it is your choice."

"Can he breath fire?"

"No, not at this stage – he's just a baby."

"When will he be grown?"

"Fully grown – a century or so, but he'll stay cuddly for 50 or 60 years, and you can always make him bigger or smaller for short periods of time, so he can travel with you. By the time he becomes a real problem, Eric Auberon will have taken him back to the H'Eloise home."

"OK, I have to ask this – You know the future, right?"

"In some cases, yes, but not all."

"So You know most of what I'm going to do?"

"Yes, but not necessarily how or why you will do it."

"So why don't You just tell me up front and be done with it?"

Freyja howled with laughter, "Sookie, you are so funny. This is why Eric loves you so much – you are delightful! The future is fluid, My Angel, and the very act of telling you the future, changes the future, like butterfly wings creating storms. We have to go slowly and let things unfold naturally. You're still thinking like a human, Sookie, but you no longer are."

"If I died right now, would I die or become a Goddess?"

"You won't die right now, Sookie, that is all I can tell you."

"So this dragon is a pet? Can I pet him without getting bitten?"

"Yes, of course. I'll be very surprised if he doesn't instantly bond with you. Don't bother him when he is eating, but that would be true of any animal. Pay attention to him, Sookie. He could save your life if you let him."

"But…"

She was gone. Sookie wondered why She was back to disappearing when she still had more questions, and her mind quickly told her there WAS a reason she'd find out later. Sookie took a deep breath and puffed out her cheeks, exhaling and holding her hands out. "My Book!" She was instantly holding the book that Nivian sent her and she flipped toward the back of the book. Just as Freyja promised, there were pages called "The Care and Feeding of Dragon Whelps." Sookie skimmed the pages – give them a cool, dark place to nest; put straw on the floor; remember that they're naturally shy of strangers, especially humans, and that they can see spirits and things that humans cannot. They like to swim and bask in the sun; need access to fresh water; and you should feed them twice a day but never give them access to unlimited food; they only eat fish, meat or fowl; they're natural hunters but won't if they have steady access to food. It is possible for a competent magician to make them smaller or larger for ease of movement or concealment except on the Dark Moon.

"The Dark Moon," Sookie thought as she walked out of her circle and opened the door.

"Find out anything?"

"Yeah, we've got a pet dragon," she told him as they headed back through the basement.

"You're keeping him?" Jerry couldn't believe his ears.

"Yep – Freyja said I need him around and its good for the boys."

"You need him?"

"Yeah, he can see spirits and sneaky Fae and stuff like that."

"How is Eric going to feel about that?"

"How am I going to feel about what?" Eric said, right behind them on the steps.

"Hi, Sweetie!" Sookie waited at the top step for a hug and a kiss, handing her book to Jerry so her hands were free.

"Hi," he stayed on a lower step so they were face to face as he kissed her. "What do you need to tell me?"

"We have a new pet."

"According to whom?" Eric didn't think that was a decision that should be made by anyone but himself.

"Freyja. She says we need him."

"Freyja says we need a … what? A dog?"

"No, a dragon."

Eric just looked at her. "Are you telling me that...?"

"There's a dragon in the pool - or at least the back yard. He was in the pool when I came in here."

"Show me." Eric motioned for her to go forward and Sookie walked through the pantry, taking her book back from Jerry as they moved through the kitchen. The three of them went out the back, where everyone else had migrated to the chairs around the pool to watch the dragon.

"How's he doing?" Sookie asked as they approached the others.

"He's still swimming, but I think he wants to come out," Amunet explained. "What are you going to do about him?"

"We're supposed to keep him," Sookie shrugged as she laid her book on a table next to Bobbie and Aubie.

"Mama! Dahban!" Aubie said to Sookie, waving his little arms.

"Yeah, that's a dragon, isn't it?" Sookie bent and kissed his head, but let Bobbie hold onto him. Eric was standing at the side of the pool, trying to absorb the idea of a dragon in Shreveport, trying to remember when was the last time he saw one. "Amelia, hang on to Alex," because he was beside himself watching the thing swim in his pool. Sookie walked to the end of the pool where the steps were and said "fish!" so she was holding another trout. "Come on, Puff! Come on, Baby!"

The dragon made its Wookie sound and swam toward Sookie, finding the steps. It walked on all fours as it came out, hesitating as it got close to Sookie, sniffing at the fish she offered him, finally sitting back on the concrete and holding its mouth open like a baby bird. Sookie dropped the fish into its mouth and stood still while he gobbled it down, then waited to see what he did next. He looked at her with big sad eyes, and Sookie felt like he was scared. She slowly held her hand out and the dragon lowered its head, letting her pet him as she spoke to him.

"It's OK, nobody is going to hurt you. I'm going to call you Puff, OK?" The dragon did that growl/purr thing it did when it ate earlier and Sookie realized that was a sound of pleasure. She was just getting comfortable with him when he decided to dry his wings. With a big flapping motion he sprayed water everywhere. Sookie backed up instinctively, but laughed at getting splashed and the dragon looked at her curiously, not knowing what that sound meant. She realized she startled him, too, so she soothed him, "it's OK, Puff, that's a good boy."

The dragon stretched and settled down on its haunches, and Sookie knew he was feeling safe, so she turned back to her friends. "OK, everybody, his name is Puff and Freyja says he won't hurt anybody as long as we don't bother him when he's feeding. We need a few bales of hay to make him a bed in the summer kitchen and we'll need to clear a space for him. He eats about any kind of meat. We're to feed him twice a day, and never give him access to unlimited food…"

"Why not?" Bobbie asked

"The book doesn't say, but I assume it's because he'll founder if we don't limit him. Also, feeding him regularly should keep him from hunting. He's going to be a watch dragon – he can see spirits and Fae and Daemons who might try to sneak in so if he reacts to something, pay attention, even if you can't see what it is."

"He is not a danger to my sons?" Eric wasn't crazy about this idea.

"Freyja says not. If you're worried, go talk to Her. She says we need him around and that it will be good for the boys. She thinks eventually Aubie will take him to Elfyria, and if we really can't handle him, we can send him now, but She wants us to try."

"How did it get here?"

"That's my fault…" Amunet said as she played with her pearls and watched the baby reptile with sheer fascination.

"You brought it?"

"No, Sookie was trying to do different things I suggested, all of which she did successfully, so I was trying to think of something she wouldn't be able to do, but she did."

"You told her to call a dragon?"

"To conjure a dragon, to be exact, but naturally, I didn't think there was such a thing…"

"…But there is and I couldn't send him back," Sookie took it from there.

"'Let me be clear – you've spoken to Freyja about this?"

"Yes, and She told me where in my book to find instructions to care for him."

"Whose idea was it to keep him in the summer kitchen?" he asked as Sookie opened her book and turned to the relevant pages to show him.

"Freyja's."

"Alright," he said as he read the pages quickly, "it defies logic, but I trust Freyja and I trust you, Sookie, so we will try it. Bjorn, where do we get hay or straw to make his nest?"

"Well, we only probably need about three bales, so I'd say we should check that horse farm outside of town and see if they can spare any."

"They wouldn't have vampire hours, would they?"

"It's not that late – want me to run out there and see if they can spare some?" Jerry offered

"Yes, I do. Take the truck and at least one other Were and one Daemon with you."

"Yes, sir," Jerry headed for the guard shack to get the men he needed and head out.

"Bjorn, are the gardener's boys still here?"

"No, they're not, but I can call Cody in and we can clear a space for him."

"I don't want you tied up with this. Call two men and tell them we need room for an animal the size of a very large dog."

"We also need to find some newspapers – he needs paper training," Sookie said.

"This was not in your book?" Eric asked, still unsure of the whole situation.

"No, Freyja said to paper-train him so he knows where we want him to go. She says they're very, very intelligent."

"Let's hope," Eric said, watching the dragon carefully as it sniffed around and moved toward Bobbie and Aubie. "I find it hard to believe that it is safe to have him around the babies…" he said with concern as he watched the creature sniff at Aubie, who showed no fear of it, reaching out with his little hand. The creature lowered its head so Aubie could pet him and it made that purring sound Sookie was growing used to already. Aubie giggled and kicked and the dragon sat back on its haunches and watched Aubie for a few minutes. Bobbie got brave and reached for its little claw and sort of shook its hand, which the dragon seemed to like.

Prince Badru was walking in from the chalet with Bill and Pam and the dragon quickly took a defensive position in front of Sookie and gave out a Wookie bark of warning.

"He's already protecting you, Sookie," Amelia said with delight. Alex was still wanting to get at the dragon, but it was distracted by the people approaching.

"Yeah, he is, isn't he? It's OK, Puff. They're OK." Sookie petted his head as he sat upright on his haunches, gently placing one forward claw on Sookie's arm to show he was protecting her.

Seeing the creature, all three vampires hesitated to come any closer than the front of the HQ.

"Eric, what is that thing?" Bill called to him.

"It's Sookie's new dragon - he's apparently very protective of her already." Seeing the little creature defend Sookie that way softened Eric's opinion of it. If it could be trained to look out for her and for the boys that way, maybe it would be a good thing to have around when they're playing outside.

"Is it real?" Pam asked, not sure whether to be amused or not.

"Yes, it's quite real. We're all just learning about it."

Sookie spoke softly to it and petted its head, which nuzzled her waist as it purred. "It's OK, Puffy – they're friends. Yeah, those are friends so be nice to them, alright? That's a good boy!"

"MAMEE!"

"Yes, Alex?"

"Me dwadon!"

"OK, come on, Puffy," Sookie took its little claw in her hand and led it over to Alex and Amelia, finding it was able to walk very slowly on its hind legs - for speed he'd have to go down on all fours. When they were right in front of them Sookie said, "Stay right here, Puff." She took Alex from Amelia and let the dragon see her snuggle and kiss him, then she held Alex down so he could touch the creature's head. Puff held his head very still, sensing that this was Sookie's whelp, like the other one, which he recognized as hers because they smelled different from the rest of these creatures that surrounded them. He already knew that the ones with the sweet scent were the ones he cared about, since she was the one with the food and the others seemed to answer to her, too – Puff knew a Goddess when he saw one. Dragons, like snakes, smell with their tongues and Puff flicked his tongue out to memorize Alex's scent, tickling his hand and making him giggle. Puffy liked that sound, and he liked this place, though the water was a little bitter compared to home.

"Excuse me, Mr. Northman – OH MY GOODNESS!" Alicia got a surprise as she came out the door.

"It's OK, Alicia," Sookie assured her, "he's friendly. His name is Puff!"

"Puff the magick dragon?" she laughed.

"Yeah, exactly. Think of him as a bigger, smarter guard dog."

"OK… I was just coming to tell you that dinner is ready when you are."

"Oh… Eric, do you think he'll be OK if we go in and leave him alone?"

"You're going to do it sooner or later, Sookie. The sooner you do, the sooner he learns that you can go and come back."

The dragon barked a little and nodded toward the pool. "You want to swim, Puffy? That's good. You go swim and I'll see you after supper." Sookie petted his head and and he was in the pool with one big bounce and a splash.

"Eric, may I speak to you, please?" Prince Badru, who was enjoying the show, asked politely.

"Yes, Badru, will you join us for dinner? I usually sit with the others and have an RM."

"Perhaps another time. I'm afraid we need to leave very soon to make our connecting flight. We'll be seeing you in Austin on Saturday next, and our wives can explore their powers some more."

"Wonderful! Let me walk you to the car," Eric pointed the way as he and Badru headed for the barn. Amunet jumped up and kissed Sookie.

"Oh, I'm going to miss you, Amunet! We hardly got to talk."

"I'll see you in a week and maybe between now and then I'll come up with something you can't do!" Amunet teased her. "Make sure you check your email every day so we can stay in touch," she called back as she ran to catch up with Badru.

Alex, still in Sookie's arms, grabbed her chin and made her look right in his eyes. "Undwy, Mamee!"

"OK, Sweetie, we're going in. Let's see what Margaret has for us."

"Obee undwy, Mamee!"

"Say "Aubie is hungry, too, Mommy."

"Obee ith undwy doo, Mamee."

"Good! Tell Aubie "come eat dinner, Aubie!"

"Gum ee dinder, Obee!"

"Um, Bumby!" Aubie tried to answer as Bobbie stood up with him and they all went inside.

Margaret had outdone herself – fried chicken, home made mashed potatoes, green beans, coleslaw, corn bread, and a platter of green onions, tomatoes and cucumber spears. The girls were all chatting with Pam and Bill when Bjorn and Eric came in from showing the other guards where to clear a spot in a back room of the summer kitchen. The babies were both tickled when Eric came in, yelling "Dadee" and "Dada," wanting his attention. Eric was determined not to let the others know he was a puddle of goo inside, so he put on a big front.

"I see two very good, very hungry boys!"

"They're waiting for you to feed them, Daddy," Sookie teased him. She knew he was mush inside when the boys made a fuss for him that way because the bond was oozing with love.

Margaret sat little dishes on each boy's tray and Alex said, "taytosth!" with great enthusiasm. Aubie looked at Alex with surprise, not knowing what the fuss was about, but sure it was something good. "Dadee, Obee ee taytosth."

"Alex," Sookie told him, "say "Daddy, please feed Aubie potatoes.""

"Dadee, pweezth peed Obee taytosth."

"Alright, my son, let's see if your brother likes them as much as you do." He gave Aubie a big bite and Aubie hummed with delight.

"Obee wyg dat!"

"Ah!"

"Apparently, he does," Eric laughed. "Auberon, want more? More potatoes?"

"MO-ah!"

"Good, Aubie!" Sookie loved hearing him use a new word.

"Yes, that's very good, my little elf!" Eric rubbed his little cheek, then turned to Alex, taking his little spoon and scooping some potatoes off his chin and back into his mouth. "So what is everyone's plan for tonight? Pam?"

"Bill and I were going to go to Fangtasia if we are not needed here."

"Good idea. We'll be on the road every night this week."

"Have you given any more thought to what we had discussed, Eric?"

"Yes, but Sookie and I have not discussed it yet."

"What?"

"If I may," Bill looked at Eric, who nodded that he could continue, "you know we had a mini-tour of the Louisiana Territories planned for this week so Eric's subjects can pledge fealty, or discuss any administrative or legal problems they might have…"

"Yeah, what about it?"

"We were thinking, given your condition and the fact that you have so much travel coming up, that it might be better for Eric and I to travel with a small group of guards and you and your Witches would have your evenings free. It will give you more time to rest and it won't put such stress on you and the boys."

"I don't know…" Sookie wasn't sure she liked the idea of them being apart.

"Most of the destinations are bars, or casinos, Sookie and you'd have to entertain the boys in less than ideal circumstances. I'll be home by 2 AM every night and we'd still have our time together then. It would give you time to work on your Book of Shadows, too."

"Yeah, I do need to do that…"

"I'd be perfectly safe, Sookie – I'd take Vincent and Jerry, plus 2 Weres, a flier and a Daemon. You'd be safe here with Bjorn and the rest of the staff, you'd have time to work on your book and catch up on your sleep."

"Um…"

"Think about it for a bit and we'll talk about it again later, alright?"

"Yeah. What if Bjorn went with you and Jerry stayed here?"

"Bjorn is most skilled in hand to hand combat, Sweetheart, I think he should stay with you and the boys."

"Yeah…. Yeah, I guess."

"I know you want to keep us together, Sookie, but do you really want to drag the babies into four bars in one week?"

"Well, if you put it that way, I guess not."

"Eric will be perfectly safe, Sookie, and he won't have to keep one eye focused on the three of you," Bill said, trying to help Eric make Sookie see reason.

Sookie puffed her cheeks out again. "OK, I guess I do need to rest as much as I can this early on and it would be better not to drag the boys all over Louisiana when we don't absolutely have to. And, you're right, I do need to work on my book before I forget things."

"Good. It will also give Bobbie time to work on your massages more. You haven't been keeping up with them, and it will be important for you as time goes by."

"Yeah, you're not kidding. I was blessed to have you around the first time, Bobbie!"

"This one is so soon after, too," Bobbie said, "so we want to make sure you're as relaxed and well-rested as possible."

Jerry came in the back door then, two guards following him to pick up their dinner.

"Jerry – how did it go?"

"We've got six bales of hay in the summer kitchen and one of the guys is making it a nest and getting it water."

"Alright, Sookie, when you are finished I think you should tuck your little friend in for the night so he knows he's safe. You might want to leave him a little snack, too, since we don't know how much to feed him yet," Eric told her.

"I'm done – can I do it now, while you finish feeding the boys?"

"Good idea."

"I'll go with you, Sookie," Bjorn said, getting up to follow her.

"Finish your dinner, Bjorn!" Sookie urged him, but he said, "I'm finished, Sookie, let's check on your dragon."

Puff was rolling in the grass when they went back out, but he jumped up when he saw Sookie and zipped over to her.

"Hi, Puffy! Come on, I'm going to show you where you can sleep, OK? Come on," she motioned to him and he followed her. Bjorn was just shaking his head because that girl could charm anything. The guard who'd been spreading hay around motioned for her to come in the back door of the little house, holding the door open for Sookie as she walked in. Puff hesitated at the door, looking around, but Sookie made a small pile of fish appear and he walked forward. He sniffed around at the straw, then lay down in it and wallowed around. "OK, Puffy, I'll see you in the morning, OK?" She patted his head then went back out the screen door and let it close gently.

"That door will open if he wants to get out, your Majesty. Do you want us to lock it?"

"No, let him roam around if he wants, just make sure if he goes out, he can get back in. Also, please make sure he stays on the property – we don't want to scare anyone. If there's a problem, call Eric – he'll be up until dawn, so you won't bother him."

"Yes, ma'am."

"OK, thanks!" Sookie said and she bounced back toward the house, Bjorn lagging behind a little, not too sure about having a strange creature that was free to roam around the grounds if he wanted to. He just kept telling himself that Freyja thought this was a good idea and then he laughed when he realized Eric was thinking the same thing. He just wondered what benefit that thing could possibly give them.

When she got back to the kitchen, Eric had Aubie out of his chair, raising him up over his head and down, growling and making him giggle, while Alex was chowing down on another helping of potatoes. Alex would laugh and let potatoes drip down his chin, then try to push the stuff back into his mouth with his fingers, so he was covered hand to elbow with potatoes. Margaret had been headed for him with a wet washcloth, which she handed to Sookie as she got back.

"Alex, Sweetie, you're a mess! You're supposed to eat your potatoes, not swim in them!"

"Me sthimmeen in taytosth!" He laughed like it was the funniest thing in the world. Sookie kissed his head and washed him off as Eric snuggled Aubie with a big smile on his face, looking forward to a quiet night with his family.


	102. Chapter 102

**[A/N: Sorry it's been so long! Trust me, lemons in the next chapter. This one took me by surprise. Happy New Year!]**

**Chapter 102**

**BAM! BA-BAM! **

The house shook as the grenade hit the roof. Sookie sat bolt upright but was immediately grabbed by Bjorn and pulled to the floor, his phone screaming "CODE RED! X30 front and back!" over and over. She was confused and scared and could hear yelling outside and other explosions somewhere at the back of the property.

"Sookie, you stay on the floor until I get back. If you hear anyone coming upstairs, teleport to Eric's hiding place," Bjorn said,

"Where are the boys?"

"Up in the gym. Call them to you!" He was crawling back to the sidetable and reached for the big book. Sookie was somehow not surprised that he pulled a gun out of it.

"Aubie!" The baby appeared in her arms, crying and covered with dirt, splinters and dust.

"Alex!" He was dirty and had blood on left side of his face and arm, and he wasn't moving, "He's hurt! Oh my Goddess, he's hurt! Alex!"

There were screams from upstairs and the sounds of people running through the halls to the stairs as Bjorn tried to raise Jerry, who'd been in the gym with the boys, Bobbie and Amelia, on his radio. "Jerry? Jerry?"

"Are the boys secure?" Jerry was obviously stunned or hurt.

"They're with me and Sookie. Are any of you hurt?"

"Bobbie is on her way down to you." Jerry said with a grunt as Bobbie ran into the room. "Amelia is not moving, and the roof is on fire, so the sprinklers are going. I've got a knot on my head, but I think I'm OK."

"Do you need help with Amelia?"

"Alex! Alex!" Sookie was desperately trying to wake him up, pulling the sheet off the bed to try to wipe him off. "Shhh, Aubie, it'll be OK! Alex! Wake up, Alex, please!"

"No, she's starting to stir now…" Jerry groaned.

"Drag her to the elevator and head for the basement before the fire knocks out the electricity. We'll be right down. Sookie, can you transport all of us to the basement?"

"I think so," she said as Bobbie handed her the long black nightgown, which had been laundered and left on her dresser, then picked Aubie up and tried to quiet him. Sookie grabbed Alex, wrapped her free arm around Bobbie and grabbed Bjorn's arm, "Basement!"

The five of them were instantly in the basement, Bjorn yelling, "go to the back!" as he headed to the elevator door. It opened on Jerry, his head and shirt covered with blood, and Amelia on the floor, regaining consciousness. Bjorn picked her up and carried her to the other girls as Jerry followed.

Sookie and Bobbie took the babies into the magick room and closed the door. "Get in the circle," Sookie ordered, holding Alex tightly to her as she poured water into the scrying mirror. Bobbie knelt behind her, still holding Aubie who was whimpering and wouldn't take his eyes off Sookie. "Show me!" Sookie said and the scene on the grounds appeared in the glass. The house had been hit with a grenade launcher, and so had the guard shacks in back and front. There were armored vehicles in the woods, men climbing ropes to get on the grounds. The guards in the front guardhouse were obviously dead, but the two armored humvees that tried to get through the gates were disabled by spikes that came out of the pavement and pierced the undersides of the vehicles. She could see fluids spilling on the ground, and a half dozen or more soldiers piling out of the vehicles heading toward the house as one vehicle caught fire.

Daemons and Weres set on the group coming over the fence in back, chasing some into the woods, Rafael and another tall daemon blowing up their four vehicles with some things that looked like handheld cannons. The few that got inside the fence headed for the house, and were met head-on by Weres that poured out of the HQ.

"Sookie?" Bjorn was at the door with Amelia.

"Come in! It's New Centurion! The Daemons have got most of the forces out back, but there are men coming in the front of the property!"

Alex stirred a little and said, "Da –dee!"

"Alright, I want you, Aubie and Alex down with Eric. Bobbie, Amelia, Alicia, Margaret and Octavia will stay in here. The guys in the HQ are surrounding the house, so they aren't likely to get in, but it's going to get bloody."

"OK, Sweetie, Mommy's got you. It's going to be OK, we're going to hide with Daddy now," Sookie tried to soothe him as she grabbed Aubie from Bobbie. The maids and Octavia were running to the back as Bjorn popped the door to the hidey-hole and helped Sookie get down there with the boys. Once the boys were in Eric's arms, Bobbie handed Sookie the scrying mirror. "I'll see what I can do to stop them, Bjorn!" she said as he pushed the lid down and went to a cache of automatic weapons hidden behind the stairs. Jerry left Amelia in the ladies' care in the magick room and took a station at the bottom of the stairs where he could see anyone coming down them or out of the elevator. Bjorn set him up with an altered .30 caliber machine gun on a strap that could be shot from the hip, and two bandoliers of bullets. Bjorn took one just like it and a bunch of bandoliers and headed for the front of the house.

The babies were soothed as soon as they were in the hidey-hole with Eric and Mommy, and they both became very quiet, watching Sookie with huge eyes. Sookie used the scrying mirror, even though the water had spilled, and she could see two prisoners being dragged into the HQ by Weres. There were about 5 or 6 daemons armed with swords moving around the sides of the house, and a pack of huge wolves came charging around the south side of the house and went straight at the soldiers as they ran past the fountains toward the front door. A silver wolf caught a bullet in his front shoulder, but the daemons swooped down on the men as the wolves attacked, all except one flying daemon who took to the air to catch another grenade heading for the roof of the house. That grenade sailed up into the clouds and exploded before it began to fall. Regular bullets didn't work on the daemons, who were hacking heads and gorging on blood, as a blue-black wolf tore another man to pieces. The rest of the pack spread out along the front fences, in case there were more vehicles. There weren't. Rafael called the "all clear" as Bjorn reached the front of the house. The yard was filled with dead and dying soldiers in black gear, a head here, a severed leg there.

Bjorn could hear sirens in the distance, and knew they had to come up with a cover story quick. Sookie could see that the fighting had stopped, and opened the door on Eric's cache.

"Bobbie?"

"Yeah, Sweetie?" Bobbie looked out from the pink room.

"The fighting is over. Do you have your phone with you?"

"Yeah – want me to call Bjorn?"

"Yes, 'cause I need to help him clean up before the cops get here," Sookie said, knowing it was up to her to make a cover story since Eric was out. She wished it were raining today so he'd wake early, but it was up to her this time around. She finally had a second to put the nightgown on, then she handed the boys up to Bobbie and Octavia and got out of the hole as the other women came out of the pink room.

"Well, I guess everybody knows where Eric rests now…" Sookie said, afraid he wouldn't be happy about that.

"What is that? A bomb shelter?" Alicia asked

"Yeah, something like that. It's a safe place to stay if the house is bombed – it's not usually visible…"

"Bjorn says it's safe to go up now," Bobbie told them.

"Everybody meet in the kitchen. We have to get our story straight for the police," Sookie said, trying to figure out how to explain the carnage she knew surrounded the property. Sookie took both babies, and led them all toward the stairs. Bjorn was waiting for them at the top, while Rafael and the other daemons set a scene that would conceal their own use of explosives. Bjorn and Jerry stowed their automatic weapons back in the space under the stairs and headed up to join the girls.

"Everyone OK, now?" Bjorn asked as he came back in.

"I think my arm is broken," Amelia said as Margaret wiped her forehead with a cool washcloth. "I might have a cracked rib, too."

"OK, there will be an ambulance here any minute. You go with them and just tell them the truth – you were in the gym when the first grenade hit, and you were taken to the basement by one of the guards. Other than that, you don't know what happened."

"Yep, that's the truth," she tried to laugh, but winced in pain.

"Bobbie, you're not hurt?" Bjorn asked, a little nervously.

"No, I'm just dirty. I was holding Aubie, so he's a mess, too."

"How is the prince, your majesty?" Bjorn knew he should have asked this first.

"He's healing already. I think he'll be fine by tomorrow," Sookie said, holding both boys tightly and kissing one, then the other, over and over.

"Octavia, where were you during all of this?" Bjorn asked

"I heard the blast, so I headed down to the kitchen and brought Alicia and Margaret to the basement."

"OK, good thinking. Anyone else actually see anything?"

"After the blast, I looked out the back door and saw the guard house on fire. I couldn't see much else," Alicia said.

"I didn't see anything," Margaret said.

"Alright, the police will want to interview everyone that was in the house. Just tell them what you just told me. Sookie, be very careful not to tell what you saw outside. Jackson was on the video in the HQ, so he's probably the only one that saw what happened on both ends. We've got some men injured, so they'll get treated. Any idea what you want to tell the press, Sookie?"

"First, what happened to the two guys who were taken into the HQ?"

"There were no guys taken into the HQ," he lied and they all knew it.

"Alright, then, we say it was an anti-vampire terrorist attack by New Centurion."

"Are you sure you want to name them?"

"Absolutely. Say we traced the vehicles to them, or something, but I want them out-ed as a terrorist organization."

"You might have to speak to the press and to the police… hang on," Bjorn's phone rang and he answered. "OK. OK – you think they'll buy that about all four of them? Alright. The story is that the guys were coming over the fence when one of their grenade launchers discharged in a vehicle, and it caused a chain reaction because they were parked so close together and they were carrying so many explosives."

"A grenade launcher? That's the thing they had on their shoulders that looked like a cannon barrel?" Sookie asked.

"Yep. Jerry, I want you to go with Amelia and get your head checked out," Bjorn told him.

"But you need me here…"

"Rafael is here, we've already called in reinforcements, and Vincent is on his way. The more casualties we can show on our side, the better. Nobody is to clean up – stay dirty so they can see who was almost killed. That includes the princes – I want them to see Alex's injuries, Sookie, then you tell them his private physician will tend to him because you're afraid to take him off the compound with terrorists lurking…" his phone rang again. "Alright, show the officer in charge into the kitchen. Have the ambulance pull up in front of the garage. OK, everybody, look traumatized," he winked at Sookie and she nodded, still holding onto the boys. That was not going to be a problem, because she was shaking all over.

Cody came through the living room, followed by an older African-American Detective with grey hair, a woman detective with dark blonde, straight, chin-length hair, and a uniformed officer almost as tall as Bjorn with wavy brown hair. Bjorn stepped forward as the senior detective spoke. "I'm Detective Johnson, this is my partner, Detective Sally Forbes, and Officer Connelly."

"Hello, I'm Bjorn Anderson, the head of security here today."

"Is there another head of security?" The older man asked

"Yes, my boss, but he works elsewhere. I'm on the grounds most of the time. I'm technically the Queen's bodyguard, but I oversee the other guards as well."

"The Queen?" the older man said skeptically.

Sookie stood up, still holding the babies, "Hi, I'm Sookie Northman…"

"The vampire Queen?" The woman detective said with surprise. "I didn't know you lived here!"

"No one does, I hope, but I guess these terrorists found out."

"You're sure it's terrorists, ma'am?" The older man said.

"Yes, they've threatened us before."

"Any police reports of that?"

"No, we tend to stay to ourselves unless something like this happens."

"Are your boys hurt?"

"Alex is – look at his face and his arm." The lady detective examined Alex closely as Sookie spoke, noting the lacerations on his left cheek and arm, snapping pictures with her telephone as Sookie continued. "He was upstairs when it happened – they both were, with my doula and my friend," she nodded toward Bobbie and Amelia.

"The ambulance is right outside…" Forbes offered.

"I was in the gym with them," Amelia said. "I'm pretty sure my arm is broken and I might have some cracked ribs, so I'd like to go to the hospital."

"Kerik, I want you to have your head checked out. He was up there, too." Bjorn explained.

"Come with me, ma'am, sir," Officer Connelly offered to lead them out to the ambulance.

"What were they doing in the gym?" Johnson asked

"The boys play up there in the mornings so I can sleep in. My husband keeps unusual hours so I sleep very late in the day, but the babies wake up early."

"I have to ask, are the babies vampires?" The woman detective was trying to be calm but she was very excited to have caught this case.

"Yes, half, anyway. I've already called their doctor to check them out."

"You don't want to take them to the hospital?" That seemed fishy to Det. Johnson.

"No, not with terrorists roaming around. This is the safest place for them. They see a specialist that knows about vampires – I'm afraid a regular doctor might do more harm than good."

"Alright, if you change your mind, we'll gladly accompany you," the woman detective offered. Sookie liked this lady. She could hear in her thoughts that she read about them in the tabloids and was a big fan, especially of Eric's.

The older detective, however, thought this was a freak show and couldn't wait to get the hell away from these people. "Any idea how the vehicles in front caught fire?"

"None – all of our guards at the front gate were killed." Bjorn explained, "The guards in back were under siege and everyone was scrambling to protect the house."

"Where is your husband, Mrs. Northman?"

"He rests in the daytime. I'm afraid I can't say where because of extremists like this."

"Alright, when can we get a statement from him?"

"Around 7 tonight would be the earliest he'd be available."

"Alright, we'll plan on that. It will take our crime scene investigators that long to sort out what happened. Anyone else see anything?"

"I saw that the guard building out back was on fire," Alicia offered, "then Margaret, Octavia and I ran down to the basement as we're supposed to in case of emergency."

"Your name, ma'am?"

"Alicia Evans."

"Your address?"

"I live here – we all do."

"You all do?" That seemed fishy to Johnson, too.

"Yes, most of us live in the house…"

"Amelia and I live in one of the guest houses out back," Kerik explained as he helped Amelia toward the door.

"Do all the guards live here?"

"No, only Jerry and I live in," Bjorn told them. "The rest of them work rotating shifts. There are usually men on standby in the servant's quarters, where our video feeds are watched."

"Is there film of what happened?"

"No, we don't record, we just survey the grounds."

"I'll need to speak to the man who was watching the cameras, then."

Bjorn spoke into his phone, "Jackson? Put somebody else on watch and come into the kitchen. The police need your statement."

"Be right there, boss."

"Alright, ma'am, you said you've been threatened by terrorists before?"

"Several times. This is the first time this group has lobbed bombs at us, though."

"This group?"

"Yes, New Centurion…"

"The paramilitary group?" Shit, Johnson thought, this was all he needed.

"Yes."

"We've observed their vehicles following us when we returned from New Orleans a few weeks ago," Bjorn explained, "and we've seen suspicious cars watching the house, and we caught a couple of their people trying to set up surveillance on us from the woods out back."

"You didn't report that?"

Thomas Jackson, a lanky Were with bright green eyes, came quickly in through the back door. "Jackson, tell these detectives what you saw on the video screens," Bjorn directed him.

"I observed two vehicles pulling rapidly up to the front of the house and bombing the guard stand, then sending one over the gate onto the roof of the house.. At almost the same time, four vehicles came out of the woods and men began to throw ropes and scale the fence. I saw men with grenade launchers, then there was a series of explosions – when it was over, the guard shack and vehicles were burning, and men were still pouring over the fence as I called out the emergency code."

"Is that the code red our radios picked up?"

"Yes, I called 'code red, X30, front and back.'"

"And that means?"

"We're under attack, 30 men are coming onto the compound through the front and back gates."

"You counted 30 men?"

"I estimated."

"Any idea what caused their vehicles to explode?"

"I can't swear to it, but I think what happened is they bombed the guard shack, then one of their grenade launchers discharged unexpectedly and blew up one vehicle, which was close enough to set the others off, too. They apparently had a lot of explosives with them."

"Did you see anything that might indicate who they were?"

"No, sir – they were all in black, and it was obviously a professional group. They knew what they were doing…"

"But they blew themselves up?"

"Equipment failure, I suppose. It happens to the best of soldiers," Jackson shrugged.

"Yes, I suppose it does. Any idea why they would target you this way?"

"They're anti-vampire extremists. They're organized and highly trained. We're all lucky to be alive," Sookie said, trying to neither laugh nor cry. "No offense, Detective, but the sooner we have all these strangers off the compound, the better. We were just living our lives, minding our own business when they attacked us with no provocation. All we want is to be left alone. We don't hurt anybody, They almost killed my children," Sookie sobbed and let herself dissolve into tears because Bjorn nodded when she started to. "Is our address going to be all over the news?"

"We'll ask them to withhold that information, ma'am, but we can't guarantee that they will."

"It will put us in more danger, you know? There are other fanatics, like the Fellowship of the Sun, that will come at us, too, if they know we live here."

"Well, ma'am, you seem to be well-protected here…" Johnson said with a bit of attitude.

"Tell that to the families of the men who were killed standing their posts," Sookie said angrily. "We have to take all kinds of paranoid precautions because these groups think their religion gives them the right to kill people who are different!"

"I understand that, ma'am, but there are some strange circumstances… some of the men out front look like they were decapitated, some look like they were attacked by animals."

"We're entitled to protect ourselves. Everybody uses guard dogs…"

"Not everybody uses swords, ma'am."

"We don't have grenade launchers here, Detective, we use what we've got and what we can legally keep." Sookie knew that was a lie and didn't care. These cops weren't going to do anything to keep her family safe, so she'd rather they just fuck off.

"There are no laws prohibiting ownership of swords, Detective. No one carrying one stepped foot off this property. Considering the way the terrorists were armed, you could hardly call it excessive use of force," Bjorn let him know he knew the laws and that they were in no legal jeopardy.

Cody came bouncing down from upstairs and into the kitchen. "Fire's out, boss!"

"Thanks, Cody. How bad is it up there?"

"Not too bad, but we'll need to get the contractors here before it rains and ruins the floors. It's kind of wet, but not too bad. The sprinklers did what they're supposed to do. I don't know about the clothes up there, though."

"Oh, no!" Alicia said, just now remembering that Sookie's wardrobe was up there.

"You had sprinklers for the top of the house?" Johnson asked with surprise.

"I told you," Sookie said, "we have to be paranoid. My husband does everything physically possible to keep us safe, even if it seems a little crazy. If he didn't, my house might be burning down around me right now."

"That's true, I just never heard of it."

"When you're a target, you have to get creative," Sookie said darkly. She swooned just a little and Bjorn put his arm around her.

"Here, your majesty, sit down. I'll get the boys' high chairs," he said softly as he guided her down, "Excuse me one second," he said to the detectives as he went into the pantry and came back with the chairs. Sookie was hesitant to let go of the boys, but she finally did and Bjorn put them in their chairs, then slid them close to Sookie.

"Can you eat some breakfast now, Missus?" Margaret offered

"Yeah, I guess I should eat something."

"Is the elevator safe to use?" Alicia asked

"Yeah, it should be," Bjorn told her.

"OK, I'm going up to get her dresses and we'll see if anything can be saved."

"Cody, help her, please?"

"Sure, boss."

Detective Johnson couldn't believe how calm these people were. It's like the attack didn't even phase them. "Well, ma'am, that's probably all we need right now. It's pretty clear you were attacked. We just need to make sure there's no evidence of anything illegal going on here. We'll let you know if we need anything else."

"Thanks." Sookie said as she washed Alex's face gently with a cloth Margaret handed her. Once the dried blood was wiped away, he didn't look too bad, and the cuts were healing nicely, but they were deep. She wiped down his arms and legs, then Margaret gave her a fresh one for Aubie. Seeing the boys cleaned up was making Sookie feel a bit more grounded and Margaret made her a steak and cut some up into small chunks for Alex, then ground some for Aubie to enjoy.

At one point, Aubie looked closely as Alex and said, "Uh, Bumby!" pointing to the cuts on his face and pouting a second.

"Yeah, Buddy got hurt, didn't he?" Sookie said softly to him

"Nah nah!" Aubie touched the cuts and moved his finger in a circle Sookie and Bobbie watched amazed as the cuts on Alex's face disappeared.

"You saw that, right?" Sookie asked, not sure how to react.

"Yes, I did," Bobbie laughed, "he healed him."

"Aubie, look at Buddy's arm. See the boo-boo?"

"Nah nah!" Aubie said playfully and rubbed Alex's arm with the same circular motion and the cuts disappeared.

"WOW!" Bobbie laughed.

"I'm glad the detectives left before he did that," Sookie laughed. "That's a good boy, Aubie, healing Buddy that way!"

Bjorn came back into the kitchen, looking around to be sure there were no police in hearing distance. "Sookie, did you forget about someone?"

"Someone?"

"Puff."

"Oh, my Goddess! Where is he?"

"I think he's still in the summer kitchen, but we need to get these cops out of the back of the property before he comes out. Rafael has a humanoid daemon keeping an eye on the building, but who knows what dragons are like when they wake up?"

"Should I bring him in the house?"

"Where would you put him?" Bobbie asked, not sure that was a good idea.

"I could put him in the basement. There's not much down there he could hurt…"

"Alicia is down there trying to save your wardrobe, Hon," Bobbie reminded her.

"Oh, yeah, I forgot. How about the gym?"

"Fire Marshall might insist on inspecting the damage," Bjorn told her.

"The bedroom? Or the den?"

"If they come back in the house, they could see him in the den. You could close the door of the bedroom, though, and I could say you're sleeping."

"Yeah, I'd have to stay with him, huh?"

"Yeah, I'd say so. Who knows what he'd do inside a house?"

"Has he shown any signs of coming out of the summer kitchen?"

"They haven't heard a peep out of him," Bjorn told her.

"Hey, Sookie," Bobbie said, "what if you teleported out there, gave him some fish to eat and told him to be quiet, then teleported back in here?"

"What do you think, Bjorn?"

"It's worth a shot. Do you have the energy to do it?"

"Yeah, I've still got some adrenaline flowing from the shock. Watch the babies," Sookie said and then disappeared.

Sookie materialized in the dark back room where Puff's nest was and she found a light switch on the wall. She found Puff hiding under a pile of straw, but he made his purring sound when he recognized Sookie.

"Hey, Puff! Are you scared?" She knelt down to pet him, and said, "Good boy, Puff. You stay hidden in here until I come get you, OK? Here," She made a stack of about 6 fish appear before him and he crept forward to give them a sniff and gobble them down. "OK, Puff, you be quiet, and I'll see you after while, OK?" She patted his head and popped back into the kitchen.

"How is he, Sookie?"

"A little scared, I think. I left him some fish and told him to stay hidden until I came to get him."

"You think he will?"

"Yeah, I do. He's burrowed back under the straw and he only came out when he recognized me. Freyja said they're shy of humans."

"Good," Bjorn said, "because we're stretching things pretty thin with those detectives. The woman seems inclined to give us a break, but the older guy is really suspicious."

"Yeah, he thinks we're a bunch of freaks. On the plus side, though, he can't wait to get the hell out of here," Sookie told them.

"You listened in on them?" Bjorn loved it when she used her "Spidey senses" as he affectionately called her gift.

"Yeah, of course. She can't wait to meet Eric and he wishes he was back in Vice after seeing this mess."

"Hey, Sookie, I'm going to go help Alicia, if you don't need me," Bobbie said as she finished her steak.

"Good idea, Bobbie. Thanks."

There was a knock at the sliding door in the den and Bjorn went to let the Detectives back in. "Mrs. Northman?"

"Yes, Detective Johnson?"

"We're going to stretch some crime scene tape around the front and back of the property, but we'll leave room so you can get in and out of the gates."

"When can I call the contractors to fix my roof and repair the guard posts?"

"Well, by the time you line someone up…"

"We own a construction company. They'll be here as soon as I call."

"Oh, uh, well, we're still investigating…"

"What's to investigate? You've got their vehicles, what's left of them, and you've got – what's his name, Bjorn?"

"Jackson."

"…Jackson's statement. I need to get a roof on my house before nightfall."

"Ma'am, we can't just…"

"Look, when my husband gets up he's going to be furious at the way we've been treated," Sookie was DONE with this. "Shreveport PD hasn't exactly been helpful or cooperative when he's had terrorists attack his club…"

"Club?"

"That vampire club at the Dixie shopping center," Det. Forbes told him. "Fangtasia, I think?"

"Right. You all are always raiding the club and finding nothing. You were useless when the club was bombed about 2 months ago. Now you want my wood floors to get ruined because you won't let me get my roof fixed? Get your men off my property. I'm calling my contractor, then I'm calling my lawyer. We're tax-paying citizens who've been attacked by terrorists in our own home. This is no way to treat victims of violence."

"Mrs. Northman, there are still dead bodies in your yard."

"Why? You've been here for hours?"

"Not really, ma'am, and we have to be sure there was nothing illegal going on here."

"Like what?"

"Well…"

"Is it because my husband is a vampire?"

"Well, yes and we're trying to determine if there were any werewolves involved."

"Do you see any wolves roaming around my yard?" Sookie was pushing it now and she knew it.

"Well, ma'am, we can't find any guard dogs on the premises …"

"Oh, great! You let our dogs get out? Do you have any idea how valuable they are? Your people can't close a damned gate?"

Bjorn's phone rang. "Uh-huh – send him in, I guess. Your majesty, Vincent is here."

"Who is Vincent?" Johnson demanded

"My boss, detective." Bjorn said, trying not to laugh because he knew Sookie was deliberately trying to piss the guy off so they'd leave.

"I'd like to speak to him when he gets here," the detective said, hoping whoever this guy was he'd be more reasonable than Sookie.

"He's on his way in, now."

In just a few minutes, Vincent came in the back door, all 6'3" of him, in a long black leather trench coat, long chestnut hair in a ponytail. Sookie almost laughed because the female Detective's eyes bugged out. Sookie had never really thought of Vincent as good looking, but now that she thought about it, he did have sort of strong sexual vibe about him. Vincent looked at Sookie strangely and she wondered for a second if he could hear her thoughts.

"Vincent Oliveri, this is Detective Johnson and Detective Forbes," Bjorn made the introductions.

"Mr. Oliveri, what exactly is your position here?"

"I'm the King's head of security. These guards all report to me. Why aren't the gates secure?"

"Excuse me?" The question took the older detective by surprise.

"I said why aren't the gates secure? The property is still vulnerable to attack."

"You think someone would try an attack with our officers all over the place?"

"I don't know your men, Detective, or from whom they might take a payoff. No one gets through these gates without a background check."

"Our officers…"

"…Have not been screened to my satisfaction. This is private property, Detective. Your men appear to have finished with their photographs and evidence collection. Why are they still here?"

"Don't you want our help?" Johnson was becoming exasperated.

"Are you planning to bring charges against the head of New Centurion?"

"There's no evidence…"

"Bullshit. Every one of these assailants will be traced back to that company. My men already have the license plates traced and most of their identities and addresses."

"How is that possible?"

"My men are not paid by the hour as yours are. They get paid for results and they have the finest of everything with which to perform their jobs. The King is an extremely wealthy man. We have resources your department hasn't even dreamed of yet."

"I assume you'll be willing to share this information?"

"Of course. Leave your fax number and I'll send you what we have after we've secured the property."

"They let our guard dogs escape, Vincent," Sookie said, hoping he'd pick up on that.

"Well, let's hope they find their way home when they get hungry," Vincent said without hesitation. "Those dogs cost $5,000 each. If need be, we'll send a team into the woods to look for them, your majesty. My main concern right now is the safety of you and your children and I'm not satisfied with what I've seen. I'm going to double the guard until you leave for New Orleans."

"When will that be?" Johnson asked.

"On the 10th, but they'll be flying to Austin and back on the 8th."

"What airline?"

"Mr. Northman owns a private jet, I think," Detective Forbes said, and Vincent nodded.

"Vincent, I want to call the contractor to fix the roof in the gym," Sookie told him, hearing in her head that the Detectives were very intimidated by Vincent.

"Of course, your majesty. Is that a problem, Detectives?"

"There are still bodies in the front yard," Johnson said nervously, not able to figure out why he found this man so scary. There was something eerie… inhuman… about him.

"Remove them. You've been here at least three hours. This is a private home and there are two infants here. Having a roof is essential to their safety, don't you agree?"

"Yes, I suppose it is."

"Then tell your team to clear the yard and let me engage the contractors. The King will be furious if night should fall and his house is still exposed to the elements. While you're at it, you might want to ask yourself how a paramilitary force of this size was able to move through the streets of Shreveport undetected. There are 6 huge armored vehicles out there. None of your patrols noticed 6 armored vehicles full of uniformed men?"

Officer Connelly came back in then, "Detective?"

"Yes?" Johnson responded

"The tow trucks are here. Are you ready to have the vehicles taken in to the garage?"

"Yes, go ahead. Is the coroner finished out front yet?"

"They're packing up now, I think."

"Make sure the yard is clear of bodies so they can get someone in here to fix their roof and let's get out of their way." Johnson was done, too.

"The press is out front," Connelly told him.

"If anybody from this department speaks to those vultures, I'll have his job!" Johnson said.

"I was just thinking the same thing," Vincent said, to reinforce the fact that he wasn't going to take any bullshit. Police or not, this was HIS turf to defend in the King's absence and his job could be on the line if Eric was upset with how things were handled. "Anderson, see that the coroner's people have cleared the yard while I call the contractor," he ordered.

"We won't release your name, Mrs. Northman, but we will have to say this was an act of domestic terrorism," Johnson warned her.

"Fine, just make sure you say it's New Centurion."

"We'll see what we can do – it will be up to the watch commander and the public relations department how much information we release. I'll expect a fax of that information, Mr. Oliveri," Johnson said as he handed Vincent and Sookie his business card.

"You'll have it tonight." Vincent took his phone out and called Eric's construction company.

"My partner and I will be back at 7 to interview your husband," he said on his way out.

The detectives were still out front when the trucks arrived half an hour later.

"How the hell did they get a contractor here so fast?" Johnson asked Connelly as they were preparing to leave.

"They're vampire royalty. I hear a lot of 'em got more money than god. I thought this guy just owned a nightclub, but it turns out he's loaded, and owns a lot of businesses all over the country."

"You think they're trading drugs? Or V?"

"From what I hear, he not only wouldn't be involved with that, anybody caught doing it in his territory would have to answer to him. Vamps sort of police themselves. They say he's got the largest territory of all of them and he's not somebody you want to cross."

"I'd love to get a search warrant on this place."

"There's no probable cause. They aren't armed to the teeth or anything like that. If those guys hadn't had that misfire this morning, their forces would never have been able to hold them all off."

"I wonder about that," Johnson said, almost to himself.

"Why?"

"She mentioned that club he owns being attacked by terrorists."

"Yeah?"

"Those terrorists managed to blow themselves up, too."

"Now that you mention it, I do remember something about them blowing themselves up in their car."

"People that try to attack this King seem to end up dead very conveniently."

"He's lucky, I guess, because there was no evidence of foul play in that attack on the club."

"You didn't see any evidence of explosives on the property?"

"No, just the explosives the terrorists had."

"We had how many decapitations?"

"Three, a couple of guys were run through, a couple looked like dogs took them down. A several had broken necks, a couple were shot…"

"And there were no survivors."

"If there were, they got away clean. A few on their side went to the hospital."

"What were their injuries?"

"One guy had a bullet in the shoulder, one of the women was upstairs and broke her arm when she fell from the impact. A guard that was upstairs was hit on the head by falling debris, and there were a several deaths in the guard posts."

"One of the babies was hurt, too, but you know what's strange?"

"What?"

"Neither one of them ever cried. They paid attention to everything anybody said, like they knew what we were saying. You ever see a baby go that long without interrupting in some way, or fussing, or just babbling? They didn't do any of that."

"Yeah, but they're not human."

"No, they definitely aren't. They're so white and they've got the biggest, brightest blue eyes I've ever seen."

"The guards say they're the spit and image of their father, the King. You going to follow up on any of this?"

"No, I'm going to clear it off my desk as quickly as I can, but I'm going to keep the file handy. I've got a feeling we'll be back here before too long. Whatever is going on, somebody wants these people dead, and they aren't likely to stop until they get what they want," Johnson said as he headed for his car.

"That cop is suspicious," Sookie told Bjorn and Vincent.

"He's got no probable cause for a search warrant, though. We aren't doing anything illegal," Bjorn said.

"Yeah, but he doesn't like us."

"She does, though, so maybe she'll get him off track," Vincent said.

"Yeah. So now what do I do?"

"You and the boys finish eating then go to bed," Bjorn told her.

"Why?"

"You were up really early today and you're in shock. You need rest. I don't want you outside and the gym is off limits. You could hang out in the den, but first I want you to get more sleep."

"That makes sense. I need to feed the boys, too."

"Right, so let's head back upstairs."

"Good idea. I'll stay here and see that we're secure and wait for the King to awake," Vincent said.

"OK, let's go, Sookie," Bjorn said as he lifted Alex out of his chair. Sookie picked Aubie up and she headed for the elevator, Bjorn and Alex right behind her.

"I'm glad the elevator still works," she said as they waited for the car.

"So am I," Bjorn said as the door opened and they stepped in. "I took a risk telling Jerry and Amelia to use it when I did, but it's got manual controls for emergencies, so they weren't going to get stuck – not for too long, anyway. I needed to get everybody into the basement so I knew where you all were."

"I felt weird having that hidey hole to go into while the others just had the magick room."

"Don't feel weird, Hon. Most people would only have the basement. Eric has that space specifically to keep you from being found or harmed. Everybody understands that."

"Expect him to panic when he wakes up," she told him as they stepped off on the third floor. "He'll be able to smell that the boys and I were in there, and he'll smell explosives. He's going to be frantic until he knows we're safe."

"That's why Vincent is staying. He might not if Jerry were here because he could stay with you while I secured the compound, but since he's gone, somebody needs to be in charge while I'm with you."

"You could have put Cody in here with me," She said as she climbed onto the bed and laid Aubie on Eric's pillow.

"No, he's not qualified to keep an eye on you three. It's got to be me or Jerry, or maybe Rafael…"

"Eww – I don't ever want him watching me do anything!" She said as Bjorn laid Alex on Eric's pillow next to Aubie.

"You don't like Rafael?"

"NO, I don't! He makes my skin crawl."

"Too serpentine for you?" he laughed as he went around to his seat. "He's some kind of reptilian Daemon."

"He's some kind of creepy. I'm always afraid he's going to try to touch me. Yuck."

"He won't unless it's to protect you. He's as afraid of Eric as everyone else is."

"Good." She started to snuggle down and planned to snuggle the boys, but Alex sat up and pointed to the co-sleeper.

"Dat, Mamee!"

"Bed? You want to sleep in your bed?"

"Eeah, ma beh."

"Say, 'I'd like to sleep in my beD, Mommy," she emphasized the D so he'd learn the word correctly.

"Ah'd wyg do sweep in ma bed, Mamee."

"Good boy, Alex!" She gave him a snuggle and a big kiss as she moved him to the other side of her.

"Um, Bumby, Mama!"

"Aubie, say, "I want to go with Buddy, please?"

"Uh wa-do ah Bumby, peas?"

"Pretty good!" She picked him up and gave him a snuggle and a kiss and a tickle and put him next to Alex. The boys rolled so they were facing each other and at that moment the kitten came bouncing in the doorway and up on the bed. "Hey, Kitty! Where have you been?"

"Rowr, mow!" the kitten seemed to answer her and settled against Alex's back.

"Dood giddy!" Alex said, looking back a little, then he held Aubie's hand and they fell asleep facing each other, with smiles on their faces.

"Bjorn," Sookie said softly, "they don't seem traumatized at all, do they?"

"No, they were fine once they were with you."

"Alex lost consciousness briefly – should we have Doctor Ludwig check him out?"

"Yeah, actually, we should already have done that, but I was afraid the cops would come in on us."

""Call her, please, so I can relax and sleep?"

Bjorn pressed his code for Ludwig on his phone and it only rang once before she picked it up. "Anderson?"

"Yes, Dr., I'm calling for Queen Sookie…"

"Problems with the pregnancy?"

"No, Ma'am, we had a terrorist attack this morning and Alex was unconscious for a minute. We thought maybe you'd want to check him over."

"I do. I want to check Sookie's blood pressure, too." The phone clicked and instantly the little doctor was in the room. "I'm glad to see you in bed, little girl! I smell human blood and explosives. Anderson, fill me in as I check them over."

"The boys were playing up in the gym when a grenade hit the roof. Alex was up near it, and he had a couple of lacerations and was unconscious when Sookie first called him."

"It took me a couple of minutes to wake him up, but he didn't cry or anything. Aubie healed the cuts."

"Auberon healed him?" That took the doctor by surprise.

"Yeah, when he noticed the cuts, he sort of rubbed his finger over them in a circle and they disappeared."

"Well! That's the first bit of Fae magick we've seen from him, isn't it?"

"Yeah, I guess it is. Alex was already starting to heal, but it was amazing to watch them just fade away as Aubie did that."

"Where were the cuts?"

"His left cheek and his left upper arm. One of the detectives took pictures of them."

"Try to keep them from seeing him again so you don't have to try to explain where they went," the doctor advised as she looked Alex over.

"OK."

"Anyone wounded on your side?"

Bjorn continued, "Amelia has a broken arm and maybe some cracked ribs. Jerry got hit on the head, so he went to the hospital with her. We had one Were who caught a bullet in the shoulder, and we lost 5 men in the explosions that hit the guard houses. We'd never have taken them without the Daemons."

"There was no way to keep the police out of it, I suppose."

"No, there wasn't. We didn't call them, but someone probably saw the explosions from the highway."

"I hear construction upstairs…"

"There's a hole in the roof that's being repaired."

"Any survivors on the other side?"

"None."

"How did you explain that?"

"We told them their vehicles were destroyed when a grenade launcher discharged unexpectedly and it set them all off because they were so close, and they had so many explosives with them, and that if anyone survived they made a clean getaway."

"Did they buy it?"

"Not entirely, but they don't have anything solid against us."

"They weren't happy about the evidence of sword fighting," Sookie reminded him.

"What did you tell them?"

"That we don't have grenade launchers so we have to use what we can legally keep on the property."

"Did they know you were lying?"

"I hope not. We do have a right to protect ourselves and they came at us with explosives and guns. I think that warrants a few decapitations," Sookie said as the doctor put the blood pressure cuff on her arm.

"When are you leaving for New Orleans?"

Bjorn answered, "the 10th."

"Any reason you can't go now?"

Bjorn thought for a minute. "Well, Eric and Bill were supposed to do a short tour tonight and the next 4 days, then we have the opening in Austin, then we were going to leave that Monday."

'He won't be going anywhere tonight, you can count on that," Ludwig told him. "When he finds out what happened here today, his tour will be postponed. You tell him I recommend heading for New Orleans to let things cool off a while," the doctor said as she looked at the blood pressure reading and shook her head. "I'm giving you a shot, Missy and I want you in this bed until you have to travel."

"But…"

"No buts – do you want to lose that baby?" Ludwig was pretty aggravated – this was a complication they didn't need.

"No, of course not!"

"Then you stay in that bed. All this stress is no good for you. If things don't improve, you might have to take some extreme measures."

"Not the sleeping pills again!"

"No, you might need to go to Elfyria or to Freyja's for a bit. Strike that – you might need to go to Freyja's. That may be the only place to keep you safe."

"I don't want to leave the boys!"

"You might not have to. Their powers are increasing. I was very surprised by the results of those blood tests we did."

"You were?"

"Yes, the combination of your innate powers, the Ambrosia, and Northman's thousand year old blood is more potent than we expected."

"Would it do any good to go like I did where we're there for a week but I was only gone from here for 1 day?"

"Let me consult with Freyja about that. It's possible we could send you there until you reach your first trimester, but you'd not be gone long here.

"There's another consideration, Dr.," Bjorn realized, "I'm afraid the police might come back here with a warrant to search the premises. "

"We'll have to have stronger protection put around the buildings and property. Will you see the detectives again?"

"They're coming back at 7 to interview Eric."

"Sookie, look in the book Nivian sent to you and see if there's a spell you can work to persuade the detective that there's nothing amiss here."

"I thought I couldn't affect free-will?"

"You can affect it, you just can't override it without paying a price. What you'll probably need to do is to find that seed within the detective's mind that naturally doesn't want the hassle of pursuing the issue and make it dominate any suspicions he has."

"That actually doesn't sound too difficult," Sookie was surprised to say.

"Alright, now, lie back, little girl, because that shot is going to knock you out for a few hours. It's stronger than I normally give you, but it won't last as long."

Sookie was unconscious before the doctor finished that last sentence.

"Alright, Anderson, tell the King to call me if he has any questions, but I do want you to consider changing your plans. Anything you can do that they can't have anticipated is good. If the babies wake up hungry, just put them in place. She probably won't even stir."

"Alright, we'll have a security meeting as soon as Eric gets here."

"Be safe." The doctor said very seriously and disappeared.

Bjorn suddenly remembered that he left the gun that goes in the hollowed-out book somewhere in the house. He was pretty sure it was in the basement, and that he'd put it in the cache for the weapons. He forgot to take it out… no, he decided not to take it out because the police were coming. That's right. He'd go back and get it when there was a guard to watch Sookie and the babies. He was glad they were all asleep. The doctor was right, they needed rest, and he was pretty sure they weren't going to get it here. The press would be all over them when the story got out.

If he were Eric, where would he take his family to keep them safe? They were definitely less likely to be attacked in the middle of New Orleans, but Bjorn thought he might recommend that they go to one of Eric's clubs for a week or so. No one really knew about them outside of the Supe community, they had crazy good security now and New Centurion had already failed an attempt at one of the clubs, so they might consider them a bad risk. Of course, this house turned out to be a bad risk, too.

As usual, nobody would be reporting back to headquarters. The down side was that this time there were bodies in the morgue. That's sloppy and Eric wouldn't be happy about it. It did draw attention away from their own explosives, though, leaving armed soldiers who stormed onto private property as evidence of an unprovoked attack. Fucking terrorists, going after Sookie and the babies like that. He knew they assumed their bedroom was on the top floor. In most big houses, the main bedroom would be on the first or the top floor. He was sure that's why Eric's room was on the third floor – no one would logically think to look there first, so it gave extra time to avoid an invasion, or to prepare to react to intruders. The problem was, if they tried again, they'd go for the bottom floors and try to burn the whole place down.

The fact that they didn't made Bjorn wonder what the real goal was. Were they trying to kill the whole family? Or did they think they'd get Eric, but not Sookie and the babies? That made more sense – a guy like Garner might consider it wrong to go after a woman who was not a direct threat. A vampire and his sons, though, a King and his princes, to boot, would be the real goal. They were trying to kill the vampires and not the humans. They would consider killing armed guards to be collateral damage, but killing women was something else. Sookie had been seen on TV early in the morning, and they think she's human. They think Sookie keeps a normal schedule, so she wouldn't be up there. Alex was with her that time in New Orleans so maybe they waited until Eric would be at rest and Sookie would be up tending to the babies, because babies wake up early? They probably wouldn't try to kill Sookie, then, but they might try to kidnap her.

Bjorn laughed to himself. Boy, would that be a mistake. Sookie was much more dangerous than every Supe on these grounds combined and then some. Speaking of power – how were they able to penetrate Sookie's protection of the grounds? That needed to be addressed, too. She either needed to pump it up daily, or there was something that let them get through. Could they have some kind of magick working on their side? Would fanatical Christians use magick to strike at vampires? Man, he couldn't wait for Eric to get up. He kept going over the events of the day over and over, trying to examine every move and every possible angle, just as he knew Eric would.

"Knock, Knock!"

"Come on in, Margaret!" Bjorn was surprised to see her up here.

"Alicia is working on the Missus' wardrobe and Bobbie is helping her, so I took it upon myself to bring you some lunch. Everyone is all off schedule now!"

"Thanks, Margaret. I did forget to eat."

"There are two bottles here for the babies, too, and I'll put this sandwich in the fridge for the Missus," she said with a smile as she put the tray on the table and his dish in front of him.

"Are you alright, Margaret?"

"As well as can be expected. That was quite a scare this morning but we're all in one piece so I'm focused on that."

"You're not going to quit on us?" He smiled at her.

"If you can take it, so can I. I've lived through worse."

"You have?"

"I'm from Northern Ireland, my dear. It's not the first time I've been around terrorists and bombs. They can turn up anywhere, any time, no matter who you are or where you live. At least here, we've got lots of power and protection on our side."

"Anybody ever tell you you're a badass, Margaret," he teased her gently as she bent to put the sandwich in the mini-fridge.

"You have no idea, Bjorn! I've got this sweet young lady and two precious babies to take care of, and that's what matters to me most. Nobody is going to scare me away from them."

"Me, either," he agreed as Margaret stood, patted his back and went back downstairs. He smiled to himself as he bit into the roast beef sandwich, starting to feel a little better about the events of the day. As horrible as it was, it could have been much, much worse, and he needed to remember that. Vincent was probably talking to the families of the men who were killed. If they were still in Shreveport, Sookie would insist on going to their funerals. What a security nightmare that would be. He'd better remind Eric of that when they talked, because there would be no stopping Sookie and that might be another reason to head for New Orleans or Austin sooner than planned. The boys woke up and wanted to feed, so he put them in place, let them feed as long as they wanted, then tucked them back in. They barely made a peep. He went over and over the day for what must have been hours, stopping at about 4:30 to tell Vincent what the doctor had said.

"You in there, Boss?" Jerry called from the stairs.

"Yeah, come in, Jerry! How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine. Not even a concussion. I already tucked Amelia in out in the chalet."

"How is she?"

"Doped up. Her arm was cracked, but not broken, and her ribs are sore as hell. They taped her up and put a protective cast on her so the arm doesn't go ahead and break."

"Vincent still downstairs?"

"Yeah, he's going to stay until you can both talk to Eric. He knows Eric will be beside himself. You want me to take over for you?"

"No, you go back out to Amelia. Unless there's an emergency, I won't expect to see you until tomorrow. See how she is then, and if you think it's necessary, we'll move her into the house so Alicia and Margaret can tend to her. You want Alicia to stay out there tonight?"

"That's not necessary. She'll sleep most of the time, and it shouldn't be anything I can't handle. I can cook for her if I need to, and help her with whatever. OK, see you in the morning."

"Good night."

Eric's eyes popped open, and he knew something was wrong. He came out of his cache like a shot, but Vincent was standing in the doorway.

"They're alright!" Vincent said to him.

"They're not hurt?"

"No, they're not hurt. They're in your bedroom sleeping. We've had some casualties among the guards, some fighting wounds and a minor injury with one of the Witches, but no harm to your wife or sons…"

"But the girl…"

"That's why she's in bed. The doctor gave her a shot so she'd sleep. Her blood pressure was a little high, but otherwise, she's fine. Just a little scared, as you might expect."

"Who was it?" Eric motioned to the elevator and they talked as they walked.

"New Centurion."

"How many?"

"About 30. I've reviewed the tapes over and over. Our response couldn't have been much better. They came in using grenade launchers. That's how they killed the Weres that were hit in the guardhouses. There's also a hole in your roof, but it's been covered for the night, and the construction will continue tomorrow. The police will be here at 7 to talk to you, so we should go up and talk to Bjorn. I'll stay as long as you need me tonight and I've doubled the guard."

"Thank you. I'm glad you were here."

"I got here after the fighting. The bulk of the fighting was done by the Daemons. You'll have to explain a few decapitated soldiers and some animal wounds. The Queen told them you had guard dogs that got out of the fences."

"How did the police find out?"

"The explosions were visible and audible to the highway. Someone else called them. Sookie did her best to make them think we were not in possession of explosives."

The elevator door opened on the third floor and Eric was out like a bullet.

"Sookie? Sookie?" He knew he should let her sleep, but he was desperate to see her awake and know she was OK. She opened her eyes and gave him a sleepy smile, "Hey!"

"Hey! You are not hurt?"

"Nope, I'm fine. Alex had some cuts but Aubie healed them."

"What? Are you dreaming, Sookie?"

"No, I know what I'm saying. Alex had deep cuts on his cheek and his arm, and Aubie rubbed his finger over them in a circle and they disappeared. Have you talked to Bjorn and Vincent yet?"

"Only briefly."

"Go do what you have to do. We're fine. The cops will be back at 7."

Eric pulled her up into a hug and lingered for a second, then kissed her lips and let her settle back. He stood up, telling Vincent and Bjorn "let's go see the damage."

The three of them went up to the fourth floor to find the floor damp and the hole in the roof covered with plastic and plywood for the night.

"Was anyone up here when it happened?" Eric was trying to be calm, but he was furious.

"Jerry, Amelia, Bobbie and the boys," Bjorn told him. "Alex was up near the roof when it hit. I think Amelia tried to catch him, but the impact knocked her down and nearly broke her arm. Jerry was hit on the head with debris, and Bobbie and Aubie were mostly just dirty."

"Bobbie is not hurt?"

"No, she's fine. She's helping Alicia try to save Sookie's clothes that were up here. They're wet and smell like smoke."

"Where were you?"

"I was watching Sookie. When I heard the impact, I pulled her to the floor and had her call the boys to her, then she teleported the boys, Bobbie and me to the basement. I told Jerry to drag Amelia into the elevator and meet us down there, and Octavia, Alicia and Margaret came down while we were deciding what to do. Sookie used a black dish thing to see what was going on outside."

"That black thing that was in my space? She used that?"

"Yes. I got two automatic weapons from the hiding space down there, and left Jerry with one in case anyone came down stairs. By the time I got up there, the fighting was over, and I heard sirens, so I stowed the guns and we went up to the kitchen to get our story straight. Rafael did most of the cleanup and came up with the story about their grenade launcher misfiring and setting their own trucks on fire. They said they were so close and had so many explosives that the one grenade set off a chain reaction."

"What actually happened?"

"I've seen the tape several times," Vincent said. "They came screaming up to the back and front at the same time. 2 armored vehicles stopped at the front gate and blew up the guardshack, then sent a grenade over the fence onto the roof. They came through the gate, but the spikes disabled their vehicles. The police apparently did not find the spikes, but they may once they examine the cars. At the same time, four armored vehicles came out of the woods, blowing up the guard shack and scaling the fence with ropes. Rafael and one of the others blew up the vehicles with our own grenade launchers, while others swooped onto the men behind the fence. The ones that made it into the compound were stopped by Weres and Daemons from the HQ. Two were taken for questioning. Daemons with swords swept around each side of the house, and the wolves formed a pack and attacked from the south. Bullets had no effect on the Daemons. One Were was injured, but all of the soldiers were killed before they could enter the house. They had released a second grenade, but a flier caught it and threw it into the clouds. It exploded before it came back down. I made a point of asking the lead detective how an armed force in 6 armored vehicles managed to travel the streets of Shreveport undetected."

"I'd like to know that, too. This was a bold attack. They thought they had enough men to take our guards, but they didn't know our guards aren't human."

"Yes, your majesty. That's the only thing that tipped the scales in our favor," Vincent pointed out the obvious, just to make sure they all knew where they were.

"Dr. Ludwig came to check Sookie and the boys. She recommended we get out of town for a while. She said if we can't keep her safe, Sookie may need to go to Freyja's until she's past her first trimester," Bjorn told him.

"Where would we go?" Eric asked, knowing he would have suggestions.

"Austin, or New Orleans. We need to do something unplanned. Another thing to keep in mind, if we're in Shreveport when they hold the funerals for the men we lost…"

"Sookie will insist on attending," Eric finished his thought.

"That would be a logistical nightmare, Eric, and you know we wouldn't be able to stop her."

"Not with her being able to teleport, you wouldn't." Eric agreed. "Vincent, you'll see to the families of the slain men, their expenses and pensions?"

"Already in the works, your majesty. They'll receive no bills, their children will have scholarships and the families will each have a trust set up for them."

"Good. I…"

"ERIC!"

"Up here, Bill!"

"What in the world…?"

"We were attacked today. Let's go to the servant's quarters and watch the tape. I'll fill you in."

"Sookie and the children are alright, then?"

"Yes, they're fine. Alex received some minor wounds, but he's fine now. Let's all adjourn to the HQ. I assume the police do not know there is film?"

"No, we told them we just watch, we don't tape," Bjorn confirmed.

The group of them went down the stairs and through the house. Eric stopped in the kitchen to hug Margaret and thank her for staying. He was getting as bad as Sookie, he thought to himself, viewing everyone as family.

Eric and Bill watched the tape twice, since it wasn't very long, and Vincent narrated. They were talking about their possible next steps when the front gate notified them that the detectives had returned. All four of them went into the house and waited in the living room as the detectives were directed to park in the driveway in front of the garage. Margaret showed them in. Eric and Vincent were standing at the fireplace, being as imposing as they could, which was lot, while Bill sat in a chair to the side of the room. Bjorn stood near the front door, so he was behind them.

Vincent made the introductions. "Your majesty this is Detective Johnson, and Detective Forbes. Eric Northman, King of the Louisiana and Nevada territories." Eric caught a whiff of attraction from the female, so he gave her a lot of eye contact, though she never spoke.

"Detectives, I'm sorry we couldn't meet under more pleasant circumstances. You wished to speak to me?"

"Your wife seemed to think that this attack was perpetrated by a paramilitary group called New Centurion. Do you have any reason to believe this is true?"

"Yes, I do. They followed our caravan when last we returned from our home in New Orleans, and we've caught their men trying to establish surveillance on our home here."

"There have also been strange cars staking out the property," Bjorn added.

"How do you know it was New Centurion?"

"We traced their license plates. We interviewed the men we caught. They tried to bomb one of my businesses in another city but their plan was foiled before anyone was hurt."

"Did you report these incidents to the police?"

"We did not. We handled each incident internally."

"We need to know about these things, Mr. Northman."

"You would have done nothing to help us. My relationship with your department has been strained, to say the least. Shreveport PD regularly raids my club in town. There was little effort made when the club was bombed a couple of months ago…"

"The people who did it were killed."

"They were a part of a larger group of fanatics, but your department never bothered to follow through."

"People who try to kill you have a funny way of blowing themselves up, Mr. Northman."

"Fanatics often let their zeal override their good sense. Extremists are rarely competent in anything but hatred."

"If this was New Centurion, they're trained soldiers – the best of the best. You don't think they'd be competent?"

"I think equipment failure can defeat even the finest soldier, and explosives are volatile and unpredictable."

"So we're just supposed to believe that you're that lucky?"

Eric didn't like his tone and let him know it. "No, detective, you're supposed to investigate whence came these men, who paid them, and why they attacked my family. My wife and children could have been killed."

"How many werewolves do you employ, Mr. Northman?"

"Do I employ werewolves? I have no idea. I don't do the hiring. Vincent does that for me."

"These assailants were hacked to death, and torn to pieces by animals."

"May I be frank, Detective?"

"Shoot."

"These men came on my property and tried to harm my pregnant wife and two infant sons. The manner in which they were dispatched is of no concern to me. I only care that they were stopped, and cannot try again."

"How do we know this wasn't a drug deal gone bad?"

"I'm a family man, detective, I have no interest in anything but the care of my family and the administration of my properties. I have more money than you can imagine. It would be absurd for me to involve myself with anything as seedy and high risk as the drug trade. My wife and I are under constant scrutiny by the press. We'd never be able to hide something like that. We're too well known."

"Mr. Northman, I have a feeling you think you're above the law."

"Not at all. I'm a law-abiding citizen. I pay my taxes, I run my businesses, I care for my family."

"You take the law into your own hands."

"When do you suppose I did that?"

"I think you had something to do with those people who tried to bomb your club blowing themselves up."

"And your proof would be…?"

"There is none. But today…"

"I rest in the daytime, detective. It grieves me to say that I could not come to my family's defense when they needed me. Because I can't always be there, I hire the best guards I can find and I pay them extremely well. If those men had never come on my property, they would still be alive. If they'd never thrown those bombs, several of my men would still be alive. We are the victims here, detective. These people have erroneously decided that vampires are evil. My children have been called "spawn of Satan" which also tells you what they think of me. Their bigotry has driven them to kill, which as you well know, is not unusual behavior for bigots. I have done nothing to these people, yet they attack my family when it is at its most vulnerable. You, detective, should be as outraged as I am. You should be defending our civil rights, our right to simply live our lives in peace."

Sookie walked into the living room with a baby in each arm then and said, "excuse me, Eric, it's dinnertime," and continued into the kitchen with them.

"Yes, Sweetheart, we're just finishing up here. Anything else, detective?"

"Don't leave town."

"Oh, but we probably will. We've just been discussing that it might be better to go to one of our other homes for a while. We had planned to leave on the 10th, but we think it might be wiser to go sooner."

"Our investigation will take some time and we'd like your cooperation. Your men used excessive force…"

"Men in armored vehicles came at us with bombs and guns. We defended ourselves with swords, dogs and only a few hand guns. We are all lucky to be alive."

Vincent pulled a sheet of paper from his coat. "Here's the information you requested. Follow the trail – it goes right back to New Centurion, and so should you. That's my phone number there. If you need anything further, contact me. I'll be able to get in touch with the King no matter where he is. We won't be giving anyone information as to where they are going and when. One request before you go – please show the King the pictures you took of his son's injuries this morning?"

Sally Forbes was so excited her hand was shaking, but she managed to pull up the pictures of Alex's wounds. She never saw such a mixture of sadness and fury in anyone's eyes as Eric showed then.

When he could speak, Eric said, "Do you have any concept of how special these children are? How rare the blessing that I was able to father them? You get the people that did that to my baby. If you don't want me to take the law into my own hands, then you go get them. Now, if you'll excuse me, my family is waiting dinner for me." Eric stalked out of the room without another word. Vincent shoo'd the detectives out the door, answering another minor question or two as he walked them to the car.

Eric went into the kitchen, pulled Alex out of his highchair and sat down, hugging him tight, his cheek against Alex's forehead, big hand stroking his son's back, his eyes closed and brimming with red. No one spoke or moved for a long time, knowing too well what was going through Eric's mind.


	103. Chapter 103

**[A/N: OK, y'all, I know it's been a long time, so this one is supershort and then I'll get the next one to you in a much shorter span of time. I got really involved in some political stuff that kept me from writing. Thanks for your patience. Love, Morg.]**

**Chapter 103**

"Dadee?"

"Yes, my son?" Eric smiled and tried not to cry in front of everyone.

Alex tapped his left cheek and said, "dat!"

"He's showing you where he was hurt, Eric," Sookie told him softly.

"Is that where you were cut, Alex?"

"Eeah, an dat," he pointed to his arm.

Eric kissed his cheek, then his arm, and said, "all better."

"Dayoo!" Alex patted Eric's cheeks with both hands and leaned forward to kiss him on the lips. "Oday, Dadee?"

"Yes, I'm OK. Are you OK?"

"Eeah. Me an Obee an Mamee wif Dadee seepeen!"

"Yes, you came downstairs with me when I was sleeping, didn't you?"

"Fyeen ina chym," Alex pointed up and went "BOO!" and waved his arms out big.

"Yes, Bjorn told me you were flying and there was a big boom. I'm sorry you were hurt, Alex, but you were a good boy to stay with Mommy."

"Nah, sthtay wif Dadee!" Alex hugged him and almost broke his heart. Everyone at the table was fighting back tears. Margaret was silently putting dishes of food on the table, and motioned to a seat when Vincent came in with Bjorn.

"Yes, Vincent, stay and have dinner with us!" Eric followed her lead, trying to lighten the mood.

"Thank you, your majesty," Vincent nodded and sat next to Eric, across from Sookie.

"Margaret is an amazing cook," Sookie bragged on her. "Whatever we're having will be great."

"I'm afraid it's just beef stew and homemade bread tonight, Missus."

"Just?" Bjorn laughed. "You make the best stew I've ever had, Margaret, and I've had a lot of stew."

"Yeah, and that bread smells fantastic," Bobbie chimed in to help lighten the mood.

"Yes, Margaret, it even smells good to me," Eric tried to play along, but he was still shaking at the thought of what almost happened.

"Here, Sweetie," Sookie said, "try a piece with a lot of butter." She took a slice from the platter Margaret put down and spread it thickly with the fresh butter.

Eric took a big bite, which tickled Alex to no end. "Dadee ee pood!"

"Yes, I'm eating bread. Good food!" Eric teased him and Alex opened his mouth, wanting a bite. Eric let him bite off a piece with his sharp new teeth and Alex hummed as he chewed.

"Ah wyg bwed!"

"Yes, it's very good. Are you going to eat stew?"

"Wadiz doo?"

"Stew."

"Sthdoo." Alex repeated, trying to say it just like Dadee.

"Here you go, sir," Margaret smiled and gave Eric a bowl that she'd cut into small chunks Alex could handle. She put one of pureed stew on Aubie's tray and Sookie fed it to him, knowing Eric wasn't going to let go of Alex any time soon, and she didn't blame him. This was way, way too close.

"So, everyone, Vincent, Bjorn and I were talking about the idea of moving our travel date up a week or so. They feel we might be safer if we let things around here cool off a bit and do something no one expects us to do. Any ideas?"

"I have an idea," Sookie said, to everyone's surprise.

"What is that, Sookie?"

"I think we should go to Sang Riche New Orleans for a while."

"Really? We hadn't considered that," Eric asked, "any particular reason?"

"Yes. They know about our house there, it's not quite ready yet and they'll probably be looking at Austin. Nobody expects us at Sang Riche New Orleans. It's not even open yet, is it?"

"It's open but the grand opening is not until the 15th. Bill, how would that affect our plans?"

"Well, we'll have to cancel our tour of the territories, but I think that would be the best course of action, anyway."

"Where is Pam tonight?"

"She went to Fangtasia, against my better judgment. She's afraid they might try to strike there since their attempt today was unsuccessful."

"Vincent, will she have adequate guards there tonight?"

"Yes, she will, and I sent escorts with her. She's nearly as safe as she'd be here. We're going to have metal detectors at the door tonight."

"Really?"

"Yes, we just can't take any chances right now. If you're worried, I could go there now…"

"Eat your dinner first, it's early. I would like you to get there before 11, since that's when the door gets busy."

"Yes, of course, if you don't need me here?"

"We'll be fine for tonight. Would you consider sheltering here tomorrow, just so you're on the grounds?"

"Of course, your majesty."

"The chalet we are in is very comfortable, Vincent – why don't you take the extra bedroom there?" Bill suggested, nodding and smiling to Margaret as she handed him a warm RM.

"That's an excellent idea," Eric said, "would you mind taking it until we can get ourselves together to travel?"

"Of course, your majesty. That's no problem at all."

"Good."

"Eric?"

"Yes, Sookie?"

"Can we go outside after dinner? I haven't spent any time with Puff today, and I want him to get out and play a bit."

"I hadn't even thought about the dragon. How did you keep him hidden, Bjorn?"

"He burrowed back under the straw. They don't like humans. Sookie teleported out to feed him earlier so he's been fed once. One of the humanoid Daemons kept an eye on the building today while the police were here."

"Alright, we'll go out back for a bit and let your dragon play in the pool, Sookie. We have to figure out how to travel with him, you know."

"All we have to do is shrink him. Alicia ordered another animal carrier. We'll have a cat and dragon with us, so it's going to get interesting," she laughed.

"Yes, it will. It certainly won't be boring," he laughed. If Sookie could smile after a day like this, so could he.

"Excuse me, Mr. Northman?"

"Yes, Alicia?"

"You might want to watch the news tonight. I'm afraid they show the front of the house in their report, and say that it is rumored, but not confirmed, that you live here."

"Did they name New Centurion?" Sookie asked

"No, but they did say police suspect it was a terrorist attack by a well-known paramilitary group."

"Eric, I want to talk to the press."

"I don't know if that's wise, Sookie."

"Eric, if we don't say anything that opens it all up to rumors and innuendo. We need to tell our side of the story."

"She has a point, Eric," Bill said, "the press adores Sookie and it would let her drive the narrative, so to speak."

"How do you want to do it, Sookie?" Eric asked as he gave Alex another big spoonful of stew which had him humming with pleasure.

"I like that one reporter – Chelly Rodriguez – on channel 6. I want to call her and meet with her tomorrow. I'll offer to let her and one camera in and I'll tell her basically what we told the police."

"Vincent, what do you think?"

"Well, on one hand, it confirms where you are, but on the other hand, Sookie is the best thing going for you. They love her. Put her in a pretty dress, and sit the boys next to her in matching outfits – that's very effective PR."

"I agree," Bill said.

"I do, too," Bjorn added, "the sight of her, as gentle as she seems, and the two angelic babies. It will make New Centurion look like monsters."

"Alright, Sookie, when should you call her?"

"The sooner the better."

"I'll get the number for you, dear." Alicia went back in the pantry to look up the news station and came back with the number and the cordless phone.

"OK, everybody, here goes," Sookie said, steeling herself to having to do this because she knew it was the smartest course of action – she'd been thinking about it all afternoon.

"Hi, I'm calling for Chelly Rodriguez? My name is Sookie Northman. Yes, that's right. Oh, good, thank you!" She put her hand over the phone and said, "they know me."

They all looked at her expectantly - "they're paging her," she told them. "Oh, she is? Wonderful. Thanks. Hello, Ms. Rodriguez? My name is Sookie Northman. Yes, it's been a very disturbing day. We're all shaken… Well, actually, that's the reason I called you. Is there any chance you could meet me at my house early tomorrow afternoon, just you and one camera?" She paused to listen. "Yes, I know we're going to have to say something, and I always liked your reporting, so I thought it would be easier just to talk to one person and be done with it. Alright. Yes, 1 pm will be fine. Yes, of course, the babies will be with me, though they might doze off on you at that time. OK, great. I'll see you tomorrow. Yes, we'll tell the guards to expect you. Have a good night. Bye-bye. Margaret, can I get another bowl of stew, please? Thanks!"

The men were practically coming out of their chairs waiting for her to tell them what they already knew. "Yeah, she jumped at the chance," she told them as she handed the phone back to Alicia. "She said she's been looking for our number all day, but nobody she knew could come up with it. Alicia, is that white dress I wore in Las Vegas wearable?" Sookie asked as she handed the phone back to her.

"Yes, actually, it's in your bedroom closet so it wasn't damaged."

"OK, great, and we'll dress the boys in those little onesies you and Margaret bought them with the bears on them? They're really sweet and they match but aren't too matchy-matchy, you know? And Bobbie I'll need you to dress up in case you need to help me with the boys."

"OK, sure."

"Wait – should I wear black?"

"I think the white dress would be lovely, dear," Alicia assured her.

"Margaret, will it be too much trouble to make tea and some finger sandwiches?"

"Not at all, Missus."

"OK, I'm going to just act like I'm having a friend over for tea, and I'll let Alex flirt with her a little and I'll tell them how horrible it was and we know it's New Centurion, and all that," Sookie said mostly to herself, planning out what she was going to do.

"Bjorn, you'll be there, too, I hope?" Eric asked.

"Yes, I will."

"I'll be there as well, since these are people we don't know," Vincent said as he looked at his watch. "I think I should get to Fangtasia now, and I'll be back when Pam closes."

"Alright, Vincent, thank you for your help," Eric nodded, only looking away from Alex for a second.

Vincent stood, bowed to Sookie, "your majesty," and left. That gave Sookie a little rush but she didn't know why.

"OK, time to play with my dragon!" Sookie said, "Come on, Aubie," she said as she took him out of his highchair.

"Let's go outside for a bit, Alex." Eric said as he put him up to his shoulder.

"Fyeen?"

"No flying, tonight, Alex. Daddy wants to keep you close, OK?"

"Oday, sthtay wif Dadee," Alex said as he put his arms around Eric's neck. Alex knew instinctively that Eric wanted to keep him close because of what happened that day, though he didn't really know what that was. He just knew it was bad and Daddy wasn't happy about it. Alex wasn't happy about it, either.

Bjorn walked to the summer kitchen with Sookie and Aubie, opening the door for her. She turned on the light and saw that Puff had relieved himself on the paper they put down for him.

"Hey, Puffy! Good boy going on the paper! You were good staying hidden today. Come out and swim for a bit, OK?" Puff crawled out of the corner and let her pet his head, then he stretched his head up so Aubie could pet him. Sookie led him back outside as one of the guards cleaned up and replaced the paper. Puff ran ahead a little and rolled in the grass, folding his wings back so he could roll completely over and scratch his back. He sort of barked a little then he made a beeline for the pool and dove in. Eric was standing beside the pool with Alex, who was absolutely fascinated with the dragon.

"Dwadon, Dadee!"

"Yes, Mommy has a real dragon, hasn't she?"

"Eeah, weew dwadon."

"What did you name him, Sookie? Puff?"

"Yep, his name is Puff."

"PUP!" Alex said happily, waving his arms and wanting desperately to swim with Mamee's dwadon.

Sookie walked over next to them and let Eric wrap his arm around her and Aubie, so the four of them were snuggled together for the first time tonight, finally. Bjorn was hanging back to give them some privacy as they stood there silently, enjoying the feeling of being a family, shaken but safe for the moment.

"Eric, how soon could we leave for New Orleans?"

"Tomorrow night. I'm going to tell Vincent and Bill to do what they have to do to get us together. Tell Alicia to pack whatever she thinks we'll need and we'll go. I don't want you here alone for a while."

"I'm never alone, but I know what you mean. I'll feel better someplace else."

"We're taking a risk by going, but I want you and the boys in a safe spot."

"What are we going to do, Eric?"

"We're going to New Orleans."

"You know what I mean. What do we do about Garner?"

"I'm not sure yet, but rest assured, we will do something. We're not going to wait for them to come at us again. Now we take the fight to them."

"Good, because they're not going to stop. I can't believe they tried again so soon after the Dallas attempt."

"Nor can I. I'm wondering if there's a specific goal. He's expending a lot of manpower in a very short span of time. I wonder that his organization can sustain such losses."

"He wasn't planning to lose them, though, right?"

"Not all of them, certainly. He must be paying them a great deal to get them to pull such a brazen attack. It will be interesting to see what their next move is."

"I'll talk to Freyja about it the next time I see her."

"Good idea. We need to use all the resources available to us. This was much too close. They'll not get this close again, My Angel, mark my words."

"How are we getting to New Orleans?"

"We'll fly this time. We're vulnerable a much shorter time that way. We'll travel at night so we're harder to follow." He was hesitant to let them go, but he forced himself. "Stay with your pet for a bit, Sookie, while I brief everyone on what we're doing. I'll keep Alex with me, if you don't mind."

"Of course not, Sweetie!" Sookie kissed him and let him go as he motioned to Bjorn to follow him, also motioning to Jerry as he came in from the chalet to see what the plan was going to be.

Back in the kitchen, Eric called Alicia and Margaret from the pantry.

"What would it take for you ladies to have us ready to leave by midnight tomorrow night?" He asked, stroking Alex's back more to comfort himself than Alex.

"Well, it would take some work, but I think I could have Sookie packed by then," Alicia said, "Your clothing is all in good condition, so we can just throw it in a suitcase. I can continue to work on Sookie's clothes once we get there. Some things will need to go to a dry cleaner, anyway."

"We'll have that done through the club. We're going to go to Sang Riche New Orleans since the house isn't quite ready and no one expects us there. Margaret, can you be ready?"

"Of course, Mr. Northman, unless you'd prefer that I stay here?"

"Wouldn't you be afraid to do that?" Eric liked the idea, but knew it was asking a lot.

"Not at all, with the extra guards. Someone needs to oversee the repairs on the roof and the grounds. I think I should stay in case Vincent needs me here. You won't need a cook at the club, but the workers here will, and I think it's too much to leave to Carrie. I can come down once the house is settled and meet you at the New Orleans house when you get there."

"That makes sense. I want you to do what you feel is best, Margaret…"

"I'll stay here until the 10th, just as we'd planned, then I'll come join you."

"That's very sweet of you, Margaret. I can't… I," Eric couldn't think of what he wanted to say.

"It's alright, Mr. Northman. I know what you feel. Alicia and I will have to get to work if we're going to have you all ready to travel."

"Yes, we will. If you don't mind, Mr. Northman, I'll go get my own things together first, so I can focus on Mrs. Northman's things."

"Of course, Alicia, do whatever you need to do. Thank you both. Bjorn, Jerry, you'll need to coordinate our travel guards with Vincent. Jerry, do you want me to heal Amelia's arm?"

"Actually, I was going to ask if Sookie or Aubie could do it? She wouldn't have to drink your blood that way and it would spare you the connection."

"Sookie? Can she heal?"

"She healed a knot on my head yesterday," Bjorn told him, "now that I think about it. Couldn't hurt to try, could it?"

"Alright, then I want her back in bed immediately. I've no idea what kind of strain that might be on her, but there's no point in Amelia suffering unnecessarily. You two do what you need to do and I'll ask Sookie is she wants to try it."

Bjorn and Jerry headed straight to the Servant's Quarters and Eric went out to stand next to Sookie and Aubie.

"Someone made a suggestion, Sookie, that I want you to consider, but if your instinct says not to, I want you to follow that instinct."

"What is it, Sweetie?"

"What would you think about trying to heal Amelia's arm?"

Sookie's eyes popped. "Why didn't I think of that?"

Eric laughed, "I confess, it didn't think of it, either. Do you think it might cause too much strain? You have to think of the baby, first."

"Let's try it. Where's Jerry?"

"Coming back right now. Jerry? Should you take Sookie in to Amelia?"

"I want to take Aubie and I want you and Alex to come, too, Eric," Sookie asked.

"As you wish. Would that be too many people in your house, Jerry? We don't want to make Amelia uncomfortable."

"No, come on in. Bjorn is going up to tell Bobbie she needs to pack their stuff. I think the washing machine is going to be going all night," Jerry laughed.

"I'm sorry to inconvenience everyone, but I think this is the best course of action."

"I agree with you, especially if people start cruising the house trying to get a glimpse of the boys."

"I hadn't even thought of that!" Sookie said as they arrived at the chalet door. Jerry held it open letting Sookie and Aubie, then Eric and Alex, go through first, then he lead them up the stairs and into the bedroom on the right.

Jerry knocked on the door, then peeked in, "Amelia? Can you handle a little company?"

"Mmm? Yeah, sure. Who is it?"

"Hi, Sweetie! Sookie came through the door with Aubie, which made Amelia smile, then she was pleasantly surprised to see Eric and Alex behind her. "Eric! I never expected you to come calling," she laughed, obviously groggy from her medicine.

"Yes, well, hopefully, I'm bringing you some help."

"They thought maybe I might be able to heal you, Amelia, because I did that bump Bjorn had yesterday, remember?"

"Oh, I never thought of that! Do you think you can?"

"It's worth a shot!" Sookie said with a big smile as she and Aubie sat on the bed next to her.

Before anyone could speak again, Aubie pointed at Amelia's arm in the splint and said, "Nah nah, Mama!"

"Yeah, Amelia got hurt, didn't she?"

"Umma!" Aubie pointed his finger at Amelia and leaned toward her, so Sookie held him so he could reach her. "Ah, bah, bah buh, nah nah" he chattered playfully as he tapped his finger up and down Amelia's arm three times. "BAH!" He leaned back and threw his hands up with a flourish to show he was done.

"Oh, my Goddess…"Amelia said with surprise. "It doesn't hurt! AH!" she started to move too quickly, forgetting about her ribs. She leaned back, trying to catch her breath. The bottom button of Amelia's blue striped pajama top was undone and Aubie could see the tape on her tummy.

"Nah nah!" he said, making a circle over the tape with his finger. All at once, the tape fell away from Amelia's skin like it was paper. Amelia stretched a little as Aubie said "bah!" with a satisfied air.

"He fixed it!" Amelia sat up with no pain at all.

"Good boy, Aubie!" Sookie was tickled to death to see Aubie help her that way.

"Thanks, Kiddo!" Amelia leaned forward and hugged Aubie, giving him a big kiss on the cheek that made him giggle. Eric and Jerry both laughed with delight and Alex clapped his little hands, knowing what Buddy had done. "Dood, Buggy!"

"Very good, Auberon!" Eric praised him as Sookie stood back up with him.

"Bah, Dada!" He said with obvious pride on his face as Eric kissed his head.

"Me, Buggy!" Alex leaned forward and kissed Obee just like Dadee had, and that made Aubie just as proud.

Aubie yawned then, and Sookie said, "ooh – sleepy Aubie!"

"Seepy Obee!" Alex giggled.

"Aubie is very sleepy, it seems," Eric said, "healing appears to have taken a lot out of him, Sookie."

"Yeah, he does feel tired all of a sudden. This has been a long day."

"Very stressful, too. I think you and the boys should go to bed and let me finish some work, then I will come join you as soon as I can."

"You'll need to work with Bjorn, your majesty, so I'll go in and watch them," Jerry suggested.

"Yes, I would appreciate that. I'm sorry to take him away from you, Amelia, but…"

"Don't worry about that, Eric, I'm fine now," Amelia said, almost giddy from suddenly being pain-free. "The boys' safety has to come first."

Jerry tucked Amelia in so she could get some sleep, then walked back to the house with Sookie and Aubie, carrying Alex in his arms as Alex chattered him about the "bee boo!" and laughing at how cute it was when he tried to talk.

"Oops! I almost forgot about Puff!" Sookie said as the little dragon crawled out of the pool on hearing her and walked her way, making soft Wookie sounds. "Come on, Puffy, time for bed!" Sookie held the door to the summer kitchen open with her leg and let Puffy go in, giving him a pet and plenty of praise and letting Aubie and Alex touch him as he purred. You could tell Puff liked the boys, especially their scent which he flicked his tongue out several times to enjoy. Once he'd had his fill of attention, Puff walked on all fours back into the room with the big bed of straw and rolled around on the floor. Sookie left him with a pile of fish, and left the screen door open as they had the night before.

While Jerry, Sookie and the boys tended to her dragon. Eric headed for the HQ in the servant's quarters where Rafael, Bjorn and Bill had been discussing strategy. They knew without question that Eric was going to hit New Centurion back hard, so they were trying to decide how to do it. They had maps of Garner's three known estates spread out, one on top of the other, on the table used for the guard's meals.

"Gentlemen," Eric said as he entered, "any suggestions?"

"One question, Eric – are we going for a strike or total destruction?"

"Total destruction is out of the question because too many in Congress have financial interests in Garner's company. To take him out will have to be a very covert operation."

"You mean Sookie?" Bill asked with concern

"Yes, but that's step 2. Step 1 is to let him know we can take him whenever we want, so he'd best forget about us and mind his own affairs."

"That's unusually… restrained, Eric," Bill was surprised.

"We have to do this without bringing the Feds down on us. Also, I want to be sure that Sookie knows he's had his one warning so she'll feel no guilt when she kills him."

"Alright, if you want destruction without bringing the Feds into it, I say we blow up their training camp," Bjorn suggested. "His family won't be there, but taking it out could seriously damage his ability to fight us or anyone else."

"How many?'

"8 fliers, 8 IEDs, that covers every building and shed, and should take out their explosives, too," Bjorn said. "I recommend that you not be there, Eric. In fact, I recommend that you be seen somewhere public so it won't be traced back to you."

"Bill, do we have 8 men capable of doing this?"

"Yes, we do – the 4 Australians, the Bolivian pair, plus 2 that just came to us from Giselle."

"When?" Eric asked, determined.

"I recommend waiting until the police have finished their investigation. If you hit them right now, they'll come right back to you," Bjorn was stating the obvious, but he knew Eric wouldn't like it, anyway.

"Alright, then, we wait a month, then we wipe out the camp."

"Is that all we're going to do, Eric?" Bjorn knew it wasn't.

"No, it's not, but it's the plan for right now. Proceed with your plan to meet Jack in New Orleans. By the time we get that done, I'll have figured out our next move. This is far from over. Is there anything else?"

"That's all we've got right now."

"Alright, I'm going to spend time with my family." Eric was out of the office like a shot, so quickly he was able to take the elevator upstairs with Sookie, carrying some bottles she was trying to balance with Aubie in her arms. "I'm finished for the night, Jerry, so you can see if Bjorn needs you. Our meeting was accomplished very quickly," Eric said, happy to take Alex back from Jerry, snuggling him and kissing his head.

"Thanks, your majesty. I'll see you at sun-up."

"Thank you."

Eric and Sookie stepped onto the elevator, each holding a baby and two bottles of RM, and stood leaning against each other but not speaking until they stepped out on the third floor. When they reached the bedroom door, Alex zipped out of Eric's arms and landed sitting in the co-sleeper, saying "woogie, Dadee, ah wyg ma bed!"

Eric and Sookie laughed at him, and Aubie joined in, everyone feeling much safer and more serene now that they were together and alone. Sookie put Aubie down next to Alex and they sat there watching Eric and Sookie as Eric hugged her tight, kissed her on the head, then grabbed the hem of the long black gown she was wearing and pulled it over her head. They were both cracking up now as Sookie pulled back the covers and crawled into her side while Eric took off his boots, then shirt and pants, throwing them on the floor and slipping into bed next to Sookie at vampire speed, wrapping her tightly in his arms.

"Wow – you're not even going to hang up your clothes?" Sookie laughed as he buried his nose in her neck and growled deeply in his chest. She stopped laughing when he shuddered and sobbed, holding her as tight as he ever had before. She knew he was crying into her hair, so she was quiet and let him cling to her until he had control of himself. After a few minutes, he pulled back and looked in her eyes, bloody tears staining his face, and Sookie licked the tears off his cheeks as he closed his eyes, marveling that she knew exactly what he needed in that moment. Sookie stroked his hair and they looked at each other without speaking for a long time.

Suddenly, Alex and Aubie landed right between/on top of them, and everyone laughed. Eric moved back just a little and they got the boys settled in between them, pulled the covers up, and Eric turned the light off and stretched his long, muscular arm over them all. Everyone but Eric was asleep in just a minute, feeling safe in his arms and he let their sense of safety and love wash over him as he lay quietly holding his family. In about half an hour, Sookie opened her eyes and smiled at him, though she couldn't really see him. She knew he could see her, and when she went to touch his face, he took her hand and kissed her palm, then let her rest it against his cheek.

Sookie concentrated for a minute, and gently sent the boys into the co-sleeper behind her. Eric pulled her close and kissed her for what seemed like hours, quietly, stroking her back, her hip, gently grasping her bottom cheek more to reassure himself than to turn her on. She could tell that rather than rocking the house, tonight, he needed to have her close, to feel her tenderness and know she was his. She half expected him to flip her over, but when she pictured it, she heard him think he just wanted to be quiet and feel loved. She tried not to push the process forward, which wasn't easy when he began to stroke and probe her with his fingers. She heard him thinking, "slow, Sookie, slow," and she tried to give herself over to it, trying to let herself relax completely though her center was gripping and longing for him to take her. When he finally did slip slowly into her, she moaned with relief and nipped at his earlobe gently. She saw in his mind that he was picturing them on a dance floor, swaying together, he spinning her around so she felt she was flying, and somewhere, they actually were. They moved together and apart in a slow, sensual dance, both awash in the feeling that there was no difference between them, like they were one entity, throbbing in time with Sookie's heart, Eric's body synchronizing with her pulses and rhythms. It started as a low, cold shimmer of purple, growing and unfurling like the opening of a rose, flowering hot, luxurious reds and pinks, leaving them exhausted and warm and even Eric slept for a while in her arms.

"Mamee!"

Eric woke up as Alex called for Sookie, amazed that he'd actually slept. Sookie stirred as he reached for Alex, and he helped her get settled on her side to feed him. They talked quietly about baby clothes and the plan for tomorrow as Alex fed leisurely, but not for very long. Aubie woke up as Sookie put Alex down next to him and she stayed facing the crib while she fed him, Eric snuggled up behind, stroking his back as he suckled. Aubie sleepily looked Sookie in the eye, occasionally looking up at Dada with a twinkle in the deep blues, so much like Eric's.

When Aubie was tucked back in next to Alex, kitten between them, Eric tore his wrist and slipped his arm under her head and up so she could drink from it. As she started to come, he bit her shoulder and drank deeply, his arm over her hip, stroking her as the two were writhing together, moaning loudly as they reached a spectacular, deep, hard release that left them both laughing from the intensity of it.

"Wow," Sookie laughed, "that was a big one!" She rolled on her back so they were both looking at the ceiling.

"Yes, it was, especially since we were only drinking."

"There's no "only" about it, Eric, that's when we connect the deepest," she rolled to face him, stroking his chest gently and kissing his shoulder.

"You feel that, too?" He was playing with her hand because he felt too vulnerable to look her in the eye.

"Eric, you know I do!" She was surprised that he didn't understand that it went both ways.

"Sometimes I can't tell where I end and you begin…" he said softly.

"Because we don't. We're one, in a way no one else on earth is. We're a whole lot more than bonded at this point. Have you ever known a bonded couple that could hear each other's thoughts?"

"No, I haven't, but that's all you. I've never known anyone that could do the things that you do so easily."

"It is NOT all me. It's you and me TOGETHER that makes the magick, Eric. Why are you so down on yourself? I've never heard you this way before. Where's my cocky, confident, knows-he's-the-hottest-thing-walking Viking?"

"You needed me today and I couldn't protect you."

"You DID protect me, Eric. You had Bjorn in the room with me and Jerry was with the boys. We had fences around the property, armed guards, werewolves and daemons, even that crazy sprinkler system for the roof. Nobody in the world could have kept us any safer."

"Sookie, if I ever lost you…"

"Shut up!" She put her hand over his mouth. "Don't you jinx us. I'm not going anywhere. I'm fine, the boys are fine, you're fine and we are ALWAYS going to be together. Freyja went to too much trouble to bring us all together so you be grateful, and thank Her for giving us all the resources and opportunities we have, and get focused on our next move."

Eric laughed against her fingers and kissed them, looking her in the eye and saying, "I love you, Sookie Northman."

"And I love you. Now, you're going to rub my back while I fall asleep, then you'll feed the boys and read to them, and when you get up tonight we're going to get the heck out of Dodge, right?"

"Dodge?"

"It's an expression – just agree with me!"

"Sounds like a plan."

"Good."

"Do you want me to get Bobbie to rub your back?"

"No, if you don't mind, I really want you to do it. It'll make us both feel grounded."

Eric smiled at her and she kissed him on the nose, then turned her back to him. He smiled to himself the whole 15 minutes it took to lull her to sleep, knowing she knew exactly what he needed in that moment and gave it to him. She always did. She always would.

He knew he should work, but he indulged himself by staying in bed until the boys woke up for their final feeding.

"Dada?" Aubie woke first and Eric gently lifted the covers and floated up out of the bed to hover over the co-sleeper. Aubie giggled as Eric picked him up and Alex awoke and floated up into Eric's other arm. They slipped silently through the air and Eric came to rest sitting cross-legged on the nursery floor. He set Aubie down on his bottom, but Alex didn't want to sit, he insisted on standing and looking around. Eric watched him closely, and so did Aubie, who said, "wo, Bumby!" and made Eric laugh.

"Auberon, do you see brother walking around?" He asked as he put Aubie up on his knee.

"Ah, Bumby!" He pointed and smiled up at Eric, and Eric kissed his head and rubbed his back.

Alex toddled all around the room, looking up at the shelves full of toys and clothes, taking note of all the furniture, recognizing the table where he got his "doo nap-pees" and the chair where Dadee read him "boogs". He was headed for the crib when he noticed the little rocking pony on the floor.

"Woogie, Dadee! Dat?"

"That's a pony, Alex. Want to ride the pony?"

"Wyd?"

Eric pulled the pony out to the center of the room, sitting Aubie on the floor for a minute while he put Alex on the pony's back. "Alright, my son, you hold on there," he put Alex's little hand on the handles at the back of the pony's head. "Can you hold on, Alexander?"

"Eeah!" This was pun! Eric balanced Aubie on his knee again and used one hand to rock the pony gently as Alex made his "haaaa!" sound, holding on just the way Dadee showed him. Eric rocked him until Alex said, "Obee an me undwy, Dadee."

"Alright, boys, let's have our dinner." He sat Alex and Aubie in their little bouncers and got the little covered dishes of food Margaret had fixed for them. Alex had a baby's version of Vienna sausages and absolutely loved them, plus some grated carrot, cucumber and celery in a little salad mixed with cottage cheese. Aubie had a packet of carrots, apples and parsnips that he loved, and Eric got a big kick of the way he still opened his mouth very big to wait for another bite. When they finished their food, there were warm bottles of blood for each boy. Alex sat in his bouncer and held his own bottle to drink, and Eric cradled Aubie in his arm as he held the bottle for him. Aubie fell asleep before he had quite finished his bottle and Alex was yawning, so Eric tucked them back in next to Sookie and stroked there little backs until both were asleep.

"Your majesty?" Jerry called softly from the stairs.

"Come in, Jerry, I'm just kissing everyone good night."

Eric lingered as long as he could, feeling a bit of panic at the thought of leaving them, but eventually, he had no choice and he prayed as hard as he could that Freyja would watch over them while he rested.

Sookie was dreaming, but she couldn't see anything.

"Freyja?"

"Not this morning, My Angel. You need your rest. We'll speak again when you're in New Orleans."

"But…"

"Don't worry, Sookie, you'll know what to do and when to do it."

"Mrs. Northman?"

Sookie's eyes popped open. "Hey, Alicia. It's early, isn't it?"

"Yes, you have to eat your breakfast and get yourself and the boys dressed for your interview at 1."

Sookie struggled a bit to sit up and let Alicia set the tray across her lap. "Oh, goodie! Pancakes!"

"Yes, and the boys are getting some, too. I figured you'd take them in the shower anyway, so we'd let them have fun."

"Pood!" Alex sat up rubbing his eyes. "Borhd?"

"I'm right here, Alex."

"Wiwoo peed me bwepuss?"

"Sure I will, Buddy, come on."

Alex flew back to Bjorn and gave him a hug as Alicia sat his little plate of silver dollar sized pancakes and warm butter and syrup to dip them in. Alicia then put a blue bib with a bear on it around Alex's neck. "Wadiz dat, Eesh?"

"That's a bib to keep you from getting syrup all over you and Bjorn," she teased him and tickled his tummy, which made him giggle and drool a bit, which she dabbed at with the bib. She picked Aubie up and sat in the other chair, putting a bib on him and giving him small bits of pancake soaked in butter and syrup.

"Obee aba beeb?"

"Yes, Aubie has a bib, too," Alicia coached him as Sookie ate, smiling at how cute Alex was.

"Obee atha beeb, doo," Alex repeated, turning his attention to the little pancakes. He remembered how to dip them in the little cup of syrup and gnaw on them with his new teeth. "Eesh, wadiz dat?" He held up a little pancake.

"Pancake"

"Pandate!" Alex repeated. "Wadiz dat?" He stuck his finger in the syrup and stuck it in his mouth.

"Syrup,"

"Stheewup. Ah wyg stheewup."

Bjorn was trying not to laugh out loud as he held Alex, but the kid was too funny. He loved to see him learn new words and he occasionally had to wipe syrup from his arms as he ate because he was sticking not just the pancake but his whole hand in the syrup. Aubie insisted on testing the syrup with his finger the way he always did before he would eat any of it, and he was gumming the soft pieces Alicia fed him with great gusto.

Sookie was watching them as she finished her stack quickly, thinking how cute they were and how much they were enjoying themselves. "So pancakes are a big hit again, Alicia," she laughed.

"Most little kids enjoy sweet stuff, but these two are just precious when they're eating something they enjoy. We may have to hose Alex and Bjorn both down after this, though," Alicia laughed, too.

"He's not getting any on me so far," Bjorn laughed, "but he'd climb right into that bowl of syrup if he could."

"Dood stheewup!" Alex nodded in that exaggerated way of his and made them all crack up.

When the boys were done, Alicia wiped them both down with a warm washcloth and helped Sookie get them ready to dance, Alex sitting behind Aubie on Sookie's tummy.

"OK, guys, ready?" Sookie teased them, two little wrists in each hand, "Come on, baby! Let's do they Twist! Come on Baaa-beh! Let's do the Twist! Take me by the little ha –and, and go like this!" Sookie sang and jiggled the boys and they cracked up, as always, Alex laying his head on Aubie's shoulder, which tickled Aubie's ear and made him laugh harder. Before long, Aubie, had hiccups and Sookie pulled him into a hug and patted his little back. "Aww, Sweetie! You OK, Aubie? Huh? You got the hiccups again." Aubie giggle and hic'd a few more times, but he settled down pretty quickly. Alicia helped Sookie shower with the boys using the system Bobbie had come up with where they wait on towels in the tub, and pretty soon Bobbie and Amelia were diapering and dressing the boys while Alicia did Sookie's hair and makeup. They all made it into the living room at about quarter after 12.

Margaret had the room gleaming and spotless, and you could tell that the floor was freshly vacuumed and even the front windows sparkled. The fountain looked particularly pretty today the way the sun was hitting it and Sookie was very proud of the way the house looked. The playpen was set up next to the window and the boys were happily engaged in playing with the shape sorting house with the red roof, Alex showing Aubie how the little plastic shapes fit into the holes. "Woogie, Obee, pywamid, Isthisth, dat!" Then he'd reach inside and pull the shape out and guide Aubie to put it in the right hole.

Bobbie was standing next to them just listening to them chatter with each other and she was beginning to think she picked out certain sounds that weren't words, but the other boy seemed to know what they meant. She began to wonder if Alex and Aubie were developing their own language, or if maybe they could read each other's thoughts. She didn't have time to mention it, though, as Margaret was setting up the brass cart with a beautiful two tiered china server with finger sandwiches, crystal pitchers of sweet tea and raspberry tea, and a matching three-tiered server of petits fours and éclairs, napoleons and really fancy chocolate covered strawberries.

Sookie came down looking pretty as a picture in her white dress and a white headband, white Papillio sandals and her favorite Elsa Peretti diamonds-by-the-yard jewelry, which looked really nice with the aquamarine amulet she couldn't take off.

"Wow, Margaret, this all looks amazing!" Sookie was impressed with all the things Margaret had prepared for her guests. "What is all this?"

"The sandwiches are cucumber and watercress with tarragon butter; a special shrimp and cream cheese recipe of my own; a walnut-nutmeg spread; and apple and Boursin cheese on walnut raisin bread."

"They're so pretty! No crusts!"

"I made the bread myself in "pain de mie" pans so they don't really form a crust so there's not so much waste."

"Is there any reason some are in strips and some are triangular?"

"Just a little variety to make a prettier presentation, Missus."

"OK and these are the deserts? Those are petits fours, right?"

"Yes, and mini éclairs and napoleons."

"OK, and sweet tea?" Sookie asked and Margaret nodded, "and…?"

"Raspberry tea, Missus, and this one is mint tea."

"Oh, I've never had those!"

"Would you like a glass now?"

"Yeah, I would. I'll try the raspberry, please."

Margaret filled a tall elegant looking glass with ice from a gold metallic ice bucket and poured Sookie some tea. "We've also got hot tea, of course, and coffee if anyone prefers that."

"Pretty tea service," Sookie never really looked at her tea set up close but it was beautiful with soft pink roses on a dappled leafy green background.

"If anyone should ask, this is Heirloom's Lady Diana Chintz pattern. It's fine Romanian bone china, decorated in Staffordshire, England."

"Excuse me, Margaret?" Bjorn was in the kitchen door, "are these little bottles on the counter RM for the boys?"

"Yes, we were just going to warm them in case the boys got hungry or fussy."

"OK, I'm going to shake a little out of one of them onto a couple of gauze pads – that won't hurt anything with it, right?"

"No, I don't see why it would."

"What are you doing, Bjorn?" Sookie could have listened in but didn't feel like it.

"I'm going to put a little on some gauze that we can put on Alex's cheek and arm. He's supposed to be hurt, remember?"

"Oh, good idea."

Bjorn went back into the kitchen and came back with the bandages. Sookie pulled Alex up out of the playpen and held him as Bjorn put a large-ish bandage on Alex's cheek and a larger gauze pad with adhesive around the edges on Alex's upper arm.

"Wadiz dat, Borhd?"

"Bandages. Remember where you were hurt? You need to look like you're still hurt for TV."

"Dee bee?"

"Yeah, we're going to be on TV, Sweetie, me and you and Aubie," Sookie explained it, not sure if he would understand or not.

"Me dee bee?"

"Yes, you're going to be on TV to talk about yesterday."

"Bee boo?"

"Right, we're going to tell the news lady about the big boom."

"Oday!" Alex understood more than Sookie even suspected, and went right back to teaching Aubie about the shapes once she put him back in the playpen.

Bjorn's phone rang and he answered. "OK, Sookie, they're here. Vincent will direct them into the driveway and bring them in the front door."

"OK, do I look alright?"

"You look beautiful. Eric's going to be beside himself when he sees you on the news tonight," Bjorn assured her. It still amazed him that she had no idea how hot she was.

Vincent met the news van in the driveway, smiling and laughing to himself because he saw the look on the reporters face when she saw him. Even if he couldn't read her thoughts, her face gave it all away. He was sure she'd be star-struck meeting Sookie and the boys, so that worked very well for their cause. He walked to the passenger side door and offered her his hand as she stepped down.

"Ms. Rodriguez? I'm Vincent Oliveri, the King's head of security. Welcome!"

"Hello, this," she indicated the side door, where a guy about 27 who was having trouble leaving his hippie college days behind was climbing down, "Is my sound man, Kevin Turner, and our driver over here," she indicated a shaggy, tough-looking guy who'd fit in better on a battlefield in Afghanistan than he would in Sookie's living room, "is my camera man, Howard Wise."

"Mr. Wise, you've spent time overseas, I believe?"

"Oh, yeah, I was embedded with some troops in Iraq for almost a year. How'd you know that?"

"Your resume is very impressive. I spoke to your HR people this morning so I could clear all of you for entry. We're normally strict about who gets on the property, but given the events of yesterday, we must be doubly vigilant while the royal family is here."

"Oh, would it be possible for us to speak to the carpenters first?" Chelly wanted to ask about the damage and get some pictures.

"We can certainly ask." Vincent held his arm out for her to proceed toward the scaffolding the contractors were using. The foreman was looking at the plans and making sure they had everything they needed for the work they could finish today as they approached. "Tim, can we bother you for a minute, please?"

"Sure, Vincent, what's up? He came over just as Howard hoisted the camera to his shoulder and turned it on.

"This is Chelly Rodriguez from the channel 6 news. She has some questions about the damages. Ms. Rodriguez, this is Foreman Tim di Angelis."

"Hi, it's nice to meet you. This looks like quite a job!"

"Yeah, it's going to take more work to get to the roof than actually fixing the roof its self."

"How much damage is there?"

"There's a hole about 15 feet high and 25 feet wide, and it goes all the way through."

"Oh, my! Was anyone injured?"

"A guard was hit on the head by falling debris, the Queen's friend had her arm nearly broken and one of the babies sustained some serious cuts."

"Oh, my god! One of the little princes was injured! I had no idea!"

"Yes," Vincent said, "Alex, the bigger boy. He's doing well now, but he did lose consciousness briefly, but he's seen his doctor and there's no permanent damage."

"What kind of doctor does he see, if I may ask? He doesn't see a normal pediatrician, does he?"

"The Queen could probably answer that better than I. I'm sure she's waiting if you'd like to go on in?"

"Oh, yes, I can't wait to meet her."

"Shall we?"

Vincent guided them all into the house, where Sookie was still checking out the goodies Margaret had prepared and she turned when they walked in and gave them all a big smile.

"Hi, everybody! Come on in – I'm Sookie, and you're Chelly, of course and who are your friends?"

"Howard Wise is my camera man and Kevin Turner is my sound man. What a beautiful home you have!"

Sookie shook hands with each of them. "Oh, thank you! I thought maybe we'd want to do the interview here on the couch and we can put the babies between us, if you want. Just tell us what you all need to get set up. You've met Vincent, I see, and this is my bodyguard, Bjorn, and Margaret has some snacks ready if you'd like a glass of iced tea, hot tea or coffee, and we've got finger sandwiches and pastries. Just make yourselves at home." Bobbie came out of the kitchen then and Sookie added, "Oh, this is my doula, Bobbie James. She's here to help with the babies if we need her.

Bjorn showed the men where they could access an electrical outlet, and they moved the side chairs back toward the wall/window to give them room to set up their cameras, and Bjorn set the playpen, boys and all, just inside the dining room door. Chelly and Sookie got themselves a little plate of finger sandwiches and Chelly decided to try the iced mint tea. Gradually, once the camera was on its tripod and everything plugged in as necessary, Howard and Kevin tried a couple of small sandwiches and both opted for black coffee. Bjorn saw them looking at the little sandwiches, giving them a sympathetic nod and saying "chick food," and they all laughed softly.

Sookie and Chelly sat on the couch and chatted for a few minutes, then Chelly couldn't wait any longer and said, "I'm dying to meet your little boys."

"Oh, of course! Bobbie…?"

"Be right back," Bobbie smiled and went into the dining room, Bjorn close behind, and they brought the boys out together. They put Aubie closer to Sookie and Alex closer to Chelly, knowing Alex would want to flirt as he always did.

Howard and Kevin quietly turned the equipment on and recorded the conversation the women were having about the babies.

"Oh, my! They're just beautiful!" Chelly was instantly in love. "OK, one is bigger than the other, I see?"

"Yes, the older one, Eric Alexander here, in the brighter blue onesie, is the one most people are already familiar with. This is Eric Auberon in the light blue. He had some problems when he was born, and you can see he's smaller than Alex, so we kept him out of the public eye so he had some time to grow and get stronger before we brought him out with us."

"Did you say his name is Eric Oberon? Like the King of the Fairies?"

"Yes, but it's spelled with an A-U at the beginning instead of an O so they have the same initials."

"That's a very unusual name – how did you come up with it?"

"It was given to him by his god Mother."

"A fairy godmother?"

"Something like that," Sookie laughed.

"You call this one Alex, and what's his everyday name?"

"Aubie."

"Obee mah buggy!" Alex told Chelly, taking Aubie's hand.

"Dios mio! He can speak?"

"Yes, Alex is very advanced in some ways, but in other ways he's like any other baby."

"Is Aubie as advanced as Alex?"

"No, Alex is further ahead, though Aubie is more advanced than a normal human baby. Alex is teaching him, though, so we kind of expect him to catch up."

"They seem to get along well."

"Oh, yeah, Alex looks out for Aubie and Aubie just adores his big brother, don't you Aubie?"

"Ah, Bumby!"

"That means "yes, Buddy."

"Mamee – dat?"

"Alex, say, "what is her name, please?"

"Wadiz uh dame pweezth."

"Hi, Alex!" she shook his little hand, "I'm Chelly!"

"Ah, Chewwy!" Alex gave her a dazzling smile with his new teeth and pointed at the camera, "dee bee!"

"Yes, that's the TV camera."

"Dee bee gamuhwa."

"He learns very quickly!"

"They both do. They get that from their daddy, along with their deep blue eyes and cleft chins."

"He's very dashing and bold, I hear, and somewhat infamous in local legend."

"Oh, I know, and most of it is true," Sookie laughed, "Alex has his big, badass personality, too."

"What about Aubie?"

"Aubie's a lover, not a fighter, right, Cookie?"

"Ah!"

"Alex takes more after Eric and Aubie is more like me."

"I see Alex is wearing some bandages. Did you get hurt, Sweetheart?"

"Wadiz uht?"

"Your boo-boos, Alex," Sookie pointed to them gently."

"Bee BOO!" he showed Chelly, "nah wyg id!" he frowned and stuck his lower lip out.

"Were you scared, Alex?"

"Nah, sthtay wif Dadee!"

"Did he say "stay with Daddy?"

"At one point, we were whisked away to a secure location where Eric was resting."

"Dadee seepeen."

"Yeah, Daddy's sleeping, but he'll be up soon, won't he?"

"Eeah." He looked at Chelly straight in the eye, "ah WUV ma Dadee! Ma Dadee atha sthordsth por FIDEEN!"

"Did he just say something about swords? I heard there was some sign of sword fighting, of all things, here yesterday."

"Swords are a very traditional weapon among vampires. We don't have a lot of big weapons here for defense, but everyone here does know how to handle a sword."

"That seems very strange to most people, you must admit?"

"Yes, I understand that, but these men – these mercenaries – came at us with grenade launchers, armored vehicles and guns. We're entitled to protect ourselves if we're attacked in our own home. We were just living our lives, bothering no one, and they tried to slaughter my children." Sookie's eyes teared up. "They did slaughter some of our very brave and loyal guards. Their poor families," Sookie lost it and cried. Everything that had been building up for the last 30 hours or so came out all at once. Bobbie took Sookie a napkin from the serving table and Chelly just waited to see what Sookie would do or say. This was going to be ratings gold, so she wanted to just let it unfold naturally.

Sookie dabbed at her eyes and Aubie reached up wanting a hug and Alex stood up, holding onto the back of the couch and following Aubie into Mamee's arms. Sookie hugged them and kissed them and they sent her love and comfort, and she pulled it together. "I'm so sorry about that. I try to stay positive but these fanatics have no shame and no conscience. The FOTS was bad enough, now we've got these New Centurion soldiers coming at us with grenades and armored vehicles."

"New Centurion? The New Centurion being investigated by Congress?" Chelly was trying not to jump up and down. This was a huge scoop no one had published yet.

"Yes, that's them. This man, Jubal Garner, has decided that his religion gives him the right to kill people who are different. Vampires are people. They have some physical differences, some of which are advantages and some disadvantages, but ultimately, they're people. I don't understand people who can just decide they have the right to kill people who have never done them any harm! What gives that man the right to send trained killers onto our property and try to kill these babies? Nothing. The men who died here yesterday will be missed by us, and more importantly by their families. They were just standing a post outside a suburban home. That's not supposed to be dangerous."

"If you could say anything to the deceased men's families, what would you say?"

"I'm so sorry. I'm so grateful that your loved one cared enough to try and keep us safe and I'm so sorry that they died protecting us. You all know that my husband will do everything he can to see that you don't suffer in any way that we can prevent, but we know nothing can replace them. You're in our hearts and in our prayers and I swear to Goddess, we won't let their deaths be in vain."

"Did you just swear to Goddess? Is that a feminist, or Unitarian thing?"

"It's the Old Religion, the religion we all shared before patriarchy metastasized like a cancer in the body of Mother Earth."

"Are you anti-Christian?"

"No, we're not anti-anything except hatred and intolerance. We want to live in harmony with Gaia, to live in the grace of the Divine Mother and just be happy. Why people can't just let us be who we are and live our lives, I don't understand."

"Do you see this as a kind of religious persecution?"

"Yes, it's a combination of bigotry and religio-centrism. People are not meant to live in a constant state of fear and violence. We don't have to accept things as they are. We can choose to be peaceful. War is sickness. It starts in the Old Testament and it's just slaughter after slaughter of entire civilizations. Crusades and Inquisitions and Reformations and colonialism and ethnic cleansing and genocide are all manifestations of this false idea that any of us is any more chosen or entitled or blessed than anyone else."

"Are you a Marxist?"

"I don't even know what that means, except he's a guy that wrote a book that the Right Wing loves to demonize. I'm not political. This is not about governing, it's about cooperation, making the most of what we've got and being able to stand back and admit that none us can know anything for certain, so we need to be nice to each other. You have to allow for the possibility that everything you think you know might be wrong. If you can admit that you might be wrong, you're much less lightly to start lobbing bombs at people.

"Are you Wiccan?"

"Yes, but W-I-C-C-E instead of W-I-C-C-A. When you go all the way back, you arrive at Goddess, and everything else is born of Her."

Chelly was stunned. This interview went to places she never even dreamed. "OK, I don't want to misquote you. You are saying that you, Queen Sookie, are a Witch?"

"Yeah, of course! And please make sure if you put this in writing that Witch is spelled with a capital W and Goddess is spelled with a capital G."

"Is that what drew you to marry a vampire?"

"Marrying Eric was my destiny. A part of that whole process of being his wife, his queen and the mother of these two special babies was waking up to my innate power. It was in me all the time, but it took meeting Eric to bring it out."

"If you could go back to being just Sookie, living your life, going to work, never knowing vampires existed, would you?"

"Never! I can't imagine being any happier or more blessed than I am right now. Even with these awful terrorists after us, I still love being us. I just wish they'd live their lives and let us live ours. Seriously, if the religious fanatics would leave us alone, you'd rarely hear a peep out of us. We're private people."

Chelly tried to get back on track now. "Are you afraid of being here now?"

"Yes, actually, I am. We're going away for a bit, I can't say where or when, but I need some distance from this if I'm ever going to be able to live in this house again. This is my favorite place in the world, and those fanatics took that away from me, but mark my words, I'm going to get it back. I won't let them win. They don't get to kill innocent people and prosper. Not this time."

"Is that a threat?"

"It's a fucking promise."


	104. Chapter 104

**Chapter 104**

"I'm sorry for that outburst," Sookie said, taking a deep, shaky breath and helping Aubie settle into her lap as Alex stood leaning on the back of the couch, looking at the reporter. "I go from being depressed and heartbroken to anger and back again."

"That's understandable – you're still probably in shock," Chelly really felt for Sookie, knowing she was in genuine danger. She reached over and squeezed Sookie's hand which was up on the back of the couch behind Alex.

"I guess I am in shock. You can't imagine what these babies mean to me, what my husband means to me. I love them so much and the idea that they might be hurt is just too much to bear."

"I understand, I do. I have another question I have to ask you, about a rumor that's going around…"

Sookie took a deep breath and got centered, "sure, what is it?" she laughed a little

"Is it true that you're pregnant again? That's not possible, is it?"

"Well, what's possible in our case is very different from what's possible for a strictly human couple. Yes, I'm expecting again – another reason my emotions are so jumbled."

"How many children are you planning to have?"

"Hopefully just this one more."

"It's too early to tell the sex yet, right?"

"Yes, but I'm pretty sure it will be a girl. I can't say why I think that, but I just know - mother's intuition, I guess," she tried to cover that a little.

"You've said some pretty controversial things in this interview. Do you want to take any of it back?"

"No, I don't. I'm telling the truth. I love my babies, I love my husband, I love the Goddess. I KNOW it was New Centurion who attacked us and I know that, just like the Fellowship of the Sun, it was their extremist religion that drove them to try to kill us. We don't harm anyone. My husband and I do everything we can to help the people who depend on us."

"What would you say to people who consider you a role model?"

"I don't pretend to be a role model for anyone, but I try to be the best person I can be – that's not a bad thing, is it?"

"What if they say you're trying to recruit their kids into a cult?"

"I don't belong to a cult and never would. I'm not interested in converting anyone – you can't. You're either born a Witch or you're not. We don't proselytize. I'd like people to understand that we exist, and we're about love and peace, so there's nothing to be afraid of. We believe everything you do comes back to you, so we try to only do good."

"Is your husband a Witch or warlock?"

"The word "warlock" is actually an insult, but no, he's not a Witch of any kind. He is a Goddess worshiper, though, from long, long ago."

"May I ask how old he is?"

"Oh, well, I don't really have his permission to share that – he's a lot older than he looks, " Sookie laughed.

"He only looks like he's about 30."

"That's how old he was when he was turned."

"Who turned him?"

"You know, I don't know? He doesn't talk much about his past. He's very much a "live in the NOW" kind of person. He says that right here, what we have between us as a family, is what's real and the rest is just dust and shadows. I'm always interested in hearing about his past, but I let him tell me things in his own time. Maybe some day I'll talk him into writing a book about all the places he's been and things he's done and seen. He's so wise – he always knows the right thing to do and he's so good at explaining things in ways no one else can."

"He sounds fascinating."

"He is."

"People think he's very romantic."

"He really is – he's good at the big stuff and the little stuff, too. Nobody ever paid the kind of attention to me that he does. He says I fascinate him and he really means it. He always tells me I'm beautiful and how lucky he thinks he is. I never have to ask for anything, because he knows what I need before I do. And you should see him with "HIS SONS" – he's so proud of them," Sookie smoothed the boys' hair as she spoke, "and he spends as much time as he can with them. They love to play with their Daddy, don't you boys?"

"Ah, Dada!"

"Ma Dadee isth ma earoh!"

"Aww! He says his Daddy is his hero! They have little onsies that say that on them, so that's where he learned that."

"They're very young to be talking so well, aren't they?"

"Yes, it has something to do with having Eric for a father. They're very smart, just like he is."

"Are they well behaved?"

"Yes, they're very well behaved. I hardly ever have any problem with them."

"You are aware that some people think they're… evil, right?"

"Bigots and extremists think that. These children are angelic – they're loving and fun and curious and bright. Anyone that says anything negative about them is saying more about themselves than about my kids. You'd have to be a monster not to love these children, and I'm not just saying that because I'm their mother. You can't imagine how sweet they are when we play together, how loving they are to everyone around them."

"Ah wyg dantheen!"

"Alex says he likes dancing," Sookie laughed, "that's something we do every morning when they wake up."

"You dance with them?"

"We call it dancing, They sit on my tummy and get jiggled and tickled while I sing some old song, like the Beatles or Chubby Checker. "Right guys? Come on, baby! Let's do the Twist!" she sang just a little and both boys cracked up, especially Aubie, who was waving his arms up and down, giggling

"You get to spend a lot of time with them, then?"

"Most of their waking hours are spent with me or Eric or both."

"Have you thought about what it will be like when they go to school?"

"Oh, we'll have to have private tutors for at least a few years. They'd never be able to go to a public school. They're very different from human children, but fortunately, we have resources to deal with their special needs. Their education will be very different, of course, since they'll be learning to live in the vampire world as well as the human world. I'm hoping they'll be able to get along with all kinds of people."

"How do other vampires feel about them?"

"I've only ever had positive feedback from the vampire community. They're very proud to have little princes and they're very interested in them and protective of them."

"Some people thought they wouldn't be able to grow."

"They're growing like weeds! Alex is over 11 pounds already!"

"Do either of them have health problems?"

"No – I told you Auberon was small at first, and they have some special needs in terms of diet, of course, but their doctor is very pleased with their progress."

"Do they see a pediatrician?"

"No, they have a specialist who is an expert on vampires. She's a very elite member of the community."

"Can you tell me her name?"

"No, I'm sorry, I can't, I have to protect her privacy."

"Does she treat Weres, too?"

"Yes, I believe she does."

"Have vampires always known about werewolves?"

"Yes, of course, but they're separate communities. They cooperated to keep each other concealed all these years, though, for everyone's safety."

"Have you met any Weres?"

"Oh, yes, I have met some wonderful Weres and Shifters of all kinds. We have some very loyal friends in their community that we love dearly."

"Does your husband employ any Weres?"

"I don't know any specifics of who Eric hires for various things, but almost every business will have some history of hiring Weres. They're extremely well integrated in society. I doubt there's a person out there that doesn't know at least one, especially if they're in any kind of service. Many of them are in the military, they're firemen and policemen – those jobs make the most of their natural strength and speed. Weres have been keeping us all safe for a long time."

"Do you favor equal rights for them?"

"Of course, I favor equal rights for everyone! We have to stop judging people by things they didn't choose for themselves and can't change. Being a Were doesn't dictate a person's character any more than being human does. Would it make sense for me to assume that all humans are small-minded, hateful and violent because some groups so blatantly are? Of course not. What you do is what matters, not who you are."

"Have you been attacked by fanatics before?"

"Yes, I've been in buildings they've bombed, houses riddled with FOTS bullets, I was even staked accidently when I got between an FOTS fanatic and a vampire she tried to assassinate. These are people who claim to be Christians, but they're full of hate and violence. It's sickening. That guy Jubal Garner thinks he's going to wipe Islam off the map and vampires, too, and nobody will stand up to him because powerful people are tied to him financially. That's the real story here – members of our government investing in radical hate groups, sending them to foreign countries to commit war crimes in our name and letting them get away with hate crimes here. We're not trying to take over the world, they are! They make money from war. We don't."

"Your husband doesn't invest in any defense stocks or anything like that?"

"Not that I know of. I've seen listings of all our holdings, and I may not know every little thing, but as far as I know, his money comes from commerce – shopping malls, construction companies, resorts and hotels, casinos, bio-medical research, things like that."

"You know, I couldn't find any record of anyone having interviewed your husband anywhere."

"He's never done an interview that I know of. He released a press statement when it was requested once but that's it. He's very private."

"He doesn't mind you speaking to the press, though?"

"No, he thinks I represent us well, though I don't know how he'll feel about today," Sookie laughed. "I'm serious about one thing, though – New Centurion is not going to get away with this attack on us. I'm going to stay after the local authorities to press charges and I'm going to keep telling the world what they're up to."

"Is there any direct evidence it was them?"

"I believe our head of security handed a list of some of the attackers to the police with proof they were connected to New Centurion."

"Where would he get that?"

"He's good at what he does. My husband hires the best, then pays them very well, so that he gets the results he wants, when he wants them."

"That sounds a bit ominous."

"Good. People need to think seriously before they attack us. We don't go around threatening people, but if we are threatened, we will defend ourselves with every resource possible. Those men who attacked us yesterday came in here with the best equipment and training available, and as far as I know, not one of them walked away, even though we had smaller forces and no big weapons. Make no mistake – Eric Northman has the best resources in the modern world and he will use everything at his disposal to keep our family safe. Leave us alone – that's all we ask."

Alicia peeked out of the dining room door near the window behind where the camera could see and held up her wrist, tapping on her wristwatch to let Sookie know they needed to move on.

"Well, I guess we should wrap this up. I'm afraid we have plans tonight," Sookie said as sweetly and apologetically as she could.

"Well, thank you so much, Queen Sookie. This has been an amazing afternoon. I hope we get to speak again sometime."

"Let's hope next time is under more pleasant circumstances," Sookie said with a sad smile.

"Absolutely." Chelly looked down to the boys and shook each ones' hand as she spoke to him. "Bye-bye, Aubie!"

"Ah!" Aubie said in his playful voice.

"Bye-bye, Alex!"

"Bah-bah, Dayoo, Chewwy!" Alex batted his eyelashes, flashed her a brilliant smile and reached for a hug, which Chelly gladly accepted.

"Aw – thank you, Alex! They're so beautiful!" She gushed over the boys and Sookie thanked her. The guys packed up their equipment as Chelly and Sookie had another sandwich and finished their iced tea, then Vincent showed them all out to the van.

"OK, what's next on the agenda?" Sookie asked Alicia as she picked up the dishes from the coffee table.

"We need to get ready to leave. You've only got an hour."

"What? I thought we weren't leaving until midnight?"

"Everyone forgot that tonight was the full moon. By midnight you'll be at Sang Riche New Orleans and most of your guards will be running wild in the bayou," Alicia laughed.

"Is everything ready?"

"Yes. You and the boys are already dressed to travel, they loaded the luggage while you were being interviewed, so as soon as Mr. Northman gets up, we'll head for the airplane and have dinner in New Orleans."

"Wow – It seems so sudden. Is Margaret still staying here?"

"Yes, and she'll have company. Octavia, Amelia and Jerry are staying here until the 10th, too."

"They are?"

"Yes, so it will just be Bobbie, you and me taking care of the boys for a few days."

"That's the lightest we've ever travelled, isn't it?"

"Yes, it is, but it will be fine."

"We'll still have all the guards with us, right?"

"Well, not as many. Some are going to go with us to the airport, then there will be local ones we'll pick up in New Orleans."

"OK, are my journals packed?"

"Yes, you have a carryon bag with your journals and some other things that arrived for you today."

"What things?"

"UNDWY, Mamee!

"What do you want, Sweetie? Mommy eat?"

"Nah, sthowid pood!" Alex pointed to Sookie's plate on the coffee table, which still had a couple of finger sandwiches on it.

"He wants to try your sandwiches, Sookie," Bobbie laughed. "I'll be back, I've got to bring our things downstairs.

"OK, Alex, let's see if you can eat them." Sookie took a knife from the cart and a couple more sandwiches and sat next to Alex cutting the finger sandwiches into even smaller pieces. Alex loved them, but Aubie patted Sookie's breast, clearly wanting to suckle, so she sat cross-legged on the couch with him in her lap while she fed Alex bits of sandwich. She was having so much fun with the boys, who were both being extra cute, that she didn't realize how late it had gotten. She was completely engrossed when Aubie leaned back and said, "Dada!" Sookie looked up and Eric was just standing there watching her feed the babies.

"Hey, Daddy, how long have you been standing there?"

"Not long," he said, bending down to kiss her and the babies. "You all seemed very happy so I just enjoyed the show. Is this where you did your interview?"

"Yep, they haven't been gone long. I should have had her stay and interview you."

"No, I think they got more than they deserved as it is."

"I hope you aren't mad at me. I said some things that maybe I shouldn't have."

"Such as?" He asked as he picked Alex up and sat down, putting him on his knee so Sookie could continue feeding him.

"I talked about the Goddess…"

"Yes, and?"

"The word Witch came up…"

"Naturally, and…?"

"I cursed."

"You cursed?"

"Yeah. I said something about New Centurion not getting away with attacking us and she said that sounded like a threat and I said it was a fucking promise."

He looked at her, showing mild amusement.

"I apologized for the outburst and I said I go from sadness to anger and she said I'm in shock, but the way it came out, now that I think about it, would make a really good sound bite."

"Anything else?"

"She asked if I wanted to take anything back and I said no – I love my kids, I love you, I love the Goddess and pretty much that we just want to be left alone."

"That's fine, Sookie," he smiled at her softly, thinking how beautiful she looked as she adjusted the top of her dress.

"They're going to say we're devil worshipers!"

"They already do," he laughed softly as he tickled Aubie's tummy and made him squeal.

"They're going to think we're going to go after them…"

"We are."

"What if I made us look like monsters?"

"Sookie, you look like an angel. The boys look like angels. No matter how angry you got, what the reasonable people will see is a beautiful Mommy whose babies were nearly killed by terrorists. You did cry, didn't you?"

"Yeah, I did."

"Good."

"Good?"

"Yes, good."

"I said I was pregnant again," she said apologetically.

"Excellent. That alone could explain an outburst and it will certainly elicit sympathy. Did Ms. Rodriquez seem to like the boys?"

"She was wild about them, of course! Alex flirted like he always does and Aubie was sweet and when I got upset both boys reached for me and hugged me."

"Vincent and Bjorn told me you did a marvelous job, and what you're telling me is consistent with what they said. I'm very proud of you, Sookie, you did exactly what we needed you to do."

"You do understand that I admitted to being a Witch, right?"

"Sookie, the people who will be upset by that are already throwing bombs at us. The rest will see it as a curiosity, or an eccentricity, or maybe they'll learn about the Goddess. It won't create any more problems than we had in the first place."

"Well… OK…. I thought you'd be mad at me, especially for cursing."

He stroked her cheek gently with the backs of his fingers. "You have a hole in the roof of your house and your tiny elder son is sitting here with bandages on his face. Cursing is the least people would expect you to do. You could have declared jihad as the mother of an injured infant and people would understand. You underestimate your innate charms, my Angel. Vincent actually used the words "pitch perfect," and he is not one for excessive praise."

Bjorn came in through the kitchen. "Eric, we're ready to roll whenever you are."

"Alright, let's go then. I half expect those detectives back and I'd rather they not delay us." He stood, still holding Alex and offered Sookie his hand. She put Aubie up to her shoulder, taking Eric's hand and following them through the kitchen and out the back door.

Bobbie and Alicia were already putting diaper bags in the limo, and Bjorn was making his last round before driving them to the airport.

Sookie felt weird about the whole thing. "Are we really ready to just pick up and leave? I feel like I should say goodbye to people or we should, I don't know, do something…"

"There's nothing to do, Dear," Alicia assured her as they walked past the pool to the car, "it's all done, it's all packed, you'll be seeing the others in four days at most."

"Wow – how is there room for all of us in here?" Sookie couldn't figure out how she, Eric, the boys, Alicia and Bobbie all fit in the back of the limo.

"We put the car seats in the trunk. The boys don't really need them and it eliminated the need for one of the vehicles," Alicia explained.

"Shouldn't I call Jason at least?"

"You can call him once we get there, Sookie," Eric told her, "We don't want to transmit from here right now."

"I feel like something is wrong." Sookie said as they pulled out of the barn and went around the north side of the house. "We're being watched."

"Can you tell where they are, Sookie?" Bjorn asked from the driver's seat. Sookie noticed there was a newer guard she didn't know in the passenger seat but she didn't hear anything suspicious in his thoughts.

"No, but they've got a radio of some kind, because I can hear it, too," Sookie said as they pulled out the front gate and headed down the side street instead of going straight toward the highway.

Eric started to ask if the car following them was the police, but before the words formed the car behind them moved up beside them and they flashed their lights. "Damn," Eric said to no one in particular.

Bjorn pulled the limo over to the side of the road and Detective Johnson walked up to his window. "Detective Johnson. Would you consider following us back onto the compound before we speak? It's not safe for us to sit here like this."

"Alright, we'll follow you back." Johnson returned to his car and Bjorn turned the limo around, leading them back inside the fences and parking in front of the garage.

"That's not what I heard," Sookie said.

"What?" Bjorn asked from the front.

"The police radio is not what I heard. It's someone else watching us."

"Alright, Sookie I want you to keep the boys down in the seat while I'm talking to the police," Eric instructed her. "If someone takes a shot at us, they're less likely to get hit down there. The windows are tinted, but I still want you to keep the boys' heads down." Eric was repeating himself – he was nervous about something but she wasn't sure what. She just knew something wasn't right.

"OK, I will," Sookie heard Eric think that the hairs on the back of his neck were standing up. There was definitely someone out there and it was not these police detectives.

Eric and Bjorn got out of the limo and met the detectives in front of the cars. "Detective, my flight crew is waiting for us," Eric started, trying to be intimidating and succeeding.

"Why are you in such a hurry to leave?" Johnson asked.

"Someone is trying to kill my family, Detective," Eric continued softly so only Johnson, Forbes and Bjorn could hear him, "there's someone watching us right now. Be prepared to hit the ground."

"She doesn't know where?" Bjorn asked as the two detectives looked on in confusion.

"Not yet, but she said they've got a radio so I'm trying to pick up on them," Eric said softly. He knocked gently on the window where he'd been sitting so Sookie rolled it down. He bent down and said, "make them visible," and Sookie knew exactly what he meant, and focused her energy on exposing the watcher.

"You seem awfully sure about this, Mr. Northman," Johnson started but his partner interrupted him.

"I saw something," Forbes said, "9 o'clock, about three feet from the ground."

"You gettin' that feeling, Sally?" Detective Johnson pulled out his notebook and acted like he was reading from it.

"Yep. I think I caught a glint from an infrared laser sight in the scrub trees toward the highway."

"Sniper," Bjorn nodded and Eric and the two detectives agreed.

"If Sally says she saw something, you can count on that," Johnson said, "I never known her to be wrong in this type of situation."

"I believe I left that paperwork in my office, Detective, I'll be right back." Eric said politely and walked into the house, zipping through the kitchen and out the back.

"Does he know what he's doin'?" Johnson asked Bjorn

"Oh, yeah," Bjorn laughed a little, "he'll be back with whoever it is in a minute."

"How do you know that?"

"I know the King, Detective," Bjorn bragged a little. "Unless there's a small army out there, and a really good one at that, he'll be bringing them back in just a few minutes."

"Is this a vampire thing?" Johnson asked, knowing the answer

"Absolutely," Bjorn smiled.

In just a few minutes the window where Eric had been sitting went down again and Sookie poked her head out. "He's got him. He says tell the guard at the front gate he's in a dark blue Chrysler."

Bjorn cracked up and buzzed the front gate with his phone. "Hey, guys, Svenska 1 is coming through with an X-I in a dark blue Chrysler. We'll turn him over to the detectives since they're here." You could hear the guards laughing over Bjorn's phone, which irritated Johnson to no end.

"What would you do with him if we weren't here?" Johnson asked, though he had a pretty good idea.

"We'd ask him a few questions and impress upon him the importance of not doing it again."

"Why do I have the feeling he'd not get the chance to do it again?"

"The King's guard is very thorough," Bjorn gave him a predatory smile that left him in no doubt that if they weren't here, whoever was being brought in would never get out alive, but you'd have to have some kind of evidence of a crime and there was none. In just another minute, a blue Chrysler came up to the front gate and was buzzed in. Eric parked it right behind the detectives' car in the lights. Eric looked huge as he stood up out of the car and he reached into the back seat and pulled out an unconscious man.

"He's out cold," Det. Johnson said in a disgusted tone.

"He frightens easily," Eric shrugged, not really concerned what the cops thought as he dropped the man at their feet. "Here is his gun. His radio is under the dash there – it's not a police radio, more of a CB, really."

"Hey! He's not even New Centurion!" Sookie said as she looked out the window. "Is Vincent still here? He needs to see him, Sweetie."

"Alright, my Angel, we'll call him," Eric laughed.

Bjorn was already on the phone, knowing Vincent was still in the guardhouse talking to Rafael, and he warned Vincent that the detectives were there. While he did that, Eric called the pilot to let him know they were slightly delayed, but would be there shortly.

"Why are you people in such a good mood?" Johnson didn't understand these weirdos at all.

"Nobody got shot!" Sookie said from the back seat, which sent Bjorn and Eric into howling fits of laughter. "Don't forget what day it is, boys!"

"True, we need to be on our way," Eric remembered. "Detective, is there anything else?"

"Yes, there is!" Johnson was exasperated, and Eric and Bjorn were trying not to laugh, but got to thinking about what would happen if they didn't get Bjorn someplace safe by midnight, so they both looked up at the moon, then at each other, then tried to concentrate on what the police detective was saying. "Did you hear what I just said?"

"No, I'm sorry, I was distracted," Eric tried to keep a straight face.

"I said, we got the lab reports and those animal wounds were not from dogs, they were from some unknown wolf-dog hybrids, and I notice there are no guard dogs patrolling your grounds tonight."

"Oh, shit!" Sookie said inside the car.

"What is wrong, Sookie?"

"I forgot somebody. Give me a minute. Go ahead and talk." Sookie sent the window back up then said, "Be right back," to Bobbie and Alicia and teleported to the shed, found Puff, "Hey, Puffy! We almost forgot you! Now shrink!" She spread her hands on either side of her head, the same way she did when she conjured him, and this time she made him smaller instead of bigger and more solid. When he was about the size of an average cat, she picked him up and popped back into the limo. "Look who we almost forgot!"

"I thought they said the animals were in the other vehicle?" Alicia said with surprise.

"They must have meant the cat, because I'm the only one that could shrink him, right?" Sookie reminded them of what she thought was the truth.

"I thought Rafael could and did," Alicia recalled.

"Where's his pet holder?"

"It must still be in the basement, Dear."

"OK, CARRIER!" The Louis Vuitton dog carrier appeared in Sookie's lap and Alicia opened it so Sookie could slip Puff into it. "There you go, Puffy. You just relax and we'll be at the new club soon."

"I'm so sorry, Mrs. Northman, I had no idea he wasn't already on the bus!"

"That's OK, Alicia – nobody's perfect. I knew we were forgetting something," Sookie laughed.

"Alright, goddamit, I want some answers." Johnson was about to lose it completely. "How did you know where this sniper was, how did you get there and back so quickly and why is your wife so sure he's not with New Centurion? How many people are trying to kill you? Does this happen every day?"

"Well, we have been very busy of late. Our children were just Wiccaned on Saturday…"

"They were what?"

"It's a naming ceremony, like a Christening, but not Christian, of course."

"Is this some kind of cult?"

"No, just a vampire royal family," Eric said simply.

"Are they all like this?"

"No, this is the only one. There have been regents with progeny, and there have been married regents, of course, but our family is the first of its kind," Eric said proudly.

"Some kind of new science?"

"No, it's a rare combination of several rare elements. It's unlikely ever to happen again."

"So what the tabloids say is true?" Forbes was busting to ask questions. "These are the only vampire children in the world?"

"Technically, they're vampire hybrids, but yes, they're the only ones of their kind."

"And your wife is pregnant again?" Johnson asked

"Yes, very recently, in fact."

"When is that one due?" Forbes was thinking how lucky Sookie was and Sookie "heard" her so she rolled the window back down as Eric answered her.

"We expect her some time before the New Year, but we're not sure of the exact date. They don't require the extended gestation period that human babies do."

"Now how does your wife know this man is not from New Centurion?" Johnson continued

"She's very intuitive."

"Intuitive? Is she psychic?"

"Not precisely, but she does possess certain gifts that can give her such information. You may be sure that, if she says he's not from New Centurion, he is not."

"She's a telepath, right? Didn't she save a lot of people at the Pyramid of Giza bombing?" Forbes bubbled forth with some information that Eric was surprised to hear from a human police officer.

"She's a what?" Johnson looked at his partner as if she suddenly had two heads.

"That's the story among the first responders," Sally continued, "the woman refused to give her name, but she was a petite blonde and I've heard fire fighters who saw her swear that she's a vampire Queen now. This has to be her, right?"

Nobody spoke because nobody wanted to out Sookie to the police.

"Where did you say you heard that story?" Sookie asked very sweetly since the guys seemed frozen.

"She's a legend among the first responders. Most people swear it's impossible, but I know a guy who knows a guy who saw her showing them where to dig people out and he's a completely believable source," Sally told her.

"That's quite a story," Sookie smiled and laughed a little. "If that story were true, that woman probably wouldn't want people to know who she was because they'd never give her any peace. I'd bet she's very private and just wants to be left alone to enjoy her family." She smiled sweetly as if nothing was wrong and Sally took the hint and decided to let the topic die.

"Yes, you're probably right."

"Detectives, are you planning to detain us?" Bjorn was getting antsy. They needed to hit the road or that private airplane was going to be rocking in the moonlight.

"We need to know if you employ any werewolves," Johnson was not letting this go.

"Detective," Vincent said as he stepped out on the front porch, having come through the house, "You are not allowed to ask that question of an employer. The new privacy laws prohibit an employer from outing their employees."

"This is a police investigation!"

"You still can't ask that question." Vincent was not backing down now. "The attacks to which you refer happened on private property to criminals during the commission of a capital crime. You don't even have the right to have our dogs tested for rabies."

"Those men are dead!"

"So are 5 of my employees," Eric said angrily. "The men you are referring to were paid assassins. You're not going to violate the rights of those who survived, let alone expose the families of the slain to bias attacks. Now, do you plan to arrest anyone?"

"Not at this time," Johnson was pissed. He was hoping they wouldn't know about that privacy law, because it just went into effect a month and a half ago.

"Do you have a warrant?" Vincent knew the situation and he knew Bjorn was not the person to handle this right now.

"Not at this time."

"And you do have an armed assailant in your custody," Vincent reminded them. "Perhaps you should pay attention to that, and let my employer be on his way. He is expected in New Orleans in less than 2 hours for an urgent business matter. Let them go and I will accompany you to your station and answer any legally allowed questions you still have."

"Alright. When will you be back, Mr. Northman?"

"Our plans are indefinite. If you have urgent need, contact Vincent and he will contact me. I'll need 48 hours notice if you need me to return. Have a pleasant evening." Eric turned to the car, Sookie scooting over quickly, as he and Bjorn both got in and left without another word.

Once they were out of the gates, Bjorn floored it and Eric called the pilot to tell them to be ready to go when they arrived. The bus with the luggage and the extra guards had already arrived and they'd all been loaded into the plane, so they were on the plane heading south in 25 minutes. Sookie saw the extra driver taking the limo back off the Tarmac as they taxied down the runway.

The babies both made happy sounds as the plane took off and had everyone laughing at how cute they were.

"Eric, how many guards are we taking with us?" Sookie asked as he handed her a dose of Ambrosia.

"There are 10 in back, plus Bjorn. We'll be met at the New Orleans airport by a group of 10, then when we move to the house, we'll increase the guard by 6 per shift."

"Where are the pets?"

"Bjorn," Eric turned to him, "where are the pets?"

"In back with the guards. You want me to have them brought up here?"

"Yes, please," Sookie answered, "I want to be able to talk to them."

"OK, no problem," Bjorn went to the back and brought the two carriers forward, though they only had about 15 minutes left to fly. Sookie just had time enough to lie on the floor and look through the mesh windows on the ends of the carriers and give the kitten and the dragon whelp some reassuring baby talk before they had to secure them and she had to return to her seat for the landing. They decided that in the future, the pets would be tethered to a latch on the end of the closet right behind the babies' seats so they wouldn't get lonely.

The landing was a little bumpy, but they unloaded the plane in record time because the Were guards were getting itchy. The daemons and vampires kicked it into Supe speed so they could get to the club in time for everyone to get settled by 10 and eat before the Weres had to head for the Park. Dinner was waiting for the guards as soon as they unpacked the vehicles and Sookie was sitting on a white leather couch, identical to the couches in all the other Sang Riche locations, nursing the babies and looking at the room service menu by 10:30.

Alicia was showing the kitty that the litter box was in the downstairs bathroom and the dragon was tucked into a big straw lined doghouse out by the pool, some papers put down for his use and held in place by bricks so the wind wouldn't mess them up. Alicia served him a stack of round steaks which he enjoyed immensely and he spent the night swimming in the pool and basking in the light of the full moon, then he'd nap for a couple of hours and do it all over again. From a reptilian perspective, this was a pretty nice set up.

Bobbie came out of her room and sat in the white chair to Sookie's right, already in her light blue knit pajamas with a kitten print on the pants. "Hey, Sookie – where's Eric?"

"He went to talk to the head of security for tonight since Bjorn won't be back until morning."

"Any idea who it is?"

"No, somebody Rafael recommended, and some new vamp Bill had meet us here. I hope they're reliable. I'm so used to Bjorn and Jerry being around that I feel kind of naked tonight, you know?"

"Yeah, I know what you mean. Anything good on the menu?"

"Maybe. What's a soft-shell crab?"

"Do they have those?"

"Yeah – are they good?"

"They're fantastic. See, crabs molt every year, so when they drop their hard shell, what's left is soft enough to eat the whole thing. They're usually fried in batter or breading and served with some kind of sauce."

"OK, this offers 2 per order – is that enough?"

"It's me, you and Alicia? I'd order a dozen because you're going to love them and they tend to be small."

"OK, I'll ask Alicia to call when she's done. In the mean time, my buddies need new diapers."

Bobbie laughed, "I'll take care of that. Who wants a new nappy?"

"Me doo nap-pee!" Alex leaned back and said, so Bobbie took him from Sookie and headed for the bathroom with the changing table.

The boys were freshly diapered and sleeping in the playpen by the time the platter of soft shells and French fries arrived and the women were half through them before Eric came back. They were gathered around the end of the dining table chowing down when he came in with a frown on his face. He walked over and kissed Sookie and said, "You smell like the ocean, Dear One."

"We're eating crabs. What are you upset about?" She asked as he sat in the chair next to her.

"Not upset, just concerned. We're in a strange place with strange guards and I've been trying to ensure that you and the boys will be properly protected tomorrow while I'm at rest."

"Bjorn will be here, right?"

"Yes, but Bjorn cannot do it all alone. I'm much more comfortable when he has Jerry to back him up. Lane is acting as his second and I'm much less confident in his skills if Bjorn were disabled or distracted."

"Don't forget about me, Eric. I can kick ass if I have to," Sookie said in a delightfully sassy way.

Eric laughed, "Yes, you can. I just want to be as sure as I can that you will not need to."

"Eric, this is the safest place for us, or we wouldn't be here, right?"

"More or less,"

"So don't worry so much. I know you and Bill have these places locked down tight. I also think nobody is going to be looking for us here, so I want your permission to go out tomorrow."

"Sookie, that is not a good idea."

"I disagree, and I'll tell you why – if we get afraid to go out in public, we let Garner and the FOTS and the other fanatics win."

"You want to go out to prove a point?"

"No, I want to go out to see the city, look at clothes, have a nice lunch and check out some voodoo shops."

"You can have a nice lunch here, Sweetheart."

"Yeah, and I could buy clothes on the Jnternet, but I'm in New Orleans and I want to have some fun. There shouldn't be any crowds on a Thursday and I read about this really old restaurant I want to go to."

"Which restaurant, Sookie?" Bobbie thought that sounded great no matter which it was. They all needed a day out.

"Antoine's."

"Oh, my! That would be wonderful!" Alicia said, "I haven't been there since my honeymoon."

"You've been there?" Sookie thought that was a cool thing to do for newlyweds.

"Oh, yes and the food is fabulous – oysters, escargot, soft shell crabs, steaks, chicken, fish in some of the most wonderful sauces, classic recipes that were created there that spread all over the world. You'll love it."

"They've been in business since the 1800s. I always wanted to go there, too," Bobbie added.

"Would you consider at least waiting until Friday?" Eric really didn't want them out so soon.

"You really think it's still dangerous?" Sookie asked

"Look at it this way – Bjorn will not be at his best tomorrow. By Friday, he'll be rested and we'll know more about the security forces here."

"Hmm – OK, we'll wait until Friday." Sookie wasn't happy about waiting but she knew he had legitimate concerns. "Will I need to go into the office any time soon?"

"We'll leave that until after the 10th as we'd planned."

"OK, that's good. I guess I'll have a pool day tomorrow. "

"That won't be so bad, will it?" Eric said playfully, pressing his forehead to hers.

"Of course not, but I really wish I could go tomorrow."

"Why is this so important to you, Sookie?"

"I don't know, but I just have this thing in my head that I need to go to Antoine's for lunch tomorrow. Friday is too late."

"Too late for what?"

"I have no idea, but it's important."

Eric sat back and looked at her for a minute. She was serious – there was some reason for her to go there, and apparently the time and date were mattered. "You aren't afraid at all?"

"No, I'm supposed to be there tomorrow."

"Would you consider lunch and one voodoo shop and leave the clothing and sight seeing for another day?"

"Yeah, that'd be fine."

"Let me speak to Bjorn when he returns. He knows the city quite well, so I'll tell him what you want and he'll tell you what we've decided in the morning. Is that acceptable?"

"Yes, as long as you emphasize that I really, really need to be there tomorrow afternoon."

"Alright. What are your plans for the rest of the night?"

"That depends on your plans for the rest of the night."

"When the boys wake up, let's go for a swim in the moonlight. Auberon has never had a midnight swim."

"That's right, he hasn't!"

"Bobbie, Alicia, would you like to swim with us?" Eric was being polite, and they knew it.

"If you don't need me," Alicia said quickly, "I'd like to read a book I started this week."

"I'd like to spend some time looking for voodoo shops on line so we know where to go, if we go out tomorrow. I can check out the street maps and see which one is closest to the restaurant," Bobbie said, hoping they could find a really good one.

"Oh, OK, then, I guess it's just us?" Sookie said, kind of surprised no one else wanted to swim.

"The swim diapers for the boys are in the closet with the pool toys. If no one needs me anymore tonight, I think I'd like to go to bed," Alicia said with a knowing smile directed at Eric, who smiled back.

"Yes, of course, Alicia, whatever you want…" Eric said agreeably.

"Actually, I want to go, too, now that I'm thinking about looking up some stores on the Internet," Bobbie said, taking a plate with two soft shells, some fries and her drink to her room with her.

"No dessert?" Sookie couldn't believe they were all bailing on her, but then she caught an x-rated thought crossing Eric's mind and she caught on, finally, laughing to herself that she needed to start listening in on her friends more. Not listening was becoming so easy now that she hardly did it around family any more.

Everyone said good night and Eric went to the closet for the swim diapers. He looked at the toys in the closet with some fascination, having had little experience with baby toys of any kind. He found a little green "activity center" with a removable canopy that Sookie suggested would be good for Aubie because it had little toys on it. There was a yellow ducky float, not exactly like the one Alex was used to at home, but Sookie knew it was near enough that Alex would love it. There was a little electric pump that had the toys inflated in just a minute each, which Eric took care of while Sookie got a stack of towels from the linen closet in the bathroom. She took a minute to wolf down another couple of crabs while they waited for the boys to stir, which they did in just a few minutes.

"Are my boys awake?" Eric said with an affectionate smile, bending over the playpen to stroke their little tummies.

"Ah, Dadee!"

"Hello, my little vampire!"

"NnDada!"

"Hello, my little elf!" He tickled each boy as he spoke to them, giving Sookie time to finish eating what was now her favorite food in the world. "Would my very good boys like to go swimming?"

"EEAH, sthimmeen!" Alex loved that idea. Aubie looked at Alex with surprise and laughed, knowing something good was going on, but not knowing what. Eric threw a baby blanket on the couch and moved them both over. He changed them into the swim diapers, talking to them and tickling them as he worked. Sookie was practically licking the platter clean as Eric threw the toys into the pool, stripped, picked up the boys and went out to jump in naked. Sookie nearly choked when she realized he wasn't going to wear a suit.

"Eric!"

"Everyone is gone to bed, Sookie. We have a couple of hours when no one will be around – drop that dress and come in!"

She stood at the door and sort of whispered, sort of yelled, "alright, Eric Northman, but if anyone comes in on us, or a plane or helicopter flies over, I'm gonna to kill you!"

He cracked up at that, putting the boys into the floating seats while she shed her dress and thong, diving in head first and coming up near the boys saying "boo!" to their sheer delight. Aubie's float had a little octopus on it that held a few toys, his favorite of which was a rattle. Sookie tried to think and she wasn't sure Aubie had seen a rattle except at their 1 month party. Alex always loved them, but this was a new discovery for Aubie and it tickled him that he could control it. He's let it sit for a second and watch it, then he'd pick it up and shake it and squeal at the sound.

"Sthimmeen, Dadee!" Alex was making his "come here" motion to Eric, wanting out of the float and into the water. Eric laughed and took him out, pointing him at Sookie.

"Ready to catch me, Mommy?" Eric teased and Sookie held both her hands open and said, "come to Mommy, Sugar!" Eric let Alex go and he was off like a shot, but instead of swimming straight to Sookie, about half way there he dove down deep, swam a circle around her legs, and came up in front of her saying "boo!"

Sookie pretended to be shocked and scooped him up, swinging him in a circle and making him squeal with delight. He was giggling and yelling as Sookie blew raspberries on his tummy and they woke the dragon up. Puff walked over to the edge of the pool and made its Wookie sound toward Sookie. "OK, Puffy, come on!" she motioned to him and he jumped into the water, doing a lap around the pool down toward the bottom, then coming up to investigate what the Goddess and her whelps were doing. Puffy wasn't clear on Eric's role in the group yet, but he knew Sookie was in charge and the babies were hers. Puffy flicked his tongue at the floats in the water, then swam close enough for Aubie to pat his head.

Sookie still had Alex, who was yelling, "DWADON! DWADON!" and waving trying to get Puff's attention, which he did. Sookie held Alex waist deep in the water and let Puff come close and really look Alex over, flicking his tongue out and tickling Alex's ear. The baby made that noise (laughing) that Puff liked, so he was sure this was a good thing and he let Alex pet his head and kiss him on the nose. Puffy rose up a bit, flapped his wings and tilted his head at Sookie, and she knew he was offering to give Alex a ride. Sookie didn't see the harm since Alex could swim so well, so she put Alex on Puffy's back right below where his wings attached and showed Alex how to hold around his neck. Puffy swam a couple of slow, smooth circles around the edge of the pool with him. Eric was half playing with Aubie and half watching what the dragon was doing, not nearly as comfortable with it as Sookie already was, but the dragon seemed to know to go slowly with the baby and keep him above water.

"He's OK, Eric, don't worry. Puffy is really smart."

"How do you know that, Sookie?"

"I can sort of read him."

"You can?"

"Yes, he thinks I'm in charge and he knows the boys are my babies, so he'll watch out for them."

"You are sure of this?"

"Yep – he hasn't figured out who you are yet, but he knows me and the boys."

Puffy brought Alex back to Sookie, made another ring around the bottom of the pool, and came up next to Eric and Aubie. He rose up again and gave Eric the same motion with his wings and his head. "Go ahead, Eric, he won't hurt him."

Eric wasn't sure about this, but he knew he could act very quickly if necessary so he put Aubie on the dragon's back and put the baby's arms around Puff's neck and let him take Aubie slowly around the pool about three times. Puffy gently brought Aubie back to Eric and let him take Aubie, then he rose up and looked right in Eric's eye and made his sound. Eric could see in the dragon's eyes that it really just wanted to be friendly, so he smiled and said, "good dragon," and patted his head.

"Aw – see? He's a sweetie."

"He certainly does seem to understand that the boys are to be protected. As long as I know he is not a danger, I suppose he might be useful. You did say he can see nature spirits and Fae, yes?"

"So I'm told. Maybe he'll keep any of Niall's assassins from sneaking up on me."

"Let's hope. Sookie, Auberon is getting chilly – he has goose bumps."

"As hot as it is tonight?" She took Alex with her over to Eric and Aubie and Eric was right, Aubie seemed cold. "Well, we should go in anyway – we've been out here a long time playing." Sookie let Eric take Alex and she took Aubie in her arms, holding him against her and rubbing his arms and back to warm him up.

"It doesn't seem long but it has been almost an hour and a half. Let's take the boys upstairs and have a quick bath before we all retire."

"That's a good idea," Sookie said as she headed up the steps to the towels. Eric threw the little floats up on the cement toward the door, and took Alex out. He wrapped Alex in a towel and gave him to Sookie, then wrapped a towel around Aubie as she held him. He dried her off and then himself, finally taking both babies and quickly following Sookie up to their loft.

Sookie ran the bath while Eric played with the boys on the fur bedspread, making the animal noises that always cracked them up, tickling and kissing them as they howled with laughter. Sookie made use of the restroom while the bath water ran, brushing her teeth, and came back with a bottle of Chanel No. 5 bubble bath to add to the water, though she'd already put some vanilla-scented bubbles in the bath. She stepped into the bath and leaned back on a pillow she found in a basket of goodies beside the tub, relaxing while Eric undressed the boys. He dropped their swim diapers in the shower and levitated the three of them into the tub next to her. He could tell Sookie was very tired, so he let her rest while he washed each boy's hair. The boys seemed to know Sookie was tired, too, because they played and splashed very quietly and tried to whisper like Daddy did.

By the time he had the boys clean, Sookie was asleep, and the boys were yawning, feeling Mommy's fatigue and reacting to it. Eric diapered them at vampire speed and had them tucked into the co-sleeper in just about 3 minutes, then joined Sookie in the tub. He gently moved her so he could wash her hair, then he soaped her, rinsed her, and put some nice vanilla lotion on her damp skin as the tub drained. She barely stirred as he combed out her hair and she hummed with contentment when he tucked her into the very soft, expensive sheets and kissed her forehead.

Eric's business papers were there in the loft, so he got his iPhone and the paperwork he needed and made his calls to Bill and Sandy, checked in with Pam and Vincent, and paid a few bills. He could feel in the bond that the boys were about to wake up hungry and he was sure they'd want Mommy this time, so he put his work away, put the iPhone on his nightstand as always and slipped into bed next to Sookie. He relaxed and listened to Sookie's breathing, trying to feel the tiny life in her womb. At this stage his daughter was a tiny glow inside her, but he could feel her presence and sent her waves of adoration, picturing her as a little girl about three, the very image of Sookie, precious and willful and the apple of Daddy's eye. He was getting misty thinking about her and he thought he felt a wave of love flowing back to him then he realized Sookie was watching him as he held his hand over her womb and concentrated.

"Can you see her yet, Sweetie?"

"Not exactly – I see a warm glow that will grow to be her, but that's all at this point. I thought for a minute I felt a wave of love, but that was probably coming from you."

"It wasn't. I felt it, too. It's tiny as she is, but it's there."

"I wonder who she is?" Eric asked wistfully

"I wonder that about the boys…"

"We know who they are now, though – Alex is bold and loves to fight, Auberon is sweet and funny – but she is a complete mystery right now."

"How do you picture her?"

"I can't picture her grown yet. I see her at about 3, with your big smile and blonde hair, as sweet and playful as you are."

"Aww – that's cute."

"I wonder if she'll be petite as you are, or tall, like the women in my family? Will she be a Witch? Will she be more like a vampire or an elf? Will she be a darling little Princess or a hearty Viking wench?" he laughed. "With you as her mother, she could go either way, you know?"

"Maybe she'll be all of the above? I can be girly, but I can kick ass, too," Sookie laughed.

"If she has half your grace and half your power, I'll be very proud of her. I don't expect to be lucky enough to have two such powerful women in my life."

"Try three – don't forget about Freyja."

"That's true, I'll be blessed with a Trinity of powerful females, then, one more beautiful than the next."

"Right, so now I need you to stop thinking about your daughter."

"Why?"

"Because the boys will only sleep another hour and a half at most and I want you to knulla mig until we have to stop!" She laughed and he instantly switched gears.

Neither of them was in the mood to be mellow this night. Sookie had a lot of pent up anger from the past few days and she unleashed it all on him. He gave even better than he got in one continuous throwdown that took place across the entire room. They slammed, scratched, clawed, growled, spun in the air, rolled around on the floor, ending their Odyssey on the red leather ottoman/table/ whatever it was, with Sookie on her back, her legs on either side of his head while Eric took her on his knees. When the moment was right, they each offered the other a wrist and bit, causing an explosive yet silent orgasm in both that left them stunned, spent and laughing.

Sookie was the first to be able to speak. "Now that's what I call a good hard vampire fuck!"

That cracked them both up, and they laughed a little too loud, because they woke the babies. "Dadee?"

"Hold on, Alex, Daddy is coming," Eric said, dragging himself up off the floor as that particular turn of phrase set Sookie off laughing again. Eric scooped her up off the ottoman and dropped her playfully in the bed, pulling on a pair of jeans and picking Alex up from the co-sleeper. Fortunately, Aubie woke up, too, because there was barely time for Eric to feed them and give Sookie her Ambrosia before he had to go into his box. Sookie was sound asleep by the time the boys were fed, and Bobbie came up to sit with them until a Were was available to take over. Bjorn relieved her at 10 am, giving her a big kiss and a squeeze as she headed back to bed.

Sookie was dreaming, but conscious. She was in that place that's really no "place" at all where she'd only ever seen Freyja – unless maybe she and Eric had been here before during sex? Where was Freyja? Sookie felt like her tongue was stuck in peanut butter, but she called out "Freyja? Are you here?" Nothing.

"Freyja? It's Sookie! Did you want to see me?" She had to force the words out of her mouth, her tongue feeling huge and hard to move.

A tiny light appeared before her then it flared into a bright star, swirled hypnotically and Sookie was at once face to face with Dionysus! She was startled and jumped, making him laugh, then he looked in her eyes and walked very close to her. He held up a goblet of gold to her face and said, "Would you like a drink, Milady?"

"A drink of what?" Sookie asked and he burst into laughter. He was so beautiful, like a rock star with that curly dark hair and cupid's bow lips, and Sookie was both repelled and aroused. There was truly no way to know what He was going to do next!

"Very good, Milady. That was a test. You'd be amazed how many will drink from My cup without bothering to ask what it holds."

"Yeah, I can see that, but I don't know You that well…"

"Would you like to know Me better, pretty lady?"

"Uh, well, I'd need to ask Freyja about that. I don't know what the rules are."

"Your husband never concerned himself with the RULES when he was in My service, Milady. Do you need permission from Freyja to follow your own… loins?" He made a grab for her hootchie with his free right hand but she backed away quickly.

Sookie was shocked because she was sure He was going to say "heart" but somehow His attempt to grope her didn't surprise her at all.

"Not permission, exactly, but information. No offense but I know Her and trust Her…"

"Do you?"

"What?"

"Do you really? Do you really trust Her deep down in your SOUL," he grabbed for her again, but she jumped back and slapped his hand way, which made Him howl with laughter. "Very amusing, Milady. Very entertaining." He looked her up and down lasciviously, making her aware for the first time that she was naked. "It' a pity We've no time to play today – you need to be at Antoine's by 1…"

Sookie sat bolt upright, making Bjorn, who was in one of the chairs in the sitting area, jump because he was so tired.

"Hey, Bjorn!"

"Good morning!" He tried to act as if she hadn't startled him.

"Have I been here this whole time?"

"Yes, you've been watched continuously since dawn."

"Good. What time is it? I'm supposed to be at Antoine's by 1."

"Eric told me about that, Sookie, but I really don't think…"

"Bjorn, Dionysus just told me I had to be there by 1!"

"Since when do you have visions of Dionysus?"

"Since just now, apparently, in a place I usually see Freyja. I wonder where She was this morning?"

"Can you see more than one deity at a time?"

"I don't know – I never have before, except at the Wiccaning. I don't know why Dionysus is around me so hard."

Bjorn laughed to himself about Sookie saying Dionysus was "hard around her," but he didn't call it to her attention. "Maybe he likes you, Sookie?"

"He scares me, though, and did you see Him at the Wiccaning?"

"I know He was there but I didn't see what He did when He walked to the babies."

"He kissed their foreheads and anointed their lips with wine. What that meant, I have no idea."

"You didn't ask Him?"

"No. I doubt He'd tell me the truth, anyway. He's like Alex, always laughing at me – wait, I don't mean that. Alex laughs at me but he's just a little mischievous. Dionysus is more than that – I think He can be really mean."

"He supposedly makes women kill their children, you know?"

"WHAT?"

"Yeah – I'm sure you've heard that before, right? I think I remember Bobbie and Octavia talking about it."

"If I did, it never sunk in. I wonder if there's a way to keep Him away from us?"

"I'd talk to Freyja about it if I were you, Hon. You can't afford to insult someone on that level."

"Yeah, that's true. I'll talk to Her when we get home. Anyway, let's get ready to go to Antoine's."

"Sookie, you know all the Weres are tired today…"

"Didn't you just tell me I couldn't afford to insult Dionysus?"

"Alright, hang on." He pulled his phone out, "Alicia? Yeah, I couldn't talk her out of it and she wants to get there by 1. Uh-huh. Sookie, do you want something to eat now?"

"Just give me a strawberry drink so I can get ready and go."

"She just wants one of those strawberry things. Oh, OK. I'll tell her. She says there's one in this little fridge," he said as he bent down to look. He handed her a can and a straw, taking her a robe that was hanging on the closet door as he went over to her. "Alicia said you'd better hop in the shower if you want to get there on time. I'm going to go downstairs and let you get dressed."

"Who's got the boys?"

"Bobbie is playing with them downstairs and Lane is watching them. Last time I heard them they were in their playpen with the kitty and Alex was trying to teach Aubie to say "kitten" but he says it funny…"

"Yeah, he says "giddnen." I love that." Sookie laughed, then chugged the strawberry supplement. Bjorn was already down the stairs, so she didn't put the robe on, she just held it in front of her in case anyone could see up the stairs as she went into the bathroom.

Bobbie and Alicia brought the boys up and let Sookie give them each a shower, then they dressed them in some adorable Ralph Lauren shortalls that were designed like his classic polo shirts. Alex's was Pool Blue, Aubie's Cayman Blue, so they were very nearly alike, except Aubie's was a slightly richer color. They even had the little polo pony on the little pocket.

"These are so sweet!" Sookie was nearly jumping up and down. "I think they're dressed for a fancy restaurant, right?"

"Yep," Bobbie agreed as they put little white socks and shoes on the boys. "They should fit right in. We packed a little food just in case they don't have anything appropriate for the boys, but I think they'll have something for them, don't you?"

"I hope so. Did Alicia pack my camera? I want to take their picture there. I think it will be sweet, their first time in a fancy restaurant."

Bobbie laughed and agreed and Alicia came up and found the camera, then refilled the diaper bags. Sookie wiggled into the white dress with the black roses, getting a little rush remembering she and Eric had sex in the limo the last time she wore it, oh, and on the plane, too!

"I hope they can seat us all," Sookie said, just realizing they were going to a very busy restaurant with a large party.

"I called ahead, Mrs. Northman, and told them our party had some special needs and we'd have 10 people plus two babies, and they assured me they could accommodate you."

"They didn't have any problem with the babies and all?"

"Not when I told them the reservation was for the Northmans. The person I talked to said "the vampire King's family? You mean Queen Sookie and the princes?"" Alicia laughed, "I said "yes, that's us, can you handle us?" and they said, "yes, Ma'am, we'll be very pleased to serve them." They guaranteed a table for us at 12, so we should go as soon as we're ready."

Bjorn managed to corral them all into the car by 11:10 and they were dropped off at the restaurant at quarter to 12. The staff was waiting for them and they led the group to a set of tables at the side of the main dining room where everyone could see them. It did not escape Bjorn's notice that there were photographers staking them out.

"Hey, Sookie – somebody tipped off the press," Bjorn was not happy with this development.

"That's OK, isn't it? We aren't afraid of anybody, right?"

"Sookie…"

"Bjorn, do you trust me?"

"I trust your intentions, but this flies in the face of common sense, Sookie."

"You want to bet a hundred dollars that something happens at 1 that makes it a great idea that we're here?"

"Yes, I do."

"You're going to lose."

"I hope I do. If I win, we might all regret it."

Sookie, Alicia and Bobbie were seated at the center of the right side of the main dining room, Aubie closest to Sookie and Alex between him and Bobbie. Guards sat at the tables on each side of them and in front, so there was a semi-circle of protection around the table. Bjorn sat at the table next to Sookie and kept his back to the wall and his eyes scanning the room even as he ate. Cody Lane mirrored Bjorn's position just behind Bobbie and Alex.

"Excuse me, Queen Sookie? I'm Richard, the maitre d'…" a very polished man came to their table as they all settled in.

"Oh, hi! Thanks for fitting us all in with such short notice."

"Oh, it's our pleasure, your Majesty. We consider it an honor to have you and the princes here. All the city will be buzzing about it!"

"Oh, well, that's nice," Sookie said with a big smile, seeing Bjorn's expression of displeasure in her peripheral vision but choosing to ignore it.

"Since this is your majesty's first time dining with us, our chef suggested that you might want to try a tasting menu so you can get a good sampling of our extensive offerings?"

"That's fine with me, especially if it includes different oyster dishes and some soft shell crabs," Sookie laughed.

"Oh, yes, Madame, you'll be very pleased, I'm sure. He wasn't quite sure what to serve the babies, I'm afraid. Do they eat normal food?"

"Yes, they can eat some things. They love vegetables and they're not picky eaters, except that we're all very allergic to lemon, so please don't bring any or use any in our food. Alex needs things that are in small chunks and he loves gravies and sauces, but Aubie needs only soft things, but if it's too much trouble…"

"Oh, no, Madame, what we had considered was taking some of our best vegetable dishes and pureeing them so the babies could have a taste of what you're having."

"They'd love that, I'm sure, and I don't know if you serve it, but they really like steak Tartare. The rare meat is good for them."

"Alex particularly likes potatoes," Alicia offered, "I'm sure he'd love some of your famous pommes de terre soufflés."

"Alright, I'll let the kitchen know. If there's anything at all we can do to make your visit more pleasant, please just let us know." He bowed slightly to Sookie and walked smartly back to the kitchen. Sookie heard him thinking he was hoping they blew her socks off with their food, because the Queen's visit was guaranteed to be featured in the local society columns and he was hoping they'd get a nice quote to add to their web site and maybe their brunch ads for the weekend.

"Mamee?"

"Yes, Sweetie?"

"Ee dinder?"

"Yep, they're going to make food for us and bring it to our table. Won't that be nice?"

'Eeah, ahm undwy! Sthmew dood!"

"Yeah, it does smell good in here, doesn't it? This is a restaurant, Alex, can you say restaurant?"

"Westhtawant?"

"Good job!"

Sookie and company were definitely treated like royalty and the food was rich as hell and out of this world. Just as they finished an amazing array of oysters done four ways and escargots done two ways – Sookie made herself try one and was pleased to find she actually liked them – the bus boys came around to refill everyone's water glasses as they awaited the next course. They were quietly excusing themselves and working cooperatively, and at just about ten minutes until 1, Sookie picked up on an interesting comment. It occurred to her later that her hearing was improving, because the boys were near the front of the room with the far table of guards and they spoke softly.

"Hey, Johnny," a young olive skinned boy said to the tall thin Cajun boy that was helping him, "you got this? The boss just waved like he wants me over at the Garner tables."

"Sure, Petey, go ahead." Johnny nodded and continued to serve their party.

Sookie reached out into the room with her mind and tried to zero in on the other guests while she watched where Petey went and waited for Johnny to come to her table. She realized that a boisterous group of men on the opposite side of the room seemed very pleased with themselves, obviously celebrating, and that some of their dining companions were scanning the room the same way Bjorn was. She focused on that guy in particular and heard him thinking that there were "too many people here to try taking the vamp slut and her little demons out." When he reached Bjorn, Sookie asked sweetly, "excuse me, Johnny?"

"Yes, Ma'am?"

"Did I hear you say something about "the Garner tables?" That wouldn't be Jubal Garner, by any chance?"

"Yes, Ma'am, it is. Do you know him?"

"As a matter of a fact, we have some business to discuss, but I haven't met him face to face. Which one is he?"

"See the tall man in the blue suit, red tie, with the crew cut?"

"The one who just waved for another drink?"

"Yes, Ma'am, that's Mr. Garner."

"Thank you, Sugar," she smiled sweetly as he finished and moved to the next table.

"Sookie, don't you even think about it."

"Think about what?"

"Confronting him."

"Who?"

"You know damned well "who!" Eric will skin me alive – literally – if I let you get in that guy's face." Bjorn was trying not to raise his voice, because there were two photographers and a reporter nursing some drinks and appetizers and trying to listen in on them.

"They know we're here, Bjorn, and they know there are too many people to try anything. I am NOT going to slink out of here with my tail between my legs," Sookie said quietly and definitely as the next course was set in front of them. Before Bjorn could speak again, Sookie was half way across the room and the photographers were following her. Bjorn got up and followed her and motioned for a Were named Lewis to go around the other side. The reporter was nearly out of his chair, watching breathlessly to see what the vampire queen was going to do, not knowing who Garner was but knowing she'd recently been attacked in her home by mercenaries.

Sookie walked right up to Garner's table as his security and hers all stood to see what was about to happen. Three of Sookie's guards got right in front of Alex and Aubie so they formed a wall in front of them. Alex was enjoying his "taytosth" and Aubie was wondering where Mommy went, but didn't fuss. Lane stood in front of Bobbie and Alicia, ready to back Bjorn up.

"You're Jubal Garner?" Sookie demanded

All the men at Garner's table were stunned that this gorgeous woman walked up to them, but his security knew she couldn't be hiding a weapon in that little dress. Garner decided to try blowing her off, which was not a good idea.

"Yes, I am, Little Lady! Something I can do for you?" He sort of laughed to his companions, like she was some kind of groupie, and Sookie heard in her head that the businessmen he was lunching with had no idea who she was. Only Garner's security knew her.

"Yes, as a matter of fact, you can stop trying to kill me and my family." Sookie spoke loudly enough for everyone in that side of the restaurant to hear and the gasps were audible. Bjorn and Lewis were right behind Sookie, staring down his security. The rest of them were standing at the tables with Bobbie, Alicia and the boys.

"Now hold on…" Garner thought he could intimidate her if he stood and got angry.

Sookie looked right up into his eyes and spoke, oblivious to the flash of the cameras behind her, "You and I both know that you sent hired killers to my house in Shreveport two days ago and tried to kill my family. This is the only warning you're going to get. Leave us alone!"

"You're getting awfully close to committing slander, you little..."

"It's not slander if it's true and we ALL know it's true. You don't know who you're messin' with. You stay away from my family, or you'll be joining your paid killers in Hell. I repeat – this is the ONLY warning you're going to get, Jubal Garner. Have a nice lunch!" She sneered that last sentence with all the Scarlett O'Hara sass she could muster, spun on her heels and went back to her table and sat down without another word. Bjorn and Lewis backed away, not taking their eyes off Garner's men.

Sookie went back to their table, and told her guards, "y'all sit down and eat. We're not afraid of those bastards."

"You shouldn't have done that, Sookie," Bjorn felt light-headed, wondering how he could explain this to Eric without getting his head ripped off, literally. Shit!

"Yes, I absolutely should. It's called "hiding in plain sight."

"What?"

"They already knew we were here. Now EVERYBODY in this room knows they're here, too. If we just left and never said anything, they could follow us and attack us on the road. Now that I've made a big scene, and had my picture taken talking to him, if anything happens to us, the authorities go straight to Garner."

Bjorn wanted to argue with her, but she was right. Her making a spectacle gave them some measure of cover they wouldn't have if she hadn't called attention to Garner's presence.

Richard, the maitre d' returned to the table. "Excuse me, your majesty, is everything alright?"

"Everything is fine! I just saw a business associate I needed to speak to. These soft shells are to die for. Can you tell me, which sauce is which?" Sookie was being as perfectly sweet as she could, sending a clear signal to Richard and Bjorn and everyone else that she expected everyone just to move forward with the meal as if she hadn't just accused a man of attempted murder in front of "god and everybody." Richard looked at Bjorn with surprise and Bjorn just shrugged.

"Mamee, wadiz dat?" Alex was pointing to his bowl and Sookie looked at Richard.

"Oh, my! I didn't know they could speak!" Richard said with surprise.

"They're unusually bright children. He's wondering what this creamy green stuff is."

"I believe that's the creamed spinach, Madame. They have creamed spinach, broccoli with hollandaise sauce, and of course, the pommes de terre soufflés."

"He loves the potatoes – that's his favorite food. Alex, did you try the broccoli?"

"Bwoggy?"

"Yes, Sweetie, this is broccoli," Sookie took his spoon and gave him a bite and he went wild for it. "Ah wyg dat bwoggy, Mamee. Nah Mahdwid."

"No, Margaret didn't make that, did she? That's special broccoli that they only make here."

"Daygid om?"

"Oh – I don't know, Sweetie," Sookie looked at Richard who was waiting, fascinated at seeing the Prince speak. "He wants to know if he can take some home with him."

"Of course! We'll make some little doggie bags for them, if you'd like."

"Oh, thank you." The meal continued without incident, unless you counted Sookie's delight when they served a fancy dessert called Omelette Alaska Antoine, a kick-ass baked Alaska dish they'd made just for her. She had Alicia take the boys' and her picture with it, and she went around and took some pictures of them all, then Bobbie took some pictures with Alicia in them. She took a special one of Alicia between the boys that Alicia just loved when it was printed out later. Richard even took a picture of her whole group seated together on that side of the room.

"Excuse me, Mrs. Northman, I believe?" The reporter couldn't take it any more, and they were on dessert so he just approached her, but he did it slowly, knowing she was surrounded by armed men.

"Yes, I'm Sookie Northman," she gave him a big smile, knowing she was going to get to skewer Jubal Garner in the press.

"Well, welcome to New Orleans! That man you approached before – isn't that Jubal Garner of New Centurion, Ltd.?"

"Yes, it is – he's tried to have my family killed a few times, the last time being Tuesday, and this is the first chance I've had to tell him to stop."

"I heard him mention slander…"

"You must have also heard me say it's not slander if it's true. We've turned evidence over to the authorities in Shreveport. The men that fired grenades at my house two days ago were on Garner's payroll and he's not going to keep getting away with it."

"You believe he's tried before?"

"At least twice, but there's no evidence. This time, there is. All my family wants is peace. All we ask is that he leave us alone. These religious fanatics need to know that the vampire community is not going to be victimized. You are not entitled to kill people just because they're different, or because some religious wacko has decided someone is "unholy" or whatever. It's the 21st century, for Goddess' sake!"

"Oh! Well…uh…"

"I think that's enough questions," Bjorn said firmly with a look that let the man know in no uncertain terms that the interview was finished. "Let the Lady finish her dessert."

"Of course. Thank you, your majesty." There was no way he was going to challenge the big blonde with the slight Swedish accent – the man was a mountain!

"Thank you! I know you're going to print Garner's name? And that he's the head of New Centurion, right?"

"Yes, Ma'am."

"Good," Sookie said with an air of great satisfaction.

When they were all stuffed and satisfied Sookie left god-awful huge tips, especially for Johnny, whom she had Bjorn slip a hundred dollars to – the hundred dollars he lost to Sookie for their bet.

There was a well known shop right around the corner called Erzulie's Authentic Voudou that Bobbie had found on the Internet, and Sookie insisted on going in, while the babies and Alicia waited in the car. They didn't stay long, but Sookie found two Connolly Tarot decks for Bobbie and herself, which was the one Octavia told them to get, and she bought an 85 dollar bottle of "Gulab Attar (Pure Rose Attar) (Rosa Damascena)," which is a sacred altar oil. She also bought Rose and Pomegranate room spray "for sensuality," a pink stained glass pentagram "for passion," and ""Mambo LaSiren" Peace, Healing & Calming Perfume Oil" for Yemaya.

"Yemaya was at the summit, right?" Bobbie recalled

"Yes, and She said She's a mermaid, too, and She'd see me in Mexico."

"That's fantastic!"

"Yeah, it should be fun. I hope you get to meet Her."

"Me, too."

Sookie was fascinated as she looked at a display of candles in jars, and some shaped like men, women, skulls, cats and columns of 7 knobs piled one on top of the other. Bobbie was starting to explain what they were when Bjorn cleared his throat to let them know to get on with it. Sookie and Bobbie took their purchases to the cash register, where the owner, a very pretty woman known as "the Root Queen," rang them up, stopping to look at the Tarot decks closely.

"Did you find these here?" she asked with surprise

"Yes, of course," Sookie laughed. "Why?"

"Well, I'm the shop owner, and I do all the buying, and I've never seen these before!"

"You must have – they have a price and everything," Sookie said as Bobbie laughed with delight and Bjorn just shook his head. "They're exactly the ones I needed."

"You've got the power to manifest what you need, then – use it wisely."

"Oh, I will! Thank you!"

Bjorn was relieved when he finally got them in the limo and headed back to Sang Riche, and he took some pretty paranoid precautions on the way back to make sure they weren't followed. It was almost 3:00 by the time Alicia and Bobbie got Sookie and the boys tucked into their beds in the loft for an afternoon nap. Sookie had eaten so much for lunch that she dozed off in the back of the limo and Bjorn carried her in while Cody and Lewis carried the boys, who were also asleep.

Alicia heard giggling in the loft at about 5:00 and went up to find the two babies flying around, turning flips in the air and going up to touch the glass ceiling.

"Come here, Baby E!" Alicia said quietly, laughing, and he flew into her arms, then Aubie followed. She took them downstairs and gave them fresh diapers then Alex wanted "dee bee" so she put their Teleubbies DVD in and that kept them occupied until the kitchen brought their dinner up at 6. Alicia and Bobbie fed them and had them trying to repeat words until Eric came down the stairs.

Eric awoke at nearly 6:30 and found Sookie still asleep in the bed wearing nothing but a white thong. He fought the animal in him that wanted desperately to taste her because he was afraid that she might be ill, although he was pretty sure he felt only fatigue in the bond. He went down to find the boys showing off and eating their dinner, surprised that the others weren't eating as well. Bjorn was sitting at the table drinking coffee and laughing at the boys, but his mood grew visibly grim when Eric entered the room.

"Good evening, everyone – no family dinner tonight? Is Sookie ill?" He bent to kiss each boy in his high chair, stroking their soft cheeks with the backs of his fingers, reveling in the love and laughter that flowed from them for him.

"No, she's fine, but we thought if she could sleep, we should leave her alone. We didn't know if we should wake her for dinner or wait until she got up," Alicia explained.

"Did she insist on her outing today?"

"Boy, did she, and we need a security meeting because of it," Bjorn told him, hoping Eric wouldn't fire him, let alone kill him, once he heard what Sookie had done.

"Was there an attack?"

"No, more of a confrontation. Jubal Garner was in the restaurant," Bjorn just spit it out to get this over with.

Eric panicked a little bit, which was to be expected. "What?"

"Yes, apparently the intuition she had, which was reinforced this morning by Dionysus…"

"Dionysus?"

"Yes, He told her she needed to be there by 1, so we went and about half way through the meal, she overheard the bus boys refer to Garner and while I was telling her not to even think about confronting him, she zipped across the room and told him to stop trying to kill her family."

"She walked up to him in the restaurant?"

"Yes, and there was a reporter and there were two photographers there."

"Why were they there?"

"To cover Sookie and the boys going to the restaurant – some one tipped them off -it's a big honor for them, because the whole city loves vampire royalty."

"Has anyone watched the local news?"

"We recorded it in case they said anything about it."

"And?"

"There was one picture of Sookie and the boys that they posed for and they said there was a rumor that she confronted another diner about threatening her family, but they didn't have the whole story. I think they'll have it tonight, though, or in tomorrow's papers because she did speak to a reporter."

"They didn't name Garner?"

"No. He told her she was close to committing slander and she told him "it's not slander if it's true and we ALL know it's true." You should have seen her," Bjorn said with pride, "he tried to intimidate her and she stood tall, looked him right in the eye and told him this was the only warning he was going to get."

"Her exact words?" Eric softened a little hearing that.

"Yes."

Eric smiled, then tried to get serious. "I should be angry at both of you, you know?"

"Yes, I know, I've been half afraid you'd fire me and half afraid you'd kill me, but her reasoning for doing what she did makes sense. She said they already knew we were there and they knew there were too many witnesses to try anything, so by confronting them, she made sure they couldn't follow us home without throwing suspicion on themselves. If anything happens to us, everyone will look at them first."

Eric nodded, "that's a very good strategy. She came up with that herself?"

"Yes."

"She's learning."

"Yes, she is."

"Did you go anywhere else?"

"A shop around the corner, but mostly she was happy to come back here when we finished our meal."

"Finished your meal? You mean she confronted him and went back to eat?" Eric was incredulous – he'd assumed Sookie had given Garner a parting shot on her way out the door.

"Yep, and stayed for dessert," Bjorn let out a little laugh and Eric laughed, too, then everyone at the table cracked up.

"Any problems with the children?" Eric smiled at the boys as he sat at the table next to Alex's chair

"No, my men formed a wall in front of them while it was happening and we were on guard while we finished the meal."

"When did Garner's people leave?"

"They were still there when we left and I called more guards from the office while we ate so we had a large force with us coming back here.

"And she went shopping?"

"To one Voudou shop around the corner just for a minute. She apparently manifested some Tarot cards there."

"Manifested?"

"Yes, she found two of the decks Octavia specified she should get, but the shop owner said she'd never seen them before and that Sookie must have the power to manifest what she needs."

"Did she recognize her?"

"Honestly, I couldn't tell. She recognized Sookie as a practitioner, but I don't know if she knew she was your wife."

"Did she say anything else?"

"Just that Sookie had the power to manifest and to use it wisely."

"Anywhere else?"

"No, we took a very indirect route to get back here to be sure we weren't followed. She and the boys were all asleep when we got here, so I carried her up to the loft and two of the guys brought the boys. Alicia and Bobbie got them ready for a nap and she's been there ever since."

"Alright. The boys have eaten?" Eric looked around to Alicia.

"Yes, but they should probably have bottles of RM as well," she told him.

"Alright, order dinner for the five of us and we'll wake Sookie when it arrives if she's not up yet. I'll give the boys their bottles while we wait. Bjorn you can sit with us and we'll continue our talk." Eric pulled Aubie up out of his chair and Alex floated up and into his free arm. Eric sat on the couch with them and Bobbi warmed bottles while Alicia ordered food from both the human and vampire menus.

Alex insisted on standing next to Eric on the couch, facing backwards so he could hold onto it but still see Obee in Dadee's lap. Aubie was patting Eric's cheeks and giggling as Eric tickled and played with both of them. "Alex, did you enjoy your trip to the restaurant today?"

"Ah wyg westhtawant?"

"Did you go eat dinner?"

"Eeah, sthmew dood!"

"It smelled good there?"

"Eeah, dood bwoggy nah Mahdwid."

Eric looked at Bjorn for that one.

"He had good broccoli that was different than Margaret makes."

"Oh, did you eat anything else good?"

"Eeah, taytosth and dween sthtinach."

"I got potatoes and…"

"He's either saying green spinach or creamed spinach," Bjorn laughed and so did Eric and the babies.

"Did they have good food, Auberon?"

"Ah!" he bounced in Eric's lap and giggled.

"Dadee, Mamee "NAH, NAH!""

"Mommy yelled at someone?"

"Eaah, bee!" Alex drew the words out for emphasis and his hands out to show size.

"I think he's saying "big" – is that right, Alex? It was a big man?"

"Eeah, bee mand. Mamee doo widdow."

Eric got that, "he was a big man and Mommy was too little?"

"Eeah. Wew nah fway dose basthtats!"

Bjorn nearly spit coffee in the white living room, cracking up when he recognized Sookie's words.

"What did he say?"

"He said 'we're not afraid of those bastards,'" Sookie said from the spiral staircase.

"Mama!" Aubie zipped through the air into Sookie's arms. Sookie was just wearing one of Eric's t-shirts, but it reached her mid-thigh.

"Come, my Angel!" Sookie and the baby made a bee line for Eric and she sat in his lap and gave him a big kiss. "Alex has been telling me about your trip to the restaurant."

"I figured. I didn't think he'd remember that particular line."

"You are the one who always says "Alex doesn't miss much,"" Eric laughed.

"Yeah, I'd better watch that, huh? So what's the plan for the evening?" Sookie asked with a yawn.

"Alicia has ordered our dinner, then we will all swim – Bjorn, Bobbie and Alicia, too, and then you and Bjorn and I will make a plan."

"Because he got his one warning?" Sookie knew exactly what he wanted to plan.

"Exactly, my Angel."


	105. Chapter 105

**[A/N: Sorry this took me so long! Life's a bit chaotic right now, and this is a short one. Next update will be quicker, but I'm doing a chapter of Entitlement first. At a certain point in this chapter, you're going to think I made a mistake. I didn't. Enjoy! MS]**

**Chapter 105**

Sookie woke up sad that morning, lying on her back, watching the rain fall on the glass dome of the loft. She was very quiet, not wanting to talk yet, knowing Bjorn was probably over in the chair. She could hear the babies laughing and playing downstairs where she could hear Bobbie and Alicia feeding them. She let out a big sigh and rolled over on her side, looking out into gray nothing for as far as the eye could see. It was disorienting, and scary, but thrilling in a way and she knew that was the point. It was like flying up here and felt just as wild and dangerous.

'Dancing," she said softly.

"What did you say, Sookie?" Bjorn asked from his position across the room.

"Dancing. The boys don't get to dance in the mornings here."

"You can dance with them downstairs can't you?"

"Yeah, but it's not the same. This place isn't set up to cuddle or eat breakfast in bed. It's made for fooling around."

"That's not a bad thing, is it?" He could tell she wasn't happy about something and wanted to joke her out of it a bit.

"Not if you're fooling around. If you're in the mood to cuddle your babies, it's less than ideal."

"Yeah, I can see that, I guess."

"Do we have anything we have to do today?"

"Alicia hasn't mentioned anything."

"OK, I'm not getting up today. Bring the boys up here with me and ask Alicia to make me something easy to eat…" before Sookie could finish her thought, Aubie came flying up to her calling "Mama!"

Sookie caught him and kissed him, saying, "there's my sweet boy!" and tucking him in next to her just as she'd been wishing she could. Alex flew up shortly after, two fists full of turkey sausage and traces of pureed peaches on his chin and his little t-shirt. "Oops! Towel!" she called a hand towel from the bathroom and tried to keep Alex from getting grease on the expensive sheets, but he was faster than she, and there was sausage grease smeared on the top sheet as Alex landed between Sookie and Aubie, giggling and stuffing sausage in his mouth. "Alex, you're such a messy eater," she said teasing him and he cracked up. "Aubie, do you see Buddy munching on that sausage?" Aubie giggled more because she was speaking to him than because he understood her. All he knew was Mama was smiling and Bumby was laughing and that made him happy in the new way anything around Mama always did. Sookie figured the sheets were no big deal and just focused on the boys, tickling and kissing them and finally having Bjorn throw her a blue gown from her open suitcase, then help her get the boys in position to dance. Alicia heard the giggling and came up to see what Sookie wanted for breakfast since she'd have to order it from the kitchen.

"Well, we're having fun this morning!" Alicia laughed.

"Yeah, I was a little sad when I woke up but my buddies here cheered me up, didn't you, boys?"

"EEAH!" Alex squealed

"Ah!" Aubie copied Bumby as best he could.

"There's nothing I need to do today, right, Alicia?"

"No, you have a whole day to do nothing."

"I need to check on Puff, though…"

"Not really. He's lying on a rug inside the sliding doors. I was afraid for him to stay out in case there was lightning."

"Good point. Are we in danger of that up here?"

"You can always close the shutter system," Alicia said casually.

"What shutter system?"

"Watch this," Alicia laughed and walked over to the bed, picking up a little remote from the glass nightstand on Eric's side. She pointed it toward a red thing that looked like a head light up on the wall between the tub and the bathroom, and there was a sound of machinery creaking into motion. Some kind of covering that seemed to be metal, but was moving like liquid, was slipping over the glass and in just a minute, they were all in a perfectly light safe room.

"Hey! I didn't know that was there!" Sookie said, liking this much better than being out in the open.

"I think Eric was going to surprise you," Bjorn laughed, "but you had to know he wouldn't build a bedroom he couldn't rest in, right?"

"You mean he could stay in the bed with me here?"

"Of course, Dear," Alicia laughed. "He didn't want to tell you so soon that you'd want it down all the time, but it's here for safety. We would have closed it if there was a sign of lightening, but we thought you'd be coming downstairs."

"I can't believe he could have been staying in bed with us and didn't!"

"He could stay with you every day, Sookie, he just doesn't for safety," Bjorn reminded her.

"We're up here all alone in the world, how much safer is life going to get?" Sookie wondered aloud as she scooted down in the bed and put her arm across the two boys. The babies were getting quiet since they'd had some breakfast and dancing and Sookie knew they'd doze off again soon if she was quiet. "Alicia, is there something easy to eat on the menu that I wouldn't have to sit at the table for?"

"We can arrange that."

"Thanks."

"Are you feeling alright, Dear?" Alicia knew Sookie was sad for some reason.

"Just hormonal, I guess. I feel like staying hidden."

"Alright, is there anything else I can get for you?"

"When my buddies here doze off, I'd like to work in my book. I have a lot of things to write down."

"You've got all those new art supplies to test out, too."

"Art supplies?"

"Yes, the box that came for you day before yesterday had some very nice art supplies in it and a note that said, 'For your Book, Precious.'

"It said "Precious?" Sookie brightened at that, "then they're from Nivian! Where are they?"

Alicia went into a large case sitting next to the closet and brought Sookie her new book and the box of supplies she'd packed with it. It was a deceptively heavy wooden box, but it had heavy black silk glued on it and a little shell toggle to keep it closed. It was the size of a big cigar box and Sookie was excited to find some rosewood-handled paint brushes, a glass wand that she figured out was a "dip" pen that you use with bottled ink or paint, and brilliantly colored paints in what she assumed was a gold-plated (it was actually solid gold) paint box inside. Sookie loved to paint when she was a little girl but she'd never had anything you'd call actual, professional quality art supplies. This box was lined with heavy porcelain and she counted 28 little pans of color that made her mouth water. She forgot how much she loved bright colors and juicy paint. There was even an inscription on the the folding palette that said, "May you never lack for inspiration, Titania." That took Sookie's breath away - were these Titania's paints? Or were they meant for her, since she's Titania? They were still a little wet, so they couldn't be Titania's, right? Either way, she loved them and just prayed to Freyja that she be able to use them well and not ruin the wonderful Book of Shadows Nivian had gifted her.

The boys were asleep by now, so she gently put them over in their co-sleeper and Alicia brought Sookie a lap desk she found in the closet as she threw the fur cover off the bed, which she'd been wanting to do since she laid eyes on it, but she didn't know why. Folding the top sheet back and smoothing it, Sookie was able to sit "Indian style" with the book in front of her on the desk and the box of paints above it,next to a slim, cylindrical jar of water - marked with a strangely familiar symbol of overlapping circles in a larger circle divided by a vertical bar - which was also in the box, as was a small bottle of super black ink she put next to it. She opened the jar and smelled it, and for minute she thought she smelled roses, but decided it was just water and was clear enough to use for right now. She ran her finger over the round painted symbol. Where had she seen that before? It made her think of King Arthur, but she didn't know why. She spent some time looking though her new Book, reading what she'd written, looking at the rosary prayer from Sookie 2006, and several entries in Titania's handwriting. The words on the page where Titania wrote about meeting Eric looked sad and lonely, so Sookie dipped a small, soft brush in the water and tapped it on the rim, then dipped it in in a deep rose pan and slowly stroked the edge of the right-hand page. She dipped the glass pen in the black ink and before she knew it a lovely pink rose bower ran across both pages. When the boys woke up about 45 minutes later, Bjorn noticed Sookie didn't respond when Alex spoke to her, so he silently picked them up and carried them downstairs.

"Hey, you!" Bobbie laughed as he came down the stairs. "I was just getting ready to join you." She was finishing breakfast and drinking a cup of green tea at the long dinner table facing the door.

"Sookie is so focused on that book, I thought it might be better for the boys to stay down here with you." He let Alex down first, then put Aubie down on the bottom of the playpen as Alex stood holding onto the side.

"Ah, Babee!" Alex waved at her.

"Hi, Alex! Were they bothering her?"

"No, but she didn't react when they called her. It's like she's in a trance or something."

"Alicia said she's painting?"

"Yes, with some paints the Lady of the Lake sent her."

"Wow - they must be magickal paints."

"I don't know what they are, but I never saw Sookie show any interest in art before, did you?"

"No," Bobbie said as she bent over the playpen to tickle Alex and check his diaper, "but she was already pregnant when she hired me, so she's been struggling just to react to what's going on in her and around her." Aubie reached up to her and she picked him up.

"Yeah, that's true."

"Did you see what she's painting?"

"You've seen what they call "illuminated manuscripts?""

"Yeah, of course."

"What I saw looked like that - flowers on the edge of the page, different symbols, at one point she turned the book sideways and painted a Viking ship on it."

"Does she paint well?"

"Yeah, really well. You'd think she'd been doing it her whole life. Now that you mention it, they have to be magick because I saw her dip the brush in the water and the paint disappeared."

"Really?"

"Yeah, when you rinse a paint brush, you know how it swirls into the water, then disperses and the whole jar would be that color? Hers is swirling around and disappearing."

"Where is she sitting? Is she painting on the bed?"

"Alicia found a lap desk in her closet, so she's got that in front of her."

"That's handy."

"It wasn't there earlier."

"Are you sure about that?"

"Yes. I've been up there for hours and could see the part of the closet she pulled it out of. There was nothing but wall there earlier."

"She's manifesting what she needs when she needs it."

"Apparently. Will you be OK here with the boys?"

"Yeah, we'll be fine, won't we, guys?"

"Ah!"

"Eeah! Doo nappee, Babee."

"OK, Alex, wait here with Bjorn and I'll be right back, OK? Aubie needs one first."

"Oday, Obee fuhss," Alex bounced a little, proud of himself because he could stand up. "Undwy, Borhd."

"You're hungry?"

"Eeah."

"OK, I wonder where Alicia is?"

"Nah nah, Eesha."

"Alicia's not here?"

"Nah."

"OK, when Bobbie gets back, she'll change your diaper then we'll see about getting some food, OK?"

"Oday." Alex turned his attention to the dragon which was laying on a carpet in front of the sliding door, watching them and trying to figure out who these people were. Did the Goddess know they had her whelps? He thought to just wait and watch, since he was there, too, and he'd seen these humans before. "Ah, Pup!"

Puff raised his head to a tilt and looked at the whelp in the cage. It was making that noise Puff liked and waving it's paw, so Puff slowly moved over to say hello. He sat up on his hind legs and was just a little taller than the play pen so he could put his hand on the rim like the whelp did. He held his face down so the whelp could pet it and he let him press his mouth to his snout like he'd done before. He remembered seeing the Goddess do the mouth-pressing, too, and he thought that must be a good thing. The female came back with the smaller whelp and put him in the cage, taking the bigger one away. This little one was younger, Puff thought, because it couldn't stand like the other, but they looked and smelled almost the same except this one had more magick, like the Goddess. The male picked it up and held it down to Puff so he could sniff it and nuzzle his hand. Bjorn held Aubie's hand and showed him how to gently pet Puff on the nose.

"There you go, Aubie. Good dragon, Puff!" Bjorn said softly, letting Aubie and the dragon scope each other out, Aubie giggling as the dragon flicked his tongue in his ear and his hands. Eric was still wary of the dragon, but Bjorn wasn't. He had seen the dragon follow Sookie around enough already to know he would defend her and her kids if he needed to. The dragon was a lot like the cat in a certain way. They were both quiet, gentle and observant, and you just knew more was going on in their heads than a normal animal would have - you just knew they could _think_.

Bobbie came back with Alex, kitten at their heels, and it jumped up on the side of the playpen and in as Bobbie put Alex next to Aubie. Bobbie caught Bjorn's eye and nodded toward the dragon, which was watching the kitten with great curiosity and delight. This was the first fairy animal he'd seen in this place, and it made him feel more at home. He wondered briefly why the Goddess and her whelps were surrounded by all these humans and Weres, but then he remembered She pressed Her mouth to the tall Vampire's very often, so She was quite an unusual Deity. Puff thought maybe the Vampire had sired these whelps, because the bigger one had his earthy scent, too, which mingled with the sweetness in a comforting way. The Goddess had Fairy magick, or Puff knew he wouldn't be here, so he was content just to let life unfold and serve the Goddess as necessary, just like he did at home. He liked these little creatures and the sounds that they made and he was glad they wanted to be friends. Alex wanted down on the floor to play with Puff, so Bobbie sat on the floor next to him with Aubie on her knee and she could tell that Puff was very pleased with the attention.

"OK, I called Cody and he'll be here in a minute to sit with you and the boys," Bjorn told her as she got settled with the babies and their big scaly pet, then he headed back upstairs, expecting to find Sookie still painting in her book. The bed was empty except for the lap desk. No book, no paints, no Sookie. Damn. "Hey, Sookie, are you in the bathroom?" There was no answer so he knocked on the door then went in. Nope, she was gone. Goddammit. Now what does he do? He figured she probably went to Elfyria, but there was no way to be sure, and she normally went while she was asleep. Why would her whole body go this time and not the others?

Bjorn looked at his watch, realizing he was gone for almost an hour messing around with the boys and their dragon. If Sookie didn't show up before Eric rose for the night… shit! Bjorn didn't even want to think about that. He couldn't even give him an idea of when it happened except to say within a 45 minute window. He paced around the room a little, then looked all around the bed for some sign of where Sookie had gone, but there was nothing. He was trying to think of what to do when Bobbie came upstairs.

"Hey, Sweetie… where's Sookie?"

"I don't know - she's gone."

"Uh-oh."

"What do I tell Eric if she doesn't make it back before he rises? I can't even tell him when she disappeared."

"Well, logically, wouldn't she be in Elfyria?"

"I don't know - she usually goes in her sleep, and her book and paints are gone, too. I don't even know how to go about looking for her."

"Call Sir Robert."

"Who's Sir Robert?" Bjorn's mind was blank at the moment.

"You know, the tall Bill-looking guy who takes care of the Queendom for her. Her Minister of Days."

"Do you have any idea how to do that?"

"Yeah, actually - he has a cell phone."

"Her Fairy helper has a cellphone?"

"Yeah, why not? Ludwig does, right?"

"Yeah. I could call her, I guess, but man, I hate to admit I lost her when I was supposed to be watching her."

"So let me call. But let me order food first, that's why I came up here. The babies are hungry and so is Cody, so I was going to ask you what you wanted for lunch since Alicia isn't here."

"Where is she?"

"I think she went to the dry cleaners with a bunch of Sookie's dresses. She said she'd be back before dinner."

"OK, order me some grilled fish, rice, steamed vegetables. No bread, as little fat as possible, OK?"

"Will do. I'll be back in a minute." Bobbie went back downstairs and called their order into the kitchen while Bjorn looked around the room again. The Fae helper had a cellphone, so Sookie had to have his number, right? Where would Sookie stash something like that? She'd either have Alicia put it away or… her purse. Bjorn looked around the room anxiously, looking for the little red clutch she had with her yesterday. It wasn't in the suitcase, and it wasn't in the bathroom, so where - then it hit him - look in her vanity case which was sitting open next to the chairs in the corner. He looked it over, opening little drawers and boxes here and there, and found that one of the little drawers had some candles, a bottle of water, a box of salt, some kind of oil he'd never heard of, a big quartz crystal and underneath it all, there was a card - Sir Robert of Swansea, 7 - or was that a 9 and a 1? Maybe Bobbie would know.

'OK, now what does Bobbie say? We can't say she's missing, right? So she's… what? Visiting? That might work - she can ask if Sookie is visiting today and say she has to tell her something before she comes home. Sookie said he could pop in any minute, so he should be able to go right to her, right?' He couldn't come up with any other ideas, so they'd try this if she still wasn't back when Bobbie came back. He paced a little more then went back down to the living room, praying this worked.

Sookie was painting a starlit night with Venus clearly visible as she'd seen it one time, but something was distracting her. What was that sound? She looked up from her book and rose from the little blue desk she'd been sitting at, stretching and yawning as if she'd been asleep. She walked to the large double doors and opened them outward, stepping out onto the balcony to see the ocean crashing against the rocks below. It was the sound of the ocean that distracted her, and she took a deep breath, enjoying the salt air and the slight mist she could feel all the way up here.

"Welcome home, Precious!" Nivian spoke softly as she walked up behind her. "We didn't expect to see you so soon. Are you alright?" Nivian stroked her shoulders and kissed her cheek.

"Huh? I… I don't know, I … I was sad. Where am I?" She couldn't look away from the ocean, crashing blue and white, in a blue foggy day with a lovely pink sun setting on the horizon.

"You're in Avalon, Sookie, remember?

"No, I don't. Am I supposed to be here?"

"Well, we weren't expecting you, but you know you are always welcome. Your room is just as you left it, Titania."

"I am she and she is me and you are me and we are all together…" Sookie whispered, making Nivian laugh softly as she stroked Sookie's blonde hair.

"That's a pretty song, Precious."

"i'm messing up the words, though, but it's how I feel right now. I'm everyone and no one and I'm nowhere I'm ever supposed to be…" she said softly, still hypnotized by the sound and the movement of the sea below.

"That's not true, Sookie, you're supposed to be here whenever you want to be here."

"How can I want to be here when I don't even know where here is?"

"This is your true home, Sookie. You're never far from Avalon, no matter where you are," Nivian said gently, guiding Sookie back into the beautiful blue room where her book lay on the desk and the soft blue-covered bed in the middle of the room was drawing Sookie toward it as she went in and lay down. Titania closed the paint box, the jar and the bottle of ink, then put them in the silk covered box. She checked the page that was open and found it dry enough to close the book and laid it on Sookie's chest. Sookie was blinking slowly, falling to sleep as Titania wrapped her arm around the box and Nivian laid her other hand upon the book. Titania and Nivian bent to kiss Sookie, speaking at once, "Good night, my Angel."

Bobbie was just off the phone when lightning struck the top of the building in a blinding flash that scared all of them nearly to death. Aubie cried for his Mama and flew up the stairs, Alex, Erin and Puff close behind. Bjorn and Bobbie brought up the rear as they followed the babies and their pets up the spiral stairs. Sookie was back, but seemed sound asleep and she was floating above the bed on a cloud of shimmering light. Alex and Aubie just stopped in the air about 3 feet in front of her, just watching her without a sound. The kitten paced frantically below Alex and the dragon sat on his haunches and watched to see what the Goddess would do. Bobbie and Bjorn stopped cold, trying to decide what to do next, but they were both afraid to move and frighten the babies or animals. Was it dangerous to let the babies touch Sookie in this state? Where did the lap desk go? Aubie started forward wimpering, "Mama" but Alex caught his hand and said, "Nah, Nah, Buggy," and kept him from going forward.

"Aubie come here," Bobbie went toward him but Alex said, "Nah, nah, Babee. Bhord," and he held Aubie's hand toward Bjorn, clearly wanting him to hold Aubie for a minute. Bjorn stepped forward and took Aubie's hand saying, "hang on, Buddy, Mommy is busy."

Aubie wouldn't let Bjorn move him away, but he waited to see what Bumby would do. Alex went toward the ceiling so he could see Sookie's face, and he saw the box and the book in her arms. Alex pointed at the box and said, "DAT!" and the box flew out of Sookie's arm across the room toward the chairs, so Bobbie had to jump back and Bjorn had to duck. Alex floated upward again and pointed to the book, yelling. "DAT!" and the book followed the same trajectory, but Bjorn let go of Aubie and caught it. Once contact with the book was broken, Sookie silently, slowly sank down to the bed, then she threw her arms up in a luxurious stretch. Aubie was under one arm like a shot and Alex settled on Sookie's other side. Sookie opened her eyes as they landed, saying, "There's my sweet boys!" hugging them to her and instantly going back to sleep. Bobbie and Bjorn looked at each other.

"What do you think?" Bjorn asked her.

"She seems OK…" Bobbie said cautiously, slowly approaching the bed and checking Sookie's pulse, then Alex's and Aubie's. "They seem to be sleeping," She stepped back and the dragon moved slowly up to the side of the bed and stood up as tall as he could. The Goddess and her whelps were just sleeping, so Puff lowered himself and stretched out next to the bed until she awoke. The male and the female seemed worried, so Puff would stay close, just in case.

"Don't the boys need to eat?" Bjorn asked as he petted the kitten, who had jumped up on the bed at Sookie's feet and lay down.

"Yeah, but my instinct says don't wake them up," Bobbie said, "they'll let us know when they're hungry. In the mean time, I'll bring our lunch up here and we'll be ready to feed them when they wake up. I have a feeling they'll be up by the time Eric rises, and if not, we'll let him try to wake them."

"OK, I like that, it sounds like a plan." As Bjorn spoke they heard the bell at the front door.

"I'll go get the food. Just relax and keep an eye on them. At least she's home." Bobbie tried to reassure him as she hurried downstairs. "Cody, can you help me get this stuff upstairs? Bobbie asked as the waiter left the whole cart of food.

"Sure, Miss Bobbie, I'll be glad to."

"Thanks," Bobbie smiled, not wanting to let him know there was a problem because she wasn't even sure there _was_ a problem. As long as Sookie was here with them, she was pretty sure they could handle whatever was going on.

Once they had most of the food upstairs, Cody decided to eat his sandwich in his quarters since he wasn't really needed at the moment. Bobbie sat in the far chair that faced the bed eating popcorn shrimp and Bjorn used the red ottoman as a table to hold his plate of grilled fish. They chatted about nothing in particular and at one point Bjorn told her he was sure the Northmans had had sex on his "table." They both cracked up though they were trying to be quiet, but no one in the bed seemed to hear. Puff raised his head and looked at them briefly, but they were making the good noise, so he stayed put.

Alicia got home around 5 and decided to take a short nap until Eric "arrived" leaving dinner instructions with the kitchen for 7. She could tell from the way Bobbie acted that there was something up, but she wasn't worried because Bobbie told her Sookie was upstairs asleep.

It rained pretty hard for an hour or so, and it was all Bobbie and Bjorn could do not to fall asleep. Bjorn walked around and did push ups to get his blood moving, fascinating the dragon, but Bobbie eventually succumbed to the weather and fell asleep in her chair. At almost 6:30, the latches on Eric's box clicked open and Bjorn woke Bobbie and sent her downstairs, afraid Eric would be hungry and Bjorn knew he couldn't stop him if he wasn't in control of himself.

Eric could smell other people in the room, so he gathered himself before he opened the lid, then he slowly sat up, to find Bjorn waiting for him.

"Let me guess," Eric smiled, "it's been an eventful day?" he asked as he floated upward and landed on his feet.

"Oh, yeah."

"Anyone hurt or sick?"

"No, I don't think so. Sookie was gone for a while, we don't know where as of yet, and only opened her eyes for a second after the boys could get near her. Bobbie and I were thinking you might want to try to wake her. We know the boys will be hungry because they went to sleep before their food got here and we were afraid to try to wake them.

"After the boys could get near her?"

"Yeah, Alex seemed to know what to do and used his telekinesis - it's a long story, so you might want to wake Sookie up first. Dinner will be here at 7."

"Why is the dragon here?"

"Lightning scared Aubie and he flew up here crying for Mama, but Alex kept him from touching Sookie because she was floating above the bed glowing. The dragon followed them and he settled on the rug there when the boys went to sleep. I think he thinks he's protecting them.

"Alright, then, wait for us downstairs. If I can't wake her, I'll come get more details." Eric was getting used to having a crisis to deal with every day when he got up. As long as no one was injured, he'd take this in stride, too.

He went over to the bed, the dragon moving out of his way, and found Aubie awake. "Dada!"

"Hello, my little Elf!" Eric tickled him and he giggled, which woke Alex. "Ah, Dadee!"

"Hello, my little Vampire! At least the two of you are awake!"

"Me an Obee undwy, Dadee."

"Alright, we'll have dinner. Sookie? Sookie, can you wake up? Wake up, my beautiful wife!"

"Mmm?" Sookie responded a little.

"Sookie, wake up, Sweetheart."

"Way dup, Mamee!"

"Mama! Mama!" Aubie patted her breast and her eyelids fluttered.

"Sookie, the babies are hungry."

Sookie felt like she was in a hole and had to climb up out of it to get to her kids. She opened her eyes wide a couple of times, and managed to say, "help me, Eric!"

He could tell she was trying to wake up, so he sat Alex on the far side of her with Aubie and pulled Sookie up into a sitting position. "Sookie, wake up!" He patted her cheek gently and she blinked her eyes, looking up at him and trying to smile. "The babies need to eat, Sookie."

"Where are they?" she said, struggling to wake up.

Before Eric could answer, Aubie started crying and Sookie jumped and looked around, picking him up and putting him to her breast. She was groggy but she knew she had to feed her baby, though she felt like she was moving through something thicker than water.

"There's my girl!" Eric praised her, helping her move to the side of the bed. He picked Alex up and brought him up next to Sookie. "Alex, do you want Mommy eat?" Eric asked him, holding him in his left arm while the right supported Sookie.

"Sowid pood, Dadee!"

"Alright, Alex, we'll go down stairs." he turned toward the stairs and called "Bjorn! Can you come up here, please?"

Bjorn was up the stairs instantly because he was waiting at the bottom just in case Eric called him. "Is she awake?"

"She's getting there. Can you take Alex and I'll carry her downstairs. I think I can manage her and Auberon both."

Alex went to Bjorn but was watching Dadee because Mamee was acting strangely.

"Sookie, wrap your arms around Aubie and hold on to him," Eric told her, raising his voice just a little to wake her a little more, then he lifted them together and they floated down the stairs following Bjorn and Aubie. He set Sookie on the couch, as upright as possible, and made sure Aubie was balanced in her lap so she couldn't drop him as he fed. Sookie was obviously trying to wake up, rolling her head around and blinking her eyes, but they just wouldn't stay open. The dragon, who had followed them downstairs, took his former place on the rug by the doors and waited to see what would happen.

Bjorn got the blood pressure cuff to see if that was the problem, and her blood pressure was very low. He called Dr. Ludwig while Bobbie and Alicia were setting the dinner table with the food that had just been delivered, and she was there instantly with her big carpet bag. She took Sookie's blood pressure again, and it was still low, so she reached in her bag for a little jar with no label, opening it and waving it under her nose. Sookie jumped, blinking her eyes, crying "what is that?"

"Smelling salts," the little doctor laughed, "you need to wake up and eat your dinner."

"I want to wake up but I can't" she said as her head slumped to her chest. Ludwig frowned and raised each of Sookie's eyelids to check her pupils. "Northman, has she had her Ambrosia yet?"

"Not tonight."

"Get it for her, please and let's see if that helps."

Eric zipped up to the loft to the little fridge where they kept the green bottle and gold cup, and was back in an instant pouring Sookie a dose. "Sookie, my Angel, you must drink!" he said, marveling that Auberon was still feeding with all this activity going on. Sookie managed to empty the cup and the change in her was immediate - she sat up straight, took a deep breath and opened her eyes.

"Why's everybody looking at me?" She asked, surprised to see them all around her.

"Do you remember where you've been today, little girl?" The doctor obviously knew, and Eric was anxious to hear for himself.

"I dreamed I saw Nivian and Titania and they tucked me in bed."

"That wasn't a dream, Sookie, you've been to Avalon," Ludwig told her as she checked her pulse and re-inflated the cuff on her arm.

"I was there?"

"Oh, yes, you created quite a stir - no one expected you so soon. You also nearly drained yourself, which is why you couldn't wake up. I'll have to increase your Ambrosia if you're going skip around this way. Anderson, you're with her in the daytime, yes?"

"Yes, doctor," Bjorn said, surprised she spoke to him.

"Alright, here's what we do - she gets 1 cup when she wakes, one at dinner, one at midnight, one before Northman goes to rest. He can take the three night doses, but you'll have to give her the first when she awakes - you and only you, understand? I'll bring a single-dose container she can carry with her when she's out so one of you can always dose her at the right times. Others should help you remember the medicine, but only you two men actually give her the drink, understand?"

"How come?" Sookie asked, trying to remember more about her dream.

"It's complicated, but trust me - the person who gives it to you is nearly as important as the drink itself. We're stretching things a bit, since ideally it would be your mate every time, but since Anderson is your daytime version of Northman, we'll see how this works. Any objections?" She looked at Sookie, at Eric, then at Bjorn, who shrugged. Eric thought about objecting, but this concerned Sookie's well-being so he thought better of it, no matter that it made him a bit jealous.

"Why can't I just take it myself?" Sookie wondered aloud.

"Because you might not be able to stop yourself, and you'd be risking an overdose, which could be much more devastating than that little incident at the restaurant. You're getting stronger now, Sookie, so any misfires you cause will be more powerful as time goes on. You levitated last time - what if everyone in the restaurant ended up kissing the ceiling? Or the building rose off its foundation? Or you knocked the electricity out for the entire city? You're becoming a force of Nature, girl - take it seriously or there'll be serious consequences," and with that, she walked over to Puff, whom she'd met before, patted his head saying "good dragon! Remember, little girl, he's a monotreme, not a lizard," then disappeared without warning.

"What's a monotreme? I'm starving!" Sookie said, just realizing she felt sick like her blood sugar was too low.

"Can you walk to the table, Sweetheart, or do you want me to carry you?" Eric offered his hand to help her stand up.

"We can walk, but let me lean on you, please?"

"Of course my Angel." he kissed her hair and led her, still feeding Aubie, over to her usual seat at the table.

Everyone was finally seated, Eric feeding the two boys and eating a special "Vampyre Minestrone" as the others enjoyed grilled lobsters and a broccoli souffle. Eric ate a bite of lobster and the babies both giggled and clap their hands at seeing Daddy eat.

"What was that word again? Monotreme?" Sookie tried to remember as she cracked the claws on her huge lobster, which had to weigh at least 3 pounds. Sookie was in heaven.

"I never heard that word before," Eric said, looking at Bjorn.

"Me, either. Bobbie? Alicia?"

Alicia shook her head, focusing more on the fact that she was sure Alex would need more to eat than they brought him, and the fact that the dragon had finished the big hunks of beef the kitchen had sent up for him.

Bobbie had been thinking about it for a minute. "I've seen it before, but I can't remember exactly what it is. I know it's an unusual kind of animal, but I don't know what's unusual about it. We'll look it up after dinner."

"OK. Do I remember working on my book this morning?"

"Yes, you painted in it for quite a while," Bjorn told her.

"Where is it?"

"It's on the table between the two chairs in the loft. I caught it when Alex zapped it away from you."

"Huh?"

"Let's go back and you can give me all the details of the day, Bjorn," Eric suggested, so Bjorn gave them the run down of what happened all day as they all enjoyed their dinners and desserts.

Sookie didn't remember most of what Bjorn told them, and she couldn't wait to get her book and see what she'd done. After dinner, she ran up for the book, Bobbie got her computer to look up "monotremes" and Alicia showed Eric the story in the newspaper about Sookie confronting Jubal Garner at Antoine's the day before.

"_**J'accuse! Vampire Queen accuses Private Contractor for Defense of Attempted Murder at local landmark restaurant**_," Eric read aloud. "That's quite a headline."

"Yes, it is," Alicia agreed, "especially since it's in the society pages."

"It's a lovely picture of Sookie's back as she looks up at Garner. Alex was right, he's a big man."

"He tried to intimidate her, bless her heart, but she didn't back down. You'd have been proud of her."

"I am proud of her. I love this picture of her with the boys, too. I can't believe she confronted him and then went back to eat."

"She was determined not to show any fear. You'd have been proud of your security, too. It could have been quite a showdown, but Bjorn and his guys stared Garner's men down and Bjorn never took his eyes of him them the rest of the lunch. You could tell he'd prepared the men ahead of time about what to do if there was any kind of incident."

"He's good at his job. It might be time to give Bjorn a bonus - he's gone far beyond what anyone could expect from him for our family. He's become so indispensable that we felt lost without him on the full moon."

"It did feel strange not having him around. Are we still leaving at noon tomorrow?"

"Yes, that's the plan and we'll be back here by 1 am. I may invite Badru and Amunet Bast to come back with us for a night or two."

"Sookie would love that. They barely got to visit after the Wiccaning."

"What would I love?" Sookie asked as she bound down the steps with her new Book of Shadows. "Eric, wait 'til you see what's in here! It's illustrated now!"

Eric was very pleased to see her so excited. "I was just telling Alicia I might invite Badru and Amunet to come back with us tomorrow night."

"AWESOME!"

"I thought you might like that," he laughed. "I'm not sure they can, of course, but I thought we'd ask since we're staying here a few days. We can always delay the move to Prytania St. a few days."

"Neat!" Sookie reached up for a kiss and he bent so she was able to kiss him all over his face.

"You are in a very good mood since you woke up, my Angel!"

"Sit down here and look at these pictures!" She pulled him down on the couch next to her and was so proud and excited as she turned each page so he could see all the lovely illustrations. There were delicate flowers in the corners of some pages; an image of Freyja in Her raven's cloak on one; Titania's drawing of Eric had been delicately painted in and looked life-like; there was a gorgeous, detailed painting of a dragon ship in a primitive harbor; symbols Sookie couldn't identify, even though she painted them; moonlit nights showing positions of the stars on certain occasions concerning Titania's Rite of Return and meeting Eric.

There was a page with small paintings of various animals that told Sookie which to invoke to have certain powers - wolf to see in the dark, raven to fly between worlds, dolphins to swim powerfully, rabbit to be small and hide easily, Owl to evade capture if necessary at night, cat to move silently, lion to attack, dragons for huge, transformational force; then it listed some things only a Goddess can do - spread Herself on the wind, influence the tides, make rivers flow upstream in emergencies, transform others into animals for a few hours at a time, move undetected in and out of shadows, pass through solid objects and reach into a person's body and squeeze their heart so it would look like they died of natural causes. That last one made her stomach churn, especially when she saw Eric's expression as he read the text.

There was another list of "developing powers" she'd eventually have: being able to do miracles in bending time, bestowing "gifts" upon others, be two places at once, cause sweeping change among civilizations, but that these powers should be used judiciously, especially those of life and death, so as not to empower one who could turn on you, or cause the innocent to suffer. At the bottom of the page was a stern admonition: _Ask Your Self if You are willing to pay the terrible price that may follow. Remember that unintended consequences may follow your best intentions._

"Yuck!" Sookie said when she read that last line. "What's the point of being a Goddess if Karma can still kick your ass?"

Bobbie cracked up as she sat at the dining table with her laptop. "That reminds me of that Star Trek episode with Joan Collins in it."

"I don't know that one," Sookie said, turning to see her.

"Kirk falls in love with a woman in pre-World War II America, but he has to let her die or the Nazis win the war."

"I don't think I ever saw that one!"

"I have seen it," Eric said, "it was somewhat controversial at the time."

"Yeah, a lot of what they did was controversial, though most of the shows seem kind of quaint and Chauvinistic now-a-days," Bobbie laughed. "That one was a big deal because it questioned whether the good of the many is more important than the good of the individual. Anyway, I found the definition of a Monotreme."

"Oh, cool - what is it?"

"It's a mammal that lays eggs."

"A mammal?"

"Yes, but they don't have teats - they just ooze milk from glands in their skins and the babies lick it off of them. There are only two living known monotremes - the duckbill platypus and the echidna, or spiny anteater, both native to Australia."

"So Puffy is a mammal?"

"Yep, he's warm-blooded. That's why he doesn't act like a normal lizard. Monotremes can show some reptilian and bird-like qualities, but they're more evolved than they look."

"What does he do that a normal lizard wouldn't?" Sookie looked at Puff, who raised his head and looked at her quizzically, knowing she was talking about him.

"He's protective of you and the boys - that's not a lizard quality. They abandon their young and don't raise them. They're territorial and don't really have any kind of attachment to other beings. Wanting to protect you guys means he's got a mammalian brain. Mammals will sacrifice themselves for the good of the group and they parent their young. If he were a lizard, he'd probably see the babies as food."

"EWW! I'm glad he's not a lizard then," Sookie said as she walked over to Puff and petted him on the nose, then kissed his head, much to Puff's delight.

"Mama, DABAN!" Aubie called from the play pen.

"Obee wyg Pup, Mamee!"

"Yeah, he's a good dragon!"

"Ah wyg Pup, doo!"

"You guys want to come out and play some more?"

"EEAH!"

"AH!"

Sookie lifted Alex out of the pen and set him on his feet facing Puff, who was tickled to have attention from the Goddess and Her whelps. She put Aubie in a seated position, but he quickly turned on his hands and knees and crawled toward Puffy and Alex. Sookie looked in the closet while Puffy and the boys checked each other out and found exactly what she was hoping for - a Nerf-type ball that the boys could handle.

Eric turned to watch the interaction with the babies and the dragon, still a little leery but not as much as before their midnight swims. The babies loved the beast and it seemed genuinely fond of them. Sookie came back with the ball, saying, "Hey, guys!" and tossing the soft blue ball to Alex. Alex rolled it to Puff and he caught it in his forward claw, then rolled it back toward Aubie. Aubie rolled it to Alex and Alex rolled it back to Puff. The three of them entertained each other that way for nearly an hour while the adults gathered on the couches and chairs and talked about their travel plans for tomorrow. They had almost forgotten about the group playing on the floor until they heard a little dragon whine and realized Puff had two scaly little companions. Puff was delighted that the whelps could shape shift - this would be lots of fun when they get to play by the pond of bitter water. Puff and the boys tumbled around the floor for several minutes when the kitten came into the room and jumped up on the white chair closest to the sliding glass doors.

"Mow!" Erin voice her displeasure, then let out three "MAOW" sounds and each of the dragons became kittens.

"Oh, my!" Alicia exclaimed as Bobbie and Sookie cracked up. Eric was mildly amused by the scene as the four little cats - two black, one yellow and a hairless Sphynx kitten tumbled around the floor, flying through the room, down the back hall, back through the living area and up the spiral stairs. The mayhem continued about twenty minutes, then the Sphynx curled up on the rug inside the doors and a black and a yellow kitten snuggled up to it. The other black kitten licked the yellow and black ones, as they rolled around a bit then a black one floated upward becoming Alex sans diaper and the yellow one followed it becoming Aubie. The dragon was a dragon again, making his Wookie sound in delight at discovering the whelps could fly. The black kitten that was left jumped into the playpen and lay down for a nap.

Bobbie and Alicia took the babies for fresh diapers as Bjorn came in the door from the office. "Hey, Sookie, I need to speak to Eric privately for a minute. Can you spare him?"

"Sure, Bjorn. Want me to leave?"

"No, I need him to come to the office with me," Bjorn nodded toward the door.

Eric knew this was something that he didn't want to upset Sookie with, so he and Bjorn went back out and headed for the office on the floor below them. As the elevator door closed Eric asked "what is it?"

"Sookie received a special delivery."

"Who knows Sookie is here?" Eric asked as the elevator opened on the lower floor.

"You'll see." Bjorn was obviously not happy about this, as they stepped through the office door. There on a desk, being guarded by two Weres who were examining it closely, was a large vase full of red roses. Bjorn took out the card and handed it to Eric.

Eric frowned and opened the note, which said:

_**Queen Sookie -**_

_**We'll meet again. **_

_**J. Garner.**_


	106. Chapter 106

[A/N: Sorry it's been so long, folks, I've been very sick and our family has had some problems. This one is really short, but dirty and I'll start working on the next chapter right now and we'll hope I can get back on track. The invocations used in this chapter are borrowed from many sources, old and new, but I don't know which I got where. No infringement is intended, only a sincere desire to represent our Craft well.

This chapter is in memory of Frank Michael Collins, Jr., stillborn, July 15, 2011

~ our hearts are broken.]

**Chapter 106**

Sookie felt as if she were dreaming, but was unable to open her eyes. In the background, she heard a familiar woman's voice whispering, but she was unable to follow the words as they washed over her, red lips chanting in candlelight as if the words were being poured into Sookie's sleeping mind:

In the beginning, there was ISIS, oldest of the old, She was the Goddess from whom all becoming arose; Come to me, Come to me, for my speech hath in it the power to protect, and it possesseth life. I am Isis the Goddess, I am the Lady of words of power. Lady of the Green Wings And of the Crescent Moon, Queen of the Earth, Star of the Sea, Queen of Heaven who dwells in eternity And travels in the Vibration of the Universe, She Who is all that can be perceived or conceived in the mind, She Who is perfect peace, She Who is the Infinite - Beyond Time, the Ultimate Divine, She Who is and is beyond darkness, I am One with Her and All Divinity. In my work I praise Her and in my resting, in my speech, and in my silence. For I am made one with Her, and this is my true estate. HER mysteries will be unveiled to me, I will see...She will whisper her ancient secrets to me, I will hear... Her words will be spoken through my lips, I will be heard. Her wings now embrace me...I feel, I am at one with you, ISIS... I will become Thee, We shall live in blessedness; I live glorious under Your protection. Nehes em hotep, Nehes em neferu, Nebet hotepet , Weben em hotep, ...Weben em neferu, Nutjert en Ankh, Nefer em Pet! Pet em hotep, Ta em hotep, Nutjert Asha-renu!

Anekh hrak !

Anekh hrak !

Tua atu,

Tua atu,

Nebet Aset!

"Anekh hrak! Anek hrak! Tua atu, tua atu, Nebet Aset!" Sookie chanted along with the voice in her ear, "Anekh hrak! Anek hrak! Tua atu, tua atu, Nebet Aset!"

"SOOKIE! Wake up!" Bjorn shook her and she opened her eyes.

"Quick, I need my book!" she said as her eyes popped open.

Bobbie, who was standing at the foot of the bed, brought Sookie's new book over to her, sitting on Eric's side of the bed, and Sookie said, "I have no idea how to spell this, but write it down as best you can before I forget it - Anekh hrak, Anek hrak, Tua atu, tua atu, Nebet Aset."

Bobbie wrote the words phonetically so Sookie would know how to say them, asking "what does this mean, Hon?"

"I have no idea but someone was whispering it to me. There's a lot more, but that's all I remember. What language is that?"

"That last word, Sookie, Aset – could that be Isis?" Bobbie asked her

"What, like, Egyptian?"

"Maybe – it's a place to start looking. Does it sound familiar, Bjorn?"

"No, but if it is Egyptian, it's really old. Even Egyptians don't speak Egyptian any more," Bjorn said, trying to decide how much to admit that he knew about languages in Africa and the Middle East, because he knew a lot.

"They don't?" Sookie asked as Bobbie helped her into a her favorite little blue sundress, and it flashed through Sookie's mind that the last time she wore it, she wound up at Freyja's for a week in day.

"No, they speak Egyptian Arabic, but it doesn't sound like that. I've never heard that language before." He walked to the stairs and called down "OK, guys!

Two Weres came up the stairs and quickly took Eric's box down to the living room. Sookie noticed all her luggage was gone, too.

"Oh, OK - what's going on? Why'd you wake me up?" Sookie was a little disoriented as Bobbie spun her around and started brushing her hair and making a ponytail of it.

"If we're going to Austin, we have to go now. Thunderstorms are coming into the area a little later today and we won't be able to fly. Eric has to be there tonight, so we're going early." Bjorn explained as Cody came up the stairs.

Bobbie helped Sookie step into her black Birkies, then pulled her toward the stairs as she grabbed her book to bring with her. Bjorn handed Alex to Cody and picked Aubie up, trying not to wake the babies if possible. Alicia was coming out of the downstairs bathroom with the diaper bags she'd just restocked, and Sookie found herself in the back of the limo with Bobbie, Alicia and the boys before she was even completely awake.

"Wow – no time for make up today, huh?" Sookie laughed, still a bit dazed.

"You can put a little on now if you want," Alicia said, "but it's really not necessary. You'll be going from the limo to the plane and then right back to another loft. When we get to Austin, you can go back to sleep if you want."

"How long is the plane ride?"

"About 2 and a half hours," Bjorn said from the driver's seat.

"You could get in a nap on the plane, Sookie," Bobbie suggested.

"You guys wouldn't mind if I did that and left you with the boys?" Sookie liked the idea of going back to sleep, but didn't want to take advantage.

"The boys will probably sleep the whole way, too, Dear," Alicia reminded her.

"OK, then, as soon as we take off, I'm going to bed, 'cause I'm beat!" Sookie said a little hopefully. She didn't want to complain, but she was less than thrilled about waking up this way. She knew it was nobody's fault, but still, she felt like she hadn't slept at all. She stayed out in the main cabin with the rest of the group until take off, but as soon as they were in the air, the boys went to sleep and Sookie headed for the master bedroom. It made her feel very secure that Eric was in the room in his box, and she was asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow. She barely awoke to go to the limo in Austin, and went straight back to bed when they arrived at Sang Riche Austin. She was already under the covers when Bjorn and his guards brought Eric and the boys in, though she did stop long enough to put the shutter system down so the room was pitch black until you tripped the ambient lighting. She also left her dress on the floor next to the bed and the guards could see by her bare arms that she was nearly naked under the sheets, which would fuel a few fantasies later in the guard's rec room on the floor below the penthouse.

Alicia managed to get the boys to take food and bottles of blood so Sookie was able to sleep until almost 4:30, when she ran a bath and had Bobbie help her with the babies in the tub. She had them all bathed and dressed in little blue onesies with teddy bears on them. They were sitting on the floor next to the bed rolling a ball with Puff as Sookie got her makeup done and was checking her reflection in the bathroom door mirror to make sure she had the Black Halo violet print, back-cut out dress on right and the back strap was straight. Eric was suddenly standing behind her and she jumped a little when she saw him.

"What are you wearing, my Angel? You look as if you're in your underwear."

"No, it's not underwear, this is the dress for tonight."

"There is no top?"

"Nope, this is it. It's no more low-cut than other things I've worn."

"In the front, yes, but from back here, you seem to be wearing only a skirt and a bra," he said, frowning.

"You don't like it?" She turned to face him.

"Are you wearing your hair down, at least?" he asked hopefully.

"Yeah, that was the plan."

"Turn around, again, please?"

Sookie turned slowly in a complete circle, but looking over each shoulder at him as she did. She didn't think this dress was that bad…

"How attached are you to the idea of wearing it, Dear One?"

"Are you serious?"

"Yes, I'd prefer that you not wear it. Do you have something else to put on?"

"Yeah, I should have one or two other options…"

"Then please do. This is too… trashy. I don't want people seeing you like this."

Sookie was stunned. "You know just about anything I put on is going to be short and low-cut, right?"

"Yes, but it will look like a dress to be worn to a party and not lingerie to be worn in the boudoir."

"OK, let me ask Alicia what else I have."

"Thank you, Sweetheart. I'll take my shower while you ladies confer," he kissed her lips and kicked it into vampire speed.

"Hey, Alicia?" Sookie called down the stairs.

"Yes, Dear?" Alicia looked up from below.

"Have you got something else I can wear?"

Alicia came up the steps as Sookie spoke. "You don't like this one?"

"Eric asked me not to wear it."

"Oh… well, let's see what else we have. There's this bright red one, and this pink rosette one. " The two dresses were about as far apart as they could be. The red satin one was a stretch fabric with princess seams in a tank shape with a scoop neck. The pink one was a very pale, delicate pink that fell from the strapless top in tiers that gradually formed a large rosette on the left front hip. Sookie couldn't decide which way to go, so she said, "hang on a minute," and went into the bathroom.

"Eric?"

"Yes?" he was surprised she followed him in and looked out the door at her.

"OK, the options we have are hot and sexy or sweet and feminine. Which would you prefer?"

"Sweet and feminine sounds lovely."

"OK, sweet and feminine it is!" She turned back to Alicia, who was laughing and putting the red dress away.

"What did he say about the violet dress?"

"He said it looks like I forgot my dress and am in my underwear."

"Oh… OK, I can see that. It is a very sexy dress."

""Trashy" is what he called it. I like it, but it's not that big a deal to me."

Alicia helped Sookie out of the first dress and into the Aidan Mattox tiered rosette silk one. Sookie did like this one better, anyway, though it was a little tight at the top when Alicia zipped it up. She was just hoping she didn't pop the zipper, but it wasn't that tight, and it looked beautiful on her. They decided to pull Sookie's hair up and Alicia was taking some earrings out for Sookie to choose from as Eric zipped quickly out to get his tux and took it back before either woman could react. By the time Sookie had the Elsa Peretti Diamonds by the Yard 18k gold earrings with diamonds dangling from her ear lobes, Eric was back in his tux, smiling behind her.

"Very pretty, Sookie. I like this dress much better."

"You don't think it would look better at a tea party?"

"Maybe, but I like it when you look feminine. No one else at the party will be wearing anything like it."

"That's a safe bet," she laughed as she turned to kiss him.

"Mmm – have you had dinner yet, Sookie?" He smiled down at her, his arms around her waist.

"No, we were waiting for you. I got the boys dressed in case we need to introduce them to anyone, and by the time I got myself ready, you popped up," she was being girlish and flirty now and she could feel his happiness singing in the bond between them. "Want me to dry your hair for you?"

"Don't you think it will dry while we dine?"

"I actually just want to brush your long hair. It's so pretty," she teased him. He knelt down next to her portable vanity and let her run a brush through his hair and use the dryer for a few minutes until she was satisfied with it, then he swept her up into his arms and lightly floated down the stairs with her. The boys were being put in their high chairs and the dinner cart was coming through the door as they landed.

"Good evening, everyone!" Eric was in a wonderful mood tonight, and Sookie was basking in the love he was projecting to her and to the boys.

"Eric! Everything looks good for tonight," Bjorn told him as they all took their usual seats at the dinner table. "Have you talked about it yet?"

"Not yet, I thought we'd all go down together after dinner. It should only take a few minutes then we'll go from there to the party."

"Where are we going?" Sookie asked, wanting to know what they weren't telling her.

Eric leaned to whisper in her ear, "the Demo Room."

"Oh – yeah, I forgot we were going to try that! Will you do me a favor?"

"What is that, Sookie?"

"Can we take Amunet down with us? She's here tonight, right?"

"Yes, she is. Why do you need her?"

"In case something comes up we aren't prepared for, she has a better idea what I can do than any of us do."

"Alright, if it will make you more comfortable, we can stop by their suite on the way down and see if they'd like to join us."

"They will, I'm sure of it. Badru wants to know what I can do almost as much as we do."

Eric and Bjorn exchanged a brief look at that and the dinner conversation continued normally, Bobbie and Alicia talking about how they would share child care while Sookie and Eric were entertaining, and how they planned to get Cody to play monopoly with them so they would all stay awake and alert since they were short handed this night. Everyone would feel a lot better when the rest of their party reached New Orleans.

The food was great, but Sookie was getting a little jaded by the service at the clubs at this point. Sure, it was nice being waited on, but she'd really rather be home in Shreveport eating Margaret's home cooking. Anyway, she told herself to perk up, so she gave Eric a big smile when he offered her his arm and he took her cell phone and lipstick and put them in his left jacket pocket, then took her over to the little fridge. He ate one of the candies that were charged to help him recognize an enemy, holding the box open so Sookie could take one of the candies for prophecy. By 8:15 they were knocking on the Presidential suite door on the 13th floor and were invited in by a Were servant they had seen with Badru and Amunet before.

"Sookie!" Amunet popped up from the sitting room couch and hugged Sookie, who was just as tickled to see her. Amunet was wearing a sort of flesh-toned beige and silver sequined dress with a shear top that almost left her topless except for some strategically placed beading

"Wow, that's some dress!"

"You like it?" She turned and showed it off, "it's a copy of one Marilyn Monroe wore in **Some Like It Hot**. I'm not quite zaftig enough to do it justice, but I wanted it anyway."

"Where did you find that?"

"Darling, you don't "find" dresses like this, you have them created for you!"

"Where do you get that done?"

"I've got a few seamstresses and a design house or two in my address book. Don't you?"

"Uh… no!" Sookie laughed – such a thing would never occur to her!

"See, this is another symptom of you not knowing how to enjoy your money. You do go to the runway shows at least, yes?"

"No – I've never been to one."

"Oh, my Goddess – you aren't still buying off the rack?"

"I guess I am – most of my clothes are from catalogs or the Internet. It's good stuff, though, like, designer brands, or whatever."

"Where did you get this dress you're wearing?"

"I have no idea. Alicia could probably tell you. She buys a lot of my stuff."

"Well, she's got good taste. This is really sweet. If you didn't tell anyone, they'd think it was made just for you. The color is perfect with your skin!"

"I had a brighter, sexier one on earlier, but Eric didn't like it. He said it looked too much like I was in my underwear." Sookie and Amunet both cracked up at that.

"He wants his Queen to look like a Queen, then. That's great that he's so attentive!" Amunet said with admiration. "Most men rarely notice a lady's dress."

"Ladies, are we ready to go?" Eric asked as he and Badru finished talking about whatever they were talking about. Sookie tried not to listen in to Eric's conversations with the other regents, even though, if she really concentrated, she could hear other vampires now. The less she could deal with Vampire business, the better.

Bjorn and the local Captain of the Guard led them down a corridor to a panel you had to know was there to find and did whatever voodoo made it work and they were in that dark stairway that reached into the bowels of the club again. Sookie could tell at one point that they were underground because the temperature of the walls went down and it got a lot quieter. There was a group of four guards waiting for them in the otherwise empty lowest floor and Sookie picked up a rubber mat and took it to the demo room as they'd done before.

Amunet and Badru stood outside the door with Eric and the Captain while Bjorn stood right next to Sookie at the entrance.

"OK, what exactly do you want me to call?" Sookie asked him as she placed the mat in the middle of the room.

"Start with "all the bombs in this building.""

"All the bombs in this building go there!" Sookie pointed to the mat and two big soda cans were laying there. "Eric! Look! Remember?"

"Yes, I do - that's like the one you held in your hand at the Pyramid of Gizeh!" Eric said unhappily.

"But there's only these two…?"

"Alright, Sookie, call "all the New Centurion soldiers and spies in this building," Bjorn suggested.

Sookie concentrated and sent out the call but no one appeared.

"Alright, now try "All the FOTS terrorists in the building."

"All the FOTS terrorists in this building."

Suddenly, there was a loud POP and there were two men in waiter's uniforms standing in front of them freaking out over what had just happened. The other guards in the basement grabbed them and took them for questioning. Bjorn closed and locked the door to the Demo Room and did something on a little control panel that reminded Sookie of a fuse box in a house, then Bjorn shooed them all to the other side of the basement where the stairs were. The soda can bombs went off, but it was a much smaller explosion than the other one had been when there were several bombs retrieved.

"Well, your Majesty," the Captain of the Guard addressed Eric, "I'd say you can go about your business. I'll let you know what we glean from our two guests."

"Thank you, Captain."

"You won't discover much," Sookie explained, "this was a last minute deal thought up by someone in their church. It wasn't meant for mass destruction – it was just meant to intimidate us and make the club seem dangerous. They were more focused on driving away business than on actually hurting anyone."

"Indeed?" Eric looked at her with surprise.

"Yeah, they're too chicken to handle the big explosives. This was more of a dare than anything else. Also, they don't really know what these clubs are – they just know vampires own the building."

"Too bad," Eric said, "that "dare" will be their last. Badru, Amunet – shall we join the party upstairs?"

"Absolutely," Badru said with a big smile, directed mostly at Sookie. Bjorn led them to a hidden elevator at the back of the room, and in no time they were the hallway to the Romanoff Room on the third floor.

"Sookie, there's the ladies' room – let's powder our noses before we enter the party," Amunet suggested, taking Sookie's hand and dragging her into the rest room that was just like the one where they fought the New Centurion terrorists. There was no one else in the room this time, though, so they checked their make up, Amunet literally blotting her nose with a little powder and doing the same to Sookie, then Sookie washed her hands because she had handled the floor mat in the basement.

"Do you need to "go" while we're here?" Amunet asked.

"Not right now – I'm sure I will later, though. You know the guys are waiting for us?"

"Are they? How do you know?"

"Eric is telling me to take my time, and he and Badru are standing this side of the door to the room."

"Do you "hear" him, or just "feel" him?" Amunet asked as she fixed her deep red lipstick, which Sookie found fascinating for some reason, but she couldn't quite put her finger on why.

"Both. I can feel where he is, and how he feels, and he can think things to me."

"That's a handy trick. Have you always been able to do it?"

"No, my abilities are getting stronger as time goes by, I think maybe because I'm drinking from him so much."

"Really? Badru and I exchange fairly often, but I don't think it has affected my abilities to any great extent."

"Oh – well, I'm supposedly going through a physical transformation, so maybe it's that?"

"A transformation?"

"Yeah, I…"

There was a knock at the door and Eric pushed the door open slightly. "Sookie, Dearest, are you ready to enter? I think they want to announce us."

"…Oh, OK…" Sookie looked at Amunet who smiled and nodded toward the door, so Sookie went out and she followed.

Eric smiled and offered Sookie his arm and they turned to the entrance, Badru and Amunet following behind them.

There was a sort of hostess waiting inside the door who quickly welcomed the party and showed them to Eric's table. A spotlight followed Eric and Sookie, and the band leader announced, "His Royal Highness Eric Northman, and beautiful Queen Sookie." The crowd buzzed a little and softly applauded as they smiled and nodded, and Sookie gave a quick little wave that that was girlish and endearing.

As soon as their party was seated, one of the lazy Susan servers with the black and white dishes was placed in front of them, and it was filled with several kinds of caviar and every kind of garnish you'd want for it – minced shallots, chopped egg, crème fraiche, capers, chives, dill, small pieces of smoked salmon – and several types of blini, crackers and buttered toast points.

"Oh, this looks yummy!" Sookie said enthusiastically and the server, a young woman with an auburn pony tail, smiled and said, "the Chef created this assortment just for you, your Majesty."

"Oh, well, tell him I said thanks!"

"Yes, your majesty, I'll tell her."

"Oh – a female chef?"

"Yes, ma'am – Chef Andrea Casey – have you heard of her?"

"Maybe – did she have a show on the Food Network?"

"She's been on there, I think, but she's better known for a reality show on FOX. She was the big winner."

"Oh, that's wonderful."

"She said she'll come introduce herself when she gets a minute. She's working on a special dessert for you."

"Oh, that'll be nice!" Sookie gave the girl a big smile and Eric smiled and nodded to the girl, very pleased that she was paying attention to Sookie. He had let it be known that Sookie was to be the center of attention for the entire staff. He had been a little put out that the chef in one of the other clubs had scowled at Sookie and Amunet when they first met and went to find the Witch with the magick candies. The chef had claimed he didn't know who she was, but Sookie was in the tabloids every day, and at this point you'd have to live under a rock not to recognize her, so Eric wasn't buying it.

"Ooh, Eric, look!" Sookie said, a little too loudly, so she blushed a bit, but she was beside herself to see a Marilyn Monroe impersonator in a pink satin dress step up to the microphone in front of the "big band" and sing "Diamonds are a Girl's Best Friend."

Eric laughed with delight and whispered to Sookie, "shall we ask her to join us later tonight?"

Sookie's eyes popped and she giggled and said, "you're so bad!" she said and put her hands on both sides of his face and kissed him.

"If you change your mind, just say the word," he teased her, putting his arm around her shoulders and giving her a squeeze.

Amunet was laughing, and leaned toward Sookie, "I bet I know what he's thinking!"

"I'll bet you do," Sookie nodded, cracking up, "It's like Marilyn Monroe night, you in that dress and then that singer. Was that a theme or something?"

"Not that I know of," Amunet said, "but it's hilarious. She's pretty good, isn't she?"

"Very good. I wonder if that's a wig she's wearing?"

"I was wondering myself, but I think I see some brown roots, so it's probably her own. Isn't that dress fabulous?"

"It really is.

"You should get the number of her dressmaker, Sookie and have her make one for you. You could carry that off easily. I think I even know a place you could get the over-the-elbow pink gloves. You've got that amazing diamond bracelet, too."

"You don't think I'd look silly?"

Amunet looked at her with surprise. "Do you think I look silly?"

"Of course not – you look fabulous."

"Right, and you have more of the body for it. I don't have the rack to do this dress justice, but you've got that perfect Barbie doll shape."

"Where would I wear such a thing?"

Eric, who had been following their conversation as well as the one he was having with Badru, added, "You do have a costume ball coming up on Samhain, Sookie."

"Oh – I never thought of that! I guess I could get away with wearing it there."

"It would be perfect on you, Sookie. When she comes off stage, let's talk to her," Amunet urged as she fed Sookie a blini piled high with pearly grey Osetra "berries" and crème fraiche.

"OK, I guess it wouldn't hurt," Sookie said as she swallowed it, her eyes rolling back a bit at how good it was. "Mmm – this is so good!"

"I know – this Russian stuff is good."

"How do you know it's Russian?"

"Oh, I talked to the kitchen earlier and asked them what they had in stock. It's mostly classic Russian varieties and several American types."

"See the big red ones?"

"The salmon roe? Sure."

"Where does that come from?"

"Probably Alaska. It's really inexpensive."

"It is? Because I love it."

"Yeah, if you know where to buy it, you could get it for like $50 a pound."

"I thought caviar was hundreds per ounce."

"Some of it, sure, but salmon roe is easy to come by."

"Cool – I won't feel so bad about eating so much. " Sookie took a big bite to hide the fact that she was listening in on Eric, who was calling her attention, telepathically, to several people around the room, though there was no sense of urgency.

"Sookie?" Amunet tried to call her attention back.

"Do you know that man looking at you from the doorway?"

Sookie looked where Amunet pointed and was surprised to see Sir Robert of Swansea looking straight at her. "Oh, yes, actually, I do. I need to speak to him. Eric?"

"Yes, Sweetheart?" he bent his head toward her.

"My Minister of Days is here from you-know-where. I need to talk to him."

"Where is he?"

"Over there." She nodded and Eric raised an eyebrow. This was someone he didn't know and a very good-looking someone at that. He was less than thrilled about the prospect of Sookie having such a handsome Fae contact. Not that he didn't trust Sookie, but he knew better than to trust strange Fae men around his bonded, no matter how loyal she might be. Fae were known to take what they want whether the lady consented or not, and they also had a kind of Fae glamour that could make an unwilling human more pliable. He didn't know if that would work on Sookie, but he had no intention of trying it out.

"Invite him to join us, Sookie," Eric said as if Sookie couldn't feel the jealousy and suspicion rolling off of him like a dense fog.

"I probably need to speak to him privately…"

"There's an office on this floor. If you'll agree to take Bjorn with you, I'll have him take you two to it, but only if Bjorn stays with you."

"Eric, you don't need to worry…"

"But I WILL worry so take Bjorn, please?"

"OK. Bjorn –" she turned and called to him because he was a few seats away from her.

"Yes, your Majesty?"

"Sir Robert is here, see?" Sookie nodded in that direction. "Can you show us where the office is on this floor so we can speak privately?"

Bjorn looked at Eric, who nodded but didn't smile, and said, "OK, let's go," helping her stand and leading her toward the door at the back of the room behind them. Sookie looked back and nodded toward the door and Sir Robert nodded then stepped out the other door. Sookie jumped a little when she came face to face with him outside the door on the opposite side of the room.

Sir Robert bowed to her, "Your Majesty, sorry to interrupt…"

"Hello, Sir Robert, that's not a problem. Bjorn is going to show us where we can speak privately."

"Very good, lead on!" He smiled at Bjorn, who was no more thrilled than Eric about Sir Robert's relative position to Sookie, so he grunted and led them down the hall to a set of glass French doors. Bjorn used his thumbprint to open the doors and showed Sookie a very nice office with oxblood leather furniture and hunter green wallpaper.

Bjorn stood outside the office door, but left it open a crack so he could get to Sookie quickly if need be.

Sookie and Sir Robert sat in two chairs that faced the front of the desk and he began to explain why he was here.

"Milady, I bring a warning from the Wise Ladies. Lady Ariel has told me that Niall Brigant has been spotted in the OutLands of Elfyria."

"Where's that?"

"It's technically in your realm, but it's at the very fringes and overlaps several planes of existence. It's a portal into the past for those who know how to use it, but the Ladies assure me that Niall is not among those. He's apparently amassing a small army of assassins, much like the one that failed so spectacularly at the Lammas Wiccaning, but these are individuals who've been banned from Elfyria. Some believe they will try a frontal attack on the city when they've numbers enough. The Ladies and I agree that he is far more likely to be planning a surprise attack on you, first."

"You mean here, or in Elfyria?"

"Wherever he can find you. There is some speculation that he knows you've been to Avalon, and that is making him bold and reckless in his jealousy."

"Why is he so focused on Avalon? It's all women there, right?"

"There are treasures on Avalon that can be had nowhere else in all the worlds, Milady. There are also those, Lady Nivian for example, whom he wishes to separate from their heads."

"If he harms Nivian, I'll kill him."

"You'd best kill him the first chance you get, no matter whom he has, or has not, harmed. I have been told that you've adopted the dragon whelp?"

"Yes, he's upstairs."

"Is he with your babies, Milady?"

"Maybe – should he be?"

"Oh, yes – let him stay with them when they sleep and particularly when neither you nor the king can be with them. He's small, but he's very powerful. He'll protect them with his life, so keep him close and let him get to know them."

"Oh, he does. They play together and he's taken them for swims in the pool. He's fitting right in with the family," Sookie assured him.

"Good. He's from a very old, very revered line of protectors, come down from the time of King Arthur. His mother was a protector for Queen Genevieve until she died."

"But not for Titania?"

"Titania was poisoned – there's not much a dragon can do about that, especially when the poison is from her own house."

"Alright, when do I need to come back to Elfyria?"

"I'm surprised you haven't been back already. We have things under control, but it would be good if you'd come when you can spend some time and I can take you for a ride through your territories. We could hit the high spots in a few hours, and it would reassure people to see you in the villages."

"Should I bring Aubie for that?"

"That would be up to you. I'll have a retinue of trustworthy guards with us, so bring him if you like. It might be safer than leaving him at home for an extended period. He's safest when he's with you."

"Even with Niall trying to kill me?"

"Even with – he won't risk hurting the child just yet."

"It's the "just yet" that infuriates me."

"I know exactly how you feel, Milady. Strengthen your wards on your homes and businesses, and keep the boys near you when you can, or the dragon with them when you can't. We know it is only a matter of time before Brigant strikes, so be prepared and show no mercy."

"Don't worry about that. I can't wait to take the old bastard down so I know my boys are safe from him."

"Alright, then, unless something drastic happens, I'll see you in Elfyria – tomorrow, I hope, or the next day?"

"Yes, of course if you need me."

"We do, Milady, we most fervently do," he stood, bowed low and disappeared.

Sookie sat trying to sort through what he'd told her. The people wanted to see her – because they need to know she'll protect them from Niall? Yes, that made sense. He's less likely to find Fae to follow him if they know their Queen is around and in possession of the throne. If they know she's there to lead the army, his band of criminals will think twice before making a frontal assault.

"Bjorn?"

"Yes, your Majesty?" he looked in the door.

"Can we go to the penthouse before we go back to the party?"

"Yes, if you want. We should tell the King…"

"I'll tell him. Let's just go." Bjorn held the doors for her and led her to the elevator, then they took the car to the floor to access the special elevator to the penthouse.

Sookie walked into the penthouse, finding the boys sleeping quietly and Bobbie, Alicia and Cody playing Monopoly as planned.

"Hey, Sookie!" Bobbie said as she came in, "we didn't expect to see you for a while."

"Yeah, I wanted to check on the boys. Sir Robert was just here. Where's Puff?"

"He's out in his house," Alicia pointed out the glass door.

"OK, I was told that we should let him stay near the boys when they sleep, especially if Eric and I aren't around, so I'm going to bring him in. Is that OK with everyone?"

"Yes, of course!" Alicia said and the others agreed.

Sookie stepped over to the sliding glass doors and pulled the right one back "Hey, Puffy!"

The dragon, who'd been lying by the pool in the moonlight, perked up and made his wookie sound. "Come on in, Buddy!" The dragon quickly bounced to the door and stopped inside the door to nuzzle Sookie's waist as she petted his head. "OK, Puffy, Eric and I are busy tonight, so I want you to stay with my babies and keep them safe, OK?"

The dragon looked Sookie in the eye, nodded and purred that loud purr of his, so Sookie was pretty sure he knew what to do, but just to be sure she pointed to the boys "My babies, Puff. My babies. You keep my babies safe, yes?" The dragon gave another nod and a wookie bark and sat down next to the playpen in an alert position, his claw on the side of the playpen, to show the Goddess he would keep her whelps safe. "OK, good boy!" Sookie kissed his head, then let Bjorn lead her back to the Romanoff room.

They passed a lot of people in the hallway this time because they were using the main corridor. People smiled and nodded to Sookie and she said hello to them each and gave them her emergency smile because she wasn't used to so many strange people knowing her name. Eric and Badru were standing in the hallway outside the Room when she got there.

"Hey, Sweetie," Sookie popped up to him and kissed him playfully and he wrapped his arm around her.

"We were just saying we'd wait here for you."

"No need to wait – where's Amunet?"

"She's speaking to Marilyn about her dress maker. She'll be right out."

"We aren't going back in?"

"Did you want to, Sookie?"

"No, I just thought we would. Where are we going now?"

"My wife suggested that we all go down to the Disco room and dance," Badru laughed.

"Disco? Oh, yeah, Bobbie and Amelia told me about that. They play all kinds of music down there – actual disco stuff, and modern hip hop and almost anything with a dance track. We've never done that kind of dancing, Eric, do you do that?"

"Well, we're about to find out," he laughed. He had a few moves Sookie hadn't seen yet and he was looking forward to surprising her.

Amunet came out of the Room then saying, "Sookie – I've just been talking to Marilyn! She's going to meet us down there!"

"Where? The Disco?"

"Of course, she's going to dance with us!" Amunet pulled Sookie down the hall with her and Sookie just went with it, the two of them giggling a little and Sookie remembered she hadn't danced like this since Eric saw her and Tara do that dance routine at that club, but that seemed like a lifetime ago. She remembered he didn't dance that night, but he sure did watch every move she made, and that gave her a deep sense of satisfaction, knowing he had wanted her so badly back then and she - well, at least she _told_ herself back then that she didn't want him, though if she were honest about it, she really did. They took the elevator to the ground floor of the building and there was a big center room with see through walls and there were spotlights of several colors, an occasional strobe light and the biggest mirrored disco ball she'd ever seen hanging from the building. A relatively young vampire and two very pretty "hostesses" came giggling out to the hallway and into one of a number of doors along the out side walls, closing the door which had a kind of windowed panel where a sign changed from Open to Occupied.

"What's that?" Sookie asked and everyone else laughed as a pair of elegant but old vampires came out of another door holding hands and whispering. Before Sookie got an answer, Amunet said, "MacArthur Park! I love this song," and she dragged Sookie into the darkened room and up onto a riser with room for about 20 people on it. There were various risers platforms and stages throughout the room and some of them had dancers obviously paid to be there, while others were just patrons dancing with hosts and hostesses and everyone was having a great time.

Sookie and Amunet and a bunch of other people were jumping up and down to the throbbing dance track, singing with Donna Summer "_someone left the cake out in the rain! I don't think that I can take it, because it took so long to bake it, and I'll never have that recipe again! OH NO!_" Eric grabbed Sookie around the waist and spun her around, then they jumped in unison a few times and he took her hand, spun her and bent her backward. 'Holy shit!' Sookie thought 'I married John Travolta!' That track went up, then it spun down and a slightly slower song, instantly recognizable, started up and nearly every woman in the room started singing "_He met Marmalade down in old New Orleans, struttin' her stuff on the street_." Sookie, like every girl in Louisiana, loved this song and she camped and vamped it up big time to Eric's sheer delight. She grabbed his belt buckle and said "_Hello, hey, Joe, you want to give it a go_?" the she spun around and pressed her butt back into him singing "_Giuchie, Giuchie, ya ya dada (Hey hey hey,) Giuchie, Giuchie, ya ya here (here,) Mocha Chocalata ya ya (oh yea) Creole lady Marmalade_" Then she spun around, shimmying her shoulders toward him then back, and he moved to follow her with his upper body as she sang "_Voulez vous coucher avec moi ce soir, Voulez vous coucher avec moi_" singing along with the song as best she could, but it was the new version with Christina Aguilera and she didn't know all the rap stuff in it, but everybody played up the choruses and the whole room was jumping and wiggling and Sookie hadn't had this much fun in ages.

Next they played "Head Like A Hole," by Nine Inch Nails and nobody really knows the lyrics to that one, so it was mostly jumping up and down until it got to the part everyone knows. When the lines "Bow down before the one you serve. /You're going to get what you deserve./ Bow down before the one you serve. You're going to get what you deserve." Sookie dropped to her knees looking up at Eric with a wicked grin, then running her hand up the inside of his thigh and squeezing the bulge in his pants just slightly as she stood back up, then she straddled his leg and let him shake her upper body around like a rag doll. Sookie just barely noticed that Marilyn, now in the white halter dress, was dancing with them, occasionally wrapping her arms around Amunet, then the two of them moved in around Sookie as she wiggled against Eric. The song gradually melted into the English version of T.A.T.U.'s "All the Things She Said," which was mostly an extended dance track that just repeated the chorus over and over :

All the things she said

All the things she said

Running through my head

Running through my head

Running through my head

(Running through my head)

All the things she said

All the things she said

Running through my head

Running through my head

All the things she said

All the things she said

(All the things she said)

Sookie, Amunet and Marilyn were dancing with their arms around each other, the lights going into a heavy purple strobe and suddenly Sookie had Eric's bleeding wrist pressed to her mouth, then she was swimming in a sea of hot, sexy bodies, vaguely aware that she, Amunet and Marilyn had danced their way into one of the little rooms on the side of the party room. The music was pumped into the room, and so was the strobing light, so Sookie couldn't really see anything, though later she was pretty sure there was a cube, something from the ceiling, and a big easy chair that reminded her of Eric's chair in the basement at Fangtasia. They were still dancing when something slipped around Sookie's wrists and Amunet whispered "Hold on" and encouraged Sookie to step up on some kind of little box as her hands stretched upward. She was high on Eric's blood, the faint recognition of which made her wonder where he was as her dress was slipped down to expose her breasts and she felt hands with long fingernails slipping inside her thong, which was now around her ankles. Sookie couldn't think so she just rode the wave of Eric's blood, stretching like a cat into the leather around her wrists and the two mouths and four hands all over her, one of which was becoming very insistent inside her and Sookie could feel an amazing orgasm rising up from her toes, that shot up her legs, gripping at her center then covering her torso, face and arms in crashing electric purple waves. Sookie collapsed into the orgasm and suddenly she was bent over the back of a soft leather chair as Eric took her hard from behind, squeezing her breasts, then running a hand down to renew the throbbing in her clit. She braced her hands on the seat of the chair, the only thing holding her up was Eric's cock slamming into her, which was hard, hard, hard inside her, then she felt his cool release on her back entrance. Sookie knew what that meant and for some reason found it funny, so she was cracking up as he pushed into her slowly, making her pant, and laugh, then pant some more. Her head was swimming, 'Where am I?' she wondered as she found herself balanced on the back of the chair, head and arms in the seat, Eric's hands holding the front of he thighs, and she wasn't really aware that she was grinding her crotch into the back of the chair as she and Eric grunted in unison as he slammed to a brilliant conclusion then he rearranged her dress, picked her up and took her out a different door as she lost consciousness.

To be continued.


	107. Chapter 107

**(A/N – OK, PEEPS, I'M TIRED OF PEOPLE THINKING THIS STORY IS OVER. I HAD A BIG CANCER SCARE THAT INVOLVED A LOT OF TRAVEL AND TIME IN VARIOUS HOSPITALS, AND I DIDN'T FEEL LIKE WRITING VAMPIRE PORN WHILE I WAS GOING THROUGH ALL OF THAT. THIS IS HALF A CHAPTER. I'LL POST SOMETHING BY NEW YEARS. HAPPY FREAKING HOLIDAYS.)**

**Chapter 107**

Sookie woke up naked on the white mink bedspread looking up into a nearly starless sky, rain gently falling on the glass above her. Had she dreamed? Where were the boys? The room was pitch black but she could hear water running somewhere. Wherever it was, she hoped it was alright, because she was too tired to move. She had that "no bones" feeling she always got after an orgasm with Eric. She laughed a little to herself because she realized she'd now had enough orgasms with other people to know that it was only Eric that could reduce her to jelly. "He's a "magick man," she laughed to herself, remembering that old Heart song that's still on the radio all the time.

She ran her hands over her body, enjoying the softness of her skin. Mmmm – she felt cozy and sexy and well-loved – and not a little naughty, she giggled. If someone had asked her ahead of time, she knew she would have balked at the idea of sexy time with two women, but it seemed like the most natural thing in the world when it happened and she just went with it. This was one of those nights when the bond was so awesome – Eric knew how she was feeling every second, and helped her let go and be herself instead of what she was trained to be by her environment.

"My Lover, you are very pleased with yourself," Eric whispered as he sat on the bed next to her.

"I am very pleased with YOU," she laughed, not even opening her eyes. "Are the boys in the co-sleeper behind me?

"Of course – you want me to bring the lights up? I forget that you can't see in the dark."

"I'll be able to soon, but yeah, I need a little light now."

"Ambient ON!" he said and the little lights in the ceiling above the bed twinkled. Sookie leaned toward him and kissed his lips, then rolled over just to look at the boys and see they were sleeping peacefully, then she rolled back into Eric's arms.

"Do I hear water running?"

"Yes, I thought we'd have a bath before we go to rest – unless you aren't up to it?"

"That sounds like a good idea. You'll have to help me – I'm a pile of jelly at the moment," she laughed as he scooped her up and carried her to the tub that was piled high with bubbles and full of water just a little warmer than her skin. As he let her down in the water, she said, "I'm glad you remembered not to make the water too warm."

"Yes, I'm afraid I wasn't thinking of her as I should have been earlier. I was a little rough with you," he said as he settled into the water next to her.

"No, you weren't. It was wild and fun, but I've had so much of your blood at this point that I don't think you could hurt me if you tried."

"You are becoming very strong, my Angel," he agreed as she snuggled up against his chest. "Your strength surprises even me at times."

"I wasn't as out of it earlier as I seemed, either. I mean, I know I was kind of trippy, but I knew you were looking out for me so I just let go."

"That's exactly as I hoped you'd do," he whispered as he kissed her forehead and stroked her hair.

"Yeah, of course. I know you'd never let anyone hurt me. One thing I don't remember, though – where was Badru during all of this?"

"He had an urgent call so he left before things got interesting. I would not have let things progress if he had been there."

"Yeah, I wouldn't have been into that. I don't completely trust him."

"Neither do I. Also, I think you should be careful about how much you tell Amunet about the source of your abilities."

"I wondered if you interrupted us in the ladies' room on purpose."

"Yes – I know she knows you are a direct incarnation, but if she doesn't know you are literally becoming a Goddess, let's keep that to ourselves."

"OK, if you think it's important."

"It is. I'm pretty sure that Amunet's feelings for you are genuine, but when I looked at Badru tonight, I saw a bit of a glow around him – a little stronger than the one I saw around Herveaux when we all met before the Wiccaning. He won't make an enemy of us just yet, but he has his own agenda that we need to remember. Should his goals lie at odds to ours, he'll pursue his own best interest."

"Yeah, I agree. Hey, weren't we supposed to go home tonight?"

"There were storm warnings so we're staying until tomorrow night. Badru and Amunet will come back to the New Orleans club with us and stay a few days."

"Oh, good. Maybe we can practice my magick!"

"That's what I had hoped. You can still learn a lot from her."

"It'll be nice to have company for a few days. Maybe we can go dancing at the club in New Orleans, too?"

"If you'd like, we can do that any time. Also, feel free to show off the skills of the chef at the club and the other facilities. I think Amunet is even planning to swim with you if the weather permits."

"Oh – fun!" Sookie said as she snuggled into his neck. "You better wash my hair soon – I'm fading fast!" and to emphasize her point, she let out a huge yawn. They washed each other's hair and soaped and rinsed each other and before long Sookie was tucked into her bed wearing nothing but Chanel No. 5 body lotion, wrapped in Eric's arms as he fluffed her hair to help it dry nicely. She was sound asleep when the boys woke up for their bottle with Dadee and Eric closed the shutter system so he didn't have to rush the boys to finish. He took the time to read to Alex and Aubie from the "pish" book, per Alex's request. Eric had to stifle a laugh when Sookie woke and giggled at Alex coaching Aubie "Woogie, Obee, won doo fee fo fie pish!" and Aubie trying to copy him, "un doo pith!" Bjorn came up the stairs as Eric tucked the boys back in next to Sookie, who was back to sleep already.

"Your majesty – are you staying up today?"

"Is it that cloudy?"

"Yeah, you could probably get away with it, especially with the shutters down. Sookie has been wondering why you don't stay in bed at the clubs."

"She has?"

"Her exact words were "we're all alone in the world up here – how much safer is life going to get?" Bjorn laughed and Eric nodded, picturing exactly the way she'd say that.

"Do I dare?"

"Nobody will get up here that could do you any harm. It would mean a lot to her."

"Alright. I'll lock the shutter system so it can't be opened and I'll stay with her."

Eric opened a control panel in the wall between the closet and the tub and locked the system so it couldn't be opened accidentally while he rested, then he slid back into the bed next to Sookie. She stirred a little to let him get his arm under her head and she said sleepily, "I thought you would be in your box now?"

"I thought I'd stay in the bed today and we can cuddle and listen to the rain on the roof."

"Oh, goodie!" she said girlishly, pulling his arm over her and wrapping her arms around it, bringing his hand up so she could kiss it.

"Sleep well, my Angel," he whispered in her ear as they both fell into a pleasant sleep, lulled by the gentle sounds of the rain on the glass.

"Milady, are you—OH, MY!"

Sookie sat bolt upright and found that she and Eric were in Titania's bed, Eric sleeping on his usual side so he was between Sookie and Maddie.

"Hey, Maddie!" Sookie said a little loudly, panicking a little more than was really warranted.

"Maddie?" Eric asked sleepily and opened his eyes.

"So nice to see you back, Sir."

"How did we get here?" Eric asked, stretching a little and acting like this happened every day.

"I was holding your arm when I fell asleep, Sweetie," Sookie was being apologetic, which Eric found charming though unnecessary.

"Can you bring breakfast in an hour as usual, please, Maddie?" Eric asked, just as he used to, pulling Sookie back down to him.

"As you wish, Sire," Maddie said with a wink and was out the door before Sookie could react.

"Huh? "As usual?"" Sookie's brain wasn't putting it all together yet.

"Sookie, you know I lived here briefly, yes?" Eric said as he moved over her, kissing his way slowly and gently from her ear to her left nipple.

"Uh, yeah…" Sookie sighed, letting herself sink back into a deeply relaxed, but aroused, state.

Eric spoke softly as his hand explored her, "Well, in those days, Maddie would wake us and I'd ask her to come back with breakfast in an hour, so…."

"So you could bang my great grandma?" Sookie said and cracked up, purposely being crude for comic effect.

Eric was shocked, and laughed, then bit her shoulder, "I prefer to think of it as you, Sookie."

"Yeah, I just wanted to see how you'd react if I said that. So we've got an hour to fool around before I have to face my day here?"

"Exactly," he purred, the last word spoken for the next 57 minutes. Sookie closed her eyes and went with the wave of love and lust that flowed from him all around her. In the back of her mind, she realized this was the first time they'd ever had sex in the morning, because here Eric could be awake in the day. That was a distinct advantage to the Fae realm, Sookie realized, and made being here seem a much more appealing prospect. Still not quite awake, Eric's touch was soft, sensual and strangely warm in a way Sookie couldn't remember ever feeling before. Is this what it felt like to sleep with a human? Her mind floated back to her night in Fangtasia's basement with Eric and Bjorn. That was the first time she'd felt heat from a sex partner's body, but it was different than this feeling. That was burning, smoldering. This was warm as in "you're home and you're safe now" but it was an actual, physical thing. It wouldn't take much for Sookie to cry right now, but they would be tears of joy. She heard Eric think that he wanted to distract her so she purred a little to let him know she was paying attention. She loved the closeness they were developing by hearing each other's thoughts. It never felt invasive any more, it felt exactly the way Sookie thought love should feel.

Sookie stopped thinking then and pushed Eric on his back, straddling him with a giggle as she kissed his nose then got down to business. This canopied bed was on a solid platform so they were able to really get wild without causing it to shake or creak like a normal one. There was just enough down in the mattress to cushion Eric's back without letting it hit the hard surface under, and Sookie was able to lean on her knees more steadily than ever before. They would later agree that this was an ideal surface for having sex, having the best aspects of the floor and a bed and none of the "worsts."

Sookie finally came and fell down beside him, squealing as he tickled her playfully. "Time to get up, your Majesty!" Eric teased her and pulled her through the velvet curtains into the slightly chilly room. He held a purple velvet robe for her as she slipped into it, then walked to the fireplace naked, enjoying the play of the warmth from the hearth and the nip in the air on his skin. Sookie sat at the little breakfast table watching Eric stretch his arms above his head and turning this way and that to warm up his muscles. How could anything be so beautiful. He looked like one of those Greek or Roman statues, alabaster white, every muscle cut, stretched, toned and defined to the perfect degree, which was muscular but not body builder bulky like Bjorn – she much preferred Eric's slimmer frame. Sookie was only a little surprised that Eric made no effort to cover himself as Maddie came in with their breakfast. White tea and thick French toast with butter, preserves, honey and maple syrup were set out before Sookie as Maddie chattered away happily.

"Oh, it's so nice to have you both here! I can't tell you how I've longed for this!" she said as she unloaded her tray and then rubbed Sookie's back briskly with her hand. "And don't you worry, Sire, I've still got some clothes here for you! Titania made me promise to be ready to receive you!" she said happily as she bustled over to a wardrobe that had a selection of clothes for each of them. In no time at all Eric was clad in a pair of tight brown breeches and a blue cotton tunic, a large, gorgeous leather belt with a large knife in a sheath and some pointy brown boots that Sookie had to stifle a giggle at because they looked decidedly not 21st Century American.

"You don't like my boots, my Angel?" He teased her, posing and showing them off. He knew he wouldn't wear these back home, but they suited his purpose in this world in that they were very sturdy and had a short blade concealed in the outer right seam of the right boot, the hilt of which was hidden by the wide turned-down cuff of the shaft.

The two of them ate French toast with strawberry jam, the scent of which Eric remembered from his time with Titania, though he could not taste it then without getting sick. He was buttering more toast as he asked about a large glass vessel on the table. "Sookie, this is a vase?" He pronounced it "vaahhzz" which was a little funny to Sookie.

"No, Sweetie, it's a pitcher - a pitcher of milk."

"Cow's milk, yes?"

"Yes, of course! What else would it be?"

"Goat's milk, sheep's milk, many animals make milk - they're called mammals."

Sookie laughed, "Yeah, I know about mammals," she laughed, "I guess they do use other animals' milk, especially for making cheese. I'm pretty sure this is from a cow, though," she laughed as she poured some into a blue goblet on the table and handed it to him. "See if you like it!"

Eric sniffed it, frowned, and drank it down. "Interesting."

"You've been around when we've had milk before…?"

"Yes, and I've poured glasses of it for you per your doctor's instructions, but I never asked about it. There are usually others around when we eat."

"Oh - yeah, I guess so, huh?"

"Yes, of course, and I have wondered why grown humans drink milk from animals? It is intended for their infants."

"Well, yeah, but…"

"It does not seem unappetizing to you to drink milk that is not from a human?"

"Eww - who'd want to drink human milk! I mean, yeah, babies do because that's natural, but a person would never want to drink another person's milk! That's gross."

"But fluid squeezed from the teat of a cow is not?"

"Well… I never really thought about it before. We just always drank milk. It's supposed to be really good for you."

"I remember mothers using animal milk when a baby had no wet nurse available, and giving cups to toddlers, but adults do not require it," Eric replied.

"No, but most people like it."

"Many cannot drink it - they are lactose intolerant."

"Yeah, true, but I don't know why some are and some aren't. Why are you thinking about this all of a sudden?"

"I dreamt about it recently."

"Drinking milk?"

"Drinking cow's milk."

"You dreamt you were drinking cow's milk?"

"No, the children were."

"Alex and Aubie?"

"Yes, and their sister was there, though I'm not sure of her name. That part was fuzzy."

"How old were they?"

"It's hard to say. They were very small, but very articulate."

"Yeah, that makes sense. They're learning to speak really quickly. What were they doing?"

"You poured milk for the boys as you nursed the girl, and Auberon asked why he couldn't drink your milk anymore."

"Oh. Was he too big, I guess?"

"I don't know, but I know he asked where this milk came from and you said from a cow. He reacted badly."

"Badly?"

"He threw it at you."

"AUBIE? Threw something at me? But he's my baby!"

"I know, it was very surprising. I thought I should tell you."

"Your dreams usually come true!"

"Sometimes. I thought you should know there might be friction if you wean Auberon before the girl is weaned."

"I'll have to think about this. I can't picture Aubie being so angry - he's so sweet - but I can see where he might be jealous if he thought I was favoring his little sister. When did you dream this?"

"The other day. This is the first time that seemed convenient to mention it."

"OK, well, I guess it's good to know."

Maddie, who had been making the bed and straightening the room turned her attention back to them. "Did you enjoy the jam? Would you like something else?"

"I'm full!" Sookie laughed, "Eric, do you want anything else."

"I'll need to feed later on, but that can wait until we get home."

"Oh, OK. What's up for today, Maddie? Sir Robert said I was needed. Is it something Eric can do with me?"

"It would be best to ask Sir Robert, Milady, but I think he wanted to take you on a tour of your Queendom. People will be wild to see you, and probably you too, Sire."

"I'd be wild to see you if it was me, Eric," Sookie teased him.

"I'm always wild to see you, too, Sookie," he smiled and kissed her as Maddie cleared the table and took the tray to a girl waiting in the hall. Sookie followed Maddie into her closet to put her clothes on while Eric waited at the table. As soon as he was sure the women were occupied in the other room, Eric quickly and silently opened the beautiful trunk at the end of the bed. He had to remove several things to access the panel covering the false bottom, but he was pleased to see that his bronze amulet was still where he had left it. He slipped the leather cord over his head and adjusted the string and his tunic so it wasn't visible as it hung beneath his shirt. He would tell Sookie about it later, when they were alone. Probably. There still might be a thing or two that warranted secrecy at least for a while longer. A part of him still believed, deep down, that Sookie would come to fear him when she understood him. He wanted to delay that as long as possible and this amulet's particular powers were among those things better delayed. He could have chosen not to wear it, but truth be told, he was afraid not to be under its protection if they should encounter Niall and his band of assassins. He was at a disadvantage in this realm because he could not move in and out of it as a full Fae could and as usual he intended to tip the scales in his own favor in every possible way. You don't live a thousand years without a strict policy of cheating when you can. This amulet was most definitely a cheat, and a dangerous one at that.

Sookie was back in a few minutes wearing a deep pink satin gown with a heart-shaped panel of lace in the bodice that left her back nearly naked. She turned in front of Eric, knowing she looked good and fishing shamelessly for a compliment.

"You look very lovely, Sookie, that color is very becoming. I do, however, wonder if the dress maker ran out of fabric for the back of the garment?" He said raising an eyebrow and pretending to disapprove.

"Too much?" She was only a little concerned. She wouldn't have thought twice about it before but since Eric did ask her not to wear that other dress that night it did flash through her mind that he might be serious. "Seriously, is it too much?"

Eric laughed and stroked her cheek. "It's fine, Sookie, though you can expect me to stay close to you, just in case."

"In case of what?"

"In case anyone gets brave enough to touch your bare back."

"It's not really bare…"

"It's not really not, either,"

"Bu-" She started to disagree but there was a loud knock at the door. Maddie scampered to answer it and Sookie grabbed Eric's arm and held on because it surprised her. As cozy as this morning had been so far, it never left Sookie's mind that Niall might come busting in after her at any second.

Maddie was relieved to see the friendly face of Sir Robert at the chamber door. "Good morning, Sir Robert!"

"Good morning, Maddie – is our Lady fit for company yet?"

"Yes, come in, Sir Robert," Sookie said with relief, still holding on to Eric a little tighter than she needed to. Eric made note of the fact that she was nervous in this world, which was wise as long a Niall Brigant roamed free. He wanted her to be cautious, and at some point would he'd try to explain why she should never let her guard down around Faerie men. He knew that no true Fae could harm her, but the Fae concept of harm might not include rape, or the theft of the child in her womb for that matter. Fae had strange ideas that Eric didn't completely understand, and he was less than secure in his ability to prepare Sookie for dealing with them. He only hoped her instincts would serve her when he couldn't be with her, and he was glad he was here this day if the agenda was as he expected.

Sir Robert bowed low to Sookie as he entered the room. "Your majesty! You look lovely today!" He gave her a dazzling smile as he stood tall, making no move to acknowledge Eric.

"Sir Robert, I don't think you've met my husband? This is King Eric Northman," Sookie said enthusiastically, still holding on to Eric's arm.

"Very pleased to meet you, Sire. Welcome back to Elfyria!" Sir Robert bowed his head slightly to Eric, his smile constant, his eyes betraying nothing about how he felt toward his Queen's consort.

"Thank you," Eric said stiffly, nodding his head and stretching his full height to present the most imposing figure possible. It did not escape Eric's notice that Sir Robert had welcomed him "back." How would Sir Robert know Eric had been here before? Did he know about Eric and Titania, and if so, how?

Sookie could hear Eric's thoughts as he sized up Sir Robert and she squeezed his arm when he made note of the "welcome back" comment. "So, Sir Robert, do you have plans for us today?"

Sir Robert seemed delighted to redirect his attention to Sookie, "Yes, Milady, your carriage awaits! I thought we'd take a tour of your inland territories and let the neighborhood see you. The towns have been buzzing with excitement that you might ride by."

"Oh, that sounds nice," Sookie smiled and nodded at Eric thinking "please just go along?" at him, getting a comforting look and a warm smile in return.

Sir Robert led them down a long corridor that led to the back of the castle, bringing them out to an open air walkway that ran the length of the castle's west side. The sunshine was brilliant though it was early, and you could hear birds chirping in the trees. Sookie thought the stone the castle was built from must contain a lot of quartz because it seemed to sparkle in the sunshine. Everything here was just a little bit hazy, like being in a dream, though Sookie knew she was wide awake.

"Out this way, Your Majesty," Sir Robert pointed out to the west "You can see the Royal Stables. Do you ride, Milady?"

"Well, I've ridden a horse, but not like a trained rider. My parents liked to camp at this one place where we'd rent horses and wander through the woods with a guide."

Eric and Sir Robert both laughed with delight at the picture of a young Sookie learning to master a horse. "If you'd ever like to try it again, Milady, we have some very fine stock from which you may choose. There's a very pretty spotted mare that you might like – sweet tempered and steady, a perfect mount for an untrained rider."

"Oh, that sounds nice."

Sir Robert continued pointing out special facts about this part of the castle or that, pointing out where the kitchens were located, and the barracks that housed the Queen's guard. At the end of the walk way there were winding stone stairs that took them down to the ground where a gorgeous black carriage with four beautiful white Welsh ponies in front. The carriage had a top which was folded down so the riders would be in the open air. Eric wasn't thrilled with that, but he didn't say anything, knowing Sookie wanted to make a good impression on the Fae around them. The carriage held four people, two facing front and two back, with a bench for the driver in front. Sir Robert held the door open and Eric helped Sookie step up into the carriage, then walked quickly around to the other side. Sir Robert sat opposite Sookie, facing backwards, but half turned in his seat so he could see both ways. Their procession included four individual mounted officers in front of the carriage and 12 behind, plus one officer who seemed to be in charge as he moved around the party.

"We have fancier steeds in the stables, Milady – Lipizzaners, of course - that we'll use for your coronation, but we thought it best to use good Welsh stock for our outing today. They're not as skittish as the fancy ones, and these are friendlier with children."

"Children?"

"Oh, yes, the children will run out to meet us in some places. I brought bags of candy and coins you can throw to them when you want."

"Oh, that sounds like fun!"

"I thought you might feel that way." Sir Robert smiled at her proudly, very happy to be in service to this lovely young Queen – even if it meant dealing with her Vampire husband, though he had to admit that Eric was much easier to be around than he'd expected and was as lovely in his way as Sookie was in hers. At least he was half Fae, Robert reminded himself. He smiled to himself remembering when he first saw the whole family on the stage at the Wiccaning. They clearly adored each other and their boys were delightful as they greeted guests and played with little butterfly fairies. A slight chill ran through him as he remembered Sookie's vows: "There will be Peace, So Help Me!"

"Sir Robert?" Sookie broke his concentration with a little laugh.

"Yes, Your Majesty?"

"You were laughing to yourself. Did I do something wrong?"

"No, of course not, Milady. I was just thinking of your sons' dedications and how you sent a thrill through the crowd with your vows."

Eric laughed at that. "I was very proud of Sookie that night. She was every inch a Queen."

"I agree," Sir Robert said warmly. Eric was becoming more comfortable with this Faerie because he seemed to genuinely admire Sookie. Eric hoped that meant he'd respect her too much to be untoward with her. He'd still keep his guard up, and encourage her to do the same, but he did relax enough to enjoy the beautiful view as they approached the top of a gently sloping hill.

The cart moved easily through the orchards and lanes that lay in front of the castle, gradually moving upward toward another small hill. Sookie was taking it all in with wide eyes, enjoying the scent of the woods and the fields as they passed, waving at the men working with hay or the women spinning wool on their front porches. They passed a small lake where some Fae children were diving off a wooden dock into the water, slogging back up to the shore, then running down the dock to jump again. There were three little red-haired girls sitting on quilts with some picnic baskets who called attention to the small procession.

"The Queen! Everybody, look, it's Queen Sookie!" The tallest girl, only about 3 feet tall, jumped up and ran to a small bridge that went over the far end of the lake down to the road where the carriage would pass, her sisters following as quickly as they could. Two of the boys flew up out of the water, water dripping from their little wings, while others scrambled to the shore or swam toward the shore near the carriage. The girls were wearing flowered frocks in pastels of pink, green and blue, the tops of which were like the top of a pair of over-alls, buttoned at each shoulder, leaving their white little arms bear. The boys were mostly wearing cut-off pants to swim, though a couple of them were completely naked and apparently had no qualms about showing it.

"Oh, look how sweet!" Sookie said, excited to see the children running across the bridge and climbing out of the water to greet them.

"Hazzah! Queen Sookie! Hazzah!" the flying boys laughed and waved, invoking some high pitched chattering from the far woods. As the larger children reached the road, a colorful spiral swarm of butterfly wings swooped toward the carriage from the woods, still chattering, dropping wild flowers on the ground and the water beneath them.

"Ohh, look!" a dark haired boy with wings called to the others, "King Eric Is with her!"

"King Eric?" the girls squealed almost in unison, jumping and waving as the carriage reached them. "Hazzah, it's the King! Hail, Queen Sookie, Hail the Vampire King!"

"Good morning, everyone!" Sookie was tickled pink at their reactions. Her fear that they'd dislike Eric was obviously needless – the girls acted like they were meeting a rock star, and the boys presented him with small wreaths of ivy they made from a patch near the woods.

Sir Robert was very pleased that the children made a good show for Sookie, and they did shower her with gleeful adoration, and wild flowers, and questions as she talked with them. They were breathless as they pelted her with questions too quick to answer:

"Queen Sookie, do you swim?"

"Do you like Elfyria?"

"Where's Aubie? And Alex!"

"Can you really fight with a sword, Milady?"

"You're so beautiful! Your hair is like corn silk!"

"Where are the babies! Will Auberon and Alexander visit us soon? Please, please?"

"Oh, yes! They must! Bring them for a picnic and we'll show them all the best raspberry and mulberry bushes!

"King Eric, can you fly? Where is your sword?"

"My mommy is already sewing our dresses for your coronation!"

"I get to wear a dagger and a kilt that day!"

"We're having a picnic – come eat, if you want to!"

Sookie was about to burst as she handed them candies and apples and small gold coins, which the children were wild to receive.

"We'd best continue our trip now, your Majesty," Sir Robert said softly but firmly to the kids.

"OK! Thank you! Have a bright day!" The oldest girl lead the kids as they all said "thank you" ''we love you!" and "Good day!

At once they all scattered back to the water and the far shore as Sookie's procession proceeded to town. This was only the first of the greeting parties they encountered as they explored the lands nearest the castle.

"Those kids were so sweet. They were asking about the babies! Eric, should we call and make sure the boys are OK?"

"It wouldn't be a bad idea, though I'm pretty sure we're asleep right next to them."

"Allow me, your Majesty," Sir Robert smiled as he pulled his bewitched cell phone from his pocket and dialed Bjorn's number. As it rang, he handed her the phone and said, "your bodyguard, Milady."

"Hello," Bjorn sounded a little sleepy and grumpy.

"Hey, Bjorn, it's Sookie."

"Huh? Sookie is asleep not ten feet away from me," Bjorn was reading, but felt like the phone had awakened him.

"Yeah, I'm in Elfyria with Eric – I'm holding his arm, right?"

"Yeah, you are. I didn't know you could call me from there while you're here, or there, or whatever?"

"Me, neither. Quantum physics or string theory or somethin', I guess. Anyway, I just wanted to check on the boys. We might be a while."

"OK, yeah, they're good. Bobbie and Alicia have them downstairs for breakfast. I'll put the guards on alert until you two get back."

"OK, good. You can call me at this number if you need us, right, Sir Robert?"

"Yes, Milady, that number will always reach us here."

"K, bye, Bjorn!" Sookie said and hung up. Bjorn called Cody to spread a low level alert, then called Bobbie and explained the deal as best he understood it. He'd be glad when Jerry and Amelia got here, which would hopefully be sometime today. Cody was good, but Bjorn never worried at all when Jerry had his back.

The next stop for Sookie's tour was a lovely small town called "Lochlinn."

"This is the capital of the Lakes Region, Milady."

"Is there a map I can see somewhere of what my Queendom includes?"

"Yes, Milady, in the study where we met with the Wise Ladies."

"OK, I want to take a good look at it soon. You said this is the capital?"

"Yes, Milady, and therefore one of the richest regions in your realm. Only Avalon has more wealth or power."

"What's the poorest region?"

"Nottingham, Milady."

"Are we going there today?"

"If you like, your majesty, but we thought to limit your visit to the nicer spots today…"

"No, I want to know the extent of the bad spots. If people are suffering, that's my priority. After this town we go straight to Nottingham where the gold coins really count."

"As you wish, Milady. In the mean time, that carnival up the road on the left is the edge of Lochlinn. I told them not to fuss, but their excitement obviously got the better of them."

"Oh, they knew we were coming?"

"Only the Wise Ladies knew our itinerary today, but word leaks out."

"Yeah, I want to know about all those leaks, too."

Eric nodded his head in agreement, though he was looking out to the side. He wouldn't mention anything just yet, but their party had a shadow off in the Eastern woods. The shadow might be friendlies under Sir Robert's orders, or they might not. Either way, Eric thought it best to keep his observations to himself at the moment.

Sookie could hear Eric's concern, squeezing his hand as it held hers, just enough to let him know she was aware. Robert was telling Sookie a bit about the history of Locklinn, which had seen many decades of war since the Brigants challenged the H'Eloise claim to the throne. It was a wealthy province, but had endured years of martial law under Niall's regime.

"Martial law? You mean run by the military?" Sookie hated the idea of her people being terrorized.

"In a sense, Milady. It was somewhat oppressive toward all but the few nobles who were dishonorable enough to help Brigant maintain his throne. They became very rich, indeed, cooperating with Niall. The local government is in a bit of an uproar now that Niall has been declared an outlaw. The people are beginning to exercise their freedom and there are hard feelings toward the very wealthy because they profited from their collusion. There might have been revolution if the change hadn't come when it did."

"What do you mean by "oppressive?"

"It might be better not to delve into that too deeply just now, Milady. We'll have a meeting with your generals in the near future and you can direct their activities going forward. In the mean time, the Wise Ladies are working with the regional councils to restore order."

"I don't like the idea of putting it off. Eric, what do you think?"

"I think that you need to know what is happening in your realm if you are to be Queen, and that you particularly need to know if you're to lead the army. A time of transition is also a time of vulnerability. You don't want to be caught unaware."

"I agree. Sir Robert…"

"Give me a week to set it up, Milady. It will take time for the military officials to arrange to meet with you."

"OK, good. When do I meet all the White Ladies?"

"The next full moon, Milady."

"When is that?"

"Wednesday."

"And today is…"

"Monday."

Eric laughed out loud at that.

"OK, I guess that's soon enough," Sookie quipped, making a silly face.

"I was going to tell you before you left this morning," Sir Robert explained.

"Did you just find out about it?"

"I wasn't sure all 13 could be in attendance until just this morning."

"Oh, OK. Hey, look at all the people!" Sookie said as the carriage approached a large walled city, the people of which were spilled out on the land in front of it in a huge party with colorful tents and rides, and other amusements.

"It looks like a Renaissance Faire!" Sookie laughed.

"It is, Milady, but the knights here wear real armor and the jousting is deadly." He made a little face so it seemed he was joking, but Sookie knew the reality under the joke had flesh and blood and bones.

Children mobbed the carriage first, as they had every stop along the way, but there were hundreds of them. Sookie waved and blew kisses, threw coins and handed out candy as all the men in her procession watched her with pride. Even the gruffest of the soldiers in the party had fallen in love with Sookie as she charmed children and peasants alike while they escorted her through the countryside. They all knew there was danger of an attack from Niall Brigant at any moment, but they were all proud of their young Queen and the way she greeted her subjects so sweetly and sincerely. The crowd was a sea of silk clothes and big smiles, trumpets playing at the gates of the city to announce Sookie's arrival. They probably only spent an hour in Lochlinn but it seemed like hours to Sookie and she and Eric had a pile of gifts and offerings from the people as they slowly drove through the center of the city. Instead of making a complete circle as planned, Sir Robert directed the party out the opposite gate of the town so they could go through Nottingham as their last stop of the day.

When there were no people around the caravan, Sookie laid her head on Eric's shoulder and closed her eyes. "Will it be late in the evening when we get home?"

"No, my Angel, I think it will still be morning. You still have the whole day ahead of you."

"I like that time is fluid that way."

"It solves a multitude of problems if one knows how to manipulate it," Eric agreed.

"I hope I learn that really well so I don't have to miss time with the boys, but I can still do my jobs here and at home."

"You're doing very well, Sookie, don't you agree Sir Robert." Eric could see Robert was wanting to chime in but hesitated to do so lest he step on Eric's toes, so Eric brought him into the conversation to encourage Sookie.

"Yes, your Majesty, you're doing better than most could in such a situation. With the multitude of things happening around you, I'm in awe of your ability to function, let alone thrive, as you seem to do. I know your life at home is complicated and rapidly changing."

"How do you know that?" Sookie asked in surprise. Eric would like to know that, too.

"I get regular reports from Eddy and Freddy as to your relative safety and comfort."

"You do? I never see them around."

"They're not supposed to be seen unless there is trouble. They're not spying on you, of course, but since your royal connection was discovered, we've stayed near you to ensure your comfort. If you were ever in need or unhappy in any way, we'd take it upon ourselves to ensure your safety."

"That's… nice, I guess." Sookie wasn't sure she liked the sound of that. Eric knew he didn't like it, but it would be unwise to challenge that presumption in this setting and Eric did think of it as presumptuous for him to say that to Sookie. He started to speak, but Sookie caught his eyes and pleaded with her own that he let that slide for now.

They passed through some scenic, but also fragrant, dairy farms as they approached Nottingham. "Ew – I know that smell," Sookie laughed.

"Yes, that's the smell of spring in the country," Robert teased her.

"Spring?"

"Yes, it's spring most of the time in this realm."

"What about the other seasons?"

"Some change regularly as they do in your world, but some of the outlands stay in the extremes for various reasons."

"What would cause a land to stay in winter all the time?" Sookie wondered.

"Evil."

"Evil?"

"Yes, Milady, but you'll rarely need to concern yourself with those realms."

Sookie wanted to ask more, but they arrived at a crossroad that led into a bridge that approached a small village. The horses were hesitant to cross the bridge and the soldiers were suddenly very sharp and wary. The procession continued slowly, the horses still reluctant to go forward. Sookie thought she saw something scampering along the bridge below them just as the horses voiced their own objections. Eric squeezed her hand as she looked up at him, sending "trolls" so she'd understand what was happening. The party made it off the bridge without incident, but everyone was still a bit on edge. "Ew – what's that smell? Is it the water?"

"No, Milady, that's the dwellers beneath the bridge. Remember their scent, and always be wary if you encounter it. Even if they try to clean themselves up to blend into a crowd, there's still an essence of it that never goes away. They wear a lot of vanilla to cover it so be aware if there's vanilla in the air, too, that something might be amiss."

"OK, I'll remember," she assured him, thinking she wasn't likely to forget that stench.

They came over a hill and were almost immediately in a rural community with a large square central to the village. No one had approached the carriage yet, but Sookie looked back and could see children quietly following their group.

"Why are they so quiet?" she wondered aloud.

"They don't know what to expect. No royal has entered this village in many years. Niall barely let them eek out a living in this area. It was a stronghold of the H'Eloise clan and they were the last group that refused to acknowledge Brigant's right to the throne. There was almost no one to protect them. Their young men and half the women were killed in opposing Niall' forces. The women who remain have no husbands unless the man is maimed or ill, so with their children and the elderly, they fight to survive on meager provisions. They are poor, hard working, and they hate your great grandfather, Niall."

"Yeah, I'm not crazy about him, either. Are the people here hungry?"

"Well, they're not starving but they aren't enjoying the abundance of Elfyria as they should be. They're overtaxed, largely ignored and are also easy targets for thieves and brigands."

"Brigands," Sookie said softly to herself. Brigands. Brigant. Her great grandfather was a liar, a thief and murderer. If it took her a thousand years, Sookie was going to undo all the harm Niall had done. The abundance of Elfyria would be shared fairly by all, even if she had to sever their ties to the human world. "Sir Robert, when are they taxed?"

"Weekly, my Lady."

"By whom? Where does the money go?"

"There's a Minister of taxes in each area who ultimately answers to the Wise Ladies and the Crown.

"So ultimately, this is up to me?"

"Of course, Your majesty." Sir Robert liked where this was going.

"I want to speak to the minister of taxes."

Sir Robert and Eric exchanged a look of pride and understanding. Robert hailed the captain of the guard with a motion of his hand. "Windsor, our Lady asks to see the tax collector."

"To the financial square, Lord Robert?" The commander wanted to be sure he understood, not clear on why the queen would bother with a lowly tax collector.

"Yes, take us there directly."

They continued to the center of the town, a large square where the market was held and financial houses traded in commodities and investments. The crowd that followed the procession grew larger, and a little louder, as people came out from their houses and joined them, or leaned out upper windows to see the Queen drive by.

The captain called the group to stop in front of a large, fine house on the corner of the square and a soldier was sent to call out the financier. A scraggly little man with painfully skinny legs and an ugly gnarled nose, wearing a shabby black suit and bifocal glasses came out fussing and irritated that his supper had been interrupted.

"Your majesty, this is the Prince's tax collector, Caer Couchlain," Sir Robert introduced the stingy little man whom he could not stand. He was going to enjoy this.

"Why do you interrupt my supper?" he snarled.

"The Queen has summoned you, Couchlain, I'll thank you to mind your manners," Robert warned him.

Sookie could feel Sir Robert's dislike for this man and there were nasty little snips of thought dancing in his mean old head, so Sookie didn't like him much either.

"Mr. Couchlain, is it?" She said politely expecting a nasty response.

"Yes, and you are the long lost heir to my patron, Niall Brigant. What do you want? Spit it out, whelp, my dinner grows cold."

"It's going to get colder." Sookie told him, instinctively knowing not to let him upset her. "Captain, this man has obviously made no friends in this town. I need a trustworthy man or woman to replace him."

"REPLACE ME? You half-human brat, you'll never keep that throne. Your grandfather will be back in power before you learn the names of your provinces. You'll never get me out of this office."

"I want him arrested for treason on suspicion that he's giving aid and comfort to a declared outlaw. Let the guard go with him to gather his clothes, and take him before the White Ladies. In the mean time, Sir Robert is there someone you'd recommend to take his place at least temporarily?"

"There's a young merchant named Nelly Murphy who has always been a friend to the people, even when Niall made things difficult for her because of it."

"Alright, I want all the taxes for the last two weeks returned to the people of this district. Is that possible?"

"Oh, yes, Milady, I'm sure there's at least that much squirrled away in Cuchlain's house."

"Alright, take it all and spread it out evenly. If anyone is hungry, I want them fed before the sun falls today. Is there a way to do that?"

"Of course, Milady- the easiest way would be to send them to the public houses with a decree that the crown will cover the cost of their food and drink. Lady Murphy should be able to see that your kindness is not abused."

"Alright, I want to meet her before we go," Sookie said as she disappeared. Pandemonium broke out – the guards and the animals all became frightened and aggravated, women shrieked, Sir Robert and Eric were looking around frantically, but there was no sign of Sookie. She was there, then she wasn't.

Eric had no idea where Sookie had gone and no idea how to get home from Elfyria without her. For the first time in a thousand years, Eric was scared – really, really scared.

(MORE will be coming – this Story IS NOT OVER!)


	108. Chapter 108

**Chapter 108**

"Ow!" Sookie cried as she landed on her butt in the sand. "What the hell! How did I get here? Eric! Wha..."

"Mom? Mom! Hurry, I can't touch them!"

Sookie looked back toward the hill Freyja usually came over but this time it was a little girl about 9 years old with long blonde hair wearing a pink sundress. She waved eagerly, encouraging Sookie to follow her. Though still a bit disoriented by her unexpected change of scenery, Sookie scrambled to follow the girl.

"Hurry, Mom - I can't touch them but you can!"

"Touch who?" Sookie asked as she ran toward the girl.

"'Lexy and Aubie! Come on before they teleport!"

"Lexy? You mean Alex and Aubie?"

"Yeah, whatever. Hurry!"

"Are they here? Who are you?"

"Don't be weird, Mom! It's me, Sunny! Hurry!"

They were over the hill now and Sookie recognized the outer reaches of the garden where Freyja fed her delicious fruit one time. If she closed her eyes, she could still taste the sweet blueberries bursting on her tongue.

"Where is Freyja?" Sookie was still confused as she scrambled up the hill. She stumbled a little and reached toward the girl to steady herself but the girl jumped back, quickly withdrawing her arm.

"Don't touch me! Freyja said that I can't touch you or the boys under any circumstances!"

"But where...?"

"She's busy right now," the girl explained breathlessly as they reached the garden path at the bottom of the hill, "so she sent me this time! How neat is that!" she laughed.

"So... You're my daughter?"

"Yeah, don't you recognize me? Daddy always says I look like a miniature version of you!" she laughed.

"I named you Sunny?"

"No, Dad named me Sunna, remember?" she said with a little disbelief, pronouncing her name as "soon-ah" with a heavy Swedish accent, "everybody just calls me Sunny. Oh good, they're still here!"

Sookie saw a pretty purple carpet on the ground in front of Freyja's garden throne, very surprised to see Alex and Aubie sitting on it eating strawberries and blueberries from a golden bowl.

"Mama!" Aubie called happily, quickly flying into Sookie's arms the moment he saw her.

"Hi, Sweetie! What are you doing here?"

"Um, Bumby!" he pointed at his big brother.

The girl laughed, "duh, Mom, they were looking for you! Freyja said Alex hasn't been to Alfheimr yet so he doesn't know the way. Besides, it's really easy for us kids to get here. He probably figured you'd show up here eventually."

"How do we get back?"

"Just pick 'em up and go back where you were!" the girl laughed, that being the most obvious thing in the world. Her mom could be so dense sometimes!

"Mamee, ah wyg fwoot!" Alex said happily, shoving blueberries into his mouth.

"That's nice, Sweetie!" Sookie said as she swooped down and picked Alex up. The instant she had both boys in her arms she reappeared in the carriage in Elyria, much to everyone's surprise and delight. "Sorry about that everybody! Now, where were we?"

People laughed and cheered when Sookie reappeared with the little princes. Eric was so relieved to see her that he had to repress a sob, playing it off as a little cough. Sookie tried to act like it was no big deal.

"So, I guess you all know that this is Eric Alexander and Eric Auberon?" she held each boy forward as she said his name, making the crowd cheer, especially for Aubie. She then turned to Eric, "Can you hold them 'til I'm done, Sweetie?"

"Of course, my Angel!" He pulled it together as best he could and took the boys from her, the boys being thrilled to see him.

"Ah, Dadee!"

"Ah, nDada!"

Eric snuggled the boys and kissed each one on the head as the crowd cheered, which gave Sookie a minute to remember what she had been doing.

"OK, Nelly Murphy - is she around?"

"Aye, your majesty, I'm here!" a tall, sturdy red haired woman stepped forward as the crowd cheered.

"It's nice to meet you, Ms. Murphy. Would you be willing to oversee the redistribution of taxes in this area? People have apparently been paying more than their fair share. I need someone to see that everyone is treated fairly, and that the poor are not being neglected. There's enough wealth in Elfyria to share and for everyone to be comfortable."

The people cheered and the boys clapped their hands along with them, making Eric laugh. Sir Robert was beaming, so proud of his new Queen who apparently understood her role instinctively, already setting Niall's crimes against the people to rights.

"Dadee, Mamee dood?"

"Yes, Mommy is very good. She loves everybody who depends on her, doesn't she, boys?"

"Ah, Mama!" Aubie said in his silly little voice, making both men laugh.

"May I?" Sir Robert asked, nodding toward Aubie.

"Yes, of course," Eric smiled.

He shook each baby's hand as he spoke to them. "Prince Auberon, Prince Alexander, I am Sir Robert. I work for your mommy and for you, too. If you ever need anything in Elfyria, you can call on me."

"Sthuh Wobuhd?" Alex repeated, taking Aubie's hand to get his attention, "woogie, Obee, Sthuh Wobuhd," he pointed to the Fae man as he repeated, "Sthuh Wobuhd!"

"Good boy, Alex! Auberon, this is Sir Robert," Eric repeated.

Aubie understood enough to say, "ah, Wabah!" with a big smile and wave, which thrilled Sir Robert to no end.

"I didn't realize they could already speak!"

"Oh, yes, and Alex tries very hard to help Auberon learn," Eric bragged.

Aubie reached toward Sir Robert to get his attention, and when Robert leaned forward a little, Aubie patted Alex's cheek and said "ma Bumby!"

Both men laughed as Eric interpreted, "he's telling you Alexander is his buddy. He's very fond of his big brother, aren't you Auberon?"

"Ah!" Aubie giggled and clapped his hands.

"Sir Robert," Sookie hated to interrupt, but people were waiting to see what would happen. "is there anything else I should do today?"

"Nelly, do you know what the Queen is asking you to do?"

"Aye, Sir Robert, I'll be happy to help."

"Then I'd say that's enough for today, Milady."

"Good, then let's give the kids some candy and coins and leave some soldiers here to see that everyone gets dinner in one of the public houses, and then let's make our way home."

Sir Robert gave their soldiers the necessary instruction and gave Sookie the candy and coins to give to the eager children who were singing, "thank you, Queen Sookie! We love you, Queen Sookie!" as others chanted, "Hail to the Prince, hail Prince Auberon!"

A few Fae girls came to the other side of the carriage with offerings of wild flowers for Eric and the babies, but mostly for Eric because they'd giggle, shriek or jump up and down when he'd say thank you and flash them a brilliant smile. His vampire hearing also picked up on the girls' conversations about how "big, fair, lovely," and "dreamy" he was. Even in Elfyria, it was good to be Eric Northman.

When all that was done, the procession headed for the H'Eloise castle, everyone satisfied that the outing was productive, leaving the areas they visited much better off than they were before.

"Sir Robert, you're laughing to yourself again," Sookie observed a little sheepishly, "did I do something wrong?"

"Oh, no, Milady, your visit far surpassed my expectations. The people are already in love with you and your family. These sweet babies popping in when they did was just icing on the cake."

"Oh, good. I'm not sure how or why they did just then, but I'm glad it all worked out," she laughed a little nervously. "Eric, should you call Bjorn?"

"Already done, my Angel, the boys are asleep in our arms in the loft."

"That's a relief!" she said, relaxing a little. "I wonder why they came looking for us?"

"Perhaps you should ask your witches or your Goddess?" Eric suggested as she took Alex from him. Aubie was still on Eric's lap, looking Sir Robert up and down as he entertained him with a little chatter and some funny faces. Aubie liked him right away. Sookie was sure that Eric wouldn't want her to mention Sunny in this company, so she'd tell him first thing tonight.

The rest of the ride was uneventful except for the farmers', weavers', spinners' and tinkers' families waiting by the road to wave at them as they returned to the castle. Their shadow in the woods was gone by this time, so Eric suspected they were friendly, but he'd talk to Sookie about it after dinner so she'd be aware, just in case. He considered telling her telepathically, but her mind was racing already, so he was deliberately not projecting to her.

Sookie was never so happy to take her clothes off and get into bed as when Maddy tucked them all in. In the blink of an eye they were back in the loft all together, Sookie and the boys awakening, Eric at rest and Bjorn quietly keeping watch in the corner with the kitten and dragon asleep at his feet .

Sookie sat up, calling, "Bjorn, are you there?"

"Yeah, Sookie, I'm here," he smiled. "Had a busy morning?

"Had a whole busy day!" she laughed, "what time is it?"

"Almost one o'clock. You've got time to sleep longer if you want to."

"Me, Mama!" Aubie reached up from his spot in between Eric and Sookie, wanting Mama's attention.

"Hey, Sweet Boy! You learned a new word! Did you come looking for Mama?" she teased him a bit as she pulled him up into her arms. "Mama never expected you and Buddy to come looking for her!" She laughed and tickled him, making him squeal and wake Alex up. Sookie managed to scoop him up, too, and got them both arranged on her tummy. "what time is it, guys?"

"Dantheen!"

"Dan-hee!"

"Good, Aubie! Time for DANCING! " and she sang:

_Sunshine, lollipops and rainbows,_

_Everything that's wonderful is what I feel when we're together,_

_Brighter than a lucky penny,_

_When you're near the rain cloud disappears, dear,_

_And I feel so fine just to know that you are mine._

_My life is sunshine, lollipops and rainbows,_

_That's how this refrain goes, so come on, join in everybody!_

_Sunshine, lollipops and rainbows,_

_Everything that's wonderful is sure to come your way_

_When you're in love to stay."_

The boys cracked up, squealing, giggling, and Aubie drooling on Alex's arm."

"Bubby god me, Mamee!"

"Oops! He sure did! Towel!" Sookie called and a small white towel appeared in her hand. "Aubie must be getting teeth!" she chattered happily with them as she wiped them both up a bit.

"Mamee, wadiz wowwy popsth?"

"Lollipops are candy, Alex," she explained as she was wrestling around with the boys, laughing with them.

"Wadiz gandy?"

"Oh! I didn't realize you've never had candy. Let me see - two cherry safety pops!" she called and two of the kind of pops that have a string instead of a stick appeared in her hand. "OK, you're a little young for these, but we'll give it a try. Hang on..." she set the boys over on Eric for a second while she struggled to sit up, making funny noises and silly faces as she did to make them laugh. She got settled sitting Indian style then brought Aubie over to sit on her lap, pulling Alex a little closer so he was sitting on Dadee's big arm. "OK, guys, see this clear wrapper? We take it off and throw it away." She held the pops so the boys could see her tear the cellophane off. "Then you lick it with your tongue."

Alex stuck his tongue out and said "wick?"

"Right! Lick it with your tongue." She demonstrated, and handed a lollipop to Alex.

He took a big lick of it and his eyes popped wide, "I wyg gandy, Mamee!"

Sookie laughed and held the other sucker where Aubie could taste it, and he reacted with a silly, high-pitched "hoo!" as he did when something good surprised him. Bjorn was sitting in the corner smiling and recording the boys' first taste of candy with the video camera on "zoom."

"Hey, who's laughing up here?" Bobbie teased as she came up the stairs with two small bottles of blood.

Both boys were excited to see her. "Babee, woogie, ah aba gandy!"

"Wow, where did you get candy."

"Mamee do machig!"

"I was singing that old Lesley Gore song and they asked what a lollipop was," Sookie laughed, "so we need to watch them closely so they don't choke on these."

"Alicia wanted to know if you want breakfast in bed, or if you're coming down? Also, your friend Amunet left a message to give her a call in suite 1303."

"Oh, cool, I forgot they were here! Tell Alicia I'll throw something on and come down to eat, please? Thanks!"

"She left this little yellow sun dress for you," Bobbie told her as she held the dress up for Sookie to see.

"Good choice! Throw it here!" Sookie laughed and caught it, pulling it over her head and down as far as she could in a sitting position, then she put Aubie over on Eric's tummy so she could raise up on her knees and pull it on down. She crawled down to the end of the bed and slipped on a thong Bobbie handed her. She brushed her hair and put on some mascara and pink lipgloss, more out of habit than need, then Sookie tucked the sheet in around Eric. She scooped Alex up, holding him toward Eric, saying "give Daddy a kiss on the cheek!" then she passed him to Bobbie and did the same with Aubie. The whole group, pets included, headed down to the living area at about a quarter to 2.

The first thing Sookie did was call Amunet, who was dressed in a "burn out" velvet robe with long black silk fringe sitting in a plush white chair gazing out the glass wall of her suite, chanting:

Anekh hrak

Tua atu

Anekh hrak

Tua atu

Anekh hrak

Tua atu

nebet Aset!

Anekh hrak

Tua atu

Anekh hrak

Tua atu

Anekh hrak

Tua atu

nebet Aset!

Anekh hrak

Tua atu

Anekh hrak

Tua atu

Anekh hrak

Tua atu

nebet Aset!

She jumped a little when the phone rang, even though she was expecting Sookie to call.

"Hello?"

"Amunet?"

"Sookie, darling! You sound in a good mood today!"

"Yeah, so far so good. Have you had breakfast yet?"

"No, I haven't, though I should have something soon..."

"Come up and eat with us - Alicia ordered plenty for us all."

"Alright, then, I'll be up in about 10 minutes!" she said as she hung up the phone. She was hoping to get some quality time with Sookie and the babies. There was so much about them she wanted to know! She almost skipped into the bedroom to get dressed, opting for black silk slip dress with an outrageously expensive long necklace of natural Tahitian pearls tied in a little knot at her solar plexus. She checked her make up one last time, kissed Badru on the lips, and followed her Were escort/body guard up to the penthouse where he took a post outside the door with Cody Lane.

Sookie was nearly vibrating with anticipation as she met Amunet at the door. Just being around her made Sookie feel so good, though she wasn't really sure why. Maybe because they had similar energy or magick? She'd think about that later. She greeted her with a big hug and a kiss on the cheek, directing her back to the table where a glorious breakfast of Belgian waffles, fresh berries and some amazing vanilla whipped cream was being served. Amunet took a seat at the back of the glass dining table, opposite where the boys sat in their high chairs having a fun, but sticky, time with their lollipops.

"Ah, Waydee Amuda!" Alex gave her a big smile and bounced in his seat when he saw her.

"Hayah me!" Aubie said, trying to match what Alex had said, and he waved his little hand.

"Hello, darlings! What have you got there?" she spoke directly to the boys, thrilling them to no end.

Alex held his lollipop out and said "wowwypopsth!" as Aubie said "Yeh" in his silly little voice and giggled, drawing both hands up under his chin, he was so tickled. "Mamee do machig!"

"She did? That was clever of her!" Amunet laughed as a plate holding a huge Belgian waffle was set in front of her.

Sookie passed the strawberries to her as she said, "it was easier to conjure them than try to explain candy to them.

Alicia put bibs on both boys then gave them each a bowl with bits or chunks of waffle and syrup that Bobbie had made up for them.

Sookie laughed, "I guess that explains the plastic under their chairs," and wrinkled her nose at the boys, who immediately tried to copy her and had everyone cracking up.

"Mamee, ware di Borhd do?"

"I think he's down in the office, Sweetie."

"Peed me bwepuss?"

"Oh, I don't know, Alex! He might be busy..."

"Hey, everybody!" Amelia came through the door laughing.

"AMEE-AH! Meeah! Meeah!" Alex and Aubie, who could only manage "me-me, me-me," we're jumping up and down, so excited to see her. Alex nearly lost his bowl of waffle chunks, but Amelia caught it as she bent to kiss him on the head, then kissed Aubie, making Aubie laugh so hard he got the hiccups.

Sookie around the table instantly to hug her right after Bobbie did.

"Amelia! I thought you weren't coming down until the tenth?"

"They finished repairs on the roof, and Jerry was getting antsy about helping watch you and the boys, so we came early. Margaret and Octavia are already at the Prytania St. House."

As she was explaining the situation to them all, laughter was heard at the front door and Bjorn and Jerry came in, obviously both thrilled with this turn of events.

"Jerry!" Sookie said happily as she hugged him quickly and moved so Bobbie, then Alicia, could, too.

"Ah, Chewwy," Alex said, trying to turn in his seat as Aubie called "ah, ah!" not wanting to be left out. Jerry said "hey, Buddy!" to each boy as he ruffled their hair.

"Me-me! Me-me!" Aubie called and waved trying to get Amelia's attention.

Amelia knelt by Aubie's chair, shaking his little hand, "whatcha want, Aubie?"

Aubie pointed to a chair at the table that was behind her at the moment, "dat, Me-me!dat!"

"You want me to sit here?" she said with delight, pulling the chair out and perching next to Aubie.

"Yeh!" Aubie was tickled that she understood him, and he was beside himself when she stroked his cheek with the backs of her fingers.

"I think he missed you, Amelia" Sookie said with surprise.

"Yeah, I guess he did," Amelia said, getting a little misty over him.

"Borhd! Borhd!"

"What do want, buddy?" Bjorn knew, but loved to hear him say it.

"Wiwoo peed me bwepuss, pweezth?"

"Sure I will!" he laughed and sat down at the head of the table, pulling Alex's chair toward him.

"Bjorn, if you're busy..." Sookie didn't want to bother him if he had work to do.

"No way, Sookie, this is one of the best parts of my day," he winked at her to show it was no big deal.

Amelia took over feeding Aubie and everyone gradually sat down and continued with their meal as Sookie played hostess, "does everybody remember my friend, Amunet?" she asked, then introduced everyone at the table in case she didn't remember them.

Amunet was watching Alex closely, absolutely fascinated with the idea of a baby vampire. She smiled and laughed as Bjorn fed him chunks of waffle soaked in syrup as Alex tried to talk and eat at the same time. "Dat sthewup, Borhd?"

"Good memory, Alex! Yes, this is waffles and syrup."

"Ah wyg sthewup!"

"I know you do," he laughed, scraping the food from Alex's chin and putting it back in his mouth, "let's try to keep it in your mouth, though! I don't want to have to throw you in the pool!"

"Sthimeen?"

"It's raining, Alex, you can't swim in the rain," Sookie told him.

"Wain isth wada?"

"Yes, Sweetie, rain is water, but there might be lightning, so it's not safe. It needs to be sunny to swim." Sookie paused for a minute, remembering the adorable little girl she'd seen at Freyja's garden.

"Nah, nah, Mamee," Alex looked Sookie right in the eye in away that chilled her. She knew he was warning her not to talk about Sunny, but his eyes seemed ancient and wise in a way she'd noticed a few other times. Those were the times when Sookie knew that Eric was right - Alex was a very great spirit of some sort who already knew all about magick and war and was just waiting for this body to grow to adulthood and be whom he was meant to be. She knew it was his destiny, but it still scared her.

"So what's the plan for today, Sookie?" Amelia asked as she continued to feed Aubie.

"Well, I had an idea, but I don't know if Amunet would be into it?"

"What was it, Sookie?" Amunet was up for just about anything.

"Well, are you into Tarot at all?" Sookie asked apologetically.

Amunet was amazed that Sookie seemed to have no sense of being the boss yet. She figured that would come in time, especially if they spent a lot of time together. "Sure, I do Tarot. Shall we read?"

"See, I don't know how yet, but I got the new deck that Octavia said I needed - oh, wait! Amelia, should I wait for Octavia to do that?"

"No, actually, when she heard you had a deck, she told me to tell you to get started. I can teach you her method. I'll be right back," she motioned to her luggage, which she took to her room and dug her cards and book out of it.

"Oh, is this the older African-American woman?" Amunet was now very interested.

"Yes, that's Octavia. I guess she's in New Orleans already, Amelia?"

"Yep."

"I'd love to learn her system!" Amunet tried not to show her eagerness too much, but this is the kind of thing she hoped for in befriending Sookie, who apparently was unaware of the magnitude of the advantages she had. Badru was very interested to know what Sookie could do, but Amunet didn't need any encouragement - she LOVED Sookie and found her little tribe of Witches and Weres fascinating.

"OK, then, when we finish breakfast, we can read cards here. There's room for all of us, but nobody has to, if they don't want to." Alicia had already begun to clear the table.

"Is it OK if I stay, Sookie?" Bobbie didn't want to intrude.

"Yeah, of course! Get your new deck and a journal so you can write things down!"

"Oh, I forgot to bring mine!" Amunet realized.

"Is it in your room, Amunet?"

"Yes."

"Hold out your hands," Sookie held her own hands a few inches over Amunet's and said "Journal." Amunet was very pleased to have her extensive, thick and heavy Book of Shadows in her hands.

Sookie was impressed with its size. "wow, that's a big-assed book!"

"Thanks!" Amunet said proudly. "I had it made especially for me. It's called "the world's thickest journal" on line.

"That cat image is for Bast?"

"Yes, of course! It's my husband's family seal. Do you have a book?" she tried to be very nonchalant so Sookie wouldn't know how badly she wanted to see her book if she had one.

"Yeah, I've got a special one Nivian gave me..."

"Was she the woman with the flame-colored hair at the Wiccaning? On the Horse?"

"Yes, the Lady of the Lake."

"She's from the Apple Isle?"

"That's Avalon, right? Yeah, she's from Avalon."

Amunet was trying very hard not to project to Sookie how excited she was, but it was hard to keep her mind focused so it couldn't be heard by Sookie's telepathy. Sookie heard her internal struggle, but didn't acknowledge it in any way. She knew to keep notes on what she picked up and tell Eric when he woke up. Sookie figured it was natural for a Witch to be excited about Avalon, but she'd tell Eric anyway.

Alicia set Sookie's Book and new cards in front of her and said she'd be doing laundry if she needed her and that dinner had been ordered for 7 pm including Amunet and her husband, then they'd leave for the plane at 9 pm. Amunet was dying to get a look at that book, but it was too soon to ask.

The boys were put in the playpen with the sorting house they liked and Alex's iPod. Bjorn sat in the big chair on one side while the dragon lay on the other side, by the glass door, watching. The black kitten curled up on the white couch and went to sleep. Bobbie, Amelia, Sookie and Amunet assembled at the dining table, opening books and unwrapping packs of cards, making notes of the day and time.

"Anybody know the moon sign today?" Bobbie asked.

"Yes," Amunet offered,"it's a waning gibbous moon in Pisces."

"Hey, there's a little booklet in here that tells about the cards," Sookie said, looking through it.

"OK, the first thing Octavia would do is take away your little books," Amelia told them, holding her hand out.

"But..."

"Ah!"

"Uh-uh! Hand them over!" Amelia laughed.

"How come?" Sookie asked.

"Because if you read the book before you know how to read, you'll try to remember what the book said instead of letting the card speak to you."

"What's this deck called?" Ammonite asked,I've never seen it before."

"The Connolly Deck, it's designed by Eileen Connolly," Amelia explained as she took Sookie's deck and fanned it, then separated it into piles.

"I thought Wiccans didn't like that deck?" Amunet asked

Sookie said, "Huh? Why?"

"There's some Christian imagery that some don't like, but Octavia thinks it gives an accurate picture of life in America as it is right now. She likes the "high vibration" colors that are easy to read, and there's no Devil or Death card, which makes it a good choice if you're going to read for cowans."

Amunet added, "if you read for the uninitiated, some will be scared to death if they draw the Devil or Death cards, and nothing you say will change their minds."

"Yeah, I read for an old woman once and the Devil came up andI was literally afraid she was going to stroke out on me," Bobbie recalled.

"But don't you need those two cards?" That didn't make sense to Sookie.

"This deck has Transformation instead of Death and Materialism instead of the Devil. That's what those cards actually mean, anyway." Amelia set the piles of cards in front of Sookie, "OK, you know that a regular deck of playing cards has 52 cards in four suits of 13. Diamonds are pentacles, clubs are wands, hearts are cups, and spades are knives. Instead of jack, queen, king, you've got page, knight, queen and king, so that makes up 56 cards known as the Minor Arcana."

"So, I guess these are the Major Arcana?" Sookie deduced.

"Right. They're also called Trump cards," Amelia continued, "There are 22 of them, so that makes a total of 78 cards. Minor is every day stuff, major is big, Karmic issues, and Court cards are people. Now here's where Octavia goes her own way: the traditional correspondences for the suits are Cups = Water, Pentacle = Earth, Swords = Air and Wands = Fire. Octavia switches Fire to Swords because they're forged in fire, while Wands would burn, and Wands become Air because plants clean the Air. She would tell you to do what feels right to you."

"OK, when you said Swords = Air, I heard "no, no, no!" in my head." Sookie said.

All the women laughed. "OK, then there you go," Amelia said as she put Sookie's deck together and shuffled. "Now, we're going to do some one card readings."

"You can read with just one card? I thought you had to lay them out in that rose cross thing?" Sookie was surprised.

"That's a full reading, you'll learn that later. First, you learn to read. Think of a question you'd like to know the answer to," she placed the deck face down in front of Sookie and spread them out, "and pick a card, but don't turn it over yet."

Sookie looked at the cards fanned out on the table, and finally picked up the card on the end to her left. "OK!"

"'k, now take a deep breath, turn the card over and see what stands out the most to you - it might be an image, or a color, a number, anything on the card. Just see what jumps out at you."

"OK, I always wanted to ask this - do I turn it over, top to bottom, or to the side?"

"Do what feels right to you, then do it that way every time."

Sookie turned the card over, top to bottom, and saw it was The Sun. "Oh, look, that's us! We're the four angels surrounding the Sun. The one with the cup is me, the wand is Amelia, the one with the roses is Bobbie and the one with the pentacle is Amunet! The Sun is shining on us all, warming us with Her glow!" Sookie did not add that the Sun that shone on them was in her womb.

"What did you ask, Sookie?" Bobbie was loving this!

"I asked where I am in my life right now - it answered me literally, I guess. Octavia would say it told me what I asked, not what I meant - I guess that goes for cards, too, huh?"

"Exactly," Amelia confirmed. "For example, say a girl asked if a boy was going to fall in love with her - if he was already in love with her, the cards might say 'no' because it already happened."

"Seems tricky, though, don't you think?" Sookie asked.

"There are lots of trickster gods and Goddesses, though. Even Isis is sometimes seen as a trickster," Amunet said. "Your Norse pantheon has a wicked little trickster named Loki who played pranks on the gods. He even sneaked into Freyja's bed chamber and stole her ruby necklace for Odin."

"Well, I know she got it back because I've seen Her wear it," Sookie laughed. Amunet had a feeling Sookie saw the Goddess face to face, and frequently. Amunet's magick was strong because she practiced daily. What would Sookie be able to do if she worked at it?

They went around the table and asked questions which Sookie would answer for them, all of them losing track of time. They didn't realize it was dinner time until they heard Alex cry, "Dadee!" as he stood holding the side of the playpen. Aubie wasn't quite awake yet, but Eric bent down to tickle his chin and say, "hello, my little elf." Aubie giggled and reached up to him, and Eric set Alex out on his feet with a kiss on the head, then brought Aubie up for a kiss and a hug.

"Eric, I had no idea it was so late!" Sookie said as she hopped up and went around the table for a hug and a kiss.

"You ladies seemed very intent on your work - are you reading cards?"

"They're all teaching me. It's really fun!" Sookie said as she stretched upward for a kiss.

"She does it as easily as she does everything else," Amelia said, "But she doesn't know how to do a complete one yet. We've just done one card readings so far."

"When do I learn the whole deal?"

"Next time we do three card readings so you learn about time, then we do 5 cards, then the full monty," Amelia laughed. "by that time, Octavia will take over, though, and she'll really make you dig deep."

"Oh, good!"

"I take it we are awaiting dinner? Where is Badru?" Eric asked

"He just texted me," Amunet said, "he's on his way up."

Bjorn went to the door to let Prince Badru in, and he arrived just as the dinner cart arrived. Eric shook his hand with a big smile, welcoming him, and directing him to the opposite end of table. Sookie moved to her seat next to Eric at the near end of the table, and Amunet sat near Badru. Amelia sat between Sookie and Amunet at Sookie's insistence, then Bobbie sat opposite Sookie so she could feed the boys, who were next to Dadee as always. Bjorn sat next to Badru, then Bobbie, Jerry and Alicia filled out the rest of the table.

"Everyone seated and comfortable?". Eric saw that they were, and motioned for the attendants to serve the meal. Badru was very impressed with the _Nouvelle Vampyre_ cuisine he and Eric were served.

"Eric, these dishes are remarkable!"

"Thank you, Badru, the chefs at all of Sang Riche locations are working to create the most elegant dishes. They've been told that every meal should be fit for a King, because it's very likely to be a fact."

"Wonderful! And how did you ladies spend your afternoon together?" Badru asked and Amunet explained that they had helped Sookie learn to read cards. "That's a very useful skill, my dear," he said to Sookie, "it enhances all of your faculties."

"It does?" Sookie was mostly trying to keep the conversation going.

"Oh, yes, it helps you visualize, sharpens your focus and concentration, teaches you discipline that is useful in casting spells and doing ritual work. Once you learn to read cards, you will be able to read anything!"

"Anything?"

"Anything - tea leaves, palms, sand on the floor, crumbs on the table, the flight of a bird. It helps prepare you for scrying."

"Oh, I do that!"

"Really? Already?" Amunet asked.

"Yeah, Freyja taught me."

"Who is Freyja?" Badru asked, "A teacher of yours?"

"No, you know - Freyja - the Goddess Freyja."

Badru was dumbstruck for a minute, then tried to act nonplussed, "well, there is nothing like going straight to the source."

Everyone laughed and Alicia pointed discreetly to her watch, so Eric moved them along. "Is everyone packed and ready to go at 9 o'clock?"

"Most of the bags have been loaded," Bjorn reported, "Everyone should make a last check so you don't forget anything like journals or personal items, and Sookie, you need to shrink the dragon," he said, laughing.

"Betcha never thought you'd say a sentence like that, did you, Bjorn?" Sookie teased as everyone laughed and moved toward getting ready to go.

The best part of the trip home for Eric was the stunned looks on Badru's and Amunet's faces when they stepped onto his plane.

The crew was on high alert because there were two sets of royals to serve, and they immediately had luxurious cocktails for the King's guests even before take off. Sookie and Amunet sat with the babies and the pets as Eric and Badru locked themselves in the conference room to discuss Vampire business. The rest of Sookie's group were seated in the passenger area watching **Tin Cup**, though no one was really sure who chose that movie or why. Badru's bodyguard and valet were in the back with Eric's guards, and they were in awe of this gorgeous plane, too.

"Sookie, when I heard Eric bought his own plane, I never dreamed it was anything this spectacular!" Amunet was blown away.

"Really? Is it nicer than other regents' planes?"

"Much nicer. You even have special areas for your servants, I gather?"

"Yeah, that's one of the reasons Eric said we needed it - we have so many people to move from one place to another."

"I can see that. You two are very high profile. Even Anubis probably couldn't accommodate your party if you needed to move in a hurry. It's a very smart move on his part, especially if the referendum passes."

"What referendum?" This was the first Sookie had heard of any referendum, and it gave her a sinking feeling.

"You know, Sookie, the vote about Eric being King of North America."

"There's a vote on that? When?"

Amunet couldn't believe Sookie didn't know this. "Well, it's a series of votes, first they'll take a popular vote within each area, and the Sheriffs will use those results to make an informed vote, but they aren't bound by the results. Then the sheriffs will meet with their regents, and the regents will cast their vote after that. You should know, Sookie - it's expected to pass!"

"So he'll be in charge of the whole country?"

"Mm-hm," she took a drink of her tequila sunrise,"Canada, too, because there aren't many vamps up there. Too cold for the cold blooded. It's part of the reason he set up clubs all over the country instead of just his territories. He'll always have a comfortable place for you all, he has a legitimate reason to move around as you need to, and more importantly, to move money around if he needs to."

"Is there any opposition?"

"Some, of course, but not much. If someone rose up right now, the other regents would trounce them pretty thoroughly. They want Eric to take it as soon as they can assure him of a loyal following."

"This is about the army?"

"Of course. New Centurion already bombed your house, Sookie, the war has begun, and all indications are that it's going to be a long one."

"Yeah, you're telling me..." Sookie was looking at Alex who was playing with his iPod.

Amunet knew what Sookie was thinking, so she decided to lighten the mood. "Alex loves that little music player, doesn't he?"

"He went wild when he saw Bobbie's one day and we had some around, so she filled one up for him. It's locked so it can't go very loud and he loves to push the button and change the music. He likes the music, but I think he likes that he can control it most of all."

"I like to watch him when people are talking. He gets so focused on trying to decipher the words."

"Oh, yeah, he'd snatch the word right out of our mouths if he could. He wants to

communicate so badly, and he teaches Aubie words, too. We think Aubie will eventually catch up to him in development."

"Aubie has grown a lot since I first saw him."

"Really?"

"Oh, yes. He seemed fragile when I first saw him, but he's becoming very robust and attentive. Does he have any abilities that Alex doesn't have?"

"He's a good healer. I don't know if Alex can heal or not, but when Aubie saw Alex and Amelia after the New Centurion attack, he just fixed them on his own."

"How does he do it?"

"He just moved his finger over the injuries in a circle and they just faded away."

"So easily? How bad were the injuries?"

"Alex had some deep cuts on his face and arm. Amelia had a crack in her arm and a problems with her ribs."

"Interesting."

"Amunet, where do you and Badru live?"

"We spend most of our time at our home in Alexandria, but we have a large apartment in Cairo for when we need to be there. You'll have to come for a visit! We're very proud of the new Library."

"That would be amazing! How did the two of you meet?"

Amunet laughed, "It's sort of a Cinderella story, with fangs. His family needed some new blood and they had specific need for a competent practitioner. They found me in a finishing school in Geneva, and asked me to come for a visit. It was a business arrangement in the beginning, but as time went on, Badru and I discovered that we have compatible tastes in many areas - lifestyle, sex, even fashion and the way we like to socialize. Badru says I was made for him, we are so alike."

Sookie was a little taken aback. "But are you in love?"

"Yes, of course! After all these years, we're like two peas in a pod," she laughed.

"How long have you been married?"

"June 21st was 43 years..."

"What?"

"We got married in 1966," she said as if it were no big deal.

"So you're ..."

"Just turned 62, but I hope I don't look it!"

"You definitely don't! I thought you were my age!"

"Good! Nothing like a steady source of V to keep Father Time at bay."

"Eric told me that the exchanges would keep me young, but I don't think I really believed it until now. They've definitely improved my looks, though."

"Your skin is flawless, and I'll bet your hair is blonder and brighter and your body is firm and ripe."

"That's the way Eric would describe me!" Sookie laughed.

"Who wouldn't? I heard one man in Austin call you "juicy" and just cracked up. It was perfect to describe the "Marilyn" qualities you're developing."

"Am I? Seriously?"

"Absolutely! Speaking of which, I got the number for the woman who made that pink Marilyn dress from the other night, and she's in New Orleans. We'll have to pay her a visit."

"Definitely! I think Eric was excited at the idea of me being her for that Hallowe'en Ball."

"I hope we can be here for that! It sounds like a blast!"

"I hope you can, too."

"We probably won't be able to stay for the opening of the New Orleans club, but I think the plan is to travel with you all for the three East Coast openings."

"I forgot that was coming up! Ugh, I'll be glad when we're a little more settled. I'm going to be really busy in New Orleans, but I'll be sleeping in my own bed at night, and the boys and I can play in the pool more."

"Aren't we going to swim tomorrow if it's sunny?"

"Yeah, definitely. I just want to feel as if I'm home."

"Your idea of home will expand after a while to include the clubs and this plane, believe me. You ARE home, you just don't realize it yet."

Aubie woke up and seemed to become uncomfortable then, as if he wanted out of his seat.

"Mamee, ware di Dadee go?"

"He's in the office talking about business, Alex."

"Aubie dat Dadee."

"You mean Aubie wants Daddy?"

"Ee-ah, Aubie wan Daddy!"

Aubie was tugging at the straps of his seat, beginning to really fuss, crying, "Dada!" when Eric came out of the conference room and went straight to Aubie. He unbuckled the strap and brought Aubie up for a hug, bouncing him a little

"I'm sorry, Eric, I don't know what got into him..." Sookie started to explain, hoping Eric wasn't upset with her.

"It's alright, Sookie, I had a feeling that he wanted me, so I came to see what is going on. I haven't spent any time with them today, have I, Auberon?"

"I didn't pay much attention to them today, either, now that you mention it."

"We'll be home in an hour or so and we'll play and and have a chat and everybody will be fine, won't we, Auberon?"

Aubie took a deep breath and let out a sigh, wrapping his little arms around Dada's neck. Eric rubbed his back and took him to sit with him and Badru in another set of seats in the living area.

"Wokeen, Mamee!"

"You want out of your seat for a bit, Alex? I guess that would be alright," Sookie said as she unbuckled Alex's seat and set him on his feet.

"Aypa, Mamee!"

"Ok, sweetie, here's your iPod." Alex took it happily and walked around the living area looking at everything with big eyes. He'd fiddle with the iPod, then he'd walk over and look down the hall or investigate an open door. Sookie and Amunet watched to see what he would do.

First, he checked out the couch, climbing on and sitting for a minute, then he noticed the bedroom door and climbed down.

He wandered into the bedroom and looked around, excited to find a co-sleeper just like the one he slept in every night. He ran back to tell Mamee what he found.

"Mamee, ma beduh!" he over pronounced the "d" because Sookie had taught him to include It, running back to Sookie and Amunet.

"Your bed? Did you find your bed back there, Sweetie?"

"EE-AH!" he squealed then ran over to Dadee and tell him, "Dadee! Dadee!" he called as he ran to Dadee, Aubie and that man he only sort of remembered.

Eric laughed as Alex ran over, "here's Daddy's little Vampire! What did you find, my son?

"Ma beduh!"

"Did you find your bed back there?"

"Ee-ah!" he squealed and bounced for emphasis, absolutely beside himself. He grabbed Eric's hand and pulled, pointing to the bedroom. "Seep, Dadee!"

Still laughing, Eric asked him, "Are you sleepy, Alexander?"

He shook his head, "Nah! Doo napee! An Aubie!"

"Badru, please excuse me. I must attend to the boys," Eric explained as he stood. "Alright, Alex, show me where." He could have called someone else to change diapers, but these were only wet and he was fascinated watching Alex explore.

"Eric, do you want me to take them?" Sookie offered, feeling like she should be doing that, but she was also aware that Eric could have handed them off to any of the women yet chose not to.

"That's alright, sweetheart, I want to do it." Eric loved it when the boys wanted his attention, and he was fine leaving his guest for a few minutes to play with the babies, knowing any other vampire would give anything to be in his shoes. He playfully dropped Aubie on the bed, making him bounce a little, then he scooped Alex up and bounced him, too. He found the changing table in the bathroom, bringing the pad and two diapers back to the bed, then tickled both boys and blew raspberries on their bellies so they giggled and shrieked.

Amunet was amazed at the noises coming from the bedroom. "He actually plays with them and changes them?"

"Yeah, he's a great daddy. You should hear him read to them at night. He's so patient with them. It's really sweet."

**More soon...**


	109. Chapter 109

**[OK, I'm back. Sorry I had to take that long break, but I feel better now, I've got a brand new laptop with a working keyboard, and I'm ready to get back to the Northman house. Thanks for your patience and your support. I'm a little rusty, so bear with me. More is on the way soon! - Morgaine]**

**Chapter 109**

Eric tickled both boys and talked to them as he removed their wet diapers and put them in the bin in the corner of the bedroom on the plane.

"What did my good boys do today?" he asked, not really expecting an answer as he put a fresh nappy on Alex first.

Alex looked him straight in the eye and whispered "Shhh... as' Mamee, nah-nah!"

"Ask Mommy? Does Mommy have a secret?" Eric asked in a playful way, expecting Alex not to understand him.

Alex gave him one of his exaggerated nods and said "bid wond!" Eric was startled. He knew Alex was telling the truth, but he couldn't imagine what it could be.

"Should I ask her now?"

"Nah! Mamee stheepeen."

"Is Mommy asleep now?"

Alex had a lot to say so he spoke slowly and deliberately so Dadee would understand.

"Nah - daygid om. Baf dub. Mamee beduh an me an Obee ma beduh!"

"I should wait until we get home, take a bath and get in Mommy's bed while you and Auberon are in your bed?"

"Ee-ah!" Alex laughed and clapped, pleased that Daddy knew what he said. He thought he was really coming along with this talking thing.

Eric remembered what he was doing, putting a new diaper on Aubie and asking "what do you think, Auberon? Does Mommy have a secret?"

"Ayah! Soonah!"

"NAH, Obee! As' Mamee!"

That stunned Eric. It sounded as if Auberon was saying the name of a Norse Goddess, Sunna, and seemed to be saying it with a Swedish accent. How would he know Sunna and why would Alex object to talking about Her?

He continued to amuse the boys, playing "spider" and making them squirm and giggle, but focusing his attention on Sookie.

'Sookie? Can you hear me?' he projected to her with his mind. 'Sookie, if you hear me, come to the bedroom now.'

Sookie excused herself from Amunet and went to the bedroom door, "Eric?"

"Yes, my Angel?"

She stuck her head through the door, "you rang?"

"Come in, Sweetheart. The boys say you have a secret but that we should not talk about until bedtime, after we've had a bath."

"They said all that?"

"I'm paraphrasing, of course," he laughed.

"They're right."

"Is it urgent?"

"I don't think so. It's private, just for family. It's nice!"

"Why is Alex so intent on waiting until later."

"I don't know, but he told me the same thing earlier. He wants it kept quiet for some reason, so I think we should."

The captain spoke over the intercom then, asking everyone to return to their seats for the landing, so they took the boys back out and strapped them into their little travel seats. Amunet had moved over next to Badru so Eric sat with Sookie and the boys.

The plane touched down with a couple of hops, and the cars were loaded very quickly, so they were back in the penthouse at Sang Riche New Orleans in less than an hour. It was very late, however, so Badru excused himself and Amunet because he needed to complete some work with his office in Cairo.

Eric had asked that a small meal be served for everyone in his group, so the extended family enjoyed linguini with crab and really tasty toasted buttered bread, but alas, no garlic, as Sookie and Bobbie pointed out wistfully.

"Question : why are we staying here if Margaret and Octavia are already at the Prytania St. House?" Sookie asked as she let the servers refill her bowl from a big pot.

"Didn't you want to spend some time with Amunet, Sookie?" Eric asked.

"Oh - well, yeah, I guess that's easier done here, huh?"

"Yes and it will also give Margaret time to get settled. There's still a bit of work being done by the decorators so things aren't quite up to her standards. That should all be completed this week and we'll move the day after this club's opening this weekend."

"OK, that makes sense. What's the weather supposed to be like tomorrow?" Sookie asked hopefully.

"I don't know - has anyone heard a weather report tonight?"

"I have," Bjorn reported, "It should be hot and sunny all week..."

"Nah-nah, Bhord. Mamee as' Dadee!"

"Alexander, say 'Mommy will tell Daddy, thank you,'" Eric ignored the fact that only Alex, Aubie and Sookie knew what was going on.

"Oday, Mamee wiw tew Dadee, dayoo, Bhord!" Alex spoke slowly, trying to say exactly what Dadee said.

"Excellent, my son! Daddy is very proud of you!"

Everyone at the table clapped and praised Alex, who was beaming.

"Ah'm dokkeen dood?"

Eric stroked his cheek with the backs of his fingers, "yes, you're talking very well, my little vampire."

"Ah'm dokkeen bewy wewuh." Alex repeated to himself. He was going to talk just like Dadee some day.

"Bapya!" Aubie repeated in his silly voice, giggling.

"You, too, Auberon! You're talking well, too," Eric laughed.

Aubie felt like showing off a little, too. Pointing to his brother, then to himself, he said "Bumby Bapya, Me Eff!"

"Very good, Auberon! Daddy is proud of you, too, my little elf!" Everyone applauded for Aubie, too, including Alex.

Sookie let out a big yawn then, making everyone laugh. "I think I'm done for the night, y'all!"

"Let's go up then, Sookie, and I'll work later."

"Eric, we were talking about going down to the club for a bit, if that's alright?"

Bjorn asked, pointing to Bobbie, Amelia and Jerry.

"That's fine as long as you or Jerry is stationed with Sookie and the boys before

I rest, and you are able to stay awake at your posts."

"That won't be a problem."

"Alicia, do you have any plans?"

"I'd like to turn in once the dishes are cleared."

"Alright then, everyone proceed," Eric laughed, "boys, are you ready for bed?"

"Baf dub fuhss, Dadee!" Alex insisted.

"Alright, bath tub first, then bed," Eric laughed.

"Sounds like a plan," Sookie laughed, too, cleaning her plate as she stood and pulled Aubie out of his chair. Eric simultaneously took Alex out of his chair, and. The four - or, actually, five - of them went happily up to the loft, kitten and tiny dragon at their heels.

Eric ran the bath as Sookie undressed the boys, and they were all comfortably seated and snuggled in the warm, vanilla scented water very quickly. Alex was calling the shots, to Eric's great amusement, making sure they "wath Obee ayr fuhss," then his own, and "Dadee wath Mamee" and finally "Mamee wath Dadee."

While Alex was directing the action, Aubie was playing with his ducky and snuggling into Mama when he was able, making his little happy sounds when she washed his head with her soft hands. Aubie loved this family bath thing because of Mama. Mama made wada all kinds of fun, in the "baf," "sthowa," and "poo'," and she was warm like nothing else Aubie ever felt and sweet in a way nobody else was. Aubie could still remember the other place, where it was dark and quiet all the time. He was comfortable there, but when Mama began to come feed him, things got brighter and she took him to live with her and his Bumby and Dada and there was laughter and sunlight and more fun than he could ever have imagined. He knew beyond a shadow of a doubt how lucky he was Mama came for him, and he would never forget that.

Once everyone was clean and dry, Aubie wanted to feed from Mama so he got snuggled in her lap as she sat Indian style on the bed. Alex, already asleep, was tucked into the co-sleeper by Dada. Mama moved gently back and forth, looking into Aubie's eyes, kissing his little hand when he reached for her face.

Eric slipped into bed beside her as she gently rocked Aubie, putting his arm around them and stroking Aubie's back and head. Aubie's eyes twinkled as Dada rubbed his back.

"He likes that, Eric, look at his eyes."

"He always looks at you that way, Sookie, as if he's got stars in his eyes."

"I'm sure that sparkle is for you, too, Sweetie."

Eric addressed the baby directly, "we know who that sparkle is for, don't we, Auberon? Only Mommy inspires that feeling of warmth and magick. You're a very lucky boy!"

As if he were agreeing, Aubie stopped feeding just long enough to smile and say "Mama" as he patted her breast, then he immediately went back to feeding.

"Aww! That's Mommy's sweet boy!" she said softly, making him giggle. "Eric, we might be a while. He's showing no sign of slowing down, and he didn't eat much solid food today."

"He doesn't love food as Alex does. Given a choice, he'd choose you every time, my Angel. So," he said as he scooted down in the bed, resting on his elbow, "tell me what it is that Alex wants us to keep quiet?"

"OK, you know the boys came looking for us this morning, right? And they were in Freyja's garden?"

"I knew they came looking, but you were never able to explain where or how you found them."

"OK, the secret is that Freyja was busy elsewhere so She sent our daughter to lead me to them."

"You saw her?! What is she like? What did she say?!" he could barely contain his excitement. He thought about their daughter a lot more than Sookie realized.

"So all at once, I'm not in the carriage in Elfyria, I'm on my butt in the sand on the shore where I usually see Freyja. Before I can really understand what's going on, I hear a voice calling "Mom! Mom! Hurry, I can't touch them but you can!" And I see this pretty little girl of about 9 years old, blonde hair flying in the breeze, wearing a little pink sundress just like I wore at that age. So, I start to follow her and she tells me I need to get "'Lexy and Aubie" before they teleport."

"'Lexy?"

"If you think about it, that's what a little girl would call a brother normally called Alex."

"True."

"At that point I asked her if she was my daughter and she says "yeah, Mom, don't you recognize me? Daddy always says I look like a miniature version of you!""

Eric laughed with delight.

"Then she said, "it's me, Sunny" which she explained is her nickname because Daddy named her "Sunna!""

Eric dropped back on the bed, staring up into the night sky, repeating to himself, "Sunna!"

"Did I say it right? She pronounces it with a Swedish accent."

"So did Auberon earlier. They must already know her."

"Yep, seems that way. She told me Alex hadn't been to Elfyria yet, but she called it something else, so he didn't know how to get there, but it's really easy for, quote, "us kids" to get to Freyja's and he probably figured I'd show up there eventually." Sookie gently put Aubie, who was now sound asleep, in the co-sleeper next to Alex, covered them both with their soft blue blanket, then scooted down so she and Eric were face to face.

"She was beautiful, wasn't she?"

"Yep, she was."

"I knew she would be! And bright! I knew she would be bright as the sun!"

"Hence the name "Sunna,"" I guess?" Sookie laughed, "When were you going to spring that one on me?"

"The day she was born, if possible. I knew you'd agree when you could see her."

"So, have you "seen" her the way you have Aubie and Alex?"

"I'm not sure."

"Huh?"

"I have a picture in my head of a beautiful little blonde thing with your eyes and the sweetest laugh you can imagine, but I'm not sure if it's a vision or a wish."

"Well, since Freyja has designed all this to make your dreams come true, I'd bet what you're seeing is the real deal."

"I hope you are right, my Angel, because I'm already in love with her," he laughed as he

squeezed Sookie and kissed her forehead. "Daddy's little Angel," he said wistfully as the ambient lighting faded away and left them with an unaltered view of the seemingly endless starry sky.

"What a beautiful view tonight!" Sookie purred sleepily. "I'm glad it's not cloudy. There's not an outdoor light of any kind visible from this bed."

"It's even better than I had hoped up here. I wanted it to feel as if we're floating in the sky."

"It definitely does - it's a little disorienting to me, though."

"That will subside with experience and practice. Once you are sure you can fly and will not fall, you'll begin to enjoy the limitless sky. You are already adjusting to it, you just don't realize it."

"Is it safe up here for the boys, though?"

"They can't fall Sookie - they fly as well as anyone I've ever seen."

"I just know that if I ever wake up and they're crawling around the outside of the ceiling, I'll have a stroke before I remind myself that they aren't human babies," she said, only half kidding.

"Prepare yourself for those little shocks, Sookie, because Alex is getting very imaginative and bold..."

"OH, I know he is! I can see what he sees, too, and it's all just one big playground to him. Sometimes I think he sends me pictures to show me what he will do eventually, so that by the time he does it, I won't be surprised by it any more - is that possible?"

"Possible is a wide, wonderful word where our elder son is concerned, my Lover. Just be glad he's bringing us along for the ride. There will come a day when he no longer feels the inclination to include us in his plans, and it will come sooner than we expect."

"Ugh - I know that. I just don't want to lose them so early."

"They'll never be that far from you, Sookie. When we are all grown, being together will require only walking between the worlds, and they did that today."

"You'll be able to do that, too, right?"

"I don't know - I have never tried. I was in a panic when you disappeared from the carriage in Alfheimr this morning..."

"Alfheimer? What is that? Sunny said that word..."

"That is the Norse name for the Fae realm."

"Oh, OK - that's what I thought it meant but I couldn't remember it to ask you." Sookie let out a huge yawn then and Eric laughed and kissed her forehead.

"You must sleep, my little Goddess! You've got a lot to do tomorrow."

She rolled so her back was to him, saying "yeah, yeah, tu a atu, tu a atu..."

"What does that mean?"

"I have no idea, I just see these juicy red lips saying it over and over "Anekh hrak, anekh hrak, tu a atu, tu a atu..."

"Any idea what language it is?"

"Bobbie thought maybe ancient Egyptian."

"Don't you have an expert in Egyptian magick here in this building?"

"Yeah, but the thing is - what if those red lips are hers?"

"Do you think they are?"

"Yeah, probably, and I don't know why she's saying it over and over where I can hear it in my mind. Not knowing what it means, I don't know if it's a prayer or a spell, and I don't know if it's directed at me or if I'm just picking up on it."

"Are you afraid to ask her about it directly?"

"Not afraid, but not eager to do it, either, because I don't think she'll tell me the truth."

"Do you distrust her?"

"No - no, I'm sure she's my friend and has good intentions toward me, and I never hear anything negative when I listen in on her, but what she wants for or from me might not be something I want to give."

"Sookie, try to let the answer to this question come to you without examining it. What does Amunet want from you?"

"A gift... she wants a gift of power she thinks I'll learn to bestow on her."

"Any idea what it might be?"

"No, but I think it will be possible, but I won't want to do it."

"Why not?"

"It could come back on all of us in a big way, but refusing to do it will make me seem petty. I'd rather avoid the conflict all together," she said a little darkly, ending her answer with another big yawn.

"Alright, as you let yourself go to sleep, ask Freyja what you should do about this. It might be as simple as lying about your abilities."

"It won't be, but..." sleep overtook her in mid-sentence.

Eric thought it best not to wake her, but put in a request of his own. "Freyja, my Goddess, guide Sookie in the use of her powers, don't let her get hurt, or hurt anyone else unjustly."

"Your Majesty?"

"Come on up, Jerry." It flashed through Eric's mind that he hadn't gotten a response from Freyja, but he forgot about it as he filled Jerry in.

Jerry came quickly up the spiral staircase, as Eric put on his pants. "I feel as if I am forgetting something..." he said as he opened the lid to his travel box, "but I don't know what it is."

"Did she have her Ambrosia?"

"Shit! Thank you for remembering that. We don't want her missing doses. She's been very busy so we have to be sure to give it to her." He said, more to himself than to Jerry, as he took the bottle and cup from the little fridge and got Sookie to drink. She was already back in a deep sleep before Eric could return it to the refrigerator. "The boys went to sleep very late, so we didn't get our quiet time tonight," Eric explained, "Warn Bjorn and Alicia that they might want to eat very early today. I'll se you tonight!" he said happily as he closed the lid on his box, falling asleep nearly as quickly as Sookie had earlier.

Sookie felt like she was twirling in space, flailing a bit until she realized she was making it worse by struggling. Once she stopped fighting she was able to get her bearings and give herself some direction. "Freyja, will you please meet me in your garden?"

Sookie almost instantly set foot on the shore where they usually met, and there was no one around so she went over the dunes at the back that led down to Freyja's gardern. A small cloud of little butterfly fairies with pink, blue and lavender wings playfully surrounded Sookie, who laughed with delight and gave them a proper greeting. "Hello, little fairies! How are you today?"

Tiny voices replied, "we're going with you." We're going with you," We're going, we're going, we're going with you! Freyja's eating jam and bread."

"Jam and bread?" Sookie knew that phrase should mean something to her but couldn't remember why, and she forgot about it for a bit as she saw Freyja waving and laughing as she sat under her favorite peach tree.

"Good morning, My Angel! Come sit for a spell," the Goddess called and then laughed at Her own joke about spells.

"Good morning, Freyja, you look glorious today!"

"As do you, Sookie, just as you always do! Come sit by me and talk - we rarely do that, you know?"

"Yeah, I guess not - not since I spent that week here one day," Sookie agreed as she sat in a large throne next to Freyja's, accepting a big golden cup of Ambrosia.

"Well, today is our day!" She clinked their cups together, "Ask me anything you like!"

"I'm not sure where to begin... well, the biggest problem I have right now is that this religious nut Garner is trying to kill us all. Is there anything I can do about it?"

"You can kill him before he kills you!"

"But the only thing I've read or heard so far that is anything like what I'd have to do is the thing where I reach into his chest and squeeze..."

"Yes, exactly!"

"Yeah, but that's kind of grisly, don't you think? Shouldn't a Goddess be able to just smite someone and be done?" Sookie laughed a little as she said it, but she was serious.

Freyja cracked up, her golden waves of hair bouncing around her shoulders as she laughed. "Sorry, My dear, but the Council has decreed that only one method shall be used or there will be a magnified price for breaking the pact!"

"The Council gets to limit that?"

"Why else would we need a Council? It's to keep a bit of order and fairness in our dealings with humans. The world was chaotic when every god and Goddess smote people at will - huge civilizations, far more advanced than yours, were wiped away on a whim! The Earth's energies were twisted to produce floods and earthquakes and an extremely inconvenient ice age - why, a few of the Aesir sent a comet to Earth! The world was a mess and that doesn't even include the wars among the gods and Goddesses! It was just too much, the events too far reaching for humans and the penalties too slight to deter the deities from smiting one another. It finally occurred to us that Karma should apply to US, too, at least to an extent. And if you're going to take the very extreme position of ending a life, you ought to have to face it head on. If you're afraid of a little blood now and then, you'd best not enter the realm of the Goddesses. Killing will always mean blood on your hands."

"Is it possible for me to become a Goddess and never kill anything?"

"No, My Angel, it isn't. You have already killed and you will kill again. Be sure that your cause is just, prepare for the unintended consequences, and do what you know you must."

"I don't know if I can..."

"You still imagine that you have a choice, Sookie. Your choices were made an eon ago, and your destiny is nearly carved in stone."

"Nearly... but not completely?"

"Don't try to barter with the Universe, My Angel - She'll out smart you every time. You'll know what to do and when to do it, and you'll pay the price when you do."

"Is Amunet chanting at me in my sleep?"

"Yes, she is, and you need to ask yourself why."

"Is she really my friend?"

"She thinks she is. You must remember, all that glitters is not gold."

"I have no idea what you mean by that."

"When you need to know, you will."

"Isn't that an awfully Zen attitude? I thought Goddesses didn't work within Oriental patriarchies?"

Freyja laughed again. "There are better words than "zen" to describe it. Try "Harmony" and see if that fits. Think about baking cookies."

"Isn't that from The Matrix?"

"Believe it or not, we in the divine realm do occasionally indulge in various forms of art and performance, and sometimes we favor an actor or actress - I understand that reference. In The Matrix, the boy bent the spoon because there was no spoon. You will bend the spoon because you ARE the spoon. You're the boy and the spoon and the room and the house - Change yourself and nothing will ever be the same again."

"What's that got to do with baking cookies?"

Freyja laughed again, explaining "when you bake cookies, there are obvious things you include like sugar and butter, but there are other things, like salt, that are added to enhance the sweetness. You use a little of one to balance a lot of another, and when you have harmony among the ingredients, you get a delicious cookie to eat."

"NOW I want cookies," Sookie laughed.

"Here we are!" Freyja held her palm up expectantly and a golden try with a variety of cookies appeared in her hand. "What's your most pressing issue, Sookie?"

"WIll Amunet ever hurt me?"

"Only if you give her the power."

"Riddles. I wish you could just give me straight answers."

"I am - you just don't have the context yet. Sacrifices have to be made, Sookie. For every seed of growth and happiness you create there will be a response from the Universe, but it will rarely be what you expect. Make up your mind to do the right thing, then do the thing and be centered in the knowledge that it is all happening as it should in spite of Us."

"I told Garner to leave us alone - will he just go away and let us live our lives?"

"Sookie, our time together is precious. Do you really want to spend it asking questions you already know the answer to? You'll have to leave Us soon."

"Is there anything special I have to do to squeeze a heart that way?"

"No, you focus your energy and put it all into your hand as you reach in, squeeze as hard as you can, as long as it takes, and try not to get blood on you. It can be very messy and traumatic but the results are guaranteed, unlike using poisons or assassins."

"What if I did a pre-emptive strike? Are there rules?"

"Has your enemy attempted to harm you?"

"Yes!"

"A response is not pre-emptive - there is already provocation."

"Oh... I was thinking of future attacks..."

"The war has begun, Sookie - the die are cast. Commit yourself to your family's protection."

"So if I kill Garner, the war will end?"

"Your sons will lead their kingdoms before the last arrow flies. We are only at the beginning. Think Sookie - is there something else you should ask me?"

"Um, no - I asked about Amunet, and killing and Garner..."

"Nothing else?"

"No, not now."

"Be safe, Sookie, I'll see you very soon."

Sookie sat up in bed to find no one in the room.

"Hey, where is everybody?"

No response. Sookie considered her next best move which she decided was writing about the conversation she'd just had with Freyja. She called up her book and was writing in it when she came back to the last thing Freyja had asked her. Was there anything else? Freyja sure seemed to think there should be, but Sookie couldn't think of what it might be. She drew a big question mark with curly-cues and flourishes just because she felt like it.

"Damn - where is everybody? I don't even hear a TV downstairs" she thought to herself as she pulled on her favorite purple and black nursing dress. She bounced down the spiral stairs, fully expecting to see a full apartment of babies, Weres, maids and girl friends, but she stopped flat footed as she reached the living room and there was nothing. No babies. No Alicia, no Were or Daemon guards outside the door, even.

"OK, I know no one would leave me alone this way, so I must be between worlds, right? There must be something I need to do here?"

"Sounds right to me," Dionysus spoke from behind her and made her nearly jump out of her skin. He laughed, smugly enjoying the idea that he had made her jump. "So, my Goddess, what would you like to do? We can dance!" He tried to swirl her around but she stepped away from him. "We can fuck," he tried to hook his arm around her waist and pull her in for a kiss but she pushed him away.

"Why are you so mean!?" Sookie finally exploded at him. "What is the point? Does Freyja owe you some kind of tribute? Are you watching over the boys? Are you here for me? Eric? All of us?"

"Now, now, Milady, careful what you say - I'm not nearly so indulgent as Freyja."

"I thought indulgence was your whole act?" She said in a much too sassy way. "Was that what I forgot to ask Freyja about? Your connection to me?"

"That wasn't what She was hinting at, but now that you mention it, that would have been helpful in dealing with me now, wouldn't it?" He laughed again, "What to do, what to do?"

"I heard somebody else think that recently..." Sookie said aloud, "Whomever it was was not on my side..." She stepped back suddenly as Dionysus reached for the aquamarine stone on the heavy gold chain and shook it as he looked at her expectantly. "Niall! At the Wiccaning, NIall thought that when he saw me wearing the stone!"

"Nicely done, Milady! Wonder where he is now?"

"Do you know where he is?"

"Maybe, but probably not. I could give you a location, but would you trust me enough to go there? With no one around who knows what you're doing?"

Before she could answer, a clock on the red wall struck 12 and Dionysus quickly said, "Oops! Time to go!" and disappeared.

Sookie's head was spinning. She always felt so unsettled when she encountered Dionysus, and she was kicking herself now for not asking Freyja about him, though he claimed that wasn't what She was getting at.

Not sure what to do, Sookie flopped onto the white couch and used the remote to turn on the huge TV. The news was just coming on and she thought that might make her feel a little more settled, or connected to the real world. She wasn't really paying attention until she caught the phrase "CEO of New Centurion, LTD" in the introduction of the next story. Maybe this was it!? Maybe this was what she needed to know?

The announcer continued : "Hearings before the National Security Council will continue in the House next week. In the mean time, Garner is headed back to his Savannah compound where his family and friends will celebrate his 56th birthday on Saturday. He is expected to be back on Capital Hill by noon on Monday."

Now she was talking to herself. "OK, so he's home in Georgia through this weekend? I need a scrying tool, damn it!" She looked around the room to see if there was anything useful, but the room was nearly devoid of decorative items. "Freyja, what can I use to scry?" Sookie asked aloud and was answered, "the Aquamarine, Sookie! She's much more than she seems. Talk to her!"

"OK, she's a 'she,' not an 'it,' and I'm supposed to talk to her? Does she have a name?"

Sookie didn't hear an answer so she put the gem up to her right eye and heard a voice say, "lean back."

Anekh Hrak, Anekh Hrak

Tu a atu, Tu a atu

Anekh Hrak, Anekh Hrak

Tu a atu, Tu a atu

Anekh Hrak, Anekh Hrak

Tu a atu, Tu a atu

The Hills are alive!

"SOOKIE!"

Her eyes flew open as Amunet, Bobbie and Amelia surrounded her on the bed, giggling.

"Wow, Sookie, we were starting to wonder if there was something wrong!" Amelia said with relief, hoping for a non-drama filled day for a change. "We were hoping to wake you before anything exploded today,"

"Really, Darling, we were tempted to just throw you in the pool," Amunet teased her, Sookie just noticing Amunet was in a gold bikini, though there wasn't much of it.

"I see you're ready to play in the pool?" Sookie laughed. "Where are the boys?" she asked as she quickly drank a strawberry supplement they handed her.

"Watching Teletubbies in their swimming diapers and waiting for Mama to shake a tail feather!" Bobbie laughed. "They've already eaten their breakfast."

"OK, I guess we're swimming now?" Sookie said as they dragged her out of the bed. She was trying to catch on, but still hearing those voices in her head.

The girls got Sookie into her bathing suit as a group project, then they nearly carried her downstairs.

"MAMEE!" "Mama!" Alex and Aubie were bouncing on the couch in front of the TV ready to swim.

"There are my sweet boys!" Sookie was so happy to see them, she was almost relieved, as if she had been away and missed them. What the hell had she been dreaming? She felt as if she left a part of herself somewhere else.

"Tu a atu!" Sookie laughed as she hugged them both to her, walking toward the open door and jumping into the pool from the side.

There were already mattresses, inflatable rides and other toys scattered all around the pool and it was sparkling blue and clear. The sun was out but not too hot to enjoy the roof. Sookie gradually realized that part of her mind was still back in the dream, in the empty apartment, focused on the aquamarine crystal, but her body was playing in the water with her babies and her friends. She was impressed that she seemed able to function both places at once. Bobbie and Amelia were entertaining the boys so Sookie just went ahead and asked Amunet for help with the chanting.

"Amunet, I keep hearing these words in my sleep - do you know what they mean? Anekh Hrak, Anekh Hrak! Tu a atu, tu a atu!"

"Interesting - do you hear them or see them?"

"I see red lips saying the words over and over."

"Write that in your book. "Anekh Hrak" means "all praise to you" and "Tu a atu" means "I adore you." You must be dreaming of Isis, Sookie!"

"OK, who are the Copper Goddesses?"

"Where did you hear that phrase?"

"I don't know, but it's going to be important."

"Be sure you write that down before you forget it. I want to see where that goes." Amunet encouraged her. "Keep detailed notes of it all, Sookie. These things that are happening to you are amazing gifts and other people will learn from them some day."

"I can't imagine how or why, but I'm trying to keep better records anyway because everyone tells me that."

"Believe it, Sookie! The Universe is showering you with gifts, it's only right that you should share them when you can."

"Yeah, I guess."

"Can I ask a favor, Sookie?"

"A favor? What is it?"

"Can I touch the aquamarine stone you are wearing? I know you can't take it off, but I'd love a chance to look into it."

That didn't seem unreasonable to Sookie, but she'd rather not. "Sure - you just want to look at it?

"Yeah, just to see if I get anything from it empathically, you know?"

"OK, sure." NO-NO-NO-NO! The crystal screamed, but it stopped when Amunet touched it. She looked at it closely, feeling the facets, reveling in the color of it. "I guess it's true!"

"What's that?"

"It's a woman's stone."

"Yeah, I know it's female."

"Wait - the stone is female or the stone only works for females?"

"The Stone is female, but I don't know her name yet. I don't know if she'd work for a man or not."

"My guess would be "Not." If NIall tries to take it, I'll bet he'd get a nasty surprise. You should tell him that, Sookie, so he'll leave it alone."

"There's no point, really. If I see him again, I'll kill him so he won't have a chance to try." Sookie took a minute to listen for any reaction from the crystal, but everything seemed fine at the moment.

Alex was entertaining everyone by giving Aubie a ride in one of the floats as Sookie and Amunet spoke. Sookie was telling herself that there was probably no harm done in letting her see the crystal.

"Mamee! Woogie! Ahm sthimmeen!" Alex called to her as Amelia pointed him at Sookie and Amunet.

"OK, Baby, come to Mommy!" She laughed and caught Alex when he headed for them like a torpedo.

"He can really swim!?" Amunet was blown away because she had no idea Alex was that advanced.

"Yeah, at human and Vampire speed both. There's really not much Alex can't do, is there, buddy?" Sookie laughed as she nuzzled him a little, getting ready to put him back in the water toward Amelia.

"Waby Amaduh!" Alex insisted as he leaned toward her. She was surprised. but she took him in her arms and hugged him.

"You're such a smart baby, Alex! You're just amazing!" She said as she thrilled him by giving him a big kiss on the cheek.

"Wadiz amaztheen?"

Sookie translated, "Amazing means good, Sweetie - really, really good!"

"Oday! Dayoo. Ee dinder, Mamee?"

"I guess we have been out here a long time. Hey, y'all, is it about time for lunch?" Sookie asked hopefully, since she just realized she didn't have breakfast, unless you count the strawberry supplement and she didn't.

"Good question," Bobbie said, "I wonder if Alicia ordered anything?"

"I'll bet she did," Amelia said as she headed for the steps to get out. "I'll go ask her when it will be ready," she said, wrapping a towel around her.

As usual, Alicia was ahead of the game and by the time the girls had all dripped dry the table was being set with fish, shrimp, fries, soft shell crabs, cole slaw and big pitchers of sweet tea.

The girls all just wrapped beach towels around themselves and ate at the dining table for what turned out to be a fast food feast.

"Hey," Sookie laughed, "this seems like Long John Silver's food!"

"It is," Alicia laughed. "You mentioned wanting some the other day. The only things made here were the tea and soft shells."

"Good call, because this is out of this world."

"Woogie, Mamee, pish!" Alex said with excitement as he recognized his lunch and took a big bite of it.

"Alex, Sweetie, don't take such big bites!" Sookie fussed over him, though Bobbie had him well under control. Sookie quickly went back to eating, letting her attention turn back to the crystal in the empty apartment. It was pulling her back somehow, and she didn't want it to stop.

**[MORE soon, I promise! - Morgaine]**


	110. Chapter 110

**[OK, I'VE AVOIDED WRITING THIS CHAPTER FOR OVER A YEAR. I CAN'T PUT IT OFF ANY LONGER. I'M SORRY it's so short, but I just have to stop now.] **

**Chapter 110**

Sookie would have liked nothing more than to just give in and go back to the empty apartment between the worlds, but with the boys awake and Amunet visiting, it just wasn't a good time to let go. Sookie focused her energy on keeping her awareness split into distinct parts - one that was conversing with the aquamarine crystal and one that was laughing and chatting with family and friends. Bobbie was telling everyone about the first time she met a vampire, making everyone laugh at how cheesy he was, being a circus performer who did a high wire act and some simple juggling, and Sookie was mostly able to follow along.

In the other place, the stone whispered to Sookie, "I'm a Morgen."

"A Morgan?"

"A Morgen stone - Morgen mean means "woman of the sea."

"But aren't aquamarines from mines in Brazil?"

"Some, but not I. My Sisters and I are found only in one special part of Avalon, where the sea washes lava rock away from our crystals so the Priestesses can gather us by hand. I'm one of the largest ever found. Only The Lady of the Lake and 2 members of the Council have larger. Yours was chosen specifically for ...

"Mamee, wadiz Won Don Sthimmers?"

"That's pretty good, Sweetie. Say LONG."

"Won."

"...JOHN..."

"...thsdon..."

"...SILVER'S"

"Sthimmers!"

"Yay, Alex!" Amunet lead the applause and everyone joined in.

Alex was so proud of himself, Sookie thought he would pop! "You're talking very well, Alex!" Sookie reinforced as she poured some vinegar on her fish.

Alex's eyes got wide as he cried out "Wadiz dat, Mamee!?" and leaned toward her sniffing.

"What? Vinegar?"

"EEAYAH! DAYTHS ID, MAMEE!" He was jumping up and down in his seat, literally making his highchair hop. Bobbie grabbed it just before it turned over as everybody shrieked just a bit.

"Whoa, Buddy!." Bobbie laughed. "Hang on a minute. Mamee will give you some, right, Sookie?"

"Yeah, here, Baby, try a little," Sookie broke off a bit of fish and crust that was still crunchy but was covered with vinegar.

Alex was bobbing his head left and right, smacking his lips, blinking hard, then holding his mouth open for more.

"Want more vinegar?"

"Eaah, wan moh bimender," he said, holding his mouth open for her to feed him like a baby bird.

Sookie gave him another bite and he reached for her plate, which started to move toward him. "Alex, no!" She snapped as she caught it. "We'll get you your own plate, OK?"

"Oday."

Amelia had already been chopping fish and sprinkled it with a little vinegar. "Moh bimender, pweezth, Ameeah!" Alex told her as she put it in front of him.

"This has got vinegar on it, sweetie," Amelia held the bowl so he could smell it.

"Wan moh!"

"More vinegar? OK, but you don't want to over do it, kiddo. A little goes a long way!"

Alex watched her reach for some packets on the table and he called some into his hand.

"Hang on, Alex, some of this is not vinegar. This one is, and this one..." Amelia and Bobbie were both trying to separate them out, but before they finished, Alex got a hold of a packet and tore into it with his fangs. He slurped hard and got a big shot of it in his throat which made him choke and sputter.

"Alex, are you alright?" Sookie panicked a little, but he quickly came our of it and Bobbie gave him a sip of her diet coke to wash it down. Everybody laughed as he settled a bit, looking at Amelia with big eyes.

"I told you, Alex..." she started.

"...A widdow does a won way," Alex said in agreement, just a little chagrined. He was then content to eat the fish Amelia had fixed for him and everyone relaxed.

"I wonder if we should let Aubie taste some?" Sookie wondered, "I don't want him to feel left out."

"OK," Bobbie said, taking some finely chopped fish with a little vinegar on it and held a spoonful for Aubie. He looked at it, sniffed, sneezed the cutest little sneeze and spit like a cat. Everybody cracked up as Bobbie quipped, "I don't think Aubie's a vinegar fan, Sookie."

"I guess not," she laughed.

"I mean this in the kindest, most admiring way possible, Darling, but meals with your sons are always eventful!" Amunet laughed.

"Yeah, Alex takes his food seriously, don't you, Pookie?" Sookie stroked his cheek with the backs of her fingers and let a wash of affection and love flow from her over both of the boys.

"Ah, Mama!" Aubie felt the wave and wanted more, so he reached toward Sookie and Bobbie passed him over to her because she knew what he wanted.

"It's so interesting that they have different tastes," Amunet mused. "I wonder how much is nature and how much is nurture."

"We're pretty sure that most of the difference is nurture - Alex was in my womb, while I was feeding from Eric, but Aubie never was..."

"Excuse me?" Amunet hadn't heard this before.

Shit. Sookie wished she hadn't said that.

Bobbie helped her recover, "It's kind of complicated, but yeah, Alex was favored in a few ways during and after gestation, but Aubie is catching right up now."

Sookie got it together and continued, "Once Aubie was with us so I could feed him several times a day, he started to catch up. Dr. Ludwig..."

"LUDWIG?! THE Doctor LUDWIG?" Amunet was seriously impressed now.

'Damn. I did it again,' Sookie berated herself. "Yeah, she's a family friend. Anyway, she thinks that eventually Aubie will catch up completely."

"I can easily believe that. I told you how much stronger he seems now. His eyes sparkle and he smiles so much - as much as Alex, and I've never seen a baby happier than Alex." She wrinkled her nose at him affectionately and he tried to do the same, making everyone laugh again.

"So Sookie, did you see the news earlier today?" Amunet had been looking for a place to change the conversation."

"I saw just a few minutes earlier..."

"Your favorite Mercenary is celebrating his birthday this weekend."

"Oh, yeah, I heard. He's supposed to be at his home in Savannah all weekend and be back in Washington by Monday afternoon."

"Why don't you go get him?"

"Now? I don't know.."

"Wouldn't a party make it easier to slip in and out?"

"No, not really. I can get in and out clearly enough, I just need to scry first and find the right time."

"Well, you can't do it too soon, Sookie," Amunet pushed just a little.

"Is he giving you problems in Egypt, Amunet?" Bobbie said mostly for Sookie's benefit. It wouldn't be good to let Amunet make Sookie act before she was ready and she could tell Amunet was the type to push and keep pushing because no one ever said 'no' to her. She took Aubie over to join Alex in the play pen.

"Yes - he's making a lot of enemies, creating more unrest and confusion than I've ever seen in some quarters. I can't wait until he's dead."

"Neither can I, but it has to be the right time." Sookie emphasized "right time" to really drive it home.

"Yes, of course, these things need planning. It's just so tempting, isn't it? Imagine being able to teleport. Think of it, Sookie!" She placed her hand on Sookie's forearm. "Imagine us being in his house right now!"

And they were gone. Sookie and Amunet simply disappeared.

"OH. MY. GODDESS!" Bobbie and Amelia said in unison as the three of them realized what had happened.

Alicia was speechless, but she tried to speak. "Is it possible...?"

"It's not only possible, it's probable," Amelia said as Bobbie ran to the hall to find Bjorn and Jerry.

Alicia didn't intend to wait. She had a "panic button" in her pocket and she used it.

Bjorn and Jerry nearly flattened Bobbie as they sped through the door. Before they could ask, the women were all talking at once, all saying the same horrible thing - Sookie and Amunet were probably in Jubal Garner's HOUSE!

"OK, everybody be calm. Amelia, slowly, and completely, tell me what happened," Bjorn tried to take control of the situation.

"OK, we were all talking about Garner's birthday bash this weekend, and Amunet said "think about it, Sookie; What if we were in Garner's house right now, and they were gone."

"Can Amunet teleport?" Bjorn asked

"I don't think so," Bobbie said, "she was wishing that she could."

"And she touched Sookie, who actually can teleport," Amelia finished.

"The crystal!" Bobbie suddenly remembered,

"What?" Bjorn asked, really trying not to panic.

"I saw Amunet touching that aquamarine thing that Sookie can't take off. Can that thing give her any powers?"

"Shit," Jerry said, "I'll bet it can."

"You know about this, Jerry?" Bjorn was open to suggestions.

"I've read most of the myths about that thing since Sookie turned up with it. It's like an amplifier, and it may have residual effects."

"What do you mean?"

"It's possible that a person who touched it might retain part of it's power temporarily. It sort of "rubs off" on anyone that touches it."

"OK, so we have to assume that Sookie is inside enemy lines right now, with Amunet..."

"In bikinis," Bobbie sheepishly reminded the guys they'd been in the pool. Neither woman was properly dressed by anyone's standard, let alone by vampire's stricter standards.

"Aw, hell! I forgot they're not even dressed!" Bjorn said. That alone would make Eric ready to kill and no one could blame him.

"OK, they have no clothes, no phones, only Sookie, Amunet and Sookie is wearing the crystal, correct?" Jerry asked. "Bjorn - We need Raphael."

Bjorn saw where he was going and nodded. "Right, we need a Daemon. Someone that can see what they're doing and go get them if necessary. Is he in the building?"

"Today is his day off, and he was going into town but he might be back by now." Jerry told him as he pulled out his phone.

POP!

Suddenly Sookie and Amunet found themselves standing in a some kind of man's office with creepy stuffed animals all over the walls - a huge sword fish, some kind of antlers, deer and boar heads. It smelled like cigars and beer.

"Oh, my Goddess," Sookie said quietly, terrified. "I didn't know you could teleport!"

"I can't! It has to be you and that crystal..."

Before the words were out of her mouth, a booming voice came from behind them.

"Who the hell are you and how did you get in here?"

Sookie spun on her heel and looked up into the angry face of Jubal Garner.

"Do it, Sookie, NOW!" Amunet urged her as Garner grabbed her arm.

There was nothing else to do, so Sookie put all her force into her hand and reached into the man's big chest. She wrapped her fingers around his heart and squeezed as hard as she could. Garner let go of her and dropped to his knees, crying out in agony, eyes wide and fixed on Sookie with absolute terror, his hair suddenly shocking white, as she squeezed and squeezed and ...

"DAD!"

Sookie jumped back, his heart still in her bloody hand as she turned to look in the face of Garner's 15 year old son, frozen at the door, still in his military school uniform.

The boy shrieked "DAD! HELP! DAD!" as Sookie grabbed Amunet with her free hand and said "HOME!" just as the boy started toward them.

In an instant, they were back in the penthouse. Before anyone could speak or react, Sookie fell to knees, the heart still in her hand, her little body wracked with sobs. No one knew what to do. The bloody heart was on the floor in front of Sookie, her arm bloody up to the elbow, as she wailed in grief the likes of which she had never imagined. Garner deserved to die, but his son didn't deserve to see it - to see her with his father's heart in her hand, and she knew, without any doubt, that no one would believe his story. He would tell them that a bikini-clad vampire queen and a friend had popped in, killed his father, and disappeared _with his heart_. He would end up in an institution, or a jail, or he'd grow up hating vampires like no one ever hated a vampire before. He would know that Witches are real. He might even learn about Fae if he dug very deep.

Every cell in Sookie's body knew that someday, in about 25 years, her son Alex would have to kill Jubal Garner's son, Caleb. The die had been cast. The battle was over, but the war - the real, horrible, bloody war - had just begun.

[**I WILL POST AGAIN TOMORROW!]**


	111. Chapter 111

**Chapter 111**

Eric's eyes popped open - something was terribly wrong. He could feel the sun was out, but he knew Sookie needed him. He felt around his box for the remote for the sun shelds in the loft, finding it and using it as quickly as he could. He could feel in his bones how sunny it was that day, but he needed to get to Sookie. When the shields were safely in place he climbed out of his box and picked up his cell phone.

Bjorn looked at his ringing phone. "This says it's Eric!" he said with surprise as he answered. "You're awake?!"

"Bjorn is Sookie with you?"

"Yeah, but she's not well..."

"Can you bring her to me in the loft?"

"YES! Be right there!" Bjorn scooped Sookie up and headed for the stairs, relieved at being told what to do in this circumstance. No one but Eric could handle Sookie as she was right now - "Thank you, min Gudinna, for waking Eric now!" Bjorn said out loud as he carried her, sobbing, up the white spiral stair case.

"Hey, you guys, look outside!" Amelia called everyone else's attention to the sky, which was rapidly darkening. "Was it supposed to rain today?"

"No," Alicia said, "it was supposed to be hot and sunny all week," she recalled as she knelt down with a roll of paper towels and began cleaning blood off the white floor.

"Damn," Bobbie said, "it looks like there's about to be a wicked storm. I've never seen one come up that quickly!" Bobbie saw what Alicia was doing and took a paper towel to put the heart into a trash bag.

"I have," Amunet reminded them, "Sookie can conjure the weather."

"You think she's creating this turbulence out here?" Amelia asked, thinking she might be right.

"Yes. I think she needs Eric and can't Eric wake a little when it's rainy?" Amunet reminded them.

"Yes!" "Yes!" Amelia and Bobbie answered in unison.

"That makes sense," Alicia said, "she needs him, so she's creating the weather to bring him to her."

"I guess he's awake, so we should just stay here and wait until they call us?" Amelia asked.

"Sounds like it. Bjorn might know more when he comes back," Bobbie agreed.

"Should I leave?" Amunet asked, feeling really shitty about creating this situation. It was exactly what she wanted, but she hated that Sookie was so upset. No one could have anticipated that his son would be there, could they?

"No, you should stay so you can explain what happened to me and Bjorn," Jerry said emphatically. Jerry wasn't sure what happened, but he'd kill Amunet if he thought she hurt Sookie, and that is not an exaggeration. He was having visions of throwing her off the fucking roof, and he was pretty sure Bjorn was, too. Both of them were fiercely protective of Sookie and didn't intend to tolerate anyone hurting her, even if it was just out of sheer stupidity. Jerry's money was on stupidity.

Eric turned the bed down and was standing at the top of the stairs as Bjorn brought Sookie up to him. Sookie grabbed Eric around the neck and held as tightly as she could, but she couldn't speak because she was sobbing so hard.

"Shhh, My Angel, it's all right, I have you." Eric held her close and tried not to project any fear to Sookie. He wanted her to feel safe and loved, and though he was frantic to know what happened, he knew that grief this deep was not going to be set aside easily. Whatever had happened to Sookie had been profound, and Eric instinctively knew this had to go slowly and quietly. If he could not soothe her, he'd call Dr. Ludwig to sedate her, but he hoped that would not be necessary. Eric spoke very quietly "Thank you, Bjorn. Does anyone know what has happened?"

Bjorn answered very quietly. "Mrs. Bast was with her but I haven't had time to debrief her."

Eric took note that the mention of Amunet set Sookie to sobbing harder. He'd deal with that in good time.

"Alright, go do that, and ask Bobbie and Amelia if they have anything soothing. Once you know what has happened, call Dr. Ludwig if you think it's necessary. Ask the girls to keep the babies occupied if they can, please."

"No problem. I'll check back after we've spoken to Mrs. Bast." Bjorn said very softly, giving Sookie a gentle stoke over her hair because seeing her this way was killing him.

Eric was sending all the love he could to Sookie and he turned back toward the bed. He knew she'd feel safer in bed than anywhere else, so he slowly let her down on it and helped her out of the dry bathing suit, stripped and got in under the covers next to her. As soon as they were covered she wrapped her arms around him like a vice and held on. The sobs were slowing down a bit, but she was shaking all over. "Sookie, my lover, are you cold?"

"Mm-mm" she managed to murmur still sobbing, but more quietly now.

"Sookie, you have someone else's blood on you..."

"Jubal Garner's," she managed to say. "His heart is downstairs."

"You brought it home with you?"

"I didn't mean to- hoo - hoo- ahhhh!" She began crying again, so he just stroked her hair and let her let it out.

Eric was burning with curiosity at how this had come about, but he was very pleased to know that Jubal Garner was no longer a threat. Sookie had killed before - why would she be so upset about it this time? Why had she chosen to do it today, before they'd talked about it?

"I'll tell you in a minute," Sookie snuffled, calling a clean white handkerchief from Eric's luggage into her hand.

"Just take your time, Sweetheart..."

'Would you be mad if I went to sleep?" she asked softly. "I'm so tired all of a sudden."

"Not at all, My Angel. If you can sleep, just drift off." She was asleep before the last word left his mouth. Eric held her for a bit to be sure she was sleeping deeply, then he got a wet wash cloth to wash off her hand so he could think more clearly. He needed to be in top form right now because his wife needed him to be strong enough for them both.

Bjorn was talking to himself as he came back downstairs, telling himself to find out what happened before he killed Amunet. He wasn't sure why it was her fault, but he was sure to the marrow of his bones that it was.

"OK, everybody is interested, so all of you gather around the table here and let's talk about what just happened." Bjorn motioned for everyone to take a seat and they all did, Amunet sitting where Sookie usually did and Bjorn taking a seat across from her.

"OK, so I guess I'm on, huh?" Amunet was nervous about the whole thing because she could tell that both of these men were thinking they could easily put a bullet in her right then and there. She hoped her husband being vampire royalty would be enough to keep that from happening, but she was hearing some distinctly dark thoughts directed at her and the auras around both men was black, red and orange like flames.

"First, whose heart was she holding when you came back," Bjorn asked.

"Jubal Garner's."

"Oh, my!" "Wow!" "Really?"

"Alright, Jerry, tell the guys in the office to record the news when it comes on."

"Right, boss." Jerry said as he headed for the door to pass on the order.

"Can you teleport, Mrs. Bast?"

"No, I never have. I didn't know that would happen."

"Do you have any idea why it worked this time?"

"Well, I've heard that some of the Avalon gems can temporarily give a person powers. I had touched Sookie's earlier, so I guess when I touched her and said what I said..."

"What did you say?"

"I said, "imagine if we were in his house right now."

"You didn't know that might transport you two there?"

"No, it never occurred to me." She was lying, but she told herself that she didn't actually know it would work - it was just a wish.

"Mrs. Bast, this is the second time we've had to deal with consequences of your underestimation of the energy around Sookie. That is my fault. I'm supposed to protect Sookie from possible harm and I've apparently just seen her harmed a great deal."

"She'll be all right, though, right?" Amunet was really worried now.

"We'll see. That is a very strong woman, so I'm curious as to what would affect her so deeply. What haven't you told us, yet?"

"Well, when we popped in there, Garner found us almost immediately..."

"Yes?" Bjorn sat forward.

"He grabbed her arm and I yelled "do it, Sookie, now!" and she did..."

Jerry came back into the room and sat at the end of the table.

"And?" Bjorn prodded her.

"She heard someone scream "DAD!" so she jumped back, his heart still in her hand, and she turned to see his son watching us."

"Oh, god!" Alicia cried out as Bobbie caught her breath and Amelia dropped her head to her chest, shaking it back and forth.

"Are you telling me that Jubal Garner's son saw Sookie standing there with his father's heart in her hand?" Bjorn felt like he might have a stroke. This was very, very bad.

"Yes, that's what happened. As soon as she saw him, she grabbed me and said 'HOME' and we were here and then you saw her collapse."

"Garner has two sons - one in his 20s and one in his teens..." Bjorn informed her.

"This was definitely the younger one. He shrieked and called for help, and when he started towards us, Sookie brought us back here."

Bjorn wanted to kill something and right now, Amunet was looking like a perfect choice. "Let me be very clear" [Bjorn thought to himself that he sounded just like Eric] Sookie knows that Garner's teenaged son saw her murder him?"

"Yes."

"Oh, Goddess - Bjorn, she knows they won't believe him!'' Bobbie nearly cried.

"Right," Amunet said, "when she touched me I could read her thoughts and she's afraid he'll end up in an asylum or something because they won't believe what he tells them. She thinks his life is ruined and she did it..."

Bjorn looked at her expectantly.

"... And she knows Alex will have to kill him at some point in the future."

"She feels like she started the war," Amelia said grimly.

"Alright, do any of you Witches have anything that will soothe Sookie's nerves or should I call Dr. Ludwig?" Bjorn asked as he took out his phone.

"Call Dr. Ludwig," everyone said at once.

"You need to make sure it's safe for the baby," Bobbie reminded him.

Bjorn nodded and stood up. "Is there anything else I should know?"

"No, that's about it," Amunet said quietly. "It all happened very quickly."

"Yeah, that's plenty," Jerry said as he got up.

"Mrs. Bast, I'm sorry to be rude, but would you excuse us now?" Bjorn asked. If he wanted to kill her, Eric was likely to eviscerate her and that wouldn't help Sookie right now. He was also sick of looking at her for the moment, because he knew she was happy about what had happened, even if Sookie was somehow injured.

"Yes, of course," she said very carefully as she stood. "I'll wait until I hear from you before I call on Sookie again. I don't want to press, you know?" she directed her remarks to Bobbie, who looked like the least dangerous among them.

"Yes, I know. She'll call you when she's up to it." Bobbie said very politely, quickly guiding Amunet to the door. "Don't worry - we'll take care of her. If you have any questions call me on this line," Bobbie said quietly as she handed her a calling card. "It'll be all right." Bobbie lied through her teeth because she knew that's what Sookie would want her to say.

When Bobbie came back to the group, Bjorn was on the phone with Ludwig. He said "Alright, Doctor. Yes, that's fine. We'll be here." He turned back to the group. "Ludwig will be here in a minute to give Sookie a sedative that will be safe for the baby. Bobbie, I want you to sit up there with Sookie while we explain this mess to Eric." Bobbie nodded and headed upstairs. He turned to Jerry, "I'm glad Amunet left - it'll be better if Eric doesn't know where she is until he's calm again.

Jerry asked, "You don't think she did this on purpose, do you?" He half hoped Bjorn would say 'yes' so they could kill her.

"I think Amunet had an objective and she achieved it. Damage to Sookie was unintended, but yes, it's most definitely her fault. I don't know if we should allow her around Sookie any more, but we'll have to see what Eric says. If she ever comes around again, I won't let her close enough to touch Sookie and all activities will be cleared by me. I can't fucking believe this happened on my watch." Bjorn hissed, mostly to himself. Ultimately, Bjorn saw this as his fault because Sookie was his to protect. How the hell do you protect a developing Goddess from those who might be overzealous around her? Bjorn wanted Sookie to get her full powers soon, just as Eric did. These problems would cease to be problems at a certain point, but all indications were that it would still be quite a while. He was thinking about asking Dr. Ludwig if there was a way to protect her, but it seemed that if there were, she'd have suggested it by now.

Doctor Ludwig popped into the loft as Bobbie was explaining what had happened to Eric.

"How is your Queen?" Ludwig asked softly as she felt for Sookie's pulse. She placed her hand over Sookie's heart, then gave her a shot and rested her hand on Sookie's forehead. "I'm leaving two heavy sedative pills for her to take in the night. One 4 hours from now, another four hours after that. Be sure that she doesn't miss any doses of Ambrosia, day or night."

"Thank you, Doctor," Eric said softly.

"Don't be surprised if she sleeps a good long while. That shot I gave her will make her trip a little bit, so if she mentions dreams, write them down. She's going to be summoned to Avalon for some healing, so she can get things in perspective. We'll do what we can to help her deal with her grief."

"Doctor, was this expected?" Eric asked.

The Doctor nodded. "We knew that Amunet would push her too hard, and we knew that the boy would be affected somehow. He and his older brother will carry this war into the future, and your son, Alex, will have to finish it with his twin's help. Sookie mustn't blame herself. This was not her doing, but it was her destiny."

"When will she be summoned to Avalon?"

"While she sleeps tonight, so know she'll stay out of it until tomorrow afternoon. Don't worry about the twins. They'll sleep until she needs them. They're the best medicine for her, but she's got to get her guilt in check before they see her again."

Eric turned to Bobbie as the doctor left. "Please stay with her while I talk to Bjorn and Jerry."

"How about I rub her back a little. That soothes her nerves a lot."

Eric gave her a sad smile. "Yes, it does. Thank you."

Bjorn and Jerry were standing over the play pen, watching the boys nap snuggled up to each other with the kitten against their feet. The dragon was at his post by the sliding doors, snoozing while things were quiet. Both Bjorn and Jerry were seething.

Eric came down the stairs barefoot in black jeans and a black tank carrying the listening end of a baby monitor in his left hand, more so he could call up to Bobbie than so he could hear Sookie. He'd have no problem hearing her speak or even think at this distance.

"Gentlemen - we have a problem." Eric stated the obvious.

"Yes, we do." Bjorn agreed. "Eric, I don't blame you if you want to fire me..."

"Nonsense, Bjorn, you are family. We'd no sooner let you go than we would any one of us. No one else would love Sookie the way you two do. This was a failure on several parts, but we're going to learn from this and get stronger. We're at the highest levels of energy and Karma now. It's possible that this was unavoidable. If it was a big mistake, we'd best learn from it. She's suffering and if we might have prevented it, we should have. It can't happen again."

The three of them nodded in agreement.

"What did the doctor say?" Bjorn asked.

"She left medicine for tonight and she'll be here tomorrow around this time to check on her. She doesn't think she's in physical danger but she's worried about Sookie falling into a depression. She's been through so much, and now she feels as if she's sealed Alex's fate and ruined that other boy's life."

"That's not true, though..." Jerry started

"No, we have to be realistic," Eric said. "That may be exactly what happened. That might have been part of the plan all along. Has Sookie ever done magick here?"

"Here, no," Bjorn thought. "Maybe in a different club?"

"If Sookie were going to invoke Freyja, where or how do you think she would do it?

"Her vanity table - that's why she wanted it," Bjorn remembered.

"She did? For magick?" That surprised Eric.

"Yes, when she wants to see Freyja, she sits in front of the mirror and speaks to her. Remember when she saved Aubie? She was watching it all through the mirror when I found her in your room."

"I wonder if it would work for me?" Eric asked, open to their opinions.

"It might," Jerry thought.

"No harm in trying. You two are so closely connected, I'd be surprised if it didn't work," Bjorn agreed.

"Alright. The doctor said that healing will take place during her sleep, so this might not take as long as it seems right now. The sedatives will keep her asleep through tomorrow afternoon. Let's get everyone some dinner and after we've had a chat about her friend, Amunet, I'll try summoning Freyja in her mirror."

Sookie felt as if she were suspended in a mist. She wasn't flying, exactly, but she wasn't touching anything but atmosphere. There were lights changing around her that she finally recognized as a sunrise in progress. She was comfortable here, and that was a relief. She remembered the events of the day, but she felt disassociated from it all right now. Wherever she was, she put her left hand up to the aquamarine and it sent a gentle warmth through her.

"This is how Aubie feels when you hold him, Sookie." Freyja? Nivian? She knew that voice, but whose was it?

There was harp music somewhere around her and she felt herself moving toward it. She could hear water moving, and gradually felt something solid beneath her. She ran her right hand over her resting place, which was covered with a soft quilt. Sookie felt that she was being rocked gently, becoming aware that she was in a boat traveling almost silently through smooth waters.

She slowly opened her eyes to see a blue mist all around, a deep blue sky with brilliant streaks of pink and yellow. It was like a painting, or a dream, but she could feel the crystal with her fingers, and she knew that was absolutely real.

She closed her eyes again, and must have been dreaming because when she awoke, she was being carried by strong arms through huge halls of blue stone. She was gently let down on a fluffy feather bed, and she gave a lazy smile to her carrier, delighted to see it was Sir Robert of Swansea pulling soft sheets over her.

"Sleep well, Milady. You are perfectly safe here," he said softly, giving her an affectionate, reassuring smile, bowing to her and drifting off into the deep blue shadows.

Somehow, Sookie knew she was sleeping. And sleeping. And sleeping. She hoped she wasn't a way from home long, and that she could sleep some more.

"Sookie? Sookie? Can you wake for a minute, Precious?"

Sookie opened her eyes to Nivian sitting on the bed beside her. Tears poured from her eyes though she wasn't really crying.

"I'm so glad to see you, Nivian!" She said in a whisper.

"We're glad to see you, too, Precious. Can you lift your head a little?" She asked as she lifted the gold chain around Sookie'e neck and slipped it gently over her head.

"Where's it going?" Sookie asked sadly.

"We're just going to clean it for you, Precious. If We don't, Lady Amunet will be able to teleport you anywhere she wants whenever she touches you."

"Oh, I wouldn't want that. The most horrible thing happened!"

"Yes, Precious, We know. That's why you've come home for a bit. None of it is your fault."

"But I ruined everything!"

"No, Sookie, you merely moved forward. You didn't create this situation, but you have the opportunity to heal the situation. Wouldn't you like that?"

"Well... yes..." she dozed off again and Nivian kissed her forehead.

Everyone was sitting around the dining table enjoying their steak dinners when Cody Lane came into the penthouse.

"Excuse me, Your Majesty?" he addressed Eric at the head of the table.

"Yes, Lane?"

"There's a man here asking to see you. He says his name is Sir Robert of Swansea."

That surprised all of them, but Eric most of all.

"Can you tell him that the Queen is indisposed, please?"

"He knows that, Sire, he says he specifically needs to speak to you."

"Alright," Eric was shocked - what could Sir Robert of Swansea have to say to him? "Show him in, please. Bjorn, I'd like you to join us." Eric finished his "meal" and wiped his lips, standing up and straightening his shirt. He wished he were wearing shoes and a regular shirt, but it didn't really matter. He hardly needed to impress Sookie's Fae gopher.

Robert came in looking fairly business-like: khaki slacks, blue shirt, navy blazer, black briefcase. He met Eric in the middle of the living area and bowed to him. "Your majesty."

"Sir Robert, welcome. You know Sookie's personal guard, Bjorn Anderson, yes? What can I do for you?"

"I come to deliver a message from Nivian of Avalon and Our Lady Freyja."

"Would you like to sit down?" Eric indicated one of the white chairs and sat in one to the side of it.

"Thank you. I come to issue an invitation. Your Queen, in her sleeping state, is a guest in Avalon. The Ladies feared that the events of today might cause her serious harm and they greatly desire to minimize any negative effect. As I'm sure you know, it was not her fault - she had no control in the situation - and We are aware that she is tender-hearted and might suffer more than necessary if the situation is not addressed immediately. I come to say that you and your sons are welcome, and, indeed, encouraged, to join her there and help her put the situation into perspective. We think your participation would greatly enhance her healing."

"How long would we be gone?" Eric asked hopefully. He'd go anywhere to help Sookie, but he did have responsibilities here.

"Only until tomorrow night. You'd be in your sleeping state as well, and you'd perceive yourselves as staying for about a week. If there were an emergency here, you'd be instantly reachable and your staff could easily reach you with any questions they might have in the mean time."

"Interesting. What would be required for us to go there?"

"I have crystals similar to hers which you would each wear and you'd simply go to bed as usual. I'll be waiting for you on the other side and lead you to her. You could think of it as a family vacation - I think you and your boys would enjoy your time there and I know your Queen would benefit."

"Bjorn, what do you think?"

"If it can help her, and you're still available, it seems like a win-win."

"I agree. I accept your invitation."

"Wonderful," he said, opening the brief case and pulling out two boxes and what turned out to be two bright yellow cell phones. "Please put this on," Robert opened a box and handed Eric a gold chain with a small aquamarine stone on it. He took a slightly larger box over to the play pen where the boys were waking up.

"Hello, Prince Auberon, Prince Alex!" Robert smiled down at them.

"Ah, Waba!" Auberon recognized him instantly as Mama's nice friend and waved to him..

"Ah, Sthur Wabad!" Alex said with a big smile. Alex associated him with the horse drawn carriage that he really liked from their visit in Alfheimr.

Eric and Bjorn each picked up a boy and held them so Robert could slip similar stones on gold chains around their little necks. He handed Eric and Bjorn each a yellow phone.

"These phones will enable you to reach each other instantly. If the need to return here immediately arises, you have only to remove the stone from around your neck, but I don't recommend it unless it's an emergency. It can be very unsettling and should only be done in dire circumstances."

"Alright, now what?"

"You and your boys go to bed, being sure that each of you is touching her if possible."

"That's no problem. Bjorn, are you prepared to take over?"

"Yes, Your Majesty. I'll take the first watch, then Jerry will spell me. We won't leave you alone at any time."

"I'll go to bed and see you at 1 AM" Jerry said as he headed for bed.

"Very good." Eric nodded to them both.

"Um, should we talk about Amunet first?" Bjorn asked.

"If I may," Sir Robert said, "I'd recommend doing that after your visit. You don't want to make any rash decisions. Oh, one more thing..."

"Yes?" Eric asked.

"I need the heart."

Eric was shocked at that, and before he responded Bobbie said, "It's in here," and retrieved the trash bag from the kitchen area. Robert tucked it gently into the briefcase, bag and all.

"Alright, then, How about it, boys? Shall we go see Mommy?"

"AH!" Aubie thought that sounded great.

"Ware di Mamee do?" Alex asked.

"Mommy is in Avalon." Eric explained, "It's a very special place and we're going to go there and see her now, alright?"

"EEAAH!"

"Sir Robert, we will see you shortly." Eric nodded to him as he bowed and turned to go, and he and Bjorn took the babies up stairs. The kitten and dragon followed close behind them.

"Dares Mamee!" Alex said when they got there.

"Yes, but part of Mommy is in Avalon and she's waiting for us, so we're going to bed now, alright?"

"Eeah," Alex nodded.

Bjorn helped him get the boys settled in the co-sleeper, then took his post in the corner as Eric climbed into bed with Sookie. She was on her side facing the boys, so Eric laid her arm over the boys, spooned up behind her and laid his own on top. The kitten curled up behind Alex, the dragon gently climbed up on the foot of the bed, and the boys slept almost instantly. Eric was very still, focused on Sookie's breathing, closed his eyes and was "gone."

**[More soon - next up is the Northmans in Avalon.]**


	112. Chapter 112

**Chapter 112**

Eric sat up, finding himself on a sandy shore at what must have been the onset of dusk or dawn, but he didn't know which. The twins lay next to him asleep, their kitten and dragon in tow as well. He took a deep breath of the salt air, which actually seemed to refresh him. He could see movement far out on the water, and saw a signal light flashing from the center of it.

He stood up and stretched, seeing plainly now that a boat approached him, the signal apparently coming from a mirror reflecting candle light. The boat moved toward him very quickly, and it wasn't long before he recognized the figure of Sir Robert standing on the bow of it. Robert waved to him and Eric waved back, then prepared to pick the boys up so they could go.

He bent down to the twins, each in a blue teddy bear onesie, lying snuggled together on their blue blanket over the sand, stroking Aubie's cheek first.

"Auberon, my little Elf, wake up!" Aubie looked up at him and smiled, rubbing his eyes and reaching up for "Dada." Eric brought him up to his chest for a kiss on the head and a snuggle, then stroked Alex's cheek the same way. "Alexander, my little Vampire, wake up and come to Daddy." Alex giggled and floated up into Eric's arms. "Look out there, boys! See that ship? It's coming to take us to Mommy!"

"Ware di Freyja do, Dadee?" Alex asked as he was looking all around.

"I'm not sure Alex, but I don't think She's far away. This place seems very familiar to me so it's possible She's somewhere very close by."

Aubie patted Eric's cheek. "Um, Mama?"

"We're going to see Mama now, Auberon. Look out there - see the ship?"

"Sip?" Aubie looked where Dada was pointing. He didn't know what that thing was, but he saw a familiar face.

"See Sir Robert?"

"Ah! Waba!" Aubie said in his "cute" little voice, making Eric smile. He touched his forehead to Aubie's and teased him. "He'll take us to see Mommy right now."

That seemed to soothe Auberon, who let out a sigh and rested his little head on Eric's shoulder, entwining his fingers in Dada's silken hair. Alex was looking at everything around them - the sand, the sea, the dunes back behind them, birds circling above - trying to take it all in, and Eric could tell he liked the salt spray from the water.

The ship came very close to shore, but Eric walked out to meet it since he had no shoes on. The dragon grew large and the kitten jumped on his back, then they followed Eric and the boys to the boat. Once there, the kitten went to one of the five attendant women, whom Eric correctly assumed were Priestesses, and the dragon jumped up onto the deck, shrinking to normal size as he landed.

"Hello, your Majesty! Hello, Prince Auberon, Prince Alexander!" Robert greeted them enthusiastically, petting the kitten and patting the dragon's head. "Hello, Erin! Welcome home, Puff! Your Majesty, we don't have long to go, but if you'd like to sit down or go below ..."

"That's quite alright - the boys will want to see where we are going, won't you boys?"

"Eeah!" "Ah-h-h!' (Aubie's 'yes' became a sweet yawn" Dada knew his little Elf needed a nap... or a hug from Mommy.

The boat moved back out to sea and around the point of land at the visible end of the coast.

Alex didn't know where to look first - this was all new! He would watch the water splashing against the side of the boat, then he'd look at the inside of the boat, the ropes, the seats, the people rowing behind them, the people lifting the sail (Eric noted that the ship had both oars and sails so it was a very versatile small craft.)

Alex pointed at the huge sail above them, "Woogie, Dadee - wadiz dat wyd?"

Sir Robert watched the babies very closely, always amazed to see such small babies speaking. He was also amazed by how much they seemed to understand.

"That white thing," Eric explained, "is called a sail. As Vikings we were very skilled in the use of sails to make the most of the wind and take us swiftly to our destination. Our people sailed the whole world long before any other people had."

"Wadiz picta?" Alex asked, pointing to the large design on the sail.

"That picture the is World Tree - in Sweden we called it Yggdrasil. It represents the whole world and everything in her. It's roots reach into every realm - that of humans, giants, and of the gods."

"Yggdrasil! Ah wyg dat twee!" Alex said with such absolute certainty that Eric cracked up and Sir Robert felt comfortable enough to laugh, too and the Priestesses joined in softly.

"Can they speak Swedish?" Sir Robert asked, noticing how clearly Alex had pronounced the tree's name.

"A little. They seem to be able to say certain Swedish names perfectly - much more so than they can English words, though I can usually figure out what they mean."

"Obee, woogie, dat twee isth Yggdrasil!"

'Ydda!"

"Ygg-dra-sil" Alex repeated slowly.

Aubie focused really hard and repeated, "Ygg-dra-sil."

"Excellent, Auberon!" Eric praised him and kissed his cheek, which tickled him so that he scrunched his little fists up under his chin.

"Dood, Buggy!"

"You're a very good teacher, Alex!"

"Dayoo!"

As the boat came around the point to the north, they quietly slipped into a heavy fog so that no shore was visible.

"Wadiz dat?" Alex held his arms up and asked as they moved through the fog.

Sir Robert answered, "the Mists of Avalon. We have to go through it to get to your Mama."

"How do they navigate in this?" Eric was curious since there were no stars visible.

"We need a specialist for that. Excuse me." Robert nodded a bit and went down into the area below deck, returning with a beautiful auburn-haired woman in a long blue gown.

"Lady Ravenna of Avalon - King Eric Northman, Prince Auberon, and Prince Alexander."

She spoke in a soft voice with a heavy Irish brogue,"I'm so pleased to meet you all! This is our wee Prince Auberon? He's beautiful!" She stroked Aubie's cheek and he giggled and reached for her, and she shook his little hand and kissed the back of it, which thrilled Aubie to no end and made Alex laugh, too.

"Obee wyg dat kissthesth!"

"Oh, my! They speak!?" Ravenna was shocked in the very best way. "I thought that was a myth!" She kissed each boy on the cheek and told them "Everyone will be in love with you both the minute they see you!"

"Me an Obee bof!" Alex proudly repeated, showing that he knew that word, too. Alex was hoping that wherever Mamee was, that there were lots of pretty ladies like this one to show off for. Maybe they'd have "dompamy!"

"Alright, I think we're ready now, Sir Robert."

Robert guided Eric and the boys back a little so that Lady Ravenna stood alone at the front of the boat. A couple of other Priestesses in similar dress came up to stand beside them as Ravenna raised both hands to the fog chanting in Welsh:

"Gwrando fi, O Meistres Avalon, yn dod â ni Hafan! Dewch ni Hafan!

Dewch i ni gartref, Danu!"

[_Hear me, O Mistress of Avalon, bring us Home! Bring us Home! Bring us home, Danu!_]

All of the Priestesses and Sir Robert repeated "Dewch ni Hafan! Dewch ni Hafan!" [_Bring us home_]

The Mists began to swirl wildly around them. Alex and Aubie surprised Eric by flying from his arms, each taking a place beside Ravenna, holding her hands as they hovered by her shoulders. Suddenly the sky before them opened, the mists parting and receding at once to reveal a gloriously sunny morning sky. The Priestesses all drew breath or cried out in happy surprise, applauding Ravenna's and the boys' magick and laughing.

"Well, that was easy!" Ravenna laughed, kissing each boy's hand in hers.

"Your boys can already do magick, your Majesty?" Sir Robert laughed in delight and admiration at their work.

"Yes, they do have some abilities. I take it they were helpful?"

"I've never seen such an easy parting of the Mists in my life!" Ravenna laughed as each baby hugged her then returned to Daddy's strong arms. "They knew exactly what to do - I'm not even winded!" she laughed.

"Daddy is very proud of you!" He told each boy with great enthusiasm as he kissed their cheeks. He realized, to his surprise, that it was very good to be Father to a pair of twin Witches. He couldn't wait to tell Sookie!

Now they approached an island sparkling in the sun. The greens in the grass and trees there were luminous, and there was a structure of some sort that was built of huge blue stones that looked like quartz. It rose up above the lower tree line but in front of distant mountains.

"Dadee, wadiz dat boo?"

"A castle, I guess? Eric said, looking at Robert.

"The Cenobium, actually," Robert explained, "It's built like a walled city but it's all one structure. Most of the active Priestesses of Avalon live there. It's a very nice community, very peaceful. There's always a place there for you, Your Majesty, and your boys."

"Even though we're men?" Eric was half joking, but he knew that men were few and far between on Avalon.

"You are Sookie's King, the boys are her babies - As long as you have a home with Sookie, you shall have a home here. As for Alexander, and especially Auberon, this is their birthright. Considering what we've just seen, I think we can be very sure they'll have no trouble finding Avalon as they grow."

The ship was pulling up to a dock where a carriage waited next to the road above.

"Niall cannot come to Avalon?" Eric thought not, but wanted to be sure.

"No, never. He's tried every way to get in here, but it will never happen - especially not while Nivian is Lady of the Lake."

"We've been told he'll try to kill Sookie and take the aquamarine she wears."

"He will never succeed in harming Sookie, and his quest for the stone is futile - it wouldn't work for him. The Witte Wieven have seen to that. If he ever tries to touch it, the stone will likely strike him dead whether it's around Sookie's neck or not. Now that he's an outlaw, he needn't bother to try. Even if he found a way through the Mist, he'd be killed on sight here for what he did to Titania and tried to do to Sookie. There's no quarter for him anywhere in Avalon."

"That's good to know," Eric said, knowing Niall would still try, as he carried the babies down the wooden ramp that was set from the ship down onto the dock.

As they crossed the dock, Aubie called Eric's attention. "Dada!"

"What is it, Auberon?"

"Mama seep!" he pointed to the Cenobium.

"Mama is asleep?"

"Ah!" he said as he patted Eric's cheek and pointed to the huge building again. "Mama!"

"Mama is in there?"

"Ah!"

"Dadee, Obee sthay Mamee ith in dare!" Alex pointed to the building, too. "Wadiz id?"

"It's called a Cenobium - CEN-O-BI-UM" Eric pronounced it slowly so Alex could try it.

"Sthen-no-bee-yum"

"Very good, Alex!"

"Obee, Sthen-no-bee-yum"

Bouncing his head with each syllable, "Sthim-mumb" was the best Aubie could manage, but Eric and Sir Robert both praised him for his effort which tickled him. Aubie reached toward Sir Robert and with Eric's nod of approval Sir Robert brought him into his arms.

"You know, I don't think Auberon has ever done that before." Eric said. "He'll go to different girls in our family but I've never seen him let a man other than myself or Bjorn hold him."

"I hope Prince Auberon knows that I am his loyal friend and servant." Sir Robert looked in Aubie's eyes as he spoke and Aubie laughed and clapped his little hands. He wasn't sure why, but Sir Robert was sure Auberon understood his meaning, even if he didn't know the words. These children were so alert! Their big eyes took in everything around them and they never seemed to fuss or interrupt. And they knew how to help the Priestess part the Mists! Only the most well-trained and Goddess-touched even tried that these days. It was getting harder and harder to cross over. He wished to himself that these babies would change all that, and bring magick in the waking world back into balance as it should be - the way it was before the Brigant clan upset the balance in Elfyria and before Christianity swept its bloody way westward through Europe.

"Sir Robert?" Eric could tell the man had a lot on his mind, but he needed a little direction from here.

"Yes, sorry, I was distracted for a minute. This is our carriage." Robert explained as they arrived at and climbed into the open red carriage pulled by 2 white horses. "The Cenobium gates are just about a quarter of a mile from here, then I'll take you to Queen Sookie. As Prince Auberon pointed out, she's asleep, but she'll awake when she sees the three of you. I think she'll be very surprised." The driver turned to Sir Robert and handed him a pair of boots for Eric.

"Thank you!" Eric was happy to have something for his feet, "I hope the surprise is a welcome one," he said mostly to himself.

"Have no doubt of that, your Majesty - I've never seen a wife or a mother more in love with her family. I think it will be a relief to her to know that you can see her here when you want."

"We'll have to have an invitation, though..."

"Not really - not if you're wearing your stones. They don't need to be on a chain - you could always have them set in a ring, or keep them in your pocket. I notice Auberon already has some small pendent that he wears...?"

"Yes, that's a charm Sookie manifested for him - it keeps him safe around Vampires."

"May I ask - where did she find the spell for it?"

"Titania's Book, I believe."

"The one in the Alter Room in the Castle in Elfyria?"

"Yes, I think that's the one."

"The one NIall can never touch," Robert said with great satisfaction. "She'll find a lot of useful information in it - it always amuses me to think of what a thorn in NIall's side it has been. A blessed and protected anchor for the true power of the throne, which he will never truly own for himself."

Eric laughed and the boys giggled just a little because he did. A little way past the dock and up onto the main road, the carriage turned a corner and was on a golden paved road leading down a long processional avenue toward the Cenobium that rose up into the sky, blue stones gleaming in the sun, front gates swung wide open by Amazon warriors as their carriage drew near.

"Ah wyg dat boo, Dadee."

"Yes, it's very pretty," Eric agreed.

Auberon seemed to wake up a bit more and began to bounce in Robert's arms. "Mama! Mama!"

Sookie sat up straight. "Aubie?" She looked around her. "Where am I? Oh... Avalon."

"Mama!"

She heard Aubie call out to her again and she threw back the soft quilts, not noticing she was wrapped in a diaphanous soft blue gown of sheer layers. It wasn't really see-through, but if she'd been awake, she'd have covered up; All she knew was that she heard her baby calling her, and she was going to him as fast as she can. She ran to the end of the hall she was in and found the main stairs down to the first floor. There were Priestesses, Witches and Goddesses in various spots who all smiled with approval, knowing who Sookie was and figuring this had to be baby-related. Sookie burst out the front hall and onto the golden pavement just as the family's carriage arrived.

"MAMA!" Aubie shrieked, so happy to see her, and flew into her arms before anyone else could move.

Sookie caught him and hugged him and kissed him, shifting him to her left arm as Alex followed close behind. Eric was trying not to look frantic as he waited for his turn to hug her, moving behind her and wrapping his arms around the three of them, nearly sobbing with relief. Everyone at the gates and on the street stopped and watched them, the aura they generated easily visible here, flowing pinks and yellow like sheets of sheer fabric and satin ribbons blowing and billowing around them.

Sir Robert was frozen watching, amazed at the loving energy that surrounded them. Women on the street were softly commenting - "Ah, how sweet" "What magick!" "It's really them, isn't it? Oh, how exciting!"

Sookie had tears flowing from her eyes, "Eric, I'm so happy to see you, and my babies, Mama is so glad you're here! I didn't think you could get to me here!"

"We had a little help, but we managed with Sir Robert's guidance and some of the Priestesses here."

"Sir Robert? Oh, thank you so much!" Sookie said with great sincerity.

"My pleasure, Your Majesty. Your boys are already learning to make the crossing themselves. They'll be quite adept at it by the time they are grown, I'll wager. They take after their Mother."

Eric just noticed that a lot of people were walking in pairs or small groups, moving around them and on into the Cenobium door. "Are we interrupting something?" He asked Sir Robert.

"No, we're right on time! Shall we go in?" Robert managed to get them moving into the Cenobium taking them straight back to the Great Hall. People were streaming in now, as they found themselves in a room that was nearly as big as the Bon Temps football stadium. Three sides of the room were lined with long wooden benches and tables. The front of the room had a dais that was set to the side, and a long set of tables filled with a grand smorgasbord of amazing foods Sookie couldn't wait to try. Sookie's group were steered to the center of the far table, where Sookie was given the center chair. Eric was seated to her left, Nivian to her right, Alex in a high chair next to Eric. They started to put Aubie into a highchair squeezed in between Nivian and Sookie, but he refused to let go of Sookie, so they brought her a pretty mint green sling and helped her get settled with him at her breast. Sir Robert sat next to Alex, which was his choice because he wanted to see just how verbal Alex was, knowing that would give him an idea of Auberon's abilities, too.

"I'm sorry about this..." Sookie started to say to Nivian as she fussed with Aubie, but she shushed her.

"Shhh, Precious. Of course he wants to stay with you! He has known what life is like without you, and he'll never go back to it."

"Am I spoiling him, though?"

"Sookie," Nivian squeezed her hand warmly, "you know how Auberon spent his early life - has a child ever deserved to be spoiled more than a baby hidden from his Mother?"

Sookie tried to reply, but tears suddenly dripped down her cheeks and before anyone could do anything else Eric put his arm around her, kissed her and whispered, "It's all better now, Sweetheart. Everything is all right."

"Yeah," Sookie said, not meaning to sound so defeated, but figuring Eric didn't know the whole story. She was fighting back tears, but she laughed when Alex teleported himself onto the table and toddled past Eric to see her, stopping right in front of her, grabbing her cheeks and saying. "Nah nah, Mamee, ap-pee."

"See that, Precious?" Nivian teased, "the smartest person in the room thinks you should be happy!"

Eric laughed at that, and Sookie took a deep breath and decided to focus on where they were right now. "OK, but I need to talk to you later."

"You can talk to me any time, Sookie, you know that," Eric reassured her.

"Exactly - why be sad when Our Ladies have thrown this marvelous brunch in your honor?" Nivian told her.

"Huh? My honor?"

"Yes, Sookie - you don't realize it, but you saved over a million lives today."

"I did?"

"You did, Precious. In matters of War, the fight is over when the King is killed."

"But that boy..."

"Will grow up to kill a few million himself, but that's why Alex has been born, to fight that generation of hatred."

"But would he have grown up that way if he hadn't seen me..."

"Sookie - you did what you were supposed to do," Nivian said as a young boy in a deep blue tunic and black leggings placed golden dishes in front of each of them.

"Watermelon!" Sookie, "Eric, lookie! Watermelon!" Everyone in the party laughed at that and Sookie let it go for a minute. Right now, in this place, she was safe, her family was together, and they were all healthy and unharmed. She'd feel bad again later.

Nivian smiled at Eric and Sir Robert, seeing that Sookie's natural exuberance wasn't far below the surface. 'A week here was just what she needed,' she thought to herself, 'some picnics with her beautiful babies will get her centered again.'

Suddenly music began to play - tambourines and flutes, gypsy-sounding stuff and there was a blonde Goddess (Sookie didn't know how she knew that, but she did) with tribal tattoos on Her arms and tummy and lots of coins and gems on Her bra and on Her scarf at Her waist. She was dripping with gold jewelry, dancing in the center of the tables, but wait - She was belly-dancing!?

'Do people really do that?' Sookie thought to herself and Eric laughed.

"Dantheen!" Alex, now standing on the table in front of his Dadee, jumped and applauded while the whole group of what Sookie figured was about 500 people - more or less 500, and more or less actual people - seated at the tables or milling around all started clapping in time with the music as Sookie realized there were more men here than she expected.

"Huzzah! Huzzah!" The crowd called out as the beautiful Goddess did her sacred and sexy dance around the room, leaping and jiggling and shaking. People were enthralled. Sookie was amazed - How did she do that move? Soon, two boys in blue tunics brought in a bushel basket of golden apples! The crowd then started chanting "Idunn! Idunn! Idunn!" at which Sookie looked at Eric, who was clapping as enthusiastically as she'd ever seen him, questioning, and he answered "It's Her name, Sookie - She's Scandinavian! Idunn! Idunn!"

"They do belly dancing in Scandinavia? It's a Swedish thing?"

Nivian laughed loudly, "It's not a Scandinavian thing, Precious, it's a Goddess thing!"

The basket was set in the middle of all the tables, and the Goddess Idunn continued Her dance around the room, throwing golden apples to different people at the tables.

The crowd were all cheering and thanking Her as She spread them around the room.

Idunn came shimmying toward Eric who laughed wickedly, the way Sookie'd only ever heard him laugh THAT way when they were alone and "busy."

"Hey!" She said, mostly kidding, but not completely.

"She's almost as sexy as you are, Sookie - but not quite," he laughed as Idunn tossed him an apple, and he took a big suggestive bite of it. Idunn winked at Sookie as She gave her one, then another "for Prince Auberon!" and she tossed one directly to Alex who was still standing on the table, loving everything he saw and heard. This place was pun! Alex watched Dadee eating his apple and tried to figure out how to bite it. While he worked on it, Eric said,"May I?" holding his hand out so Alex let him take it. Eric pulled out a big pocket knife and Alex shouted, "sthords por FIDEEN!" like a baby Viking should.

Eric laughed, "Knife for EATING!" as he split the apple in half cross ways. Eric handed half of it to Alex, who noticed the five seeds arranged in the middle.

"Woogie, Dadee, pendago!"

"My word!" Nivian exclaimed, as Sir Robert said "wonderful!"

"Sookie did you teach Alex about pentacles?"

"Nope - didn't have to. He came already knowing what most magical equipment is."

"Really?" Sir Robert was blown away. Nivian wasn't a bit surprised.

Alex looked the half apple over and decided to attack it from the cut side - yep, that worked - and he was surprised at the taste, "Ap-po, Dadee?"

"Yes, Alex, very good!" Eric said affectionately.

"Abuh?" Aubie looked up from Sookie's breast, making everyone in their group laugh.

"You've got one, too, Aubie - you want Daddy to cut it for you?" Sookie asked him as she covered up and helped him crawl up on the table with Alex. "I'm sorry they're on the table, everybody,"

"Nonsense, Sookie - the royal progeny can do whatever they want," Nivian reminded her.

Sookie knew she was serious but it struck her as funny anyway, so she laughed and the boys laughed with her. Eric had given Aubie half of his apple, too, and Aubie was sniffing it. He tapped it with his finger, unable to dip and taste the way he liked, so he licked it and found that it was, indeed, apple.

"Aubie, I just remembered," Sookie said, "you don't have any teeth, do you?"

On hearing that, Alex opened his mouth wide, still full of apple, and pointed to his own teeth. Aubie looked where Alex was pointing, then stuck his finger in his mouth. What was that? He opened his mouth the way Alex had so Mama could see.

"Hey! Aubie does have teeth!"

Alex looked to see Aubie had teeth and clicked his teeth at him. Aubie imitated the extreme biting motion Alex had done, surprised at the sensation.

Alex held his apple to show Aubie, "Woogie, Obee, byd id dare!"

Aubie tried to hold his apple just like Alex did and took a bite from the edge, then chewed it with his mouth open like Alex. "Abuh!" He was satisfied this was apple and that was a good thing. The adults - not just their immediate party, but most of the adults in the room - were watching the two boys discovering teeth and golden apples.

When everyone had received at least one apple, Idunn turned her attention to Alex. She danced over to him and he gigged, "Well, little Prince, I hear you like to dance!"

Alex was beside himself. "Dadee, dantheen?"

"Ask Mommy." Eric teased him.

"Mamee, me an..." he looked at the Goddess as Eric said "Lady Idunn"

"Mamee, me an Waby Eedunn dantheen."

"Yes, go for it!' Sookie said in mock exasperation.

"EEAH!" Alex jumped up and Idunn swept him up and around and they danced all around the room so everybody could see a baby Vampire dance.

"Auberon," Eric asked softly, "do you want to dance with Lady Idunn like Buddy is?"

"Nah nah, Mama," Aubie said, reaching toward Sookie, which made her heart melt.

'"You'd rather stay with Mommy?" Eric wanted to make sure he knew what he meant.

"Ah sthay ma Mama," said in a way that just broke Eric's heart. He put his apple down long enough to crawl around and get back in Sookie's lap, where she helped him get back to business and gnaw the hell out of that apple.

"I told you, Sookie - you will never lose that one," Eric said, wiping a tear away. Sookie kissed Aubie's head and helped with his apple and thought to herself that that's exactly what she wanted, too. As silly as it seemed, she was always just a little jealous when Alex danced with other women.

Sir Robert was nearly in tears, too. He was very proud that their Faerie Prince understood what a lucky little boy he was.

Idunn was finished showing Alex off, setting him back in front of Eric. Alex stayed on his feet and the second she let him go, he toddled over past Sookie to Nivian.

"Ah! Wadiz ur dame?"

"I'm Nivian."

"Nivian is the Lady of the Lake, Alex," Sookie said, hoping Alex wasn't going to insult or upset anyone."

"Aru ma Mameeth teaster?"

"Yes, I'm your Mommy's teacher from a long, long time ago."

"Ahm Pwinz Awegs."

"I'm very pleased to meet you, Alex."

"Dat's ma buggy, Obee," he pointed to Aubie sitting on Sookie's lap.

"Yes, I've met Aubie before."

"Buggy itha Eff. Ahm Bampaya."

Nivian was beyond amused, these children were enchanting.

"So I've heard."

"Dowoo wyg Bampaya?"

"You and your Daddy are the first Vampires I've met in a very, very long time."

"Dowoo wyg me an ma Dadee?"

"Yes, I think I like you very much."

Alex looked at Sookie. "She means good, Alex. Very much means very good."

"Vewy buch meenth vewy dood," Alex repeated to himself to try to remember.

"Ah wygu" Alex said and reached for her, and she happily hugged him. He stroked Her flame colored hair, "Ah wyg ur ayr. urs ith owage an ma ayr ith white." Alex got comfortable sitting on the edge of the table between Nivian and Sookie and settled in for a good long chat with "Mameeth teaster"

Eric was relieved to hear Nivian's answers, and he was very proud at Alex's bravery in walking up to Her. He could tell that Nivian was enjoying Alex's attention, and Alex was using quite a few words Eric had never heard him use before.

"Sookie?" Eric spoke to her telepathically.

"Yes?"

"Is it my imagination, or is Alex using a lot of new words?"

"I noticed it, too! I wonder what's causing that?"

"I don't know, but I think we should find out."

[**OK, this party is just getting started. More to come in a few days or so. Thanks for sticking with me.**]


	113. Chapter 113

**LATE Chapter 113**

"Mo ap-poh, Dadee," Alex asked as he waddled back over to Eric's place at the banquet table.

"Here you are, my son," Eric teased him, very proud of him and his brother. "Should I cut it in half, or can you eat the whole thing?"

"Mo an mo ap-poh!" Alex laughed as he took a big bite of the second half of his apple.

"I think he's saying he can eat all you'll give him, Sweetie!" Sookie laughed as she continued to breast feed Aubie and play with his little fingers. "Now that I think about it - why are golden apples edible?"

Nivian laughed with delight at that. "Sookie, Indunn provides all the gods and Goddesses one golden apple per day to keep us all young and beautiful! Don't you like the taste?"

"It's the best apple I ever had," Sookie laughed, "I just didn't understand it."

"You don't remember them from your stay with Freyja?"

"No, I guess I don't. They're really good though. Will we ever get them when we're in our regular home?"

"At some point they'll begin to appear for all four of ..."

Nivian was interrupted by a bunch of small fairies, dogs, cats, wolf pups and three small dragons chased each other playfully through the room. As they reached the head table, Erin jumped up on the table where Alex stood and Puff stopped in front of it, standing on his back legs so he could put his claw on the table and see what was going on.

"AH, PUP!" Alex waved to the dragon as the kitten butted his legs with its head and made him sit down so she could rub her face against his cheek. Alex was cracking up which made Aubie try to turn around so Sookie covered up and helped Aubie climb back up on the table.

"Ah, Pa!" Aubie smiled and made the "come here" motion with his hands. Puff held his head down so Aubie could pet him, then he tickled Aubie's ear with his long tongue.

"Hey, I was wondering where you guys were," Sookie laughed, happy vibes ringing through their family bond in big round waves. "You brought them with you?!" Sookie beamed at Eric, as he kissed her cheek and then petted each animal.

"The invitation was extended to the entire family," he explained. "They both originated here, didn't they, Lady Nivian?"

"Yes, they did. The kitten has been around a very long time, as you know. The dragon is just a whelp, but he's very bright..."

"Yeah, he is," Sookie agreed, scratching Puff behind the ears as Aubie gave him a kiss on the nose. Bowls of food were put down in the middle of the tables so the animals could have treats, too, so Puff and Erin would go eat a little, come back for pets or cuddles, then go back and eat again.

"Me dare, Dadee!" Alex pointed to the floor where all the pets were eating. He wasn't asking, he was telling, so before even Eric could move, Alex was down amongst the pets, running after them. Aubie wanted to play, too so he shifted into yellow kitten form and jumped off the table.

"Oh, no!" Sookie panicked a little. "Eric, there are wild animals in that group! I don't want the babies to get hurt!"

"It's all right, Precious! They're just having fun," Nivian comforted her. "No one in this room would tolerate any real danger to either Prince. This is the safest place they'll ever play with others, and you know they won't get to do that very often. They're more able to be normal kids here where their talents are appreciated. Look, here come the servers with our Ambrosia!"

Golden goblets were set down at a few places around the room, then they were filled from big green bottles like the one Sookie had at home. Nivian, Sookie and Eric were served first, which surprised the Northmans.

"Is this for me?" Eric asked, thinking that there was some mistake.

"Yes, Eric, that's for you," Nivian reassured him, "You'll be enjoying doses whenever you visit us here - it will take less energy for you to remain here so you don't wear yourself out."

"Can he ever drink it at home?" Sookie wanted to share it because it tasted so good.

"It wouldn't hurt him, but he only really needs it when he's crossing over. It'll make it easier for him to get here, or to Freyja's home in Folkvangr, but he already has the powers it would give him there."

"What about the boys?"

"They're getting doses from your breast milk, Precious."

"Well, Aubie is, but Alex is taking less and less milk."

"If we find him lagging at all, we might have you give him a thimble full with his last bottle of the night. He's already got such strong magick that it would only be a precaution. Eric, you normally give the boys a bottle just before dawn?"

"Yes, I do." Eric was surprised Nivian knew that.

"If you think he needs it, give him just a bit before you tuck him in with Sookie. You'll know if he needs it."

"Alright, I will." Eric didn't know how he would know, but if Nivian said he would, he didn't doubt her. He didn't dare. No one had even hinted at being unkind to him, but he knew this was dangerous territory for a vampire no matter who his mother, or wife, might be.

"Sookie, what would you like to eat? You can have literally anything you wish," Nivian coached her so she'd understand how the banquet worked.

"Well, I know you probably don't have it here, but I'd really like some fried chicken, and french fries..."

Before she finished her thought one of the pages in the blue tunics put a plate of fried chicken and waffles in front of her.

"Chicken and waffles! Awesome!" She wasted no time tearing into a big juicy breast with a perfect crust, and dipping it in syrup. When she let out a big "MM-mm!" Alex came over from the throng of pets to see what Mamee was eating. He knew that sound she makes when she was eating something good and he wanted some, too. He felt "undwy-er" here than he ever did before so he was going to eat a lot of all those good foods he smelled. He and Aubie flew up onto the table and the pages had them both instantly set wearing blue bibs, giving each boy a bowl of chicken nuggets, little waffle squares and syrup. To top it all off, a girl in a blue tunic brought a huge platter of french fries for them all to share.

"Woogie, Dadee, ah ava stheewup!" Alex was beside himself. "Ware di Bhord do?"

"Bjorn is at home, Sweetie," Sookie told him. "You'll have to let Daddy feed you waffles."

"Ah gan do id!" Alex said as he pushed his whole fist into the little dish of syrup. "Wach me!"

Eric laughed loudly, "I'm not sure if you said to "watch you" or "wash you" but it looks as if both will be necessary, my son!"

"Mm-mmph! Alex nodded enthusiastically as he shoved too many waffle pieces into his mouth.

"Alex, slow down, Sweetie!" Sookie was afraid he'd choke, because she hadn't quite figured out yet that Aubie could choke, but Alex couldn't.

Naturally, Alex replied with his mouth full. "Ahm othay, Mamee!" he laughed as he swallowed."ah justh wyg id stho mush!" He held his hands open out the the sides, to emphasize how much he liked it, and Sookie tried not to laugh, but failed.

"I know you do, Sweetie, but you can't eat it all at once," She said, trying to be serious, but Alex wasn't. For some reason Alex thought that was hysterically funny and he spit a little bit of waffles out as he laughed.

Sookie wanted to be strict with him, but Eric was laughing so hard she knew it wouldn't do any good. Eric wiped Alex's chin with his bib, and kept him talking so he'd eat more slowly.

Aubie reached for Sookie, saying, "wapful, Mama!" He had never fed himself before so he wasn't sure what to do. He knew Alex was doing it wrong, but he didn't know why. Bumby always seemed to know how to do things, but Mama wasn't smiling like he liked her to.

"Whatcha want, Aubie?" Sookie stopped eating long enough to stroke his cheek. "You want me to feed you? Or do you want to try it yourself?"

"Ah, Mama," Aubie reached for Sookie, but Sir Robert intervened.

"Prince Auberon, would you let me help with your breakfast?"

"Ah!" Aubie liked that idea, so he crawled past Alex and Dada over to Sir Robert, and Sookie passed Aubie's bowl down to them. Aubie dipped his finger in the syrup to confirm what it was, then was quite content to sit there and let Sir Robert put little bits of waffle and chicken in his mouth. Sookie thought it was sweet that every time Robert gave Aubie a bite of something, he clapped his little hands as he chewed.

"Dadee, Obee wyg stheewup, doo!"

"Yes, I see that Auberon likes syrup."

"Dat nah Bhord."

"Not, that's not Bjorn feeding Aubie, it's Sir Robert."

"Sthuh Waba, Aubie wyg dat!"

"Yes, he seems to like it almost as much as you do," Robert laughed.

"Dadee, Sthuh Waba itha eff, wyg Obee an Mamee."

"Yes, he is." Eric was hoping this was going to stay cute, and that Alex wouldn't insult anyone unintentionally.

"Wostha Witches 'ere! an Goddessthes. Ah wyg dese Witches - wando do magick!"

"What kind of magick would you like to do, Prince Alex?" Sir Robert didn't think Eric would mind him contributing to the conversation.

Alex held his hands in front of him and said, "wowwypopths!" and there were two little cherry safety suckers with the loop handle just as he'd seen Mamee do before.

"Excellent, Alex!" Eric was proudly. "But there are only two - you need enough for your little friends down there," he pointed to the throng of animals and kids on the floor.

"Mo gandee?"

"Yes, enough candy for all of them."

Alex looked at the group playing in front of them then clenched his fists and closed his eyes saying, "GANDEE!" and everyone in the group had a little sucker just like the two Alex first called up. Then a beam of light from the windows above hit Alex in the eye and made him sneeze the cutest little sneeze, and suddenly everyone else in the room had one, too. The room applauded Prince Alex, who waved at people then tried to take the clear plastic off his candy.

"May I help you, my son?"

"Eeah, daygid off, pweezth."

"Good, Alex. You could also say, "Unwrap this, please."

"Unwap dis, pweezth?"

"Yes, that's right," Eric put the cherry red lollypop in Alex's mouth as a page came up to take the wrapper, then she continued around the rest of the room collecting discarded cellophane.

"Eric, did he just..." Sookie had been occupied with her plate of delicious food and was just becoming aware of what Alex had done.

"Yes, he did - for the whole party, apparently,"

"I had no idea he could manifest something like that!" Sookie was feeling overwhelmed again - not an unfamiliar feeling, she thought, so what's the big deal at this point?

Eric assured her that "Neither of us did, but as you can see, he can."

"It's possible that the children have more powers here," Sir Robert told them. "Their innate gifts may be multiplied in the Fae realm."

"Is it possible that their powers of speech are being amplified?" Eric asked what Sookie was thinking.

"Very possible."

"So when we go home," Sookie asked, "they won't necessarily have these abilities?"

"It's unlikely either of them could manifest something from thin air so easily, but there's a strong chance that they'll retain their new language abilities."

"Wadiz wangwage abiwiddes?"

Eric and Sookie looked at each other, then back at Alex.

"Those are big words, Sweetie," Sookie started, not really sure what to say.

"Ahm dokeen vewy good." He emphasized the "g" on ''good" to show he could say it now

"Yes, you are! Do you feel any different?" Sookie asked

"Fee-uh?"

"How do I explain feeling to him?" Sookie wondered.

"I have no idea, Sweetheart," Eric said with almost as much amazement as Sookie.

"Dadee, wadiz wangwage abiwiddes?" Alex wanted an answer!

"Language abilities are how well you can speak," Eric said, but Alex didn't know that "well" word yet, or "speak."

"We-wew?"

"Good, Alex - language abilities are how good you can talk," Sookie. Eric looked at her suppressing a laugh, "Yeah, yeah, I know it's not good grammar, but he knows those words."

"He may know many more words before the week is up," Eric teased her, beginning to see the humor in the situation.

"Great, I really need a 6 month old who can quote Shakespeare," Sookie said, not kidding even a little bit.

"Mamee, wadiz Buggy?" Alex asked as Aubie crawled back down the table to Sookie.

"Buggy? You mean Buddy? Aubie is your Buddy?"

"Bud-dee," Alex repeated, really emphasizing the "d" sounds. "Obee isth my bud-dee!"

"Bumby takeen!" Aubie piped up.

"Yes, Sweetie, Buddy is talking, isn't he?"

"Canny, peas?"

"What?" Sookie was shocked - now Aubie was doing it!

Aubie pointed to his lollipop then tapped Sookie's face, wanting Mama to get on with the unwrapping. "Canny, peas, Mama!"

Sookie just looked at him.

"Sookie, are you alright?" Eric was a little concerned that she seemed spacey all of a sudden. "Here, Auberon, let Daddy unwrap it for you." Eric helped Aubie get his lollipop out of the wrapper and he slurped it up happily as he balanced on the edge of the table in front of Sookie, swinging his pudgy little legs.

"DAYT!" Alex said, holding his hands out before him so that a chocolate cake appeared in front of him. He grabbed two big handsful and shoved it in his mouth, getting cake all over himself and anyone else in the area. Aubie giggled like crazy and clapped, lollipop still in his mouth, as Sookie tried to keep him from swallowing it.

The rest of the room was watching Alex breathlessly, as he stood up on the table. "Dadee, wadiz dat?"

"That is Cake, Alex - K-K-KayK," Eric sounded out the word for him, curious now to see how much the boys could learn this trip.

"Kay-ke" Alex repeated carefully

"Yes..." before Eric finished his response, Alex turned to the room, holding his hands out as he conjured "KAYK!" and all the tables were filled with many kinds of cake - chocolate, yellow, red velvet, strawberry, even blueberry, a lot of it moving from the buffet rather than being manifest from nothing. Alex laughed and smacked his hands together, then took a running jump and flew around the huge room, cracking up.

"Alex! Come back here!" Sookie freaked and almost dropped Aubie, who was sitting on the table in front of her, as she stood up. Alex looped around the far end of the room, and flew back, zooming down toward Sookie's head, but not close enough for Sookie to reach him.

"Ah, Mamee! Ahm fyeen!" He giggled as the room laughed and applauded. He did head over foot flips in the air and then held himself upside down like he was hanging from something by his foot. Sookie suddenly thought of Tarot cards when he did that, but quickly got refocused on getting him back to their group.

"Eric Alexander Northman, you come right back! You know you only fly with Daddy!" and at that, Alex flew up to the high ceiling and landed on it, giggling wildly and crawling around it like a spider as the crowd said "OH!" "My Goddess!" "I've never seen anything like that!" all together.

"Nah fyeen, Mamee!" Alex called back, knowing it would set Sookie off. Mamee was pundy when she yelled "nah-nah!" like that.

"Now you're creeping people out! You get back here!" Sookie stomped her feet, which made Eric laugh, so he stood up and said, in his most demanding voice, "Alexander - come to Daddy!" after which Alex flew directly to Eric and landed in his arms. The applause continued, as Eric held him up above his head and shook him playfully, fighting his urge to laugh because Sookie was genuinely upset and not without cause. They hadn't intended to let people know that the boys could fly. "All right, Alexander, you've had your fun, so let's give Mommy a break, all right?" Eric kissed him, then lowered his voice to a whisper, "We're supposed to be making her feel better, not giving her a heart attack," he snickered just a little as he said that and Alex caught on. That was pun, but he was getting tired now, any way. Making cake and lollipops was hard work!

A page with a pan of water and a wet washcloth came to their table immediately and wiped messy little Alex down. It took a minute, but a little bit of elbow grease found a baby under all the syrup and cake frosting and dust from the ceiling. Aubie got a little sponge bath, too, though he barely had a hair out of place.

"Well, that was eventful!" Nivian declared. "I'd say everyone is ready for a siesta!"

"A Siesta?" Sookie said, "but that's a Mexican thing, right?"

"Around here we call it a "nap prynhawn," but it's the same thing. Everyone takes a break between 2 and 4 and then we're all ready to gather around the hearth or fire in the evening. We'll be having a circle in the Grove tonight. Your little ones will love it! Gwendolyn here will help you find your way back to your rooms, and I'll see you in a bit, Precious," Nivian shooed them along and they followed a female apprentice with short dark curls and big hoop earrings back up to Sookie's room looking out over the ocean.

"This seems a much farther trip than it did this morning!" Sookie said about half way there.

By the time they got to Sookie's rooms, both boys were sound asleep so she and Eric tucked them into a wide crib that was big enough for both of them, letting the sheer canopy down to keep it cozy, plus Sookie was afraid there might be bugs.

Sookie had finally realized how she was dressed so she found her closet to see what was there. While she did that, Eric opened the French doors out to Sookie's balcony by the sea. He took another deep breath of the salt air, and it reminded him of how he loved to travel, to steer a ship, or to hide beneath the floor and feed on the night watchmen.

Sookie could see in her mind that Eric was picturing his travels, so she pulled on a nice pink gown cut exactly like her magical robe from home and went to find him.

"You miss it, don't you?" she asked as she came up beside him and slipped under his arm.

"Not really. The sound of the water just brings back memories. I wouldn't give up any part of my life right now. I'm having too much fun," he assured her and kissed her nose. One kiss lead to another and the two of them moved toward the big bed in the middle of the room in one smooth swoop, clothing flying in every direction. This was no ordinary bed, being built on huge circular "posts." Eric laughed out loud when he pushed forward into Sookie and the bed rolled all the way over and they stayed on the mattress facing down. "What the fuck?" Sookie said, looking around, not believing her eyes.

"Apparently one needs to be able to fly to fuck in this bed," Eric said. It was the last words spoken for two hours, but it was far from the last sound. As soon as they forgot about the rolling of the bed the room seemed to change. Every thrust would make the bed do a 360 degree turn and it started rocking ALL THE WAY around as Eric took Sookie harder than he could remember ever doing. It was as if the room was 10 times its actual size and gravity didn't exist or it did but in a very weird way. The harder Eric's stroke, the further the bed turned, rolling right up the wall and across the ceiling. The movement was disorienting, but fun, and they found that if Sookie pushed back really hard, it would sort of turn a quarter circle, so they were covering this whole, huge room in Avalon or where ever the hell they were now.

Things really started to rock when Sookie got on top. She flashed back to the year Gran was able to send her to summer camp and she learned how to ride horses. She also learned that riding horses was particularly stimulating, you know, for a girl, and she spent every minute she could on the back of a horse while she was there. She took full advantage of Eric's endurance now, actually enjoying the rolling of the bed around the walls and ceiling. Everything exploded into white light then, and she couldn't hear anything at all. She had no idea how much time had past, but at some point she woke up, her head laying on Eric's chest as the bed now stood gently rocking a little back and forth. Maddie was at the door.

"Are ye awake yet, Milady? Time to dress for the circle tonight!"

[Sorry it's a short one, but I know it's been a while. Enjoy this and then I'll have more in a few days.]


End file.
